All that was left of her was a pile of dust. A broken chair leg fell from her back as she disappeared. It rolled off the couch and across the floor, stopping when it hit one of Talbot’s sneakers.
“You okay, kid?” he asked, and held out his hand to help me up.
I cowered from his touch and scrambled as far away from him as I could on the couch while frantically brushing Mishka dust off my pants.
“I … I … knew her,” I stammered. “And you killed her.” I turned my head from side to side, searching the room for life. It was empty except for two other piles of dust and a pool of acidic ooze that ate away at the carpet. My stomach lurched. I clutched at it with my hand. “You … You killed them all.”
“Yeah, that’s kind of what I do.” Talbot brushed his hand through his hair. He’d lost his baseball cap at some point during the fight. “What did you think, we were going to take them all out for ice cream and buy them puppies?”
“No. I thought … we’d deliver them to the police. But you killed them.” It didn’t make sense. I’d seen Talbot handle April’s silver bracelet without it burning his hand. I’d assumed he was just like me—an Urbat who had powers but who hadn’t fallen to the curse. A Hound of Heaven. But if this was the first time he’d killed somebody, shouldn’t he have changed into a wolf? Except … the way he’d handled that sword, this certainly wasn’t his first kill. There had been no hesitation there. “I don’t understand. A predatory act … if you kill a person, then …”
“These weren’t people, Grace. These were straight-up demons. The werewolf curse only affects you if you kill a human. The Urbat were created to kill demons. It’s what we do.”
“But you didn’t kill that one with the gun the other day.”
“I didn’t kill him in front of you because I didn’t know if you were ready for that. Apparently, you still aren’t. You’re far more green than I expected.”
“No. It’s just that I still don’t understand. My brother fell to the curse when he tried to kill Daniel—who was a werewolf at the time.…”
“Ah.” Talbot sat next to me on the couch. I scooted away from him, not sure if I knew who he was anymore. “You see, werewolves are still human.
They still have a human heart that coexists with their demon one. That’s why killing a werewolf—with malicious intent—counts as a predatory act against a human. But true demons are different. Gelals just take on a human-looking appearance. They don’t actually have real bodies at all. And
Akhs—a species of vampire—take up residence in dead human bodies. Think of them as a demon infestation of a dead human. That’s why they smell like rotting meat—at least to someone with a sensitive sense of smell.” He tapped the side of his nose. “It’s also why they turn to dust when they’re killed. The infestation rapidly speeds up the decomposition of the body, so they fall apart when the demon inside them dies.”
“Oh.”
My mind reeled. Dad had given me books about werewolves, but most of those books just contained myths, no real substantial information at all, and the idea of battling a real demon had always been so far off—and seemed completely unreal—that I hadn’t bothered trying to learn much about the enemy. Talbot was right—I really was green.
And it had almost got me killed.
“Thank you for saving me. I would have just laid there and let her kill me.” I hugged my knees to my chest on the couch, feeling utterly useless. “I couldn’t help doing what she wanted.”
“Mind control,” Talbot said. “Just remember never to look an Akh in the eyes. That’s how they’re different from traditional vamps. Akhs are what you call psychic vampires. They feed on your life force, steal your free will. But Gelals and all vamps die the same way. Stake to the heart, or a good old-fashioned beheading.”
I shuddered, remembering the sight of the first woman’s head being severed from her body. “I was so shocked by everything, I completely forgot that there was one more of them in the house.”
“That’s my fault. I should have reminded you so you’d have been prepared. But let that be a lesson to the both of us, okay?” He smiled at me.
“Rule number one: Never drop your guard.”
I half smiled, but then it turned to a frown. Daniel had said that same thing to me time and again. And I hated that I wouldn’t be able to tell him about what had happened today.
I’d have to lie to him.
The feeling of utter defeat settled on my shoulders as I surveyed the empty room again. “I just wish you hadn’t had to kill them all. I mean, we didn’t get to question any of them about Jude. If this is the gang he’s been hiding out with, then where the heck is he?”
“Jude was never here,” Talbot said. “These creatures were just amateurs. Copycats. They’re not the real Shadow Kings. The real gang would have never tripped the silent alarm at that pawnshop.”
I stood up and faced Talbot. My hands shook with anger. “Wait, you knew all along they weren’t the real gang?”
Talbot nodded.
“Then why did we come here?”
“Because this was a test, Grace. I needed to know if you were ready, and clearly you’re not. What you saw here, what happened in that alley on
Monday, that was just child’s play compared to what we’ll eventually face. This little band of amateurs was only four strong. The real gang is probably five times as big.”
That thought sent chills down my spine. “So you knew Jude wasn’t here before we came busting in?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you say … Why did you make me think he was?”
“Because I needed to get you worked up enough to act. Your emotions—that’s where your power comes from.”
Talbot’s words confused me. “But that’s not what Daniel says. He always tells me to pull back when I get angry. He says the key to learning to use my powers is balance. He says I should never allow my emotions to get the better of me if I want to learn to use my powers without giving in to the wolf.”
“Then you should start asking yourself what reason Daniel has for holding you back.”
Heat flashed in my cheeks. Talbot’s right, a voice said inside my mind. Daniel did want to hold me back.
But that still didn’t mean Talbot was right and Daniel was wrong.
Talbot stood up so he was standing right in front of me, only a few inches separating us. He looked into my eyes with his piercing gaze. He reached out and touched my moonstone necklace. I wanted to flinch away from his touch, but I didn’t.
“You’ll never reach your full potential if you keep wearing this,” he said. “I ditched mine a long time ago.”
“You threw away your moonstone? Where’d you even get one? I thought they were rare.…”
“Old family heirloom. I’m better off without it.”
“But Gabriel says the moonstone is the only thing that keeps the wolf at bay. Gabriel—”
“Gabriel?” Talbot pulled his hand away from my necklace and stepped back. “You know Gabriel?”
“Yes.” Assuming he meant the same one. “Gabriel Saint Moon?”
Talbot let out a harsh laugh. “He calls himself Saint Moon now? That’s ironic.”
“You know about Gabriel and the Saint Moons?”
“Gabriel is a notorious coward.” Talbot spread his arms out at his sides. “And I am a Saint Moon.”
I almost gasped. “You are?”