“You tranqued our mom!” I point accusingly at where she’s lying on the floor.
Artemis reloads. “Yes, I did.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“You wouldn’t understand. You’re the last person who could understand.” She circles. I follow her, not letting her get behind me or to the door to the gym where Doug is.
I used to be the only person who understood her. Now? She’s right. I don’t. “What happened to you?”
She laughs wildly, gesturing to the castle. “This happened to me, Nina. You happened to me. You have no idea how it feels to be powerless. To know as much as we do and be totally dependent on others to fight it.”
“Of course I do! I had to watch you be the capable one, the strong one, the one who always got picked. I was powerless for sixteen years of my life!”
“No! You were always chosen. From the day we were born. You were chosen. Well, I’m choosing myself. I don’t need ancient mystic forces determining I’m worthy of power. I’m going to do it myself. And then no one will be able to hurt me, or hurt you, or hurt any of us.”
“You’re hurting us!”
“Means to an end.” She lifts the gun and fires several darts so fast I barely have time to dodge.
“Don’t think I don’t see what you’re doing.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“You’re angling me away from Honora while she sneaks off.” I stop moving, raising both my fists. “She can’t get away. I’m faster and I’m stronger and I’m better than her. Not only is Doug staying here, but she is too. We have a whole dungeon waiting for her.”
“Actually,” Honora says, sweat beading on her forehead from the pain of her arm, “she’s angling you in front of the door so that this can happen.”
The snarl behind me is just enough warning. I turn and catch the hellhound as it barrels into me. It takes me to the floor, and I hold its jaws where they’re desperately straining for my neck. Hot, sticky saliva drips down on me. I kick up into its stomach, launching it off me and through the air. It hits the wall with a thud and lands with a yelp, scrambling to right itself. I pull out a stake, but the hellhound changes direction and lunges for my unconscious mother.
Two darts stick out of its back before it gets there, and it stumbles, then slumps down.
Artemis doesn’t lower her gun, instead firing another dart at me. I dodge, then run at her, hitting her stomach with my shoulder and carrying her across the great hall with my momentum before tossing her down. I’m about to grab her—and do what, I don’t know, but my heart is racing and my anger is eating me alive, hotter and fouler than the hellhound’s saliva. But a popping sound precedes Tsip.
“Nina!” she says, crying. “It’s terrible!”
I whirl around. The door’s intact! No one could have gotten in to Doug! “What? What happened?”
Tsip holds out her hand. Her palm is lined with dust. “Their eyes turned into dust! All the pretty eyes! And it’s my birthday.”
I grit my teeth and clench my fists. “Tsip. Get back to your post right now, or so help me, I’ll take your own eyes and gift wrap them for you.” It’s not an empty threat. I know as I’m saying it that I’d do it. But I don’t have time to feel disgusted with myself.
She scowls, her lower lip trembling. “That would totally defeat the purpose.” She disappears, and I turn back to Artemis to see her slip something into her mouth. Doubtless one of their demonic booster drugs.
“It won’t matter.” I fold my arms and watch her stand up. “You can’t beat me. And yes, I noticed Honora is gone. I’ll catch her.”
A hellhound howls. Artemis turns sharply toward the sound. It’s not coming from this side of the castle. It howls again. It’s coming from the back corner.
The tower.
The pillow Artemis stole. She must have come from the kitchen. Which meant she stole something there that had a scent. And the only person they could possibly want to hunt who had a pillow there—
“Not the demons,” I whisper. Leo. They’re after Leo. He was right to question why they’d attack now. Because it was never about Doug, never about the other demons or revenge or anything. It was about the one new factor at the castle. Leo.
Artemis launches herself at me in a flurry of punches and kicks so fast I can b
arely block them. She drives me back across the great hall toward the dorm wing, the opposite direction I need to go. The tower is through the kitchen, which is accessed via the entrance to the Council wing.
I dodge a punch and then grab her arm, spinning her and throwing her into the wall. I sprint across the great hall and into the Council wing, whipping around the corner to the kitchen. I can get to the tower through an old door and passageway here. But someone could get in from the outside if they scaled the side up to a few of the gaping holes we didn’t have money to fix. I have to beat them. I have to—