Only I wasn’t that woman anymore. I didn’t just see ghosts—I was a weapon. A weapon with a brain.

“Kieran often has at least one member of the Six around, and all the cars are here tonight. Only a fool would break into this house…”

I let the thought drift away as that feeling from earlier commanded my attention. Someone was manipulating spirit.

I stepped in front of the back door, bracing myself for whatever awaited me on the other side. It wasn’t a Demigod—thanks to Kieran, I could sense power, and this woman was barely a level five. I doubted she had a power that I couldn’t combat with my own.

The lock clicked.

I waited, holding my breath, ready to stab with my magic.

The handle didn’t move. Instead, the soul drifted away, moving slowly and silently across the grass and into the trees in my backyard. She crouched there, clearly waiting.

I dropped my hands slowly and felt my brow furrow.

Waiting for what?

A throb of spirit pulsed around me, disturbing the stagnancy. A distant yelling drifted through the quiet house. It sounded like Frank.

I remembered him in the middle of the street, watching.

I remembered what types of things he ran from.

My heart sank and I felt the blood leach from my face.

“My, my. I’ve changed my mind, you do learn fast. You’ve got the broad strokes down of feeling the spirit in the air, you just need to learn the nuances, like where and who it is coming from.”

“The who is a Demigod,” I said with a suddenly dry mouth, turning slowly. “The where is in front of my house, and from the sound of it, my guardian spirit just took off running.”

“Sure, if you want to make light of your training and pull a Sherlock Holmes, no problem.”

Little ripples of spirit drifted around me now, and a weight pushed on my chest. Dread. The Demigod hadn’t come alone this time. He’d brought friends.

I re-locked the door then pulled a rubber door stopper from a drawer and wedged it in the bottom. It did okay with strong breezes, so hopefully it would do something against a shoulder.

Just in case, I had to get the kids hidden or out of the house.

“Kieran!” I shouted, running for the stairs. Souls popped up on my radar like firecrackers, hurrying down the street toward the house. Another huge pulse of spirit pummeled me like currents in the ocean, and I ripped at the cords to draw the curtains from around the door. The huge shadow form from the other night stood before me, back to the house, waving a great hand at the street as if to wave someone on.

“Kieran!” I shouted again.

“There are intruders in our yard,” Daisy said, pounding down the stairs. She wore tight black clothes bulging with various weapons strapped to her person. “They emerged from the trees down the way. They must’ve been hiding there.”

“Astute kid,” the cat said. “What’s her magic? I can’t feel it.”

“Doesn’t have any,” I said, hurrying to the kitchen to look out the window.

I caught a glance at what—or rather whom—the shadow man had been waving at. Someone walked down the middle of the street with straight shoulders, head held high, and sword handles sticking up from his or her back. The light showering down from the streetlights slid over the person’s body without highlighting any features, almost like the light diffused into a black cloud. The moonlight, though, shone on waxy white skin and pale hair, the human embodiment of a ghost.

“What?” Daisy asked, breathing fast and standing behind me. She couldn’t hear the cat talking. Before I could shrug it off, she said, “Oh shit.”

A small army marched behind the man, and if they weren’t stopped, they’d cut us off from the rest of our crew.

Fear made it hard to swallow. There were too many of them, especially since they were led by a Demigod of Hades in shadow form. There would be no soul for me to grab and yank.

Footsteps pounded down the stairs. Donovan appeared first, followed by Mordecai in wolf form.

“You and your brother need to hide, do you hear me?” I said, rounding on Daisy. I turned and clamped a hand on her shoulder. “You need to hide. We don’t have enough people to protect you. You have the money you got from Kieran. If something should happen to us, you take that and get out of here, okay? Don’t tell anyone who you are. Take it and go.”

Mordecai whined softly, and I was reminded of the last time he and I had been ambushed. Only this time, the cavalry wouldn’t run in and save us at the last minute. This time, we were grossly outnumbered and would stay that way.

18

Kieran

Kieran stood at the window in the guest room, staring down at the street below. He had already awoken by the time Alexis called his name, responding to the panic coursing through the soul link. He’d lain there for a moment, unable to believe what he sensed was true, unable to believe the Demigod from before would disrespect him a second time.

Last time, the Demigod of Hades had come to suss out Alexis and her power, but this time he was threatening Kieran’s family. And he didn’t have the balls to do it in person. Hiding behind his shadow form, he’d collected a little army and marched into Kieran’s territory in the middle of the night.

Kieran sucked his teeth, letting the fire build in his center. He could understand why one of the other Demigods might want to attack him politically, before his views and positions were known. Or why Valens’s allies might want revenge. Hell, he could even understand why greed might drive someone to take advantage of a young Demigod newly in charge of an influential and prosperous territory.