Saiman returned carrying a parcel wrapped in purple velvet. He set it on the table with a flourish.

I pulled the velvet free. A small box rested within its folds, shaped like a classic treasure chest. It was opaque and blueish white, with a cross embossed on its lid. The surface of the box appeared soft, almost ivory like, but the sheen that played on its walls was distinctly metallic.

My heart skipped a beat. I had seen this hybrid of bone and metal before. I passed my hand over the lid. Magic nipped at my fingers. Not human. Metal fed with magically grown animal bone.

Derek stared at the box, his face unreadable. Kate’s sword looked very similar to this. It was made from her grandmother’s bones. Telling him this wasn’t carved from one of Kate’s relatives would blow my cover.

It wasn’t made from the bones of my family, but I would recognize the workmanship anywhere. I had to have this box.

I reached into my bag, pulled a gold bar out, and set it on the table, raising the stakes to three hundred grand. I carried more rubies on me, but there was no reason to give them to Saiman. Adding the gold bar indicated that I had appraised the box, decided its worth, and was willing to pay a fair price. Billiot was hard-pressed for money. Saiman would take it.

Saiman studied the table. “Triple it.”

“It’s not worth that.”

“Then I regretfully decline.”

“This box has a guardian. The guardian has killed Pastor Haywood and Professor Walton. It would have killed Billiot himself, if he hadn’t found a way to hide from it.”

Saiman shrugged. “My defenses are regenerating as we speak.”

I looked at Derek. “Is the offer to put his head in your mouth still open?”

“Always.” Derek’s voice told me that he would really enjoy it.

Saiman rolled his eyes.

I leaned forward. “I was told you were a smart man. I see the rumors were wrong. I’ll explain slowly. Try to follow. You have the magic box. It’s guarded by a divine beast. The beast is ancient and tireless. It exists for a single purpose: to punish the thieves of its treasure and restore it to its rightful place. It will find this place, it will shred your pitiful wards like tissue paper, and then it will carve your heart out of your chest.”

Saiman sat up straighter.

I pointed at Derek. “He doesn’t like you. He has six shapeshifters with him, and he is now in your house. He wants to kill the guardian of the box. If he takes the box from you, the guardian will come to him.”

Saiman glanced at Derek.

“Moloch has been reborn in Arizona. He also wants this box, and he has sent his ma’avirim into the city. They’re currently scouring Atlanta looking for you.”

Saiman startled. He’d heard of the ma’avirim, and they had made an impression.

“I don’t have the time to draw you a chart, so just imagine all the intersecting lines and realize where they intersect. Sell the box to me and solve all of your problems.”

The veneer of arrogance was gone. “How much time do I have?”

“I think the answer to that question is none,” Zahar said, looking out the window.

I got up and went to the window. A thundercloud boiled through the portal, an angry black mass backlit with red. It churned and roiled, and within its depths raged a brilliant white fire. The Ma’avirim Firestorm. My heart sank.

This wasn’t a single priest. This was much worse. I’d underestimated Moloch, and now everyone with me would pay for it.

I had to stop them at any cost. If I let them through, they would incinerate the house and everyone inside. Nobody, not even Derek, would survive that fire.

“Stay inside,” I said. “All of you.”

I headed to the door, digging in my bag just in case. Don’t follow me, don’t follow me…

Derek murmured a few words to the shapeshifters and followed.

I turned around and walked backwards, facing him but still moving towards the door. “Remember that promise you made? About sitting it out when an elder power shows up?”

“Sure.” He showed no signs of slowing down.

I couldn’t let him get into this fight. The fire would be too hot. If he failed to dodge even a single fireball, he’d go up like a candle. I would not allow him to become a pile of ashes. “Stay here.”

He pretended to think it over. “I don’t believe I will.”

“So, the beta of Ice Fury is a liar?”

“Yes.”

I reached the door. There were ten feet between us. I had to do this fast. “You’re shameless.”

He grinned. It was the kind of smile that promised blood. “Yes, and many other things.”

“It’s not your fight.”

“I decide which fights are mine.”

His gaze caught on my bag. He would never let me get my hand out of it.

I yanked my magic to me.

“Don’t do it,” he snarled, reaching for me.

“Aarh!” Freeze.

The blast of magic tore through the house, freezing the shapeshifters in mid-move. Saiman halted, halfway off the couch. In front of me, Derek stopped, standing on the toes of his left foot, reaching for me like an ice skater about to leap.

The power word would buy me five seconds. More than enough.

I stepped outside and pulled a glass apple out.