I had to stop Xever before he finished his spell—and before his demon slaves killed everyone I loved.

I pointed at the ground and called up the “break” cantrip again. The glowing rune appeared at the edge of the circle enclosing him.

“Rumpas!” I cried desperately.

The granite shattered beneath the rune, but not a single crack penetrated the outer ring. Xever’s voice thickened with triumph.

The sky had softened to a pale blue. A yellow glow spread across the horizon.

Zylas!

I felt his focus shift as I fumbled through my artifacts for one that could penetrate the barrier and strike him.

A flash of motion—Zylas charging past me, magic blazing up his arms.

Nazhivēr sped past my other side, a spell glowing over his hand. Both demons unleashed their attacks—and the crimson magic exploded against the invisible dome. The barrier rippled, not a single spark entering the space within.

The Lūsh’vēr and Ash’amadē demons landed behind Xever’s circle, but they didn’t attack Zylas and Nazhivēr. They appeared to be waiting.

A blaze of golden light erupted above the trees, and long lines of light and shadows stretched across the granite plateau. In the same instant, the pink glow of the portal array burst into blinding radiance, then the center node went dark.

The portal was open.

Xever flung his arms skyward, his voice rising to an ecstatic shout. “Daimonia panton te oikon kai oudenos, kore Ahleas, ne to ton kasigneton sou haima, se kalo!”

I’d studied so much Ancient Greek in the past weeks, examined and studied so many facets of summoning magic, that I could translate his words with terrifying clarity.

“Demon of all Houses and no House, daughter of Ahlēa, by the blood of your kin, I summon you!”

In the empty third circle, red light ignited: twelve runes, surrounding the central node, shimmered with scarlet magic. Demon blood. Each rune was coated in blood from one of the Twelve Houses—including the blood taken from Zylas.

The red glow brightened.

Blazing ruby exploded from the dark portal. The streak of light shot straight up like a comet, ten times brighter than Zylas’s glowing spirit when he entered or exited the infernus.

The power arched high above, then blasted downward and slammed into the center of the third circle. A boom rang out as the magic hit the transparent barrier of the summoning circle, turning the entire dome red. Even contained, the impact shook the plateau.

Zylas and Nazhivēr stepped backward, moving farther from the circle even though they were already thirty feet away.

The luminescent magic swirled, then faded. As the glow dimmed, a small, solid shape became visible: a body crouched in the circle, curled into a tight, protective ball.

No one moved. Not Zylas or Nazhivēr. Not Xever. Not the other demons. Not Zora, Amalia, and Uncle Jack, standing in a cluster on the rocky battlefield. We were all riveted by the vision before us.

The payashē raised her head.

She slowly unwrapped her arms from around herself, and just as slowly straightened her body, rising to her full height. Her large, softly glowing crimson eyes moved warily across the unfamiliar landscape.

I stared, not quite able to breathe.

She was petite, maybe even shorter than me, but her lean legs were firm with muscle. Her toffee-red skin was smooth, her waist-length black hair thick and wild, her clothes simple—and almost identical to Zylas’s usual outfit, but without the armor. The only addition was a top that crossed over one shoulder, covering her slim chest but leaving her taut midriff bare.

A long, thin tail hovered behind her, ending in a single barb, and rising from her tangled hair were two pairs of six-inch-long horns that curved slightly inward.

Her head turned, her full lips tight with distress as her gaze moved across everyone in her immediate vicinity before settling on Nazhivēr, the demon closest to her.

“Seminedh’nā?”

Her voice was low and husky, only a few notes higher than Zylas’s. Nazhivēr hesitated, uncertain how to answer her question.

“I summoned you!” Xever declared. His back was to me, so I couldn’t see his expression—but smug satisfaction and eager glee saturated his words. “And you will submit to my command.”

The payashē focused on the summoner. She couldn’t know what he’d said, but she must’ve recognized his tone, because her uncertainty slid away. Her lips peeled back from her teeth, baring her sharp canines. The glow in her eyes brightened as rage transformed her delicate features.

Zylas and Nazhivēr stepped back again.

She lifted her thin arms, aiming both hands at Xever. Her palms lit with power—and glowing veins raced up her arms. The power flared brighter—and brighter—and brighter, until her hands were pure radiant energy.

Zylas whirled on his heel, grabbed me around the waist, and sprinted away.

I gasped, staring back over his shoulder as he fled. She was inside a summoning circle. It was impenetrable to demon magic.

Raw power exploded from the payashē’s hands and hit the barrier. The transparent surface rippled, and for a second time, the entire dome filled with blinding crimson light. The earth trembled. The glow brightened, beams of scarlet streaking skyward.

The dome rippled violently—then the world exploded into screaming red.

Zylas’s arms clamped around me as the detonation catapulted us into the air. He landed in a roll, shielding me with his arms. The moment we tumbled to a halt, he launched up again, clutching me, fear sizzling along the connection between us.

A smoking crater the exact size of the summoning circle had replaced the arcane array. The payashē stood nonchalantly at the crumbling edge, her tail lashing and her hands and forearms alight with pure power.

My gaze shot across the plateau, frantically searching. I spotted Uncle Jack’s demon first—crushed beneath a boulder hurled by the explosion of power. Amalia, Zora, and Uncle Jack were heaped among shattered hunks of ice.

Sudden movement yanked my attention back to the payashē—but she hadn’t shifted. Instead, the Lūsh’vēr and Ash’amadē demons, scored with wounds from their fight with Nazhivēr and Zylas, had launched into the air—flying at the female demon. At the same time, the three surviving demons that Zora, Amalia, and Uncle Jack had fought charged in on foot.

And Nazhivēr, his limbs stiff as though fighting every step, moved cautiously toward the payashē.

Xever, inside his protective circle, must’ve commanded all his demons to attack her. The loophole in their contract that Nazhivēr had exploited to disobey his master no longer applied.

The payashē looked at the six Dīnen bearing down on her, then flung her arms out. Crimson blazed off her shoulders, taking the form of wings, and a spell circle appeared beneath her feet. The spell flashed, flinging her fifty feet into the air. Her wings, identical to the ones Zylas had created, spread wide, catching the cold wind, and her glowing hands flared.

As the airborne Lūsh’vēr and Ash’amadē demons dove for her, her hands transformed into talons—but not the six- or eight-inch ones the males favored.

No, hers were three-foot-long blades.

She swept them up, catching the Lūsh’vēr demon across the torso. Dark blood sprayed, and the First House demon fell from the sky in pieces.

The lithe Ash’amadē demon veered away from her slashing blades with a desperate flail of his wings. As he shot past her, she turned, phantom wings beating.