Darius rested his chin on his hands. “I recall several reports last month about unusual vampire activity—none from you, though.”

I winced. “Uh … I … well, it’s hard for me to report things because—”

Crimson light blazed across my infernus. The power streaked out of the pendant and pooled on top of Darius’s desk. Zylas materialized on the desk, crouched atop the GM’s paperwork.

“Ah,” Darius murmured. “Zylas.”

My demon swept his tail sideways, sending a cascade of papers onto the floor.

“Because of my demon,” I finished with a heavy sigh. “Zylas, why are you out of the infernus?”

“You are talking about pointless things.” He rocked forward on the balls of his feet, getting in Darius’s face. “Tell us what you know about the golems, na?”

I grabbed the demon’s wrist and yanked him backward. He shifted maybe two inches, but at least he straightened so he wasn’t obnoxiously close to the GM.

“The golems aren’t Claude’s,” Darius told us bemusedly. “They belong to a dark-arts sorceress named Varvara Nikolaev, who’s in the midst of a power-grab here in Vancouver. She orchestrated the guild attacks over the last three nights.”

“Varvara Nikolaev?” Disappointment sank through me at the unfamiliar name. “So … not Claude?”

Zylas sat on the desktop, one leg folded and a knee propped up. “The summoner does not fight. He is the ūdrash that builds a trap in the night and waits for zh’ūltis prey to walk into it.”

“Ood-rash?” I repeated. “What’s that?”

“It is … an animal with …” He raised his hands in a gesture that indicated something about the size of a car, then grimaced. “Not important.”

“Good point, though.” I looked back to Darius. “Claude spent years pretending to be my uncle’s friend for a chance to steal more demon names, and with the vampires, he was manipulating them into becoming his personal bloodsucking army. His plan only failed because he didn’t realize one of the vampires was actually a darkfae.”

Darius’s eyebrows shot up.

“Claude had his demon watching everything while he stayed out of danger,” I continued. “Do you think Claude could be using Varvara in the same way?”

“Varvara is too experienced and cunning to be used. I think it’s more likely that, if Claude is involved, he and Varvara have some kind of arrangement. He’s providing her with a more powerful form of golem, and she’s providing him with something in return.”

“But what would Claude want from her?”

“That is the crucial question.” Darius rubbed his short beard. “Tomorrow night, combat teams from the Crow and Hammer and Odin’s Eye will ambush Varvara and her followers before they can ravage another guild. We have a plan for disabling her golems, but Claude could provide further assistance to protect his interests … whatever they may be.” His gaze shifted to Zylas. “I’m particularly concerned about his demon.”

Darius, Girard, and Alistair had fought said demon, and though they’d inflicted some damage, they hadn’t come close to defeating him.

Zylas smirked. “Nazhivēr will crush all the hh’ainun.”

Before I could admonish Zylas, Darius nodded.

“Which is why you two will join us tomorrow night.” The GM leaned back in his chair. “While our teams deal with Varvara and her rogues, you can ensure that Claude, his demon, or any other pawns don’t join in.”

“I’m not sure we can do that,” I admitted. “Even Zylas is no match for Claude’s demon.”

“Could you distract the demon, giving us time to withdraw?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess we—”

“No.”

Darius and I looked at Zylas.

“Hunt the summoner, yes. Fight Nazhivēr to protect stupid hh’ainun? No. I promised to protect Robin. Only Robin.”

A thrill ran through my center at the sound of my name in his accent, but the rest of his declaration made me frown. “Zylas—”

The office door flew open and hit the wall with a bang.

Zora stood in the threshold, dressed in combat gear, her sword strapped to her back. Her wide eyes flashed from me to Darius, then to my demon sitting on the GM’s desk. Her face paled.

“Good evening, Zora,” Darius said calmly.

“Tori said Robin was here somewhere and—Darius, you—that—” She shook her head, then shot me an accusatory glare. “Why is your demon out? Are you threatening our guild master?”

“No!” I exclaimed, my anger swamped by rapidly increasing alarm.

There was no obvious reason for my demon to be in the office, and I didn’t know what possible excuse I could make. As far as Zora was aware, my illegal contract allowed my demon to use magic; she had no idea Zylas could let himself in and out of the infernus at will.

Silence stretched through the room as everyone waited for my response, Zora with suspicion and Darius with subtle warning. He’d promised that if anyone from the Crow and Hammer found out I was an illegal contractor, he’d turn me in to the MPD to protect his guild. I needed to say something—a plausible explanation for why Zylas was sitting on the GM’s desk.

I opened my mouth, but my mind was blank and buzzing with panic.

“Ch.” Zylas propped an arm on his raised knee. “Hh’ainun are so stupid. It would be easier to kill you all.”

Silence answered his pronouncement. A heartbeat passed where I wondered if I’d hallucinated him speaking, then my heart deflated with sickening dread.

I was a dead woman. Officially dead.

Zora’s face blanked with disbelief. Darius’s mouth thinned, his expression grim.

Zylas hopped off the desk in one fluid motion. His prowling steps carried him toward Zora, and she skittered away from him with a quiet, frightened gasp. He grabbed the door, swung it shut, then turned to the three humans trapped in the office with him.

“I will explain with small words.” His tail snapped impatiently. “You three want the same thing. You want this place and its humans to be safe.”

We all stared at him.

“I will kill the things that put Robin in danger. I will protect the things that keep Robin safe.” He focused on the guild master. “Is this a safe place for Robin?”