He flashed toward me. I lurched backward—and, of course, tripped and fell. I winced as I hit the ground. Peeking up, I expected him to be scowling angrily.

He was holding his hand out again. Confused, I let him pull me up.

“Try again,” he said.

I braced myself, chanting “step sideways” over and over in my head. He backed up two steps, then vaulted at me. As before, my body automatically lurched in the opposite direction of the incoming attack. I stumbled back while also trying to step sideways. Instead of falling, I just didn’t move and he bowled me over.

As I pitched backward, he scooped me out of the air and set me on my feet.

Embarrassed by my failure, I raked my wet hair off my face. “Again.”

He waited a moment, then charged. I darted sideways and he flashed past. Tail swinging out, he pivoted on one foot and leaped at me again—and I backpedaled in a panic, tripped on the rough terrain, and slammed down on my butt.

“Argh!” I burst out. “Why can’t I do this? It’s simple. It should be easy!”

“Your instincts tell you to go backward.” He crouched beside me. “That is hard to change.”

An odd flutter of confusion disturbed my center. I wouldn’t call his tone kind, but it wasn’t angry, impatient, or insulting.

“Hh’ainun instincts are stupid,” he added. “It is why you are all so easy to kill.”

Ah, there was the insult. Somehow, I felt better. Zylas being patient and considerate was just weird.

We reset our positions, and Zylas mock-charged me again and again while I struggled to override my panicked instinct to retreat backward. It was a slow process. I managed to dart sideways half the time, but as soon as he changed direction and sprang again, my instinctive backpedal took over.

After thirty minutes, I was panting for air and aching all over from falling down so many times. Instead of taking his “pounce” stance, Zylas assessed my fatigued state. He, of course, showed zero signs of weariness.

“You must practice when you cannot see the hunter coming,” he decided.

I warily raised my head.

“You will walk in the trees, and I will hunt you.”

Apprehension zinged through me. “That doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

“Na? Why not?”

I opened my mouth, but admitting his proposal sounded terrifying wouldn’t get me anywhere. “I’m tired.”

“So weak, drādah.” He pointed. “Walk.”

Scowling, I stomped into the trees. I managed five steps before peeking over my shoulder. The clearing was empty. Zylas had already vanished into the rainy gloom.

Pulling my jacket collar tighter around my neck, I walked faster. My heart pounded and the back of my neck prickled. I shivered from cold, and a fresh rush of adrenaline couldn’t quite compensate for my tired muscles. The patter of rain and whoosh of the wintry wind covered all other sounds.

Somewhere nearby, a demon was stalking me.

I scanned the trees, stopping every few steps to check for any sign of him. My nerves wound tighter, jitters quivering through my fingers. He was watching me. I could feel it. I hastened past a tightly packed stand of fir trees, angling away from a short but steep drop into a water-logged gully. Puffing out a shaky breath, I reached up to unstick my wet bangs from my face.

A flash plunged down from a nearby tree. Zylas hit the ground and pounced, claws unsheathing. A scream burst from my throat as I sprang backward in unthinking panic. I stumbled but he was still coming and I stepped back again.

The ground wasn’t there.

I pitched over with another shriek. As Zylas came to a stop, I splatted on my back and slid down the wet side of the gully. I squelched all the way to the bottom, my mouth open in horror.

Zylas stood at the top, gazing down at me without expression.

My shoulders made a sucking noise as I sat up. I lifted my hand out of the soupy brown muck and stared in revulsion. Rain pattered on my head.

I looked up at the demon. “Why didn’t you catch me?”

He could have. I had no doubt about that.

His tail lashed. “You should have gone sideways.”

“You—” Fury boiled through me. “Did you make me fall down here on purpose?”

Another snap of his tail. “Next time, go sideways.”

My teeth crunched together. I fought the outrage burning through my innards, but it burst free. I shoved myself up, my entire back coated in reeking mud, and shouted every insult I knew.

And that’s how my first lesson in being “smart prey” ended.

Chapter Ten

I glared through the apartment lobby’s door, the glass reinforced with security bars. This morning’s downpour had let up a few hours ago and the pavement shone wetly.

Despite having an entire afternoon to cool off, I was still furious with Zylas for deliberately ambushing me so I’d fall into a mud-filled gully. He was angry too. During our shouting match—which had resumed the moment I’d gotten home and he could leave the infernus again—he’d declared I was too “zh’ūltis” to learn anything and he’d completely wasted his time.

Needless to say, I hadn’t taken that well.

Headlights blazed through the door and a boxy van pulled up outside the apartment. Someone in the passenger seat waved at me.

I stepped out into the cold wind. The van’s side door slid open, the interior light illuminating the mythics sitting on the bench seats. I climbed inside, surprised to find Zora on the middle bench, patting the empty seat beside her, instead of driving.

“Ready for this?” she asked as I fumbled for the seatbelt.

Her previous partner, the telekinetic Drew, rolled the door shut and settled back into his seat on the rear bench. The van rumbled into motion.

“I think so,” I answered, hoping I didn’t sound terrified. “What’s the plan, exactly?”

“First, let’s make sure we all know names here.” Zora gestured to the backseat. “You met Drew already. This is Laetitia, a hydromage.”

The tall woman smiled, teeth flashing against her dark complexion, her thin braids pulled into a high ponytail.

“And at the front are Darren and Cameron, offensive sorcerer and defensive apprentice sorcerer, respectively.”

Darren? My heart sank at the sight of the hulking bully from a few days ago—the one Zylas had slammed down on the guild’s bar—in the driver’s seat. In the passenger seat, his rangy buddy gave me a friendly-ish smile.

“I’m partnering with Robin,” Zora announced to the group. “Laetitia and Drew, and Darren and Cameron will make up the other pairs. Partners are responsible for each other, but we’ll all be sticking close together anyway.”

She leaned forward, elbows braced on her knees as Darren navigated the dark streets. “Now, this is a scouting mission. We’re here to confirm a vampire nest and where it is, not to engage or attempt an extermination.”

“Not even a little bit of exterminating?” Cameron asked plaintively.

“Not even a little. We’ll save the fun for the next round, which will be during the day.”

“Um,” I began uncertainly. “Can I ask … why are we doing this at night?”