I muted the crowd with a mental effort as I lashed out at the two of my friends. Two friends who – whether for good or bad – thought they needed to step out of my imagined shadow, or at least make everyone in town think so.

They thought I was trying to take over St. Louis? Whether they truly believed it or not, enough people did, and now here we were.

My whip crackled through a sudden cloud of black smoke where Raego had stood. My other whip struck only a cloud of embers as Alucard darted out of the way in a flash of golden light. I saw him zip to the other side of the ring, so I focused on the black cloud before me. From the depths of that shadow, a hulking figure suddenly appeared, black wings flaring wide as the dragon roared and then launched himself at me.

I laughed as I spun, flinging out a handful of dust.

Raego’s massive jaws snapped onto the dust and then his mouth flared wide as he gagged, trying to spit his black vapor – a thick, roiling fog that would turn me into an obsidian statue. I knew he could also spit fire, an almost liquid black flame, but I wasn’t concerned anymore.

Because thanks to my dust, he wouldn’t be doing much of either.

I flung my hands wide as he continued to gag and cough, still trying to spit flame while ignoring the searing pain in his mouth. A powder I had devised at Grimm Tech that essentially – when combined with saliva – turned to a gooey, waterproof paste.

Basically, I had slapped a big wad of bubble gum over his fire holes, or whatever it was that let a dragon spit flame.

Two flames from the flickering torches outside the ring suddenly zipped through the crowd, interrupting the cheers as the fireballs whipped past their faces, maybe even hitting a few of them if I was lucky. The fireballs struck my palms and then doubled in size before turning an icy blue.

I slapped them into Raego’s cheeks, gripping his massive head with both hands as the flame splashed over him, burning. Acrid smoke billowed up as Raego tried to scream. I dipped my head close and kissed him right on the snout before jumping back, laughing at his pain, embarrassment, and fury.

Which was when Alucard struck me like he was Helios running late to work.

I felt my ribs crack – a muted, popping sound – as I went cartwheeling through the air. I saw Alucard standing in front of Raego protectively. I managed to fling out my hands, summoning two clear whips – not elemental destructive power, but more like elastic cords – and threw them.

They cracked over Alucard’s shoulders, and I saw him grin.

But I hadn’t been aiming for Alucard. The clear whips hit Raego’s outstretched wings.

They latched on like anchors, halting my flight, and suddenly whipping me right back at the two opponents like a pebble in a slingshot. I held my legs up and released my whips, smiling as my boots lined up with Alucard’s stunned face.

I miscalculated and only managed to clip his jaw before my legs went wide and…

Well, I rode him to the ground with his face in my crotch. I think I’ve heard it called a tea bag, but I was moving too fast for it to be funny and the blow to the groin made my kidneys and back explode with inner fire. His back slammed into the earth, relieving the pressure somewhat as I sat on his chest, gripping his hair like a steering wheel.

Alucard gasped for breath – heh – as we slowed, struggling to get free. Raego suddenly towered over us, jaws wide to gobble up the tea-bagging wizard.

I threw myself clear, hobbling away on shaking legs as I tried to ignore my aching back and groin. Knowing that Alucard would be livid for making him look like an idiot and that I wouldn’t be fast enough to escape Raego’s teeth, I instinctively Shadow Walked to get out of the danger-zone and strike the black dragon from behind.

Whoopsies. Forgot about not Shadow Walking.

I was suddenly standing in that gray world of roiling black fog. And two of the Candy Skulls stood only ten feet away from me. This close, they towered head and shoulders over me. They cocked their heads in those fitful, jerking motions and three glass blades – like claws – erupted from the end of each sleeve where their hands should have been. Then in silent and awkward jolting movements, they drifted in to slice me into wizard tri-tips. Sweat popped out on my skin as I stared into those haunting skulls, the beauty of the painted masks distracting me like those beautiful predators in the wild. The flowers, whorls, and almost tribal designs in vivid blues, pinks, reds, and yellows seemed almost alive, writhing across the surface of the bone Calaveras. I was momentarily frozen in horror. It was like their gaze drew me in and bathed me in fear and self-loathing.

With great effort, I managed to lower my gaze, and felt my strength and willpower instantly return. I frantically scanned the shadow world for my opening and saw it.

Behind the Candy Skulls was an oval of shimmering, clear glass hovering in the air.

Hoping that glass could take me somewhere better than this place, I sprinted at them and ignited white blades before me – the only sound in this strange world seemed to echo like a cavern. I hadn’t wanted to use whips and possibly attach myself to whatever the fuck these things were. I slashed down and out, intending to slice them from clavicle to hip, or knock them clear of my path to the suspended glass.

My swords tore through them like a fire in a library, slicing through their bodies but not seeming to do them any lasting harm. They shifted away from me with the blow as if trying to diminish the impact, to roll with the punch.

Which was all I cared about. It gave me enough room to slip past them and dive face-first for the hanging glass, which I realized up close looked like a fogged window showing the Dueling Grounds. I felt heat as the Calaveras claws scored across the heels of my boots as my nose touched the hazy window.

I flew through it to the sound of shattering glass.

I twisted to hit the ground on my back, panting wildly from my fear of the other place. I scooted backwards on my ass, eyes latching onto the opening I had just used. In falling shards of translucent glass, I saw the Calaveras staring at me with heads cocked, but as those shards continued to fall, they simply evaporated to reveal the other side of the Dueling Grounds.

I heard the crowd still cheering as if nothing had happened.

Then a fist grabbed me by the back of my shirt collar and threw me across the ring.

I didn’t land on a soft mattress as I slowly rotated in the air.

My face landed on a black-scaled fist so hard I thought I heard a pow! sound effect before everything went white for a few moments. My vision slowly came back and I found myself on all fours, barely holding myself up.

“Stop,” I whispered, trying not to throw up. “Stop…”

“What is he saying?” I heard Alucard ask from the other side of the ring, his boots striking the ground as he came closer.

Raego, naked and in human form, suddenly stood before me. “I don’t know…”

“Candy…” I whispered desperately, trying to let him know that our fight didn’t matter. Needing to know if anyone else had seen what just happened. That other place.

“I think he called me Candy. Smart-mouthed asshole.”

“Is he concussed?” Alucard laughed. “That was a pretty solid blow he took to the jaw.”

I tried to shake my head. “Did… you see the… Candy Skulls?” I finally rasped, head slowly clearing and nearly able to somewhat raise my head.

“STOP!” Asterion bellowed, cutting off conversation. “The fight is over. A draw.”

I grunted, not giving two shits about the crowd or the fight as I stared at the Minotaur who was running my way, his boots seeming to make the ground shake. Achilles wore a frown as he watched from the sidelines, obviously just as surprised – and not pleased – with Asterion’s decision.

“Temple was done for!” someone in the crowd shouted out. Several chimed in their agreement. It sounded like it came from the group of dragons. I thought I saw Baron as I glanced over at them, but was too woozy to be sure. I definitely noticed the whites of Dirty Gerty’s teeth as she smiled at me. She was probably more upset than anyone, wanting to see her grandson make me look a fool in front of so many people.

Achilles, sensing that something was obviously amiss, turned a cold stare onto the crowd, silencing them in a heartbeat. “Myrmidons!” A dozen men in sleeveless black vests and black khakis suddenly melted out of the crowd, wielding spears as they formed a perimeter faster than they should have been able to do on such short notice. “The next person who challenges or comments on this fight will see what a spear through the throat feels like before they leave. Even though it’s not permanent, you will feel every sensation. And the same sensation for your next six visits to Fight Night.”

The crowd collectively snapped their mouths shut.

Achilles turned to Asterion and dipped his head, but his look was curious. The Minotaur helped me to my feet, watching me with concerned eyes. “You… saw them?” I asked.

His lips curled back. “I saw nothing. But whatever you think you saw must never be mentioned again,” he said carefully.

I frowned. “You know what they are?” I whispered, aware of Raego and Alucard both studying me. They kept their faces neutral so that none of the crowd sensed any camaraderie between us – if there was any, I wasn’t sure anymore – but their eyes danced with questions. Was this a stunt of mine or was something really wrong? Fights were very rarely called off, and I was pretty sure that the only draw I had ever seen was between Achilles and Leonidas earlier tonight.

“I know nothing. Neither do you. Neither do they.” He jerked his chin at the crowd. “I cannot say anything else. Can. Not.” He said, clipping the words with emphasis. “Whatever you think you saw is probably very dangerous.” He grimaced, and then, as if coming to a decision he didn’t like, he leaned closer as he guided me away, barely audible as he spoke. “The more who know, the more dangerous they will become. Awareness breeds more… of them.”

I blinked. What the living fuck was he talking about? He couldn’t tell me what he knew, and was warning me to not say a word to anyone? How the hell was I supposed to figure out what they were if I couldn’t ask anyone questions about them? The more people who knew, the more there would be next time? I needed to warn Tory and Callie – make sure they hadn’t told anyone.

“You took a nasty blow, Temple. Everything okay? You were doing very well for yourself, at first. Pity the fight had to be called off.” I glanced up at the new voice to find Achilles before me. I nodded, shaking off Asterion’s support as I struggled to show a strong face for the crowd that I sensed staring at me.

The crowd had seen me go from kicking ass to suddenly getting my ass kicked.

“How long was I gone?” I asked carefully.

Achilles cocked his head. “Gone? You did your teleporting thing. Maybe a fraction of a second?” he asked, glancing at Asterion. The Minotaur nodded, his face a blank mask.

“Right…” I said tiredly. It had been minutes, or at least one full minute. But… why was there suddenly a realm full of homicidal Candy Skulls when I tried to Shadow Walk? Was that why it was called Shadow Walking? Was there supposed to be some realm we had to pass through, and up until recently, we’d been somehow dodging it? Cheating the Candy Skulls of their free meals? “Must have tripped or used more magic than I thought at the beginning of the fight,” I said as an excuse. I glanced up to study the crowd with a quick sweep of my eyes. “You guys mind calling out the next fight? I’m sick of these assholes staring at me.”

Asterion nodded, whipping out his pad of paper and walking back to the center of the ring, calling out a name I didn’t recognize. Achilles studied me with a thoughtful frown before finally shrugging. “Get some sleep, Temple. You’re a hot mess.” Then he was walking away.

I glanced back to see Raego and Alucard watching me from across the ring. Their faces were emotionless. Then they were slipping back into the crowd. With a tired sigh, I shuffled out of the crowd, intending to catch my breath and clear my head in a lone section of bleachers. I couldn’t show weakness here, but I did want a freaking minute to relax.

I looked up to see two wolves staring at me.

Drake and Cowan. They weren’t smiling. “Look angry. Very, very angry,” Drake murmured, barely moving his lips – as if hoping to disguise the warning.

“That won’t be hard,” I muttered.

“We need to talk. Now, Temple. Gunnar demands it,” Cowan said in an angry tone.

I managed to keep the scowl on my face, even though I was suddenly very concerned. Gunnar wasn’t accessible right now. He was on his freaking honeymoon. And I couldn’t tell if these two were actually angry or just pretending to be.

“Lead the way, mutts.”