“Since when do the Horsemen get involved with human affairs?” the imp called. Wind barreled down the alley and I clung to Julian as he turned towards it. Overhead, a dark cloud covered the moon. Thunder roared as a light drizzle broke out.

“What we do doesn’t concern you, imp,” Julian sneered. He and Allistair had that cold-arrogance-thing down pat. I didn’t feel the need to tremble with Allistair, because he was just condescending towards humans no matter what. Julian was different. There was a chill that followed, like death dancing on the wind.

“Actually,” the imp grinned, “it does, since your mate killed half my men and took my eye as a warning.” He stepped into the light of the single lamp that hung over a door in the alley.

One eye was glowing red, just as I remembered it. The other was an empty socket, horribly scarred by what looked like knife marks…Laran literally cut his eye out. All for touching me.

On any other day, that thought might make me a bit queasy. Today, I could not bring myself to feel much of anything, except the small bit of self-preservation I still had that wanted to get the fuck away from here.

This was the part where Julian was supposed to say he had nothing to do with it, and let bygones be bygones.

“You touched a she-demon he laid his claim on,” Julian replied.

I froze. What the actual fuck? That’s not what you were supposed to say!

Apparently, the imp thought so as well, because an evil smile that promised very bad things slipped onto his face.

“The very she-demon you’re holding now, if memory serves me,” the imp commented, his eye dropping from Julian to me. I regarded him warily, wishing no part in this. It was too little, too late.

“She is under our protection. Anyone that thinks to harm her will die a very slow and painful death by my hand. Don’t try to cross me, imp. If you thought War’s punishment was hard, you will find that Death is much more permanent.” Julian’s words were brittle. He sounded confident, but I could sense the worry pulsing through him. He may be able to hide it from them, but I knew the truth, and it didn’t bode well for me.

“Protection? Your she-demon glamored herself from him and was practically begging to be fucked. I might still oblige when we’re finished with you.” His gaze roamed over me, far too heated for my liking. “Although, I am curious as to what one single girl could do to provoke the protection of the Four Horsemen. I’ve been hearing some rumors out of Hell. Interesting rumors. Kind of make a demon wonder…”

Julian bristled against the imp’s accusations. He wasn’t alone.

“She isn’t your concern, though, is she?” Julian asked. I don’t know if the imp could tell how hard he was trying to divert their attention, but I sure as hell could. He wasn’t panicking by any means, but worry was going head to head with his urge to kill them where they stood.

I was just hoping he would find a way to get us out of here.

“It’s because of her your mate did this to me,” he said as he pointed at his eye. “I’ll think of a suitable punishment when we’re done here. If she is who I think she is, my master will be very interested. Perhaps enough to earn me a promotion, after I use her to lure out the other three.” I gripped the collar of Julian’s jacket to hide my trembling.

The imp whistled as he backed away and the demons in his liege started toward us. Off to the side, one in particular caught my attention.

The bouncer from the club.

I opened my mouth, but before I could say anything, someone lunged. Julian kicked them out of the way and took another one down, but there was no way he was going to win this fight if was holding me.

“Put me down,” I said as he dodged a punch.

“Not happening,” he grumbled. That was before some of them pulled out knives. He had six demons in front of him, not including one-eye and the pussies that stood watching. Probably trying to make sure I don’t escape.

My voice was barely a whisper. “Damn it, Julian. I’m dead weight. I can barely hold onto you. Put me down, or we’re both dead.” It only took one swipe of a knife and him getting stabbed in the arm for him to listen. Without turning away from our attackers, he swung me behind him.

“Run to the end.” I took two steps before dizziness began to overtake me. Damn drugs were still in my system. I managed another two steps before I fell sideways into the wall and collapsed to the ground, dragged down by the heaviness I still couldn’t shake.

Dirt smeared my face and hands, and I took a trembling breath. My teeth chattered in the cold and rain. Thank the Devil I couldn’t get pneumonia. Then again, maybe a sickness induced death would be kinder than whatever the imp had planned.

Julian was fending quite well for himself, given the bodies that were piling up around him, but there was one problem: the imp had thought ahead and brought scores of demons. For every body that dropped, there was another one waiting to take its place.

Even so, Julian let out an animalistic roar, plunging his hand through a demon’s chest, pulling out its still beating heart. My mouth popped open, and in that exact moment, his eyes met mine.

I wish I could say that time stood still, but it was quite the opposite. He had made that one fatal mistake: he took his eyes off the fight.

I saw it coming, but there was nothing I could say to stop it.

A demon wrapped a cord around his neck.

Another gutted him. Again. And again. And again.

Another bashed his knees in with a crow bar.

I watched in horror. I couldn’t look away as they surrounded him. They had overpowered him so completely, I couldn’t see anything of Julian at all. It was only then that the imp came out of the shadows. He took slow, steady steps toward me. The bouncer from the club fell in line with him.

My heart pounded as I tried to scramble back, stumbling as I searched for false security in the shadows. The imp gave me a lazy smile as he squatted down in front of me.

“Hello, dollface.” I glared up at him. “Now, now. No need to be so hateful. We were getting along rather well at our last meeting, before your friends did this.” He turned his face so that I was staring into the empty eye socket. “Fortunately for you, I need that face to be pretty in case I’m wrong and my master doesn’t want you. Can’t sell you off with a missing eye, can I? That’s why I have my friend here.”

His ink colored hair blew with the wind, water dampening it and causing the ends to stick to his forehead, converging around that terrible scar. He snapped his fingers once, and the bouncer stepped in front of him, blocking my vision. The bouncer glanced back and forth between me and the imp. It didn’t take a genius to see he was nervous. Clearly not nervous enough, if he was going along with whatever the red-eyed shit had planned.

“What do you want?” I said in a raspy voice. The imp smiled, and it would have looked genuine, if not for the violent sounds echoing behind him. I didn’t dare to look that way, fearing what I might see.

“You can talk. Color me impressed. The drugs he gave the kid should have knocked you out cold,” he said.

My heart skipped a beat.

“You gave him that?” I asked, recalling the out-of-body experience. If that’s what it did to a demon…that shit would kill a human at its most potent.

“No, I had my mate here do that. He was going to give them to you, but then your boyfriend showed up and had no problem using them himself. Said he didn’t care what it took to have you.” The imp let out a callous laugh. The scars distorting his once handsome face.

“How’d you even find me?” I breathed in a grated whisper. I just needed to keep them talking until the others arrived. My chances of surviving this night were decreasing with every minute that passed.

“Wasn’t that hard, dollface. All my men saw you last Friday in my bar. I gave them all a hefty dose of what was left of my stash after War came through. Told them if they saw you, use it, and call me.” Well, that answered that question. At least Moira was safe from all this. Small comfort, as it was.

The ground shook as something let out a terrifying roar. I’d never heard anything so primal or powerful in all my life. Around us, the dead rose up and began attacking the demons still living. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen, but I knew without a doubt who caused it.

“Julian,” I whispered.

He was a necromancer. No. He was the necromancer. As if the Horsemen of Death wasn’t scary enough.

The imp made a motion with his hand, and the bouncer walked forward. Sharp pains pricked the tips of my fingers as I tried to scramble away from him. He reached out and back-handed me across the face.

I didn’t even register the pain as my body hit the pavement. My mouth tasted of copper and grit. I turned just in time to see him reach for me again and I spat in his face. Blue blood, mucus and bits of gravel hit his cheek.

“You little bitch,” he said. He reached out and tried to grab me, but I planted my foot in his sternum. It was a feeble attempt; my legs had no strength. He let out a growl and threw my leg to the side, pinning me to the asphalt.

Panic ate at me as his hand wrapped around my jaw and squeezed. He reached in his back pocket and pulled out a small baggie. Using his teeth, he ripped the top open and grinned down at me.

“You see these?” he asked me. I didn’t dare open my mouth. “I gave your boyfriend two, and you still can’t walk. What do you think another two will do?”

I sure as hell wasn’t about to find out.

He tightened his grip on my jaw, pressing his fingers in to try to get me to open. I strained against his hold, thrashing as best as I could. He squeezed harder.

The blood in my mouth flowed and the first trickle of pain finally hit me.

Followed by anger.

I scratched and clawed at his arms, but he only squeezed tighter. My jaw popped, and a sudden, sharp pain filled me. I gasped.

Before I could stop him, he dumped the contents of the baggie straight into my mouth and closed my jaw shut. The pills fizzled within seconds.

It was only a matter of time.

Terror and adrenaline swept through me at the prospect of being taken. My heart pounded harder and faster, and my palms sweat. The rain pelted my face as the thunder roared.

And then the burning started.

A conflagration that couldn’t be controlled, a raging inferno tore through my chest. It was icy and hot and electric and grounding all at the same time. It was everything I’ve ever felt, and nothing at all.

It was a fire so hot, it felt cold.

And somewhere, deep inside me, a door opened.

The beast, my beast, took one look outside of her prison walls, and decided she wasn’t going to be confined again.

I screamed against the pain that ripped through me, swallowing the mixture of blood and drugs as I did. The demon that sat on top of me gave me a cruel smile as he moved to hold my arms down. The beast within surged forward, and my screaming came to an abrupt halt. His hands turned black as coal. He jumped away from me, but it was already too late. A devil wearing my face smiled up at him.