Lea jumped back, letting out a little shriek. She recovered quickly, whirling on us. Loose gravel crunched under her sneakers. "Seriously," she hissed. "Why am I not surprised to find you two hanging out with the trash?"

Caleb stepped out from behind me. "That's real original, Lea. Come up with that one all on your own?"

"What are you doing out here?" I pushed away from the dumpster and the godsawful smell.

Her lips curled at the corners. "What are you doing?"

"She's probably sneaking back from hooking up with one of the Guards." Caleb craned his neck as he kept a wary eye on the darkness.

"I am not!" she screeched, startling both of us. "I hate when you guys say crap like that! I'm not a whore!"

I raised my brows. "Well, that's totally up for-"

Lea's hands slammed into my chest, knocking me back a few steps. Catching myself before I tumbled into bags of garbage, I dropped the tote bag on the dirty ground, and then threw myself at her. My fingers brushed her silky strands just as Caleb wrapped his arm around my waist and hauled me back.

"Oh, gods, come on." Caleb gritted his teeth. "We don't have time for this."

"You freaking pushed me?" I reached for her again, hands coming up empty. "I'm going to rip out every strand of your hair!"

Lea squinted as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. "What are you going to do about it, you little freak? Break my nose again? Whatever. You get into another fight, you're out of here."

I laughed. "You want to test out that theory?"

She smirked, giving me the middle finger. "That's probably what you want. Then you could go hang out with your daimon friends."

"You're such a bitch!" I considered knocking Caleb down just to get my hands around her skinny, tanned neck. He must have suspected as much, because his grip tightened. "I'm sorry about what happened to your parents, okay? I'm sorry that my mom had something to do with it, but you don't have to be such a-"

Footsteps at the mouth of the alley silenced us. Turning in Caleb's arms, my heart sank. A female Sentinel stood there, watching us. Her long blonde hair was pulled back tightly, giving her face a sharp, angular look. In the weak light, her eyes looked like two black, empty sockets. A shiver coursed down my spine, heightening my senses.

Caleb groaned, releasing me. I straightened my shirt while I shot Lea a nasty look. I held her a hundred percent responsible for us getting busted. If she hadn't been out here, slinking around, then we wouldn't have been held up. We'd already be inside, shoving my bag full of soda.

"I know this looks bad, but-"

"They were totally sneaking around," Lea cut Caleb off, planting her hands on her hips.

I looked at her, wanting to smack her upside the head. "And what the hell are you doing, exactly?"

The Sentinel cocked her head to the side, her lips spreading in a tight smile that showed no teeth. I recognized her then. It was Sandra, the Sentinel who'd come to my window the night I'd screamed in my sleep.

Lea glanced at us, eyes wide. "Okay. Weird," she murmured loud enough for only us to hear. She folded her arms and cocked her head. "It really stinks back here, okay?" she said in probably her snootiest voice ever. "So can we get this over with quickly?"

Caleb choked on his laugh.

Sandra's head turned toward him as she reached down, unhooking the Covenant dagger. Her fingers circled the hilt of the blade, her eyes still fastened on Caleb.

"Uh..." Caleb stepped back. His expression told me he wanted to laugh, but knew better. "No need to bring a dagger into this. We were just sneaking around."

"Yeah, we're happy half-bloods, totally daimon-free." Lea sent me a sly glance. "Well, two of us are."

"I'm going to seriously hurt you," I snapped, glaring in her direction.

Lea rolled her eyes and turned back to the Sentinel. "I have nothing to do-oh, my gods!"

"What?" I followed Lea's open-mouthed, horrified stare.

Sandra wasn't alone. Behind her stood three daimon pures, their ghoulish faces marked by dark veins and empty eye sockets.

I almost didn't believe what I was seeing. My brain tried to propel me into motion. The startled gasp we'd heard earlier and the Sentinel's strange behavior suddenly made sense. There were no visible marks on her, but I knew beyond a doubt she was a daimon-maybe even the daimon behind the attack on the young pure weeks ago. But how had she not been checked? The mystery of that would have to wait.

"Oh, man," I whispered.

"We so picked the wrong night to sneak around." Caleb's lanky body tensed and coiled.

One of the daimon pures stepped forward, not even bothering to use elemental magic to conceal itself. Which was strange to me, but then again, I wasn't a daimon expert. "Two half-bloods and..." He sniffed the air. "Something else. Oh, Sandra, excellent work."

Gods, were Seth's Apollyon cooties rubbing off on me? Now they could smell me?

"They talk?" Lea gasped, sounding as if the knowledge horrified her. She'd never seen a daimon, let alone talked to one.

"A lot," responded Caleb.

The daimon pure cocked his head to the side. "Should we kill them?"

Sandra, who was still staring at Caleb, raised her dagger. "I really don't care. I've waited long enough, so one of them is all mine."

His laugh sounded twisted. "You'd need more than just one if you bag a half, Sandra. They're nothing like pures, but the girl is... different."

"We've already killed the Guards at that bridge." The other daimon's gaze slithered over Lea and me, his mouth spreading in what appeared to be a smile. All I saw was jagged teeth. "You could've got some aether then. Kill the boy. We'll take these two with us."

My stomach turned over in revulsion. I pulled from deep inside of me, forcing the nearly overwhelming terror down. Fight daimons without titanium? Crazy and suicidal, but there still had to be Guards and Sentinels patrolling-there had to be. They'd hear us and they would come.

That is, if these four hadn't already killed them all. But I couldn't let myself believe that, because I knew Aiden and Seth were out there somewhere, and they wouldn't have gone down on a night like this-not a night when Caleb and I'd just wanted to grab some soda and watch movies with Olivia.

Lea bumped into me, her chest rising and falling quickly. "We are so screwed."

"Maybe." I dipped down and grabbed a lid off a garbage can. Straightening, I reached over and squeezed her arm. I heard her sharp intake of air, and then felt her body stiffen. I knew she was doing the same thing I did, calling on instinct and years of training. I let go of her arm.

Caleb shifted in front of me. "When there's an opening, make a run for it."

I didn't take my eyes off the daimons. "I'm not leaving you."

As those words left my mouth, the daimon pures flew at us.

CHAPTER 12.

WHEN I SAY THEY FLEW, I WASN'T KIDDING.

I dipped down as the daimon swung at my head. I shot up under his arm, slamming my fist into his throat, hearing the sickening crunch as the cartilage gave way. He fell back from me, clutching his throat and wheezing.

"Dammit!" I heard Caleb yell, and then a body hit the ground. Panicked, I searched the alley and let out a sigh of relief when I saw Caleb standing over a daimon.

Lea spun on her heel, hitting the daimon in the chest. He staggered back, and she kicked him again. Hell, she was quick, sure-footed, and damn good. The daimon she fought didn't have a chance to recover from her blows. She kept landing them.

Flipping the trash can lid over, I watched the daimon with the crushed larynx climb to his feet. I whacked him over the head, and then inspected the nice dent his skull had left behind. Not too bad. I caught the one daimon who hadn't spoken upside the head. It was kind of like playing Whac-A-Mole.

Except the quiet one swung back, clamping down on my shoulder. He wretched me forward. Stumbling, I dropped the lid as I tried to yank myself free. The daimon latched onto my other arm and pulled harder, sending darts of pain through my shoulders. I dug my feet in, but I inched across the gravel.

Behind him, Lea sprinted forward and launched herself at the daimon. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she grabbed his head and twisted. Bones crunched and gave. The daimon released his hold and hit the ground, twitching in a messy heap.

"Damn, Buffy," I said, eyes wide. Part of me couldn't believe she'd intervened-and saved my life. "Thanks. I owe you."

Lea sent me a wild grin. "We need to make a run for it-"

A strong current of air hit her from behind, slamming her against the wall. She slid down, rolling onto her side and moaning.

"Lea!" I started toward her, but the daimon Sentinel cut me off. Breathing harshly, I skidded to a stop. Caleb was struggling with the daimon who had sent Lea flying, but the daimon half consumed my world. Fighting them-especially one trained as a Sentinel-was nothing like battling daimon pures.

And this daimon half knew it.

Smiling coldly, she stepped forward. "It's time to stop playing, little girl. You can't beat me."

Ice drenched my veins. Her hand struck out, catching me in the chest. I saw nothing but flashing white light when I hit the ground. Sharp gravel cut into my palms as I rocked onto my feet, lightheaded and stumbling.

Lea climbed to her feet and rushed the daimon half. I wanted to press stop and hit the rewind button. I couldn't move fast enough. I couldn't scream loud enough. And maybe, if I'd had a do-over, I could've stopped Lea. But everything was moving and changing with incredible speed.

Lea swung at the daimon half, her fist ramming the half's chin. It knocked the daimon half's head back, but that was about all. She slowly turned back to Lea, catching Lea's second throw. She twisted Lea's arm, and the sound of bones shattering overwhelmed the sound of the blood pounding in my temples. I shot forward, but I couldn't get to her.

Time... there wasn't enough time in the world.

Lea paled, but she didn't scream. Not a sound, and I knew she had to be in pain. She didn't even fall, didn't even flinch. Not even when the half daimon raised her arm, Covenant dagger in hand.

But Caleb was like lightning running past me, full of rage and purpose. He grabbed Lea by the waist, breaking the daimon's hold and tossing her out of the path of the dagger.

And the dagger found a new home.

A boy and a girl, one with a bright and short future...

"No!" The scream tore from my throat, from my soul.

The blade sank deep into Caleb's chest, all the way to the hilt. He stared down at his chest, staggering back. The front of his shirt looked like someone had thrown black paint on it, soaking it.

I wrapped my arms around his waist just as he started to fall. "Caleb! No. No! Caleb, look at me!"

He opened his mouth, but no words came out. His weight carried us both to the cold, dirty ground. Those bright blue eyes dulled, fixed on some unseen point.

"No," I whispered, brushing damp strands of hair off his forehead. "No no no. This isn't supposed to happen. We were just getting soda. That's all. Please! Caleb, wake up."

But he didn't wake up. Some part of my brain that was still functioning told me that people who died didn't wake up. They never woke up again. And that Caleb was dead. He was gone before he even hit the ground. Pain-so sharp and so real-cut through me, taking away a chunk of my soul.

The universe ceased to exist. There were no daimons, no Lea. There was just Caleb-my best friend, my partner in dysfunction, the only person who got me. My shaky fingers slipped over his boyishly shaped cheeks to his neck, to where his pulse no longer beat. A piece of my world ended just then, gone forever with Caleb. I pulled him into my lap, pressing my cheek against his. I thought that maybe, if I held him long enough and wished hard enough, all of this would be just another nightmare. That I'd wake up, safe in my bed, and Caleb would still be alive.

Hands delved deep into my hair, wrenching me backwards. I lost my grip on Caleb and fell onto my back. Stunned and vastly empty, I stared up at the daimon. She'd been a half-blood-once a Sentinel-sworn to kill daimons. Not their own kind.

She gripped my head, slamming it back against the concrete. I didn't even feel it. Dark rage filled me. It rushed through my system, so potent that I tumbled over the edge. She would die, and it would hurt.

Seizing the sides of her face, I shoved my thumbs into her eyes. She let go, shrieking and pulling at my hands. Someone was screaming and screaming... and I pushed harder. Tears and blood mingled, streaking down my face. I couldn't stop. All I could see was her shoving the blade into Caleb's chest.

Pain was everything. I had no idea if it was physical or mental. It swamped me in waves and waves of hurt. And then the daimon flew backward and someone dropped down beside me. Firm, strong hands caught my wrists in a gentle grasp and hauled me to my feet. I caught the familiar scent of sea and burning leaves.

"Alex, calm down. I've got you," Aiden said. "Calm down."

It was me who was screaming, and making a terrible sound that was so final, so shattering. And I couldn't stop. Aiden flipped me around, pressing me against the muck-covered wall. He whirled on his heel, slamming his blade deep into the chest of a daimon.

I slid down, turning to the side. The daimon half edged along the very same wall.

Blood ran in rivets down her face from her damaged eyes, but she could still sense me. Blue light erupted, briefly swallowing everything around me. The daimon half flew backwards, striking the ground beside Caleb. Screams filled the air-as did the smell of burning flesh.

Then arms were around me, lifting me to my feet. The moment his hands brushed mine, I knew it was Seth. He half-dragged, half-carried me out from the narrow alley behind the dining hall and into the darkness of the quad. I fought him the entire way, throwing punches and clawing. Sentinels and Guards rushed past us, but they were too late.

They were too late.

When Seth let go, I tried moving past him, but he grabbed my shoulders. "I can't leave Caleb like that! Let go!"

Seth shook his head, his amber eyes luminous in the darkness. "We're not going to leave him there, Alex. We wouldn't-"

I punched him in the stomach. He grunted, but did little else. "Then you get him! Get him out of there!"

"I can't-"

I hit him again. Seth'd had enough. He caught my wrists in one hand and held them between us. "No! You have to let me get him! You don't understand! Please-" My words broke off in a sob.

"Stop it, Alex. We will not leave Caleb's body behind the dining hall. You need to calm down. I need to make sure you're okay." When I didn't answer, he swore under his breath. I felt his fingers against the back of my head. They were quick and gentle. "Your head is bleeding."

I couldn't respond. Even though my eyes were open and Seth was in front of me, all I saw was the shock on Caleb's face. He hadn't seen it coming.

Neither had I.

"Alex?" Seth's arms eased around me.

The world started to unravel some more. "Seth?" I whispered. "Caleb is gone."

He murmured something as he brushed his fingers over my face, wiping away tears that continued to fall. I didn't speak again, not for some time.