despite the coloring of their hair, i would never have mistaken him or the others for old men because they looked middle-aged and their hair shimmered with whatever gunk they used to keep it in place. as my gaze took in their faces, i realized they all looked remarkably similar. the last man exited the door and closed it behind him, standing with the others and staring at me-at us-across the couple hundred feet in between.

elyssa stopped as abruptly as i did. i backed up, keeping my eyes on the men ahead. the thud of hard-soled shoes pounding the cobblestones sounded behind us. i spun and saw more of the gray-suited men dropping from the top of a three-story building to our left. each one landed without a grunt or any hint of exertion. they straightened from the impact of landing flat on their feet, eyes focused on us. there were now six of them to either side. and they all looked identical down to their expressionless faces.

"how strong are you feeling?" she asked.

i clenched my fists, testing. "not very."

she looked at the sides of the alley. "we could hop back and forth, maybe get to the top of the building they jumped from."

"you probably can, but i can't."

"i'll carry you."

"you're so sweet."

one of the men pulled out a black tube and pressed a button. something silvery flashed toward us. elyssa shoved me aside and ducked. two tiny darts pinged against the concrete alley wall above her head. she moved toward me. stiffened and groped for her back. then she dropped to her knees, eyes wide with shock, and slumped to the ground.

"elyssa!" i screamed and scrabbled across the ground to her. i found a silver dart embedded in her back and plucked it out. "what did you do to her? what do you want?"

did these men work for underborn? trying to contact him had obviously been a huge mistake. the gray men didn't answer. didn't utter a word or a sound. they advanced on me like a squad of silent uncaring assassins, arms hanging unnaturally by their sides. i dug deep into my exhausted body, searching for any hidden wells of strength. lifting elyssa was a chore. i'd grown accustomed to everything feeling light but she felt like a sack of bricks in my arms in my current condition. there was no way i could dash past these people, much less haul my unconscious girlfriend with me.

i looked back toward the door where the first of them had emerged. they walked toward me, faces neutral and calm as though they'd just stepped out for a sunday stroll. the other group advanced in much the same way. no matter how many questions i hurled at them, they never once opened their mouths to answer. one of them raised a black tube and aimed it at me. this was it. i couldn't hope to dodge those darts.

a patch of black dropped from the three-story building where the second group of gray men had come from and landed behind them. silver flashed and the man nearest the back dropped wordlessly as his head rolled from his shoulders, face as emotionless as ever. the gray men turned, swords appearing in their hands, and met the figure in black. they moved so fast their swords were a blur, but the black figure met them all with graceful cuts and dodges. one of the gray men streaked toward their attacker, slashing downward. sparks flew as the sword met concrete. the figure in black had already run up the wall and flipped behind him, severing the gray man's head with a quick slash of the sword just as his feet hit the ground.

i realized with sick fascination not a single drop of blood came from the severed stump of the neck. what in the name of scooby doo were these things?

the other group of men rushed us. i grabbed elyssa under the armpits and dragged her with all my might back toward the alley exit, a hundred yards and an eternity away. i was going so slow i might as well have not been moving at all. the black figure struck the head from the last gray man in the second group and turned to face the others. i felt so helpless. so damned useless. anger churned like hot lava in my chest. what good was i, weak like this?

i propped elyssa against a wall and pulled knives from the sheaths on her thighs. those bastards weren't going to take me down without a fight. my fists clenched tight around the hilts and my stomach roiled as fury burned like a heat wave from my center to the tips of my toes. it felt like a pulse hammering in my head, the pain ratcheting up as my anger grew. i yelled out a war cry and charged.

the first gray man i reached swatted me like a gnat and i flew back, slamming against the wall and rolling. blood dripped from my elbows where i'd skinned them. i roared and pushed myself back up. agony stabbed into my forehead but i ignored the pain and rushed the attackers again. a gray man staggered back soundlessly as the black figure delivered a solid roundhouse to his face. i leapt, both daggers extended, and stabbed them into his back. the man didn't so much as grunt as both blades cut deep into his flesh. then he reached around and grabbed me.

twin chisels seemed to slam from inside my forehead and i felt my clothes tighten against my skin. i was manifesting, spawning into my demon form but i didn't care. i would do anything to protect elyssa. strength poured into me. i gripped the gray man's head and twisted. it made a sick popping noise and ripped off. i threw the head at another attacker. the black figure whirled and sliced the other man's head off before my projectile reached him. the last two gray men split up, one coming for me.

"come get me," i said, my voice deep, guttural, totally inhuman.

he did. i swung a fist and connected, sending him flying back against a wall.

"i'll teach you," i said in the deep voice, "to mess with me!" the last part came out in my normal, much punier voice and i felt all the strength leave me like air from a balloon as the gray man hurled himself at me, the neutral face never changing its expression once.

i slumped to the ground as my knees gave way. the gray man flew over me and crashed into the wall. cracks spider-webbed in the concrete where his head hit. before he could get back up, the black figure blurred across the few feet separating them and slashed downward, sending the gray man's head plunking onto the concrete. when it hit the ground, a tiny compartment opened behind his ear and a globe of light floated from within, sparkling, sputtering, and eventually flickering out, leaving a cold gray lump of what might have been clay.

two nubs, no longer than the tips of my pinkies, lay in my lap. i looked closer and realized they were teensy tiny little horns. apparently i didn't even have enough strength to go ape-feces on these guys and completely manifest. i was useless. so damned useless.

"are you okay?" asked a deep male voice.

i turned and looked at the black-garbed figure. he wore baggy black pants, a sleeveless billowing black shirt, and a hooded cloak shrouding his face. a black cloth covered his features from the nose down and dark sunglasses prevented me from seeing his eyes. his bare arms rippled with muscle, joining to his torso with thick, rounded shoulders. this dude was buff. he reached down a hand which i gripped, and pulled me to my feet then rushed over to elyssa's side and checked her head and her pulse.

he drew in a sharp breath. "she'll be okay."

"who are you?" i asked.

his head turned toward me. "i'm on your side, spawn." his voice was low and ominous and i got the impression having this guy on my side wasn't necessarily a good thing.

"why?"

he regarded me for a moment. "because i have to be."

"not because we're besties?"

"it is my duty. nothing more, nothing less."

"just because you're dressed in black doesn't give you the right to talk all mysterious. the way you handled that sword-" i shook my head as an image flashed into my mind's eye and i realized something.

i knew who this man was.

chapter 26

"you're the one who saved me from the moggy, aren't you?" i said to the man in black, wishing i could see more of his face and gauge his reaction. the first time i'd gone to stacey's hideout, one of her monstrous house cats incapacitated me and was about to use me as a pincushion when a flash of black and silver had beheaded the creature. my guardian angel, i'd called the mysterious figure. and this had to be him.

he stood and faced me. a month or so ago he would have towered over me, but i'd sprouted like a weed since then. if i was just over six feet, this guy was somewhere around six feet, five inches. maybe more. i'd grown some muscles since then but where i was lean, he was thick as a bull. as we faced each other, i could practically feel his glare through those sunglasses.

"i did." his voice was deep. almost too deep and unnatural.

"are you stalking me?" i almost shuddered at the thought. "what in the hell is going on? are you with the templars?"

his covered eyes regarded me for several seconds. "i cannot say."

"can't or won't?"

"can't." he folded his arms. "and won't."

frustration stoked the embers of my earlier anger though i was too tired to do much. i looked at the bodies of the gray men. not a one of them was bleeding, but some sagged like melting wax. "what are those things?"

"golems."

the term rang a bell though i didn't know right away what it meant. "what else can you tell me? why were these things trying to kill me? why are you following me? i'm sick of being in the dark, especially when it puts her in danger." i motioned toward elyssa.

he stiffened, fists clenching as though i'd just mortally insulted him. i could tell it cost him something to relax. "they were not here to kill you, only to capture you. as for the rest of your questions, suffice it to say some entities wish to take you off the board while others want you to remain. i am on the side of the latter, but i won't be around to help you every time the others make a move. i suggest you use greater caution in the future. perhaps employ your felycan and sorcerer companions to assist you." he nodded his head toward elyssa. "keep her far from you if you truly care about her."

"my girlfriend is pretty badass," i said, "but those things knocked her out first. otherwise she would've kicked their gray butts back to wherever they came from and you could've hung around on the roof eating corndogs or whatever the heck you were doing up there." i glanced back at the bodies for a moment and turned around in time to see a patch of black cloak as it vanished atop the roof of the three-story building. "come back and visit any time," i shouted after him before cursing soundly under my breath.