Demon Forged

offer him a glimpse into that realm through any mirror.
    But Alejandro thought it was not just one human boy and his friend—there had been others that led them here. If Ames-Beaumont had not been friends with Lilith, he’d never have been accidentally teleported to the Chaos realm with Selah. If Ames-Beaumont had never cared for his friends, he’d never have allowed his blood to be used to send a horde of nosferatu into the Chaos realm. If Ames-Beaumont had never been friends with Castleford, the vampire would never have met Savi—and while trying to save her, discovered the combination of symbols that were tied to his blood and made a portal between Earth and Chaos.
    And without friends, the secret of Ames-Beaumont’s blood would never have leaked out. Rael and Anaria would never have known to come for him.
    Where that had led them, however, Alejandro saw only what Irena did: here.
    Here was atop an Arctic ice sheet, hundreds of miles from anything human. But its isolation wasn’t the primary reason they’d chosen this spot; the unending winter night was.
    Once he returned here, Ames-Beaumont couldn’t open the portal without a psychic connection to his partner, Savitri; Savitri couldn’t help him unless she was awake and holding her psychic shields open. This far north, where the sun wouldn’t rise for another week, Savitri could remain awake until the Guardians’ mission was completed.
    Once, Michael could have used his sword as an anchor to the realm and teleported the Guardians to Chaos without Ames-Beaumont’s and Savitri’s assistance, but the powerful weapon now rested in Belial’s hands.
    Unfortunately. If Michael could have taken the weapon with him into Chaos, the sword’s value would have been immeasurable—as enormous as the value of the lives it would probably save.
    And if Irena could, she’d have probably made a thousand of them.
    He looked at her. Had she ever tried to replicate it? They had once seen a sword almost identical to it—Zakril’s sword. But that one hadn’t had any of the other weapon’s power. “What was the difference in Michael’s sword?”
    Irena hesitated, as if uncertain. Could she not describe it, or had she never felt it?
    “Did you never try to sense the bronze with your Gift?”
    “I did.” She touched her forehead. “I woke up with blood coming from my nose and ears. I did not try again.”
    “That’s what happens to me.” Drifter came up beside them, towering over Irena. “My apologies for listening in—couldn’t help it. But that blood . . . that’s what happens when I use my Gift to bust through the lock on the shielding spell. Except it’ll burst all the vessels in my eyes, too.”
    Irena smiled. “Perhaps it did mine, but I could not see it.”
    Drifter nodded. Faint worry lined his eyes. “It’s a shame we can’t make another like it. It’d be right handy.”
    Alejandro tensed for the barest moment when Jake suddenly appeared in front of them. Christ. The young Guardian would end up with a sword through his heart if he made a habit of that.
    Or a knife. Irena vanished the weapon in her hand, shaking her head.
    Jake only looked a little chagrined. “Okay, so we don’t have Michael’s sword. What about anvils? Big ones. We can just drop ’em right on their heads, knock ’em out of the sky.”
    Irena gave Jake a look. To amuse her, Alejandro said, “The dragons, the nephilim, or the nosferatu?”
    Her mouth dropped open in disbelief, and she stared up at him. Her eyes narrowed when she realized he was joking. Her gaze promised retribution.
    With a grin, Jake said, “Any of them.”
    “I dropped a truck on a nephil once,” Drifter said. “It mostly just shrugged it off.”
    Irena glanced up at him, frowning, then settled on Jake. Alejandro knew she debated between demonstration and telling—which was rarely as effective. But if a demonstration went badly this close to a fight, the shields and determination they’d all built out of fear might weaken.
    She settled for forcing Jake to figure it out himself. “Why didn’t I drop iron blocks on the nephilim at my forge?”
    Alejandro watched the young Guardian’s expression sharpen and the humor turn to speculation. Jake had a fine brain behind that mouth—he just had to use it.
    “Because if they managed to catch the block, they’d whip it back at you—or use it for a shield,” Jake said.
    “Yes. Never give your enemy something that they can use as a weapon against