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flame began to emanate from his body, a roar made me turn. Out of the bushes, came Morio. He leaped, rolling onto the ground as he caught hold of a bloatworgle, who was making a run directly for Chase and me. Fuck—a
bloatworgle
, too? They were nasty-assed demons.
    Morio, in his full youkai form, was a formidable sight and always took my breath away when I saw him. He landed a nasty swipe across the bloatworgle’s back, slowing the demon down.
    The bloatworgle was gangly, with a distended belly, and his skin was tough as leather hide. He opened his mouth and a belching gust of fire came shooting out to engulf Morio, who yelped and jumped back. But Smoky had noticed, and he thrust himself between Morio and the bloatworgle, slashing at the demon’s face. He landed a direct hit, ripping through the eyes and lips, leaving the creature shredded and bleeding.
    Morio did the stop-drop-and-roll move and put out the stray sparks that were threatening to ignite against his fur. By the time he’d leaped to his feet again, Smoky had the bloatworgle down on the ground and was pummeling him. One last punch and the demon bit the dust.
    Shade managed to do something to the bone-walkers—I wasn’t sure what because my attention had been on Smoky and Morio, but they turned to dust, crumbling to the ground. As I turned to Chase to ask how he was doing, a shriek shattered the air and a spirit—fully visible—went speeding past, looking like it was being dragged by its hair.
    What the—
    Before any of us could do anything, the spirit vanished from sight, and then a rumbling sound filled the air and the soil of the graveyard moaned—as tombstones toppled over and shattered into pieces.
    Chase went down as the headstone he was leaning on crumbled beneath him. I tried to help him, but the ground roiled beneath my feet, and I fell to my knees, the rumbling so loud that I couldn’t hear myself think. Shade and Morio were on the ground, too, clasping their hands to their ears.
    Moaning softly, I winced as the sound grew louder. It sounded like a freight train, or a vast army on the run, thundering through the cemetery. As I bent over, pressing my hands to my ears to muffle the noise, a sucking sound joined the mix and I looked up in time to see spirits rising from a number of the nearby graves. Some looked surprised, as if they had been slumbering and were now just wakened. Others looked angry and were resisting, and still others, confused.
    “What’s going on?” I screamed over the noise, trying to be heard.
    Smoky and Delilah looked perplexed. Chase looked about ready to pass out. He was either dead tired or in massive pain.
    “What’s happening? Why are you shouting?” Delilah started to ask, and then she, too, bent over, head to knees. “Oh, hell! My ears!”
    The spirits hovered in the air above their graves and then—with a collective wail—were sucked away by some invisible vacuum, into a shimmering vortex that formed in the middle of the air. With one last piercing shriek that almost sent me into a coma, they disappeared, and with them vanished the glowing light. The graveyard fell unnaturally silent, and we were alone in the darkness.
    Perhaps this is as good a place as any to introduce myself. I’m Camille D’Artigo, and I’m half-Fae, half human. With my two sisters, I came from Otherworld. We belong to the Otherworld Intelligence Agency—well, actually, now we
run
the Earthside division of the OIA. We were originally shunted over here ostensibly because our half-human heritage skews our powers at times, but I suspect there was another reason—a matter of revenge aimed directly at me. I’m the eldest, and I’m a witch and priestess of the Moon Mother.
    I have three husbands—yes, three gorgeous, sexy hunks—and we’re as happy as four peas in a pod. Or we would be if it weren’t for the demonic war we’re facing. Smoky is half white dragon, half silver dragon; Trillian’s one of the dark and charming Fae