I assumed there had to be a person detonating it, so the first thing I looked for was somebody in one of those Templar jackets.

I saw three of them, but I couldn’t tell which of them might have the bomb. And the world seemed a little off.

What did the bombs even look like? I didn’t know. And I felt as if something was…

…no, I realized. Somebody had put out warnings. Maybe, even probably, my mother. Everyone who could was running in the right direction.

Away.

But that wouldn’t help those who couldn’t run. And it wouldn’t help the mortals who could be harmed, the ones vulnerable.

I felt my heart rate elevate. I felt in real danger for the first time. Which one of them had the detonator.

Then all three of them turned and saw me. They seemed to be the only people who did. It was as if my stealth mode was on overtime.

It probably was. I didn’t want anyone seeing this, I really didn’t.

My phone rang. I ignored it. I didn’t have time to answer. I knew it was Seb, but I literally didn’t have time to answer him.

It popped into voice mail. Better…because now I was being charged by two of them.

That meant the third had the detonator. “Don’t bother. She’ll be cleansed with the rest of them.”

“You need to stop this.” They did hesitate, but they kept coming. I grabbed the arm of one of them, let her spin past me and back. She stumbled to the ground. “You don’t know what you’re messing with.”

“You just don’t want to die, demon.”

“I won’t.” I felt the mist swirl around me again. “But do you realize that if anyone dies in the moment you let off those bombs, they’ll be destroyed too? Do you even know what your weapons do?”

“There are always casualties in a war.” She was older. She was higher ranking, I suspected. More important.

She was the one I had to convince. “A war you started.” I pushed the other one to the side, strode towards her. “A war I’m willing to risk my life to stop.”

“Who are you?”

“Still working that out, but there are people in this city that are under my protection.”

I felt a sense of alarm, of danger not to me. I had to ignore it, but it took everything in me not to whirl, to run towards that sense. Kanesha. Kanesha was in danger.

What could I do about it? Nothing. She would be in more danger if they did this.

That was the detonator. If she pressed it, the bomb went off.

No. It was worse. If she released it. She’d programmed the bloody thing on a deadman’s. Mother? I thought.

I see it.

Any bright ideas?

She wasn’t here, she was just linked to me. Working with me. Through me. I didn’t mind.

One.

I nodded. I saw it clearly…but my timing would have to be perfect. She started to lift her finger.

I moved with all the speed I had, grabbing the detonator away from her…and pressing down on the button. She stared.

“I’m not a demon. I’m a goddess,” I explained. “You don’t understand the difference, but you can’t beat me.”

Then I took off running. But if I let go, every one of those bombs would go off.