Brighid's Mark by Cate Morgan

another deal if I have to.”
    Callie exhaled. The constriction around her heart eased a little. “I was worried this was temporary.”
    Liam cocked his head, smiling, as he smeared a light coat of salve along a burn mark on her jaw. “What was temporary? This?”
    When he kissed her, every muscle in her body immediately softened, relaxed. She had been beaten, burned and betrayed. Sometimes a girl just needed to be kissed.
    “You’re staying?”
    They pulled apart. Chase stood in the weak light offered by the open second story windows, a duffel bag hanging from one hand, shotgun in the other, braced against his shoulder.
    Callie stood and limped to meet him halfway across the courtyard, but didn’t come closer. “I have to choose.”
    “Who are you kidding, Callie? You made a deal with the Loa. You’ve already made your choice.”
    “You made a Crossroads bargain?” Donal exited the building, grasping a supply box from which a bottle of whiskey protruded in one arm. His eyes were wide. “Why, Callie?”
    “For Eva,” she said quietly. “And the people of this city who are down a guardian.” She swallowed, heart thundering. She could feel the confrontation building. Now would be the moment she would learn the truth.
    Donal’s eyes widened still further. Chase dropped his duffel and brought his shotgun round to ready position. Callie whipped around.
    Liam stood a few feet behind her. His stance seemed perfectly relaxed, arms crossed. But the hunter in Callie sensed otherwise. His head was lowered slightly, a secret smile on his face. He was a predator, scenting her out.  
    His eyes ignited molten gold with internal fire.
    “Yshotha.” The realization hissed out of her.
    Callie stepped forward, forcing her trembling knees into a semblance of stability. She had no sword, no weapon of any kind. Except the puzzle pieces snapping into place with startling rapidity, a healthy dose of desperation, and her bare hands.
    “No,” she gritted between her clenched teeth. “Don’t you dare make me fight him.”
    “Get out of the way, Callie!” Chase leveled his shotgun, cross-footing to find a decent angle to fire from.
    She launched herself at Liam first. He went onto his back, laughing. Callie knew why—there was no way she could take him in her condition.
    They broke apart and rolled to their feet. Liam strode forward and snatched Callie into midair before throwing her into the fountain with an almighty splash.
    Callie struggled to reach air. Thick, brackish water filled her nose and mouth. A shot rang out, strangely distorted by her underwater trap. Liam’s arm cleaved through the water and wrapped around her throat, holding her under. His grinning, beautiful face rippled above her.
    Callie was losing air fast, water ringing in her ears. Her chest burned with panic, heart struggling. She clawed the squeezing vice grip at her throat with one hand, reached for his chest with the other, and yanked.
    His head and shoulders landed on top of her. Her left hand clawed at his chest. The city pulsed around her; she felt its energy pumping in Liam’s heart. He was still in there, somewhere. She let the city’s Crossroads power in, fed it to her light. It was so easy, if she just let opened herself to it. The way she had opened herself to him. She gathered it, built it up, fed it to boiling. And spent it all in an explosive bid for freedom.
    The world slowed, shifted. When she opened her eyes, she and Yshotha were between, with Liam the demon’s unwitting passenger.
    Callie and Yshotha tumbled, still struggling, into the void. Callie straddled his torso. Pushing him back with a hand on his chest to keep him immobile, she grabbed him by the throat and leaned close. Her smile as she looked deep into his eyes was feral, sodden hair dripping with graveyard chill.
    “Welcome to my realm,” she said. “There’s no time here, no space. I leave you here, you’re not just vanquished. You’re destroyed. Just like