Fire in the Blood by Robyn Bachar

demon.”
    “Yup.” My stomach somersaulted, but I kept calm as I flipped the folder shut. “Well if that’s it, we’ll get out of your hair.”
    “What are the requirements?” Faust asked.
    “Don’t worry about it, I got it,” I assured him. “Tell the Titania we’ll let her know when it’s done.” Or at least Faust would, I amended silently. I’d be stuck in some hell dimension, a newborn demon. I wasn’t sure if I’d even remember my previous life; the details were fuzzy on what happened after the change. It was a fate I’d been resigned to for some time. Now it was much more bitter knowing that I had a shot at love and happiness, but wouldn’t be able to have it.
    “It requires that the summoner sacrifice a piece of his or her soul,” Simon said. I wanted to punch through his placid face at that moment.
    “Gee, thanks for sharing that with the classroom. Now did you and your buddies want to take another stroll down memory lane, or are we free to go?”
    “You can’t afford to lose another portion, Miss Roberts,” Mrs. Black spoke up. I bet she used her old seer powers to spot that one. My aura was about half and half now, and had been for awhile. It kept me from doing spells I knew would put me over the edge.
    “What is wrong with you people? Is it official ‘get all up in Patience’s business’ week? I said I got this.” I turned to Faust to demand he port us out, and he was staring at me with an expression I could only assume was horror. My mouth dried up like the Sahara, and I licked my lips.
    “Is that true?” Faust asked.
    “Can we discuss this somewhere else?” I replied.
    “It is true, I assure you,” Mrs. Black said.
    I pointed at her. “Stop helping.”
    She frowned, because making others frown is a special talent of mine. “I merely thought you would want to know—”
    “Believe me, I know. I was there when I got that way. Yes, if I kill Kris, I’m done. All I can do now is hope I end up as something decent. I really don’t want to be a succubus. They’re a bunch of heinous bitches.”
    “Why didn’t you say something?” Faust asked.
    “Because there aren’t any other summoners hanging around to handle Kris, so I’m handling it.” I turned away, not liking the hurt in his eyes, and turned my anger at the vampires. “Don’t you get it? Every summoner I’ve ever known—the council, my colleagues, my competition, even my own damn family from my parents to my baby cousins—they’re all dead. No one else is coming to help. There is no backup. No cavalry. I’ve been trying to keep the flood back, but now it’s one last battle for me, and then you’re all on your fucking own against the horde.”
    “Surely it can’t be that bad,” Mr. Black said.
    “It is. You better make your peace with the higher powers, because if things don’t change for the better fast, we’ll all be dead within a year.” Shoulders squared, I looked at Faust. “Let’s go. We have work to do.”
    He nodded, still clearly flustered, and he took my arm and ported us out before the undead posse could offer any other helpful information that would piss my honey off. We appeared back in the bedroom of our suite, and he grabbed me and pulled me to him. The folder was knocked from my hand, and pieces of paper fluttered to the floor.
    “No,” he said simply.
    “No?” I repeated as my brow rose.
    Faust held my face in his hands. “I won’t let that happen to you. I swear it.”
    Magic tingled through my skin at his touch. That was no simple promise, and my eyes widened. “You can’t—” I started, and he interrupted me with a kiss. Faust pushed me back until I fell onto the bed, but before he could pin me I grabbed his tie, yanked him down next to me and pinned him instead. “Hey, pay attention. I have to do this. I’m the only one who can. It sucks and I’m sorry, but—”
    “Let me do it.”
    My train of thought ground to a screeching, derailed halt. “What?”
    “Let me