I cast a cover spell. He turned and peered toward us. Maybe he’d heard us, maybe he hadn’t, but a wave of his flashlight seemed to reassure him that he was alone, and he let out a sigh of relief before making his way up a ladder.

We crept close as he climbed. At the top, he pushed open the door and looked down again, but the cover spell still hid us. He climbed out. We went after him.

When we reached the top, I cracked the hatch open as little as possible and peered out to see …

Corn.

We were in a cornfield, the tall stalks all around us. I closed the hatch again and whispered the news to Adam. Then I gave Lucas one more update before I opened the hatch again and cast blur spells so Adam and I could crawl out.

We found Giles about twenty feet away, doubled over, catching his breath. Adam whispered a game plan.

Still under the blur spells, we split up. Adam circled around to the other side of Giles. The ground was damp and muffled our footsteps. I caught the occasional moving cornstalk marking Adam’s progress, but Giles didn’t seem to notice. I tracked the swaying corn until I knew Adam was in position. Then I crept forward.

I stopped about five feet from Giles. He looked up sharply, as if he could sense me there. I ended the spell. He saw me and turned to run just as Adam lunged.

Giles managed to twist out of Adam’s way, but I jumped into his path. He looked from Adam to me.

“You can’t kill me,” he said. “I’m immortal. You know that.”

“Immortal, yes. But you’re not a vampire. I’m guessing you’ve got some zombie juice swimming in your veins. That means you’re not invulnerable.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Have you tested that theory?” I watched his expression. “Jumped off buildings for fun?”

Giles hesitated, then pulled a vial from his pocket.

“Do you know what this is?” he said.

“I can guess,” I said.

“Good. So you know it’s not something you want me to uncap.” He paused. “How’s Bryce?”

I stiffened.

“Not well, I take it. Would you like the antidote?”

I didn’t answer.

“In the interest of fair play, I’ll give it to you. A gift. I presume you have a radio?”

Again, I said nothing.

“Call Lucas Cortez. Tell him to go to my office. The safe is in the bottom desk drawer. The code is 1429. The year I fought alongside Joan of Arc.”

I could tell by his expression he expected me to be impressed. Without reacting, I conveyed the information to Lucas. He was already in Giles’s office and had found the safe. The code opened it.

“The antidote is in a pouch with instructions. They’re written in code, but it’s not a complex one. Benicio Cortez will have someone who can figure it out. Now I’m going to put this down.” He bent and laid the vial on the ground. “And you are going to let me walk away.”

He straightened up and started walking. I let him get about five feet before I locked him in a binding spell.

I walked over and patted down his pockets.

“Yep, backup vial,” I said as I felt it through the fabric. “Let’s take this off your hands before we escort you back inside.”

As I reached for it, something hit me. It was like a micro version of the blow inside. I stumbled. The spell snapped. Giles jumped me. I went down. Adam lunged, but Giles was already on top of me, pinning me to the dirt, vial in one hand, the other wrapped in my hair.

Giles wrenched my head back. When I gasped, he pushed the vial to my lips. Adam grabbed Giles around the neck and I smelled burning flesh. I struggled to cast a binding spell, but Giles had the vial at my mouth, and I couldn’t get the words out.

“You should have let me go while you had the chance,” he rasped, his eyes rolling in agony. “All I need to do now is—” Adam yanked him off me. I scrambled up and hit him with … I don’t know what. He screamed in agony and clutched his stomach. I could see it ballooning under his shirt, the skin glowing, as if he’d swallowed a fireball. Then it burst. Flames licked out as he dropped to the ground, writhing and howling, blackened intestines tumbling out between his fingers.

Adam stared. Then he knelt and wrapped his hands around Giles’s neck again and squeezed until he put him out of his misery.

Just to be sure, I bent and checked for a pulse. Adam checked for breathing. We found neither.

“Yep. Immortality but not invulnerability,” I said.

“Good call. Let me carefully get that vial out of his hand in case his death grip snaps it.”

He bent over Giles’s ruined body. He was peeling back his fingers when Giles’s eyes snapped open.

“Watch—!”

Giles reared up, grabbing Adam. I cast a binding spell and it worked—I felt it work—but Giles didn’t stop, just picked Adam up like a rag doll and whipped him. As I raced toward Giles, I knew what I’d see.

Bright green glowing eyes.

“Balaam,” I said, stopping short.

“Very good, my child.”

He reached down and picked up the unbroken vial. Then he took two long strides and scooped up the second one. I cast another binding spell.

“Your magic won’t work on me, little one,” he said. “You’ve fought well, but it’s time to surrender. Go tend to your lover. He’s injured.”

I looked over at Adam. He lay crumpled on the ground, but I could see his chest rising and falling.

“He’s just unconscious. He’ll be fine.”

Balaam laughed. “How cold you are. I’m impressed. I suspect Asmondai’s son would not be.”

“Then you suspect wrong. He wouldn’t want me running to his side and letting you walk away with those vials. Give them back.”

“Oh, well, in that case …” He held them out, then shook his head and laughed. “No, child. You can fight me for them, but there’s no point. Even if you managed to get them away from me, I can find more.”

“If that was true, you wouldn’t have come for these two. The rest of the virus must already be in Cabal custody. Those vials are your last chance for the biggest chaos banquet you’ve ever had.”

“And you’re going to stop me, are you?” He smiled. “I do appreciate your tenacity. And your bravery. You are indeed a child of my blood. But you’ve inherited my recklessness as well, and you don’t have thousands of years of experience to temper that impulsive streak.”