“Your essence was held in the stone around my neck,” I said it not as a question, but an educated guess.
“Yes.”
“And you fed on the Dreadfuls?”
“I fed on their energy, or life force,” he corrected. “And I finally fed on their owner's essence: Penelope's soul.”
“I had a feeling you were feeding,” I said.
“It was the only way I could return. I am no better than a vampire, for the way I need to feed now.”
“I don't—” I stopped, catching a motion behind Dante. Someone surged up behind him lightning-fast. I pulled in air, about to warn him, but I couldn't get my scream out.
As though I were watching it in slow motion, Dante moved just as swift. Without turning, his hand, which had become a clawed hand, reached back. The sound of a fist thumping into a chest quickly followed by the sound o
