Chapter One
VALTINA AND Demetri sat silently under the willow tree, anxiously awaiting Ladaya’s return. They’d stopped trying to guess how much time had passed since Ladaya returned to The Afterlife; they were now marking the time by the number of wraiths Demetri had slaughtered. So far, the warrior had eliminated five of the monsters. Valtina had known that their sanctuary had been breached, but it hadn’t seemed real until she saw the first black hooded creature emerge from the dense grey fog. As time passed, Valtina became more and more nervous; she knew that in this situation, no news was not good news.
Demetri stiffened, and Valtina followed his gaze. Another wraith was approaching from the fog. As the warrior rose to confront the monster, the tip of a silver dagger broke through its
