Chapter 1 Kansas City, Missouri, March 16 When death comes for you, it will not be gentle. Logan hadn’t truly understood Sibyl’s prophecy of his death until this moment. But now that he was staring into its jaws, he realized what she had meant. A Synestryn demon crouched behind a run-down three-story building, its eyes glowing a bright, feral green. It was huge, making the Dumpster beside it look like a milk crate. Heavy muscles bulged in its limbs, quivering in anticipation of the kill. Its breath billowed from all four of its nostrils, creating pale plumes of steam in the cold night air. Bright moonlight gleamed across its skin, reflected off the viscous, poisonous fluid that leaked from its pores. Logan had never seen anything like it before, but the human, Steve, groaning in pain on the pockmarked asphalt near the demon’s feet, was testament to the power of its poison. The man’s wife, Pam, stood pressed against the cold brick, staring in horror at her husband. Her pregnant belly protruded from her slim body, promising the hope of a new generation. Logan could not let anything happen to that child. Steve was still moving, but if Logan didn’t do something soon, he wasn’t going to survive. Not that there was much Logan could do. After days without feeding he was weak, his