Hero's Haven

by Rebecca Zanetti

  Quade moved to Haven, his entire body one long line of pain. He didn’t have extra blood to give her. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded, her face pale and bruised. “Yes.”

  He drew her into his side. “I love you. Thought you should know.” Then he dropped to his knees, releasing her so he wouldn’t take her down with him. They had to get out of there and now. He didn’t have another fight in him.

  Chapter Forty

  Haven’s head hurt like she’d been pounded by a hammer, and the rest of the group wasn’t in much better shape. They drove the old pickup truck as far as they could until the storm made driving impossible. She perched on Quade’s lap, trying to stem the bleeding in his neck with her hands. “You should take my blood.”

  “You can’t afford to lose any,” he murmured, his smile sweet. “I’m fine. You just heal your head when you can.”

  She hurt too much at the moment to heal anything.

  Logan pulled behind an abandoned motel in the middle of nowhere. “We’ll have to wait out the storm here.” He parked and leaned to the side. “Stay put, ladies.”

  Quade stepped from the truck, and between the two of them, they removed the boards covering one dented metal door.

  “Come on.” Mercy helped Haven from the truck, and they struggled through the storm to get inside. Once inside, Quade secured the door. There were two mattresses without blankets, a rickety old table, bedside cabinets, and a dirty green carpet.

  “Hold on.” Logan ran into the bathroom and a horrible racket ensued. He returned with the bathtub, which he set by the window, opening it slightly.

  Quade nodded, grabbed the furniture, and broke it into pieces.

  Haven shivered and sat on the mattress. Her head swam, and she needed sleep. But she wasn’t strong enough to fight the pull of that portal, so she had to stay awake. All of the fighting earlier ran through her mind, and she took several deep breaths to calm herself. Quade had said he loved her. Like really loved her.

  Was it the stress of the moment?

  She looked through the bed cabinets, almost shocked to find matches with the motel’s name on them. “Hey.” She tossed them to Quade.

  He grinned, the sight macabre with the blood still flowing from his neck. He struck a match and started the old furniture on fire. The smoke went out the window, and the area began to warm up a little.

  Logan plucked Mercy off the ground and cuddled her on the farthest bed. He reached for a phone in his boot and quickly dialed, leaving a message for the Seven to come get them as soon as the storm abated. He looked over. “It’s going to be several hours, at least. If the Cyst or Kurjans come looking in the storm, it won’t be hard to find us here.”

  Quade nodded and set the blade he’d taken on the bedtable. “I need to sleep to heal.” He stretched out on the mattress and drew Haven closer. “We can take turns, so we can keep you from entering a portal.”

  “You first.” She cuddled into his side, worried about the blood still coming from his wounds. “You need to heal worse than I need to sleep.” But the room swam around her, and she sucked in air. “Ah, crap. I’m going to pass out again.” She fought as hard as she could, but unconsciousness took her under.

  She landed in Brookville, but the grass had turned brown, and the brooks no longer bubbled. Instead, they wound silently, so dark she couldn’t see beneath the surface. The smell of cookies in the air had changed to the scent of dusty fields.

  Her head hurt, her chest ached, and her stomach pounded. This wasn’t good. The portal opened, spinning wildly, and the force was too much for her to fight.

  She curled onto the burned grass. Why hadn’t she told Quade she loved him, too? Now he was going to be alone, and that thought hurt even more than her body. She had to get back to him. She dug her fingers into the dry soil, holding on, her body shaking with the effort of fighting the pull.

  Her legs lifted first, and she struggled, but the wind carried her up and through.

  A hand took hers. She tumbled around and around, her head hitting something solid. Finally, she fell and landed on the heated rock. Her breath catching, she turned to see Quade next to her. Her heart leaped. “Quade.” She jumped up and hugged him, holding as tight as she could. “How?”

  He leaned back, his neck wounded even in this dream state. “I don’t know.” Gently, he slid the hair away from her face. Then he turned to look toward shore, and his shoulders went back.

  Gulping, Haven saw Ulric standing mere yards away. He filled the space between two trees, his fangs just visible, his eyes swirling with deep purple of fury at seeing Quade.

  Quade leaned down and pressed a kiss to Haven’s mouth. “I love you, my little hybrid.” Before she could answer, he grabbed her wrist and one of her knees and swung her around so quickly she had to shut her eyes to keep from throwing up.

  “Quade,” she hissed. “What are you—”

  He flung her through a portal, and she landed in Brookville before spinning away again.

  She woke up on the bed in the motel room, gasping for breath.

  Logan and Mercy sat up on their bed, their eyes worried. “What the hell?” Logan muttered.

  Oh, God. Haven turned and shook Quade, but he didn’t awaken. “He’s going to fight Ulric in the dream world. He’ll never make it back.” Panic attacked her, and she shook harder, but his eyes didn’t open.

  * * * *

  Quade watched the portal close behind Haven with a sense of satisfaction. This might be the end for him, but he’d saved her. He set his stance and faced Ulric. After all this time, for a moment, all he could do was stare.

  Something swam in the black murk between them. He glanced to the side, seeing nothing but mist. So, he had Ulric and a forest in front of him, black murk between them, and mist on the other sides. Just how many worlds had combined to make this moment right now? He crouched down and felt the porous rock. Hot and thick.

  Ulric growled. “I can ride you out of here as easy as I could her.”

  The idea of Ulric touching Haven centered Quade, despite the blood still leaving his body. Fury and determination clawed through him, and his vow as a Seven rang through his head. Through his heart. He’d made that vow in blood and bone, and he would adhere to that promise to the very end. “You’re never leaving.”

  Ulric smiled, his fangs elongating. “We both know that’s not true. Whether it happens today or in the future, there will be a final ritual, and I will triumph.”

  Not if Quade took him out right here and now. The sacrifice of his life was worth it if Haven and his family could go on without the threat of Ulric. “What drives you to kill so many women?” Quade asked, trying to send healing cells to his damn neck.

  Ulric smiled. “Purity must be enforced.” His voice thundered through the air. “You’ve tried to contain me, and you cannot.” He lifted his hands, and the black murk began to boil. The rock started to slide toward the shore.

  Quade dropped to his knees. His instincts had been correct. The rock was the landing point, and it had to be destroyed. Gathering all his strength, he punched down as hard as he could. Pain rocketed up his arm, and he punched again, using his knees as leverage.

  “What are you doing?” Ulric bellowed.

  Quade continued hitting, fast and furious. His knuckles cracked and then his hands broke, but he kept punching. Shards of rock began to crumple. A large piece flew off and into the murk.

  The rock started moving faster toward the shore.

  Quade stood and kicked a large chunk of the weakened rock away. Then another and another. He had to bend down and punch some more, breaking all the bones in his arms up to his shoulders. But it was the only way to weaken the rock. As soon as he had a loose spot, he stood and kicked it away into the abyss. Soon he stood on a square patch of just several feet.

  Roaring, Ulric leaped across the murk and slamme
d into him, taking him down hard. His head bounced on the rock, and sparks flew behind his eyelids.

  Quade punched up into Ulric’s jaw, and the remaining bones in his hand shattered.

  “I’m impenetrable,” Ulric snapped, clocking Quade in the side of the head.

  Several portals began to open around them, swirling wildly, each with a forceful pull.

  “Which one?” Ulric asked, hauling Quade to his feet.

  “None.” Quade ducked, lifted Ulric over his shoulder, and threw him back across the murk. The Cyst leader landed between the trees, his shoulders smashing into the trunks. With large cracks, both trees split in two and fell back, landing on several other red trees and taking them down.

  “Stop!” Ulric bellowed.

  Quade smiled, blood dripping from his lips. He punched the rock three more times, and pieces fell away into the mist. Only a small space remained.

  He took a deep breath. One more punch, and the rock would disappear.

  It was a good day to die.

  * * * *

  Haven stared in horror as all of the bones in Quade’s arms, hands, and shoulders cracked and broke through the skin. His blood covered the mattress.

  Logan rushed over and shook Quade’s legs, trying to wake him up.

  Tears fell down Haven’s face. “He won’t let you wake him up. He’s destroying the rock to keep Ulric away.” She wiped her face. What could she do? “I have to be asleep. I can bring him back.” She’d done it once. She could to it again.

  Quade shuddered and groaned next to her, bleeding out.

  She looked up. “Logan? You have to hit me.”

  The warrior stepped back. “No way.”

  “I have to be out cold. There’s not enough time to go to sleep. I can save him. Please.” She pressed her hands to the wounds in Quade’s neck, willing the bleeding to stop.

  Logan’s mouth opened, but no words came out. He shook his head.

  Mercy jumped from the other bed, landing next to Haven. “I’ve got you, sister.” She grabbed Haven in a headlock and pressed against her windpipe, cutting off her air.

  Haven instinctively clutched at Mercy’s arm, but her sister’s hold was absolute. Darkness fell over her vision. She swayed, her breath gone. Then she went under.

  She landed in Brookville for a second, dropped into a myriad of different worlds, her body shaken and almost torn apart. Finally, she landed on the rock and grabbed Quade to keep from falling into the mist.

  His arms hung uselessly at his sides, bones sticking out. “What are you doing here?”

  “Loving you. I do, you know.” She grasped his damaged wrists as gently as she could.

  Ulric yelled from the tree line, and the small piece of rock still existing began to slide toward him.

  She sucked in air, looking wildly around. At least ten portals swirled around, each with different colors. One showed a clear brick wall on the other side. The one on the far left caught her attention. An energy hummed from it. Could she do what she had for the Fae? She sucked in air and waved her hand as if painting. The portal shifted slightly to the left and began to spin with yellow, pink, and blue hues. “I’ve been there. I’ve painted that.” She grasped him harder.

  Ulric leaped at them, and she whipped her hand free, sending the murk up in bars between them. Energy drained from her, and the sharp bars began to waver. There wasn’t much time until they failed and Ulric would reach them. “Break the rock and jump toward the last portal,” she gasped.

  Quade looked down at her, his eyes a fathomless aqua. “I love you. Forever.” Then he kicked down, and the remaining piece of rock shattered, falling into the abyss.

  She bunched her legs and jumped.

  They landed in a different world, one with bright yellow trees and spots of blue mushrooms. They hit a mushroom and bounced into another portal. The mushroom world exploded behind them, heating their backs.

  “Shit.” Quade grasped her hand. “Hurry. Don’t linger.”

  She nodded and leaped for another portal, and this time, her back was singed as the world behind exploded. They went through several places, each blowing up a second after they’d left. Her back was blistered from the burns.

  They landed in Brookville, and the grass was already on fire. She held her breath, grasped his wrist, and jumped again.

  They woke up on the bed together, sitting up, gasping for breath.

  “Jesus,” Logan said, setting Mercy behind him. He looked them over. “You guys still you?”

  Quade coughed out smoke. “I think so.”

  The door burst open, and Ronan and Benny stormed inside.

  Benny looked around, his gun in his hand. “Holy shit. You guys look terrible. What did we miss?”

  Chapter Forty-One

  They arrived at the new mountain headquarters later that day after a wild ride in a Humvee through the storm and then a helicopter ride where Benny and Ronan argued who flew the best. Haven sat on Quade’s lap, snuggled into his healing neck, after he’d taken blood from his brother and had already healed his arms. She’d tasted a little of Benny’s blood, and her skin felt a bit too tight, but at least her head wasn’t hurting.

  Quade jumped out of the copter with her in his arms, his boots spraying both blood and snow. He looked around at the trees and the rough opening in the rock.

  Ronan grimaced after he jumped out. “Stay out of Ivar’s way for a bit. He’s really pissed we lost another headquarters.”

  Benny snorted. “At least he’s ordering furniture from Restoration Blues via the Internet that we don’t have to put together. Man, I’m tired of putting together shit, so who cares if it costs a little more?”

  Logan and Benny began to cover the helicopter with a white tarp that matched the snow and camouflaged it from above.

  Quade set Haven down. “Is it safe to go inside?”

  Ronan nodded. “Yeah. No booby traps yet. This headquarters is one Ivar started decades ago but abandoned because it’s so close to Realm and demon headquarters. But there’s no other choice now.”

  Quade settled an arm around Haven’s shoulders, his jaw hard and his gaze scanning. “Have we secured the area?”

  “Not completely. You and I can do a patrol now,” Ronan said, focusing on his brother. “Faith is inside, setting up a medical area.”

  “Good.” Quade dropped a kiss on Haven’s brow. “I want you to go in and get checked by Faith. Just to make sure everything is okay.” Snow started to fall and cover his dark hair. “I’ll be in once this area is secure.” His smile was sweet and just for her. “At that point, you can tell me again, now that we’re not dying, how much you love me.” He nudged her.

  Mercy laughed and hooked her arm though Haven’s. “I’ll take her.” Mercy tugged her toward the opening in the rock. “You totally declared your love and all that while you were about to die.” She sighed. “That is so romantic.”

  Haven leaned into her sister. “I know, right? He said it first, just so you know.”

  “Very important that they say it first,” Mercy agreed. She ducked and led the way into another underground cavern, this one lined with silver. “I love it when we’re surrounded by silver.”

  “Me too.” Haven stepped over loose rocks and kept walking farther underground.

  They reached a central area littered with boxes and looked around. “Faith?” Mercy called out.

  The pretty brunette poked her head out from an opening in the far rock. “This way. Is anybody hurt?”

  “Haven hit her head but Benny gave her blood.” Mercy tugged her along and they walked into a surprisingly clean room with a real examination bed and a counter full of medical equipment. “Wow. We’re stocked.”

  Grace sat on the bed with her shirt half off, revealing a faded marking on her upper shoulder. She jerked the shirt into place and hopped off. “Here.
” She reached for Haven and helped her onto the table.

  Haven frowned. “Grace? Why is your marking so faded?”

  Grace shared a look with her sister. “We’re trying to figure that out. For now, let’s keep this between us. Just us girls.”

  That didn’t sound good, and by the worried look in Faith’s eyes, it wasn’t good. “I promise,” Haven said. The girls had to stick together, didn’t they?

  Promise walked in behind them, cotton balls in her hands. “I found these and figured they should go in here.” Her dark eyes gleamed. “Just talked Ivar into taking us Christmas shopping tomorrow, if everyone is up to it. The weather is supposed to clear, and we can fly beneath the radar. Probably toward Montana rather than Realm headquarters, though.”

  Haven blinked. She had people to buy Christmas presents for—for the first time in forever. Her eyes stung.

  “Oh.” Faith frowned and moved to her, bending to stare into her eyes. “How badly does your head hurt?”

  “It’s fine,” Haven breathed out, dispelling her emotion. “I feel a little odd after taking Benny’s blood. Just kind of like I’m having a constant adrenaline rush.”

  Faith took her vitals. “Yeah. You should stick to Quade or Mercy’s blood in the future. Benny is off, in general.” She grinned. “Though don’t worry. The effects shouldn’t last long.”

  Mercy hopped. “Haven and Quade did the whole I love you thing in the nick of time, staring right at death.”

  Promise chuckled. “Oh, we’ve all been there. Did you warn her?”

  “No,” Mercy said. “Figured she’d find out on her own soon enough.”

  “What?” Haven straightened. “Warned me about what?”

  Faith rolled her eyes. “These guys become a little, what you might say…”

  “Bossy, overbearing, overprotective,” Promise listed, ticking each off on her fingers. “They get a little over the top, and considering Quade had planned to die doing his duty and hadn’t seen love in his future, he’ll probably be a total pain.”