by Deanna Chase
My blood ran cold, and I froze in place, momentarily unsure of what to do.
Pandora hung in the middle of the room from iron chains that were attached to her shackled wrists. Her T-shirt had been torn to shreds, and her skin was full of bite marks. That’s what the shifters had been doing all day? Feeding from her? I wondered if they’d finally shackled her wrists because she’d taken to marring their sorry faces with her nails. She was paler than usual, and blood trickled down her arms and legs.
Allcot was near the window, savagely fighting four wolves. Blood had splattered on the walls and the ceiling.
But more importantly, Dali stood behind Pandora, holding a glowing stake to her back. I was certain, without a doubt, that it was spelled to mortally wound her, the type of spell that would take weeks before she died and cause unspeakable pain.
“Leave now, Allcot, or I’ll kill your precious Pandora,” the dark-haired shifter said.
Allcot’s crazed eyes swept over him and the stake. Then her predicament seemed to sink in because he froze, still clutching the necks of two wolves. Immediately the other two rushed him, one of them getting him by the neck.
Fuck me. This was ugly.
A pleased smile spread over Dali’s lips, and I realized then he hadn’t just been following orders for his uncle. He was a willing, active participant who was getting off on Allcot and Pandora’s pain.
Rage roared to life inside me, and with single-minded determination, I moved silently over to the shifter. I knew the moment he caught my scent because his hand tightened around the end of his stake and his eyes narrowed, scanning the room for me.
I struck and struck hard. My boot landed with a loud thud right in the middle of his chest. He’d been braced for a fight. That much was clear, as he only stumbled back a few feet, but it was enough to get the stake away from Pandora’s back. I leaped in front of him, jabbing him with one fist and swiping my dagger at the hand holding the stake. My blade made impact, and he sucked in a sharp hiss.
“Bitch,” he snarled, meeting my eyes.
“Douchebag.” I glared back, not caring in the least that he’d seen past my spell. It had gotten me in the room, and that was enough.
He lunged, but I was ready for him. I struck out with my dagger, catching him in the shoulder. He howled and reeled back. Without hesitating, I stepped into him and landed a punch to his kidney. He jerked forward, head-butting me. Pain exploded over my eyes, and I lashed out with the dagger again, this time catching his other arm.
“You goddamned whore!” he yelled and threw himself at me, his stake coming right for my chest. I knew I couldn’t survive an attack if he even nicked me with his weapon. I dove to the side, landed on the floor, and rolled, coming back onto my feet. Only he hadn’t followed me—he was once again standing right behind Pandora, screaming we’d fucked up and it was her turn to die.
I ran forward, horror rippling through me, knowing there was no way I could reach him before the stake got her. In a panic, I called on the magic deep in my gut and imagined with everything I had that Dali was frozen in place. It was a Hail Mary, but it was something.
The spell shot from me in the form of a misty white cloud but wasn’t fast enough. His arm was already in motion, the stake just a millisecond from piercing her skin.
I screamed, trying to stop the inevitable in any way I could, and just as the sound escaped from my mouth, suddenly a pure black wolf appeared from nowhere, his large paws knocking the stake from Dali’s hands. The pair tumbled backward with Dali yelling obscenities and the black wolf dodging his blows until he got his jaws around Dali’s neck and the man stilled.
“Eadric!” Pandora called out, her voice hoarse and full of exhaustion.
With Dali at least temporarily contained, I turned my attention to the three shifters still battling Allcot. He had his fingers around one’s neck and was fighting the other two off with his free hand.
I reached down and grabbed the spelled stake Dali had finally dropped, shoved it in the holder on my tool belt, and flipped open the top of the ring I wore on my right index finger. Yellow pixie dust glittered in the artificial light. I dipped my pinky into the substance, dabbed it on the tip of my tongue, blew out a breath, and whispered, “Sleep, little wolves. Sleep.”
The air in front of me turned gold, grew to a large bubble, then whipped around Allcot and the three wolves like a tiny tornado. The two wolves not in Allcot’s grasp ceased to fight, and instead started to back up slowly, appearing confused. Then all at once the two wolves fell over while the other one went limp in Allcot’s embrace.
Allcot stared at me, a scowl on his face. “You couldn’t have done that sooner?”
“No, as a matter of fact, I couldn’t. I’m actually surprised it worked on all three of them. It’s not very potent. And it’s very temporary. We only have—”
Allcot moved so fast to Pandora he was just a blur as he passed me.
“—a minute or so,” I finished and walked over to where the black wolf was still holding Dali by the neck. I knelt down and stared Dali in the eye. “It’s a real shame you turned out to be such a piece of trash. Dax really liked you.”
Dali snarled.
I tsked, shaking my head at him. “You don’t scare me, you know.” My statement was a lie. His dark eyes held so much hatred I actually shuddered. How did such a young soul end up with so much hate inside him? Knowing I didn’t have much time, I pulled zip ties out of my pocket and secured them to his wrists and ankles. I looked at the black shifter. “You can let go now. They’re the magical kind that will keep a shifter from shifting.”
The black shifter let go of Dali’s neck and backed up slowly. Dali thrashed on the floor, clearly trying to shift, but nothing happened. I gave him a cold smile and turned to find Allcot working to free Pandora from her shackles. He had a set of lockpicks but didn’t seem to be making any headway.
Frustrated, he reached up and yanked. The chains didn’t budge. Of course they didn’t. If they could’ve been pulled from the ceiling, Pandora would’ve done it herself.
“Where’s the key?” I asked Dali.
He curled his lip and shook his head. No surprise there. I hadn’t actually been expecting him to answer me. I reached down, yanked his set of keys off his belt loop, and tossed them to Allcot. But just as Allcot caught the keys, I saw Dali glance over at a small table near the door. He quickly averted his gaze as if he didn’t want anyone to know he’d been looking in that direction.
I scooted over to the table, reached into a small bowl, and came up with an old iron key. A slow smile claimed my lips as I walked over to Pandora and freed her. She let out a cry of relief and flung herself into Allcot’s arms.
“Let’s go,” I said, noting that the three shifters I’d knocked out were already stirring.
Allcot pulled Pandora to the window and gestured for me to join them. I shook my head. “I need to make sure Dax and Link are okay first.”
“I have to get her out of here,” Allcot said, looking torn.
“Go.” I glanced at the black wolf. “Leo and I will be fine.” The wolf trotted up to me and bowed his head.
Allcot nodded once, and the pair of them disappeared out the window.
“Ready?” I said to Leo.
In answer, the wolf shot out the door and I followed.
20
The downstairs was pure carnage. Furniture was broken. Blood stained the white tiles. But there wasn’t a shifter in sight. My gut clenched. It was far too quiet both inside and outside the house. Something was very wrong.
I paused at the door, listening.
Nothing. Nothing except the movement upstairs from the shifters we’d just battled.
Leo’s ear twitched, and I knew he’d heard them too.
“Time to go. Whatever’s out there, we’ll deal with it.” Steeling myself, I pulled the door open and followed Leo outside.
“Oh hell,” I muttered.
Leo paused beside me as we both took in the sc
ene. Six wolves plus Bandu had Dax and Link surrounded. Seven on two when everyone was a shifter was terrible odds.
“Welcome to the party, Kilsen,” Bandu said without looking at me. “You’re just in time to see what happens to traitors.”
Link growled and lunged for the pack leader, but Bandu struck out with an electrified rod, zapping Willow’s wolf.
“You fucking piece of shit,” I said, striding off the porch, my dagger in my hand. In that moment, I honestly didn’t care if Bandu could survive my cursed blade. There was no mercy for a piece of shit who would zap a shih tzu, even if he was in wolf form. “Step away from Link, or I’m going to rip your head off.”
Bandu ignored me and stalked up to Dax, his rod aimed at Dax’s head. Dax held his ground, waiting for the precise moment to strike. I’d watched him take down many vampires using the same exact technique. If it’d just been him and Bandu, he likely would’ve been able to subdue the pack leader without even breaking a sweat. But with six other shifters rushing him, the task would’ve been damn near impossible. Instead, Dax met my gaze for one brief second then dropped to the ground and rolled.
I whipped out my sun agate and yelled, “Siste!” The spell was specifically for vampires and would knock them out for hours. On humans and shifters alike, it only worked for a short time.
The six wolves all froze, just as I expected them to. Luckily Link had leaped out of the way. He’d seen me use the agate enough times to know what it meant. But Bandu? He remained unaffected and took off after Dax.
“Damn.” I glanced over at Leo. A sound from the porch drew his attention, and we both turned to see the remaining shifters filing out of the house. He let out a low growl, and darted after Bandu and Dax.
“Link, move it!” I called and took off down the street, heading for Allcot’s BMW, praying he hadn’t left my ass behind. Dax was here, but I had no idea where he’d parked.
My feet had just hit the asphalt when suddenly someone grabbed my hair from behind.
“You’re a troublesome witch, aren’t you, Phoebe Kilsen?” The voice, full of hatred and self-righteousness, was unmistakable.
“And you’re a dirty little wannabe hipster. Anyone ever tell you the girls aren’t really into man buns?”
His grip tightened on my hair, and he yanked my head back. I winced.
“Shut up,” he ordered.
Bandu started to drag me back to the house, but I braced my feet on the ground and reached back, shamelessly grabbing for his crotch. My fingers found a grip, and I squeezed as hard as I could.
He let out a howl so loud I was certain my hearing would never be the same. But worse, he didn’t let go. He just fell to his knees, taking me with him.
“You’ll pay for that, Kilsen,” he wheezed out. “Do that again and I won’t hesitate to snap your neck.”
“You can try,” I said, hatred seeping from my pores. “But I bet you’ll lose that game.” I jerked my head back, clocking him just above his eye.
“Fuck!” he cried, his grip loosening, but he still didn’t let go. It didn’t matter, it was enough. I jabbed an elbow into his gut and then flung myself forward, scrambling to get away from him. I was just about free when his hand clasped around my ankle and jerked me back. I fell face-first on the asphalt and gritted my teeth, praying I didn’t have one hell of a road rash when this was over.
Unwilling to give in, I forced myself to flip over and kicked my free leg out. I’d been aiming for his face, but I missed and got his shoulder instead. It was a lucky blow, because his grip faltered and I was free.
Within seconds I was on my feet, my dagger out. It would do no good to run. Wolves were faster than I was, and it was clear Bandu had no intention of letting me get away.
“You’re really going to throw down with me, Kilsen?” he said, his face carefully arranged in an amused expression. But I saw right through him. He was afraid of me. Good. I liked it that way.
“Yeah. But don’t worry, I’ll make it quick. You won’t have to suffer for too long. See, I’m not as vindictive as the rest of you assholes.” I spun and jabbed at him, my dagger barely missing his neck.
He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get the words out, another shifter came out of nowhere and knocked him on his ass.
I blinked and smiled when I recognized the gray-and-white wolf. It was rare for me to see Dax in his shifter form, but when I did, he never failed to impress. Then Allcot and Pandora where there. The four of us plus Link had Bandu surrounded. The only one missing was Leo. I glanced around, worried about the young shifter, but got distracted by the shadows moving toward us in the night.
“What the hell is that?” I asked no one in particular.
“Shit! She’s coming,” Pandora said, her voice panicked. “We have to get out of here.”
“Who’s coming?” I squinted into the darkness, trying to decide if the shadows were the shifters. No, that wasn’t right. They were too big to be wolves, but not the right shape to be humans. I clutched my agate, preparing to flash them if for no other reason than just to see what we were up against.
“Let Bandu go,” a raspy female voice said.
“Eadric, please,” Pandora said.
I cut my gaze to the battered vampire and frowned. I’d never heard Pandora frightened before. Not like that.
“We’re going, love,” he said softly. “Just need to secure the shifter.”
Bandu growled and dropped to all fours, quickly turning into a wolf. Link and Dax immediately attacked. Within seconds, they had him under their control.
I glanced over my shoulder at the shadows closing in on us. My skin started to prickle and my stomach turned. “What the hell is that?” I asked again.
“They’re her demons,” Pandora whispered.
“Demons?” Fear clouded my mind and I just stood there, staring like a fool. I’d heard of witches conjuring demons before, but in reality, I’d never encountered a witch so evil, so bereft of human decency, that she’d attempted it. Witches who summoned demons had to pay with their souls. And this one, she had an army. “We have to get out of here,” I said, echoing Pandora. “Now.”
“He’s almost here,” Allcot said.
“Who?” What the hell were we waiting for?
“Leo.” He nodded over my shoulder, and that’s when I spotted Dax’s Trooper barreling down the road toward us. They’d sent the kid to get the truck while they helped save me from Bandu. And because we’d helped Allcot find Pandora, he was returning the favor.
The demons reached us just before the Trooper pulled to a stop. I raised my agate, flashing the brilliant light on them, praying the magic would do something, anything, to stop them.
Gut-wrenching screams filled the air, and all of them recoiled, backing up to hide behind their mistress.
“You dare to go up against my children?” she drawled, walking right into my light. It wasn’t surprising that the agate didn’t work on her. Similar ones didn’t work on me either. But I was surprised to see her floating in the air, gliding toward us as if she were a spirit. Only she was just as solid as the rest of us. “That will not be tolerated.”
“Get in the truck!” I yelled, moving in front of the sorceress, shielding them all from whatever she was getting ready to throw at us. I heard scrambling behind me and threw up a blocking spell just in time. The sorceress’s curse broke my shield instantly, and a thick cloud of smoke rose up, obscuring my vision.
“Hurry,” Pandora said right before she pushed me toward the Trooper. Another crack of magic filled the air, and a second later, I felt rather than saw Pandora stiffen. I spun, finding her frozen, her mouth open in shock, and she was floating slowly toward the sorceress.
“Pandora!” Allcot appeared beside her, his arms going around her, but as soon as they did, his flesh started to smoke. He jumped back, staring at the scorched areas of his flesh.
“Holy shit!” I turned back around and charged the other witch. “What the hell did you do to her?”
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She didn’t answer, but her demons once again started to close in on me. I flashed them again with my agate, and this time I noticed the light made the sorceress flinch as well. Not knowing what else to do, I rushed her, my agate shining bright in one hand and my cursed dagger in the other.
Dark magic poured from her fingertips, but thanks to the light from my agate, she couldn’t see exactly where I was and the spell hit a nearby tree, causing a loud crack as the trunk split in two.
Another round of magic came at me, but I dodged and came up swinging, aiming for her heart. The blade slid easily into the sorceress, and I let out a triumphant grunt as the demons vanished. But the woman remained, her soulless black eyes boring into mine.
“You can’t kill me, little witch. No one can.” Then she wrapped her hand around mine and the hilt of my blade and pulled it right out of her chest, laughing maniacally as she tried to wrestle the blade from me. But there was no way in hell she was getting it from me. I lifted the agate and shone it right in her eyes as I shoved my boot into her stomach and sent her flying back into the street.
“Get Pandora in the Trooper,” I ordered Allcot, tugging on the comatose vampire.
“She’s still cursed,” he hissed. “We have to get her to reverse it first.”
“No we don’t. With the help of a healer, we can fix this. Let’s go before it gets worse.” He glanced once at the sorceress already making her way toward us, then grabbed Pandora and shoved her in the Trooper, ignoring his burning flesh. I climbed in after them.
Leo stepped on the gas, the wheels of the Trooper squealing as he hightailed it out of there.
I sucked in a deep breath and glanced around at our battered party. Leo was driving. Dax was in the front seat, Allcot and Pandora in the back, me and Link in the middle row.
And trussed up at my feet was Bandu. A humorless, self-satisfied smile claimed my lips. His night was about to get a thousand times worse.
21
Silence filled the truck on the way back to Allcot’s compound. We’d successfully completely our mission, but Pandora had barely made it out alive. And we still didn’t have a clue where Willow and Talisen were being held.
