Trinity glanced up as I swiveled to see if he was paying attention.
“I brought you along for a reason other than to guide us,” Herne said. “I’m going to fill the others in on who you are, so they don’t feel like they’re walking on eggshells. That is, unless you want to introduce yourself.”
Trinity rolled his eyes and said, “Very well. I have no problem with telling you all. I’m Trinity, the Keeper of the Keys. I can unlock almost any lock, open almost any portal at will. Very little can keep me out—or in.” He paused, then added, “Oh yes, I’m addicted to passion.”
“He’s a form of incubus,” Herne said. “He feeds off sexual energy and creative energy, though if I remember right, you leave your victims alive.”
With a snort, Trinity said, “My victims? Oh, they’re all willing, trust me on that. They willingly give themselves to me and I leave them with no regrets.”
“That depends on the person you’re talking to,” Herne said. “Anyway, Trinity’s a valuable member of the team, and if we come to a locked door, chances are good he’ll be able to open it for us. He’s not going to give us away to the enemy.”
“I work for myself and only myself,” Trinity said. “I won’t be used by a pack of flying lizards.”
“That’s what I thought,” Herne said. “Anyway, continuing with our earlier discussion. My mother is correct. Typhon’s children are returning even now. The vortex is slowly opening because he’s waking, and so his children are able to return any time they like. There will be those who join with their father, and others who simply want to establish their own holds. The world will never be the same again. Pandora’s most likely scouting for a stronghold, even while she tries to destroy those who could be an enemy against the forces of the dead.”
The final push up to the summit reminded me of Hurricane Ridge when we’d rescued Rafé. One side of the road was tree lined, with straggly timber. The other side overlooked a steep drop off into the valley below.
The treeline ended at around forty-five hundred feet. Scrub took over from there, sparsely scattered around the massive batholith. The entire mountain looked like it had been the core of an ancient volcano, left standing when the sides fell away. More likely, it had been lifted out of the collision between the heaving tectonic plates that had birthed the Cascades. Whatever the geology, it was barren and stark and beautiful.
We parked. There was one other car in the parking lot, a sleek, black Jeep.
Morgana crossed to the car. She held out her hands and closed her eyes. A moment later, she turned to us, her lips set in a grim expression. “Pandora’s signature. And Raven’s.”
“We need to move. I doubt she knows we’re coming, but you never know. If she does know, I wouldn’t put it past her to kill Raven out of spite, to prevent us from finding her alive.” I shouldered Serafina and my quiver, then fastened my sword, Brighid’s Flame, to my belt. The sword was almost too long, but I had adjusted the sheath to slant backward rather than straight down, and as a result, I could carry the sword easily while walking.
Viktor slung on his own pack and mine as well—he carried my gear when we went out—and handed Herne and Kipa theirs. We all made sure of our weapons. Morgana and Merlin held out their hands and their staves appeared. Which reminded me…I fished around in the back and found my walking stick. Since I always ended up looking for one, anyway, I’d asked Herne to fashion me one that I could take with me each time. He had carved and polished a diamond willow bough that was five feet in length. Lightweight and sturdy, it did the trick.
We headed out onto the trailhead that would lead us to the summit. While there were some trees around, they were scattered quite a distance apart, but the scrub brush and wildflowers grew thickly among the long-bladed grass.
Herne and I took the lead, with Trinity by our side. Morgana and Merlin came behind us, and Viktor and Kipa followed behind them. We kept to the trail, which was compacted dirt, as we wound up the mountain. Kipa’s wolves reappeared, and they kept pace, two to each side of our party.
The birds that inhabited the sub-alpine zone echoed their song as the afternoon faded into evening. I estimated the time to be around five. Up here, when the darkness fell it would be cold and lonely. I glanced around, trying to pinpoint anything that might look familiar from my dreams, but I couldn’t pinpoint anything.
“Are there rattlesnakes up here?” I asked, glancing at Trinity.
“No,” he said. “But there have been rumors of black widows, and the night hawks have been known to hang around here, come down from the Cascades.”
“Night hawks?” Herne asked.
“They’re similar to shadow people, caught between spirit and form. They’re said to have faces like hawks, bodies of men, and their fingernails are the talons of the hawk. They prey on the unwary, and feed off warm-blooded creatures. Their favorite prey tends to be human, though Fae, Ante-Fae, and shifters will do in a pinch. They’re powerful and ruthless. If you encounter them, don’t let down your guard. To fight back, flood the area with light.” Trinity glanced around, pointing out a patch of boulders nearby. “They hide in the shadows until dusk falls, and then they come out. A grouping of stones like that would be the ideal place for them to hide, so I suggest we move along.”
Great. Black widows, spirits, and astral creatures hunting on the physical plane. Just what we needed. I turned back to the trail, focusing on the ever-steepening grade. The walking stick steadied my footing as I stretched my legs over a particularly wide break in the trail. The overhang I was scrambling onto was a good four feet off the ground. Trinity hopped right up as though it was nothing more than a street curb. He turned around and silently held out his hand.
I placed my fingers in his and instantly felt the pull of his magic. It was like a snake wrapping around my arm. He eyed me coolly as he began to pull me up. Behind me, Herne gave my butt a quick shove and I lunged forward, almost falling into Trinity’s arms. He caught me, then let go as I steadied myself. Without a word, he turned and began striding up the trail. I quickly followed, trying not to let myself get unnerved as I glanced over my shoulder.
Behind me, Herne adeptly leapt up on the overhang, and Morgana seemed to just float up in the air and land on it. Merlin seemed to have no problem, either. I knew that neither Viktor nor Kipa would have difficulties and turned around to follow Trinity up the rocky path.
We were nearing the summit of Mount Bracken now, and I thought that maybe we’d luck out and avoid any unwanted interference, but the next moment Trinity paused, holding out his hand to stop us. He was listening to something, I could tell by the tilt of his head. After a moment, he quickly turned around, inching back down the steep slope. I leaned on my staff.
“What’s up ahead?” I whispered.
“I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m not sure, but I can sense something up there. Wait here while I—”
The next moment, a loud shriek came from behind one of the rocks to our left. A shadow flew out, hovering in the sky overhead. The sun was rapidly disappearing over the edge of the mountain, and the last rays of it caught the shadow, illuminating a fiercesome creature.
A night hawk. Bipedal, it had a head, but that’s where the resemblance to a person ended. The head was pointed at the chin, and its skull was rounded, the dome covered by the same leathery skin that seemed to cover the rest of its body. With arms as long as its feet, it hunched forward, the hump on its back rounded and knobby. Each of its hands had four fingers—two sets of two separated by a thick webbing of skin, with long, curved talons.
“Night hawk,” Trinity whispered, backing up, raising his hands as his eyes began to glow with a golden light. “It can only be attacked when it’s latched itself onto a person.”
“Oh fuck, what are we supposed to do? Walk past it and give it a chance to attack us?” I cautiously edged my way back toward the edge of the trail. The rocks to the side, across the cliff face, were slick and even steeper than the trail, and t
here were a number of loose patches that could send an avalanche tumbling down the slope.
Herne pushed his way in front of me. “Let him attach to me. I’m a god, he can’t harm me…much.” He lunged at the night hawk, and the creature reared up, waving its arms, and then met his attack. They grappled, and then Herne let out a gasp.
“He’s fastened onto me. Fuck, he hurts—I didn’t realize…”
I had a sudden premonition that whatever this creature was, it was having more of an effect on Herne than he had thought it would. “Somebody help him!”
Kipa sprang forward, his wolves at his heels as we fell back. He landed on the night hawk’s back and grabbed it by the scruff of the neck, trying to pull it off.
“It’s sunk its teeth into his shoulder!” Kipa shot a glance at Trinity. “What can kill it besides brute force?”
“Blinding light will send it running, and fire can harm it.” Trinity edged back, looking wary.
“Close your eyes,” Merlin shouted.
I shut my eyes, turning away.
“Begone!”
The word thundered around us, as though Merlin had suddenly manifested a bullhorn. I could hear rockfall nearby, but I kept my eyes shut. I was glad I had because a second later, the feeling of brilliant warmth engulfed me, and even through my closed eyes, it was as though the sun had suddenly flared to life mere inches away. My skin felt hot and I realized I was instantly sunburned.
“There, that takes care of that,” Merlin said.
Shaking, I opened my eyes and immediately looked for Herne. He was standing there, blood flowing from his neck, looking slightly dazed. Morgana moved to his side and placed her hands against the wound, whispering. A sparkle of light emanated from her fingers and Herne let out a sigh of relief as she backed away. The wound was still there, but it had partially healed. I had never seen Herne hurt in any significant way before, and the thought that there were creatures out there who could injure the gods themselves scared the hell out of me.
“I’m all right,” he whispered as I threw my arms around him, looking up for reassurance. “I’ll be okay. But if that thing returns, get out of the way. It would kill you and Viktor immediately.”
He turned to Kipa, clapping him on the shoulder. “Thank you. You distracted it long enough for Grandfather to chase it away.”
“Chase it away, my ass,” Merlin said, arching his eyes. “I sizzled it to a crisp. But we must hurry. We don’t want to attract any others. I don’t have an inexhaustible supply of energy.”
And so, we began the final climb to the summit of the mountain. As I followed Trinity, I wondered about him. Where had Herne met him, and was he planning on bringing him into the agency? Trinity seemed less than enthusiastic so I had my doubts about the latter, but I had learned to avoid assuming anything. Right now, though, all I wanted to do was rescue Raven. If Pandora hasn’t been working her over yet, a voice whispered inside me.
“Please, no,” I whispered, struggling over a patch of loose rock. But at that moment, Trinity motioned for me to join him as he stepped to the side. As I did, I found myself staring down into a crater-like valley. The same valley I had seen in my visions. As I realized that I was really here, I saw an opening to one side in the rock, far below, and I knew that we were about to go up against a goddess. And who knew what kind of protection she had with her?
Chapter Twenty
I wanted to run down there, to barrel into that cave to find Raven, but I knew better than to act without thinking. I turned to Herne. “What now? I’m assuming she’s down in that cave, since we saw the car in the parking lot and it had her signature on it.”
“You’re probably right.” Herne glanced at his mother. “What do we do? You and Grandfather are our only defense against Pandora.”
Morgana glanced up at the sky. “Pandora prefers to work in the darkness. Father?” She looked at Merlin. “Can you…?”
“I can, but it will drain me a great deal and I must prepare. You’ll have to take over the assault.” He raised his staff. “Are you ready?”
She nodded. “I am. Wait till I give the signal.” She glanced at the rest of us. “Kipa, stay up here and keep an eye out until we call you. And don’t argue. You’re too emotionally involved in this. The rest of you come with me.” She slowly rose up into the air, about a foot above the steep rocky slope leading down into the valley, and began to glide toward the center of it.
Herne turned into his stag form and I clambered up on his back. He began to race down the slope, following his mother, hooves barely meeting the ground. Viktor followed, nimble on his feet for his size, but the half-ogre was born and bred to wander the mountains and was right at home in this element. Trinity was making his way down the slope, and finally, Merlin followed his daughter’s lead and levitated down to the valley.
As we neared the bottom of the valley, there was a movement by the pile of rocks that half-cloaked the cave entrance. I prepared myself, wondering what Pandora was going to send at us.
But instead of a golden-haired woman, two men stepped out from behind the rock piles. They were both pale as the moon, almost albino, with long white hair and glowing silver eyes. Taller than even the Fomorian giants, they were lean, and their hair swirled around them like capes. They were dressed in silver cloaks over ice blue trousers and shirts, and they looked like twins. One held a long spear, the other a wickedly sharp sword.
“Halt.” The one with the sword pointed it directly at us. “Leave this place and we will spare you, but leave now.”
I stared at them, trying to place what I was feeling. They were gorgeous, but there was a poisonous feel to them, as though anything that came in contact with them would corrode away. I slid off Herne’s back and he turned back into himself. Viktor joined him and Morgana, while Trinity, Merlin, and I stood behind them.
“Send out your mistress while you can,” Morgana said, her voice echoing through the barren meadow.
The men just stared at her, their expressions impassive. “She’s not here. Leave. Now.”
“We aren’t going to leave,” Herne said, stepping forward. “Your mistress is holding one of our friends. We want her back safely.” His hand was on his sword.
“When Pandora returns, you’ll wish you would have listened to us. Consider yourself duly warned,” said the one with the spear. He raised his weapon, spear tip to the sky, and called out in a loud voice. A swirl of wind surrounded him and he rose up on it, one hand out toward us. Something was emerging from his palm. At first it was difficult to see what it was, but then, as it sailed toward us, I realized it was a twister. A vortex of wind, it spiraled our way, picking up loose rocks as it skittered across the floor of the barren valley.
“Cripes, it’s a tornado!” As I yelled, Herne grabbed me and threw me to one side, sprawling over me. I couldn’t see what was going on, but the vortex turned and it was bearing down on us.
“Hail prevail!” Morgana’s voice cut through the evening as a band of hail, so harsh that it could cut our skin, sailed over our heads to pelt our enemies.
I peeked out from beneath Herne’s shelter just in time to see the vortex of wind and the band of hail collide. There were sputters as both attacks died out. Herne jumped up, grabbing my hand and pulling me to my feet. He dragged me to one side. We were near the opening now.
“I’m going in there to find Raven,” I said.
Herne shook his head. “Pandora—”
“Pandora’s not here—you heard them. Will you be all right fighting them?”
“I hope so,” he said, holding tight to my shoulders. “You know what they are, don’t you?” He nodded back to the two men.
I shook my head. “No, I have no clue.”
“White dragons. Vicious brutes who control the wind. Make no mistake, they will kill you if they catch you. So avoid them. And if something happens while you’re inside, if for some reason—” He paused, the look on his face bleak.
“Don’t say it,” I whispered. “I
’ll find Raven and everything will be all right.”
“If something happens, do whatever you need to in order to escape. I love you.” He kissed me briefly then pushed me toward the opening.
I ducked behind the rocks, peeking out to see that Morgana was engaged in a battle with the dragons—wind versus water. I couldn’t tell who was winning. I wondered why Merlin wasn’t doing anything, but then remembered, he had said he needed to save his strength. Kipa was racing down the mountain, his wolves at his heels, and Herne and Viktor headed over to help Morgana as I ducked into the opening.
I tried to control my breathing as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. I couldn’t see a thing, not even the floor, and outside, they were fighting with the dragons. Nobody was going to come to my rescue. But the next moment, someone cupped my elbow.
I almost shrieked, but managed to stop myself. Freezing in place, I slowly exhaled, trying to place the scent. Then I knew who it was.
“Trinity? Is that you?” I kept my voice as low as I could.
“Yes, I’m here to help you. Herne sent me. I can see in the dark.” He roughly grabbed my wrist. “Let me lead.”
I had no choice. If it were just me, I’d have to either turn on my flashlight or turn back. I said nothing as he dragged me along, hissing a warning when we came to a rough patch in the tunnel, or when I needed to sidestep a hole.
As we hurried along to—well, I didn’t know where we were going—I thought about the dragons that Herne and his mother were fighting. They looked as ruthless as Herne had described them. And then it occurred to me that we might find bigger, scarier dragons down here.
“Focus, damn it,” Trinity whispered as I stumbled over a rock. “You may not be able to see, but I need you to pay attention.” He squeezed my arm, shaking me out of my thoughts.
“Sorry,” I muttered. I couldn’t argue with him—I had been lost in my thoughts and I had slowed down.
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