“Oh, but I do know what you’re capable of, Eudoxia,” I said, closing the gap between us. She stood a foot shorter than I, but she held her stature high. She was impressive, but I was stronger. “Alana and I had a nice little conversation a few minutes ago.” Her face stayed stony, but I saw a hint of surprise. “But none of that matters, because I know you won’t kill me. You can threaten me all you want, but in the end I live. So let’s end this charade. I think we’re both tired of it. You need what I have”—I pointed my finger at her chest—“and without it you lose.”
Her eyes narrowed, her power swirling around us. “Ah, but you need not be alive for me to take it,” she said. “I can just as easily drink my fill from your cold, dead body.”
“That’s not how this is going to work,” I answered, fisting my hands, my own power at the forefront, challenging hers equally. “You can fight me here and lose”—I bared my teeth—“because, make no mistake, you will not win. Or you can make one last deal with me and get what you so desire.”
She lunged at the same moment I lashed out.
We clashed in the middle, my hand landing around the throat, hard and fast. I was in my full Lycan form, my grip sure. I dragged her face within an inch of mine. “Do you feel that?” I snarled while she tried to throw more power at me, her fangs down, a savage sound issuing from her throat. But my shields were already in place, my magic kept her out. “That’s my power telling yours to fuck off. I’m not the newborn I was when we first met. It’s a funny thing harnessing power. It was in me all along. I just had to listen to my wolf and learn how to mold it.” My voice dropped so only she could hear me. I pulled her even closer. “Now, do you want to live, Eudoxia? Because I’m done playing these games with you. We make a deal here for the last time. My blood for your cooperation.”
Hate radiated from her. Both her hands tore at my grip and I let her go, tossing her back as I released her. She recovered instantly, her fangs down, eyes blazing. “You would give up your blood to me so easily,” she sneered, “for a mere favor?”
“No,” I retorted. “For an army.” Another large boom shook the walls. Stone crumbled inward, chunks of rock falling to the ground. She was no longer fueling the ward so it had only moments before it gave way. “The vampires align with the wolves indefinitely until this war runs its course. Our fights are your fights. Take it or leave it.”
“Never,” she raged, her hands fisted. “Nothing is worth aligning myself with you.”
I shrugged as more howls outside the walls rent the air. “Suit yourself, Eudoxia. But if you’re not willing to help me, stay out of my way.” Another shock wave hit just outside the yard and holes formed in the wall big enough for a human to crawl through. “No more games or I’ll kill you. I swear it.”
A sly smile crossed her lips and she took off into the sky without another word.
Well, that had gone well.
Rourke jogged toward me. “The ward is coming down. We need to gather everyone—”
My father flew around him, coming toward me in his wolf form incredibly fast. His eyes flashed a deep amethyst as his howl filled the air. He charged me without stopping and at the last moment leapt, sailing straight overhead, colliding with something coming through the wall behind me.
I scrambled to the side and saw an unfamiliar wolf, feral and dangerous, emerging from the outside. Half his fur was gone and he appeared crazed. He wasn’t nearly as big as my father, but his muzzle was foaming and his eyes were opaque, coated in a thick film of white.
More commotion erupted from behind the wall. Wolves were baying. They had tried to corner this abomination, but he had gotten through. They must have alerted my father internally. There’s no other way he knew it was coming.
My father had it pinned against the wall, his teeth in its neck. I had no idea if the blood alone would curse my father again, but there was nothing I could do.
The feral wolf flipped in his grasp, contorting its bones as it sprang free.
That wasn’t normal.
The wolf turned before my father could grasp it again and lunged for me. I crouched as it barreled toward me. But before it reached me, a fist shot out, connecting with its skull. It crashed into the wall, and with supernatural speed Rourke caught it by the neck before it could stand.
“Don’t let it bite you!” I shouted. The beast didn’t even seem fazed. Rourke twisted its neck and bones popped, but it kept moving, struggling to free itself.
It wasn’t going to die the normal way.
We needed something stronger.
“Looks like you could use some help,” a voice sounded from atop the wall behind me. “Those things are truly dreadful.”
Tally stood alongside six other witches, each armed for battle. She’d lost her black skullcap but had switched it to one of those badass green army hats pulled down low over her eyes, her long white hair pulled back in a tight ponytail.
She looked eons younger and tough as hell.
Relief flooded through me.
You knew things were at a breaking point when witches broke into a Vampire Coterie with spelled AK-47s strapped across their chests.
“That thing is cursed,” I yelled, pointing to Rourke and the struggling wolf, “and if it gets loose and bites one of your witches, they die. We need to take it out. Magic may be our only chance.”
Rourke had one hand around its middle and one around its neck. Its head was at a funny angle, but it was still struggling. Rourke was stronger, thank goodness. My father circled, waiting for a chance to help.
“This thing won’t die. I broke its neck twice,” Rourke ground.
“Toss it into the yard and we’ll take it from there,” Tally called.
In an instant her flock spread out along the top of the wall, legs splayed as they cocked their guns at their shoulders. “Don’t be shy,” she said. “The ammo in these guns is spelled. We will either kill it or maim it, but it will be down long enough to find a way to take it out permanently. I don’t care if the most powerful priestess in the world cursed that thing. My magic is stronger.”
Rourke nodded once. He twisted at the waist, and with a huge roar sent the abomination flying into the yard.
It hit the ground once and the witches let loose.
27
They all fired at once and bullets poured into the beast. “Cease-fire.” Tally raised her hand and they stopped like clockwork. We all waited a few seconds. The thing was riddled with holes as big as softballs.
It convulsed once.
“Stand back,” Tally ordered. “Things are about to get messy.” It started to quiver, and foam began leaking out of the holes. “I take that back—run!”
“What’s happening?” I shouted as I took off.
“It’s going to blow that curse all over the yard. I never know how a supe is going to react to my spells until I see it. My ‘kill’ spell is killing the wolf, but the only way to truly kill it is to rid it of the curse, so that’s what it’s doing.”
Her witches had no need of a second warning. They were already gone. I glanced around me as I raced along the wall. Rourke was too far the other way. “I’m going through a hole in the stone,” I called.
“I’ll follow you when I can. Go now before that thing explodes,” he yelled.
The thing started to gurgle.
“Go!” he shouted.
I dove through a small opening right as the beast exploded, raining a curse around the yard. It sounded juicy, like a gigantic water balloon splattering. I rolled twice without looking and crashed into something solid.
My head smacked it cleanly.
I sprawled on the ground, my arms at my sides. My wolf yipped at me to get up. I’m going, I’m going. I think I just cracked my skull open. Give me a second. Adrenaline coursed through me, trying to heal me quickly, but I was still fuzzy. I brought a hand up to my forehead.
“Hiya,” the most welcome voice ever said from above me. “Whatcha doing on the ground? Don’t you know there are
demons running around all over the place? Didn’t you learn a single thing while I was gone? Safety first.”
I rolled over and stumbled to my feet, crushing her in a big hug. “Marcy! You’re here and you’re alive! I knew you would be, but I’m so incredibly happy to see you.”
“I can see that, because you’re squeezing the ever-loving life out of me. Time to ease up before your superstrong wolf power breaks me in half.” She chuckled and I let her go reluctantly. “Seriously, though, what are you doing out here? You were much safer back in there.” She gestured over the wall. “Once they find you’re out here, they’ll swarm us.”
“I had to come out so I didn’t get cursed. It was either hightail it through the wall or die a horrid, painful death. And the ward just crumbled anyway, so I imagine the demons will be everywhere soon.”
“Come on, then.” She waved me to follow. “James has all the wolves worked up into a frenzy back here. They’re barking and jumping all over the place. No demons or sorcerers have messed with us yet, but that’s because Nick—”
“Nick!” I yelled as I ran ahead and embraced him. After a big hug, I brought him back at arm’s length. I had so many questions. “Great work out here. When did the wolves arrive? And how in the world did you coax the witches here?”
“They came on their own,” he said. “I had nothing to do with that. But Marcy and James are the ones to be thanked. They arrived shortly after I jumped the wall. James shifted and finally contacted Callum. He’s been rallying the Pack out here since they started showing up. We have a good contingency assembled now.”
I turned to Marcy. “How did you guys find us?”
“We were trailing the sorcerers who kidnapped me. We knew they were going after you, because I’d overhead them scheming, so when they abruptly headed south, we followed. We ended up here, and once we saw Nick, we knew there was big trouble—which was no surprise, since trouble follows you like a horde of angry bees to honey.” She grinned. “So we adopted a new, sparkly agenda that included saving you from the bad sorcerers and the evil demons.”
I glanced around me for the first time. “What is this place?” We stood in the middle of a large barricade made up of what appeared to be car parts. “Marcy, did you make a fort?”
“Yes, and it’s spelled,” Marcy said proudly. “James ripped the cars apart to protect me and I spelled it. That’s why it hurt your head. It’s meant to stun anyone who touches it. But when I saw it was you, I snapped my fingers and, voilà, you were cured. No more massive head injury.”
“We’ve secured the perimeter around this entire area,” Nick said, gesturing to a wider arc. I didn’t see any Pack wolves. I could only hear them, so the contained area had to be a lot bigger. “The Pack has managed to keep the fracture wolves back, except the one who just snuck through. I also found I can use my persuasion to some degree on the younger sorcerers and the low-level imps. I’ve managed to convince a few to abandon their plans, but it won’t hold for long. The High Priests are starting to show up and that means they will call up Demon Lords. Things are about to get heavy.”
We heard some commotion to the left and James came into view. He strode up. “Hello, Jessica, it’s good to see you are well.”
I reached out to give him a hug.
“Don’t even think about it, missy.” Marcy’s voice held an order. “He’s mine. A simple handshake will do. No touching anymore. Like ever.”
I stifled a laugh and reached out to shake his hand. “James, it’s such a relief to see you here. My father will be happy to hear you’ve coordinated things on this side.”
“I don’t know if ‘happy’ is the correct word,” James said. “But we have spoken and he has been … amiable. It was by chance I shifted when I did and called out to him. He wouldn’t tell me what was wrong, but I told him you were here and he changed his course.”
“If you hadn’t done that, he would’ve died,” I said firmly. “We owe you and I’m certain he will welcome you back when he understands the scope of what went on. And I can see I was right in thinking you’d gone after your mate.” I addressed Marcy. “Congrats, by the way. He’s quite a catch.”
“Thank you. I’m keeping him.” She preened as she glanced at him with adoration and genuine happiness.
James nodded once.
As always, he was a man of few words.
For the first time I noted their appearances. They were both dirty, clothes ripped. Marcy’s stellar red hair, which always looked impeccably styled, hung loosely around her shoulders. It was clear whatever they’d been through had been rough.
“The feral wolves in the fracture pack are cursed. We need to warn the Pack to stay away from them. One bite and they’re deadly to us,” I said. “My father said they’d been made.”
“What?” Nick exclaimed. “That can’t be right. Shifters can’t be made.”
“That’s what he believes,” I cautioned. “And now that I’ve seen one, I have to agree. They’re not normal wolves and if we engage them, it could be fatal.”
“Then it’s time for me to shift,” James said. “We’ll have to change our focus from the demons to the wolves if that’s the case. The demons want you, but the wolves will fight us to the death no matter what.”
I peered out into the night. “Speaking of shifting, Rourke should’ve been here by now,” I said. “I wonder what happened?” A shiver ran through me at the thought the curse had touched him. But I would’ve known, or felt something, so I tried to relax.
“I haven’t seen anyone else come over the wall,” Marcy said. “But if he’s anything like mine, they growl a lot when you’re not around.”
I made a move to leave the junkyard fort, but Nick caught my arm. “Jess, you can’t go back out there. It’s better if you stay in here. Once the demons know you’re here, they’ll come soon enough.” He shook his head. “What’s happening here shouldn’t even be possible. Sorcerers don’t have the power to summon Lords. No one can. So it’s clear they’ve made a prior agreement with each other, which makes the entire thing unprecedented on the biggest level.”
I shivered, remembering the Demon Lord in the cave.
“The sorcerers want my life force,” I said, “but the demons think I’m an outlaw, powerful enough to rule their race if I were given the opportunity. They want to stop me at all costs. I have a court date in the Underworld already, and once the date arrives, the Lord said I would pop to that plane automatically. But if that’s the case, why are they here now?” None of it made much sense.
“I have no idea, Jess,” Nick said. “All the information I have about the Underworld is strictly from books. They are intensely powerful and their magic feels strange and foreign.”
He was right. “Foreign” was a good word. It tasted strange, more than just sulfur. It had an odd undertone.
Something flew over the wall in front of us.
It howled on the way down, crashing into a nearby Dumpster. It was an imp. There was a ferocious roar and another one flew over, greasy hair flying. Then Rourke’s entire body smashed through a hole in the wall.
He was livid, his arms braced.
I crossed my arms. “There’s my guy now.” I smiled at Marcy. “He must’ve come across some more trouble. The ward has completely fallen, because the imps must be coming in from the other side. Can he see us?”
“Holy caveman. He can see us, but we look like human bag ladies watching the show from behind a heap of scrap metal.” Marcy chuckled.
I glanced at her sideways. “You know, you never cease to amaze me.” Marcy had definitely found her groove. There was a time when she’d suffered from a lack of confidence, which had kept her out of her aunt’s Coven, but the world wasn’t dealing with the same girl any longer. Her recent adventures had changed her in a big way. “Did I mention I’m glad you’re alive? Not only do I love seeing your smiling face but if you’d have turned up dead, I would’ve followed you shortly if Tally had anything to say about it.”
&nbs
p; “Yeah, she’s a cranky old bitty. She would zap you into never-never land just because she can. But can you believe she showed up here?” she exclaimed. “She never does anything for anyone. So consider yourself part of the elite. But, honestly, do you know how much this is going to cost you? Witches never do anything for free. You’ll never make another dime. All your future paychecks are going straight to the Coven.”
“Not this time,” I said, shaking my head. “She’s fighting for you, not me. I’m pretty sure she’s here because Maggie told her to come. That child probably had another vision and said, ‘If the wolf lady gets killed, Auntie Marcy will die.’ So Tally felt compelled to come to save her favorite niece.”
“Isn’t Maggie a little charmer? Spooky as hell, but you can’t help wanting to give those cheeks a squeeze. I love her up every time I see her. But I also plug my ears whenever she starts chanting. Some things are better left unknown.”
“You got that right,” I said.
“Jessica, where are you?” Rourke’s bellow was just short of manic. “The low-level demons have broken through the wall. If they have you, I’m going to tear this place apart.”
“I’m right in front of you,” I called, waving. “But you have to come inside the barricade to see it’s me.”
He paced closer, growling fiercely. “The vamps have disappeared. They were there one second and gone the next. The witches seem to know what’s going on, however, and are prepared to fight. Whatever’s stocked in their ammo is working on the imps.” He lifted his nose to scent the area. “I can smell you, but I can’t see you.”
“Keep walking. Marcy has spelled a small area. Once you get closer, you should see a couple of old ladies. Did the curse get on anyone?”
“Yes, one of the witches who was coming around the yard got sprayed, but Ray is on it.” He made his way over to us. “Tally has him by the neck, even though he’s cooperating. She doesn’t trust him not to drink her witch dry.”
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