by Linsey Hall
“Yep, do it.” The charm that Shen had given me had a tracking beacon on it, so he should be able to find us. “Shen should be here soon. We’ll make it.”
Lachlan stepped up to the edge of the tunnel, his magic filling the air. The water bowed outward as he forced it back. I followed him into the new tunnel he’d created.
“I’ll do what I can, then you take over,” he said.
We pushed our way through the water, Lachlan building more and more tunnel as we walked, forcing the water away from us.
Muffin hissed. Incoming!
I turned, catching sight of demons spilling into our new tunnel. “Cut them off!”
Lachlan glanced back. A second later, water splashed in on the demons.
Our tunnel was cut off from its air source. We were officially in our own little bubble, deep under the Atlantic Ocean.
“How long do you think we have?” My breath heaved, sucking up as much oxygen as possible. I forced myself to slow. We couldn’t afford for me to freak out right now. Totally not an option.
“No idea,” Lachlan said.
We made our way across the seafloor, putting as much distance as we could between us and the demons who pursued us. The ground beneath my feet was a combo of mud and sand, and we passed coral heads that were larger than I was.
I turned to check our progress and caught sight of the Fish Men swimming toward us, spears in their hands. “Oh crap. They’re coming.”
And that was the major downside of not having gills and flippers. I might’ve been able to breathe underwater, but I was still as awkward as a human. I didn’t stand a chance.
Lachlan still had enough power to keep commanding the water to move out of the way of our air bubble, but I added my power to his. We needed to move faster.
This was like the slowest, weirdest chase in the history of magic. At one point, a giant grouper stared at us with his huge eyes.
Too bad you aren’t a fishy Snow White, Muffin meowed. You could tell that big tasty fish to attack the demons.
That would be convenient.
But I couldn’t, and the demons were so damned close. Their bright green eyes glowed through the dark as they neared. I drew my sword from the ether, ready for them.
“They’re coming,” I said. “You keep the bubble going. I’ll fight.”
Muffin meowed. Fish Men for dinner!
When the first one broke through our barrier, I lunged, stabbing with my sword. I pierced him through his gilled throat, then kicked him in the stomach and forced him back into the water.
The trauma to the edge of the bubble caused air to flutter away from our main compartment.
Oh no.
Every attack would make our bubble smaller. And was the air already getting harder to breathe?
I shook away the worry and focused on the next Fish Man. He burst through, followed by a partner that I hadn’t noticed. I went for the first guy. Muffin went for the second.
I swiped my sword across his chest as he jabbed out with his spear. I dodged the spear, and green blood poured from the wound. He roared.
Muffin attacked the other, claws flying as he flew around the Fish Man’s head.
I kicked my wounded Fish Man out of our bubble, then did the same with Muffin’s.
We could do this!
We just had to hold them off until Shen got here. Not much longer.
Right?
We kept moving and fighting, moving and fighting.
Then the attack came. A dozen of them. Reinforcements, maybe. Their eyes glowed in the ocean as they neared.
“Take Shen’s pill!” I shouted. “Incoming!”
I dug into my pocket and shoved the pill into my mouth, then swallowed quickly. It would help me breathe. For a little while, at least. My heart thundered as they neared.
“You better scram, Muffin.” My voice trembled.
I was afraid of heights, but also apparently of drowning thousands of feet below the ocean’s surface.
Muffin disappeared, thank fates.
The Fish Men attacked as one, surrounding the bubble and plowing inside. Such a huge attack broke the surface tension that kept the bubble in shape.
The world exploded around me as our huge bubble turned into thousands of small ones that shot to the surface of the ocean, leaving us behind.
Suddenly, I was slow and awkward, kicking and swinging my sword at the attacking Fish Men. They were graceful and agile, used to this strange world. I tried to control the ocean, but water rushing against water didn’t mean much. It had to interact with something, like air, for me to have any effect.
From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Lachlan.
Somehow, he fought with grace and power, wounding any Fish Man that approached. But they were too fast and too strong. Too many of them.
I couldn’t create fire down here, nor wind, but I tried the earth, making the sandy bottom rise up and slam into the Fish Men that attacked. It wasn’t perfect—I was too slow underwater—but it held them off as I tried to kick my way to the surface, Lachlan at my side.
But we were too far down. It’d take hours at this speed. We barely had ten minutes.
We were screwed.
15
Panic started to tighten like a vise around my muscles. When I caught sight of the bright green lights cutting through the ocean, elation filled me.
“Shen!” I tried to scream.
But just bubbles came out.
He seemed to hear a hint of noise, though, and turned toward us, cutting through the water with killer efficiency. He opened his massive mouth and roared, the sound vibrating the water around us.
The Fish Men panicked, swimming away from us as fast as they could. Shen swam by, and we grabbed on, clinging to the spikes that protruded from his back.
To the surface! I tried to scream at him. None of that diagonal long way. Straight to the surface of the river in Manhattan. I needed to get some freaking air. Lachlan, even more so. He didn’t have my ability to breathe underwater.
There was no way Shen could have heard us, but he wasn’t an idiot. He’d seen our situation when he arrived.
The sea dragon shot for the surface, swimming straight up. The water tore at my hair as we ascended, and I clung to him. No freaking way I’d be losing my grip now.
When we broke through the surface, I sucked in a happy breath.
Oh fates, that felt good.
Waves lapped at us as I gasped raggedly. A huge moon gleamed on the ocean. There was nothing for miles. Not a speck of land or a single ship. The air was cool and the ocean colder.
I collapsed on Shen. “Definitely a one-time thing.”
“Aye, I’ve seen enough of the realm of the Fomori.” Lachlan squeezed my arm.
Shen huffed, then began to shoot toward shore. When we neared the city, he turned off the light that shot from his eyes and ducked down low in the water so he couldn’t be seen. Our pills had worn off, so he didn’t submerge us. If anyone looked, we’d look like a weird pair of synchronized swimmers, shooting through the water way too fast to be normal.
It was strange, zipping through New York City on the back of a Chinese sea dragon, but I couldn’t appreciate it. All I could do was worry about my mother. The Protectorate would be actively gathering forces, though, and we’d be back there any moment.
Shen found the first quiet, abandoned spot and swam to the shore, dropping us off.
“Thanks,” I said.
He nodded his big head, then dived deep into the river.
I turned to Lachlan. “Can you make a portal?”
He was already doing it. Magic glowed around his palm, and I stepped through the portal, letting the ether suck me in. It pulled me through space and spat me out in Scotland, on the front yard of the castle.
The sun was high in the sky now, midday at least. Lachlan appeared next to me, and we raced into the main entry hall of the castle.
It was chaos inside, full of people in battle garb. More flowed down
the stairs and out of the halls, clearly joining the main force that would leave soon.
Oh, thank fates.
Love for the Protectorate slammed into me like a bus. It was my job to hunt the Fates. And the Protectorate would protect anyone who was under attack by them.
But the way that they quickly rallied forces to protect my mother’s village made my heart swell. Even Potts stood ready for battle, the old librarian wearing ancient armor and carrying a wicked looking bow and arrow.
“Ana!” Bree raced through the crowd, her boyfriend, Cade, at her side. The massive man towered over her, a scowl on his face. His war face, I had to bet. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.”
“You’re really wet.” She eyed me up and down.
“It’s been a long day.”
Boris the rat sat on her shoulder, his whiskers twitching angrily. “What are you doing, Boris?”
The rat chittered, but I couldn’t understand him. He was clearly pissed, though.
“He’s coming to the fight,” Bree said. “He’s Celtic, remember? I found him in the war camp of the Celtic god Cocidius.”
“Thanks for joining the fight, Boris.” I had no idea what the little rat would do, but I’d long since stopped doubting someone because of their size or species. Rat took that to the extreme, but who was I to judge? I looked at Bree. “Everyone almost here?”
“Ready to go in five minutes.”
“No time to change, then.”
“I’ve got you.” A voice sounded to my right.
A turned to see Nix, our FireSoul friend from Magic’s Bend. And a conjurer.
Joy and gratitude swelled in my chest, threatening to pop out of my eyes as tears. Cass and Del stood with her, the other two FireSouls who always showed up when we needed them. Three massive men stood behind them. Aidan, Roarke, and Ares, their boyfriends or fiancés or whatever they were. They’d been together years, at least. Connor and Claire, owners of the cafe P & P, stood behind them, grinning.
“Here.” Nix shoved some freshly conjured clothes and boots into my arms, then did the same for Lachlan.
“Thank you.” I grinned at her, then hurried off to find a quiet place to change. It ended up being a broom cupboard, and I was done in less than a minute.
I rejoined them. “Thank you for coming. We need all the help we can get. I think their forces are at least a hundred highly trained mercenaries.”
From the look of our forces here, we had no more than thirty-five or forty. We’d need luck and skill on our side if we weren’t going to lose anyone.
“Good, you’re back.” Jude’s voice sounded from behind us.
I turned, glad to see my mentor and hopefully future boss.
“Do you know why they’re attacking?” Jude asked.
“No idea. But it was clear that the target was my mother’s village.”
“All right, we’d better get a move on. We’ve got as many as we can manage.”
I turned, searching for Rowan.
As if she knew what I was looking for, Bree said, “Rowan is getting the buggy.”
“Good. That’ll help.” My fingers itched to take the wheel. I always felt best when fighting from the buggy.
“Time to go!” Jude shouted. “Meet on the lawn! Emily will make a portal!”
We trooped out onto the lawn, ready to fight. Mayhem, the ghostly pug, flew ahead of everyone, leading the charge with an excited yip.
A massive portal waited for us, glowing bright despite the daylight. Emily, the transport mage, stood next to her creation. It was rare that she made one of these, but this time, we needed it.
Rowan waited with the buggy. Its engine idled with a fierce grumbling sound. I sprinted toward her, then leaped up onto the front platform. Lachlan joined me, along with Bree and Cade. Caro, Ali, and Haris climbed onto the back, while the FireSouls and their partners squeezed in wherever they could fit. Claire and Connor completed the group. We were like a deadly clown car.
From the ground, Jude met my eyes. “We’ll save your mom.”
My throat tightened. “Thanks.”
“Go!” Jude shouted.
Rowan pressed her foot to the gas, and the buggy rolled through the portal, leading the charge toward war.
The ether sucked us in and spat us out in the middle of the same field where I’d gone with Maira and the druids so recently. Slowly, Rowan drove toward the towering stone circle, our fellow fighters marching alongside.
We had to get everyone through, which would be no easy task, since a non-Celt would have to be holding a Celt’s hand to make the journey.
I looked over at Cade, who stood with an arm wrapped around Bree’s waist. He was Belatucadros, a Celtic war god. “Do you think this will work?”
“We’ll try. If everyone holds hands, we might manage it in one group.”
“Like a big friendship circle of war.” A dry smile tugged at the corner of my lips. “Here’s hoping.”
I looked at Rowan. “Let everyone get into the circle, but stop the buggy at the edge. I don’t want to get sucked through the portal and leave everyone behind.”
Once everyone else was inside of the circle, the buggy stopped right at the perimeter.
I stepped up to the edge of the railing on the front fighting platform. I was high enough up that everyone could see me, and all eyes were glued on the buggy. “All right! Join hands.”
I reached down, grabbing onto Jude’s hand. She reached for Potts, who stood next to her, who reached for Hedy. Jesse Ammons reached for Cade on the other side, and the group of warriors formed a strange parody of something you’d see in a children’s schoolyard.
I reached my other hand back for Lachlan, who grabbed it. He then reached for Rowan, and so on, until everyone in the buggy had a hand. Rowan had to turn the steering wheel with a raised knee, but it was no problem.
Finally, we formed a circle.
I shouted, “Get ready!”
Rowan pressed her foot lightly to the gas, and the buggy rolled slowly inside the circle. Immediately, I felt the portal’s magic pull at me. I resisted it until the whole buggy was inside. We needed everyone for this.
The tug was difficult to resist, and by the time we were in, I was sweating. I stopped fighting it and let the ether suck me in. I said a quick prayer to the fates—not those Fates—then opened my eyes.
We were here.
All of us.
And in the distance, a massive army approached the first exterior wall of the Oppidum.
My heart thundered with the drums of war.
“We’re not too late.” Gratitude echoed in my voice as I dropped my friend’s hands.
“But that’s a big army,” Bree said.
There were more than one hundred, definitely. Two hundred and fifty. Maybe three hundred.
Thank fates the FireSouls had shown up. They were the big guns, and we needed them.
“I’m going to make room for someone on the buggy.” Bree unfurled her silver wings, ready to take to the sky. She called her shield from the ether.
“Be careful.” I gave her a hard hug, then she grinned and shot upward.
At the back, Aidan, Cass’s boyfriend, stood. “I’m bailing out, too.”
“Me too,” Cass said.
“Same.” Roarke, Del’s guy, climbed out.
Magic swirled around them all as they transformed. Roarke’s shirt disappeared as his muscles grew and his skin turned a dark gray. Huge wings appeared at his back. Half demon, I’d heard Del call him. He shot toward the sky, ready for an aerial attack.
A swirl of golden light turned Aidan and Cass into huge griffons. Aidan’s beak looked like it could chomp a cow in half, and his claws were so wickedly long and sharp that they gave my sword a run for its money. He was a natural griffon shifter, while Cass was a Mirror Mage. Today, she was mirroring Aidan.
It was smart. Aerial attacks would definitely improve our chances.
I turned to the crowd. “Long-range fighters, climb on! We�
��ll drop you off at strategic points.”
Three archers climbed on—Potts included—along with two fire mages, an ice mage, and Lavender.
I nodded at her, grateful that she’d come.
She nodded back. “Drop me near some rocks.”
“Okay.” We might not like each other, but we had each other’s backs. That’s how the Protectorate worked.
“We’ll have to be smart.” I looked at Rowan. “Drive to the front of our forces. We’ll form a shield for any long-range attacks as we approach.”
She grinned and pressed on the gas.
I turned to everyone else and caught Jude’s eye. She nodded, giving me the go-ahead.
Steady calm filled me.
I should be nervous.
I’d never commanded such a big operation before. And holy fates, this was big. I’d bet the buggy that no trainee had ever commanded something so enormous.
But this was my fight. My mother. My Otherworld.
The black scar on the land caught my eye, and I vowed to fix it. Somehow.
I turned to the crowd and shouted, “Get behind the buggy! We’ll block long-range attacks.”
They filed in, and we moved forward. The approaching army was a half mile off, and only a couple hundred yards from the first of the three walls surrounding the Oppidum on the hill.
We moved fast, gaining on them. It helped that Bree flew to the front of their forces and sent her lightning flying into the ground, creating a wall. It scattered them, making them move more slowly. There was something huge in the middle of their forces, almost the size of an elephant.
When the first long-range attack came, I called on my shield magic. It burst forth, as if all my practice lately had helped. Or maybe it was the stakes.
Never had so many lives depended upon me.
The fireball that hurtled toward us slammed into my shield, making my arms shake. We plowed forward, dropping archers and long-range fighters on rock outcroppings that gave them a good vantage point.
“Thanks,” I said to Potts as he jumped off.
“Don’t think this means I’ll let you mess around in the library,” he grumbled as he took a knee and began to fire flaming arrows into the crowd of demons that marched toward the walls. He was a crack shot, and his arrows could go insanely far.
