The Wild Rites Saga Omnibus 01 to 04

by Anna McIlwraith

  Leah stepped up next to Emma, wiping her mouth. “Do we have a plan?”

  Telly’s hand pulsed with warmth against Emma’s neck. His tone was wry when he spoke, close to her ear. “Em? Do we?”

  She stepped away from his touch. Twisted her wrist out of Red’s grip. Fear and magic assaulted her, cold and terrible, waves of it crashing over her, and she breathed it in — needed to be afraid, needed to panic, needed the adrenalin. Alexi. Alexi. She didn’t dare reach out to him, but she knew he was fighting for his life, just knew.

  A plan? Not exactly.

  Fern read her through the merge. He took a few steps away and stripped, rain instantly slicking his pale and wondrous form, all long muscle and strength and vitality now, so different to the ghost he’d been mere days ago. But the same. He changed, tarantula bursting forth from the white light. Emma went to him, put her hand on his spiny foreleg.

  “Ivan.” She beckoned him. “You’re the one with the grenades, so you stay human and ride with me.” He nodded. “Shadi.” The magi met Emma’s eyes, his own eyes so very human, Emma had to work to remember that he’d levitated himself and two unconscious bodies hundreds of feet down a sheer cliff face. “You’re not as fast as the others, so you should ride too.”

  Beneath his beard, Shadi’s face lost a little color. His throat worked. “Of course, my lady commander.”

  “You’ll be just fine. Can you ride and shoot your bow at the same time?”

  Shadi’s expression went from nauseated to indignant in a flash, the way she’d known it would. His nostrils flared and he flicked wet hair out of his face with a toss of his head. “You are baiting me.”

  She smiled. “A little. Any other tricks you have up your sleeve, now is the time to use them. Everyone else, take whichever form you like, and stay alive. Take out as many serpent priests as you can. If we’re overwhelmed, Red will get us out, but we’ve gotta be roughly in the same place, so stay close. That’s the plan.”

  “Good plan.” Leah sounded genuine.

  “Thanks. Ivan, I’ll need one last thing before we climb up.”

  He lifted his sharp chin. “Yes, devotchka ?”

  Emma put her hand on the side of his face, rain trickling between her fingers and off the tip of his hawkish nose. She reached inside of herself, and let her power unfurl as she opened the Call. “I’ll need your beast.”

  The power jumped under her hand, hot and muscular. Ivan’s eyes went wide and flashed electric blue and the scent of fur and sap and woodsmoke spiked into the air. Emma had a second to feel the magic of the wolf sliding between them, felt an echo of Katenka and Yevgeny through the bond, and then the berserker rage woke up inside her.

  She let Ivan go. Realization dawned in his face. “I didn’t know it would pass to you with the pledge,” he whispered, voice broken. “I’m sorry.”

  Vision going red and sound narrowing down to the rush of her own blood in her ears, Emma shook her head, breath coming hard now. “Don’t be sorry,” she managed to say, fangs aching. “I’m not.”

  Fern reared as the rage flowed through the merge and filled him, and Emma used his legs to climb up onto his back, limber in spite of the awkward weight of the tactical vest, strength bursting through her like a drug, as her hands and legs shook with the rising urge to destroy everything in her path. It was good. With the berserker shadow filling them both they wouldn’t hesitate, fear for Alexi wouldn’t stop Emma in her tracks. Shadi, to his credit, followed her up and anchored himself beside her, and Ivan came up in one smooth leap, then settled in a crouch at her other side. She glanced down one last time to see Red’s grim expression, Leah and Fatima’s eager faces, Telly white-eyed and bleeding pale light.

  Horne should have been down there, with them, but he was not, and he never would be again.

  The berserker rage crested, wiping out all thought.

  Emma roared.

  They charged.

  38

  Fern was fast. There was no rolling rhythm to his stride, just flat-out speed and the heavy drumming of his claws tearing up grass and earth. Rain whipped their faces; shrieks and cries rose from nearby jungle. For a moment Emma felt like she was flying, pure elation, primitive and free. Then they reached the valley floor where everything was smoke and chaos, screams and magic, and they hurtled into battle.

  Gunfire flashed and boomed. The air rippled with power, white light arcing into the night. Emma caught a glimpse of Telly wheeling to the left, his form lengthening before the light overtook him, but then the berserker rage had her and everything receded except for the need to kill.

  Kill Alexi’s enemies. Keep him safe.

  A wall of freezing terror-laden magic hit them a heartbeat before the first rank of serpent priests boxing Alexi and Seshua in turned. Yellow eyes burned like lanterns in the dark. Emma needn’t have worried about identifying them; their intentions screamed at her as they bore down on her mind with their telepathy, closing ranks and advancing, paralyzing fear and menace rolling off them to fill the air. But the berserker rage was a red, pulsing wall in her mind, and the force of it kept her breathing, harsh and hungry, when the serpent priests’ power would have smothered her.

  Fern stopped, rearing so that Emma and the other two didn’t go sailing over his head with the momentum, his forelegs up in attack position and fangs out. He hissed. She felt the moment when the serpent priests realized who they were dealing with, because the priesthood were all connected, and it was the same moment that Alexi realized she was there.

  He touched her mind. Didn’t bother with words. Didn’t bother trying to tell her to turn around and get out. He simply roared and started fighting his way back to get to her.

  Emma bared her teeth at the advancing serpent priests and swung down to stand with Red Sun in front of Fern. “He’ll be trying for the temple,” Red said. “Trying to get to the Sleeping God.” Red took a step toward Emma. Without looking at him, she snarled, the voice of the Russian wolves vibrating through her, and he stopped. Leah and Fatima moved out, sprayed the serpent priests with machine gun fire, but they were more powerful now — ever since Alexi destroyed the anchor — and they just kept coming, hair whipping in the storm of their own power, eyes glowing fever bright through the rain.

  Alexi was too far beyond the enemy line for Em to see him through the haze of smoke and rain and darkness, but she felt him — he wasn’t trying to shield their link. It helped her think past the pounding urge to kill everything in her path. Do not give up your position to get to me! I’m here to help you, not to be rescued.

  Alexi’s mind bore down on her. Furious. Breathtaking. Run. That would help.

  Emma felt him take a hit, a blow like a sledgehammer sending him staggering, and she couldn’t answer him because the berserker rage took over. She heard herself scream, a piercing falcon cry; Fern’s darkness filled her, his power an offering, and she took it and flung it at the first rank of serpent priests.

  Blood and gore rained down as they disintegrated. For a moment the battle paused. Emma saw Alexi several yards away, her vision skimmed red so that the blood on his face and bare chest gleamed black. There were two other men with him — like him, long-haired and lean — with swords in hand, but they seemed to be protecting Alexi’s back and flanks. There was a sword in Alexi’s hands too, and something long and massive thrashing at his feet; another blow from the sword stilled it, and he lifted his head, his eyes burning yellow beacons, but more of those huge nightmare shapes shot out of the dark and dragged him and his lieutenants down.

  Boa constrictors. The serpent priests’ other shape — giant freaking boa constrictors. They were at least three times the width of a grown man’s chest and Emma couldn’t even guess how long. One of them had Alexi in its coils while his lieutenants hacked at it, and three more were heading for Emma and her people.

  Make that two: a russet shape streaked out of the storm, lightning arcing ahead of it, and then the pony-sized red fox hit one of the boas as it lifted its mass
ive wedge shaped head to mount a defensive strike. It screamed and Emma could’ve sworn she heard Telly’s laughter.

  But there were more coming. Emma gathered the power of the merge with Fern, shivering with the terrible dark taste of it, and flung the power out again.

  First the serpent priests coming at them seemed to explode; then with razor focus Emma concentrated again, this time on the one that held Alexi, and he was suddenly sliding in a swathe of blood and other awful things.

  Emma took a step forward. There were more coming. What do you need?

  He must have been hurt worse than he looked, because his thoughts touched her mind before he could shield them and answer her more carefully. She saw what he planned to do — not all of it, but enough.

  Seshua is bringing reinforcements. Go, Emma please. I cannot do this without knowing you are safe.

  You can’t do this without me, she sent back, steel in her mental voice and feral rage banked behind her eyes. We can give you the opening you need to get into the temple, and we can give you one hell of an escort. “Telly!” She called as the walking god lifted his gore-streaked muzzle from his kill. “Go with Alexi and don’t give me any shit about it!” She shoved at Alexi’s mind. Move, now!

  Maybe it was shock at Telly’s presence, but miracle of fucking miracles, he obeyed her. He and his lieutenants whirled back towards the steps, Telly on their heels, the giant red fox’s tongue lolling and flashing teeth far bigger and whiter than any real fox might possess. Breathing hard with the effort of staying coherent through the berserker haze, Emma swung herself onto Fern’s back where Shadi and Ivan were reloading bow and gun.

  “Ivan, it’s time for you to do your thing. Alexi needs the temple gates cleared.”

  Ivan’s brow furrowed as his gaze went up the steps and took in the towering stone doors. “Cleared?”

  “Yeah.” Emma bared her teeth. “Gone. And soon.”

  “You don’t ask much, devotchka ,” he murmured, holstering his gun and slinging something from his back. “Fern, we got to get closer.”

  At Emma’s signal, Fern took off. That was when a fresh wave of serpent priests dropped from the high stone shelf above the entrance to the temple and charged, and Emma found they’d somehow created a shield against the power of the merge.

  Shadi swore beside her. “My lady, I cannot bespell them, their shields are too strong.”

  “Shit.” So he wasn’t the only one. “We can’t take them out,” Emma shouted out loud for Leah and Fatima’s benefit. “They’ve figured out how to block us. We need to cover Alexi!” He and Telly and the other two serpent priests were climbing the temple steps, gaining slow ground, slashing and hacking as yet more enemies surrounded them. Emma and Ivan and Shadi lurched to the left as Fern wheeled, hissing, batting bodies away with his legs. Fatima and Leah darted ahead, laying down covering fire. Then something happened that Emma had never witnessed before: a serpent priest broke through their lines and came straight at Fern, and without breaking stride, Fern lifted his front legs and arced his fangs out and struck. There was an agonized scream. Emma looked back over her shoulder as Fern dropped the body and galloped over it; the serpent priest lay curled around himself, unmoving, but his face and arms were swelling to grotesque proportions.

  Won’t kill him, Fern said with regret.

  “Tell your man to duck and cover,” Ivan said, his low voice yanking her attention back around.

  Alexi, get down.

  Telepathy was a wonderful thing; Alexi and Telly and the lieutenants threw themselves to the side just as Ivan fired the mini rocket launcher.

  The blast obliterated the temple doors along with several serpent priests that had fallen back to guard it. Rubble and smoke and dust cascaded down the stone steps. Ivan said something, but Emma’s ears were ringing so hard she couldn’t hear anything but her own pulse, and she crouched low on Fern’s back because she wouldn’t be any use to anyone until she could hear again —

  Pop! Sound came back, Fern’s energy vibrating through her as he shoved his own healing abilities through the merge. Alexi?

  His mind buffeted hers. We’re through. You must leave now — you don’t know what’s coming —

  They’ll try to come after you and stop you. She sat up, glimpsing him and the others at the top of the temple steps, as the dust cleared. Quit shouting at me and get on with it.

  Even the way he swung away and out of sight managed to convey his anger at her. Fine. I’ll send the walking god back for you.

  Emma would have laughed. But then there was a blinding flash as white light filled the air, the sky, the night, and every last one of the serpent priests took the shape of their beasts. Half of them shot up the temple steps, moving like muscular water and shadow after Alexi, but the other half turned.

  That was when the fight really began.

  There was no chance to retreat — the gigantic snakes were too fast. Leah and Fatima and Red Sun fell back to cover Fern, and Shadi loosed a volley of arrows into eyes and snouts, slowing them down, but Emma and Ivan couldn’t use their guns from above, the risk of hitting their own was too great, and everything else Ivan had up his sleeve required a lot more distance between him and his target. With a snarl he jumped down and waded in so he could use the gun, and only the berserker rage kept Emma from freezing in fear for him. White light flashed but Emma didn’t know who it was until Red’s beast brushed her mind via their link.

  I can’t flash us out of here with everyone either fighting or shooting, he said, mental voice painfully deep. But if you and Fern get clear —

  Not that again. She didn’t even bother with a response. Instead she swung down, anchored herself on Fern’s leg with her left arm, and smashed her marked hand down on the nearest scaly wedge shaped head. The snake uttered a high reptilian shriek that no true snake could ever have made, coiling backwards. Fern backed up, swinging Emma out of the way of a thrashing tail, but another one darted forward; Emma managed a glancing blow this time, more of a slap, and the snake reared up with its jaws splitting wide to strike and she knew Fern wasn’t going to be fast enough this time.

  There was a high pitched feminine scream of outrage, a brief strobe of light, and something golden and furious landed on the serpent priest’s head. More screams and bursts of white light erupted all around them. Fern wheeled, taking Emma with him, and then two strong arms caught her out of the air.

  She looked up into Ricky’s honey-brown eyes. The shock of it knocked the berserker rage loose. She was suddenly swamped with fear and adrenalin and pain, but mostly fear, fear for him — so afraid she couldn’t make a sound, couldn’t move, and oh Jesus the serpent priests were all around them she had to get him out —

  He shoved her behind him, brought up his gun and fired point blank into a serpent priest’s great reptilian eye. The head exploded.

  “Nice shot,” Anton called out. Emma whipped around. It was her worst nightmare — Ricky and Anton in combat together, two of the people she cherished the most — and oh God, the maidens were there too, golden and lithe, swarming over the serpent priests, snarls and feral cries ringing out into the night. A jaguar’s roar joined the sounds of battle; then another. Then Fern’s sister strode out of the steaming jungle, eyes black from lid to lid, and several of the changed serpent priests seemed to explode up into the air. A moment later, Cara used her telekinesis again to slam them upon the temple steps, spines snapping in concert.

  And the tide of the battle was turning. Behind her, Fern reared, hissing and squealing, and she and Ricky darted out of the way as he came down on a giant boa and sank his fangs in. His triumph sang through the merge.

  Heart pounding with the strangest mix of terror and fierce joy, Emma looked up at Ricky. “What are you doing here?”

  He looked up towards the rubble-strewn temple entrance and nodded. “Seshua called us, gave us the coordinates. Nice haircut, by the way.”

  Emma was shaking. “I’m going to kick his ass for bringing you here.”


  “Can’t kick all our asses,” Anton said as he came over, gun out and scanning twitching bodies. “Did Alexi make it to the inner sanctum? Oh hey, nice haircut. Jesus, Red,” he said loudly. “Put some pants on. And where’d you get that spare arm?”

  There was a huge flash of light and a whoosh of displaced air as Fern changed. “You can’t kill them yet,” Fern told her, reaching out to hold her steady. “They just saved our lives. Alexi?”

  Emma leaned into Fern, closed her eyes, and reached out to Alexi.

  Ricky made a curious noise. “Is the ground shaking?”

  GET AWAY FROM THE TEMPLE, EMMA, NOW!

  Thankfully, half of everyone present was bonded to Emma in some way or another, so when she ran, they followed.

  39

  The ground was definitely shaking. There was a sound like an avalanche, far off and vast, but getting closer. The closer it got, the louder it got, and by the time Emma and all of her people had cleared the steps and were sprinting flat out across the grassy clearing of the valley floor, the sound was so huge Emma could only think of air-raids and fighter jets, except fighter jets didn’t have a voice. And this did.

  Fear for Alexi and Seshua overwhelmed her and she had to stop and turn to look for them. Serpent priests were pouring out the temple doors and down the steps, most of them falling as the stones undulated and pitched beneath their feet, but she couldn’t see Alexi or Seshua or —

  Telly. He was a blur of red fur racing down the steps. Emma had time to understand that if Telly had left Alexi to die she would try, genuinely try, to kill the walking god — and then Alexi appeared, arms pumping and hair flying, with his two lieutenants coming behind him. Seshua wasn’t there. But something else was.