by Sharon Kay
Mathias laid a hand on Bianca’s shoulder. “You showed us enough. Thank you.”
“I’ve heard traveling with a porter is a lot different than going through a portal,” Ria said. At least, I hope so. Porters were rare. Only six or so existed in all the realms. They could be any species, but they all had the ability to transport anyone, anywhere, without needing a transportation amulet.
“Girl, it’s like night and day. Guess the portal didn’t agree with you?”
“Not at all.” Ria made a face. “You must be really busy.”
Bianca smiled. “Yes, but I make time for friends.” She grabbed both of their hands. “I need contact with both of you,” she explained to Ria. “Just relax, we’ll be there in a minute.”
Ria nodded and hoped like hell this wouldn’t make her sick again. She reached for her brother’s hand, wanting to hold on to as many tangible things as she could.
Bianca closed her eyes, and tendrils of fog swirled around their group. Ria was engulfed with the sensation of moving…rising… She couldn’t feel the ground beneath her feet. Fog surrounded them. She couldn’t see anything except Bianca and Mathias.
No doubt guessing her thoughts, he sent her a reassuring smile. She squeezed his hand and relaxed into the gray haze. Relaxed but ready for anything. The awful nauseating feeling of the portal never came, and then she felt the hard contact of ground beneath her boots.
The fog cleared. Ria sucked in a breath. “That’s it?”
“Yep.” Bianca released their hands. “Told you it was different than those amulets.”
“I wish we could do that all the time!” Ria exclaimed. Though the air was warm, she shivered as she glanced around.
They stood in a valley. Directly above them hung Torth’s two moons, waxing crescents partially obscured by clouds. The crash of rushing water reached Ria’s ears. Sparse pine trees rose in a cluster to one side. No creatures stirred or scurried.
“There. The house.” Mathias nodded to his left. “Bianca, thank you. We’re in your debt.”
“Are you sure you don’t need me? I can delay my trip. I’d break my contract for a Solsti.” Calm resolve shone in her eyes.
“I appreciate the gesture, but we’ve got it from here.” Mathias flicked a glance to Bianca and then back to the house. “We want to get her out as soon as possible, but we don’t know how long this will take. We don’t know about the wards on this place, or how many enemies are near. You’re not a trained fighter.”
Bianca nodded. “Got it. I suck at combat. Not that I wouldn’t try my best, but I don’t want to be a liability.” She turned to Ria. “It was nice to meet you.”
“You too,” Ria said.
“Good luck.” Bianca stepped back, closed her eyes, and disappeared in a swirl of mist.
“Let’s move.” Mathias jogged toward the house.
The night brought cooler temperatures, but since they were in the southern region of Torth, daytime would be swelteringly hot. Ria still wore her winter coat and it bordered on uncomfortable, but this wasn’t the place to leave it behind.
She followed Mathias, deferring to his superior senses. They approached the front of the house, getting close enough to make out the weathered boards of the steps that led up to a porch. The front door was closed, and one window was at the front of the house, with another on the side.
They shared a glance, then each jogged around opposite sides of the home.
Rounding the back corner, she gasped as a crackle of power singed the air. Unfamiliar and raw, it made the hair on her arms stand up. Her eyes widened. Oh my God. Her brother stood, hands on hips, staring at the back wall.
She whisper-yelled, “That came from inside the house!”
Mathias turned to her. His eyes held the same wonder that she was sure hers did. “Sure as shit, it did. And Gin’s alone in there.”
CHAPTER 25
MATHIAS DETECTED NO OTHER SCENTS or presences. That unusual cracking heat could only be Gin’s power.
Her energy signature was unique. Oddly, it bore no resemblance to that of her sisters. The trace of Gin’s power lingered in the air like smoke on a windless day. When he inhaled deeply, her energy pushed against his senses like a wild aura, deadly and menacing, yet it contained an element of coiled potency. It waited for her command.
His inner demon raged to see her safe. He wanted to bust down the door with fire in one hand and his dagger in the other and get her out as fast as possible. He hated that she was alone, probably scared, and definitely pissed at him. He wanted her back in his arms.
That is, if she’d want to be. He and Gin had left things between them in the shittiest stinking gutter known to man or demon.
Fuck. No time to dwell on personal shit right now. Whoever had tied her up may be back soon, and with friends. He and Ria made a good team, but there were scores of nasty nighttime creatures that roamed about. He didn’t want to attract any attention.
Mathias turned to Ria. “Feel the wards?” The air dripped with magical foreboding, like fire ants crawling on his skin. He didn’t fall for it. It was only a spell, one that would send weaker creatures running from this shit shack.
Problem was, the creepy-feeling spell was only the first layer. If they pushed through, they’d likely find a trap. They needed to disable the whole mess.
She nodded. “You want to start with the basic counter spells?”
“Yeah, I’ll do it.” All Watchers had to learn basic spells as part of their training. But depending on the skill of the witch or Elder who created the ward, the Watcher spells weren’t always enough to overcome it. Not all the Watchers were skilled in magic, though Arawn made all of them try it.
Mathias recited one spell in Demonish. Nothing happened. He said a second one, then a third. Nada. “Shit.”
Ria pulled out her gem phone. “I’ll call headquarters, get Fife on the line.” Fife was HQ’s resident mage, thousands of years old and had yet to encounter a spell he couldn’t dissolve.
Energy pulsed through the air, same as it had a minute ago. Gin. What was she trying to do? “Gin! We’re gonna get you out of there. Just hang on.” He didn’t know if she could hear him—the wards may have soundproofing elements—but it was worth a try.
“Ana’s getting him,” Ria said, covering the mouthpiece of her phone.
Wards were all different, usually created on a case-by-case basis. If tampered with, many had all kinds of nasty surprises. The edifice could explode or crumble. A horde of nasty creatures could rush out at the intruder. Poison darts could launch from the ground or walls. And so on. Any number of painful options for the person inside or the person outside.
Mathias clenched his fists and paced. Every second taunted him. Gin’s power lingered in the dark, dancing along his skin, stoking his need to get to her.
“Hey, Fife.” Ria walked up next to Mathias, studying the house. “Yes. It’s a small, wood frame building, looks like a house, with one female inside. Solsti.” She paused, then angled the phone away from her chin. “He says check for identifying talismans, like scales, bone, or iron. Or symbols, especially at entry points to the structure or at the cardinal compass points.”
Mathias bounced a glance to the moons to check their position. The house faced due south. He walked around it in a brisk circle, reaching out with all his senses. Checking…eyes scanning every nuance of dirt…There!
A briny aroma barely filtered through the air. He retraced his steps. Yep. It was present on every side, sprinkled in a circle around the house. Clever. It was common enough to seem harmless, even go unnoticed at first glance. He knelt and picked a few grains from the dirt and carried it over to Ria. “Black sea salt.”
Her brows knitted together. “Black sea salt in a circle around the house,” she said to Fife. She paused then grimaced before she spoke to Mathias. “He says that’s designed to keep us within the perimeter when the trap is sprung. And he still wants us to check for any weird symbols. That’ll give us a clue to what’s
in the trap.”
Mathias kicked a gap in the salt, breaking the perimeter just in case something ugly got out. Then he headed to the door, called by a sixth sense that if something was going to leap out, it would be triggered by a magical sensor there. He stood in front of it, studying every grain, knot, and seam. A breeze kicked up, scuttling the clouds across the sky. A sliver of moonlight, now free of cloud cover, glinted off the three hinges.
Wait. His eyes darted back to the hinges. This house was a shack with hole-ridden boards. It looked ready to fall over. Nothing about it said “new.” Those hinges shouldn’t be shiny enough to gleam…
“Found it,” he called to Ria.
She ran up the steps and stopped next to him, eyes roaming over the door. “What? Where?”
“The hinges are coated in dragon slime.”
She made a face and relayed the information to Fife. “Okay, got it.” She glanced up at Mathias. “He’s finding a counter spell. Says give him 30 seconds.”
Mathias nodded. Dragons were as rare as porters and should be avoided at all costs. They ate everything. Any creature, tree, mineral, or building. And they were the size of a double decker bus. He’d seen one once in his five hundred years, and that had been one time too many.
They produced slime to aid in digestion. At least, that was the rumor, since most people didn’t get near a dragon’s mouth and live to tell about it. “I don’t even want to know how some poor bastard collected that.”
“Me neither. And I bet not many sorcerers have access to it. Oh—yes, Fife?” She turned her attention back to her phone. “Yes, we’re here. No, we didn’t touch it. Yes, I’m ready.”
Ria took a deep breath and closed her eyes. After a pause, she recited a line in Demonish. She paused again, then recited another, giving voice to Fife’s counter spell. After the last line, she opened her eyes, looking back and forth from the door to Mathias. “Anything?” she whispered.
He squinted at the hinges as if he could remove the slime with sheer force of will. His eyes widened as wisps of steam rose from each one. The shiny clear slime turned dull reddish-brown. It cracked and began to flake, tiny specks flying in the air like embers. He let out a breath. “That did it.”
Ria grinned. “We’re in. Thanks, Fife.” She ended the call.
Mathias wrenched the doorknob, easily breaking the lock. “Gin, we—”
Her power crackled through the air again, this time followed by a rumble beneath their feet.
“What was that?” Ria’s eyes were huge as she darted into the house.
Mathias followed on her heels. “No fucking clue. This region isn’t prone to earthquakes.”
“Maybe there was another part to the ward?”
“Maybe. Too late to do anything about it now. Gin!” He flung open one of the bedroom doors and froze.
Gin lay on the bed, hands and feet bound with what he could now see was magic rope. It gave off a faint blue glow and a quiet buzzing noise. But what robbed his breath was the tendril of flame stretched across the room. Toward Gin, whose face registered no fear.
With total determination, she stared at the firebulb on the opposite wall. One long vine of fire stretched out from the bulb into the center of the room and dipped down, almost touching her feet.
She gasped and her head snapped toward him, green eyes huge. Emotions flicked across them in rapid-fire succession. Her eyes were so expressive he had no trouble discerning what she felt: surprise, dread, anger, bewilderment. He could only stare back silently, lost in their vortex and captivated by her power.
“What the—” Ria gasped loudly as she crowded into the doorframe next to him. “Holy shit! Gin! Oh my God!”
Gin’s eyes flicked back and forth between Ria and Mathias. “You’re here.” For a heartbeat, relief softened her stare before anger rushed in to dilute it. She opened her mouth then closed it, glaring.
He gritted his teeth against the need to see her free. But he didn’t want to get singed. “Can you, uh...” Mathias pointed to the flame. “Can you put that thing back? We need to get out of here.”
She nodded and turned to the fire. The air crackled with her power as the flame retracted, absorbing seamlessly into the firebulb. Her head dropped back onto the bed. “Are we in another world? How did you find me?” Her voice was hoarse.
It wasn’t hoarse this morning. Shit, had she been screaming for help? The portal alone had to be terrifying, let alone being kidnapped. Fuck. He was the world’s biggest asshole. He strode to the foot of the bed. “I can find people.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What does that ev—”
The earth shook again. Ria rushed to her side. “Uh-oh. Yes, we’re in another world, and it’s a long story. Are you okay? Let’s get rid of this.” Frowning at the blue rope, she placed her hands on it and murmured a spell. The rope couldn’t be untied by those whom it bound, but another creature could do it.
The rope fell away from Gin’s hands and she pushed herself up to a sitting position.
“You’re a demon.” She glared at Ria, but couldn’t conceal the wounded look in her eyes.
“Yes. I’m a Lash demon.” Ria reached for Gin’s hand. “I couldn—”
Gin held up a hand. “And you?” She turned icy eyes on Mathias.
Why did speaking the truth fill him with bitter guilt? “Yes.”
Gin closed her eyes and let out a breath. She wanted to kick the shit out of both of them, then have a good long cry. God damn it. “I don’t want to hear anymore. Just take me home.”
The earth shook again, hard enough to bounce the bed away from the wall. Mathias grasped her ankles.
She sucked in a breath. The warmth of his hands brought back memories of his touch on her ankles in her apartment, when he told her to keep her shoes on…God, what was wrong with her? He lied to me. Too bad her body didn’t seem to care; instead, it was damn happy to have his skin on hers again.
“First we need to get out of here.” He grabbed the rope and spoke the same strange words Ria had.
The rope slipped off her ankles and he met her eyes, concern shining from his own. He extended a hand to help her up, but she shook her head. “Don’t touch me.” Her muscles might be begging to melt into his arms, but her mind wouldn’t allow it. Not yet.
“Gin, I’m so—”
“Stop! I don’t want to hear another word, unless it’s about getting me home!” Rage barreled through Gin’s veins and she leapt off the bed. “Can’t you guys just pop back and forth?”
“It’s not always that simple,” Ria said. ”We don’t have a transportation amulet at the moment. And we don’t know—”
“Wait.” Gin narrowed her eyes. “How did you get here?”
“We had an amulet, but it was the one-time use kind.” Ria took a breath. “So—”
“So we’re stuck here?”
Ria shook her head. “We’re not stuck. But we do need to get out of this house now. We don’t know when that guy is coming back, or if he’s bringing friends.”
Gin was sorely tempted to make a sarcastic comment about this brilliant rescue plan. But she couldn’t. They were here. That counted for something.
“Enough. We need to move. You want to go, let’s go. Now.” Mathias barked orders like he was some kind of general.
Gin shoved past him and stalked into the small living area. The rolltop desk. She hurried over to it and peered at the test tubes.
Another heaving movement shook the house, and the glass beakers slid to the edge of the desk. Gin pushed them back as far as they would go. Some of the tubes had numbers written on them, and some had symbols. None contained any liquid or other material that she could see. She picked one tube up. Numbers written in neat columns…what do they mean? Did this place have different elements than the ones on Earth?
“Gin!” Ria ran over to her. “Now.” She grabbed Gin’s arm and pulled her toward the door.
Gin tucked the test tube in her pocket and tried to shake off Ria’s hold. Damn. She
was stronger than she looked. Then again, she wasn’t human.
“No dice, chica, we gotta get out right now.” Ria didn’t let go and marched her out the door after Mathias.
Mathias stood ten feet from the house, still as stone, facing the pine trees. He turned to Ria as she and Gin approached. “Do you hear that?”
Ria stopped and listened, confusion etched on her face. “What is that?”
Gin didn’t hear a thing. “What?”
“I don’t know, but I have a bad feeling about it.” Mathias frowned and looked at Gin. “Was the earth shaking the whole time you’ve been here?”
“No, not right away. I was alone when it started.”
“And then you used your power.” He folded his arms over his broad chest.
“I—You—” Gin sputtered. She wasn’t ready to talk about this, but damn it. They had seen her working with the fire.
Mathias ignored her, looking at Ria. “If there’s any truth to the rumors of Ravenbane’s undead, I think Gin’s power woke them up.”
“Oh fuck.” Ria stared at Mathias. “They supposedly don’t like to be disturbed. And they are supposedly in the earth, so it makes sense that they could cause all these tremors.”
“Raven what? Undead? You’re kidding me, right?” Gin fought to keep the panic out of her voice. She felt dizzy. Please let this be a dream, and I’m about to wake up. Next to a human Mathias.
Ignoring her words again, he stared her down. “Can you run?”
She scowled. “Of course. But I want to know—”
He took off into the trees. “We’ll talk details later. This way.”
“Come on,” Ria urged her. “I’ve never seen an undead warrior and I don’t want tonight to be my first time.”
“Me neither,” Gin muttered. She’d had enough firsts for the day, thank you very much, but she had a feeling the surprises weren’t over yet. She ran after Mathias. Ria jogged next to her, silently.
Why am I the only one making noise? Small scatterings of pine needles were the only clue that Mathias had been by, and if she hadn’t seen them kick up, she would’ve missed them.
