To Hell and Back (Hellcat Series Book 4)

by Sharon Hannaford

  “Our casualties?” Gabi asked, relieved that Henry had been able to end the battle quickly, but sure it hadn’t been quite quick enough.

  “I don’t have a complete list,” he said, “but we have lost some.” He paused. “I heard that Mariska was making a run for it. I knew she would be coming here. I was in the middle of something, so I sent Athena ahead. I see you have it all under control, though.” He smiled at Athena then, a sensual, predatory smile that had no place on his angelic, teenage face. And something about the idea of him and Athena being together sparked Gabi’s internal alarm bell. A memory about the way Mariska had looked at Gemini just before she fled, and despite the horrors she’d already witnessed that night, Gabi’s blood ran cold.

  CHAPTER 24

  Relief at the sight of his Lea in one piece swamped Julius. She was on the edge of the pathway that led down to the start of the hiking trail. Athena was beside her, speaking to Benedict, who was carrying the unconscious Maleficus. Gabi turned his way as though he’d called her name. The horrors of the night had left their mark. She was bloodied, bruised, dishevelled, a mess of mud and twigs, hobbling on one leg with a tree branch as a crutch, but a smile lit her face as she saw him. It warmed him.

  Razor beat him to her side, standing on his hind legs to gently put his huge paws on her uninjured thigh, inspecting her worriedly. Gabi bent down and kissed his whiskery face soundly, ruffling the shaggy fur on his head and neck that the armour didn’t cover, and checking him for signs of injury. He was covered in soot, his fur was singed in places, especially his tail, and some of his whiskers were completely gone. He reeked of smoke and death.

  “What happened?” Gabi asked him worriedly.

  “He saved us from the fire,” Julius’s voice answered her, a note of deep respect in his voice. “The whole place went up soon after you left. By the time I’d subdued Gemini, we were surrounded by flames. The smoke was so thick and the stench so strong none of us knew which way to try to get out. We only had minutes before the fire overwhelmed us. Razor made it clear we had to follow him; then he found a way out for all of us. I’m sure he could easily have found a small crevice to escape the danger himself, but he led us to a collapsed outer wall that had a hole big enough for us all to fit through. He’s almost as amazing as you say he is.”

  The cat settled back down to the ground, apparently satisfied that Gabi was in one piece too, and set to grooming some of the ash from his face and ears.

  Julius couldn’t wait any longer. He scooped Gabi up and held her close against him, where he could feel the strong beat of her heart against his chest. And she let him, despite the fact that he was probably putting pressure on some part of her that hurt. She turned her face into his neck and drew in a breath, pulling the scent of him into her very being. He sensed some kind of mental unease, a disquiet so strong that it was clear even over her physical pain, but he also sensed that it was something she didn’t want to discuss right now. He wondered if one day they’d be able to actually converse in words using their mental link. The connection seemed to grow stronger by the day, as did she, so he wouldn’t put anything beyond her capabilities. And his own capabilities…well, that was something else entirely, something to wrap his mind around, something he still wasn’t quite sure he was willing to accept. But those were issues he would ponder later. Right now he was exhausted, and there was still much to do before he could rest.

  He reluctantly released his tight hold on Gabi; he knew she was hurting all over. Holding her carefully, he carried her towards the parking area where the medical vans waited. Razor suddenly nudged his leg, and he realised he’d almost stepped off the pathway. He blinked, forcing himself to concentrate on where he put his feet, mentally cursing his fatigue. He’d never experienced exhaustion like this before. At least not since he was still human. Before tonight he would’ve said it was impossible for a Vampire to feel this tired. Fighting using magic wasn’t something he ever wished to do again.

  In truth, he wasn’t sure he had any more magic in him. It felt as though he’d poured every ounce of it into breaking Gemini. He still wasn’t entirely sure how he’d done it. Something deep inside him had reacted on instinct, protecting him and showing him how to find the chinks in their armour. It still felt intrinsically wrong, what he’d done to them, severing their link to their power base and their link to each other. He’d felt it as the one died, as his essence rose and left this plane. He didn’t hold much hope for the recovery of the other one, especially without his twin. He’d carried the twin outside and handed him over to the Magi just before the underground chamber was overcome by flames. The stadium was still burning. It would probably take firefighters days to put out, and hopefully by then much of the evidence of the supernatural battle would be unidentifiable.

  Gabi kissed the side of his neck, concern on her face. He gave her a smile of weary reassurance, clearing his mind of the worries.

  “Melinda,” he barked out as they neared the parking area. The familiar Healer Magus was just leaving one of the vans laden with medical supplies. “Can you look at Gabi?”

  Other people—Magi, Shifters and Weres—milled about, a thin trail limping and hobbling off the pathway towards medical help; some bloodied and bruised, some bandaged, others just looking bewildered.

  “I’m fine,” Gabi protested. “Nothing life-threatening, Melinda, honestly. Go to those who need you.” She waved towards the path.

  Melinda narrowed her eyes and came to them regardless of Gabi’s assurances. Gabi allowed the Magus to touch her head. After a second she pulled her hand away and gave Gabi a hint of a smile.

  “For once, you’re telling the truth,” she said, then looked to Julius. “She’s okay. More pain than she’s letting on, but nothing that needs my immediate attention. Get food and water into her and keep her off the leg.” Then she was gone, hurrying towards the Source and the more seriously injured.

  “You can leave me here,” Gabi said as he set her carefully on a cement bollard near one of the vans, “if you need to go and check what’s happening. The Clan might need you.”

  He kissed the tip of her nose and went to rummage in one of the nearby vans for bottled water and a pair of narrow-bladed shears. With the healthy dose of blood he’d given her before the battle, it was too soon to give her any more. They still had no idea what a safe amount was, and he didn’t want to take chances with altering her state of life.

  “They’re fine,” he told her as he returned. “Alexander is there. He’s got it under control. It’ll be good for him and the Clan, to give him room to test out his leadership skills without me interfering.”

  He handed her the bottle before kneeling down in front of her. She grimaced as he began cutting away her trouser leg. He could’ve just torn it, but he would’ve jostled the injury more that way. Luckily the SMV medics carried surgical scissors sharp enough to cut Kevlar. He wondered if that required some kind of spell but was too tired to check for the telltale tingle of magic. Her knee was swelling beyond the confines of the pants leg, and the pressure would be making it worse. He hoped he was doing the right thing. The relieved sounds she made when he cut the leather away from her knee made him think it was.

  Tyres crunched in the gravel as the surveillance van carrying Trish, Kyle and the rest of the Demon Gate crew arrived on the scene. Kyle was the first out of the van and spotted them immediately.

  “Geesh, Hellcat,” he said, approaching, “you look like you’ve been to Hell and back.” Wolf himself was sporting several superficial injuries, but his wolf was calm, and Trish was at his side a second later, surreptitiously touching as much of her body to his as she could.

  “Yep.” Gabi sighed her agreement, self-consciously trying to finger-comb her hair into some kind of order, tugging on the twigs and leaves entwined in the knotted strands. Julius pulled her hands away and set to the task himself after tossing the shears back in the van.

  “Twice,” Kyle pressed jokingly, his relief apparent to Julius. />
  “Okay, don’t push it.” Gabi scowled, but Julius knew she was glad to see Kyle as well. Then she glanced at the group and asked, “Where’s Caspian?”

  “I sent him back to the Estate, with Charlie and Tabari,” Julius told her. “He’ll remain under guard until I have time to figure out what to do with him.”

  Gabi nodded approvingly.

  Julius had been worried that Caspian’s saving her life may have changed her view on the Spaniard, but that didn’t seem to be the case. He had a difficult decision to make where Caspian was concerned. He didn’t really have enough official cause to kill him, no proof of his desire to end Julius’s life, and the Princeps wouldn’t sanction his demise with no proof.

  “What’s happening at the Source?” Kyle asked, interrupting his dark thoughts.

  Before Julius could answer, Nathan came hurrying towards them. There were several lacerations and contusions on his face, head and arms, in various stages of healing, but nothing that was slowing him down. Julius knew by the set of his friend’s mouth that he wasn’t bringing good news.

  Nathan didn’t bother with pleasantries. “It’s Maclary,” he said the moment he was close enough. A muscle twitched in his jaw as he dropped his eyes to Gabi. “I’m sorry, Hellcat. He joined the fight right near the end; some demons tried to make a run for it.”

  Julius felt the emotional blow as it hit her. She stopped breathing, her face lost colour, and her mouth opened as though to speak, but nothing came out.

  “He’s…gone?” Julius quietly asked the words she couldn’t.

  “No, not yet. But not far from,” Nathan replied.

  One more blow, one more shock. The kind you cannot prepare yourself for. Not ever. Gabi gasped in a breath when her lungs began to scream from lack of oxygen. Pins and needles prickled across her face and chest. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Without thought she tried to stand; she needed to see him. Agony spiked up her leg, and it buckled under her. Julius caught her arm and steadied her, but his attention was on Fergus.

  “Look in the van,” he told the Scotsman. An instant later a pair of medical crutches appeared in front of her. She reached for them, but Julius took them and gave them to her to hold, then swept her into his arms. Kyle was already jogging down the path.

  “I’ll carry you to the entrance,” he said. “It’s a rugged, downhill path. Then you can go in under your own steam.”

  She nodded, grateful he understood her ridiculous need not to be babied or, perhaps more importantly, not to show weakness in front of others. Seconds later he set her down at the yawning maw of the cave that very few other people had ever seen, and waited as she shoved her arms into the crutches and gripped the handles. It had been a long while since she’d used crutches; it took a few tries to get going, the rocky ground underfoot making it harder. Nathan led the way, threading through crumpled forms on the ground. Some were covered by white sheets; others were being attended by medics. Pools of stinking black demon gore dotted the ground; someone had begun cordoning off those puddles with a circle of white bandage.

  Melinda was with Mac when they got to him. Kyle knelt beside him. The sight of the tall, quietly confident man she’d come to love as a friend in such a short space of time lying crumpled and bleeding from a terrible gash in his stomach nearly brought her to her knees. Julius touched her mind, the gentlest of brushes, akin to him running the back of one finger over her cheek. An understanding of her pain.

  “Is there nothing you can do?” she asked Melinda in a tight voice, but she could already see the answer in the amount of blood on the ground around him.

  “I’m sorry, Gabi,” Melinda said with deep regret. “All I can do is ease his passing. He is beyond my skills and probably even those of the best surgeons in the world.”

  Gabi felt a hot tear slide down her cheek. Julius moved to Mac’s side and hunched down, putting out a hand to touch his forehead. Mac moaned a little but didn’t open his eyes. He was slipping away fast.

  “There is one other option,” Julius said, turning to look at her with a penetrating gaze. “He has mostly bled out already; he might just be strong enough to survive the Turning.”

  Gabi closed her eyes and swayed, absorbing Julius’s words, their implications. Her mind a churning maelstrom trying to process the idea.

  “I…I don’t know,” she said, “if that’s what he’d want. I…” She trailed off, glancing from Julius to Kyle to Trish and then to Melinda. “Can you get him conscious enough to ask him?” A tiny thread of hope flared to life inside her.

  The set of Melinda’s lips doused the tiny light.

  “I could probably get him responsive,” the Healer said. “But he wouldn’t really be lucid. Any decision he made would be irrational. And it would be cruel to subject his conscious mind to the pain he’s in right now.”

  “You must make the decision, Gabrielle. You know him best, care for him the most,” Julius said, “and I know this is not the time or place for rushing, but we don’t have more than a few minutes before it’ll be too late to try.”

  Gabi threw her head back and closed her eyes, the tears flowing harder. She tried to put herself in Mac’s shoes, tried to imagine what he would want. It was impossible. She knew she would choose life. She wasn’t ready for the next step, not ready to let go of the love and passion she’d only just found, but there was no way to know another person’s mind. Mac had so much to give this life, but she’d seen the bone-deep sadness when he spoke of his lost love. Perhaps they would be together again if they simply let him go. Perhaps not. The seconds were ticking by, and thinking it through would not make the decision any easier. In the end she did what felt right in her heart, and prayed he would forgive her if she was wrong.

  “Do it,” she whispered. “Turn him.” When she opened her eyes, Julius was in front of her. He bent and kissed her forehead.

  In the end it wasn’t Julius who did the Turning. Fergus stepped in and offered to do it in his stead. When Julius nodded agreement, Fergus cut his wrist, kneeling to hold it to Mac’s mouth and gently rubbing his throat to encourage him to swallow. When he’d got enough blood down, Fergus picked him up and carried him away, holding the large man easily and like he was carrying his own child.

  Gabi watched them go, a mix of anxiety and sadness heavy in her chest. Later she would be glad she didn’t know at that moment what else the Turning entailed. Right then her attention was redirected to a low keening that had begun on the far side of the huge cave. She blinked, finally taking in her surroundings. The cavern was vastly different to the one the Dark Ones had set the trap for Julius and Benedict in. This one was large and open, reminding her of being inside the City Cathedral, the ceiling of the cave arching to a central point. Intricate symbols and glyphs adorned the pale rock where Mage-light radiated from within the very essence of the cavern walls. The light seemed to pulse with a life of its own; the entire place felt like an entity to Gabi’s senses. It was…Amazing. The sense of power was strongest at a large altar-shaped rock at the furthermost point of the cave. Behind the altar a curtain of glistening liquid flowed, appearing from nowhere and disappearing just as mysteriously. Gabi forced her mouth closed with a snap. Several Magi were gathered around one form near the altar. It was from this gathering that the keening was coming.

  “What’s happening?” she whispered, and suddenly Athena was rushing by them, towards the tight knot of Magi.

  Benedict veered away from her and joined their group. “It’s Irene,” he said in a low voice. “She poured too much into the protection spell. Her heart is failing.”

  Gabi was too numb to feel any more grief.

  Benedict continued, “I think we should go now. They won’t want us here any longer than necessary.”

  Julius nodded. “The Elders?” he checked, obviously wanting to be sure the Magi had everything under control.

  “One is dead; the other is severely weakened,” Benedict assured him. “He’s being taken back to a secure location, but he
’s not expected to make the morning.”

  “All right,” Julius said. “Let’s round up everyone not Magi and get out of here.” Before he’d finished speaking, Alexander was at his side. He too looked pale and tired, and he was looking anxiously towards the group where Athena stood, head bowed, her shaky keening joining the others.

  Gabi let Julius take her and Razor back to the Estate’s medical unit, where Ian was on standby to treat the injured. He X-rayed her knee and ankle, pronouncing her ankle fractured and her knee dislocated with tears to the surrounding tendons and cartilage. She would be in a cast for at least two weeks and on crutches for another week after that. Vampire blood was good, but even that had its limits. Soft-tissue damage healed much quicker and easier than bone and cartilage. Painkillers administered, her other cuts and bruises cleaned and treated, Ian insisted on putting her on a drip to bring her electrolytes back to normal levels. Then he helped her remove Razor’s armour and treated a few minor burns on the cat’s tail and ears; he was otherwise unharmed. Julius left her to find a Feeder, refusing to take from her even if Ian would’ve allowed it. Ian put a temporary cast on her leg, promising a more modern version if she went to see him at the hospital the next day, took the empty drip bag away and removed the drip needle before leaving her to go and take care of some of the wounded Werewolves.

  Gabi simply lay in the quiet, collecting herself for a few minutes. Wrapping her head around the fact that they’d overcome the Dark Ones. The cost had been terribly high, though. She didn’t know the final tally of dead and seriously injured, but those she knew of were bad enough. Soon it wasn’t possible for her to rest quietly any longer. She grabbed her crutches and hobbled from the medical wing.