“There are going to be numerous naturi there with the single goal of trying to kill you,” I said. “Have you fought the naturi before?”
“No, but I have been in magical fights before with other witches who were aiming to kill me. I survived those. I can survive this one,” she commented, straightening her shoulders and standing up a little taller than before.
Frowning, I looked down at Danaus, still seated in the chair behind me. He was frowning as well, but he wasn’t denying her request to go along. This felt like a mistake, but so did rescuing Amanda, and I was determined to do that. At least with Shelly accompanying us, we had one more fighter against the numerous naturi that were waiting for us. And I was looking for anything that would even the odds.
“Go put on some jeans. We’re going to be slogging through the marshlands,” I said with a shake of my head. Shelly flashed me a brilliant smile before she jogged up the stairs.
I just prayed that I didn’t live to regret this decision.
Ten
A single lamp lit the landing where Knox and Tristan were waiting for us. A motorboat on the black waters floated silently as its would-be passengers impatiently milled around the concrete landing. Tristan was far too eager to be headed out into the night in search of Amanda, while Knox leaned against a post, his face expressionless as he stared out at the waters lapping at the shore.
The car ride to the landing with Danaus and Shelly was oppressively quiet, each of us lost to our own thoughts as we prepared for the battle that loomed ahead. The introductions to Shelly were brisk and solemn as we loaded up in the boat.
Knox claimed the helm, steering us out into the dark waters while I took the point, since my night vision was the strongest of the group. Danaus hovered close at my side, his powers washing through me and out into the marshlands.
“How many?” I asked, my voice barely drifting above the sound of the motor.
“At least a dozen. Some are approaching the boat,” he replied. I looked at my companion to find him removing one of his knives from its sheath on his waist.
“Harpies?” I asked, recalling the wind clan naturi that attacked us in Venice and Crete.
“No, they’re in the water.”
I swallowed a curse and instantly returned my attention back to the seemingly calm waters before us. I had yet to face a member of the water naturi—I’d hoped to go my entire existence without encountering them, but that wasn’t going to happen.
My thoughts stumbled into one another as I struggled to come up with an appropriate warning for the threat that was approaching. But there was no time. An unexpected wave swelled off to the starboard, and Knox jerked the wheel in time to keep us from capsizing.
Shelly was tossed to the floor and Danaus stood to help her back into her seat. It was what they were waiting for.
A spout of water shot across the boat, hitting Danaus square in the chest and knocking him off balance. I made a grab for him but came up with only empty air. The hunter tumbled over the side of the boat and into the dark water, which instantly swallowed him up.
“Kill the engine!” I shouted a second before I dove over the side of the boat. Despite the warm night air, the cold water bit deep, momentarily stealing away my concentration. But a second later I sensed Danaus just a few yards away from me. The water wasn’t deep, but it was enough for the hunter to drown in if the naturi were able to hold him under for an extended period of time.
I couldn’t see Danaus, but I could sense him. The only problem was that I couldn’t see or sense the naturi that were in the water as well.
Danaus? I called out mentally, hoping to reach him in on our unique telepathic link as I swam toward his location.
Hurry! was his brie angry reply. He was going to run out of air soon.
How many?
Two with me. One with you.
I barely resisted the urge to stop and look over my shoulder for the naturi. I kept swimming, confident that I wouldn’t be able to see the naturi until it was already on top of me.
A thrashing in the water before me indicated I was close to it, yet as I reached out, a pair of claws raked across my back. I swam to my left with a jerk, twisting around so I could spot my attacker, but the water was too murky to see much of anything. Grabbing my blade from my waist and slipping it between my teeth, I swam, desperate to reach the hunter before his air supply ran out.
As I turned back, the claws ran over me a second time, raking across my shoulder blades. But I was ready this time. Pulling the knife out of my mouth, I reached my right arm behind me, catching the naturi as it swam by me. A garbled cry filled the water, indicating that I’d scored a hit. Kicking, I turned to find the naturi clutching its side. The creature looked human in the faint light except for what appeared to be webbed hands and feet—not exactly the mermaid I was expecting to find lurking in these waters. Gills on his neck opened and closed with each labored breath. With the naturi just in reach, I had a chance to use my unique ability. I didn’t stand a chance in an underwater fight. I was too slow. The only reason I had scored a hit already was due to surprise, and that element was now gone.
The water naturi came at me again, claw-tipped webbed hands reaching for my face in an effort to scratch my eyes out. I dodged its grasp, resulting in it getting just a handful of hair. Its fist tightened in my hair, jerking my head back. It opened its mouth, revealing rows of sharp teeth that would have made a piranha proud. Gripping my knife, I plunged it deep into its stomach. I immediately pulled the knife free and plunged my hand into the open wound before the naturi could release its hold on my hair. With my fingers wrapped around its insides, I put all my concentration into starting a fire, burning anything that I touched. The naturi jerked and kicked, desperate to be free of my fiery grip without ripping its burning organs from its body. It swiped one final time at my face while landing a kick to my stomach, loosening my hold on it. Then it kicked a couple few away before finally going completely still. It slowly floated to the surface.
Mira! Out of air! came Danaus’s panicked cry in my head.
Boil their blood! I commanded, swimming back toward him again.
Can’t.
Do it. I can’t see you. I had little chance of being able to fight off both naturi before Danaus finally passed out from a lack of oxygen. We were running out of time, and the longer he waited, the less strength he was going to have.
As I once again neared his position, there was a great commotion in the water. I was reluctant to strike—I couldn’t be sure which of them Danaus was but I could feel his power swelling in the water. He was killing the two remaining naturi by boiling their blood. I swam close, only to have someone kick me in the ribs. And then the water went completely still.
Danaus? I inquired. I could still sense him, but the feeling was becoming faint and thready, as if he was drifting away. Danaus! I repeated when he didn’t immediately reply. I kicked both feet, crossing the remaining distance toward where I could sense him. The water was too dark to make out anything beyond his large form.
Here came a whisper across my brain. He was exhausted and out of air. Grabbing his wrist, I swam to the surface, dragging him along. As he surfaced, he sucked in a lungful of air before coughing up the water he had swallowed.
“Are you all right?” I asked as I waved to Knox to bring the boat over to pick us up.
Danaus nodded, still struggling to catch his breath.
“Why didn’t you immediately boil their blood once you hit the water?” I demanded angrily. He had nearly been killed, and there was little I could have done about it.
“Wasn’t sure you’d jump in after me…” he said breathlessly, still struggling to draw enough air into his lungs. “Knew I wouldn’t have the strength to swim back to the surface if I used my ability.”
A part of me wanted to kick him. How could I not jump into the water after him? We needed him. I hadn’t even thought about not going into the water after him.
Knox halted the boat besi
de us while Tristan helped us climb out of the water. A breeze cut through the air, chilling the clothes that now stuck to my frame. I paused at the side of the boat to wring out my hair before resuming my seat at the point.
“Your back!” Shelly gasped when I walked past.
“It’s healing,” I said with a shrug. “Let’s get going.”
Taking my spot at the front of the boat, we continued the rest of the way to the island unmolested. Knox beached the boat on the sandy shore between two other boats that had been used by the naturi and killed the engine. I glanced over my shoulder at Danaus to find that his breathing had finally evened out. I wished I could give him more time to recover, but I knew the naturi would never allow it.
“Let’s go,” I announced, pushing to my feet.
“They’re waiting for us,” Danaus said, halting me. “Close by.”
“I have no doubt,” I muttered under my breath as I jumped over the side of the boat. My feet sank into the wet sand, leaving me feeling momentarily trapped. I had walked only a couple feet from the boat when I noticed several alligators creeping closer.
“Shelly, take care of the gators,” I ordered as I continued toward the interior of the island.
“Wh-What do you mean?” she asked, landing in the sand behind me.
“They’re going to attack from behind. Kill them before they have a chance to kill us.
Knox and Tristan will cover you,” I said, my eyes locked on the figures I could see stepping out from the tree line.
“But—”
“Just do it! Knox!”
“I’m on it,” he called, jumping down from the boat. As we all stepped onto the island, a great splash came from behind us. I turned to find a woman standing within a geyser of water. Her skin was a pale bluish-green while her long hair was the shade of green algae.
To my surprise, she stepped out of the water and onto dry land. Around her was a thick wall of mist so she could continue to breathe outside of the water.
“I just came to get what belongs to me,” I said, fighting the urge to pull the knife back from its sheath.
“We were counting on that,” the female naturi replied. Her voice was garbled by mist.
“Do yourself a favor and swim away.” I smiled at her so she could see my fangs. It was her last chance; I honestly didn’t expect her to take me up on my offer. That would have been too easy. I was simply stalling in an attempt to give Danaus a chance to regain his strength.
“No,” the naturi said.
I grabbed my knife and reached down into my powers, ready to ignite anything that moved, but the attack didn’t come from the front I’d been expecting. The sound of birds suddenly filled the night, as if thousands had cried out at once as they lifted into the air. At the same time, I heard the distinct sound of jaws snapping together. The alligators were on the move.
Find the animal clan naturi, I ordered Danaus as he stepped forward with a long knife in one hand, ready to take on the naturi as they approached. For now, they were content to hang back and let the animals under their control do the dirty work.
“Easier said than done,” he growled at me.
It was on the tip of my tongue to make a snide comment in return, but I didn’t get the chance. Birds burst from the trees and dive-bombed us, beaks and talons ready to rip, tear, and shred. With a wave of my hand, a wall of flames washed through the water fowl, burning feathers in an instant. The air was filled with an enormous cloud of orange and yellow flames, followed by black smoke. Their small bodies plummeted to the earth before us, their cries piercing the air.
“No!” Shelly screamed, drawing my eyes back to her. Knox, Tristan, and Shelly were circled by a low wall of flames, keeping the alligators at bay. Yet Tristan and Knox were trapped as well, keeping them from helping in the battle. Shelly’s tortured gaze was on the birds dying at my feet.
“Kill the alligators and help us!” I shouted at her before turning my attention back to the naturi.
They had left the tree line and were now rushing to attack us. I moved to create a wall of fire between us and the naturi, but Danaus was already on the move, ready to engage them. I couldn’t risk cutting off the hunter’s ability to retreat. With a grunt, I stepped forward and swung my knife at the first naturi to approach me. A knot tightened in my stomach. We were painfully outnumbered and the enemy was too close for me to start lighting fires. I needed space and time to concentrate on what I was doing. If I paused now, there was a good chance I would end up with a knife in my back.
Danaus and I cut down one naturi after another, but still they continued to come. Shelly managed to keep the approaching alligators off my heels, but it locked both Knox and Tristan at her side. We were quickly becoming overwhelmed.
Behind me someone screamed in pain. I tried to turn my head to see who had been injured, but the distraction cost me. A blade plunged into my chest, clipping the edge of my heart. I gasped, every muscle tensing in pain as precious blood poured from the wound.
Danaus…I whispered, reaching out for the hunter.
“Mira!” he cried, not far from where I was slowly sinking to the ground. The naturi pulled the knife from my chest while I crumpled to my knees. He grabbed a clump of my hair and jerked my head back so my neck was exposed. Closing my eyes, I focused on setting the naturi that held me on fire. I was weak and doubted I would be able to kill him before he was able to remove my head.
And then Danaus’s powers rushed into me, filling me so there was no escaping the energy that flowed through every vein and burned in every muscle. I screamed, and the naturi holding me exploded in flames.
Seconds later Danaus was kneeling beside me, his hand pressed to my chest as he tried to stop the bleeding. I opened my eyes to find the naturi taking a couple steps back as they watched us anxiously. We had finally caught them by surprise, and we had to take advantage of their confusion if we were to survive this fight.
Help me destroy them, I pleaded as Danaus started to withdraw his powers from my body. The relief was intense, but it wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to be free of the pain, but I wanted to be free of the naturi more.
Not like this, he replied.
It’s the only way, I said. I laid my hand on his, holding him connected to me, my blood seeping through both of our laced fingers. They’re killing my people. They’re killing the lycans, and soon it will be the humans. I’m not strong enough without you. We won’t destroy their souls. Help me end this tonight.
Mira…Please, my friend.
The power exploded through my frame like a torrent of water rushing through a narrow canyon. My body bowed forward under the force of the energy that ran through me from Danaus. My head fell back and my eyes closed, but I could sense them, all the naturi in the area, just like when we hunted them down in England. Gathering up the energy, I focused on their bodies with the sole intention of setting them all on fire. But it didn’t work. I reached out again, my grasp encircling their frantically beating hearts, and still I could not set them on fire.
I tried again and again, beating back the energy that was demanding to be used. I didn’t want to destroy their souls as we had in England. There had to be another way, but I was out of time. The energy that Danaus was pouring into me had to be used before it destroyed me, destroyed us both. Hating myself, I reached for the wisp of energy that floated in every naturi and set it ablaze.
There were no screams of pain. The end came and went for them too fast. With Danaus’s power still flowing through me, I reached out past the marshlands and killed all the naturi within my domain. My people would be safe for at least a few nights, and the Savannah Pack would be safe from the reach of the naturi for now. Two dozen naturi died that night, and I felt the touch of every soul as it was extinguished. Two dozen new reasons for me to be damned to Hell when this existence was over.
Danaus jerked his hand out of my grasp and I fell forward in the sand, landing on my stomach. I was too tired, in too much pain, to try to catch myself.
The world went black around me and I welcomed the emptiness.
Eleven
I opened my eyes to find Knox kneeling beside me, one hand sweeping across my forehead. His clothes were torn and there were a collection of scratches and bite marks on his body, which were slowly healing. I looked around to find Tristan sitting in the sand near me, looking much the same. They both had been wrestling alligators. Shelly stood off to the side, her face pale and streaked with tears. Her hands trembled. I had made a horrible error in allowing her to come along.
“Are you okay?” Knox asked, drawing my gaze back to him. I had yet to see Danaus, but I could feel he was close by, his anger boiling silently on the inside.
“I’ve been better,” I grumbled, slowly sitting up. “Let’s go find Amanda and get the hell out of here. I’m going to need to feed tonight.”
Knox grabbed my elbow and helped me to my feet. The nightwalker remained close to my side as we walked deeper into the island, as if waiting for my knees to give out on me. I appreciated his concern but it put me on edge. I didn’t like being this weak around other nightwalkers, even though Knox wouldn’t try to take advantage of the situation and stab me in the back. It wasn’t his way. I almost felt as if he was attempting to protect me from either Shelly or Danaus, since he was careful to keep his body between myself and the hunter, while his eyes continuously drifted back to the earth witch on the other side of me.
“There’s someone over there!” Tristan called before darting ahead, anxious to finally have Amanda back in our safe keeping.
“It’s not her,” I murmured, my brows drawing together over the bridge of my nose. I could see the creature’s hair color, and it wasn’t Amanda’s bright blond.
“It’s naturi!” Danaus said, and I understood his surprise. We had killed all the naturi within the region, reduced them to gray ash. Surely there couldn’t be one still alive and in one piece.
When we got close to the naturi curled on the ground, we could see that she was covered in a blue dome of energy. Beside her in a hole in the ground was Amanda, curled up and unconscious.
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