Her gaze lingered at the very center of the beast. There was something there. A dark core. Or a black hole. No, wait. Not a hole. As she studied it, she realized it was pulsing.
The heart of the beast.
If she could stab the copper spear into that place, it might actually damage the spirit. But how did she reach it?
There was no way she could throw the spear hard enough to prevent the creature from slapping it away. Not even Ulric would have the strength. And she would be fried to a crisp if she tried to force her way to the center.
A strangled laugh was wrenched from her throat. For the first time in her life, she regretted not possessing the power of her ancestors. Not to conquer or terrorize, but to save the world from evil.
All very noble. Unfortunately, the magic had been lost long ago…
Or had it? Surely magic didn’t disappear? It was a part of who she was as a zephyr. What had faded was the power necessary to tap into the ancient gifts.
Power that Ulric possessed.
Rainn sucked in a slow, deep breath. Was it possible? Only one way to find out.
Gripping the spear, she allowed the sensation of the mating bond to flow through her. She urgently latched on to his presence that was nestled in her heart, using it to pull at his power. There was a mere trickle at first, as if Ulric was fighting against her. Or perhaps he simply didn’t understand what was happening.
Then, as if sensing her need, he abruptly halted his struggles. Instead he fiercely shoved his power through the bond.
Rainn gasped, shocked by the force of the raw animal energy. It surged through her body and heated her blood. Holy crap. No wonder Ulric was so eager to shift into his wolf. The power was intoxicating.
Wishing she could simply savor the sensations that were supercharging her, Rainn instead concentrated on her magic. She allowed it to tingle through her, as soft as a breeze. It felt even…lighter than usual, and Rainn started to panic.
Was Ulric’s power not enough to stir her most ancient gifts?
Then, without warning, she felt the ground dissolving beneath her feet. No wait. It wasn’t the ground dissolving. It was her.
It was the weirdest thing she’d ever experienced. It felt like she was turning to mist. No, that wasn’t quite right. She wasn’t a cloud. It was more that she’d become a part of the air. Or the air had become a part of her.
She could still feel herself. The beat of her heart, her legs that seemed to dangle off the ground, and her jagged breath. But at the same time, she was as weightless as a summer breeze.
Amazing.
Clutching the spear in fingers that shouldn’t be capable of holding the weapon, Rainn returned her attention to the dark core at the center of the beast. Awkwardly she drifted forward. It wasn’t like floating. She lurched to the side, buffeted by the wind. Crap. She was drifting away from the beast. Frantically she used her magic to take command of the breeze.
Inch by inch she managed to spin herself back around and even started to pick up speed as she glided closer to the flames. She held the spear in front of her, allowing the copper blade to pierce the fire.
Heat seared through her. Hotter than anything she’d ever felt before. But while the pain was grinding, it didn’t halt her forward momentum. In fact, she was going even faster.
As if the flames were sucking her in.
Imagining herself as an arrow, she held the spear in front her. Then, with a last burst of her magic, she headed toward the dark center.
She heard the screams again. So loud and piercing that they threatened to shatter the earth. This time, however, they held more than pain. There was fury and hunger and…
Fear.
Chapter 21
Ulric was melting.
Not figuratively. Literally.
The intensity of the flames that surrounded him had reached a thermonuclear level. The only reason he hadn’t been utterly consumed was Chaaya’s frantic efforts to keep the fire from sweeping over him.
Still, as much as he appreciated her efforts, he knew it was a losing battle. The girl was swiftly weakening. Within a few minutes the flames were going to overwhelm them both.
Using the last of his strength, Ulric turned his head toward Rainn. If he was going to die, he wanted her to be his last thought. But even as he caught sight of her on the other side of the beast, he felt the tug on his waning strength.
Instinctively he tried to fight against the leeching. It was only when he sensed the soft, misty presence of Rainn that he realized she was pulling at their mating bond.
She needed his power.
Without hesitation, Ulric lowered his barriers and shoved every last ounce of his strength through their mystical connection.
He wasn’t sure what he’d expected. Perhaps for her to use the energy to throw the spear. Instead she…
Disappeared.
What the hell? His eyes had to be playing tricks on him. Or maybe he was going blind from the agonizing heat.
No. He could see the spear. It was darting directly into the center of the fiery beast.
Rainn.
She was invisible. Which meant she’d somehow called on her ancient magic. It was the only explanation.
Then all thoughts were wiped from his mind and he howled as he felt her pain drill through his body. She was being obliterated by the creature.
No, no, no.
He attempted to stand. He had to get to her. Chaaya obviously had the same impulse as she slashed through the flames and tried to take a step forward. At the same time, the spear that Rainn was holding penetrated the dark core of the creature.
The world came to a complete and utter halt. As if they were all frozen in place. Ulric didn’t dare to breathe. Even his heart stopped beating. Then the air pressure thickened, a weird buzzing ringing in Ulric’s ears before a violent explosion sent him flying through the air.
He hit the ground with a heavy thud, knocking the air from his lungs. But thankfully he’d been tossed away from the flames, allowing him to slowly regain his strength.
Once the most dire injuries had been healed, he scrambled to his feet. Glancing around, he wasn’t surprised to discover the scorched pit that had been gouged into the ground. It’d felt like he’d been hit with a bomb.
But what he hadn’t expected was the realization that the towering inferno was gone. As if Rainn had managed to blow the creature to smithereens. Whatever smithereens were.
Was it possible?
Ulric gave a shake of his head.
He didn’t care what had happened to the fiery bitch. All he wanted was to find Rainn.
Remaining in his animal form, Ulric loped across the shattered landscape. For a frantic few minutes he couldn’t see her. In fact, it was only because he could sense her through their mating bond that he wasn’t in an instant frenzy. She was alive. And nearby.
After what felt like an eternity, he finally caught her scent. Digging his claws into the dirt, he leaped over a pile of jagged rocks that had been blown out of the pit, landing next to her unconscious body.
With a shimmer of magic, he was shifting into his human form and kneeling next to Rainn. She didn’t look injured. Hell, he would assume that she was sleeping if she hadn’t just battled an evil spirit that had nearly roasted them into the netherworld.
Gently he reached out to touch her cheek. It was pale but warm beneath his fingertips, and he could hear the steady beat of her heart.
So why didn’t she wake up?
The wolf in him wanted to stretch out beside her and pull her close against his body. The man, however, understood that the only way to protect her was to get her out of there.
He had no idea if the evil spirit was dead or just regrouping, but he didn’t intend to stay around long enough to find out.
Scooping Rainn’s limp body off the ground, he p
ressed her against his chest. He cast a quick glance around, trying to orient himself. This weird-ass place screwed with his senses. Where was the doorway?
His breath abruptly caught in his throat at the small form sprawled near the edge of the pit.
Chaaya.
He told himself to ignore the sight. Chaaya had been sacrificed endless centuries ago. This was now her domain, right? It was quite likely he would destroy her if he took her out of here.
Trying to force himself to turn away, he realized that his feet wouldn’t obey. They were glued to the ground, refusing to budge.
Dammit.
The girl had saved his life. If she hadn’t jumped in front of him to fight back the flames, he would have been destroyed.
He couldn’t leave her here.
If she wanted—or needed—to come back to this nasty place, she could. For now, he was taking her with them.
Ignoring the inner voice that told him he was being an idiot, Ulric raced over the charred ground. Then, slinging Rainn over one shoulder, he bent down to grab the unconscious Chaaya and flung her over the other one.
Straightening, he grimly jogged in the direction that he hoped would take him to the doorway.
Dear goddess, let him be right.
He had a terrible premonition that their time was running out.
* * * *
Levet pressed his snout against the bubble, his wings fluttering with unease.
Why did Inga have to be so stubborn?
They were supposed to find the doorway that wasn’t a doorway. Very well. They’d found it. Now they needed to return and warn everyone that it was broken.
But was that what they were doing?
Non.
Inga had regarded the inky sludge that boiled out of the crack on the ocean floor and announced that she was going to take a closer look. What did she need to see? A hole in the ground? Nasty black goop?
Before he could halt her, however, she’d somehow stepped out of the bubble and was bobbing along the crack.
Horrified, Levet banged his fist against the invisible barrier that surrounded him.
“Inga,” he roared. “Get back in here.”
She bounced along the edge of the opening, moving with astonishing ease through the crushing pressure of the water. With her ogress features it was easy to forget her mermaid blood until she was in this element.
“You don’t have to shout,” she said, her voice echoing through the bubble as if she was standing next to him. “I can hear you just fine.”
Levet stomped his foot. He could feel the evil churning around her. What if it touched her? Or worse.
“I will shout when you are being a hog-headed idiot!”
She turned her head to send him an outraged glare. “Excuse me?”
“Non. I do not excuse you,” Levet retorted, giving another bang on the side of the bubble. “It is time to return to the castle.”
She stubbornly shook her head. “I think I can fix it.”
Levet scowled. “What?”
“I think I can close the opening,” she told him.
“How?”
She gave a wave of the Tryshu. “With this.”
Levet wasn’t impressed. Inga had been in control of the mystical weapon for a handful of weeks. Hardly long enough to have any idea what it could or couldn’t do.
“Do you even know how to use that thing?” he demanded.
She puffed out her chest, her tufts of hair swaying as the current swept past her.
“I’m the Queen of the Mer-folk,” she snapped. “Of course I know how to work it.”
Levet held her crimson gaze. “Really?”
There was a long silence before she heaved a frustrated sigh. “Fine,” she at last muttered. “I might not understand how the stupid thing works, but I don’t need to. It…” She halted, as if considering her words. “It tells me what to do,” she finally admitted.
Levet snorted. Big forks didn’t speak to people. Even if they were magical. Then he realized there was a strange noise vibrating through the air.
“Is it humming?” he asked.
“Yes.”
Okay. Perhaps it was talking to her. But that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. “Inga.”
She looked impatient. “What?”
“Have you considered the idea that the Tryshu might be in the control of whatever evil is leaking out of that hole?”
She frowned, studying the end of the trident as she released a burst of power. Sparkles swirled through the water.
“The magic is mermaid,” she announced.
“But—”
“Shh,” she interrupted. “I need to concentrate.”
Levet stomped his foot in frustration. “If you get yourself killed I’ll…”
“You’ll what?”
“I will follow you to the netherworld and torment you for the rest of eternity,” Levet warned.
A wistful smile touched her lips. “Would that be such an awful thing?” she whispered.
A funny, fluttery thing happened in the center of his chest. Was that his heart?
“Inga.” He tried to force his way through the wall of the bubble. If she was going to put herself in danger, he needed to be at her side.
The humming intensified, and Inga pointed the Tryshu at the long crevice.
“I have to do this,” she said, releasing the magic of the powerful weapon.
Levet watched as the sparkles shot directly toward the darkness. Astonishingly, the power of Inga’s magic managed to drive the evil back into the crevice that it was boiling out of and, at the same time, pull the ground into a smooth seam, as if she was knitting the solid bedrock back together.
Stunned into a rare silence, Levet simply admired the female’s outrageous display of power. He’d once seen a dragon in full-out battle mode. He’d assumed that nothing could come close to such raw strength.
Inga was every bit as powerful.
Sacré bleu.
Lost in awe, Levet nearly missed the strange scent that was suddenly teasing at his snout. What was that? And why was it familiar?
Oh no.
“Inga,” he called out. “Wait.”
She refused to glance in his direction. “What now?”
“Something is coming.”
That got her attention. She darted her gaze from left to right while continuing to seal the crevice. “Where?”
“From the crack.”
She tightened her fingers around the Tryshu. “Is it the corruption?”
Levet shook his head even though she wasn’t looking in his direction.
“It smells like werewolf,” he told her. “I think it’s Ulric.”
He heard her gasp of surprise. “You’re sure?”
“I’m certain,” Levet said, bouncing on his toes. Now he could also get the scent of Rainn. Along with another female he didn’t recognize. “Here they come,” he warned.
The words had just left his lips when Ulric burst through the crevice with two unconscious females slung over his shoulders.
Inga grabbed the naked male and with one mighty heave shoved him into the bubble. Then, turning back, she used her magic to finish closing the crack.
Intent on Inga, Levet barely paid attention to Ulric, who was squatted on the other side of the bubble, both women still held in his arms.
“I’ve gone from one hell to another,” the werewolf rasped before he collapsed with a soft groan.
“Stupid dog,” Levet muttered, concentrating on Inga as she finished up her task. “Come on, come on.”
Seconds later the ogress had shoved her way back into the magical sphere and was dropping to her knees in exhaustion.
“That’s as good as I can do,” she breathed.
Levet moved toward her, frami
ng her face in his hands. “Take us home.”
Chapter 22
Rainn snuggled next to Ulric, rubbing her nose against his chest. The warm musk of his wolf spread over her like a blanket.
She’d awakened when they’d arrived at the underwater castle. There had been a mass of folks talking and asking questions, but one growl from Ulric and they’d parted so he could carry her to a private bedroom.
They’d had a few minutes to discuss how the beast had exploded when she’d rammed the spear into its heart. And how he’d carried her, along with Chaaya, through the crack. She was still fuzzy on how they’d come to the castle. Something about an ogress and gargoyle and a floating ball.
At the time, she’d been too weary to care, tumbling into a deep sleep.
Now she allowed herself to stretch out her stiff muscles and relish the fact that she was alive.
Warm lips brushed the top of her head as Ulric’s arms tightened around her.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” he said in a voice husky from sleep. “Or rather, good evening.”
She tilted back her head to study his gorgeous male features. “Evening?”
“You’ve been asleep for over twenty-four hours.”
“Oh.” She was only mildly surprised. “I had a big day,” she reminded him.
“You certainly did.” His fingers skimmed up and down the curve of her spine. “You battled Zella, got sucked into another dimension, then turned into the Invisible Warrior Woman to destroy the fiery beast who intended to destroy the world.”
“Invisible Warrior Woman?” She wrinkled her nose. “That’s not nearly as good as Wonder Woman.”
“It’s exactly what we needed.” He brushed a kiss over her forehead before studying her with a searching gaze. “How did you do it? I thought the ancient magic was lost?”
“It was.” She lifted her hand to rub it over the center of his naked chest. Beneath her palm she could feel the steady beat of his heart. Nothing had ever felt so wonderful. Against all odds, they’d survived. A miracle. “Until I managed to boost it with Wolfman power.”
“Wolfman?” He grimaced in horror. “Absolutely not.”
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