“Ashe and I have a niece who works in the town at the base of Mount Agri,” the vamp had gone on to say. “She married a human who holds office in the local government. I’ve been to visit and we’ve gone skiing at one of the mountain’s resorts.”
So now here they were, in Turkey, freezing their asses off. Gideon had called his niece and asked her husband to have an avalanche warning declared, which had cleared the area of locals and tourists. But they were hardly alone. Watchmen from all over the world had shown up to help with the fight, and Raine had liked the ones she’d met, except for a guy named Remy from the Paris compound. The shifter had apparently met Seth when the soldier had stopped into his compound to pick up some weapons, and the guy had been vocal in his complaints about a former Collective officer being voted as the new security chief for their still-unnamed organization.
Remy had also enjoyed pointing out that Seth had failed to show for the fight. Kierland had warned the others from his unit to simply say that McConnell had been held up with some personal business that couldn’t be ignored, but it hadn’t done much to stop the talk that was spreading, which only added to Raine’s feelings of guilt. Here McConnell was trying to start a new life for himself, and she’d managed to make him look as though he’d turned his back on everyone when they needed him most.
What made it even worse was that Raine knew, from the hazy snippets she’d managed to pick up from the others’ thoughts, that his friends were still holding on to the hope that the soldier would have a change of heart and contact them, which only compounded her guilt even more…further weakening her abilities. Then there was the issue of her family. Using her parents to keep watch over Seth had meant confessing to the lies she’d told them, which had been wrenching. But she’d needed their help. They’d been disappointed, but more worried than anything else. She only hoped they would honor her wishes and keep Seth from leaving that villa until it was safe for him to do so.
And yet, despite the fact that her powers were pathetically weak at the moment, Raine didn’t need to be a mind reader to know what everyone was thinking. They were all wondering why Westmore hadn’t attacked. Wondering what he was waiting for. Wondering what he knew that they didn’t.
Even though the Watchmen hadn’t been able to determine if those three Markers that had been in Westmore’s possession had been tagged with tracking chips, they were still going on the assumption that they were bugged. So then why hadn’t the Kraven made his move? Using the unique gift she had of “listening” to physical objects, Saige Buchanan had managed to find a hidden entrance about halfway up the mountain’s side that led to a wide tunnel. They were already well into the tunnel, which they believed was leading them to the prison’s gate, having made their way through a series of doors they’d unlocked by placing a single Marker into the cross-shaped niches carved into the center of each one. Raine had no doubt they were getting close to Meridian, the walls no longer even made of actual rock, but shimmering with some kind of strange crimson glow that rendered their flashlights unnecessary. But there’d still been no sign of Westmore.
Just as strange was the fact that there’d been no sign of Westmore’s Kraven followers…or even the Collective Army. The weak readings Raine had managed to get on a few of the Kraven that belonged to Westmore’s inner circle had shown them to be in South Africa, waiting on instructions from their leader. And what she’d been able to glean from the Collective soldiers assigned to Westmore was just as disappointing, since it appeared they were in America dealing with a rogue family of wolves. As far as she could tell, no one was preparing to attack them, and more than ever, she wished she could read Westmore and see what was going on in his devious mind.
“This place creeps me out,” Aiden suddenly muttered, running one of his big palms along the glowing side of the tunnel. “Are we even inside the mountain anymore?”
“Don’t think so,” Noah Winston murmured, his deep voice rough with anticipation, his dark hair sticking up in crazy spikes from where he kept scraping his fingers through it. “We probably passed into some kind of alternate dimension when we went through that first doorway.”
Over the next hour, they passed through another seven doorways, which made twelve so far. One for each Marker in their possession.
And an hour after that, they finally found the gate.
Though Ian had seen the gate before in his dreams, describing it as a vast monstrosity that spanned more than fifty feet wide and rose thirty feet high, the group still gave a collective gasp when they saw it. The same demonic red glow that had bled from the walls of the tunnel emanated from the cavern that held the gate, reflecting off its gleaming surface, its composition the same dark metal as that of the crosses. And since Kierland’s unit was leading the army of Watchmen, it was up to them to figure out a way to open it. They spread out, using their hands to investigate its warm surface, but could find nothing like the niches that had been carved into the doors they’d traveled through to get there. While Quinn used his wings to lift into the air, searching the top portion of the gate, Saige placed her palms against the engraved metal, once again listening with her power. After a moment, she took her hands from the gate and dropped her shoulders, her tone dejected as she said, “All it keeps saying is that the twelve Markers need to be placed at the same time.”
“Placed where?” Kierland asked, frustration edging his thick words. Other than the strange symbols etched into its surface, matching those on the Markers, the gate was smooth.
When Saige said she didn’t know, Ian muttered, “Well, here we are, just like in those goddamn dreams I keep having. At the gate, and not a damned clue how to get through.”
“Wait!” Quinn called down, and they looked up to find him using his talons to scrape away what looked like layers of lime scale that had grown across the top of the gate. “I think I’ve found something!”
Within minutes, Quinn had uncovered twelve cross-shaped recesses, and Ian looked at his brother, Riley, asking, “Do you think you could move all twelve Markers into those slots at the same time?” Like his siblings, Riley also possessed a unique gift and could move objects with his mind.
Though it took Riley a few minutes to get the hang of handling that many objects at once, he finally managed to get them in place. A subdued cheer went through the group a moment later when a deep groan emanated from the gate. It shuddered as a fissure tore through its center, the ground vibrating beneath their feet. Kierland ordered everyone to draw their weapons, and then they put their shoulders against the heavy gate and pushed inward, forcing the sides to open. They kept pushing until both sides were flattened against the inner walls of what looked like an immense cave that grew wider as it spread deeper into the mountain…or wherever the hell they were. Riley retrieved the Markers from the two halves of the gate, then passed them around to the others, while keeping two for him and Saige.
There was nothing but the soft rush of a swirling, foggy wind as the group moved into the cavernous space, the moist air rank with the nauseating stench of rotting flesh. Despite the crimson light that glowed from the rocky walls, they could only see about fifty feet in any direction, the fog obscuring visibility, but the place still oozed with evil, as if the very air was drenched with it.
“Holy shit,” Kellan whispered at Raine’s side. “We’re not in Kansas anymore, are we?”
“Definitely not,” she replied, her hands tightening on the long, lethal knives that Noah had supplied her with. Though the men had tried to make her take one of the crosses for protection, she’d argued that it would be best if the supernatural weapons were carried by the trained warriors in their group, knowing they were better equipped to use them against the Casus. Since they didn’t know exactly how the Markers were going to work within Meridian, she didn’t want to be the one who screwed up and made a mistake. She just wanted the Casus to die.
And since Westmore was a Kraven, if he finally showed, all Raine would need to destroy him was one of the wooden stakes s
he had strapped across her back. Then she could return to Italy and release Seth…and beg him for his forgiveness.
But I’m only going to see him again if I make it out of here in one piece.
“Where the hell are they?” Noah growled as he pushed to the front of the group, standing between her and Kellan. His ice-blue eyes scanned the inner recesses of the cavern. “There’s nothing here!”
“Quiet,” Kierland whispered, staring into the distance. “I think there’s someone coming toward us.”
“Chloe,” Kellan murmured, placing his hand on his fiancée’s shoulder, “can you give us a little more light, honey?”
The half-witch had been learning to use her newly unleashed powers, and was obviously getting stronger, since a warm ray of light spread out from her lifted palms.
“It’s Westmore,” Raine said with a stunned gasp. “How did he get here?”
A slow smile curled the Kraven’s mouth as he approached. “I came in through the back door,” he drawled, and there was no mistaking the thick note of satisfaction in his tone. Something was coming…and Raine had no doubt it was going to be bad. As the Watchmen kept pouring into the cave behind them, she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were walking into a trap.
“The back door? What the fuck does that mean?” Kierland snarled, sounding almost more animal than man. All around her, Raine could feel the shape-shifters giving in to their predatory natures as they prepared for battle, while the Grangers released their talons and fangs.
“Well, I meant it metaphorically,” Westmore explained with a low laugh, his normally brown eyes burning with the bright, red glow that a Kraven could only achieve at night. “You see, while Meridian might be a bitch to escape from, it’s not all that hard to get into, if you know what you’re doing. Calder and his followers are powerful enough to do more than merely send shades across the divide. In the right circumstances, they can also pull a body from the outside world and trap them here inside the prison. Not often, mind you, because it’s quite draining. But Calder was willing to do it for me. I didn’t even need to know the prison’s location. All I had to do was make my way to Marseilles, where I had a special altar waiting. Then it was a simple matter of having the Casus pull me across the divide that separates Meridian from the rest of the world, and now I’m here.”
“But…why? Why trap yourself with the shades?”
“Because there were plans to be made. But really I just wanted to see the expression on your faces at this exact moment in time.”
“But you’ve lost,” Aiden growled, baring his deadly fangs.
The Kraven merely arched a brow. “Have I?”
“We opened the gate, you jackass. We’re going to search this godforsaken realm and find the Casus. Then they’re going to die.”
“You may take out a few before you’re all annihilated, but hardly many, because you don’t know how to form the prime weapon. The one the Markers’ creators planned to use to destroy the shades, before their untimely deaths prevented them from doing so. And you’re wrong about me losing. Yes, I lost the Markers to you—but sometimes… Well, it finally occurred to me that sometimes you have to lose before you can win. That you have to sacrifice a few for the sake of the many,” the Kraven said with another husky laugh. “You see, I wanted you to think that you had outsmarted me, so that you would come and open the gate. In essence, you’ve done the hard work for me, and now look at you. Right where we want you.”
“We?” Raine whispered, a frisson of dread slipping down her spine as she caught a flutter of movement at the edge of her vision. She turned her head, then screamed, “Look at the walls!”
All around them, Casus shades were suddenly separating their spectral forms from the cave’s ceiling and walls, where they’d been hiding, impossible to see. Though the monsters barely had any substance after so many years without sustenance, their fangs and claws glinted in the ominous lighting, looking more than capable of rending flesh. There were thousands of them closing in on the group, the shades trapped in their monstrous Casus forms, with leathery gray skin, ridged backs and wolf-shaped heads.
The Watchmen had thought they would be able to break into Meridian and work their way through the prison, taking many of the Casus by surprise. But it was a trap. They’d all been so sure Westmore would convince the Kraven and the Collective to fight for him, when, instead, he’d managed to set things up so that the Casus were the ones who would do all the work. And it was so simple. By warning the Casus of the Watchmen’s plans, the monsters had been able to organize and prepare.
And until the Watchmen figured out how to use the Markers to make this “prime weapon” the Kraven had mentioned, it wasn’t going to be a battle. It was going to be a friggin’ bloodbath.
The realization sent a fresh wave of guilt clawing at Raine’s insides, since she knew the Watchmen were going to need all the help they could get, and here she’d cost them a talented soldier by keeping Seth from the fight.
She’d been so sure she was doing the right thing by keeping him in Florence. But if that was true, then why did it feel so wrong?
While Kierland shouted out orders and the group took up defensive positions, a massive Casus shade made its way to Westmore’s side, and the Kraven gave the vile creature an eager smile. “I told you the plan would work, Calder.”
“Calder?” Noah growled, surging forward, only to get hauled back by Kierland. Raine wasn’t surprised by Noah’s reaction, considering they’d heard rumors that Calder wanted to use the human’s body as his host.
Westmore returned his attention to the group. “Allow me to introduce Anthony Calder, leader of the Casus…and my great-great-grandfather.”
“You’re…related?” Raine croaked, unable to believe what she was hearing.
“That’s right.” Westmore’s smile spread like an oily stain. “You see, not all the Kraven births were a result of rape. My ancestors were lovers, and my line has continued to celebrate our Casus blood through the centuries, plotting for a way to bring about the flood.”
“But what do you get out of it?” Kellan demanded, tucking Chloe behind him.
“What do I get out of it?” Westmore repeated, looking shocked by the question. “The Kraven are tired of being treated like weaklings. We want what’s rightfully ours. Power. Respect. Once the Casus are free, our bloodlines will mix, and then the Kraven will no longer be considered an embarrassing secret. We’re going to become part of a new race. One that will be the most powerful race on earth!”
“Enough talk,” Calder snarled, saliva dripping from his gnarled fangs as he threw back his head with a harrowing howl—and in the next instant, the shades descended on the Watchmen in a great crushing wave. As the battle began, she could hear Kierland shouting for the Watchmen in the rear lines to make sure the gate remained closed behind them. Considering the lock was now broken, it was essential that the gate be protected until they’d managed to kill the Casus.
If we manage to kill the Casus, she thought, a cold fear slithering through her veins as she saw those shades that had been shot or stabbed already moving back to their feet. They’d been counting on conventional weapons taking the shades down long enough for those with Markers to finish the job, but it clearly wasn’t going to work that way.
“How the hell do we form this prime weapon?” Kellan roared, only just managing to fry a Casus shade with the Marker in his glowing hand seconds before it took a bite out of Chloe.
Though they’d speculated during their journey there that the crosses might combine to form some kind of powerful weapon once they were inside Meridian, they didn’t know how to make it happen…and they were running out of time. Ian and Riley had been mashing the crosses together the entire time Westmore had been talking, trying out every configuration they could think of, and nothing had happened. Now the Watchmen with Markers were using the ancient crosses to kill the Casus one by one with their Arms of Fire, but it was a losing battle…and they all knew it.
&n
bsp; Cries of pain echoed through the cavernous prison as many of the Watchmen who had followed them into battle were cut down, the shades already gaining substance as they fed on the bodies. The scene was so chaotic, Raine knew she was never going to find Carlson, the Casus Seth had shot that first night in Paris. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t be useful. Doing her best to help the others, Raine slashed out at a nearby Casus that was already regenerating from the kills it had made, then twisted to avoid its snapping jaws. The monster gave her a slow smile, then parried with a swift rain of blows that caught her off guard and she lost her footing, falling down hard on her backside. As the Casus pulled back its arm, ready to deliver what would surely be a deathblow, Raine blanched with fear. But the strike never came. Instead, the creature’s ice-blue eyes widened with shock as the raised limb was severed from its shoulder, its leathery body slumping to the ground.
Blinking with astonishment, Raine found herself staring up at the most beautiful face she’d ever seen. “McConnell,” she whispered. “Ohmygod. What are you doing here?”
SETH STARED DOWN at the woman he loved, and struggled to control his rage. But, Christ, it wasn’t easy when she was in the middle of a damn war zone, taking ungodly chances with her life. He could hear the others remarking on his arrival, but he ignored them, his attention riveted on the wide-eyed little vamp.
Offering her his hand, Seth pulled her to her feet as he said, “I caught up with the rear guard just before they slammed the gate shut. It’s taken me this long to work my way to the front.”
“But why did you come?” she demanded, glancing at the blood spattered across his torn T-shirt, then at the long blade he held in his hand, before lifting her bright gaze back to his face.
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