His best wasn’t good enough, his aim off. Thorn avoided the onslaught. The only good news? Emberelle took a bullet to the thigh, and Svaney of Frostland took one to the gut. He’d take down anyone who threatened Vale.
Clink, clink. Out of bullets.
Knox needed to reholster the revolver. Come on. Move! Though he struggled with all his might, he remained in the same position: hunched over and teeth gritted, volts of electricity streaming through him.
Smug, Thorn closed in. Then he stopped and shouted as flames engulfed his boots.
Knox followed the line of fire with his gaze, and found Vale at the other end. She was still prone, still in pain, with one arm outstretched.
Unless her life was in jeopardy, she wasn’t supposed to reveal her ability to create fire. Yet, here she was, revealing, putting herself at a disadvantage in order to save Knox.
This woman...she was a true ally, just as Shiloh had been. Knox wouldn’t make the same mistake with her, wouldn’t punish her for a good deed.
At last the glowing whip uncoiled from his wrist, ending Knox’s electrocution. Thorn was too busy battling the inferno to care.
Pop, pop, pop. Another round of gunfire sounded.
Pain exploded in his shoulder, a large caliber bullet tearing through muscle and bone.
He wasn’t the only one to get hit. Bane and Zion fell, blood gushing from new wounds.
Knox pushed through, holstering the revolver and grabbing his bow. He glanced up, up, and was stunned to find countless men crouched at the top of the mountains, long-range rifles in hand. An army summoned by Adonis? Or Erik’s threat made flesh?
Perhaps both.
Knox created a tornadic vortex of shadows around Vale, then himself, preventing anyone from approaching them as he readied The Bloodthirsty. Then he killed the winds and unleashed the arrow. The first victim plunged over the cliff, others quickly following.
Shouts arose. Men ran this way and that.
Letting the arrow do its work, Knox took a step toward Vale, then halted, horrified. Carrick stood behind her, a sword lifted, and she had no idea.
Certain the male’s force field would knock him back at first contact, Knox slung the bow over his shoulder and dove atop Vale instead, rolling her out of the way. Miracle of miracles, Carrick’s sword missed them both. They lumbered to their feet.
As Carrick regrouped, Halo of Forêt swooped from the sky, metal wings flapping, and yanked the Infernian into the air.
My target. Mine!
Each wing resembled a raven in flight, and each wing had the power to detach from Halo’s back and aid him in battle. Vale would look good with those wings.
Knox trailed the pair on land—will kill Carrick and offer Halo to Vale. Stars winked through his vision, and he slowed. His lungs flattened, inhaling a chore. He glanced down. A jagged piece of ice had pierced his side.
Vale noticed and didn’t hesitate to wrench the protrusion free. After he shouted an obscenity, he thanked her.
“Tell me you’re all right,” she said.
“I will be,” he replied.
More gunfire from above, more warriors falling.
Ping. Dom’s shield deflected a bullet.
Want that shield.
No, no. Focus on the plan. Knox searched the area. Carrick was nowhere in sight. Halo remained in the air, firing a semiautomatic at the men in the mountains. There was a swamp to the left and multiple towers of ice at the right, each one created by Petra.
Colt had sneaked from the clearing. He was running away, soon to vanish for another month.
“This way.” Knox gave chase, Vale keeping pace.
But in seconds, an icy tower sprouted between them, separating them. He knew who to blame.
“Petra!” He shouted her name like the vile curse it was. Through the haze of the tower, he watched as she attacked Vale.
He dove, using his body as a jackhammer to blast through the ice... Not going to reach her in time, hurry, hurry. As ice chips rained, Bane appeared out of nowhere, raking claws over Knox’s side. Skin and muscle split, exposing his ribs.
Incredible pain, hazing vision. Blood pouring from the gashes. He hit the ground, and was pretty sure his spleen ruptured.
Vale rocketed around the tower, coming up behind Bane before he could render another blow, and plunging the tip of her sword through his spine. A quick in and out. He dropped, temporarily paralyzed.
“Thank you.” Inhale, exhale. Knox staggered to his feet, his own sword in hand.
“Anytime. Now do us both a favor and kill Beast-man.”
“With pleasure.”
But Zion had other plans. He launched into Bane, and the two men rolled a safe distance away before standing and bailing.
Working together now? Frustration mounted.
Pop, pop, pop. Another bullet shredded Knox’s shoulder, and another curse left him.
No more distractions.
Breathing through the newest flood of agony, he scouted Colt’s location—there. The male had collapsed a good distance away, a crimson pool surrounding him. Dead?
Halo fell from the sky, one of his metal wings bent at an odd angle.
Both Adonis and Rush had an arm wrapped around Erik, acting as crutches as they dragged him away. Someone had heeded Knox’s advice and chopped off one of the viking’s feet. Until the appendage regrew, Erik would be vulnerable.
Anyone who trailed the trio got shot by the men on the cliff. There were no ice towers outside the combat zone, which meant there was no place to hide.
Upon reaching Colt, Adonis released Erik and hauled the other combatant to his feet. Why not kill him while he had the chance? The Orfetling hadn’t joined their cause.
Unless they’d come to terms before the battle, and had hoped to keep it secret? Perhaps they’d noticed Knox’s interest in the male.
Perhaps Erik had told the truth about his intentions.
“Go get our man, and come back for me,” Vale said, laboring for breath. “I’ve got this.”
Clank, clank. She had just engaged Svaney.
“Yes, Knox,” Svaney said, ice daggers growing from her nailbeds. Growing, growing like vines. The perfect foil for Vale’s fire. Her crown had grown into a crystal skull and now masked her entire face, a phenomenon that happened—he didn’t know why. “Leave the big girls here to play.”
Known as the Ice Queen, she hailed from a realm covered in hoarfrost and flourished in these mountains. Proof: she’d frozen his shadows, preventing them from nearing her, and stopping them from protecting Vale.
More ice daggers, more streams of fire, the two clashing. The daggers melted, the skull following suit, even though the flames never reached Svaney’s face. Thick wafts of black smoke sent her into a coughing fit, but didn’t slow her.
Knox had a choice. Leave Vale behind, no longer remaining able to shield her, or let their target escape.
{Go, go!}
A flare of raw desperation. When it came to Vale, his eyaer couldn’t be trusted. But he was going to do it, he decided, was going to leave her behind. The number of warriors had thinned significantly, and she displayed skills he hadn’t expected. She would prevail.
She had better prevail. The thought of losing her...
He drew the revolver once again, aimed for Svaney, and hammered at the trigger. As she dropped, he charged after the fleeing warriors. Zion and Dom also barreled after the fleeing warriors, Dom’s shield doing its job, expanding to deflect bullets.
Pop...pop.
At least the gunfire came less frequently, The Bloodthirsty doing its job, forcing the shooters to run while discharging another round.
Knox pumped his arms and legs faster, picking up speed before hitting his knees. He skidded across the ice and purposely plowed into Zion then Dom, cutting one after the other with a swor
d he’d won from Xander of Aouette—the wounds it caused took longer to heal.
As soon as Knox had bypassed the roaring pair, he somersaulted, rolling to his feet, running once again.
The only thing he hated more than an enemy at his back was two enemies at his back. No help for it. He tucked his shadows tighter, preventing either male from locking on him, aimed the revolver and fired.
Rush slowed.
Adonis tripped, but jumped up with Colt’s help.
Closing in... If he could take out Colt and Erik... no, he had to leave Erik to Vale so she could absorb his memories.
She would also absorb the power to negate Knox’s shadows, and place him at a disadvantage.
He swallowed whatever emotion bubbled up. Fury, or acceptance, he wasn’t sure which.
Erik and Rush veered left while Adonis and Colt veered right, dividing their forces. Knox had to choose. The long game with a partner or the immediate satisfaction of ending Erik?
The ground shook, nearly toppling him. Zion had just punched the ice, no doubt about it, a crack spreading, arcing between Knox’s feet. He dove to the side, barely avoiding a plummet into an abyss.
While being dragged away, Erik stretched out his arm, raising the rod. Thunder boomed, and lightning flashed in the sky. Dark storm clouds trundled over, obscuring the luminous streaks of green and purple. Rain poured, fist-sized hail pelting the terrain.
Knox took the hits and headed straight for Colt. Decision made. The long game.
Rush sprinted through the rain, firing off his three arrows. One embedded in each of Knox’s shoulder, plus his sternum. The agony of movement...ripping muscle, cracking bone... Though he stumbled and slowed, he didn’t stop. Closer—
They crashed together and wheeled over the ground in a tangle of limbs. Impact thrust the arrows deeper, then finally pushed them out.
Punches and elbows were thrown. Legs kicked out. Daggers slashed. Shots rang out.
Knox’s brain rattled against his skull, and air gushed from his lungs. The hail grew to cinder block–size and a piece smashed into his ankle, already fractured bones reduced to powder.
A lesser man would have been hobbled. He fought on, holstering the revolver to refill the cylinder.
Flat on his back, Knox kicked Rush in the chest with his good leg and fired. The male hurled backward, his heart shredded with six bullets.
Revolver, sheathed. Head swimming with dizziness, stomach heaving. Can’t stop. To make an official kill, he had to remove Rush’s head or heart.
Hurry, hurry. The other man was reviving. Knox prepared to hack through the vulnerable column of his neck.
Eyes popping open, Rush blocked.
More gunshots. Dom dropped. One of Knox’s kneecaps exploded. The agony! But he’d trained for times like this, whistled and lifted his free hand. The Bloodthirsty returned to him. He caught the shaft, nocked the arrow and took aim. Biggest threat at the moment? Rush.
{Danger approaches from behind.}
Too late. A final wave of gunfire wailed, burning pain erupting in his nape, the rest of his body going numb. A bullet had just severed his spinal cord.
Losing control of his limbs, Knox face-planted on the ice. He fought, but remained prone. He tried to breathe, but couldn’t. Darkness encroached, and for the first time, he couldn’t use it to his advantage.
He struggled to remain conscious. If he drifted off, he would die.
The great Knox of Iviland, helpless on a battlefield? Never!
Colt fell a few feet away. Zion, too, though he had control of his actions. The Taverian punched into the other man’s throat, tearing out his trachea like the war prize it was.
Knox drifted off at last, one thought remaining at the forefront of his mind. I’m going to miss Vale.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
EXHAUSTION SETTLED OVER VALE, her muscles quaking. Sweat beaded on her skin and froze. Fatigue dogged her. Drawing on a well of strength she hadn’t known she possessed, she pushed through the weakness, her determination unyielding, and fought full throttle, nothing held back. Disregard the blood and intestines.
Thanks to cohosts Celeste and Ranger, she’d managed to thrive amid the most savage battle of her life. Every time someone had challenged her, instinct had kicked in and Vale had known just what to do. And she couldn’t forget the times Knox had stepped in to help.
The way he’d fought... Vicious, utterly without mercy. He’d gone for eyes and vital organs, the screams of others only emboldening him.
Before Vale had joined the AW, such a gruesome sight would have frightened her. Heck, mere weeks ago the sight had frightened her. Today? She’d felt strangely comforted.
Then the worst had happened. Her powerful, seemingly invincible warrior had toppled, and he had yet to rise.
“No!” Rival forgotten, Vale rushed forward, frantic to reach her man.
Emberelle moved in front of her. Parry. Thrust.
Argh! Vale needed to speed this fight along so she could guard Knox. Before, adrenaline had turned her blood to fuel, creating streams of fire. This time, the ends of her fingers...cooled. Was her lighter on the fritz? Or had she burned through every drop of the fuel?
In no mood for this, Vale finessed her way to the woman’s left, and slammed an elbow into her high cheekbone. The beauty with gorgeous snow-white hair tottered to her knees but quickly jumped up and drew her sword for another dangerous swipe.
“He’ll betray you,” Emberelle grated. “Helping him is foolish.”
Disregard her words, as well. Again she parried and thrust.
A glowing whip snaked around Vale’s wrist, electric pulses tearing through her arm, stopping her cold. A scream lodged in her throat, the muscles in her jaw locking. Her vision wavered, but not before she caught sight of the whip’s owner. Thorn, the striking man littered with scars.
“Sorry, sweetheart,” he said. “This isn’t personal.”
Felt personal. The pulses only strengthened, leaving her unable to respond. Another layer of sweat frosted her skin, making her movements more difficult. Tin Man needs oil.
Grinning, twirling her sword, Emberelle edged closer to Vale. “It was nice knowing you. Or not.” The metal arched toward her—
A staff sliced through Vale’s back and exited her chest, stopping Emberelle’s sword. Before and after impact, waves of agonizing pain consumed Vale.
The impaling had saved her life, but also made her wish she’d died. Blood gurgled from the corners of her mouth.
The culprit—Pike. The one who could blink a film over his eyes. Great! Now she had three immortals to defeat at once.
Her survival depended on her ability to go invisible and intangible. The cat was already out of the bag, her talents revealed. And she could do it. She wasn’t in a tomb of ice, surrounded by metal or bound by vine or rope. Only a whip, and a piece of wood. Would they stop her?
She flipped the switch...waiting... Nothing.
Thorn released her to catch Pike, who had yanked out the staff.
Vale collapsed. Stars winked before her eyes. Vale had a second, maybe two, before someone else got the drop on her. Again, she flipped the switch...still waiting...again nothing. Dang it, what was the holdup? The electric pulses had ceased. She should be good to go.
Stand—good. Step forward—excellent. She picked up the pace, soon dashing off, zero grace, her muscles in a jellylike state. When she tripped through a player, she realized she had succeeded, after all. Go intangibility go! But the second she came upon one of Petra’s ice towers, she ricocheted backward, overtaken by tangibility.
Back on her feet. Running. Faster. The hailstorm ended, leaving a fine mist of rain. She leaped over a swampy pit.
Incoming! A volley of arrows headed her way. She dove, finally exiting the clearing. Was she already too late? There was no sign of Erik, Adonis
or Rush. Colt lay on the ground, his head a few feet away.
Who had made the kill?
Zion stood over Knox, his bloody hands clenched.
“Stop!” she shouted. “Don’t do it. Please.”
The big guy looked up, but stared over her shoulder. He glowered. Was she being chased?
A quick glance behind her. Yes. A determined Pike dogged her.
Zion bent down to heft Knox over his shoulder. Planning to take him to a secondary location?
Without a break in her stride, Vale picked up the weapons Knox had dropped. Finally, she caught up with Zion. She struggled to control her breathing.
“Don’t make a play against me.” He wasn’t even winded. “Your sister isn’t dead, and I mean Knox no harm. Not today.”
Truth? Lie? “Prove she’s alive. Prove you mean Knox no harm. Take us to your safe house.”
“Endanger your sister? Endanger myself? Never.”
Yeah, it had been a total long shot. As they rushed around boulders, slipped down slopes, she asked, “Why would you help Knox?”
“I think Erik can and will do everything he claimed. I think we are the only ones capable of besting him. If we work together.”
Heavy footfalls echoed behind her. She cast another glance over her shoulder and screeched with irritation. Pike closed in.
She wasn’t sure she trusted Zion, but right now she had no other lifeline. “I’ll think about your offer. After we get Knox to safety.” He’d saved her life, and she would return the favor.
“Done,” Zion said. “Where do you want to take him?”
Yeah. Where? If she opened a rift into his bunker, potentially leading others there, he would never forgive her. Think, think. The lavender field was out of the question, too. The tunnel underneath was her safe house. Only Ranger had known about it, and he was dead.
More than that, Celeste and Ranger had set some sort of trap there. Something other than the pheromone. But what?
The only other spot she remembered was a cave in the Amazon jungle. A go-to meeting spot with Gunnar. Had it been razed?
“I’m going to open a rift,” she said. “You’re going to toss Knox through it and take care of Pike. If you come after us, I’ll burn you alive. That’s a Valerina of Terra guarantee.”
Shadow and Ice Page 31
