by Katie Reus
“Stop beating yourself up,” August ordered. Because that was exactly what his operator was doing.
“I’m the one who got caught.” Eli snarled as he shifted slightly from his position at one of the windows overlooking the large spread of property. He’d been standing there like a statue since they’d been dumped in here.
“We knew there was a chance of that happening. And clearly their security was heightened. Shit happens. Move forward,” August said.
“Vega is trained. She can take care of herself,” Neema added, even though there was a trickle of worry in her voice. Neema really liked the young hybrid, had taken her under her wing, surprising even August. Because Neema was a loner by nature and in general. It was why she was such a good operative. Loner or not, her loyalty was bone deep. If she considered you family, you were in for life and she’d run into hell for you.
“I didn’t sense any lies from the Alpha. And he was pretty specific about saying they couldn’t talk to us.” Not wouldn’t. Couldn’t… It made him worry about that particular phrasing.
“Yeah maybe they can’t because they’re being tortured,” Eli snapped.
August shook his head. “I don’t think so.” And that was all he was going to say about that, especially when he knew that at least one shifter was listening to their conversation. He tapped on his ear once, and the others simply nodded.
They might have been left alone in this library but wolves outside would be listening. It was time to shift their conversation to what really mattered.
“As long as they keep Carson captive as they said, I have no problem with them,” August said, wanting the other wolves to overhear everything they had to say.
Neema picked up half a crustless sandwich and popped it in her mouth. When she swallowed, she said, “No kidding. He’s such a piece of shit. And I guarantee he preyed on his packmates without their knowledge before he left. I don’t even want to imagine what kind of chaos he created without anyone knowing.”
“I say once we get what we need from him, we let his pack deal with his crimes,” Eli said.
As if it was even their choice. But August nodded, glad they were playing their roles perfectly. Not that he expected any less. His team was ready for all outcomes and they’d prepared themselves for this situation. “I agree. Once we’ve ascertained if he sold out his own people or not, we won’t need him anymore. I guarantee this Alpha will mete out the right kind of justice.”
And that was that. For now, they were simply waiting. Grudgingly, he could admit he was glad that Gabriel was with Vega. Because there was no way that wolf would let anything happen to her. He would literally die first.
Chapter 21
“You’re almost here,” the voice said. “Hurry.”
Vega looked at Gabriel and tried to tamp down her anxiety, and wasn’t sure that she succeeded.
He stepped in front of her, the action purely protective. She wanted to enter the cave side by side, but knew it was stupid to shove him out of the way just to go first. Especially when being protective was part of who he was, part of his damn DNA. That was what being a Guardian was all about. At least that was her understanding. Guardians were driven to protect their pack, especially their Alpha. They would also sacrifice themselves for their packmates.
Gabriel stepped inside, his claws extended, and though she couldn’t see she knew his canines would be released as well.
Though she was a hybrid, her vampire side definitely ruled as far as things went. Her fangs released without even having to think about it. As she moved into the cave, she freed her claws as well, ready to battle whatever was inside.
As her eyes adjusted to the cave, she couldn’t hide her natural reaction to the huge sleeping dragon.
“You see that right?” she asked quietly.
“We are definitely not in Kansas anymore,” Gabriel murmured.
“I won’t hurt you,” the voice said, though the eyes of the dragon remained closed.
“You hear that too, right?” After hearing the voice in her dreams, she needed to be sure.
“Yep.”
“Why are we here?” Vega asked, tentatively stepping forward with Gabriel at her side. It was clear he wanted to shove her back, but he didn’t.
The cave was huge, about three stories high if she had to guess, and all around them and above them blue and green lights swirled, similar to the aurora borealis. It was stunningly beautiful—and that description fell short of what she was seeing, experiencing. It was as if she’d stepped into a bubble of pure magic. It coated her arms, legs, filled her entire body. The sensation was…interesting.
“I need your help. Your blood called to me. My sister would not come. Or…she could not, I’m not certain. But I can’t hold back the darkness anymore.”
Vega shot a quick glance at Gabriel. That definitely did not sound good.
Gabriel motioned that they should split up and move in on the dragon from opposite sides. A solid plan. She didn’t like the idea of attacking a sleeping being and wasn’t sure that they even would, but they were going to be ready if this creature wasn’t sleeping and attacked them. Because they had a secret weapon. Thanks to being friends with dragons, they were both fireproof. Well, within reason. But they wouldn’t fry up if a dragon decided to get testy.
“Is the darkness inside you?” Vega asked.
“There is darkness in all of us but that is not what I meant.”
Before Vega could ask what she did mean, a darkness descended all around, the lights snuffing out as if someone had blown out the candles.
Another rumble shook the ground and suddenly she couldn’t even scent Gabriel anymore. Fear for his safety sparked sharp inside her. Flames licked up her arms and down her torso and though she couldn’t be sure she thought her hair and face might be on fire as well. The dragon’s eyes opened, pinning her in place, but still she didn’t move. Her jade wings and diamond-colored body glittered under Vega’s growing fire.
“What have you done with him?” Vega snarled, feeling possessed.
“He’s fine. I need to speak with you alone—”
“No! You’re done making demands!”
The ground rumbled again and the dragon’s eyes flicked upward before focusing back on Vega. “I’ve been asleep for so long. I don’t know when it happened or how long ago, but there is a Hell Gate near here. It’s slightly cracked open and closing it should not be a problem for me but I’m under a spell. I’m somehow bound to this region, and I cannot fully awaken.” Frustration trickled through her words. “I cannot fully tap into my powers. I’m connected to the earth so I have some ways of communicating but I cannot use my full potential.”
Vega didn’t give a shit about any of that. “Where is Gabriel?” she demanded as fire continued spreading all around her, bathing everything in its path. Up, up, up, it coated the walls around her and ceiling above her. She tried to contain it but rage and adrenaline punched through her as she looked around the cave, searching for her mate. It was as if he’d simply disappeared. “Bring him back now!” Vega lifted her hands and shot fire at the sleeping dragon. It did nothing more than brush against the glittering scales but she didn’t care.
“We don’t have time for this,” snapped the female, all heat and annoyance.
Vega screamed and shot another fireball at her. She felt absolutely possessed as she did so, crazed with Gabriel missing. They might not have mated in the technical sense but she sure as hell felt mated. That connection between them was strong, and being separated from him? No.
For all Vega knew this female had hurt him, killed him. Oh, God. No! They’d just… She didn’t know what they were but she wanted a chance to find out. Not to lose what could be the love of her life before they’d gotten a shot at something.
“Your male is fine! You’re acting irrational!”
Oh yeah, she was the one acting irrational. This crazy bitch had basically herded them here and now she’d separated Vega from Gabriel.
&nbs
p; The dragon flinched this time as Vega shot another stream of fire at her. As far as Vega understood, dragons were fireproof, so maybe she was acting a teeny bit irrational but she was okay with that. She was fine with anything that gave her back Gabriel.
“I’ll cut your head off if you don’t bring him back,” Vega raged again, this time stalking toward the unmoving dragon.
Before the female could respond, a cracking sound rent the air. She turned to find Gabriel smashing his way through what appeared to be… Vega looked up and realized that a glass sort of dome surrounded her and the dragon.
What. The. Hell.
Gabriel had simply been a few feet away, on the other side. But she hadn’t been able to see him. Or even scent him.
His expression was that of a feral beast as he punched his way through, and relief flooded her in a tidal wave. Immediately all of her fire died as she raced toward Gabriel and helped pull him through the dome. Glass littered the floor then dissipated. Again, what the hell?
“I didn’t realize you two were mated,” the female said, her eyes still open, watching them as if she was frustrated with them. With them! “Listen carefully, female—”
Whatever she’d been about to say was cut off as a…thing dropped down from the ceiling or dome. Or…whatever.
It looked like a cross between a scorpion and a fucking lion! “What the fuck!” She didn’t care that she was full-on shouting.
“Take off the tail!” the dragon shouted. “Not the head!”
Easy for her to say, Vega thought as she raced at the creature, claws extended. In her periphery she saw another creature drop down and heard Gabriel curse as he veered away from racing beside her to take on the other creature.
Snarling, with saliva dripping all over its razor-sharp teeth that sorta reminded her of shark’s teeth—blech—the animal skittered toward her on spiky talons. Oh yeah, if she survived this, she’d be having nightmares for a while. This was like something out of a horror movie, that being the understatement of the millennia.
“Only cut off the tail!”
“If you’re not going to help, shut up!” Using her vampiric agility, Vega sprinted full speed at the creature, horrified that it moved as fast as her.
All that sparring and the brutal fighting practices she’d undergone the last year were going to save her. This was nothing like going up against humans. Instead of slow motion, she could barely catch her breath as she got closer, closer, closer… At the last minute, she propelled herself upward and sliced hard at the flicking, likely poisonous tail as she came back down.
Her claws severed through the rough material, but it didn’t completely detach. Shit. She let out a grunt as she landed on her feet hard.
Swiveling, she faced the creature again. Now it was just pissed. Hissing and snarling, it skittered toward her, the little clicks against the floor like scratches against a chalkboard.
She’d already lost the element of surprise so she couldn’t make the same move again. It would be a rookie mistake. And though her instinct was to go for the creature’s head, she remembered a story her friend Nyx had told her long ago about a creature that sounded similar to this one. Only that had been in a Hell realm and she was pretty sure this thing was straight out of Hell—
Not important!
Her adrenaline pumping, she raced at the creature again, fangs and claws released. It took all of her willpower and training not to jump out of the way or jump upward as she came face-to-face with it. At the last second, it launched off the ground, letting out a victorious snarl.
At the same time, she fell backward, claws raised. Striking hard, she slashed down the middle of it—really trying to ignore the shit that poured over her—rolled and came up hard, slicing at the tail again.
This time she cut the thing off. Before the tail even hit the ground, the creature turned to ash.
“Vega.” She turned to find Gabriel holding out a hand to her, giving her a visual once-over.
She saw another pile of ash behind him and realized he was covered in the same crimson substance. Kinda like blood but thicker.
And beyond gross.
“You okay?” she asked, taking him in as well. Her heart raced as she looked him over for any wounds. She still hadn’t gotten over being separated for him even for those few seconds. It had cut her deeper than she ever imagined.
She wondered if it was the newly formed mating bond and didn’t have time to analyze it. All she knew was she would not be separated from him again.
“I’m good… What the hell was that?” he snarled, turning toward the dragon who’d gone all chameleon on them.
Instead of silver and jade scales, she was now the color of stone, blending almost perfectly into the walls except for her huge, piercing eyes. “It’s been ages since I’ve seen one. They’re like scavengers, traveling in twos. If you cut off their head, two more grow back.”
“I don’t care about any of that,” Vega said, looking upward to see where the things had come from.
Her gut clenched as she saw the same type of opening she’d seen in that dungeon so many years ago. A small but growing crescent-shaped hole hovered as if in midair.
A Hell Gate.
“Gabriel…”
“I know. We’ve got to get up there—”
“This is what I’ve been trying to tell you,” the dragon snapped as a boulder ripped away from the wall and rolled straight toward them.
Vega dodged out of the way as another ripped from the wall and rolled…up and onto the first boulder.
“She’s creating stairs,” Vega said, as understanding dawned.
She’d seen a Hell Gate before and her blood could open and close one. It had to be fresh, however, and… “Can you remember the chant from—”
“Yep. I made Drake teach it to me after he closed it in that dungeon/basement.”
She didn’t allow herself even an iota of relief because they weren’t out of the woods yet. Not even close. She felt so incredibly out of her depth as she watched the stones rip away from the wall, stacking one on the other.
She wanted to shout at the dragon to hurry! The last Hell Gate she’d seen had been hovering in a basement-type area and looked a whole lot like this. Unfortunately this one was too high to reach and she needed to rub her blood directly on it while Gabriel chanted.
“You’re going to get one chance at this,” the female rasped out, her bright coloring back in place. She sounded exhausted as she tore another boulder and rolled it upward. “They’re not steady, but I can hold them in place. You’re sure you two know how to close it? Because I know a chant.”
“We’ve got it.” Vega started climbing, Gabriel at her side.
A roar screeched through the air, making all the hair on her body stand on end as the opening above them cracked open wider. Smoke spilled out of it, the scent of blood and sulfur an assault on her senses as she climbed faster.
“Get out of here!” Gabriel snarled at her as he passed her, using all of his upper body strength to quickly propel himself to the next stone.
He had to be out of his mind if he thought she could ever do that. Leave him? No fucking way.
Time seemed to stand still as a clawed hand shot out from the crescent-shaped opening. As fear jump-started her heart rate, a surge of power shot through Vega. Fire licked up her hands as she pushed to the next stone, then the next.
Her fingers slipped on the one higher so she dug in with her claws and pulled upward, trying to find purchase with her feet.
A huge body crawled through, its yellow and blue eyes—all six of them—blinking wildly as it looked down at Vega and Gabriel.
Before she could even suck in a breath, it leapt from the hole, sailing past them to land against the ground with a sickening thud. The stone splintered out in all directions like a spider web.
“We have to close it first!” Vega said, when Gabriel made a move to jump after it. “Or more will escape.”
He hesitated for only a moment befor
e nodding and reaching for her hand. Holding her tight, he swung her upward. She sailed through the air, latching onto the top stone and hoisting herself up.
Releasing her claws again, she slashed at her palm. Using the blood, she began smearing it around the circular enclosure that was quickly opening.
“Hurry,” she muttered more to herself than anyone as she heard Gabriel start the chant behind her.
Seriously, thank God for that male—because no way would she have remembered the spell involved in closing it.
She cut herself on her other palm and swiped over the opening, covering it in her blood. For a moment, bile rose in her throat as she realized that the circular opening looked like a blood moon. But…that could mean anything.
She ignored the tingling at the back of her spine at what this might mean and moved back as Gabriel finished chanting.
The gate closed but the seam of the Hell Gate was still visible, her blood still covering everything. Going on what she remembered, she called on the fire she felt deep inside her, and mimicking what she’d seen Drake do, she threw a fireball at the opening. Power rushed from her as she blasted it.
A loud whooshing sound filled the air as the hole started to dissipate, sucking in on itself like a black hole.
She tried to move back down onto a lower stone, but a rush of heat shoved at her as the gate disappeared.
“Vega!” She was aware of Gabriel shouting her name as she fell backward under the impact of the blast.
Time seemed to slow as she flew past him. Reaching out, she tried to grab his outstretched hand, but their fingers brushed as she was canonballed backward.
Midair, she flung out an arm, tried to grab anything to hold on to, but time sped up with slingshot force as she slammed into the hard stone. Something sharp pierced her back.
She tried to suck in a breath past the pain as dots danced before her eyes. She didn’t have the luxury of a last thought as darkness enveloped her.
