Shifters of the Wellsprings: The Complete Paranormal Collection

by Leela Ash

  That… kind of made sense. She glanced over at her Mate. “What do you think?”

  “I think you have to make this decision. Sorry,” he added, as she winced, “but I don’t know magic. I can’t judge how this corruption will affect wards. I can’t guess how soon you can figure out how to use the Aegis. I would take this burden away from you, if I could. I can’t though. It’s your choice. Whatever you choose, I’ll back.”

  Maddie bit her lip. In front of her, Baxter’s terrified eyes pleaded for life. Above her, Nemagorix watched with sinister, reptilian amusement.

  Surely Baxter couldn’t serve that creature. Not after what it did to his gang.

  Even if it made him ‘god of this world’?

  Assuming Nemagorix actually did what it promised, of course.

  And suddenly the final piece fell into place.

  Nemagorix’s offer only appeals if you trust it – and the Fangs of Apophis aren’t exactly known for their trusting natures.

  The answer was clear: Baxter did plan to betray Nemagorix. He didn’t trust the demon lord, not after what it did to the Fangs.

  Which meant she could trust him… maybe?

  “Alright,” she sighed. “We’ll help you take this thing out and bind it.”

  Baxter sagged with relief. “Thank you. You won’t regret this.” He scurried to the edge of the dias and laid the box before Nemagorix. “Devourer of Worlds, if you would be so kind?”

  Thunder rumbled in the chamber. “Your impudence astounds even me. Why should I trust you?”

  “If you can,” the Hare murmured, “look into my heart and know the truth, that I plan on betraying them.”

  That was alarming! Doubly so when Nemagorix chuckled. “Very well. Carry me out of this prison and I will lay the mortal world at your feet.”

  One of its smoky tendrils caressed the box. It seeped inside, slowly at first, then faster and faster. Gradually its body faded away until only those crimson eyes remained. Then Nemagorix blinked, and they, too, winked out of existence. A haze lingered around the box, filled with the hellish stench of rotten eggs. The only sign that the demon lord was still with them.

  Griffin’s gun never wavered as Nemagorix melted away. Only once it was gone did he speak. “Okay, demon bound. Is it time to shoot the Fang yet?”

  “No,” she said sadly, as Baxter’s eyes widened. “That box isn’t iron. If we leave it here something will shatter it – and then we’ll be right back where we started.”

  “Doesn’t mean we can’t shoot this SOB and carry the box out ourselves. I still haven’t forgiven him for putting that bomb around your neck.”

  Her Mate had a point, but… “He deserves a trial, not just execution. Like that soldier you spared downstairs.”

  Griffin grimaced. “That guy was just following orders. This guy gave the orders.”

  “Ahem. Pardon me for interrupting,” Baxter whined, “but I’d like to point out that ‘this guy’ is also the one who had the prison box made. I know how it works. Sure, you can figure it out,” he added, as Maddie opened her mouth to protest. “Why waste that time, though? Let me leave with you, and I’ll explain. Remember, I want this demon locked up. Permanently.”

  It all made sense. It really did.

  So why did she feel uneasy? Like she was tapping a bear trap with her bare foot?

  In the end, though, she stuck to her plan. She had a bad feeling about this – but not so bad that she was willing to kill a man. “Alright. Let’s go see if the Dragons agree to this.”

  Griffin stepped aside to let the two Hares pass and added instructions of his own. “Try anything, Fang, and I will kill you. We clear?”

  “Perfectly clear,” Baxter agreed, and they headed down the stairs.

  As she expected, the Dragons didn’t like this any better than her.

  Casey Briggs most of all. “The wards of Stillwater have held for centuries. Why should we not trust them?”

  “Because you can see they’re failing?” Baxter sniffed, full of a Hare’s contempt for non-magical Shifters. Even powerful ones, like Dragons.

  “What Nemagorix said about corrupting the environment makes sense,” Maddie added, in a more polite tone. “It would explain why all the wards, both Native and Shifter, are faltering. If that’s true, we need to move Nemagorix to an untainted location. Someplace we can wall it up for good.”

  Finn Donnelly scowled at the puzzle box, which she now held. “You sure this fancy little crate is actually a prison?”

  “Yes… and no.” All three Shifters stared at her. “It’s definitely a spirit prison and a strong one at that. But there’s more to it. A lot more. It possesses a bunch of ‘moving parts’, if you will, that I’d need to study.”

  “Those are all redundant warding,” Baxter said. “Backups in case the primary wards collapse.”

  “I don’t think that’s true.” And it bothered her, deeply, that the Fang lied over something as simple as this. “Warding spells are pretty simple – and these things aren’t. Unfortunately, it would take me a few hours to uncover what they really are.”

  Griffin eyed a pair of manticores, drifting in the polluted air overhead. “Time we don’t have.”

  “Right,” she sighed. “So do we take it through the gate or not?” Nobody spoke, until she cast her vote. “I think we have to. Nemagorix isn’t going to stay bound as long as it’s here.”

  “I agree.” Her Mate had her back once more, as he had all through this fight.

  The Dragons weren’t as supportive. “You are certain that this box is a prison?” Casey asked. She nodded. “Then, with reservations, I concur. Donnelly?”

  The big man shrugged. “I know squat all about magic. I’m going to vote with the smart people.”

  A kind thing for him to say, however at the moment Maddie didn’t feel particularly smart. She still couldn’t shake the feeling that she was walking into a trap.

  The bottom line, though, was that staying here wasn’t an option. “Let’s take this thing home then.”

  She gritted her teeth as they stepped back through the Cauldron. Yet nothing happened. The box didn’t crumble in her hands, releasing Nemagorix to rain destruction down on the world. Baxter followed them meekly and sat, guarded by both Dragons, awaiting his fate.

  Even the Witch Queen agreed with her assessment. “Beautifully crafted, but you’re right: we need to figure out everything this box can do. I guess it’s worth keeping the idiot Fang alive for that. At least for now.”

  Relieved to finally hand the problem over to someone else, Maddie gave her Nemagorix’s prison and retreated to Griffin’s side, slipping an arm around his waist as Danielle began to snap orders.

  “Magdalene, return to Sedona and do a survey of places of power. We need a secure location to build Nemagorix’s new prison. Mr. King,” A nod to the Alpha of the Sand Pack. “Please take charge of site security. Maddie, Shoni, Amice, with me. We’ll take this box to my RV and figure out what it does. Mr. Donnelly and Mr. Fairburn,” she glanced over at the Dragon and Bear, “Would you escort our prisoner there as well? His information may prove useful.”

  “That won’t be necessary.”

  Cold and disdainful, Baxter’s voice silenced the chatter. “You needn’t trouble yourselves with these details. I’ll take care of everything.”

  Both Dragons stepped close and a half dozen Wolves Shifted, growling. “Buddy, sit your ass down,” Finn snapped.

  “Andate!” the Hare cried.

  A black mist poured out of the prison box. As it ran across Danielle’s hands, the Witch Queen screamed in agony. Nemagorix’s prison tumbled out of her hands – then flew through the air.

  Straight to Baxter. Who seemed completely unharmed by the foul mist that clung to it.

  “Wrong move, buddy.” Finn cocked his fist back and punched the Hare, hard.

  With the crunch of snapping bones, the Dragon’s fist slammed into some invisible barrier an inch away from the Hare’s delicate face. Hissing in
pain, he staggered back.

  Lights surrounded Casey as he Shifted into Dragon form and reared up on his hind legs. Everywhere people Shifted, filling the little clearing with snarling Wolves and howling Bears. Only Griffin and the Hares remained unchanged.

  And Baxter. Watching them all with a smug, arrogant sneer.

  Guilt and anger twisted in Maddie’s gut. “So you lied to us. You do plan to unleash Nemagorix.”

  “Oh, no,” the Fang purred. “I like our demon lord right where it is. In my prison box. Where I control him. This spirit thought it could control the Fangs of Apophis? Well I’m going to show it who the master truly is. With its power I will make myself the god of this world!”

  A blast of liquid fire rained down around Baxter.

  Casey Briggs, unleashing a Dragon’s most potent weapon. Even across the pond from it, Maddie felt a wave of heat. Yelping Wolves scattered away from the attack.

  But Baxter? He smiled, untouched in the midst of that inferno. “Do your worst, oh Worm-to-Be! Nothing you can do will… will…”

  The Hare retched suddenly, his mouth twisting with revulsion. A puff of smoke drifted down from his lips, sending the faintest touch of sulfur wafting through the air. “I will… I…”

  Then another voice emerged from his mouth, filled with diabolical glee. “Foolish wizard, did you think your little trinket could hold my power? That you could contain me, the Destroyer of Worlds, like some little imp?”

  Boils burst out across Baxter’s face. The Hare shrieked in agony as they burst, spewing smoke and soot. As the Shifters backed away in horror the man’s body dissolved. Leaving nothing except a pillar of roiling darkness.

  Nemagorix. Free of all wards.

  Two burning eyes opened in that nightmare. “The Destroyer has returned once more. Fall on your knees and worship me, mortals. Or die.”

  Chapter 19.

  For one moment those ominous words hung in the air.

  Then chaos erupted around the Cauldron.

  Casey lunged forward, snapping at Nemagorix. The Dragon’s jaws passed through the demon’s smoky form and, untouched, the creature laughed. Wolves swarmed in confusion, howling with rage. With a great roar, a Kodiak bear rose to its hind legs to tower over the confused Wolves. Rex Fairburn, Maddie realized. Half of her Warren disappeared in those first mad seconds, and a flood of panicked Hares bolted down the path to Stillwater.

  Only Griffin didn’t move. A tiny speck of calm amid the insanity, he studied the battle before them. She clung to his side, calmed by his strength.

  Again and again, Casey launched himself at Nemagorix. Unwilling – or unable – to admit that none of a Dragon’s fierce weapons could harm it. The Wolves joined him as Fairburn lumbered over to her and Griffin. Maddie shot him a quick smile.

  People first for Bears. Always.

  All around the edges of the pond, puddles of inky tar bubbled up from the ground. The Wolves fell upon them at once, biting and tearing. Every oil slick they bit, vanished. Each biter froze, their eyes growing cold and black.

  “Darkborn!” Maddie screamed. “Get away! Don’t touch them!”

  Some of the warriors listened to her. Across the pond, Casey leaped into the air, barely managing to snatch his tail up as a pool of sludge stretched out towards him. Lost in their rage, however, many of the Wolves ignored her warning. They snapped, bit… and were lost.

  Only a few made it to her side. Finn and Casey shifted to human and dropped to the ground. Eight Wolves scampered over and a half dozen Hares.

  Not that it mattered. As Nemagorix watched with glee, his glistening army slithered towards them.

  Enemies she could neither stop nor escape. But as Maddie struggled to find a plan, Griffin finally broke his silence.

  “Clay, tell me you’re one of the Wolves that made it.”

  Lucas Clay Shifted and nodded, panting. “Yeah. I don’t know where my sister Lily is, though.”

  “There!” Casey jabbed a finger at one of the possessed Wolves. A Dragon always knew where his Mate was.

  “We’ll get to her,” the Chimera promised, as Casey ground his teeth in frustration. “Do you have the Aegis on you? Because it’s time to figure out what the hell it does.”

  “Yeah, I’ve got it.” The Wolf yanked his shirt off. Beneath it, the little white shield lay against his chest, tied to a leather thong draped around his neck. Lucas blushed as he unfastened the make-shift ‘necklace’. “Didn’t want it to get stolen again,” he said, with a quick scowl at the Chimera.

  The Wolf was one of the Shifters attuned to the Aegis, and in his hands a dim light played across its surface. The Darkborn forces didn’t even slow, however. Even their leader seemed unconcerned.

  Until Casey placed his hand upon the disk as well and the light swelled. “Fairburn! Davis!”

  Bear and Chimera reached out as well. Brilliant light, as harsh and clean as a noon-day sun, flooded out into a circle, ten feet across. Like a celestial floodlight, shining down upon them. The Darkborn who brushed against its edge burned and squealed. They tumbled over each other in their haste to retreat from the deadly light, and for the first time Maddie felt her spirits rise.

  “Everyone, concentrate!” she said. “Try to expand the light!”

  Four sets of eyes narrowed.

  Nothing happened, and her giddy delight wilted a bit. “Can you move it? Push Nemagorix back through the gate?”

  Silence… and nothing.

  “It’s not working,” Griffin muttered through clenched teeth.

  With a deep chuckle, Nemagorix spoke. “Where is your fifth? Surely even you know that five are necessary?”

  “Everyone, quick! Touch the Aegis!” Maddie shouted as she tapped the little shield. Hand after hand followed it, from the smallest Wolf to Finn Donnelly’s big (unbroken) left paw. No touch, however, summoned the final, fifth painting that they needed.

  “How unfortunate… for you,” Nemagorix gloated.

  “Now what?” Lucas snapped.

  “Now we see how long you can stay awake,” the demon answered. “The moment you fail, my minions will sweep over you. The last obstacle to my reign shall be torn down and I will walk this land once more.”

  Griffin snorted. “Ignore that asshole. Anyone have a plan?”

  No one spoke.

  Outside their circle of light, the possessed Wolves spun in unison and trotted towards Nemagorix. Casey’s hand slipped from the Aegis as he watched, his eyes glued to one slim brown shape.

  Lily King. His Mate. Maddie couldn’t tell Wolves apart once they Shifted. A Mate would have no problem.

  Finn laid a hand on the other Dragon’s shoulder. “Don’t let go of the Aegis. You can’t save her if these Darkborn possess us.”

  With a grimace the horned Dragon obeyed. Yet Maddie noticed one odd, important detail: the light hadn’t dimmed when he pulled away from the Aegis. “Guys? Looks like it only takes three to keep our warding light strong.”

  Griffin nodded. “I noticed that. Which means we can let one man rest at a time.”

  One of the surviving Hares shivered with terror. “Until we starve to death. Or die of thirst.”

  “No one’s dying,” Maddie snapped at her.

  Casey still stared at the mass of possessed Wolves. She inched closer to him lowered her voice. “Don’t let that thing know one of them is your Mate, or he’ll torture Lily just to hurt you.” Sick with worry, the Dragon closed his eyes and nodded.

  A swirling pool of Wolves now circled near Nemagorix. One snapped at something – then yelped in pain. Tar boiled from his mouth and spattered across the ground. The injured Wolf staggered back, Shifting into human form as his Pack-mates growled. For a second he stared in confusion, like a man waking up from a nightmare. Then he spun and bolted towards the Aegis’ protective light.

  He didn’t make it three steps before the Darkborn swept over him, dragging him to the ground. When he rose, his eyes had turned to midnight once more.

  Within the
light, Shifters watched in confusion. “What the hell just happened?” Griffin grumbled.

  Good question. What had the man bitten? Maddie squinted at the scrum of Wolves. Something magic lay among them. Something powerful, something that cast a spider web of magical lines across the clearing. Lines that united the gate, the object, and…

  “Oh! I understand!” she breathed. “He touched the prison box!” Her heart beat faster as she found the first glimmer of a plan. “Nemagorix told its Darkborn to destroy it. But they can’t. Baxter warded it against them. The minute a possessed creature touches it, the Darkborn ‘wearing’ them loses control.”

  Rex Fairburn wrinkled his nose. “Why does that thing care about the box now? It escaped.”

  “Because it’s still tied to it. Shoni, Lyss,” she hissed to the Hares near her. “See the lines of energy? They’re faint, but…”

  “Yes!” Her friend’s Hare stood up on its hind legs, nose twitching furiously. “You’re right.”

  “Ha!” Griffin chortled. “So that’s why it hasn’t just wandered off to conquer the world.”

  She grinned back at him. “If it left, we’d pick up its prison and chuck it through the gate.”

  Lucas added a crazy grin of his own. “Hey, if that’s all it takes then everybody get close. We can walk this circle of light over there.”

  “Thank God! A plan at last!” Finn’s smile was incandescent.

  Sadly, it was a plan that didn’t work. The Shifters clustered together and then, as one, slowly inched to the right. But the circle light didn’t move, not even with Casey stepped outside it, his hand still on the Aegis.

  The moment his foot passed the light, Darkborn scuttled close. Braving the deadly light for a chance to snatch one of their enemies. Quickly, the little cluster of Shifters moved back into the light’s center.

  “Seriously? We can’t move the spotlight?” Lucas growled. “What the actual hell?”

  “You are still only four,” Nemagorix pointed out. “Though if you kill yourselves, perhaps you will find your fifth.”

  All of them stared blankly at the demon lord, until Rex Fairburn laughed. “Okay, that has to be the stupidest damned advice I’ve ever heard.”