The vapor from spent magics hung heavy in the air, coating my skin with a thin layer of black dust speckled with rich jewel colors, emeralds, and sapphires. The clouds of it riddling the empty spaces between fighting bodies were too wispy to be called smoke, but too dense to be considered tainted air. They left a sharp taste on the tongue and a gritty feel on the fingertips.
Deadly magics streaked through the heavens in colorful spears of death, then whizzed down to strike were-cats and wolves weaving close to the ground, or wounding the fairy Knights determined to break past and regain their home.
Arrows and daggers sliced past to bite into the skin of vampire and witch.
Huddles of Clerics in crimson cloaks stood in tight formations, herding vampires that had been lured away from the main body of the Nest to take the demon down in a group.
Wolves howled.
Somewhere, deep in the conflict, a bear roared.
Bolts of brilliant lightning blazed from a cloudless sky to punch the earth, tossing clusters of fairies onto their backs, skin blackened and charred.
Starving vampires sank fang into the throats of humans and fairies alike, greedily dragging their flailing bodies into shadows.
Darting shadows high above had me tilting my head back to search the dark.
Raptors dropped from the sky, darting into the mêlée and shooting back up with snarling vampires clamped in their claws. A ruthless jerk of a beak ripped heads from necks. Dead bodies were tossed to earth, dropped from slashing talons.
One of the Raptors, an eagle with off-white feathers cresting her brow and neck, dived so close her vast wingspan stirred up a whirlpool of dust. Large, unblinking eyes with bright amber irides keen of sight and crisp with intelligence spied her prey. Thick feathers fluttered on wings that stiffened as she swopped low, skimming the ground. Her plumage bristled in warning as razor claws extended, and grabbed a vampire from behind. Her talons snapped shut, impaling the spindly demon torso. The sharp hook of her yellow beak snagged the vampire s neck to hinder its struggles. With a skilful beating of wings, and precise angling of her wedge-shaped tail, she lifted high into the sky away from imminent danger to finish him off.
I blinked, and moved on, pushing the mind-blowing experience in the back of my mind to obsess over later.
Four armored fairies surrounded Daphne and I, and they were certainly not my guard. They stopped any vampire from getting to us, and I doubted they would stop me from getting out.
A flash of silver ducked under the guard and was by my side, startling the guards. Once they saw it wasn t an enemy they calmed down.
The side of Breandan s face healed as he looked me over and wiped away blood from his stomach. My legs quivered. I saw no wound on him, and so for the good of all kinds I decided to convince myself it was not his own. His attention moved on, finding us a new way through the mass of people without being drawn too much into the battle.
My brother cares for you, vampire,
he said without stopping his perusal of chaos.
Daphne blinked, her expression suffused with wonder, then looked panicked.
Ah, no. He just wanted to make sure I didn t defect to the other side.
Breandan slanted a look at her, smiling with his eyes.
Is that what he told you?
The humor was plain in his voice, just as the shock was evident in Daphne s
I He didn t &. What I mean to say is &.
Daphne sucked in a breath to stop her babbling and released it slowly.
Kian?
The fairy turned his head slightly but did not relax his battle stance.
What are your instructions regarding me?
He was astounded, but regained his steely composure in a moment.
To protect the High Lord s consort, Lady.
He turned back around just in time to deftly chop off the head of a vampire darting past.
Daphne made a high-pitched squeal and she grabbed my arm.
He wants me. His consort & what s that all about? He won t even look at me yet he protects me?
I peeled off her steely grip as non-violently as I could, my nature flaring. I just about managed my own relationship drama. She really was on her own when it came to understanding Lochlann, I was just figuring out how to deal with the younger brother.
I need to get to Cael.
She nodded halfheartedly.
Yeah. I need to get to Lochlann.
He fights near the base of ClanTree,
Breandan said and pointed.
He must be trying to reach the he-witch. We shall go to him.
Daphne,
I asked quietly.
Have you seen Conall or Ana? Alec?
She shook her head.
Not since the fighting started. They swarmed us pretty quickly and managed to separate us into smaller pockets.
She looked desolate.
There were just so many, and all the witches can cast spells. Lochlann, Ana and Conall were the only magic users we had.
I worried my lip.
Ro and Lex?
They wanted to fight but had to remain hidden, the human s protecting the zombie.
She narrowed her eyes on me.
You never told me about her. That wasn t the smartest thing you could have done. She isn t tied to you. If any of the witches get a hold of her
Yes,
I butted in,
I know all about that, and as I have explained before it wasn t exactly planned and I didn t know what I was doing.
Daphne spluttered.
You called dark forces on a whim?
I was upset,
I batted back, disgruntled, and a little pissed, actually. Did nobody understand the concept of a mistake anymore?
You re an idiot,
she roared.
I raised my hand to slap her one, but Breandan grabbed my arm.
Look! Conall is with Lochlann. They ve just reached the base of ClanTree. Lochlann is going up there alone.
I stood on my tiptoes to try and see over Kian who was built like a bloody mountain. Breandan s warm hands settled on my waist and he hoisted me up to see. Over the battlefield, my gaze skipped until I saw what he could, Conall, going berserk and killing anything not fairy as Lochlann started to climb the middle trunk. An arrow whizzed past my ear and Breandan dropped me.
Kian,
he started urgently.
We see him,
the fairy replied and called for them all to push on.
Breandan s arms left me but he caught my hand.
Do not leave my side,
he murmured.
The fairy Knights pushed out, retaining a loose formation around Daphne, and therefore Breandan and I. At first, we made good progress, our group moving through the battle with little difficultly, the vampires wary of such an imposing arrangement.
Three witches spotted us and stood in our way, confidently blocking our path.
Dressed in tunics of dark gray, their hooded cloaks of matte black were sleeveless. Tattoos crawled up their bared arms, skin tones ranging from pale pink to deep brown. Faces shadowed, their willowy forms faded and became one with the darkness. Hints of their evil presence swirled around us in malevolent bursts of energy that clashed with the wholesome force that seeped from Wyld land.
The witches raised their hands and the fairies tensed.
The first volley of their magic was invisible but struck one of the Knights. He dropped, the breath of life stolen from him
From the sudden heat engulfing us, I knew Breandan channeled the Source.
The next shower of curses struck us, but caused no harm.
They re protecting ClanTree,
Daphne muttered.
The Nest fights to keep us busy. Cael s Coven only come out this way to protect him. Their numbers are limited. Twenty at most.
Less,
Breandan replied, self-assured.
Thirteen.
Another wave of black magic had us all staggeri
ng, except Breandan, who didn t move, his concentration fixed on keeping us shielded.
Him,
the witches hissed, their voices a hollow echo.
The three of them crowded closer to Breandan, wisely focusing their attention on the one who deflected their spells.
I became his shield. I planted myself in front of him, magic pricking my fingertips, ready to pummel these hags into mush if needs be. I fed from the well of power stored in the magical earth of the Wyld and channeled the Source. Prickly jabs of light peppered the ground before them to warn them off.
Next time I m aiming for a face,
I growled.
Face contorting, a witch flicked her wrist, muttering a spell when another slapped a hand over her mouth and dragged her away.
No!
she yelled.
Are you insane? Father would kill us we hurt her. Leave them.
The three of them ran back towards ClanTree and vampires swarmed past them, attacking us head on.
Daphne, Kian, and the Knights fought them, giving us time to regroup.
Breandan swayed before shaking his head several times.
S up?
I asked, worried he looked so pale.
They re strong, Rae. Cael s Coven. He wouldn t surround himself with weaklings, remember that,
he touched my cheek,
and remember what I said. You mustn t hesitate to kill. You warned them off, but next time there is no warning. You attack, attack hard, and don t let up until there s nothing left of your enemy.
I nodded without thinking what he really asked of me, and clasped his hand.
Can you do this?
He straightened and sent me a cool look that advised me never to suggest such a mad thing again.
Let s go.
He darted through the last of the vampires that soon fell under Kian s sword and Daphne s fists, to reach the base of the middle ClanTree.
Conall was gone.
Backside swinging too far to one side before righting itself mid dash a roaring panther skidded to a stop in front of us. His maw and ivory teeth were drenched in blood. Glossy fur the colour of ink and freckled with tawny rosettes, the were-cat s green eyes with slitted pupils studied us. He padded over to press into me, purring. Pleased growls rumbled in his throat and his lithe body vibrated against my legs, tail gently flicking over my arm.
Alec.
Contented he was safe and whole, I ran my hand over his powerful back, feeling the lumpy ridges of his spine. Handsome face scrunched in pleasure, he rubbed his cheek into the back of my knee. He made a chuffing sound, whiskers quivering.
Thank the gods, Rae!
chimed a familiar voice.
Alec s ears pricked up and his head snapped around.
Ana, looking bedraggled and harassed, limped up behind him. She shot Alec a dark look,
Thanks for waiting for me. Gods be damned! You d think he d give me some warning? One minute were fighting, the next he s sticking his nose up in the air and bouncing away leaving me to finish alone. Stupid cat.
I stifled a laugh since Alec looked nonplussed.
Well, you won didn t you?
I pointed out in his defense.
No,
she spat.
Eva turned up and I had to make a run for it. I could ve beat Naomi on my own, but Naomi and Eva are the strongest witches the Coven have, well & they weren t the strongest when I was around, of course. Anyway,
she waved a hand in dismissal,
the future turned black. I wouldn t have survived.
She ran her eyes over me and nodded firmly.
You re not wounded, good. Time to get up there,
she pointed up,
right now, Lochlann s future is dim & at best.
With a horrified gasp, Daphne launched herself onto the tree trunk. She nimbly started to climb, fingers digging ruthlessly into the bark.
Alec s wet nose snuffled over specs of blood on my clothes, checking it wasn t mine. His warmth and musky scent calmed me. My friend was here to help keep me safe. Bless him. My fingers raked through the coarse hair matted between his ears and smoothed it down, the rhythmic motion soothing us both.
Rae, Byron is dead.
Ana s voice trembled.
He was one of the first to die. We weren t expecting so many &. They only reason we re still standing is because Wasp arrived with your warning. Oh, and one of the fairy Knights, Gunarr, came with Clerics! Lochlann was beside himself, ranting, and cursing your name until Gunarr explained you were pushing for a peace treaty. He shut up then.
Maybe we should let Ro and Lex join the fight?
Ana shook her head wildly.
No. Too dangerous, and more black magic isn t what we need.
I held back the urge to defend them both. Surely, we needed all the help we could get?
Amelia?
I asked then flushed and added as an afterthought,
Nimah?
Went crazy, we lost sight of them a few hours ago.
Her chin trembled.
Amelia was so hurt, she wouldn t listen to me. I m watching her futures closely and they re all strong, it s the only reason I m not chasing after her and dragging her furry ass with me.
My mind reeled as I tried to feel out Amelia s aura, wanting my own reassurance that she was unharmed, but she was either too far or there were too many bodies muddying my senses.
Kalcifer and Baako?
Fierce. The were-wolves are scary, all teeth and claws. They hunt in small packs so are pretty well protected. Baako is … big and vicious.
She shook her head, the look of awe melting into a vacant expression. Her eyes wandered off to the middle distance.
Conall s down, his future is fading. I have to go.
Ana turned and gracefully climbed if in a somewhat hesitant fashion after Daphne.
Terror gripped my heart in a vice.
Conall.
I knelt down and wrapped my arms around Alec s neck.
Will you be able to make it?
Alec gathered his front and back paws together, ears flat against his head, offended by my question.
Leaping, his powerful back legs dug into the trunk and lunched him higher so he could scramble up the first branch. He turned back to blink at me, as if mocking my concern for his abilities to make the climb then carried on.
Breandan was speaking to Kian, and I caught the tail end of the conversation.
&.we ll remain here and guard the entrance,
Kian finished. He and the remaining fairy Knights moved to stand in a semi circle around the base of the tree.
Breandan patted his shoulder then lead me around the base a little to the side. A rope ladder hung there.
Oh. The others will be pissed when I tell them about this,
I mused.
Breandan smiled over his shoulder and nimbly scaled the rungs, pausing only to ensure I was behind him. The ladder took the straightest path up through the tree boughs, curving with the broad trunk, and weaving from side to side to pass over the limbs that lead off to other paths.
The others climbed in a wild fashion, helping each other take down any hidden enemies along the way. The vampires dotting the way fell one by one, either by quick spurts of Ana s magic, or Alec s jaws. Soon, Breandan lead us, often reaching down to pull me up a few extra rungs when I fell behind.
Learning the trick of climbing such a volatile structure that suddenly twisted awkwardly or shook violently without warning hindered me.
We reached the platform, and Breandan reached back to haul me up after him.
I was struck dumb.
Conall lay prone on the floor, head bent at an awkward angle. Strangled noises blocked my airway, but the steady rising and falling of his chest told he was alive, cutting through my devastation before it could take root.
Ana crawled toward him, wide eyes fixed on the scene playing out in the centre of the platform.
One handed, Cael had Lochlann by the throa
t, holding his swaying, rigid body high off the floor.
Lochlann s sword dropped from his limp fingers.
No!
Daphne lunged for Cael who swatted her away with ease.
She landed on her face and skidded along the floor, knocking Ana down. The witch squealed, and sprawled out to stop herself and Conall tumbling over the edge.
Cael s attention switched, and he dropped the fairy lord, letting him crumple into a boneless heap. He stepped over him, dusting his hands off then flung them wide in welcome.
Ah! Rae, finally, you made it. How s the wing?
Breandan hissed and I gripped his shoulder to keep him close to me.
Fine,
I replied, not letting his nonchalant attitude throw me off balance.
My eyes roamed the plateau, occasionally flitting back to Cael to make sure he was still a safe distance away. I spotted the grimoire lying open, black mist seeping from the pages. Whatever Cael had needed from the spellbook he now knew.