Wounded: Book 8 (A Rylee Adamson Novel) (24 page)

Liam didn’t glance at him, just shifted back into human form. “She was bound to cause more grief than either of us need right now.”

I couldn’t keep my eyes from widening further, if that was possible. That did not sound like Liam.

He glanced at me and just shook his head. “We have to get out of here, you know that, right? The ogres aren’t going to take long to figure out where we are. The other guardians were possessed, and I’ve no doubt that they have some sort of connection with those possessing the ogres. ”

Well, wasn’t that just peachy. Explained what happened to Bear and the other guardians, though. “What about Louisa?”

“I sent her and Crystal on to London. They were clean.”

I choked a little. “All the other shamans?”

“Dead.”

What the fuck, we were losing allies left and right. But that was what Orion wanted, he wanted us cut off and fighting on our own.

“The only doorway on this side of the world that we know will still let us into the castle is back home.” I turned to look in that direction. It wasn’t close, but ultimately it would be faster than trying to get to London via Blaz. The old mine shaft had become a veritable highway for us when it came to crossing the veil.

It didn’t take much convincing on my part. Frank was still done in and even if he could open the veil directly to Jack’s, Liam would still be stuck in New Mexico.

“Liam, you wait here with your wolves. Blaz, are two trips going to be a problem?”

Don’t insult me.
His voice boomed through everyone and, of the newbies, it was Coyote who let out a laugh.

“Does that mean I’m coming with you?”

“You don’t have to.” I looked him over. “But I’m thinking that being on your own at this point probably isn’t the best idea.”

Coyote bobbed his head once, his silver eyes serious, though he had a big grin on his face. On the outside, he might look like this was all just fun and games, but there was a lot going on behind those eyes of his. “I’ll come with you. It’s been a long time since Wolf and I hunted together. And he is rather fun to poke at.” He winked at me as Liam snorted.

The werewolves backed away into the darkness waiting for Liam. He came to me, touched one hand to my cheek and bent his head to mine. “We need to have a long talk, as soon as we get to London. No more distractions, no matter how bad they are. Promise me.”

Shit, that didn’t sound good. “If it’s that bad, tell me now.”

“Not bad, but we have to sort some stuff out that won’t wait.” His eyes never left mine, as if trying to impress something important on me.

My stomach clenched. He was talking about the secrets he’d been keeping the last few months. I’d wanted to know, pestered him about them, and now that the moment had drawn close, I wasn’t so sure anymore I had any desire to know what he’d been keeping from me.

He kissed me, quick and clean, and then backed away, shifting. Moments later, a chorus of howls broke the night air; at one time, the sounds would have sent shivers down my spine. Not anymore. Though I couldn’t tell them all apart, I could hear Alex and Liam adding their voices to the mix, and their voices soothed my fears. I had my boys; they would stand by me no matter what.

Pamela helped Coyote, boosting him with her magic onto Blaz’s back, and then followed him up. Frank and Berget were right behind them, then Kyle and India. I paused, looked to Erik and saw the same hesitation on his face.

“What?”

He shook his head, his eyes narrowing. “Something big is coming.”

“Yeah, four horsemen, end of the world, all that shit.” I said the words, but in my heart I knew he was talking about something else.

“Don’t dismiss this, Rylee. You are always going to be the center of things and your intuition is trying to tell you something, isn’t it?”

I flicked my hand at him, silently asking him to follow me, and we walked to the edge of where the light touched the night.

“The witches are dealt with. No more demons should easily be able to possess supernaturals. The ogres have been outed. But that damn doorway, it’s still open, and we are planning on walking right by it to get to London.”

Erik put a hand to the back of his neck, rubbing at the skin. “The horsemen shouldn’t be coming through yet, not until the packs do some serious damage in preparation for them. I think we have time in that regards. But there is something else. Like a crux in time, a moment where we aren’t going to be able to fix whatever it is that happens.”

I swallowed hard. Erik had hit the nail on the fucking head. We’d heard nothing in regards to the demon packs and what they were up to other than the one we’d run into at John’s motel. That was not a good sign. Either we were too far out of the loop, or the packs were working on something big. Not good, not good at all.

“We’d better go. The longer we take, the worse this is going to be. We’ve just got to rip the fucking Band-Aid off.” I strode toward Blaz and climbed up, Erik right behind me.

The flight was cold, but easy. No demons popped out of the sky, no explosions sent us spinning into nowhere. The mineshaft was as we’d left it, ropes and climbing gear still set up and waiting.

Will you wait for Liam in the shaft, or in London?

That was a good question. “We’ll wait for him at Jack’s.” It galled me, not waiting for him, but there was no other way. Doran and the others were waiting.

Our group slid down the ropes with ease and Pamela lit up the inside of the cavern with three floating balls of fire. The mineshaft was cool, but the doorway through the veil felt hot to the touch. I pressed my hand against it. Why the hell would it be hot?

Without another thought, I pushed hard on the door, shoving it open. A burst of flame curled out and I fell back from it with a yelp.

Pamela stepped up and the flames bent away from us, but only by a few feet. Her face turned into a deep scowl. “I can’t put it out, it’s not regular fire.”

“Can you hold it back long enough for us to get through?”

“I think so.”

“Then we make a run for it.”

Erik grunted. “What about Liam and the wolves?”

“I can wait for them,” Pamela said. “I can get you out and then come back here and wait.”

I didn’t like it, didn’t want to see her put herself in that kind of danger, but there was no other choice.

I gave a sharp nod, not happy about the newest twist in events. “Let’s do this.”

Pamela nodded and her hands clenched into fists. The flames were fucking hot, but we bolted through, all of us.

Except Berget. I stood inside the castle and looked back to see the fear on her face.

“I can’t, Rylee. Even from here, the heat is too much. I will wait for Liam and the werewolves, tell them how to get through.”

A gust of hot air whipped around me, drying the sweat on my forehead. “I can’t leave you again.”

“You aren’t. I’ll find a way to get to London. I can always catch a ride with Blaz.” She gave me a soft smile and I knew there would be no changing her mind. Berget was right. There was no way for her to get through the fire without going up in flames. Too damn combustible.

I reached across the doorway and gave her a hug, holding her tight for just a moment. “I’m holding you to that. I expect to see your ass in London, ASAP.”

“I love you too, Rylee.”

Lips tight, I turned away and ran after the others. The castle was completely engulfed in deep red flames. They looked like what a child would draw, blood red and towering above us. From time to time as we ran through the castle, they dipped toward us and Pamela fended them off.

“Who would light the castle on fire?” Frank asked as he jogged beside me.

It was a good question, and I was pretty sure I knew the answer. “Orion. If the castle is on fire, how do we close the doorway?”

Erik grunted his agreement and I knew I was right. Not that being right made me feel any better.

The main entrance in and out of the castle onto the open plane burned hotter than the rest of the flames around us and a niggling fear bit at me. None of us had even considered this might be a trap, a way to end us all in one fell swoop. “Pam, tell me you can get us through there.”

“If I can’t, no one can,” she whispered, as she flung her hands toward the flaming gate. They groaned and leaned outward, leaving a small gap, just big enough for us to run through.

The group bolted for the opening, but again, I felt the pause of one of my people. Pamela stood, sweat pouring off her face. “Go, I’ll be okay and Liam will need my help to get the wolves through.”

I wanted to tell her not to take risks, to just be safe and get her ass back to us in one piece. But it was advice I would never take myself. I settled for something more subtle. “Don’t dawdle.”

Her lips twitched and I turned my back on her to run through the gate. The heat singed my face, tightened my skin and made me sweat like, well, like I was running through a furnace.

Leaving my family behind was not something I was comfortable doing, but the last few months taught me I couldn’t do it all. I had to let each of those close to me do the things they were designed for, much as it killed me to let them go into danger.

I just hoped I was making the right choice.

Chapter 17

WATCHING RYLEE AND the others run through the gate left me feeling … funny. That she trusted me enough to leave me on my own was an amazing high. But being left on my own within the castle reminded me there were demons just waiting to snatch me again. The fear of being kidnapped haunted me, made my blood freeze.

I spun and ran back toward the doorway where Liam would come through. Second floor, end of the hallway. The flames weren’t as bad there since I’d already pushed them back. Which was good, because the door to the mine shaft wouldn’t open when I got to it.

“No, don’t be a wanker,” I whispered, jerking on the handle, yanking it hard. Nothing. Despite the heat from the flames around me, a chill slid down my spine. I couldn’t wait anywhere else, which meant I had to sit here and fend off the fire until Liam, or Berget, opened the door. Sound didn’t travel between the doorways, so I could knock all I liked and no one would hear.

I hadn’t told Rylee the fire was more than magical. It was alive. There was some sort of entity running it, making it push hard against me, testing my boundaries even as I held it at bay. I swallowed several times, trying to get saliva flowing. My mouth was parched, dry and hot, like I’d been sucking on desert sand.

I put my back to the door and stared into the flames. Using a technique Milly showed me, I put a barrier between me and the flames. Like a wall for the fire to hammer at, it gave me some relief. Yet I knew it couldn’t last. The barrier drew off my power, like I was a battery feeding it. There would come a point where I couldn’t hold it any longer, when I had finally run out of juice.

“Hurry, Liam,” I whispered as I slid to the floor and put my hands on the warm stone. “Please, hurry.”