The thing fell back, spewing blood, and a pile of furry, clawed demons fell on it, devouring it in seconds.
There was no time to celebrate. There were more things attacking him, trying to maneuver him away from the wall so they could get to his back.
Not going to happen. Madoc had to take the long way around to get to Nika or he wasn’t going to get to her at all.
In fact, from the looks of things, Madoc wasn’t sure any of them were going to make it out of this alive.
Gilda had no idea how they were going to find a way out. Maybe if they offered to trade Maura for their lives, they would be allowed to leave, but Gilda wasn’t willing to use her daughter as currency. She was too precious for that.
Before the Synestryn could close in, Gilda surrounded the three of them with a ring of flame, giving her time to think.
They needed to go up. It was the only way not blocked. It was also incredibly difficult to break through the ceiling of a cave without killing them all in the process. Gilda wasn’t sure she had enough strength left to do it, but she wasn’t seeing any other options.
“Hold on,” she said, then packed a solid disk of air under them and lifted them toward the ceiling of the cave.
The acrid smell of smoke still hovered up here, but there was no help for that now. She needed every bit of strength to bash through the ceiling of the cave and get them out.
Gilda found what she hoped was a weak spot about ten feet to the left and battered it with a blast of energy.
Rocks spilled down. A crack formed along the ceiling. Gilda aimed for that crack and punched at it again.
The crack opened and huge chunks of rocks rained down on them. She pulled more power from Angus, hearing him groan at the strain, but she couldn’t be gentle right now. She had to shield them from the cascade of stone.
Tons of rock battered the shield she’d thrown up, weakening her. Angus’s warm hand cradled her neck, aiding her efforts. She felt him trying to help her—pushing as much energy into her as he could.
It wasn’t enough. She couldn’t keep them afloat. The weight drove them down onto the pile of rock that had already formed beneath them.
Synestryn that weren’t crushed began to scurry up the sides of the mound to get to them.
Gilda reinforced the shield over them and bashed again at the ceiling, frantic to punch her way through so they could get out.
They’d been deeper than she thought. There was too much earth overhead. Weight bore down on her shield, growing by the second. Rocks covered them, roaring as they tumbled down. She didn’t have enough strength to spare to fuel her eyesight, so blackness closed in on her.
The rumble stopped and the weight on top of them no longer increased, but Gilda was weakening. “I’m not going to be able to hold this for long,” she rasped out.
“Try to push us free.”
Gilda sucked in more power, but it did no good. She couldn’t lift so much weight.
She’d trapped them. Killed them.
“No,” said Angus. “We were dead inside this cave. You had to try something.”
“I wasn’t dead,” said Maura. There was no venom in her tone, only acceptance. “At least I’m not going to die alone. I’d always wondered about that.”
She wasn’t going to die at all. Gilda refused to be the cause of her baby girl’s death.
Angus slid inside her mind, his strong, solid presence giving her strength. He knew what she was going to do. “You must,” he whispered. “She deserves a chance to do the right thing, to redeem herself.”
She felt his breath on her cheek. His lips brushed hers in a soft kiss.
“We love you, Maura,” said Gilda. “You’re a good girl. You’re going to grow into a good woman.”
“Right,” said Maura, scoffing, but her voice cut off and she sucked in a startled breath.
Gilda found the vow her baby had given her so many years ago tucked in her memories. She pulled it up, playing it in her mind as she had so often. She could see the tears of grief staining her dress, the way her daughters’ chubby arms clung to her, trying desperately to give comfort. She heard herself demand their promise never to grow up, cursing herself again at her selfishness.
No more. She was through with selfishness.
“My death will release you from your vow,” said Gilda as she channeled power into that memory, highlighting it.
She hadn’t been sure whether this would work, but she felt something shift—change—inside her. She wasn’t exactly sure what would happen now, but she knew she wouldn’t be around to see it.
She felt a trickle of blood leaking from her nose. Her eyes burned as if they’d been set on fire.
She’d used a lot of power. Angus was gathering more into his body through the stones, but it wasn’t fast enough to replenish what she’d taken.
There was just enough left to teleport one of them out. Maura.
I love you
, she whispered to Angus’s mind.
And I love you
, she heard him reply, so deeply a part of her she knew they’d never again be separated. He kissed her cheek, letting her feel how proud he was of her, how honored and blessed he felt to have been her husband. How lucky he felt that she’d been his wife.
Gilda found his hand and squeezed it. She drew on her husband’s power for the very last time, opened a rift in space, and shoved Maura through, out of harm’s way.
The shield holding the weight of the rocks no longer had enough magic to fuel it. It failed and tons of stone came crashing down on top of them.
The last thing she felt was her husband’s love and the vow her babies had given her shatter into oblivion.
Nika felt a sense of futility coming from Madoc, along with a pounding rage and desperation to reach her side. That was what got her back onto her feet. If he didn’t see she was okay, he was going to get himself killed.
She loved him too much to let him die before they had a chance to build a life together.
She let that love flow into him, reassuring him she was okay.
It was only partly a lie. Her head was throbbing and her vision was still a bit wonky, but at least she was still alive.
Tynan, on the other hand, didn’t look nearly as good.
Zillah stopped shaking him and tossed him aside. Tynan didn’t move.
Nika had thought to go to him and see if she could revive him when she saw Zillah lean down over Tori.
Nika blinked several times, trying to clear her vision. She channeled some power to her eyes, hoping it would help, and everything came into instant focus.
Tori was slumped on her side, but breathing. Zillah bent down and lifted something small in his hands.
A baby. Tori had given birth.
The cord was still attached. The baby boy looked normal, but he wasn’t crying. He wasn’t moving. His chest didn’t vibrate with his pulse or rise with his breath.
A cry of rage and anguish roared out of Zillah and he jerked Tori upright, shaking her. Tori’s eyes fluttered open and she tried to shrink back away from him.
“You,” he snarled. “This was your fault. You wanted him to die. You killed him.” Zillah lifted his hand to strike Tori.
Fear gripped Nika hard, and she did the only thing she could think to do. She shed her body and shoved her consciousness inside his, taking control of Zillah’s striking fist.
The writhing, fetid evil of his mind choked Nika, sucking all that was good and pure from her. She fought it, trying to remember who she was and what she stood for, but being here, surrounded by evil, she found it so easy to forget there was good in the world.
She wanted to rip things apart, to pound them into piles of blood and bone. She wanted to scream in rage and lash out at anything that dared to move while in her presence.
Nika couldn’t fight this much evil, so she stopped trying. She gave in to the need to kill and forced Zillah’s body to obey. She turned him toward his troops and gave him the order to kill.
A cold, sharp pain gripped her mind, fighting for control. Zillah wasn’t going to let her win so easily.
She felt him struggle just to move his eyes; then a moment later, Madoc was in his sights.
If she was going to make him kill, Madoc was going to be the target.
Nika tried to regain control. She tried to refocus him back on his demons, but he was too strong.
She called out a warning to Madoc, but Zillah caught it before it could get free and crushed the thought with a small, token effort.
It was then that Nika realized her mistake. This was what Zillah had wanted all along. He had none of her blood inside him, giving her control.
He was in charge now, taking her along for the ride.
Zillah smiled in victory, and Nika felt that smile wiggle through her like some kind of parasite. He was going to kill Madoc, and not only was she going to watch—he was going to make her help.
Chapter 28
M
aura landed under a leafless tree. Her parents were dead. She’d known for years that this day would come, but she hadn’t known until now just how much it would hurt.
She shouldn’t have cared. She hadn’t needed them for years. They hated what she’d become.
That hate had always allowed Maura to hold herself at a distance. Why should she care what they thought? Why should she bother to be something she wasn’t? It wasn’t her fault she had no soul of her own. Gilda had done that to her. Angus had allowed it. They deserved what they got.
And yet, there was this odd hollow space inside Maura she couldn’t explain, as if an important part of her had been ripped out.
They’d said they loved her. Their words had seemed genuine, like she remembered from when she was young and foolish. How could they love her when there was no soul inside her to love? How could they have given up their lives for her if they didn’t love her? They certainly hadn’t feared her.
Maura had no answers. She didn’t even know where she was or how far away Gilda had flung her. She needed to get moving. It was too cold to lie here and stare up at the sky, searching for answers that would never come.
She needed to see what she should do, where she should go, so she opened up that part of her that could see the future. It was, after all, her turn. Sibyl had used their power last.
But when Maura reached for her power, it was gone—only an empty, gaping spot remained where it should have been. It was as if she’d never even had the power.
Panic set in hard and fast. Without her power, she was nothing—just a child no one would listen to. No one would fear.
Maybe it was temporary—some kind of trauma Gilda had caused tonight. Maybe her power would return. She didn’t need to panic.
At least not yet.
But she couldn’t go back to Zillah now. He’d kill her as soon as he knew the truth. She was of no use to him.
She was of no use to anyone.
The Sentinels would kill her if they found her. Her parents had shown mercy, but she knew better than to think anyone else would.
She was on her own. Alone.
Instincts had her reaching for Sibyl before she could stop herself, but all that greeted her was blackness. Silent, yawning blackness.
Was Sibyl dead, too?
Maura began to panic. She’d never been alone before. She didn’t know where to go or what to do. She couldn’t be around people. What if one of them touched her? She didn’t want to see anyone else die tonight.
A light came on through the trees, and now that it did, Maura could see there was a farmhouse there. She heard a muffled slam of a screen door shutting, and then saw movement.
Someone was coming toward her—probably some hapless human who saw light spilling from the portal.
Whoever he was, she didn’t deserve his help, and she couldn’t risk his touching her. She had to run. Get away.
Maura turned in the opposite direction and ran.
Jackie held her breath as she watched the mouth of the cave for the dark-eyed man who’d gone after the children.
There were several people here, milling about, checking on those prisoners they’d helped free. A pretty woman with braids held one of the children in her arms, rocking him. Beside her, a watchful man stood, the blade of his sword gleaming at his side. There were other armed men, too—enough of them that Jackie felt like she could draw in a full breath for the first time in a long, long time.
The man with the scarred face walked up to her. He gave her a reassuring smile that puckered his skin. His eyes were a brilliant, laser blue as he looked down at her. “I’m Nicholas,” he said.
“Jackie Patton.” Years of boardroom meetings had her thrusting her hand out to shake his. Her skin was dirty; her too-long, broken fingernails were caked with filth. She pulled her hand back, but not fast enough. Nicholas took it in a gentle grip.
Her skin began to warm and a slight buzzing sensation slid up her arm. Nicholas’s eyes widened and a hopeful, reverent sort of look crossed his scarred face.
“You’re
that
Jackie,” he whispered. “The one we’ve been looking for.”
Jackie pulled her hand away, scared as hell by the way he was staring at her. She’d seen that same look of hunger on the faces of too many not-quite-human monsters right before they bit her to ever want to see it again.
She backed away and bumped into the door of a car. “Please. Stay back.”
A hand went to her neck, where she could feel the ridges of countless bite marks. Covering her throat was an unconscious gesture, and until she’d done it, she hadn’t realized she’d given away her fear.
“I’m not going to bite you.”
She couldn’t pull any of her boardroom calm around her now. She was too shaken. First the man with the dark eyes had made her feel odd, and now this man.
Another man with light brown skin and matching eyes hurried across the cold ground. “What’s going on here, Nicholas? Did you spook the girl?”