by Holly Evans
“We need to find the battery,” Quin shouted.
“He’ll be near the heart of the ritual,” Elise shouted back.
Raif yelped; two witches tag-teamed him. One pinned him down while another throttled him. He kicked at them with his hind legs and snapped, but they had him. I jumped over the island and drove my blade into one’s neck while I set the other on fire. The hellfire thing was turning out to be quite useful. A large curse whistled past my ear and exploded the island behind me. I did my best to cover Raif and protect him from the lumps of wood that flew through the air. Once everything had settled more, pain filtered around the fire. I drove it down and used it as further fuel. Raif squirmed under me; I let him go once I was satisfied that he could stand. He launched himself at the witch who was trying to circle around behind me. Elise stabbed her before Raif could tear her throat out.
And they thought that removing our magic would slow us down.
The kitchen was finally cleared. We moved into the main space of the cabin. We paused to try and assess the situation before us. The fae were on the far side of the large open space. The lycans were pacing somewhere behind them. Screams and frustrated growls came from that direction, but I couldn’t pause to figure out what was wrong.
Rustic wooden stairs curved around the outer wall to our right; the second floor was open above us, giving most of the space a double-height ceiling. Witches stood at the top of the gallery area, throwing various curses and implements down at the fae. They hadn’t spotted us yet. More witches came out from some shadowy recess under the gallery area. Quin signaled to Lysander and Raif to go with him. They ran up the stairs. I looked back to see Mila still in reasonable shape and eager to return to the fray. Her face was coated in blood, and I was pretty sure it wasn’t hers.
The witches caught sight of us just as I heard Kadrix’s shout. Three witches had him and were trying to drag him off to a door to our left. Mila and Elise ran at the witches and drew their attention while I focused on freeing Kadrix. I wished I knew how to throw fireballs; it would have made my life easier. Seeing a living inferno running at them was enough to make the witches pause. They stopped dead. One dropped Kadrix’s head and ran. I laughed and hacked at the one closest to me. My blade cut through her arm like butter, while my fire ignited her robes. Her sister threw a curse at me that cut into my hip. I grabbed hold of her hair and set her on fire. She screamed and pulled a small copper knife from her robes and went to sink it into Kadrix. I kicked her legs from under her and pinned her down while I focused my fire on her heart. She writhed under me, while I remembered Lucien and my home.
“Evelyn, she’s dead. Move on,” Kadrix shouted, kneeling and pushing himself up into a standing position.
“Where’s the battery?” I shouted while trying to duck under another volley of curses.
He pointed at the door some ten feet away. “In there. Take Elise, you need to break the magic.”
Elise caught my eye; I waved at the door. Subtlety be damned. She nodded and jogged to join me. Two witches fell over the balcony and landed with a crunch on the floor. Someone yelped and snarled, but my attention was drawn by the searing pain in my upper arm. I turned, looking for whoever had caused that. A young witch stalked up to me; Elise threw one of the alchemical orbs at her. The witch screamed as the gloop burnt through her robes and dissolved her ribs. We turned and ran to the door. The sooner this was ended, the better. My injuries were mounting, and I had to assume I wasn’t the only one.
The door was locked, and my fire wasn’t touching it. We kicked it as one. It bent and shuddered a little. I heard Kadrix and Mila behind us, shouting back and forth in some fae tongue. We kicked again when a scream cut through the air. The third kick made the door buckle. The room shimmered and warped for a moment before it settled into a small office space complete with naked man in the middle of the pale wooden floor. He was covered in symbols written in blood. More blood symbols surrounded him. Even the soft cream walls were covered in blood. I didn’t know how many creatures had died to do that. Elise held me back while she looked around the room.
“Kill him!” Kadrix shouted.
“No,” Elise said as she held me still.
“No?”
“No, we need to free him,” she said
“Priestess, now isn’t the time for a conscience. Our people will die unless we get magic back soon,” Kadrix shouted.
“We free him,” she snarled. “Evie, throw one of the emerald-green orbs there.”
She gestured at the west side of the room and tossed me an orb.
“On my mark,” she said.
I rolled the orb around the palm of my hand.
“Mark.”
We threw. The blood runes bubbled and fizzled, they slowly turned black then pale gold. Once they were done, she ran into the room.
“I’m going to need time, guard the door.”
She pulled a knife and began cutting the ropes that bound the man to the metal rings on the floor. The air moved next to my ear before a blade appeared in the wood, barely an inch from my face. I turned and tried to pull up my fire. I couldn’t do it. The pain was clouding my concentration. I stood as strong as I could with my legs beginning to get wobbly. Failure was not in my repertoire.
Somehow, there were still some twenty witches left. The floor was littered with bodies and heaps of robes. Something caught Kadrix’s attention. He ignored a pair of witches that stood back to back throwing curses at us and the fae who were pushing further into the room and corralling the witches. A large witch in dark red robes was leaning over a delicate blond woman, an elf perhaps. I’d completely forgotten that we were supposed to be saving Kadrix’s lover and the others. I mentally kicked myself before another curse whistled past my ear and the doorway became a little wider. I glared at the witch. I didn’t want to move and risk one of them getting in to Elise before she was ready. I cursed out Kadrix. I was fucked.
The lycans finally burst into the room. The smaller sandy coloured one ran over to me and stood at my side, or more accurately towered over me at my side. His muzzle was covered in blood; his hands with the thick black claws protruding from his fingertips were partially bent. His gaze was intent on the witches before us.
Kadrix joined the Sidhe surrounding the witches; he pushed through their ranks to be closer to what I assumed were the kidnappees. Lysander bounded over to me in his hound form. He stood in front of me, hackles raised, blood coated his thick black fur. He snapped and snarled at every witch within reach. We stood strong as a united front, protecting Elise. Lysander tore the arm off a witch that got close enough.
The number of curses being thrown around was thinning. The screams and snarls were increasing in volume as our people gained control over the situation. The fae pushed in around the witches; they were surrounded and growing more panicky. The remaining lycans had charged upstairs to finish clearing that out. Something shifted in the air. It became clearer. The colours were more vivid. The fae cackled and began forming curses of their own. The witches screamed; those that could made a break for it. They took off through every exit they could. The lycans bayed and tore off after them, huge grins on their deformed faces. Those witches that couldn’t, died, screaming in agony. It was over in a matter of seconds. I looked back to find Elise stroking the man’s face; his eyes were open and his chest was rising and falling steadily. I had to assume she’d succeeded.
The pain was threatening to overwhelm me.
Lysander shifted into his human form. “Where’s Raif?”
We looked around the room. The cub limped over to us and flopped down at our feet. I concluded he had the right idea and knelt next to him; standing was overrated. The fae dissipated, hunting down the last of the witches and caring for their fallen. Kadrix knelt down next to a body that was sprawled on the floor. Quin approached Kadrix and crouched down next to him. Quin held the elf in his arms; his shoulders shuddered. I hung my head. I’d been so focused on taking out the witches, I’d forgotten.
Lysander put his arm around me.
“We did what we could,” he said softly.
Raif whined and looked up at us. I stroked between his ears.
“You did good, little wolf,” I said.
He rested his chin on my foot. I had no idea what we were supposed to do with the mess. The fae had gathered around someone, or something. I hoped that their kidnappees had fared better than Kadrix’s lover.
Azfin emerged from the group. “Thank you, Evelyn. The witch could not succeed with her ritual, and our number will survive.”
I smiled and looked over to Kadrix. Azfin frowned and bowed his head.
“We will give her all funerial rites.”
With that, he turned and returned to the other Sidhe.
“Lysander, can we borrow your shirt?” Elise called.
He looked back into the room, his mouth pulled up into a smile before he pulled off his shirt and handed it to her. The man seemed a little groggy, but sat up.
Lysander said, “He is not having my pants.”
Everyone laughed. I regretted it; everything hurt and laughing made it so much worse. Raif whined again.
“I know, little wolf, I know,” I said softly.
Elise and one of the lycans half carried the man out to join us. The fae began to herd us outside. I groaned at the thought of trekking through the forest. Sleeping for a week sounded like the best possible plan at that point. Lysander carried Raif, and Kadrix carried his lover, with Quin at his side. We stepped out onto the gravel, to be met by a convoy of vehicles of varying shapes and colours. I looked around to see a dirt track that hadn’t been there before. Azfin muttered something about potent magic before he ushered us into a large grey SUV. Kadrix and Quin got into the black vehicle behind us. The guilt at Kadrix’s loss gnawed at me, but I focused instead on the positive. The witch hadn’t succeeded in whatever her plan was. And there were fewer witches in the city now; we must have killed a few dozen of them. The screams would haunt my dreams for weeks, but it was worth it.
The Sidhe had been good enough to help heal us. Elise had taken the guy back to her church; we hadn’t seen anyone for a few days while we healed and recovered. Raif had remained in his wolf form while he healed. Lysander and I slept. We dressed in various shades of blue and stood by a lake on the edge of the city with our heads bowed as Kadrix said some words in elvish. Quin remained at his side. Sabine’s body had been covered in flowers and wreathes before she was sent out to the middle of the lake by magical means. Kadrix sniffed and said some final words when she slipped down into the water. A tear trickled down my cheek; the guilt still gnawed at me. They told me there was nothing I could have done, but it remained, regardless.
The Sidhe dispersed; Kadrix turned away from the water with a frown on his pretty mouth.
I took his hands in mine. “I’m sorry, Kadrix.”
He nodded. “Do not fear, Evelyn, everything balanced.”
Quin put his arm around the elf’s shoulder and kissed his cheek.
“Our condolences for your loss,” Lysander said.
Kadrix nodded. We left them to their grief and headed back to Azfin’s car. He drove far more reasonably when he wasn’t rushing out to stop bloodthirsty witches. He dropped us off as close to Elise’s church as he could get; we left him with thanks. Elise had passed on her condolences and spoken to Kadrix before the funeral; she was expecting us. She greeted us with tea and a nervous smile. Her usual priestess garb had been replaced with pale jeans and a loose white shirt. The man wasn’t within sight. Lysander and Raif settled down on the sofa while Elise led me into the small kitchen.
“What if it’s him, Evie? I’m too scared to ask.”
“…him?” I asked.
She fidgeted and wrung her hands. I finally clicked.
“Oh, him!”
She nodded. “I knew I had to save him, the feeling was so strong.”
“Have you guys…?”
She shook her head. “No, we’ve barely spoken.”
“And you haven’t asked your lady because?”
“What if he isn’t? What if I got my hopes up for nothing?”
I rolled my eyes, the great priestess who kicked witch ass was acting like a school girl.
“Go and ask. Now.”
I pointed in the direction of the altar.
A gruff voice said, “Ask who what?”
We turned to look at the newcomer. He looked different fully clothed; still a very good looking man. Lysander appeared behind him. My hound was shorter by a few inches, and slightly narrower build. Elise’s man’s dirty blond hair was fashionably scruffy and came down just above the tops of his ears. His grey-green eyes danced with promises of mischief; I knew from the ritual that he was very well-toned and had golden-tanned skin. Elise was a lucky lady.
He held out a hand. “I’m Bryn, and you are?”
I gave him my most charming smile. “Evie, and that behind you is Lysander.”
Lysander stood a little taller and put his shoulders back.
“Lysander is my other half,” I added before it went any further.
Bryn smiled, his attention quickly returning to Elise. I elbowed her; she made her excuses and vanished out into the main church area.
“So, Bryn… who and what are you?”
He laughed, a genuine laugh that lit up his entire face. “I should be asking you that.”
“I asked first.”
He grinned. “I’m an artist, and a healer.”
“Human?”
He raised an eyebrow. “…yes? What sort of question is that?”
I looked back at Lysander and hoped he was screwing around. His eyes danced.
“Don’t worry; Evie, right? I’m not naive.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to face Lysander.
“I assume you and your friend are lycans.”
“Hellhound,” Lysander growled.
I pushed past Bryn and put my arm around Lysander’s waist leading him back to the sofa.
“I didn’t think hellhounds walked this plane,” Bryn said.
Elise returned with a grin on her face. I quietly thanked the moon goddess. It was about time things started looking up.
The final book in the Infernal Hunt series.
Kadrix has been keeping a secret that puts far more than the city at risk.
A rebellion is brewing, threatening to tear down all that the hunters have worked for.
The city will be torn in two, and this time, Evie isn’t sure she can put it back together again.
I was curled up on the sofa with Lysander and Raif while the others prepared their alchemical and magical bits. It had been decided that we needed more protections placed on our home. The city was stirring. Something was coming, and I wasn’t ready to lose my home a second time.
Elise smiled at Bryn while she played with the paintbrush in her hand. They’d fit together like a pair of jigsaw pieces; I supposed it was only natural, given how they’d come together. Still, it was nice to see Elise so happy. I sighed.
“I’m tired of not feeling safe in my home,” I grumbled.
Small creases formed around Elise's eyes, and her mouth tightened. The paintbrush in her hand stilled for a moment. Bryn strode across the room and stood next to her.
“This has happened before?" he asked me.
I shrugged.
“Witches broke into and destroyed our previous flat,” Lysander said.
Bryn raised an eyebrow before he put his arm around Elise's shoulder and gave her a small squeeze.
“Anything else I can do to help?"
The tension slipped away from her and she handed him the paintbrush. “Can you prepare this for me?"
His eyes flicked over to the kitchen and Kadrix before he pursed his lips. "I think I remember how."
He went into the kitchen and pulled out a couple of bowls before he took some powder from in front of Kadrix.
“You're putting him to good use, I see,” I said to Elise.
She looked over her shoulder at his strong back and carefully messy hair. “He's a good student. Now, you can't leave the sofa until we're done. Kadrix and Quin are almost ready to start their alchemy; once they're done, I'll add in the magical layers. Kadrix will seal it all with fae magic."
“Alchemy is a valid form of magic,” Kadrix said.
“I didn’t say it wasn’t,” Elise replied with a smile.
“You said you’d add in the magical layers after the alchemy.” He huffed.
“That was for Evie’s benefit,” Elise said.
Kadrix’s head bobbed, apparently satisfied with her answer.
I chewed on my bottom lip and ignored the implications of their little discussion. “You think we need all of that?"
Elise sighed. “Things are changing, Evie. Do you want to take that risk?"
I stroked Raif's hair and let them do whatever they needed to do. I hated feeling weak and vulnerable, but I was coming to terms with my position in the group. I had some magic of my own, but it would never be like this. I was reactive, not defensive. I was learning that it was ok to accept help from my friends sometimes.
Quin had come into his own with the alchemy; he and Kadrix worked seamlessly together. Bryn leant against the end of the sofa, watching with his head tilted slightly to one side. They began with a multitude of coloured powders that they trailed on the floor, forming various symbols that meant nothing to me. I was very glad to have wooden floors throughout; it would have been a nightmare dealing with that on carpet. Elise sat up on the counter along the dividing wall; she twirled a paintbrush between her fingers as she watched them work. Once the floor had been covered in a technicolour array of symbols, Quin and Kadrix stood at opposite ends of the room. They knelt down in synchrony. Kadrix formed a bright green flame in his hand. Quin pulled a small vial from his pocket; it contained barely more than three drops of a violent purple liquid. Kadrix set fire to the yellow powder closest to him just as Quin allowed a single drop of the liquid to fall on the gold and orange powder in front of him.