* * * *
Quade marveled at the small explosive, turning it over in his hand. Such a wonderful invention. Small rocks littered the ground around him, but the entrance to the hallway was nearly blocked by much larger stones they would need to break into pieces.
“Adare!” Grace Cooper rushed down the hallway, flinging herself around the bigger rocks.
Adare intercepted her before Quade could, halting her. “Watch yourself,” the Highlander ordered, plucking her away from the stones still falling.
Her blue eyes widened and she gulped in air. “They got them. A Cyst. He stuck a knife in Mercy’s throat, and Haven went with him.” She leaned over, coughing wildly. “That Allison seemed happy to see him.”
Everything inside Quade went still. He completely stopped functioning for just a moment.
A Cyst had Haven?
Logan burst out of the nearest tunnel, pieces of rock in his hair and dirt across his face. His eyes blazed an unreal green. “Mercy had a knife in her throat?”
Grace nodded, gulping. “I hid behind the tree so I could come tell you.” Tears filled her eyes. “I wanted to attack, but then two more Cyst showed up, and—”
“You did the right thing,” Quade said, already jumping into a run. Maybe he could catch them. The snow was thick, and Haven would try to slow them down. He hurried down the hallway, his hands shaking for the first time in centuries. He halted at the computer room.
Ivar looked up from his computer and pointed to the screen. “I hacked into a satellite feed. It’s spotty and the picture is horrible, but I noticed the helicopter parked a few miles away.”
The helicopter lifted into the air.
Rage filled Quade and he bit down until he could taste blood. “Can you track them?”
“Yes,” Ivar said. The screens went black. He hit the console several times, and the satellite feed came back on. “I think. I’ll try.”
Logan ran into the room by the kitchen and returned with several guns and knives, tossing them over. “I’ll fly. We’ll have to take the copter we used the other day, and it’s not for long distances. But we’re going anyway.”
Ronan and Benny ran out from a back tunnel, both covered in rock fragments. “We’re going too.”
Ivar stood. “If they’ve found us, we may be under attack.” An explosion rocked the entire mountain. “We are under attack.”
Quade nodded. “Okay. Logan and I will track the copter. Everyone else stay here and protect the mountain.”
Ronan took one of the guns from Logan. “I’m going with you.” He paused and looked back at Faith, who nodded.
“No.” Quade clapped an arm over his brother’s shoulder and gave him a hard hug. “Stay with your mate.” Now he understood. He really did. If anything happened to Haven, his soul would be gone forever. “Protect what we have here.”
Another explosion blew outside, and the grate in the ceiling crashed down, landing on several of the computers.
“Let’s go.” Quade turned and ran for the door with Logan on his heels.
They ducked low outside, not surprised to see a helicopter hovering above with missiles aimed at the mountain. Logan led the way through trees to another tarp-covered helicopter. He jumped inside, waiting until Quade had done the same. “This is going to be fast and hard.” Logan pressed several buttons, and the copter hummed to life. The tarp slid away. “As soon as they fire another missile, we’ll head up and out. They may shoot at us.”
The machine wasn’t nearly as nice as the one they’d wrecked just last week. Quade swallowed and gripped the nearest handle, his mind only on Haven. He had to get to her. “Do we have missiles?”
“Not on this thing,” Logan said grimly. He punched a red button in front of him. “Ivar? You there?”
“For now,” Ivar said with the sound of rocks falling around him. “They’re moving west and staying low beneath our radar. Your best bet is to take them out in the sky before they reach their destination.”
Logan shook his head. “Unlikely. We’ll be lucky if this thing flies that far. Keep on them.”
Another missile hit the earth.
“Now,” Logan said, hitting several buttons and lifting instantly into the sky.
Quade’s stomach dropped out from under him, and he turned to see the Cyst helicopter swing around. “Incoming,” he snapped.
The Cyst helicopter started firing, and Logan tilted their craft, flying between trees and around a mountain. Quade turned to see if the Cyst copter pursued them.
It didn’t.
“They want to take out the mountain,” Logan said.
Quade’s chest heated. “Will the others be safe?”
“Yeah. We have missiles in the ground and a self-destruct, which will probably be the way to go. There’s an escape route out the back that was the first thing Ivar installed.” Logan jerked the wheel and turned the craft toward more mountains. “I was just starting to like that place.” His knuckles were white on the wheel.
“They’ll be all right, Logan,” Quade said, grasping the knife he’d taken. They had to be. “I never told her.”
“Told her what?” Logan tilted again and then readjusted.
Quade was silent. If he got the chance to say the words, he only wanted to say them to Haven. He should’ve told her he loved her. He hadn’t realized until he’d discovered her gone. Taken by the enemy. What if he never got the chance?
Chapter Thirty-Nine
It had started snowing again and soon the visibility was so poor that Haven didn’t think they’d survive the flight. After a wild helicopter ride that ended with the beast setting down in a field surrounded by farmland, one of the Cyst soldiers hauled Haven through the snow and tossed her in a smallish barn. She rolled in the hay and came up in time to catch Mercy before she hit. “Okay. Take a deep breath.” She grasped the knife handle. Should she take it out or leave it in?
Mercy grasped the handle and yanked it out. “Damn it, ouch.” She slid down and sat in the wet hay, her hand covering the wound. Blood continued to pour through her fingers.
Bile rose in Haven’s throat. She choked it down and turned to look around. The barn was square shaped with two empty stalls and no weapons. She rushed over to a stall and kicked a lower board several times until it cracked in two. Then she grabbed a shard of wood and rushed back to Mercy, dropping to her knees and slashing the sharp wood over her wrist.
Pain swelled along with the blood. “Here. Drink this.”
Mercy’s head fell forward and she winced. “Do you know what you’re doing?”
“No. I’m new at this immortal stuff.” Haven shoved her wrist against Mercy’s mouth. “You’re wounded, and I have immortal blood.” She brightened. “That I share with you, so this should really help.” She actually had family. Even though she and her sister were in danger of being beheaded, she knew a brief moment of joy.
Mercy drank and settled her head back on the wooden wall. She closed her eyes.
Haven set her hand down and sent healing cells to her wrist. “Feel better?”
“Your blood tastes a little bit like honey.” Mercy reopened her eyes and moved her hand.
Haven leaned over, holding her breath as she watched Mercy’s skin slowly mend itself. “It’s working.”
Mercy rubbed blood off her hand. “I told you to run.”
“Would you have run?” Haven stood and moved to the door.
“No.” Mercy joined her, moving slowly. “I used all my healing cells and your blood to fix my neck, and I don’t have much strength left. If we get in a fight, I’m trained, but I won’t last long.” She nudged open the door and looked outside at the freezing snowstorm. “If you can run to safety, you have to. It’s you they want.”
Exactly. If they didn’t have her, they’d kill Mercy. “I didn’t find a sister just to lose her,” Haven whis
pered, peeking out at the ice-crusted field.
The door was shoved open, sending her scrambling back, trying to keep her balance.
Mercy backed away too, staying by her side. “If we have to fight, go for the eyes. Always go for the eyes.”
Haven swallowed, her legs shaking.
A Cyst soldier walked in—bigger than any she’d yet seen. He wore a black uniform with several medals across his left breast. Two other males walked next to him; both had long black hair tipped with red and oddly greenish-purple eyes. Finally, bringing up the rear, was a twenty-something blonde human with green eyes who walked next to Allison.
The woman stepped forward, looking them over. She wore brown boots, jeans, and a blue cashmere sweater. “Which one of you is Mary Agnes?”
Haven rolled her eyes. “Nobody is. I’m Haven.”
“I’m Yvonne. You have seen Ulric, my intended?” The blonde’s eyes gleamed in a way that seemed slightly off.
Haven glanced at Mercy and then back. “Your intended? The guy hasn’t been in this world for centuries. And yes, I’ve talked to him. He likes it where he is and wants to stay there.”
Mercy leaned toward her. “Supposedly in every generation there’s a chick who thinks she’s going to be with Ulric. They’re all nuts, and they always die alone. This one will die all by herself as well.” Her voice was loud enough for everyone to hear.
Yvonne smiled. “Very well. Do what you need to do to her, and I will go prepare myself for Ulric.”
Haven faced Allison and tried to ignore the pain blooming in her chest. “I never thought you’d do something like this.”
Allison clasped her hands together. “You don’t understand. They’re missionaries from God. They will help you.”
Haven let go of any hope for a relationship with the woman. Allison had followed the crazy pastor and now had aligned herself with monsters in a lame effort to find God. Or maybe she just liked following charismatic nutjobs. “You’re dead to me, lady.” Finally, Haven released her entire past, feeling relieved and lighter than she’d ever been. No more confusion or vacillation. It was over, and she was free. “You really are crazy.”
Mercy leaned toward her. “I could rip off her head if you want.”
Haven stood next to her sister. “No. That’s okay.”
“Poke out an eyeball? Just one?” Mercy didn’t seem to be kidding.
Haven coughed. “No.” She looked at the Cyst soldiers. “I don’t think her path will be an easy one.”
Yvonne’s shoulders went back. “You will bring my love back to me. I shall go prepare at the main house.” She turned on her heel and returned outside with Allison at her side. Neither looked back as they ran into the storm.
Mercy snorted. “What do you think she does to prepare?”
Haven shivered. “Human sacrifice? An exfoliating body oil?”
“I was thinking probably a full Brazilian. She looked hairy to me,” Mercy muttered.
“Enough!” the Cyst soldier snarled.
Haven swallowed, focusing on the Cyst. “I’ve seen you before.”
“I’m Xeno, general of the Cyst.” He looked her over. “I’ve never met a hybrid like you.” He sniffed the air. “It’s a pity you’re mated.”
How did they all smell a mate? That was a skill she hadn’t learned. “How did you get to Allison?” Never again would she think of the woman as her mother.
The dark-haired guy, not a Cyst but one of those Kurjan guys, smiled. “Allison was easily convinced we were sent from on high to secure this world, and we promised not only to save you but to give her everlasting life in the world to come.” He chuckled. “The cross around her neck was a homing device, which you probably already figured out.”
“Who are you?” Haven snapped.
“Oh. My apologies.” He gave a half bow. “I am Dayne, head of the Kurjan nation, and this is my brother, Terre.” He nodded to the other guy. “The Cyst are our religious leaders, something like monks.”
“And soldiers,” Xeno said, flashing sharp fangs. “We have specific training that you will probably enjoy soon. For now, you will take us to Ulric.”
Haven shook her head. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I can’t take you.”
“Yes, you can. I’ve seen your paintings and know you’ve been to other worlds. You will take me. Now.” Xeno moved to her and grabbed her arm. “If you like, we could cut off the other fairy’s head to motivate you, but that just seems so unnecessary.”
Haven held up her hand. “You really don’t get it.” She didn’t want to tell him the full truth, but she couldn’t let Mercy be killed. “I don’t really travel anywhere. It all happens in my sleep. My body doesn’t actually go.”
Mercy nodded vigorously. “Not only that, but now none of us can get off planet. When Quade’s world blew, it ruined all of our methods of transport.”
Xeno looked down at Haven. “So you need to be unconscious to seek Ulric?”
Haven bit her lip. Well, crap. “No—” His beefy fist smashed into her temple, and she went down. Fast and hard.
* * * *
The blizzard was going to make them crash. Quade held on as Logan hovered the craft above the barn Xeno had entered. “What are you doing?”
“Hold on.” Logan pulled on the wheel and jerked the helicopter around, sweeping the roof off the barn with the tail. Boards cracked and flew through the wild storm. The figures in the barn all looked up, and one of the Kurjans grabbed a gun from his waist and started firing it at them.
Alarms blared and the craft pitched wildly, spinning around on its own. Logan opened his door. “Jump for it.”
Quade gritted his teeth and opened his door, looking down to see Haven slumped on the ground. He leaped into the air. Several bullets struck his neck and face, shooting pain through his skull. He smashed into the two Kurjans, knocking them to the ground.
Logan hit the Cyst soldier and they rolled in opposite directions.
Two more Cyst soldiers ran through the door, one swinging a sword.
Quade pivoted and kicked the guy with the sword, spinning and punching the second Cyst soldier while Logan grappled with another by the far wall. He flipped the sword into the air, grabbed the handle, and impaled the Cyst soldier through the neck to the wall.
One down.
Mercy hauled Haven out of the way and into a stall, slapping her face. “Wake up,” she muttered.
Quade took a punch to his wounded neck and went flying, hitting the far wall and going through it. Snow and wind blasted him, and he shoved to his feet, running for the guy who’d hit him. He left a trail of blood in his wake.
The two Kurjans made a beeline for the farmhouse, and he let them go, concentrating on the force in front of him. Logan took one of the soldiers down, grabbing his knife and plunging it into the Cyst’s neck.
Xeno ducked his head and charged, hitting Quade mid-center and throwing him back into the snow. They skidded several feet across rough terrain, finally coming to a stop. Quade punched up beneath Xeno’s neck, and the Cyst punched down, cracking Quade’s nose.
“You shouldn’t be back here,” Xeno roared, punching him in the eye.
Pain exploded in Quade’s skull. He locked his feet around Xeno and secured him in a hold, twisting until they both rolled over. Blood flowed from him in too many places, and his strength ebbed, but he battled on. For centuries he’d fought, and he drew on that strength to punch Xeno in the throat as hard as he could. “I belong here,” he snarled, his fangs whipping out.
“Ulric will return,” Xeno growled, slashing across Quade’s face with sharp claws.
When did the Cyst get claws? Quade twisted his head to keep his eyeball from being torn out. Pain ripped through his cheekbone to his skull, and he rode the waves, taking it into his body to make him stronger. He clapped both hands against the
soldier’s ears, breaking both eardrums.
The Cyst bellowed and drew a knife from his boot, flipping Quade over his head.
Quade landed on his knees and pivoted, kicking out and nailing the Cyst soldier in the knee. He went down, snow spraying. The wind and blistering snow attacked them, sticking in the blood pouring from multiple wounds. He swung around, and Xeno moved fast, slicing across Quade’s neck.
Blood spurted, and Quade sent immediate healing cells. He bellowed, punching the blade out of his enemy’s hand. The fight inside got louder. Was Logan doing all right? Too much blood was leaving Quade’s body, and his legs weakened.
Haven screamed from inside.
Everything inside Quade went on full alert. He shoved pain to the abyss and punched Xeno in the throat rapidly, several times, trying to put his entire fist through.
Xeno stumbled back, spraying snow. “You will bring Ulric back.” He grabbed his neck with one hand and reached into his boot with the other, bringing out a sharp two-prong knife. Even through the snow, the blade glinted.
“No.” Quade braced his feet, sliding on the ice. “Ulric is never coming back. Even if he does, you won’t see him.”
Xeno charged, knife up.
Quade dropped into a slide, knocking the soldier’s feet out from under him. Xeno fell, and Quade leaped over him, grabbing the blade and twisting at the last second. He used all the strength he had left to plunge the knife into Xeno’s neck, separating it in two.
Straddling the Cyst soldier, Quade dug left and right, grunting until finally the Cyst’s head rolled free of his body. Quade stood, taking the knife with him, and fought the storm to reenter the barn.
Logan finished decapitating the other soldier. He looked up, blood covering his face and neck.
Mercy helped Haven out of the stall, an arm beneath her shoulder.
Quade swallowed several times as the world tilted around him. “We have to get out of here. Fast.”
Logan nodded. “They’ll have reinforcements coming, but we should be okay as long as this storm holds. I saw a truck not too far from here. I’ll go get it, and we’ll drive as far from here as possible.” He jogged out of the barn, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.
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