Huntress Clan Saga Complete Series Boxed Set: Books 1-6

by Jamie Davis

  Quinn nodded and leaned over to stare down into the circular room below. Upwood left and descended back to his room below.

  She stared through the narrow window as the bikers searched the walls for hidden doors and passages. A few minutes later, Gemma marched into the room. Avery and another half-dozen werepanthers followed. Two pairs of big shifters carried large burlap bundles. From the shape, they might be captured prisoners, but Quinn couldn’t tell for sure.

  As Gemma moved to the center of the room, she pointed at the wall by the clustered werebadgers. “Put them over there.”

  The four werepanthers heaved the two bundles onto the stone floor. A groan escaped from one, telling Quinn her earlier guess had been right.

  A shout of triumph drew her attention back to Gemma. The mage stood in the center of the room and raised her arms high overhead, turning in place beside the end of the golden chain.

  Gemma laughed. “All these years, I’ve strived to find this place, Avery. All the time I spent training you culminates tonight.”

  “I don’t understand, Gemma,” the new Huntress said. “You still haven’t told me why we are down here. What is this place?”

  “It’s a holy place of power, one of the few that can be used for both light and dark purposes. It will be instrumental in beginning the ascendance of our patron.”

  “We came here to America to find this place?” Avery pointed at the two sacks. “Who’s in there, Gemma? Why did you go to the trouble of bringing them along?”

  Gemma frowned. “So many questions, my dear. You never acted this way before you came here. It’s that wicked girl and her pseudo-Hunter ideas, I suppose. Once we find her, we’ll put an end to that.”

  Avery twisted, looking around. “Quinn? She’s here, too?”

  “Of course she is. That little troublemaker always gets in the middle of things when there’s important work to be done. She’s only survived this long by luck and happenstance. Her string of good fortune ends tonight, as soon as we find her.”

  Gemma pointed at one of the werepanthers who’d come in with her. He was the largest of them all and stood a good foot taller than the mage. Despite being so big, he seemed intimidated by her command to come closer.

  She waited until he’d stepped over and bowed before she spoke. “Where is the girl your man saw in the tunnel before it collapsed?”

  The panther chief glanced at several of his underlings. They shook their heads, and he turned back to Gemma. “There’s no sign of her, ma’am. Perhaps Guthrie was mistaken.”

  “I don’t believe that, and neither do you,” Gemma said. “His description was too accurate for it to be anyone else.”

  Gemma surveyed the chamber, pivoting in place until she’d made a full circle. “No, I’m sure of it. She’s here somewhere. There must be another passage or a ceremonial room attached to this one.”

  The shifter leader nodded at several of his gang arrayed around the room. Most had stopped tapping on the walls. Each shrugged when he looked their way.

  “My men say there’s no way out, mistress.”

  “Just because your thugs couldn’t find it, it doesn’t mean it’s not here.” Gemma turned to the huddled group of weary and emaciated werebadgers. “You there. Which of you is the leader?”

  After a little mumbling among the miners, one of their number stepped out of the group. “I suppose that’s me since old Griff was killed.”

  There was a snarl in the werebadger’s voice.

  Gemma smiled. “Good, you still have a little fire in your belly. I like that. It’ll help you understand that I mean what I say. I want you to tell me where the other way out of this chamber is located. Do that, and I’ll promise to release the remainder of your friends from service—once they have completed the work I have for them, of course.”

  The werepanther chief bristled. “Mistress, I seriously doubt those pitiful creatures can find what my men could not.”

  Gemma held up her hand, silencing him in mid-word. “You’re not too bright or imaginative, are you? But then, I didn’t hire you for that. These badger folk are natural miners. They know underground spaces like this. If there’s another way out of this chamber, they’ll find it. It’s in their blood.”

  The werebadger glanced at his emaciated and injured group against the wall. It took him only a few seconds to make up his mind. He pointed across the room at the wall just to the right of Quinn’s hiding place. She knew immediately he’d pointed at Upwood’s hidden door.

  “Excellent!” Gemma exclaimed. She shifted her eyes to the hulking werepanther beside her. “Have your men stand back unless they want to get blasted out of existence.”

  The mage raised her hands, a glowing nimbus of green light forming around her fingers. The werepanthers scattered around the room ran for cover.

  Gemma seemed almost ready to release her spell when a booming voice shouted, “Stop.”

  The secret door slid open and Upwood stepped through the door bent over double, then stood up. He’d turned himself into an enormous gold-armored warrior. He clutched the golden spear in one hand. It looked much smaller in his massive fist.

  “You all must leave this holy place. I will warn you only once. Go now, before I destroy you all.”

  His voice shook the room, and dust filtered down from the ceiling. The werepanthers started to back toward the exit.

  Upwood held out his arm, pointing the gold spearhead at the remaining Weres until they began moving with their fellows. Only Avery and the werepanther leader stood their ground behind Gemma.

  Gemma’s face went red with rage. “Enough! Can’t you fools see this is an illusion?” She spun around, whipping her hands down in rapid succession, shooting green bolts of magic from her outstretched hands. The magical energy streaked across the room toward the guardian.

  The old man brought the gold spear around in time to catch the first bolt. He deflected it into the ceiling. To Quinn’s surprise, the glass lining the walls didn’t shatter. Instead, it absorbed the energy, spreading the fading green out to the glass around it until it dissipated.

  The follow-up bolt surged in right behind the first, aimed lower. This time, Upwood failed to intercept it. The energy exploded against his breastplate in a blast of emerald light. The remaining bolts streaked in, adding to the flare of power.

  When the blinding light faded, the giant golden guardian was gone. In his place, slumped against the half-opened stone door, lay Upwood’s broken and bloody body.

  Quinn stifled a shout. She stared at the old man, willing him to move even though she knew he was beyond help. Anger welled inside her, but she reined it in. They outnumbered her, so there was no way for her to take them on alone. She had to bide her time. There would be no swift revenge for Upwood’s death.

  Gemma turned to Avery. “See, there are enemies arrayed against us. You must be strong and steadfast if you wish to be my companion in what is to come.”

  Avery stood rigid and stared at the dead man, her mouth open.

  Gemma pointed at the two sacks against the wall. “Bring them here, and fetch me the old man’s spear. The weapon holds the key to the power of this place. We’ll need it for what comes next.”

  One of the werepanthers ran over to Upwood’s body and gingerly picked up the gold staff. He took it to Gemma, arriving as the two prisoners in the sacks were dumped on the floor at her feet.

  “Pull them from the bags,” Gemma ordered. “I want them to see what awaits them.”

  The ropes tying the sacks closed were removed, and two guards reached in to pull out the prisoners.

  Quinn groaned. They had Clark and Naomi.

  Both had their hands and arms pulled back and bound behind them. Their legs were bound as well, and their mouths were gagged.

  “Crap,” Quinn muttered to herself. “Of course, they would come down after me.” She glanced at the stairs to Upwood’s room. Right now, it was suicide to go down there, but she couldn’t let them kill Clark and her mother withou
t attempting a rescue.

  “Gemma, no,” Avery said. She tore her eyes from Clark’s and Naomi’s battered forms. “What are you doing? They’re our friends. We know them.”

  “No, foolish girl. They’re obstacles in our way, nothing more. You must fulfill your destiny and help me activate the magic here. To do that, there must be blood. Their blood.”

  Avery shook her head and took a step away from Gemma, who held out the spear to her protégé.

  Quinn knew then that Avery hadn’t known. Just as she had suspected, the other Huntress’d had no idea what had been going on behind the scenes. As hard as it was for Quinn to admit, Avery was as innocent as she’d always seemed.

  Below Quinn’s vantage point, Avery took another step away from Gemma, shaking her head.

  Gemma’s voice turned cold as ice. “Girl, don’t make me force you to do this. You know I can. This is your destiny. You must complete the spell I cast with the death of these two sacrifices.”

  “I-I can’t. They’ve done nothing to us. They’re not evil or guilty of crimes. They’re on our side against those who would destroy the world.”

  “You don’t know anything, Avery,” Gemma said. “Look at them. She’s a vampire. Even worse, she’s a former Hunter turned vampire. You think she hasn’t killed people? You think she was always able to resist drinking from a living victim?”

  “And him.” She turned to Clark. “He’s almost worse. He was part of the betrayal of the Baltimore clan community. The fact that he alone lived is proof of his treachery.”

  Avery wavered, and Quinn knew the girl was about to make a decision from which she could never return. An idea formed in Quinn’s mind. It was desperate, but she had no choice.

  Closing her eyes, Quinn took a deep breath and then slowly blew it out as she counted down from ten. She only had one chance to get this right.

  A blanket of calm settled over her, something she’d only had a hint of when Avery had first shown her this.

  Reaching out with her mind, Quinn prayed she wasn’t too far away for the mind-touch to work.

  She searched in the darkness within her mind, but there was nothing there. She took another breath and let it out as she pushed her awareness out farther.

  A tiny spark glowed in the darkness. Locking onto that light, Quinn drove her awareness toward it.

  Avery, can you hear me? You have to stop.

  Quinn? Is that you?

  Who else would it be? Look, Gemma’s lying to you. She’s always lied to you, about everything. I found out why Filippa helped support Gemma as she fostered you and others like you. I know why she brought you here.

  Filippa is part of this? How? It makes no sense. She’s not even on this continent.

  Avery, think about what Gemma wants.

  Quinn, I—

  Do you trust me?

  Quinn pleaded with the other Huntress, pouring her emotion into the connection. Opening her eyes, she stared down at Avery, frozen in place as she warred with herself and what Gemma had told her to do. After a second’s pause, Avery nodded. Quinn knew it was in reply to her question. She sent one last message.

  We are the only ones in here either of us can trust. I’m coming out. If you trust me, follow my lead. We’ll do what Huntresses do. We’ll protect the helpless, save the innocent, and fight evil in all its forms.

  In the circular chamber, Gemma responded to Avery’s nod too. “Good, I’m glad you’ve come to your senses. Come to me and take this weapon. You must use it to spill their traitorous blood. Once you do that, I will show you what we came here to do.”

  Avery nodded again and walked toward Gemma. With a gasp, Quinn pushed back from the peephole. She knew what Gemma intended. Once Avery slew an undamned soul, her soul would be tainted, giving Gemma a control of her.

  Quinn couldn’t wait any longer. She raced down the twisting stairs, still putting the pieces of her desperate plan in place in her mind. She had no choice and no more time.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Quinn hit the floor at the foot of the stairs at a dead run, her Bowie in hand. She pulled up her stamina bar and drew half of her available reserves, pouring it into her strength and speed.

  Energized, she reached out to the three crossed ley lines running beneath the circular chamber. Her plan was risky, but it was the only one that might work. There were more than a dozen werepanthers and Gemma out there. She couldn’t take them all on alone, even with all the power she could hold.

  Quinn charged into the room, racing straight at Gemma, Avery, and the captives in the center. So surprised were the werepanthers and others in the room that none of them went after her at first.

  She reached the center just as the werepanther leader broke out of his immobility. He snarled and batted away her incoming thrust while he reached out to slash at her throat with the claws on his other hand.

  Quinn dodged, leaning backward as she twisted away from the attack. She adjusted her motion into a spinning back kick, catching the pride leader in the center of his chest.

  The kick launched him fifteen feet across the room and he crashed to the floor in a heap, taking down two of his pride-mates.

  Gemma screamed in rage, “Kill her!” The mage pointed at Quinn, a pair of ping-pong ball-sized orbs of fire launching from her other hand.

  Quinn’s amulet seared her chest with an icy warning as its protective magic energized. She followed through after the kick and tried to recover enough to avoid the incoming fireballs.

  She failed.

  Both impacted against her, striking her in the shoulder and back as she leaped back to her feet. The first fireball dissipated in a wisp of smoke as the amulet absorbed its power. All Quinn felt was a flash of warmth. The second burst against the small of her back in a flash of burning agony.

  Doing her best to ignore the pain and odor of burnt leather and skin, Quinn assumed a defensive stance. The shifters, frozen in surprise for the first few seconds of her attack, broke from their shock and advanced against her.

  Quinn called to Avery, “Come to me. Together, we can stand against them.”

  Avery once again held her katana, which had materialized as if from thin air. Quinn had to find out how she did that.

  Quinn started to smile as Avery started in her direction. The smile faded as she lowered the tip of her blade and charged at Quinn.

  Gemma cheered as Quinn struggled to turn with her blade to parry the incoming strike.

  A split second before Avery reached Quinn, she shouted, “Duck!”

  The Huntress dove at Quinn, the sword extended in a desperate lunge as Quinn dropped to a crouch. The blade passed over her head to thrust into the chest of a werepanther running at Quinn from behind.

  Gemma screamed, “No. What are you doing?”

  Quinn laughed, joined by Avery as the two of them shifted into a martial dance of spinning blades, thrusts, and slashes, taking on all incoming attacks.

  Using the familiarity gained from days of intense sparring, the pair worked in tandem. They fended off the initial attacks of the advancing shifters. In the process, they dropped two more.

  The pride leader returned to the fray and drove at the two women. He called for his fellows as he charged.

  This time, the coordinated attack started to break through. Both Quinn and Avery took several hits, sapping at their strength. Quinn dropped another shifter, as did Avery, but it seemed like each was replaced instantly by another. The werepanthers had numbers on their side.

  It was time to try the most desperate part of her plan. Quinn kicked at an opponent, driving him back long enough for her to reach out with her mind to draw upon the crossed ley lines beneath their location. A strip of golden power peeled away, bending up toward her.

  Quinn couldn’t lose control of the flow now and ignored an incoming attack. The werepanther raked his claws across her exposed belly.

  She gasped at the pain but pressed forward with her plan as she reached out with her mind to touch Avery's. A
t the same instant, the flow of golden power reached her. Quinn let the power fill her and overflow through her to the other Huntress.

  Avery’s eyes widened as the energy crashed into her. She spared a glance at Quinn.

  The sparkle of golden energy in Avery’s eyes told Quinn all she needed to know.

  It had worked.

  Now they had a fighting chance.

  Quinn shouted as fresh energy filled her, renewing her speed and strength. Time for the next part of the plan. Even energized, Quinn and Avery would be hard-pressed to win.

  Between dodging and attacks, Quinn yelled, “Badgers, are you not the fiercest of shifters? Prove yourselves now.”

  Quinn couldn’t wait for an answer. She twisted and ducked to the side as Avery’s sword snaked past her shoulder, catching an attacker in the throat. At the same time, Quinn slashed with her Bowie, hamstringing a man about to wrap Avery up from behind.

  Two more down.

  She didn’t know how many of the werepanthers were left, but it was still too many for her and Avery to take on.

  Quinn shouted again. “What are you waiting for? Do it for Inez. Strike back for honor.”

  The flow of ley line power had thinned faster than she expected. Feeding it to both of them had drained the energy faster than Quinn had expected.

  Both Huntresses bled from multiple wounds. The raw power still fed them, but when it ran out, they’d drop from the loss of the only strength still supporting them.

  Across the room came a snarling shout. All of the miners dropped their picks and shovels, shifting at the same time into their werebadger forms. They surged forward, leaping on the werepanthers around Quinn and Avery from behind.

  The incoming attack from the miners broke the circle around the Huntresses, giving them a much-needed respite.

  “No,” Gemma yelled. “You’ve ruined everything.”

  Quinn and Avery turned around in time to see the mage launch the golden spear at Quinn. It flew true, flickering green sparks of energy playing along the shaft from a spell driving it faster than mere human muscle could propel it.