“Draugr,” Atlas blanched. “They’re—”
“I’m so glad you finally made it.” The queen preened in triumph before her expression turned sinister. “Here is a parting gift for you.”
She reached back and ripped open the portal. The image shimmered like a ripple in a pond. Without waiting to see what she unleashed, the queen stepped into a small pool of water at her feet and vanished.
“The cowardly bitch.” Morgan threw up her hands in disgust. “Does it matter that she cheated?”
“She’s conceding the battle. You won.” Draven ran a hand down the back of his neck, his face lined with exhaustion. He sounded anything but pleased that he was allowed to stay. “If she can’t possess me, no one will.”
Morgan glanced at the horizon, only to see the very edges of the sun vanish behind the mountains. Night had fallen. Dread tightened its talons in her gut.
As if on cue, the stone around the gargoyle crackled and softened until his form broke free in a shower of stone shards. He rose to his full height and arched his back, then hunkered down, his grip biting into the wall while he surveyed the creatures who threatened his domain.
At almost the same instant, the first Viking leapt through the portal with a roar of victory. Morgan quickly grabbed Mal’s wrist to keep him from leaping off the roof. “Not yet. Wait. Please.”
She only released him when he grunted in a way she took as agreement.
“What are draugr?” Urgency rushed through her as she turned toward the others.
“Revenants,” Ascher snarled the word. “They are unstoppable killing beasts, much like zombies, expect that they’re able to retain their ability to think, and possess superhuman strength. They live to kill and wreak havoc on the living, tormenting those they believe wronged them in life. Some say they search the world over for treasure, and will do anything to protect their hoard.”
“And the queen no doubt promised them the spoils from the Academy if it fell.” Draven ran his fingers through his hair, a muscle ticking in his jaw, obviously taking all the blame for this mess when she was more at fault than anyone.
A single wolf howled in the distance, and her stomach clenched with dread. Morgan whirled toward Ryder and grabbed his shirt. “Tell the wolves to retreat.”
“Morgan, they’re our best defense to protect the Academy. They can—”
“They will be slaughtered.” Her throat tightened at the thought of them dying. Even as she watched, more and more of the Vikings rushed through the portal.
“I can close the portal.” She turned toward Kincade, guilt at putting the Academy at risk nearly strangling her.
Kincade only shook his head. “They would kill you before you even get close enough.”
“I can skip.”
“They’re drawn to magic.” Shade shook his head. “You would be torn apart before you had a chance to close the portal.”
“Ryder, call the wolves back. Please.” She went toward him, begging, but the hardness in his eyes stopped her on the spot. “They don’t deserve to be sacrificed for nothing.”
“Not for nothing—they give their lives to protect the school and students.” A muscle flexed in his jaw, his eyes darkening with anger. “Tell me you have a plan and I’ll do it.”
She quickly nodded, desperately scrambling for an idea, sagging in relief when he issued the command for retreat.
“What can kill a draugr?” Thirty of them were gathered outside, and more kept coming.
They needed to find a way to shut down that portal. Though it would eventually consume the magic that opened it and close on its own, too many Vikings would pass through in the meantime. Instead of attacking outright, it disturbed her that they seemed to be working on setting up a camp, waiting for more of their army to cross over.
“Iron. Beheading.” Ward looked grim, pacing with his weapons in hand, his berserker rage shimmering and begging to be let free. “Fire.”
“We need to close the portal, stop more from coming.” Morgan glanced at her crew, each of them waiting expectantly. “You said they’re attracted to magic.”
“They’re drawn to it.” Atlas mused, his eyes narrowing in speculation.
“Harper—can you gather the witches? Split them into two groups. The larger force will need to be on the other side of the school wall so the draugr can’t get out and contaminate the rest of the world, while the remaining group will need to remain in the entryway of the school—buy us some time.” She pointed toward the outer stone wall surrounding the Academy. “They’ll need to trigger the wards and feed the barrier power. If the draugr crave magic, hopefully it will be enough to draw them away from the portal.”
Harper crossed her arms. “And the portal?”
Morgan ignored her question. “Take Kalvin and the wolves to protect the witches.”
Kalvin nodded, but Harper stomped her foot. “Who takes care of the portal?”
“That would be my job.” Ward’s eyes were pure black, tiny flickers of light shimmering in them, raw power burning bright, drawing attention. “I’m the warden. It’s my duty.”
He glanced at her, understanding and resolve in his eyes.
Chances of surviving were slim…and he knew it.
“I’ll go with him.” Shade strode forward and stood next to Ward. “I’ll keep him safe as long as I can.”
“The four of you…go, but don’t make a move until I give the signal. If we want this to succeed, we need to work together and move quickly.”
They nodded and took off.
“Where will we be going?” Breanna glanced at Morgan, a stubborn tilt to her chin. “And don’t even think about leaving me behind.”
“We can’t fight them and win—there are too many. But maybe we can fight the dead with the dead. Those in the veil are hungry for power, possibly even pissed that the draugr have escaped death for so long.” Morgan glanced down at the growing army. If she concentrated hard enough, she could see them glowing with power.
“You don’t know what you’re asking.” Breanna protested, her skin pale.
“I’m asking for help.” Morgan knew it was a low blow, but they were running out of time. Morgan rubbed the metallic star embedded in her arm. “Your sword allowed me to travel through the veil. Can it do the opposite?”
“It doesn’t work that way.” Breanna looked apologetic, not budging an inch. “My sword only opens up a pinprick of space in the veil. It’s created to cross people over, not bring souls back to the human realm.”
“Not if we tear the veil.” Morgan was appalled by her own thinking. She was about to do what she’d spent her life fighting against. “Can it be done?”
“No…yes…” Breanna sputtered. “There will be consequences. If you tear the veil, it will weaken the barrier. Lost and damned souls will be able to escape more frequently and create havoc on earth.”
“Maybe that’s why you’re here.” Atlas gave Breanna a closer look. “We’re hunters. We track down the supernatural creatures who escape from other realms. Maybe you’re here to create your own team and hunt down the creatures we aren’t capable of capturing.”
Breanna opened then closed her mouth, unable to argue with his logic.
“We’re running out of time.” Kincade scrubbed the back of his head. “I don’t like this option any better than you do, but do we have a choice? If the school falls, the balance between the realms will crumble, and it’ll only be a matter of time before the tears become permanent and the worlds are overrun.”
He glanced at everyone, but when no one protested, he turned toward her. “What do you need us to do?”
Just like that, he trusted her. She proposed destroying the barriers between the realms, and he stood beside her without question. She glanced back at the others, realizing that they all trusted her.
“To tear open the veil, we’ll need more power than I can wield.” Breanna was no longer protesting, but her bluish-green eyes were still swirling with dread. “But there will be conse
quences. The souls won’t be able to maintain their ghostly forms for long. If they manage to escape before we can re-capture them, they will have the ability to possess people.”
Morgan felt sick at the thought of someone shoving her essence aside and taking over her body. “How do we kick them out?”
“Almost every paranormal carries magic. That extra spark messes with the souls’ abilities. They won’t be able to possess you completely, only be a kind of passenger. Once they get enough power to turn physical, they’ll vanish to either seek their vengeance or visit the ones they lost.”
So, though not pleasant, it was better than the alternative.
A series of horns blared, and they all glanced over to see the Vikings were organizing. The draugr spread out, a few of them departing to serve as scouts, and dread tightened her gut. They had less than ten minutes before the draugr swarmed the school.
Now she just needed to figure out how to rip open the veil between the living and the dead without dying in the process.
No problem.
Chapter Twenty-seven
The necklace slithered against her skin, and she glanced down to see two very large, ornate black swords dangling at the end. While she knew the metal was spelled to sense her needs, Morgan liked to believe her mother was still with her.
“We’ll need two black swords to rip open the portal.” Morgan shivered at the thought of being pulled back into the bitter cold air of the veil.
Breanna grunted in agreement. “The mark you received from surviving the veil should allow you to access the realm, but you’re not of the dead. Wielding the sword to open the portal will have a cost.”
“Explain.” Kincade’s voice was sharp. He clenched and unclenched the blade he was holding, his need to fight something a physical ache he couldn’t repress.
“You’ll be touching the winds from the veil…it pulls the very magic and life from a person if they stand against it too long. Without my protection, you’ll be susceptible, not only to the veil, but the souls who are released. You’ll literally be standing between two worlds.”
“At the warehouse you were able to peer into the veil, kind of like a looking glass.” Morgan recalled how quickly the chill had invaded her soul, then shrugged off the phantom cold that touched her now. She would hold firm.
“Yes, exactly.” Breanna tapped her fingers against her leg, her eyes distant as she concentrated on something only she could see. “Ambrose and his men should be able to help. If we puncture the veil in the right spot, if the openings to the veil are close to each other, and enough souls pass through, a tear should form from point A to point B. As long as you don’t release the sword, you shouldn’t cross over, but it will hurt, and it will take a lot of energy to hold the swords and funnel the magic at the same time.”
“As long as I’m touching her, I can protect her from some of the deadly winds,” Ascher volunteered. “But we’ll need to work fast…if death’s touch lingers too long, nothing either one of us can do will save her.”
“Then we’re doing this.” Breanna nodded, turning all business. “We’ll need to be close to the draugr. They will automatically be drawn to the other realm since it’s where the dead belong, but they will fight the pull. The instant we rip the veil, the lost souls will sense the disturbance, and they will be drawn toward the living and consume the energy keeping the draugr alive. Ambrose and his men should be able to help guide them.”
Breanna gazed down at the seventy or so Viking warriors below them. “We’ll need to hold the veil for ten minutes, tops. That should be enough time for the souls to be released.” She turned to Morgan, her eyes no longer swirling but a solid, eerie crystal blue. “The blades you wield can kill a soul or banish them back into the veil.”
She was asking Morgan to show mercy.
Killing a ghost sentenced them to hell. There would be no afterlife, no rebirth. She would be erasing them out of existence. “Understood.”
Breanna gave a small nod of relief, then pulled away from the group. “I need to talk to Ambrose.”
Morgan gave her privacy, shivering at the sting of cold when Breanna called her magic and turned toward the guys. “Will you—”
“We’ll buy you as much time as you need to rip open the veil.” Kincade strode toward her, the rest of the guys following not one step behind. “You will stay safe.”
It was both a vow and a demand.
Then all thoughts went out of her head when his lips slammed down over hers. The kiss was hard and fast and over much too soon. When he released her, she watched him stride away to prepare for battle, her lips still tingling with the taste of him.
Then Draven and Ryder pulled her into a deep hug, Draven in front of her, Ryder behind her, so she was surrounded by warmth. Draven brushed his lips gently against her forehead, his eyes stormy, then he was gone. Ryder brushed his cheek against the top of her head, inhaling her scent, then he too was striding after the others.
Atlas strode toward her, his lavender skin gleaming in the falling night sky. He didn’t stop until he was close enough to slip his fingers into her hair and cup the back of her skull, tipping it back until she was forced to look up at him. “Life or death, we are in this together.”
Her heart hiccupped just knowing he and the others would go into the afterlife if that’s what it took to be with her. She gripped him just as fiercely. “You will choose life.”
She grabbed his shirt, pulling him down, then smashed her lips against his. He forced her mouth open, stealing a taste of her before he pulled back and strode away, the wild nature of him leaving her staggering.
While she liked that he wasn’t keeping his emotions so bottled up, it also concerned her.
“Don’t worry, he’s still the same cold dickhead to the rest of us.” Ascher came to stop next to her, pulling her into his arms. “None of us will take any unnecessary risks. We have too much to live for with you in our lives.”
He gently kissed her temple, then sauntered after the rest, leaving burned impressions of his footprints behind him, revealing just how worried he was about the upcoming battle.
While he might have meant his words to be reassuring, that’s what concerned her the most…they would give everything—even their lives—if it would keep her safe.
While Breanna remained locked in conversation with Ambrose, Morgan strode toward Mal’s side, sickened at the sight of the draugr polluting the Academy with their stench. “You’ve heard everything…so you also know your brute strength approach isn’t going to solve anything.”
His snout curled up, and he flashed her his fangs…which she took as ‘we’ll see which one of us is correct’.
“But there is something you can do. The wards are going to fall. Will you circle the Academy and rescue the students who need it? None of the draugr can be allowed to leave, so bring them back to the Academy any way you can, even if it’s in parts.”
Mal glanced at her with those dark eyes of his, and she blinked up at him vapidly. “Pretty please? If we survive until morning, I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”
He gave a snuffling snort that she took as laughter, mild curiosity stirring in his eyes. He glanced at her up and down, as if judging if he could trust her, then heaved a sigh and nodded. Stretching up, she kissed his cheek. Mal appeared startled, reaching up to touch his face. A slash of power rolled over the rooftop, quickly followed by a wave of warm air, and Morgan turned away to see Breanna pulling out her sword, her banshee form already tucked away.
“Ambrose and the huntsmen will help.” Breanna strolled up next to her, and they both surveyed the teeming battlefield below them. While the portal was only slightly smaller, the blare of the Viking horns was almost continuous, and more and more bodies were spit up from the earth. Every minute another draugr escaped.
“What will it cost you?” Morgan asked as she turned away, and they headed toward the stairs.
“They want permission to remain in the human realm.” Breanna didn
’t look at her while she said it.
“Is that something they can do?” Morgan was curious and a little unnerved at the thought of the huntsmen being free to roam wherever they wanted.
“Not on their own, not without help.” Breanna released a heavy breath. “They’ve offered to help hunt down the souls who’ve escaped as incentive.”
Morgan could well imagine them being an asset. “What will their assistance cost us?”
“They want your permission to remain at the Academy.”
It was one thing to know they were free to roam the earth, another entirely to live with the very people who had just tried to kill her. “Will they be an asset or trouble?”
“Both.” Breanna blew out a heavy breath. “I should be able to keep them in line, but they will need to leach power from the Academy to be able to stay without the risk of being pulled back into the veil. They’ll look human enough to pass, but they will retain their ability to turn ghostly. Anyone with a touch of magic should be able to see them in either form…for the most part.”
“Do we have a choice?” While Morgan would appreciate their help, she could also easily imagine them wreaking havoc on the world.
Breanna didn’t answer right away as they wound down one staircase after another. “If we want to defeat the draugr with the fewest casualties, then we do.”
She was afraid of that. “How many?”
“Two dozen at most. Ambrose will pick those he believes haven’t lost themselves to the darkness. Those who still want to serve.” Breanna slowed as they neared the entryway, where it appeared the whole school had assembled. “The draw on the Academy should be minimal, and we can monitor them closely. If any step out of line, I’ll immediately strip them of their powers and send them back through the veil.”
It was a vow.
Morgan blew out a heavy breath. The realms were changing…evolving. If she wanted to protect this realm—her realm—then she was going to have to take drastic steps to do it. “Very well, do it, but choose your people carefully. You will be in charge of them, but if they try to harm me or mine, I will be the one dealing with them. Permanently. Understand?”
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