by Macy Blake
Sawyer
Henry’s words haunted him. Sawyer’s stomach turned at the memory of Henry’s latest vision. His sweet mate’s beautiful smile and happy laughter had been squashed in an instant. Palinourous could do that to a guy. The sad fact was Sawyer had been able to predict his brother’s actions. The kids were the perfect target. Palinourous would get a power boost from stealing their magic, and he’d mess with Sawyer’s mind while he did it.
If Sawyer was Palinourous and wanted to get to him, he’d have done the same thing. But the kids were safely in the fae realm, and they finally had a moment to be on the offensive. His brother had had the upper hand for too long. Sawyer sucked in a breath. They’d prepared as best as they could. Now it was time for their work to pay off. He’d do what he was destined to do and kill his brother.
“You okay?” Draco asked.
Sawyer shrugged. No, he wasn’t, but Draco knew that. He stood in the compound where his brother lived, serving the goddess by protecting children. The same compound his brother planned on attacking. “Are the dragons in position?”
“Yes.”
“Good. And the dryads came as well?”
“Yes. The prince’s brothers are both in the woods as we speak. They’re on either side of the ward point. Others have fanned out in the woods.”
They’d focused the most powerful dryads on the spot where Henry had seen the ward break. He hoped they would provide a first line of defense that Palinourous wasn’t expecting.
“Andvari?”
“With the vampires. They’ve set up a perimeter, as you requested. Sawyer—“
He turned to look his best friend and mate in the eye. “I know.”
And he did. Nothing that Draco could say would change the flood of emotions rolling through Sawyer. Fear, hope, despair, and so much love. This was the moment he’d set himself up for all those centuries ago. He’d fight his brother one more time, and this time, he’d do what had to be done. He had to.
He had his mates and he’d do anything for them. There were many people counting on him to do this. He was the only one who could.
A large martial eagle began flying toward them at a speed that should be terrifying. The moment before it hit the ground, it transformed back into a man. Dasan, one of the champions who had assisted the hellhounds during the aswang attack, straightened and looked at them with hard, black eyes. “They approach.”
“Thank you, Dasan.”
He transformed once more and flew upward again, ready to perform his role along with the dragons and griffins who’d taken to the sky earlier.
Sawyer adjusted the dragon armor he’d had Cecil bring and pulled in another breath. He held out his hands and the ground rumbled in response. It felt unnatural to use the power he now possessed. It didn’t fit comfortably under his skin.
“Sawyer—“
He glanced up once more and found Draco still staring at him.
“He’s going to come in hard and fast. He wants to hurt you. Remember that. You have one job. Take care of Palinourous. Understand?”
“Yes.”
“You must let the rest happen. Don’t get distracted. And Sawyer, he’s going to try to distract you. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
He did, and suddenly it was hard to breathe again. “He’s going to go after my mates to hurt me.”
“Yes.” Draco cupped Sawyer’s cheek in his hand. “You can do this, though. I know you can. Put that beautiful brain of yours to work and stop him, okay?”
“I will.”
“I’ll be watching from above. I plan on setting a bunch of asses on fire. Should be fun. Remember, don’t mess with dragons, ‘cause you’ll be tasty with ketchup, or whatever that saying is.”
Sawyer grinned and leaned in, pressing his lips to Draco’s. He tried to absorb some of his mate’s strength, but more than that, some of Draco’s confidence. It was one thing to argue cavemen versus astronauts, but another to argue who would win between the god of metal and the god of air. Especially when one of those had no memories and limited powers. The odds were definitely not in Sawyer’s favor.
“Hello, brother.” Palinourous appeared unexpectedly within the wards and the battle began in earnest around him. It happened so fast, Sawyer didn’t even know how his brother appeared so quickly in his midst. Dark creatures surrounded them, flowing from the woods, their shadowy forms barely visible to him— and invisible to the others. They were fighting blind. “Ready to give up yet? I came prepared this time. First, I’ll take your mates. Then I’ll take what’s mine. Seems fair, doesn’t it?”
DAKOTA
From his position in the trees, Dakota kept watch over his mates. He didn’t believe in regrets, but he actually regretted not giving into the desire to make them his. His heart was ready, but his head was not. He had doubts and fears that he couldn’t put into words. Sawyer knelt on the ground as Draco shifted into his dragon form and took to the sky. He’d serve them better there, a formidable foe in the sky.
“Dakota?” Henry stopped beneath his tree and glanced up at the branches.
“Yes?”
“I’m going to ward the tree a bit to give you some added protection, okay?”
“Save your strength.”
Henry shook his head. “No can do. The coven has the wards around the compound locked down. Palinourous is up to something, though. I can feel it.”
“Did you see anything else? Anything unusual?”
Dakota wished he’d been the one to see the vision. Henry’s took such a toll on him, even with the strength of his mates to keep him.
“Nothing I understood. Shadows. Darkness. I don’t know. I wish you’d been with me. I want to learn how to direct my visions, or at least have more control.”
Henry raised his hands and Dakota shivered as Henry’s magic flowed over him.
“Henry…”
Henry glanced up at him and the look Dakota received was one that moved his very soul. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”
“I— I’m sorry I haven’t been….”
“Don’t apologize. Make it up to me when this is over. Maybe a date night. What do you say?”
Dakota’s heart skipped a beat. “I’d like that. Now go. They’re getting closer.”
Henry nodded. He raised his hands once more and the tenderest of breezes brushed over him. Henry blushed before turning and running the other way. He had other wards to set, but Dakota wanted to keep him close, to keep him safe. He glanced back toward Sawyer, who met his gaze.
Dakota nodded, trying to show without words that he believed Sawyer could do this. He could stop this mad god.
The leaves began to rustle and dark energy formed around him. Dakota tried to see what was approaching, but even his enhanced vision couldn’t make out what came their way. The animal in him howled and wanted to run from the danger. Dakota glanced to his left, where one of the dryads began to tremble.
Dakota leapt, landing among its branches. “Steady.”
Why couldn’t he see what approached? Little could be hidden from his view. It was part of his gift, and one reason why he’d asked to be on the front line. He could identify whatever approached and give his mates a fighting chance at defending themselves.
Nothing appeared, though. He couldn’t smell anything, hear anything, and he even thought to taste the air. Nothing. The dryad continued to tremble though as darkness built around them. The power became suffocating and it became harder to breathe.
“Djinn!” Dakota screamed out the words as his body jolted. He’d realized too late what approached.
Demons of the darkest sort. Not the three wishes genies often associated with the djinn name, these were creatures of true darkness who could stay hidden from human and supernatural senses alike. The irony was that only wolves were immune from the djinn’s powers, and they didn’t have a wolf among them.
As blackness approached and Dakota remained frozen in the djinn’s clutches, he realized the irony of it all. Palinou
rous knew them well, their strengths and weaknesses. Dakota’s magic pulsed and began flowing from his body. The lynx in him screamed, but then something deeper, hidden in the depths of him began to emerge.
Dakota screamed, but he didn’t hear the sound. It was too late.
HENRY
“Dakota?”
Henry turned and ran toward the spot where he’d last seen Dakota in the trees, but everything began darkening, an eerie silence filling the clearing. He could hear struggles around him, but his senses confused him. He formed a shield around himself, a minor protection to keep out anything he couldn’t see, and immediately unseen hands battered against the ward.
He hadn’t been able to understand what Dakota yelled, but he needed to get to him. His senses screamed danger. As he moved closer, he could see the dryads struggling against the same unseen forces he felt attacking him. It became harder to move, as if he was covered in some great weight holding him back.
And then he made it close enough to see. Dakota wasn’t in the tree anymore. Henry couldn’t see him anywhere.
“Dakota!”
“Henry, retreat!”
Andvari’s shouted words behind him drew his attention, and he instinctively stepped back. He’d never been so torn. Dakota needed him. Henry could feel it. His mate had vanished and Henry wanted to find him, to protect him and the promise of what could be between them if only they’d had more time.
But he’d made a promise to Andvari to always listen when in battle, and those instincts, that deep, gut-level trust he had for his mate guided him. He turned, pouring power into the ward that protected him, and ran back toward the center of the compound, back toward his mates.
The shield around him cracked, the sound as splintering as a gunshot in the silence of the battle. Henry couldn’t move anymore. His magic pulsed, fighting against the sudden pull against it. He flashed back to those days as a child when his magic was stolen from him so often, the pain and fear it had brought with it. He was pinned down once more while something took from him what wasn’t theirs.
“No!” He tried to hold on, but something burrowed its way inside him, insidious and terrifying in its purpose. Deep, deeper into the layers of his magic until it reached his very core, that part of him which had always been safe from Palinourous’s efforts.
He fell to his knees as his magical core broke and the power he held so proudly at his fingertips began to drain away. Blackness encroached quickly. He looked for Andvari, that voice which had called to him to keep him safe. He saw nothing but darkness as he hit the ground.
PIP
“Keep this on,” Andvari grumbled as he fastened a vest over Pip’s long-sleeved shirt and jeans. Apparently, his mates knew what to pack for potential battles because Pip would have had no idea what to wear to fight a god. Not that he’d be doing any fighting. Several of his mates had made that abundantly clear. He’d not been trained.
At first, he wondered why they even wanted him present, but then he realized it was for Sawyer. Sawyer needed them all, and Pip’s pride surged. He could do this. He would do this. If his mates needed him, he would do whatever he had to do, no matter that he was scared out of his mind.
Loch double checked Andvari’s work, but really he just gave Pip’s ass a quick grope. “Remember what I told you?” Loch asked.
“Yes. Stay down, stay within the wards, and if I need you, scream.”
“Good.”
Loch kissed him before unfurling his wings and drawing his sword. Pip had a very inappropriate response to his actions. Apparently, he had a danger kink. Or a Loch kink. Could be either. Or both. He took a moment to drool over his mate as he took off into the sky in a blur of perfect blue hair and gleaming sword.
It all changed so fast. One minute, Pip stood in the glow of warmth of his mates caring, squirming beneath a surprisingly heavy and ridiculous bullet proof vest thing that Andvari insisted would help keep him safe, and then all hell broke loose. His dream had turned into a nightmare in the blink of an eye.
Darkness poured into the clearing, a muddy sensation of magic and mayhem that his eyes had trouble processing. All of his senses became confused as everything seemed to dampen into a fog of confusion.
“Sawyer? Draco?”
No one answered his cry.
Pip had never felt so alone in his life. They’d been with him moments before. Where had they gone? Pip looked up, hoping for a glimpse of blue, but he couldn’t see anything. Just a blur, like he needed new glasses or something. Nothing was in focus.
He closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to clear it, but when he opened them again nothing had changed. Pip changed tactics and called to his otters, begging them for help. The little creatures inside him had multiple purposes, but at times like this, they could be his eyes and ears.
It should have worked. It had always worked before. But instead it felt like something ate the otters alive the moment they burst free from his chest. He screamed as they tore away from him, his magic broken and bleeding in an instant. He wasn’t a warrior or a fighter. He didn’t know how to defend himself at all. Andvari had promised to teach him the same way he taught the rest of the mates, but they didn’t have time. And now something had taken his otters and he didn’t know what to do.
“Loch! Andvari! Help!”
No one answered his call. Already, he’d come to count on them. Everything in him begged for help, even as the core of him seeped out. He didn’t understand what was happening to him. He held his hands to his belly, expecting to find a gaping wound. He couldn’t see one, but he knew it was there.
His energy waned. “Draco. Dakota. I need…”
His breath left his chest as a surge of something poured out around him. The ground trembled and he lost his fight, without any of his mates by his side.
ANDVARI
Andvari’s orders to his men were simple: don’t let anything through the wards. It wouldn’t be easy, but they had the best warriors of his people on their side. Sawyer would need time to do whatever he needed to do to defeat Palinourous. Andvari and his vampire brethren would make sure he had the time he needed. They would be victorious. He wouldn’t allow anything else.
After checking Sawyer’s dragon armor, Andvari kissed him thoroughly and left him with Draco. He tended to Pip next. Of all of his mates, he worried most for their newest and least experienced. He’d not had time to train Pip at all and could only arm him with a vest to provide some protection.
He shared a look over Pip’s head with Loch. Pip was definitely a weak link, and yet they had to have him present. Sawyer needed access to all of his guardians if they were going to be successful in this offensive. All they could do was park Pip in a safe spot and ask the goddess to keep him safe. Well, the goddess and the half dozen vampire guards Andvari had tasked with Pip’s safety. No way would he leave him unarmed without some form of protection.
Andvari gave the perimeter one last sweeping glance, taking note of the positions of all of his mates. Dakota had taken the front line, where Henry had seen the wards being breached. Henry himself hovered just inside the coven’s wards, strengthening them as he could. Draco would shift and take to the sky as soon as he was able. Eduard watched their flank with Saeward and Loch. They would form a circle of protection around Sawyer when the time came, and all of them would be accessible should he have need of their magic.
“Djinn!”
Dakota’s scream broke his final barrier check. Andvari gasped and looked up, knowing it was useless even as the fog of confusion settled over him. He drew his sword and began his attack. Metal swished through the air, making minimal contact with the foes he couldn’t see. His blade did its duty, though, slicing through anything it reached. He focused on that, on each thrust and swing, doing his own dance as he made his way closer to Sawyer. They weren’t prepared for a demon attack.
Palinourous played a dangerous game bringing them into the mix. They were deadly and uncontrollable. He must have promised them great power,
and Andvari had a sneaking suspicion whose power they planned on taking.
“Sawyer!”
He didn’t hear anything, no answers at all. Not even a grunt or thud of a battle that must be happening around him. Silence, the dampening of all of his senses, the greatest weapon the djinn possessed fought against him. And the silence would win if he didn’t think of something, fast.
The magic shifted and Andvari couldn’t hold back his bellow of pain. A thousand slices tore through him, each of them intent on bleeding him dry. It took the gift his mates freely gave him, the powerful blood that he used to stay strong, and pulled it from him forcefully.
Still, he fought. His sword a part of him, moving without thought through the murky air, striking a wound with each swing. He couldn’t tell if they were deadly strikes, but any wound at all was one worth making. He could weaken as many of them as he possible, deal death strokes to as many of them as he dared as the last of his blood seeped away.
Then came an unfamiliar pull, deep in his gut. Andvari tried to shield against it, but the invisible force fighting against him knew exactly what it sought. His sword arm fumbled, and his blade hit the ground. His skin paled, shriveling against the draining attack against him. His body crumpled, unable to hold itself up anymore. In that last moment, he could finally see once more, and the sight before him broke something deep in his soul. They were losing. Sawyer was down. Their hubris had cost them this battle.
Draco
Draco tried to convince himself that Sawyer understood what they were up against, but something in his gut told him he didn’t. Sawyer wasn’t ready, and if he couldn’t find the strength— both mental and physical— to defeat Palinourous, Draco feared they wouldn’t walk away from this battle alive.