by Maia Dylan
And that was perfect. In order to live beyond this day and this very moment, they would need to stand, tall and without fear, not allowing anything to pass them and breach their realm.
Suddenly, as the moon was about a quarter of the way through its journey between the earth and the sun, a dark wave rippled toward them along the ground. After a few moments, it became clear that it was a surge of moving small, feral animal things that looked like some kind of rodent on steroids. They were the size of large cats, with blood-red eyes and huge, fanglike teeth that dripped with saliva. They were all types of ugly, and Travis was proud that not one of their group budged or screamed despite the fact that there looked to be thousands of the little fuckers running for them.
“Eww, Fiona, do it now. Those things are creeping me the fuck out!” Casey yelled and shuddered at the same time. Then the night was alight with fireballs flying into the air, manifesting seemingly out of nowhere, but Travis knew they were coming from his mate.
Huge updrafts of air began to direct the fireballs to land on the rodents as they ran, frying them before they got anywhere near them. The air was filled with the screams of the dying rodents, and the thick smell of sulfur, not frying or burning flesh as Travis had first expected, but of the very element that came from the earth’s core, and what he imagined would be the smell of hell itself.
Within moments, they were gone. Where there should have been corpses or writhing bodies of dying rodents, there was nothing but dust, as if by killing them they simply no longer existed in this realm or midway point or wherever the hell they were standing.
Travis shot a quick glance at the eclipse and saw that the moon was only three quarters across the surface of the sun, so they still hadn’t gotten to the main event. The earth suddenly rolled and lurched beneath them and they had to fight to stay on their feet.
“Casey!” Micah yelled.
“That’s not me!” Casey’s voice held a small thread of panic to it.
“There!” Ariana suddenly shouted and pointed to where the earth was now moving, and it looked to be bubbling over, almost as if it were liquid, and then from it, large beings burst from the earth with a roar. Each one that landed looked like a clone of the first.
Huge, muscular beasts that stood at least seven feet tall, they had the body shape of a man, with barrel-shaped chests, large, thick legs and huge arms with claw-tipped fingers. Their faces where misshapen and they appeared to have muzzles with rows of sharp teeth that glistened in the fading light. Their eyes blazed red and their whole bodies were covered in hair.
They looked exactly how movies had led people to believe werewolves and shape shifters looked all these years. It was kind of disturbing to know that there was perhaps some truth to it after all, in the Otherworld, at least.
“Shift!” Fiona yelled out and cast a quick look behind her. “All of you! Shift into your wolves. You will need to be fast and agile to defeat these beings. They are most vulnerable at their throat.” Then she spun back to face them and the three Elementals moved forward, taking the fight to them as he knew they would, but he couldn’t stop the sharp stab of fear that shot through him.
Taking a breath to stop himself from leaping after her and dragging Fiona away, he got busy stripping his clothes off as fast as he could and calling upon the shift, embracing the wave of power and strength that came with the change.
He was thankful that all of his brothers had found their mates, because all of them were now fully merged with their wolf, stronger and faster than they ever were, and judging by the battle that awaited them, they were going to need it.
* * * *
Fiona wanted to turn around and make sure they followed her instructions. She didn’t know what these things were, or where the fuck they had come from, but she suddenly knew exactly how to kill them. Sever the head, rip out their throat or burn the fuckers. She figured she had Olwen to thank for that.
Moving closer to the abominations that looked suspiciously like evil werewolves and that were still spewing from the portals that had opened from the Otherworld, Fiona began to call down her power and rain down a fiery judgment on her enemies. There were too many for her to take out single-handedly, but she concentrated on taking out as many as she could.
She saw Casey weaving patterns with her hands to her right and saw rocks rising sharply from the earth to impale or crush the enemy between two of them before they got too close. Ariana, her hair blowing behind her and eyes blazing, brought huge drafts of air to drive the werewolves back when they got too close, and directed Fiona’s fireballs to where they could do most damage.
Fiona kept her eye on the eclipse that was starting to become complete in the distance, knowing that Aeron would time his greatest attack in those moments. There was only a sliver of the sun visible behind the shadow of the moon and an eerie cry sounded to her left. When she looked, she saw more of Aeron’s werewolves coming at them from their left flank.
The piercing howl of wolves sounded from behind her and she knew the Winters brothers had leapt into battle. Fiona heard Kingi shout a war cry of his own and she knew her new family was now in the battle for their lives. Determined to clear the forward battlefield as much as possible, Fiona shot a steady stream of fire that carved through Aeron’s ranks with scary precision.
Never before had Fiona been in such control of her power. She sliced a path of destruction that cut through wave after wave of Aeron’s army even before they were fully out of the ground. Then, as fast as it started, it stopped. There were no more coming from the portals in front of them.
Fiona dropped her hands to her knees and dragged in great gasps of air. Using her powers so intensely took a lot out of her. She glanced at her Elemental sisters and saw that they had assumed a similar position. An enraged roar erupted from all around them and she knew it was Aeron.
Fiona spun to her left, expecting to see carnage, and she was not disappointed. The Winters wolves battled fiercely, ripping the throats from their enemies fast and efficiently, turning them to dust. Kingi was swinging his taiaha with deadly precision and cutting the werewolves down as they closed in on him.
“Ryan!” Ariana screamed, and when Fiona turned to see what had happened, she saw Ryan in wolf form, being held down by two of Aeron’s demons, with a third about to deliver a killing blow. Ariana called the wind, but before she was able to send it, from out of nowhere a huge, black bear barreled into the clearing.
It ran straight at the werewolves who held onto Ryan, and with a deafening roar, it threw itself directly into them, using its claws to swiftly detach their heads, turning them both into dust and consigning them back to the Otherworld they came from.
Fiona had no time to process that, because the air suddenly became dense, and she felt pressure start to build up around them, an oppression that she had felt one time before, that day three months ago when she and Casey had faced off against Aeron for the first time.
When she turned back toward the east, Fiona saw that the eclipse was now complete. There was no sliver of sun visible behind the moon, and there was a strange red glow coming from the holes in the earth where Aeron’s army had erupted.
Fiona stepped forward, knowing that this was her moment. She could still hear the sounds of growling and battle taking place behind her, but she remained focused on the red lights. She took another step closer and knew that Casey and Ariana came with her.
“So we meet again, Fiona Aideen.” Fiona shuddered at the voice she remembered all too well. “And this time you’ve brought more friends for me to play with. I’m sure my armies will enjoy feasting on their flesh, as I will on yours!”
“Again with the posturing,” Fiona sneered, calling on every sarcastic bone in her body. “I thought we discussed this the last time I laid you out, Aeron. There are quicker and less painful ways to kill someone than talking them to death. Let’s just get to the main event and stop with the whole commentary portion of the evening, huh?”
There was silence fo
r a brief moment, and then a growled, “As you wish,” filled the air before the world exploded in light. Two dark red beams of light that seemed to originate from the eclipse itself slammed into Casey and Ariana, throwing them both backward and to the ground.
“No!” Maggie’s scream of rage and grief echoed around the field, then the roar of two wolves filled with anger and pain followed. When Fiona spun around to look at Casey and Ariana where they had landed, they were both covered in blood. She felt her heart begin to crack at the sight. Oh, God! Please don’t let them be dead.
“Oh, but they are dead, bitch!” Aeron’s roar sounded in her head and she slammed her hands to her ears, fearing that her eardrums would rupture. “You think you can mock me! I am a fucking God! I have strength and powers you could only ever dream of. I have struck down two of Olwen’s beloved Elementals with nothing more than a thought!” Fiona sobbed and dropped to the ground, pressing a hand to her chest as a white-hot pain erupted inside her. “And I can and will destroy you just as fucking easily.”
Screaming at the pain, Fiona felt as if her heart were being sliced into pieces within her. She coughed suddenly as she felt a choking sensation and was horrified when blood flew from her mouth to land on the ground in front of her.
Coughing up blood, and scared beyond anything she had ever felt before, she watched as shafts of red light exploded from the portals and into the air, carrying with them dark shapes that must have been some of Aeron’s army, but Fiona was helpless to stop them. Jesus, she was going to die and Aeron was going to win.
He was going to claim her realm and all she could do was bleed out as she watched him send his army through. Vaguely, she could hear her mates howling behind her and she wished for nothing more than to be able to touch them, even in their wolf forms, just one last time. As she collapsed to the ground, her vision starting to darken, she realized that just wasn’t going to happen.
Chapter 10
Cole roared in anger and grief when he watched his mate crumple to the ground. He leapt with a speed and strength he hadn’t known he had left and ripped the throat out of the last demon that stood between him and his mate, then leapt forward to stand over his mate.
Whimpering and still in his wolf form, he nudged her with his nose, looking for any sign of movement. Travis came to stand in front of them both, facing the direction Aeron’s army were being released, intent on protecting their mate from more harm. Cole prayed that they weren’t too late.
He looked behind him and saw that his older brothers had both changed back to their human forms and were holding their mates in their arms, sounds of grief being torn from them and tears streaming down their faces. Kingi knelt on the ground holding a grief-stricken Maggie in his arms, and the black bear that had come to their aid stood off to the side, watching for more demons, protecting them.
All of them bore injuries, but nothing that could compare to the pain of losing their mates and having their hearts ripped out. Cole threw his head back and howled with the injustice of it all. Was this how it was going to end? To have come this far it just wasn’t fucking fair.
“Cole, Travis.” Cole tensed and growled at the sudden female voice. “There is still a chance to save your mate, to save us all. The power for all the Elementals comes from their very life force. Fiona has weakened hers to levels that she will not be able to survive if you cannot strengthen her. Use the mating bond.”
Travis’s wolf turned his head in Cole’s direction and they shared a desperate look, edged with equal measures of fear and hope. Obviously, the pain-filled voice was that of Lady Olwen, and if she said this could be done, then, fuck it, they could do.
Cole moved up and lay down next to Fiona’s left side, and Travis mirrored him on her right. Then he reached for Fiona down their bond. His heart stuttered at first when he found nothing there, but when he pressed further, he found her. There was just a small flicker of flame at the end and he knew it was their mate, desperately trying to hold on.
Taking a deep breath, Cole began to push his strength and will down their bond. There was nothing to live for without her. Everything he had was hers. He poured all the love and hope he had for their future down the bond as well, willing Fiona to come back to them. He would continue to send her everything he had, even if it killed him. He could feel his brother doing the same.
The small, flickering flame began to grow. The flickering stopped and the flame began to brighten, and Cole could feel the heat of it down their bond. Never had he felt so connected to a person, but then that made perfect sense, because Fiona was his other half and the heart that completed him and his brother.
He saw a dark figure begin to rise out of the largest portal in the earth in front of them. This figure was shrouded in a black mist, and he could hear a loud, maniacal laugh that came with it. Aeron.
“This realm shall be mine!” Aeron’s voice was harsh and dripped with evil. The creatures that had erupted from the earth all screamed in support of their God, and Cole felt his anger rise. He was about to leap forward and take the fucker out himself when he felt the most amazing feeling in the entire world.
His mate.
Fiona reached out her hand to slide her fingers into his fur. When he looked down the bond again, he sensed her. Not just a flame, but their mate in all her glory. And she was pissed off.
* * * *
Fiona was one pissed-off Elemental. Drawing in deep gasps of breath and shaking off the bone-deep weakness that threatened to overwhelm her, she grabbed onto her mates and pulled herself up to stand tall. Her wolves pressed into her side, adding their physical strength to the inner force they had fed her down their link that had brought her back from the dark.
When the three of them were connected like this, with their life forces intertwining, it seemed to have a cumulative result. Her powers were strengthening exponentially within her. Whatever Aeron had done that had caused her to cough up blood healed instantly and she felt stronger and stronger by the second.
A quick glance at the eclipse and she saw that it was still full. They must be drawing quickly to the end of their seven-minute window.
“Aeron!” she yelled as she pulled all her strength and all her power to the center of her being, letting it build within her for one final stand. “You just don’t know when you’re not wanted at the party, now, do you? This is not your realm, and I assure you that we sure as hell will never kneel to an asshat like you.”
“What is this?” Aeron laughed and pointed a spectral finger in her direction. As he passed further and further into the rift, his form became more corporeal. “Is this your final stand, girl? I have to admit, I thought I’d already sent you into the afterlife along with your sisters, but it appears I will have the pleasure of doing so again. I’ll be sure to do it a lot slower this time, really take my time and make you bleed.
“You are stronger than I thought. Hell, perhaps your family were a little too quick to dismiss you as the useless and fucked-up little girl they still believe you to be. I am trying to decide if you are worth the energy just to dispatch now, or to have you as one of my slaves for the rest of your pathetic life. A little fuck-bunny for some of my demons, perhaps, hmmm?”
Cole and Travis both went to lurch forward, but she clenched her hands tight in their fur.
“Jesus.” Fiona’s body started to shake as the power level within her hit overload. “Dude, you didn’t nearly kill me with your actions. I tried to kill myself to avoid listening to you talk, because it’s all the same with you, just the incessant posturing and the blah-blah-blahs. I see how you are planning to enforce your rule here in our realm. If we don’t do what you say, you are going to bore us into killing ourselves to end our pain.”
“You insolent quim! I am Aeron! I am a God with powers you will never comprehend. Carnage will reign in this realm!” Aeron’s eyes were now glowing red and he was almost fully formed. Fiona saw a white light suddenly burst from the portal over which Aeron now hovered. It was time, and Olwen
was here to help.
“You are no God of mine or anyone in this world. You think you can come into my realm and just take over? Oh, hell no! We are the fucking Elementals and warriors for Olwen that protect this realm from sewage like you. Get the fuck back to where you came from and take your asshole demons with you!”
Tightening her grip on each of her mates, she opened the floodgates on her power, just as she saw Olwen leap from the portal. Olwen wore the same white gown she had been in the last time they had seen her here. Her long, blonde hair streaming was behind her and Fiona could see the determination on her face as she grabbed onto Aeron. Olwen screamed in agony as soon as she made physical contact.
Her power levels reached critical and she could no longer contain them, and Fiona screamed as a stream of fire so bright it flared white seemed to explode from within her, aimed at the two figures that wrestled together hovering over the portal opening in the ground. As soon as it struck, she heard Aeron scream in pain and Olwen’s scream of pain changed to one of triumph.
Fuck yeah! Take that, you bastard! For what felt like hours but was probably only moments, she kept that stream of fire aimed directly at Aeron until she felt the lurch of the rift closing. In the back of her mind, she heard the screams of Aeron’s demons as they exploded into nothing as she expanded her power to cover the entire clearing.
“That’s it, Fiona! You have pushed Aeron back into the Otherworld and the rift is closing.” Olwen’s excited voice came to her and she started to pull her power back into her. She noticed that the moon had now passed completely between the earth and the sun.
“What about you?” Fiona sent back, fighting to keep the rift open for a moment longer. “Come now! Leave that place!”
“Oh, how I wish I could, my daughter,” Olwen sobbed. “But I cannot. If we do not finish what we have started, then we will never truly close your realm off to Aeron, and I will never have my Rohan back.”