by Cecy Robson
Emme’s head whipped back toward the charging beast. “Oh, my goodness. Celia, I hope that was worth it.”
Tye grinned as I scrambled to pull on a shirt. “Yes, yes, it was.”
• • •
Danny whipped through his notes and directed us to the crater. Even with Shayna driving, it took almost two hours to reach the base. When we finally reached our destination, we shot out of the SUV as if it had caught fire. Danny ran ahead and searched the high walls after another glance at his notes. “We need to find a small cave about twenty meters up—it’s shaped like a dragon’s mouth. The stone is supposedly tucked in a ridge, close to the cave’s entrance.”
Bren scratched his scruffy beard as he took in the enormous crater. “I know we should have probably asked a long time ago, but what the hell does the stone look like?”
Danny stuffed his notes into the back pocket of his worn jeans. “According to the scripts, it’s green in color and we’ll recognize it by its splendor when we see it. Come on, this way.”
We jogged around the perimeter for about half an hour until Tye spotted the cave. I expected it to look like a narrow protruding snout, but instead it resembled an open serpent mouth with jagged teeth. The roar of a small aircraft halted our climb. We ducked into the brush as it passed over us. We didn’t move until the engine faded in the distance.
Tye emerged from the dense vegetation with Emme in tow. “It might just be park rangers checking on things, but let’s not wait around to find out.” He stripped and threw his clothes on the ground. “Celia, you and I will go up. The rest of you keep watch.” He changed and climbed swiftly along the crumbling crater wall. I kicked off my sneakers and protruded my front and back claws. He did a double take when I caught up to him with ease, returning my grin with that of his beast. I laughed. Even his lion had a dimple.
A short distance away we heard the plane return. And land. We exchanged quick glances and scaled the wall faster. The cave was in reach when someone fired a shotgun. Tye threw back his head and snarled, his light blue eyes firing with agony. A cursed gold bullet had struck his hind leg. Smoke billowed where it had burned through his flesh. We scrambled the last few feet as the fight between our side and Tribesmen erupted below us.
I fought my way through a nest of spiderwebs and almost cracked my head on the jagged ceiling. Danny wasn’t kidding; the ridge was only ten feet from the entrance. I swept my fingers along the edge. Something with lots of little legs scurried over my hand. I jerked my hand back and shook it violently. Lara Croft I wasn’t. I took a breath and tried again. This time, my fingertips slipped over something large, cool, and smooth. I grabbed it in both hands, ill prepared for what I saw. An emerald the size of two softballs lay in my palms. I hurried out and presented it to Tye. His huge maw fell open, but then he veered toward the edge of the cave and growled.
Four bloodlust-infected vampires scurried toward us at high velocity, their bodies shuddering with the need to feast. At the base our group huddled against the crater, fighting off the Tribesmen who’d cornered them.
Tye panted from pain yet crouched and prepared to attack the bloodlusters that were almost upon us. I yanked at his mane. “Tye, listen to me. Close your eyes and hold your breath.” He snarled when I shoved the stone in his mouth. I hung tight to his fur and winked. “Trust me, Mufasa.”
The first bloodluster smacked his clawed hand in front of us as I shifted. Our bodies broke down into minute particles, allowing us to pass down and through the crater with ease. I surfaced at the bottom as an elephant. A very hungry, sleep-deprived, and cranky elephant. My massive trunk slammed a bloodlust vampire into the wall, hard enough to splatter the putrid green fluid bulging her muscles. I lifted on my hind legs and crushed a cluster of Tribesmen with my front. The element of surprise helped me do some damage, but we were seriously outnumbered and needed to get the hell out of Tanzania. My legs trampled and my trunk walloped, giving Team Celia time to jump on me. I shifted us out, emerging a good distance away and momentarily confusing the Tribesmen.
My elephant form disappeared as soon as I resurfaced. It was strange, but I knew I’d never possess it again. It was either too strong or too large for my spirit to maintain. Yet there was no time to grieve the loss.
Shayna leapt on Bren’s wolf body and pointed straight ahead. “Their plane landed over there. Come on!” She hauled Emme with her and Bren sped off. Danny chased after him, carrying Ying-Ying and Chang. I changed into a tigress and carried Tye the naked human on my back. I plowed through the vegetation, but the shots fired behind us motivated me to dash faster.
Tye panted in my ear. “This isn’t how I pictured our first time together. I mean, I knew I’d be on top, but this is just weird.”
I wished I could communicate with him just to tell him to shut the hell up. But unlike Tye, I didn’t seem to possess that ability.
We reached a clearing and spotted the plane. Tye tossed Bren the stone and we all scrambled aboard. I took in all the bells and whistles on the console and jerked my head toward Shayna. “Did your puppy happen to teach you how to hot-wire a plane?”
“Not necessary.” Tye hit a few buttons and kicked the engine into gear. We taxied along the flat grass field as the propellers gathered momentum. Tribesmen emerged from the jungle before we could take off, lugging some sort of rocket launcher. May God forgive me for the words that flew out of my mouth.
Now, I didn’t speak a word of Korean, but I believe Chang said the equivalent of “Screw this!” He flung open the door and pitched several objects from his pack. One hit the Tribesman carrying the rocket launcher before he could fire. The guy sizzled as if jolted by an electric current as a flash of silver ran up his arm and into the weapon. It exploded with a thunderous rumble splattering chunks of dead Tribesmen against the side of our plane.
Shayna raised her arms. “He brought his balls!”
Chang continued to hang out of the plane as we flew past the remaining Tribesmen. His hysterical laugh echoed over the whirl of the engine while he merrily waved his middle finger.
• • •
Tye used Shayna’s cell phone to arrange for Misha’s plane to meet us at the Manyara airstrip. We no longer cared about going unnoticed. We just needed to get to Chaitén.
The moment we boarded, Shayna and I prepared to remove the gold bullet from Tye’s leg. I don’t know whether it was the fever burning through his body or whether it was because he watched Shayna sharpen a spoon into a scalpel, but all his arrogance dissolved like ice cream in a frying pan. His pupils dilated and he practically shook right out of his seat. “Have either of you ever performed surgery before?”
Shayna lengthened the pointy end of the scalpel to a finer edge with her gift. “Well, no. But Ceel and I are labor nurses and we’ve watched C-sections performed about a million times.”
Tye clutched the arms of his seat. “I don’t have a goddamned uterus. Leave me the hell alone!”
I almost told Tye I’d once removed about half a dozen bullets from Gemini’s body. But then I thought about the comment he’d made about “our first time” and “knowing he’d be on top.” So instead of trying to ease his anxiety, I looked to everyone else. “Get him.”
Everybody pounced, even Emme. Tye wrenched and twisted his body, swearing like a drunken sailor during Fleet Week. Everyone held tight. I gave him a nice smile and stroked his long mane away from his face. “I thought you were the king of beasts, not the lord of chickens.”
My touch and grin distracted him . . . a little too much. He flashed me one of his sexy smiles. “So, what do I get if I let you— Son of a bitttccchhh!”
I tossed the extracted bullet into a cup. “Absolutely nothing.”
I stood and washed my hands while my pals climbed off him—except for Emme, who helped him heal. The little whiny feline was as good as new in under a minute. He rose from his seat and padded over to me, lea
ning in close to place his hands on my shoulders. “That wasn’t nice,” he murmured.
I shrugged his hands off. “You’re welcome.”
Tye immediately clasped my shoulders again and locked his gaze on mine. “I like you, Celia,” he whispered. “How about, if we make it out of this alive, you let me take you to dinner?”
Tye said “dinner” the way most males said “bed.” I backed away from him as a deep sadistic growl tore through my mind. By the smirk on Tye’s face, he’d heard it, too. A white haze surrounded me, making me glow. I freaked out. “What the hell?”
Everyone gawked at me except for Tye. “Looks like Aric’s bond with you just kicked up a notch.” He let out a small laugh. “So, how about dinner?”
CHAPTER 30
“Celia, wake up.”
I stretched my arms slowly, only to sit up abruptly when my stomach lurched. Crap, I was nauseated.
Tye frowned. “You okay?”
“Yeah, just jet-lagged.” My thoughts led to Aric. I rubbed my face, chest, and arms, expecting them to hurt for some reason.
Tye watched my movements. “We’re an hour from our last stop. I need everyone ready before we land. I’ve arranged for a helicopter. It’s the quickest way to get to Chaitén.”
I nodded and gently nudged Shayna. “Puppy?” she mumbled.
“No, babe, it’s just me.” I didn’t like the deep-set wrinkles crinkling her forehead. She appeared to be in pain, but then she grinned and propped herself up. I stretched again and searched for some crackers to settle my stomach. If I didn’t get some decent sleep soon, my body was going to turn on me.
Shayna’s phone rang in her pack as I found some saltines. She fumbled through it until she found it. “Koda?”
“It’s me, Taran.” My heart sank when I heard her trembling voice. Something was wrong. Shayna’s hands shook as she put the call on speaker. “Please tell me you’re all right and please say you have the stone,” Taran begged.
Shayna stilled, barely blinking. Emme sat down next to her and clutched her hand while I spoke. “We’re fine and we have the stone. We should get to you in about an hour and a half.” Taran’s cries rang through the phone and stung my ears. I swallowed hard. “Taran, what’s happened?”
“We can’t defeat Ihuaivulu. He’s too strong. We had to use the first stone to weaken him. Aric and Koda were the only ones able to get close enough to cast it.” Her voice cracked. “They’re hurt . . . It’s really bad.”
Taran’s sobs cut through my heart and sent chills rushing down my spine. Bren pulled me against him and held me tight. There was fumbling on the other end before Gemini came on the line sounding miserable and exhausted. “Aric and Koda were severely burned.” He let out a breath. “Their injuries are not healing . . . but they’re still able to fight.”
I broke out of Bren’s hold, yelling over Shayna’s cries. “You’re telling me they’re injured and they’re still being sent to fight?”
“There’s no choice, Celia. We’ve been fighting Ihuaivulu for the last twenty hours since Aric hit him with the stone. All we’ve managed to do is keep him at the volcano. Alliance members from all over Central and South America have joined us, but we’re still no match for him. You have to get here—you’re our last hope.”
What sounded like a large screeching bat echoed through the phone with enough force to send it spinning off the table. I covered my ears and screamed for Taran, but the line went dead.
The silence that filled the air threatened to choke me. Tears streamed down Shayna’s face and her eyes pleaded with me to tell her she’d misheard—that Taran was safe and our mates hadn’t been harmed. I knew this because I wanted to hear it, too. I wanted it all to be some horrible dream. But it wasn’t. Her love and mine were in pain, and our sister was in danger. They suffered alone and there was nothing we could do . . . for now.
Shayna’s face blanched. “What if they die, Celia?”
I refused to spill any tears at Shayna’s words. Aric couldn’t die and neither could Koda or Taran. Aric and I were supposed to get married and spend our lives together. No, I would not cry. Crying meant I already believed them dead and that my time with Aric was over.
I stormed into the bathroom to splash cold water on my face. Tye followed me. “Are you all right?”
I stared at my pale skin in the mirror, gripping the sides of the sink before I smashed my reflection to bits. “No,” I answered. “No, I’m not.”
• • •
The last few minutes were the longest of our trip; even Ying-Ying couldn’t keep still. We were anxious, infuriated, and ready to fight. The moment our plane rolled to a stop, we sprinted toward the helicopter with Tye leading the way. No one was there to greet us; only a note taped to the window with coordinates to Chaitén anticipated our arrival.
What we found in Chaitén was devastation befitting a world war. A thick cloud of gray ash resembling fallen snow covered the entire town and coated the air like a fog. Tye ascended up the mountain where all the vegetation lay completely destroyed. Rows and rows of demolished and still burning trees rested on top of one another like discarded Lincoln Logs, casting light onto the charred remains of dead weres and the darker clumps of ash that had once been vampires. Some trees stubbornly remained erect, like giant black candles continuing to smoke.
The terrible batlike screech drew our attention toward the volcano, where fire shot into the heavens from several different directions.
“I really hope that’s just the volcano erupting,” Bren said.
“If only,” Tye muttered. “Shit, and supposedly he’s weaker now.”
Tye continued upward. Remnants of motorcycles and helicopters littered the area like a metal graveyard amid a burning world. Only one patch of hidden forest remained untouched: the Alliance base camp. We’d arrived.
I didn’t see our wolves or Taran, but several members tending to the injured stood and pointed frantically toward the volcano.
Tye adjusted his transmitter and gave me a tight smile. “Looks like we’re on. Anyone who’s not ready needs to get off now.” He hovered above the camp while I scooted into the back and opened the door.
I motioned toward the exit and then to Chang and Ying-Ying to make them understand. “This is your chance to save yourselves. We’re going after Ihuaivulu now.” They smiled kindly, yet stayed put. I clasped my hand over my eyes and tried to snuff my welling tears. Chang and Ying-Ying had been my teachers and tormentors, but they’d also become my friends. All my life I’d carried the weight of protecting my sisters on my shoulders. Now I carried theirs as well. I dropped my hand and clenched my fists. “This is not your fight. You should go.” They stood together and maneuvered around the seats. But instead of jumping, they bowed.
Chang patted my shoulder. “Proud,” he said.
Ying-Ying nodded. “You good girl.”
They returned to their seats and tightened their belts. I shut the door as Tye took us to the skies. My gaze took in the determined faces of those I loved.
Bren and Danny comforted Emme and Shayna. I wanted to tell them they didn’t have to do this, that I would gladly die for them instead. I also thought to inspire them somehow. They had, after all, jumped on board the Team Celia train. Without hesitating and without so much as a glance back, they’d followed me into danger. They’d trusted me to lead them and yet I couldn’t form the words to tell them what their actions meant to me.
“I . . .”
Danny’s eyes glistened. “We love you, too, Celia.”
I leaned my palms against the door and dropped my head. God, please keep them safe. Don’t take them yet. The world is a better place with them here.
Tye took a sharp right turn—hard enough for me to clutch the seat—and spoke into his mouthpiece. “I want to stay as far away from Ihuaivulu as possible. Emme, when we get near him, use your force to l
aunch the stone.” She nodded and reached into her pack to retrieve the stone. I joined him in the front and wiped my sweaty palms against my tank top. He smiled and flashed his dimple. “Don’t worry, dovie. We’re going to make it. Our cubs are destined to rid the world of evil. That means we get to stick around to conceive them.”
I shook my head and sighed. Tye was in for a rude awakening, regardless of whether we made it or not.
The terrible bat screech bellowed with enough power to shake the helicopter. All hell broke loose at the summit. Weres thundered over the ground, attempting to herd what could only be described as, well, a seven-headed fire-breathing dragon. Oh, my God. Ihuaivulu’s immense form trumped most three-story buildings and his long lizard necks made him seem larger yet. Red flames funneled from some of his mouths while the others swallowed the guerrilla-looking vamps shooting at it.
Ihuaivulu whipped his tail and struck the rider of a dirt bike. The rider flew and slammed into the side of the large hill, his broken body unmoving. I screamed when I realized it was Misha . . . and that Ihuaivulu was closing in fast.
The two Geminis and Liam arrived in wolf form and tried to intercept the winged demon. If the wolves were afraid, they masked their fear well. They fought with ferocity and rabid fury, nipping and ramming Ihuaivulu in an attempt to distract him and get him to chase them. But it was no use.
I lurched toward the back and wrenched open the door. “I need to get off now!”
Tye maneuvered the helicopter toward Misha. I leapt out the moment we passed above him. My body dove straight at him with my hands outstretched. The moment my fingertips felt the tease of his leather jacket, I shifted us through the hill and up to the top.
Misha sputtered out dirt when we surfaced. He stared at me, momentarily stunned until his arms locked me in a tight embrace. “You came back to me,” he whispered. The ground rumbled beneath us and knocked us on our sides. We scrambled to the edge. Below us, Ihuaivulu tore his head free from the hill where Misha had lain unmoving.