Panic settled deep within her soul as she frantically searched through the film of mist that coated everything in sight. Was Azaiel here in this realm? Or had she left her sanity behind?
Skye.
Azaiel’s voice whispered through her mind, softly, like a caress, and she shuddered as the heavy weight of him seeped into her brain.
Fear clutched at her sharply and her teeth began to chatter as she continued to try and pierce the wall of mist with her vision.
Where was he?
But more important, where the hell was the portal?
Skye felt nauseous and for a second was afraid she’d faint, but she gritted her teeth and began to pant as she used every ounce of energy she possessed to push the fear away. When it broke and slipped from her she cried out, the sound dampened by the thick air that continued to beat at her.
She took a few tentative steps forward and then stopped.
Skye let go of all thoughts, memories, fears, Jagger—anything that wasn’t connected—and closed her mind to everything but the portal.
Her mind went blank for a few seconds and she tensed to such a degree that her muscles ached. It felt like every inch of her body was being held tightly in a vise, gripped hard and wrung out so thoroughly that nothing but emptiness remained.
But then the warmth of the sun caressed her cheeks, and in her mind she could clearly picture the ancient round disc. It shimmered as if enveloped in a mirage of light, and when Skye opened her eyes the mist had all but vanished, leaving her alone on the top of the mountain.
“What the—”
She turned in a full circle, seeing nothing but a blanket of cloud surrounding the small area where she stood. It felt like she was on top of the world, standing along the edge of the known realm.
The magick that slithered along her skin was familiar. It contained the signature of her people and the joy such a simple feeling evoked inside of her was unparalleled. It told her that the eagle knights prevailed. That even though many had fallen to their dark enemies, their spirit and will lived on.
The clouds began to give way, receding to where they came from, and she saw the dark opening that she’d just exited. There was nothing extraordinary about it. It looked plain. Simple, as if it had never felt the touch of magick.
She turned once more, her eyes following the mist as it pulled back from the earthen floor, like a carpet being rolled back. The sun, though low in the sky, continued to heat her face and she fed from its power.
In the distance an eagle called, its cry slicing through the silence like a sharp knife. Skye shuddered at the lonely sound and searched for it to no avail. She heard one more call and then there was nothing.
Sweat began to slip from her pores and even though Skye tried to still her fast-beating heart, she couldn’t calm her body. She knew the end was near and the heavy weight of it sat hard inside her soul.
Her T-shirt stuck to her skin. She pinched it away, hoping some air would alleviate her discomfort, but then she let it fall back in disgust. What the hell was she doing? She was gonna spend fucking eternity in the darkness, deep within the hell realm.
It’s not like anyone down there was going to care that she had bad body odor.
A wave of cool wind slid across her cheek, blowing a tendril of hair along her nose. It was time.
Slowly she took a step forward. And then another, watching as the fog continued to dissipate, like the tide receding at the end of the day.
When the shrine was finally exposed, she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. It held none of the grandeur of either one of the inner chambers and consisted of rocks, both large and small, that had been thrown together to create a small hut.
She closed the remaining feet in a rush and stood outside the entrance, her eyes scouring the facade. Above the opening there was a simple etching in the rock that depicted an eagle in flight.
Other than that, there was nothing.
She was left with nothing more to do than slip through. With a wary look around, Skye did just that, her blond head quickly disappearing inside the dark interior of the shrine.
Inside it was dark and the floor uneven. She swayed and nearly lost her balance. The satchel she’d clutched, forever it seemed, fell to the ground at her feet. Everything was weird, as if the alignment of the sun and moon, of the very axis of the earth was off kilter.
Something was wrong. She could feel it.
She waited for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting and when her vision fell upon the dais several feet from where she stood, her breath caught in her throat.
It was surrounded at each corner with tall urns, ones that should be burning forever with the light of the sun. This she knew.
Skye swallowed thickly as the fist inklings of dread began to roll over in her belly. Something was drastically wrong.
She stood dead center to the dais.
Skye could do nothing but shake her head in dismay, anger and fear.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding,” she whispered hoarsely into the room, but there was no denying what her eyes were seeing.
The dais was empty.
A million thoughts rushed through Skye’s mind and she frantically began a search of the entire area. Panic joined in the fun and her breaths heaved from her mouth in sporadic bursts as she struggled to hold on to what little thread of sanity she still had going.
The portal was missing!
How in the hell was that even possible? Where the hell was it?
Cold sharp pains clawed their way through her belly and she doubled over in the corner, her stomach heaving as she retched.
She fell to the floor and passed a trembling hand over her face, feeling the cold fingers sharply against her heated skin.
Dully, her eyes wandered the room, but it was no use. It wasn’t like there were secret compartments with the portal hidden safely inside.
It was well and truly gone.
And Skye had no freaking clue as to its location. A thought struck her then, and she grabbed her satchel, her fingers barely able to get it open because they were trembling so badly.
But as she quickly went over her notes and those of her father’s she felt all hope begin to fade. Every indication led to the belief that the portal was in the Cave of the Sun.
The fact that it was missing meant one of two things. Her father had retrieved it, but since he’d been killed and it was obviously not in the hands of the DaCostas or Cormac, he’d hidden it elsewhere.
Or someone had managed to break the eagle magick that protected the cave and the shrine, and had successfully stolen the portal. If so, their identity was a mystery, as they’d not shown their hand and had not come into play yet.
Either way, she was screwed.
She didn’t have a portal to seal, and while that meant that she was not going to hell today, she still had a jungle full of mercenaries gunning for her ass. She swallowed hard, her mind whirling frantically. Her odds of surviving the next few days were less than ten percent.
If she was lucky.
She slumped onto the floor and rested her head against the cool rock wall. It was still dark inside the shrine and, for a few seconds at least, she felt invisible. Safe.
Damn, if only she had Finn to talk to. Or Father.
Restless energy pummeled her and she felt dizzy as her heart continued to beat against her chest. She’d closed her eyes and was trying to plot her next move, when she felt the merest whisper of a cold caress, almost like a snake had just wound its way across her mind and slithered down into her chest.
She jumped to her feet, her eyes circling wildly, but there was nothing there.
“Don’t go all crazy now, Skye. You need a plan.”
She couldn’t think clearly though, and shook her head as she grabbed her papers once more and shoved them back into the bag. Her fingers touched something solid and she fingered the stone eagle, a trinket she’d had forever.
Abruptly, she shoved it back into the bag. She ne
eded to get to Jagger.
With one last look around, Skye exited the small shrine, welcoming the sun as it continued to squeeze out her last rays. She needed to hurry. In less than an hour she’d have no power to shift and she knew there was no way she’d be able to slip through the opening that led back to the great cavern.
She retraced her footsteps rapidly, her body sliding through the magick that protected the opening, and it seemed that in no time she reached the exit to the cavern.
But there was a problem. A huge problem. The opening was no longer.
Something broke inside of Skye then, and she pounded her fists against the solid wall that greeted her, cursing, screaming, and not stopping until the scent of blood filled the air. Dully, she looked down at her bruised and bloody hands and stepped away.
She truly was alone. There was no way of getting to Jagger.
Slowly she turned around and retraced her steps. She had no clue where she was going or what she was going to do. But she had to keep moving, because if not, then surely she would go insane.
She felt her strength fade as the sun began her final descent. The cave itself seemed to lessen, as if its power fled along with the sunlight.
Skye could feel the darkness as it crept along the walls and reached for her, and almost immediately she was swallowed whole.
Chapter 22
Within seconds of Skye’s disappearance through the opening, the ground began to shake and the cavern pulsated as energy sizzled in the air. A snarl ripped from his throat as Jagger turned in a circle, not understanding what was happening.
The air shimmered around him and as he looked up at the ceiling of the great cavern, the etchings and symbols that had been so plain seconds before misted into a golden arc, then fell down in a shower of golden mist.
Fuck, that can’t be good.
They disappeared from sight, leaving him choking on a ball of fear. His only thought was to get to Skye.
The earth continued to grumble beneath his feet, moving and shifting as he ran the entire circumference of the cavern. The sick feeling that ate at him was a constant burn in his gut. Some heavy shit was about to go down. He could feel it.
His eyes scoured every inch of his surroundings and his rage continued to grow. He felt impotent, helpless, and these were emotions a jaguar warrior was ill equipped to handle. He was used to being in charge.
All at once the rock began to liquefy and he jumped back from the wall as panic joined the anger that ate away at him. Not for his own safety, but for Skye. He cursed loudly. Why the hell had he let her go like that? What the fuck had he been thinking?
It was Eden, all over again. Her death had broken him. But Skye? If something happened to her, he’d be done. Over. He may as well turn around and hand his ass over to the DaCostas, because his life wouldn’t be worth shit if she wasn’t going to a part of it.
“Skye!” he yelled in anguish.
What the hell was happening?
There was a keening sound that ripped through the cavern, so loud he fought the urge to cover his ears. All around him the walls of the cave continued to expand and recede as if made of gas.
And then, as if stretched to the limit, they thinned and the hole in the ceiling blurred and folded over, becoming solid once more.
Within seconds it disappeared and the rumbling stopped, leaving Jagger in the center of a cave that was less than ordinary, cold, and gray. The glow faded almost immediately, and the cavern was plunged into a heavy, thick darkness.
His mind worked frantically through several scenarios and his frustration continued to grow at the severity of the situation.
His nocturnal stare swung around, back to the entrance. It stared back at him, taunting him and his inability to protect his mate. Inside his soul the animal cried out in fury and a shot of adrenaline spiked his blood to a boil. He took off at a run.
The passage was as dark as the cavern he’d just left, but his eyes sliced through the gloom. Jagger let his senses fly, looking for anything out of the ordinary. But there was nothing.
He retraced his steps and found himself back in the original chamber beneath the waterfall. It was cold and mist began to rise from his body. The anxious bite in his gut heaved. Nothing had changed here, but then what the hell had he expected?
Cold determination ripped through him and he took off at a dead run, his long legs covering the distance in no time. He burst forth from the cave, his lungs inhaling the early evening air as his eyes scoured the surrounding area.
It was dusk and the fear he felt for Skye tripled. He knew she was without her eagle powers, and even though she was still stronger, faster than most humans, it wouldn’t help her this night.
Because it sure as hell wasn’t humans who hunted her.
He needed to find her, like, yesterday.
Hold on, babe, I’m coming, he whispered to himself.
Quickly he stripped his clothes and tossed them behind the large boulder that stood at attention near the opening of the cave. Mist clung to his skin. It curled along the ground as it hovered above the waterfall less than five feet away, mixing with the magick that climbed over his limbs.
Within seconds he’d shifted and the large black jaguar that erupted from deep inside the mist took off at a hard run. Jagger ran at a relentless pace, his powerful frame eating up the ground as he slipped over rock and then plunged into the surrounding vegetation thick with the heat of the coming rains.
His “bad mojo” alert was on high and his eyes were forever scanning from left to right. As he crested a small rise he stopped, inhaling the damp air deep into his lungs, but there was nothing.
Disappointment slid through him and he barked softly, the sound muffled by the humidity. His green eyes carefully studied the area around him, running over the summit, which was not far up from where he stood.
Mentally he pictured the inside of the great cave, and after a few moments he began to move again. Truthfully, he knew the chances of finding Skye were slim. He didn’t even know if there was another exit.
He just had to trust that there was. To think of the alternative was not an option at this point. However, if left with no choice, he’d blow the fucking mountain to pieces.
He continued to stalk the night, his nose and ears leading him forward as he picked through many scents, and there were a lot to take in. The stink of otherworld filled his nasal cavity and his eyes turned to the canopy below.
It lay silent, deadly.
Not one sound echoed up to him. The animals had long fled and left nothing behind except the evil that was slowly infiltrating their home. They were down there, the enemy, and Jagger knew he had little time in which to get to his woman and get them both to safety.
He began to pant, his powerful canines flashing white, and without another thought he began the final climb to the summit.
The going was rough, as the entire area was full of dangerous crevices that disappeared into the darkness. Heat and humidity coated the rock face, making it slippery and extremely hard to navigate, but still he moved on. As the minutes ticked by and the urgent need to get to Skye rode him harder, he began to take chances, his great body literally flying over the dangerous terrain.
He narrowly missed falling and only avoided injury because of his razor-sharp claws, which he used to dig into the earth and pull himself up the bank of yet another stream with a waterfall. The entire mountainside was littered with them.
He’d just reached solid ground when he stopped short, his chest heaving and mouth open wide. A grumble rolled deep from within his chest and he swung his head to the right.
Skye’s sweet scent drifted over him, riding the slightest hint of air. His nostrils quivered and with an excited bark he took off. The area was shrouded in a heavy fog that coated the land thickly, making it difficult to see, but he homed in on her scent and that was all he needed.
A few minutes later Jagger burst through the fog and immediately felt the presence of magick. Old magick.
He proceeded cautiously now, noiselessly creeping ahead, and when he felt a gentle barrier in the air, he paused, tail twitching back and forth as he began to pace along the invisible perimeter.
He stilled, feeling helpless and agitated as he continued to study the area. He could see a small structure off to the right, built of stone and quite rough in its design. His eyes began to glow as he noticed the eagle etching above the door.
Without thought he moved forward and was immediately zapped by an energy source that ripped across his black pelt. He hissed and jumped back. There was no way he could cross the protection ward.
It was ancient, powerful magick.
He stood there, uncertain, his rage building steadily as his eyes flew back and forth, looking for a way in. He turned in a circle, scented the wind once more, anxious, confused. He continued to pace along the perimeter and when he saw her he stopped, transfixed by the ethereal beauty and fragile sadness that clung to her.
Long strands of her hair snaked out into the air as the breeze lifted them into a halo that surrounded her head like a twisted crown. His heart ached and he growled loudly, again and again until she turned to him.
The look on her face tore into his heart and he rushed forward, crying out as once more the energy that held him out sizzled against his flesh. When he heard her voice, he sent a keening cry erupting from deep within, and his tail flicked back and forth in agitation.
“Jagger.”
Her soft voice was hoarse and Jagger could do nothing but stare at her, his body and mind in agony over his inability to get to her. He cried out again, the bark rough, and he began to pace along the edge of the protection ward once more, his eyes never leaving Skye’s.
He reached out with a paw and took the hit of energy that cut across him sharply, hissing again. It was no use. She would have to come to him, but Jagger could see that something was wrong.
Something terrible.
Slowly, she began to walk toward him. He could see she’d been crying and his heart ached with the need to comfort her. She paused just on the other side of the barrier, and as their eyes connected something broke inside of him. His body began to tremble with the ferocity of it all as a great well of emotion threatened to consume him.
His Darkest Embrace Page 24