“Morgan!” Kincade grabbed her arm, the momentum nearly knocking her off her feet as he dragged her to a stop.
Her eyes snapped open, and she was ready to yell at him, until she saw the savage vista spread out before them. They were on a ridge overlooking a wild river that swept through a narrow valley some hundred feet below them.
He’d barely managed to stop her from running blindly over the edge.
Her chest heaved as she struggled for air while the rest of the guys took up a protective stance around her, but instinct said it wouldn’t be enough. The kid could barely stand. Everyone in their group had a number of bites, chunks of flesh missing, including Ascher and Ryder in their alternate forms.
The hum of the demented otherworld insects grew louder with each breath.
They would be here within a few heartbeats.
Morgan studied the raging water below her, hesitated for a second, then sighed. “Well, hell.”
She turned and walked away from the ledge, tying her hair back into a ponytail, muttering to herself about stupidity, ignoring the guys watching her, not wanting them to guess her intent until it was too late. Then she whirled, took off running, and launched herself over the ledge.
The guys yelled her name, including a few other very uncomplimentary rebukes, a couple of them peering at her over the ledge as she fell. Ryder’s shaggy form followed only seconds after hers, and she saw a light engulf him as he transformed mid-fall.
Wind whipped by her, and she braced herself for impact, knowing hitting the water’s surface was going to hurt like a bitch.
She wasn’t wrong.
Her feet hit first, pain slamming up her legs, the impact knocking the breath from her lungs. Icy water closed over her head as she was plunged under the choppy surface. Once her downward momentum stopped, she swam to the surface, ignoring the tug of the current. Ryder plunged underwater just a few feet away.
She broke the surface in time to see the rest of the men hit the water with a giant splash.
She’d barely managed to take a few hurried breaths when she saw the black cloud follow them over the cliff.
Sucking in one last breath, Morgan ducked under the water, cursing the small shapes that hovered across the surface, waiting for them to emerge. The guys were treading water next to her as the current dragged them all downstream.
Then she felt something snag her ankle. She could do nothing as she watched the men being carried away. Morgan reached down, grabbing the strand of seaweed that had caught around her ankle. As soon as she untangled one strand, another seemed to rise up and latch around her…and another and another.
It took her brain precious seconds to realize that the strands weren’t seaweed, but tentacles, and they were pulling her farther and farther under the surface. As she neared the bottom, piles of gleaming white stones stole her attention.
No, not stones.
Skulls.
And if she didn’t take some kind of action, her bones would quickly be joining them. She glanced around the murky water, but couldn’t see more than a few feet in any direction.
She couldn’t identify the source of the threat.
Despite the icy cold water, the metal cuff around her wrist melted, twirling down her hand to form a knife, and she began to hack away at the persistent strands that had wrapped themselves all the way up her leg to her knees.
Fragments of green algae began to pollute the water like blood, the texture slimy as she tried to swipe it off her skin.
The lack of air began to make her chest ache.
Water churned violently around her, and a form began to lift off the bottom of the river in the shape of a large horse.
A kelpie.
His hide was a mossy green and black, a slight fluorescence emanating from him until he glowed. The combination of color and light made him appear as if he was decomposing, like the beast had fallen into the water a week ago and begun to decay, not realizing it was dead. The wild mane and tail were tentacles of seaweed, the once-majestic horse now resembling the Grim Reaper’s steed.
The kelpie lunged at her, teeth snapping, streaking toward her like a damn fish. She brought up her blade, lashing out, catching him across his neck, and more algae exploded into the water. He reared back, but her movements were so sluggish, she barely got out of the way of his slashing hooves in time. He neighed in rage, snapping his brown-stained teeth at her, the reverberating sound hurting her chest more than her ears. Strings of slime stretched along the edges of his lips when he opened his mouth wide, making his flesh look like it was being pulled apart. Malicious, red-rimmed eyes latched onto her, the whites a jaundiced yellow.
He was hungry, and she was the new snack on the menu.
As she bent to hack away on another weed, she saw the guys struggling against the current, but none of them were able to fight the pull as they were drawn farther and farther away.
“Morgan.” Draven swam toward her with an ease she envied. He looked different underwater, his hair wild, his blue eyes glowing with power, the angles of his face sharper. His wet clothes were plastered to him, revealing a swimmer’s body with tightly-packed muscles he normally kept hidden.
He was beautiful, dominating this underwater world without even trying. He spotted her wrapped leg immediately, his eyes narrowing when his gaze locked onto the kelpie. “Release her!”
She heard his voice as easily as if they were above water, his teeth appearing sharper, more vicious, the predator in him having fully risen to the surface.
Then it dawned on her…of course…a siren.
No wonder he was so at home in the water.
For a second, the weeds wrapped around her leg loosened, only to have two tentacles lash out. She brought up her arm. One strand wrapped around her wrist, preventing her from cutting her way free, while the other twined around her throat, her lungs beginning to strenuously protest the lack of air.
Draven roared under the water, and the kelpie reared back, his hold loosening enough for her to claw at the strand around her neck. Whatever Draven did had damaged the kelpie. Algae trickled out of the horse’s ears and nose, and he stomped his feet in agitation.
Air was only a memory, and her throat began to work as her body reflexively tried to inhale. The phoenix fluttered in agitation. Heat began to lick along her skin, the tiny bubbles rising around her as the water started to boil.
“Draven!” The shout of warning caused her to reflexively suck in water. She struggled not to choke, and failed when water trickled up her nose and down her throat.
Her vision began to dim when Morgan saw a bright flash of light, a touch of flame sizzling in the water. The horse screamed under the water, the reverberations threatening to rupture her eardrums.
The deadly seaweed wrap vanished, the horse shooting away like a squid, so incredibly fast he disappeared from one second to the next.
The last of her air escaped her lungs, a peaceful lassitude settling around her as she floated aimlessly in the calm water.
Then Draven was there, pulling her to him as he dragged them both to the surface. He grabbed her jaw, keeping her head above the surface, but for some reason, she couldn’t make her body obey her commands to tread water.
“Breathe, damn you!” He thumped on her chest, and her body automatically sucked air, water spilling from her mouth as she coughed.
She suddenly gained control of her body again, and she thrashed, trying to keep afloat when her arms felt like they weighed a million tons. Every inch of her ached, exhaustion slowly threatening to drag her under the waves again. “I’ve got you. Relax. You’re safe. Let me do the swimming.”
There was a small quiver in Draven’s voice, and she couldn’t stop the tremors from rippling through her. All she wanted to do was wrap herself around him, but feared she’d end up drowning them both.
“Thank you.” Her voice was hoarse from coughing. “I’ve never seen anything like that. You were amazing. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Drav
en only shrugged, not bothering to look at her as he swam, but a slight color filled his cheeks.
But not in pleasure.
He was embarrassed.
“Your phoenix did most of the work. The bird wounded the kelpie and forced it to release you. I was just there to catch you.”
Liar.
Without him, she would now be lying dead on the bottom of the river.
Sensing he didn’t want to talk about it, Morgan reluctantly let the matter drop. There was only one reason she could imagine why he wouldn’t have told her his secret…he was trying to protect her. But protect her from what?
“Get out of the water!” Kincade, Atlas and Ward were yelling, pointing downstream. Ryder, Ascher and the kid were still ahead of them, Ascher holding the kid’s head above water, both of her guys struggling to make it to shore and failing.
When Morgan glanced downstream, she expected to be confronted by a herd of kelpie riding a wave toward them. What she didn’t expect was to find a churning whirlpool waiting to drag them to the bottom of the river and finish the job of drowning her the kelpie had started.
Draven swore viciously and began swimming, but even with his affinity for water, he barely propelled them more than a foot.
“You need to let me go.” She tapped the arm wrapped around her chest, tipping her head back to see his face, wanting to smile when she saw his wavy hair standing up around his head in an adorable mess. “I’m dragging you down.”
A frown tightened his mouth, his arms clutching her closer as he ignored her command. The temperature of the water around them began to change, and the familiar tingle she associated with the void brushed against her skin.
“It’s a rift.” She grabbed his arm, excitement giving her the energy to help kick and keep her head above water. A rift was a permanent portal that would remain open until someone closed it. She didn’t care where they were sent, as long as they remained alive and together.
Draven ignored her, resolutely dragging her to shore, despite knowing that he couldn’t make it with her dead weight. When he refused to listen, she leaned forward and bit the arm holding her afloat. His smooth strokes faltered, and she used her arm to wedge a small space between them, then wiggled free.
His shout of protest was drowned out from the rushing water, and Morgan began to swim toward Ascher and Ryder. When Draven reached for her, she dropped below the surface to elude him. When she surfaced, she was only a foot away. “We can’t be separated. We need to go through the portal together.”
He hesitated a moment longer, looking at the whirlpool doubtfully. “You’re sure?”
“Yes.” She sent him a brilliant smile when he nodded, then quickly spit out a mouthful of water. “Can you pitch your voice to reach Kincade?”
He studied the distance to the shore, then ducked below the waves.
She knew the others got the message when Kincade dove in without hesitation, Atlas following only seconds later. To her surprise, Ward was only a step behind them. It didn’t take long for them to be sucked toward the whirlpool. The current grabbed her hard, spinning her until she couldn’t tell up from down.
Magic grew stronger as she was pulled under the surface. A large branch slammed into her, knocking the breath out of her, and she began to sink. Strong arms wrapped around her, and she easily recognized Draven’s touch as he pulled her to his side, protecting her from other debris when the world around her went dark.
Chapter Sixteen
Morgan woke gasping, curling to her side as she choked on air, her lungs crackling with each breath. Someone touched her back, and the warm touch of magic soaked into her spine until the world around her settled. When she had enough strength to lift her head, she saw the guys and the kid were stretched out along the riverbank. Ascher and Ryder didn’t have a stitch of clothing between them, their backs toward her, and she ducked her head, uncomfortable staring at them when they were at their most vulnerable.
The raging river was more of a stream, the water trickling by merrily, and she shuddered, scuttling backward before falling on her ass. An amused chuckle caused her to stiffen, and she ripped her eyes away from the water to find Ward studying her. His wet black hair was a tangled mess, his courtly clothes sopping wet. He should’ve looked ridiculous, but everything about him, his graceful movements and refined actions, reminded her he came from a different time. His eyes were their usual black with silver flecks floating in their depths.
“Are they okay?” She refused to believe otherwise.
“Asleep.” Ward glanced at the men, blinking away the magic in his eyes, the colors separating, the black bleeding toward the center until pupils formed. “The magic in this realm is twisted and warped. Traveling through the portal was…taxing.”
At his ominous words, Morgan glanced around for the first time. It was like they had fallen into a dark wonderland. The trees were nothing more than skeletal branches, the trunks gnarled, the bark nearly black, and oozing—she squinted, then shuddered—what appeared to be blood. Faces appeared in the twisted wood, almost as if people had been pulled into the trunk and consumed.
The blades of grass were withered and blackened, swaying without a hint of wind. Even the birds cackled in the distance instead of chirping cheerfully. The sky was so dense with a thick haze, she couldn’t even see the Sun or Earth, the clouds a churning miasma of black, navy blue, and a sickly green. The atmosphere smelled of decay, and the sharp stench of burned chemicals hung in the air, feeling heavy and stinging her lungs with each breath. “Is that—”
“We’re near the center of the infection.” Ward stood and rummaged in his pack, offering her a bit of crusty bread.
Morgan hesitated, then grabbed it gratefully. “Why are you helping us?”
Ward glanced at the land surrounding them, his brows lowered. “This is what the realm used to be like before the gods took possession of it.”
“Not very hospitable.” She took a bite of the bread, tearing her eyes away from the forest of dead trees.
“But relatively unoccupied.” He nodded to the guys a few feet away. “You know they will not be able to help you in your quest.”
“My quest?” She resisted glancing at the guys, suddenly uncomfortable being near Ward. She lowered the hand with the food, her spine stiffening at the slight insult.
“They don’t have the magic to help you purge this infection.” An amused smile tipped his mouth briefly, as if she was a cat that had suddenly puffed up.
She didn’t like that he guessed the reason why she was in the realm, but she let the matter drop. “That’s not why they are here.”
Surprise flashed across on his face. “Then why?”
“They’re here for me.” It was as simple as that. Come hell or high water, they would always be at her side. But Ward’s questions bothered her for some reason. She felt a pull of magic between them, but wondered if the pull was only because of the time he spent in the void. “Why are you here?”
“I am a warrior, bred to guard the void.” He seemed confused by her question.
“And how did you become stuck in the void?” Kincade stood, staggering slightly, as if the gravity was stronger here. He came to stand by her side, resting his hand possessively on her shoulder, and the tension melted out of her spine at the contact.
They were alive.
Morgan reached up, squeezing his hand, ridiculously glad to see him awake.
Loki poked his head out of the folds of his still-wet shirt, then climbed the rest of the way out, his claws making Kincade wince. He gently lifted the gardog and held him out to her. Morgan took him gratefully, hugging the pup to her chest.
“Thank you.” Her voice was barely a murmur.
A grumble of displeasure rumbled in Loki’s chest as he wiggled his way free, claiming his spot on her shoulder, rubbing his head against her jaw before wrapping himself around her neck as if settling in for a long stay.
Ward watched her and Loki in silence, both curiosity and confusion in
his expression. “I was betrayed by those who wanted to gain free access to the portal. The only way to achieve it was to get me out of the way.”
“Why are you following Morgan?” Aggression swarmed around Kincade, and he stepped protectively in front of her. Morgan quickly grabbed his pant leg, unwilling for him to be drawn too far away from her.
“I am here because she is the only trace of pure void magic in this realm.” He began to close his bag. “The realm is fading, the magic is being consumed by this infection. Soon everything here will revert back to the way it was if she doesn’t stop it.”
“But the people? The animals?” Morgan shook her head, remembering what the infected people and animals the elves had captured looked like. “What will happen to them?”
“They will revert back to their more primitive creature forms, what they were like before magic made them come alive. Their humanity will perish.”
Morgan blinked at the enormity of his revelation, glancing at her men, horror spiraling through her as she imagined them reverting to nothing more than a primitive beast. There had to be a way to stop the infection.
“What about the king? He—”
“Is not here. You are.” He stood, shouldering his pack. “Which means you are the last of your kind. The only one who can stop the spread of the infection. Once you die, we all die.”
Morgan swallowed hard, her gut taking an ugly twist. “Where is the king?”
“He’s the only thing holding the infection away from the city…but only if he can continue to elude his people’s assassination attempts.” The complete lack of concern in Ward’s voice made Morgan leery.
“They believe sacrificing him will save them.” She slowly rose to her feet, her muscles tightening, half expecting him to attack. “Why are you here?”
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