“Eww.” Chaaya wrinkled her nose. “TMI.”
Ulric returned his attention to his mate, reaching out to grasp her hands. They felt as cold as ice despite the heat that lay thick in the air. “Are you ready?”
She forced a smile to her lips. “I don’t think it matters.”
“What are you going to do?” Chaaya demanded.
Rainn shrugged. “Wing it.”
Chaaya blinked. “That’s the plan?” Her voice dripped with sarcasm. “Winging it?”
“Do you have a better one?” Rainn challenged.
“I’m just the sacrifice.” The girl glanced toward Ulric. “I guess we’re both sacrifices.”
“Which means you should both get out of here,” Rainn reminded them.
Chaaya shrugged, holding Ulric’s gaze. “She’s not wrong.”
He sent her a glare that would have made a full-grown troll cower in fear. Predictably, the aggravating girl blew him a kiss of complete indifference.
He muttered a curse and forced himself to concentrate on his mate. “You can’t kill her on your own,” he insisted. “You need me.”
“Hmm.” Chaaya tapped the spear in her hand against the side of her leg. “Maybe you don’t have to kill the beast.”
“What are you talking about?” Rainn asked.
“If you can seal the doorway again, it will lock the beast in this place.”
Ulric snorted. “I forgot to bring my dragon with me.”
Chaaya narrowed her eyes, turning toward Rainn. “How can you stand the mutt?”
“He’s an acquired taste.”
“Doubtful.”
Ulric made a sound of impatience, glaring at Chaaya. “Can you take us to the doorway?
“Yeah. But first.” The girl picked her way across the littered floor to pull open a closet door. Reaching inside, she pulled out a spear identical to her own. Then, making her way back across the room, she tossed the weapon to Rainn. “Copper is the only thing I’ve found that the beast doesn’t like.”
Rainn nodded, clutching the weapon. “Let’s go.”
Chaaya headed toward the open door. “This way.”
Chapter 20
Levet intended to spend the journey to the doorway that wasn’t a doorway urging Inga to return to the castle. It was madness to face whatever was down there without a shoal of mer-folk warriors at their backs.
But as soon as they stepped out of the portal, the words died on Levet’s lips.
He’d expected to be at the bottom of the ocean. A cold, dark place that could crush lesser demons. Instead they were floating in a ball of magic created by the Tryshu.
The shimmering sphere was clear enough to reveal the fish swimming past them, as well as providing a soft glow of light. Astonished, Levet reached out to place his hand against the bubble, pleased by the effervescent magic that tingled against his palm.
“I did not know you could do this,” he breathed.
Inga’s features twisted into a wry smile. “Neither did I,” she admitted. “It has to be coming from the Tryshu.”
“Amazing.” Levet jumped as if he was on a trampoline, delighted as the ball bobbed up and down even as it continued to zoom through the water. “We should float away.”
“Don’t think I’m not tempted,” Inga muttered.
Levet swallowed a small sigh, a portion of his delight vanishing. Slowly he turned to study his companion. “I am sorry.”
She looked surprised by his soft words. “Sorry for what?”
“I had hoped that discovering the truth of your parents and being reunited with your family would bring you happiness.”
“Is that why you abandoned me?”
Abandoned her? Levet slammed his fists on his hips. “I left because I was angry. You had violined with my mind.”
Inga’s brittle defenses shattered as her shoulders slumped and a deep sadness rippled over her face.
“Fiddled,” she absently corrected him. “And you’re right. I don’t blame you for leaving.”
Levet waved away her apology. He’d been furious at the time. What demon wanted to be manipulated by magic? But over the past weeks he’d come to accept that Inga had been desperate. And desperate demons sometimes did stupid things.
Not himself, of course.
“It will get easier,” he said, patting her arm.
“Will it?” Inga released a bitter laugh. “I don’t know how to be a mermaid, let alone the Queen of the Mer-folk.”
“You have your mother to help you,” Levet pointed out. “That’s more than most of us have.”
His own mother had tried to kill him. More than once.
Inga’s features softened. Well, as much as ogress features could soften. “It’s…nice to have her in my life.”
Levet tilted his head to the side. “Just nice?”
“Wonderful,” Inga admitted. “For so long I believed she’d considered me a blight. And that she couldn’t bear to have me in her life.”
Levet gave her arm another pat. “Just as you fear your people will not accept you. Once they realize who you are—”
“Who am I?” Inga interrupted in harsh tones. “A slave who helped their crazy-ass king stay in power for centuries.”
Levet refused to be silenced. Inga wasn’t angry. She was afraid.
“He deceived you just as he deceived everyone else. There’s no shame in that.”
She scowled. “You don’t understand.”
“Probably not. I rarely do, for some odd reason,” Levet agreed. “Explain it to me.”
She clicked her tongue. As if Levet was being deliberately dense. Then, thrusting out her arm, she pushed up the armor to expose her wrist.
“I’m a slave,” she said, flashing the ugly tattoo that marred the skin. “Not a queen.”
Levet shrugged, even as he inwardly seethed. He wanted to track down the stupid mer-folk who dared to make Inga feel unworthy, and…Okay, he did not know precisely what he wanted to do to them, but it would certainly include boils and pus and seepage.
For now, he gently tugged the armor back over the tattoo. “Have you ever considered the fact that the Tryshu chose you because you have been forced to battle to survive from the day you were born?”
Inga stilled, like a dog waiting to be kicked. “Why?”
“The mer-folk were isolated and abused by Riven,” Levet reminded her, his voice low and solemn. “Then they were forced to accept he was a fraud. Now they need a leader who understands how to crawl out of a shattered past and create a new future.”
“That’s…” Inga’s voice cracked, then she gave a loud sniff.
Levet studied her in confusion. He’d tried to help, but now he worried that he’d only made matters worse. “Are you crying?”
“Don’t be stupid.” She turned away, still sniffing. “I have something in my eye.”
“Oh. I can help,” Levet assured her. He stepped forward only to be tossed against the side of the bubble as it jerked to the side and then began to sink at an alarming speed. There was another jerk and Levet struggled to stay upright. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing.” Inga glanced downward, her face paling. “We’re being pulled down.”
Levet followed her gaze, belatedly noting the black, inky liquid swirling around them.
“What is that?” Levet dropped to his knees, trying to peer through the darkness. He was surprised to discover they’d nearly reached the ocean bed. And that the entire area looked as bleak and desolate as the land around Ulric’s old village. There were no fish, no coral, or even rocks. The only thing that remained was a large crack that was leaking the oily darkness. “I think we found the doorway that isn’t a doorway.”
Inga knelt beside him. “Or it found us.”
They shuddered in unison.
*
* * *
Rainn hissed as they stepped out of the cottage. Her sensitivity to the wind made the thick, tainted air even worse. It was like being shrouded in a blanket of sheer filth.
Easily sensing her distress, Ulric stepped toward her. She waved him away, grimly concentrating on keeping pace with Chaaya. She could physically feel Zella out there, just waiting to attack. Rainn wanted to get Ulric to the doorway before the fighting started.
She didn’t know how she was going to force the stubborn Were to leave without her. But that was a worry for later.
As if sharing her urgency, Chaaya picked up speed. Rainn did the same, her feet pounding against the hard ground to send up puffs of powdery dirt. She coughed, her eyes watering, but she never slowed.
She didn’t have a clue how Chaaya knew where they were going. Everything looked exactly the same to her. A flat, endless hellscape.
Chaaya, however, never hesitated as she led them forward. Or maybe they were standing still, and the weird space was moving around them. Hard to tell.
It was equally hard to determine how much time was passing. They might have been in this place for a couple hours or days.
The sensation was unnerving.
Clutching the spear that Chaaya had tossed to her before leaving the cottage, Rainn glanced over her shoulder.
There was a pressure building behind them. Like the pulse of lava before a volcano erupted.
“The beast is coming,” Chaaya muttered.
Rainn scanned the horizon. “I can’t see her.”
“She won’t be in her human form,” Chaaya warned. “Hurry.”
Rainn didn’t need to be coaxed. Swiveling her gaze back to the empty land in front of her, she ran as fast as her feet would carry her.
The swelling sense of doom followed closely behind them, the stench of evil washing over the land like a wave. Rainn gagged, then skidded to a halt as she nearly smacked into Chaaya’s back. “Why are you stopping?” she rasped.
Chaaya sent her a puzzled frown. “This is it.”
Ulric stood next to Rainn, scowling at the girl. “Is what?”
“The doorway,” Chaaya said in impatient tones.
Rainn and Ulric glanced around. There was nothing to see beyond the empty landscape.
“Is it invisible?” Ulric snapped.
Chaaya appeared genuinely confused. “You can’t see it?”
Ulric snorted. “I see a big crack,” he said, pointing toward the wide fissure that split the powdery ground.
Chaaya nodded. “That’s it.”
“That?” Ulric demanded in disbelief.
“What did you expect?” Chaaya sent him a mocking smile. “The Pearly Gates?”
Ulric glanced toward Rainn, his teeth clenched. “This place truly is hell.”
“It’s about to get a whole lot worse,” Chaaya warned.
“Zella,” Rainn breathed without bothering to turn. She could feel the malevolent heat blasting against her skin.
Chaaya paled. “Yep.”
Rainn reached out to grasp her mate’s arm. “Ulric,” she pleaded in soft tones, glancing toward the crevice. The male could easily fit through the opening. Hell, a tribe of trolls could squeeze through.
“No.” Ulric jutted his chin to a stubborn angle. “It’s not happening.”
“Listen to me.” She dug her fingers into his arm, as if she could force him to listen. “If we both die, there will be no way to warn the world about the danger.”
He shrugged. “Screw the world.”
Stubborn, aggravating male. She barely resisted the urge to poke him with her spear.
“And what if we don’t die?” She tried a new tactic. Anything to convince him to leave. “We might destroy Zella and then be trapped here. If you go now, you can return with the dragons to get me out.”
“No.”
Rainn glanced toward the crevice. If she wrapped Ulric in her magic, she might be able to stuff him into the—
“Too late.” Chaaya intruded into her frantic thoughts. “It’s time for you to wing it.”
“Great,” Rainn muttered, forcing herself to turn and confront her destiny.
Her entire life had been waiting for this moment. This was why she’d been born with the mark on her skin. And why she’d been whisked to the meeting with the Oracles. And why she’d been sent to Vegas.
This…
Her mouth went dry as she watched Zella approach. Only it wasn’t Zella. The old woman was gone and in her place was a towering nightmare of flames.
Sweeping forward like a tornado, it sent a choking cloud of dust swirling around them.
“Rainn.” Ulric grasped her shoulders, turning her to meet his glowing golden gaze.
“I know,” she whispered, lifting her hand to lightly touch his cheek. “I love you too.”
“Aw.” Chaaya intruded into their brief moment of intimacy. “Group hug?”
Ulric snarled in frustration, but Rainn turned toward the girl. “You said copper can hurt the…” Her words trailed away. She didn’t know what to call it. A fire spirit? A creature from her deepest nightmares? “Beast,” she settled on. “How?”
“Watch.”
With blurring speed, Chaaya abruptly charged toward the fire creature, waving her spear in front of her. The flames veered away, as if afraid of the weapon. Then, spinning on her heel, Chaaya was racing back to stand next to Rainn.
“Does it actually injure the thing?” Ulric demanded.
The girl grimaced. “I think so, but I’m usually just trying to run it off, not kill it. I don’t know how much damage it actually does.”
“Let’s find out,” Rainn forced herself to say, annoyed when her voice quavered.
She wanted to confront her fate with the sort of bravery that was worthy of her people. If she was going to die, it would be with her dignity intact.
Her lips twisted into a wry smile. At least she hadn’t run away in terror. Maybe that would have to be enough courage for today.
“I’ll keep her distracted,” Ulric said, brushing his lips over hers before he stepped back.
Magic swirled around him, the sparkles dulled by the strange air. Rainn heard the sound of bones snapping and muscles stretching before there was a howl that was a cross between pain and ecstasy. A few seconds later the large wolf was bounding toward the fire.
Rainn lifted a hand, as if she could call him back, but before she could say a word, an arm wrapped around her shoulder.
“Ready?” Chaaya demanded.
A lump formed in Rainn’s throat. “No.”
“Yeah, me neither.” Chaaya dropped her arm, giving her spear a twirl. “Let’s do it.”
With a cocky grin, the girl dashed forward, releasing a war cry as she headed toward the side of the beast.
Rainn sucked in a slow, deep breath, forcing herself to ignore the sound of Ulric’s snarls as he slashed his claws through the flames, and Chaaya’s grunts as she stabbed at the beast on the other side.
Instead she gripped the spear in a sweaty hand and charged forward.
As if sensing her approach, the fiery spirit spun to the side. Exactly what she wanted. She gathered in the stale air, using it to catapult herself upward at a sharp angle. At the same time, she slashed her arm from side to side, slicing the spear through the outer flames.
Rainn thought she heard a scream. Not with her ears, but inside her head. Startled, she dropped back to the ground and hastily glanced toward Ulric. The wolf was busy nipping and clawing at the trailing tendrils of fire, while Chaaya was slashing and dashing with her spear.
The scream had come from the beast.
Which meant it could be hurt.
Squaring her shoulders, Rainn once again used the wind to launch herself upward. This time, unfortunately, the beast wasn’t so easily fooled. Eve
n as Rainn jabbed the spear into the flames, it whipped out to smack her across the chest. The blow sent her flying backward, and she lost control of her power. Flailing her arms, she plummeted downward, hitting the ground hard enough to crack a rib and rattle her brains.
She blacked out for a minute before struggling back to consciousness. Distantly she heard Ulric howl in fury, but before he could rush to her rescue, Rainn forced herself to her feet. She groaned as pain shot through her body. Every instinct told her to curl into a ball until she healed, but instead she stiffened her spine and held up a hand. Ulric snarled, but he returned to badgering the spirit.
On the other side, Chaaya had attached a leather strap to her spear and was whirling it over her head, tossing it into the flames before yanking it back.
Even at a distance Rainn could tell the girl was growing tired. Her movements were slower, and her shoulders were beginning to slump. She wouldn’t be able to continue at this pace for much longer. Neither would Ulric. They were both risking everything to allow her the opportunity to strike the killing blow.
A damned shame she didn’t have a clue how to do that.
Squashing the urge to panic, Rainn studied the swirling fire.
There had to be a way to destroy it. There had to be. Otherwise they might as well lie down and die.
No. That wasn’t going to happen.
Fiercely she concentrated on the flames that swayed and twirled in front of her. She could see a lingering slash where she’d struck it with her spear.
It had not only been injured, but it was taking time to heal.
The thought had barely formed when there was the sound of a sharp yip. Jerking her head to the side, Rainn was horrified as she watched Ulric being circled by a wall of flames.
Shit. He was trapped. She had to—
Before she could move, Chaaya was leaping over the barrier of fire and landing on top of the wounded wolf. She stabbed the looming flames with her spear, trying to keep them at bay.
Rainn fiercely turned her back on her companions, even when the stench of burnt fur assaulted her nose. Every second that passed made it more likely they were going to die.
She had to do something.
Now.
Concentrating on the beast, Rainn battled back the bleak despair. There had to be a weakness, so what was it?
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