Fallon, where was Fallon?
Brody woke with a start and jerked against the chains. His skin burned everywhere the chains touched, but that all faded into the background when he saw Fallon across the room. He saw red. She was nude except for the thick leather collar around her throat, and the bands around her wrists, upper arms, thighs and ankles that held her legs open at the end of some kind of table.
She wasn’t awake, wasn’t hurt, but she was drugged. The stench of chemicals burned his nose from across the room. Brody turned his head to take in the surroundings. Robert and Preston were chained to his right. Slater was to his left. The mages looked as if they were mummified with chains instead of linen, and they were still out cold. Slater moaned and his head rolled to the side but he wasn’t awake yet.
They were still naked, which was the penalty of shifting. No wonder the chains burned. And the silver would keep him from changing forms. He couldn’t leave her there like that. Maybe the mages could do something. God, he hoped so.
Brody could sense the enforcers nearby but he couldn’t tell where. His senses were all jumbled. Normally he could sense exactly where they were within a mile or so.
The room was dark except for the candles. Fallon appeared to be unharmed, only stripped and bound. Maybe Malachi was waiting for a captive audience. Considering what he did in the past, that seemed likely. He needed to get her out of there and now. Except struggling only hurt him worse, and the chains were too thick to break.
“Brody, don’t fight. Not yet,” Slater rumbled, still groggy from the drugs. “There were pixies in the woods. Couldn’t sense them, couldn’t smell them.”
“The darts?” Brody asked, glancing back at Slater, who was still bleeding from the claw marks lining his ribs and arms. Once they lost the chains those would heal in a matter of minutes.
“Yeah,” Robert croaked. “There were pixies in the woods. It was an ambush. They waited until we were in the middle of battle to shoot those darts.” He nodded to Fallon but didn’t look. “Is she all right?”
“So far, but I swear to God, I am going to kill whoever tries to touch her,” Brody growled.
Preston groaned and looked his way. “Bastard strangled her before the fucking pixie shot her with the dart. Isaac didn’t try anything yet, at least not that I saw, but I was hit with a dart before I could get to her. Preston shook his head. “We need to come up with a plan. She has that drug in her system and won’t burn it out of her bloodstream for hours.”
“What?” Brody renewed his struggle to get free. “Then why are you awake and she’s not?”
“Robert and I have built a resistance to the toxin. Remember, we’re Council Enforcers and the pixie darts aren’t a new tactic.”
Slater snapped at him, “Chill out, Brody. We need to figure this out. We’re not going to let them hurt her if we can stop them.”
“Fuck,” Brody growled. He was so pissed he couldn’t think straight.
“We have worse problems,” Preston said quietly. “That tramp Dacia disappeared after protecting you. Just fucking disappeared.”
“She didn’t show back up?” Slater growled.
“Afraid not. At least not that I saw. I can’t sense shit with these chains. These chains are fae crafted and enchanted. I can’t even sense others and I can’t break the spells.”
“I’m not giving up,” Robert muttered as he struggled himself. At least Brody wasn’t the only one.
“May as well stop struggling.” Malachi’s voice was cold as ice as he strolled into the room. Brody didn’t look into his eyes but looked in his direction, figuring he shouldn’t tempt fate. The vampire was grotesquely tall and emaciated. His bald head was shiny, his eyes dark, and his blood red mouth was a thin line. “I doubt anyone in this room has the ability to break those chains.”
“Let her go,” Brody snarled. “Let her fucking go.”
“Oh, no. Now you don’t understand.” The vampire’s smile was evil. “I want her to ward the fighters so they don’t die as easily. Finding new combatants to replace the dead is so exhausting. She won’t ward them, won’t do a damn thing for me. Now that I have you, I might be able to convince her do as I wish. I can harm you every time she tries to refuse. Maybe let Isaac play with her until she’s willing to cooperate.”
“Why should she do a damned thing for you?” Brody demanded.
“She finally winds up binding, and to a werewolf.” The vampire laughed coldly. “Maybe I should have started with wolves, but solitary cats are so much easier than werewolves and their pack bullshit.”
Slater calmly answered, “Cat’s don’t form bonds.”
“Oh, cats form bonds. Just ask Isaac. Fallon’s just too stubborn to form a real bond. If anyone can find a way out of one, that woman will.” Malachi looked toward the door. “Oh look, just the cat I was waiting for.”
The weretiger stalked in. He was big, and his dark hair fell past his shoulders. His eyes were an unusual shade of gray-green. Black leather pants stretched over his muscular thighs. A long raw scar started just under his ribs and slashed into his pants. There was a newer, freshly stitched wound across his chest.
Isaac had tattoos that were obviously Fallon’s work. He wasn’t enthralled. He was doing this of his own free choice. Brody wanted to gut and strangle him with his own intestines.
“She’s mine.” Isaac grinned, raising a challenging brow at him.
Brody growled and strained to get free. “No, she’s not.”
The tiger prowled toward Fallon, his eyes falling on her body. He purred as he laid his hands on her open thighs. Fallon didn’t even stir as the piece of shit squeezed hard enough to bruise her skin.
“Don’t fucking touch her,” he snarled.
“Oh, I’ll do plenty of touching. I know just what she likes and how far I can push her before she gets pissed off. But with these…” He ran his fingers over the leather restraints and met Brody’s gaze. “Now she can’t stop me.”
Brody howled. He felt blood drip down his skin as the silver cut into chest and arms.
Slater growled, “Brody, listen to me. Calm the fuck down, right now. You’re not going to help her by tearing yourself to pieces. Look at me.”
Compelled, Brody turned his head. His breath shot out in heavy pants, but his body froze as he glared at the alpha. “What?”
“Think this through,” Slater said, like Brody could think clearly about anything.
He heard a slap, and his head flew around to find a red handprint on Fallon’s thigh. Isaac ran his hands up and down her bare body. Then he stopped to pull her nipple rings hard.
“She’s out cold,” Robert said mildly. “She’s too far under to feel anything. Trust me. If she were awake, he’d already be in a world of hurt.”
Except she wasn’t awake, and she couldn’t fight, and he couldn’t do a damned thing to stop Isaac. He forced himself to calm down and try to figure something, anything, out because he couldn’t watch the bastard molest her when she was helpless.
“She was always so responsive.” Isaac glared at Malachi. “I need her to be responsive.”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to make do. I have no antidote for the pixies toxin.” Malachi rolled his eyes and looked toward Brody.
Robert was right, Fallon was out cold. Brody knew she would fight if she were awake. Then Isaac covered her sex with his hand. The only thing Brody could think of was ripping that weretiger’s head off and shoving it up the vampire’s ass.
“Brody,” Slater whispered urgently. “She commanded you to calm down the other day. That goes both ways, command her to wake up.”
“What?” Robert whispered.
“I want her wet,” Isaac whined at the vampire as he rubbed his palm against her.
Brody hoped like hell Slater was right, and that such a command would break whatever hold the drug had. “Fallon!” he screamed and her head turned toward him, but her eyes were closed until he yelled. “Wake up!”
* * * *
Brody’s voice brought her out of the haze. “Fallon!”
She tried to turn toward him.
“Wake up!” he screamed. She did, through an ocean of fog. He was chained to the wall, blood streaked down his naked body. He looked wicked pissed and she couldn’t move. “Fight,” Brody panted. “Fight him!”
Feeling started to come back to her. Something moved roughly against her, and she tried to move away but couldn’t. She looked down her body to find Isaac trying to work her with his hand. She was chained down and collared with thick leather.
“Stop, Isaac!” she yelled, but it came out more of a whimper because she was cutting off half her oxygen by pulling at the restraints.
His smile chilled her to the bone. “You always liked rough sex. Now I can go as hard as I want.” Isaac pulled his hand away to open his pants.
She was going to kill him. No matter what else she did, Isaac was going to die.
Brody breathed hard but didn’t say a word. She couldn’t imagine what was going through his head.
“Fallon, you can’t win.” Malachi laughed maniacally. “You know you’re outmatched.”
“Fuck that.” She felt Isaac nudging at her entrance, his beast’s energy washed over her. He was going to change. Oh, hell no.
Her anger exploded into pure energy that pulsed into Isaac that sent him flying into the wall a good twenty feet away from her. “You won’t touch me again, Isaac. I will fucking kill you.”
“I’ll touch you all I want. And you’ll learn to love being my toy. I’ll break you Fallon, I swear,” he hissed back but he wasn’t moving. Blood trickled down his mouth and he coughed before his body slumped to the side. She hoped he was dead.
Someone caught her throat in his hand. She looked up into Malachi’s pitch black eyes.
He hissed, “You shouldn’t have been able to do that.” He bared his fangs as he twisted her head to the side.
* * * *
Brody watched in horror as Malachi grabbed Fallon by the throat and bent to bite her. Everything happened in a single second.
First the adder tattooed around her left ankle began to move, slithering up her leg in a blur. Then there was a flash of brilliant light, and Brody had to look away. When he looked back the vampire was on the floor, clutching his smoking face.
Fallon was gone. There was just an adder in her place. The snake slithered off the table and streaked across the room behind a trunk. Did she shift?
He’d heard of mated werewolves calming, and even sometimes commanding the other to do the impossible. But that was only supposed to work between two werewolves. Or so he thought, but she did everything he told her, and he could still smell the chemical on her. At least Slater was right.
A terrible screech filled the room. Brody looked up to find the vampire rolling around on the floor like he was trying to put a fire out.
He didn’t see Fallon and he needed to know she was okay.
Seconds ticked by, almost a full minute until Fallon appeared next to the trunk, crouched low, and ready to fight with both her six inch blades in her hands. Her hair was a tangled mess, her muscles were flexed and ready, and her eyes glittered with fire.
Everything went silent, and Brody looked up just in time to see Malachi streaking toward him. Then there was a flash of blade from Fallon’s direction. Her dagger cut right into Malachi’s chest with a crunch as the dagger passed through ribs. A blood curdling scream threatened to shatter his eardrums as Malachi landed in a writhing heap in front of Brody.
Malachi was only down a second before he sprang to his feet. Fallon leapt at him, and tackled him to the ground as she slammed the second blade right through his eye.
“You won’t touch my mate. You won’t touch me. You won’t touch anyone ever again.” Her voice was so cold, so deadly.
Every instinct Brody possessed screamed at him to get free, but the silver chains prevented that.
The vampire wasn’t giving up though. He rolled Fallon over, straddling her. Brody saw the flash of his elongated fangs angling for her throat. Fallon yanked the blade out of his chest and slashed his throat. Malachi caught her arm and pinned her wrist down.
The vampire threw his head back and roared. Smoke wisped out of his eye socket. He reached up to pull the blade out, but Fallon got there first. She slammed it right into Malachi’s heart and started chanting. Robert and Preston both joined in.
Malachi was still sitting on Fallon’s chest as he went up in flames. Oh God, the flames.
Brody cried out. “Fallon!” But the fire didn’t seem to touch her. He sure as hell felt the heat, and Slater, who was closer winced as he tried to move away. She was fine, not even sweating with a blazing vampire on top of her.
Dacia appeared before him and threw the vampire across the room, throwing up her own shield. To keep him back? He hoped the shield held worked because it felt weak compared to Fallon’s.
Fallon just laid there, stunned, as she stared up at Brody with wide terrified eyes. “Oh Brody, I…” She scrambled to her feet, covered in blood, and looked over the chains. “I could have roasted you alive. I didn’t think… I—”
“Shh, sugar, don’t. You’re okay, we’re okay,” he promised, and he meant every word.
Her eyes quickly moved around the room. She winced, and he looked too. She hadn’t burned any of them. Malachi lie on the other side of the room and wasn’t moving. Isaac was still out cold.
Dacia hesitantly reached out to touch Fallon’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”
Fallon turned toward the other woman, and nodded. She was trembling though, and there were shadows in her eyes. Christ, she wasn’t okay. But after all of that, who the hell would be?
“Where did you come from?” Fallon asked.
Dacia dropped her eyes to the ground. “I was hiding, waiting for a chance to get you all out of here.”
Fallon took another look at the vampire, and whispered a word. Both blades disappeared in a flash of light. She turned back to Brody, tears in her eyes. “Let’s figure out how to get them out of the chains.”
Dacia held up her hand and whispered something in a language he’d never heard before. Malachi disappeared and a black orb the size of a golf ball formed in her hand.
Fallon turned to Dacia with fury blazing in her eyes. “What the fuck are you doing?”
She took a step back and held up the sphere. “I put him in a soul prison. He can’t get out. He’s old. The fire may or may not have killed him. I’ll give Malachi to the Council once we free everyone.”
“You should have just killed him,” Brody snarled.
She nodded. “Yeah, but I’m not as good as Fallon. I’d rather imprison him, than let him kill me when I get too close.”
“Good point.” Fallon took a shaky breath and turned back to Brody. “Let’s figure out the chains.” She brushed her fingertips over his raw skin. “I’ll get you out of these, baby.” She searched the binds with her eyes and hands. “Robert, is there a lock I’m not seeing?”
“No, they’re fae enchanted,” the mage answered. “I don’t have a clue.”
Dacia stepped closer to Slater and held up her dagger. “I think this might work. Do you trust me?”
Slater snorted. “Just be careful.”
She nodded, and started to cut through a chain. When she burned through a link, she turned to Fallon. “I think your blades should work. The magic on yours are a hell of a lot stronger than this.”
“Hold still, Brody,” she told him, and pulled out one of her blades. She quickly sliced through each one. As soon as his arms were free, he pulled her into his embrace. He didn’t know what to say, he was just glad she was all right.
She stepped back and avoided his eyes as she went back to work on the chains.
When he looked over, he found Slater halfway free, sagging against the wall, dragging in ragged breaths. Dacia made quick work of the chains but Fallon finished with Brody’s first and moved to Robert.
Brody leaned heavily against the wall. The cuts from the chains only burned worse as his adrenaline faded.
“You okay, Fallon?” Robert asked her softly.
She just nodded, not looking at him either. Brody wanted to help her but knew he couldn’t use her blades. Dacia had finished with Slater who slumped to the floor, and moved on to Preston.
“How bad are you hurt?” Brody asked Slater.
“Just scratched up,” he muttered, but Brody could see his scratches healing now that he was free. There were red welts from where the chains had touched his skin, but that was the worst of the alpha’s damage.
Brody ran a hand over his chest and felt the where his skin was torn and raw. He hurt everywhere, but not as much as his heart ached for Fallon.
He heard Fallon sniffle. When he looked up he saw her run the back of her hand over her face. “Sorry,” she muttered and went back to work on the last of Robert’s chains. Once the mage was free, Brody pulled her close.
“Hey, look at me, Fallon.” Brody said, and she did, but her eyes were wet and her lips trembled. He smiled back at her. “Baby, you fought, you won. Are you okay? Are you hurt?” She shook her head and he cradled her against his chest where she melted into him.
“I suppose I owe you an apology,” Preston muttered. When he looked up he realized the mage was talking to Dacia as she cut the last chain free.
“For what?” she asked snidely.
“Assuming you ditched us.”
“I probably deserved worse. It couldn’t have looked good.”
Fallon shook her head but didn’t move away from Brody’s embrace. “Slater, do you have any idea where the others are?”
“Not far.”
Dacia answered, “They aren’t. Just down the hall. When I was sure we couldn’t beat them, I took to the wind to find another way. Tomahawk is in bad shape, but everyone else is probably pretty close to okay by now. I did what I could for them.”
“Then we should get going,” Slater said.
Dacia turned to the trunk and pulled Fallon’s leathers out. “You might want these.” She tossed them and a towel to Fallon. “Your cat is recovering from the jolt you gave him.”
Gritting her teeth, she wiped off the blood and shot Isaac a deadly look. “He’s not my fucking cat.” She pulled her leathers on.
Brody was surprised to see Dacia retrieve a canvas bag from the same trunk in the corner. “Here. I think I gathered all the wolves clothes. You’ve all been out for hours.” She tossed the bag to Slater. “I wanted to intervene sooner, but I had to wait for an opening that wouldn’t make the situation worse.”
Brody and Slater dressed quickly.
Dacia turned to Fallon. “You really aren’t burned?”
“No, I was shielding myself from the fire, but I don’t think I could have shielded them.” She shifted her gaze to Brody. “I’m still groggy. I don’t know how I managed any of that.”
Brody smiled a little. “You woke up, and then fought when I told you to. You saved my ass again.”
* * * *
Fallon did as he asked. Hell, she could heal silver damage on him. A smile curved her lips. They were meant to be together. She slid her hands under his shirt, over the raw bloody welts where he fought against the silver chains, and sang softly.
“Don’t.” He covered her hands, his lids dropping low. “Save your strength. I’ll be fine.” She jerked her hands free and fixed him with a glare before continuing on. The welts faded, and she felt most of the tension leave his muscles.
Winding his arms around her, he growled into her hair, “Stubborn woman.”
She felt a thousand times better in his embrace.
“Don’t try to argue with her. You could have given yourself silver poisoning with the way you tore yourself up.” Slater muttered.
Preston snorted. “Brody’s right though, Fallon. You need to conserve some energy because we aren’t done yet.”
“I know.” She stepped away from her man, crossing her arms over her chest, but her hands were still trembling. “We need us all operational and I still have the drug in my system.” She looked up at Brody. Goddess, if he hadn’t been able to wake her?
Isaac came to with a vengeance. “You fucking bastard,” he screamed and slammed right into Dacia’s shield. A pulse of energy knocked him back. “She’s mine.”
“No.” Fallon spun around, the air around her charging. She could hear the crackle of electricity dancing at her fingertips. “I was never yours.”
She touched the shield and it fell like a shattered sheet of glittering glass. Isaac leapt up, and barreled toward her. He grabbed her arms, but Fallon placed both hands on his chest and pushed her power into him. He stumbled back, convulsing as he fell. She landed on his chest, never stopping the flow of energy.
“How dare you claim to love me after what you tried to do. You’re a fucking piece of shit,” she snarled.
“You. Are. My. Mate. Mine!” Isaac managed to throw his arms up, shoving her arms away and breaking her spell. He rolled her over, and her head slammed into the ground as he covered her with his body. She felt his beast rise as he started the change.
Before she could get her bearings, Isaac was thrown from her and she watched as Brody leapt past her. She rolled to her side at the sound of Brody’s howl and Isaac’s answering roar.
Brody sat on Isaac’s chest, beating the shit out of him. Blood flew, bones crunched, until Isaac went limp. Brody ripped Isaac’s throat out with a growl and threw his trachea across the room.
“Here.” Dacia threw her dagger and Brody caught it hilt first. He decapitated the weretiger before stumbling back.
Fallon sat up slowly, holding her pounding head. “Thank you,” she whispered to Brody and hoped he understood she meant for everything.
Brody picked her up, and gently set her on her feet. He gently touched the back of her head and she jerked away from the sting. “You’ve got a knot.
She nodded and saw tracers, but ignored the pain. They didn’t have time to worry about her head. “We need to get the others. I can sense Shadowstalkers and a shitload of Others, all different kinds.”
Robert nodded. “We need to get you guys out of here before calling the Council to clean up.”
Dacia hurried out, and everyone followed her into the stone corridor.
Fallon could feel the shadows coming. “Duck,” she whispered. They did, and she took a deep breath to pull in the dark energy. Nausea rolled through her, but she flung her arms out and channeled the magic into a wave directed at the vampires.
Three Shadowstalkers materialized, their shadows fading as they stumbled back.
Robert and Preston took over. They stood and threw their hands up, and fire streamed from their palms. All three vampires disintegrated into ash before they could get back to their feet.
“This way.” Dacia said. She led them down the hall and opened a door into a corridor that seemed to go on forever.
There were cells lining the walls for as far as Fallon could see. The first one had shiny silver bars and the wolves were huddled in the middle of the cell, still naked. The one across from them held Hayden and Tomahawk, and the bars were dull but she could feel the pulse of wards. Tomahawk was in bad shape, his skin was ashen, and his bloodied shirt was wrapped around his shoulder in strips. Hayden sat on a cot, his wrists shackled in front of him, and he looked pissed.
“Thank God you’re here,” one of the wolves said.
“We’ll get you out, just be quiet,” Slater whispered.
“I can close Tom’s wounds.” Fallon leaned against the wall, she was close to exhaustion. “But it won’t be pretty.”
Dacia gave her wide eyes. “After what you did for Brody, you can’t fix Tom all the way?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know why I can heal Brody like that. Ask Rob, I suck at healing.”
Robert chuckled. “Because you’re mated to him. You can fix damn near anything for him.”
“Right,” Dacia said. “Well I can heal Tom well enough to get him out of here without wiping myself out.” She easily picked the lock. Preston used a spell to open the other door. “Tom?” Dacia moved to his side.
“Thought you bailed on us.” He groaned.
“I’m here aren’t I?” She peeled the impromptu bandage out of the way and placed her hands on him. In matter of seconds she closed the hole in his shoulder.
Tom’s eyes rolled into his head as he sighed in relief. “That feels about a million times better. But when the hell did you start healing?”
Dacia sighed. “Most fae can do some form of healing. I’m sure Hayden would have been able to do the same if he weren’t shackled with enchantments.”
Slater tossed the canvas bag at the wolves. “Dacia brought your clothes. Get dressed so we can get out of here.” The wolves did, but Fallon turned her attention to the sheriff who looked awfully ticked.
“Got something for these?” Hayden raised his wrists holding the shackles out to Dacia. “They’re warded.”
“Sure, if you promise not to take this blade away.” Dacia smirked. “The enchantment will cut through the wards and the metal.”
Hayden’s eyes narrowed but he nodded as he held his wrists out. She freed him quickly.
“We need to get moving,” Dacia said, “There’s not much time until dark, and there are a lot of vampires underground.”
“She’s right,” Fallon added. “Sooner we’re out, the safer we are.” She looked toward Dacia. “You know the way?”
“Yeah, let’s go.” Dacia nodded. She led them through the labyrinth of dark dank corridors.
As the adrenaline faded, Fallon felt her exhaustion setting in and specks of black winking through her vision. She couldn’t keep walking. “Brody, I need help.”
He scooped her up. “I’ve got you.”
A few minutes later they started the ascent and the smooth stone corridor gave way to rough rocky tunnel. Then they came to a trap door that Hayden and Dacia threw open.
Preston took the lead, weaving through the forest to the vehicles.
Being in Brody’s arms gave Fallon a dose of strength. Just in time, too. The hair at the back of her neck stood up. She could feel the hum of a powerful shield.
“Stop.” Fallon hissed, maneuvering out of Brody’s hold. She held up her hands, closing her eyes as she pushed energy into a dozen tiny balls of light and then flung them toward the pulsing shield she could sense. The lights pinged against the shield, getting caught. This one was much stronger than the first and only big enough to keep them from the trucks.
“Robert, Preston, it’s a trap. Their dark mages are probably on the way.” she whispered.
“Yeah, on it,” Robert answered. They went to work on the shields around the cars. Dark mages were about the last things she wanted to deal with. They would keep Malachi’s games going if they could.
She couldn’t find a weakness in the shield, and the mages weren’t getting anywhere either.
Dacia warned. “They’re coming.”
“No shit,” Fallon answered, she spun around with her eyes closed, feeling for what was coming. She threw a spell in the direction of the dark energy, catching and freezing them in place with their ridiculous black hoods.
Robert disappeared and popped up right behind them. He touched their shoulders, and she knew he cast a sleeping spell. Both mages fell forward.
“Either one of them cast the shield?” Fallon asked Preston.
“Wrong signature. Several mages did this one. I only recognize the feel of one of them, but that doesn’t mean much.”
“Please tell me we’re only dealing with dark mages.” She hoped like hell the liche Malachi worked with before was still out of the picture. Demarco was the one who first approached her twenty years ago, and he scared the fuck out of Fallon.
Last she heard he was somewhere in Romania communing with the dead, but that was eight years ago. He was a sicker fuck than Malachi, but he preferred to work behind the scenes.
“Only Dark Mages,” Preston frowned. “Who were you thinking?”
“DeMarco.”
“Not a chance.” Preston assured her. “He hasn’t been back to the states since you sent the Dales packing last time. We’ve been keeping tabs on his demented ass.”
There was a pop but Robert wasn’t the one who translocated to her side.
Another mage, in a black cloak and hood appeared before Dacia. He wrapped his hand around her throat as he picked her up and reached for her pocket. Before Fallon could move to aid her, Dacia kicked the mage in the nuts, and he dropped her as he crumbled to the ground. Dacia stabbed the mage through the heart.
Fallon heard the chanting of other mages, and threw up the strongest shield she could. She grabbed Brody’s arm before he could charge off in the direction of the dark mages.
* * * *
This time when Fallon shielded, Brody saw a myriad of color flare around the group and he couldn’t see a damned thing beyond the brilliant dome. He couldn’t even feel the breeze through her shield. It was so much stronger than the ones before.
Dacia and Hayden jumped back in surprise.
Preston turned to gape at her. “I thought you were drained.”
“Not anymore,” she answered confidently. “We may not be able to break through his but he can’t break through mine either.” Her eyes swept over the group of them. “Don’t touch my shield because the jolt will hurt like a bitch.”
Tomahawk just stared at her with wide eyes. “You sure are full of surprises.”
Brody was too stunned for words. He watched as she turned to Preston with urgency.
“Do you know how many were out there? I was too busy shutting out their spells to pay attention.”
“Only three,” Preston said. “They’re powerful, but we can take them.”
“Are you sure?” Robert asked.
“It’s that, or you can call the council.” Fallon sighed. “You think they’re going to like finding us behind my shield? I’m guessing no.” She turned to Preston. “Are they all in the same direction?”
“Yeah.”
“Can we do anything?” Brody asked.
She nodded. “Keep an eye out for anything else. We’ll have to deal with the mages, but the vampires should be out soon. It’s almost dark, and some of them are probably stupid enough to try shit anyway.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Robert whispered harshly.
Fallon dropped the shields but they were instantly surrounded by a mist. There was a pop and Fallon wasn’t there, but neither were Robert or Preston.
* * * *
As soon as Fallon dropped her shield Robert took her hand and she was zipped across the clearing, beyond the thick mist. There were three mages chanting the spell that manifested the thick fog. Robert silenced them with a few words and the mist immediately dissipated.
Fallon ran forward as the Dark Mages turned their way. Robert and Preston flanked her. She cast a blinding spell, and they all covered their faces like morons. Preston threw a stream of fire at them, and their robes lit up. Fallon tackled the middle one and pushed her energy into the mage, and she knew Robert and Preston would do something similar, but she didn’t have time to worry about them.
The man beneath her was wily. He was trying to buck her off, but she managed to get her hands around his throat, and focused the energy into lines of electricity that wound around him like a rope. The spell would bind him, and everything he cast would only tighten the threads of her spell around him and either squeeze him into unconsciousness or kill him. Robert would probably be able to take all three of the mages to the nearest Silver Council compound. Once the mage was away from her, the spell would dissipate, but he’d probably be unconscious before then.
Something hit her from behind, flattening her on top of the mage who couldn’t fight back. She felt fur and heard the roar of a lion but he was man-shaped. She knew it was Damon, but didn’t know how because she watched Brody rip his throat out.
Then again, he wasn’t this powerful the last time she saw him, which was around the time she got him away from the Dales. Had they had him this whole time? “Let me go, Damon. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I’ll kill you and then I won’t have to think about what they did to me because of you,” he snarled.
A bitter laugh escaped. “Because of me? I’m the one who saved your sorry ass. Did you ever stop to think about what I went through to get you out of there? And you’re going to blame me?”
He sat up and pulled her with him. One massive hand closed over her throat. “If I never met you, they would never have taken me in the first place.”
“Is that what they told you?” She didn’t move, just sighed. “Why are you with them again?”
She felt his head on her shoulder, his grip loosened, but she didn’t dare move yet. Damon wasn’t right in the head. Malachi was still alive in the orb, and his hold would remain. Fallon didn’t know what she could do about that, but Damon would kill her if she tried anything.
“I don’t remember,” he whispered. “Why are you here?”
“That’s a long story, but I didn’t know they had you.” Even if she did, she wouldn’t have gone back for him. Not after what he said to her that last time.
* * * *
Brody ran to the clearing, and saw the werelion holding Fallon’s back to his chest, his hand ready to crush her throat. He stopped dead in his tracks. “Let her go.”
Fallon locked gazes with Brody. The warning was clear in her eyes.
“This the wolf Isaac wants?” Damon asked snidely.
“Isaac is dead. Malachi is imprisoned. The Silver Council will deal with him,” Fallon answered.
Why wasn’t she fighting? Why was she letting him threaten her? He knew that if he moved Damon would kill her. There was an insane gleam in his eyes.
“Magic won’t fix me. You know how I feel about magic,” he growled at her and she winced.
“I can’t help that I was born with magic, just like you can’t help that you were attacked when you were so young.” Fallon’s voice was steady. “The way I see it, you can kill me and you’ll be dead before my body hits the ground. Or you can let me go and can run, or you can get help. You aren’t a bad guy Damon. Don’t start acting like one just because you couldn’t handle what I am. I never hurt you before today, and that was in self-defense.”
Brody wasn’t sure he could be so forgiving, but if the cat let her go, he’d have to be.
“And if I want to die?” Damon moaned.
A tear fell down her face. “If that’s truly what you want, it can be arranged.”
Robert appeared behind Damon and placed a hand on his shoulder, then they were both gone, leaving Fallon kneeling over the mage who was unconscious.
Brody rushed to her and scooped her up, careful to avoid the mage. “Did he hurt you?” he whispered.
“No. I just couldn’t hurt him. He wasn’t thinking on his own.” Her voice cracked.
He took her face in his hands and gave her a soft kiss.
Robert came back and took away the other mage in a blink of an eye. He was tempted to ask Robert to take them home, but he needed to make sure Slater knew first.
When the mage showed back up, he squeezed Fallon’s shoulder. “My sister thinks she can break Malachi’s hold. If not, I can take his memories about you and the Dales, but that’s a large chunk of his life.”
She nodded. “Probably best if you do. He still hates me.” Fallon took Brody’s hand and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Can we go home now?”
“Yes. I can take you if you want.”
She shook her head. “Don’t think Brody liked the ride last time. Thanks though.” She started for the trucks.
Brody pulled her to a stop. “Let’s take the short ride. Just let me talk to Slater.”
He took a step away, and as soon as he let her hand go, she fell forward. Panicked, he caught her, tipping her face back. Her eyes were closed, she was limp in his arms, but she was breathing deep and even.
Slater rushed over. “What happened?”
Robert gave Slater a curious smile. “The drug caught back up with her. She’ll sleep the rest of it off. I still don’t know how you managed to wake her up in the first place. Or how the hell she did all of that.”
Slater nodded. “Some mated couples have that power over each other. Now that they’re out of danger, her body will process the drug normally.” Slater gave Brody a long look. “Let Robert take you both home. I’ll have Jess call to check on her later.”
Brody nodded. He didn’t have words. He didn’t give a rat’s ass about the rest of the wolves at the moment. He just wanted to take care of Fallon.