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MY SHIELD DID A PROFICIENT job of keeping the hybrids and spells cast by druids at bay. I extended it to include our guides so they weren’t cut down by their own people. Casting incantations of their own, they cleared a path along the hallway. It was tempting to unlock the cell doors and release the humans from their prison, but they were probably safer where they were for now.
Wending our way through the prison level, we eventually came to a set of stairs leading upwards. Three of the druids took the lead and the remaining two guarded our rear as we began to climb.
More hallways greeted us on the ground floor. Our guides led us past closed doors to rooms we didn’t know the purpose of. The house was old, sprawling and in dire need of repairs. Cracks could be seen in the stone walls and ceiling. The gray slate floor was uneven and some of the stones were missing. It was cold enough for our breath to frost as we kept up with the sorcerers.
Reaching a wide doorway, we came to an abrupt stop when we saw dozens of druids lined up on the far side of a wide dining hall. The tables and chairs had been moved aside to create an open area. Hybrids in all shapes and sizes surged around the corner further down the hallway. More came from behind to block us in.
“The druids have layers of protective spells,” Jake reported, seeing the incantations that were invisible to the rest of us. “It isn’t going to be easy to break through them.”
“I’m going to try something,” I said, then reached out to the druids. Our guides raised their own shields to boost mine as our enemies began to send wave after wave of spells at us. The barrage of monsters throwing themselves at us and enchantments crashing into the barrier made it hard to concentrate. Ignoring the noise and distraction as best I could, I began siphoning off the druids’ energy. Since they were just weak humans, it didn’t take long to render them unconscious.
Chock full of energy now, I turned towards the monsters that surrounded us. “Things are about to get a little warm,” I said, then used a spell I’d only used once before. This time, I kept it under control. “Incinerate!” I shouted, sending out a ring of fire. The horde of hybrids were instantly turned to ash, clearing the hallway and giving us a clear path through the dining hall.
“Now, that was impressive,” Mayra said in admiration. “Mirra told me you were a powerful witch, but I underestimated you.”
“Everyone always does,” Jonah said. “It’s because she’s still a teenager.”
“Let’s get moving before Harrow sends more druids to delay us,” Quin said, motioning for our guides to get going.
Spells held at the ready, they took the lead again. We stepped over and around the unconscious druids. My fire spell had been aimed at waist height, so they’d been spared from the devastation. Some of the furniture hadn’t fared as well and were now charred lumps. The thick stone walls had stopped the flames from spreading any further. It was tempting to put a bullet in the druids’ brains, but we didn’t have the time to linger and finish them off. Our goal was to find and retrieve the mask and that was what we were focused on.
We entered a gigantic kitchen with antiquated counters, cupboards and appliances. Unlike the kitchens in Spencer’s mansions, there was nothing magical about this one.
With high-pitched chittering noises, a group of hybrids that looked like humans with bird heads and wings rushed us from the doorway when we approached it. Our guides sent a blast of magic at them. While it wasn’t as devastating as my incinerator spell, it was enough to kill them.
“They used to be people once,” Brandi said in a small voice as we continued on. She was shaken by everything she’d seen so far. Coming along with us on our missions was a far cry from being trapped in the fallout shelter. “How can anyone be this evil?”
“Harrow wasn’t exactly a boy scout before Von Hades turned him into his thrall,” Connor told her. “Not all druids were benevolent. Some turned to the darker arts.”
“Look what happened to Morgwen when she took that path,” Rudy puffed as he tried to keep up with us. “Only crazy people would bind death to themselves.” Cutting a look at me, he realized what he’d just said. “No offense, girly,” he added with a sheepish grin.
“None taken,” I said dryly.
“Ari didn’t choose to bind Greg to her,” Jonah said in my defense. “She only did it because he was going to sever her soul.”
Rudy grinned a little. “I still can’t believe you named him Greg.” He snorted out a laugh, then concentrated on not falling behind.
More hybrids went to their deaths as they attempted to ambush us. All it did was slow us down momentarily, but that was what Harrow was counting on. I could feel strong spells at play at the back of the house. When they started to push against my shield, I knew we were getting close.
“The Great Chamber is through that door,” one of our guides said, pointing at the far end of the hallway we’d just entered.
“There’s traps everywhere,” Jake warned us, scanning the floor, walls and ceiling.
“Ari,” Quin said, but she didn’t have to voice her command. I used some of the power I’d drawn from the druids and blasted a dispelling incantation along the hallway. It destroyed the snares, but dissipated to nothingness when it hit the door.
“It’s clear,” my foster father said and pushed the lead druid into action.
Following our guides, we crossed to the door, then halted. “Can you get us inside?” Quin asked the sorcerers.
“To touch the door without permission to enter means certain death,” he replied.
“You’re his minions,” I pointed out. “Don’t you have permission to enter?”
He shook his head in response. “Only the highest druids may pass and only if our Grand Druid opens the door for them.”
“I wonder what’s going on in there?” Winston said. He looked tempted to try to stick his head through the door to take a peek.
“The souls are being torn from the humans,” Greg replied. “I can feel them being drawn inside the mask even from here.”
“Can any of you get us in there?” Quin asked, directing her question at the ghosts and Rudy, not hearing the reaper’s response.
The leprechaun made a face. “I’m being blocked by the druids.”
“It has a similar barrier to the one in the kitchen in the Von Hades’ mansions, but much stronger,” Jonah added. “We can’t get in unless the door is opened for us.”
“I think I could break through the barrier if I had enough power,” I mused. While I couldn’t see the spell, I could feel its strength. Druidic magic was more earthy and natural than any of the types of magic I had inside me. The dragon blood was the closest, but even it was vastly different from what I was sensing.
“Will you need to drain us to break the barrier?” Quin asked.
“I don’t think so. Not if I take it from all of you at once and funnel it at the door.”
“Do it,” she ordered and readied her Desert Eagle.
Already energized from the strength I’d stolen from the druids, I began pouring it at the door while chanting the dispelling incantation. Drawing the essence from each of my friends, the sirens and bedazzled sorcerers, it was almost too much for me to handle. My eyes began to glow the greenish-yellow of my irises and magic pulsed around me. Shouting the last line of the spell, I sent a wave of power at the door. It smashed through the enchantment and tore the door off its hinges.
I stopped siphoning energy from my friends and allies and peered into the Great Chamber. Harrow stood at the far end of the room with six black-robed lackeys behind him. I glanced around, but there wasn’t much to see. The room was empty of any furniture. Harrow stood next to a pedestal with a wooden mask sitting on display. Souls that looked like white strands of smoke poured upwards through holes in the floor and were drawn into the mask. I could feel the humans dying in droves in the prison beneath us.
“You’re too late,” Harrow called out, then cackled in mirth as the deep cracks in the mask sealed themselves. Sucking the last soul into itself, a deep, throbbing swell of dark power almost drove me to my knees. “The mask is whole!” the Grand Druid crowed in triumph. “Soon, my master will have the power to defeat Morgwen and her army of wraiths.” His eyes turned sly as we surged into the room. “Once he is done with her, he will surely punish you all for your disobedience.” Stepping backwards, he disappeared through a portal and was rapidly followed by his minions. The white circle winked out, leaving us emptyhanded once again.
“I’m getting very sick of being too late,” I complained. “When are we going to get a break?” No one had an answer for me, which didn’t surprise me at all.
