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HARROW LEFT US WITH a parting gift when he disappeared. The spells that had been keeping the other doors locked winked out and his minions poured into the Great Chamber. Hybrid monsters swarmed inside, all intent on killing us. Spiders threw webs at us that clung to the invisible shield and obscured our vision. Spells hit us from all sides, smashing into the barrier.
The sirens didn’t sing to bamboozle the druids this time. Standing shoulder to shoulder, they shrieked at them in unison. Dozens of monsters and sorcerers were caught in their attack. Their eyeballs burst as their brains ruptured inside their heads. Our bullets hit our targets and our druid minions tossed fireballs and spears of ice at their colleagues and their monstrous creations.
Using the last of my stored power, I sent another incinerating ring of fire outwards. It washed over our foes, turning them to ash and staining the floor with their charred remains.
“That is a very handy spell, girly,” Rudy said in approval. He’d used his unique talents to create illusions and sticky puddles of glue to ensnare our enemies.
Mayra dusted ash from her dress and examined the remains of our foes. “That was quite exciting. I can see why you work for the Hunter Elite.” She smiled at her daughter proudly.
“Working with these guys definitely has its moments,” Mirra said. She turned her power down so it was on low again, but she didn’t turn it off completely.
“Are we done here?” Roderick asked. Taking a fresh magazine out of his backpack, he reloaded his Beretta. He’d come a long way since we’d been attacked by vampires and zombies at the Scottish Archives. He handled his weapon with a lot more confidence now.
“There are a lot of captives in the cells,” I reminded him. “We should try to get them back to their homes.”
Brandi took the initiative and used the veil to shift us back down to the prison level that was directly beneath us. Instead of screaming people trying to escape, the cells were eerily silent. There was no sign of the druids or hybrids. Even the white portals were now gone. In trepidation, I stepped over to the closest cell and looked in through the window. Bodies lay on the floor, drained of their souls and of their lives.
“There are no survivors,” Greg informed me. His hand tightened on my shoulder when he felt my grief swell.
Connor stepped over to put his hand on my other shoulder when he felt my pain as well. “We can’t save everyone, love,” he said gently.
“At this rate, we won’t be saving anyone,” I said almost harshly. “We’re always one step behind and have to wade through the bodies as a consequence.”
“Things are about to become much worse,” Jake predicted. “Von Hades doesn’t have the relic anymore, but he seems to think the mask will be powerful enough to defeat the witch.”
“It won’t be,” the reaper said hollowly. “I sensed the power inside the mask before Harrow stepped through the portal. Although it is powerful, he will not be able to sever my brother’s connection to Morgwen with it.”
“Great,” I said, blowing out a sigh and relayed the information to the others.
“What now?” Winston asked. “Do we stand back and watch as the demon attempts to defeat the witch? If she kills him, half of our job will be done for us.”
“If the witch gets her hands on the mask, what do you think will happen to our world?” Quin said.
“Not just our world,” Rudy added. “Once she’s done with this dimension, she’ll invade all realms and grind them beneath her heel.”
“Why did Viper have to eat the dragon heart?” Jonah said in despair. “It’s the only thing that can stop Morgwen.”
I put my hand on my chest where I could feel the dragon essence deep inside me. It was the only source left that might have a chance of defeating our nemesis. “I need to head back to the Scottish Archives,” I said. “There’s some research I need to do.”
“Jonah, take Ari to our base,” Quin ordered. “The rest of us will help the shifters finish off the hybrids.”
Jonah nodded his agreement, then took hold of my hand and whisked us back to Scotland. Knowing me too well, he’d taken me to the kitchen. I made coffee, topped up on blood and grabbed a plate of cookies. Fortified, I headed for the conjuring room. Jonah and Greg were my only companions as I made my way to the end of the hidden chambers. The preserving spell that had been placed here centuries ago would ensure my coffee wouldn’t go cold as I called on Greta’s Grimoire.
“What are you looking for?” Jonah asked.
“A spell that might be able to help us defeat the witch,” I replied, but that was a lie. Knowing what I really wanted, the tome opened and the pages blurred as it searched through its store of knowledge. When the pages finally came to a stop, they were blank. Staring at it blindly, I tried not to give into despair. Just as I’d somehow known, there was no magical way to extract the dragon essence from inside me.
“Why is the page blank?” Jonah asked.
“The book doesn’t have a spell that will help us,” I said bleakly.
“Is there a way to destroy the mask?” he queried.
“Good question,” I replied. The grimoire obediently went into action again. This time when it stopped, the page had a spell on it. Reading the incantation, I grimaced.
“What does it say?” my bestie asked, then impatiently dragged the book over to himself so he could read it. His eyebrows rose when he was done. “You’d need to siphon the souls back out of it, but doing so will tear you apart. Only one soul can inhabit a body, even a supernatural one like yours.”
“Yeah,” I confirmed. “I’d just act as a conduit to release the souls.”
“Can’t Greg be the conduit in your place?”
The reaper came forward to respond for himself. “I cannot take the souls into myself. I can only sever them from their bodies and ferry them on to where they belong.”
“Ferry them off to heaven or hell then,” Jonah said in exasperation. “If that’s your job, what’s the problem?”
“The spell doesn’t work that way,” I said wearily. “They have to go into a living body. Only a witch with my level of power could pull it off.”
“Forget that spell then,” the ghost said and flipped the grimoire shut. “Why even show us a spell that will get Ari killed?” he asked crankily. The book almost seemed to shrug in annoyance, then disappeared.
“So,” I said to sum things up, “we don’t have the dragon heart and there’s no way for us to destroy the mask. Spencer will lose if he goes up against the witch and she’ll take the mask and become an all-powerful mistress of death and despair.”
Meeting Jonah’s eyes, he gave me the only response suitable. “We’re screwed.” Once again, neither of us felt like laughing at his solemn pronouncement.
