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WE COULD SEE THE BACK of Spencer’s property only a few hundred yards away. Bright white circles of light appeared on the lawn, then druids began to come through. Hybrid monsters followed them. Some had to squeeze their bodies through the openings before scuttling towards the woods. The never-ending stream of monsters and sorcerers finally petered out and the portals winked out of existence.
“Is Von Hades already in the woods?” Winston asked, peering at the mansion.
Right on cue, Spencer came striding across the lawn, wooden mask clasped in one hand and demonic sword in the other. Harrow scurried after him, armed with a rifle that fired true holy bullets that could kill the dead and undead with a mere scratch. Hellhounds flanked them on both sides. Dozens of pairs of glowing red eyes and shadowy bodies escorted them. Small and large, stone gargoyles flew through the air, clogging the sky with their bodies. Master and servants vanished into the woods without a trace.
Magically dampened by the druidic woods, the sounds of battle that had to be raging inside by now didn’t reach us where we stood. “Call the troops forward,” Quin said. “It’s time we moved closer.”
Rudy vanished and reappeared with our army seconds later. Momentarily disoriented at being moved so suddenly and without warning, the shifters were ready for action. “We’re going in,” Quin told them, raising her voice so everyone could hear her. “The woods are enchanted. Whatever you do, don’t leave the path. If you do, you’ll become trapped in there forever.”
Realizing she was serious, no one laughed. “We’re ready, Quin,” her father said. Their eyes locked as a thousand words went unspoken between them. She saw his deep regret for the way he’d treated her and he saw her unswerving strength and commitment. With a wave of her hand, she motioned us forward.
There were many paths that led into the woods. She chose one and we filed inside after her. I was grateful for my night vision as the stars were blocked by the unnatural gloom that blanketed the leafless forest. Fireflies that were really pixies flitted here and there. They were agitated by the battle we could now dimly hear.
One flew over to me and hovered in front of my face. “You must stop the witch and the demon,” Nikitira said, clasping his hands together earnestly. “You cannot allow either of them to achieve their goals.” Pixie dust fell from him in his agitation.
“We’ll do our best,” I said lamely. We didn’t really have a plan, apart from standing back and letting the monsters kill each other, then seeing what happened next.
Scowling at me, he clutched at his hair in distress. “We did not foresee this outcome,” he wailed. “The witch was not supposed to bring that mask back with her. Now the demon has his hands on it. This will be disastrous for all realms.”
“You could help us,” Rudy suggested. “Your kind is powerful enough to stop this war.”
Nikitira’s tiny face screwed up in fury. “Your kind are just as powerful,” he retaliated. “Yet I do not see them helping.”
“Everyone’s willing to give us orders to stop the war, but no one is willing to help,” Mirra said, glowering at them both. “What use is it to have magic if you never do any good with it?” Neither the leprechaun, nor the pixie had a reply.
“We’re wasting time,” Quin said curtly and jerked her head for us to keep moving.
“Be careful, Arienna Austin,” the pixie called out to my back. “Do not allow the demon to activate the mask. If he does, we will all be doomed.”
I flicked a look over my shoulder to see him zooming off into the trees. “Great advice,” I complained softly. “It would be nice if he told me how to stop Spencer from activating it.”
The enchanted tangle of pathways in the sprawling labyrinth wasn’t easy to navigate. We would be trotting along a path, then it would suddenly split into two, heading in opposite directions. “It’s like the woods are trying to separate us,” Roderick complained. He was holding Stephanie’s hand, shining a flashlight at the ground so neither of them accidentally left the walkway. They didn’t have supernatural night vision like the rest of us.
“It’s working,” Quin replied. We could hear our army making their way along the various pathways that appeared at will. They all seemed to be leading us closer to the battle, so there was no reason to panic yet.
We didn’t encounter any enemies during our journey. They had all been drawn to the center of the forest where the portal to other dimensions lay. I could feel the power pulsing from it before we came close enough to watch glimpses of the warring men and monsters. Nothing was coming through the stone archway and it didn’t seem to be active right now, but Morgwen had the power to control it. For all we knew, she might have more allies on the other side that were poised to come to her aid.
Standing on the fringes of the battle, we were careful not to leave the paths as our army moved to surround the witch, demon and their minions. Druids threw fire spells at the vampires and zombies while hellhounds and gargoyles harassed them as well. Bodies with their throats torn out lay strewn here and there. Others had collapsed with no visible signs of trauma after being touched by the wraiths. Still others had been gnawed on by the zombies. Piles of vampire ash and charred lumps that used to be zombies lay everywhere.
Morgwen stood near the stone altar where thousands of humans had been sacrificed by Spencer and Harrow. Her reaper loomed behind her, scythe held ready to sever the souls of any druids that attempted to come closer.
Von Hades stood at a distance, mask clasped in one hand and flaming sword in the other as he cut down her vampires and zombies. Harrow stood behind a wall of druids for protection, firing at the dead and undead. His holy rifle automatically replenished its ammunition, so he never had to reload.
Dread Wraiths floated through the trees, uncaring that they’d left the path. It seemed the enchantment didn’t work on them and they weren’t led astray. Choosing druids at random, they made themselves visible long enough to startle their targets, then reached out and touched them on an exposed bit of skin. It was clear they were playing with their prey. Most of the sorcerers had shields up, but not all of them worked against the spectral creatures. The weaker ones couldn’t hold their foes at bay and were struck down.
Other wraiths went after the hybrids. One of the robed specters went up against a huge spider. The arachnid flung a sticky web at the specter, but it passed through it harmlessly. The wraith drifted forward and reached out with a bony finger. Flinching at the touch of the thin digit on its leg, the spider didn’t flip onto its back as I expected. Its legs were protected by a hard carapace, which had saved its life for the moment.
Spraying green mist at its foe, the creature scuttled backwards. The Dread Wraith didn’t need to breathe and wasn’t affected by the narcotic substance. Determined, it zoomed forward and pressed its palm against the arachnid’s all-too human face. Letting out a squeal of pain, the spider writhed in agony before it finally collapsed and expired, drawing its legs in as all spiders did when they died.
Connor shuddered in sympathy and I held him tightly. He knew exactly how the spider had felt since he’d been at the mercy of one of these things himself.
Silent spectators, we stood on the fringes, waiting and wondering which of our foes would win this battle. I for one was hoping Morgwen and Von Hades would somehow kill each other, but I knew deep down that it wouldn’t be that easy. Nothing ever was.
