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IT WAS THE MIDDLE OF the night when Quin banged on our door to wake us up. “Wake up, you two!” she said loudly enough to wake half the shifters in the area. “Breakfast will be ready in fifteen minutes!” I let out a groan, feeling as if I’d only had five minutes of sleep rather than a few hours. My dreams had been full of doom and were a portent of what was to come.
Connor threw the blankets back, stood and stretched. I admired his naked butt as he pulled on a pair of jeans and headed for the hallway to take a shower. He cast an inviting look over his shoulder just as Jonah walked through the wall. “Are you ready to kick the demon’s butt?” my bestie said, dredging up some excitement for the coming battle.
Sending my mate a regretful look, I slid out of bed and pulled some clothes on. “I’m ready to face Spencer,” I replied in a far more subdued tone.
Waiting for Connor to walk down the hall, Jonah made himself visible and audible only to me. “Do you really think we can win?” His expression and tone were uncharacteristically serious for once.
“We can win,” I replied, but avoided his eyes.
“I can’t wait for this all to be over,” he said wistfully. “Once Von Hades and his creepy sidekick are gone, everything can finally go back to normal.”
I smiled vaguely, then busied myself checking my Ruger. Jake had taught me how to clean and look after my weapons. It was fully loaded with blessed bullets, but I wouldn’t be using it much during our upcoming war. I would be using magic for this battle.
Taking a quick shower in one of the other bathrooms, I dressed in a pair of cargo pants, a t-shirt and warm black winter jacket. I’d left the flask of unicorn blood sitting on the dresser last night. It appeared in my pocket, called to me by the spell I’d placed on it. The flask was almost empty and contained only two drops of the precious silver liquid. Jake had told me it was intended for someone, but neither of us knew who the recipient would be. I added spare ammo to my other pockets and slipped Jonah’s locket next to the flask.
Geared up for battle, I headed to the dining room. It was crammed full of alphas and I had to work my way over to my friends. Connor had saved a seat for me. I sank down, eyes already glued to the plate that was heaped with food that was waiting for me. I dug in, filling the perpetual hole in my stomach. I’d swallowed a lot of Connor’s blood last night, replenishing him with my power each time. Comfortably full when my plate was empty, I siphoned off a tiny amount of energy from the surrounding shifters until I was charged to the brim.
“This will be our final battle with Von Hades,” Quin said to us all. Jake, Rudy, Xavier and Mayra had become temporary members of our unit and were sitting at our table. “I just want to say it has been an honor having you all on the team. You’ve done me proud.”
Jonah instantly welled up with tears. He threw himself at her and became solid enough to smack a kiss on her cheek. “We love you, too, Quin,” he said, fluttering his eyelashes girlishly.
Pushing him away, heat flared in Quin’s cheeks. “Don’t get mushy on me,” she complained.
Xavier barked a laugh and shook his head. “You’re a chip off the old block, daughter.”
Mirra reached across the table and took Quin’s hand. “You are the backbone of the Hunter Elite. You took a chance on us all even though we were all broken. We’re whole now and we belong together. We’ll get through this. I know we will.” Quin squeezed the siren’s hand, at a loss for words.
“You’re the best leader we could have hoped for,” Connor added. “I’d follow you anywhere, Quintessa Vale.” Instead of being annoyed that he’d used her full name, she was humbled.
Everyone looked at me, waiting for my input. “You’re awesome,” I said, not knowing what else to say when they’d all said it for me already. Jonah snorted out a laugh and Brandi giggled behind her hand.
Jake leaned around Connor to put his hand on my shoulder. “That’s my girl, as eloquent as always.” He winked at me and I scowled back at him.
Quin was bemused by all the praise, but shook it off. Releasing Mirra’s hand, she stood. That was the signal we’d been waiting for. “Saddle up, people,” she ordered. “It’s time to move.”
The ghosts used the veil to take us up to the surface where the rest of our army was waiting. We’d lost at least a third of our soldiers and would be badly outnumbered once we faced our enemies. Armed to the teeth, they still wore their protective belts to keep them safe from the deadly touch of the Dread Wraiths.
At a nod from Quin, Rudy teleported us to West Virginia. This time, we ended up on Spencer’s back lawn. Feeling the familiar sense of coldness coming from the druidic woods, I knew the wraiths and vampires were gathered deep inside. Even from a distance, demonic power pulsed.
“The demon has already sacrificed thousands of humans in preparation of reopening the portal,” Greg informed me. “I fear he will shortly achieve his goal.”
My blood tried to run cold at that unwelcome information. It meant our time had nearly run out. If we didn’t act now, demons would soon join Von Hades’ army and overrun our world. Once our dimension had been subdued, they would move on to the fae realm and beyond to cause havoc as well.
Seeing brightly glowing lights hovering just inside the trees, I pointed. “It looks like we’ll have guides this time. We need to get in there before Spencer opens the portal.”
Quin didn’t need any further urging. She took off at a quick jog, following the pair of pixies who zoomed along the path. They led us unerringly through the confusing jumble of walkways. Some of our troops became separated, but more pixies showed up to guide them. The sprites might not usually become involved in conflicts, but they’d chosen sides this time. They didn’t want this world to be turned into a ruin any more than we did.
I had a split second of warning that we weren’t alone, then a nest of vampires surged towards us as the pathway suddenly split in two. Darting to the left, I pulled my gun and fired at a master that was at least a couple of thousand years old. She let out a screech of pain, but my blessed bullet wasn’t enough to kill her. The wound in her forehead healed and she grinned at me through bloody teeth. She’d fed recently and the blood was fresh. “It will take more than that to kill me, fledgling,” she hissed.
Jake appeared at my side and fired his holy gun at her. The bullet hit the same spot mine had and a flare of white light shone from the wound. The master burst into ash and drifted towards the ground. “That did the trick,” my foster father said with a wry grin.
We’d become separated from the rest of the group, but Nikitira flitted in front of my face. “Hurry!” he urged. “You must hurry before it is too late!”
His wings went into overdrive, shedding pixie dust that disappeared before it could fall to the pristine path. We sprinted after him, being careful not to leave the enchanted walkway. Jonah was yanked to me by the locket and gave me a relieved grin when he appeared at my side. Hellhounds howled and I could see their red eyes glowing in the dark trees. Small and large gargoyles flew overhead, harassing our soldiers as we converged on the portal.
Jake was at my side as I raced towards the end of the path that had appeared ahead. Coming to a stop at the edge of the clearing, we took in the piles of bodies that lay heaped around the altar. The stone was black with the blood of the fallen. Trapped souls flitted around in agitation as Von Hades knelt in front of the portal. He was chanting something in a foreign language, reading from the spell book that Morgwen had used to open it the last time. He held the jade dagger she’d gotten Crystal to steal from him ready to plunge into his heart.
“I love you, darlin’,” Jake said to me, sparing me a long look.
“I love you, too, Jake,” I replied.
Aiming his holy gun at our nemesis, he pulled the trigger.
