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IN THE PERIPHERY OF my vision, I saw the dragon pin the demon down with a gigantic, bloody paw. Von Hades tried to slice the beast open with his scythe again, but it was yanked out of his hand and was tossed aside by his foe’s free paw. Magic swelled, then the dragon used its own blood to cast a spell that would finish what I’d started.
The reaper that had been bound to Morgwen for four millennia wasn’t torn out slowly this time, but was suddenly flung free. Hovering over Von Hades, Death bent, reclaimed his scythe, then raised his arms. “Come, brothers!” he intoned in his hollow voice. “Join me in battle against the Dread Wraiths!”
Badly hurt, Spencer struggled weakly to free himself from the dragon as thousands of black-robed Grim Reapers appeared. The Dread Wraiths broke off their useless attacks against the shifters and engaged their spectral enemies.
Turning my attention back to my mission, I stared into the mesmerizing glowing green eyes of the mask. Despite myself, I was slowly losing myself to its allure. Connor sent me a surge of love through our bond, then Jonah was suddenly there. In full poltergeist form, his suit, hair and rose were black. He slapped my face hard enough to snap me out of my daze. “Don’t just stand there staring at it,” he said scornfully. “Destroy the stupid thing!” Zooming off, he targeted a druid and gleefully tore his head off. Winston and Brandi were also in their poltergeist forms. They were powered up by being linked to supernatural creatures and did their best to cause havoc.
“Concentrate, Arienna,” Greg said, giving me even more of his power. His hands sank into me, becoming embedded inside my body like Morgwen’s had been with her. “Let us end this war once and for all.”
With a nod, I directed his death magic at the mask. Using every scrap of power I had, I pushed it into the artifact, chanting the spell that would release the souls from it. A crack appeared in the middle of the mask, then the souls began to pour out on a flood. I sucked in a breath when they surged into me, then I dropped the mask and began to scream. Greg eased me to my knees, hovering over me and lending me his strength so I could weather the storm.
My hands groped at the ground and encountered an object that wasn’t the mask. Through blurry eyes, I saw Greta’s Grimoire before me. It flipped open, then urgently beckoned me with its pages. Knowing what it wanted me to do, I felt like an idiot for not thinking to try this myself. Slapping a hand on a blank page, I concentrated on sending the souls into the book. Through the link that had been forged when I’d become the grimoire’s master, it began to siphon the souls from me and into itself.
It was excruciating beyond my ability to describe as thousands of souls passed from the mask, through me and into the tome. When the last one disappeared inside, I slumped in near unconsciousness. Fully depleted of power, I could no longer feel the dragon essence inside me. The last of it had been drawn out when I’d opened the rift that the reptile had flown through.
Blearily looking around, I saw Von Hades stagger to his feet and gesture at Harrow. The butler conjured the flaming sword from somewhere and tossed it to him. The dragon was too slow to dodge the demon’s blow when he swung the weapon. The sword pierced the beast’s chest and lodged in the creature’s heart. In retaliation, the dragon breathed fire on its foe. Completely immolated, Spencer yanked the weapon free. He fell to the ground, screaming in agony and rolling to try to put the magical flames out. Harrow just stood there, watching his master with a smirk and doing nothing to help him.
Drawn to the dragon, Greg supported me as I staggered over to it. The beast had fallen onto its side. Gold scales covered it from head to toe, fading to cream on its soft belly. It was breathing heavily and was bleeding from a couple of gigantic gashes.
Reaching the dragon’s head, I looked into its vivid green eyes. Weakly lifting a paw, it gently touched my face. Smeared in its blood, I let out a gasp when its magic welled again. Just as rapidly as had happened to his brother, Greg was flung free from my body. His death magic was drawn from me when his hands came free.
For a few moments, we contemplated each other, then he inclined his head in deep, silent thanks to the dragon. Conjuring up his scythe, he joined his brothers in battle.
Jake and Connor joined me, hunkering next to the dying creature that had just saved me from an eternity of being bound to the reaper. “You know what you have to do, darlin’,” Jake prompted me.
Snapping out of my daze, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the flask. Praying it would be enough, I poured the precious remaining two drops of unicorn blood into the dragon’s mouth. The moment the beast swallowed, its wounds began to heal. The tears in its scales were repaired until they were flawless again. Huge green eyes regarded me somberly, then the dragon began to shrink and change shape. I gaped at the familiar face of Von Hades’ chef when the transformation was complete. “Viper?” I said incredulously.
“I’ll explain later,” she said shakily as I helped her to her feet. She still wore the same black jeans and black hoodie I’d seen her in last. She looked around at the battle. “First, we must find a way to banish these creatures.”
Jonah zoomed over, still malevolently black and wreathed in shadows. “I know a fitting place where we can banish them to,” he said slyly. “Somewhere no one ever returns from, except us.”
Realizing his intentions, I grinned mirthlessly. “You want to send them to the Deadworld?”
“Why not?” he asked, grinning maniacally. “You gave me the idea when you noticed none of them can use the veil. That means they won’t be able to escape. Nothing alive can survive there for long and everything else will get eaten by the things that live there.”
“How are we going to send them all there?” Connor asked doubtfully. “Do you three have enough power to send thousands of Dread Wraiths, undead cats, vampires and druids there?”
“Nope,” Rudy said as he hurried into view. “But they can accomplish it with the aid of the Grim Reapers and with our help,” he added, gesturing at the three hundred or so tiny leprechauns that swarmed towards us. All were wearing green dresses or suits and they were grimly determined to do their part. All of the males wore tall green hats just like the one Rudy wore. Some had large gold buckles on them. They were out of breath from making their way through the enchanted woods on foot.
“I thought you said you failed to convince them to help,” I said in astonishment.
“They came to their senses,” he said dryly. “They owe you, girly and they all know it. This is their way of repaying their debt.”
Looking at the tiny people, I nodded. “If you help us get rid of these creatures, your debt to me will be square.” He repeated my words to them in their native language and they nodded solemnly.
Quin and the others had arrived just in time to overhear us. “What do we need to do?” she asked.
Rudy looked around, then gestured at the altar. “The stone is steeped in death magic. A few of the reapers can use it as a focal point. They can boost the ghost’s power to open the veil wide enough to send these things to the Deadworld. The rest of us will herd our foes over to the opening in the veil.”
It seemed like a simple enough plan and we went into action. Working side by side, shifters and Grim Reapers began attacking our enemies with a vengeance and herding them towards the altar. With Spencer’s power so badly reduced without the mask and reaper, he’d lost control of them.
Jonah, Winston and Brandi floated near the altar, ready to do their part. Hellhounds and gargoyles hounded our troops, but the leprechauns banded together to keep them at bay with their mischievous magic. Sticky puddles glued their feet and wings, rendering them unable to move. Others chased after illusions.
Seeing Harrow attempting to melt into the shadows with his badly burned master being carried by two druids, I siphoned energy from those closest to me and cast a spell to capture them all. It was the barrier that stopped them from being able to cast magic. The Grand Druid sent me a pleading look when I sauntered over to them. “Don’t send me to the Deadworld,” he begged. “I helped you, didn’t I, miss?”
“Yeah, you helped me,” I replied. “But you were the one who brought Spencer here in the first place. You were the one who inflicted him on our world. None of this would have happened if you and your friends hadn’t summoned him here.”
Face twisting with hatred, he pounded his fist against the shimmering barrier. “We’ll escape from the Deadworld and we’ll exact our revenge on you. This is not the last you’ll see of us!”
Supported between the two lackeys, Von Hades gave me a glare of such malevolence that it made me blanch. With a wave of my hand, the cage that surrounded my captives went into motion. They drifted over to the altar to join the milling mass of creatures and druids that were surrounded by reapers and shifters.
At Rudy’s nod, the Grim Reapers siphoned the death magic from the altar. The trio of ghosts grasped hold of the veil and tore it open, revealing the nothingness of the Deadworld. With the reapers’ help, they made a gigantic hole between dimensions. Then our spectral allies started shoving the prisoners through it.
Rudy and his kin did their part, using magical ropes to sweep large numbers of Dread Wraiths and their bestial companions through. Shifters tossed the druids through the hole, shooting or stabbing any that attempted to resist. The leprechauns had joined their abilities to prevent the sorcerers from casting spells, leaving them defenseless.
Finally, only the demon, the butler and their two druidic lackeys remained. Jake saluted them sarcastically as I sent them through the veil into the utter blackness of the Deadworld. The moment Spencer left our dimension, the hellhounds and gargoyles began to vanish, presumably returning to hell.
Sensing danger, I turned to see my stone nemesis flying towards my face. Its claws were extended and its eyes bulged with intent and malice. Moving with astonishing speed, Jake reached out and snagged the gargoyle by its tail. Spinning around, he flung it through the veil. Shrieking in rage, the creature disappeared through the barrier and flew around in circles in utter confusion. It couldn’t teleport itself out of this predicament. Spying its master, it sped over to him, but it couldn’t break through the barrier that still surrounded the foursome.
The ghosts and reapers kept the veil open and we watched the milling mass of enemies that had gathered together. The druids couldn’t survive without air and were already dying in droves. Within minutes, they had all expired. Dread Wraiths, undead felines and vampires looked around at the unrelenting darkness in apparent terror. They knew this realm was far worse than the world they’d left in ruins. This time, they would be the ones who would be decimated by the dire beasts that roamed the land.
“What happened to the beasties that used to guard the Deadworld?” Winston asked in disappointment that they hadn’t shown up.
Right on cue, a roar sounded. The ground shook hard enough for even us to feel it as the three headed Ettin appeared in the gloom. Right behind him were the skeletal dragon corpses and the much smaller Jaculus. Green lamps heralded the arrival of the Ankou as they dragged their heavy scythes behind them. Finally, the black-skinned, eyeless Eurynomos came scuttling across the arid ground.
“This is not going to end well for our enemies,” Mirra said in satisfaction as the horde swarmed over the undead army. Stuck in a dimension that wasn’t their own, the wraiths reached out with bony fingers to attempt to kill the horde. Already undead, their death touch had no effect on them at all.
Protected by the cage I’d created, Von Hades and his trio of servants watched in horror as their allies were consumed. The demon turned to me with hatred shining in his scarlet eyes. I saw a vision of his true form, but his horns were broken, his black wings were tattered and his skin was charred. We both knew he was beaten, but he was defiant to the bitter end.
With a final wave of my hand, I dispelled the barrier that protected them. The two remaining druids gasped for air, but were trampled by a skeletal dragon before they could asphyxiate. Harrow cast a protective spell to encase himself and the demon in safety, but the Ettin caught them before they could attempt to flee. Picking them up with one hand, it swatted the gargoyle that frantically tried to save its master with the other. Stunned, the stone creature fell towards the ground and was snatched up by a Jaculus. With a crunch of its jaws, the gargoyle shattered and was consumed.
The Ettin brought the demon and druid up to its three heads. Pausing for a moment to decide which mouth to feed them into, it tossed them into the middle one. Their screams of terror were cut off with wet, munching sounds as the giant broke through Harrow’s spell, then ground their bones between its teeth.
“A fitting end, I would say,” Rudy said, profoundly pleased with the outcome of the battle.
At my nod, the ghosts released their hold on the veil and the rift closed. Exhaustion rose up to claim me and Connor caught me in his arms. “We won,” I said in disbelief. “I can’t believe we’re all still alive.”
Cradling me in his arms, my mate gave me a stern frown. “I knew you were going to try to sacrifice yourself,” he said in a forbidding tone.
“I knew you would, too,” Jake added, stormy blue eyes narrowing. “That’s why I sent Jonah in to stop you. I saw in a vision that something would come to save us, I just didn’t realize it would be a dragon.”
We all turned to Viper, who shrank beneath our combined stares. “I guess you would like an explanation,” she said nervously.
“We would,” Quin confirmed. “But first I need coffee.” Glancing down at herself, she was covered in black vampire blood. “And a shower,” she added.
Jonah sniggered first, followed by Brandi, then me. Our boss sent us a withering glare, then went to retrieve the broken mask. Rudy transported us all back to our base, reapers and leprechauns included.
