thirty-two

Phoebe screamed as the wolf grabbed her by the arm. It jerked its head, tossing her back into the room. She slid across the ground with a gasp. Slammed into the far wall with a groan. Her breath left her as she glanced at her arm.

There wasn’t a scratch on it. Not a single tooth mark. She didn’t understand.

The beast turned towards her, its head low. Four red eyes flickered, flames dancing inside the irises. Phoebe pressed herself against the wall and whimpered.

The wolf stopped, cocked its head to the side.

Her lips began to tremble. “Are you going to play with me? Is that it?” She wanted to cry, but she didn’t have any tears left.

The monster stalked towards her. Heart hammering, Phoebe flexed the fingers of her good hand. Her eyes lingered on the beast’s open ribcage. If she could no longer run…

It stopped in front of her. Tilting its massive head towards her chest, it inhaled deeply. Phoebe gagged at the smell of rot and fresh blood coming from its lips.

It looked up at her and smiled. A little girl’s laughter echoed around the room. It was giddy with excitement, high-pitched and young. Phoebe winced.

Its tongue lolled out. Two eyes blinked as the others stayed open. It stared at her for a while, breathing in her fear. Then it dipped its head and grabbed her leg. It began dragging her across the ground and towards the hall.

Phoebe didn’t know what it wanted, but every inch of her soul screamed for her to fight. If they passed through that door, it would be the end of her. She knew it. It would be done playing or maybe it wouldn’t, but there would be no clawing her way back to safety, no chance of survival.

Heart in her throat, Phoebe kicked at its face with her free foot. She aimed for its eyes. Slammed her heel into the soft flesh. Again and again.

With a yelp of surprise, the beast released her. Instead of scrambling backwards and running again though, Phoebe threw herself at it. She was done with running. She was done with hiding. She was done with being played with. This ended now, one way or the other.

Jumping onto its back, she wrapped her legs around and squeezed. It bucked and twisted, but she gritted her teeth and forced her broken hand to hold on. The good hand, she shoved into its open ribcage. Eyes cold, Phoebe searched for the fucker’s heart.

 

Tegan dived out of the way as a blast of fire erupted from Lucifer’s mouth. Jack had managed to block most of it, but there were still tendrils licking their way up Tegan’s leg. He rolled across the ground, trying to put it out. Xeno shot a beam of light at the purple dragon.

Blinded, the beast reared its head and released a jet of fire. Jack turned and struggled to contain it.

The pups yelped in fear. Scattered.

Dal phased with the one he had. Reappeared with his hands empty and grabbed another.

Kiki lifted the sleeping one off the ground with her magic and chucked it through the air. Growling, Lucifer turned from their group and raced after it. He changed as he ran, bursting into his massive form once more.

Tegan cursed as he jumped to his feet. Hunter ran for the mouth of the cavern with Cariad. Xeno covered them. Kiki picked up another dragon pup and tossed it before turning for the exit herself. Tegan swore again. He hated using Amazons, but he hadn’t been willing to call in a witch of his own. Hearing the fear of the baby pup as it sailed through the air and Lucifer’s roar as he knew he would be too late to catch it, though, made Tegan wish he had.

Dal.

Already on it.

The hybrid phased, caught the pup, and disappeared with it. Lucifer roared. The purple dragon shot another blast of fire in answer. Jack staggered under the weight of its flames as he stopped it from consuming his friends. He fell to his knees, a jet of fire rolling off the shield he’d barely managed to erect. Jack might be a god, but he was a young one and the two dragons were fully grown and extremely pissed.

As Tegan stopped to head back to help him, he was lifted off the ground and thrown. They all were. Shoved through the mouth of the cavern by Jack’s magic, they landed in a heap just outside it. Hunter turned around. Dal phased to their side. Before anyone else could move, a mountain of rock fell down behind them. The cavern was completely cut off, trapping Jack inside.

Go! Jack’s order was sharp and demanding. Gritting his teeth, Tegan nodded at the others and ran. Xeno took the lead, leading them down across a rocky terrain. Sharp rocks jutted out from the ground and cut into their combat boots. Forced to watch where they were going, Tegan didn’t spot the danger until it was almost too late.

Lightning thundered overhead. Towering mountains rose up in a circle around them, casting everything in shadow. It was the perfect cover to hide an approaching dragon. Tegan only noticed it when Xeno jinked and lunged for Hunter. She took him to the ground. Her wings snapped out and curled around him. A blast of fire hit her and Kiki. The Amazon didn’t even have the chance to scream before turning into a cloud of ash.

As the flames were aimed in Tegan’s direction, he immediately thought of Phoebe. He would have done anything to see her one last time. Perhaps in the next life he would find her again.

But just as the flames reached his toes, they jerked back the other way. Tegan stumbled backwards away from the heat as he looked up at the sky. Dal had phased onto the dragon’s head and was slamming his fist into the beast’s eye.

Tegan spun on his heels, looking for Xeno. An angel could normally withstand a brush of dragon fire, but they had to be fully healed. Xeno had been withering away for years now and so he dreaded what he would find.

He exhaled sharply in relief. Her wings were on fire. Her body was blackened and burnt, but she still moved. It was nothing short of a miracle.

Freeing the blue wand from his vest as he ran, Tegan aimed it to the left of Xeno and shouted, “Ezi-is!”

It was drazonic for ‘eat this.’ A spout of water shot out with enough force to shatter the rock it’d hit. The spray put out the fire on Xeno’s wings.

She unfolded them slowly, revealing her and Hunter crouched on the ground, their eyes locked onto one another.

“Don’t you ever do something so fucking stupid ever again,” Hunter snapped.

Xeno smiled, but didn’t reply.

Jumping to his feet, Hunter grabbed her hand and helped her up. Tegan supported her other side and together they ran down the mountain. The prison jutted up below them, guarded not just by whatever ward kept the prisoners inside, but also by the dragons and this mountainous terrain.

Tegan’s stomach twisted with the knowledge that whatever beast Lucifer feared was enough of a threat to warrant this much trouble. And it was in there with Phoebe.

A loud crash sounded behind them. The ground shook. Hunter lost his footing and the three of them fell. A roar was followed by a blast of fire, but it was nowhere close to hitting them. Glancing behind him, Tegan saw a light blue dragon, this one half the size of Lucifer, lying on its side in pain. Dal’s hand was covered in blood. He caught Tegan’s eye and then phased to them.

“There are more dragons coming. About half a dozen.”

He’d barely finished his warning before he grabbed them and teleported to the bottom of the prison. Cariad was already there, having been lucky enough to not get targeted. As an incubus, he had the underlying ability of making people feel uncomfortable about hurting him. His kind was built for loving, not hating.

“So how do we get in?” Dal demanded.

Hunter picked up a small rock and threw it at the prison door. Tegan had expected it to bounce back or vaporize, anything to show that it had hit a magical ward. But it did nothing. It sailed through without pause.

Hunter frowned. Xeno did too.

“What does that mean?” Tegan asked.

Slowly, Cariad walked towards it.

“I wouldn’t do that. Just because the rock went through, it doesn’t mean –”

He stopped as Cariad touched the door without any harm.

“What in Arawn’s name?” Tegan breathed. If there wasn’t a ward, why hadn’t anyone ever escaped?

“This doesn’t make –” Hunter suddenly stopped, his eyes widening in fear. “Cariad, don’t!”

But he was too late. Cariad had pulled the door open a fraction of an inch. Time seemed to slow. Tegan’s heart dropped as he watched Cariad get thrown backwards, the door flying with him. As the incubus sailed past, Tegan’s feet were lifted off the ground. Dal tried to phase, but he was tossed before he could. The top half of his body vanished as the bottom half flew back with Tegan. There was a loud bang and then sudden silence. The berserker couldn’t hear a thing as he hit the ground and stared dumbly up at the sky.

He watched as the dragons flying above them were knocked back as well. They tumbled through the air, their wings twisting uselessly.

Raising a shaky, bloody hand, Tegan closed his eyes and touched the stud in his ear.

Only to find it gone.

 

Phoebe and the wolf both stilled as the prison walls shook. Magic made the air heavy. A sudden silence descended. And then there was chaos. People started shouting. Their voices were faint from the distance, but there were a lot of them, creating a buzz of activity. The wolf cocked its ears. When a loud whistle pierced the air, it lunged forward, forgetting all about her.

As they raced down the halls, Phoebe dug both hands into its matted fur and held on for dear life. They skidded around corners, the wolf giggling madly. Phoebe gasped in fear.

Spotting Eres up ahead, she tried to scream in warning, but no sound came out. The wolf barreled straight at her. Eres didn’t even flinch, but everyone else screamed and pressed tight against the walls. Jackal’s eyes narrowed in on her as they passed, but he wasn’t foolish enough to try to grab her now.

As the wolf bounded closer to Eres, Phoebe closed her eyes, not wanting to witness another gruesome death. But instead of slamming into her or biting off her head, the wolf skidded to a stop with a childish giggle.

“Aphrodite!” Eres cooed as the beast sat down and thumped its tail.

Phoebe opened her eyes wide. Her jaw dropped as she watched the tiny woman reach up and scratch the monster behind the ears. Its massive tail thumped again. Its tongue flicked out and licked Eres from her torso to her face.

Scowling, the woman pushed its head aside. “For fuck’s sake! You know I fucking hate that.”

The wolf giggled.

Rolling her eyes, Eres turned her attention to Phoebe. “Thanks for playing with her. She was getting a bit restless.”

Phoebe stared at her dumbly. She started to shake. Eres either didn’t notice or she didn’t care. Somehow, Phoebe figured it was the latter.

Turning around, Eres waved at someone in one of the adjacent rooms. Rufus stepped out with another woman. Black hair curled around her shoulders and a wicked, curved knife hung at her waist.

“It’s go time,” Eres said as she rubbed her hands together. “Urgh. You do not know how long I’ve been waiting for this.” Looking up at the ceiling, she smiled, “Delentia, you crazy cow. I owe you a drink!”

Phoebe blinked. “Delentia?”

Eres glanced over her shoulder. “Yeah, she said you were coming, my little golden goose.” Her smile turned dangerous. “Not get off my dog. She’s not a fucking horse.”

Rufus stepped forward and helped her off. Setting her gently on the ground, he smiled. Phoebe swallowed, but she somehow managed to smile back.

“Now let’s go. I’m tearing this place to the ground in sixty seconds tops.”

 

“Tegan!”

Tegan blinked slowly. He pushed himself into a sitting position as Xeno removed her hand from his right ear. She looked at him grimly. Blood trickled down her forehead. Red dirt was smeared across her cheeks and an open gash sliced across her neck. Luckily, it didn’t look deep.

Hunter stood behind her, his gun drawn and raised at the prison door. He was favoring his left leg, but his stance was firm.

“Where’s Cariad?”

Xeno’s lips pursed. “I haven’t seen him.”

“And Dal?”

“Half of him is there” –she pointed over her right shoulder– “but I’m not sure about the rest of him.”

“Fuck.” Coughing, Tegan spat the blood out of his mouth. A tooth went flying with it. Pulling the purple wand out of his pocket, he handed it to Xeno. “Take Hunter and go.”

“No,” Hunter said without taking his eyes off the door. “Go freeze everyone, grab Phoebe, and then we can go.”

Xeno nodded. It was slight, but a clear sign of her agreement. Scowling, Tegan climbed to his feet. He shoved the purple portal-making wand in her hand. “If I’m not back in two minutes or if anything comes out of there that isn’t me, you take Hunter and go. I’m not losing everyone on this mission.”

Wordlessly, Xeno closed her hand over the device.

Pulling out the wand that froze things in time, Tegan stumbled towards the prison. Every inch of him ached, but he wasn’t stopping until he brought Phoebe home.

 

Phoebe ran between Rufus and the beast. Eres and the other lady streaked ahead of them. All around them, people raced in the same direction…until they got to the open courtyard. As they rushed through, the bones cracked beneath Phoebe’s feet. Her stomach revolted as she stepped into an open ribcage. Her foot got caught. The lifeless man stared up at her as she stumbled with him attached to her foot.

Someone screamed behind her in rage. Another in pain. Phoebe’s pulse pounded in her ears. She’d finally hit her limit. Exhaustion and stress weakened her control, releasing her power on a wave of chaos. As fights broke out all around them, Phoebe shuddered and dropped to her knees.

“Come on!” Rufus said as he stopped beside her.

“Leave her!” Eres snapped, not even glancing back.

Slinging her over his shoulder, Rufus worked the corpse off her foot. As he held her, one arm wrapped around her waist, Phoebe shuddered again.

“Leaving so soon?” a man purred, his voice thick as molasses. Phoebe tried to jolt upright, tried to warn Rufus to turn around, but she was too late.

Jackal jumped forward, a knife made out of bone in his hand. He slammed it into Rufus’ back, once, twice, in quick succession. Pulling the knife free a third time, he shoved his hand into the open wound and wrapped his fingers around Rufus’ spine.

The big man roared in pain. Flung to the side, Phoebe screamed for Eres before she hit the ground. She moaned as pain sliced through her body. Something had pierced her stomach. She looked down to see a bone that wasn’t hers poking out of her side. Her eyes rolled. Her vision narrowed.

“Phoebe!”

Tegan’s voice drifted in on the wind. A soothing balm to the terrible ache in her chest. As she closed her eyes, a tear trickled down her cheek. She might never see him again, but at least she still had his memories to bring her comfort in these last few moments.

“Sing for me,” she murmured as the world turned dark.

He used to do that for her. When she’d struggled to fall asleep. When the nightmares had gotten so bad she’d feared the simple action of closing her eyes.

Tegan’s voice had always made it better though.

And this time was no different.

 

“Phoebe!” Tegan skidded to a stop beside her. He winced at the bone sticking out of her stomach. His eyes searched her face when she didn’t respond. “Phoebe!”

Trembling, Tegan pointed the wand at her and froze her in time. Xeno wouldn’t be able to heal her; she’d used too much of her power healing them after the explosion.

Shoving the wand in his pocket, he scooped Phoebe up in his arms. He turned to make his way back to the exit when he noticed movement in his peripheral vision. He stopped at the sight of a small dark woman marching toward two men frozen in battle. Tegan had frozen the entire room. She shouldn’t be able to move.

As if sensing his stare, the woman turned. Her eyes flashed with purple sparks. A sneer twisted her lips. Holding his gaze, she snapped her fingers and a green-haired man vaporized behind her. Snapping her fingers again, another person turned into a pile of dust.

“Shit,” he breathed. Tightening his grasp on Phoebe, Tegan ran for the exit. He knew he would never make it if she wanted him to die. He could only pray that because they’d freed her, she would be merciful.

As he neared the exit, he shouted for Xeno and Hunter to ready the portal. By the time he passed through the door, a bright blue light was swirling in an oval outside. Heldron Castle shone through from inside it.

“Go!” he screamed.

Hunter jumped through it without hesitation. Xeno waited for him to get closer, then stepped through it too. Just as Tegan put a foot through, Cariad yelled behind him.

Tegan cursed. After throwing Phoebe into the portal, he stepped back out of it and held out an arm to Cariad. The incubus had the upper half of Dal on his back, having wrapped the hybrid’s arms around his neck.

“Take him and go!” Cariad ordered as he slung Dal off him and chucked him at Tegan.

“What?”

“Do you know what we released?” Cariad exclaimed as he shook his head. “It’s a fucking djinni. I have to stop her. Since I released her, I’m the only one that can do it.”

“You’ll die! Come back with us and we’ll –”

“Go,” Cariad snapped. “The portal is already starting to close.”

Gritting his teeth, Tegan looked behind him. He tried one last time to persuade his agent not to stay behind, but Cariad shook his head, his resolve firm. The incubus had lost his whole team only a few weeks ago. The look in his eyes told Tegan that he was hoping to join them soon.

“Cariad…”

“Go.”

Stepping backwards towards the portal, Tegan vowed, “I’ll come back for you.”

The man smiled. “No you won’t.”