Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

CAYE

I nside Hayden’s chambers, the flickering light of torches created long, wavering shadows that danced along the stone walls, casting old battle relics and tapestries in shadow and light.

Caye stood, her eyes burning with determination, and stared at her older brother, who towered over her, his expression a mix of concern and frustration. His broad shoulders and stern demeanor gave him an imposing presence, but Caye's fiery resolve met his intensity head-on.

“How could you choose a dragon?”

“I didn’t exactly choose.” Hayden growled, and she held up a hand to stop whatever he was about to say. “Don’t. I think it would be a bit hypocritical of you to condemn Andreas.”

“My pair-bonding with Fallon is completely different…”

“You don’t know that.”

“Then explain it to me.

“I don’t have time. Andreas has gone off to fight some wizard who’s been waiting a long time to kill him, and he has an army of creepy vampires with him.”

"Then you have been bonded to a fool," Hayden said, his voice a low growl. "Going after any wizard is bad, but one with an army is suicide. I suppose you expect me to gather our warriors and go off and save him."

“We will go…”

“You will stay here where you are safe.”

Caye's eyes flashed with anger. "Safe? While Andreas is out there risking his life? You expect me to just sit here and do nothing?"

Hayden ran a hand through his dark red hair, his brow furrowed with worry. "I’m assuming Andreas does not know you are here, left you some place he thought you would be safe, and knew the risks in what he was doing. He chose to face the wizard on his own to protect you. You charging into danger won't help him—it's exactly what he was trying to prevent."

"And you think I should just let him face it alone? He's my mate, Hayden. We are stronger together. You know, as well as I do, that I am a capable warrior." Caye's voice trembled with a mix of anger and desperation. "You know what it feels like to have someone you love in danger. Would you just sit back and do nothing?"

Hayden's jaw tightened, his eyes softening for a moment as he remembered battles fought and loved ones lost. "Caye, it's not that simple. This Xenos is not just any enemy. He commands an army of the undead. This isn't a fight that can be won with sheer willpower and determination."

Caye stepped closer, her fiery gaze locking onto her brother's. "I know the risks, Hayden. But I'm not afraid. I'm not asking for your permission—his, either—I'm asking for your support. I need your help, Hayden. Please."

Hayden sighed deeply, his shoulders sagging slightly under the weight of his sister's plea. “He’s your fated mate, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” she answered, knowing he had to know even a dragon wouldn’t turn a hellhound unless the match was fated. She also knew that he knew her determination was as unyielding as his own.

"I can't stop you, can I?" Hayden said quietly, a hint of resignation in his voice.

Caye shook her head, her expression softening but remaining resolute. "No, you can't. But you can help me. We need to find Andreas and stand with him against Xenos."

For a moment, silence hung between them, the air heavy with unspoken fears and hopes. Then Hayden nodded, his eyes meeting Caye's with a newfound resolve.

"All right, Caye. We'll do this together. But we need a plan. We can't just charge in blindly."

Caye shot him an impish grin. “Yeah, time is of the essence. He left me to go look for Xenos. I couldn’t feel him anywhere.”

“That will resolve itself. It’s probably just all your body has been through with the transition. So this Xenos is a wizard and one who’s been around a long time?”

“Yes. Most likely in the Wrangell Mountains. That’s where I found Andreas and Xenos found us fairly quickly after he woke.”

Hayden searched through his maps. “When did Andreas go to sleep?”

“The Yukon gold rush.”

Hayden nodded as he pulled a map made by the hellhounds from that era. “We’ve tried to keep track of fissures in the earth, especially those that could lead down below. We can compare this one to one of the newer ones…”

“And if one is missing from the more recent ones, we’ll know we have him.”

“No, but it’ll give us a place to start. Go to Oslo and ask him to find volunteers to go with us.” He chuckled. “I wish I thought it would be a small group, but my guess is our warriors will be up for the fight.”

Caye threw her arms around her brother and gave him a fierce, grateful hug. "Thank you, Hayden. I knew I could count on you."

She left him and ran towards Oslo’s home, grateful that her brother understood. When she returned, she found Hayden making comparisons between the maps and noting three different locations where there were anomalies.

Caye pointed to the Copper Glacier. “That’s the one where I found Andreas.”

Hayden nodded. “Makes sense that a dragon would want to be close to an entry into the In-Between.”

He used a straight edge to trace the distance between Andreas’ cave and the other two. They were about equal.

“This one,” said Caye decisively.

“You can’t be sure.”

“Yes, I can. That is the direction from which Xenos and his minions came.”

In the flickering torchlight, Hayden and Caye’s shadows intertwined, a symbol of their united front against the looming threat of Xenos and saving Andreas.

ANDREAS

The ice cave glittered with an eerie luminescence, its walls reflecting the flickering blue flames of Andreas’ dragon breath. Stalactites hung like frozen daggers from the ceiling, and the ground was a treacherous sheet of ice. The chilling air was thick with the stench of decay and dark magic. At the cave’s heart stood Xenos, the dark wizard, his eyes glowing with malevolent intent as he raised his arms, one bony hand wrapped around some kind of staff. His army was arrayed around him as he intoned his spells. This time though, they did not appear to be vampires, but rather some kind of skeletal remains of the undead.

Andreas, in his full dragon form, towered over the undead, his scales shimmering with an iridescent copper. He roared, a sound that reverberated through the cave, sending shards of ice raining down. With a powerful sweep of his tail, he shattered a cluster of skeletons, their bones scattering across the icy floor. His claws raked through some kind of wraith-like creature, its form dissipating into dark mist.

Was this one of the reapers? Had Xenos found a way to summon them into the land of the living? Had he somehow enslaved them, as well? Maybe he should have brought Caye after all.

Xenos whirled, pointing his staff at Andreas, the crystal at its tip pulsing with dark energy. "You are a fool to face me here, dragon," he sneered. "This is my domain!"

“You think you and your army of bones can defeat one of my kind? The last time it took a whole coven of you, and even then, I lived for millennia before I succumbed to your curse.”

“There are those who sought you out, wanting to free you from your sleep to lead us, but my kind knew yours all too well. You were never one to embrace your darker side.”

“No, I wasn’t.” Andreas said, unleashing a torrent of blue fire and engulfing a wave of advancing skeletons, turning them to ash. "You, your army, and your domain ends now, Xenos!"

Andreas’ bellow was a deep, rumbling thunder. He lunged at the wizard, his jaws snapping shut around the staff. With a powerful bite, he shattered it, sending a shockwave of energy through the cave.

But Xenos was not easily defeated. From what he’d said, Andreas suspected he was far older and more powerful than the wizard Caye had faced. He had to admit that shredding a wizard’s soul and getting the banshees to banish it to the Shadowlands had been a neat trick.

Xenos summoned more undead from the icy ground, their hollow eyes glowing with an unholy light. Hollow eyes seemed to be a trademark of those who followed and served Xenos. Andreas fought with a ferocity born of an iron will to survive. He’d always fought to win, but now he had Caye. She’d been right. If Xenos defeated him, she would be next on his list. Andreas’ flames scorched the undead, his claws tearing through their ranks. Little-by-little he was making progress and appeared to be winning, but the battle was far from over.

Suddenly, a howl echoed through the cave, cutting through the din of the battle. From over his shoulder amidst the shadows at the cave’s entrance, Caye emerged, still in her human form, but with eyes that blazed with a fierce determination. Beside her, Hayden charged in, his enormous and powerful hellhound form, along with those of his warriors, radiating raw power. Behind Andreas and Caye, Hayden and his pack surged forward, their growls and snarls filling the icy chamber.

"Andreas!" Caye called out, her voice a beacon of hope amidst the chaos as she joined him at his side. "We’re here!"

With renewed vigor, Andreas fought alongside his mate and her brother. Caye wielded a sword with deadly accuracy. It flashed in the meager light as she tore through the undead, her movements a blur of deadly grace. Hayden and his warriors ripped into the skeletons and the wraith-like creatures, their ferocity unmatched by anything Andreas had seen before.

Xenos, seeing his forces being decimated, gathered his remaining power for one final, desperate spell. Dark energy crackled around him as he chanted an incantation. But before he could complete it, Hayden leaped at him, his jaws closing around the wizard’s arm. With a savage twist, he ripped the arm from Xenos’ body, the dark energy dissipating into the icy air.

Andreas, sensing the wizard’s vulnerability, reared up to his full height. "This ends now, Xenos!" he roared. With a final, devastating strike, his claws slashed through the wizard’s chest, ending his dark reign forever.

As she had with Apophis, Caye reached into the Wizard’s open torso and dragged something dark and malevolent—a kind of shadow—from his body. She tossed it to Hayden, who shredded it into pieces.

As Xenos’ lifeless body and soul were defeated, the remaining undead collapsed, their unholy animation ceasing. The wraith-like entities evaporated in little poofs of smoke into nothingness. The cave grew silent, the only sounds were the heavy breathing of the victors and the distant drip of melting ice.

Andreas, his breath coming in heavy gasps, looked at Caye and Hayden, his eyes filled with gratitude and love. "We did it," he said, his voice filled with relief as he shifted and grabbed something with which to cover himself.

Caye stepped forward, her eyes softening. “Together,” she said, her voice a whisper as she placed a hand on his chest right before she brought her knee up into his balls. “Don’t you ever do that to me again.” This time her voice wasn’t a whisper, but a snarl.

Hayden, standing beside them, let out a triumphant howl, echoed by his warriors. The battle—at least this one—was won, and the darkness that had been Xenos and those who followed him had been vanquished. For the moment, peace had returned, and they stood united, although his mate appeared to be righteously pissed at him.

The hellhounds, including Hayden and his sister, shimmered with Andreas in tow and returned to the Hollow.

After everyone else had shifted and they had all changed into appropriate clothing and celebrated, Andreas, with his arm wrapped around Caye, followed Hayden to his home.

“Were those reapers?” asked Andreas.

Hayden nodded.

“That’s not good,” said Caye.

“Although it does explain why that one came after you.”

“I thought it was because he knew—thanks to someone who shall remain anonymous—I was no longer fully hellhound.”

“No. It had no way of knowing. All they can detect is the vibrations of those who don’t belong in the In-Between, and that hasn’t changed.” He turned to Andreas. “She is still hellhound, right?”

“She is, but she is my fated mate…”

Hayden held up his hand. “As my sister pointed out, it would be a bit hypocritical of me to criticize how you managed to make her yours. And trust me, I get the whole fated mate thing, although I’m not sure our women always see it the same way.”

Andreas chuckled. “I very much doubt they do. Drakaina rarely do, but at least neither hellhounds nor dragons have ever tried to ban their females from fighting.”

“If you two are done congratulating each other,” snarked Caye. “I think we need to talk about the elephant in the room. What the hell were reapers doing in the land of the living?”