Chapter 12

Chapter

Twelve

" W hat guarantee do I have that he's not already dead?" I said, somehow keeping my voice even.

"I would give you my word, but we both know how little faith you now put in that. Ranger, your dear partner wishes to speak to you."

There was a pause, then, in a voice that shook with pain, he quickly croaked, "Staked, silver rods, long and hooked, located behind?—"

The rest was cut off by the sharp sound of flesh hitting flesh, followed by a low, frustrated growl that was also abruptly cut off. Whether by magic or something else, I had no idea. I clenched my free fist against the wild magic that burned across it, sending bright sparks spinning into the deepening shadows.

"If you do not appear at my desired time and meeting place, I will slowly remove pieces of your man until you do."

"Is she kidding?" Levi asked softly. Incredulously.

"Sadly, no." Belle's reply was somewhat absent. Her attention was on me, ready to step in and help in any way I needed.

I didn't need help. I needed revenge. Needed these two vampires dead and gone.

There'd been enough pussyfooting around them. I had the power now to contain them both, and I sure as fuck was going to use it.

And, if necessary, I would kill them. Both of them, no matter what it took.

I couldn't be connected to the wild magic when I did it, but ending their lives with my own damn hand would be a fucking bonus.

There is no "I" in this revenge strategy, Belle said in the background of my thoughts. There is only "we."

"Where do you want to meet?" I growled.

"I will contact you at twelve-fifteen to give you the GPS location." Amusement drifted through her voice. "Wouldn't want to give you the time to plan a surprise attack now, would I?"

"I guess not," I said. "Talk to you soon."

"You will. Oh, and before I forget—I will be setting a spell around the meeting point. If you do not have Maelle with you, you will not get in. And I will take your wolf apart, as promised, while you watch."

"We'll be there."

And with that, I hit the end button. It took every ounce of control I had—and a little extra help from Belle—not to throw the goddamn thing at the nearest tree and scream in utter fury.

"I know it's the whole point, but how the hell are we going to plan a proper response when we won't have any idea where we need to go until after midnight?" Monty asked.

"We can still prepare," Ashworth said. "And make any necessary adjustments once we have the location."

"Except we don't need to wait," I said. "I think I know where they are—or at least, Katie does."

"What?" Monty said. "How?"

"Over the course of the last few hours, a ‘dead zone' has developed in the forests above Sandon, preventing the wild magic from accessing the area. That has to be where she's holding Aiden, given she's aware of my control over the wild magic."

"You can't enter a dead zone. Not alone," Eli said sharply.

I glanced at him. "I can and will. The dead zone won't apply to my inner wild magic, and she's not aware of its existence."

"You can't be sure of that, Liz," Ashworth growled. "And these two vamps will try to control and use your power."

"I know, but they'll fail."

"Pride comes before a fall, lass."

"It's not pride. It's determination. I will not let these bastards destroy my happiness. Besides, you four will be situated outside Marie's barrier, hitting it with everything you can to distract and hopefully weaken her."

"I'm not liking it," Monty said. "But I'm thinking we really don't have any other choice."

"Other than hanging around letting her call the shots yet again, no, we don't." I bent and pressed my fingers into the ground to form a deeper connection as I reached for Katie. The luminous rivers once again danced through me like a wildfire, making my whole body vibrate and burn.

There was a sharp intake of breath and a soft "Fuck me." Monty.

What's wrong? What's happened? Katie asked. There is a deep fear and anger in you.

Aiden is in trouble. I need you to give me the exact location of the dead spot and then head over there to scout. But be careful—Marie is aware of my connection to the wild magic and might just get spooked if too much of it appears.

I'll keep back and just send in a few threads. She gave me directions. How soon will you be there?

Within the hour.

I detached and pushed to my feet.

"That," Ashworth said gravely, "is yet another new development."

"You were glowing, Liz," Monty added. "The wild magic—it was all over you."

"I'm linked to Katie's wellspring," I said. "It isn't as strong as the main one?—"

"If what we just witnessed is anything to go by, that's probably just as well," Eli said. "For several seconds, you weren't flesh so much as a network of power."

"Power we'll need every bit of," I said. "Katie's given me the location of the dead patch and is heading over there to investigate. She'll let me know what she finds."

"And Maelle?" Monty asked. "How the fuck are we going to drag her out of her stronghold?"

"We don't. We convince her that her best option is working with us rather than against us."

"Yeah," he said wryly, "because she's shown every inclination to date to willingly play along with our plans."

"I think she will this time."

"And if she doesn't?"

"Then I'll snare her with wild magic and drag her out."

"Giving her time to raise nasty spells."

I smiled. "I didn't say she'd be conscious when I dragged."

"And remember, Maelle, like Marie," Belle murmured, "has seriously underestimated not only Lizzie but also the combined might that is all of us."

"And with that worthy bit of motivation ringing in our ears, we should get moving," Ashworth said. "We'll need to detour past home to grab extra supplies and weapons."

"Including every bottle of holy water we have between us," Monty said. "Even if we don't use it on any conjured monsters, it will be the only thing that can counter the deadness."

"You three do that, then. Belle and I will go for Maelle." I glanced at Levi. "I'm afraid you can't come along on this one."

"I gathered that," he said, voice dry. "I'll stay here and keep an eye on the fire—I take it regular water will put it out if it flares up suddenly?"

"Yes, it will, and that would be brilliant."

"Just remember," Belle added. "If that charm around your neck starts to burn, jump into your van and get the hell out of the area."

He smiled. "After the weirdness I've just witnessed, I'm not about to hang around if another monster makes an appearance."

"Good man," Monty said, then pushed away from Levi's van. "Shall we get this shit show on the road?"

I glanced at my watch. "How long will you need to gather everything?"

"Probably not as long as you'll need to convince Maelle to accompany you," Eli said, amused.

"Then shall we meet at the post office in Newstead in forty-five minutes? The dead zone is roughly ten minutes away from there."

Ashworth nodded, and the three of them headed over to his truck, which was parked close to the mine's tower. Belle and I walked over to the SUV. I tossed her the keys. "You drive. I'd better ring Karleen and let her know what's happening."

It was, in truth, the last thing I wanted to do, but if the situation were reversed—if it was my son or daughter's life on the line—I would want to know, no matter how much I disliked the would-be rescuer.

Belle nodded without comment and reversed around, following the men out of the forest as I dragged out the phone and made the call.

"What is it you want?" she said without preamble.

"A situation has developed?—"

"What sort of situation?" The edge in her voice suggested she already suspected what it was. Karleen was many things, but she wasn't stupid.

"Maelle's counterpart has kidnapped Aiden?—"

"What do you need? I can call out all three packs?—"

" That is the last thing we need, and the surest way to get him killed."

"I cannot simply?—"

"Karleen," I cut in again, "you have to trust me. You have to believe I will do everything in my power to save him, no matter what it takes. But neither you nor any other pack member can go out there after him. The woman behind the kidnapping is one of the most powerful mages I've ever seen, and that's speaking as someone whose parents are the strongest witches in Canberra. She could magically squash you, and everyone you send, like bugs."

"Then what is there to stop her doing that to you?"

"The wild magic. She wants to taste it, and me."

"So, you're bait? I do not think Aiden would approve?—"

"Oh, he definitely would not, but we have no other option. They currently hold all the cards."

"But you have a plan."

It was a statement, not a question. "Yes, indeed."

There was a long moment of silence, then she said softly, "I cannot lose him, too. Please, bring my son home."

"You can be sure I will do whatever it takes, Karleen."

There was another long pause. "I will wait to hear, then."

"One of us will call when we can."

"Thank you."

She hung up. I sucked in a relieved breath. "Well, that went better than I thought it would."

"Let's just hope everything else does," Belle said grimly.

There was nothing I could say to that, other than a soft "Amen."

Our plans were set, our path determined.

Now we just had to hope we all survived it.

It didn't take us long to return to Castle Rock. I drove over to Maelle's and once again parked out the front. Though the interlaced web of protection spells still ran around the building, there were no guards out the front. What was new was the dark weave of emotions that emanated from the heart of the club. It was so damn thick that it actually darkened the glow of the streetlights in the nearby vicinity.

"Oh dear," Belle said as we both climbed out of the SUV. "That cloud suggests Maelle is not in a good frame of mind."

"No." I studied the cloud for a second. Fury was the dominant emotion, of course, along with the deep desire for revenge, but there were also threads of grief and loss, and even a touch of guilt. "If she isn't in a sensible frame of mind, can you snare her telepathically?"

Belle hesitated. "Most likely, but I'd prefer not to if her mind is as fractured as that cloud suggests. Any attempt might well risk utter destruction—and Marie won't be happy if we turn up with what amounts to a vegetable."

"Right now, I don't really give a fuck about Marie's happiness." Not when she was holding mine prisoner. "Let's go."

We headed across the road, but before we reached the pavement, the club's doors opened and Maelle appeared. Instead of her usual riding habit, she was dressed in black boots and jodhpurs, a waistcoat adorned with blood-red buttons and stitching, and had tied her hair up in a bun that was wrapped in black ribbons. Her pupils were pinpoints of black in a sea of white, and the sheer weight of black and bloody fury radiating from her was so damn strong it was almost overwhelming.

I stopped, unease briefly fracturing my determination.

"Marie sends you, I take it?" she said, her voice cool and calm, at odds with the emotional turmoil that surrounded her.

"She has Aiden hostage, Maelle. I have no choice."

"There are always choices, but I understand yours would not be mine in a matter such as this." She smiled her scary smile. "Let us go, then."

Surprise hit like a punch to the gut, and I couldn't help the gasp that escaped. She raised an eyebrow lazily, amusement lending a brief moment of humanity to her porcelain features. "I will not be dragged to any confrontation like a piece of parceled meat, and any battle we have here only weakens us three and works to Marie's advantage."

"Does that mean the oath you took when you were turned no longer prevents you from attacking her?"

"That remains in play," she said. "But she has taken Roger from me, killed my monster, and had a hand in releasing my demon. The bonds of that oath are now wafer thin and, in truth, I no longer care. Even if that oath destroys me, I will see her dead first."

I glanced at Belle. Is she spinning a tale to catch us off guard?

No. She means what she says. She paused and briefly—cautiously—reached out mentally. Her mind is clear and focused, even if her emotions are out of control.

I returned my gaze to Maelle. "Our meeting point is in a dead zone for wild magic—one Marie has created. I also suspect the magic that rings it will be designed to hamper you as much as me."

Maelle's answering smile was back to being as scary as fuck. "That is a certainty, but what stops your magic and hampers mine will also hamper hers, as I am made in her image."

I hesitated, then moved to one side and motioned to the SUV. "Let's go, then."

She stepped clear of her club, then turned and locked the door. It was then I noticed the bracelets on her wrists. It was the first time I'd seen her wearing jewelry of any kind, and it seemed fitting that—given they were her creatures to call—these bracelets were obsidian snakes that curled up her arms. With the club secured, she walked across the road and climbed into the back of the SUV.

I glanced at Belle. "I don't like the thought of her sitting behind me."

A smile twitched her lips. "No, though I doubt she'll attempt to taste you until she's dealt with Marie. But I'll sit beside her, just in case. If she so much as twitches the wrong way, I'll freeze her."

I nodded, walked over, and climbed in. The back of my neck crawled with awareness, and tiny sparks of magic danced across my fingers. I did my best to ignore both, started the SUV, then did a U-turn and headed out of Castle Rock.

Belle's phone pinged about ten minutes later. After a second, she said, They've just left Monty's, so they're not far behind us.

Good. The less time we have to wait in the car with Maelle, the better.

She might not be saying or doing anything, but the closer we got to our target, the deeper and darker her emotional state became. Which only made me suspect she did indeed know exactly where her maker was.

So why, if she was now so determined to break her oath and confront Marie, hadn't she done it earlier, when Marie had been distracted by summoning and sending those stick golems? Why wait for us to chauffeur her there?

Backup, Belle said. She may be confident that her skills are greater than that of her maker, but she's taking no chances. If she can't kill Marie, she wants to make damn sure someone else will.

Which we certainly would. Hell, I wasn't even sure we could leave Maelle alive. Not now. I continued on at speed, and we quickly reached Newstead. The post office was a cream-colored weatherboard building with a rusting tin roof, and looked more like an old house than a place of business. I parked opposite, turning off the headlights but keeping the engine on so that we could still run the air con.

Maelle immediately said, "Why do we stop? This is not the meeting location."

A statement that confirmed my suspicion that she did indeed know where Marie was. "We're waiting for the other three witches. They can deal with any other traps or nasties Marie might have waiting."

"Which she undoubtedly will. She is not one to take any chances."

Silence fell again. Maelle remained a dark blot of furious turmoil that neither moved nor even seemed to breathe.

Just over ten minutes later, a car swept around the corner, pinning us with its headlights. A heartbeat later, Belle said, "That's Monty. He said to lead the way."

I started the SUV and drove off again. We sped through Newstead, then turned left onto the Creswyn-Newstead Road. About halfway down, we turned left again, this time onto a dirt track that wound up toward the darker gloom of a forest. I followed the track until we ran out of road and then stopped and climbed out.

The minute my feet touched the ground, Katie appeared. A house lies through that path to your left. It looks abandoned, and no one is there at the moment, but it shows signs of being occupied until very recently.

I'd bet everything I owned that the house was the same one that I'd seen in my last astral journey, the one from which Jaqueline had been ejected. And the dead zone?

Two hundred or so meters behind it. Darkness stirs through the trees, though.

Spirits or demons?

She hesitated. They feel the same to me, so I cannot be sure.

Huh . I turned as everyone else climbed out of the vehicles. "Apparently there're creatures a-roaming, so be ready for an attack before we get to the meeting point."

"She will not attack the two of us before we reach her dead zone." Maelle's voice was calm and assured, everything the turbulent net around her was not. "She will attack once we are within."

"Don't take this the wrong way, Maelle, but I don't think we can take your word on this matter."

She glanced at Monty, her gaze glacial and amused. "That is only wise, young witchling. Let us proceed."

Belle held out my backpack. Monty's put a half dozen stakes in there. Thought they might come in useful in case your magic is totally leashed in that clearing.

I hope he's left a couple for everyone else. We still have no idea how many vamps Marie has left.

Oh, trust me, she said, mental tones wry. The man ordered enough to stake an entire vampire army.

I couldn't help but chuckle. Let's hope that's not what we're walking into.

Though, in many ways, a vampire army might actually be easier to defeat than the monsters Marie would undoubtedly send our way.

I swung my pack around my shoulders and headed down the path Katie had pointed out. The night closed in, thick and shadowed, and the silence was oppressive. Nothing stirred in the area—no night creatures and no insects. It was as if the evil that waited ahead had scared them all away.

About five minutes in, we found the house. It was exactly as I'd seen in my astral vision, right down to the broken windows that looked like eyes staring desolately into the darkness.

"There is no one inside," Maelle said. "No one who lives or who walks the edge of life, anyway."

I glanced at her. "Meaning something else awaits?"

Her smile flashed, though it held little humor. "I would advise you not go inside. I would also advise those who remain outside the dead zone watch their backs."

"We always do when dealing with evil," Monty murmured, looking Maelle's way.

She raised that eyebrow again, but otherwise didn't respond.

"We should also spread out a little more," Ashworth added. "We're a bit like skittles at the moment—easily taken out by one well-placed ball."

A well-placed ball would probably be the least of our problems. No one said it, but it was pretty obviously what most of us were thinking. I moved on cautiously, leading the way down the side of the house. Its broken "eyes" seemed to follow us, and my back itched as we moved into the trees behind it. The others fanned out, walking to my right and left, the wild magic floating along beside them.

It was my dream come to life, though the shadow walking by my side was Maelle rather than Aiden or Belle.

The closer we drew to Marie, the more the dead area of ground stood out. It was a widening gap in the music that surrounded me, a blot on the landscape I wasn't sure could be healed.

And yet, in the middle of that deadness, fires flickered. It wasn't magic. It was silver.

The staked body in that last dream … It had been Aiden, not Roger.

Anger surged, but so too did hope.

Silver might be very deadly to werewolves, but it was also very good at countering dark magic. Where those silver stakes plunged into the earth, wild magic stirred.

Marie had made a mistake.

Now I just had to hope I could make full use of it.

The mage fire I'd seen in my dreams began to flicker through the darkness up ahead. I stopped, dug my toes deeper into the soil, and reached for Katie. Can you raise that barrier now?

Luminous threads of moonlight immediately crawled around the flickering mage fire, creating a barrier around it without ever touching it.

Marie would know we were coming, if she didn't already.

That thought had barely crossed my mind when the shit hit the fan.

Creatures roiled out of the trees all around us, creatures that were little more than shadows with bloody red eyes and long, vicious claws. I swore and cast a repel spell past Belle. It hit the creature that had leapt toward her and sent it tumbling back into a tree. Its diaphanous body splattered like paint across the trunk. It didn't remain that way—globs of black began to roll back toward each other as the creature reformed.

"Liz, keep on going," Ashworth shouted, his magic searing the night. "We'll take care of these beasties."

Belle? I said silently. You coming or staying?

Monty and I are both coming . She paused to cast another shadow into a tree. Someone needs to have your back, because I doubt these things will be the last of them.

The four of us moved on but had barely gone a dozen steps when something thin, white, and armed with a wickedly gleaming axe lurched out of the trees and came at us.

"Keep on keeping on," Monty said. "I'll deal with whatever the fuck this is and catch up when I can."

And then there were three , I couldn't help but think.

Maelle, I noticed, was smiling. Either she approved of her maker's tactics, or she was simply anticipating the final battle. Maybe even both.

The purple glow of the mage fire now peeled back the darkness, and its caress burned the air, sharp and unpleasant, a stark contrast to Katie's net.

More movement caught my eye, this time from the trees to the right. Human-based rather than demon or spirit. Five of them at first, with more movement in the trees suggesting there were others. They were thin and disheveled, their wild eyes showing little intelligence and their teeth long and pointed. Vamps. New turned, totally untutored, and without restriction. They were snarling as they ran at us, their hands slashing at the air, eager to rent and tear. I flung a cage spell, capturing two and pinning them to ground. Belle pinned one magically and the other two telepathically, brutally sweeping into their minds and destroying their motor functions. As they crumbled to the ground, she said, "Go. Monty and I will take care of the remainder."

I glanced past her, saw Monty running toward us, then nodded and strode on.

"Should we expect any more of her creatures to hit us?" I growled, glancing at Maelle.

She smiled her horrid smile. "One should always expect more, but not necessarily creatures that belong to the opposition."

I glanced at her sharply. "Meaning?"

"Nothing more than what I said." She waved a hand toward the flickering, foul mage fire that burned through the trees. "We should hurry. My victim and your lover await."

I increased my speed and did my best to ignore the continuing sounds of fighting behind us and the multiple flashes of spells being created and countered. There was at least one dark mage or a witch back there somewhere now, but their magic wasn't overwhelming anyone, and probably wasn't meant to. Distraction was the intent here, not death.

Not yet, anyway.

The closer we got to the mage fire, the more my skin itched and the deeper my dread became. I didn't want to go into that clearing, and given the choice, would have cheerfully pushed Maelle inside and let the two of them fight it out until only one—or even none—stood. But Aiden lay staked within it, and he would pay with his life if I made so much as one wrong move.

Katie lifted the curtain of wild magic to allow Maelle through. Be careful in there.

I nodded. It was all I could do because, a heartbeat later, I was stepping through the mage fire. It was thick and gelatinous, filled with tiny fingers of flame that danced across my skin with sharp little claws that dug and tore at my skin. My inner wild magic flared to life, creating a barrier of magic just under my flesh, preventing anything more than superficial cuts.

We came out the other side of the barrier into silence. Utter silence. All sounds of fighting, and all feel of magic, had been completely cut off. The rivers of wildness no longer ran under my feet; the ground here was as dead as the air felt. Worse still, my connection to Belle was no longer active, though I suspected the cause was the pulsing wall of wild magic surrounding this place more than any of Marie's spells. I glanced down at my hand and tried to construct a repelling spell. Nothing. My native magic had been curtailed; thank God she hadn't known about my inner wild magic.

I stopped just beyond the wall of flame, just as I had in the dream. Blood trickled down my bare arms and across my chest, but I paid it no heed. Marie stood on the other side of the clearing, and in the center between us lay Aiden. He was naked, and he was staked by a thin rod of silver through his left shoulder and right thigh. The red lines of silver poisoning were already creeping out from the wounds, and sweat dotted his forehead and body. I couldn't see any signs that Marie had dined on him, though I couldn't see the far side of his neck yet, either.

Every instinct within wanted to run over, drop to my knees, and rip the silver from his skin. But that was what Marie wanted, what she anticipated, so it was the very last thing I could do. At least for the moment.

My gaze rose to hers. I'm not sure what she saw in my eyes, but uncertainty flickered through hers.

I think, in that moment, she finally realized she might have underestimated me. Then her natural confidence and self-belief returned, and she smiled. "Thank you for being so predictable, Elizabeth, though I am surprised you managed to convince Maelle to reveal my location. She knows that doing so is a breach of contract."

"So was killing Roger and taking my daughter as a lover," Maelle said evenly. "Though I did not breach the contract by revealing your location, it is, as far as I am concerned, void."

"The contract cannot be voided unless I directly attack you, as you are well aware."

"I believe you to be wrong, but shall we put it to the test?" Maelle replied. "It is the only way to see who might be right, after all."

"The usual rules?"

"That sounds ideal."

"Before you get into any of that," I said, not quite able to believe how polite these two were being. "How about you release Aiden? I've played my part and brought Maelle here."

Marie laughed, the sound falling like death around me. "Child, I never promised to release him. He is, in fact, hostage for your good behavior. Once I deal with my wayward fledgling, you and I shall discuss the matter further and come to some arrangement."

"Arrangement" being code for blood donor, I suspected. I glanced at Aiden again. His eyes were open, and though they were little more than blue slits of pain, I felt the fury in him. Fury aimed at himself for putting me in this position.

"Fine," I said. "Do what you have to do, but leave Aiden and me out of it."

"Ah, the innocence of youth. Were we ever that naive?" Marie didn't wait for Maelle's answer—not that she provided one—her gaze instead coming back to mine. "You will not be able to free your wolf, because he has been well anchored. But on the off chance that you do manage the impossible, you will not be able to leave this clearing. Not until I release my shield."

I didn't say anything. The moment I'd stepped through that barrier it had become damnably obvious that the only way I was going to leave was by her death or mine.

"Shall we begin?" Maelle said.

"I believe we should. But first, my dear Maelle, you must prove yourself a worthy opponent, now that you are without your demons to draw power from."

And with that, Marie waved her hand, and dozens of different critters appeared out of nowhere and ran straight at us. Maelle laughed and raised her arms; the bracelets on her wrists came to life, slithering free and dropping to the ground, their forms growing, thickening, and lengthening, as they went right and left to attack the nearest creatures.

Then Maelle launched into the fray.

I swung my pack around, freed the silver knife, and ran for Aiden. It was tempting, so damn tempting to reach for the wild magic that burned through my body, but the last thing I needed was to unleash my one good weapon too soon—and certainly not before Aiden was fully protected.

Something brown and fuzzy leapt at my face and I slashed sideways with the blade, severing legs and eye stalks. The rest of its body hit mine, and teeth tore into my T-shirt, ripping through the material but not into skin. I tore it free, tossed it into the air, and stabbed it as it fell back toward me. It squealed and went limp, and I flicked it free from the blade and ran on. Another critter, this one a long streak of black with skeletal wings, swooped toward me, wickedly sharp black talons held out in front of its body. I dropped to one knee and raised the knife, slicing its leathery underbelly open as it went past. Blood and gore and God knows what else fell like rain all around me, stinging where it hit bare flesh. I cursed, but scrambled upright and continued on, reaching Aiden just as another one of those spidery things leapt at me. I slashed wildly at the thing, splitting its fat body in two. As the two sections fell either side of Aiden, I dropped my pack beside him, grabbed the holy water and blessed salt, and quickly circled him, creating a temporary barrier around the two of us. It might be basic, it might not hold back any sort of magic, let alone the type Maelle and Marie could raise, but it was enough to stop the critters and give me time to help Aiden.

But to do that, I had to leave the silver in his body a little bit longer.

I dropped to my knees, reached for another bottle of holy water, and carefully poured it onto the wound in his thigh. He hissed and clenched his hands.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," I whispered, "but I can't remove the silver rods just yet. I need their deep connection to the ground, but the holy water should at least stop the silver infection from getting any worse."

Or at least, I hoped it would.

His mouth moved, but no sound came out, and there was deeper pain in his eyes and tears trickling from the corners. But his hand found my knee and squeezed lightly. Acceptance. Trust. I blinked back my own tears, opened another bottle of holy water, and poured it over the wound in his shoulder.

Movement caught my eye, and I glanced up sharply. Several hairy brown spiders were skittering around the edge of my circle, looking for a way in. I needed to hurry, because I had no idea just how long that circle would hold or even if it would stop something airborne. That scenario had never been mentioned in any of the books I'd ever read.

Once I'd doused the wounds, I splayed my hands around the two sharply pointed, blood-streaked rods, being careful not to touch the silver myself, and then reached for my inner wild magic. But I didn't use it to throw a net around the two of us. Instead, I arrowed it along each one of the stakes, following them through Aiden's body and into the ground. The rods, as he'd said earlier, were several feet in length and had a cross-like end that anchored into the soil—no doubt to ensure they could not be easily ripped free.

But it also meant she'd had the stakes already embedded and just dropped him onto them.

Fucking bitch … I swallowed the anger. In many respects, Marie's actions had actually helped us, because those ends were anchored below the dead zone, right in the heart of the luminous rivers, providing not only a connection point but also a means of guidance through the deadness.

Katie? You there?

Her energy swam through the rivers, then around me. Ready and waiting.

Then follow me back through these rods and protect Aiden.

I quickly withdrew my inner wild magic, and she chased me up the silver shafts, an almost volcanic force that erupted from the two wounds in Aiden's body and quickly formed a fierce, bright dome around the two of us.

Nothing was getting through that dome or Katie. Of that, I was certain.

I touched a hand to Aiden's face, and he opened his eyes; the blue depths were filled with fury and pain. "I'm going to lift you free of the stakes. It'll hurt."

He half laughed, then croaked, "Not as much as being slowly pushed onto them, I assure you."

Fury bit through me again, but once again I shoved it aside and reached for the wild magic that still flowed into the clearing via the bridges of silver, bolstering Katie's dome even further. I caught several strands and swept them around and under Aiden. Then, with a glance of warning his way, I ripped his body free from the silver. He screamed, a sound that tore at my soul and my heart, then went limp in my grip. I swore, placed him gently on the ground, then scrambled across to him, my heart racing and panic filling my veins. I pressed two shaking fingers against his neck, my breath caught somewhere in my throat.

I found his pulse. It was too faint and too rapid, but nevertheless there.

Relief surged, and I briefly dropped my head, once again fighting the tears that stung my eyes. It wasn't over yet. Couldn't be over while the two vampires remained alive.

I retrieved the silver knife and then drew three stakes from my backpack, shoving two through the belt hooks at the back of my jeans and gripping the other. Then I rose and glanced at Katie, who nodded at my unspoken question.

I severed the connection between me, her, and the wild magic, then stepped through the protective dome.

Into utter chaos.

There were bits and pieces of critters everywhere, and plenty more moving on the ground and through the air, the main concentration currently over the two women. One of Maelle's snakes encircled them, spitting venom that instantly melted any creature that came too close while it swatted others away with its whiplike tail. I couldn't see the other snake, but there were chunks of shiny black stone scattered about the clearing that had a rather scaly appearance.

I stalked toward them, knife in one hand, stake in the other, my knuckles white with the force of my grip. A creature whirled away from the tempest ahead and dove toward me. I slashed with the knife, killing it. More left the tempest, coming at me from several different angles. I briefly switched the stake to my left hand and called to my inner wild magic, lassoing the lot of them before drawing them closer in a more controlled manner so I could dispatch them with the knife. After tossing their lifeless bodies on the ground, I stepped over them and continued. The snake eyed me, hissing, but threw no acid my way. A warning, nothing more.

The two women continued to fight, battering each other with clenched fists one moment, slashing at flesh and limbs with nails as long and as sharp as any knife the next. Both were bleeding heavily, and Maelle's movements were hampered by what looked to be the skeletal wing of one of the bone creatures driven deep into her thigh.

I had no idea who would win if the fight ran to its natural conclusion, and didn't really care. I just needed it to end quickly, and I needed Marie dead, because that was the only way her barrier would drop and I could get Aiden to the hospital.

I stopped several yards behind Marie. Maelle's snake continued to roll around the two of them, and Marie's critters continued to attack it. I wrapped wild magic around the stake, then stepped forward and raised the knife. As I'd hoped, she sensed the movement, but she sent her remaining creatures at me rather than attacking me herself. I slashed wildly with the knife, striking several but missing more. Maelle's snake reared into the air, venom spraying from its teeth. Marie screamed as her critters fell around her, then spun and dove at me, her nails sharp talons aimed at my throat.

That was the moment I flicked the stake at her. It cut through the air so fast it was little more than a blur, but Marie nevertheless sensed it. She threw herself to one side, hit the ground, then rolled away as Maelle's snake attacked. As my stake flew harmlessly over her head and plunged into the ground, her hand flicked up, and silver glittered briefly before lodging in the snake's left eye. It reared up again, hissing in fury, shaking its head as its body convulsed, shimmered, and began to dissipate.

Maelle screamed, the sound so high-pitched it hurt my ears. Marie laughed and raised a hand, and all her remaining creatures flew at Maelle, completely covering her. Then she rose and strode toward that writhing, screaming, clawing mass, a smile of anticipation etching her thin lips.

She'd forgotten I was here.

I quickly slipped another stake free from my belt straps, wrapped it in wild magic, and once again flung it as hard as I could.

This time, I didn't miss.

The stake flew through the now vaporous snake and arrowed on. A heartbeat before it plunged into Marie's chest and buried deep in her heart, I released the wild magic.

Just to be safe.

Marie gasped, her eyes wide, her expression shocked. Her gaze came to mine, and she raised a hand, though I had no idea what she intended to do or say, because Maelle stepped free from the black mass, raised her bloody claws, and slashed her maker's throat open. Marie made a gurgling sound and fell back, her head rolling to one side of her body, connected only by a few remaining strands of muscle.

As flickers of fire began to erupt from where the stake had plunged into her body, I sucked in a breath but didn't relax. One monster might have fallen, but another remained. I had no idea what the state of Maelle's mind would be now that she'd finally killed her nemesis, and no intention of allowing her out of this clearing until I knew she presented no danger to anyone else.

Katie , I said, release the dome around the clearing . I need to speak to Belle.

She immediately did so, and as my telepathic link to Belle once again came online, I said, You okay?

A few cuts and bruises, but otherwise, we're all good. You?

Same. Could you call an ambulance? Aiden's alive, but in a bad way.

And Marie?

Dead—staked by me and decapitated by Maelle.

Excellent. She hesitated and concern flickered through our link. Jaqueline's here.

What? Why?

I don't know. She paused again. Her mind is a mess. All I'm basically getting is fury. You want me to stop her?

I hesitated. No, not unless she threatens any of you.

That could be dangerous.

She can't hurt me or Aiden, not with the amount of wild magic now in this clearing. I paused, eyeing the mage fire that still burned, even if with far less ferocity. I'm not entirely sure she can get into the clearing or hurt Maelle, given how slowly Marie's barrier seems to be falling.

Just stay wary. Don't trust either of them.

I won't. I returned my attention to Maelle. She stood over Marie's body, her fingers clenching and unclenching, her sharp nails digging into her palms and drawing blood. She didn't seem to care.

"She was my everything," she said softly, after a while. "And then she destroyed everything."

She wasn't the only one who did that, I wanted to say, but kept the words locked within. Though her voice remained normal and she no longer radiated the driving, desperate need for revenge, darker emotions still skated around her.

Jaqueline's just come out of the trees and is walking toward the left edge of the clearing , Belle warned.

I glanced up. So did Maelle. "A familiar heartbeat runs through the air."

"One that belongs to a heart you gave birth to and then betrayed in so many ways." Jaqueline stopped right on the edge of the trees, her body in shadow but her face lit by the dying purple embers of the mage fire. It made her look as if she were wearing some form of grotesque mask.

"I never betrayed you. I gave you what you asked, protected you as much as I could, and saved you from the death that found Marie."

"You saved me from nothing and took all that I ever wanted, all that I ever loved," Jaqueline retorted. "But no more. I gift you, dearest Mother, what you refused to gift me. And I wish you long centuries of torment in whatever hell claims what remains of your soul."

With that, she raised her arm and pulled the trigger of the gun she was holding.

Maelle didn't react. Perhaps didn't even have time to do so before the bullet hit her forehead, smashed through her brain, and then exited through the back of her head, splattering brain matter through the air.

She fell, almost in slow motion, to the ground.

Perhaps in defeating Marie she'd drained herself so completely of magic she was unable to raise a protective barrier against the bullet, or perhaps a mix of disbelief and surprise had slowed her reactions for too many vital seconds. Either way, she was dead, as surely and completely as her maker.

My gaze returned to the woman in the shadows. For several minutes, she didn't move, didn't react, the gun pointed unswervingly at the unmoving body of her mother.

Then, slowly, her gaze came to mine, and in her eyes I saw death.

But not mine.

She pressed the end of the barrel under her chin and pulled the trigger. She was dead before she hit the ground.

I sucked in a deep, quivering breath, and then walked somewhat unsteadily back across the clearing. Katie pulled the dome protecting Aiden down, creating a waterfall of luminous threads that splashed all around me as I knelt beside Aiden.

He shifted shape and is no longer close to the edge, Katie said, but the silver wounds will still need attention.

Belle's called the ambulance . I pressed a hand lightly against his cheek, and his eyes opened. Relief stirred through blue depths still washed with pain.

"Is it over?" he croaked.

I nodded. "All vampires are dead, and the only true casualty on our side is you."

"Well, better me than you, given I still heal a little faster." He caught my hand in his, brought it to his lips, and kissed it. "But sadly, I'm thinking my plans for a Christmas Eve wedding might have to be changed."

I laughed. "You just wanted to save some money and buy a two-in-one gift."

"No, I just need to make you all mine, and that was the earliest date the celebrant gave us."

I laughed again, gently pressed my hands to either side of his face, and then kissed him. Slowly, gently, deeply.

The darkness had finally left the reservation, we'd all survived, and he and I could now start planning the rest of our lives together.

And the sooner, the better. A Christmas Eve wedding might be off the cards, but New Year's Eve was definitely on.