A growl rumbled low in his throat. It didnt matter. If he ever got his hands on the vile, traitorous witch
Hed kill her.
Skye turned from the glass enclosure and fled down the cavern passage, falling to her knees and vomiting onto the rock. After the ritual, shed fled to the woods and only now returned. She hadnt known
Dear Mother, dear Mother, dear Mother.
What had they done?
Shed overheard Vhyper tell Paenther they were to do this every night. Free more of thesethings. This is what Birik had been trying to raise the power for ever since Vhyper brought him the blade. Never had she dreamed her gift could be used for such evil.
Skye collapsed against the wall, her head back, tears streaming down her cheeks.
In so many ways, Birik used her. But not for this.
Please, Mother. Not for this.
She pressed her freezing palm to her clammy forehead, her chest heaving with agitation.
She didnt have a choice. She never had a choice.
But Paenthers voice rang in her head, mocking her. Goading her. We all have choices, Skye.
She cradled her head, covering her ears, but the warriors voice, deep inside her head, wouldnt be silent.
Whether we choose to face them or hide from them defines who we are. Whether we choose to let evil live, or we fight to destroy it, defines our lives.
Sobs wracked her body as the humans screams ripped through the caverns.
Choose, Skye.
She couldnt let this go on. She could not be the cause of so much suffering. So many deaths.
Choose!
Paenther didnt remember having been enthralled again, but he came back to consciousness to find himself once more on his back in the cell, Skye standing beside him, her cold, trembling hand on his cock as she tucked his distended flesh into his pants. His body still pulsed with the exquisite pleasure of sexual release.
His gaze speared her. Shed used him.
As if hearing his unspoken accusation, she nodded. I had to unenthrall you fast, and this is the only way I know how. She faced him with fear in her eyes. I know you hate me, and I know you dont trust me, but hear me, warrior, and hear me well.
The urgency in her voice and in her face set up a drumming in his blood.
I didnt know what Birik intended. You told me to choose, and Im choosing. Im choosing not to allow another Daemon to be freed. Im choosing to free you instead.
He stared at her, his jaw tight, afraid to believe.
You wont get out of here without my help. If you attack me, youll never leave.
Free me. The sound of a single piteous scream punctuated the quiet of the caverns.
Skye flinched and nodded. Shes the only one still alive. Once she dies, the crowd will disburse, and Ill never get you out of here. The two main entrances to the caverns are in the open, but I know of another one. You wont find it without me.
Like hell he wouldnt find his way out. After he got what hed come for. Vhyper.
She unlatched his ankles then, one after the other, his wrists. His muscles were stiff as he pulled his arms down from over his head and swung off the rock and onto his feet with a rush of savage satisfaction.
He stared down at her from his far greater height, tempted nearly beyond reason to take out his fury on her as he once had Ancreta. Mage witch. But the rigid control that commanded his life held his hand. He still needed her.
Wheres Vhyper?
I dont know, but if you try to find him, youll never get away. Your shackles are magic. Birik can call you back through them from a great distance. Throughout the caverns and the forests. Possibly beyond.
He grabbed her upper arms, squeezing until she winced.
Remove the shackles.
I cant! I dont have the magic. Her eyes beseeched him. Paenther, theres no time! This will be your only chance to escape. Save yourself. Save us all.
The need to get Vhyper out of there, to fight his enemies, retrieve the Daemon blade, and kill the Daemons, was a breathing, burning thing inside him.
But if she was right, escaping now, before Birik realized shed freed him, might be his only option. Hed rally the Ferals, and they would attack as one.
Paenther released her.
She hesitated for one pulsing, wary moment, then turned and fled for the door. Come.
Skye led Paenther down the back passage. When she reached the dagger fields, she turned to the menacing Feral towering over her from behind. Watch your head as you watch your feet. If one of the stalactites crashes, well be caught.
He said nothing, the only emotion in his eyes the promise of a slow, violent death. Her heart thudded, and she thought of running and letting him find his own way out.
But hed never find it. And theyd be right back where they were tonight, freeing Daemons.
Choose.
She took a breath and rushed into the uncleared field of stalagmites, leading him through the open to a particularly dangerous patch where the floor and ceiling sloped together, converging until the rocklike daggers hanging from above and rising from below began to resemble sharp, interwoven teeth.
Shed climbed through here enough times to know the only path, but she was much smaller than he was. Still, as she made her way, no sound followed behind her. She turned to find him moving through the rock as sleekly and silently as the cat that lived inside him.
In the distance, the last of the screams died away, and the sound of excited voices rose. Her pulse began to pound. They were running out of time. Few ever came this way, but she wasnt the only one who knew the route. If anyone saw her with the Feral, theyd sound the alarm, and his chance at escape would vanish.
Her heart thudding, beads of perspiration rolling between her breasts, she finally led him out of the difficult patch of rock and onto a wide path. Around the next bend was the small opening that led to the forest and freedom. Even from here she could feel the night air wafting in, cool and damp with rain.
With a breath for courage, she turned to the angry Feral. When you get outside, run and dont look back. The shackles are magic and will keep you from shifting. I dont know how far is too far for Birik to call you back. She stepped back between two stalagmites and pointed. There, warrior. Around those rocks, youll find the opening to the outside. Be safe. Run!
Paenthers hand closed tight around her wrist, his expression turning ugly. Do you really think Id leave you behind, witch? When all I can think of is taking my revenge on you?
Skyes knees went weak with fear. Please, I cant leave. He wont let me leave.
Paenther jerked her off her feet and into the solid rock of his chest, his free hand closing around her throat. Your choices end here, witch.
As her mind went white with terror, his thumb pressed into the crevice beneath her ear.
Then all went black.
CHAPTER 7
Cold rain drizzled over Paenthers head, running in rivulets down his bare chest and beating on the shackles he still wore as he ran through the dark, wet fields. Hed run several miles already but wasnt stopping until he had gone at least a few more. Around his shoulders, hed draped the unconscious witch.
Shed told him the shackles could be used to call him back, and though he had reason to doubt everything she said, he was taking no chances.
Running from that place, and his chance to save Vhyper, was possibly the hardest thing hed ever done. But hed be no use to Vhyper or anyone else if Birik caught him and chained him again.
He wondered how long hed been out of it between the blood ritual and the Daemon demonstration. He could have sworn it was night during the first, but as hed escaped the cave, the sky had been purple with dusk. Had he lost another entire day? And how many more days on top of that since the witch dragged him down to her lair?
He followed the now-dark road but took care to remain out of sight of it. Half-dressed, wearing shackles, and carrying an unconscious young woman, hed draw far more attention than he wanted from the humans and would be easy prey for the Mage if they came after him. His first goal was to find a phone and call Lyon.
And find a knife. He had yet to attract draden, but it was only a matter of time. There were no swarms this far from the Radiant, thank the goddess, but the occasional rogue draden could be found anywhere. Sooner or later, if there were any in the area, theyd find him.
As he approached a dark farmhouse, he decided a little breaking and entering was his only alternative.
He laid Skye within a cluster of trees on the hillside and pressed his thumb into her slender neck to make sure she stayed fully unconscious. He stared down at her damp, delicate face, emotions warring inside him. He hated her for reeling him in, for making him believe she was in need of his sympathy and protection when she was really just a conniving bitch. But even as he knew what she was, her fragile beauty tugged at him.
Paenther scowled and rose, turning away from the siren who enchanted him even in her sleep. What hed told her was true. If it was the last thing he did, hed get his revenge.
He approached the house with catlike stealth, frustrated he couldnt actually shift into his cat. No scent of dog reached his nose, which boded well for keeping his arrival a secret. When he found the back door unlocked, he slipped inside, palmed a kitchen knife from the wood block on the counter, and grabbed the phone.
He punched in Lyons number, praying his chief would answer the call.
Hello?
Its Paenther. He kept his voice low on the off chance there was actually someone in the house.
Thank the goddess. Where are you?
Good question. Looking around, he found a magazine lying on the counter and read off the address.
Tighe and Jag have been in the mountains looking for you for the past two days.
Tighes clone?
Is dead. Tighes fine.
Paenther closed his eyes, sending a prayer of thanks skyward. Thats the best bit of news Ive gotten in days. What about Foxx?
Hes here. Whats the situation? Do you need additional backup?
No. The attack is going to have to wait. Im wearing Mage shackles and cant go near the place without risk of enthrallment.
Then Ill send Tighe and Jag to pick you up.
Roar, Im not alone. Ive got the witch who captured me. We have some unfinished business, he added darkly.
Lyon was silent for several moments. The last thing we need is another witch in this house.
She needs to be interrogated.
Silence, then a low growl. Bring her in, but I want her hands tied at all times. And youll have to be cleared of any possible enchantment when you get in. All of you. You want me to call Evangeline?
Yes. Evangeline had been his sexual partner of choice for decades. Their relationship had never extended beyond the sex, though that was his fault. He had no softness to give a woman anymore, thanks to Ancreta.
Ill call the Shaman. I believe he knows a binding spell to keep your witch from practicing her magic. And he may know of a way to get you out of those shackles. Hold on, Karas got Tighe on her cell phone. He repeated the address Paenther had given him. Theyre about an hour north of there, B.P. Hell find you. Well regroup here.
Agreed.
Paenther replaced the phone in its cradle, left the house as quietly as hed arrived, and went to retrieve Skye. As he climbed the hill to the trees where hed left her, he heard the low growl of a dog. His heart lurched. Hed left Skye unconscious, unprotected.
But the dog, a medium-sized mutt, was curled up beside her. As if protecting her.
Go! he shouted softly to the dog. The animal jumped up and barked at him. Paenther went feral, baring his teeth. The dog turned tail and ran.
Even unconscious she drew the animals. Looking down at her, at the dress plastered against her too-slender body, he couldnt deny he struggled against the same need to protect her. When he thought the mutt had hurt her, hed been furious.
Paenther scowled. Even unconscious she wove her spell around him. Protect her, hell. All he wanted to do was hurt her.
Except that wasnt true.
Maybe once he was free of the shackles, hed be able to see her clearly at last. Hed be able to see the cunning, calculating bitch whod played on his sympathies and pretended to be beaten and vulnerable so hed fuck her and help her raise the power to free those abominations.
He settled onto the ground beside her, leaning back against one thick oak trunk, where he had sight of the road and could watch for Tighes white Land Rover.
Reaching for her instinctively, he stopped and pulled his hand back, fighting the urge to pull her onto his lap and hold her against the rain. Even knowing what she was, he felt this need to touch her, to hold her.
Which made him hate her even more.
He would get his retribution. Goddess help him, he would. Shed rue the day shed turned those sad, blue eyes on him and pulled him under her spell.
Panther-man, Jag drawled, thrusting out his arm and slapping his forearm to Paenthers as each man grasped the others wrist in the traditional greeting. Glad to see you made it out of there, Geronimo.
Paenther nodded, then turned to Tighe. As one, they embraced. Little emotion ever escaped past the fury that consumed his life, but he felt a relief to see his old friend that went all the way to his soul.
You finally got that clone.
Hell, yeah. Tighe pulled back. Sharp, warm emotion glittered in his eyes. Weve been looking for you for days.
He didnt have to say the words for Paenther to know theyd feared he was dead.
How long have I been gone? I lost track of time in that place.
About six days. He nodded at Skye, still lying asleep in the grass. Is that the witch?
Thats her.
Tighe scowled. Do we really want to bring another one of those things in the house?
Im not leaving her behind. But we need to tie her hands. Got any rope?
Tighe flicked his hand at Jag. Give me your belt.
Jag grunted but unfastened the belt on his camouflage pants and tossed it over. Paenther knelt in the wet grass beside Skye and tied her arms behind her back. Mage generally couldnt enchant a Feral or Therian without the direct touch of their hand. This one had claimed she couldnt do even that, but he didnt trust her.
As he slung her over his shoulder, an attractive brunette slid out of Tighes SUV and joined them. When Tighe slid his arm around her shoulder, Paenther lifted a brow. Hed heard Tighe had taken a human as his mate, but hed thought it was only to keep her from betraying him while he used her to capture his clone.
This is Delaney, B.P.
The woman extended her hand to him, and he shook it, impressed by her fearless, straightforward attitude. He wasnt exactly the most docile-looking of males. None of the Ferals were.
Paenther nodded to her. Its dangerous out here for a human.
The woman smiled, her sharp gaze meeting his own. Turns out Im no longer human. No longer mortal, anyway.
Paenthers surprised gaze swiveled to Tighe.
Tighe grinned. Its true. But its a long story. Lets get
Draden, Jag warned. A tiny little flock of them.
Sure enough, half a dozen of the fiends were descending from the sky. Paenther grabbed the knife hed taken from the farmhouse and plucked out the hearts of the ones that came near him as his friends dispatched the others.
Lets get out of here before more find us, Tighe said, closing his switchblade. Paenther carried the unconscious witch to the SUV and laid her in the cargo area in back, then climbed in beside Jag while Delaney took the front seat beside Tighe. If Skye woke, hed be ready to grab her before she could touch anyone.
The last thing he needed was her enchanting more Ferals. Not when he suspected he was still under her spell.
Even before she was fully awake, Skyes heart began to pound like a hammer on an anvil. She was lying on her side, yet moving, the low hum of an engine tight against her ear. A car.
This couldnt be happening. Birik would never let her go. Yet clearly, somehow, shed escaped the cavern.
In a rush of memory, it all came back. Shed tried to free Paenther, and hed grabbed her, knocking her out.
Hed captured her.
As his last words rang in her ears, her stomach cramped with fear. Do you really think Id leave you behind, witch? When all I can think of is taking my revenge on you?
Skye began to tremble, perspiration dampening her back. Slowly, carefully, she opened her eyes to find herself swallowed by a darkness punctuated by flashes of light from the windows above.
Hows Foxx?
Paenthers voice rumbled close by, the sound strangely comforting even as it filled her with dread. He was furious with her, convinced everything shed told him was a lie. Vhyper had told her as much.
If she could ever convince him she wasnt his enemy, that she hated Birik more than he did, she felt in her heart hed help her again, just as he had that night Birik attacked her.
But if not
Her mouth turned to dust. If not, she was going to suffer.
Foxx is fine, a male voice replied from the front of the car. He avoided capture though they managed to slam him with some kind of confusion spell. He couldnt remember where hed lost you.
A third man grunted. The one directly in front of her. It took three fucks to clear him of the magic.
Watch your language around my mate, Jag, the man in front warned.
A low sound of warm feminine laughter erupted, also from the front, a sound Skye might have found pleasing if she werent so frightened.
Six years with the FBI. Believe me, Ive heard worse. Ive said worse. But Im still having a hard time believing sex cures magical enchantment. That sounds like a line if I ever heard one. Right up there with, But honey, itll make your acne go away.
Its during the man began.
I know, I know, the woman replied. Its during the moment of sexual release that the mind and body are most open. She made a sound that was half humor, half sigh. I dont really doubt its true. Its just one of a hundred things Im having trouble wrapping my human mind around.
You know, D, after being in the car with a witch The mans voice trailed off suggestively.
The woman laughed, that same sultry burst of air. As if you needed an excuse. Her voice was rich with warmth and deep with affection.
Skye blinked into the darkness. How long had it been since shed heard such affection between two people? She and Lucian had spoken to one another like that once, years ago. Shed barely been full grown when theyd fallen in love behind Biriks back. But then Inir had come and Lucians eyes had turned as cold as the others and hed decided hurting her was more fun than loving her.
Were all going to need a good fuck after riding with the witch, the one called Jag drawled. Ever taken two cocks at once, FBI? Im not real particular which hole I shove mine into.
The drivers growl turned deep and vicious. The car swerved, rolling Skye onto her back as the smell of blood suddenly filled the air.
Tighe, drive, Paenther barked.
Then rip his throat out for me, Tighe snarled.
Jag Paenthers voice was as hard granite, yet laced with a deep frustration. Thats too far, even for you.
Just making conversation. No hint of remorse warmed Jags words. If anything, a note of smug satisfaction rang in his tone. But she felt the animal inside him, the jaguar, and heard him howl softly as if in pain.
Instinctively, her mind reached out to him, trying to offer comfort. But the animal turned on her, hissing.
Jag growled low in his throat swinging around to stare down at her with malice in his eyes. Your witch is fucking with my animal.
Skye scrambled to sit up, pressing her back against the hatch door, the beat of her heart turning erratic. Paenther might wear shackles that kept him from shifting, but the other men in this car didnt. And the animals inside them were huge, fierce felines, every one.
Paenther turned as well, his face shadowed, his displeasure palpable.
She tensed out of long habit, bracing for the strike of a fist.
None came.
Stop it, Skye. Stop screwing with their animals.
She stared at him, at the anger in his eyes. Anger, but no violence. At least not yet.
Ididnt mean to, she said quietly.
She has a way with animals, Paenther said coldly. She slaughters them.
Skye opened her mouth to object, then closed it again as Paenther continued.
And dances in their blood.
She pressed her lips together, the knot in her chest tightening. She couldnt argue that she danced in their blood. And while she never killed her creatures, there was no denying she led them to the slaughter. Even if it destroyed something inside her every time.
How could she ever convince him that she did none of it willingly? Hed already made up his mind against her. She felt his animal sense her and give welcome, his silent purr a balm to her quaking heart.
But Jags animal was still hissing and a third cata tiger, maybe?didnt seem to be much happier about her presence. Why? Animals always greeted her. Why not these? Was the mens animosity toward her affecting the animals inside them? Or maybe she simply didnt have a way with animals that were also men.
Except the one inside Paenther.
As Jag turned back around, she met Paenthers warning gaze, briefly, before turning to look out the windows. There was nothing she could do, either way. She couldnt control their animals any more than she could control the men themselves.
Fear lived and breathed inside her as her distracted gaze took in the vast array of vehicles, and the buildings lit with a thousand lights. For the first time in her adult life, she was free of the cavern.
Free of the slaughter.
The realization swept over her on a deep tide of relief and anxiety. Her precious creatures were safe, at last. She wasnt. Biriks reach was long. Shed thwarted him, escaping without meaning to, and there would be hell to pay. The thought of it trembled inside her, but not even fear could dull the warmth in her heart of knowing her creatures would never again suffer because of her.
Whatever happened, she could not allow the Ferals to send her back.
The scenery passed, the office buildings giving way to houses and rolling roads, and finally to a long, circular driveway that told her theyd reached their destination. Feral House, shed heard it called. The home of the Feral Warriors.
It sat at the back of the drive, a magnificent three-story brick house with black shutters at the windows and dormers tucked under the roofline. The windows were ablaze with light, giving the house a look of warmth and welcome that reminded her with bitter longing of the house, the Mage stronghold, where shed lived as a child.
Any appearance of warmth was an illusion. There would never be any welcome at Feral House for her.
Along the edges of the drive were parked an array of cars, everything from low-slung sports cars to unremarkable sedans.
The car came to a stop, the hum of the engine going silent as the men and the woman flung open the doors and escaped into the night, slamming the doors behind them.
Skye scooted toward the seat backs as the door behind her lifted. Paenthers hard and shadowed face stared down at her as he reached in and gripped her arm, hauling her out of the car and depositing her on her bare feet. She stood in the light coming from the windows of the well-lit house, her hands tied behind her, trembling. As the cool breeze tugged and pulled at the skirt of her dress, she watched Paenther reach up and pull down the hatch, the muscles of his bare arms and torso flexing.
He was a beautiful creature. Strong. Powerful. If he decided she needed to die, shed be dead in the heartbeat of his choosing. He turned and came to her with a dangerous catlike grace that drew her even as it scared her. Never had she wanted to be this mans enemy.
He grabbed her arm again without meeting her gaze, his jaw hard as granite, and led her up the brick walk as if she were a prisoner on her last journey. She wondered, briefly, despondently, if shed ever again breathe the night air.
The couple she assumed were Tighe and his mate waited for them to catch up. Tighe was handsome in a classic sort of way, with his short blond hair and hard, unfriendly eyes. The woman was beautiful, with her dark hair and confident bearing. She watched Skye with an assessing, curious gaze.
Interesting eyes, she murmured. Are those copper rings what make them Mage eyes? She turned and looked up at her husband.
They are, but some Mage can hide the copper. This one did when she trapped Paenther. The raw disgust in his voice flayed her.
Finally, after so many years, she was among others with souls. Others capable of honor and self-sacrifice. Of love and kindness. But none of that kindness would be turned toward her. Because she was a Mage. The enemy. And the Feral Warriors were well-known to be merciless to their enemies.
Paenther ushered her through the front door and into the warm interior of an extraordinary house. There were luxuriously appointed apartments within the caverns where shed lived all these years, the apartments of Birik and his sorcerers, but she rarely visited them and never willingly. Shed preferred her own rustic cell, or the woods, where shed been left alone.
But her gaze focused on the grandeur before her with wonder. The foyer glowed brilliantly with light, nearly blinding her as her gaze took in the beauty of the high, three-story room. Stairs curved upward from either side, while high above them hung a huge crystal chandelier the likes of which shed never seen. The walls were covered in richly decorated papers, gilt-framed paintings of flowers and animals positioned elegantly upon them. The largest of the paintings was on the floor beneath her feet, a portrayal of a forest filled with naked men and women and all manner of creatures that no longer existed, if they ever had.
Skye jerked at the sound of footsteps and looked up to find three people rushing into the foyertwo more large Ferals striding purposefully, towering over the blond female between them.
Paenther! the woman cried, smiling with such relief, Skye wondered if this were Paenthers mate. We were so worried. But as she started forward, the largest of the men, a man with a commanding face and thick waves of golden hair, held her back.
Lyon the blond complained.
Easy, Kara. Hes caught a witch.
Karas blue eyes swung to her, flaring with wariness and no small amount of hostility. The female pressed herself back against the big man as his arm went around her protectively.
This man was clearly the womans mate. Strangely, foolishly, Skye was glad.
The womans wary gaze returned to Paenther. Im glad youre okay.
Thank you, Radiant.
Holding the woman against him, Lyon reached for Paenther and clasped arms with him, his expression deep and warm and moving. Im glad to have you back, B.P.
The man beside him greeted Paenther in the same way. He said nothing, but the relief in his pale eyes was clear. When he released Paenther, he looked at her, his eyes going cold as a snowy day as he plucked at his goatee.
Shes tugging at my animal.
And mine, Lyon said, pinning her with a look sharp enough to cut before lifting his gaze to Paenther. The Shamans on his way. I want her locked up until he gets here.
Agreed.
Evangeline and Genovia are on their way as well. I want everyone in that car cleared immediately. Lyons gaze swung to Tighe. You and Delaney can clear one another.
Tighe grinned as he pulled the dark-haired woman against him, the dimpled smile turning his hard face rakish as he visibly inhaled the scent of her hair. If I have to.
The woman elbowed him gently, making him laugh.
Lyons gaze swung to the man with the cold eyes. Kougar, you and Jag keep an eye on Paenther until we know whether hes still enthralled. His gaze came back to Paenther. Get rid of her cantric, if you havent already.
Skye blanched. All Mage were implanted with the braided copper circle upon maturity. The cantric acted as a magic focuser and accelerator. Usually it was implanted deep in the flesh of the buttocks, where it wouldnt be seen except by another Mage. But hers wasnt in her buttocks.
You cant, she said quietly.
The hell we cant. Lyon turned on her with eyes filled with such venom she reared back, right into Paenther. His arm went around her middle, pulling her tight against his chest.