Charity moaned and thrashed her head to the side. Devon grimaced and gently shook her awake. She moaned again and rolled her head the other way. Her eyes fluttered.
He shook a little harder. Her eyes fluttered again, but she didn’t rouse.
Fear punched him.
“Penny,” he said, barely able to keep his voice low.
“I’m here.” Penny wove through the furry shifters. All of them were standing now, their hackles rising. She lowered to her knees beside Charity and closed her eyes. A crease formed between her eyebrows. “It feels like…” She hesitated.
Emery’s hands continued to weave through invisible air as he held his position near the cave mouth. A footfall, closer, ran a tingle up Devon’s spine.
“It feels like a bomb.” Penny’s eyes blinked open, and her worried gaze churned Devon’s stomach. “It feels like her magic is getting ready to explode.”
“Fix that energy-sharing link,” Devon said.
“Shhhh!” Emery pushed his hands outward, then acted like he was smearing butter across the cave opening. “That should help deaden our sound, but something’s out there.”
Devon didn’t waste time looking over his shoulder. He stared hard at Penny. “Fix the link,” he whispered, the sound barely riding his breath.
The lack of volume didn’t matter one bit. She felt his alpha magic and jerked back as if slapped. She bent immediately, her hands hovering over Charity.
“If she closed down that link somehow, she did it to protect you,” Yasmine said softly.
“I know,” he responded. “She’s an idiot.”
“I feel…” Penny began, and Devon felt an internal prod deep within him. “That’s you, and… She’s, like…walling herself away. How interesting. Ugh, her magic feels like acid. Like poison. It’s really tumultuous. She really does feel like a bomb. But just here— Ah. Here. Yes…”
A gush of agony seared through Devon. Black clouded his vision. Fire melted his bones. He sank to his hands and knees, his fingers clawing the cave floor.
Shifter magic rose around him, stuffing the air full to bursting, everyone offering up their magic without being asked. Good. He couldn’t have asked if he’d tried. Devon’s energy sapped from him, but he’d been here before. He knew what to do.
With an assist from Penny, he grabbed hold of Charity’s magic. He yanked it to him, buffering it with his pack’s magic, forcing the balance he knew she needed. Like before, breathing became easier. Less painful. The balance pushed his head above water.
But she still didn’t open her eyes.
“She’s on borrowed time,” Penny said, pushing to her feet. “Emery, can we fight whatever is out there? Surely the fae can smooth it over for us. Aren’t they treasured or something— Buck-toothed doppelgangers!”
A form skulked by, hunched and sneaking, with leathery skin and big eyes. Devon let out a breath. A goblin, not something to worry about. And yet that thrum of danger still vibrated through him. The elves weren’t far.
“What happens if we meet an elf along the way?” Devon asked Emery. “What sort of fighters are they? Can we overcome them?”
Emery looked between everyone, as though putting what he saw on a scale. His gaze finally landed on Devon. “One? Easily. A crowd?” He shrugged. “Let’s see, shall we? Bring only what is essential. The fae are bound to have clothes. Fight in whatever form is strongest.”
“Who’s going to carry Charity?” Penny asked.
Yasmine raised her hand. “I can. I’m already in human form. No point in wasting energy with another change.” When Devon hesitated, Yasmine lifted her chin defiantly. “We haven’t always gotten along, but she’s pack. I will protect her with my life.”
Devon nodded and let his wolf finally surge out, stronger physically and in magic. Sights and smell intensified. Danger still throbbed in his middle. He waited while Yasmine and Penny quickly rifled through packs. Those on two feet pulled on clothes and grabbed the bags that were deemed necessary. Yasmine gently lifted Charity and slung her over her shoulder, fireman style.
Vlad’s words came back to Devon: If the elves capture even one of you, they will crack you open like an egg.Chapter Twenty-TwoEmery tore down the magic ward, and Penny ran through at once, peeling off to the side with her hands up and ready.
“I should’ve gone first,” Emery said through clenched teeth as he quickly followed her out.
“Oh, sorry—with Reagan I’m used to being the fall guy,” she replied as Devon emerged from the darkened cave into the glow of early morning. The goblin turned to look at them, its brown eyes enormous in its thin, bony face.
Without warning, it took off into the trees.
Devon tensed and pointed with his nose. Andy, Dillon, and Macy took off immediately, Dillon in the lead. They couldn’t risk that goblin getting away and telling people where they were. Skulking around like it was, it was probably a spy, and it was doubtful it was Vlad’s.
Which raised the question, why hadn’t it been dealt with sooner?