Hot Blooded (Jessica McClain #2) 0

“From the winged devils, or something stronger?” I asked impatiently, following him.

“Not from them at all. Some being from the Underworld was summoned here, or was powerful enough to come on its own. Its magic still lingers. That’s why the Camazotz can survive here. The power left here mimics the magic they have in their own realm. It’s not strong enough to fuel them, only enough to keep them breathing. Whatever came here, came purposefully to the precise edge of Selene’s border. What you’re feeling is not a spelled line, or a boundary line, but residual magic left by something extremely powerful.”

“Why would something so powerful sneak up to Selene’s boundary?” I asked. “I thought she was in cahoots with the demons? Why would they tiptoe around?”

“Who knows why demons do anything? Maybe it wanted to check up on its pets.” Eamon sniffed. “It was very careful to come just to the edge. But its magic is not only here.” He turned, his eyes searching through the forest. “When something this powerful comes into our world, it comes in a huge circle of power.” When we clearly weren’t following what he was saying, he looked at us like we were the dumbest kids in class. “You are familiar with Circles of Power, correct?”

I glanced at Tyler and Danny. “I know witches use circles when they perform certain magic,” I ventured. “And circular shapes have significance and can enhance power. The Circle of the Earth is the witches’ sacred symbol.” That’s what Marcy had told me anyway. Beyond that, I had no clue. The only circle wolves cared about was the moon, and Eamon wasn’t talking about the goddamn moon.

“This was no witches’ circle,” Eamon snapped. “This is a demon Circle of Power. Not only a demon, but most likely a Lord. It took a huge magnitude of power to leave this much residual magic—enough for the Camazotz to survive in it. This line here”—he pointed to the boundary he had just crossed—“is only part of a much larger circle. You must have driven through the other side—the metal in your car absorbing the brunt of it without your knowledge. It could be as large as fifty miles in diameter. We’ve been inside it since we’ve been on the mountain. But its edge rings with the strongest concentration of power, like the shock waves of an H-bomb pushing its entire energy straight outward. And even now the edges are only faint with it. You should not have been able to detect it without passing through.”

“It’s not faint to me,” I said, meeting his accusing glare with a glare of my own. “It pulses and sends my hackles up, even now. You can’t tell me that Selene doesn’t know it came to visit. If she poked her head out of her hidey-hole, she should be able to sense it. She’s a goddess. It can’t be that undercover.”

Eamon appeared put out that he had to explain so much. “Demon Lords rarely venture into our realm if they don’t have to. They have adequate minions to fetch what they need. This one was careful not to alert Selene, but I agree, if she came close to the signature she would detect it. I’d say it was betting she wouldn’t take the time to notice.”

“Eamon,” Naomi scolded. “It is your job to sense magic and Otherness. Without that skill we stand no chance. You must be more diligent as we move forward or we will all die.”

Eamon had the decency to look a little abashed.

“Well,” I said. “At least we know why the winged beasties don’t pop out of existence once they crossed the boundary line. And we know there’s a finite number. Now all we have to do is trap them. Ray might have a nugget of a plan. If we can contain them in something, freeze them, and add one of Tally’s spells, we might have a chance to keep them out of our way long enough to fight Selene. So the question remains, how do we get them all over here to this side without dying in the process?”

Tyler ran a hand along the back of his neck. “The cooler is made of steel. I can go back and bring it here. Let’s try and see if the ice will freeze this one.” He nodded toward the one on the tree. “If that bugger can’t get out, we’ll go ahead with the plan. It’s not going to be easy, and the sun will be up in a few hours. We’re going to have to work fast.”

I gazed out into the clearing. There were no signs of them, but that meant nothing. The moment Eamon had put a toe out there, they’d come back. “Okay. Go get the cooler,” I agreed. Tyler took off immediately. I faced the rest of the group. “We’re likely going to have to stay here through the daylight hours anyway. Danny needs to recover, and I’m not going forward until we have a concrete plan in place. If this is what Selene has to offer from the beginning, we have to be ready.”

“Don’t worry about me.” Danny grinned. “I’m as good as new already.”

I snorted. “You just had your face ripped off. We can take a break. At the very least you need a change of clothes and a nap.” I glanced at the two vamps. “Let’s take this time to figure out what Selene might be using against us. I want to know what her favorite toys are and what magic she specializes in. If we can anticipate what’s to come, we’ll have a much better chance of fighting our way through her obstacles.”

“That may be true,” Naomi pondered. “But as you said before, Selene is not foolish and will know we are accompanying you. She will try to confuse us.”

“Old habits die hard,” I said. “In the end she’ll likely go back to her favorites. I want to narrow them down one by one. We’ve seen she likes her pets. What else does she like?”

Naomi bit her lip. “She loves fire and her beloved whip. She is a brutal being, beyond anything you can imagine. Her lair is filled with hideous devices meant to torture and deliver lasting harm. She will desperately want to finish you off herself, or she will consider it a failure. But I believe you will be able to best whatever awaits.”

I raised my eyebrows. “So are you saying if I wanted to, I could best these Underworld beasties myself?”

“Whoa, whoa,” Danny interjected, sensing my mood. I wanted to get out of here, and speeding things up sounded like a good plan. “It’s my job to keep you safe, and I will chain you to a tree if you even entertain the thought of going out there.”

“Non.” Naomi shook her head. “He is right. They are something different. I am referring to her magic alone. I am over five hundred years old and have been through many trials in my long life, but I’ve never been incapacitated by anything before this day.” Her eyes grew angry. “She has sold her soul for power, but I will not allow Selene to win.” Naomi’s features started to give that telltale vampire shake, which could only lead to the wet putty look of horror.

I was not a fan of the vamp-out.

“Okay, then.” I clapped my hands together, trying to alleviate the emotional tension each of us was now carrying from the long ordeal with the devils. “Let’s focus on something else. Eamon, what’s Selene’s go-to spell?”

Eamon paled, which was a tough thing to do when your features were the color of ivory and bone. His lips thinned as he likely remembered something terrible. It was clear he didn’t want to answer, but finally managed, “The death spell is one of her favorites, meant to inflict as much pain as possible before it finally kills you. It has taken her many years to perfect it. But she has another. A spell that can plays tricks on your mind, convincing you that you’ve killed and tortured the ones most dear to you. It drives you slowly insane as she watches.”

Jesus.

Right as Eamon finished his sentence, a huge boulder flew from beyond the cliff face and into the trees, taking out everything in its path.

It slammed into the dirt not ten feet from where we stood.

12

“Where did that come from? Did anyone see?” I screamed. The force of the impact had flung us all backward, but being supernaturals, we recovered in an instant. I stood over a dazed Ray, my legs splayed across his body, eyes searching for the next attack. “Boulders don’t just shoot themselves up in the air!” I scented the air, but the only thing I could detect was the bitter scent of the winged devils.

Naomi took flight in a blur. Eamon had disappeared sometime between the boulder’s impact and the recovery.

Danny rushed over to Ray and me, scattering pine needles out of his hair. Tyler had gone to retrieve the cooler and had yet to return, thank goodness. “Whatever flung that rock over the crest was no small being,” Danny said. “Either the boulder was spelled or something massive tossed it. Either way, not a great scenario.”

A large groan rent the air as a hand the size of an armchair reached over the rock face and grabbed on to a lone tree. It bent the small trunk to the ground as it started hoisting itself over the top.

Before we could see what the head looked like, Naomi and Eamon simultaneously landed in front of us. “What the hell is it?” I asked. “Hurry up!”

“We could not go past the tree line because of the devils, but we did go straight above as far as we could,” Naomi said. “It is our belief it’s some kind of mountain troll, based on its size.”

“A troll?” My voice held stunned surprise. “Selene has a troll? How do you even control one? I thought they were confined to Eastern Europe. What’s it going to do when it’s done smashing us with rocks? Eat us?”

“No,” Eamon said with irritation. “You’re talking about a bridge troll. A mountain troll is used to defend a mountain. It’s deft at throwing anything and hitting its target with accuracy. If we linger in the sky, it could take us out by knocking us to the ground with a boulder, and then crush our bodies beneath its feet before we could recover. Do not underestimate a mountain troll.”

“But it doesn’t smell like anything,” Danny complained. “I would assume a troll would have a scent. I’ve smelled many a bridge troll and they have a nasty, fishy stink.”

“It doesn’t matter. We’re about to find out exactly what it is,” I said. “It’s cresting the top now.”