I rearranged the chairs to form a basic bed shape, then stripped off my jacket to use as a pillow and lay down. Despite the ever-present awareness of Luc, sleep hit hard and fast.
The uncomfortable racing of my heart and a deep sense of wrongness woke me who knew how many hours later.
I thrust upright and looked around quickly. The room lay in darkness. Luc was asleep in a chair, his arms crossed on his chest and his feet up on another chair. I swallowed heavily and scanned the room, looking for changes or flashing runes. Nothing. And yet … something was definitely off.
I stood up, and from the other side of the table came a scrape of movement.
“Everything okay?” Luc asked.
“I’m not sure yet.”
But even as I said that, my gaze was drawn to the map that held the image of the main gate. Whatever I was sensing, it was coming from there.
That surely couldn’t be a good sign.
I walked across, flexing my fingers in an effort to ease the tension. Sparks flew in response, briefly resembling fairy lights that faded as quickly as they appeared.
The main gate wasn’t flashing, but the wrongness was definitely emanating from it.
Luc moved up behind me, his heat pressing into my spine even though he wasn’t touching me. “Is something happening at the main gate?”
“Yes, but I have no idea what.”
I raised a finger and carefully pressed it against the rune. It remained inert, and yet the twisting sense of wrongness grew stronger.
“It’s not opening, but whatever I’m sensing is coming from there.”
“Could it be Mo’s spell?”
“Oh fuck … yes. Max is testing his sword against the gate.” I grabbed my phone out of my pocket, even as the damn thing rang. It was Mo. Heart hammering, I hit answer and said, “Is your gate spell being tested?”
“It certainly is. How did you know?”
“Something felt off with its rune.” I scrubbed a hand across my eyes. “Are you heading out there?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll meet you there.”
“I’m not sure—”
“Don’t fucking finish that sentence, Mo. Elysian is our one chance to put an end to Max’s nonsense. I need to do this.”
Had to do this. Had to ask him why.
She sighed. “Indeed, but be careful. Max is well aware I alarmed the gate, and this might be nothing more than another of their traps.”
“Meet you on the bridge?”
“Yes, if it’s safe. Otherwise, remain aloft until I arrive.”
“Will do.” I hung up, shoved my phone into my pocket, and then met Luc’s gaze. “I have to go.”
“This is definitely one of those times I wish I had wings.” Frustration and concern spun through our link, even though there was little evidence of it in his expression. “I’ll follow you up in the SUV, just in case.”
“Whatever is going on up there will probably be over by the time you arrive—”
“Then ring me and I’ll turn around,” he cut in. “Because I’ve got this bad feeling things will go very wrong if I’m not there.”
I frowned. “I can take care of myself—”
“I’m well aware of that, and that’s not what I meant.”
“I’ll be fine. I promise.” And hoped, even as I said it, that I hadn’t just tempted fate.
He gently touched my face, his thumb brushing my lips. “You’d better be. I have no desire to wait yet another lifetime to explore what might lie between us.”
I grinned. “You already know what lies between us, because Mo’s informed you often enough. It’s kids. Lots of kids.”
He laughed, though it failed to lift the worry in his eyes. “I think we’d better explore the sex thing for a few years first.”
“On that, we agree.”
I moved across to Elysian and slung her over my shoulder. But as I reached for Nex and Vita, I hesitated. If this was a trap and I did get caught, the knives would be taken from me and destroyed. Given I could use their power without holding them—even if at a greater cost—it would be wiser to leave them here. Especially since I’d probably need Vita’s healing help in the very near future.
It was an ominous thought. I undid the chain holding the coronation ring, hooked it onto the chair next to the crown, then turned and headed out. Once I’d reached the old chapel, I shifted shape and arrowed into the vent. The sword didn’t hit the sides, and I didn’t come to a crashing halt.
I flew toward Yorkshire as fast as I was physically capable. I had to get to the gate before Mo. If this was a trap, it was likely to be aimed at her more than me, given the number of attempts they’d already made on her life. Granted, they’d made just as many on me, but, as she’d already noted, Max knew she’d placed that block on the gate, so what better way to lure her back there than an attempt to smash it open?
Dawn was just beginning to creep golden fingers across the sky by the time I reached the gate, though the faint glimmers of light didn’t mean the demons wouldn’t be about. Until the sun actually crested the horizon, they were able to move around freely.
I circled the Gill, but couldn’t see Mo—or anyone else, for that matter. No cars were parked on the side of the nearby road, which meant Max had flown here. I continued to circle, but couldn’t see him. Either he was under the bridge or hiding elsewhere. After one more sweep, I dropped to the bridge spanning the small stream—or beck, as it was more commonly known around here—and shifted to human form.
The air was still, and cold enough for each breath to frost. I pulled out my phone, switched off the sound, and then sent a text to Mo, asking if she was here. There was no reply, which meant she was either still in the air or simply not in a position to answer.
I gnawed lightly on my bottom lip and fought the urge to fly into the Gill to see what was happening. But there wasn’t a whole lot of fighting room down there, as I’d discovered the hard way last time we were here. Until I knew for sure where Mo was, it was far better to remain in the open.
But was the open any safer?
I scanned the fog-masked fields surrounding the Gill and the bridge, looking for the problems I suspected were here, but seeing nothing untoward. Yet unease continued to stir.
I walked to the bridge’s rock wall and peered over. Hell’s Gill was a narrow, five-hundred-meter-long slash in the ground that had been created over the centuries by the clear, cold waters that still ran at its base. Although the canyon was not particularly deep—at least in comparison to its US counterparts—it had become a favorite haunt of cavers and scramblers alike, all of whom had no idea that the presence of the main gate made this one of the most dangerous places on Earth.
Enough light had crept into the sky to see the dark pool of slow-moving water at the base of the Gill, but it was impossible to see the main gate from where I stood, nor could I sense any lessening in the old powers that protected this place. Even Mo’s spell pulsed on, seemingly as strong as the day she’d cast it. Either Max’s attempt at breaching it had spectacularly failed or this really was nothing more than a …
The thought stuttered to a halt as Elysian began to pulse. A heartbeat later, energy punched through me, sending me stumbling backward. It burned through every cell and fiber of my body, a storm that spoke of fierce electricity and furious winds, of the cindering heat found deep within the earth, and of the rolling violence and power of the sea.