Autumn's Bane Read online

  The beetle hissed again, swinging my way, and I lost my grip on the hilt of the sword, which was stuck deep into the beetle’s flesh. I darted back, reaching for my daggers that were strapped to both legs. Raven cursed as she moved back to prep another spell.

  By now, Angel was at Viktor’s side, and she was frantically examining the locks on the shackles around his wrists. She reached up toward her hair for something and went to work on the locks.

  I turned my attention toward the beetles on the walls and ceiling. They were still teeming out of the tunnel. One fell on me from overhead and I shrieked and shook it off.

  Raven’s eyes narrowed and she held out her hands again. “Vedium, redente, mordenta caleth!” As the words echoed from between her lips, a black smoke poured out of her fingertips to surround the mother beetle and the creature froze. I wasn’t sure whether it was paralyzed or frightened or dead but when Raven said, “Get over to Viktor,” I ran, passing behind her.

  Raven followed me as beetles began dropping from the ceiling. We dodged them, right and left and then right again, as the scuttling masses attempted to prevent us from reaching Viktor’s side.

  Angel shouted, “He’s loose!” as Viktor slumped forward to the floor.

  She shrieked as a couple beetles began to scamper atop him, swatting them away, sending them flying. Raven and I reached her side just as the mother beetle began to move again. Apparently she wasn’t dead.

  “Angel, get out the scroll!” I shouted, freezing as I glanced outside the cavern, only to see the shape of a large dragon winging our way. “Hurry! I think Gyell’s coming.”

  Angel fumbled in her pocket, finally pulling out the scroll. Hands shaking, she tried to unroll it, but dropped it. I swept down, grabbing it up. As I unrolled it, the dragon shape was closing in on the opening.

  “Quick, we need to be touching, grab hold me and one of you grab hold of Viktor!” I scanned the scroll. Thank the gods it was short and sweet. Well, at least short.

  Raven grabbed hold of my right arm, Angel grabbed hold of my left with one hand, and she stretched down to grab Viktor’s wrist with her other hand. I worried my lip as I mentally ran through the incantation. I didn’t want to screw it up.

  The dragon was shimmering, his head almost at the entrance to the cave. The next moment, a cloud of smoke appeared and a tall man that I recognized only too well appeared, landing on the floor. The swarm of death beetles immediately receded, as did the mother beetle.

  “Crap!” I stared into Gyell’s gorgeous eyes, trying to control the shaking in my voice.

  He took in the scene and began to run toward us, eyes glinting with a malevolent light. I started to chant:

  Powers of the vortex, heed my call,

  Take us home, one and all!

  By oak and thorn, by ocean’s roar,

  Transport us away from Death’s door!

  As my words echoed through the room, there was a massive groan, as though the Underworld was loath to give us up. Gyell reached out toward me and I thought he was going to grab hold of my arm, but his hand passed through me, and the last thing I saw, before the mists swept us away, was the anger in his eyes, and the bloodlust on his face.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  I wasn’t sure where we were going to end up, but as the smoke and mist cleared, I realized we were standing the break room, in the exact position we had been in when we went into the Underworld. A sudden fear that Gyell had come through with us hit me and I whirled around, looking for the crazed dragon shifter, but he was nowhere to be seen.

  There was a loud shout and the next moment, Herne raced into the room. Before he could grab me for a hug, I pointed toward Viktor.

  “Get him down to urgent care!” And then, my knees weak, I collapsed into the nearest chair. Raven and Angel dropped to the floor, both looking as exhausted as I felt.

  Talia and Yutani had followed Herne into the room. Talia immediately pulled out her phone and called the clinic, asking them to send up a medic.

  Yutani knelt beside the three of us. “Are you all right? Are any of you hurt?”

  I started to shake my head, but then Angel let out a shout and slumped over. Turning, I saw she had fainted and there appeared to be something moving under her shirt.

  “What the…oh great gods! It’s one of the death beetles!” I ripped at her shirt, pulling it up and we saw one of the smaller beetles trying to burrow into her skin. It had managed to gnaw a hole in her side and was trying to eat into her thoracic cavity. I grabbed hold of the back end of the beetle and pulled. The scutellum of the beetle broke off from the head and thorax, leaving the guts of the beetle dangling. But it kept hold of the flesh in its mandibles.

  “We need to cut that out immediately,” Raven said. “The head can continue to live for a brief time—long enough to do more damage.”

  I pulled out my dagger and, biting my lip, cut the head away from the mandibles. The doctors could remove the rest of it from her when they got here. It hit me that I was staring into a small hole in my best friend’s side. I turned to the side and leaned over, kneeling with my head on the floor as the room began to spin.

  The next few moments were a blur. The medics arrived and they took both Angel and Viktor away, down the elevator to the clinic. Herne began stripping my clothes off, and ordered Raven to do the same.

  “We can’t take a chance that another one of those beetles is hiding in your clothing,” he said. “You can tell me what happened while you’re undressing.”

  Raven told him everything that had happened as we stripped. I was still feeling faint. By the time we had everything off, we had found no more death beetles, and I relaxed a little. But my thoughts were downstairs with Angel and Viktor, and I fretted the entire time.

  Herne’s phone rang as Raven and I got dressed again. He spoke in low tones, and then, he slipped his phone back in his pocket and turned back to us. There was a gleam in his eye that instantly made me relax.

  “Angel will be all right, and so will Viktor. Angel is going to need a couple weeks’ bed rest—she has an infection from the death beetle, but they caught it early and can knock it out with antibiotics. Viktor wasn’t hurt, just drugged. He’s awake now. So you pulled it off. The three of you saved Viktor’s life. And I can’t thank you enough. Sheila’s on her way to take him home, but he wants to talk to you and Raven.”

  Wearily, we all trooped to the elevator and Talia locked it as we headed down to the first floor. Kipa helped prop Raven up, who was as exhausted as I was, and I leaned against Herne.

  As we entered the urgent care clinic, the nurse led us back to the exam room where Angel was lying on the table and Viktor was sitting in a chair, looking groggy. I hurried over to Angel’s side, taking her hand as she gazed up at me weakly.

  “I hear you helped stop that thing from eating its way inside me.” Her eyes were dilated, and she sounded slightly disoriented.

  I glanced over at the nurse.

  “Talk fast. We gave her something for the pain, so she’ll be out of it for a while.”

  Turning back to Angel, I cupped her hand in mine, bringing it to my lips where I kissed it. “Oh, hon, I’d do anything to help you, even cut a freaking beetle off of you.”

  She smiled. “I guess it’s my turn to take it easy for a while?”

  “And you know I’m going to make sure you toe the line.” I paused as Rafé entered the room. The expression on his face gave away his feelings. He crossed to my side and I slowly gave way, stepping back so he could take my place. Her face lit up when she saw him and he leaned over, kissing her gently.

  As he murmured something to her, it hit me—Angel and I would always be best friends, but we were moving in different directions. I was engaged and she was in love. We’d always be important in each other’s lives, but we were expanding, and other people had come into the picture. After I married Herne and moved in with him, Angel would be okay, because Rafé would be there for her. I could feel that, as clearly as I could see
them there in front of me.

  I turned away and Herne caught me to his side. “Are you all right?” he whispered. “You look teary eyed.”

  I shook my head. “Just tired,” I said, gazing up at him. “I love you, you know. I love that you let us go after Viktor without trying to stop us. And I love that you’re here, now, that you care about every single person that we work with.”

  “Oh love, if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be much of a boss, now would I? We’re all family.” He rested his forehead against mine, gazing into my eyes. “Come on, let’s get the two of you home.”

  As he turned to the nurse to discuss moving Angel, Sheila bustled into the room, hurrying over to Viktor. Yutani, Talia, and I stepped out into the waiting room to give everyone room to work. I dropped onto one of the sofas, leaning my head back. Images of the last few minutes of rescuing Viktor flashed through my head.

  “Gyell is going to be on the offense now. He was so angry. He’ll be back, and he’ll probably bring reinforcements. We can’t let down our guard,” I said.

  “We’ll be ready for him,” Talia said. “I have exciting news. While you were gone, I think I found out where Echidna is. Herne contacted Cernunnos, and Cernunnos is sending his right-hand military man down to talk to her.”

  I jerked my head up. “You found her? Is she in Death Valley?”

  Talia nodded. “Yeah, we think so.”

  “I didn’t know Cernunnos had a military force,” I said, frowning.

  “All the gods have warriors,” Yutani said. “Well, most.”

  Before I could say anything else, Herne came out of the exam room.

  “I’ll go get my car. I’ll drive Angel to your place. I’m taking you, too. Kipa will drive Raven home. Yutani can drive your car, then I’ll bring him back to the office. Talia, can you drive Viktor home? Sheila will follow you in her own car, and then she’ll drive you back to get your own.”

  Talia nodded, standing as Viktor slowly entered the waiting room, Sheila beside him. The half-ogre looked exhausted, but his eyes were clear and when he saw me, he gave me a huge smile that warmed my heart.

  “Thank you, Ember. You, Angel, and Raven…without you, chances are I’d be dead.”

  “Gyell would have probably tried to use you as a bargaining chip, but he would have probably made you stay in the Underworld. By the look on his face as we faded out of that cave, I think he would have killed every one of us.” I pushed myself to my feet and gave the half-ogre a huge hug. “I’m so glad you’re back, big guy. I love you, you know.”

  “Love you too, Ember,” he whispered.

  Sheila gave me a hug, too, before she led him out the door. Talia followed them.

  The next few minutes were spent arranging Angel in Herne’s SUV. Yutani drove my car, Kipa drove Raven home, and Herne ferried Angel and me back to our house. As he carried her up to her room, adjuring her to stay in bed, I asked Rafé if he could stay with us over the next week or so in order to take care of Angel while I was at work.

  When everything was finally settled and everyone was home safe, I walked out to the side yard, staring up at the quickly approaching dusk. A crow landed on a nearby rose bush and let out a single caw.

  I closed my eyes, sitting down as the wind ruffled my hair, and the next moment…

  I found myself in a wide, scorched field. As I watched, a large dragon rose from beyond the horizon, but I wasn’t afraid. She was silver and massive and she shone under the evening sky. She raised her head and let out a roar that shook the world. It was a challenge. I knew that to my very core. And then, from a great distance, another roar echoed in return, answering her call. It was beginning…the war was on the horizon and nothing would ever be the same…

  One week later…

  Angel sat at the kitchen table, frowning. “I’m feeling fine. The wound is healing, I want to go to work.”

  “No,” I said. “Forget it. Rafé, you make sure she doesn’t try to leave the house today.”

  “Will do,” Rafé said. He set her breakfast in front of her. “Eat, and quit trying to convince me to let you go out and run errands. I’ll take care of things.”

  “Just remember to set all the wards if you go out,” I said, picking up Mr. Rumblebutt and giving him a big kiss. He purred in my ear and then squirmed out of my hands, jumping on the table. I stared at him. “What do you think you’re doing? You know you’re not supposed to walk on the table when there’s food there.”

  Angel gave me a guilty smile. “Um, I might have…”

  “You let him do it. Enabler,” I said, picking him up and setting him onto the floor. “Okay, I’m off to work. Remember—”

  “I’ll set the wards, have no fear.” Rafé followed me to the door, and as I swung my purse over my shoulder and headed out, I could hear him fiddling with the new security wards we had installed. After we rescued Viktor, we had added to our locks and wards and security systems. I knew Gyell wouldn’t forget what we had done, and there was no doubt that he’d play dirty.

  I paused at the car, bringing out the handheld gizmo that Yutani had given me. It scanned the car for any signs of tampering and I ran it across one side and then the other. Nothing out of the ordinary. I hated having to watch over my shoulder constantly, but it was what it was. Until we stopped Typhon—or at least Gyell—we’d have to be on alert.

  Everyone was at the office already, except for Angel, Rafé, and Charlie, and I hurried into the break room for the morning meeting.

  Herne motioned for me to sit down and, as I did so, Talia handed me a cup of coffee and a maple bar. By the look on Herne’s face, I could tell that something big had happened.

  “What’s going on?”

  “They found Echidna,” he said. “Cernunnos is talking to her right now. He and my mother will be here soon to tell us what’s going on.”

  Talia turned on the TV. “It can’t come too soon. Klarkson? The city where the vrykos first attacked? Is empty. They couldn’t stop the attacks there, and everybody either moved or ended up dead. There are more and more of the dead rising, so it’s not just Gyell causing havoc here, it’s other dragons in other cities.”

  “The United Coalition will be announcing the presence of the dragons this week,” Herne said. “So expect wideset panic. And stupidity.”

  I let out a long sigh. “Well, I—” A sound from the front stopped me in midsentence. Herne quickly darted out the door, his sword in hand. We had taken to going around armed.

  Viktor jumped to follow, but paused as Herne quickly returned, followed by his parents. Morgana and Cernunnos waved for us to stay seated as Herne brought his mother a chair, and Cernunnos swung one around for himself and straddled it.

  “Well” Herne asked for all of us. “What happened?”

  “Echidna knows how to put Typhon back into stasis. It’s a tricky spell, and she’s the only one who remembers it. She’s talking to the Dagda, Danu, Zeus, and Hera right now. She’s agreed to work with us, only this time, she wants to wound Typhon. If he’s put into stasis wounded, the injury won’t heal the entire time he’s in there, so if he breaks out again, it will give us extra time to manage him.” Cernunnos looked pleased—as relieved as I had ever seen him look.

  “What do we do in the meantime?” Herne asked.

  “Take care of outbreaks and work with Ashera, who is going to be the ambassador to the United Coalition for the dragons. There’s no going back. The dragons are here to stay, but the Celestial Wanderers and the Mountain Dreamers have agreed to police the Luminous Warriors once Typhon is taken care of. However…” He paused and let out a long sigh.

  “They want a seat on the United Coalition, right?” I asked.

  Morgana nodded. “While I appreciate all the Spiral Web is doing for us, I was hoping they would agree to return to the Forgotten Kingdom. But the portal to their world is open, and there’s no closing it up again.”

  A thought crossed my mind. “Does that mean we could go see their world?”

  “
Yes, but I don’t recommend it,” Morgana said. “It’s far too dangerous there.”

  “So what comes next?” Talia asked.

  “Echidna will call out Typhon. If he doesn’t answer her challenge, he automatically forfeits, by the rules of the Dragonni. And then he would have to do as she orders. So he must either answer and fight, or let her drive him into stasis. It’s going to be the most spectacular duel the world has ever seen. At least…since the last time.” Morgana sat back. “Until then, just keep the Fae, shifter, and vampire militias ready to go, and suppress the attacks that the shadow dragons are bringing to bear.” She paused, then motioned to Cernunnos. “Don’t forget to give Herne and Ember the gift that Echidna gave to you.”

  “Oh, right!” Cernunnos reached down and picked up the bag he was holding. It was large and looked bulky. He rummaged around inside and then pulled out two quivers, each filled with shimmering purple arrows. One was a quiver of bolts, and it looked the size to fit my bow Serafina. The other looked sized for a compound bow. He handed the former to me, and the latter to Herne.

  I took the quiver and it hummed in my hands. “What’s this?”

  “Allentar arrows and bolts. They’re made of a very rare magical metal. They can pierce dragon scales. You could conceivably shoot down a dragon out of the sky with these. They won’t work on Echidna or Typhon, but they can be used against all of their children, but each arrow can only be used once, so make them count.” Cernunnos’s voice was low, and I detected a note of respect and awe. “Echidna gave me enough to pass out to the other Hunt agencies. This will help control the damage done until she can rise and challenge Typhon, which will be several months.”

  “Allentar…” I had never heard of the metal but as I touched one of the bolts, it reverberated through my fingers and I felt a sense of—almost reverence.