Chapter 14

Nickie held her breath for a few seconds before releasing it again. She could do this. Zenon had prepared her for what might happen—didn’t mean she was happy about it. The good thing about being so high in the air was that their spells weren’t as strong. The bad thing was that they were high up in the air. If something went wrong, it was a long way down. He’d assured her the attack would not be physical. The enemy couldn’t see them, and the precision it would take to strike him mid-flight was next to impossible.

That meant a mental assault was coming. Still reeling from the last one, she wasn’t keen on heading into another, but she’d survive it. Zenon was seeking the weak spots in the magical energy surrounding them. They’d have to use those to their advantage now that they knew—kind of—what they were facing.

The one reassurance she had was that no matter how hard she struggled and tried to get away, Zenon would never let her fall. She didn’t have to ask to know this. It was a soul-deep certainty that didn’t waver when she sought it time and again.

“It’s thinning at the top,” he warned. “Prepare yourself for the worst. Remember, the thoughts are not your own, but the enemy’s fabrication.”

“You’re sure they can’t hurt you physically, though, right? I’d hate to go flying without you and those mighty wings of yours.” Nickie joked, but the fear clawing at her was all too real.

“I will never let you go.”

She took a fortifying breath and wrapped her arms around one of his thick talons, hugging it to her chest as a reminder to hang on even when her head told her otherwise. “Okay, I’m ready when you are.”

With a few strong flaps of his wings, Zenon took her soaring higher. The chill assaulting her moments later had little to do with the temperature and everything to do with slimy magic. Goose bumps chased each other on her skin. Her stomach lurched as an almost sulfuric stench filled her nostrils. It’s going to be fine. Zenon won’t let anything happen to me.

She repeated the mantra, dread filling her as she waited for the hum to overtake her.. Needing more reassurance, she sought Zenon’s presence though their link. Rather than the smooth, easy access she’d had only moments before, the connection scraped the edges of her mind. “Zenon?”

His wings beat hard and fast, taking them to dizzying heights, but that wasn’t what made her blood run cold. It was the utter silence coming from him. The warmth she’d become accustomed to within herself wasn’t there. Two days ago, the emptiness had been normal, but now, it sent pain slicing through her.

“Zenon, please, answer me,” she screamed into his mind, needing to hear his voice so much it hurt. More than absolute silence, the block that slammed into her sent her flying backward into her own mind again. Something was wrong. A sob bubbled from her lips.

“Please, Zenon. I’m scared. I need you to talk to me,” she begged, but all she got for her efforts was the tightening of his claws around her.

***

Zenon flew hard. The faster they got through the thick layer keeping them from open air, the safer they would be. For a spell to span such distances, the witch casting it had to be powerful. He could not fathom it being the work of only one person. As if dealing with one caster wasn’t dangerous enough, a group was so much worse. Each brought their own brand of malice to the spell.

The invisible sludge slicking his feathers made each beat of his wings more difficult than the last. It mattered naught. He would not fail his mate. All he had to do was get through the layer. Regardless of how powerful the witches were, none could maintain the kind of spell they had conjured for an extended period. He was surprised it had not weakened sooner.

A sharp ache pelted his brain, no doubt the effect of the spell upon his body, but he’d suffered much worse. This would not hinder him.

The one question that had driven him to the brink of insanity while he’d been in that horrid field was why? Why imprison him? To what gain? In the past, he had fought for humanity. He had trusted in the inherent goodness of the people he and his brothers had served. He no longer held such fallacy.

A niggling suspicion leeched into his mind. It was the only thing that made sense. Was that what the witches hoped to prevent? His aid to humankind? Perhaps the spell casters assumed he still wanted to save the world and its inhabitants. After what they had put him through, it was laughable that they might believe such a thing. This world wasn’t worth saving, was it? It would make much more sense to destroy it.

Nickie’s soft voice tickled at the edges of his mind. She was a ray of sunshine in a dark and desperate time. He tried to widen their connection but was met with wicked resistance. His heart stuttered. He had shared his thoughts, his memories, and even his heart. How could he not love her after knowing her as he did? Yet now, she’d closed herself from him. Ripping away the comfort he had been so long without. Were she his true mate, she would not wish to hurt him with such vicious abandon.

“Zenon, please, answer me,” she begged, her voice nothing but a whisper, but he was not fooled.

Not willing to hear her lies, he erected a thick wall, severing their link. She would not sway him from his mission. She had tricked him, just as the humans had so long ago. The magic tugged at his feathers, sending him into a spinning freefall.

Her terrified scream filtered through the haze in his mind, and for a moment, he thought to reassure her once more, but her antics were nothing more than tricks. Perhaps she was one of them. A witch bent on shackling him to a metal stake once more.

The ground below rose up to greet him. An invisible tug urged him toward a clearing. Was that to be his new prison? No. He would not succumb. With all his strength, he beat his wings, righting his course and bringing him up toward the clouds once more.

It was just as well he did not crash to the earth. His physical death would have meant hers, as well, but her wicked magic would have assured she rose again. No, he had to end her, but keep himself alive. It was the only way to ensure he was truly rid of the witch.

Far in the distance, mountainous peaks stabbed at the sky. Certainly, the witches’ power would not reach so far. He fought against the pull trying to drag him back.

Images popped in his mind like still pictures—flashing too fast enough to portray movement, yet still jerky and rough. It only took a moment for him to recognize the memory. The burning village. The girl being carried. He would never forget the gruesomeness of the battle or the ultimate betrayal that had followed. The phoenix’s fury exploded though him. Just as he had so many centuries ago, he had the enemy clutched within his talons. The male had not been afforded a peaceful death, and for her betrayal and deceit, neither the witch.

***

Throat raw from screaming as they plummeted from the sky, Nickie squeezed her eyes tight. She was going to die. Zenon had stopped them from crashing into the ground, but every few seconds, his talons tightened until she could hardly breath. Any more and her ribs would break. As it was, she was bound to have bruises. Not that it would matter if she didn’t survive this.

“Please, listen to me. You’re being manipulated by whoever is casting those spells,” she pleaded out loud. Trying to send it into his mind wouldn’t work if she couldn’t get through. With her arms still around the thickest of his claws, she held on as tightly as she could. If he chose to release her, she was done.

His claws tightened again, one sharp tip digging into her side. Pain lanced through her, making her head spin. If he didn’t drop her, he was going to slice her to shreds with his talons.

“Zenon, please, you’re hurting me,” she sent to him again. This time, when her words traveled through their link, the harsh wall from before was less rigid. If blocking someone meant erecting a barrier, then there had to be a way to push through it. Zenon wasn’t in his right mind. If he was, he wouldn’t be hurting her—or scaring her for that matter.

Fighting panic, she took a breath, ignoring the burn in her side. As his mate, I must have some power, right?

Of course, she did. Bolstering her courage, she focused her attention on their mental link. Although it was still cold, she skated over it more easily than she had moments before. When she reached the barrier, rather than throw herself at it, she came close, touching it gently. It shuddered and shook but didn’t send her careening back into her own mind.

In her mind’s eye, she dug her fingers into the thick, tar-like material. When it gave way, she couldn’t help but sob as relief washed over her. This is going to work. It has to.

Shoving harder, she thrust her hands in, then her arms, up to the elbows. With as much power as she could muster, she used what leverage she had to create a hole. The cacophony blasting from his mind nearly had her recoiling, but he hadn’t deserted her, and she wouldn’t leave him to the madness, either.

“Listen to me, Zenon. Focus on my voice. I won’t leave you alone to face this. Do you hear me? Never again. You’re my mate, and I will fight to keep you. They have their magic spells, but I have something better. Something stronger. I have a bond from my soul to yours. I know you can feel it.”

Zenon’s claws dug deeper. “You are a deceiver. You have betrayed me just like the rest,” he accused, agony lacing each word.

“I haven’t. Fight against it. I will not let the witches take you from me. If it means I die, then I will die, but they can’t have you.”

The hum in his mind faded enough for her to catch her breath—or maybe they were catching theirs. Either way, she was ready. “Find me inside you, mate. Feel my love. My devotion. Ignore the lies the spell caster is telling you. In your heart, you know the truth. Let me in all the way, please.”

If it was too soon to love someone, then so be it. She couldn’t deny what was in her heart. Not when all he had to do is look to see it there. And not when she’d been washed with the same from him with every gentle caress of his mind and hers.

“Nickie?”

“I’m here. Help me fight them. Shove the voices away. They have no business in here with us,” she demanded.

His talons closed around her again, stealing her breath before loosening. But then, as though waking from a nightmare, with wings outstretched on a strong current, and his whole body froze. “Have I hurt you, my Nickie?” he choked the broken words into her mind.

“It’s okay. Can you block the humming now?” Her heart thundered in a wild, erratic tempo that would have ended her life a few days before. If he couldn’t, she didn’t know how she’d manage it, but she’d find a way to do it for him.

His grief beat at her. His self-directed anger swirled like angry mist in his mind. “They have all but disappeared now. The magic is fading. Are you hurt?” he asked again in harsh desperation.

If he wanted to seek the information, he could. The fact that he didn’t worried her. “Some minor injuries. I’ll be fine. Let’s just get out of here, okay?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Please, don’t wor—” Her words stopped short as she was sent back, much more gently into her own mind. He’d effectively closed the door on her, shutting her out.