I gagged at the increased strength of the dark magic and looked around. The interior of the compound reminded me a bit of the castle, with a large lawn and the scent of the sea. Skeletal oak trees reached for the dark sky, their tips blackened by lightning. In the middle sat a large, square building. It looked old, but details were obscured by the black, sooty curse that covered every inch of it.

A broken fountain sat in the middle of it all, a relic of a time when this place was maintained.

There was no one around, and the abandoned air was strong.

“There’s no way this place is actually empty,” I said. “There has to be guards or—”

As if on cue, figures spilled out of the large doors in the middle of the building. They were each cloaked in black, with hoods covering their faces. Some had horns sticking out from the cloaks.

The demons roared and charged us, weapons glinting in the light. One hurled a fireball that Ana dodged around. It plowed into the ground near us.

“Out of the buggy!” Ana said.

She was right. No need to draw their fire here. We didn’t want to lose our ride out. We couldn’t walk back in the time we had before the portal closed. I figured we were down to about two hours now.

She stopped the vehicle, and we piled out, racing for the demons.

Next to me, my friends plunged into battle. Ali and Haris possessed any demon that got near them. The demons immediately began to fight each other, with Ali and Haris jumping out of their bodies before the death blow took its effect.

Caro drew a sword and lunged for the demon nearest her. Her water power was probably running low, but she could do some serious damage with that blade.

Ana hurled her daggers, while Cade drew his sword.

I eyed the fountain, feeling the water within. I called to it, picking it up like I had an invisible bucket, and slamming it into the demon who charged me.

It plowed into him, sending him flying onto his face with enough force that he left a foot-deep skid mark in the dirt.

He didn’t get up.

Damn, I could move some water.

I could feel even more of it, coming from behind this building. The ocean? A lake? It was a little bit too far away for me to use, but knowing it was there was cool.

I fought my way toward the great wooden doors, using my sword to take out any demon that stood in my way. They were fast, however. One slammed a fireball into my shin, leaving a shining red burn that sang with pain at every step.

But I was closer. Only twenty feet from the door now, and a path was cleared.

“Go!” Caro shouted. “We’ll take care of the rest.”

Ana, Cade, and I were the ones closest to the door. There were still a dozen demons left.

“You sure you can handle this?” I shouted.

Haris and Ali just laughed.

Well, that settled that.

“Thanks!” I raced for the door, dodging a fire mage’s blast.

I yanked open the wooden door, Cade and Ana at my side. We hurried into an empty entry foyer. A flickering, candle-filled chandelier hung from the ceiling, illuminating the gloomy interior.

The curse had blackened the entire space, including a large crucifix on the far wall.

“A monastery,” Cade said.

“Not a monastery anymore.” I looked around. “No way monks did this.”

“No. It’s been reused.” Ana brushed away some of the blackness from the ground with her foot. “Look at this.”

I peered down. A nine-sided star had been gouged into the floor. Burned into it.

That was new.

I touched the back of my neck where my own star-shaped mark was hidden. Mine was only four points. I shook my head. Had to be a coincidence.

But when Ana’s worried gaze met mine, I wasn’t so sure.

I looked away. “Come on. We need to hurry.”

I started left, having no idea where to go now that we were here. Maybe we’d get lucky and meet a helper like Squido, though I doubted it.

As a group, we crept through the quiet hall of the building. Magic vibrated on the air, even stronger than it had been out on the lawn.

“Feel that?” I asked.

“Aye,” Cade murmured.

“Coming from a person, I think,” Ana said.

She was right. I couldn’t get an exact handle on the magical signature—the reek of the curse was too great for that—but it had a distinct living feel to it. Magical signatures from objects usually felt a bit more dead without the strong sensory output living magical signatures had.

The hall we crept through was abandoned, every inch covered in the dark curse. Flicking oil lamps lit our way. Would there be more guards here?

We passed doors to empty rooms, but none caught my eye until we saw one where a relatively clean desk sat.

“Guys,” I whispered and pointed to the desk. “Check that out.”

“It’s not hit by the curse,” Ana murmured.

I went toward the room, making sure it was empty before I snuck in.

“Guard the door,” I said to Cade.

He nodded and set up guard.

Maybe I should feel a little bad about bossing him around, but he was the best option for brute force defense.

And I was close to answers. I could feel it.

There was nothing I wanted more than answers. Why had one of those oily monsters called my name? Called me here?

My heart thundered as I crept through the room, waiting for someone to jump out at me even though I’d seen no one here.

The only two pieces of furniture were a single desk and chair. Though there was nothing on the desk, I rooted through the drawers. Blank paper, pens, nothing of importance.

My fingertips brushed the leather cover of a book. A tiny book. I pulled it out.

A nine-pointed star was drawn on the front. I glanced up at Ana, whose eyes were bright with excitement.

“That’s gotta be a clue,” she said.

I flipped it open, catching sight of the words Dei Rebelles.

Dei? Wasn’t that Latin for gods?

There was no time to read it, so I stuck it in the inner pocket of my jacket then scanned the room. There was another open door. I headed toward it.

Within, there was just a simple, narrow bed—perfect for an ancient monk—and a chair. A pair of black leather high heels sat on the floor, right under a black cloak hanging from a peg on the wall.

“A woman,” Ana murmured.

“The same one Ricketts mentioned before he died?” Or was it just a giant coincidence?

I never liked coincidences.

I backed out of the room. “Let’s go find her.”

“Ready?” Cade asked from where he stood at the door, sword drawn and stance ready.

“Yeah.” We slipped out into the quiet hall again, moving deeper into the house. Magic prickled more insistently against my skin. “I think we’re getting close.”

The next room we entered was massive, like an old ballroom. Or chapel, maybe. It was too dark to say, with only one little chandelier lighting the whole place. Had the person who’d spread this curse killed all the monks, or had they left long ago?

Movement by the far wall caught my eye.

Two huge figures stepped forward. My head tilted back to take in their insane size. Each was draped in a leather kilt, their massive hands gripping huge wooden clubs. Squashed faces completed the look.

“Ogres,” Ana said.

“Holy fates.” I’d never seen real ogres before, but I’d heard of them. They were huge—thirty feet tall, at least.

And they were guarding another door.

“Whatever we want, it’s behind those doors.” I pointed to them.

“I’ll take care of the ogres. You two go in,” Cade said.

From a safety standpoint, it was smarter to stick together. But I really didn’t want to lose whatever was on the other side. If we’d cut through the last of their guards, they might run for it.

And Cade was really damned capable, no matter how much I might pointlessly worry.

“Perfect, thanks,” I said.

“Just give me one moment.” He raised his shield, drew back, and then hurled it at the ogre on the left.

The disk flew through the air, too fast for the ogre to process. It slammed into his skull, throwing him onto his back. The shield returned to Cade, snapping onto his arm.

He threw it again, but the second ogre knew what to expect. It ducked at the last moment.

“Maybe he’s the smart one,” Ana said.

Cade caught the returning shield and grinned. “Let’s go. I’ll keep him off your back.”

We sprinted for the door, Cade veering off to fight the ogre.

Ana and I slipped through the door, straight out into the dark night.

I gaped at the sight.

We were outside, the lightning striking high overhead. The sound of waves crashing sounded from below. This was a cliff overlooking the sea.

In front of us, a glass orb contained a tall woman who was liberally coated in the same shiny, black oil that had covered the monsters we’d first fought. Her head was tilted back and her hands raised high, palms open.

“Is she trapped?” Ana asked.

I studied the ground around her glass globe enclosure. It was streaked with the black oil, which tapered out to form the same black stain that coated the building and stretched into the Fae realm. And finally into the Protectorate.

Evil surrounded her.

No. Evil was her.

This was all coming from her. The globe seemed to be taking the dark magic from her and feeding it into the ground.

I’d never seen anything like it. Never even heard of such a thing.

“I think she’s the source of the curse,” I murmured.

At that moment, the woman’s head snapped forward.

Green eyes blazed, searing me. She grinned, her teeth a bright white contrast to the pitch-black oil that coated her body.

The globe exploded outward, thousands of glass shards streaking through the air. I ducked behind my shield, Ana lunging in next to me, but they sliced at my legs.

Pain seared. I winced.

When the glass stopped flying, I lowered the shield and peered over. The woman took a step toward us, her grin large.

Confusion and fear raced through me. Part of me screamed to hurl a dagger at her and finish her; the other part wanted answers. I couldn’t use my water power. Dragging her out to sea wouldn’t get me what I wanted.

I resisted my usual fight-or-fight response, and called out, “Why are you doing this?”

She laughed, a throaty sound that was deeper than a normal human voice. “I would think that is obvious.”

“It’s really not,” Ana said.

The woman’s gaze moved to me. I tried to take in every detail I could about her, but the sleek, black oil obscured her features and slicked back her hair. Even her body and the type of clothes she wore was hard to determine.

But her power wasn’t. It stank of evil. Just like the curse.

“You are the curse,” I said.

“Impressed?”

“No. But why the hell are you doing this?” Carefully, I stashed my sword in the ether and pulled out my dagger, making sure to do so behind the concealment of my shield.

If I had any choice in the matter, this wouldn’t be a close-range attack. I didn’t want to get anywhere near this woman.

“I would think that’s obvious, Bree.”

“How do you know me?”

Her head turned toward Ana. “Ana.”

Ana growled low in her throat. Her magic vibrated around her, weak and faint. She’d blown most of it getting us past the thorny hedges.

“Why this curse?” I asked. “Do you want to kill us?”

“It’s not what I want that matters.” She shook her head, the way someone did when they heard unwanted voices. Her gaze snapped to me. “The curse was the best way to get to you. Either it destroyed the protections on your castle, or it brought you to me.” She grinned. “Fortunately, you couldn’t bear to wait.”

She was hunting me the same way Ricketts had been. This was the woman who’d helped him. The woman he’d worked for.

“What is Dei Rebelles?” I asked.

“Maybe you’re not so stupid after all.” She raised her hands, ready to use her magic. “And you’ll find out soon enough.”

“Get ready,” I murmured to Ana.

I hurled my dagger as she threw a lightning bolt at us. We dived left, barely avoiding the strike.

My blade sliced her arm, and she hissed.

Ana threw one of her daggers, but the woman was too fast. She zapped it with a lightning bolt.

I dived left, trying to distract her.

It worked.

Too well. Her lightning bolt hit me in the leg, sending bone-numbing pain tearing through me. I stumbled, crashing to the ground. She threw another bolt at me. I huddled behind my shield, my arms shaking from the impact.

Ana threw another dagger. It plunged into the woman’s other arm. She shrieked her rage, yanking the blade out and raising her arms.

All around, rocks began to roll toward her. Large ones and small ones dug themselves out of the earth. She flung her hands out toward us. The rocks veered off course, rolling toward Ana and me. Faster and faster. Some were as large as small cars.

They’d crush us.

My heart rate spiked. I couldn’t fight this with sword or shield.

And Ana didn’t have much shield magic left.

I called upon the ocean, praying I’d have the accuracy and skill I needed. I just had to buy time until our friends arrived and we could capture her. Get the answers I craved.

As if she could tell what I was doing, the woman threw out her arms and shot another lightning bolt at me. Thunder cracked on the air as it lit up the night sky.

Ana shrieked and charged, throwing out the last of her protective magic to create a shield in front of me. The lightning struck it, turning it white.

That brief moment was all I needed. My magic grabbed onto the ocean far below and dragged the water upward.

I envisioned a two-pronged wave. Strain pulled at my muscles and my magic. The sea was far away, difficult to grasp. I panted, giving it everything I had. Feeding my magic into the ocean as I commanded it to come to me.

Fear chilled me—this couldn’t possibly work.

The wall of water appeared, rising tall above the cliff, and crashed down on the boulders that rolled toward us, narrowly avoiding the woman.

The rocks were so close to us that the crashing water soaked me and my sister.

I commanded the water to drag the rocks into the sea. It bubbled and thrashed, pulling the rocks away from us and over the cliff edge.

Wow. I couldn’t believe that had worked. Water was powerful—but that powerful?

The woman shrieked her rage, raising her hands again.

Then her head jerked, her green gaze going wide as she spotted something behind us.

I glanced back, spotting Cade and our friends.

“Capture, don’t kill!” I shouted.

The woman hissed, then turned and sprinted for the cliff.

“No!” I raced after her, dropping my shield and sword. My lungs burned as I ran.

She jumped, sailing through the air.

Disappearing.

I skidded to a stop at the edge of the cliff, watching her plunge toward the ocean. The splash far below was tiny, the streak of oil on top like a bloodstain.

I recoiled, feeling the revulsion of the ocean as she plunged into its depths. Gagging, I called upon my magic, begging the ocean to find her. To return her to me.

I wanted her so badly I could taste it on my tongue like blood after a bite. She had answers.

I lifted the water in waves and spires, but the woman never appeared.

Ana joined me, panting.

“It’s not working.” Frustration beat at my chest, strong and fierce.

“She’s gone.”

Cade, Caro, Ali, and Haris joined us. I could feel their presence but didn’t turn to look. I had to get her. I pushed my magic harder, searching the sea for her. Perhaps I was going crazy, but I thought I could see beneath the ocean in my mind’s eye.

Rocks and silver fish and kelp. But no woman.

My breath heaved and my muscles ached. Weakness replaced the magic within me.

“Stop!” Ana’s voice came from far away.

I ignored her, still searching for the woman, moving the sea below. My head buzzed. My body sagged.

Strong arms wrapped around me, tugging at me. I thrashed.

“Stop!” Cade’s voice was low in my ear. “Stop. She’s gone.”

Frustration welled within me, but I sagged, panting.

Damn it.

She was gone. And my magic was tapped out.

Cade kept me supported as I regained my footing. I took half a moment to rest against his broad chest and draw on his strength. Then I sucked in a deep breath and stood on my own, pulling away.

I turned to my friends. “Let’s get out of here.”

They nodded. Each looked like hell, covered in oil and black dust and blood and bruises.

“How long do we have?” Ana asked.

Caro looked at a slim watch on her wrist. “An hour. Let’s hurry. The demons and monsters are all dead, but we don’t want to hit any snags.”

Wasn’t that the truth. This was the last place I wanted to hang out.

We turned and ran back across the lawn. Inside the huge room, both of the ogres lay on their backs, out cold. I made a mental note to ask Cade how he’d taken out the second one.

As we ran through the empty building, I realized the black soot was fading from the walls.

“It’s returning to normal,” Ana said.

“Thank fates.” It was more than I could have hoped for.

The trip back across the challenge field was fortunately uneventful. With the woman’s curse no longer fueling this place, the thorny hedges had gone silent, returning to normal.

By the time Ana drove us through the portal, I was beyond ready to get home.

Jude and Hedy were the first ones we saw as we arrived back in Eidollawn. Their eyes brightened, and relief relaxed their faces.

“Thank fates you’re back,” Jude said.

“And you succeeded?” Hedy gestured to the buildings around us, which were beginning to lose some of their oily stain.

“Mostly,” I said. “Stopped the curse, but not the one who cast it.”

“We’ll discuss that more later,” Jude said. “For now, we’ll shut this portal for good so that the curse can’t hurt this place again.”

“Back up,” Hedy said. “Let’s detonate this thing.”

We retreated to the protection of one of the buildings. All around the portal, Hedy had laid orange crystals connected by golden wire. Magic vibrated around them.

“It’s like magical C4,” she murmured. “Designed to break a portal’s magic. A little invention I made up.”

“Nice,” I murmured.

She raised her wand and muttered a few words, then flicked it toward the crystals. They exploded in a blast of fiery light. Then the portal and the well collapsed. The magic that had flowed from it disappeared entirely, leaving a blank space that I could almost feel. A lack of all magic—right there, in that one little spot.

“Well done.” Jude brushed her hands together. “Now, let’s get out of here.”

I gave the well one last look. Longing, almost. For the woman who’d disappeared, and the answers she’d taken with her.