Chapter 41
Higher than Everest one minute, bottom of the ocean the next. Vaughn should have known they weren't out of danger yet.
His power sparked into a virtual ice pick and lodged in his skull.
That damned creature rose out of nowhere and turned those nasty, red eyes on Mariah, and Vaughn's ability went crazy.
Mixed curses heralded his brothers' and Odie's arrival.
The voice that came from the creature, a scream blended with an animal howl, scorched Vaughn's ears. Tucking Mariah in to his side, Vaughn turned so his body protected her. His power pushed outward, no longer a rubbery bubble but a harder one, driven by pure rage and fear for her life.
Fuck this. No way would he save her from the Brand bastards only to have this bullshit, whatever the hell it was, hurt her. Not today. Not ever.
"You have tried to take my minion from me," the thing howled.
"If you mean the fucker who kidnapped her and tried to kill her, then yes, you bet we did," Vaughn snarled.
The nothingness expanded, soaking blackness into blackness. "You have failed. We are too strong."
Vaughn was beyond caring. "And by 'we' you mean...?"
"Mon dieu, don't ask it questions, my friend." Odie inhaled.
The thing turned to the Cajun. "You?" An inferno-whistle breath of sulfur blasted out of the thing. "I should have killed you when I had the chance."
What the actual fuck? Odie knew the creature? They had a history?
"But you did not. Now look at you, a disgusting shadow of what you used to be." Odie was baiting it. Why?
"Is she with you?" the thing howled, red ember eyes casting around the forest.
"No idea who you're talking about," Odie replied, his tone casual but his stance rigid. Vaughn had to give the Cajun props for sheer balls.
"No matter. I will destroy her legacy once and for all." The glowing red orbs scanned the group. "Where is the last one?"
"What?" Garrison choked out.
"There is one more of the legacy missing. I must have them all." Snow melted into acrid liquid as thick clouds of sulfur billowed underneath the thing. "No matter." A finger of the black cloud elongated and reached toward Mariah. "Time for you all to know my power. I will destroy this paltry human now."
"No!" Vaughn yelled.
"You cannot stop me."
"The hell I can't."
As the blackness brushed over Mariah's skin, she screamed and grabbed at her neck.
The scent of her burnt flesh seared Vaughn's nose.
He released all conscious constraint of his gift and let it suck up layer after layer of power, cram it into a ball, and extend it out over her. Damn it, his head was going to fly apart.
Concentrate.
This time, he jammed virtual spikes on the outer portion of the thick sphere, because why the hell not? He ignored his own protection and instead ensured that his power covered Mariah. His head throbbed, but damned if she would be hurt any more by that thing.
The creature kept pushing against the invisible barrier, but Mariah's screams receded into a gasp as she sagged into Vaughn's chest. Safe. For now.
Another abrupt change in his power threw his mind from accelerate into annihilate. No longer did his ability want to protect. Now it wanted blood. It wanted revenge.
Time to feed his gift with exactly what it craved. Time to fully become danger.
Those previous encounters were rehearsal.
Not caring what it did to his mind or body, he spread out his arms and blanked his mind, gritting his teeth as he let go of control. No longer did Vaughn fight his power's insistence to transform him into a weapon.
The enlarging force grew around him and pushed outward. Virtual crystals in the sphere grew into long spikes fixed into the surface, each crystal a spear of pure hatred for the thing.
No one messed with Vaughn's family.
No one messed with Mariah.
That creature wanted his soul? Fine. Vaughn would give him every last drop.
With interest.
A pulsing surge of energy rose from the soles of his feet, moving through his body and building power, growing until it became a roaring tidal wave of rage, threatening to consume him, funneling everything he had into the spears. He could control it but just barely.
Vaughn's ears rang, and all sound around him disappeared as his ability approached critical mass.
The suspended spears quivered, sticking out of the virtual sphere.
Somehow he held it back, every muscle in his body shaking with the effort to remain upright.
"Get back, you guys," he gritted out. His voice sounded like he was in a thick barrel.
"Why?" Garrison panted.
"Fucking do it. Get behind a tree or something. Now!" No way to aim this mess. He could only hope he wouldn't wipe everyone out when he let it fly.
It was time. He pushed Mariah toward his brothers and stared down the red-eyed bastard.
Putting every last ounce of hatred for that creature into the virtual ball of fury, he lengthened the spikes.
And...
Like a cannon firing in all directions, the sphere exploded outward, blasting spears into the creature.
A howl—an air raid drill, wild animal, and fire engine mashed together—expelled from his head. Vaughn would make that monster pay for hurting Mariah, and he didn't give one single fuck what the effort cost him personally.
Fireworks blasted across his field of vision and boomed in his ears.
The creature screamed again. "You will not prevail. The legacy will be my first feast when I enter this human world. Count the days until my dominion upon the Earth begins anew."
"Count this, bastard." A second migraine-inducing wave of rage flooded his senses, and he gave himself over to the ability once more. "One." The bubble reformed, bigger and stronger this time. "Two." The crystal shards held steady, vibrating and ready to go.
Time stopped.
He had fully become danger. He would protect what was his.
"Three, fucker." A horrible blast came from him, sucking him dry.
The screech stopped.
Nothing.
No sound. No movement. Nothing.
Mariah? Was she alive?
He shook his head. Still had goddamned stars dancing in his vision. His hearing was screwed up, too, like cotton got stuck in his ears. He bent over. Whatever. He was getting her out of here. Now.
When he staggered forward and went down on a knee, Mariah appeared. He locked onto her arm and dragged her down. He couldn't seem to release his grip on her.
Damn it.
"What the hell did you do?" Garrison ran up. His voice sounded a million miles away. Tinny. Muffled.
"Power. Changed," Vaughn gritted out as he grabbed his head with his free hand. "Holy crap." He forced himself to let go of Mariah before he hurt her. "Sorry."
"Can you walk?" Garrison grabbed him under the armpit.
"Ease up there." Vaughn wobbled. "I'm a little weak. Can't hear real well." He rubbed his ear. Warm, iron-scented wetness dripped down his neck. He wiped his fingers on his jeans. Later. He'd deal with the fallout later.
Mariah's fingers were feather light as she ran them over his face. Best feeling in the universe. "You're bleeding from your ears. What can I do? Do you need anything?" Her voice barely reached him, but he still heard it. Sweetest thing he'd ever heard.
He took her face in his shaking hands. "I need you to be okay." He kissed her hard enough to scrape teeth. The heat from her soft lips gave him an extra burst of adrenaline he didn't know he still possessed. He sat up straighter.
Kerr cleared his throat as he looped a hand under Vaughn's other arm. "Bro. Again. I know it's quite the debate: escape black blob of evil versus swap spit with pretty doctor." He sucked a tooth. "Hate to be the adult once more, but we should get the hell out of this place before something else tries to kill us."
Vaughn leaned against both his brothers. "Let's go. Odie, can you help Mariah?"
"With pleasure."
"Don't get too handsy with her, man," he growled. Shit, Vaughn needed to be in contact with her. Needed it more than air.
Odie's chuckle was seen rather than heard. "Not to worry. I'm spoken for."
Vaughn leaned on Garrison while their motley group limped through the forest to the horses.
"Are we close?" Garrison gritted out. "Delicate flower here weighs a ton."
"Head more to the left, and we'll be at the horses in a few minutes," Kerr said. "Not that you need to hear this, but I'd hurry. Stuff feels spooky out here."
"So says Mr. Obvious," Garrison agreed.
After another minute, Vaughn's legs became more stable. The ringing continued, but at least his ears had stopped bleeding.
All he wanted was Mariah next to him.
He clambered onto his horse. He turned and extended his hand; she hesitated. Then with a boost from Garrison, she settled behind Vaughn.
The moment her arms clamped around his midsection felt like heaven.