“This guy picked a proper evil lair,” Claire said from the back of the group.

“He turned it evil,” Torus said. “This was once my pasture. Now… no horse can eat here. Nothing can live here.”

He was right. Though there was grass and flowers, I felt no sign of life. I was still unpracticed with my Life magic, but I should at least feel a hint of something.

But this was just… nothing.

Torus stopped when we were still several miles away. “This is where I must stop. I do not want any guards spotting the horses.”

I couldn’t blame him for playing it safe. I dismounted and gave Flint a grateful pat on the neck. “Thanks, buddy.”

He whinnied, his flame-filled eyes sending a shiver down my spine. I liked him, but he sure was creepy.

“We will wait for you here,” Torus said. “Six hours. After that… You are on your own.”

“Thank you,” Ares said.

I echoed his sentiment, then conjured a couple pots of black face paint and handed them around. “Put this on.”

I wished that Connor had more invisibility potion, but we’d used it all up at Drakon’s Oregon stronghold and the new batch hadn’t had time to brew. So we each painted our faces like we were Navy Seals going in to save the day, then started toward the castle, jogging through the pasture.

Soon, I was panting, regretting all the cheese sandwiches instead of salads and the runs I’d missed in favor of movies. If I’d realized I’d be called upon for a task like this, I probably would have started exercising or something.

As we neared the castle, magic began to spark on the air. Tiny little stings pricked my skin, urging me to turn back.

Of course, we couldn’t listen.

Ahead of us, jagged rocks poked out of the ground, like the earth was objecting to the presence of such dark energy and trying to repel it. The rocks circled the castle in groupings, looking almost like clusters of graves.

We were about seventy meters from the castle when magic rent the air, a shockwave of power that made my hair stand on end. Then the world lit up.

Bolts of bright red magic shot from high on the castle walls, missiles headed straight for us. They plowed into the ground all around. Immediately, I conjured a shield.

Only Claire was close to me—the others were farther ahead. I shoved my shield at her. “Take this!”

She took it and I conjured another immediately, using it to deflect a bolt of magic. It ricocheted off the shield, sending a vibration of power up my arm that shook my bones. I raced for the nearest outcropping of rock, which was still twenty meters away. My lungs burned and my skin chilled.

Jets of magic flew as we ran. Claire deflected them, racing forward. Del adopted her Phantom form, turning bright blue. No doubt she was hoping to avoid being hurt by the jets of magic. We sprinted for the rocks, becoming separated as we dodged bolts of magic. There were several clusters of rocks to hide behind—we just had to make it to them and regroup.

I avoided a blast of magic and repelled another with my shield. Ares avoided them by sheer speed, but it seemed that the jets followed us wherever we ran. I thought that we were concealed enough in the dark, but they had good vision.

A magic blast plowed into Del’s leg. She stumbled, crying out and plowing into the ground. Roarke grabbed her and dragged her into his arms, shifting into his demon form in a tornado of gray light. His skin turned dark gray and his massive wings flared out behind him. He used the extra strength and speed to haul a limp Del toward the nearest outcropping of rocks, diving behind them for shelter. The stones towered ten feet above them, providing temporary cover from the blasts.

A moment later, a blast of magic hit Connor’s shoulder. He stumbled, and fell. Ares diverted his path, veering toward Connor. He dragged Connor to his feet, wrapping an arm around his waist and helping him stumble toward the outcropping where Del and Roarke hid.

Though I wanted to join them, we’d become separated and they were too far away. I’d get hit before I reached them. There was another cluster of stones closer to me—they were my best bet. I hurtled toward them, nearly making it before a bolt of magic hit my shield. Power blasted me onto my back. Pain flared as I skidded on the grass.

I sucked in a ragged breath, trying to heave myself to my feet when another bolt hit me in the calf. Agony flared so bright and hot that I nearly blacked out. I doubled over, retching.

What was this dark magic?

I tried to drag myself to my feet, but the pain made my leg give out.

Footsteps thundered toward me. I twisted my head, catching sight of Cass in her griffon form. She skidded to a stop near me, kneeling so that I could clamber onto her back. It was painful, but I managed. Aidan ran beside her in his human form, deflecting bolts of magic with his own blasts of fire. Whenever his flame collided with a jet of magic, the magic deflected.

I clung to Cass’s back as she galloped toward the rocks that I’d been heading for. She skidded to a stop in front of them and I fell off, leaning against the stone. She shifted quickly, returning to a size small enough that she too could hide behind the stone. Aidan joined us.

My leg burned with pain, though there was no visible damage to it. Claire skidded to a stop next to us, huddling against the rock and panting.

“Oh my fates, this is insane,” she said.

Aidan bent over my leg. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” I gasped as the pain spread. “I don’t know what it is.”

Aidan pressed his hand to my leg and fed healing energy into me. Warmth pushed the pain away and I sagged. Behind me, magic plowed into the stone that protected us, reverberating through the rock. It’d blast the whole thing away eventually.

I looked over at Ares and my friends. Their rocky shelter was about fifteen meters away. Ares knelt over Del and Connor, no doubt healing them with his vampire blood.

Aidan peered out from behind the rock, squinting toward the castle. He cursed and pulled back. “They have a celestial stone. It’s how the magic is finding us. It’s a form of remote security that is used when you don’t have a lot of manpower.”

“So it’s directing the magic to shoot at us?” I peered around the rock. Finally, I caught sight of it, a gleaming crystal suspended halfway down the castle wall, sitting on a little ledge and contained within an iron cage. It was at least twenty feet off the ground, with the wall soaring up a total of forty feet, give or take. The magical jets were blasting off the top of the wall, firing straight for our rocks.

I ducked back behind the rock. “They’ve got it right out in the open there.”

“It needs to be able to scan the whole field.”

My mind raced. “Your fireballs can knock the magic off its trajectory?”

“Yes,” Aidan said. “It’s just the aim that’s hard. I don’t always hit it.”

“But you could.” I looked at Cass and Aidan. “Give me some cover.”

“What—”

I lunged away from the rock outcropping before Cass could finish. The problem with fighting battles alongside your loved ones was that someone was always trying to stop you from doing the dangerous things.

That included me. I wouldn’t give her a chance to volunteer. And though Ares was faster than me, he was too far away and too busy healing Del and Connor.

My heart lodged in my throat as I sprinted onto the field. It was fifty meters to the castle wall. I was out in the open. Alone.

It seemed like all the magic directed itself at me. I raised my shield, deflecting a bolt that sent a shockwave streaking up my arm.

From behind me, Ares shouted. I prayed he didn’t follow.

Fire shot through the air over my head, deflecting many of the jets of magic. Thank you Cass and Aidan.

I sprinted, lungs burning, toward the castle wall. Blasts of magic plowed into the ground around me. They slammed into my shield, nearly sending me to my knees. I pushed myself harder, only thirty meters away now.

Fewer blasts of magic plowed into the ground as Cass’s and Aidan’s aim improved. They were knocking more out of the sky. My plan really depended upon them providing full cover.

Twenty meters away.

A blast of magic hit my shield. I stumbled, almost falling, but pushed myself forward.

Ten meters away.

No blasts of magic hit my shield or landed near me. Please guys, keep it up.

Eight meters. No blasts of magic.

Seven meters. Still clear.

The celestial stone was just ahead of me, sitting on top of a little stone shelf, contained behind an iron cage.

I tossed my shield away and conjured a pole for vaulting. I shoved it into the ground, taking off with a leap. As I sailed through the air, I prayed for beginners luck.

Wind whistled by me as I flew toward the crystal. When I was near enough to grab it, I let go of the pole and reached for the stone shelf that held the shining stone.

I grabbed the edge of the shelf, hanging by one hand, and reached up to touch the crystal. I called upon my destroyer magic, letting the rushing wind soar through me and out into the crystal. Desperation drove me forward, pushing my magic into the sparkling stone. Magic sparked and shivered as the crystal fought back, but a moment later, it crumbled to dust.

The magic blasts stopped abruptly.

Holy fates. It’d worked.

But for all the effort I’d gone to, I freaking hoped it would have worked.

My arm muscles burned, reminding me that I was hanging by my fingertips twenty feet over the ground. And I was no Cliffhanger.

No surprise I hadn’t thought this through all the way.

My stomach churned as I looked down, past my dangling feet toward the ground below. The fall would break my legs.

“Nix!” Ares’s roar sounded from close behind me. A moment later, he stood beneath me. “I’ll catch you.”

Thank freaking fates, because my arms and fingertips were about to give out. I let go, dropping into Ares’s arms.

He caught me without staggering, which was really quite impressive, then set me down.

“Thanks.” I turned to find my friends.

They were running across the field, slower than Ares, without his vampire speed.

“You. Are. Insane.” Cass scowled.

“I guess what I don’t have in magic, I have to make up for in guts,” I said.

“You’ve got guts,” Del said. “No question about that.”

I grinned, then turned to the wall and looked up. No guards peered down, which confirmed Aidan’s theory that the security system was remotely operated by the crystal. Didn’t mean there weren’t other dangers past the wall, though.

“Who wants a ride?” Cass grinned and shifted into her griffon form.

Aidan followed, his golden magic bright in the dark night. He towered over Cass’s smaller griffon, able to take two passengers. Claire and Connor climbed onto his back, while I scrambled onto Cass. Roarke picked Del up into his arms and spread his dark wings.

“I can climb it,” Ares said.

I didn’t see how that was possible, but he proved me wrong, finding toeholds and finger crevices that he used to quickly scale the wall. Cass pushed off the ground and we soared upward. She landed on the top of the wall with a thud and I scrambled off.

A shiver raced over my skin. The magic was darker here, stronger. As if we were closer to the source.

“Well, this is weird,” Cass said.

“Yeah.” I studied the single large tower that sat smack in the middle of the courtyard. There was nothing else within the exterior wall—no outbuildings or houses like you’d usually find inside a castle wall. Just one single tower surrounded by an open expanse stretching to the castle wall. The wall itself was circular and massively thick, at least twelve feet wide with plenty of space for an army to stand while guarding the castle. But there was no army.

“It’s too empty,” Ares said.

“Too quiet,” Roarke added.

Which meant shit was about to get real.

The earth shook, as if it could read my thoughts. The ground surrounding the castle vibrated and shifted, packed black dirt breaking apart and rising up. Monsters—honest to god monsters of a type I’d never seen before—burst to life from the ground, born of the earth like this was some kind of crazy Greek myth.

There were three of them that I could see, each guarding a section of the empty ground, their backs to the towers. There was probably one on the far side of the tower that I couldn’t see. Each was easily twenty feet tall and vaguely human shaped. Their fronts were rough gray skin, while their backs and arms were covered in long grayish white hair. Massive claws tipped each huge hand and foot, and their fangs were easily a foot long.

“Is that the Yeti?” Cass whispered.

As if he recognized his name, the one nearest to us roared. The sound pounded my eardrums, and I flinched.

“He’s not as cute as the one in that claymation Christmas movie.” He was downright terrifying. Not just in his size and strength, but he was ugly as Nosferatu in the sunlight. I stepped back from the wall as the beast approached. “We have to get past.”

“Aidan and I can fly people over while the others defend,” Cass said.

“Are you—”

The Yeti leapt for the wall, cutting off my words. His great claws gripped onto the edge and he began to pull himself up.

“Oh crap!” Cass fired a blast of flame at the Yeti’s claws.

He roared and dropped back down. The other Yetis thundered over to join him, their footsteps shaking the ground.

Quickly, Cass shifted into her griffon form. Aidan followed. I lost no time in scrambling onto her back. Ares leapt onto Aidan, looking slightly uncomfortable. It was an intimate thing to ride a shifter. You got a peek into their souls in a way, and saw who they really were. Cass was my deirfiúr so it was no big deal, but Ares hadn’t really known Aidan that long. Not that he was willing to let it stop him. And on the bright side, they’d probably be buddies after this.

If we survived.

Connor withdrew potion bombs from his satchel and passed them out to Claire. “Go on, we’ve got your back!”

Claire hurled her potion bomb at the closest Yeti. The beast roared and ducked back.

Cass and Aidan took off, pushing up into the sky. We were only about ten feet in the air when a Yeti pulled a maneuver straight from Cirque du Soleil. He bounded toward his comrade and leapt off his back, hurtling high into the air with his claws outstretched.

The massive paw slammed into Cass and Aidan, hurtling them out of the air. We flew wings over tail as we plowed toward the ground. Cass flailed her wings, only partially managing to break our fall against the hard ground.

My bones ached and my mind swam as I scrambled awkwardly to my feet. Though everything hurt, all my limbs still worked. Ares was already up, while Cass and Aidan were struggling to stand. One of Cass’s wings was bent oddly, but I didn’t have time to inspect.

The Yetis had turned and were closing in, pounding toward us on massive clawed feet. From the wall, Del hurled huge icicles at them. Though most shattered off their thick hides, one managed to pierce a Yeti in the lower arm. The beast roared, swinging around to find Del.

Roarke leapt off the wall, his wings carrying him toward the Yeti. He was going for the beast’s eyes, I’d bet.

Beside me, Cass shifted back to her human form.

“Go!” she cried. “We’ll cover you!”

“I’ve got your back,” Ares said.

I took one look at my friends, who planned to stay here with the deadliest beasts I’d ever seen. They were so damned brave. “Thanks.”

“We’re a team.” Cass shrugged and hurled a massive fireball at the Yeti who was only ten feet away. The beast batted it out of the way.

Shit. This was going to be tough. I felt like I was leaving them to their deaths, but I had to find Drakon and this was our only shot.

I spun and ran for the big tower, Ares guarding my back against the Yeti who thundered after me. I didn’t risk a look back until I’d reached the black door at the base of the tower. Only then did I turn to see Ares, clinging to the back of the Yeti’s neck and going for the eyes. I had no idea how he’d gotten up there, but if anyone could climb a Yeti, it was Ares.

Cass hurled fireballs while Aidan fought from the sky, shooting toward the Yetis with his massive claws outstretched. Roarke dive-bombed from the air as well, landing massive blows with his fists. Connor and Claire hurled potion bombs while Del threw her icicles.

Badasses. Every one of them.

I turned back to the door and pushed it open, slipping inside the darkened tower. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust. The tower was empty and dark, the ceiling soaring high above. It was so hot in here compared to the cold Siberian night that I had to throw off my jacket. The sight of my Basement Cat T-shirt underneath gave me a little boost of confidence.

And I was going to need it, because the magic was darkest here, and strongest. And my dragon sense was going wild. It pulled toward the floor, as if Drakon were down there.

I scanned the room for a door and found a dark spot on the ground across the tower. A stairway?

I hurried over, keeping my footsteps as quiet as possible. It was a door, built right into the ground. I pulled open the hatch and found a set of stone stairs that went straight into hell.