“Where?” Cass demanded.

“In the dome.” I squinted, trying to determine if he was okay. He still wore his burnished red armor, though there was a deep gash on his cheek. The blood was now dried and dark against his face. “He’s standing too still. Something is wrong with him.”

“Gimme.” Cass gestured for the binoculars. I handed them over, and she peered through. “Yeah, he’s totally frozen. And that orb is weird. It’s almost like a giant gemstone.”

“We have to save him.”

“There’s no way to approach stealthily,” Ana said. “It’s all open terrain, especially in the valley.”

I studied our surroundings. She was right. We were nearly into the valley, where the trees were thinner. A river cut through, leaving a big open patch that had no cover. The tree line on the other side was thick, a natural barrier that would be hard to get through in the buggy.

A ghostly figure appeared near the dome, slender and small. A woman?

Suddenly, figures broke from the trees. At least a few dozen of them, all mounted on horseback, charging toward us.

“Incoming!” Bree yelled.

Cass snapped the binoculars down to stare at the mounted attackers. “Demons! And demonic horses!”

And damn, were they fast. No sooner had Cass spoken than they’d leapt across the wide river and traveled twenty meters closer to us. I could now make out the horns on the heads of both the riders and the horses.

“There’s at least forty,” Ares yelled. “Retreat.”

“Don’t need to tell me twice.” Ana turned the buggy in a tight circle and cut diagonally across the mountain behind us, speeding away from the smoky black dome and our oncoming attackers.

I climbed onto the back platform with Ares, budging him over to make room. The mounted demons charged toward us, unnaturally fast on their horses. They were gaining on us, able to ride faster than our vehicle could maneuver through the trees. Ana was fast, but there was no outracing the more maneuverable horses.

My heart thundered as I drew back the string on my bow. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ares clip my harness to the safety bar.

I fired, my arrow finding its mark in the eye of a demon. He flew back off his mount and crashed to the ground. I conjured another arrow and fired. Then again.

“Trade me!” Cass called to Ares.

He climbed down, and she scrambled up, conjuring her fire power and hurling a massive ball of flame at a demon that was breaking away from the pack. They were now only forty meters away.

They fired arrows and threw knives. I dodged one, but another sliced through the side of my thigh. Cass was struck in the shoulder with an arrow. She screamed, going to her knees.

“Faster!” I screamed.

“I’m trying!” Ana swerved through the trees, narrowly avoiding collision every time.

I fired my arrows as quickly as I could, my mind cold and precise even as my heart thundered like a drum and pain sliced through my leg.

In the buggy, it was hard to dodge the blades. An arrow plunged into Ares’s arm, while Bree was sliced by a flying dagger that hit her shoulder.

But there were too many mounted demons, and they were too damned fast. The speed that the buggy could gain on open ground wasn’t possible here in the thickest part of the forest. They gained with every second. There was only thirty meters of distance, then twenty. When they directed their mounts alongside the vehicle, my skin chilled.

“They’re circling us!” Ana cried.

“We need to transport and leave the buggy!” Cass called.

“Hell no,” Bree yelled. “You can bail, but we’re not leaving our ride.”

It was their livelihood. And they were stubborn.

I looked at Cass. As expected, she shook her head, refusing to leave them.

Bree shot her sonic boom at the nearest mounted demon. He flew off his horse and skidded in the dirt. But there were too many!

They raced ahead of the buggy, narrowing in to cut us off. We’d have to plow through them, but would we make it? More demons joined the first, their blades outstretched. They were only thirty meters ahead of us. Two of them unraveled a bright silver cable, stretching it across our path. It sparked with magic. They stretched it farther and farther, making it impossible to drive around.

“A Boom Thread.” Ana took her foot off the gas, slowing the buggy to a crawl. “That’ll blow us up in seconds.”

“Oooh, shit.” Cass hurled a fireball at the demons that were now twenty meters in front of us. The demon dodged, avoiding the blow by inches.

We were in so much trouble. Fear chilled my skin.

Familiar magic sparked on the air.

A huge green and white blur flew past us, hurtling straight for the demons.

Jeff!

And he was huge! As big as a horse.

Cass gasped. “Is that your dragon?”

“Yeah.” I couldn’t believe my eyes. He’d been growing, but this was extreme.

Jeff flew right for the demon holding one end of the Boom Thread. He blew out a huge bolt of fire, lighting up the demon like a torch and avoiding the horse. The fire must have triggered the magic in the Boom Thread, because it exploded in a spectacular show of lights and flame.

“Like the freaking Fourth of July,” Cass said.

“Impressive,” Ares murmured.

Jeff swooped amongst the demons, blasting them with his fire. They burst into flame, flailing. More than a dozen were barbecuing in front of us, a ghastly sight. The horses seemed to like it, however. They actually seemed to be eating it, snapping their heads back to lick at the flame. That was a relief. Even though they were hell horses, I hated to see them hurt.

The rest of the demons fled from Jeff, directing their mounts back toward the valley. More would come after us I was sure, but we had a brief reprieve.

“Go!” Bree yelled. “It’s our opening.”

Ana laid her foot on the gas, dodging between the trees and racing for the clearing. We needed to get far enough away from the other demons that we could call Kelly to transport us out of here.

Jeff flew past us, chasing the demons. He looked smaller than he had been. Almost the size of a large dog.

I spun around. “Jeff! Get back here!”

He whirled on the air, hurtling back toward me. He was definitely smaller. We sped past the burning bodies of the demons with Jeff flying alongside.

“He’s smaller,” Cass yelled.

“Yeah. No idea why.” I gestured him over, and he flew right up beside us, then dived into the footwell. He landed with a thud in the corner, now the size of a house cat.

“You have a freaking dragon?” Bree cried.

“Yeah.” I inspected him as the buggy bounced over the mountainside. He didn’t look like he was shrinking any more, which was a relief.

“Call Kelly,” Ares said. “We’re far enough away.”

“On it.” I dug the charm out of my pocket and pressed it hard with my thumb.

Ana stopped the buggy. The air was dead quiet. Our ragged breathing was the only thing I could hear.

“Come on, come on,” Ana muttered. She climbed onto the seat to scan the surroundings.

The air prickled with tension as we waited. The demons would regroup and come after us, especially now that Jeff was out of the picture. He’d actually fallen asleep in the corner of the seat, slumped against the cushions.

“I guess he used up his magic,” Cass said.

“Yeah.” I petted his head lightly. He snuffled.

“Incoming,” Ares said.

I looked up. On the horizon, back the way we’d come, a group of mounted demons were charging toward us.

“Oh shit oh shit oh shit.” Ana plopped back into her seat and revved the engine.

“No!” I reached out and grabbed her shoulder. “We have to wait for Kelly. This is our only shot. If we start running now, we won’t be able to stop. She’ll be here in seconds.”

“Loooong seconds.” She turned back around to watch the demons, brow creased.

I swallowed hard and turned, watching them thunder toward us. Come on, Kelly.

It’d been almost forty-five seconds now. She’d said thirty. Where was she? My skin crawled, and my breath stopped. The demons were only forty meters off now.

“We’re going to have to run for it,” Bree said from her position on the front platform.

That second, Kelly appeared in the empty passenger seat.

“Go!” Ana cried. “Get us out of here.”

Kelly’s head whipped around, an unconscious reaction to the obvious panic in Ana’s voice. Her eyes widened at the sight of the oncoming demons—which were only twenty meters off now. He threw his hands onto the seat of the car, and his magic welled.

Knives and blasts of fire began to land around us, thrown by the oncoming demons. Right before the ether sucked us in, I caught sight of the shadowy form of Drakon, flying high in the sky.

* * *

We appeared in Death Valley Junction a moment later. The hot sun beat down, and the silence was deafening. I slumped in the back seat next to Jeff, my adrenaline finally fading, leaving me shaky and weak. For a moment, all I could hear was the gasping breaths of my friends.

Ares leaned over me in the back seat. “Are you all right?”

I nodded, wincing at the deep pain in my leg. A quick inspection revealed a deep cut that wept blood. I glanced up at Ares. “You still have an arrow sticking out of your bicep.”

He glanced down as if he’d forgotten, then snapped it in half and yanked it out. I winced, turning toward my friends. Bree was cradling her cut arm, and Cass had an arrow protruding from her shoulder.

“Let’s get back to Magic’s Bend.” Cass’s voice was strained. “I don’t have the guts to yank it out myself. I’m going to go find Aidan.”

She disappeared at that, using her transporting gift to go directly to Aidan, who would heal her.

“She’s got the right idea.” I struggled to sit straight, meeting Bree’s gaze. “Are you all right? That wound looks ugly.”

She nodded sharply. “I’ll be fine.”

“We have healers.”

“So do we.” She climbed out of the car, stumbling when she hit the ground. Ana leapt out and wrapped an arm around her waist. “And I’m going to go see her right about nowish.”

“Thank you for the help!” I called after their quickly retreating figures.

The two waved, but didn’t turn back.

“Girls of few words,” Kelly said.

“That’s them.” I smiled shakily at her, pain and weakness making my stomach churn. “Thanks for the help.”

She nodded. “That was a close call.”

“Yep.” I looked at Ares. “Now let’s get out of here.”

He nodded and wrapped an arm around my waist. I grabbed the sleeping Jeff, who was now the size of a house cat, and dragged him against my chest. He didn’t wake, even when the ether sucked us in.

We arrived at the big green door leading to my apartment. Immediately, Del stuck her head out her window on the third story and shouted down. “You okay?”

“Yeah!” I winced when I tried to take a step.

Ares swept me up into his arms.

“Thanks.” I sagged against him.

“That wound has sliced deep. Take it easy.”

Del opened the green door, and Ares stepped inside, heading up to my apartment. I was cradled in his arms, and Jeff was cradled in mine. We were like a weird Russian nesting doll.

Del pushed open the door so that we could walk through, asking, “Where’s Cass? How’d it go?”

“It was okay.” Pain made my breath short. “Cass went to find Aidan so he could heal her. We found Alton. Alert the FireSouls, will you?”

“Of course. Should they come here?”

Aidan set me on the couch, and I slumped there. Jeff woke up and climbed off me, curling up on the far cushion.

Ares knelt by my side. “You’ve lost a lot of blood.”

My head swam. I must not have noticed how bad it was during the fight—but then, adrenaline always made me fight through the pain.

Del leaned over me and gasped. “Yeah, that’s a deep cut.”

“Have the FireSouls meet us in a few hours for a recap,” Ares said. “Nix will need to rest.”

“I’m okay, I can—” I gasped at a strike of pain. “Yeah. Just a few hours. Be ready to fight.”

I glanced at the clock on the side table. Three o’clock p.m. That would give me enough time.

“All right.” Del hurried away. “I’ll be back to check on you.”

I waved, or at least tried to. My hand only moved a few inches off the couch cushion.

“I’m going to have to heal you,” Ares said.

I nodded weakly. He raised his wrist to his lips, his white fangs extending. He bit, puncturing the skin, then withdrew his fangs. A strange hunger welled inside me as he raised his wrist to my lips.

“You’ll heal better if you drink,” he said, his voice raspy.

I nodded weakly, pressing my lips to the puncture wounds at his wrist. As soon as the warm blood hit my tongue, pleasure exploded through me, followed by light and strength. I moaned, drawing deep.

The blood was hot and sweet, delivering strength throughout my entire body. The pain dulled as the rest of me warmed.

Like last time, Ares’s eyes burned hot and fierce. His lids dropped low as he watched me. Eventually, he raised his other hand to my jaw, pressing gently to release my bite.

“Careful, or you’ll get drunk,” he said.

I drew away, licking my lips. Exhaustion still pulled at me, but the pain was gone. I looked at my leg. The wound was quickly knitting itself back together, an eerie sight.

“Thank you.” I gripped his hand.

“You need a few hours for the full effects.”

I pulled him toward me, kissing him. His lips were firm and warm beneath mine. Despite the pleasure that made me moan, my vision grew even hazier.

He kissed me hard, a parting kiss, then picked me up in his arms. “Come on. We need to get you to bed. A few hours, and you’ll be ready to fight anew.”

I laid my head against his shoulder, the memory of the pleasure streaking through me. “That’s not all I’m going to want to do anew.”

He chuckled and laid me gently on the bed. I reached up and gripped his arm. “Stay.”

He nodded. Whatever he said, I couldn’t hear, as sleep was already taking me.

* * *

I was in the forest again, on the outskirts of Elesius. I sprinted through the forest, darting between skeletal trees and leaping over exposed roots.

Where was she?

Frantic, I searched the area around me, looking for the only one who might be able to help me save the forest. All the water in the stream made no difference. Elesius had no shortage of water.

So something else was killing the forest. I just had to find her to help me save it. It felt like I sprinted for hours, my lungs burning and my muscles aching. But I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t. I couldn’t.

Finally, in the distance, I caught sight of her. Her long white dress glowed in the dim light of the forest, and her pale hair cascaded down her back. I raced for her, drawing up short when I realized that she was nearly transparent.

“What happened to you?” I demanded.

She turned to me, beautiful as ever. The leaves that were her hair were no longer a pale green, but rather a faded white. And I could see through her body to the tree beyond. The sparkle in her eyes was the same, but that was all.

“Time.” Her voice was wispier, weaker.

“I don’t understand.” I shook my head, horrified.

“You do not understand now, but you will.” She started walking away from me, gesturing for me to follow. “But now is not the time for the past. It is time for the present. You must save Elesius, Phoenix.”

“Save the forest? How? It is dying.”

“Save it all.” She led me toward the edge of the magical barrier that protected our town. But it was no longer the glimmering white that I was so used to. Instead, it was a hazy black smoke.

“What happened?” I reached for it.

“No! Don’t! You do not have your sword.”

“I have no sword.”

“You will. When you return to save Elesius from Drakon, you will have the sword.” She pointed to the hazy black mist of the barrier. “And you will sneak into the city here, through this weak spot.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I stepped closer to the barrier, inspecting it.

She was right. The hazy black mist was weaker here. It was so transparent that I could make out the wide river on the other side of the barrier.

“You must hurry, Phoenix. We do not have much time. I created the weak spot in the barrier, but it will not last. You must save us.”

I turned to ask her more questions, but she was gone. I was alone.