Hunted By Firelight by Krista Street
Chapter 23
~ WYATT ~
I prowled on the roof with Bavar at my side. Leaves from the giant trees that stretched over the pentacle design of the castle brushed the top of my head.
Shudders and shakes continually vibrated the building beneath my soles. The robed warlocks stood on the other side of the castle’s wards, each strategically placed around the perimeter. They constantly cast spells that flared off the wards, but they were powerful. Their hits rumbled the ground and tested the ancient magic which protected this land.
Even though I didn’t want to admit it, I couldn’t help but wonder if the wards were weakening. These supernaturals were extremely powerful.
“They’re certainly not afraid to attack in broad daylight.” Bavar stood beside me, his hands on his hips. His SF-issued suit gleamed like obsidian in the sunlight which streaked through the trees. On his wrist, his SF communication device glowed, updates from Squad Three constantly coming through.
“They’re bold, that’s for sure,” I agreed. “And I don’t know if that’s from stupidity, arrogance, or because they know something we don’t.” I paced again. My wolf itched to run free, but unless they penetrated the wards, I would stay in my human form.
Bavar inclined his head. “True, which I have to say, is worrisome.”
“Commander?” Lex’s voice came through Bavar’s wrist device. “I believe the ward near the south is thinning. Something they threw at it penetrated the dome before it sealed again.”
Bavar’s jaw locked. He tapped a button on his glowing wristband. “Stand firm. We don’t move unless the wards truly fall.”
“Copy that.”
My skin heated, hairs sprouting on my arms. “How long until the Fae Guard arrives?”
“Any minute. Let’s hope the wards hold until then.”
Another flare lit the wards up, sending shooting sparks as beautiful as glistening stars over the entire dome.
I locked my gaze on the tall elf. He’d just cast a spell, his magic like nothing I’d seen before. One hit from him was like a rippling tsunami, the wards shuddering and groaning every time he cast.
He didn’t try to conceal his form, but his hood hid his face. The robed warlocks were the same. They stood eerily still, only their arms moving and their lips whispering as they cast dark magic.
They worked in unison, their efforts coordinated and precise. My stomach churned, as it had been for the past two hours. I had a bad feeling about what was to come.
My wristband glowed, then Wes’s voice barked through the device. “Squads Nineteen and Twenty-two are mobilizing. Five minutes out. ETA 1650.”
Bavar nodded. “Good. We’ll need them.”
I hit a button, letting Wes know I’d received the message. Then I prowled along the roof again, the stone beneath my soles feeling like coarse rock. “If they make it through, and we start to lose, we move Avery.”
“Agreed. If the castle falls, she’s easy prey. That safe room is only solid if the walls stay standing. The second they start to crumble, the magic may fail.”
A rustle of branches a mile out had me standing straighter. I tuned in to the area, filtering out the spells constantly thrown at the castle.
Voices carried to me, then the rumble of hooves and the clang of metal. “That sounds like the Fae Guard.”
Bavar smiled. “And not a moment too soon—”
“We have incoming!” Terry’s voice shouted through the commander’s wristband.
Flashes of light had my head snapping up. My lips parted when a thousand bursts of tiny particles pelted the wards, like a giant had thrown a handful of burning embers onto the dome, millions of them striking at once from all angles. “What the—”
The wards shattered, an explosion of light and showering sparks that knocked me off my feet and flew Bavar onto his back.
“No!” I roared.
I leapt to my feet and shifted mid-air, my wolf landing on the roof in a rumble of snarling rage and hackled fur.
Below us, the robed men advanced, taking advantage of our momentary distraction and knocked state.
Lord Godasara tipped his head back, the hood of his robe falling from his face.
He looked exactly as the picture depicted him.
Large pointy ears curved from the sides of his head, twice the size of fairy ears. And his skin was darker, like ripe green olives, while his hair was the shade of snow.
“Good Gods,” Bavar whispered, coming to his feet. “He truly is alive.”
Shouts carried from below as Squad Three mobilized. Spells flew. Arrows whizzed.
And around the castle a giant rumble abruptly shook the earth.
My wolf snarled as my human mind observed the events happening around us.
Bavar’s face paled as he unsheathed his weapons.
The Shroud Forest suddenly came alive, its branches and vines twisting and flowing together until they created a gridlock of tangled wood and bark.
“No,” Bavar whispered. “He is an elf lord, one that controls the forests. It will take precious time for the Fae Guard to hack through that.” He pointed his dagger toward the trees’ branches that had all woven together. In his other hand, his sword gleamed in the sun, as sharp as a razor’s blade.
A shimmer of magic materialized by the arching bridge over the creek. Twenty SF members appeared—Squads Nineteen and Twenty-two had arrived via portal keys.
“Thank the Gods. We’ll need them.” Bavar launched himself off the roof, his figure arcing to the ground as the robed men advanced and fought.
Lex, Terry, Marnee, Bishop, and Charlotte were fending them off, fighting two at a time, but the arriving squads quickly jumped in, making it two SF members to each warlock until the Fae Guard joined us. Then we would outnumber them even more.
Lord Godasara’s head tipped back, his gaze finding mine. His lips lifted in a knowing smile before he blasted a spell right at me.
Rage exploded in my chest as I blurred to the left, dodging the spell. I snarled and then leapt into the chaos below—heading right for the ancient elf that wanted to take my mate.
