Chapter 33
They arrived in a blink.
Abbie’s whole face lit when she spotted Wilder, and the instant her arms encircled his neck, a sense of homecoming enveloped him.
“Abbie,” he breathed. His throat clogged, and words failed him.
“Oh my god, Wilder!”
He drew back and cupped her face. Tenderly brushing the hair from her forehead, he asked, “How are you here? Did you pass your test?”
“What test?”
“I’ll take that as a no.” He spotted Royal hanging back. “Hey, man. Where’s Silas and Morcant?”
A pained look crossed his expression. “Silas didn’t make the jump.”
“Christ, I’m sorry.” And Wilder was. He couldn’t imagine losing a brother during this insanity.
“Truth is, I feared we’d meet our end with a bullet or noose, so it’s much better for him to be reunited with his wife as he was,” Royal replied matter-of-factly.
“Still hurts.”
“Yeah. It does.”
Abbie buried her face in the crook of Wilder’s neck, and he rubbed his cheek against her soft hair. Peace, the first since their parting, settled over him. It didn’t matter if they never made it home, as long as he was with her, the world could go to hell.
“Morcant?” Damian asked. “You never said.”
“We’ve been unable to find him. He gave us the slip.” Royal appeared disgusted by their lack of success.
“Where did you go, and how did you get back here, ma chère?” Draven asked.
Wilder didn’t have the heart to protest the endearment. Abbie’s Guardian was entitled to a slip for all he’d done for them.
She shifted to address the others, not letting go of him. “Heightened emotions trigger my gift, as you know,” she began.
“When I was electrocuted in the cabin, she reacted badly, and the entire structure, with the four of us, went through another portal,” Royal added.
She glanced up and met Wilder’s gaze. “To the present day, up on the summit.”
“Jesus!”
“My thoughts exactly.” She shuddered, causing him to tighten his arm around her.
Giving him one of the loving smiles he’d missed so fucking much, she said, “Silas’s body and the cabin landed at the base of the mountain.
Royal, Morcunt, and I on the peak. The jackass glamoured into Silas and had me fooled for a minute or two.
Once I realized it was him, I got the hell out of there, with Royal’s body in tow. ”
“The Aether and his Sentinels were kind enough to revive me.” Royal shot a grateful grin in Damian’s direction.
The Aether’s expression was pained.
“He’s not a fan of spoilers,” Wilder said dryly, clearing Royal’s confusion.
“Ah, yeah. Makes sense. He refused to tell us anything about this journey either.”
“Why did you return without him to this time?”
“Oh, he’s here. Somewhere,” Abbie assured them with a frustrated sigh.
“We found him in the ghost town of Perdition Ridge, freaked out, which may have given me a bit too much pleasure. We managed to get Draven’s magical shackle on him, but the jump through time shorted out the spell.
He teleported before we could subdue him. ”
“But since his return was our main mission, we came to find you and the Fire Cat’s father,” Royal said.
Wilder’s stomach dropped, and he shot a worried glance Damian’s way. “Do you think they missed each other in the crossing?”
“Perhaps. The other option is unfortunate.”
“So many flipping options,” Abbie muttered. She frowned and asked, “What would the other option be?”
“Castor might never have made it back,” Wilder replied in his stead. “But why? If the others were on the opposite side, opening the portal, it only makes sense he’d return there.”
“They didn’t intend to call my brother to open it for the two of you until I was gone,” Abbie explained. “We couldn’t take the risk Morcunt would steal our combined power.”
Damian grew still, as did the air around them.
The hair on Wilder’s neck lifted.
“We have company,” he told the others through their link.
A low hum prickled at the base of his skull, and the air thickened with ill intent.
“Stay calm,” Abbie urged in a quiet voice, her knuckles white as she gripped his sleeve. “I’ve got this.”
“Abb—”
She cut him off with a sharp glance. A look he remembered well. One that said, “Don’t you dare argue with me, Wilder Thorne, or I’ll murder you where you stand.”
He almost laughed.
It was such an Abbie move!
Wilder released her to do her thing, all the while gearing himself to back her up, whatever it took.
“Keep your fear suppressed, Wild Man,” she warned via their link. “No matter what he does, don’t react.”
“Whatever you say, sweetheart.”
Abbie shot a glance at Royal, and he nodded, seeming to understand her request. He closed his eyes, lifted his arms from his side, palms upward.
“Find him,” he ordered.
Birds rose from their perches, taking flight in every direction at once.
“No need for theatrics,” Morcant said, stepping into view.
A series of gun cocks told them he wasn’t alone.
“We have a very eclectic group here, don’t we?” he purred, as his beady eyes drifted from one face to the next. “Such power!”
“I’m the one you want, Morcunt,” Abbie replied. “Come and get me.”
The devil cocked his head as if trying to determine what was different about her. She hoped he never figured it out.
He sniffed the air wild-animal style.
“You have no fear. No pain. No anger.” Confusion clouded his face. “Where has it gone?”
So much for her hope.
Abbie shrugged and pasted on a taunting smile. “It took a hot minute, but I realized I’m stronger than you. I don’t need to be afraid of a pathetic little boy.”
“Be ready, fellas,” she mentally telegraphed.
Irritation flared on Morcant’s gaunt face. “You dare—”
His arrogant speech died on his lips as the atmosphere buckled under the Aether’s unchecked power. A slow ripple bled through the surrounding trees, and Morcant’s mortal men traded nervous glances.
The crawl of energy along Abbie’s skin preceded the telltale hum of the Aether’s movement. As he stepped up beside her, their gazes locked, and an acknowledgement of their purpose passed between them.
For certain, Morcant wouldn’t understand the significance of their shared look, but their team would recognize a plan when they saw one forming.
His voice rang in her head. “Morcant believes you’re the only one with power as significant as his. He hasn’t recognized who or what I am. That works in our favor.”
“Yep, big mistake on his part. Ready to cage the bastard?” she asked.
Damian lifted a hand, slicing through the thickening atmosphere. Ancient symbols, likely known only to high-level warlocks, unfolded around Morcant, illuminating and spinning faster than the human eye could follow.
The first gunman fired, but his bullet froze inches from the barrel. Dust particles hung weightless, held in limbo by the Guardian.
When Isis gifted Abbie the charm, it had unlocked an intrinsic understanding of her Traveler abilities. It took her only a heartbeat to thread her magic through Draven’s, bolstering the construct and removing some of the strain.
“Includo,” Damian commanded, fisting his hands chest level, then slapping his palms together. The echo of his forceful clap was painful to the ear.
Instantaneously, the glimmering light around Morcant solidified, trapping him mid-sneer.
“He’s contained.”
Abbie exhaled, unweaving the threads and dropping her arms.
Motion resumed around them.
Morcant’s hired henchman crumpled where they stood, and their weapons clattered uselessly at their feet.
Suspended inside a column of light, Morcant struggled. His eye movements were jerky, as if he were trying to absorb what he was seeing, and understanding of his plight dawned far too late.
“You can’t hold me,” he rasped, voice distorted, echoing through the energy field.
Damian regarded him as one might study a specimen under glass. “I humbly disagree.”
Abbie’s shoulders sagged, her breath catching as the strain of the spell tore through her system. Wilder was there instantly, steadying her.
“You good?”
“Define good.” She attempted a smile, but her exhaustion won out. The best she could offer was a tired sigh.
“This thing will hold him?” Royal approached the containment field cautiously.
“For now.” Damian brushed his palms together, snuffing out the sigils. “Long enough for The Authority to receive their new guest.”
“You think you’ve won? You think this ends here?” Morcant snarled, his voice cracking with fury.
Abbie gave him a pitying smile. “You’re threats aren’t original, Morcunt. Monsters always believe they’re almighty and eternal. They aren’t.”
He bellowed his rage, and a hissing steam escaped through the barrier. It was dark, oily, and all kinds of wrong. For a heart-attack-inspiring moment, the prison’s glow dimmed, but Damian reinforced it with a flick of his wrist.
“We should move him to the containment center, in case my enchantment is broken,” he said, though he expressed no genuine concern.
Jonas and Draven flanked the cylinder prison, ready with their transport enchantments.
“Wait!” she cried. Once she had their attention, she rushed forward to hug each man in turn. “I don’t know when the portal will open again, and I wanted to thank you.”
Draven squeezed her tight enough to steal her breath. “I am sorry I couldn’t be a better protector, ma chère.”
“You were the best,” she assured him. “You couldn’t know I was cursed or the trials you’d face countering it,” she teased.
“Be well.” His kiss on her forehead felt fatherly, when in truth he was almost half her age. But she supposed his soul was old, making up the difference.
Next, she flipped off the Arcane Devourer—because she could—and faced Damian. “Spoiler: you turn out all right for an uptight rule follower.”
“I follow rules for a reason. Perhaps one day, when we meet again, I will explain.” He brushed his fingers along her scars, and the tingle traveled through the layers, relaxing the tightly knotted skin.
His all-seeing gaze locked with hers. “You’ve taught us all much, Abigail.
I only wish I’d made your stay easier instead of harder. ”
“I forgive you. But should anyone else like me cross your path, don’t be a stubborn ass.”
“I make no promise other than to try,” he replied with a devastating grin.
“Put that thing away. It’s loaded.” She tapped his chin. His responding laughter was pure sunshine on her soul, and a little dizzying, too. “Wow! Yeah, okay. I—”
Wilder drew her away with an amused smile. “Come on, you. He’s got work to do.”
The canyon light shifted, growing darker, and faint threads of gold illuminated the shadows. In a brilliant burst, their prisoner and his guards were gone, leaving only the Aether.
“What will the Authority do with him?” Wilder asked.
“Yeah, please tell us he’ll be incarcerated forever,” Royal said.
“He’ll be held in stasis until judgment is passed,” Damian explained. His eyes lost focus, and he stared at some distant spot only he could see. A second later, he inclined his head toward Abbie. “You must go to the canyon. They are ready for you.”
“They? Who’s th—”
But Damian was already gone.
Wilder looked down at her. “Not ominous at all, right?”
“Not the least little bit,” she quipped with an eye roll. “But I guess we should grab Royal and get the hell out of Dodge while we can.”
“Perdition Ridge.”
“Well, considering how horrid The Devil’s Backbone was, I’m glad I skipped history’s more notorious places.” Wrapping her arm through his, she rested her head against his shoulder. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye to Shadow.”
“Yeah, but something tells me he knows,” Wilder said.
The canyon was eerily silent when they arrived. The breeze carried the faintest trace of burnt ozone, hinting deeper magic had recently been performed there.
“God, I’ll be glad to see the last of this place.” Royal slowly spun in a circle as his raven familiars gathered above them. His eyes traveled upward along the rock walls, stopping on the shelf across the gaping trail—the one where Abbie had first landed.
“Is that your friend?” he asked quietly.
“Yes.” She met Stands-in-Shadow’s steady-eyed gaze. Kissing her fingers, she placed them over her heart, then sent the energy his way.
“Thank you,” she whispered, as he caught the invisible ball and pressed it to his chest.
Though his lips never moved, she could swear she heard him say, “Go in peace, Traveler’s child.”
Beside her, Wilder withdrew the vial and the written spell.
“Home?” he asked softly.
Abbie leaned into him. “Yeah. Let’s go home.”