Matt: Tales of the Were (Redstone Clan Book 5) (23 page)

That’s when Matt knew Cameron was definitely in the act. Sidwell seemed to realize it too. He whirled to face Cam, who had come out from behind a stone pillar. He was glowing with the fey energy that made it appear as if he was wearing translucent, golden armor.

It was quite an imposing sight, but Matt couldn’t afford distraction now. He still had to help Cam stop Sidwell. Matt wouldn’t rest easy until Sidwell was under their total control. Or dead. Dead was good too. At least as far as Sidwell was concerned.

Matt moved closer to the sorcerer, creeping up behind him. He noticed Morgan approaching from the other side, a little more cautiously. Matt would’ve waved her back, but he knew they needed three points to their pincer. Cam was in front, facing the enemy dead on. Matt and Morgan were there to keep Sidwell from retreating.

At least, that was the theory.

Instead of diminishing, Sidwell’s flames grew brighter, all of a sudden. Cam advanced, and Matt didn’t hold back. No matter what happened, Sidwell had to be stopped, and this was their one and only chance to do it.

As that thought occurred, Matt finally noticed the circle in the dirt. Cam must’ve done it earlier, and it looked like the fey knight was herding the sorcerer into the circle he’d scratched out. There wasn’t time to question. Matt knew circles were significant in magic. He half-shifted into his battle form and roared, forcing the sorcerer back and to the left a little.

He didn’t dare look at the floor. Not while Sidwell was eyeing him. Cam was waving his hands around in arcane symbols, and the sorcerer was forced to move again. Morgan, in her battle form, joined in, forcing another move. Then, just an inch more to the right and…there.

Sidwell was in the circle, and Cam let loose with his magic, trapping the sorcerer within the circle he’d surreptitiously cast. Cam came forward, and battle was engaged.

Sidwell threw everything he had at the circle that caged him. Flames roared within the circle in a dome of protection Cam was holding. Or, at least, that’s how Matt interpreted what he was seeing. Cam was sweating, and his hands were shaking as his fingers twisting into those arcane glyphs that Matt had seen used only a few times by high-powered magic users.

Cam’s arms were trembling, and his whole body shook with the force of the power being thrown against his circle. The flames flared higher and higher, the cavern heating even though the flames were well contained. For now.

“Run!” Cam shouted at them. “I can’t hold him much longer. He’s going to flame out, and when he does, there will be an explosion. You two need to be out of the tunnels before then—and get everyone else clear of the tunnel system. I don’t know how far his flames will go.”

“What about you?” Morgan yelled over the fury of the crackling, snapping, sparkling energy zooming around the cavern and bouncing off the rock walls.

“I can transport. You can’t. Get out now, while you still can!” Cam shouted back. The sound was getting louder as the power ramped up another notch.

Matt didn’t need to hear any more. He grabbed Morgan’s hand, and they ran as they had once before—this time through a different, wider tunnel. He was still in his battle form, but Morgan had shifted back to human, her clothing stretched out of shape a bit but still on her body. She had pulled out her cell phone as she ran, hitting the speed-dial signal they had set up as a fail-safe. With any luck, the call would get everyone who was near the mine moving away.

Cam had insisted on this contingency, and only now, did Matt truly appreciate the effort it had taken to get every cell phone on every member of the team set up. If the Goddess was smiling on them, the fail safe would work, and everybody would turn tail and run. Matt had a feeling when the magic battle below ground finally hit the boiling point, the fault was going to be the least of their immediate worries.

Matt ran, but Morgan was slower in her human form. The same intuition that had made him believe the confrontation was going to happen before the cavalry could arrive told him now, that they didn’t have much time left before the sorcerer flamed out, as Cam had called it. He swooped down and picked up Morgan around her waist, running full out in his half-shifted form, leaping over vast distances, eating up the yards of the tunnel, straining toward the surface.

And then, the earth trembled, and a booming roar came from deep within the mine.

They were almost to the entrance. Matt could see the wide opening that promised safety and fresh air. They were almost there…but would they make it?

Morgan turned her head into his neck as the fire caught up with them, for a split second, before they burst into the open air. Matt lunged to the side, out of the stream of intense fire that lasted for minutes rather than seconds.

He panted, stumbling away from the pulsating flames with Morgan still held tight against his chest. He felt raw in places and could smell singed fur, but they were alive. That had to count for something.

“Are you okay, sweetheart?” he asked, setting her down on a smooth, flat rock, some distance from the dying flames.

“I’m fine. How about you? I think your hair melted a bit in spots.” She reached up to touch his hair. “Oh, Matt. Does anything hurt? Were you burned anywhere?”

“I don’t think so,” he assured her. “I feel okay. Just a little crispy, but not too badly singed, thank the Goddess.”

He sat next to her, both of them watching the showy fire that was only just starting to burn itself out.

“I hope everybody else got away in time,” Morgan murmured, looping her arm around his waist and leaning her head against his shoulder.

“I hope Cam did too,” Matt agreed. “He did a heck of thing down there.”

“So did you two.” Cam’s voice came from behind them.

Matt stood and whirled to face the fey knight. He looked a little worse for wear, but he was alive and whole. Like Matt, a little singed but okay. And he looked like he was barely staying on his feet.

Morgan got up and guided Cam to the rock they had been sitting on, urging him to rest.

“Are you all right?” she asked, fussing over the knight.

“Is Sidwell gone?” Matt was more concerned about their enemy, at the moment. He needed to know if he still had to be on guard for attack from the fire mage.

“Sidwell did, indeed, flame out quite spectacularly. There is nothing left but a pile of ash where he once stood. When the priestess is fit to work again, she can take care of his remains. For now, the threat is over. Sidwell is no more.”

“Thank the Goddess for that,” Morgan said, leaning against the rock, next to Cam.

“Aye, lassie. You can say that again,” was Cam’s wry comment.

* * *

Morgan was once again taking a shower in the luxurious shower attached to Atticus and Lissa’s guest room. She’d spent more time getting clean…among other things…in this room over the past couple of days than usual. Then again, it had been a very messy few days—both figuratively and literally.

Cameron had left them at the gold mine, declaring that he would go to his home Underhill in order to recoup his spent energy. He’d looked old and haggard after the magic battle with Sidwell, and in urgent need of rest. Morgan had insisted on seeing him safely to the portal, though it had meant going back into the very tunnel that had collapsed around them before.

But Cam was weary, and she could at least do that for him. She worried about whether he’d be okay on the other end, but he assured her that he had friends there too, who would help him if need be. She and Matt had watched him go through the portal, and for just a split second, the scent of unearthly flowers and a warm breeze lifted her hair. She thought she could see a green meadow and an honest-to-goodness castle in the distance on the other side of the hazy barrier, but as soon as Cam walked through, the portal collapsed, and they were left looking at a wall of scorched rock.

Every tunnel had been charred by the mage’s explosion. The old lighting system was toast, but so was anything the bad guys had put in down here, which was a boon. The werewolves would rebuild the parts of the infrastructure they wanted, and they had a clean slate, so to speak, on which to work…even if it was a bit sooty.

Matt stepped into the shower, and her thoughts went immediately to his burns.

“How are you feeling? Let me see your backside,” she demanded. Her tone was filled with worry, but Matt’s arched eyebrow made her think of other things.

“Now that’s what I like to hear,” Matt teased, but turned around so she could inspect his skin.

He was a little bruised in places, but the worst of the injuries were already healing, leaving only the red marks behind. His shifter constitution meant that even those marks would be gone in a few hours. Thank goodness.

“I’m relieved. You took the brunt of that blast of flame.” She stepped into his arms and rubbed her wet body against his, her feline side wanting to snuggle for reassurance.

“The burns are mostly gone, as you saw, but I don’t know what I’m going to do about my hair.” He reached up and ran his fingers through the scraggly, uneven locks that had been charred by the flame, just on one side.

“Buzz cut?” She offered, smiling. “Just until it grows back.”

“Yeah, I guess I’ll have to, but my brothers are going to tease the shit out of me for it.” He rubbed his hair, one last time, then brought his hand down to curve around her waist.

“Be glad you’re around to tease,” she reminded him. “That was a little too close for comfort.”

“Way too close,” he agreed, bending down to kiss her lips. “Let’s not do anything like this again for a century or so, okay?”

She smiled up at him as he moved them both under the spray of multiple shower heads.

“I’m totally fine with that.”

And she was totally fine with the way he made love to her. Over and over again.

* * *

The very next evening, the Brotherhood threw a grand party at the vineyard office, which had been studiously examined by the local priestess. Hers was the second magical check because Cameron had already dismantled Irma’s wards even before they went after her. But it was better to be safe than sorry, and the priestess blessed the building and grounds anew.

The bash was to celebrate several things. The arrival of the cavalry, finally, from both Las Vegas and Moore’s men from Wyoming was one of them. It was a rare opportunity for the two groups to mix and mingle, which wasn’t common in shifter circles. Once a shifter settled in a territory, they usually didn’t leave it too often.

They were also celebrating the end of another
Venifucus
threat, which was something to truly be thankful for. The Brotherhood also wanted to formally welcome the werewolf Pack and others who would be living in the development to Napa. But the biggest cause for celebration, as far as Matt was concerned, was his mating with Morgan.

The Brotherhood had surprised them with generous wedding presents, and Marc had made a big fuss about giving Morgan’s care and safety into Matt’s keeping. The Brotherhood had also welcomed Matt as an honorary member since he was marrying in, so to speak.

And the shifters had brought small gifts and their sincere good wishes to the couple. Every true mating was something to be celebrated in grand style, and this would probably be the first of several parties held in their honor. Matt knew for a fact that his brothers would be throwing a bash when he brought Morgan home to Las Vegas to meet the rest of the Clan, and he was looking forward to it, even if she was a little intimidated by the idea.

Morgan still wasn’t completely comfortable around shifters. That much was obvious. But she was making an effort. For him. Which made him feel about ten feet tall.

He would do anything for her. He loved her deeply and truly…and forever.

Matt leaned down to kiss her, and she responded in kind, cupping his jaw with her soft hand. He loved her touch. Almost as much as he loved her.

Matt had traveled many roads and done a lot in his life, but nothing would ever outshine this moment. They were among friends, celebrating a victory over evil and the never-ending cycle of life…and love.

Life couldn’t get much sweeter than it was right now.

“What?” Morgan asked, smiling up at him from only inches away as he stared into her eyes.

“I love you, Morgan,” he answered simply. That tiny, little, powerful phrase really covered it all.

“And I love you, Matt Redstone.”

EPILOGUE

As the lava flowed in a volatile mountain range thousands of miles away from the party in Napa Valley, a rift opened between the many realms, and a small woman walked through. Her robes caught fire in the heat of the volcano’s inner chamber.

Surrounded in flame, Elspeth came back to the mortal realm.

The Destroyer had returned.

# # #

Thanks for reading
Tales of the Were: Matt (Redstone Clan #5)
. If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review.

Several other books in the
Redstone Clan
miniseries are available now in print and ebook formats. The
Redstone Clan
miniseries consist of:

Redstone Clan
Book 1 – Grif

Redstone Clan
Book 2 – Red

Redstone Clan
Book 3 – Magnus

Redstone Clan
Book 4 – Bobcat

Redstone Clan
Book 5 – Matt

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