Shadow City (30 page)

They had built a reinforcing circle around Alton’s original and another one made of salt, herbs, crushed stones, and metals surrounded that one, with about ten feet in between. That’s where Alton would go. The next circle was made of the same materials. Lise would go there, along with the angels. The last circle was actually three layers. The inner one was pure sulfur. Written in the yellow powder was a chain of hex marks. Next was a complex mix of nettle, knot grass, nightshade, thistle, wolfsbane, myrrh, cedar shavings, and wormwood.

Behind it was a wall of metal. It was made of train rails, bits of barbed wire, car and truck doors and hoods, and whatever spare bits of metal anybody could collect, from tools to tire rims, a watering trough, horseshoes, some rusted chains, and some fenceposts that looked like they’d been newly pulled out of the ground. Fairy creatures hated cold iron, and steel was made of mostly iron. Over the centuries since humanity had spread across the earth, their sensitivity had gone down, but it still hurt them. Whether it would hurt a Fury or not was debatable. But it was worth a try.

The Sunspears and Shadowblades had gathered behind that line, with the witches behind them. If the Fury broke through, the Spears and Blades would do everything in their power to slow her down and give the witches a chance to deploy a defense. Alexander was hoping it would not come to that. Holt and Valery would be among them, which boosted the witches’ power considerably. But even if that was enough, a lot of people were going to die.

He drew a breath and let it out before looking at Thor and Tyler. “Are you ready?”

“It’s a good day to die,” Tyler said, and then smiled at Alexander’s scowl. “Something Crazy Horse was supposed to have said.”

“Right before he died?” Thor asked.

Tyler shrugged. “He won a lot before that happened. Just like we will today.”

He reached out and shook Thor’s hand and then Alexander’s. “See you on the other side.” With that, he descended into the ravine.

Thor adjusted his hat and spat on the ground, then also shook Alexander’s hand. “Been a pleasure,” he said.

“It is not over yet.”

“This ain’t my first rodeo,” Thor said admonishingly. “Brother, the one thing we didn’t talk about was who is going to break that circle to release the Fury. Ain’t one of us who don’t know you’re fixin’ to do it, which puts you dead in the crosshairs. It’s a suicide mission.” His Texas drawl had broadened, revealing his tension more than anything else.

“I do not plan to die,” Alexander said, knowing his friend was right.

“Do any of us?” Thor asked with a rakish grin. He touched the brim of his hat in a two-fingered salute. “See you on the other side,” he said, and followed Tyler.

Alexander looked over the valley once more. There was nothing more to be done except to get on with it. He looked up at the night sky. The moon was down, and the stars sparkled, almost close enough to touch. For a fleeting moment, he thought of Max. He had not left her a note. If she came back for help, there was a good chance he was not going to be there to give it. His stomach twisted, and he looked away, his body going taut. He pushed away all thought of her and started down the hill. Time was wasting, and every second the Sunspears were exposed to the night, they weakened.

He went to Holt and Valery first. “How did it go?”

The mage was practically giddy with excitement. “It went perfectly. I don’t know if it’s strong enough to hold that much power, but if anything can, this is it.”

Valery nodded. She looked as happy as Holt did, but there was a shadow of sadness in her eyes. She was already looking toward the end of this mess, when she would leave him. This working together had been bittersweet.

Alexander reached out and squeezed her hand in silent sympathy. Holt scowled at their affection. “Come on. We’ve set it in place over here.”

It was much bigger than Alexander had anticipated. He had imagined something the size of a peach or even a grapefruit. The matte-black marble was the size of a small car. It sat on a ring of silver within the circle where Alton was but on the opposite side of the column of smoke.

“You are putting it inside with Alton?” Alexander asked doubtfully. “If he breaks his bindings, will he be able to tap into that magic?”

“It’s a risk,” Valery admitted. “But we’re betting that the Fury isn’t going to give him the chance. This way, we can drain away some of her power while she’s distracted with him. It will continue to draw as long as any binding circles remain in place. The longer it draws, the weaker she gets, and the better the chance of everyone staying alive.”

“What if she breaks it?”

Holt smiled. “That’s the beauty of it. It looks and feels like polished obsidian, but it’s not. It’s a spell matrix. The combination of our magics lets us create something extremely durable. As soon as the last circle breaks, it stops drawing, so it won’t sap power from any of our witches.”

“It won’t weaken the spell circles?”

“No. We took care of that.”

Alexander put his arm around Valery and pulled her tight. “You did well. Thank you.” He looked at the sour-faced Holt. “You, too.”

The mage kept his gaze locked on Valery. “Keep your thanks. I didn’t do it for you.”

Valery stiffened, looking back at Holt. “Don’t,” she said. “We got along for the day. Don’t ruin it.”

“Then don’t run away again. Dammit, as soon as this is over, you’ll be gone. Doesn’t today show you how good we are together?”

She pulled away from Alexander and crossed her arms. “Sure. We make great magic together. That was the whole point from the beginning, wasn’t it? You wanted someone who’d increase your power, and you didn’t care who it was.”

Holt went white. “I loved you. I still love you,” he said, the words like bullets.

“Maybe. As much as you know how to love. But I want more. I want a man who loves me more than anything else in this world or the next. And that isn’t you. I’m lucky if I come in a distant second after your ambition. At least I loved you enough to take those stupid tablets so you could stop trying to kill yourself with them. If I hadn’t, you’d be nothing more than a memory right now.”

Her words were equally furious as her hurt and anger poured out of her. Alexander ached for her. He even sympathized with Holt, who had a desperate look on his face that Alexander found all too familiar. It was the expression of a man who was about to lose the thing he held most precious in all the world, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

“You’re wrong,” Holt rasped. “I want those tablets back because they make you a target. I can’t protect you if you have them. Valery—I’m telling you the truth.”

She stepped back, her face shuttering. “Trouble is, your version of the truth isn’t always accurate. Most of the time, it isn’t even close. But that’s old news, and this is water under the bridge. Let’s get this done before the Fury breaks free.”

Holt stared, his jaw knotting. Then his head jerked in a nod. “We’re not done with this,” he said to her back as she turned away. “We’ll never be done.”

She stopped, then walked on.

Alexander went around to check on Alton. The witch had been staked out spread-eagle. The witch chain lay across his legs, but he was helpless to kick it away. He stared in terror at the column of smoke.

Alexander crouched beside him. “Do you believe your daughter has come back now?” he asked.

“You can’t do this to me. I can help you. I’m powerful. You should use me. I swear, I’ll be loyal. I’ll swear whatever you want. You can bind me however you want.”

“I don’t want a bastard like you,” Giselle said, coming up to stand beside Alexander. “Besides, Cora deserves a chance to talk to you about what you did to her. Don’t you think?”

She put a hand on Alexander’s shoulder and drew him away with her. “Is it true? Max was here?”

He nodded. She had been deep in meditation until near sundown, and he had not had a chance to tell her.

She pressed her palms over her eyes. A moment later, she dropped them. “What did she say?”

“I will tell you when this is over,” he said. “We should get on with it before the Fury breaks free.”

“Right.” She looked out over the ravine. “Take your places. We’ll start closing the circles in a moment.”

Alexander looked at her and then slid the sheath containing her silver knife from her belt.

She glared at him, trying to snatch it as he backed away. “What are you doing?”

“Taking up my position,” he said as he headed to the inner circle.

“No. That’s not your job,” she said.

“Somebody has to do it. Who else is there?”

She opened her mouth, then clamped it shut. There was no one else, and both of them knew it.

He could see that she was thinking of Max. He was, too. But it made no difference. As soon as he had realized that someone had to go in and break the circle and that there would be no escape, he had known he had to do it.

“Maybe now you will believe that I am committed to this covenstead,” he said. “Just like Max and all the rest of the Spears and Blades. They serve because they want to, not out of compulsion. That is why Max will come back to you. You should remember that.”

She said nothing else as she closed the circle. Valery watched Alexander inside, eyes wide. “What are you doing?” she demanded.

His mouth twisted in a semblance of a smile. “Try to stay out of trouble. I love you.”

She started forward, and Holt grabbed her. “Let me go,” she hissed, struggling violently. “Alexander, get out of there. No! You can’t do this!”

Alexander shook his head. “There is no one else.” He watched as her chest began to jerk with wrenching grief. Holt pulled her close, pressing his lips to her hair and murmuring. Alexander turned away, his own chest tight.

Giselle took a knife from Niko and sliced her hand, dribbling blood around the circle and chanting. When she returned to where she started, the circle flared white. The light was so dense that Alexander could not see through it.

He waited as the other circles were closed. A few feet away, Alton wept and begged for release. Alexander’s lip curled.

“Did your daughter beg when you cut into her?” he asked softly. “Stop your sniveling. You made the poison, now you can eat it.”

“She wanted it,” Alton argued. “She said she wanted to do whatever I needed. She said she was proud to help me!”

Alexander could not help himself. He strode over and planted his foot on Alton’s chest, bending down so he was only inches from the other man’s face.

“She did not want to die, you bastard. She wanted you to love her and protect her. She wanted a father, and she got a sadistic killer. Now it is time to pay. Take it like a man, if you can. I do not mind saying that I am damned well going to enjoy watching it.”

He straightened and took up his position again. Beyul was waiting for him. Alexander looked down at him, then shook his head. The beast could walk through live spell circles, and Xaphan’s fire had no effect on him. Chances were he was safer than anyone else at the party.

By the time everything was ready, Alton had begun to cry, and there was a smell of urine. A damp patch spread across the front of his pants.

“Start anytime,” Giselle called.

Alexander slid the sheath off the knife and dropped it. The silver blade was nearly two feet long, and Giselle had painted symbols thick on both sides of it. He crouched. Alton’s binding circle was a thick gray powder with glints of red, green, black, and silver. A dribble of brown splatters went down the center. Blood. Running along outside it was a glowing band of hex marks. It was elegant, and the marks were crisp and powerful. Holt’s work. Alexander was going to have to cut through both to free the Fury.

He straightened and approached the black spell ball. With any luck, the ball would absorb the explosion of magic and let him survive. His mouth twisted. It would take a hell of a lot of luck.

Bracing himself, he bent and slashed through the two circles. He drove the blade deep into the rocky soil and pulled it across the two of them.

The magic burst free. Alexander went flying high in the air. He smashed against the wall of the next binding circle. Bones snapped. The air went out of his lungs, and he dropped to the ground in a heap.

He could not move. He was utterly paralyzed. Sound roared in the air like an avalanche. The reverberation grew louder, and magic pounded at him. Then he heard something else. Felt it. It was a scream. It was full of madness, rage. It churned through the ground, which rose and fell as if it were a storm-driven wave. Wind, smoke, gravel, and dust spun through the air in a stinging hurricane. It tore the breath from him.

The sense of a presence rolled near, and fear grasped Alexander deep in his intestines. Horror washed through his mind, and if he could have moved, he would have screamed. He would not have been able to stop.

The presence came closer. A primitive voice in Alexander’s head shrieked at him,
Danger! Run!
But he was powerless to twitch so much as a muscle. His lungs moved only with great effort, and his heart stuttered unsteadily.

Then he heard a growl. It cut through the sound and seemed to come from the core of the earth itself. The presence stopped and answered with a screech that ruptured Alexander’s eardrums. Pain spiked through his skull, and sound went hollow and spongy except for a ringing that pounded at the inside of his skull like a fire alarm. Nausea washed through him, and his head spun drunkenly.

The wind increased, and the scream went on. Alexander convulsed and seized, the sound tearing him apart. Then, suddenly, a weight sprawled across him. Beyul. The beast growled again, and it vibrated down through Alexander. Instantly, his body stilled, and the scream was dimmed. He felt the presence lunge, and Beyul snapped his teeth. A wave of power exploded from the Grim, and the Fury’s scream cut off suddenly. She retreated across the circle.

Beyul licked Alexander’s cheek wetly and nuzzled his ear. Very doglike. Except that no ordinary dog could have chased a Fury away.

Feeling began to return to his body as his healing spells kicked into high gear. Slowly, he sat up, pushing Beyul off him. The Grim was not having it. Beyul snuggled close, onto Alexander’s lap. He scratched the beast’s ears and then pushed him away. He staggered to his feet, squinting through the blinding whirl of smoke, dust, and debris.