Wicked Wind (Solsti Prophecy #1) (36 page)

“It didn’t work.” Kai let out a string of foul curses.

With a snarl, Gunnar released the demon’s hand but didn’t shift his weight from Maeron’s body.

Maeron cackled, his voice full of wicked glee. “That was certainly entertaining. Lash demons speaking spells. You all could perform somewhere, maybe go on tour. Of course, it would be better for business if your spells actually worked.” Then he began chanting, and Gunnar was thrown off the Domu and slammed hard against the stone work table.

A jolt rocked her, the raw force of it reverberating in her bones. The impact was so strong that she felt Gunnar’s rational mind slip away, replaced by his beast. She shook her head, uncertain how her mind and body registered all these new sensations.

Kai bellowed and rushed toward them. Skells shrieked as Rhys towered over them, herding them all into one corner of the room. In all the commotion, no one but Nicole saw the small flash of falling glass as it reflected light from the bare bulbs.

Her eyes darted toward it. The tiny jar from Rivkin lay uncorked on the floor. It had fallen out of Gunnar’s pocket with the impact of Maeron’s magical blow, and rolled a few feet down the length of the table. A bit of the ash spilled out, but most of it remained in the glass.

Now
.
This is my chance
.

The tiny hairs on her arms stood straight up as newly amped-up power tingled along her skin. None of the males would agree with her, but they were all engaged in other things at the moment. She stared at the ash and felt the power within it. Her own energy built, vibrating with untapped potential.

All the activity and tension in the room worked in her favor as the air crackled, creating its own gusts. The atmosphere held back. Ready. Primed. Waiting for her command.

She pulled an air current down from the eddies around the surging demons, and pushed the small glass upside down. The fine gray ash spilled onto the floor.

Gunnar was the first to sense her power growing in the room. He turned to her and opened his mouth to protest, but only a garbled roar came out. She wasn’t planning on listening to him anyway. Not this time. If she had the opportunity to rid the world of this crazy-ass demon, she would take it.

Keeping her focus on the dead Domu’s ashes, she coaxed another small breeze down to the work table. The ash lifted gently, as if being cradled by two invisible hands. She brought another current to her aid, positioning it near the suspended ashes.

She glanced over at Kai and Maeron, who circled each other with death stares in their eyes. Kai was probably pissed as hell at not being able to use his sword on the Domu, and at Maeron’s resulting glee. There was enough space between them that she had a clear shot, and she didn’t hesitate.

Using her second air current, she packed more power into it and directed it straight toward Maeron. The ashes zipped across the room and flung against Maeron’s face, exploding in a soft cloud that filtered down into his eyes and mouth. It coated his gray cheekbones and dusted the top of his head. His jaw dropped open in shock, then his yellow eyes widened in disbelief. He howled as he fell to the ground, doubled over in pain.

Kai and Rhys gaped at her. The manacles on her wrists and ankles clattered to the floor as an unholy shriek filled the room. Nicole clapped her hands over her ears.
Where is it coming from?

Maeron huddled on his knees, arms wrapped around his broad chest. His eyes flitted around the room, pausing as he gazed toward the wall. He looked back at Nicole and short, pained bursts of laughter tore from his mouth.

She blinked in confusion.
What’s going on?

A chill enveloped her body, driving deep into her bones. The furious shrieking continued, but it didn’t originate from any of the demons. Her veins turned frigid, her blood slowing as she saw the blue mist pulsing like a heartbeat. It sucked itself in, then pushed its sides out. In, out. Over and over, and it howled. Its cold rage drenched her skin.

Slender, curving tendrils swirled out from it, as if examining its surroundings, and then they drew back into the cloudy mass. The hole she had torn fused itself together and the fog once again encircled the room. No gaps. No way out. It tightened in one beating pulse, closing in around her.

“Gunnar!” she screamed, but the mist moved faster than he could. It bent and dipped, dissipated and rematerialized, avoiding the demons and coming for her.
Oh, God
. Visions of the unfortunate Skell demon popped into her mind. She drew her arms in close, hands clenched under her chin. She saw nothing but blue. She heard nothing but the high-pitched screech.

No, no, no. I’m not dying in this hellhole!
She shoved at the mist with her mind.

Nothing happened. The god-awful noise continued, and a tendril reached out to coil around her leg.

No!
It took her a second to realize she hadn’t poofed into the ether. The bitter cold ribbon of fog cut into her jeans, releasing more mist, freezing her skin. She couldn’t hear anything.
Where is Gunnar?
She screamed his name in her mind. Another subzero tendril curled around her other leg.

A shot of adrenaline cut through her terror, warming her blood. She recognized the beefed-up version of her power, and understood that she was somehow able to link to Gunnar’s raw vitality. She focused her energy, trying to blast a hole in the mist as she had earlier.

It didn’t work.
What the hell?
She drew a ragged breath. Her ears were ringing… but the shrieking had stopped.

“Gunnar!” she yelled again. Her voice sounded high-pitched and muffled, like she had been standing in front of a speaker during a rock concert.

She didn’t know how, but she felt his palpable fear for her, mixed with his boundless strength. Dark and formidable, he loomed somewhere near, enraged at not being able to get to her. His beast was ready to rain fire.

More misty arms wrapped around her body, and she couldn’t contain a cry of pain. She’d never felt so cold in her entire life.
No!
She had to beat this thing.

Concentrating on her ability, she opened her heart to the all-consuming love she felt for Gunnar. She visualized their bond as a steel cable. Unbreakable. Sustaining unfathomable weight. All the fibers of their losses and joys woven together into something new. Together, they would fight whatever hell was on its way. And this pathetic mist would be just a footnote.

Every cell in her body rallied as she drew on their combined strength. She gritted her teeth and pushed. Shivers wracked her body even as sweat streaked her face. She envisioned the mist dissipating into nothingness.
Not…gonna…let…you…win
…

Her face collided with the concrete floor. Her body shook from cold and pain. Her ears buzzed. Time stilled.

She felt herself lifted and tucked against something warm. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her limbs and shoulders burned with a fire that hurt as bad as those arctic foggy tendrils.

Looking down at the hands that held her, she saw claws. Gunnar. His love poured through her and a new wave of tears spilled from her eyes.

She looked around the room, seeing no blue fog. Kai and Rhys held Maeron to the ground. They stared at her with a mix of concern and admiration.

“What happened?” Her hoarse scratch was barely audible.

A low, rolling sound came from Gunnar’s throat.

“You beat the mist. We, ah…weren’t sure you’d make it. Are you okay?” Kai’s eyes assessed her in a swift, clinical manner. “Ah, shit, your legs.”

Nicole looked down and wished she hadn’t. Ugly red welts wrapped her legs where the misty tentacles had touched her. “God, it was so cold.” She didn’t want to leave the shelter of Gunnar’s arms, but her skin burned all over. “I need to stand now.”

He set her down in front of him. Her limbs wobbled like a newborn colt’s. He grunted something unintelligible that she knew was meant to be soothing, and she sank into his strength.

Dimly, she heard Rhys and Kai talking, the fallen Domu tackled to the floor. To her still-buzzing ears, their voices sounded miles away. Then she realized they were calling to her, urgently asking her something.

“Can you feel that? Nicole? We need to know if your shoulder hurts,” Rhys said.

“The bone, not your skin!” Kai added.

She had to stop and think for a minute. Why did they want to know about her shoulder? Her legs had taken the brunt of the mist’s numbing touch. She peeked around Gunnar’s massive shoulder to see Kai bending Maeron’s arm behind his back, twisting it at a wrenching angle. “No,” she managed to respond. Whatever they were doing still didn’t register with her. “My shoulder is fine.”

Kai and Rhys exchanged a grin. “Showtime,” Kai stated triumphantly. He turned to Nicole, who still clung to Gunnar. “We’re all clear. Do either of you want the honor?”

“Honor?” she asked.

Gunnar’s voice, raspy and rough, finally broke through the battle rage. “We can kill Maeron now. He can’t hurt you. The spell is broken.”

“Oh.” The meaning of their question became clear. “Uh, no. No thanks.”

Gunnar tilted her chin so that their eyes locked. “I would avenge you.”

Nicole nodded, gazing up into the bright blue of his eyes, and shivered as she took in both sides of her deadly male. She caressed his sharp, high cheekbone and traced a finger down to his jaw. Deep in her heart, she understood his need for retribution. Her scarred demon’s feelings stemmed not only from vengeance, but from love. His need to kill for her neither thrilled nor horrified her. It simply existed as a part of him. And she loved all of him.

“Close your eyes, love.” He kissed the top of her head. Easing her backward until she leaned against the wall, he turned and stalked toward Maeron, still pinned under Rhys and Kai. The other two Lash moved back to flank her.

Eyes shut, she heard two pops in rapid succession, followed by sizzling. A flash of light registered behind her closed lids, and the smell of burning flesh wafted across the basement. She coughed and covered her mouth and nose.
God, that smell is awful
. She called a gentle breeze to blow the stench to the other side of the room.

Two heavy hands landed on her shoulders and she opened her eyes. His claws rested lightly against her skin, but his voice was almost back to normal. “You took a huge risk. You had no idea how tossing the ash would affect you. Don’t you ever do that again.”

“But it worked,” she said softly. He only stared down at her, his eyes unreadable. “You’re mad at me, aren’t you?”

“Extremely,” he barked. “Thank the gods you’re safe.”

He lowered his head to claim her mouth. He kissed her gently at first, his lips moving softly over hers. She moved her hands up into his hair and let him in, welcoming the warm probe of his tongue. Her body went limp, grateful that this nightmare had ended, and she gave herself over to her lethal warrior. He bent her backward, kissing her with a deep hunger, marking her soul for himself. She was faintly aware of pops of demonfire in the room, but at that moment all she cared about was Gunnar’s huge body surrounding her.

A slight cough drew her attention from her man. Gunnar released her and she straightened up to see several piles of smoking demon remains scattered around the room. Rhys, Kai, and Brenin stood there, preparing to overturn the stone work table.

“You may want to get to the stairs so you don’t have to walk through this stuff,” Kai told her.

“Oh. Right.” She started to walk across the basement and made it about two feet. Stumbling forward, she was caught once again in Gunnar’s strong arms. He picked her up and carried her to the lowest step, then turned to his friends.

“You got that?” he asked.

The three nodded, then together gave one huge push and flipped over the table and the vat of blood. A deafening crack echoed in the room as the stone slab snapped in half. The floor and all its demonic remnants turned a deep crimson.

“I’d say it’s time to blow this popsicle stand.” Kai strode toward the stairs.

They all headed up to the first floor and outside. Gunnar, still carrying Nicole, walked a good hundred feet away from the old house before gently setting her down. She sagged against him, her arms wrapped around his waist, and watched the other three demons.

Circling the house, the males aimed balls of demonfire at key points in the crumbling frame. It lit up the dark night in a brilliant starburst before the flames settled down to consume every inch of the rotting structure. Relief and victory shot through her. Maeron and his evil spell were gone.

She felt the weight of Gunnar’s stare as she watched the old farmhouse burn. Nicole tore her eyes away from the blazing fire to look at her demon. His gaze held only the faintest glow of blue luster, his breathing had calmed, and the ragged traces of rage had faded. She couldn’t suppress a smile as she traced her finger along his jaw. “You saved me.”

“As you saved me.” He kissed the top of her head. “Let’s go home.”

C
HAPTER
26

N
ICOLE
LAY
ACROSS
the back seat of the Escalade with her head in Gunnar’s lap.
My mate
. Through the still-forming bond, he felt the pinches and pulls of her skin healing, as well as waves of relief that their ordeal had ended. But overriding everything else, he felt love. It bubbled up from her soul, caressing and soothing his own. Gunnar held one of her slim hands in his, and his free hand gently stroked her hair. Her eyes shone bright and expectant, never leaving his face, but something hung unfinished in the air between them.

And that “something” wasn’t about to be discussed in the SUV. Iron Maiden’s “Number Of The Beast” pounded from the radio. Kai sang as he drove, probably trying to give them as much privacy as possible. Even though his friend knew how he felt about Nicole, Gunnar didn’t want to have that conversation here. They’d be home soon.

He gazed into the emerald pools of her eyes. He was angry she’d taken a risk. The thought of losing her had been an icy fist around his heart, and seeing her subjected to Maeron’s sadistic whims had sent him into full battle-rage.
And that hellacious fog.
When it engulfed her, he’d felt the terror in her mind as strongly as the icy burns on her skin. He’d wished with every fiber of his being that he could trade places with her. Instead, he’d breathed his strength into their bond.