Page 21 of Ruin

B’nar nodded, his eyes gleaming like twin green orbs of ice.

“Move over there.”

Blue did as B’nar asked, her gun trained on the door, but her eyes flicked to him. Beyond, was the unmistakable sound of stamping feet as the Weres approached. Zander shifted himself as B’nar began to chant, the ring illuminating the room.

Zander’s eyes glowed brighter. “What’s going on?”

“We have another way out.”

He looked at me suspiciously, but hitched Connor up as he sagged, unconscious, between him and Alex. The woman stood in the shadow at Zander’s side.

The ring reacted to B’nar’s fae words and pulled my attention back to him. The air in front of him collapsed in on itself and then expanded outward, pulling in a breeze. The shadows at B’nar’s back erupted, the door burst in and a Were with burning eyes lifted some kind of weapon and launched it at his back.

“No!” Blue screamed and leapt into the path of the demon possessed werewolf. The weapon struck her in the shoulder with such force it thrust her into B’nar’s back knocking him forward, before she crashed to the ground.

“Jump! Now!” he yelled, looking at me. Holding the hand with the portal ring on out in front and keeping it steady, he turned sideways and blasted the demonic creature backwards with ice. The creature ducked but I was waiting. With my bow, I released an arrow, followed closely by another. The werewolf crashed back against the door, forcing it closed, again. My heart hammered against my ribs. This werewolf was possessed by a demon but I would know it anywhere. It had been me who had looked into its eyes as I killed it; and I couldn’t do that again, I had to see if there was a way to get this demon out of my friend; because that’s what Reed had become while I’d been a prisoner here—my friend.

“Zander! Get Connor out of here now!”

His demonic eyes widened. “Mother!” he yelled over his shoulder, indicating with his head for the woman to jump. Without hesitation she did, and I had to wonder if this wasn’t the first time she’d seen a portal.

“Lionel! Help me!” I wanted to get Blue out first, but I also needed Reed. Even if I couldn’t save him, I could find a way to send that demon back to Hell and free his souls. I bent down at Blue’s side. Her face was so pale, fear speared my heart. “No…”

“I will take her!” B’nar roared. “Get out now! They are coming!”

I shot bolts of flame towards our enemy, giving Lionel a chance to grab Reed’s huge body. The descending Were army pulled back as the first through the door burst into flame. Lionel roared and his shirt and jacket split as he half changed, pulling on the power of his lion. He lifted Reed and flung him over his shoulder before running into the portal. I prayed to the Mother that it wouldn’t kill him. Going through a portal always tried to pull a shifter’s animal spirit out, in Were form, I had no idea what would happen.

B’nar swooped down, his face utterly icy. “In the portal. Now. I have her. She is mine.”

No way was I arguing with that. B’nar was as powerful as his father, if not as experienced, and his voice held that possessive, growling quality I’d heard too many times to wonder what it meant. I ran into the portal, the power of the vortex tugging at me, but I held onto my wolves. Prime snarled as Connor and Zander fell out of the portal and into the caves that I could see getting closer. B’nar chanted as I was pulled along to the end of the portal. I looked back and the portal behind B’nar collapsed, preventing any of the swarm of Weres from pursuing us. He must have wanted to run with Blue but I knew he wouldn’t leave me behind, if only so that no Were, or Berith himself, could pull me from the portal.

As soon as we sprinted from the portal, B’nar lowered Blue to the ground and the portal collapsed. Running across the cave, my focus was on my mate. Zander lowered Connor to the ground and I fell to my knees beside the man who held my heart and soul.

“Connor? Please wake up.” I tenderly cupped his face in my hands, tears filling my eyes and rolling down my cheeks. His eyes fluttered open. “Firecracker?”

A sob broke free from me. My chest hurt. I had honestly thought I'd never hear him call me that again.

“Hey, Shannon’s gone for help.” Lionel told me, his hand squeezing my shoulder. That gesture of support helped me be strong. I nodded and looked at Zander. His body crumpled and he sank down next to the woman on the cave floor. Both of them leaned their backs against the cave wall, looking exhausted.

“What the hell happened to him? The last time I saw him, Berith had broken his back. He’s weak, but I saw him take some weight through his legs...”

Zander swallowed, his strong throat bobbing. When he opened his eyelids again, his irises were burning with red fire. His jaw muscles tensed and his lips flattened into a tight line. “He did break Connor—and not just his back, Em.” Zander ran a hand through his dark hair leaving the rich dark strands messy.

My heart flipped, an ache tightening my chest. “What do you mean?” But my skin was already cold. Part of me knew his imprisonment would have been crueler than anything I could comprehend.

“Berith is a special kind of depraved bastard; a demon with such power that he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He broke Connor over and over. Every day, Berith tortured him with visions of you, while breaking all of the bones in his body. Sometimes he would heal him and then torture him again; sometimes he’d leave Connor in his own filth with a broken back and not heal him for days. He...” Zander swallowed, his eyes burning and shadows flickering around him. His head and shoulders bowed.

My hands curled into fists. I never thought I’d see the day that Zander looked broken.

“He tortured my brother—so much.” His voice cracked with emotion, and my heart stopped and started again.

Brother?

Connor stirred at his words, his eyes widening a bit before swirling with a light I’d never seen before.

“Berith is pure evil, born in the depths of Hell.” The thin woman said. “He is a high calibre demon, who, I’m sure you know, becomes more powerful by feeding on the chaos of men: on murder, on dissension, and on pain.”

I turned to the woman who had a strange kind of energy emanating from her. It wasn’t the same as Walker’s or B’nar’s or even Stone’s, but it was similar. Again, shadows swirled around Zander and the woman as I stared at her.

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