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“Well?” Darien snapped. His heart was pounding. He couldn’t stop thinking about Loren; could barely breathe at the thought of her being stuck in Spirit Terra—by herself, for god’s sake. He had to believe that she would make it. He had to believe she would find a way out. Only once she was safe would he shut the Veil, fixing this mess once and for all.
Erasmus still said nothing.
“You going to say something or what?” Darien barked, voice echoing sharply, even over the noisy rushing of the waterfalls. “I know you have answers, quit holding out on me.”
Cyra stepped forward. “He can’t—” She abruptly stopped talking.
“Can’t what?” Darien pressed. “Can’t what?” He faced Erasmus again, nostrils flaring. “Can’t speak? You can’t speak?”
He started to shake his head, but stopped partway through the movement, looking pained.
Darien turned his upper body, pointing a finger at the rip into Spirit Terra. “Your daughter is trapped in there. She can’t get out. She can’t get out, and I can’t get to her because all the Life Clocks are gone.” He grabbed a fistful of Erasmus’s shirt collar. “This—” He pointed again at the writhing doorway, then jabbed Erasmus in the chest with two fingers, hard enough to send him rocking back on his heels. “Your fault. This is your fault.” He pulled him closer. Spat in his face, “Useless. I don’t care that you’re my girlfriend’s dad. You’re useless!”
He shoved him away and whipped his car keys at his face. Erasmus barely caught them before they could cut up his nose.
Darien said, “Go sit in my car and don’t touch anything.”
Then he faced the others, who were watching near the shimmering gate. “We’re going to have to figure this out on our own.” He looked at Max. “Go with Dallas to her house. See if you can find the other Moonstone. See if you can get a hold of Roark or Taega.”
Cyra cut in. “They don’t know anything. It was why Erasmus gave it to them. Years ago. To figure—” Her throat bobbed.
The blood in Darien’s veins was scalding. “To figure it out?” he said, concluding her sentence. He gave a cold, disbelieving laugh. He shot a glare at Erasmus, who dipped his head under the scrutiny. “Another of your bullshit riddles?” he seethed.
Max stepped forward. “We’ll go. We’ll figure it out, Dare. I’m sure they know something.”
“Take Arthur with you,” Darien said. “Get him home safely.” He pointed at Erasmus. “My car. Now.”
Cyra said, “I’ll go with Max.”
“I don’t give a shit what you do.” Darien turned and headed back to the Veil. He called to Max, “Hurry.”
—
Loren staggered to her feet. “What are you doing here?”
Valary wore a cold smile. “I’ve been keeping an eye on you ever since I heard the rumors. Ever since I heard how special you are. The first human in history to possess magic.” Those lips pulled back over her teeth. “I decided to follow you here tonight. I beat Darien and the others to the tunnels and took away their chances of finding you.”
The Life Clocks. She must have destroyed them, or perhaps hidden them. The thought gutted Loren, and suddenly the timer on her neck felt like an aching bruise, a reminder that her life was winding down, and there was no way to stop it, no one to help her. And now, with this Warg in her way—
She refused to finish her thought.
Loren’s eyes found the timer on Valary’s neck again. The minutes were ticking down, every second too precious to waste. “Valary,” she tried, keeping her tone calm. Pacifying. “You don’t have much more time than I do. We need to get out of here—”
“You’re not leaving this place alive, Loren.” She nudged her wolf pelt with a sharp nail. “See this? I had to steal it. Your boyfriend got me excommunicated after you tattled to him about our little altercation at Hell’s Gate.” She stepped to the side, and Loren mirrored the movement, angling her body the way Valary was angling hers. “Now, because of you, I have nothing. No home. No job. No circle.” She bared her teeth, cold eyes assessing Loren from her head to her toes. “You wrecked my life, you little bitch.”
“You were the one who trespassed, Valary,” Loren said, working to keep her tone steady. “You had no right to be in our house.” A sharp twinge in her neck told her that her time was running out.
She was down to her last hour now.
“Your house?” Valary sneered, eyes flashing gold. “You’re a pathetic human with no place among Darkslayers.” Her teeth sharpened and elongated before Loren’s eyes, the tips of them catching the strange light in the realm. “I hope you said goodbye to your Devil, because you won’t get another chance to.”
With a blinding flash of light, Valary shifted into a wolf and dove for Loren with a snarl.
Loren ducked and rolled, rocks and stray branches ripping into her, the blows softened by the bodysuit.
Valary spun and swept for her again. The Warg was upon her before she could retreat, teeth digging into Loren’s forearm. It was the suit alone that kept her skin from being ripped to bloody shreds, but Valary would not let go, teeth digging in deep.
“Get off me!” Loren bellowed. She fell back onto the ground, planted a boot on Valary’s chest, and pushed her off. Teeth tore from the fabric, and Valary rolled.
