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The two vampires shot into the air. Quinlan took off as well, and without thinking, Batya followed him. Her instinctive response surprised her as she waited for her mind to catch up with her body.
She didn’t waste time, however, in over-thinking what was going on. Her wide-open battle frequency had put a smile on her face and her limbs trembled with adrenaline as she tracked with Quinlan.
The first mastyr reached them along with his shrieking wraith lover. Batya didn’t give it a second thought as she lifted her hand, and let what proved to be a stunning ball of fire explode in the wraith’s direction. The wraith streaked toward a nearby stream, her gauze-based gown in flames.
Batya headed after her and knew exactly what she would do. The wraith dove into the water and came up screaming in pain. She held her palm toward the wraith. “Now sit on the bank or I’ll hit you with another one.”
The wraith, her dripping, burned gown, hanging on her strange, lean body, stood up in the shallow water. She moved to the bank and sat down, shaking from head to foot.
Batya drew close and extended her healing frequency to the woman. The wraith’s eyes rolled with agony. She’d probably pass out in a couple of minutes, as blistered as her skin was. Batya decided to help her along and planted her hand on the woman’s forehead, sinking her into painless sleep.
Wraith, coming up behind you. Quinlan’s words rang sharp in her head, but even if he hadn’t warned her, Batya sensed the enemy. She bolted to the right then shot into the air, whirling at the last moment. The wraith’s stream of killing energy went wide of the mark.
Batya aimed her palm at the enemy and let another ball of fire release from her heavily vibrating arm.
The wraith tried to move out of the way, but Batya waved her hand and controlled the trajectory. A few seconds more and the strike hit home, causing the second wraith to perform like the first, heading straight to the stream.
Batya repeated the drill until both wraiths lay side-by-side, sunk into oblivion, at least for the present.
She flew straight up to a parallel position in the air with Quinlan. He fought both mastyrs at the same time, so that lightning-like energy flowed in streaks of red and blue, back and forth.
Each of the men had been wounded and she felt how hard Quinlan fought to equal these men. If she’d killed the wraiths, the battle would already be over because the shared Invictus power faltered when one partner died. But the wraith-pair bond still fed the mastyrs because their mates lived.
Killing the wraiths outright hadn’t entered Batya’s head. She’d brought all that she was into this battle, which meant she was a healer first. She also knew that Samantha, serving as Ethan’s blood rose, had developed the power to dissolve Invictus bonds. One or all of the Invictus could be saved, given extensive rehabilitation.
She stayed at a distance, and focused on connecting with Quinlan’s battle frequency. When she tapped in, she let her power flow to him.
The change in Quinlan erupted like a volcano. The width of his strikes broadened and the vampire on the right shouted his sudden pain, tumbling through the air to land hard on the earth. He didn’t move.
The remaining vampire wheeled, heading toward the nearest tree-line.
* * * * * * * * *
Quinlan followed in his wake. He needed to reach him before the vampire disappeared into the forest and he’d never find him. He doubled his speed and just before he reached the trees, Quinlan let loose with a powerful stream of energy and caught the bastard in the kidneys.
The vampire arched his back as he shouted in pain, tumbling toward the earth. Like his counterpart, he hit hard and fell unconscious, exactly the way Quinlan wanted him.
As soon as he’d made sure that both Invictus pairs were out for a good long while, he headed slowly in Batya’s direction, rising once more back into the air.
He drew his cell from his pants pocket and called Rafe. “How about helping me out with something.”
“Name it, mastyr.”
Batya flew toward him and he opened his arm. When she drew close, he pulled her tight against him, the way they’d spent most of this journey together.
“Just get your ass to my GPS location. I’m in the Ashur Mountains, just below the snowline.” He glanced around. “You’ll find me about thirty miles east of Saddleback Vale.”
“You been hit in the head? There’s no such place.”
He smiled, thinking about how all the maps would reveal more of both Grochaire and Walvashorr Realms than most realm-folk had ever seen before.
“Trust me, Rafe. Find a map and have a look.” He then detailed the need for a portable prison.
“I’ve been stationed along the eastern border with twenty of your best men and I’ve just picked up you signal. See you in about thirty minutes.”
* * * * * * * * *
The Grochaire Guard detail arrived within a half hour and during that time, neither of the wraith-pairs reached consciousness. For that Batya was grateful. Quinlan might have helped open her battle frequency, but this part of her nature worked in opposition to her healing gifts and she would be very happy to leave this part of the journey behind her.
As she watched the last of the Guard head into the west, with both wraith-pairs chained in two separate steel cages, she glanced around the meadow. The fire had been extinguished and the tent carted away as well. The campsite looked pristine. Quinlan had even sent Margetta’s net to be studied by one of the shifter-scientists who excelled in breaking down the components of preternatural phenomena.
Still incredulous that she could fly, she levitated into the air just to try it out once more. The journey had given her so much, including the ability to fly, a concept that had many layers and brought a smile to her lips.
“You’re enjoying the idea of flight.”
“I am. I still can’t believe it.”
“You look good in the air.”
Quinlan rose to match her position then took her in his arms and kissed her. She drew back suddenly and looked around, but they remained stationary. “For a moment, I forgot about flight and got lost in the kiss. I thought for sure I’d fall out of the sky or we both would. Do you do this often?”
He chuckled. “No, and I probably won’t make a habit of it, especially not with you. Way too dangerous.”
“My thoughts exactly.” He seemed so changed as she stared into his dark eyes. A new man. Some of the darkness that had clung to him had drifted away.
“Do you have any objection to returning to my stronghold? Spending the next few nights with me?”
