Clancy’s girls burst into giggles and held onto each other for support while Ingrid, Clancy, and the hellhounds kept straight faces.
Merlin glared at Smoak. “Were you able to observe anything useful?” he asked and Smoak gasped.
“I did! Would you like to see?”
“I might…” Merlin answered warily but they all lost their breath and moved in when Smoak spread his hands and created a miniature model of the cabin and their meadow made out of smoke. “It looks just as it’s supposed to, until you step into the stone circle. I kept Tighe away from it because Dùbhghlas will know the moment anything other than one of his children or a demon breaches his perimeter.” The idyllic glade was replaced by a scene of dark chaos as the meadow was dotted with tents and malevolent smoke creatures communed around campfires and patrolled the circle. “Half of the Fomorians are camping in front of the cabin and the other half are guarding the back doors. There’s no getting in or out without going through them.”
“Any sign of Hildr?” Ingrid asked but Smoak shook his head. “She didn’t come out while I was there but I saw Dùbhghlas for a few brief moments. He looks like shit.”
“That’s too bad,” Nox lied. “He might have sucked the dark magick out of a battalion of demons but he burned up a lot of it, raising all those Fomorians and whatever else he’s brought with him.”
Smoak snorted, nodding in agreement. “He has an assortment of banshee, púca, and Abhartachs but he’s spent most of his time and effort raising those giants and it has cost him dearly.”
“Any sign of Nelson?” Nox asked with a hopeful lift of his brows but Smoak shook his head.
“I’m afraid not.”
“Alright. In that case, Everly has a really strong plan to share with the team.” Nox gave Everly the stage and several parts of his plan were immediately altered.
“Those big, ugly brutes are fair game,” Freya said while crouching behind a bush at the edge of the clearing.
From their vantage point everything looked perfectly calm and quiet and all the lights were out in the cabin. They all knew that as soon as they ran past the stones, the scene would change and they would be greeted by Dùbhghlas’s undead army.
“Hildr is mine,” Ingrid stated firmly.
Nox winced at her. “I have to give you a hand if it looks like you’re having trouble. We can’t risk losing you and we know she’ll go after your girls if she gets a chance.”
She ducked her head but didn’t look pleased. “Very well.”
“Everly had a good point about the Abhartachs. They can’t suck his strength or power, he’s too nimble and knows all their tricks. Avoid them if you can,” Nox warned everyone, then looked at his twin hellhounds. “WorkwithSmoak to clear out any demons that might be around. Please.” He pressed his hands together and pushed out his lip. “If we can knock out the Fomorians, the demons, and Hildr, the rest should be easy peasy and I can handle Hugh.”
“There’s our plan. Are we all ready?” Clancy asked the group. “The hellhounds, valkyries, Everly, and Smoak will be the first wave. After that, it’s me, Merlin, Tighe, and Nox, with Nox focusing on Dùbhghlas.”
Smoak coughed and waited until Clancy acknowledged him. “If you see Dùbhghlas out there, avoid him at all costs anddo nottake your eyes off of his hands. He can throw blue fire and it will do grave and mortal damage, even if it barely touches you.”
“That’s why I don’t wantanyoneelse to engage with him,” Nox reiterated as he pointed at the faces staring back at him. “I don’t think it will kill me but if it does or I’m hurt, I’m a god. My soul will shoot out of my body and wind up in the Otherworld or I’ll heal after a long nap with Nelson.”
“Youdon’t think?” Clancy said with a stern look at Nox. “You’ve never been hit with blue demon fire and you assume you can catch it.”
He shrugged. “It seems pretty likely. Blue fire is in my DNA thanks to the Badb and I’ve been practicing.”
“I hope so.” Clancy nodded at the lake. “The sun is rising. We should move while they’re all nodding off.”
The campfires were probably being put out and most of Dùbhghlas’s army would be turning in after a night of feasting and celebrating. At Clancy’s direction, the first wave lined up at the edge of the glade and waited for his signal.
“Go!” he shouted and they took off at a sprint.
Ingrid and the girls let out blood-chilling cries as they launched and turned into screaming blurs while the twins were suddenly taller and massive and their teeth had turned into fangs. They ran after the valkyrie with Everly and Smoak, vanishing from view once they passed the stones. Now that their presence had been announced, the rest stepped forward so they could see the battlefield as it was.
“My gods!” Merlin whispered as he took in all the tents, giants, and demonic creations scattering and brawling in front of them. He had his kyanite staff and dagger ready but seemed unsure of where to start.
Most of the tents were on fire and had collapsed and a few of the Fomorians had already fallen. The air was full of blue smoke as frantic demons were chased into the veil by Smoak and the hellhounds. Everly hadn’t bothered to chase any of his targets across the veil, blasting bedraggled urchins into oblivion with his mighty light where they stood.
“Let’s go!” Nox shouted and ran, waving for the others to follow him.
He searched the field and the cabin’s front porch but there was no sign of Dùbhghlas. “Hildr?” he called when hespotted Ingrid but she shook her head before swooping off and slamming into a Fomorian, sending it sprawling into another giant. The twins pounced upon them and had reduced them to bloody pulp within seconds.
“Lad! I could use a hand!” Merlin shouted and at first, Nox couldn’t see him. Then, he spotted a hand waving from under a smoldering Fomorian.
