“She’s wrong and she’s going to pay for her failure in the end.” I grip my whip tighter.
“There’s a clearing up ahead,” Greyson says, inhaling through his nose. “I smell ozone and decay. I think you were right about the wraiths. But if you were, there are a lot of them.”
“I’m more worried about the scent of ozone. Whoever this god or goddess is, they are powerful if we can smell them over the sulfur stench of the volcano.” I peer between the trees.
A wall of rock sits on the other side of the clearing and about fifty feet above the solid ground on the mountainside is a cave pulsing with heat and energy.
“That’s where I need to go.” Kira points to the cave I just noticed and takes a shaky step forward.
“Not yet, Kira. We talked about this. Scope out the enemy first and act second.” I point to the north side of the mountain where a sheet of fog sits like a wall, blocking out anything inside. “The wraiths are there and Greyson was right; there are a lot of them.”
“Shit,” Raven says. “Why can’t they just go back to the underworld where they belong?”
“Oh, we’ll send as many back to Hades as we can before the night is over.” I flick my whip and it crackles with lightning.
I just hope that none of us join them in the process because this is more wraiths than we’ve ever encountered before, and we can’t see any of the other dangers that lurk behind the curtain.
17
“Stay low,” I whisper as we cut through the trees.
“What’s the plan?” Raven asks.
“We need to make it to the cave and cover Kira until she is inside and can find the hammer.”
Crouching, I run through the forest with the others at my back. In my peripheral, the wall of white fog pulses. I race forward, ducking behind a large boulder that could potentially be a mountain itself.
“Wait here. Before we go into battle, I need to see what’s happening at the academy.” I pull the shell from my pocket. “Jayden, Halfling Academy.”
My hands tremble as the mist solidifies and Jayden comes into view. There’s a cut above his eyebrow leaking golden ichor and his shirt is torn. His shadows pulse up and down his arms as he faces off with the Chimera, dodging poison and fire.
“It’s so much worse than I thought,” I say and Jayden’s gaze locks on mine.
“What are you doing?” he asks. “Did you find the hammer?”
“Not yet. We are at the mountain, though. Are you guys holding the line?” I ask.
“We’ve got this under control, baby, I promise. Get the hammer and get back here.” His shadows pulse around him, solidifying as a demon lunges for him.
The shadows turn to a blade, slicing through the demon like butter and turning it to ash, but two more demons take its place. It’s absolute chaos as students run through the academy wielding swords and anything they can get their hands on.
“I wish I was there to help.” My throat dries and I croak the words.
“You will be. As soon as you get the hammer, come back to me. We can end this crazy together.” He grins at me.
That grin should be illegal even close to two thousand miles apart and it does something to my insides. Butterflies erupt in flutters in my stomach.
“I will get to you, and we will finally end this bullshit,” I growl.
“That’s my love. Now, go. You’re distracting me from the battle. I love you.”
“I love you too.” I wave the mist away. “We need to get back. They’re holding their own, but I don’t for how long. They are overrun with monsters.”
“We’ve got this, B. Let’s get Kira into that fucking cave.” Raven squares her shoulders and turns toward the cave.
“Wait,” I say, grabbing her arm. “Does it look like the wall of fog has moved since we got here?”
“Shit,” Greyson says. “Yeah, I think we were spotted.”
