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Normally, I would’ve laughed, but I could tell from the tone of his voice that even he wasn’t quite as confident as he tried to sound. Lachlan had been unconscious or close to it when that bird thing had snatched him up.
I had gotten the guys into this. I had convinced them we needed the answers we would find here, despite the danger we’d put ourselves in just by coming back. I had made them feel like they were part of something bigger. But it was also quite possible that what I had actually done was given them a path straight to their deaths.
Turning back toward Wesley as he disappeared into the distance, I clenched my hands into fists. The walking bag of dicks stopped suddenly and stared directly at me. There was a smirk on his face, and he put two fingers to his forehead, tipping them toward me before running off again. I could feel the blood boiling in my veins, and all I wanted to do was chase after him and rip his head right off his shoulders.
For whatever reason, he had it out for me, and he’d had a plan to take me out from the beginning.
But Merrick was right. Revenge on Wesley would have to wait.
I joined two men beside me in fighting a path through the stone monsters. Our combined magic took out the final beast that stood in our way. As the ground reverberated from the shock of its heavy body, the three of us looked at each other and nodded before taking off through the sand as fast as we could.
It was hotter than hell, hotter than the jungle had been last semester, but nothing was going to keep me from saving Lachlan. Not even that piece of shit Wesley, who had thought for sure he had it in the bag from the beginning.
I hope like hell that when he tries to sleep tonight, he’s plagued by nightmares. I hope he knows I’ll be coming for him.
The only hope Wesley had at this point was to pray that Lachlan was still alive by the time I found him.
If he wasn’t, I swore to the gods and to everyone else who was watching us from the earthly plane, I would make Wesley’s death slow and painful.
Chapter Fourteen
“Look,” Merrick said, pointing up at the sky in the distance. “There it is. I can still see the streaks of smoke following behind that bird thing.”
We had stopped for just a moment to collect our breaths. We’d been running across the shifting sands for what felt like hours as the creature ahead of us went in and out of view.
I nodded and sucked a bunch of air into my lungs, knowing I could keep pushing. I had run longer and harder before, especially when Vin had wanted to teach me a lesson for staying out too late the night before and being late to practice. The only difference here was the fact that I was running through sand, and it was hotter than hell.
“Up ahead,” Trace replied, nodding toward the horizon. “It looks like a forest. Hopefully it’ll be a little bit cooler there.”
I grimaced, wiping sweat off my brow. “It might be hot out here, but at least we can see in all directions. In there, we’re going to have to look out for a whole other level of things trying to eat us.” Then I shook my head determinedly. “Doesn’t matter, Lachlan needs us. Come on.”
The three of us picked up the pace again, running toward the slowly creeping foliage that led into the forest. The leaves were larger than anything I’d seen on our last trip here, and the vines that wrapped around the tr
ee trunks were thick and covered in spines. We all called upon our magic, creating weapons that could push through the thick undergrowth as quickly as possible.
I’d been right. There were multiple threats hiding in the thick foliage. Nothing like the stone monsters we’d encountered on our arrival—the new threats came in the form of man eating plants and insects that darted back and forth, attempting to take a bite out of each of us.
But there was no time to stop.
We swung our magical weapons, fighting them off as they appeared, trying to keep our feet moving as fast as possible. It was harder to keep an eye on the bird up above with the thick leaves and swaying limbs of the trees over our heads, but we managed to follow the bird-like creature up a large embankment and into a clearing.
Both Merrick and Trace put their arms out, slowing me to a stop. I looked over at them, slightly confused. “What?” I gasped. “What are we stopping for?”
Merrick pointed straight up into the sky. I squinted upward, trying to find the bird within the bright streaking light of the sun. It was directly above us, and I could just barely make out Lachlan’s form clutched in its talons.
“There’s something wrong with the bird,” Trace said, hope mingling with fear in his voice. “It looks like it’s struggling.”
We all put our hands up, shielding the light and watching as the bird weaved back and forth, calling out loudly. Suddenly, there was a shimmer of a bright blade and one of the bird’s massive talons came plummeting down toward the ground. We jumped out of the way as it landed, indenting the soil next to us.
Quickly looking back up, we watched as Lachlan, looking as small as an ant from this distance, was released from the bird creature’s hold and came plummeting toward the ground.
My entire body jolted with shock. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck.
I leapt into action, sending out bursts of energy. “We have to make a landing spot for him! He’s going to die if he hits the ground.”
Trace and Merrick joined me, interweaving their magic with mine. Every time Lachlan reached one of our nets or hovering cushions, he plowed right through it as if he had jumped from a hundred story building or been tossed out of an airplane. As he grew closer to the ground, panic surged in my chest, and I sent out an enormous burst of energy. It was so bright that it lit up the entire forest floor. I could hear the men around me, but it sounded like they were far away in a tunnel. The energy surged through my whole entire body as I did everything I could to create something to catch Lachlan before he hit the solid ground.
I could feel the power burning through me, like gasoline fumes burning hot and bright. But it died just as quickly. When the energy had run out, I dropped my hands, and the light dimmed back to normal. Trace put his hand on my shoulder as I sucked in ragged breaths. I felt about ready to collapse.
