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Holly had never been so scared, but the kiss helped. She even sensed his approval, which meant something.
Before tonight, she’d only seen the Invictus a couple of times in her life. Now she’d witnessed four dead in the Millerell town square and the arrival of five pairs in Boylbury.
“Hey.” He placed his hands on her arms again.
She lifted her gaze to meet his concerned light blue eyes. She was breathing too fast.
“You can do this, Holly. From what I’ve seen, Vojalie has trained you extremely well. You can do this.”
She nodded, but she felt like she was having an out-of-body experience, completely untethered.
A vibration flowed from his hands and it helped. A lot. A wave of peace rolled through her.
“Better?”
“Much.”
“Good. Let’s reenter the time-path. I want you to take me to the pair by the front door. Once there, move us into the present. Keep to the shadows if you can then make the call to the Com Center and send for help. I’ll take on the wraith-pair. If this is a trap, I have no doubt the other eight will make a move right after the battling begins.”
“When do I pull you out?”
“I’ll path with you, okay?”
“Yes.”
He thought for a moment. “You may have to use your judgment as well.”
Holly forced herself to grow calm. She even accessed the vampire side of her nature and called on her stillness skills. She’d never used it much before. But right now, it seemed to bring her panic down to a manageable level.
With his hands still releasing a calming effect, she accessed her time-pathing abilities. A moment later, she pulled them both into the continuum. She focused on the sidewalk near the elven house.
“Ready?” She asked.
“Do it.”
She let her power roll and felt the time-path move to the exact spot she’d visualized as well as the point-in-time. They were west of the entire group, but in the shadow of a lamppost where Holly planned to stay. They were also closest to the pair Rez wanted to fight.
When she took them to the present, it was like stepping through an invisible wall.
Rez’s hands were still connected to her arms. He released her then moved in the direction of the pair now pounding on the door. She could feel him gear up his battle power.
The Invictus pairs were shouting and laughing, encouraging the vampire at the door. His mate levitated and flew wildly back and forth, her red hair a tangled mass around her shoulders. She wore the long red gauzy strips that constituted traditional wraith garb. But Rez was right. She wasn’t a wraith at all, but a fae female dressed as one. Yet she had yellowed eyes and dark lips as though partially transformed. Wraith blood, perhaps?
The vampire, now Invictus, had all kids of metal bars piercing his arms. He wore torn leather pants and his long black hair was matted and filthy. “Open the door, elves. We’ve got business with you tonight.”
“Over here, Invictus.” Rez’s voice filled the otherwise silent and now empty street.
The vampire pivoted. He held a heavy axe in his right hand and pumped it a few times as he started to move toward Rez. “I’ve got him,” he shouted to his team.
The wraithlike female looked as though her legs were bruised. Holly realized they were just dirty. She smiled, but there were no wraith-fangs, just teeth that had been altered and sharpened. Holly’s stomach turned.
A wave of power radiated from Rez. Mastyr power. She’d never been this close to a warrior charging into battle before and definitely not one that was raising his fighting frequency in order to engage the Invictus.
His mind slipped into hers. Call the Com Center. Let Stone know what’s going on. Time to rock n roll.
She pulled her phone from her pants pocket and got the Tannisford Communication Center on the line. The Center was a recent addition to the Vampire Guard. “We have an Invictus sighting in Boylbury. Five pairs.”
A deep, Guard voice returned. “Five? Are you sure?”
