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Zayn nodded. “Right... Then we go in. Surprise attack in pride formation, and take out as many as you can.” He sighed. “I don’t suppose I need to tell you all that we’re heavily outnumbered.”
Jasper reached over and grabbed his hand. “Don’t second guess. We’re all in. Whatever delay we can provide, however we can help her, we will. Together.”
Zayn nodded, and they looked at each other for a few moments, something personal passing between them.
I looked down at the book I was holding. “There’s going to be a ship, a barge,” I said, breaking the silence. “If that appears, go for that as well. They’ll be trying to summon it to carry them into the underworld on the river.”
Zayn frowned. “River? We’re in the desert, and the Nile is miles in the other direction.”
I shrugged. “Says there’s a river. Could be metaphorical, I suppose, but I’m just saying if a boat appears, that’s not good.”
Zayn nodded.
“What about me?” Teddy asked. “I’m not staying here, but I’m not much use in hawk form for combat.”
Zayn bit his lip, his eyes travelling around us all as if for inspiration. His eyes fell on his black duffel bag, and he grinned. “Teddy, I’m guessing you have pretty decent eyesight?”
“Pretty damn good, yeah. Why?”
Zayn’s grin grew wider. “Ever used a sniper rifle before?”
Chapter eighteen
JASPER
Weslippedawaysilentlyinto the night. Jack headed off with Teddy to higher ground so he could help him set up the sniper rifle, and I must say, it was encouraging to know there would be someone covering us. I wasn’t liking the odds.
My lion form was strong and silent as I followed Zayn along the valley floor. I watched the way he moved, powerful and confident, each muscle contracting with controlled deliberation as he stalked the prey that lay beyond the bend. I studied every muscle and sinew, every flick of his tail, and my heart swelled with admiration and love for this glorious creature who called himself mine, and then I lurched with the realisation that this might be the last time I saw him. At least until we were reborn. If Tory survived this battle, that could be decades. My heart ached, and I swore to myself it wouldn’t take me as long to find him next time.
I reached inside for the power that encompassed every cell and found the tether that held the shield around me. It stopped other magicians from finding me, but it had also prevented West from finding me too. Lowering the shield would leave me vulnerable, but this time it had left Zayn vulnerable, and I wanted to protect him more than anything. He was mine, and I was not letting him feel abandoned again. The shield fell, like a blind being raised in a dark room that let the harsh daylight stream through, lighting up everything that had been in darkness. I felt naked and vulnerable. Ignoring it, I gathered my power, ready to unleash it should I need to. I couldn’t control magic in my feline form, I’d have to shift if I needed to use it, but I liked to know I was ready.
Jack caught up with us as we neared the sharp bend in the valley floor. A look and a nod from him assured us that Teddy was in place. Even before knowing that Teddy had the literal eyes of a hawk, I knew him to be a pretty good shot. We’d done a lot of clay shooting on our estates growing up, and he was a dab hand with a rifle. He’d be a dark destroyer with a sniper. The rest of us fanned out in our attack formation.
Lions didn’t tend to attack groups. It was more normal for us to draw the weak away from the herd, so this wasn’t the most comfortable of feelings to know we were about to rush into battle without the advantage. I glanced back at Wesley. It always amused me to see the shy, clumsy nerd transform into a confident killing machine. Even though he wasn’t as big as the rest of us, I felt confident with him at my back. A low snarl from Zayn had us moving forwards, our heads down as we stalked our prey.
We rounded the bend, and Zayn gave us a few moments to study the scene before us before he led the charge. The priests were mainly unguarded, kneeling in rows and chanting as Coulton led the ritual. We launched into them, and the carnage began. A flicker of doubt wavered inside me as I saw that no priest had weapons save a few on the edges. They held guns but lowered them unless we approached. The beast inside took over, and blood flowed in the valley, coating the dusty ground with slick darkness. I heard the dim pops of Teddy’s rifle as those with guns began to fall to the ground. Ahead of us, the valley floor rose up in wide stone steps chiselled out of the ground itself. On the top step, Coutlon and the six robed priests continued to chant, and the tremors grew more intense.
We cut our way through the priests to reach them, but just as my paw touched the lowest step, the ground shook and huge columns began to rise from the stone. The fighting stopped, and silence fell across the valley as the gates of Abydos rose from the ground. Huge stone pillars held up the immense gateway to the land of the dead. Colossal statues of Anubis, the dog-headed god of the dead, guarded the entrance, with huge spears in their hands. Stone outcroppings on either side bore massive stone bowls that burst into green flame. The gateway itself had an enormous stone pediment that bore carved hieroglyphics and a relief of the glorious sun being pulled by Ra’s barge. The space between the pillars distorted, hiding the rock face behind it, and instead formed a swirling green vortex that threw eerie light on all those still alive in the valley. The energy roared and called to the power that surged through my blood.
From either side of the gateway, the gods began to stir. Still staring blankly ahead, they moved into a line and walked towards the swirling vortex. The ground under my feet began shaking violently, and I climbed farther up onto the steps as the hard packed earth and sand broke apart and something began to rise from the place it had long been buried. Wind whipped and ruffled through my fur, whistling around the valley. Wesley hit the ground at my feet, shifting back into his human form. He was breathing hard, and I saw a long slash down his arm that was bleeding profusely.
“Jasper, that’s the barge! We need to end this ritual now before they summon the ferryman!” His eyes went wide, and I instinctively glanced behind me. One of the armed priests was coming up behind me, and I saw the glint of a knife plunging down towards the back of my neck. I tried to turn, but he was too fast, and I felt the sharp point of the knife nick my skin.
Pop. The pain I anticipated never came, and instead my attacker hit the stone steps, and warm blood and brain matter splattered across my fur. I looked up into the darkness of the mountains where I knew Teddy was lying out of sight and nodded my thanks. I shifted back into human form and reached down to pull Wesley to his feet. The robed figures stood in a half-circle around the gates, staring outwards at where the barge was slowly rising from the ground.
“They are the link to the ritual,” Wesley shouted over the roar of wind, sand, and stone. “We have to break the link!”
“Where’s Coulton?” I yelled. “What about him?”
“I don’t know. He’s hiding somewhere, but I think he was just directing it. They are the link. Stop them, and the ritual stops.”
I nodded and reached for the power inside me. The wind, screams, darkness, and blood fell away, and silence reigned in my mind. I drew the power of the land through the sands, pulling it inside me. Power coursed through me, making every atom of my being dance and shake as I channelled it. It built higher and higher. Pain welled inside my body as I took on more power, more than even a supernatural was meant to possess. I knew the rules—only take what you could handle, or the power would destroy you from the inside—but great power was needed, and I pushed myself to the very edge. I took it and shaped it in my mind, a spear of energy that burst from my hand with such force it threw me backwards. I hit the deck of the barge and rolled onto my back, agony coursing through me. The last thing I saw were the stars high above me, blinking steadily in the night sky, before darkness took me and I fell out of time.
Chapter nineteen
WESLEY
IwincedwhenIsaw Jasper hit the deck of the barge and I heard the crack of bone. The power he had released formed a spear of blue energy, which darted towards the priests and hit the ground at their feet. The shockwave sent the six of them flying backwards with an immense force. Some hit the stone statues, while others hit the steep valley sides. Bones crunched, and limp bodies fell to the ground. As they hit the ground, the wind dropped and silence stretched across the valley.
