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The witch detached his airy ropes and freed my arms. “Need I warn you not to try anything tricky? Because I’ll happily break the other arm if you do. Rogan might wish you kept alive until we know if the Claws will do the business, but there are quite a few variations of ‘alive,’ and I’m happy to apply one or more of them.”
I had no intention of trying to escape, simply because I was the only thing now standing between this world and utter annihilation. It might be three against one, I might have a broken arm, but I nevertheless was going to do my best to stop these bastards.
Or die trying.
Pessimism said the latter was more likely than the former.
“Were you always such a charmer?” I said mildly, more because he seemed to be expecting a reply than from any real need to acknowledge his statement.
“Charm died the day the Annwfyn slaughtered everyone and everything I cared about. Move along.”
I followed Seryn through the gate and down the path toward the forest and the unseen barrier. This time, two white stones stood on either side of the road where the barrier started, and were obviously doing the same thing as my knives had earlier. Two electric motorbikes waited on the other side. Well prepared indeed.
“Isn’t it a little dangerous to be leaving a gap in the barrier like that?” I asked.
“We’re too far away from the gate for it to be a problem,” the mage commented. “The Annwfyn here have proven able to withstand some sunshine, but too much and they crisp just as nicely as the rest of them.”
It was said with a relish that sickened me. It wasn’t hard to imagine him deliberately luring them from the mine just to watch them burn.
We climbed onto the bikes—me and the mage on one, Seryn in the lead on the other—and motored through the trees, the soft hum of the bikes sounding a little like the whine of insects in the forest’s stillness. Before long, we were sweeping down the hill and into Pynwffynnon.
Rogan came out of the sweet shop as we halted. Anger swept through me at the sight of him, and overhead, thunder rumbled. I glanced up sharply. The day that had started so crisp and cool was now thunderously electric. It was a power I could use, a power I could call down, if I could somehow break through the barrier they’d placed on me.
Rogan stopped and made a casting motion with his hand. I had no idea what he’d just done, but the barely audible sighing of the wind through the nearby bushes died away, seeming to suggest a sound bubble had been placed around us.
A welcoming smile touched his familiar features. “Lovely to see you again, Bethany.”
“Go fuck yourself, Rogan.” I climbed off the bike and glared at him. “How could you betray us like this? How could you betray my brother? I thought you were friends.”
He sighed. “I do regret the necessary deceit, but in war, there are always consequences and casualties.”
“We’re not at war—”
“Try telling my people that,” Seryn cut in. “We’ve spent eons protecting this world with little help from governments or other races, and it’s time for it to end.”
“Ending your so-called war will end this world. I’veseenit. Seen what will happen if you combine the Claws and bring endless summer to this world.”
“Except,” Rogan said softly, “it is notthisworld I intend to bring endless summer to. It’stheirs.”
I stared at him. In all the discussions we’d had about the Claws and what using them would mean for our world, it had never actually occurred to any of us that he’d unleash their power in Annwfyn itself.
Itcouldwork.Ifhe got through the gate alive andifhe was a powerful enough mage to unite the Claws.
Yes, it was morally wrong to attempt such wholesale destruction. Wrong to wipe out an entire race because their ways did not fit with ours. But there was nevertheless a tiny part of me that wished Rogan every success.
“They will destroy you the minute you step through that gate,” I said. “You won’t get the chance to use the Claws.”
“You underestimate me, dear Bethany. But then, you and Lugh have been guilty of that for a very long time now.” He glanced at Seryn. “Lead the way. Alan, keep an eye on her. Injured or not, she will try to stop us.”
I would. I had to, if only because taking the Claws into Annwfyn might give them a weapon they could eventually use against us. As Cynwrig had noted earlier, we still knew so little about the inhabitants of our sister world, and our only real encounters were with the hunters. It was very likely they were but a small fraction of the wider Annwfyn community.
Seryn took the lead, Rogan a few steps behind her. Alan pushed me after them, and I stumbled a few steps before catching my balance. Unfortunately, the bastard wasn’t close enough for me to land a boot in a painful part of his anatomy.
“Where are the Claws?” I asked as we moved up the slope toward the forest. The trees close by were young and strong, but their song was muted. It was almost as if they feared being too loud because of the past destruction that still haunted this place.
“They await us in the gate’s cavern,” Rogan said, without looking back. “It was the safest place to store them, given the Annwfyn would not touch them and few others can enter this place.”
“I take it you were given special compensation from the government?”
