I reached for her magick, but before I could grab it, darkness wrapped around it with wisps of electric blue magick.
Kalerians magick.
I grumbled and reached for it again, but was shoved out of my meditation before I could get a hold of it. Damn it.
My eyes flew open, and I shook my head. I knew it was a trap. I guess I was just hoping Miles was strong enough to keep her safe, but it was clear Kalerian was blocking me.
I jumped up and walked out of the tent towards where I’d last seen Sam. She wasn’t my biggest fan, but if there was anything that could be done, she’d know it.
It didn’t take long to run into her, as she was getting men ready for some kind of mission.
“Sam,” I said, and she glanced at me before shaking her head.
“No, I can’t spend the night babysitting you two,” she said, looking up at me and realizing I was standing there alone. “She went after him, didn’t she?”
I watched her body language go from confident to arms crossed in front of her. She was hiding something.
“What did you do?” I asked, barely keeping my anger in check. It seemed this whole fucking thing wasn’t just Kalerian, but some of the people that were supposed to be fighting for us too.
“I did what I had to do. Kalerian will be occupied with Lynn, and we can finally gain a little ground,” she said.
“You sacrificed Lynn to try to win some more area?” I seethed. “You have no idea what you just did.”
“I wasn’t the one who let her go after him,” she snapped. “That was all you.”
I couldn’t counter her on that. She was right. I showed her what to do in order to keep her from driving the entire way and getting caught anyway. “Do you know what she is?”
“I know enough,” she said. “Paige was secretive about her, but we all know she is more than what she appears.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. One crisis at a time.”
“That crisis could be bad for everyone,” I snapped. “I have to get to her.”
Sam sighed and pulled a tiny potion bottle from her pocket. “One of the potion makers found this and duplicated it.”
“What is it?” I reached for the bottle, and she pulled her hand back.
“It’s a potion the enemy uses to travel.” She said slowly reaching out to me again. “It will get you past the barriers that might be blocking your magick, but this is the only one we have.”
“You said your potion makers were making it,” I said.
“They are, but it takes time. The first batch won’t be ready for another week,” she sighed and dropped it in my hand. “Make sure you use it well. You only have one.”
“Got it,” I said. “Where are you attacking?”
“It’s better you don’t know. At least for now, just in case,” she said.
“Just in case I get caught?” I said with a smirk. “I won’t.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” She turned and walked away as she spoke.
I may not have an army at my back, but at least I had a way to go get Lynn and maybe Tara too. Then these assholes wouldn’t have a reason to shut her out like they do. We’d be the ones calling the shots.

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Lynn

I jumped to my feet and grabbed one of my knives. Kalerian only needed to take two steps before he was practically on top of me. I swung the blade, and he blocked it, grabbing my wrist and twisting slightly. I dropped the blade and kneed at his abdomen. He yanked me to the side and threw me into a wooden chair.
The chair rocked with the force, but didn’t fall back. Before I could react, vines were winding up my legs, and around the chair. They tightened slightly and wound up my body, holding me in place. The vine wrapped around my neck, forcing my head back. Then the light flicked on.
“I didn’t think you could do it, Kalerian,” a man said from in front of me. He was older and dressed in a nice suit. He pulled a chair up and sat in front of me with a fucking smile on his face. “You seem rather harmless to be the same Lynn who has decimated so many of my troops.”
“Maybe you need better troops,” I smarted off, and the vines tightened slightly around my neck. I couldn’t let them know it wasn’t just me who had come here. Miles was around here somewhere. The longer I kept him talking, the better chance he’d have to find Tara.
He chuckled and shook his head. “You’re little coven is formidable, but it is about to be destroyed. Then what will you do?” I held his gaze. He raised an eyebrow. “You could be useful here.”
I laughed in his face. “You really think you can talk me into joining you?”
“Not me, but I know you and Kalerian have history.” He glanced at him and then back at me.
I didn’t say anything, and the vines wound up the side of my face.
“He wants to keep you here. I want to put you in the ground,” he said, looking at Kalerian. “You’d better get her on our side or kill her.”
I laughed again, and his eyes shot to mine.
“She won’t be an issue for you,” Kalerian said. “I’ll make sure of that.”
The man stood and walked from the room, and Kalerian knelled in front of me, his dark hair pulled away from his face. “You’re stuck here now, so you might as well stop causing trouble.”
“Fuck you,” I spat.
“You really thought you’d waltz in here and kill me,” he smirked as he spoke.
“I will kill you,” I said.
He laughed and waved his hand. The vines loosened from my body but didn’t let me go. “Your determination is adorable,” he said, sliding his hand over my forearm. I struggled against his touch, but the vines wouldn’t let go, then came the burning of magick in my skin.
“Get your hand off me,” I spat through the pain.
He pulled his hand back and admired his handiwork at the same time the vines pulled back from me.
I jumped up, whipping a knife from my side and aimed it at his throat. He blocked it and spun me around so my back was to him and pinned my hand on my chest, squeezing just enough for me to let go.
“That’s not nice,” he said in my ear.
I couldn’t move, so I used the only weapon I had. My smart mouth. “I didn’t take you for being someone’s magickal bitch.”
He chuckled. “Everyone has their uses.” He tightened his grip. “Now, I’m going to take you to your room, and you’re not going to cause any trouble.”
“Go to hell,” I spat.
He pulled my arm down so I could see the rune etched into my skin. “That rune will keep you in this place until I allow you to leave. No amount of fighting is going to change that.”
“It won’t stop me from stabbing you in the face,” I said.
“True, but that wouldn’t be a good thing for either of us,” he answered, letting me go and giving me a slight shove. “Now walk.”
I reached behind me to grab the sword I thought I had brought, but it was missing. I silently cursed myself for not listening to Ren. He was going to love saying I told you so when I got out of this mess. “Why did you kill Paige?”
I felt his hand on my shoulder as he guided me through the hallway to wherever I was going to be held, but he didn’t answer right away.
“She was a means to get you here,” he answered simply.
“That’s it?” I shook my head. “You killed her just to get me here?”
“It worked, didn’t it?” He guided me left.
I stopped suddenly and pushed him back, taking the few seconds I had to run before he could react. Pain rocked through me, and I felt myself stumble forward. Then, him grabbing me around my waist and forcing me to my feet.
“If you enjoy pain that much, we can find more fun ways for that,” he said and dragged me through the hallway into a room on the other side. He pushed me in and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. “This is your home, for now,” he said.
The pain had stopped mostly, but my arm still burned. I glared at him.
“I told you not to cause any trouble,” he said. “I’ll be back soon.”
I sat on the edge of the little bed shoved in the corner and watched him walk out of the door.
Fuck.

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Ren

I broke the little bottle against my chest and thought of Lynn, hoping that was how I’d get there. The world swirled under me and faded away until I was standing in a dark room alone.
My eyes scanned the area for anything, but it seemed to be clear. There was nothing along the lines of magick I could pinpoint in the room, but it would be easy for Kalerian and his thugs to hide it even from me.
I let my eyes adjust to the darkness before taking a few steps closer to what looked like the door of the room. My hand rested on the knob for a moment while I listened to make sure no one was coming. I had no idea if I was even in the right place, but I was here now and it made sense to look around.
Slowly, I opened the door and stepped into the hallway. It was better lit, but there weren’t many people walking around in here. I picked a direction and started walking. The closed-in walls gave way to large windows on one side with a view of downtown New York. I was definitely in the right place. Now, I just had to find Lynn and get the hell out of here. If I happened to find Tara while I was at it, that would be a plus, but my mission was Lynn.
I walked down the hall as if I belonged here. That would be the best way for now, provided I didn’t run into Kalerian or that blond bitch that was trying to kill Lynn before. I kept my eyes up, looking for anyone who might think I shouldn’t be there while I walked further and further into the heart of the building. If I could figure out where he was keeping her, I could get her the hell out of there.
My hand fiddled with the chain around my neck. If it came to it, I’d use my only connection to her that couldn’t be disrupted by magick, but that would be something they’d definitely feel.
Standing not far from me was a young woman who looked to be just eighteen or so. She was messing with something on the wall, but the way she carried herself said a lot about how committed to this cause she really was. She wasn’t trying to get herself in front of anyone, just staying quietly at the edge of the hallway.
I stopped in front of her. “I’m new here and am supposed to pick up a prisoner. Can you help me out?” I flashed my best helpless smile.
She returned the smile and glanced around us. “There’s a lot of talk about this new prisoner. Is that who you’re looking for?”
“Maybe, but I’m not supposed to talk about it,” I said.
Her eyes lit up a bit, as if she was being let in on a secret.
“Where would I go if I were looking for her?” I said.
“We were told to stay away. Kalerian gave strict orders,” she said, biting her lip. I raised my eyebrows and gave the best puppy-dog eyes I could muster. “The cells are on the lower level, but she might be closer to him.”
“Right,” I acted like I was trying to remember something. “I am just so turned around. What direction is Kalerians room?”
She smiled again. “You really don’t want to go that way.”
“But that’s what I’m here to do,” I said, letting my eyes wander over her.
She laughed slightly, and I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty for the way I was making her cheeks red, but I had to find Lynn. “Back down the hall. Turn at the first left. That’s Kalerians wing.”
I gave her a smile. “Thank you,” I said as I turned and headed back the way I came right up until I hit that hallway she was talking about. The openness was even more than the one I was leaving. It was almost as if I were standing outside, walking under the old gates of our clan.
The feeling pushed through me, and the guilt for not telling anyone about the past, especially Lynn, even if it was centuries ago. Maybe if she’d known, she would have made a different choice and not run straight into his trap. Maybe I wouldn’t have to be here looking for her, and where the hell was Miles?
Maybe the smart thing would have been going to the lower levels and finding Miles first. At least then I wouldn’t be walking in alone, but that time was passed. Maybe he’d find the girl and find a way to get her out of here.
I had no clue what room he’d keep her in, so I’d just have to check all of them until I found her. I pushed open the first door and braced myself for anyone that might be behind it, but it was empty. So, I moved on to the next. This time, the room had one person sitting in it, a young girl, maybe ten. Her light brown hair hung over her shoulders as she looked up at me. Her light eyes were full of fear, but something else I couldn’t quite place.
“Tara,” I said, and she nodded.
Now what?

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Lynn

I smirked as I slid the dagger I’d pulled off Kalerian from behind me. I ran my hand over the handle, and the faint blue of his magick sprung to life. The same blue that he’d embedded into my skin. I analyzed the rune, trying to figure out what it was. It was old and had none of the trademarks of anything I’d seen in all my years of practice.
I ran my fingers over it, and the rune faintly glowed just like the blade I held in my other hand. Whatever it was, there had to be a way to break it.
Footsteps outside the door pulled me out of my thoughts, and I slid the blade into my back pocket and pulled my shirt over it.
The door opened, and Kalerian walked in carrying a plate of food. It was far better than anything we had at the camp. We lived mostly on MRE’s and what we could catch, but there was still no way he was going to win me to his side with chicken and a plate of vegetables.
He sat it on a little table next to the bed and pulled a hardback chair from against the wall.
“Why do you continue to fight me?” He kept his eyes on me as he spun it around so he was sitting on it backwards.
“I’m not joining whatever this is,” I said and crossed my arms. “I’d rather be dead.”
“You know damn well I’m not going to let that happen,” he said.
“Why, because you care about me,” I said with a snicker.
“You have no idea how many times I’ve protected you,” he said, his voice going dangerously low.
“Am I supposed to be grateful?” I snapped. “Fall all over you?”
“I wouldn’t expect that from you.” He leaned back. “If you did, I’d lose all respect.”
I looked at the wall and he cocked his head, before everything faded away around us and we were sitting under those cherry blossoms. “Stop it.”
“Are you sure I’m the one doing it?” He countered with a smirk.
“I don’t have that kind of power. You know that,” I snapped.
“I wish you could remember us,” he said, holding out his hand to catch a blossom.
“What makes you think I don’t?” I challenged. I couldn’t remember anything, not really, but he didn’t need to know that.
“If you did, you’d be more… receptive,” he said, and the scene faded back to the little room. “Why keep fighting in a war you can’t win with people who don’t care what happens to you?”
“I care about what happens to them,” I said.
“What if I agreed to let them live?” he answered.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’d never do that. I already know what you want. What your bosses want,” I said.
“My brothers are persuasive, but they haven’t been here all these years,” he said, still holding that blossom. “They don’t know Earth like I do.”
“You’d never do that,” I said. The way he said earth made it seem like some foreign place to him, but I didn’t push it.
“Are you sure?” he countered. There was a sliver of something in his emerald eyes, but as fast as I saw it, it was gone.
“Go away, I’m not joining you,” I said and turned away from him.
“You will.” He stood and put the chair back where he found it. “We have nothing but time.”

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Ren

“Hi,” I said, taking a couple of steps towards her. “Tara, right?”
She nodded, still keeping her eyes on me. I knelt down and put my hands out so she could see I wasn’t a threat.
“I was told you might want to get out of here.” She watched me as I spoke. “Do you want to leave?”
Conflicting emotions flashed through her eyes, and she sank her head. “My father would be mad if I left.”
“Is your father keeping you safe here?” I kept my voice gentle.
She shrugged. “I know what he expects of me.”
“What?” I wrinkled my nose.
“He wants me to let them in,” she whispered.
“Let who in?” I asked again.
“You know. The bad people,” she said. “But he said they weren’t bad, and they wanted to help us.” She took a breath. “That’s not true, is it?”
I wasn’t sure how to tell her all that was at stake if she stayed. How if she did what he asked? The doors to the lowest levels of hell would swing wide ass open. So I shrugged. “It depends on who you ask. What do you think?”
“Can you get me out of here?” She asked, her light brown hair falling over her shoulders as she shifted on the bed.
“I don’t have a way to leave, but if you know where they keep the potions, then I can get you out of here,” I said with a smile. “If you want that.”
“Across the hall. They don’t think I know,” she said with a smile and pulled her shoulders forward.
“Stay here. I’ll be right back, and I can get you to my friends, okay?” I waited for her to nod before I stood and headed back into the hallway.
She was right. There was a door right across from her. I slowly opened the door and stepped inside. Potions and ingredients lined the walls. Everything from potions that caused pain and confusion to some that were even more deadly. Tucked in the corner was an entire shelf marked travel. With any luck, I could get out and back before anyone knew what was up and get to the camp with the one person who could stop all this and make Sam and the others happy for once.
I grabbed a handful of bottles and slid all but one into my pocket. I hurried out of the room and closed the door behind me. Two people were coming down the hallway, so I put my head down and waited for them to pass before walking into the room where Tara was waiting.
“Okay, kid, let’s get out of here,” I said, reaching for her hand just as the door opened behind me. I didn’t wait, but still caught who it was just before I broke the bottle against my chest.
I thought of Sam, the one person who could probably keep this kid safe enough to do what needed to be done, but it wasn’t the camp where my feet touched the ground again. I was standing on the edge of a mountain overlooking the worst place any of us wants to be.
I was standing on the edge of hell.
“Ren?” Sam’s voice said, and I turned towards the inside of the cave.
Her eyes slipped to the kid. “Is that?”
“This is Tara,” I said and let go of the little girl. She glanced at me and then back to Sam. “I have to go back for Lynn.”
She nodded. “You’ve helped more than I could have imagined,” she said. “Make sure Lynn gets back to the camp okay. We’ll do the rest.”
“You know she’s going to want to be here when you close it, and they’re going to attack the camp,” I said. “She should be here.”
“If she’s here, he will be too. We can’t take on the whole barrage of creatures, demons and him,” she said. “I know what I’m doing.”
“So does she,” I countered.
“Then why are you here and she’s not?” Sam raised her eyebrows.
She had a good point. Lynn was far from calculating. She was an act now, ask later kind of person, and it got her in trouble a lot. “I have these as well.” I handed her some of the travel potions. “If you get in trouble, use it.”
“I hear Japan is still a free zone. We’ll go there to regroup if we have to,” she said, and I cringed at the idea of going back home after all these years, but nodded.
Sam shifted her gaze to the kid. “My name is Sam, and I’ll keep you safe.” The little girl nodded.
I didn’t waste any time pulling a bottle out of my pocket and breaking it against me, thinking about her. The only woman I have ever truly loved. Even when she didn’t love me back.

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Sophie

The sound of gunfire caught me off guard. I ducked low, throwing the last of the stuff in our large tent into a truck, but the bullets whizzed by my head. A little too close.
“Sophie,” Trevor said coming from somewhere behind me, and I turned towards him. “Get in the truck. We have to go.”
I edged around the truck, still hearing bullets hitting metal and dirt. People were screaming, but somehow I got to the door and opened it, climbing in. I felt the truck bounce as someone got into the back, probably Trevor, and hit the back of it to signal the driver to go.
He glanced at me, some military guy I’d never taken a minute to know, and then hit the gas. I looked in the side rear-view mirror, hoping we were able to get far enough fast enough when the truck suddenly veered to the right and tipped over. I hit the passenger door hard, and the driver lurched forward, hitting the steering wheel.
Sound went quiet, and my entire body screamed at me in pain. I opened my eyes and willed myself to get it together. Someone I couldn’t make out was breaking the windshield. Once he had it pulled back far enough, he reached in.
“Sophie, give me your hand,” he said, reaching for me. I looked at the driver and back at him. “He’s already gone. Give me your hand,” he repeated.
I reached for it, and he pulled me from the broken truck. I noticed his limp when we started moving at a faster pace. “You’re hurt.”
“It’s nothing. We have to move,” he said and pulled me along before I could argue.
We ducked into the trees and hurried further from the camp. I could still hear the occasional screams and spray of gunfire. A part of me was mad I’d just run. I was supposed to be protecting them, and I just ran.
“Trevor, what happened?” I finally asked. “I thought we had more time.”
“I guess we didn’t,” he said.
“But all those people,” I said, my whole body felt like the heaviest weight. Like I had to fight to move my feet and save myself.
“Most got out in the first two trucks,” he said. “We can’t save everyone. No matter how much we want to.”
“I just ran,” I said, leaning against a tree and trying to block out the occasional scream and the smell of everything in the camp burning.
“Let’s get you back to Sam,” he said, holding out his hand again. “She wanted me to make sure you got back safe.”
“Of course she did,” I said with a slight smile. She was always looking out for me. Maybe she felt responsible for me since Paige died. I don’t know, but she was always someone who was there to keep me safe. Unfortunately for me, I could heal people, and that was about all. I mean, I got a peek into who they were while doing it, but that was it. I couldn’t conjure fire or break the earth.
I was just a healer.
I grabbed his hand and tried to ignore the burning in my legs from all the rushing out of there. We walked for a little longer; the air was colder. “We’re going into the mountains.” He nodded. I realized what road we were on and stopped. “We’re going closer to the portal.”
“Sam’s mounting an assault there,” Trevor answered.
“How? We don’t have the kid yet,” I said. He gave me a look, and I stared at him. “Right?”
“I don’t know. I only follow orders,” he said with a shrug.
Something just felt off. Trevor was always lurking around and usually knew more than most. Why wouldn’t he know about this? Maybe he wasn’t supposed to tell and didn’t want to get benched.
“How far?” I asked and walked past him.
“It’s a day or two on foot, but with any luck, we won’t have to wait,” he said, walking up beside me. “One of the trucks might come pick us up.”
“How would they even know?” I wasn’t dressed for a mountain walk in the winter and rubbed my arms.
“Trust me, they know things,” he said. “Or the bad guys are going to crawl right up our ass and we won’t have to worry about it.”
“How are you so calm?”
“Years of training,” he said. “Military, remember.”
“Right.” I always forgot we weren’t just a bunch of witches using magick. We had a good mix of old military who knew way more about strategy and keeping us from getting destroyed.
“This isn’t like any other war I’ve ever been in, though. Usually it was some country that had something the bosses wanted or people they needed to push down.”
“So, you were the bad guys?” I said with a smile.
He shrugged. “American politics were more about getting things to help us and not anyone else.” He stopped for a moment and peered at what we could see of the camp. “Guess it’s not as different as I thought. I just happen to be on the other side.”
“Not all that fun, is it?”

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Lynn

My stomach growled, and I glanced at the plate of food Kalerian left. Despite wanting to make him mad, it wouldn’t do me any good if I starved to death here. I picked at the food and ate a few bites before pushing it away and scooting back against the wall. No doubt Kalerian would make another appearance before the night was over. He had to be feeling pretty full of himself now that he “had” me.
I’d figure out a way out of here. I always did.
Right on cue, the door opened, and he walked inside. He glanced at the plate and smiled. “I see you decided to take me up on dinner.”
“Don’t get any ideas. I can’t die here,” I said with bite.
“You wouldn’t,” he countered.
I looked up at him. He was intimidating to anyone who didn’t know him and maybe a few who did. He was tall and built like a warrior. He always carried that damned Katana that had to be cursed or something. Of all the weapons he could use, he chose that. I mean, I liked my knives, but I wasn’t afraid to use what I needed when I was in a fight.
“What’s the play here? You aren’t going to get me on your side.” I crossed my arms. “You’re boss is going to get pissed and you’ll be out.”
He laughed. “That human is not my boss.”
“It sure looked like it to me,” I said. “You, a big bad demon being leashed by a human, is the best thing I’ve seen all day.”
His eyes narrowed. “So, you do remember something?” He smirked.
I wrinkled my forehead, realizing what I just said. “You’re a fucking demon.” He held my gaze. “You’re not like the others doing your dirty work.”
“Very observant,” he said.
“Don’t talk down to me. You’re the asshole that is obsessed with me,” I snapped.
He smiled slightly, not even bothered by my insult. “Like I said, I’ve got time on my side.”
“Well, by now Ren realized something is wrong and is on his way here,” I said.
“You think I wouldn’t know he’d follow you? He’d follow you to hell like the lost puppy he is,” he said. “Mari has him handled, don’t worry.”
My glare faltered just a little, and his smile grew bigger. “I’m sure he can handle her. He seems to know how to beat assholes like you.”
He flinched slightly and took a few steps towards me. “Ren is a child. He has no idea how many wars I’ve fought in and won.” He leaned over me, and I straightened my back.
“It doesn’t matter how many, you’ll still lose in the end,” I said, looking him straight in the eyes.
“I don’t lose, Saki, you should know that better than anyone,” he said, pulling back and walking from the room.
I sat there, confused by the name he called me. It sounded strangely familiar, but so foreign at the same time.
I had to get the hell out of here.

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Ren

The moment I felt myself jump back, I was ready for a fight. My feet landed in the hallway not far from where I’d picked up Tara. People were running past me, and an alarm was blaring. The element of surprise was gone, but I rushed back to where I was a minute ago.
I felt a hand grab my arm and then blinding pain. I yanked my arm away and grabbed my sword. Standing there not far from me was that fucking blond. She smirked and cocked her head to the side. I barely had a second to react before a blade was coming down on my arm. I blocked it and pushed the user back, but it wasn’t someone I expected.
“What, you thought I’d take you on alone?” The blond said with a laugh.
Dark eyes looked back at me, and I shook my head. “I knew you were trouble.”
Miles sighed. “I did what I had to,” he said.
“I keep hearing that today,” I snapped back. “They will never honor whatever deal they gave you.”
“Look, I don’t want to kill you. I did this to protect Lynn and my family,” he said, a hint of sadness in his eyes.
“You gave her to him for them?” I said and gripped my sword tighter. “You don’t have any idea what kind of shit you’re starting. Not just from me, but what she will do to the world.”
“I’d give everyone on this earth to him for them.”
“It’s a shame they will live that life without you,” I said. I pivoted on my left foot and swung my sword. My electricity was crackling at the edge of my fingers, but he wasn’t worth the cost. My blade clipped his arm, and he stepped back, steadying himself.
He lunged forward, and I sidestepped him, letting my sword cut deep into his side. He glanced at me, blood pouring from the wound.
“You let him take her when she trusted you,” I said, watching him bleed out.
I swung my sword back towards the blond as a warning. “You don’t want to challenge me when I have a weapon,” I snapped.
She smirked, and I followed her eyes as they looked past me. “I don’t, but he will have no problem with that.”
“Ren,” Kalerian said simply. “You look-,” he let his eyes drift over me for a moment. “-Tired. Maybe you should give up the protective savior bit.”
“Maybe you should fuck off,” I countered. “Where is she?”
“Safely tucked away,” he said, stepping a little closer. “Where’s the girl?”
“Safe,” I answered. “Now at least.”
“Tell you what, you tell me where you stashed her and I may let you live in the basement for Mari to play with,” he said.
“Where is Lynn?”
“That one-track mind of yours is going to kill you,” he said. “Why not let her go?”
“For the same reason you can’t,” I snapped.
“She has a part of me.” He looked at me with disgust. “She has nothing from you.”
I watched him. “Are you done? God, all this talking is making me bored.”
“Always the smart ass,” he said. He still didn’t make a move, which was making me a tiny bit nervous. Guess I’d have to make the first move.
I swung my sword at him, and he sidestepped it, giving me a hard push with air magick. I hit the wall hard, but before I could blink, he had his own sword out waiting for me.
“You know you can’t beat me,” he said. “You never have.”
I pulled myself to my feet and rolled my shoulders forward, gripping my sword tighter. “There’s a first time for everything,” I said, but he was right. I’d never, in all the times I’d faced him, won when it was strictly swords. But I also had more than just my blade.
I reached for my power when pain ripped through me, breaking my concentration. Kalerian stepped closer and kicked the sword out of my hand. He kneeled down with a smug look on his face.
“I warned you,” he said.
The pain pushed harder, and I felt like my head was going to explode. I pushed it away and grabbed for my power, feeding it all the anger this asshole was giving me until electricity pushed through my fingers, hitting him square in the chest.
I swung around to the blond and aimed it at her. She stumbled when it hit her, and I grabbed my sword, swinging it down onto Kalerian.
He held his hand up, and it stopped mid-swing. The blade turned in my hands, but I held it as long as I could. With his other hand, he pushed me with energy, and I fell back.
I heard my sword hit the floor, but I couldn’t move. It was as if an invisible hand was holding me to the floor. The only thing going through my mind was how I’d messed all of this up. How Lynn was going to be stuck here and I couldn’t save her.
I was going to lose her.

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It was a short walk before we came upon what looked like a small camp. It was a lot smaller than ours, but looked well guarded.
“You still haven’t told me where the hell we are,” I said.
“I told you, at friends.” He shot me a smile, and I narrowed my eyes.
Before I could ask any more questions, a young red-haired girl walked towards us. She couldn’t be more than eighteen, but she had the look of someone who’d seen way too much.
“Ren, it’s good to see you,” she said, extending her arms for a hug. He stepped to her and gave her a big brother-type hug I’d seen him only give a few people. People he felt like he needed to protect. The thick English accent gave away where we were at least.
She turned to me and glanced back at Ren. “Who’s this?”
“Lynn,” I answered.
She glanced between us. “You’re Lynn? Bree.”
“I’m guessing you’re the kid Paige wanted to keep safe,” I said, looking back at Ren. “Am I right?”
“You are, but she really didn’t need me,” he said with a slight laugh. “She had a couple of powerful friends of her own.”
“I can’t help it. Hope found me first,” she said with a smile.
I glanced at her and then back to Ren and raised my eyebrows as she turned to lead us back to her camp.
“It’s not what it looks like,” he whispered.
“It’s not a young girl looking at you like you are her savior?” I teased.
“I don’t like her like that,” he said. “She’s more like my little sis.”
“I know that, but does she?” I watched him sigh and looked away. “You need to talk to her and let her down gently. She’s had enough pain.”
“You can tell that by looking at her, huh?”
“Call it a gift,” I mumbled.
I followed Bree to the little camp. She pointed to a tent just at the edge. “You can stay there for the night. We’ll be moving on tomorrow.”
“Thanks,” I said and ducked into the small tent. It wasn’t the military style I was used to with the bigger rooms, but it was big enough for two cots and some blankets and pillows.
Ren followed me in and took a seat on the other cot. I didn’t realize how much my body ached until I sat down. He was just watching me as if I were going to pass out again.
“What?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. I’ll grab some food. We’re as safe here as anywhere.”
“Ren, why did you come here?” I said. “I mean, why did you think of here when we were dealing with Kalerian?”
He shrugged. “I just thought of a place that was safe. I didn’t have a destination in mind. Not until I saw where we were.” He watched me, still not understanding. “Lexa, she’s another witch here. She can stop time in a way. If there’s an attack, she’ll know where and how many well before they get here.”
“There are forces here too,” I said. “Just a different set of leaders until…”
“Until the big bad comes, I know.” He smiled. “But for now, we’re good.”
“We have to get back to Sam. I may not get along with her, but Kalerian is going to go after her for Tara,” I said.
“Take the night. Then we’ll go if you insist on it,” he said.
“I thought you weren’t letting me do anything stupid?”
He shrugged. “It won’t be if I’m there.”
“Pretty confident,” I teased.
He stood. “Get some rest. I’ll be back with some food soon.”
I watched him leave and was just a little concerned about how serious he was acting. Something happened here that he didn’t tell me.
Something big.

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Sam

I looked at this girl, who held all the power in the seven levels to stop the worst of them all. She was the key, this little thing who had no idea what she held inside.
“What happens now?” She asked, looking up at me like she was just a part of this thing and I was going to control her every move.
“What do you want to do?” I figured if I gave her some kind of agency over her life, she would understand at least a little of who and what she was.
“I don’t know,” she said, dropping her gaze. “My dad would tell me I was special and I could change the world.”
“You are,” I said simply. “He was right; you can change the world, but it’s your choice in the end.”
“My dad said I didn’t have a choice.” She sighed. “He wanted to wait until the right time to close the door.”
“You know you can do that?” I said more than asked. This kid had more knowledge of what was going on than I thought. I stepped to the edge of the little cave we’d set up in. To the back was the last of the equipment we’d raided from an old military bunker. It wasn’t much, but it kept us in contact. Especially after I’d warned the rest of my people about the raid.
She nodded. “It’s my blood. That’s what closes the door,” she said with a smile. “It opens it too.”
“I didn’t know that,” I said with a slight laugh. “You’re a very smart girl.”
“I know,” she said, still smiling and turning back and forth.
“Let’s get you something good to eat and some rest,” I said, holding out my hand for her. She took it, and I walked her to the little table where some of my guys were. They gave me a look, and I shrugged. “It’s only for a day or two. Just until the others get here.”
One of the guys shook his head. I smirked. Cam was a good military dude, but he didn’t know how much we really needed her. This kid was the key to everything. Lynn even got her name and used the little magick she had access to sending it to me was a damn miracle.
“Having a kid out here is dangerous,” he said, his enormous frame taking up half the space as he messed with some of the communication things. I wasn’t an expect on what they were called or how they even worked, but he knew everything about them. That was why he was so good at his part of the mission.
“She’s the one we need out here the most,” I said. “She is literally the key.”
“I know, but…”
“She’s a kid. I know. It’s not fair sometimes what the universe does to us, but here we are,” I answered, putting my hand on his arm. “I’ve got her.”
He glanced at her and back to me. “She looks like my daughter did.”
I felt my heart drop. He saw the same innocence as his own kid before the war in her. I didn’t know much about the lives of everyone here from before the war. I knew most had families of some sort, but not what happened to them.
“I was stationed in Germany when it happened. Barely got here, but they were gone,” he said. “She would be thirteen now if…”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I wish I knew where they were. Maybe once we get this door closed, we can look for them.”
“It’s been six years. You know they probably are gone,” he said, glancing back at Tara. “Just keep her alive.”
“I promise.”

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Kalerian

I was a second too late to grab Lynn and pull her back to me. She was gone with that child of a man. My gaze fell on Mara and Miles’s dead body lying on the floor. “Useless.”
“It wasn’t my fault,” Mara spat, jogging to keep up with me. “How did she break the rune?”
“She didn’t,” I said, but kept my pace. “Did your soldiers at least get to the camp?” When I didn’t hear her answer me right away, I stopped and spun on her. “Did you?”
“They got some, but most were already gone. They knew we were coming,” she said. “But we know where they’ll go. We just have to get there first.”
“The doorway,” I said. “They think they can close it.” I smiled slightly. They had no idea how to do it, and that would buy me time. Time to find her first.
“They’re probably already there,” Mara said. “We can send the hellhounds.”
I sighed. “No. I want to be there when we bring my brothers back. I want them to know it was me.”
She nodded. I’d never seen her act this week before. It made me angrier. “Get the others ready. We can use the potions when it’s time.” I turned away and walked towards my room. “And don’t fucking bother me.”
I walked to my room and slammed the door behind me, leaning there for a moment. After everything I’d done so far to get her here and she was able to break that rune that quickly. I reached out with my magick for the connection. It was still there, not cut completely. She was only able to break part of it. That was good. I could still find her and drag her back to me. She had no idea what she was, how important to everything I was doing.
Her memories were starting to come back; I could feel it. She was right on the edge of understanding everything. She needed only a push.
I pulled my chair out and sat with my back to the huge picture window. Closing my eyes, I reached for her. I thought about the way her magick worked and how it was just under the surface, waiting for her to have the strength to grab it. How it would feel once she let it go. It was building for so long. So many lives and finally, we were so close.
Electricity crackled in the air and stung my skin. I pushed, but she was being shielded. That bastard actually thought he was stronger than me. I pushed again, frustration flaring my own magick. A picture on the wall outside fell.
“Fine, I’ll let you deliver the message,” I said and reached into Ren’s magick, pushing it aside to let me into his head. My anger was getting the best of me, but if I killed him, it would send another kind of message.
And I’d find her.

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Ren

I took a breath when I walked out of the tent, trying to pull my thoughts away from everything. Something was up with Lynn, but she was not going to let me in on it until she felt ready. The best thing I could do right now was take care of what I could and keep her as safe as she’d let me.
I shook my head. How was I so stupid to let her go there? I knew exactly what would happen, and if I hadn’t come back, she’d still be there getting worn down by Kalerian and his bullshit.
What if she figured it out? She’d be pissed I didn’t tell her first. But that’s not how past-life memories work. The person has to find it on their own.
“You look tired,” Bree said, walking towards me.
“Thanks,” I said sarcastically. “That’s the second time I’ve heard that today.”
“Why did you leave?”
I blinked at her. She was getting straight to the point. Guess this war taught her something. “I had to.”
“Because she needed you?” Bree said with a frown.
“Bree, you’re a good kid, but Lynn and I have a history. She’s…”
“The only person you really love,” she finished. “I know.”
“You are a strong girl. Someone is going to love the shit out of you, but until then, you gotta look out for Hope and Lexa,” I said with a smile. “They need you.”
“They don’t need me,” she said, rubbing her bare arms. “They need fighters.”
“Are you telling me that you, a phoenix, aren’t a fighter?” I chuckled. “You, the girl who took down a door on her own.”
“That was luck,” she countered.
“That was who you were, a fighter,” I said.
She shrugged.
I glanced around her. “Where the hell do you guys get food around here?”
She snickered and waved at me to follow her. “I’ll show you, but there isn’t much left.”
“I miss fast food,” I sighed as I followed her.
“Me too,” she said.
We walked through the lines of tents and stopped at a slightly bigger one with what looked like an outdoor kitchen. There was some plates and a few different items. Nothing too crazy, but it would do.
“You guys grow your food,” I said. “That’s smart.”
“The animals are still scarce, but it’s getting better as long as we are far from the front,” she answered.
“Which way did they head?” I took a bite of a cucumber as I spoke.
“North, but they retook the area with the doorway,” she answered.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s closed,” I said. “I’m surprised they would even want that doorway. The Fae realm doesn’t play.”
“You’ve been there?”
I shrugged. “No, but I’ve met a couple. Real jerks.” I took another bite and made a plate for Lynn. “They have their own ways of pushing through the barriers between worlds, so I’m not worried about it.”
“Yeah, they do,” she said. “Hope goes there from time to time. She is the only one of us who can, but they have their own fight going on.”
I glanced at her, a little confused.
“What happens here affects the other levels too. We’re in the middle. When the bad guys gain power, the good guys lose it,” she said.
“Last I checked, the Fae realm has a Seely and Unseely court. They are, literally the perfect balance,” I said.
She shrugged. “I’m just telling you what Hope said. She works with that court to protect us and them.”
If the Fae realm fell, the creatures from the Unseely Court would be in control, and they wouldn’t be afraid to form an alliance with Kalerian and his brothers. That would be really bad for everyone.
“Good to know,” I said and grabbed the plate full of vegetables and things for Lynn. “I have to get back, but thanks for letting us stay here for a night.”
“I’m sure Lexa isn’t going to be happy about it, but as long as you guys head out before midday, it should be fine,” she said with a smile.
I turned to walk away, and she called my name. I turned back to look at her.
“Just make sure she’s worth it,” Bree said with a half smile.
“She is.”

***

I carried the food back towards the tent and was secretly hoping Lynn was asleep. The veggies would hold until she woke up and she could have her fill then, but what she really needed was some sleep and a minute to breathe.
That was one thing about her; it seemed like she was always going from one fight to another. The only time she had any rest, at least in this life, was before the war but after she left Japan.
I opened the door of the tent, holding my breath. Thankfully, she’d fallen asleep, and I at least didn’t have to worry about her doing something stupid. I put the plate on the small table between the beds, but she was going to be less a slice of cucumber. I took that bite and didn’t regret it at all. With all the trouble she made the last couple of days, she owed me that.
I stared at the roof of the tent and felt myself sinking into sleep. Back to when we were children. Back when I vowed to myself to find her again.

***

Japan twenty-two years ago.

I ran through the trees, laughing and looking back to see if she was still there. When no one was behind me, I stopped and leaned on a nearby tree. Did I lose her that fast?
Then I felt her pull me forward. A well-placed foot sweep took me to the ground, and I was looking up at her. Of course, she had a smile on her face.
“Got you,” she said and crossed her arms.
“How can you be so invisible?”
“Skill,” she said and extended her hand. I took it, and she helped pull me up. “You should come to class more.”
“I do, but it’s your dad that does the teaching, so you get all the special treatment,” I said, dusting my arms off.
“Just till my mom gets back,” she said with a shrug.
“What’s she even doing?” I asked, leaning on the tree again, but keeping my eyes on her. I was not about to let her get the drop on me again.
“I’m not sure. Something important, I guess.” She got that look in her eyes, and I knew she was about to do something stupid.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to sneak into dad’s office. He’s got all the good candy in there,” she smiled bigger. “Are you coming?”
“Someone has to keep you safe,” I said and followed behind her as she jogged back to the little compound her father built. I still didn’t know why he thought he needed to protect them from so much, but that wasn’t my business. I was just here because my father was too heartbroken to look out for me. The moment my mom died, he changed. He was hollower than a man.
She glanced back at me every so often, and I didn’t dare just let her go on her own. Even if her dad could catch us and send me away. It always seemed like he wasn’t my biggest fan. Almost like he blamed me in some way for something I hadn’t done yet.
I followed her as she made her way, sneaking through each of the buildings until she got to one in the far back away from everything, her father’s office.
“I don’t think we should be doing this?” I whispered, and she shot me a look.
“It’s fine. He won’t even know we were here,” she said with a smirk, and I sighed.
She pushed open the door and poked her head inside. After a second, she waved me in behind her. I sighed to myself and followed.
The room was pretty plain. Nothing much on the walls except a painting of an old cherry blossom tree. I looked at it, and my brow furrowed. Something about it looked familiar, but I couldn’t place it.
“What are you doing? Come over here and help me with this drawer,” she said, and I walked to her. She was standing behind his desk, pulling a drawer that wouldn’t open. “He never locks this.”
“Maybe we should just go. If it doesn’t open, you can’t get it anyway,” I said with a shrug, and she glared at me. I held up my hands. “Fine.”
I walked beside her and pulled on the drawer with her, but it wouldn’t move. Her hand slipped, and something dug into her flesh.
She winced and pulled her hand back. I grabbed it and looked at the deep cut in her palm.
“That’s what happens when you don’t listen to me,” I said and pulled a Kleenex from the box on her dad’s desk. I held it over her wound and closed her hand. “Let’s go before we get caught.”
A throat clearing caught my attention, and I raised my gaze to Lynn’s dad standing in the doorway.
“What are you two doing in here?” He said, his eyes going to the injury on Lynn’s hand. “What happened?”
“I was looking for candy in your drawer, but it doesn’t want to open,” she answered, and he looked at the wound before looking back at me.
“And you just let this happen?” He asked.
I shrugged.
“There is no candy in here anymore. It’s time to stop acting like children.” He sighed. “Things are changing, and you must be ready.”
I looked at him in confusion. He just gave me the same look Lynn did when she wanted me to listen and not tell her what to do or explain anything.
He pulled the tissue away and set it on his desk. “Go on back to your rooms. You start training with the others tomorrow.”
“They’re so much older than us,” Lynn whined. He set his jaw, and she sighed. “Yes, father.”
“Go,” he repeated and dropped his eyes to me. “I expect more from you, Ren. Much, much more.”
My ears rang, and I opened my eyes, seeing the top of that tent. The ringing got worse. I fell forward out of the bed and onto the floor.
If you are going to shield her from me, then you can give her a message. I struggled to hold it together under the searing heat of his magick working under my skin. My ears bled under the pressure, and I almost couldn’t keep my mind on what was happening. I pushed at his magick, but he pushed harder. I’m going to sacrifice every person she’s ever loved. I’m going to soak that doorway with blood, and when my brothers step through, I’m going to hunt both of you down and let you watch her become what she was meant to be.
I felt my power pushing forward, the sparks of lightning at the edge of my fingers. They will stop you.
They don’t have what they need to stop me.
Then the magick pulled back, and his voice was gone. I stayed there on the grass for a few minutes before I pulled myself into a sitting position and noticed her looking at me. Her dark eyes knew without me even saying a word what had happened.
“We have to help them,” Lynn said.
I dropped my eyes. I could protect her and keep her away from the fight, or I could let her face him. Neither were ideal.
“They don’t have enough magick to fight him,” she said.
“I know.”
“So why are you just sitting there? We need to go,” she insisted.
“We will, but we need to think this through,” I said. “We need time.” I studied her face for a moment. Every detail was the same. The way her eyes held mine and the way she held her mouth when she was irritated, I wasn’t doing things fast enough for her.
“We’re out of time,” she answered.
“No, we aren’t. I know someone who can help us get all the time we need,” I said with a smirk. “And she’s coming back to this camp today.”

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Lynn

Time was something so precious, and yet, it was the one thing we always ran short on. Time to plan. Time to fight. Time to learn the magick that would save us all.
“She’s going to be pissed I let you stay,” Bree said, looking from Ren to me.
I shifted my weight, taking in the bigger tent with the maps and red pins to mark where the enemy was.
“We need help, Bree,” Ren said. “He knows something we don’t about closing the door. We need someone who can help us, and we need time.”
“She won’t use it, not for that long. It’s hard on her,” Bree said with a sigh. “She’s not the same. Not since…”
“We have to try,” he said. “Just let me talk to her.”
“Be my guest,” she said, letting her hands smack against her legs in frustration. “She’s in her tent. To the left of the mess tent.”
Ren glanced at me and walked to the left. I glanced at Bree, who just watched me for a moment.
“He’s going to get himself killed,” she said.
I didn’t say anything but followed him as he walked through the tents. Some people were sitting in front of one and watched us as we walked past. They were far from fighters. A mom and what looked like a teen son were sitting by a fire they’d made. She handed him a bowl of something and turned to stoke the flames a bit. He took it and ate while she just watched, a smile on her face.
Another was a dark-haired man in his thirties standing in front of a table, various handguns pulled apart, waiting to be cleaned. He met my eyes, and I could see the angry scar that ran down his cheek. I couldn’t tell if it was from a bullet or a blade, but it spoke volumes without a word.
I looked away and kept pace with Ren. He glanced at me, and I didn’t say anything. What was there to say? We all knew what this war was costing, but the choices were either fight or become slaves.
He didn’t stop once he reached the tent and slowly opened the door, looking back at me. I followed and was greeted with a blade to my throat.
“I don’t know what you thought, bringing her here, but if you don’t get the hell out of here, I’m going to kill her and deliver her body to Kalerian myself,” a tan woman with light green eyes stated holding the tip of the blade against my skin.
“Hello to you too, Lexa,” Ren said, reaching for her hand to pull the blade away.
“You think I’m joking,” she said, pressing the blade slightly, so it cut through the first layer of my skin.
“Look, I don’t know what type of shit you and Ren have gotten into, but I’m not a threat to you,” I said.
She cocked her head, and that’s when I realized the side of her head was shaved, with dark curly hair falling back in a mohawk of sorts. “You are the biggest threat to everything.”
“He can’t find her. She’s shielded,” Ren said. “And it’s pissing him off.”
She lowered the blade, but kept her eyes on me. “What do you want, Ren?”
“I need your help,” he said.
She snickered and shook her head. “Of course you do.”
“They’re going to attack our doorway. We need time,” he said, and she snapped her gaze to him.
“You think I can give you that much time?” She shook her head. “Minutes, maybe.”
“You once held time for almost two hours,” Ren countered.
“That was a long time ago,” she said. “I don’t have that kind of control anymore.”
“We’re wasting time,” I said, and crossed my arms. “If she can’t do it, we need someone who can.”
She glared at me. “There is no one else with this kind of power.”
“Then how do we close a door?” I stepped forward. “You did it once, right?”
“That was different,” she said. “There’s only two ways to close a door.” She pulled a chair out and took a seat. “The ones designed to close them, one for each. Seven in total.”
“There’s only six other levels,” Ren said.
“Right. One person per level and one that can do all of them, but the price is life,” she said, taking me in. “They have to die.”
I looked at Ren. “Sam doesn’t know that.” I shot my gaze back to Lexa. “There has to be another way.”
“There is, but finding them is harder than finding the others.” Lexa sighed. “Bree.”
“She’s a phoenix,” Ren said. “Are you telling me there are more of them?”
“My contacts tell me there are, but they are kept so hidden for their own safety finding one is impossible,” she said. “They don’t always die, but it takes every drop of their power to close a door.”
“Bree doesn’t have power anymore?” I watched for a sign she was lying, but there was none.
“She has access to her firepower, but it’s nowhere near what it once was,” she said. “She’s stronger than most.”
“So, they’re fire-based?”
“Always. Fire is the disruptor. The one that can burn it all away.” She chuckled. “Kind of poetic, I guess.”
“You said you had contacts. Do they have any clue where we might find a phoenix?” I asked.
She shrugged. “They won’t tell you unless they trust you.”
“They’d trust Bree,” Ren said. He pulled his hand out of his pocket, surveying the potions he had. “I have enough for a couple of trips and then back to Sam.”
I nodded. “Can we borrow Bree to find someone?”
“There’s no guarantee they won’t die just like a regular door closer,” she said. “Are you sure you can live with that?”
I dropped my gaze. Could I? I’d caused so much damage over the years and let people die. How could I let it happen again? “I’ll let them choose.”
She cocked her head. “You are not anything like we were told.”
I wrinkled my forehead. “From him?”
“No, from others.” She glanced at Ren. “He didn’t speak about you much.”
I raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t sound like Ren.”
She chuckled, and I finally felt a little at ease. “You know how he is.”
I glanced at him watching us have this conversation like he weren’t here. His slight smile, as though he thought the whole thing was hilarious.
“Yeah, I do.”

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Sam

I surveyed the weapons we’d managed to get to our new base of operations. It was only temporary with all the heat that’d be here in no time. It was a full table of different guns from different areas. I’d only shot a gun once. The last day I killed for them. Since then, I’d stayed far from them. Preferring to let the experts handle it, but since we were stepping into something that was likely to be one hell of a fight, I needed to know how the weapons stood.
“We’ve got twenty soldiers and maybe four witches,” Sophie said, walking up to me with a pen and notebook.
I smiled slightly. I had to commend the way she was handling all this. For someone who wasn’t used to being this close to the war zone, she was holding it together. “That’s not enough. What about the other forces?”
“You mean the militia in Colorado?” She frowned. “They joined them.”
“Shit,” I said and rubbed my temples. “Do we have enough to even try this?”
“If we do it soon, maybe,” Trevor said from behind me.
I turned and met his gaze. “The longer you wait, the more time they have to get here.”
“They can get here in seconds. Maybe we should rethink this,” I said. The last thing I wanted was for more people to die. “We need more time.”
“We don’t have it,” Trevor countered. “If Lynn and Ren were here, maybe that would help.”
“That would be the worst thing we can do,” I said. “Kalerian is obsessed with her. He’d come here in a second if she were here.” I shook my head. “We have to figure out what triggers the magick to close the door.”
“We already know that,” Trevor pointed at the kid. “Her blood.”
I stared at him for a moment. I didn’t tell him that, and there were very few ways for him to find that out. Maybe the kid slipped up about it, and he was just nearby. He’d always been a skilled soldier. That was part of it, right?
“Regardless, we don’t know how it works,” I said. “We know so little about these doorways. Only that they exist and they go to other worlds. We still don’t know what comes out of all of them.”
“We know enough,” he pushed. “Look, the longer we wait, the worse it gets. They need closed now. Not later.”
“Thank you for your input, Trevor. We’ll move when I say.” I took a step towards him, and he cocked his head.
“How long have you been doing this kind of thing?”
“Longer than you know,” I said and crossed my arms, keeping my eyes on him. A slight smile tugged at the corner of his lips before he turned and walked away.
“He’s extra weird since the camp was attacked,” Sophie said, pulling my attention back to her.
“I’m glad he got you out of there, but he needs to chill out,” I said with a sigh.
“He’s not wrong. We probably have a couple of days max.”
“We need to find more fighters,” I said. “I wish Paige were here to find more groups.”
“Maybe we can do it a different way,” she said with a smile, and I narrowed my eyes.
“What are you suggesting?”

***

I followed Sophie through the cave until we popped out onto the small road with our trucks parked on either side. The enemy probably already knew where we were, so it made no difference if they were out in the open. If we failed this, there’d be no running with anything, anyway. We’d have to go underground, and everything we’d worked so hard for, everything Paige died for, would be gone.
“What are we doing?” I asked as Sophie kept walking until we were a good twenty feet or more from the opening of the cave. The cold air whipped through me, and I rubbed my arms.
“This will do,” she said and glanced over at me. “You weren’t with us yet, but Paige taught me and Leah how to use meditation to look for people. She thought it would be useful for when…” Sophie trailed off, and she took in a shaky breath. “For times like this.”
“Using meditation to find people is old school,” I said, crossing my arms.
“Maybe, but it works,” she countered. “What did you do to find people before?”
“I was embedded so deep, people told me things. I used it against them.” I hated saying it like that, saying it to her of all people, but it was how it worked. I was a spy, and I was good at it before Paige got under my skin and helped me see who I really was.
“We all have a past,” she said, holding out her hand. “Some worse than others.”
I hesitated, but the look in her eyes was pure sadness. She still woke up with nightmares of the prison camps to the south. The place she’d been liberated from was closer to the start of the war. The guilt of that wasn’t lost on me. I knew about the camps and what horrible things they did there, but never helped anyone get out. Sometimes, I dreamed about all the horrible things that happened to them. It was something I’d never escape.
I was the one who hunted them. I grabbed her hand, and we sat on the cold ground. “What if someone comes by and kills us?” I said with a slight smile.
“That’s not funny, but I guess we’d be done with the war,” she said.
“And so would everyone else,” I mumbled.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
I sighed, and she closed her eyes. “What do we do?”
“Just let your mind travel. It knows where others are,” she said, without opening her eyes.
I reluctantly closed my eyes and let my mind wander. The colors in my mind swirled together, and I felt myself relax despite myself. My mind traveled through my memories, and I could hear their screams. The people I’d killed for them. The screams of children once they realized I wasn’t their family. Before the bombs ripped them out of this life. The dirt laced with blood on the ground under my feet, on my hands. The feeling of my body shifting from their trusted loved one back to myself.
I sucked in a breath and threw open my eyes. The cool air pushed against my skin, and I slowed my breathing. I wasn’t there. I wasn’t that person. Not anymore. Not ever again.
My head swung in Sophie’s direction. She was still doing her meditation. Her expression was soft, like she was in a dream, and I couldn’t help but smile. Her tawny skin was still soft even after years of this fight. She was everything I wasn’t. Hopeful. Caring. She was the only person that kept me sane after all this time. I just wanted to forget it all, but Paige trusted me with keeping them safe. With keeping her safe.
Her eyes fluttered open, and I looked away. “There’s no one in the area. They all fled.” She furrowed her brow.
“So, we’re on our own,” I said and took a breath.
“I think we are.”
I nodded. “Probably better that way. If we fail, there will be fewer people around to die.”
“If we fail, it won’t matter,” she countered.
I met her gaze. “Then we can’t fail.”

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Lynn

“So, what are we doing exactly?” Bree asked as we stepped into the clearing next to the little encampment.
“We need you to remember who it was that told you about what you are,” Ren said. “We need someone like you.”
“Someone who can close the door?” She shook her head. “They don’t want anything to do with that.”
“What happened?” I asked, stopped and took her in. She was still a child in a lot of ways. It wasn’t like we could afford to take time to grow up in this war, but this kid at least didn’t deserve to have to fight like this. It was taking its toll on her, and it showed.
“They keep us separated for our protection,” she said. “The last time I saw them, I was running. We were attacked and Hope and Lexa saved me.”
“So, you haven’t seen them in a few years?” Ren said, scratching the back of his head. “How do we know they are even still going to be alive?”
She shrugged. “I don’t.”
This plan was getting worse and worse by the minute. “We have to try,” I said. I bit my lip and shook my head. I couldn’t watch another person die because of this war. I wasn’t going to. Whoever we find has to be strong enough to close the doorway and survive.
They had to.
“I’m with you,” Bree said. “The more doors we close, the better for everyone.”
I nodded and glanced at Ren.
“Okay, then,” he said, pulling a bottle from his pocket and reaching for my hand. I grabbed it and then reached for Bree’s. “Just hang on.” He looked past me to Bree. “Think about them and let’s hope it works.”
She nodded, and I closed my eyes. I heard the bottle break and the air compress around me. My hearing turned echoed, but I held on to his hand. It seemed like forever before it eased. I slowly opened my eyes to an alley in the middle of a broken city. “Where are we?”
“Home,” Bree said with a slight smile.
“And home is…” I said.
“Rye,” she said with a smile. “I can’t believe they stayed here.”
I furrowed my brow and sighed. I should have studied geography better.
“Come on,” she said, her smile getting bigger.
I glanced at Ren, who just shrugged. “She knows where to go.”
The sigh escaped before I could stop it, and Bree gave me a look. “This is what you wanted, right?”
“Yep,” I admitted. “Let’s get moving.”
Bree made her way carefully down the street and motioned for us to follow. “This area is going to be pretty safe. It’s far from the front.”
“No one comes down here?” I asked as I followed her past a blown-out building on the left. The soft smell of the ocean was a nice change, but it still didn’t make up for the devastation of the little village.
“Not anymore,” she said without looking back. She stopped suddenly and turned back to us. “You can’t use your magick here.”
“Okay,” I said and glanced at Ren. “That’s not really an issue for me.”
She wrinkled her forehead. “I thought you were some powerful witch?”
I sighed and crossed my arms. “Not really.”
She glanced at Ren. “Then why does everyone want to kill you so bad?”
I laughed. “Only one really bad guy wants to…” I wasn’t sure what the hell he wanted. If he were smart, he’d just kill me, but he never did. He always just talked me to death. “I’m not sure what he wants,” I finished.
Bree looked unsure, but shrugged. “If you say so.” She turned down a street heading away from the shore and down a slight incline. “We’re almost there.”
“Good,” Ren said. “The sooner we’re out of here, the better for you. The last thing we want is for you and your people to have trouble.”
“Trust me, we’re used to trouble,” she said.
“Not the kind Kalerian can bring,” Ren countered. “If he were to come here, he might just kill you all for spite.”
I dropped my gaze. If Kalerian came here, it would be my fault, and I’d have another person to add to the list of dead people in my name. My mom, Paige, Miles, and so many others. I couldn’t live with adding Bree’s name to that list.
“He won’t come here,” she said with a slight smile. “This whole place is protected. I’m surprised you didn’t feel it when you dropped in.” She crossed her arms. “Maybe you’re losing your edge.” She raised an eyebrow, watching Ren’s reaction.
“Maybe I’m putting my energy in a different place,” he countered. “Besides, I don’t go around feeling for energy barriers when I’m with friends.” He smirked. “That would be rude.”
I couldn’t help but smile. If there was one thing Ren was really good at, it was making sure humor was still a thing. Even in the middle of a war.
Bree shook her head and pulled open a door I hadn’t noticed at the side of a little building. It was still standing even after everything that had happened here, but the roof looked like it had some damage and the windows were completely gone.
“It’s down here,” she said and stepped inside. Ren waited for me to follow, and I took a breath before stepping into the dark space. This time I felt the shift. There were heavy protections here, just like at our camp. It almost took my breath away. The weird mark from the broken binding rune burned deep into my arm. I rubbed the weird tattoo, and the burning got worse.
Ren stepped into the building and glanced at me, rubbing my arm. “Does it hurt?”
“I’m fine,” I lied. “It’s just burning a little.”
“Because of the protection?”
“I don’t know,” I answered. The truth was, if it was the protection that meant this mark was worse than I thought. It wasn’t just something Kalerian slapped on me to control me; it went much deeper.
“Try not to touch it until we get out of here,” he said, pulling a jacket from a nearby table. “And don’t let them see it.”
“Bree already did, I’m sure,” I answered.
“Bree isn’t the one we have to worry about.”
“You mean her mentor?”
Ren nodded. “She’s old-school magick. Like Paige was. She won’t care how it happened, just that you have it and you’re a threat to them.”
“Do you know her?”
“Not really, but we’ve met once or twice,” he said and waved me to the stairs that descended to the right. “Come on. You were the one who said we were running out of time.”
“We are,” I said as I walked past him and stepped down the stairs. I had no idea what Sam was doing or how close she was to closing that door. All I knew was Kalerian was gunning for anyone I cared about just to get to me. And unlike him not killing me, he’d kill every one of them with a smile on his face.
Once I got to the bottom of the stairs, I had to blink a few times to adjust to the light, again a trick of magick to make sure no one found them.
The area was a lot larger than I expected, with several rooms. Two rooms to the left that seemed to have beds lining the walls and several bunk beds. To the right was what looked like a makeshift living area and kitchen with a table and chair set and a very beat-up couch.
“Bree, I’m so glad to see you,” a woman said, turning from the little kitchen area where it looked like she was cleaning. She walked towards us and glanced my way, her dark eyes scanning me to see if I was a threat. I could see her better now that she was a bit closer and more in the light. Her dark hair was pulled back, and bits of silver cut through it. She was older, but only by a decade or so. “Who is this?”
“Aila, this is Lynn,” Bree said, motioning to me. “You already know Ren.”
“Yes,” she said through tight lips. “I’ve heard about you, Lynn.”
“It seems everyone has,” I said, sliding my gaze to Ren, and he shrugged.
“Not from him,” she corrected.
I watched her, confused.
“I have my ways of knowing things,” she said, her eyes dropping to my covered arm.
I swallowed hard and kept my mouth shut. She might be able to feel the energy from the tattoo thing, but there was no way I was admitting it to some stranger.
“What are you doing here?” She asked and then glanced at a couple of kids off in the corner starting to fight like siblings.
“We need help. I’m trying to close a door,” I said.
“You need a Phoenix,” she finished.
I nodded. “A strong one.”
“You know what happens when they close a door?” She pushed.
“That’s why I need someone who is strong, and it’s their choice.” I shook my head. “I’d never force someone to sacrifice themselves.”
“And yet you are,” Aila said. “You know any of these kids would volunteer to go fight if it meant they could change something.”
“They aren’t all kids,” Bree interjected. “And we know what we are doing.”
“I doubt that,” Aila snapped. “You wouldn’t have closed the door you did if that man hadn’t talked you into it,” she said, motioning to Ren.
He put his hands up. “I didn’t make anybody do anything.”
“No, you just told her she could save everyone if she did it, and look what happened?”
“She saved everyone,” Ren said. “And she lived.”
“You know that’s rare,” Aila said, taking a step towards him. “They are made to die. A sacrifice like the first ones.”
“First ones?” I watched her. “What are the first ones?”
“The witches that locked them away in the first place. Seven women who sacrificed their souls to lock the doors until their magick ran out,” she watched me. “No one ever told you the stories?”
“No,” I answered. “My mom died when I was ten.”
“That’s a shame,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
“It was a long time ago,” I said, pushing the bubble of emotion that threatened to come up. “We need help to stop them from bringing more beings from that lower level in. There has to be another way.”
“Only if the witch is strong enough to withstand the power that comes from destroying a door. A phoenix doesn’t just close it like the others. They break it completely.”
“I know.” I licked my lips. “I promise I won’t let them die. Even if I have to go all the way with them.”
She studied me for a moment. “You’d go into the doorway with them?”
I nodded. “Whatever it takes. I’ll lend them whatever power I have.”
She sighed and glanced at Bree. “There’s only a couple that have the kind of power you’re looking for.”
“Mia and Kate,” Bree answered, and Aila nodded.
“They’re older too. I’d never send a young one.”
“Aren’t there only a few?” I remembered Lexa saying there were only so many.
“Only seven at a time. We keep that quiet to protect them,” she said. “When one falls, another is made.”
My mind drifted to a television show where there was one girl in a generation who was made to take out the evil of the world. God, I missed when the crazy was just on the television. God, I missed television.
There was so much I didn’t know about this war. The original witches who locked them away and how it all began. I had no idea how deep this went or how long we had really fought like this.
“I’ll ask which of them wants to try to close this door, but if they don’t come back, I’m holding you responsible,” Aila said, her dark eyes locked to mine.
“Noted.”

***

“Are you sure this is what you want to do?” Ren leaned against the wall and watched me. His light eyes looked more troubled than usual.
“What choice do we have?” I sighed. “It’s either a ten-year-old or a teen.”
“Or we leave the door open and find a different way,” Ren said. “Have you thought about all the options?”
I snapped my gaze to him. “Of course I have, but until we find a way to kill Kalerian, the best option is to close it.”
Ren shook his head. “I don’t like it.”
I didn’t answer. He was right. Neither option was ideal, and if Kalerian got one more step ahead of us, it could be for nothing. I glanced at Bree. “What made you decide to close the door?”
She sighed and dropped her gaze. “I did it to save my friends.”
“That was it?”
She glanced at me. “It’s all I needed.”
“Did you know it could kill you?” I kept my eyes on her, but she didn’t answer. Ren was right. This felt wrong. “I can’t do this.”
Ren uncrossed his arms and walked towards me. “Then what’s next?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. We go back to Sam. Regroup?”
Bree put her hand on my arm and stopped me. “We all know our roles here,” she said. “This is one of ours.”
“I’m not going to have this blood on my hands too. There’s been enough,” I said and glanced at Ren. “There has to be another way to stop them. We need to look at the old stories.”
“You think there’s a key there?” Ren said. “I don’t even know where to look for those.”
“I don’t know if we have time right now,” Bree said. “You said yourself they could attack your friends at any time.”
“Aila would know where to look,” I said. “She knew them.”
Ren slid his hand into his pocket and pulled out the two potions he had left. “We don’t have enough to go on a side quest.”
“Then we drop Bree off back at her camp and go tell Sam what we know and come up with a plan,” I said. I might hate Sam with a passion, but she knew how they worked too, considering her past. She’d be as equipped to know what our next move should be as I am. Maybe more.
I glanced up as Aila walked down the stairs with two young women following behind her. One looked to be about nineteen, with straight black hair that went well past her shoulders. The other was a curly blond with bright blue eyes and an energy that screamed happy even in all this.
“Can we talk somewhere private?” I said and stood from the couch I was sitting on.
She sighed and pointed to an unused room I hadn’t seen before. I followed her into it, and she closed the door. “I changed my mind.”
“About?”
“About this whole thing.” I sighed. “I can’t ask another person to risk themselves for me.”
“It’s not for you. If it was, I wouldn’t have even agreed to it,” she said.
“But it’s my responsibility,” I countered.
“Yes, it is.” She cocked her head. “It’s hard being in charge, isn’t it? Giving orders that you know will kill someone.”
I dropped my gaze. “I never wanted it.”
“But you were made for it,” she said.
My brows furrowed. “I wasn’t.”
“Then how did you learn to fight?” She raised an eyebrow.
“My father was relentless in teaching me when I was young, but my mom…”
“She took you and ran,” Aila finished.
“How do you know that?”
“It’s a long story, but-“
“If you tell me there is some stupid prophecy about me, I’m done,” I said, raising my hands.
“No, there’s no prophecy. That’s not how things work,” she said with a slight smile. “But some of us felt this coming, and we tried to get ready.”
“You knew?”
“Not exactly what would happen, but we knew it was going to be bad,” she answered.
“My mom knew, didn’t she?”
“She did. We talked a few times before she died. I was still young. I didn’t know what my purpose was in all this until I met some of the girls. They all seemed to know where to go and that I’d help them.”
I nodded. “I still can’t ask either of those girls to die today.”
“Then give them a reason to live, to fight.”

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Ren

I glanced at the two girls who were sitting on the stairway just looking at me and then to Bree. The blond smiled, and I sighed. “So, you two are going to close a door?”
“Mia, maybe,” the blond said with a smile. “She’s the strongest fire witch I’ve ever seen.”
The dark-haired girl gave her a look, and I realized these two weren’t just powerful; they were friends. They looked out for each other.
“Neither of us have seen war,” Mia said, her tone dropping. “What’s it like?”
How could I answer that without scaring the shit out of them? “Stay together and don’t pick a fight with assholes.”
Mia smirked. “I take it you didn’t follow your own advice?”
I shrugged. “I’m a special case.” I smirked and stepped a bit closer. “So, are you as powerful as Bree?”
“Not sure,” Mia said, leaning forward. “We’ve never tried.”
“The way Bree explained it, all she did was let every ounce of her anger out and…” I made an explosion with my hand. “… and the door broke, literally.”
“You were there?” Kate said, her light eyes a bit bigger.
God, they were young. I was glad Lynn changed her mind. War would break them, and I didn’t want to see that. “Only because I was trying to help, but then Lynn needed me.”
“She’s your person, huh?” Mia said. “Kate’s mine. I would never let anything happen to her.”
“Good,” I said. “You’ll need each other if you want to survive.”
“How many battles have you been in?” Kate asked.
“Far too many,” I answered and stepped back to lean on the wall. They seemed satisfied with that answer, and it was easier than the truth. I mean, how do you tell a pair of kids you’ve seen pretty much every war there was and fought the same guy who wants to kill you this time over and over again without beating his sorry ass? Yeah, you don’t.
The door opened, and Lynn and Aila walked back into the main room. Lynn didn’t look like that talk went well.
“We decided the girls will go with you to the door. When they get there, they will decide how to proceed,” Aila said, and Lynn glanced at me. I cocked my head.
“I never said they’d close it,” she said.
“Let me guess, you want me to keep them alive?” I said and made a face. “How am I supposed to keep them alive and you?”
“I can keep myself alive, thank you.” Lynn narrowed her eyes, and I couldn’t help but smile slightly
“Whatever you say, boss,” I teased, and she rolled her eyes.
“Once we get back to Sam, we can figure this out.” She said. I watched as she grabbed the arm with the weird tattoo thing and fell to her knees. Then I felt the shift before the entire building around us exploded.

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