Faris jumped forward. “More than an understanding. I bound him to me to keep his soul on this side of the Veil. He was being pulled away. I didn’t think it prudent given the circumstances.”

Rylee let go of him and stepped away. “What do you mean bound him?”

Faris gave her a smile. “Liam will be a part of me on a . . . let’s say, long term basis. He won’t be crossing the Veil anytime soon. I’d rather share you than lose you, and he agreed.”

Her mouth dropped open and then snapped shut with a click. Behind her, the tall elemental, Lark, shook her head slowly. “You two boys are in for a tongue lashing.”

Rylee backed away. “I can’t believe you did this.”

Liam forced Faris back and held a hand out to her. “Rylee, I was slipping away. Faris stopped it and I trust him in this. This time there are no games with him. I should know, I’m in his head.”

There was a moment of surprise from Faris and then a wash of gratitude. Not many people had stood up for Faris in his life.

Even his “brothers,” created by the same master vampire, who had gone with him to destroy the Emperor and Empress, never stood up for him.

Rylee closed those amazing eyes of hers and bowed her head. “You’re telling me I can have you, but only if I have both of you?”

He let out a soft breath. “Until we deal with Orion. Then maybe there will be another solution.”

Inside his head, Faris laughed. There is no way out. We are together in this now.

Perhaps the conversation would have gone further; more likely it wouldn’t have. It was hard to say with the sudden roar from Blaz as he projected his voice to the whole group.

Rylee, we have company and they aren’t here for tea and cookies.

CHAPTER 3

PAMELA

“PAMELA, GO HIGH with Eve. See how bad it is,” Rylee shouted. “Charlie, get Doran, tell him to gather everyone who can fight and meet us at the old farmhouse as fast as he fucking can. Don’t bring anyone who can’t kick ass.” She paused and yanked a sheet of paper out of her back pocket, thrusting it at him. “Tell him to follow this to a fucking T or my ass will be fried.” Rylee barked out orders and I did as she said, running for Eve.

“You gots it, lassie! I’ll tell Doran to bees doing everything on yous paper!” Charlie bolted in front of me toward the backdoor, the paper Rylee had given him clutched in his hand. I saw a few words on it written in big, bold lettering.

Unicorn hair rope. What the hell did she need unicorn hair rope for? My curiosity almost got the better of me and I took a half step to follow Charlie. He leapt through the doorway, twisting the Veil as only a brownie could to travel before I asked him to stop. I caught a flash of the interior of Jack’s mansion and then the image was gone along with the brownie.

Rylee’s words resonated in my head. The old farmhouse? It was burnt to the ground. Why would she go there? As far as I knew there was nothing left except the barn.

I climbed aboard Eve, and Alex jumped behind me, his arms encircling my waist. “Hang on, Pamie. I’m coming with you.”

Eve launched into the air and it didn’t take long to see how big the problem was. Blaz was right, no one was coming for tea and cookies. More like with pitchforks and torches.

A mob of humans at least five thousand deep stumbled our way. Like the zombies we’d dealt with in England when I’d first met Rylee. Only these zombies weren’t dead.

“Shit,” Alex said, his hold on me tightening. “Orion moves fast. We’ve got to get everyone out of here.”

Eve let out a hunting screech, making the hair on the back of my neck stand. “Pamela, can you slow them down without hurting them?”

I held out my hands, shaky and drained after my fight with Orion and all the healing I’d done. “I’ll try.”

A bolt of lightning arced through the sky at my request and hit the ground at the front of the mob. They sidestepped the hole it made and kept coming. Three more lightning bolts slashed downward with the same result.

“They’re mindless. They might as well be zombies,” I shouted as my frustration rose.

“Eve,” Alex said. “We’d better land. Everyone has to evacuate.”

She dropped like a stone and Alex let out a sharp laugh. “I will never get enough of this.”

I shook my head. Same old Alex; newer, more human package. Eve landed with a double hop and I jumped off. “Rylee, I think we’d better go. The humans are mindless and they will overrun us if we try to be gentle with them.”

“Fucking hell,” she snapped.

“Faris, can you open the Veil for us?” I asked.

Faris shook his head. “No. It hurts Liam too much.”

What was this? Then why did he jump the Veil to go to Tian Shan and try to save the babies?

The question hit me the same time as the answer did: Marcella, Rylee and Liam’s daughter. She was worth whatever cost Liam had to pay.

Rylee didn’t question him as she strode toward Blaz. “Liam, you ride with Marco and Berget. Take the heavy curtains. We’ll stop when the sun rises and wrap you two into burritos. The rest of you pick a ride; we’re out of here.”

Even though we moved fast, we were still too slow. The first humans came running around the corner, five or six across, their knives and guns raised. Madness in their eyes flickered with the torchlight. Rylee stepped into them, her swords whirling in the air. “Drive them back. If you have to kill them, do it.”