Both Skyler and Tatijana followed suit without hesitation, releasing first the light like a spear and then the disc, nearly simultaneously. All three weapons pulsed with light and then burst into a violet wash that bathed the walls of the worm’s throat in vivid color. A shrill, penetrating sound followed, the piercing notes threatening to destroy all sense, so that all three hastily muted the volume.

Hurry, hurry, Ivory urged, rushing toward the mouth of the worm.

The giant cavernous body of the creature rolled again. Bucked harder. Began to thrash violently. Tatijana and Skyler kept up with Ivory, dodging the venom and avoiding touching the walls of the spiraling worm. Condensation formed, an eerie haze when the violet light spread like a smoky red tide staining everything in its path a bluish purple.

The three women hovered just behind the double rows of serrated teeth. The sense of urgency was strong in all of them, as if they shared one mind—and one goal.

The worm rocked violently again, thrashing as more smoky violet light poured from the three discs and curled as vapor in every direction. Ivory appeared to be concentrating hard.

Three, two, one, she counted down and then burst forward.

The worm’s throat contracted. Squeezed. The walls narrowed behind them. The mouth of the worm gaped open to cough, every muscle constricting violently.

Ivory didn’t need to tell them to hurry. They followed her frantic attempt at reaching the surface. The ground trembled and shook with intensity as the worm thrashed, maddened by the burning in its throat. Shock waves like seismic anomalies reverberated through the ground. Dirt fell in on itself all around them.

I can get us out faster, Tatijana volunteered. Let me.

Tatijana squeezed past Ivory, shifting into her dragon form so that she could dig their way out far faster than they could. Her wedge-shaped head burst through the surface, continuing upward so that she could use her long neck and front claws to protect the others from the fierce battle taking place aboveground.

Branislava saw Tatijana’s dragon head emerge from beneath the surface and something deep inside her settled. Behind Tatijana’s dragon came first Ivory and then Skyler. She wasn’t alone fighting a war against two, possibly three mages. Her lifemate and the others were holding off the mage’s army to give her the chance to bring down Xaviero’s seat of power, and she was close. She could feel it now, the taste of victory. It was all about not making a mistake.

All three women had gone through a fight, but they’d emerged alive and victorious. They hurried to make their way through the battlefield to get to her side. With the exception of Ivory, three had been born of Dragonseeker blood. Ivory was lifemate to a Dragonseeker and over the years his blood had become hers, so technically, the mages would be dealing with four powerful Dragonseeker women.

Tatijana, I need you and Ivory to take the two trees there. Branislava indicated the tree directly opposite from the one she had released. Ivory, if you could take the one at the bottom of the pentagram, that would be helpful. Skyler, you and I are going to work on the ones on either side of Xaviero. He’s setting up a triangle with the fire and his brother. You can see his position.

She dug a small diagram in the dirt with the toe of her boot. I’ve figured out what he’s doing and how he set up his power grid. We’ll have to open our minds to one another for this to work properly.

Ivory was a loner. Other than Razvan she didn’t share her life—or her mind—with anyone else. If this was to work, they’d have to do it together.

Ivory knew her meaning immediately and simply nodded. I am a warrior first. Whatever needs to be done, I will do.

Branislava breathed a sigh of relief. She’d put her sister closest to Ivory in order to give Ivory aid if needed. She would be positioned with Skyler. Both women were powerhouses in their own right, and all four of them connected had every chance of bringing down the two mages. She did her best to convey that confidence while she instructed them on how to peel back the layers of magic Xaviero had wrought.

Skyler’s eyes widened in shock, Branislava’s only warning. A massive hellhound hit her squarely in the chest driving her over backward, the gaping mouth with rows of terrible teeth driving straight for her throat. She tried to fend it off with outstretched hands, a pitiful attempt, but the hot breath blasted her in the face and what looked like a thousand teeth rushed at her. At the last moment she squirmed enough that the beast clamped his jaw down tight around her shoulder, not her throat.

She heard her own scream, a frightened, pain-filled cry, torn from her in spite of all resolution not to show Xaviero weakness. Of course he’d targeted the women. She’d been so wrapped up in her work, she hadn’t thought to keep one eye out for an attack.

The hellhound ripped a great chunk of flesh from her shoulder, and clamped down a second time on the bone. His teeth seemed to meet in the middle and he shook her like a rag doll. There was no way to shift, no way to reach into her belt and retrieve the knife there.

Skyler rolled on the ground beneath the hellhound, a knife in her fist, blade up. She cut the legs of the beast, slicing tendons and ligaments as she rolled to the other side. As she came up in a crouch, she slammed the blade into the eye of the hellhound and leapt away from the creature before it could release Branislava and attack her.

Razvan came out of nowhere, covered in blood, his face a mask of intent, eyes blazing fire as he leapt over one hellhound, slamming his arrow deep into its eye, knocked down a Sange rau and launched himself in the air at the last moment, to land squarely on the back of the hellhound attacking Branislava.

He wrapped one arm around the beast’s head, jerking it back hard as he plunged his knife into the animal’s remaining good eye. The hellhound shuddered. Took a step and collapsed over the top of Branislava. Razvan pulled her out from under the heavy creature, his fingers moving over her shoulder to determine how much damage had been done.

“Thanks. Both of you.” She included Skyler. “Thank you.”

Razvan nodded. “It’s not broken, but right now, drive out every bit of bacteria. You’ll need to cauterize it as fast as possible.”

It hurt, even when she did her best to push the pain away. Even pushing out the strands of bacteria was painful. Burning it clean hurt even more. She set her teeth and nodded to Razvan that she was good and could go back to work. A part of her was very grateful that he stood guard over the four of them. The thought of another hellhound getting ahold of her was terrifying. With a little shudder she turned back to begin peeling the layers back on the heavy strands of magic protecting the mage’s power grid.