Focus on the thing holding you prisoner. He’s obviously taking you to Xavier. We have to stop him. What is it? He suspected it was nothing more than a small sliver of Xaviero, a shadow that he’d left behind to capture Branislava or him.

He felt her shiver, and then the woman he knew so well came forth, a warrior of old. She stopped shivering and he felt the steel running through her.

Xaviero left a tiny piece of himself behind.

He could see that the shadow was delighting in ripping at her spirit, tiny holes, to wear her out and make her more vulnerable to Xavier’s possession. There was no doubt in either of their minds that Xaviero’s shadow was taking her spirit to his brother.

Xaviero had no idea that Branislava wasn’t alone. He hadn’t yet detected the weave binding Zev’s spirit to Branislava’s.

If he can gleefully tear holes into your spirit, this shadow thing can be destroyed, right?

The sliver of Xaviero is far too small to do more than what it was programmed to do—give Xavier the spirit he needs to return to the land of the living. Xaviero wasn’t about to give away too much of himself even to get Xavier back, she replied.

Zev could hear and feel pain creeping into her. The capacity for cruelty in Xaviero amazed him. Even the little sliver of Xaviero had to torment.

Zev studied the shadow from every direction. The claws dug into Branislava and the demon fought with her, attempting to drag her down the tree trunk to the icy cold below. He could feel greedy eyes on them. He heard teeth gnashing. Moans. Wailing. Branislava refused to go easily, pitting her strength against the demon—and her spirit was strong.

Fen, Dimitri, I need a massive storm. Lightning that is supercharged. Build it for me fast and let me know when the lightning is forming its peak.

Neither man questioned him, nor did they respond verbally, but he felt their immediate acquiescence.

Catch the next branch, Branka. Hang yourself up on it.

She did as he said, reaching with her light to wrap firmly around the branch. Below, he heard an ominous rustle as something began to drag itself up the tree trunk out of the icy dark. Xavier was coming to claim his prize.

Zev was both Carpathian and Lycan—mixed blood—impossible to detect, even for a mage. His energy was completely muted. Neither Xavier or the splinter of Xaviero knew Branislava wasn’t alone, and that was their advantage. Before Xavier reached them, something had to be done fast.

Zev felt the storm even deep as he was in the other realm. The air above and below him suddenly charged with a current of pure electricity. Xavier seemed to know something wasn’t right, redoubling his efforts to get to the spirit trapped in the other realm.

The storm is massive and lightning is directly overhead, Fen informed Zev.

Zev held tighter to Branislava as she fought to stay on the branch. Say the words we need. Words of war. My kind of war. Physical. Now, Branka. Xavier was close, too close. He could feel him now, the slime of evil that reached them before Xavier’s malevolent spirit.

Branislava gasped in his mind. She hadn’t considered that they might reveal a physical particle, but once Zev gave her the idea, she caught on quickly.

That which was shadow,

Now must take on form.

From gray existence,

A body be born.

Branislava delivered the words in her most powerful voice, projecting through the light to the dark slice of the mage. The splinter demon stiffened, clearly suspicious of her audacity. His dark shadow wavered and suddenly shifted from wraithlike to substance.

Zev struck hard, calling down the lightning so that it ran down the tree fast, seeking a target. He wrapped himself around Branislava to protect her. It was his first time calling down the lightning, but he was a warrior through and through and his aim was absolutely accurate. The bolt hit the sliver of Xaviero squarely through the center of the particle. The particle turned black, curled and then turned to ash. It floated away, while the odor of rotten eggs lingered in the air behind it.

Zev redirected the lightning down the trunk of the tree in the hopes of destroying Xavier once and for all. He heard a scream of pain, of anger, of absolute hatred. The sound vibrated through their spirits, jarring them both. Zev kept his spirit wrapped tightly around Branislava’s, fairly certain Xavier would retaliate if at all possible.

The bolt must have scored a hit, although he’d directed it blindly, by sound alone. The voice continued to screech. It took a moment to realize Xavier was incoherent, but trying to hit back with a spell.

Zev drew Branislava up the tree to the thicker branches closer to the top, moving fast, whipping around to the other side of the trunk. The blast shook the tree, but hit branches a good distance from them. The branches exploded, splintering, and then coming back together. The tree trembled and then began to shake.

It’s angry. It wants us to leave now, Branislava whispered into his mind. The only reason it isn’t punishing us is because Mother Earth has claimed us as her own. But it will discipline Xavier harshly. The mage is used to being the one giving orders and it’s humiliating for him to subjugate himself to the tree. He thinks to destroy it somehow, but he cannot.

The tree shook violently, leaves churning in the air. Below them, they heard pitiful cries and pleas. Zev wasn’t waiting around for the tree to change its mind. He’d been the one to zap its trunk with lightning and he couldn’t blame it for being angry.

They sped through the branches, dodging the worst of the flailing limbs, and quickly entered their own bodies. Zev, as he collapsed, reached for Branislava, holding her body in his arms to prevent her from hitting the floor hard.

The fight had cost them strength, but that was all, both were intact. He could feel Branislava’s sense of triumph. Together they had faced both Xavier and Xaviero and they had triumphed.

Branislava turned over, looking up to his face. “I can’t believe you thought of forcing him into a physical form. That was brilliant.”

“Don’t give him a big head,” Fen cautioned. “Both of you need blood. You’re in the middle of a protection circle. You might want to let us in.”

Zev drew in his breath. “I still need to attend to Arno’s body and then inform the council members,” he told Branislava. “I suppose we have no choice but to let them give us blood. You’re looking a little pale. Did Xaviero’s demon shadow hurt you?”

“I feel a little ragged around the edges,” she admitted, “but I’m alive and you’re alive, and that small piece of him was destroyed. Xavier was sent back down into the depths of hell and he can just stay there.”