Through the mice’s eyes, I saw Alex coil his tentacle like a shield. Fire crackled over the limb. He cried out, but the spell was dying more quickly than it should have. Cold poured from Alex’s burnt skin. The flames flickered and vanished.
“Mggoka’ai R’gngyk ngth na’ghtagn,” Alex whispered. “Hotept R’gngyk na’shub.”
Any triumph on my part died a quick, decisive death.
Blackness sealed the damaged skin. Alex smiled, and I felt R’gngyk’s power growing. Just as Morgan had given his blood, Alex had turned his injuries into a sacrifice. His words were the equivalent ofTake, eat. This is my body, which is barbequed for you.
I had the mice grip the grass with our paws, drawing strength for another attack. But before I could begin, Alex’s tentacle smashed down like a club.
I yelled and jerked back in my seat.
“What happened?” Jenny twisted around to take my hand. Her fingers felt my wrist while she studied my eyes. “Temple, talk to me.”
“He killed them.” Darkness ringed my vision. Between the strain of working through other bodies and the shock of feeling their death, I’d be lucky if my heart didn’t explode before we got home.
The Temple Finn of old would have stopped him. He would have found a way. He’d have blasted Alex to ash and gone out for drinks and dessert to celebrate.
A part of me hated that Temple Finn. The bastard hadn’t appreciated how good he had it.
“How close are they to getting inside?” asked Annette.
I wanted to answer, but her words were so far away, and my pulse was so loud. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled. I didn’t know if I was talking to Annette or to the house. “I can’t stop him.”
“Oh, that’s clever. The spell is woven right into the doormat. Then it spreads out to every ingress. ‘An it harm none...’ This had to be Jenny Winter’s idea. What shall we do with you, little spell? What shall— I wasn’t asking you, Noah. It was a rhetorical question. Get back to breaking those windows.”
CHAPTER 25
Jenny
By the time we got home, Temple was barely conscious, and I’d been disconnected from my call with Ronnie.
The neighborhood was quiet. All of our rose bushes had been uprooted and destroyed. The windows were cracked, and most of the front gutter was bent away from the roof. Even the grass looked dull and sick, like it had gone weeks without a drop of rain. A patch beside the front walk was burnt and blackened.
I didn’t see Alex or his thralls.
We parked on the street. I carried Temple from the back seat and set him in the grass. That seemed to help. He pressed his hands into the dirt, and I swear the grass grew a little, twining between his fingers.
“How is he?” asked Annette.
“Clammy. His pulse is racing and his breathing is ragged, but he’s alive. Give me your jacket.”
She didn’t argue. I rolled the leather coat into a pillow and placed it beneath his feet to elevate his legs.
Annette had her knife in one hand and her phone in the other. “The WiFi’s been down since shortly after the mice cast their fireball. I’m not getting anything from the cameras.”
“Come on,” I whispered. “You’re strong enough to pull through this. You’re Temple Finn, remember?” His breathing was shallow. I needed to get him inside, to warm him up and—
“Jenny.” Annette crouched beside me. “End of the world, remember?” Her words were gentle but firm.
If we didn’t stop Alex, we were all dead anyway. I squeezed Temple’s hand. “Don’t move. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“He’ll be all right,” said Annette.
I stood and sniffed the air, then listened. “Ronnie’s in the back parking lot. He’s not alone.”
I retrieved my sword and bow from the car. I nocked an arrow and strode around the house with Annette close behind.
Ronnie sagged against the side of his van, battered but conscious. Two of Alex’s thralls held him in place. Two more stood guard between him and us.
