Clueless as to how to get their asses out of this fire, Reidar shot a telepathic message to Obsidian:Now might be a good time for you to lend a hand. And I meanrightnow.
A second later, the warrior appeared at his side.
“What the fuck?” Obsidian’s head swiveled as he took in the scene.
“Exactly,” Zadok quipped.
It only took a few words for Reidar to relay the situation and how they’d gotten themselves into it.
“I want you three to leave,” Obsidian ordered.
“Leave? What? So you can get your ass kicked?” Reidar snorted. “Not a chance.”
“I said leave,” Obsidian growled.
Reidar was gearing up for an argument when Stygian appeared.
“Go,” the male ordered.
Reidar got with the program, dematerializing out of the circle of demons and reforming on the other side. Rinc and Zadok did the same.
From his new vantage point, Reidar watched as Obsidian and Stygian held the demons’ attention. Their enormous wings appeared—one black, one white—stretching out as far as they could go, creating a feathered barrier while the warriors’ faces lifted skyward, arms outstretched, palms up. They were summoning energy from the universe, he realized. Their combined powers drew the demons and their duplicates into a mishmash of limbs. The hissing and screeching increased as the things were overwhelmed by pain.
“Now!” Obsidian ordered.
The wind picked up, the powerful force sending Reidar back a couple of steps. A bolt of blue lightning struck down from the sky, silencing the demons, their ashes scattering on the wind.
“What the fuck was that?” Stygian asked, his eyes scanning the shadows for more.
Right before Reidar’s eyes, Obsidian stumbled, his knees buckling, wings retracting.
“You two have to get back,” he shouted, knowing that the weaker they got, the less of a chance they’d be able to. “Now!”
Stygian nodded, then vanished, Obsidian not far behind him. Reidar followed their lead, reforming on the front steps of the mansion.
Holy fuck.
The two warriors were laid out on the gray stone, flat on their backs, their bodies temporarily taxed from the use of so much power. After all, summoning lightning from the sky wasn’t something that could be done easily.
Reidar threw a palm up on the reader, waited for the door to unlock. When it did, he swung it inward and shouted for some assistance.
“What’s going on?” Basker—one of the male Fae who’d been summoned back to the mansion—came running, stopping at the sight of the two warriors laid out on the cold gray stone. The instant he realized Obsidian was laid out flat, he dropped to his knees beside him. “We need to get him to Penelope.”
Yes, that was probably wise. The warrior would mend faster with the blood of his mate.
“What the hell happened?” Kaj asked, appearing in the mix.
“We’ve got a serious problem,” Reidar told them as the group gathered.
“What he said,” Obsidian muttered, eyes still closed.
Kaj stared down at the warriors in concern.
“Shadow beasts.” Stygian groaned as he attempted to sit up.
Shadow beasts? Seriously? That explained why Reidar didn’t recognize what they were. He’d never had the pleasure and now he wasn’t sure he wanted to again.
“Aw, hell,” Kaj rumbled.
