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I eyed the wyverns’ sleek bodies and powerful muscles. I’d never had to ride on another winged creature before, always preferring to travel by my own wings, but she was right. This would save time. Besides, if Tari and her wolf mates could all ride one wyvern together, then I could ride one, too.
“Very well. Thank you,” I answered.
Finn went to the closest wyvern and began loading his supplies into the saddlebags. I loaded the saddlebags of the other wyvern while casting surreptitious glances at Finn. He’d been too quiet since the children were taken, and I knew he blamed himself. Though I didn’t want to voice my fears aloud, I worried we’d find the children too late, or else we’d save them, and the demon would take them again. How could we stop her?
We’d just finished packing when Esther gave a leather pouch to Finn. “Here.”
Frowning, he stared down at the pouch. “What is this?”
The satyr visibly swallowed. “Tau stone necklaces. They should prevent the demon mistress from teleporting the children again.”
The wolf flashed in his eyes and his voice dropped to a predator’s rumble. “Why weren’t they wearing these to begin with?”
She stepped back, her eyes widening. “You think I knew the demons could create a portal from a continent away?” Her voice cracked before she looked away. “Tau stones also prevent the children from accessing their own magic.”
Finn stuffed the necklaces in his pocket. “I know how they work.”
Esther wrung her hands together. “Do you know where you’re going?”
“The same direction as Tari and Shiri,” Finn answered evenly, “to the Werewood Forest.”
She took a step forward, her hoof clanking against a stone. “Do you think the children are there?”
Finn hoisted himself up onto a wyvern. “Where else can they be?”
“Could the demon mistress have created a portal from that far away?” I asked Esther.
She worried her bottom lip, her gaze shifting from Finn to me. “If it’s true that she’s a Lamashtu, then she was born with strong magic of her own, though not enough to create a portal.”
I arched a brow. “Then how did she do this?”
She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering despite the balmy air. “Lamashtus feed on witches. They inherit magic from witches they kill.”
Finn let out an agonized howl. Fire raced through my veins, and it felt as if an axe had cleaved my chest in two at the thought of her killing those precious children, for if she knew of their magical gifts, she would want them for herself.
Elements save them.
Aurora
AURORA WOKE WITH A pounding in her skull. What had happened? Where was she? Where was Em? Using her sharp canines, Aurora tried not to be scared while she worked feverishly to bite through the bindings on her wrists. After the last of her bindings came off, she tried to rip off the tight collar around her neck, but it was no use. If only she was old enough to shift, then she could rip apart the collar that bound her wolf and her teleporting magic. Using a dim light from above as her guide, she peered through the darkness, taking note of her surroundings. Two hooded figures were chained to a wall behind her, appearing to be dead except for their shallow breathing, and one of them was making low, deep groans while sniffling. She was in a cramped, damp cell, covered with straw. Thick bars blocked her from leaving. She wished she could get this collar off, for she feared it held a Tau stone. She frowned at her sister on the other side of their cell, sobbing into a bed of straw.
I’m coming, Em, she projected to her.
Somewhere in the distance, she heard Triss wailing, and her heart broke from it. As soon as she got this collar off, she would take Em back to Dada Finn and Uncle Nikkos. Then she’d bring them back here to kill the bad demons and save Triss.
Untying the bindings on her ankles was harder, for the knots were too tight, but she finally got them loose enough to slip the noose off her feet. Then she crawled across the dirty floor, her nose wrinkling at the strong stench of mold and rot with something else, like sour urine. Once she reached Em, she kissed her sister’s grimy cheek before gnawing off her bindings. Her sister’s collar wasn’t as tight or thick as hers, so she was able to gnaw through it.
Help me get this collar off, she projected to Em.
Em sat up, drying her eyes. Hold still, she said while she clung to Aurora’s shoulders and tried to bite through the collar.
“Ow!” Aurora cried when a sharp pain lanced through her, and then warm blood trickled down her neck. She quickly slapped her hand over her mouth, for she didn’t want the bad demons to know they were trying to escape.
You’re bleeding, Aurora, Em pressed her palm against Aurora’s neck. I’m sorry.
Aurora swallowed, doing her best to ignore the pain. It’s not your fault.
Your collar is too thick, Em told her.
