She opened her mouth and then shook her head. Tears glittered at the edges of her gray eyes. All the unspoken words were there. Be careful. Save the world. But louder than both of those was the simple don’t let my sister die.

I nodded, but could say nothing. This was war, and Lark was one of our generals. Which would make her a target. Still, I would do what I could to keep her alive. As I would for all of my family.

We wove up and through the Spiral while the air around us crackled with tension. Lark was right, the scent of demon was far too strong for this to be the end of the invasion here. Orion knew I was here. What would I do if I were in his place?

“I’d send more than one general,” I breathed the words out a split second before the Spiral exploded in a burst of flames around us. We all hit the ground, the heat blasting like it was pushed by a storm.

“On your bellies, keep moving,” Lark yelled and we followed as she took us to a side hallway with no flames. Once more on our feet, we ran, trusting Lark to get us the hell out of there.

“Which demon is connected to fire?”

Peta glanced back at me, her voice as clear as any others. “War.”

Lark slammed to a stop in front of a dead end. “I’m going to open this up, it will take us directly into the Enders Barracks. From there, go to the lowest level. Bella, go with them, show them the bands and how to use them.”

Bella nodded. “Be careful, Lark. I’ve lost you once, I don’t want to lose you again.”

Lark touched her sister’s head gently. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ve too much trouble to stir up.”

She put her hand on the wall and the tree split open, not unlike what had happened in the floor of the Spiral.

“Pamela,” Lark called to her. “I need your help.”

Pamela paused and looked at me. I nodded at her, though it tore at my guts. “Go, kick ass. Show them what you can do, witch.”

Her lips twitched and she clapped her hands together, a sharp rumble of thunder echoing outside. “Consider it done.”

Cactus, and of course, Peta stayed with Lark as well. They would hold the demons off long enough for us to get out of here. Once more, we were separated.

The rest of us leapt through into the darkness that was the Barracks. I looked back to see Lark for a split second before the tree closed.

There was one torch flickering against the wall showing me a training area, old, rusting weapons on the walls and what was left of several rotting leather uniforms.

“There aren’t enough arm bands for everyone. You have to decide who will go with you, Rylee, and who will stay behind. There is only the ability to move four of you,” Belladonna said as she led the way across the floor.

I goggled at her. “Stay behind?”

“I’m sorry,” she said, “It is the only way.”

Leaving any one of my family behind was unthinkable. Pamela staying with Lark was different. I knew Lark would protect her as much as Pam would protect Lark.

Alex touched my arm, turning me to him. “I can fly back with Eve and Marco. We don’t have to worry about the sun coming up if you take the vamps with you.”

My heart clenched at the thought of Alex not being with me. But he was right, he was the obvious choice. I grabbed him in a hug, holding him tightly. “Don’t take any chances. Go straight to the farmhouse.”

He hugged me back, his gangly arms surprisingly strong. “Yuppy doody, boss.”

I swatted him on the back and let go before tears could start. Bella pointed at the hallway at the far end of the room as she grabbed the torch from the wall. “The stairs lead down to the Traveling room. We have two armbands. One of you will wear a band, the other will hang onto that person.”

“How does this work?” Berget asked. “Is this like jumping the Veil?”

An explosion outside of the barracks shook the whole place, and dust fell around our ears. Bella waved a hand as if it were nothing. “No, not like that. With the Veil, your soul is at risk if you are not a necromancer. They are the only ones who can jump without damaging themselves.”

I glared at Liam, but meant at Faris. “This was what you meant when you said it would hurt Liam? That it would eat his soul if you jumped us?”

He turned to me and I knew I was looking at Liam still. “Yes, that’s why he wouldn’t do it. He knows you, Rylee. I hate to admit it, but he does. You would never forgive him if he’d broken my soul in trying to get us here.”

Bella tsked softly and another explosion shook the structure. I Tracked Pamela and Lark.

They were both pissed as cats stuffed into a toilet and swirlied. But the power running through them both . . . it was beyond wild, beyond anything I’d ever felt.

Pamela was the strongest witch the world had ever seen, and that included Milly, who’d been able to do things like jumping the Veil and breaking bonds with demons.

Yet Lark was making Pamela look like a human next to the power she was running. I wasn’t sure the explosions were related to the demons attacking.

The earth rolled beneath or feet and Bella ran ahead of us. “Hurry, we’re almost there.”

She ran for a wide set of doors, shoving them open. Despite the need to hurry, I couldn’t help but stop and stare at what we stumbled into. The room was round, as if we were standing inside a globe looking out at all the countries and oceans of the world.

Bella touched the globe with both hands and pulled it toward her, enhancing the picture until it was clear, as if I stood in front of the scene. “Rylee, you know where you’re going?”