The thunderbird did not change, just waited patiently as the woman stepped forward, stopping at the edge of the property.

“You dare call us?” Her high voice, like she’d just sucked down some helium, caught me off guard.

“Uhhm. Yes?” I walked forward slowly, hoping it looked like I was standing on ceremony rather than hesitating. Kingsley followed me on one side, and Sebastian stayed close on the other.

“We answer to no mere mortal,” she said. “Our allegiance must be earned.”

“Right.” I stopped about three-quarters to the sidewalk. “And how do I do that?”

Kingsley growled softly.

She tilted her hand. “Only a master may know.” She waved her hand. A rush of blistering fire swept from her like a rogue wave, building higher as it moved, surging toward us.

Kingsley snarled and moved in front of me. Sebastian threw out an arm, smacking me in the chest to keep me back. I couldn’t think beyond grabbing it, my eyes widening, watching that flame.

Using his other hand, Sebastian made circles in front of us, his fingers moving quickly. A glittering red shield arched in front of us and then around, cocooning us, a spell I could do, but not with this much power. He needn’t have bothered. The fire fizzled and sputtered five feet into Ivy House’s territory. Not even the fire of a phoenix could breach her borders for long.

Silence filled the wake, interrupted by Kingsley’s soft growl and Sebastian’s heavy breathing.

“I have to dominate them,” I said, my heart banging against my ribs. “I called them with the understanding that Austin could dominate anyone powerful enough.”

“Austin isn’t here,” Sebastian said.

“Yes, I am well aware of that. That leaves me.”

“You don’t have the power to handle them,” Sebastian said. “Maybe the thunderbird, but I don’t think I can take that phoenix.”

“What about both of us? Can we do it together?” I asked as the woman eyed the property line. I wondered if she could find a way around Ivy House’s magic. She seemed incredibly confident. And competent.

“We don’t know each other well enough for that. You have to work with another mage for longer than a few hours a day for a week in order to form a magical union with them, and even then, the mages are usually sleeping together.”

“No. Long story short, no. Got it.” I gritted my teeth. “I can do it.”

“Jacinta.” Sebastian grabbed my arm and pulled me, forcing me to look at his worried eyes, the streetlights almost turning them pale blue. “Listen to me. You do not have enough power. Neither does Austin. Not for both of those creatures. Send them back. Or turn them loose. Or…whatever you have to do to make them leave. You’re not ready.”

“Yes you are,” Ivy House said. “But only if you accept the rest of your magic. It is time to claim what is yours.”

The woman smiled, as though she could hear everyone speaking, bowed, and retreated back to the thunderbird. “Let us begin.”

“No, no, wait—” Sebastian said.

It was then that I felt Ivy House’s magic flicker and fail.

“She has accepted your challenge,” Ivy House said. “She has deadened my magic. I cannot help.”

“But I didn’t say anything,” I said.

“Send them away,” Sebastian cried.

“I don’t think I can,” I choked out.

The woman smiled. “Until the death.”

Twenty-Three

“What does she mean, ‘until the death’?” I cried, wanting to run but knowing there was nowhere to go. I didn’t have Ivy House this time. I didn’t have any other artillery. I just had my crew.

“What’s happening?” Sebastian asked, his arm still held out in front of me like he was a mother trying to keep her child from hitting the dash.

“It’s too late. It’s a challenge,” I said, swallowing hard.

He swore. “Okay, well, let’s see what we can do. We have to kill the phoenix.”

“Because they are then reborn,” I said, piecing it together.

“They are reborn, yes. But if you die, it’s forever.” Sebastian dragged me a little closer, Kingsley pacing in front of us, his tail twitching at the end as he watched the phoenix.

Edgar ran in from the side in his purple sweats, wielding a long metal stake that was almost certainly more fatal to him than it would be to anyone else. The others flew in from overhead. They must’ve felt Ivy House’s defenses go down.

“Here we go!” Sebastian shouted.

Another burst of fire rose and surged forward, larger than the first, a great blast of heat and flame. Sebastian threw up the same shield, covering Kingsley, himself, and me. Heat bled through, and it felt like it was melting my face off. My clothes were hot against my skin. My eyes burned.

Sebastian swore again. “Think it through,” he muttered to himself. “Think it through. It’s fire. It is magical fire. It’s a natural spell created within the beast. Figure out a way to combat it.”

I nodded in encouragement. But the fire died and the thunderbird stepped forward, shaking out its mighty wings. It spread them wide, nearly taking up the whole bulbous end of the street, before flapping them forward and down. A great gust of wind slammed into us, and Sebastian’s shield did virtually nothing. The wind ripped us off our feet and flung us backward, slamming us into the house.

“Think it through,” I heard Sebastian muttering again, jumping up and running forward. He belted out a spell that twisted and curled into the air, sending the great thunderbird back a step. But the phoenix was ready for Sebastian. She sent off a jet of fire this time, like liquid magma, blistering in intensity, directed at his magical shield.

It would not hold. Not for this. The heat had almost made it through last time, and this attack was much more intense.

I flung out my hand, layering my own shield over his, pouring power into it.

The lava stream slammed against it. My shield held. At first.

Smoke billowed from my magic, melting down to nothing. The stream hit his shield next, blasting around the arch, sinking into the magic.

Yelling wordlessly, knowing that I couldn’t heal him if that lava made it through—it would kill him too quickly—I yanked Cheryl from my back pocket and ran forward, snapping it open as I did so.

A roar came from the other side of the attack, but not from a creature. From a Jeep.

Rubber screeched and the back end of the Jeep slid around as it stopped. The door opened and Austin jumped out, naked one minute and a flash of light the next. When it faded, he stood on his hind legs in polar bear form. His roar shook the earth. Shook my bones. Made the wolves in the cage cower and the phoenix and thunderbird shut down their magic (if only for a moment) and turn around.

The basajaun stepped forward now, opening his arms wide. He added his own bellow, the urge to fight singing through me, too.

A neigh from Niamh in the sky and then the roars of gargoyles added to the chorus, the Ivy House team ready to fight. Ready to die, if need be. Kingsley lifted his roar to the heavens last, a great cat ready to support his brother’s bad decisions.

“You have earned the trust of those sworn to you,” Ivy House said as Austin lowered back down and rushed forward, “and your allies. They will protect you with their lives. Will you do the same for them?”

I neared the sidewalk, but Kingsley leapt forward, knocking me out of the way. Cheryl flew. He didn’t want me in the fight, probably because he thought I was useless in combat. Or else he thought Austin wouldn’t want me in danger. But Austin knew better.

The phoenix sprayed Austin with fire, a preliminary blast, like she’d first tried with us. The basajaun ran at her and swiped, but the moment his palm touched her skin, it burst into flame. He howled, shrinking back. The thunderbird flapped its great wings and lightning flickered. Edgar jolted, on its back. I hadn’t realized he’d jumped up there, but he didn’t stay there for long. He convulsed and fell, cracking his head on the ground.

The thunderbird launched into the air, each movement showcasing its incredible strength. The gargoyles rolled out of its way, but they immediately turned around and flew after it. Its lightning crawled out around it, giving it a natural shield. Niamh rammed it with her horn, showing no fear. The thunderbird roared as the crystalline horn pierced its side, the sound turning to thunder. Niamh convulsed and fell.

“No!” I threw out a net to catch her, suspending her in the air.

“Will you protect them with your life? Will you end this?”

“Of course I will end this,” I mentally shouted. “Send the others away. Let me handle this myself.”

“Will you protect your team with your life? Decide now. It will be your lifelong duty.”

It was already my lifelong duty. We’d become a unit in that first battle, and every battle thereafter had drawn us closer together. There was no way I would walk away when my friends were in danger. There was no way I wouldn’t sacrifice myself if it saved all of them, just as they would do for me.

“Take the oath,” Ivy House said. “Take the oath and I can help you save them.”

A roar of anguish froze my blood. I spun. Austin was on the ground, struggling with the phoenix, everywhere she touched burning.

I crawled through the grass for Cheryl, desperate, hearing another howl of pain from the basajaun, who was probably trying to help Austin. He couldn’t handle the burns, though. Another cry from above.

I looked up as Sebastian caught Mr. Tom in a magical net, suspending his fall.

I curled my fingers around Cheryl’s hilt.

“What do I say?” I yelled, tears in my eyes. Austin’s agonized howls tormented me. I doubted anyone in the world had ever heard them before. He never admitted to being in pain. A grunt was all he’d vocalize, even when a normal person would black out. He was beyond agony right now. Probably beyond what most could tolerate. And still he fought.

I couldn’t bear to peek through the link.