I swallowed hard. Erik had hit the nail on the fucking head. We’d heard nothing in regards to the demon packs and what they were up to other than the one we’d run into at John’s motel. That was not a good sign. Either we were too far out of the loop, or the packs were working on something big. Not good, not good at all.

“We’d better go. The longer we take, the worse this is going to be. We’ve just got to rip the fucking Band-Aid off.” I strode toward Blaz and climbed up, Erik right behind me.

The flight was cold, but easy. No demons popped out of the sky, no explosions sent us spinning into nowhere. The mineshaft was as we’d left it, ropes and climbing gear still set up and waiting.

Will you wait for Liam in the shaft, or in London?

That was a good question. “We’ll wait for him at Jack’s.” It galled me, not waiting for him, but there was no other way. Doran and the others were waiting.

Our group slid down the ropes with ease and Pamela lit up the inside of the cavern with three floating balls of fire. The mineshaft was cool, but the doorway through the veil felt hot to the touch. I pressed my hand against it. Why the hell would it be hot?

Without another thought, I pushed hard on the door, shoving it open. A burst of flame curled out and I fell back from it with a yelp.

Pamela stepped up and the flames bent away from us, but only by a few feet. Her face turned into a deep scowl. “I can’t put it out, it’s not regular fire.”

“Can you hold it back long enough for us to get through?”

“I think so.”

“Then we make a run for it.”

Erik grunted. “What about Liam and the wolves?”

“I can wait for them,” Pamela said. “I can get you out and then come back here and wait.”

I didn’t like it, didn’t want to see her put herself in that kind of danger, but there was no other choice.

I gave a sharp nod, not happy about the newest twist in events. “Let’s do this.”

Pamela nodded and her hands clenched into fists. The flames were fucking hot, but we bolted through, all of us.

Except Berget. I stood inside the castle and looked back to see the fear on her face.

“I can’t, Rylee. Even from here, the heat is too much. I will wait for Liam and the werewolves, tell them how to get through.”

A gust of hot air whipped around me, drying the sweat on my forehead. “I can’t leave you again.”

“You aren’t. I’ll find a way to get to London. I can always catch a ride with Blaz.” She gave me a soft smile and I knew there would be no changing her mind. Berget was right. There was no way for her to get through the fire without going up in flames. Too damn combustible.

I reached across the doorway and gave her a hug, holding her tight for just a moment. “I’m holding you to that. I expect to see your ass in London, ASAP.”

“I love you too, Rylee.”

Lips tight, I turned away and ran after the others. The castle was completely engulfed in deep red flames. They looked like what a child would draw, blood red and towering above us. From time to time as we ran through the castle, they dipped toward us and Pamela fended them off.

“Who would light the castle on fire?” Frank asked as he jogged beside me.

It was a good question, and I was pretty sure I knew the answer. “Orion. If the castle is on fire, how do we close the doorway?”

Erik grunted his agreement and I knew I was right. Not that being right made me feel any better.

The main entrance in and out of the castle onto the open plane burned hotter than the rest of the flames around us and a niggling fear bit at me. None of us had even considered this might be a trap, a way to end us all in one fell swoop. “Pam, tell me you can get us through there.”

“If I can’t, no one can,” she whispered, as she flung her hands toward the flaming gate. They groaned and leaned outward, leaving a small gap, just big enough for us to run through.

The group bolted for the opening, but again, I felt the pause of one of my people. Pamela stood, sweat pouring off her face. “Go, I’ll be okay and Liam will need my help to get the wolves through.”

I wanted to tell her not to take risks, to just be safe and get her ass back to us in one piece. But it was advice I would never take myself. I settled for something more subtle. “Don’t dawdle.”

Her lips twitched and I turned my back on her to run through the gate. The heat singed my face, tightened my skin and made me sweat like, well, like I was running through a furnace.

Leaving my family behind was not something I was comfortable doing, but the last few months taught me I couldn’t do it all. I had to let each of those close to me do the things they were designed for, much as it killed me to let them go into danger.

I just hoped I was making the right choice.

Chapter 17

WATCHING RYLEE AND the others run through the gate left me feeling … funny. That she trusted me enough to leave me on my own was an amazing high. But being left on my own within the castle reminded me there were demons just waiting to snatch me again. The fear of being kidnapped haunted me, made my blood freeze.

I spun and ran back toward the doorway where Liam would come through. Second floor, end of the hallway. The flames weren’t as bad there since I’d already pushed them back. Which was good, because the door to the mine shaft wouldn’t open when I got to it.

“No, don’t be a wanker,” I whispered, jerking on the handle, yanking it hard. Nothing. Despite the heat from the flames around me, a chill slid down my spine. I couldn’t wait anywhere else, which meant I had to sit here and fend off the fire until Liam, or Berget, opened the door. Sound didn’t travel between the doorways, so I could knock all I liked and no one would hear.

I hadn’t told Rylee the fire was more than magical. It was alive. There was some sort of entity running it, making it push hard against me, testing my boundaries even as I held it at bay. I swallowed several times, trying to get saliva flowing. My mouth was parched, dry and hot, like I’d been sucking on desert sand.

I put my back to the door and stared into the flames. Using a technique Milly showed me, I put a barrier between me and the flames. Like a wall for the fire to hammer at, it gave me some relief. Yet I knew it couldn’t last. The barrier drew off my power, like I was a battery feeding it. There would come a point where I couldn’t hold it any longer, when I had finally run out of juice.