She gathered the monster locator and a tire iron out of the back of the van—just in case—and hid in the trees near the cave. The sun was going to set any minute, and she didn’t want to be in the way of all those Synestryn coming out to hunt.
Plus, there might be bats in there, which was too icky to think about. Thank goodness her hair was braided so they couldn’t get tangled in it. She still wasn’t convinced that was a myth and she wasn’t taking any chances.
She turned on the night vision and her super hearing and watched as a swarm of monsters flowed out of the cave, snarling and clicking and howling.
Helen was sure her heartbeat would give her away and she prayed that all the noise the monsters were making would cover the frightened pounding. She held her breath and imagined pushing the air so that her scent was carried away from the monsters.
A light breeze cooled the sweat on her skin.
A pair of glowing green eyes swung her way and the sgath sniffed the air as if sensing her. It cocked its furry wolf head to the side in confusion and after a moment, bounded off to follow the rest of its pack.
Helen was shaking so hard her muscles ached and she had to make a conscious effort to relax her clenched jaw.
The last monster had been gone for several minutes before she found the courage to move into the mouth of the cave. The entrance was small and she had to crouch low to get in. Her enhanced vision made it seem bright as day inside, but she could feel the oppressive darkness clinging to her skin, eating at her resolve.
Unlike the mine, there were no tunnels leading in different directions. The cave opened up into a long, narrow hole that widened into a larger chamber. It was easily a hundred feet across and twenty feet at the widest point. Dampness and a mineral smell scented the air beneath the heavy, rotting animal smell of the Synestryn. In the distance, she could hear the steady drip of water and the gurgling, wet sound of a kajmela.
Two of them, in fact. And they were headed right toward her.
Her invisibility had worked well enough on things with eyes, but the kajmelas had none. They somehow sensed her presence.
She dropped the invisibility to conserve power, then turned up her vision to X-ray level, and sure enough, inside the bigger kajmela was Kevin’s sword along with some other things that looked suspiciously like human bones that she didn’t want to think about. The hilt looked corroded and pitted, but the blade was pristine and wickedly sharp. Whatever stomach acid the kajmelas had, it couldn’t harm the Theronai’s blade.
Fire.
The word flared in her head, though whether it was her idea or Drake’s, she couldn’t tell. Either way, it left her terrified, sweating and shaking.
She felt Drake getting closer, felt his anger and sense of betrayal that she’d left him. She’d done it for him, and all her noble intentions would be wasted if she didn’t get that sword back and release him from her before he got here.
Helen heard Sibyl’s voice ring clearly in her mind. If you try to fight the Synestryn beside Drake without the ability to call fire, then Drake will die.
She couldn’t let that happen.
The kajmelas moved forward, slowly oozing over the cave floor. Fire was the only thing that could stop them.
Helen tried to push aside her fear of fire, but it had been her companion for so long, she couldn’t remember ever living without it. It was a part of her. Irrational. Uncontrollable.
It was going to kill Drake.
She raised her hand toward the kajmela and pretended she wasn’t afraid. She closed her eyes and gathered Drake’s power inside herself. She remembered what she’d seen Gilda do and forced herself to mimic that frightening act of calling fire. Heat built in her chest, making it hard to breathe. She had to get rid of the heat before it killed her, so she tried to shove it out through her fingertips. She heard a sizzling sound and opened her eyes to see her fingertips blacken. The burning pain hit her then and a sob tore from her body.
She pushed harder, trying to drive the searing heat from her, but no fire came out. Not even a spark.
She heard deep male voices echoing nearby. He was here. And he was going to die if she didn’t do something to stop it.
She pulled hard on Drake’s power and let it fill her even more. Pressure built inside her, and the band around her throat heated under the strain of funneling so much energy. Her insides felt as if they were boiling and the skin under the luceria started to sizzle. The scent of burning flesh filled her nose, making her gag.
“Helen!” shouted Drake.
The kajmelas hesitated as they sensed new prey.
More energy filled her, stretching her, crushing her organs until the pain threatened to make her pass out. She had all the power she needed to fry those kajmelas into a greasy puddle, but she couldn’t find the courage to let it out in the form of fire. Her instincts screamed at her that this was it—the moment of her vision.
Drake came into view, followed closely by other men, but she couldn’t see them clearly. Her eyes burned and felt as if they would fly out of her head from the massive pressure inside her, but she forced herself to look at Drake.
His sword was drawn, gleaming with the need for violence. His face was a mask of pain and rage and his eyes glowed with golden fury as they met hers. His body was coiled to strike, strong and solid and designed to bring her so much pleasure. Just looking at him was a joy to her.
She loved him.
There was no denying it any longer—no putting off thinking about it until things calmed down. She was out of time. She could feel the power of her love for him beating at her to act. Sibyl had said to let her love for Drake guide her, and she would. Her last act on this earth would be one of courage and sacrifice and love for Drake.
The kajmelas turned toward bigger prey and oozed out tentacles of oily sludge toward Drake.
Helen accepted her fate. She embraced it. She was going to burn to death, but she was going to take those nasty fuckers with her so they couldn’t hurt anyone else.
She lifted her hand toward the monsters, ignored the clamoring fear slicing her belly, and let the fire come for her. At first, there was a pitiful sputtering of sparks from her hand and she couldn’t contain a frightened yelp.