Page 13 of Rage of the Fallen

No one said anything. Their pressed lips and grave expressions spoke volumes. For better or worse, we were doing this.

Justice glanced at me, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. “I’ll pull over at that gas station and park in the back. Maybe Maci and her minions won’t spot it.”

“Maybe.” I settled back in my seat, trying not to let pessimism creep into my voice, but my gaze instinctively scanned the sky. The clouds above seemed to shift and darken ominously. Maci could be anywhere. Lurking in the shadow of acloud, melding with the darkness between trees, or even hiding in our own shadows. The thought made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

Lisa asked, “Do you think Maci’s tracking us?”

I shrugged. “Possibly. A shadow dragon isn’t exactly easy to shake.”

Damon chuckled bitterly. “Right, these suckers are like supernatural bloodhounds. Once they’ve got your scent, they don’t easily lose it.” He paused, thinking. “We need to muddy the trail somehow. Anyone got any ideas for throwing off a shadow dragon’s nose?”

I glanced over my shoulder. “Time travel.”

“If it works,” he mumbled. “Too bad we can’t roll around in some deer musk or whatever hunters use. Though I gotta say, that might be preferable to some of the other things we’ve had to do to ditch monsters.”

Justice took the turn into the gas station he’d noticed and pulled around behind it. It was a small station with tall trees in the back, so hopefully it would hide the SUV. We got out of the car, and I pulled the hourglass from my backpack, wondering if the spell would work. The hourglass time travel was supposed to be a one-time thing.

Lisa and Zara spoke in soft voices, then stepped apart from each other.

Zara wiped her palms on her jeans. “We have decided on a spell.”

“Wait, ‘decided on?’” Damon drawled, narrowing his eyes. “I thought you witchy types had this spell stuff down pat. You’re telling me you’ve been flipping through your magic cookbook this whole time?”

Lisa met his hostile stare. “We are from two different covens with different spell books, but we found one that meets both styles. Happy?”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re the witches.” He shrugged, then fixed them with a stern look. “Make sure it works. I’m not looking to star in my own ‘Back to the Future’ blooper reel.”

Brody shielded his eyes as he looked at the sky. “Team, we’ve got incoming. Large shadow overhead. Lisa, Zara, if you’ve got a plan, now’s the time. Everyone else, be ready to move on my signal.”

“Sawyer, put the hourglass on the trunk of the car,” Zara commanded tightly.

I complied swiftly, the cool metal of the car in stark contrast to my clammy hands. My eyes darted skyward, searching for any sign of Maci’s shadow form. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, an eerie sensation of being watched prickling across my skin.

The screech of tires suddenly shattered the relative quiet. Car doors slammed in rapid succession, sharp and foreboding. Angry voices rose in a cacophony, growing louder with each passing second.

“Shit,” I muttered. “Rage is here.”

Lisa and Zara flanked the hourglass, their faces etched in concentration. They raised their hands, fingers splayed over the ancient artifact. The air around us seemed charged with an electric tension that made my teeth ache.

Their voices rose in unison, clear and powerful.

“Tempus fluit, aqua currit,

Horae vitrae, viam aperit.

Per umbras et lucem,

Ad fontes faerie nos ducent.

Crystalli potestas, temporis nexus,

Iter nostrum nunc perfectus!”

As they chanted, the sand in the hourglass glowed and pulsed. A faint mist swirled around our feet, gradually rising andenveloping us. The witches’ eyes blazed, their hair whipping in a wind that seemed to affect only them.

The angry voices grew closer, a crescendo of threats and curses. A dark shadow passed over us, and my heart leaped into my throat. I looked up to see the massive outline of a dragon silhouetted against the sky, its wings blotting out the sun. Time was slipping through our fingers like sand.

Rage rounded the corner of the gas station, his eyes gleaming with malicious triumph. “Going somewhere without me?” He put his hand on his chest in mock hurt. “I’m offended.” His casual tone belied the dangerous glint in his eyes.

---