Page 58 of Country and Clove
“What happened over there?” Nova approached him, her brow glistening from the exertion of using her powers. “I felt a shift in the magic.”
Aaron instantly knew what she meant. He’d felt it in the moment. “It was Graham. Taia was killed and he emerged as a Celestial.”
Nova’s hands covered her mouth as tears welled in her eyes. “Where is he now?”
Aaron shook his head.
“We need to keep moving. Our job is to clear a path back to the complex and kill every fucking Veil creature we encounter,” Darren called out, clapping Aaron on the shoulder. “Clove will be all right. She’s a Celestial now.”
Aaron prayed he was right. Darren was leading a smaller squad of Lucas’s team. Aaron and his recruits fell into step beside them, working their way through the city and searching for survivors along the route.
“Where’s Aspen?” Aaron kept his voice low.
“Laurie and Aria have him, along with Laurie’s boys.” Darren’s voice was tight.
“Then they’re in good hands,” Aaron reassured him.Of course Lark would have teleported his pregnant mate away from the fray as soon as he could. And Laurie was a Chosen, but she was still human. It was best for them both to stay holed up somewhere until the fighting was done.
A piercing shriek caused everyone to drop down low. Aaron winced as a Veil Wraith shot by in the sky. Every dark memory from that horrible day came surging to the surface. The group was silent and still as its long tattered body vanished.Where the hell is it off to in such a hurry?
“Keep moving,” Darren called out. They wove through town, steadily closing in on the complex. They hadn’t seen that giant snake again, or the wraith.
“On your right,” Dane warned as a trio of Durucai clambered out of a sewer. Their short, stout bodies rippled with the oozing blackness of the toxic goo that covered their flesh. Darren pushed Nova back, urging her to save her strength. Aaron sprinted toward them with Dane hot on his heels. He drew magic to his fingertips, conjuring a gust of wind that he directed at all three. It slammed into the monsters, dropping them to the ground. Aaron dove for the closest Durucai, driving his fist into its grotesque, wet face.
The Durucai were smaller than most of the Dolgurs, but what they lacked in size, they made up for in strength. It flipped Aaron, reaching toward his face in an attempt to shove its toxic sludge down his throat. The creature gurgled and cried as Dane wrenched it free. Dane’s veins bulged as he used his immense strength to hook his arms beneath the monster and trap it in a headlock.
Aaron sprang forward. Lark’s lesson on monsters rose to his mind. He shoved his hand deep within the creature’s chest, searching for the gills that lay carefully protected beneath the slimy outer coating. His fingers brushed the webbed flaps and they flexed in response to his touch. Aaron allowed himself to draw on his wolf, urging claws to tip his fingers. They tore into the meaty flesh, slicing deep enough to breach the heart chamber.
Dane cursed as the creature flailed in his arms. One final squeeze and the fast-beating organ burst in Aaron’s palm. The Durucai fell still, its sticky outer coating dripping away to reveal a dark, hairless skeletal form beneath. Dane dropped it in disgust. He and Aaron were both covered in thick, black goo.
The others were finishing up with the final two Durucai, killing or dismembering them in various ways. Liv was frowning down at her muck-covered hands while a dead Durucai lay twitching at her and Abigail’s feet. Braggs and Callie had teamed up for the other. Braggs was covered practically head to toe in goo, but he’d gotten the job done.
Aaron’s heart swelled at the sight of his recruits handling themselves so well. Things were different this time. This group had several pack members who were already highly trained. He was confident they would survive the day.
“Nicely done.” Aaron looked to the others with pride. Fjor’s Veil creatures were going to wish they’d never set foot in Mountain’s End. The group set pace again but stilled as an unfamiliar sound filled the air.
Aaron dropped to his knees, hands clutching his chest as pain splintered through him. Fear and panic overtook him. What the fuck? Dane gripped his shoulder, peering down in concern. The mysterious sounds came closer.
“What is that?” Nova’s hands raised in the air. A blue flame danced in one palm while a flurry of icy shards swirled in the other. Darren took a protective step in front of her as they listened. It was a rustling, whooshing sound.
Aaron closed his eyes, sharpening his hearing. His heart slammed against his chest when he recognized the sound.Wings. Hundreds of them.
The cloud of crows spilled out from the forest like a storm. Flying forward, they cawed and cried out. Aaron and the others crouched low as the birds passed overhead. They were headed somewhere fast.
The breath left Aaron’s lungs as he felt the familiar brush of magic coating the air as the birds continued. His eyes flicked to Nova who was already watching him.
“It’s Clove,” she breathed. Aaron sprang to his feet, racing in the direction the crows had gone. The nearly dark night dipped into a pitch black as the number of birds continued to grow. He pressed forward, his legs burning. His mate needed him. He could feel it.
CHAPTER23
The moments after that hellish snake emerged from deep beneath the earth had been pure chaos. Clove lost sight of Aaron. She’d heard him cry out for them to run and sprinted for her life. Now she was on her own with a monster at her heels. The ground was quaking as the enormous beast slithered its nightmarish body in her direction. Magic bloomed in her fingertips but she couldn’t get a clear visual on exactly what to do. No animal was strong enough to take down that monstrosity.
Her steps were loud against the pavement. She hadn’t had a second to ditch her heels, and she cursed the way they were impeding her escape. She darted left, heading between two shops and coming out around the back.
Its scent hit her before she saw it. The dark, putrid smell of sulfur and blood. Her legs halted faster than her body was able to match. She skidded along the concrete. It ate away at her skin and the fabric of her small black dress, leaving it tattered and barely covering her body. There were clothing caches all around the city. She was definitely going to need to find one.
Her body slammed to a halt mere inches from the feet of a nasty-looking Dolgur. This one stood upright in a humanoid fashion but in place of hands it had two grotesque pincers. Clove gazed up into its unforgiving black eyes and the well of fear within her chest bubbled over. The creature lunged for her and she threw her hands over her face.
A roar of rage sounded moments before Graham’s glowing form punched straight through the Dolgur. He buried his fingers in its center and jerked outwards, shredding through the dark monster’s flesh until it was cleaved completely in two. Clove scrambled back as the limp halves dropped to the ground.
