Page 61 of Country and Clove
Dahlia was working quickly. She moved from body to body, wrapping them in dirt and vines. She’d worked her magic on eight fallen lycans but so far none of the mounds had flowered.
“They will,” she told her sister, taking her hand and squeezing tightly. “I’m sure of it.”
The earth shuddered. It was faint at first and her spirits lifted in excitement. Maybe some of them were already coming back. The trembling grew more violent and fear swallowed her excitement whole.The snake. She looked to Aaron, finding the same fear reflected in his eyes.
“Clear the area!” he yelled, making a dash toward Clove. “It’s the snake—”
A ring of dirt sank beneath the ground. It was the only warning before the monster breached the earth. Lycans dove to avoid it, barely escaping its open jaws. Screams filled the green as the goliath Dolgur rose up farther from the earth, revealing its true size. The creature was as wide as Clove’s old farmhouse, and tall enough to rival the complex.
A barrage of attacks went sailing its way. Ice and fire flew from Nova’s palms, barely making an impact on the snake. Lark sent a storm of electricity jolting into its lower body. Still the creature did not cower. Aaron raised his hands, darkening the sky and sending a vicious wind to whip toward the monster’s head. It barely reacted. Clove raised her own fingers to the sky, calling upon the animals of the forest.
“Don’t.” Dahlia took hold of one of Clove’s hands. “It won’t do any good. Lend me your power. I have an idea.”
“How am I supposed to do that?” Clove asked. Everything was still so new. But as Dahlia took her hand, she felt it—the current of green earth power slithering beneath her skin. She and Dahlia gasped as one. Clove’s magic swirled and grew as it fused with Dahlia’s.
“We need something big enough to take down a giant snake with six freaking heads,” Dahlia said. “So use your imagination, and give it your all. Together we can make something that will take this motherfucker down.” Her eyes were glowing a luminescent emerald green. Clove shut her eyes, focusing.
What animals were natural predators to snakes? Birds, obviously, but there wasn’t any bird in existence large enough to take down a monster like the snake.Together we can make something.That’s what Dahlia said. Maybe it didn’t need to be real. Maybe that’s what magic was all about.
Clove envisioned an eagle. She imagined its wings growing larger than that of an airplane, with razor-sharp talons and a deadly curved beak.
Magic sprang from Dahlia’s palm in a swirling mixture of green and gold. Vines, roots, and ivy twisted together as an eagle of incomprehensible size formed right before Clove. The great beast’s eyes snapped open, a green flame dancing within.
The earthborn bird released a powerful bellow before taking to the sky. It slammed into the snake, making the Dolgur scream with rage. Its sharpened claws reached out for the Dolgur’s eyes, aiming to blind the many heads of the fowl creature. Sweat dripped down Clove’s face as she focused her power, willing the eagle to win. The massive snake writhed and fought, two sets of its great jaws snapping down hard on one of the magical bird’s wings. Clove screamed as her animal was mutilated.
“I just need it to distract the snake a little bit longer. Then I’ll be ready.” Dahlia’s face was pale, her skin glistening with exertion. Gideon had moved in close, his hand landing on Dahlia’s shoulder.
“Be careful,” he warned. Dahlia ignored him. What did she meanand then she’ll be ready?Ready for what?
A warm hand landed on Clove’s shoulder and she peered up, finding Aaron staring down at her with fire in his eyes.
“You’ve got this,” he encouraged. Warmth radiated from the point of contact and Clove’s powers swelled. The eagle clawed and fought with everything it had, even as an inky blackness spread out from where the snake had it in its jaws. The snake opened its mouths, snapping down harder and taking part of the eagle’s neck into another of its monstrous jaws.
“I’ve got it,” Dahlia exclaimed. The earth rumbled beneath them, rattling Clove’s bones as she fought to maintain control of her magic. All at once a barrage of massive stone stalactites shot up from the soil, impaling the snake in a hundred different places. The earth powers grew and grew until the snake was nothing more than a pin cushion for Dahlia’s magic.
The animal wailed once more before falling deathly still. Dahlia sucked in a breath. Her grip loosened, as the Alpha’s mate dropped to the ground.
“Dahlia!” Gideon gathered her in his arms. The second her eyes fell shut, the eagle disintegrated. Its body unraveled, falling to the earth in a mass of tangled greenery. “Where’s Dr. Sawyer?” Gideon bellowed in a panic.
Clove spotted the doctor racing toward them. Leah and Romani cautiously approached the Dolgur. Leah shifted into her wolf and bit down hard on the dead snake’s flesh. Romani gripped her fur and they disappeared, dragging the massive monstrosity with them.
“She’s exhausted.” Dr. Sawyer ran his hands over Dahlia’s unconscious form. “Her magic is tapped out. Get her inside.”
“Go,” Lance urged Gideon. “I’ll take care of things out here.”
Gideon scooped up his mate and sprinted toward the complex.
“Are you all right? You’re shaking.” Aaron’s arms wrapped around Clove, dragging her out of her numb and nearly catatonic state.
“Is it over?” she asked. She was suddenly so unbelievably tired.
“I think so. We haven’t seen any other—”
Screams echoed out from the forest and everyone turned as one. Brona, Bjorn, and three of Lucas’s team members sprinted into the clearing. A tall, spindly Dolgur trailed close behind them. It whipped its long, smoke-like arm forward, snatching a young lycan man in its grasp. His skin turned black and his body crumbled into ash.
The others rushed forward, but the twins weren’t fast enough. Two smoky arms latched onto Brona and Bjorn. Someone screamed nearby. Clove saw Lucas running toward them with Leah close by his side. The twins stilled, their eyes going black and lidless. But instead of crumbling like the others, an array of spidering black lines crawled across their skin. It was as if their very veins were darkening.
The darkness continued to spread, covering them from head to toe. But just before Leah and Lucas reached them, something unusual happened. A deep purple glow emanated from the cracks on their skin. It grew in brightness, filling the air with its vibrant violet until a concussive blast ricocheted off the two.
