Yet those delightful contemplations were pushed aside. “The naturi are here,” I announced to the cold night air.

“Are you sure?” Stefan demanded, frowning. Before I could answer, a single gunshot shattered the silence. Hesitantly, the earth seemed to take another breath before a barrage of gunfire from an automatic weapon resounded in the valley below.

“Yeah, pretty sure,” I said, sarcasm slathered over every syllable. Before the first gunshot rang out into the night, I had felt a disturbance among the humans. They felt uneasiness wash over them, as if something was watching them out in the darkness. Pulling in their energy, I was also attuned to their emotions. I had felt their fear instantly grow to terror when they realized they faced a creature they could not beat.

The silence had sunk back in again. Without checking, I knew the four humans we had brought with us were dead. The naturi would wipe out anything and everything from their path to us. The humans were simply a warm-up act to the slaughter they anticipated on the top of the mountain at Ollantaytambo.

A footstep at the edge of the plateau had both Stefan and I ready to spring into action, but we quickly relaxed at the sight of Danaus jogging over, followed by Shelly and Cynnia.

“How many?” I gruffly demanded.

“Eight,” the hunter replied, one of his guns already sliding into his hands. I pulled the Browning from the shoulder holster I was wearing, cradling the gun tightly in both hands as I waited for our adversaries to arrive.

“That’s it?” I sounded strangely disappointed by the number. Of course, after having already battled a horde in London and another army while in Crete, I would have thought an army was waiting to destroy me in Peru.

“There are more on the way,” he growled, as if to appease me.

“You and Stefan block the gateway. I’ll take care of the naturi,” I ordered, my eyes darting from the hunter to the nightwalker. Neither one looked particularly pleased with me, but no one argued.

“What about me?” Shelly asked, drawing my attention back to her and Cynnia for the first time. I had forgotten that I dragged the naturi and the earth witch into the nightmare with me. Maybe I should have left them both back in Savannah playing cards, but now wasn’t the time for contemplating such things.

“Keep an eye on Cynnia! She’s not to leave the mountaintop unless Danaus or I accompany her.”

“I’m not leaving here with them, Mira!” Cynnia shouted. “Those naturi most likely belong to Rowe, and I’d rather not see my brother-in-law just yet. Not until at least one of us has a plan.”

“Do I protect her?” Shelly asked, leading me to pause in the act of turning back toward Danaus and Stefan. My eyes danced from the naturi to the earth witch, my mind a clutter of thoughts, none of which made sense in that moment when a battle was breathing down our necks.

“Protect each other,” I murmured.

Cynnia held up her manacled hands and I shook my head at her. “There’s enough energy in the air. I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

“Mira!” Danaus shouted, finally drawing my gaze back to Stefan and him. “Where is this gateway that you’ve been talking about? Where’s the opening?”

“Over there,” Cynnia said, pointing behind them. Spinning on my heel, I followed Cynnia and Shelly to a depression in the ground a few yards away to the west. “This is it,” the naturi confirmed.

Both Danaus and Stefan looked at me, doubting the veracity of anything told to them by one of the enemy. I nodded. It was the exact spot I would have picked out. The energy was the thickest there. The earth was covered in thick green grass, as if it grew from the richest earth and was watered every day. The rest of the surrounding area was dirt with patches of grass and weeds intermixed with large stones. The gateway was here.

Drawing in a deep breath, I focused my powers and attempted to create a ball of fire that would hover over the depression. Instead I got twenty balls of angry, crackling fire scattered about the plateau.

“Whoa,” I murmured. I had meant to say something close to “Holy shit” in old Greek, but my mouth wasn’t working. I stared at the flickering fires the size of basketballs. Not quite my usually cute, baseball-sized beacons of light. Of course, I was tapped into two different power sources, and both were looking for an outlet. The power from the earth had immediately surged into my frame, but it was unable to tear me apart because I was still pulling heavily from the soul energy in the region. I just had to hope that the naturi didn’t decide to wipe out the nearby village before they came to take care of us.

Danaus threw me a dark gaze, but wisely kept his sarcastic comments to himself. He had been around me enough the past several days to know I hadn’t intended for that to happen. I walked over with him and Stefan but stopped several feet away, not wishing to draw any closer. The gateway was nothing more than an oblong circle about three feet in diameter that was slightly sunken into the ground, marked by the lush green grass that stood out against the surrounding rock and dirt.

“How do we close the gateway?” Stefan inquired.

“You don’t,” Cynnia said, taking a half step backward. I followed her lead. Standing so close to the flow sent a feeling creeping over my skin, like thousands of ants marching beneath my clothes.

She held her hands out toward the gateway, as if warming her hands by a fire. I had no doubt that she could feel the energy pouring out, enticing her, but so far she was behaving herself. “You can only block it so the naturi can’t use it,” she explained.

“Take some of the large stones off the ruins and pile them over the opening. Make a pyramid or something. I don’t care,” I shouted. I grabbed Cynnia by the shoulder and pulled her away from the opening. I didn’t need to worry about her and an abundant source of power, even if the iron manacles were supposed to dampen her ability to use magic. I truly doubted that the iron completely blocked the ability, particularly with this much energy floating around in the air.

“And the naturi won’t tear it down?” Danaus demanded, the sarcasm finally slipping out.

“I’m sure they will, but I’m hoping it won’t be before the new moon,” I growled at the hunter. “You’ll just have to get some of the Themis boys down here to protect it during the day.”

Danaus opened his mouth to argue, but I was saved from having to listen when a naturi dart shot through the air. He jerked his head back just in time to avoid the poison-tipped mini-arrow.

Three naturi with wrist crossbows crested the plateau first, shooting their bolts in hopes of paralyzing their victims before finally delivering the killing blow. I dodged two arrows aimed for my heart and unloaded the Browning into the three before they had a chance to launch the next phase of their attack.

The naturi were a mess, but still breathing. My aim was pathetic—I had to learn to shoot. Dropping the empty gun on the ground with a hollow thud, I pulled the short sword from the sheath and ran to their side. In a few quick slashes their heads were rolling from their bodies and I was splashed in a fresh coating of blood.

A whimper drew my attention from the edge of the plateau. Cynnia stood behind Shelly, peering out over the witch’s shoulder. Her wide green eyes shimmered in the firelight. For a moment something within me felt at peace. She was finally seeing me as the monster I truly was, as the nightmare her people had painted me for countless centuries. Washed in the blood of her people, blade in one hand and fire flickering around me, I was the Fire Starter.

“Watch out!” Shelly cried.

Ducking down as I turned, I managed to block a sword aimed to enter my back. We exchanged a series of blows that I narrowly escaped. I had finally met my match in a swordsman, but that wasn’t my greatest concern. My big problem was that the sword fight gave the naturi time to gain purchase on the plateau. One attempted to slip by me and head for Danaus and Stefan. While blocking one blow, I pulled a knife from my waist and threw it at the second naturi. The knife found her back, but I got a long cut across my stomach as I failed to block my adversary’s next move.