We continued up the mountain in silence. Tension coiled in my stomach as I waited for the next roadblock, the next horde of naturi waiting to take my head off. We needed to punch through and finally crest the hike into the clouds. We needed to finally end this game.

A halt was called when we came to a final turn in the road. The two nightwalkers I had sent ahead stood with their backs pressed to the mountainside. The whiner was nearly doubled over, his arms crossed tightly over this stomach.

“What happened?” I demanded. The Browning was in my left hand, while my right hand was wrapped around the hilt of the sword. My legs were spread as I scanned the area, waiting for the next attack.

The other nightwalker held up an arrow between two fingers. “As soon as we turned the corner, they filled the sky.”

“You’ll heal,” I muttered as I peered around the rock wall and up the hill. The firelight was brighter at the city entrance, but I still couldn’t see anyone. A narrow staircase ran along the main wall surrounding the city, leading up to the rise that held the guardhouse. Stefan was still above us, but close. We had to take care of the army of naturi at the entrance before he and his band stumbled on them. “How many?”

“Fifteen,” Danaus quickly answered.

“Know any good tricks?”

“No.”

“But I do,” Jabari said as he stepped out of empty air to stand beside me. Sadira stood in his arms, looking disoriented. Her skin was black and twisted, and her thick black hair was only now beginning to grow back. My maker and I had had a…disagreement while I was visiting Venice a couple months ago. The result had bathed her in flames, momentarily. In all honesty, it had been an accident, but I knew there wasn’t a nightwalker in existence that would believe me.

Sadira wore long, baggy clothes, hiding her hideous appearance. Other vampires cringed and grimaced at the sight of her. Understandably, she refused to look at me, remaining huddled against the Elder.

“They have us pinned down,” I said, looking back at Jabari. “Fifteen naturi with arrows. Earth clan naturi and air guardians are lurking around the mountain, giving us more than our share of problems.”

“I will stop the arrows. We just need bait.” Jabari smiled at me, his white teeth showing in the faint light. Any of the other nightwalkers would be fine for this task, but he wanted me.

I frowned and shook my head. “Yeah, I thought so.” I turned to Danaus and handed him my Glock and Browning. He was a better shot than me anyway. “Don’t miss. I’ll know you hit me on purpose.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” he replied, his rough voice dripping with sarcasm. I must have looked nervous because he rarely stooped to jokes.

“Wait. I’m sure they’d be happy to carve ‘Kick Me’ into your back as well,” I warned, forcing a smirk onto my lips.

“Mira?” Cynnia said, grabbing my arm as I prepared to step into the open. “I don’t feel good about this.”

“Do you know what they’re planning?” I asked, cocking my head to the side as I waited for her answer.

She shook her head and bit her lower lip. “I don’t know, but this just seems bad.”

“I know it’s bad, but I trust Jabari needs me alive for now,” I said with a sneer as I looked up at the Elder.

Drawing my sword, I stepped around the turn and into the middle of the road. I stood waiting, but nothing happened. Tightly gripping the hilt in my right hand, I slowly trudged up, my left hand bathed in dancing flames. It wasn’t possible to become a more visible target. I didn’t know what Jabari’s plan was, but I didn’t trust the Elder to keep me completely unharmed. He needed me alive, but that left a whole gray area of what kind of condition he could put me in. To sweeten the deal, I was relying on a vampire hunter to watch my back; one who wasn’t too happy with me at the moment. The only one that actually seemed concerned about my safety was the naturi. If I survived this, I was going to pay more attention to the type of company I kept.

Halfway up the path the first arrow floated through the air toward me. It arched high up in the night sky and I easily sidestepped it, dropping into a crouch. As I did, another ten arrows filled the sky, moving straight and fast for my new position. They were spread wide enough so that if I tried to dodge them, at least one or two would still hit me. I cringed, my muscles tightening as I waited for the impact, listening to Danaus fire at the naturi that had stepped into view. I mentally reached for the barrier spell that Cynnia and Shelly had tried to teach me in the woods, but my mind was a blank. I couldn’t remember the trigger words, and the energy refused to come to my fingertips. As the poison-tipped arrows neared, I choked.

“No!” I heard Cynnia scream. I twisted around in time to see a white blur headed toward me. I was trapped between the arrows screaming toward me and something small and white. Raising my sword at the white blur, I flinched, prepared to take several arrows in my side and back. It was only a breath later that I felt Cynnia wrap her slender arms around me and pull me away before something else wrapped around us both. I looked up to find that a pair of perfect white wings had sprung from Cynnia’s back and were now wrapped around us both in an effort to protect us from the arrows.

Amazingly, the arrows never touched us. They bounced off an invisible barrier inches in front of us and fell harmlessly the ground. I could feel more than hear Jabari’s laughter. He had enjoyed my and Cynnia’s momentary panic.

How sweet! A naturi protecting you. How ever did you manage that? he asked, his voice slithering into my brain.

I promised that I would not allow her sister to come through the door tonight, I replied in an equally sweet tone.

Sister?

Yes, she’s Aurora’s younger sister. A royal princess. A valuable commodity.

You are full of surprises, my desert flower, Jabari nearly purred.

For now, I was back in his good graces. Cynnia was truly a valuable item, and while I had my own uses for her, I would not be the one calling the shots at the mountain ruins. That would be Jabari—the puppet master. Any promises I made to the young naturi were null and void now that he was in control.

With a growl, I peeled Cynnia off of me and resumed my trek up the mountain. The naturi continued to fire arrows, but not one touched me. In return, I sent several balls of fire ahead of me. Danaus managed to pick off a few naturi, and I finished off the rest with a heady mixture of fire and steel.

Kneeling at the entrance to the city, I waited for my strength to return as Danaus and the others hurried up the mountain to join me. At the same time, Stefan appeared from the west. His group was battered and cut back to a measly eight. He was livid at being nearly defeated by the naturi, but still managed to stiffly bow his head to the Elder.

“We must keep moving,” Jabari announced.

“Where are they holding the ceremony?” I asked, still not rising to my feet. I stared straight ahead at the stone walls closing in around me. I was in the city again. A tremor of panic ran screaming through me, tightening every muscle in my body.

“The humans have been gathered in the Main Plaza,” Jabari replied.

“Let’s finish this,” Danaus said, extending his hand to me. I looked away from it, my body flinching. Warm energy radiated from his body, making my skin crawl. Finishing this also meant crushing me. In Venice, I had felt what it was like to have both the powers of Jabari and Danaus within me, fighting for control. It nearly ripped me to shreds. I couldn’t imagine the pain that awaited me when the full triad put its powers through my body.

I turned my head to find Jabari holding his hand out to me as well. “I will not let them harm you again.”