get very close. But at the location where he caught Olivia back up in his arms and started to fly, he made sure to leave more blood.
Wraiths drank blood and his would have the taste of a ruling mastyr – something he knew would appeal to Margetta.
Once in the air, he telepathed to Ian. I’ve got Margetta on our trail. Are the wraiths ready?
Ian’s voice sounded rough. We’re ready. Twenty male wraiths and all of them chomping at the bit.
Remember, she’ll try to use her chaos wind. So the moment she shows up, attack. Don’t wait. Hopefully, you’ll be able to engage long enough for us to get rid of the camp. If you see the slightest sign of her chaos wind, get your troops the hell out of there, as well as the wraiths.
Understood. What’s your ETA?
Just a few minutes now.
Once he ended the communication, he set Olivia down for another run. Each time, as soon as Margetta caught sight of Olivia’s trail, the Ancient Fae sped up.
More than once, Zane had to hurry up the process of retrieving Olivia. Despite her flailing legs because she didn’t feel the earth beneath her, she quickly calmed down and leaned her muzzle against his shoulder. She trusted him and once more his chest swelled with something very close to love.
In the air again, he contacted Luther. Are your troops in position on the west side of the Arundel Mountains and ready to move in?
Absolutely. Chase has the Vampire Guard in place as well, and the troll brigade is about two miles to the west of the Dead Zone. We’re ready to move on your orders.
Zane took a moment to communicate everything to Olivia and afterward contacted Regan. Are you all set? Because Margetta fell for the bait. She’ll be in Helms Watch in a few minutes with several unattached wraiths waiting for her.
Yes, Regan said. I just got the spell worked out and I’m headed over to the camp now to find the origin point of Margetta’s spell. As soon as I locate it, I’ll start taking Margetta’s magic down.
Good deal.
When he ended the communication, he gave a sudden shout of triumph that had Olivia whipping her head toward him, her ears back, her teeth bared.
What’s wrong? She pathed.
Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you. He hugged her. Everything’s in place. Regan has the spell figured out.
Thank God for that. How soon til we reach the city?
Just a couple of minutes now, but we should do one more drop.
Good idea.
Zane felt Olivia prepare herself to hit the earth and take off running. Holding her loosely and flying parallel to the earth, he set Olivia down, this time on an empty dirt road. She took off fast. With so much solid traction beneath her, Zane had to work hard to keep up with her.
In the distance, the glow of Helms Watch blocked out a lot of the stars.
He glanced behind him and saw that Margetta was coming up fast. He reached down and grabbed Olivia, her paws once more flailing as she adjusted to flight. But the cloak held.
He headed swiftly toward the downtown area where the wraiths waited along with Mastyr Ian.
He reached out to his fellow mastyr again. Ian, we’re ten seconds out.
I’ve got this. Fly straight overhead and I’ll let you know if Margetta stops to have a look. I’ve got the wraiths carrying beer bottles and whooping it up. We set a car on fire for effect. I’m on top of the tallest building on the southeast corner. I have your troops positioned in an arc, ready to fire at her.
Zane smiled. I knew I could rely on you.
He shifted his attention to Olivia. You can shift now.
She became a tumble of fur then arms and legs as he worked hard to keep hold of her without hurting her.
Once she was back in position, he saw that she was sweating. You all right? He asked.