The dokk alfar were fighting hard, and the hoch alfar were fighting just as hard back. Peigi jumped in, her bear attacking without restraint.
Peigi showed Diego how Shifters were bred to fight—no Collar holding her back. She attacked with the strength and speed of a bear coupled with the cunning of a human. Animals with human intelligence. As dangerous as Reid had once told him.
Peigi fought at Reid’s side, keeping the hoch alfar from reaching him.
Diego and Cassidy waded in. Xavier stayed at the bridge, guarding the retreat.
Diego knew he wasn’t going to be much good for fighting, but he could at least still shoot. Cassidy ran to help Shane, she beating off a hoch alfar who had been about to skewer the bear. Diego took aim, ready to shoot if he needed to.
The general broke out of the group and headed for Reid, the target for this whole fight. Pretty elaborate and long-lived trap for one man, Diego thought. Did they consider Reid that dangerous?
A long sword glittered in the general’s hand. Reid was unprotected, no vest, no weapon but a crowbar.
Peigi and Reid were fighting, not seeing the danger. Diego held his hurt hands steady, took aim, and shot the sword out of the general’s hand.
The general whirled around, and Diego grinned at him. “Hey, remember me?”
The general grabbed a bow out of a passing Fae’s hands, his own hands flashing as he drew it. The next moment, the general went down with a wildcat on his back.
Cassidy’s Collar went off, but she held the man pinned in place. Diego limped toward them, ignored by most of the fighters. More hoch alfar had ridden up, and the tide was going to turn against the dokk alfar soon. They were fighting hard, but they’d be crushed by numbers alone.
As Diego reached Cassidy and the general, a weird, piercing war cry came out of the couple hundred dokk alfar throats. It rang into the mists, scary as hell.
A lone cry answered it. Reid. He held up his iron bar and shouted one word.
The hoch alfar started scrambling away, running in pure terror. Diego watched over his aimed pistol, not sure what was going on.
The Fae jumped onto horses, galloping back across the field for the hills beyond. Those on foot ran like hell. The general, with a surge of strength, got out from under Cassidy, but instead of turning to fight, he sprinted away like a man trying to outrun floodwaters.
Reid’s iron bar exploded. It morphed from an ordinary crowbar into a rain of iron shards that flew with the speed of bullets after the fleeing hoch alfar.
Those it struck screamed and fell. A few got up again and kept running, but now the dokk alfar were after them.
The general, at the tail end of his men, shot behind him as he ran, while iron shards rained down on him like tiny heat-seeking missiles.
The dokk alfar charged after the Fae. The darkness Diego had first seen coated them like a curtain, and then he could see nothing but the black cloud.
Reid remained behind, his hands bloody, a defiant look in his eyes. Peigi landed on all fours beside him, growling a possessive bear growl.
Reid was watching the retreating hoch alfar, his usual arrogance in place. “Weak Fae, my ass,” he said.
Cassidy loped back to Diego, with Shane and Eric right behind her. Eric rose into his human form. “Time to go. No place for us in a Fae war. Those days are gone forever, thank the Goddess.”
Eric looked lighthearted for the first time in a long time. He scratched Cassidy’s head and strode off—a tall, naked man with a silver and black Collar, a tatt swirling down his arm, walking unashamedly past Xavier and through the mists that led home.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Diego thought that fighting for his life on a tiny ledge five hundred feet above the ground and then being pulled across empty air in a net of ropes would have cured him of his fear of heights. But, no.
His head spun with dizziness as he limped across the extremely narrow makeshift bridge from the gate to Faerie to the familiar red brown cliffs of home.
Don’t look down.
It was so hard not to look down. Diego had to look to see where he was putting his feet. Below the slender iron span, the empty air dropped away to reveal the river like a vein of silver at the bottom. The sun had risen by now, so he could see everything in panoramic glory.
The view was beautiful. Upriver the giant span of the dam thrust from the bottom of the gorge, the edifice built nearly a hundred years ago by men braver than Diego. The slab of concrete poured like a sheer cliff from the serene blue lake behind it to the river below. Above it a new bridge spanned from cliff top to cliff top, the sun catching on its arches. Breathtaking.
The beauty of the sights didn’t help. Diego was too damned high off the ground.
He clung with one aching hand to Xavier’s shoulder and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. Cassidy came right behind him.
They won’t let me fall, he told himself. My brother and the love of my life will see me safely across.
Diego was supposed to have an epiphany. A moment of truth that made him conquer his fear and realize that his love for Cassidy was so much stronger than a ridiculous worry about heights.
No such luck.
Screw this. I’m going back to the counselor.
Diego stepped onto the narrow rock ledge, let the rescue team strap a harness around him, and felt his feet leave the ground as they hauled him straight up the cliff. He thought he was going to puke.
Cassidy smiled at him from below, dressed now in the coverall the rescue guys had brought. She even seated herself on the makeshift bridge and dangled her legs over the side as she waved him on.
Maybe Cass can teach me not to be afraid. That scenario was much more appealing than the one of him sitting in a room droning to a counselor. The rewards would be much better too. Cassidy would smile at Diego, kiss him, show him how much she admired his bravery…
By the time he made it to the top, to firm ground, Diego was both sick and dizzy, but picturing Cassidy teaching him not to be afraid of heights helped a lot. Paramedics took over, shoving an oxygen mask on him, unwrapping his hand, taking his blood pressure, generally burying him in modern health care.
Cassidy came into view before they loaded Diego into the ambulance. She leaned down and kissed his forehead. Her face was dirty and scratched, but she looked good for a woman who’d just been in a hell of a fight. Damn good.
“You’re beautiful, amada mia,” he said, words muffled by the oxygen mask. Then the paramedics lifted him, slid him into the waiting maw of the ambulance, and slammed the doors.
Peigi showed Diego how Shifters were bred to fight—no Collar holding her back. She attacked with the strength and speed of a bear coupled with the cunning of a human. Animals with human intelligence. As dangerous as Reid had once told him.
Peigi fought at Reid’s side, keeping the hoch alfar from reaching him.
Diego and Cassidy waded in. Xavier stayed at the bridge, guarding the retreat.
Diego knew he wasn’t going to be much good for fighting, but he could at least still shoot. Cassidy ran to help Shane, she beating off a hoch alfar who had been about to skewer the bear. Diego took aim, ready to shoot if he needed to.
The general broke out of the group and headed for Reid, the target for this whole fight. Pretty elaborate and long-lived trap for one man, Diego thought. Did they consider Reid that dangerous?
A long sword glittered in the general’s hand. Reid was unprotected, no vest, no weapon but a crowbar.
Peigi and Reid were fighting, not seeing the danger. Diego held his hurt hands steady, took aim, and shot the sword out of the general’s hand.
The general whirled around, and Diego grinned at him. “Hey, remember me?”
The general grabbed a bow out of a passing Fae’s hands, his own hands flashing as he drew it. The next moment, the general went down with a wildcat on his back.
Cassidy’s Collar went off, but she held the man pinned in place. Diego limped toward them, ignored by most of the fighters. More hoch alfar had ridden up, and the tide was going to turn against the dokk alfar soon. They were fighting hard, but they’d be crushed by numbers alone.
As Diego reached Cassidy and the general, a weird, piercing war cry came out of the couple hundred dokk alfar throats. It rang into the mists, scary as hell.
A lone cry answered it. Reid. He held up his iron bar and shouted one word.
The hoch alfar started scrambling away, running in pure terror. Diego watched over his aimed pistol, not sure what was going on.
The Fae jumped onto horses, galloping back across the field for the hills beyond. Those on foot ran like hell. The general, with a surge of strength, got out from under Cassidy, but instead of turning to fight, he sprinted away like a man trying to outrun floodwaters.
Reid’s iron bar exploded. It morphed from an ordinary crowbar into a rain of iron shards that flew with the speed of bullets after the fleeing hoch alfar.
Those it struck screamed and fell. A few got up again and kept running, but now the dokk alfar were after them.
The general, at the tail end of his men, shot behind him as he ran, while iron shards rained down on him like tiny heat-seeking missiles.
The dokk alfar charged after the Fae. The darkness Diego had first seen coated them like a curtain, and then he could see nothing but the black cloud.
Reid remained behind, his hands bloody, a defiant look in his eyes. Peigi landed on all fours beside him, growling a possessive bear growl.
Reid was watching the retreating hoch alfar, his usual arrogance in place. “Weak Fae, my ass,” he said.
Cassidy loped back to Diego, with Shane and Eric right behind her. Eric rose into his human form. “Time to go. No place for us in a Fae war. Those days are gone forever, thank the Goddess.”
Eric looked lighthearted for the first time in a long time. He scratched Cassidy’s head and strode off—a tall, naked man with a silver and black Collar, a tatt swirling down his arm, walking unashamedly past Xavier and through the mists that led home.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Diego thought that fighting for his life on a tiny ledge five hundred feet above the ground and then being pulled across empty air in a net of ropes would have cured him of his fear of heights. But, no.
His head spun with dizziness as he limped across the extremely narrow makeshift bridge from the gate to Faerie to the familiar red brown cliffs of home.
Don’t look down.
It was so hard not to look down. Diego had to look to see where he was putting his feet. Below the slender iron span, the empty air dropped away to reveal the river like a vein of silver at the bottom. The sun had risen by now, so he could see everything in panoramic glory.
The view was beautiful. Upriver the giant span of the dam thrust from the bottom of the gorge, the edifice built nearly a hundred years ago by men braver than Diego. The slab of concrete poured like a sheer cliff from the serene blue lake behind it to the river below. Above it a new bridge spanned from cliff top to cliff top, the sun catching on its arches. Breathtaking.
The beauty of the sights didn’t help. Diego was too damned high off the ground.
He clung with one aching hand to Xavier’s shoulder and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. Cassidy came right behind him.
They won’t let me fall, he told himself. My brother and the love of my life will see me safely across.
Diego was supposed to have an epiphany. A moment of truth that made him conquer his fear and realize that his love for Cassidy was so much stronger than a ridiculous worry about heights.
No such luck.
Screw this. I’m going back to the counselor.
Diego stepped onto the narrow rock ledge, let the rescue team strap a harness around him, and felt his feet leave the ground as they hauled him straight up the cliff. He thought he was going to puke.
Cassidy smiled at him from below, dressed now in the coverall the rescue guys had brought. She even seated herself on the makeshift bridge and dangled her legs over the side as she waved him on.
Maybe Cass can teach me not to be afraid. That scenario was much more appealing than the one of him sitting in a room droning to a counselor. The rewards would be much better too. Cassidy would smile at Diego, kiss him, show him how much she admired his bravery…
By the time he made it to the top, to firm ground, Diego was both sick and dizzy, but picturing Cassidy teaching him not to be afraid of heights helped a lot. Paramedics took over, shoving an oxygen mask on him, unwrapping his hand, taking his blood pressure, generally burying him in modern health care.
Cassidy came into view before they loaded Diego into the ambulance. She leaned down and kissed his forehead. Her face was dirty and scratched, but she looked good for a woman who’d just been in a hell of a fight. Damn good.
“You’re beautiful, amada mia,” he said, words muffled by the oxygen mask. Then the paramedics lifted him, slid him into the waiting maw of the ambulance, and slammed the doors.
