Desire Untamed (Feral Warriors #1)(2)

"Shut up, Vhyper," Jag snarled.

Lyon clapped his hands. "Let's do it." His palms were damp, the muscles in his neck tense with worry as he prayed they still had enough power among them to make the ritual work. Raising the power of the beasts would steal what little mystic energy they had left. They wouldn't get a second chance.

Lyon shoved his knives into his pockets since the draden couldn't reach them within the mystic circle, then pulled his shirt off over his head and tossed it onto the rock. The chilly, early-spring air felt good against his heated flesh. While the others stripped to the waist, Lyon continued, pulling off his jeans. If this worked, he was shifting. And unlike a couple of his comrades, he possessed no odd strains of Mage blood that would allow him to keep his clothes intact. Only the thick silver armband that snaked around his biceps and channeled the Earth's energies stayed with him through a shift.

The nine formed a circle on the flat, wide goddess stone, silver armbands gleaming as the men stood bare-chested against the clear night sky.

Lyon held his hand out to Foxx. "The knife."

Foxx slapped the hilt onto his palm. Lyon turned the blade on himself and made a shallow, searing cut across his chest. An odd surge of energy twined with the pain, sending a jolt through the blade and into his flesh. He handed the knife to Tighe, glad the mystic powers were with them this night. He slapped his right hand to the burning wound, then fisted his hand around the blood and thrust his arm into the air in front of him. Tighe followed, slicing his chest and slapping his bloodied hand around Lyon's fist, then handed the knife to Jag. One by one, they added their slick hands to the knot of flesh until only one remained.

Vhyper carved his chest with the knife as the others had, then jerked, the knife clattering to the rock. "Damn this is a bitch. We need some new rituals."

But as Vhyper squatted to reach for the blade, his hand stilled, his body going rigid. "What the hell?" He grabbed the knife's handle and surged to his feet, whirling to face Lyon. "It's the Daemon blade!"

The words sliced through Lyon's mind, icing his skin. He thrust out his hand. "Give it to me."

As Vhyper laid the blade on Lyon's palm, faint etchings snaked over the flashing steel in the moonlight. Lyon's eyes widened, shock washing through him as his hand closed around the blade's handle.

With a snarl, Lyon sprang across the circle, grabbed Foxx around his thick neck and jerked him off his feet. "What have you done?"'

The kid looked as shocked as Lyon felt. "Nothing. I mean… I didn't know. You said get the ceremonial blade, and I did. I swear, I didn't go near the vault. Why would I get the Daemon blade?"

Lyon felt his eyes turn feral as fury had his claws unsheathing. Blood began to run freely down Foxx's neck. "You. Tell. Me."

Foxx's face began to turn red. "Can't… talk."

With a growl, Lyon retracted his claws and dropped him to his feet. "Tell me."

Foxx coughed and backed up a step, his hand against his throat, his eyes wide and confused. "I wouldn't. I didn't. I swear."

Vhyper grabbed the kid's arm and jerked him back from Lyon's reach. Tighe stepped in front of Lyon, his mouth grim. "We're blooded. Let's finish the ritual before we mete out punishment. We can't accidentally free the Daemons."

But Lyon wasn't so sure. "Hawke?" If anyone knew, it would be the whipcord-lean warrior with more college degrees than most of his men had Weapons.

Hawke shook his head. "The first step in freeing Satanan and his horde is the same as raising the power of the beasts—the blooding of the nine. But there's far more involved. A complex ritual requiring the free will of all the Ferals and the blood of their Radiant. The ancients made certain the Daemons would never rise again."

"Then there's no problem," Vhyper said, shielding the kid from Lyon's fury.

Hawke frowned ruefully. "Every time that blade comes out of the vault, there's trouble."

Lyon gave Foxx a look that promised deep and painful retribution, then turned back to the others. "Tighe's right. Let's finish this before the blood dries and we have to start over." Lyon shoved his fist into the air. The warriors resumed their positions, covering his fist, one by one.

Lyon began to chant. "Spirits rise and join. Empower the beast beneath this moon." The others joined in, the murmured words flowing around him, over him, sliding across his flesh. Thunder rumbled in the clear sky. The ground beneath his feet trembled as the great force of Mother Nature herself rose from the depths of the Earth, through the vessels of bone and skin and up through their arms to the blood raised to the heavens.

"Empower the beast of the lion!"

A flash of lightning lit the sky, burning through the flesh of Lyon's palm, sending energy and power flooding his body like a wash of hot oil. Power. Strength. He thought of his other half and shifted into his animal form at last. Fierce joy surged through him at the change. The others moved back, circling around him as he raised his thickly maned lion's head to the starred canvas above and let out a deep, rumbling roar. It was a damned good thing the mystic circle enclosed all sight and sound or they'd have Fairfax County Animal Control on them within minutes.

Lyon paced in the tight circle, reveling in the rush of power flowing through him as he used his beast's senses to search slowly in every direction. Tens, dozens, hundreds of miles.