Passion Untamed (Feral Warriors #3)(67)

"But I'm fine. Tighe, put me down!"

" - but she's fine. We found two dead Mage when we got there and killed a third after learning Birik means to sacrifice Foxx, Jag, and Vhyper at midnight tonight. Did I miss anything?"

Tighe grunted. "Nothing but the fact that you still can't shift without the help of your witch."

Lyon's expression turned hard, his gaze flying from Paenther to Tighe and back again. "Hell. In the war room. Now."

"I'll ask Pink to bring coffee." Kara turned toward the kitchen. "You all look like you could use something warm."

Paenther stroked Skye's head, then slid his arm around her and ushered her down the hall, following Lyon.

As they entered the room, Skye looked toward the big window, surprised to see that the snow had stopped as abruptly as it had begun, leaving several inches on the ground. Mother Nature seemed to be over her fury.

Paenther pulled out a chair for her, and she sat at the big table. Instead of sitting beside her, he stood at her back, a strong, protective force behind her.

He loved her.

Tighe and Delaney took seats across from them. Wulfe and Hawke sat at the end.

Lyon paced. "How did Jag and Foxx get captured?"

"We don't know. We found three live Mage and two dead when we got there. And no Jag or Foxx. There's no telling how many Mage they ultimately had to take on."

"They still shouldn't have been captured. They're Ferals, for goddess sake!"

Kougar joined them, remaining by the door as Lyon's hard, worried gaze raked his warriors.

"The Mage are no longer the enemy we once knew, Roar," Tighe said quietly. "Dark power is damned strong."

Lyon growled, the sound of a lion rumbling from his throat. "Tell me about the sacrifice."

Paenther's hands cupped her shoulders. "If the Mage I killed is to be believed, they've taken Jag and Foxx to the caverns. Birik intends to sacrifice them at midnight tonight during a moon feast, along with Vhyper."

Lyon's gaze dipped, and he met her gaze with an amber intensity that felt as if he tried to see deep inside her. "Can he raise power this way? Dangerous power?"

She braided her fingers together in her lap. "I believe so, yes. Birik's a snake enchanter. Vhyper's death will help him tap into his gift. The deaths of the other Ferals, along with many snakes, could be dangerously potent."

"Enough to free more Daemons, or even Satanan himself?"

She desperately wanted to give him the answers he needed, but she just didn't have them. "I don't know. I'm sorry."

Lyon frowned and looked over her head at Paenther. "We have to get into the cavern and we have to do it now. Are you healed?"

"No. The Shaman's not-a-friend, Ezekiel, taught her to pull good power instead of dark, but it didn't work with her magic bound." Paenther's hands left her, and she glanced over her shoulder to see he'd crossed his arms over his chest. "But it doesn't matter. I'm ready."

"No." The word came out of her mouth like a shot.

Paenther's gaze dropped to her, a hint of displeasure in his eyes. But Lyon had to understand even if Paenther was too stubborn to admit it.

She turned to meet Paenther's gaze. "You won't survive it."

"Beauty...I'll be fine."

"That mountain is warded with magic, Paenther. There's no telling how much more damage it might do to your connection with your animal. And if you get captured, they'll put you in shackles again. Your animal can't take it, Paenther. You're going to lose him."

"There's no choice. I'm the only chance Vhyper and the others have. No one else has been able to find that mountain."

"What about Skye?" Tighe asked.

Skye whirled to face him, but she shook her head. "I don't know where it is. Until this past week, I'd had no contact with the human world; nor had I been off the mountain since I was taken there as a child. If someone can get me to the mountain, I can find the cavern with ease. But I don't know where the mountain is."

"Was there a town nearby? Anything you might remember?"

"Nothing I could see from the forest. Just farmland. And the one small country store where I met Paenther. If there was a human town nearby, I never heard it discussed."

Tighe's gaze swung to Lyon. "So, Paenther can lead a team to the mountain, then wait behind."

"Like hell."

Hawke tapped his fingers on the table. "If the magic around that area was so strong we were getting disoriented just trying to find the Market, there's no reason to believe we'll be any more successful getting up the mountain and into the cavern. We're almost certainly going to need a guide." His gaze swung to Skye.

Paenther's hands squeezed her shoulders. "She's not going near that place again."

Hawke didn't back down. "It might be the only way for us to get in."

"I can lead you." Skye said the words before she lost her courage.

"Not without me," Paenther said behind her. "And as soon as we're at the cave's entrance, you'll run right back to the Market."

A lion's growl rumbled in Lyon's throat. "And what about you, B.P.? What if she's right? What if the warding damages you further?"