Rapture Untamed (Feral Warriors #4)(48)

The rain intensified as they approached the back of the house, and Olivia once more wondered if Mother Nature knew what they intended.

Olivia was soaked through, her hair and pants plastered against her skin, the rain having seeped beneath her jacket through the rips in the leather. But growing up in the fifteenth century and living years on her own without shelter, she'd never been bothered by physical discomfort. Besides, her Therian nature had never completely lost its basic wildness. She'd always felt more at home in the woods and the rain than in a dry, centrally heated modern house.

When we get into place,Tighe's voice said in her mind,we'll go in fast and hard. Most of us have fought the Mage numerous times, but it bears repeating. Cut off their hands before you're enthralled. Kill the sentinels if you have to, but not the sorcerers. We need to know what they're up to. And keep your eyes open for Daemons. If we're right about them being nocturnal, they shouldn't be a problem. But we can't be sure.

Olivia's team circled to the back of the house, easing in close as they waited for Tighe's signal to proceed. Her tense gaze traveled to the two thick wooden posts staked in the backyard, a chill slithering through her as she watched them run with watery blood.

What an awful way to die.

Hawke turned human. Olivia lifted a brow, and he explained. "Birds are of little use in battle. I'm better off with knives."

The small jaguar rubbed against her leg, then began to grow to full size in a rush of magic that tingled excitedly along her skin. The beautiful, full-sized jaguar swung his dark head to look up at her. In the cat's eyes, she saw Jag's, without hardness or devilment, but warm and rich with a demanding intensity.

Be careful in there, Red.

I will.She thought he warned her not to hurt anyone she shouldn't, but the words that followed told her otherwise.

Be careful of the Mage, Olivia.

Now!Tighe's voice exploded in her head.

The jaguar took off at a race, Hawke and Olivia following close behind.

Jag?she thought softly.You be careful, too. She wasn't sure if he'd heard her. She wasn't skilled in telepathic communication.

But a low purr caressed her mind.Will do, Liv. Will do.

The jaguar leaped onto the porch and crashed through the front window, disappearing from sight. But as Olivia followed, she slammed into something solid and invisible, tossing her onto her bu**ocks in the grass, knocking the wind out of her.

"Warding," Hawke muttered beside her a second before he shifted into his bird and flew right through it. His voice rang in her head, a communication with Tighe he'd opened to her as well.Animal forms only, Stripes. The warding...holy shit!

Hawke flew through the broken window and went silent. Olivia's pulse began to race.

Jag? Jag!

But no voice answered. She looked up to find Delaney, Niall, and Ewan racing around the corner of the house.

Delaney's eyes were fierce and wild. "It's a trap! They've walked into a trap!"

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do. Tighe and I are connected. I feel snatches of what he's feeling. And it's pain.

God, it's pain."

Olivia stared at the house, her heart pounding. They couldn't lose four Ferals! Deep inside her, something ripped loose at the thought of Jag in there. Of his not coming out again.

"There has to be a way inside. We have to help them."

But even as the last words left her mouth, something flew out of the window.

Something chillingly familiar.

A Daemon.

"Oh, my God," Delaney whispered beside her, pulling her gun.

"Bloody hell." Niall drew his sword, as did Ewan.

Blood dripped from the Daemon's claws and ran down his mouth and chin.

Whose blood? Whose blood?

So much for trying to help the Ferals. Their own survival would have to come first.

Olivia drew her knives. And prayed.

Chapter Fifteen

Darkness. Nothingness.

All around him Jag felt a thick, unnatural absence of light and sound. The only sense of his that seemed to work was that of scent. And he smelled Daemon.

How in the hell are we supposed to get through this soup?Jag snarled.

Hawke's voice answered in his head.It's warding. If we can find the path, there has to be a way out.

Jag moved forward, but couldn't tell if he moved. He couldn't feel the ground or floor or whatever in the hell was beneath his feet.

Tighe's roar of pain rang through his brain.Shit, shit, shit. Motherf*cker. That thing just tore a strip of hide off my back...I saw him. For an instant. Right after he attacked.

He's too fast. Hawke, either find a way out of here fast, or shift. He'll rip off your bird head with a single swipe of those knifelike claws.

I'm already shifting.

As am I,Kougar said.

Jag, I need someone to remain in animal form, or we won't be able to communicate,Tighe said.Since you're the only one weaponless, you're my pick.

Works for me.The putrid smell leaped at him suddenly. Understanding registered a split second before the knifelike claws tore into his shoulder, ripping flesh from his bone.

A strangled cry tore from his jaguar's throat, but no sound met his ears.Holy f**king moly. In the instant the claws left his flesh, he saw it up close and personal as he hadn't in the woods, its long black hair flashing like gleaming ebony around a hideous gray melted face with razor-sharp fangs.