Caden hoped to G.o.d Sydney heeded him. What in h.e.l.l had possessed her to interrogate a man who could squash her like a bug? If she walked out of this warehouse alive, she had no idea the tirade he planned to unleash on her.

"What about Auropha MacKinnett, Anka MacTavish, Elmira Craddock?" She kept aiming her handbag and the video camera in the dark wizard's direction.

Mathias's expression looked empty, yet Caden saw fury creeping through the wizard's black magical signature. He held his breath, terrified the evil b.a.s.t.a.r.d would draw his wand and end Sydney in one flick of his wrist.

"Come on!" Shock grabbed Sydney's elbow and hauled her to her feet.

Normally, Caden would be furious that Shock had touched her and dragged her to the door, even as she held her bag in Mathias's direction. But now, he was grateful to Shock for every centimeter of distance he put between Sydney and Mathias.

As they neared the door, Mathias stood, his weighty gaze on Sydney. "Stop." Instead of walking-or better yet, running-out of the warehouse, Sydney turned to him.

"The wizard I scent on you doesn't smell like Zain." Caden's heart nearly beat out of his chest. A flush stained her cheeks, but she shrugged. "If you're not inclined to tell me all about your intentions concerning the book or your past actions, I hardly feel obligated to explain my s.e.x life."

"It's in your best interest to reconsider. Are you fraternizing with my enemies? Maybe one of the Doomsday Brethren?"

Terror struck Caden cold.

She tilted her head and glared at Mathias. "Would I be bringing you the book if I was?" Because she was a minx, Sydney didn't wait for the answer, but turned and headed for the door, exiting the little room.

Then all h.e.l.l broke loose.

As she crossed the threshold, the Doomsday Diary vanished from Mathias's hands. The wizard looked down as it dissipated. Letting out a horrific roar, he tried in vain to grab the little red volume, then whirled toward the warehouse's interior door-and Sydney.

Caden didn't bother waiting for any "go" signal. He kicked in the window and leapt through, dropping to the concrete and rolling to a crouch, gun drawn. He'd have one chance to surprise the f.u.c.ker and he meant to make the most of it.

The evil wizard whirled toward the noise, then grabbed his wand and raised it, his enraged blue eyes ringed in red. The plastic grip of the gun heated Caden's hand. Its weight was nothing compared to the gravity of Mathias's magic. Again, he wondered if he'd have been better off with a wand and magic he could use.

Before Mathias could level Caden with a lethal spell, Bram jumped through the window, wand drawn, and faced their nemesis.

With Mathias's attention momentarily divided, Caden fired. One of the bullets tore through Mathias's stomach, and he grunted, surprise transforming his expression. Quickly, blood spread, darkening an ever-widening circle on Mathias's black T-shirt. He clutched his gut, glaring at Caden with even redder eyes.

"You are going to die," he growled. "Along with Rion." Mathias jerked his wand in their direction. Bram waved his own and deflected whatever the b.a.s.t.a.r.d had hurled their way. But the effort cost Bram as he stumbled back with a gasp. Caden popped off another shot, but the element of surprise was gone, and Mathias dodged the bullet.

Bram flicked a wrist at the wall behind Mathias, and it came crashing down in a tumble of plaster.

Sydney stood behind the door with the book in one hand and her handbag in the other. Why the h.e.l.l hadn't she departed with Shock as planned? Caden wanted to blame the other warrior, but knowing Sydney, she'd stubbornly stayed.

Mathias raised his wand to Sydney. Caden roared forward, gun at the ready. On the far side of the warehouse, Marrok and Tynan broke through another window, distracting Mathias again. Ice charged through the warehouse's front door. Apparently getting the signal, Duke teleported into the room behind Mathias.

Now the w.a.n.ker was completely surrounded. Time to play. . . . As soon as Sydney left.

"Go!" he shouted at her.

She ignored him. d.a.m.n it, would the woman never listen! Fury and fear juiced his bloodstream that had his adrenaline on overdrive. He itched to snap Mathias's wand-and neck-in two.

"Lower your wand," Bram shouted at Mathias. "You're done tormenting and raping magickind, tearing apart families. You'll never get your hands on the Doomsday Diary." "You overestimate your ragtag band, Rion." With a wave, Mathias pointed his wand at the wall behind Duke. In a hiss, it disappeared-no rubble, no mess, just-dissipated.

Behind the missing wall stood a sea of Anarki, all zombies, dead on the outside, malevolent on the inside.

Their sheer numbers shocked Caden. Not a dozen or a hundred . . . at least a thousand with grave-white faces and vacant expressions.

Beside him, Bram sucked in a breath. "So many. How?" Clutching his bleeding gut, Mathias smiled. "You have your secret weapon; I have mine." The Anarki army surged forward, revealing the far corners of the room. Over the top of the Anarki's heads, Caden saw a soldier in fatigues-a U.S. Marine-fighting two wizards.

"No! No!" the soldier screamed, struggling against them, kicking out. The wizards overpowered him and managed to shove him against a raised, slanted dais, and with a flick of their wands, strapped him down.

If Caden had a wand, he might be able to free him.

An instant later, they pa.s.sed a round object over his skull. The man belted out a spine-chilling yell of pain.

Once the object was pulled away and moved to the next victim, Caden looked at the limp man. In his early twenties, he'd been strong, healthy, vital only moments ago. That man was gone now. In his place was an Anarki zombie, like all the others coming toward Caden, a puppet whose flesh was already whitening. The eyes staring back were devoid of life as he melted in with the attacking crowd.

There were at least fifty soldiers strapped to tables, lined up one after the other against the warehouse's back wall. The two wizards were pa.s.sing the round object over one head at a time, all to horrific screams. A few moments later, they left behind corpses, alive only by Mathias's magic and will.

s.h.i.t! Time to save who they could, lay the C4, and blow this joint-literally. With Mathias's attentions engaged by the others, Caden raced to complete his mission, darting to the first visible support beam and applying the explosive putty.

Marrok stepped toward the crowd of Anarki zombies, sword drawn. Bending low, he swung, cutting several in the front row in half. Black blood spurted in every direction. With a fist pump, Caden dodged his way to the next support beam, in and out of the battle-stopping to slice and dice any Anarki intent on stopping him. Duke joined him, shooting down several zombies in his way.

While Caden bent to secure the next explosive, Mathias snarled, eyes narrowed at Bram as he closed in on one side. Ice approached from the front, Tynan from his opposite side.

"Your Anarki can't stop us. We're not going to rest until you're back in exile," Bram said. "You're surrounded. Give up."

Mathias snorted, the sound abrasive and amused. "You may have Merlin's blood in your veins, but I will still decimate you and your worthless bunch."

He whooshed his wand toward the crowd. Shrieks sounded all around. The frigid zombies crushed in, forming a protective circle around Mathias. Those close to a Doomsday Brethren wizard attacked.

Marrok and Duke cut through them as fast as they could. Bram dodged his would-be killers with a blade here and an elbow there, charging after Mathias. Tynan followed, determined to get his pound of flesh.

Mathias leapt toward the exit. As the wall of Anarki encircled him, now closer to the warehouse door, Sydney set her handbag on a nearby ledge, shoved the book inside, and peeked into the bag. A moment later, she grabbed an aerosol can and a lighter.

"Duck!" she screamed, then she flicked the lighter and sprayed the contents of the can into the open flame.

The resulting fireball hit the Anarki dead on. The roar and heat of the blaze singed the heads off the first row of zombies looming near. The second row paused their catatonic march, either tripping over their dead cohorts or falling victim to the fire.

Then the aerosol from the can sputtered, died. The Anarki surged forward again.

One stepped over his fallen comrades and reached Sydney. She grabbed her handbag and tried to twist away, but the door and the wall of zombies trapped her. She slid along the wall, then gasped suddenly and clutched her arm, face contorting with pain.

"b.u.g.g.e.r!" she muttered as blood started spreading across the pristine white sleeve.

At the sight, Caden's protective instincts rocketed to life. He climbed a stair rail, jumping over zombies to reach Sydney, shooting down and knifing any who stood in his path.

A corpse grabbed Sydney, pinning her to the wall and squeezing her neck. As the magical battle raged around them, Sydney's wheezing and choking rose above the din. Her eyes bulged in panic. Red suffused her face as she flailed and fought.

Caden leapt over two more Anarki. A third, wearing fatigues stood in his way, evil pouring from his eyes.

His bullets running low, Caden clutched his knife, then looked back up at the zombie in shock.

Brian, his Marine buddy. The pasty white face and vacant eyes had thrown him, but that sandy hair, the scar on his chin, the patch that read Halstead across his chest proclaimed him Caden's missing platoon mate. He swallowed, unable to move, breathe.

"Brian?"

No reaction except a malevolent smile as he reached for Caden's throat.

Kill him!

Shock's voice roared in his head. How was that possible?

Kill him before he tears you to pieces, Shock demanded.

Last chance. "Brian?"

Nothing but a creepy smile and a shivery death grip reaching ever closer. When Caden heard Sydney scream again, he plunged the knife into Brian's neck and ripped down viciously, nearly tearing his head from his neck.

Brian crumbled to the ground. Guilt, grief, and relief crushing him inside, Caden stepped over the body and scrambled to Sydney's side. He had to compartmentalize Brian's death now and deal with the present.

He grabbed the zombie holding her throat and pushed him face first into the concrete wall. It was still fighting after the first blow, so Caden delivered two more. The undead soldier went limp.

Whirling back to Sydney, he saw that another zombie had her in its grip, dragging her along the wall.

More blood spread across the shirt at her waist. The white cotton was torn and a few inches of ragged flesh peeked through. She cried out and fell to her knees, pain slashing across her expression. The zombie was following her to the floor with murder in his eyes.

And Caden wasn't going to reach her in time.

Panic burned through him, even making his fingertips tingle. A swell of energy bounded inside him.

Suddenly, he pictured the broken gla.s.s on the floor flying toward the Anarki. Seemingly of their own volition, his arms raised and hurtled forward. He snarled his rage and gla.s.s shards flew past him and embedded sharp points into the zombie's back. Black blood flowed, gurgled, and the creature fell to the ground.

He'd done magic. Dear G.o.d. No time to dwell on it, whether to rail or cheer. Instead, Caden charged toward Sydney. A fresh swarm of Anarki were headed her way. With one hand, she clutched her handbag. With the other, she scooted away from the zombies, wearing an expression of utter terror.

Caden couldn't see Bram and the rest of the Doomsday Brethren, but it didn't matter. He was done risking Sydney.

With superhuman speed, he reached his little firecracker before the Anarki and grabbed her against his body, avoiding her injured shoulder. She wrapped one arm and her legs around him. Her handbag bobbed against his side as he raced out the front door of the warehouse and reached into his pocket to set off the warning charge. An explosion just outside the building rattled the walls and sent up flames.

The Doomsday Brethren had sixty seconds to get out before he blew the whole building to kingdom come.

Outside, the weak morning sun filtered through gray clouds, lending barely enough light to see Sydney's wounds. The shape of the slashes told him she'd gouged her flesh on a nail-or those Anarki b.a.s.t.a.r.ds had pushed her on it-as she tried to get away. She needed direct pressure and st.i.tches immediately.

Caden stripped off his shirt and rolled her to her back, easing the cloth against the deepest of her wounds. "Lie still. We'll be out of here soon."

She nodded. "I got the film. As soon as I put it together, I'm transcasting it to all of magickind. This will save lives."

And who was going to save hers? But now wasn't the time to debate. It simply wasn't going to happen.

Bram emerged from the warehouse, two of the captured soldiers who hadn't yet been converted into Anarki behind him. Duke emerged next with another three. Ice and Tynan each brought a handful more.

Caden wished one of those saved could have been Brian. He didn't even have to close his eyes to relive the horrifying moment he'd plunged the knife into his friend's neck. G.o.d, Brian.

Still, Mathias had killed him, and Brian hadn't been Caden's friend anymore. War meant kill or be killed.

The guilt would hurt like h.e.l.l, but he had saved Sydney.

And he'd used magic to do it. Even though his palms burned, his head hurt, and he felt so weak his thighs trembled, Caden couldn't deny that without magic, she'd likely be dead.

Shoving the thought aside, Caden looked at his watch. Five, four, three . . . where was Marrok?

Just then, the medieval warrior emerged with nearly twenty of Mathias's prisoners. They all looked sh.e.l.l-shocked and confused by what they'd seen. And why not? It wasn't every day a man saw another's soul ripped out via magic.

"Blow it!" Bram shouted.

Caden didn't hesitate. He pressed the b.u.t.ton in his pocket. The entire warehouse detonated in a flash of fire, gla.s.s, and dust. The Doomsday Brethren stepped back as bodies flew. Sydney shrieked. Flames licked out, heat ripped through the morning air, and the structure collapsed. What was left of its walls were singed black as the pop and hiss of fire ate anything in its path.

Mission accomplished. He only hoped that Mathias was still inside.

Bram tossed one soldier a cell phone. "Dial nine-nine-nine. Tell them you're captured soldiers standing in front of the American Emba.s.sy."

"But we aren't there," the confused soldier challenged.

Just then, Shock appeared and waved his wand. They all tumbled to the ground in a deep slumber.

"d.a.m.n you!" Sydney barked at Shock, clutching Caden's shirt to her wound. "I wanted to interview them."

"h.e.l.l no!" Caden barked.

Shock and Bram exchanged a glance.

"He's right. No time. Too dangerous," Bram decreed. "I know it's not easy, Shock, but see if you can do anything with their memories."

"d.a.m.n near impossible," he grumbled. "I'll try."

Shock gathered grabbed three and teleported out, only to appear moments later and repeat the process.

Clutching Sydney against him, Caden smelled her feminine scent tangled up in his own and thanked G.o.d she was alive. They had to get her medical attention now. For that, they had to get to safety.

Duke sidled up to him a few moments later.

"Ready?" Even after a battle, the t.i.tled wizard looked collected and almost royal.

"Hurry," Caden insisted, watching as Bram took Marrok's arm and they disappeared. Tynan and Ice both teleported out.

"You could learn to do that yourself now, you know?" Duke said.

Yes, he could. Since transition, he'd been "blessed" with common magic like teleporting. But magic was a slippery slope, in his mind. Accept one "gift," and how long before he'd take everything else? Already he'd used it today and prayed that no one had witnessed it.

"Get us back," Caden groused. "She's hurt."

"I'm fine," Sydney insisted.

"You need st.i.tches. No arguing."