By the time he managed to push his shaking body up, only one sgath remained. Its jaws were shining black with the blood of its kin and its glowing eyes fixed on Madoc.

He was too weak to defeat it. He could barely lift his blade.

The thing stalked toward him, its body shaking as if something was wrong. Madoc braced his feet apart and blinked in an effort to clear his fading vision. As he neared it, it lifted its head as if offering itself up as a sacrifice.

He didn't trust what he was seeing. It had to be the poison f.u.c.king up his vision.

Or maybe this was some kind of trick.

Madoc lifted his sword. He'd use every last sc.r.a.p of strength he had defending Nika. It probably wouldn't be enough, but he had to try.

The thing came closer. A deep growl slid from between its teeth, but they stayed clamped shut as if held that way by an invisible muzzle.

It got to within sword range and stopped.

He had no idea why it would do such a thing, but he didn't question his luck. He lifted his sword and lopped off the thing's head in one clean stroke.

The motion knocked Madoc down. He could smell the blood of the sgath mixed with the scent of his own.

It wouldn't be long before they had company.

He reached for his phone, hoping to call for help, but it was gone. He hadn't replaced it.

f.u.c.k.

Madoc peered over the cold ground to where Nika lay. Her hair was the color of the snow surrounding her. Her breath came out in white plumes, proving she was still alive.

He ached to go to her, to curl himself around her body and hold her close. He wanted her to be the last thing he felt before he died.

But he was bleeding, drawing nasties from their dank hidey-holes. He needed to get as far away from Nika as possible.

Madoc pushed himself to his feet, only to fall down again. He was too weak to stand, so he pulled himself over the frozen ground, crawling away. The poison was raging through his system now, making him cold, slowing his limbs, and stealing his thoughts.

But he remembered Nika. Her soft skin only he could touch, her pretty eyes so full of trust, her boundless faith in him. He'd take his memories of her with him. No f.u.c.king poison on earth could steal those from him.

Chapter 10.

Nika almost got trapped inside the dying sgath's mind. She knew she had to stay until the last second and hold it still while Madoc killed it. He was weak and bleeding. Without her help, he would have died.

But the sgath was strong and it fought her hard, nearly winning several times. In staying inside its mind while it died, she'd nearly died, too.

She came back into her frigid body and immediately began to shake. A groggy kind of light-headedness settled over her, and she idly wondered if the effect was from her mental wandering or possible hypothermia.

As soon as she was able to move, she surveyed the area, looking for Madoc. The headlights cast enough of a glow for her to see a trail of red in the snow.

Madoc's blood.

Her world spun in panic, making her dizzy and breathless. Beside her, the truck's engine hummed. Below that was the tinny, distant sound of voices.

Her cell phone. Help.

Nika found the phone in the snow and grabbed it up with clumsy hands. She pressed it to her cheek as she struggled to stand. "Help," she said. "Madoc's hurt."

"Nika?" It was Nicholas's voice. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"No. But Madoc is."

She was still wobbly, but she had to find him. Her legs shook with every step, but she forced them to move and take her to Madoc.

"Help's on the way, Nika. I've called in everyone nearby. The chopper's in the air. Just stay on the line with me, okay?"

Movement caught her eye. She saw Madoc crawling over the ground, pulling himself along on his belly.

She raced to him, slipping in the snow as she went. From here, she could see the wet shine of blood covering his arm.

She fell to her knees at his side, feeling like her guts were being squeezed. He wasn't supposed to get hurt. He was too strong for that. He was supposed to be invincible.

"Madoc." His name came out as a whisper of fear.

"Get away. Blood."

"I don't care. I'm not leaving you alone."

She grabbed his hand. He tried to pull away but was too weak.

"Go. Please. Can't fight."

"Help is coming." She only hoped it would get here in time.

She started to ask Nicholas how much longer it would be when she realized that she'd dropped the phone somewhere along the way. She didn't want to leave Madoc, but she needed to know what to do to save him.

"I'll be right back," she told him.

She hurried back along the path she'd taken until she found the cell phone. Lying only a few feet away was Madoc's sword.

She very well might need that if the Synestryn came, so she grabbed it up.

The metal was freezing. The weight of it startled her. The way he whipped this thing around, she half expected it to be light.

She didn't know how she was going to swing it if things got bad, but she knew she'd find a way.

By the time she got back to Madoc, he'd crawled another few feet.

"You can't get away from me," she told him. "Stop trying." And to make sure he did, she rolled his heavy body over onto his back.

His face was ashen. His eyes had dilated until only a thin ring of green remained. His body trembled and his breathing was way too fast.

Nika righted the phone and said, "Something's wrong with Madoc."

Nicholas was still there, sounding relieved to have heard from her again. "Tell me what happened."

"He was attacked by sgath."

"They hit him?"

"Yeah."

"It's poison. The Sanguinar can fix it. Just hold on. Help should be there any minute."

"What do I do?"

"Is he bleeding badly?" asked Nicholas.

He'd lost a lot of blood, but none was gushing out. "Bad enough."

"You need to leave him, Nika. Get as far away as you can."

"No."

"It's the middle of the night. His blood will bring Synestryn down on you."

"That's why I need to be here. To fight them off."

"You can't fight them off. You need to run."

From somewhere to her left, Nika heard a long, hungry howl. The Synestryn had caught the scent of Madoc's blood.

"Run," whispered Madoc, his eyes pleading with her.

Nika set the cell phone down where he could hear rea.s.surances that help was on the way; then she stood and picked up Madoc's sword.

She didn't dare try to lift it up before the last second for fear her arms would give out too early.

"Run," he panted.

Nika spared him a quick glance. His skin seemed grayer, and a panicked sense of desperation made her body tense.

"I'm not leaving you. Not now. Not ever. Get used to it."

Behind her, she heard an engine roaring and tires screaming. In front of her, she heard more howls join the first.

Her body shivered against the cold. She couldn't feel her toes anymore, and her fingers were aching from the frigid metal hilt.

A shimmering light glowed as bright as daylight on her left. She wasn't sure what it was, so she turned toward it, splitting her attention between the howls and whatever threat that light posed.

"Nika! Nika Madison!" a distant voice shouted from the direction of her truck. Help.

"Here!" she yelled, standing her ground over Madoc.

The shadowy shapes of two men were running toward her. She couldn't see who they were, but they had all the right parts to be human.

They got close enough to see. She didn't recognize either of the young men, but they were definitely human and both armed with shotguns.

They positioned themselves so one was on each side. "See anything?" the older one asked. She guessed he was a few years older than her, but not much.

"No. Heard them howling, though."

"Looks like the cavalry's coming," said the younger man in front of her. He nodded toward the light.

"What's that?"

"Portal. They'll be here any second."

As the last word left his mouth, the light solidified, then ripped open in a perfect line as if someone had split the air with a blade. The line widened and Helen stepped through, followed closely by her husband, Drake. Seconds later, Angus and Gilda spilled through as well.

Relief made Nika sway, and if it weren't for the sword poking against the frozen ground, she might have fallen.

Angus gave her a rea.s.suring smile, which made the lines on his craggy face deepen. "You did well. We'll take it from here." He lifted his hand, silently asking for the sword.

Nika's arm didn't move, so he came to her and lifted the blade away from her numb fingers. One of the young men wrapped his coat over her shoulders and the warmth made her moan in thanks.

Helen flipped one of her twin braids over her shoulder, waved a hand, and a long line of flames erupted from the ground several yards away. Drake drew his sword and stood by her side, scanning the area.

Gilda lifted the hem of her gray gown and knelt beside Madoc in the snow. She pressed her dainty hands on either side of his face, and bent her head as if in prayer.

A series of short yelps rose up from the trees nearby. They were closer now.

"The two of you need to get Nika away from here," said Angus to the humans. "We'll follow shortly."

"I'm not leaving him," said Nika.

"You'll just be in the way. We'll bring you to him when it's safe."

She was not going to be pushed around like a child. This was too important for her to bend. "No. He's mine and I'm staying."

Drake peered over his broad shoulder, sharing a questioning look with Angus.

"Yours?" asked Angus.

"Yes."

"You know what you're saying, don't you?"