the bear first. Theo opened the cell door, and Stefan headed inside. He knelt by the chains containing the creature, and put his hands on them. His dragon’s heat began melting the irons around the bear’s legs, until they broke off. The monster did not get up, merely stirred groggily and let out a low growl.
“Don’t lift the spell until Stefan’s out of the way,” I told Delmare. She nodded, and Stefan backed out of the cell. My shifter’s sight observed as the dark magic around the bear ebbed at Delmare’s command.
The bear slowly got to its feet. It sleepily rose up on its hind legs and roared, braying a challenge.
“Don’t move,” I said. All of us froze as the bear fell back onto all fours. It sniffed the air, its dozens of eyes darting around in observation, determining if we were a threat.
Without warning, the bear charged forward. I sprang out of the way, and barely managed to avoid the bear’s teeth as it snapped just where my arm had been. The bear spun around and attempted to charge me again, but I got smart, and darted in front of the portal.
The bear was running too fast to have time to slow down. It went right through the portal, sailing through to the other destination.
Emma gasped, and fell to one knee as she transported the bulk of the creature miles away. After a few moments managed to stand, regaining her composure.
I took deep breaths to recover. One down. One to go.
The giant toad had noticed the bear’s escape. It was fighting against the drugging enchantment with all its might, trying to break free.
Theo opened the door. Delmare began siphoning the enchantment away, but all her magic had to do was touch the creature before the illusion broke completely. Stefan didn’t even have to melt the chains— the bukavac ripped them apart, using its sharp teeth to destroy the chains in a fit of rage.
“Everyone out of the way!” I cried.
We darted to different ends of the warehouse. The toad’s eyes went to the portal, its only way of escape, but the creature was determined on revenge. It didn’t know we weren’t its captors, but it did know we were fae, and to the monster that was the same thing.
The bukavac lashed out with its giant, sticky tongue. Stefan pushed Delmare out of the way, and both of them fell to the floor. The tongue latched onto a crate that had to weigh two hundred pounds. It pulled the crate back, and the crate smashed in the toad’s mouth, sending wooden fragments everywhere.
Theo changed into an alicorn. He charged at the creature, horn down. The bukavac hopped aside, causing the floor to tremble. Theo rose up on his hind legs and pawed at the monster with his hooves, telling it to get back, but the toad didn’t listen. He ran at Theo at top speed, his giant mouth opening to swallow the alicorn whole.
Odette gasped. She flung out her hand, and an alicorn shield the size of the warehouse itself bloomed out of her fingertips. It buffeted outward like a powerful sound wave and swept past Theo, smacking the bukavac head-on. The toad gave a low moan of pain as the shield hit it, and it went flying backward, straight into the portal. The portal sucked the bukavac in, and Emma hit the ground, gasping for air as she brought the portal shut.
I placed a hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” Emma’s shoulders were shuddering. “That monster was heavy, but it’s far away now. Gabby can’t use it anymore. But I’m done making portals. I couldn’t conjure another if I tried.”
There was a crackling in my ear. “They’ve lost us!” Kiara shouted through the intercom. “They’ll be heading back. You guys need to get out of there now.”
Odette went pale, and Theo began dancing nervously beside her. He changed back into a man, reaching out to draw her close.
“Now what?” Stefan asked as he helped Delmare to her feet, breathless.
“We set the place on fire, and get the fuck out of here.” I took a lighter out of my pocket. There was straw for bedding in both of the cells. I ignited them, and fire began to spread quickly amongst the warehouse.
Stefan gave a huff. “Bud, this is clearly not your area of expertise. Allow me.”
Delmare rolled her eyes as Stefan walked forward. He changed into a dragon— though the warehouse was big, it barely accommodated his size. His head