it,” Barnabas conceded. He glanced toward the blizzard of snow. He couldn’t see the battle taking place, but he could hear it. No hellhounds had come to kill Isai, their primary target.
Behind Barnabas, Julija caught a glimpse of the cats moving in the shadows behind and to the right of the high mage. They waited for Isai’s signal to attack. Having Isai there and knowing the cats were close and willing to aid them gave her the necessary strength to face her worst nightmare.
“Very few alive know it,” Isai qualified. “Your hounds are occupied at the moment. Julija, I need you to counter the spell that replenishes them. The brethren are having fun, but it will grow tiresome over time.”
Julija immediately responded.
Those who have arisen from earth’s deepest core,
When one is banished, you may reproduce no more.
Though your mind is as one,
May your memory be lost,
Banishing all thoughts of your targeted host.
“Who are you?” Barnabas asked. “Do I know you?”
“I knew you when you used a different name. You were called Barna all those centuries ago, son of Xaviero. You were chosen over Anatolie, son of Xavier. Why?”
Barnabas shrugged. “You saw him. His ego grew faster than his skills.” He indicated Julija. “He had exactly what he needed, but he didn’t recognize it. He used her as fodder, when she is the main prize. I cared nothing for the book. I saw every spell my uncle chose to include, I learned them and put them aside. Anatolie wanted to destroy your species. I would much rather keep all of you alive.” Again, he flashed a smile, his white teeth mocking them.
Julija’s stomach tangled into a thousand knots. Barnabas was unfazed that he faced her, Isai and the shadow cats. He didn’t care that Isai’s brethren fought the hellhounds and were at that moment destroying them. She wanted to shove Isai behind her, to caution him to be careful. Barnabas was up to something.
“You wanted Julija.” Isai made it a statement.
“I want my little pet back. She belongs to me. She knows she does.” He held out his hand toward her. “If you come with me now, I will spare your lover.”
The way he said the last two words told her everything. Barnabas planned to kill Isai no matter what she did. Beneath his calm exterior, he seethed with rage. Whatever he was planning was going to be spectacular. She began to form a defensive grid in her mind, building it up. To her astonishment, Isai joined her, taking it over, meticulously building the barrier against the dark mage from the ground up. Soon it surrounded them like an invisible fortress.
Isai called to the cats with a silent command, stretching his arms wide indicating for them to become part of his skin immediately. One by one, the cats obeyed. Blue was last and he appeared reluctant, but in the end he did as Isai demanded.
“Very clever of you to turn the shadow cats,” Barnabas praised and slowly allowed his hand to drop by his side.
Julija kept watch on his hands. He could murmur a spell under his breath and she might not see, but if those fingers began to move against his thigh, or he sent a blast of air at them, she would know.
You are Carpathian. You are mage. Your power is equal or more than his. Why do you think he wants you back? This is not about a sex slave escaping him. He could enslave any number of women. This is about your power, Julija. You can defeat him.
Just as they had merged their blood to destroy the book, she thought their strength was in the way they were together.
Barnabas’s hands moved fast, too fast for her to follow the patterns, but she heard the roar go up and the ground shook. Giant paws thundered as they pounded into the earth. The sky opened up and rained insects.
I call to alloy, carbon and steel,
Build us a dome to withhold and repel.
The moment they were safe from the thousands of insects, Julija sent up a small prayer for forgiveness. She’d never used her magic for anything but good.
The hellhounds came at them, a good dozen, trampling every bush or tree in sight, flattening the grass the snow hadn’t already covered. Barnabas whirled into their midst, his hands clapping like thunder, shaking the earth so that it was impossible to stand. Isai simply floated up, gripping Julija’s arm as he did so. The moment she was safe, he