Corrigan Fire Bloodfire - Helen Harper Page 0,67

dropped his head. ‘As my Lord Corrigan commands.’

I turned to Anton. I was tempted to let him off the hook also but I reckoned he needed to learn something about responsibility. I’d be doing the same if his situation had been reversed with Mack’s. ‘Let’s do this,’ I said firmly.

Anton nodded in return. I straightened my posture, sucking in a final breath of clean forest air, then plunged straight into the portal.

The second I emerged on the other side, I tightened my muscles and assumed an immediate defensive stance. The quality of light here was completely different to anything I’d seen before. It was blindingly bright, although I resisted the urge to shade my eyes. I didn’t want to make any unnecessary movements that might alert a watcher to our presence. I scanned the horizon, taking in the vivid green grass and brilliant blue sky. The vista was slightly akin to wandering onto the set of a Disney animation. I half expected a dewy-eyed doe to spring along followed by a set of singing bluebirds. Instead, however, everything was silent and still.

A half beat later, Anton fell through. I had to grab his arm to prevent him from collapsing face first onto the grass below. Considering it felt unnatural under my feet and I could see razor-sharp edges to each single blade, it probably wouldn’t have been a pleasant experience for him.

‘First time?’ I asked.

He swallowed and nodded. I clapped him on the back. ‘Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it.’

He hardened his expression and looked around. ‘This place is weird.’

I knelt down, examining the grass underfoot carefully. ‘No trail,’ I grunted.

‘Then which way do we go?’

I gazed ahead. ‘There’s a valley to the north. Everything else is flat. If I were going to lay an ambush, that’s where I’d set it.’ I pulled off my t-shirt and flung it to the side. ‘We’ll move faster if we shift.’

‘Amen,’ Anton agreed.

I stretched upwards on my tiptoes, feeling my bones, muscles and sinews tug. Then, allowing the panther to take over, I was on all fours, ready to go. I glanced left, flanked now by a large bear. Anton’s fur was smooth and less scarred than other, older bears I knew. But judging by the muscles bunching around his massive body, we were ready.

Let’s do this.

I took off at a sprint, angling my paws to avoid being cut by the menacingly sharp grass. I didn’t possess quite as much brute strength as Anton probably did, but I was able to move a damn sight faster. Rather than go all out, however, I maintained a steady speed so he didn’t fall too far behind. It also made it easier to whip my head from side to side and sniff the air as I ran. I wasn’t about to let any more of the bitch’s minions catch me unaware.

The valley slopes were already steepening when I caught the first scent. Instead of bland nothingness, my nose wrinkled at the faint whiff of death. I knew what it was. Mack had taken the black cloth with her because Floride had used it to set up a scrying spell for her to follow. I might not have a clear-cut spell to work from but my cat senses were keenly alert. Relieved that my initial instincts had been correct, I pushed deeper into the valley. That’s when I heard a bellowing howl of pain that was so loud the ground underneath reverberated with its sound. It wasn’t Mack. I bared my fangs in a grim smile. Whatever my kitten was doing, she was putting up a fight.

I rounded a corner, moving faster now. I could hear the heavy breath of the bear behind me. Up ahead two figures were visible. One was unmistakably Mack while the other was an Amazon-like woman. Iabartu. Mack kicked her in the stomach with one swift motion. The demi-goddess spiralled up into the air. I dimly registered the prone figure of what was no doubt the ispolin, lying dead on the ground. Iabartu, however, was moving too fast for even me to judge where she’d go next. As I sprinted towards them, I could see Mack spinning around trying to work out where the next attack would come from. In a flash, Iabartu landed behind her, her hands encircling Mack’s delicate throat. Panic overtook me.

Leaving Anton to fall behind, I pelted forward. Mack was clawing at the fingers round her neck, kicking frantically in a bid to free herself. I was