sense anything at all.”
Birdcat swore. “So we’re too late. She’s already gone.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Shadowhorse had gone ashen. His sweat smelled of sickness, like he’d eaten bad meat. “I can’t sense anything. Not even insects in the soil. Either the whole area is completely dead, or something’s blocking my abilities.”
*Mother’s land,* Fenrir said again. *Her shadow is thick here.*
“Wonderful,” Man-Alpha muttered. “So not only are we taking on the demon on her home ground, we’re doing it blind.”
“Yay,” Seesnake said, holding onto his mate’s fin. “So what’s the plan? Do we try to sneak in?”
“Says the man riding the giant flying shark,” murmured The Bitch.
*Time for stealth is past.* He could feel the land’s slow awakening to their presence, a sense of gathering venom. *Snakemother knows pack is here.*
“Then our only hope is to go in fast and hard,” Birdcat said grimly. “Everyone stick together, so Wystan can cover us all with shields. And if I give an order, follow it. Lupa’s guarded by a wendigo. That’s about as powerful a shifter as you can get, short of the Phoenix. If we have to go up against it, our only chance will be to work together.”
“Fenrir should stay in hellspace,” Icehorse said. “Uncegila doesn’t seem to permit Lupa to shift, perhaps because it would allow her to break free of demonic influence. Fenrir may be able to ambush any attackers.”
Fenrir rumbled agreement. But before he could step sideways, The Bitch threw her arms around his neck. She pressed her face against his, cheek to muzzle.
“Be careful,” she whispered. “Come back to me.”
Always, he wanted to say—but they both knew that wasn’t possible. He leaned against her for a moment, drinking in her scent. This was his true home, no matter the false whispers of his tainted blood.
Carrying her scent in his mouth like a flower, he side-stepped into hellspace. Hidden in that dark, burning void, he shadowed the rest of the pack. It was no effort at all to keep pace with them. As they raced for the mansion, he looked through the walls, scanning the structure as though it was a blueprint laid out in front of him.
*Birdcat,* he sent. It was an effort to reach his alpha’s mind through the shifting currents of hellspace, but pack could always find pack. *Only one person within. Lowest level, under the ground. Not sister.*
“*Can you tell who it is?* the griffin shifter sent back, his mental voice wavering and distorted.
He couldn’t smell things from hellspace. He risked dropping back into the normal world for a moment, just for an instant. He gagged as he drew in his breath. There was no mistaking that cold, reptilian stench.
*Deathsnake,* he sent. *Beware!*
A wave of grim acknowledgement came from Birdcat. A moment later, Fenrir felt the whole house shudder around him. Seesnake had dealt with the locked door by the simple expedient of hitting it. Since he’d been shifted into his dragon form at the time, this had resulted in the elimination of a sizeable portion of the front wall.
Birdcat surged through the gap, golden feathers bristling. Fenrir sent him a mental image of the house layout, and the griffin hissed in thanks. Fast as a swooping eagle, he raced through the corridors, the others close behind.
Fenrir went back into hellspace, scouting a little ahead of the pack. Deathsnake had clearly heard the crash of the collapsing wall. He was in a small, plain room with only a few pieces of furniture and a single exit. Fenrir had expected him to either flee or go on the attack; but the man did neither.
Instead, he looked around wildly, as though searching for another way out. He picked up the chair he’d been sitting on, breaking it over his knee. Holding a piece of wood like a club, he ran around the room. Puzzled, Fenrir watched as he methodically smashed every light fitting.
*Caution,* he sent to his pack. *Something strange here.*
The man had finished plunging the room into the darkness. He backed away from the door, facing away into a corner, covering his head.
“Go away!” he shouted. “I know you’re out there! I don’t want to hurt you!”
“Great!” Seesnake yelled back, from the other side of the cellar door. “We’ve got a common interest, then!”
“Do you mind, Joe?” Birdcat muttered. He raised his own voice. “We don’t want to fight either. We have you surrounded and outnumbered. Unlock this door and surrender, and I promise you’ll come to no harm.”
“I can’t,” the man moaned. “I’m