Page 114 of A Monstrous World: The Complete Series

“Right,” Echo says from a few feet away. “Why did you use the tiny blade if you’ve got fangs?” He snorts a laugh. “Is that from what we spoke about earlier? An unexpected side effect?”

Ridge growls. “Shut the fuck up.”

“Sure, you can tell me later.” Echo shakes his head and smirks. “Don’t want you talking with your mouth full.”

The warm, rich flavor of alpha blood replenishes me quickly. My teeth retract, and after the skin closes, I lick his flesh clean.

“You’re so warm,” I whisper, kissing his cheek. “Thank you.”

“I’ll hold you for a while,” Ridge rumbles. “To help you keep warm. Your skin is ice-cold.”

“Direct hit,” Echo says, laughing.

Ridge ignores him.

“Can you slice my wrist?” I ask as the wolf walks us over to the runestone.

Ridge complies. He pushes up Echo’s sweater and slices my skin with a sharp claw.

My magic immediately buzzes through my system, giving me some relief from the pain.

Dark smoke circles the runestone. Dipping my pointer finger into the blood that hasn’t yet turned to smoke, I draw the sigils in a careful pattern.

It takes less than ten seconds for the blood to soak into the stone and evaporate from sight. Now that’s done, it’s just a whole lot of waiting and bleeding.

Ridge takes a seat on one of the polished stone benches that circle the lookout.

Echo stands staring out over the edge. The scenery is beautiful.

It’s lush and green, and you can tell it’s full of life by the sounds of the forest. My magic can pick out lifeforms or signatures, but I’m currently exhausted.

Who cares if there are deer or squirrels watching?

“I suppose I’m on my own for sustenance?” Echo asks coolly.

“Best of luck catching a deer,” Ridge says, his eyes flashing with his wolf.

“Shocking.” Echo takes a seat on the ground near us. “Well, I hope you have enough to fuel her, because I’ve nothing left.”

Ridge is a comfortable pillow. My face nuzzles against his chest, and I don’t judge myself too harshly for enjoying being all up on him.

Sure, we just met, but also, I saved his pup’s life, and he’s become a reliable source of food and magic replenishment.

Twenty-four hours doesn’t exactly a pattern make, but he seems like a pretty reliable guy.

My heart pangs when I think of Sam.

I can’t help but wonder if he’ll return once I make it back to Haven. It’s a silly thought. I don’t know that I’ll even survive North Falls. The more I obsess about Sam, the more light-headed I feel.

“If I pass out...” I mumble. My eyes are heavy. I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay awake. “Just cut me open again. Until I close the runestone, all my magic will flow into it to replenish the ward.”

Ridge grips me tightly as Echo curses.

“Call it if you’re that weak,” Echo says.

“I’m mortal,” I say around a yawn. “I’m not about to die. Just maybe take a nap. I didn’t get much sleep last night, and I drove all day yesterday. I’m exhausted, but I can finish this column.”

My eyes pop open as my magic starts to hum in a way that indicates imminent danger. The strange pulsing going on can’t be confused with anything else.

“Some type of trouble is headed our way,” I murmur as I scan the tree line.

Ridge stands, setting me down on the stone bench. The normally cool stone is warm and pre-heated from Ridge’s body heat. He shifts to his wolf and prowls around, scenting the air. He snarls and howls. I’m not a wolf expert or anything, but I’m sincerely hoping that call is for reinforcements.

“I’m drained,” Echo hisses. “What a fucking disaster. I’m actually thankful to have the beast as backup.”

“You can have the little bit I can spare,” I tell him, shoving my still bleeding wrist at his face.

Echocio studies me intently for a few seconds. “I’ll manage. I’m much more difficult to kill. You truly trust me to keep you alive?”

I shrug. “You said that we’re teammates. I tend to trust people until they give me a reason not to.” I mean, he kind of has, but I don’t have a lot of options at the moment.

Echo pulls my wrist to his mouth and takes several small pulls of blood. The cuts today are nowhere near as drastic as the gashes I needed to heal Brock. Echo groans. His tongue flicks over his teeth and his eyes flash white.

“Such a contrast to the master I’ve served for three-and-a-half centuries.

” He runs a cool finger over my cheek. “I told you, we’re a team.

Try to protect yourself while I kill a few brazen demons.

” He rolls up the cuffs on his shirt, like he’s about to have dinner and doesn’t want to risk staining his sleeves.

The dark tattoos lining his forearm flex as he moves.

I’m strangely transfixed by the way his veins pop out.

“And I guess a few vampires interested in meeting their final death.”

My ears are weak in comparison to Echo’s and Ridge’s. I don’t pick up the sound of the pounding feet until they’re nearly on top of us. The horde of lesser demons spills out of the forest several seconds later, and the putrid smell follows.

Ridge viciously attacks. He mauls an envy demon with brutal efficiency. It’s small and malformed, but its teeth are horrifying. There are at least two dozen demons heading for us.

Echo moves too fast to register, but I do see the bodies fall as he finishes them off.

My magic pulses again, and instead of focusing on the tree line, it’s focused on the cliff. I spin around in time to see three higher demons climb over. I try to hit them with a pulse of wind, but my magic is unable to do anything to help.

The runestone hasn’t been closed.

Fuck my life.

My fangs pop out, but honestly, they’re more embarrassing than anything. I’ve got the world’s tiniest pair of incisors. They just happen to be pointy at times.

“Want to switch?” I call over my shoulder to Echo. He’s at my side in an instant. “I don’t suppose you have some type of weapon you can give me?”

Echo snorts, shaking his head at me. That’s not cool. Laughing derisively when I ask for a weapon to help with the fight is the opposite of helpful. If we don’t die, I’m definitely punching him in the throat for that.

Echo and one of the higher demons circle each other. They go at it as I carefully meander toward the runestone. My magic aches to fight. My wounds have sealed themselves, so I’m not losing any extra energy, but I’m not able to aid them until I do the closing runes.

Ridge comes out of nowhere, tackling a demon on my right side. He’s still in wolf form, and I glance away as he rips out the demon’s throat.

Blood splatters everywhere as Ridge pounces on the next demon. My magic finally perks up, turning the spilled energy to smoke to help with the ward.

Holy shit, that guy was far too close. What the hell is up with my magic? It can’t even give me a heads-up? Apparently not. I’m baffled by what has changed recently.

I’m probably not helping matters. I have yet to do anything right since getting to this town.

This particular disaster, I’m blaming on Echo. I’m not dressed appropriately at all. I need my boots. They’ve got a spell to hide my daggers. I’m in flipping sandals right now.

If you’re going to wear a dress, at least dress up and go for stilettos. A stiletto to the eye will stop someone in their tracks. A high heel to the cock? That’s how you make them turn tail and run the other direction.

I mentally add order more high heels to my to-do list. I need to get to the column, so I can close the circuit and conjure something.

I’m only five feet away from the stone when a huge, black, furry arm appears at my side. It blocks my face from something.

A garbled cry comes from the creature attached to the arm.

It’s a bigfoot. One of the few left in this world, and he just saved my life.

There’s an arrow protruding from his arm, and the spiky end is only inches away from my face.

Wow, that tip is super pointy. It made it all the way through his forearm, and I’m pretty sure his skin is stronger than mine.

“Thank you.” My eyes meet his. His face is humanoid but covered in dark fur. He’s one of the fae that live on this side of the veil. All the yeti and bigfoot are. He’ll have a human form, and his monster form is what I’m seeing now.

He nods, accepting my appreciation.

“You saved my life,” I tell him as the battle rages behind us. My magic swarms back to me, but that apprehensive feeling I get when someone means me harm is absent.

“Mate dying.” It sounds like a weird shriek, like all bigfoot in monster form. “Need help.”

My heart stalls. Please tell me this isn’t the woman I originally came to North Falls to help. It doesn’t matter. Either way, he just saved my life, meaning I owe him big time.

“Okay,” I agree, pulling my shoulders back. “We have to get to the runestone. If I don’t close the circuit, my magic will continue to flow here to strengthen the ward. It won’t matter how far away I am.”

“Got it,” he says.

A huge bird the size of a full-size truck flies over the peak.

I shiver, taking a step back.

“Holy shit,” I whisper. I’ve never seen one in person, but thunderbirds are terrifying. Electric blue lightning shoots from its eyes and mouth, connecting to its wings.

“Okay,” I hiss. “Please let that guy be on our side.”

It could be a lady thunderbird, but honestly, it’s massive even for its species...so, yeah, I’m going with it being a guy. I learned about them through books and pictures. Those images did not do them justice.

“Friend,” the hairy man says.

He’s still got an arrow through his forearm. He lifts me with little difficulty in his injured arm and stomps to the runestone before placing me back on my feet.

It’s pandemonium as Ridge growls and snarls.

Vampires and demons attack all around us. The bigfoot viciously fends off the ones who get close. I’m drawing the closing pattern on the runestone when the thunderbird swoops down, scooping up someone from directly behind me.

That was also way too close for comfort.

The curved beak of the thunderbird’s mouth digs into the throat of a demon before he’s quite unceremoniously tossed over the rocky ledge of the mountain.

Echo curses from somewhere in the melee.

“Friend,” the bigfoot says.

I don’t know who he’s talking to, but I spin around and yell, “I’m ready.”

My shadows dance over the fae and, once again, my magic believes he’s not a threat. It’s been acting strange lately, but it’s never failed me in some way I couldn’t come back from.

The thunderbird is another shifter, but I believe they’re elven in nature. The magicals are truly incredible to see in person. The massive bird flies low in the clouds. Lightning pours into his wings in bluish-white streaks that would have devastating effects on any other creature.

“Nadia,” Echo growls from behind me. It very much sounds like a warning.

“We should go while he’s still busy.” I give a nod to the bigfoot. “Quickly, because he’s going to be really pissed.”

The fae picks me up and barrels off the side of the freaking mountain.

Okay, so he saved my life only to kill us both? That was a terrible plan.

“Brant,” he says, patting my back. He’s still got a damn arrow poking out of his arm. So, it’s not exactly comforting, but I appreciate the effort.

“Nadia,” I choke out. “I don’t want to die today, Brant.”

“Won’t,” he says in the weird shriek that is his voice. He runs, weaving in and out of trees. The forest seems to shake around us as he lumbers down the steep mountainside.

Branches and twigs scratch against my skin as we move. Turning my head, I glance to see where we’re headed.

I really wish I hadn’t.

He runs toward the edge of a steep drop-off and . . . jumps .