“No?” asked Maura.

As she spoke, Gilda felt the first stab of pain go through her. It started at her feet, sharp and intense, like someone had cut off her toes. She sucked in a startled breath, unable to hide her pain.

“See. No one can touch me and live. Not even you.”

“. . . three.”

Nika found a spot near Tori that wasn’t completely infested by Synestryn and aimed for that. She held on to Tynan and sent them through space.

She landed just as hard, only this time, it didn’t make her feel nearly as sick. Whether it was because it was a shorter distance or because her stomach was already empty she wasn’t sure.

Tynan wasted no time. Before the Synestryn could figure out they were right there next to Tori, Tynan scooped her up and shouted, “Now!”

Nika was still out of breath, but she ripped as much power from Madoc as she could, gripped Tynan’s arm, and aimed for the spot behind Madoc.

Before she’d finished channeling the power, her body flew back through the air, hitting a rock wall. Her head exploded with pain and her vision began to fade. The last thing she saw was Zillah wrapping his too-long fingers around Tynan’s neck and Tori falling from his arms onto the floor.

Chapter 26

Something powerful and wrong was happening to Gilda. She could feel the slow, insidious creep of evil Maura had inflicted upon her. She’d never felt or seen anything like it before. Pain inched up her body, setting her spine on fire, and yet she refused to let go of her daughter.

She had never been more afraid in her life. She and Angus had been through some tight spots. They’d both been injured and nearly died many times over the centuries, but never before had she felt despair like this. If she didn’t find a way to stop the spread of this evil, she would die, taking Angus with her.

“Let her go, love,” he said to Gilda. “We need to find Tynan.”

“It’s too late for that,” said Maura. “He can’t heal what I’ve done to her.”

“Maura, undo this,” he ordered their daughter.

Maura’s black eyes met his. “There is no undoing it. She’s dead. If she’s lucky, it will happen fast.”

No. Gilda refused to die. She and Angus had just reconnected. She wasn’t going to let go and give up her chance to make amends for all she’d done.

Gilda funneled some of Angus’s power into her body, converting it to a healing light. Her skin began to glow from within as that light streaked through her body down to her legs, where the pain was worst.

“You’re killing both of us,” said Angus.

Maura’s body seemed to sag. “I know. I’ve known for a long time how it would end.”

What must it have been like for Maura to see the future, to see herself kill her own parents?

Gilda’s body screamed in pain, but she forced herself to move, to turn Maura around so she could look her daughter in the eye. “Is that why you think you have no soul?” asked Gilda. “Because you saw this moment?”

Maura looked away in guilt. “I knew what I’d become. Why fight it?”

“Because your future is not written in stone. You of all people should know that.”

“Apparently, you’re wrong. Things happened just as I foresaw.”

There was a hard throb in Gilda’s legs; then she felt the warmth of the healing light go out and the pain moved higher, up to her knees.

Gilda sucked in a breath and reached for more power. The connection between her and Angus had widened further, allowing her to bring more into herself.

She sent more light to combat Maura’s infection, but the effort left her shaking.

“You don’t have to do this,” said Angus. “We can fix this.”

“I can’t. I’ve tried. It always ends the same way.”

Angus stepped forward. Grief deepened the lines on his face, twisting Gilda’s heart. “No. I don’t accept that. You have to at least try. You don’t want to kill your own mother.”

Maura bowed her head. “It doesn’t matter what I want or don’t want. We all are as we were created to be. I was created to kill.”

“No,” said Gilda, barely able to hold on to Maura’s arms. “You were created to love—to love a man the way I love your father, to be loved in return, to fight evil as all the generations before you have done.”

Maura’s dainty mouth twisted in contempt. “That will never happen now, will it? You made sure of that when you made me promise to never grow up.”

Angus must have felt her siphoning off more and more power, because he came to stand by her side, cupping the back of her neck so the parts of the luceria—ring and necklace—locked into place. The contact eased the flow of energy into her, and with a sudden, hard push of will, she drove the last of Maura’s infection out of her body.

The effort left her panting, but there was no time to rest now. She had to show Maura there was still hope. She wasn’t a lost cause. “It was a mistake made in grief. I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry changes nothing.”

“It can. If you’re willing to forgive, the way I’m willing to forgive you.”

Maura wrenched her little body away, backing up out of reach. “There is no forgiveness for what I’ve done, what I’m going to do.”

“You haven’t killed me,” said Gilda. “I cured whatever you did to me with your touch.”

“Liar! You’re just saying that to trick me.”

“Into doing what?”

“Coming with you. You want to take the little sliver of soul I managed to cling to in the womb and give it to your favorite daughter. If you do that, maybe she’ll grow up.”

“You’re wrong,” said Angus. “Sibyl is not our favorite.”

“She always did the right thing. She was always perfect.”

“No one is perfect. We love you anyway.”

Maura’s eyes darted around, like she was uncertain about something. “You can’t love someone who does the things I do.”

“Then stop. Come with us. Turn your back on this evil and rejoin your rightful family.”

“The Synestryn are my family now.”

“Do they love you?” asked Angus.

“They fear me. That’s enough.”

“No, it’s not, and you know it. You deserve to be loved.”

Maura covered her ears. “Go. Leave before I order your death.”

Gilda stepped toward Maura. “I’m not afraid of you. And there’s not enough fear on this planet to make me stop loving you.”

“Liar! Lies. All lies.” Maura whirled around to where the Synestryn waited for the order to move. She lifted her small hand, pointed at Gilda, and said, “Kill them.”

Tori crawled out from under the man’s flailing feet. Zillah had some guy by the neck and was shaking him like a dog did a toy. She squatted against the cave wall, using it to support her weight.

She was so tired. Hours of pain had drained her strength, but at least it was almost over.

Another pain gripped her, and she could no longer keep from giving in to her body’s demands. She had to push this thing out of her.

Hungry monsters closed in on her, eyeing Zillah to see if he was watching. If anything happened to him, she knew she’d be one more meal.

Part of her wished they’d just get it over with and put her out of her misery.

Despite the chill of the cave, sweat poured down her face, stinging her eyes.

Another wave of pain hit her and raw instincts took control of her body. Tori didn’t want to be here for this. She didn’t want to see whatever it was that came out of her.

She tried to pretend she was somewhere else, like she used to do, but the pain was too intense. It wouldn’t let her go.

She felt enormous pressure building inside her, then a searing, ripping pain. Seconds later, it happened again, and this time, something slimy slid against her thighs onto the ground between her ankles.

Tori didn’t look at it. She couldn’t bear to see what it was that had been growing inside her for so long. It was gone now, and that was all that mattered.

The relief from the pain made her dizzy. She started to fall over and didn’t bother to stop herself. She was out of strength and simply couldn’t find enough energy to care what happened to her anymore.

Angus moved fast, thrusting himself in front of Gilda.

His heart bled anguish for his daughter. Even as his blade moved, he wondered what he could have done differently that would have proved his love to her.

He’d failed her as a father. Completely. Utterly. His sweet baby girl didn’t even believe he loved her. How could he have been so blind to her needs?

Tears threatened to blur his vision. He blinked them away madly, using every bit of grief and remorse he felt to fuel his strength.

Power flowed out of him, but he couldn’t tell what Gilda was doing with it. Seconds later, he saw Maura floating through the air, fighting and spitting and clawing at a nearly invisible fist of air around her middle.

Gilda wasn’t letting their baby go—not after she’d nearly gotten Maura to listen.

He couldn’t agree more.

As soon as Maura passed overhead he felt the ground tremble and shards of rock burst from below, blocking off the seemingly unending mass of Synestryn.

He finished off the last three beasts on this side of the barrier, turning toward his girls before the last creature to die had even finished twitching.

Gilda grabbed Maura by one ankle and pulled her to the ground. “You’re coming home and that’s final.”

Maura screamed in outrage, stomping her dainty foot.

Behind them came the loud crash of metal on stone. The demons were battling their way through the spikes.

“Time to go,” he said, urging Gilda along.

They hurried down the hall toward the cavern they passed on their way in. Angus kept a careful lookout behind them, making sure none of those things broke through. With any luck, the other Sentinels would have left one of the vehicles behind for them to use. If not, they’d have to call for a pickup. With all the magic Gilda had been slinging around, he didn’t think she’d be up to any kind of portals, even with the restrengthening of their bond.

He’d have to make sure Maura was restrained enough to keep her from touching anyone on the way home. Gilda may have been able to combat whatever it was she’d done, but he wasn’t convinced someone else would have the skill and power to do so.

He owed it to Maura to make sure she didn’t kill anyone else and add to the guilt his little girl already carried around. She’d made so many bad decisions. It was going to take her a long time to forgive herself as it was, assuming she ever could.

They’d find a way to help her. He wasn’t sure how, but he’d give his last breath if it meant Maura would see how much she was loved, how valuable and precious she was to him.

Gilda was dragging Maura along. Angus wanted to help, but he was afraid it would complicate things if he touched her, so he left it to Gilda to control their daughter.

She’d just walked into the cavern when she came to a dead stop. A heavy wave of fear crashed out of her through their link, driving the breath from Angus’s body.