A flash of dark clothing shot by me—the Devil, his vampire speed making him almost faster than human sight. I caught a glimpse of Carrow’s golden head out of the corner of my eye as she took out a demon, and potion bombs flew through the air as my friends hurled them.

From behind me, I could feel Seraphia’s magic surge. It filled the air, and in front of me, the roots of the trees burst from the ground and wrapped around five of the demons, raising them into the air and shaking them like dolls.

Dark smoke rolled around my ankles. Hades.

I glanced back to see him slam his bident into the ground. The two-pronged staff shot lightning into the sky as a small army of the dead rose from the dirt. In the underworld, he could call upon hundreds of them. Here on earth, he could only call on those buried nearby. There were apparently ten of them, and they charged into battle.

My heart thundered as I ran alongside them, looking for an opening in the attack to sneak through. If I still had my wings, this would have been an entirely different matter.

Screams and growls sounded as the battle raged. Magic exploded in the air as demons fired blasts of fire and ice. Potion bombs arced high between the trees before crashing against the chests of the enemy.

We defeated the first line of foes, but more came after them, so many that I couldn’t imagine where the Maker had found them all.

He wasn’t even there. I could feel him somewhere in the distance, likely still in the chambered cairn.

With every second that passed, more and more foes appeared. Were they regenerating? I’d never seen so many appear so fast. We were kicking their asses, but we weren't gaining much ground because there were just so damned many of them.

A demon charged me, yellow eyes wild as he raised his blade. I hurled my potion bomb at him and nailed him right in the forehead. Satisfaction surged through me as he collapsed backward, unconscious.

The whole point of this plan was to get me into the cairn on my terms, not as a captured victim, which was what the Maker surely wanted. And yet, with every second that passed, it appeared that wouldn’t happen.

I could feel the moon setting and the sun rising. The Maker had said we had until dawn. If I was late…

Lachlan’s life was forfeit.

I glanced toward the sky, which was turning a lighter gray.

We were running out of time. There was no other choice. It didn’t matter how many of the enemy we took out if we didn’t gain any ground.

I’d have to let them take me. I needed to get into that cairn in time. From there, I’d figure out what I had to do.

So I stopped fighting and caught Carrow’s eye, then nodded.

She grimaced but nodded back. We’d known this was a possibility and had a backup plan. Problem was, the backup plan was a bit crap. It was the only one we had, though, and I was desperate.

My heart raced as I waited for a demon to notice me. It took only half a second. Confusion lit his face, then triumph.

“Giving up?” he snarled.

“Hardly.” I hit him with an acid bomb in the arm, just to prove I wasn’t going down on his terms. “But I’m ready to meet your master.”

He growled and clutched his arm. The flesh sizzled sickeningly, and I started forward. “Take me to him.”

He nodded and pressed a comms charm at his neck. “I have her. Come and get her.”

A moment later, a figure appeared at my side. Human. One of the gang members, no doubt. He gripped my arm and chucked a transport charm to the ground, then dragged me into the smoke.

I braced myself and appeared a moment later in the middle of the chambered cairn. The entire thing was one massive stone dome. Flickering torches lit the single large room in glowing light, shining on carvings on the walls.

A sense of home flowed through me, as if this place were important to me. To my people.

The three Moon Stones were set into the ground at equally spaced intervals along the edge of the room. Guards had taken up positions between them, a dozen lining the room.

Lachlan stood by the wall, bound in massive chains. The Maker waited on the other side of the empty chamber, standing so still that he could be dead.

Fear flashed through me, cold and sharp.

I stared at the Maker, praying that the double-sided portal charm would work.

He grinned at me, evil cunning flashing in his eyes. “Hoping your friends will show up?”

“Yes, actually.”

A cruel laugh escaped him. “A double-sided portal charm again? Hoping to draw them to you now that you’re in?”

I shrugged. True, our backup plan was the same thing we’d tried when we’d snuck into the Clerkenwell tunnels to confront the Maker, but it was our only option.

“I’ve blocked it,” he said. “I was prepared for your tricks.”

Damn. I’d known it was a likely possibility, but hopefully, they’d be able to fight their way in. They were strong.

Until then, I just had to be clever.

I looked behind me at Lachlan, who stared at me with worry in his eyes.

“Is this place sacred to the dire wolves?” I asked. “It’s a lot older than they were.”

The Maker frowned. “Why do you care?”

“They’re my people.”

I could feel his confusion. He still couldn’t understand.

He wasn’t human, I realized.

I’d thought that maybe his strange, ephemeral appearance was a spell or a curse of some kind. But no, he just wasn’t human. He didn’t have the same feelings we did.

“It was,” he finally said. “Your transition could only occur here. Conveniently for me, you also can’t use your power here.”

He was right. There was nothing in the interior that I could throw at him. And if I tried anything at all and my magic went haywire, thousands of pounds of stone would rain down upon us and kill Lachlan and me.

“What the hell do you want?” I demanded. “What are you after?”

“You, the chosen one. There is only one dire wolf now, and the power of all of them lives in you.”

“All of them?”

“All of your ancestors. Didn’t you wonder why you had such a magnificent connection with the moon?”

Of course I’d wondered. I frowned at him. “How do you know all this?”

“I was there in the beginning.” He strolled toward me.

“Stop with the riddles and be clear.”

“I am being clear. It’s not my fault that you’re too slow to understand.”

“Bullshit. You’re acting like an old seer, giving information in riddles.”

Anger radiated from him, and he made a slashing movement with his hand. An invisible force picked me up and hurled me against the stone wall. Pain exploded through me, and I slumped to the ground.

Distantly, I heard Lachlan roar. I could imagine him fighting the bonds, but the chains were far too thick for him to break through.

Aching, my vision still blurry, I staggered upright and faced the Maker. “What do you want with me?” I demanded, stalling for time. He was too powerful, and I needed backup. My potion bombs weren’t going to do it.

“You will be my creature, helping me create the world I envision.”

“What world is that?”

“One under my command. One that fulfills the fate put into motion hundreds of years ago.”