“Oh, God,” she mumbled, her stomach knotted with disbelief.
Druids and whatever it was Charon had turned into. Phelan had said he and Charon were warriors. Could this be what he meant?
Her thoughts were torn away from what Charon looked like and what he could possibly be by the tension growing around them. It pulsed angrily, steadily expanding until her skin all but buzzed with it.
Laura gasped and covered her mouth with her hand when Charon turned his head and she saw the large, thick, dark copper horns that protruded from his temples to wrap around his forehead and come to points that nearly touched.
He was a beautifully terrifying spectacle to behold. The muscles she had spent hours caressing were rigid, straining as he flexed his claws as if he couldn’t wait to sink them into Jason.
And then all Hell broke loose.
Jason raised a hand and suddenly Charon was jerked backwards. He crashed through the cabin wall as if it were paper.
Laura dived to the side and covered her head with her arms as debris slammed into her. She expected to look up and find Charon dead, but he jumped to his feet as if nothing had happened.
His shirt was shredded, and through it she witnessed the deep gouges acquired when he went through the window and wood begin to heal.
Laura was glad she no longer stood, because she was sure her legs would have given out.
“You doona stand a chance against my magic, Charon,” Jason said, laughter in his voice. “How many times must I show you that?”
“Until I’m dead.”
Laura squeezed her eyes closed, tears gathering, when she heard Charon’s response.
“You came for me,” he continued. “Get on with it.”
Jason chuckled, the others joining him. “Ah, but it’s no’ any fun if I doona have something to make you suffer. That’s what the woman was for.”
Charon’s lips peeled back, and Laura caught a glimpse of what she thought were fangs.
“Good luck finding her. She’s out of your reach.”
Laura wanted to stand and see Jason’s face, because given his lack of a witty response, she imagined he was furious.
“I’ll find her,” Jason promised menacingly. “I’ll find her and torture her. She may no’ be a Druid, but she’ll bleed just the same.”
She jerked when Charon threw back his head and roared. The sound left her ears ringing it was so loud and fierce. She knew she had to keep quiet, but she wanted to call out to him when Charon’s legs bent and his gaze focused on something, probably Jason.
One moment Charon was standing there, and the next he was gone. She scrambled up, and caught sight of him using his claws to sever one of the men in half.
Laura barely registered that fact when a man with skin the color of light green leaped atop Charon. The newcomer had the same long claws and fangs, but no horns. He and Charon seemed to be matched with strength and speed by how viciously they attacked each other.
The others, who Laura assumed were Druids, began to laugh and jeer at the fight. She took a step toward one of the non-broken windows when Charon’s arm was stopped mid-swing by some unknown force.
“Magic,” Laura whispered.
Charon was held in place, his roars drowning out everything else. Then his opponent sank both sets of claws into Charon’s abdomen.
“No!” Laura screamed.
Her shout was lost to the whoops and hollers of the others. Laura scanned each of the Druids and saw a woman with black hair standing apart. She didn’t clap at the spectacle, but she didn’t stop it either.
Maybe if Laura could get to her, she could make the woman help. That thought was quickly banished as Charon’s attacker yanked out his claws and began to slash Charon’s chest over and over.
Blood poured down his front to stain the ground. Laura gagged, knowing she was watching Charon die before her eyes. She hated feeling so helpless, so … useless.
She began to shake—not from fear, but from fury. That emotion escalated, intensified … expanded. She took hold of that anger, welcomed it when Jason came to stand in front of Charon.
Her breaths were ragged and her head began to pound. It was her skin, and the feeling as if something was moving inside her that made her fist her shaking hands before she began to scratch her skin. Laura looked down at her hands, not understanding what was happening.
Charon’s bellow of pain brought her head forward and she spotted Jason holding his arm over Charon as his blood dripped into Charon’s injuries.
“No,” she said as she watched.
Her body began to vibrate from whatever was inside her. She didn’t want to fight it. She wanted it out, loosened upon Jason and the others. The need within her was too great, too powerful to ignore.