Elder Merrick’s wolf growled softly. “I agree with Zeller. No one should go back in time.”
Tipkin shrugged a shoulder, watching as we finished buttoning the cloaks…and as I slipped the two remaining golden vials into one of my cloak’s pockets. “Since Philip is no longer winning this war, he is going back in time to try to change it. These two are going with me to stop him.” His hands landed on one of my shoulders and one of Ezra’s, keeping contact with us. “Don’t move.”
Ezra’s nostrils flared in fury, but he hurried to bark, “Dad, watch Isa for us.”
The roar of a Vampire and the growl of a Shifter bombarded my ears, even as a frantic rush of wind hit. But Tipkin was already glowing and a golden sphere surrounded Tipkin, Ezra, and me.
Again, my body did exactly as he had commanded, allowing him to take me where he wished, and I stood stock-still inside the golden sphere of non-entity. All I could see were sparkles of gold, but the ride was rougher than anytime I had transversed with Antonio. I steadied my legs as the sphere jerked side to side. I grunted quietly when it became exceptionally rough, and I grabbed onto Tipkin’s shoulder — one of Ezra’s hands landing right next to mine — so I didn’t lose connection with him.
The sphere was abruptly gone…and I scented decay in the night air. We stood inside a forest, the trees appearing as tall as the sky. But just as suddenly, we were back inside the sphere, but now we moved differently. I stared, trying to understand what was so perplexing about it. Slowly it dawned on me that we were going back in time now. It was the way the Mage magic felt, like a slow creep running down my spine, a shiver of backwards time.
It took much longer than our first ride.
Minutes passed by slowly inside the kinked magic.
Ezra and I kept a death grip on Tipkin’s shoulder.
I went to scratch my nose with my other hand, but my arm moved as if it were in quicksand, the pull against my action impossible…so my damn nose burned with the urge to be rubbed until the sphere disappeared in a rough jerk.
Ezra grunted, grabbing my shoulder with his free hand when I stumbled forward.
Since we each still had a tight hand on his shoulder, Tipkin lurched with us.
We all went down in a tumble of limbs.
“Your fucking arrows are on my face,” Ezra grouched, the upper portion of his frame buried under Tipkin’s torso, while both of their legs were lying heavily over my stomach and trapping me.
“Well, your gun is poking me in the ribs,” Tipkin griped.
Rubbing my nose, I blinked repeatedly, the sun bearing down through the trees right into my eyes. The sudden change from night to day had my wolf stalking inside. “Are we here?”
“Yes,” Tipkin muttered, lifting his head. “Our first stop anyway.”
I flinched, my teeth grinding as searing pain radiated from my forearm. The sleeve of my cloak was up to my elbow, so the three of us watched as a golden bracelet of power formed on my skin then sizzled into the air. Gone. I shuddered hard as Clarice’s power dissipated in the air.
Two down. One to go. Whenever that was.
Chapter Sixteen
Still staring at my forearm, Ezra’s Vampire growled softly. “Lily…”
I cleared my throat, back in control of my actions. “Hush. It needed to be done to save you.” I sat up slowly, glancing left and right. My head cocked. “Do I hear gunshots?”
“Probably,” Tipkin murmured, also staring at my arm as he jumped to his feet.
Ezra ignored all of this. “Lily, what else did you promise her?”
I hummed absently, standing and brushing off my cloak. “Nothing important.”
Ezra couldn’t scent the lie even if Tipkin could. Luckily, the hybrid kept his mouth shut.
My husband muttered a curse. “Dammit, you’re lying to me.”
Okay, maybe he could still read me better than anyone else.
“We need to focus on why we’re here.” I held a hand down to him. “Are those gunshots I hear from the north?”
Another curse was heard, but he grabbed my hand and lifted to his feet. “Yes, they are.”
“Where are we?”
“In the state of Washington,” Tipkin answered, walking toward the gunfire. “More precisely, we’re in Washington the day King Zeller infiltrated a Com extremist’s camp to rescue his Prodigy.”
I gawked, not moving. “We really went into the past?”
Ezra’s head cocked, listening to the sounds in the distance. “It sounds about right.”
“Yes, we did,” Tipkin called over his shoulder, marching farther away through the forest. “So hurry your asses up. We don’t have much time before we have to leave again. Philip is on a damn mission today.”
Ezra stayed by my side, asking loudly, “This won’t disrupt the past?”
“No. We’re meant to be here. Including him. Just not what he wants as the end result.”
Ezra glanced at me.
I was already sniffing the air heavily, catching the currents of his words. “Truth to all.”