Jag attacked Lyon's clone, biting the hand that held the sword. But the other clone leaped in to attack him.

The great cat went down.

Moving closer, Kara pulled more fire, this time visualizing the flame hitting the second clone and spreading, consuming him. With a heave, she threw the fire and watched her visualization turn to reality, the flame spreading over his body like an oil slick. The clone yelled with pain, falling backward as fire engulfed him.

Before she could call the fire again, let alone find the steel to destroy the man who looked so much like the one she loved, Lyon's clone leaped at heir, tackling her to the ground. Her breath rushed out of her body, her head cracking against the floor, the radiance evaporating as it if had never been.

In her head she heard Lyon's voice. Kara!

Lyon's face swam before her dazed vision, then disappeared as sharp teeth dug into the side of her neck and began to suck the life's energy from her battered body.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-three

The weight left her in a flash of spotted fur.

Kara gasped for breath, feeling the blood trickle down her neck from where the clone had fed from her. Her ribs cried with pain, but she struggled to sit up, then stumbled to her feet as Jag ripped out the heart of Lyon's clone and tore its head from its body. The last of the clones had gone down.

Her gaze searched frantically for the real Lyon, needing reassurance, and found the cat with Paenther, surrounding the witch.

Are you all right? His voice rang through her head as the cat's head swung toward her. Not certain how to answer a voice in her head she just nodded.

She's trying to shield herself from us, magically, but she's weakening. Can you help Jag?

Her mind slowly clearing, she realized the spotted fur that had saved her was lying at her feet, his blood spreading in a pool around them both. She gripped her aching ribs and reached for the downed cat.

"It's me, Jag. I'm going to try to heal us both," Forcing her hands away from their protective cage around her middle, she pressed her palms to Jag's blood-soaked fur and pulled.

The fire came slowly, but it came, filling her with warmth, then heat, then light as she went fully radiant. Little by little,, she felt the pain ease from her body, and sensed the strength flowing into Jag, mending his torn flesh. When his jaguar's head gently butted her arm, she knew she'd succeeded. He leaped to his feet, then startled her with a quick lick of his tongue on her cheek.

A soft burst of laughter eased from her throat, and she stroked the spotted cat as he passed her to join the others.

Kara bent down to pick up one of the blood-soaked swords lying on the ground and slowly went to face the woman who'd caused her so much pain.

The three cats snapped and clawed at the witch, wearing down the unnatural barrier she hid behind.

Zaphene laughed.. "You can't touch me!" But her voice rang with fake bravado. In her eyes, Kara saw the hard shine of fear.

Kara went to stand beside Lyon, seeing bloody streaks across his back. She laid her hand lightly on one of the cuts and poured healing energy into him.

I love you, he said in her mind.

She stroked his muscled back. "And I you." She met the witch's copper-ringed gaze. "You're not going anywhere, Zaphene."

"Vhyper will be back."

"Vhyper will be free of you once you're dead."

Something in the witch's eyes made Kara shiver.

Zaphene shook her head, her smile certain. "Vhyper is not under my control. He's no longer one of you."

"What is he, then?" Kara repeated the question Lyon put in her head.

"The Daemon blade, when it drank of the Ferals' blood, stole Vhyper's soul. Vhyper does Satanan's work, now."

She dies, Lyon said.

Kara patted Lyon's back. "I want the killing blow."

She sensed his approval.

Agreed, my little warrior.

"If I add my power to yours, can we break through her barrier sooner?"

Yes. Do it.

Kara laid the sword at her feet, then pressed her palms to the backs of the cats on either side of her, Lyon's, and Paenther's. "Jag, come lean against my leg, please."

The cat trotted obediently to her side and slid his head against her. With her gaze locked on Zaphene's, Kara pulled a great fist of power from the Earth and directly into the cats until their very fur began to glow.

Then, as one, the three huge cats flew at the witch, tackling her to the ground in a tumble of fur, high heels, and Mage blood.

Zaphene screamed as the cats' strong jaws ripped at her limbs. Lyon's paw covered her face, holding her down as he lifted his maned head to Kara, pride shining in his eyes.

Your turn, little warrior.

Kara picked up the sword. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined intentionally taking a life. But this thing needed to die.

"Let her see me," she told Lyon.

Lyon lifted his massive paw. Copper-ringed eyes stared up at her with terror.

"You'll never mess with me or mine again," Kara vowed. She lifted the blade high over her head, and plunged it down in a shower of fire and blood.

Lyon lifted his head on a powerful, satisfied roar. As one, the three cats shimmered in a rainbow of light, changing to bloody, naked warriors. So like their clones until she looked into their eyes and saw raw admiration.

And in Lyon's, love.

His arm curled around her shoulders and he pulled her into his arms. "You were magnificent."

"Where's Tighe?" Jag asked. "And Vhyper?"

Kara's smile died before it was fully born.

"Vhyper fled, and Tighe followed." Paenther grabbed one of the torches off the wall and took off at a run, deeper into the dungeons.

Lyon grabbed her hand, and together they and Jag followed close behind. As they rounded the corner, they found the great orange-and-black-striped cat lying unmoving in a damp, empty chamber.

The men knelt at the cat's side, Paenther digging his fingers into the tiger's neck fur.

"He's alive, but barely. His pulse is slow, Roar." Disbelief shimmered in his eyes. "Vhyper poisoned him. I smell it."

Lyon shook his head. "How could Vhyper have shifted? He wasn't with us during the Ascension."

Jag snorted. "There's been some heavy shit magic going on down here. The witch must be right about the blade stealing Vhype's soul. That snake knows his venom can be deadly, even to us."

"Find him," Lyon ordered. "And find the rest of my men."

As Paenther and Jag ran from the room, Kara fell to her knees beside Tighe, her heart clenched in fear, her stomach tight with misery. She stroked her hand into his fur, settling it on his chest as she searched for sign of life.

"Can a Feral survive Vhyper's poison?"

"For a short time, though we've never had to test it. He's used it against the Mage before. That poison attacks even immortal bodies and will eventually destroy them."

Kara felt movement, the slight rise and fall of Tighe's breast. "He's still alive."

She pressed both palms to his fur and poured her radiance into him. Lyon squatted on the other side of the tiger and slid his hand into his friend's fur, his expression grim as he watched her.

"Do you feel anything?" he asked.

"No. Nothing's happening." She pressed power into Tighe until sweat rolled down her temples, but still he didn't respond.

"Look what I found," Jag said and she looked up to see Wulfe, Kougar, Foxx, and the real Hawke standing behind him, fully clothed. Wulfe was blinking as if he'd just woken from a long sleep. Behind them, Pink entered in her birdlike gait.

Hawke frowned at Tighe. "What happened?"

"Long story," Jag countered. To Lyon he said, "Wulfe seems to be back to normal now that he's got the other half of his soul back. I found Kougar, Hawke, Foxx, and Pink in the prison cells, too. The witch wasn't taking any chances."

"Where's Zaphene?" Foxx demanded.

Kara grimaced, feeling sorry for the' young warrior and hoping his emotions had only been manipulated by the witch and not truly engaged. Or he was going to be hurting.

Jag put his hand on Foxx's shoulder and led him away from the others to talk to him.

Beneath Kara's hands, Tighe wasn't responding. She turned off the radiance, letting herself go dark as she held up her hand. "I need a knife."

"No," Lyon said. "His blood's been poisoned. You're not going to mix it with yours."

Love for him overflowed even as she met his gaze with calm certainty. "This is my purpose. To heal and empower the Ferals. He's mine. You're all mine. I love you, Lyon, but don't stand in my way of what I have to do."

He stared at her for one long moment before scowling. "Damn, you're bossy."

She grinned at him. "That's why. I'm so sure we belong together."

A smile twitched at his mouth, but never quite erased the worry in his eyes. "Don't make the cuts any deeper than you have to."

"I won't."

Lyon's mouth compressed, but he pulled out one of his switchblades and made small cuts in the centers of her upturned palms. He turned to Tighe and dug the blade into the fur at the animal's shoulder.

Silence blanketed the room as Kara pressed her bloody hands to the tiger's fresh wound. "Come back to us, Tighe," She paused before pulling the fire, visualizing what she wanted. A blast of energy so strong it charged into Tighe and shot him to his feet, whole and alive. Kara took a deep breath and pulled hard.

Power leaped into her in a blinding rush and poured into the animal beneath her hands. More. More.

"Damn," someone muttered behind her.

Tighe stirred, filling with the power as Lyon and Jag had before him. Strong arms gripped her and pulled her back as Tighe bounded to his feet, shook like a great cat coming awake, then shifted into human form, immediately covering his eyes. Unlike the other three cats, Tighe retained his clothes when he shifted and looked strangely and completely normal.

"Someone turn off the lights or get me my shades," he growled.

Kara laughed, relief and joy bubbling through her as she let go of the radiance and went to slide into Lyon's arms.

Tighe's face took on a sudden fury. "Kara get away from him! He's a clone."

Lyon held, up his free arm, crisscrossed with barely healed cuts. "The clones are dead, Tighe."

Kara nodded. "You missed a lot."

Paenther moved into the circle, pants now covering his lower half, two extra pairs in his hands. He tossed one each to Jag and Lyon, then pressed his fist to Tighe's shoulder.

"Welcome back."

"Did you find Vhyper?" Lyon asked.

"He's gone, along with his car."

"Hell."

Tighe shook his head, still staring at Lyon. "I saw you die."

Lyon released her as Tighe closed the distance between the two men and flung his arms around Lyon in a hard, warrior's embrace. He pulled back, thrust his hand out, and when Lyon grasped his arm, gripped Lyon's shoulder with his free hand. A grin slowly swallowed his face.

"Damn I'm glad to see you. How… ?"

Lyon looked down at Kara with a suspicious sheen of moisture in his eyes. "Our Radiant might just be the most stubborn woman who ever lived."

"You should have seen her, Stripes," Jag drawled, pulling on his pants. "Kara demanded the witch's head. And took it."

Paenther turned to her, the hard intensity of his eyes softened by gratitude. And maybe respect. To her surprise, he dropped to one knee in front of her and slammed his fist to his heart.

"I pledge my life to the defense of you and yours, Radiant. Not out of duty, though I would have for that alone, but because you've proven yourself worthy in every way. Courageous, devoted, selfless. May we be as worthy of you."

Jag dropped to one knee beside Paenther without hesitation. Tighe released Lyon and joined them. The other Ferals stared at the three, then dropped more slowly.

Lyon knelt with his men. "For those who weren't in on the battle, our Radiant has proven herself a true warrior today, risking her safety and her life over and over to advance our purpose and to fight beside us. It was thanks to her courage and sacrifice that we're all still here. And that we prevailed."

The four new arrivals stared at her with curiosity and confusion, then one by one, bowed their heads to her. Behind the men, Pink stood watching her and, like the men, dropped her head in acknowledgment and gratitude.

"I'm honored," Kara said softly, her cheeks growing warm. "And completely overwhelmed."

"We've still got the Daemon blade, right?" Tighe asked.

Paenther and Jag exchanged looks. As one, they leaped to their feet and ran from the room.

"The Daemon blade's gone," Jag said grimly, joining the group in the hallway outside the ritual room a short time later.

Paenther followed close behind him. "Vhyper's car isn't the only one missing. Tighe's Land Rover's gone, and there's no sign of his clone."

"Hell," Lyon said, his men gathered around him after the unfruitful search. Kara stood beside him, her hand tight in his. And damned if his muscles weren't shaking.

They had serious trouble, still. But he could handle it. He could handle the whole world as long as Kara remained by his side.

He didn't want to do another Pairing. He'd already decided it didn't matter who the goddess chose for her. She was his.

But he needed to know. If for no other reason than to know the face of the son of a bitch who would try to steal her away.

If it wasn't him.