"So, what happened in there?" Shelton asked as I gave purpose to my stride to get back to the arch.

"I don't know, exactly," I said, savoring the pain-free movement of my legs, and the absence of the ever-present cold ache below my waistline. "I had an episode."

"An episode?" Bella said, keeping stride despite her short legs, and regarding me with narrowed eyes. "You're moving differently."

"The man did something to me. Helped me, I guess."

Bella's brow furrowed. "Helped you? How?"

"What happened?" Shelton said again. "Saying you had an episode doesn't explain jack."

I stopped. Bella skidded to a halt, Shelton beside her. "Maybe I should explain it to everyone all at once." I gave them my best pleading look. "Okay?"

They looked at each other, worry obvious in their eyes. As one, they turned back to me and nodded. We proceeded without conversation toward the university and the Burrows, though I could sense Bella's worry. I wasn't sure if it was due to my incubus super powers, or just a gut feeling. I didn't want to worry them, but I also didn't feel like explaining everything twenty times.

We passed the east garden, entered the hallways, and proceeded down the stairwell when a faint noise caught my ears. Bella seemed to hear it too. We turned, and saw a flicker of blonde hair pull back behind the turn in the landing. A blue eye peeked around the corner followed by a sigh. Vallaena stepped out, face placid, and not an ounce of shame to show for stalking us.

"When you missed your lessons, I waited, and saw you pass the garden without stopping." She arched an eyebrow. "Naturally, I was curious, since you all have such determined looks on your faces."

I was fishing in my mind for some excuse, when the stomping of feet up the stairs caused us all to turn and look as MacLean, Cinder, and Zagg, faces worried—well, except for Cinder—rushing up the stairs.

"Justin!" Zagg said, breathing hard. "We can't get back into the chamber. There's a shield blocking it—a powerful one. We must have tripped a ward."

"Impossible," Shelton said. "Bella and I went over every square inch of that place and didn't see any other wards."

"What do you mean you can't get through?" I said.

"We tried blasting it down. We tried blasting the walls, but it's like the shield forms a bubble around the area." Zagg shook his head. "What are we going to do?"

"Who the bloody hell is that?" MacLean said, pointing up the stairs at Vallaena. "She's a fair sight on the eyes, that one is." He gave her a toothy smile, and flourished a bow.

"Oh, for crying out loud," I said, having completely forgotten our unwanted guest in the confusion.

"I do not blame you for your secrecy," Vallaena said, a smirk plain on her face. "But it appears I know enough that it would do no harm to tell me more."

"Actually, you know next to nothing," I said. "I'm sorry, but I don't trust you farther than I can throw you."

"As I recall, you threw me quite a distance during practice the other day." Another smirk.

I groaned. "Everybody back to the house."

"I am coming as well," Vallaena said.

"I'd be happy to escort you, lass," MacLean said, still grinning.

The Daemas regarded him with a haughty look. "I can manage on my own."

"You're not coming to the house," I told my dear aunt.

She turned her gaze on me. "And you will stop me forcefully?"

I sank to the stairs, ran my hands through my hair. I had the demon name. All I had to do was get in there and speak it, and we could secure the rune. Victory was so close I could taste it. This shield was no coincidence. It had Daelissa or one of her cohorts written all over it. But why? If they knew where the rune was, why hadn't they tried to take it? Did they know about the guardian? What if Jeremiah really had ears in the mansion?

Too many questions. Too many problems. Too little time.

I didn't know if Vallaena would complicate matters, but I knew without a doubt she'd eventually find out about the rune by hook or by crook. At the moment, I just didn't have an ounce of fight left in me. I just wanted to curl up in bed next to Elyssa and forget all about this mess.

But I couldn't.

My legs pushed me to my feet. Despite the strange lack of sensation, I had no trouble controlling them. I mustered some willpower and headed up the stairs. My gaggle of friends followed me, mumbling to themselves. I heard Zagg asking Bella if I was okay. I heard her tell him I was under a lot of stress. I almost turned around and told them I was crazy—or nearly so. I no longer felt qualified to lead them into whatever the hell lay ahead.

I called Elyssa, and told her I was about to deliver a major briefing. She and Meghan showed up about the time the rest of us reached the mansion. In the meeting room, I dropped into a seat at the far end of the table, and waited, slumped and defeated. Only minutes ago, I'd been so happy. So confident. How were we going to get through that damned shield?

Once everyone was situated, including Vallaena, I told them about my encounter with the Lady of the Pond. Mention of my wings drew gasps from all corners of the room. When I pulled up my shirt and showed them the reach of the vampling curse, Bella broke into tears. Vallaena's lips curled, though whether from disgust or fear, I couldn't tell.

Elyssa went pale, her finger tracing the line up my chest.

I spoke before she could, addressing everyone. "So, I guess what this all means is nothing," I said. "I have the word to get us past the guardian, but the new shield is going to keep us from getting in."

Shelton and Bella traded looks. Zagg consulted with Cinder. MacLean stared at Vallaena who pointedly ignored him and glared at me.

Zagg turned from Cinder and gave me a shake of his head. "The new shield is tethered somewhere inside the chamber. I've been thinking about it, and there's no possible way someone could have just thrown it up in an instant. The enchantment evidently was already in place and just waiting for someone to trigger it."

"There were no wards," Shelton said. "We would have found them."

"It didn't have to be a ward," Zagg replied. "Just an enchantment that needed a word of activation."

"By whom?" I asked. "Ezzek Moore and his gang are dead."

Zagg's eyes flared for an instant, and he flicked his gaze to MacLean. "By the Illuminati." He bolted upright. "You were there. You showed up just minutes before it appeared."

MacLean shoved his chair back and rose. "That's a load of rubbish. If that was the bloody case, why didn't I do it sooner?"

"It's the only answer," Shelton said, adding his two cents. "The freaking Illuminati."

"I didn't do it!" MacLean shouted. "Why would I want to keep us from fixing the bloody thing if it could destroy all of Queens Gate?"

"Wait," I said, holding up a hand. All eyes turned to me. "Will that shield protect the rest of us when the rune goes nuclear?" A spark of hope smoldered in my heart.

Zagg shook his head. "I don't think so. If anything, it might compress the blast and cause it to be even bigger."

"Bigger?" I said, shaking my head in confusion. "How's that?"

The historian clenched a fist. "If you hold a firecracker tight in your hand, it could blow your hand off. If you hold it in the palm of your hand"—he opened his hand—"it'll hurt when it explodes, but it won't destroy your hand."

"Holy crap in a donut box," Shelton said, eyes distant. "He's right. If that thing explodes inside the shield, it could create a shockwave that might take out more than Queens Gate. It might collapse the way station cave and cause half of London to sink into the ground."

"Technically, the explosion will be more concentrated," Cinder said. "I do not think half of London would be destroyed. Perhaps only a quarter of it."

"Okay, I get it," I said, waving my hands in surrender. "We're screwed. There's no way inside the shield, and nothing short of a big explosion can take it out."

"That's not technically true," Vallaena said in a quiet voice.

The room went absolutely still.

"And?" I said, implying ellipses at the end of the word.

"It is possible we could summon a hellhound on the other side of the shield."

"What good would that do us?" I imagined the poor dog running in circles on the other side, and drooling on the floor.

She pursed her lips. "If you give me the demon name, I may be able to summon a hellhound on the other side of the barrier and imprint the name on it. It could then morph into human shape, and speak the demon name."

"Are you certain?" I asked.

"Of course not, but we can try."

I tried to speak the demon name, but my tongue got in the way. I saw the name emblazoned in my thoughts, the intricate pattern and the associated sounds clear as day, but I couldn't form them with my lips.

"I can't say it," I said. I tried again, and made a horrible gurgling noise.

"The name has been sealed to you," she said. "You can only send it to the demon, or imprint it on your own summoned demon."

"You're saying I can imprint it on a hellhound, but I can't give you the name to do that?"

"That is exactly what I'm saying." She frowned. "It means I have no choice but to teach you how to summon a hellhound."

"I don't like the sound of that," Elyssa muttered, giving me a worried look.

I didn't like it any better than she did.

Chapter 44

"Summon a hellhound?" I regarded Vallaena warily. I checked the date and time on my phone. "We have two days until kabloom." I projected a huge holographic timer above the table with my phone. "Forty-eight hours, people. That's it. This is our last chance." If raising a hellhound was the answer, then, by god, I would learn how to do so.