“We’re with you, brother,” Ray said. “Whatever it takes.”

“I’ll take the tail.” Rourke motioned to Ray. “You take the heads.” He nodded at Tyler. “You take the flank. Get it to the ground as quick as you can.”

It wasn’t the best plan ever, but I might work. I nodded my head grudgingly in agreement. Tyler turned to me, squaring his shoulders. “Once we get it down,” he added, “you three move down the hallway and open up a door. This thing is going to make noise. We need to be out of here quickly if any demons come running.”

“Got it,” I said, glancing at Selene. Her expression was still only one step away from shell-shocked. I guess finding out you’re already dead is a lot to take in, even for a queen bitch. A teensy bit of sympathy welled up in my mind and my wolf snarled, snapping her jaws at me. I know, but she’s pitiful. Why do we have to bear witness to her unraveling? That doesn’t seem fair. My wolf flashed me a picture of us with power, taking down evil. I know it’s our job. I also know that if Selene were at full strength she’d be trying to kill us and exact her revenge. I’m sorry, but that doesn’t make this any easier to tolerate. Did you get a good look at her face? My wolf gnashed her teeth. It doesn’t make me weak, it just makes me human. And guess what? I like being human. My wolf glanced away, nosing her muzzle at me. For a supernatural diva, that was a hard compromise. I understood why, but forgiveness and empathy were the only two things keeping me rooted in reality. And once I lost that, I didn’t want to think about what the world would look like.

Lili took Rourke’s proffered T-shirt. “I guess this will have to do. It’s bigger than anything else we have.” She shook it out.

Yes, yes it was.

“There’s no time to debate this,” Rourke said. “Let’s move. I want Jessica safe.” He eyed the orthrus. “If we make this a concentrated effort and act at the same time, we can best it, at least for a few moments. If that spell doesn’t work, it will be a different story.”

“It will work,” Lili said. “I swear to it.”

“I can help,” I added. “If I morph to Lycan, it won’t be hard. I can hold it down with Tyler.”

“No,” Rourke said, shaking his head. “There’s barely any room for us to maneuver around with that thing in this hallway. Your job will be getting us into the rooms.”

Ray went shoulder to shoulder with Rourke. “This thing is going to be like a bucking bronco,” he commented. “Sounds like my idea of good time.” He grinned and rubbed his hands together, his irises jumping to silver.

Tyler stood right behind them. “On three,” Rourke said, turning to Lili. “You get its attention, toss the vial and the shirt, and then we’ll spring.”

Lili took a step forward, her voice low and soothing. “Here we go, boy,” she coaxed. It snarled and shook its heads. “You love this stuff.” She shook the vial in front of it. “Remember? The last time you woke up you didn’t remember a thing and the sleep is so very peaceful.”

Last time?

The orthrus paced to the side like a crab as Lili took a step closer. One of its heads extended and right as it snapped its jaws, the demoness tossed the vial.

There was a crunch and she took several paces forward and threw Rourke’s T-shirt at its two heads.

It grabbed the shirt and shook it like a puppy with a rag toy. Worst plan ever.

“Crap!” I yelled.

“Doesn’t matter,” Ray shouted. “We’re going in.”

All three sprang at the same time.

Ray landed right in front of it, grabbing a snout under each arm. Rourke dove for the tail as I held my breath. Tyler took the flank, shoving the beast up against the wall with his shoulder right as it started to bellow.

Rourke was fierce, his back bending, muscles flexing as he took the tail right below its head with both fists. It lashed out at him, but he held on, turning his back into the flank to help Tyler. Sweat glistened along his chest, which was easy to see without his shirt on.

That man was pure heaven even in the midst of Hell.

“You’re not… going to win,” Ray ground out. “I can hold my own against you.” As the beast bucked its long necks, it repeatedly tossed Ray into the wall. “I’m not letting go, you dickweed, no matter how many times you bang me… up… against… ow.”

Once the beast was significantly pinned and had started to slow its efforts, Tyler yelled, “Go! Get into the rooms. We’ll follow you as soon as we can.”

Lili leaped forward, slipping by the howling beast at an angle. I followed, grabbing Selene by the arm and tugging her along with me. “Where’s the entrance?” I yelled.

“It’s camouflaged in the rock,” Lili answered. “My magic should still be able to break the code, but if not… you will have to do it.”

“Of course I will,” I grumbled. “You keep making this stuff sound easy, except it’s not. What’s going to be waiting for us inside, a griffin?”

“There will be nothing inside, except for relief,” she said. “Nothing is allowed to enter these rooms without permission, something the Prince does not give to anyone.”

Lili ran her hands over the rock ten feet from where the boys were still struggling with the orthrus.

“How long is the spell going to take to activate?” I asked, glancing back with trepidation. The snake tail still giving my mate a run for his money, and if he was bitten, I was going to lose it all over this hallway. We’d already encountered venom from the Underworld in the form of rabid bats. This would likely be much worse, judging by the size of the beast. I had no idea if I could cure Rourke if I needed to.

“It should be weakening soon,” Lili said, irritation in her voice. After a few more failed attempts to find the door, she dropped her hands. “The passageway is not here.”

“What do you mean, not here?” I moved up beside her and ran my hands along the wall, searching for anything I could find. “A doorway doesn’t move.” Well, it usually didn’t.

“The Prince has guarded against my attempts more than he ever has before. Even after all our many spats, this entry was still accessible to me through magic. I don’t understand it.” She appeared genuinely confused as she shook her head. “It should be here, and I should be able to sense it.”