Unfortunately, so was Sola.
With a thunderous roar, Leif came away from the tree. He reached back and unleashed his own blade. Finally. Kirsgut was free. The sword made Helgrind look like a child’s toy. A large child, but still. Berserker swords were legendary and sized to match the men who wielded them.
He raised the sword to strike.
“My spell,” Sola snarled. Realization had come to her.
Blade up for protection, Jenna spun away from Leif, putting Sola between herself and the wraith. If he struck now, he’d hit Ingvar’s body, and Jenna didn’t think he’d do that with Sola inside her.
But the game was over. There was no reason left to pretend that everything was as it should be. She only prayed that Bridget and Birdie were successful on their end very soon. She pointed her weapon at Sola. “Not working, is it?”
“No, it’s—” The seer’s mouth pulled back in a sneer. “What have you done?”
Jenna brought her blade up slightly, enough to push Sola closer to Leif. “Realized the truth, that’s what.”
Unable to use his blade in such a small space, Leif let it go. It disappeared, no doubt returning to his back.
Jenna supposed that was one less thing to worry about, but she couldn’t spare a glance to see where the rest of her team was. If they hadn’t already started for the circle, now was the time. “Titus, Pandora, Tessa, now.”
“I’m here.” Pandora reached the circle first, but the howl of wolves accompanied her. She threw her hands toward the seer and began a spell of her own to break the circle.
Titus and Hank, in their wolf forms, ran up to flank Pandora. They snarled and snapped at Leif and Sola, pulling the pair’s attention away from Jenna.
Then Tessa showed up, sword raised.
Leif snarled at them, but Sola retreated.
The light that encircled them, protecting Leif and Sola, began to waver.
Leif stopped snarling the second he noticed the magical glow sputtering like a flame about to go out. He looked at Jenna. “I will kill you, valkyrie. I will kill you and take that stone.”
Then he glanced at Sola, eyes wide and edgy with fear. He shook his head at her. A second later, he disintegrated into worms of smoke that burrowed into the air and turned to nothing.
“No,” Sola shouted.
The light vanished, the magic broken. Titus, Hank, and Tessa all lunged forward, but the wraith was gone.
Instinct drove Jenna’s actions. She grabbed the seer’s arm and shoved the tip of Helgrind under her chin. “I know it’s you, Sola. I know what you’ve done. How you’re using Ingvar. How you’ve enchanted Leif to keep him from becoming fully corporeal to spare him from my blade.”
“You know nothing.” Sola tried to pull away, but Jenna held firm.
She looked at Pandora. “Any word from Birdie and Bridget?”
Pandora nodded. “They got her. Taking her to Alice now. Which is where we need to bring Sola. Ingvar. Whoever this is.”
Hank and Titus returned to their human forms. Hank unhooked a pair of handcuffs from his belt. “These’ll help.”
“I’m not so sure,” Jenna said. “She poofed away just like Leif did last time. Her magic skills are obviously pretty strong.”
Hank dangled the bracelets off his index finger. “These aren’t my regular cuffs. These are the ones Alice fixed up for special circumstances.”
“In that case, be my guest.” The sooner Jenna could put Helgrind away, the better. Not only were the runes still open, but having the sword out would only further entice the wraith to come back. She wasn’t ready to face him again. Not without a plan.
Titus came to Jenna immediately. “Are you all right? Your cheek is bleeding. You’ve got some pretty nasty-looking scratches.”
“It’s just a flesh wound. I’m good. Should you be in here? What about the wolfsbane?”
“It’s been neutralized. And Sola, thankfully, didn’t add more when she rebuilt the circle.” He frowned, his gaze still on her cheek. “If it’s just a flesh wound, why hasn’t it healed yet?”
“A wraith’s touch contains death. Just means it’s going to take longer to heal. But it will.” She sighed and scanned the surrounding woods. “I am not happy about Leif getting away, but it couldn’t be helped.”
Hank cuffed Sola’s hands behind her back. She hissed as the metal touched her skin and instantly seemed to shrink down inside herself.
Jenna turned to her, staring into her friend’s eyes, looking for any glint that Ingvar was still in there. “Ingvar?”
“Jenna.” The word was a whisper, and a second later, her knees buckled, her eyes rolled back in her head, and she went down.
Hank caught her. “You think the bad one’s gone?”
Jenna shook her head. “No. At best, she’s been subdued by whatever magic Alice put in those cuffs. At worst…she’s licking her wounds and planning her revenge.”
“She won’t get that far,” Pandora said. Cole, in raven form, landed on her shoulder. She reached up and stroked his head. “The coven will see to that.”
“Speaking of…” Hank walked out of the circle with Ingvar in his arms. “We should get her to Alice’s as soon as possible so whatever needs to be done can be done.”
Pandora nodded. “Yes. Removing Sola may not be easy. I’m thinking she’s had possession of that body for far too long.”
“Don’t forget,” Jenna said. “Alice needs Sola’s blood to break the spells we’re under.”
“Right.” Pandora gave her a quick smile, but it turned to concern. “Your cheek doesn’t look so good. You should get that checked out.”
Jenna waved her concern away. “It’s fine. I’ve had wraith damage before. Just needs time. But I will go back to the house and clean it. That’ll help. Then we’ll meet you at Alice’s. We’ll just be a few minutes behind you. Go ahead.”
“Why don’t you come with us?”
“Because you need to get Ingvar to Alice’s, and I need to close these
