Broken Souls (Book of Shadows)

Fifty-Five

Fifty-Five

HER

“I need to tell you something,” my sister says, her voice squeaky as she sits down in the armchair beside me. I’m instantly suspicious of what she’s about to admit to.

“What did you do?” I ask, my eyes narrowing.

“Nothing.” She shakes her head. Her hands twist in her lap. “Well, no. I –”

My eyes widen. I jump to my feet as Varius’ panic comes down our bond. I’ve never felt him terrified before. “Sau!” I scream as I run out of the living room.

“Micha!” Lou gasps as she follows me. “What –” Her confusion disappears as she full on yells, “Dayne! Get off the toilet!”

I skid into the kitchen and spin towards Sau.

“What’s wrong?” she asks. She’s in the middle of pouring blood onto the counter. A dark energy shifts under the grain and eats the meal it’s given.

“Can you feel Varius?” I demand. When Khalid almost died a few months ago, she felt it. She’s connected to her children in some way I don’t understand.

“No. Why? What’s wrong?”

“Have you felt him in danger before?” The words are rushing out, almost quicker than my thoughts.

“Yes. Every time he was attacked.” She looks grim, and I see the realization in her eyes. “Get everyone down to the basement. I’m bringing out my monsters.”

I spin on my heels and grab Lou’s arm just as Dayne skids into the room. “What’s going –”

“Mole rat.” It’s our codeword for ‘you cannot help; you will get in the way; you helping will get us killed.’

He curses as I shove Lou towards him. “Take her to the basement and stay there. Do not open the door for anyone. I need to get my wand.”

“Micha!” Lou shouts.

But I’m already running through the living room to head upstairs, and Dayne is pulling her towards the basement. I need my wand. I’m useless without it. Charging into our room, I aim straight for the weapons cabinet. A movement outside catches my attention though. I turn my head as I continue to run, but then my feet root to the floor in horror.

“They have a witch!” I shout towards the open door as my stomach drops to my feet. Leno’s plants in the meadow in front of the house, our first line of defense, are curling up and dying, starting from the far end. Like a black wave of death, the spell rushes towards us. I spin on my heels, practically throwing myself at the cabinet. I yank open the doors to grab my wand.

Pulling up my shirt, I point the kezja horn at my stomach and give it a few rapid flicks while saying, “Elfesi navis.”

Warmth floods over my belly, protecting my skin. I can’t put a spell on my baby herself. She’s too young. The magic will kill her faster than Antonio can. I point the wand at my back and repeat the spell. My skin will be like stone. Not impenetrable, but it’s all I know. I haven’t bonded with the wand fully yet. I haven’t relearned all my spells.

“Shit!”

Grabbing a knife with my free hand –I don’t have time to load a gun– I run from the room.

Dayne meets me in the hall.

“You need to be in the basement,” I yell.

“Varius will kill me if I hide without you. If I’m dying either way, it’s going to be by your side.”

I grit my teeth. “Lou?”

“She’s in there with the dog.”

“Fuck. Come on.”

As we hurry down the stairs, I catch sight of Stormie’s back (Enoch’s fiance, who arrived just a few days ago), but she’s rushing towards the basement with Khalid’s girl. I turn for the kitchen with Dayne. My mother-in-law is still standing at the counter, but this time, both her hands are hovering over it.

“They’re killing all the pla–”

“Arise.”

My eyes widen as a massive praying-mantis, scythe-like claw rises out of the counter in a swirl of pitch-black ink. More of that ink pours off the counter on all sides, crashing to the ground and curling up like the mist at the bottom of a waterfall. Sau steps back as another claw shoots out of the counter. I want to keep staring, but my assassin training kicks in. Focus. React. Move.

“They have a witch. She’s breaking through the wards.”

She ignores me as she looks at Dayne. “Go down to the basement.”

“Not with Micha.”

“Then take her.”

“Sau! You can’t take them on your own. Antonio nearly killed you.”

“He won’t this time.”

I glance at the monster climbing out of the counter, but I don’t hesitate for long.

“Come on,” I tell Dayne as I peel out of the kitchen. We rush through the house, and the hairs on my neck rise. The memory of the last time I did this assaults me. My blood chills. Panic flairs through me. He promised to come back for my daughter.

I won’t let him.

But whatever was killing the plants was moving fast. The werewolves will be here as soon as they break through the property ward. How they can send a spell through it, I don’t know. My mind flashes back to the ward I set up around the basement the last time. Antonio walked straight through it.

Shit.

The basement safe room isn’t going to save anyone. The ward’s weaker than it was when I broke it; whatever witch they have on their side is strong. Still, what other chance do we have?

This is going to be a war between super werewolves and Sau’s monsters. We’ll be nothing but canon fodder to both sides.

“Shit,” Dayne says from behind me, and I turn my head to find him looking out the window. I twist back around to peer through it.

“Fuck.”

My heart rate increases. The plants are all dead, the ward is down, and there is a hundred-odd werewolves charging straight towards us. They’ll be on us in seconds. Pure terror comes down our bond. Fear for my safety. He knows.

Followed by determination and a need for violence. He’s coming –

A sudden shockwave shakes the house. I start to fall over, but Dayne catches me before I can knock into the wall.

“What the hel was that?” I ask, but the answer is out the window. A black dome has shot up around the property. Not around the house itself but behind the wolves. Their witch is trapping us all in here. Varius’ rage tells me he didn’t make it in. No!

“It’s Sau’s,” Dayne says grimly.

“What?”

He nods at the wolves. They’ve slowed down a little, and they look more restless. “They’re afraid,” he says.

“Why would she…” I close my eyes briefly. Of course. If her boys come back and try to fight them, they’ll die. If her monsters escape and run through St. Augustine, the seven archangels will come down to smite us all. There’s no back-up for us. Either Sau kills them all with her monsters or we die.

She’s just saved Varius...and I can’t hate her for that.

I love you. I push that through our bond, hoping that he can feel it.

“Shit, I can see why she’s named,” Dayne breathes, and I open my eyes.

My jaw drops as I watch a massive shadow form in front of the house. The first row of werewolves run into it and immediately get attacked by the monsters inside. They’re dragged down on howls of pain. The second row jumps back and snaps their teeth, but the third row barrels into them and shoves them forward.

Monstrous tentacles, claws, and teeth reach up out of the dark. It’s like Sau’s rung a dinner bell, and all her kids have come to feast. They grab hold of the werewolves and use them to drag themselves up. Monsters of all shapes and sizes now rip free and turn on the other wolves in a frenzy.

“Come on,” I say. We need to get down to the basement. If one of them sees Dayne, they’ll attack him just as fast as they will our enemies. He doesn’t have Shadow blood in his veins.

But just as I turn from the window, I whip my head back. I thought I saw a person out there, someone with wild red hair. Is it their witch? Did they see us?

Shit!

“Come on!” I race for the basement; Dayne’s right beside me. The glass behind us shatters. I risk a look behind me, needing to know if it’s their witch or a wolf or a monster to know what evasive action I need to take. My eyes widen at the speed the thing’s moving. It must be one of the super soldiers Antonio’s made.

“Don’t stop!” Dayne shouts as he throws up a pale-blue shield behind us. It reaches across the span of the hall. The werewolf slams into it and bounces back. He growls at it, then rakes his claws back and forth across it. Sparks fly off as he keeps shaving his claws, the magic burning everything that touches it, but the ward is starting to break.

We’re not going to be able to outrun it. I stop and turn, then lift my wand. Power curses through me. It’s hot and mad and fueled by a mother’s fear.

“Micha –” Dayne says as he swings towards me.

“Drop the shield,” I order.

He curses, but he lifts his hands to do so.

The shield comes down just as I release my spell. It rips down the wand, lighting up a trail of purple lines within it, then explodes out the tip in a sharp line.

The wolf snarls as it races forward, but then it howls as the spell hits it square in the face. It stops in its tracks as purple flames consume it within seconds. It’s only a few feet from us, having crossed all that distance in a split second.

“Damn,” Dayne says as it crumbles to our feet. “When did they get that fast?”

“Antonio’s been giving them –” I break off on a scream as Dayne sags forward, blood pouring out of his mouth. A human hand I know all too well is poking out of his belly.

“Sau!” I scream as I turn to fight Antonio. I know she’ll be too late for me, but I’m hoping she’ll heal him.

I flick my wrist to call on another fire ball. Although he is still touching Dayne, I can control each individual flame. They will not hurt my friend.

But Antonio grabs the wand just as it starts to fire. He shoves its tip towards Dayne. My eyes widening, I focus on dousing the flames before they can touch him.

While I’m distracted, Antonio yanks the wand out of my hand and tosses it away. Then his fist slams towards my jaw, but all my training with Sau has given me quicker reactions than I had before. I lean away, and the blow he was going for ends up more as a graze. Unfortunately, with his power, that still hits fucking hard.

My head whips to the side as I stagger in front of Dayne. I try to focus through the pain and double vision.

Antonio still has his arm through my friend, so for now he’s keeping all his blood in.

My eyes widen, though, as I notice Dayne’s lifting both his arms. Clocking what he’s going for, I pretend to stumble around. If I attack Antonio, he’s going to rip his arm free, but if he thinks I’m helpless, he’ll take the time to gloat.

“I told you I’d be back for you –” His words turn into a sudden clenching of teeth. The smell of burning meat hits the air as Dayne electrocutes him with both hands. I lunge past them, dropping my knife as I scramble for my wand.

I snatch it up and turn, already preparing a spell before I aim. A blast of fire starts to shoot out of the tip, but Antonio is already gone, having fought off Dayne’s magic and ripped himself away. I swing the wand to my left, where I just manage to catch a blur of motion before he slams into me. I don’t get the chance to release the spell.

It seems it doesn’t matter how much I trained with Sau to be able to track her movements; Antonio is simply too damn fast.

The back of my head hits the wall with a crack!

My vision narrows, then blurs.

His blood-stained hand goes around my throat and lifts me off my feet. “Where’s your magic gone, Shadow whore?”

Cupping my hands I smack both his ears. As he releases my throat, I wrap my legs around his waist and shove my thumbs into his eyes. I press down hard, but before I can blind him, he grabs both my wrists and wrenches them back.

Crack!

I cry out as bones poke out of my skin, and my knuckles hit the top of my forearms.

He tears me off him, then throws me at the wall. I hit it and slide down. Ribs break. A lung’s punctured. More agony shoots through me as I land on my wrists. Vomit is forced out of me. I start to go into shock.

This is the end.

I know it.

Closing my eyes, I cry over not having finished my bond with Varius. At least then I could find him in the next life.

Tears roll down my cheeks.

I’m sorry, Varius.

I’m sorry I’m not strong enough to survive...

Ignoring the pain, I press an arm to my stomach, trying so hard to feel my baby one last time. The spell I cast on myself is still there, protecting her. Tears burn my eyes. Will it protect her long enough for Sau to get here? Can she save Rafiki when she’s not even nineteen weeks old?

Rafiki… What a stupid name.

But gods, if she lives… I’ll gladly name her whatever he wants.

Just let her live.

Please.

A little foot kicks inside my belly. My eyes snap open as I hear her urging me on.

Get up, ma. The fight ain’t over yet.

Gritting my teeth, I focus on the magic inside of me. I need my hands or my wand to use it though.

But I don’t need either with black magic.

I just need to be willing to sacrifice a human.

Luckily, there is an army of werewolves I hate outside.

Opening my mouth, reacting on instinct, I start to invoke the darkness that always surrounds us witches. I touch it, and it feels ancient, all-powerful. It feels my veins and urges me to let it free.

But it isn’t an incantation that comes out of me. It’s a blood-stained gasp as Antonio’s foot slams into the arm protecting my belly. My vision narrows as agony threatens to send me into the dark.

I dig my nails into the world of consciousness.

My arms are burning nerves of molten fire, dragging me back down. But I can’t leave my baby.

I’m the only one here to protect her.

Kneeling down in front of me, Antonio grabs my arm. I’m struggling to breathe, wheezing from my punctured lung. My chest is half-collapsed, deformed from its injuries. I’m pretty certain I have a concussion. I’m bleeding from multiple places, both inside and out.

Yet, still I try, reaching for the dark magic inside of me.

He yanks my arm away. My eyes roll back into my head as he slams it on the floor. The sound of ripping flesh hurts my ears, and I open my eyes to see he’s shifted his hand into that of a werewolf’s.

My heart pounds rapidly as I realize what he’s about to do. I want to scream, but my throat is too crushed and bruised.

“Heal her a bit, Eduardo,” Antonio purrs. “I want her awake for this.”

A hand touches my forehead, and warmth flows into me. My worse wounds start to heal. I open my mouth to try to take advantage of the opportunity, but Antonio shoves his hand into my stomach, easily breaking through my magic, and all I can do is scream.

He gropes around inside me, searching for the life I’d sell my soul to protect. I pray to every god I know, offering them anything and everything, but I’ve already given them my magic. There’s nothing else they want.

White light flows through me as Eduardo keeps me from passing out.

Please….

Please…

“Varius!” I scream, trusting him to save me. “Varius!”

But he doesn’t come.

Antonio jerks his hand out, revealing a bloody fist.

He opens it to show me my little baby girl in the palm of his hand, still inside her amniotic sac.

“No!”

He poises a claw over her.

I struggle to reach her, to help her in some way, but my body is broken. My arms are useless. I reach for the dark magic once more, but my words falter on another scream as I watch him tear open the only thing still keeping her alive, still allowing her to breathe.

Her partially-formed lungs try desperately to work. She’s trying so hard to survive despite everything that’s stacked against her. She’s too young for this world. She’s too fucking young!

“Don’t…” I cry as I watch her struggle. “Don’t…please.”

Leave her alone.

“Please…”

He laughs at me, cold and cruel. “I begged Sau to save my mate and pups, and do you know what she did?”

I reach a broken arm out to my baby, wanting to hold her, to take her from him. But my hands are still destroyed. My wrists are still snapped back. He grabs my broken hand with his free one and clamps my knuckles into my arm. I cry out in utter agony.

“Nothing,” he hisses. “She let them die.”

“I’m not...her,” I whimper.

“No. But you are a Shadow whore.”

Releasing me, he grabs Rafiki by her head and lifts her up. She’s still breathing, and my heart trips in my chest.

“Please…” I cry. “Please don’t –”

“Do you know how my pups died?” he asks without emotion. “They were eaten by the monsters in her shadows.”

I scream as he lifts her above his head and then opens his mouth.

I keep screaming as he lowers the bottom half of her between his lips.

I keep screaming long after he bites her in half, after he sucks out her organs and intestines and the last flicker of her life.

I scream.

And I scream.

And I scream.

His eyes widen as he swallows. “That’s not a witch,” he says as he jumps to his feet.

He drops Rafiki to the ground, letting her splatter like a blob of ice cream.

My scream becomes all that I am. Broken and raspy. My vocal chords snap as I keep my eyes on my little girl.

I never got to hold her.

I need to hold her.

She needs to be held by her mother at least once.

Sobbing, I will my body to move. To reach my little girl.

I need to hold her.

I need to hold her.

“Heal her enough to transport. She’s coming with us.”

White light flows around me. My wrists snap back into place. The bones shift back to where they belong. The rest of my wounds are fixed, but all I’m concentrating on is the fact that I can move my hands again. That I can hold my little girl before I’m taken away.

But just as my fingers are about to stroke her little head, Eduardo steps on my hand. I cry out, not from the pain of all my bones being crushed beneath his heel but because I know I will never get to hold my daughter.

I sob as he drags me away from her. I dig my nails into the floor, trying to claw myself back to her. She’s so small and alone.

She needs her mother.

She needs her mother!

But instead, I’m picked up by Antonio and hauled over his shoulder. I beat his back. I scream at him to let me go. I should be doing more. Fighting properly. But my strength, my ability to think clearly is all gone. All I know is grief.

Heart stopping, unsurvivable grief.

And then the world is gone as I’m transported out of the Shadow home.