Chapter 33 Elodie #2
Willow snarls at me, shifting before my very eyes, and I skid across the usually dry soil, trying to brace and ground myself all at once, but it’s futile. My balance is gone, and with the chaos around me, there’s no stopping it.
Her paws hit my chest as she leaps through the air, knocking me clean off my feet. My breath is lodged in my lungs as my pulse rings in my ears, but my body refuses to give up, arms fighting and swinging.
It feels effortless when I connect, slamming my fist into her ribs, managing to knock her off me and rolling us both to the side.
A scream rings out in the distance, but I’m too locked in to be able to tear my gaze away. Before I can get the upper hand, she snaps and snarls, saliva touching my skin, and I try not to puke as her teeth graze my cheek.
Finally managing to suck in a breath, I slam my hands against her chest, her fur slipping beneath my fingers, but it’s enough.
I gasp, my magic coiling through me as I take.
Freely.
Desperately.
Earnestly.
I won’t stop. I can’t.
Even though she’s above me, I manage to leverage my feet, planting them flat on the ground beneath me, offering me a balance as I take some more.
It’s one thing to see the life leave a person, but a wolf? I don’t know if I will recover from it.
Even if it is Willow.
Her eyes sink into her skull, her fur turning gray as she shrinks above me.
The feel of her magic inside of me starts to burn, my hands turning to claws as I she turns to dead weight above me. My palms fall away from her, lying limp at my sides as I try to catch my breath, the sounds of fear, victory, and all-out rage swirling around me.
Disoriented, I heave in a breath and shove her off me, scrambling in the soil, struggling to get back on my feet. I stumble, but a hand lands on my arm, keeping me upright before I fall flat on my face. With bleary eyes, my gaze connects with my father.
“It's okay, Elodie,” he breathes. “You’re okay, but it’s not enough. We’re struggling. Thorne said something about taking down The Vale. That you would know where to go?”
I blink at him, watching his magic swirl around us protectively as I try to piece together what he’s saying. Inhaling sharply once again, I slowly piece together what he’s referring to, and my eyes dart around in search of Thorne.
He’s a few meters away, smoke surrounding him as he tries to shield Ocean, who is writhing on the floor in pain, blood pouring from her nose, and I choke on a sob.
“We must put an end to this once and for all, Elodie. Whatever it takes,” he adds, and I nod in agreement, even though his voice is barely more than a whisper.
“We will hold them off. You need to do whatever you need to do,” he reiterates, and I nod again, adrenaline coursing through my veins as I take a backward step.
Frustration and fear burn deep inside of me as I move toward the bare trees that will lead me to the back side of Institute One, but I’m quickly distracted halfway there when I hear a screech of pain, only to find my mother hovering over Anya, serving her the same justice I just gave her daughter.
It makes me pause, leaving me desperate to be a part of the carnage, shed blood with those I care for in fear of them dying while I’m absent, but Thorne and my father are right, everything must fall.
I move faster than fast with Willow’s magic coursing through my veins. It takes everything I have to fight against the desire to shift as I hurry through the bushes of Institute Thirteen. They quickly meld into those that surround Institute One, and I arrive unscathed.
I startle when the institute comes into view and it’s barren. Don’t they realize we know? Surely someone has noticed a missing mermaid that likes to drown people…
It’s too good to be true.
I still risk it, hurrying down both flights of stairs as fast as I can. It’s only when I reach the steel door at the bottom that I realize my error.
The last time we were here, Ocean did some quirky magic trick that I don’t have the facilities to replicate. I slam my palms against the barrier in frustration, rearing back when it creeks open. Blinking in disbelief, I step into the familiar space, my chest tight with uncertainty.
My heart thunders in my chest as I gape at the space, unaware of what I'm supposed to do now. All I know is whatever Thorne is referring to is supposed to be here. How I make that happen, I don’t know.
My gaze drifts to the well, the missing mermaid still glaringly obvious among the four left behind, and I instinctively take a backward step, refusing to even consider going near that water again.
The sound of the running water feels familiar now as I’m engulfed by the marble that covers the space from top to bottom. Creams and golds glisten across every surface, intertwined in the marble.
I run my hands over every wall, every single inch, floor included, all but the well, but nothing appears as the needed answer. Not even a close inspection of the well and its mermaids offers me anything.
I need to hurry. Fuck knows what’s happening up there while I’m hiding away down here, offering nothing to the situation.
When I find myself in the center of the room again, I fall to my knees in defeat. I squeeze my eyes closed, desperate to figure this shit out, but as hard as I try, it’s to no avail.
Frustration and desperation circle inside of me as I silently beg for something… anything, but all I'm greeted with are visions of Ocean in pain.
I freeze at the sound of hurried footsteps drawing closer, and my eyes fly open. I must act now.
I stare at my trembling fingers, unsure how insane I actually am, as a thought swirls in my mind. Anything is worth a try at this stage.
Taking a deep breath, I turn my hands to the exterior of the water feature, feeling a flash inside my chest at the connection, and it quickly morphs into hope. Magic travels through me. Not my own, or that of another being or their abilities, just… magic.
The sound of something cracking vibrates through the room, and I pry my eyes wide to find it's the wall in the far corner.
I don't know how, but I know I'm on the right track.
Powering on, my muscles tighten, the pain and strength of extracting the magic from the source consuming me, and I panic, unsure if I'm able to do this on my own.
Definitely not when someone’s so close and I have to worry about being attacked from behind.
As if sensing themselves in my thoughts, the door swings open and I freeze, only to find my mother in the doorway.
A sob parts my lips as she rakes her eyes over me, and I offer her the same, noting the blood coating her. I can’t stop the single tear tracking down my face as I try to contain the emotions running through me.
Struggling to catch my breath, I part my lips, but before I can speak, she falls to her knees beside me. “What's the plan?”
I frown at her as she braces her hands in the air, and another bubble of emotion forms inside of me.
“I can't do it alone. I'm trying to use my power to absorb the magic and ruin The Vale,” I choke, struggling to breathe with all of the magic, yet she offers me a gentle smile as she lowers her hands, repeating the same motion as me.
“Power is forged in ruin,” she muses, and I choke, feeling her magic intertwine with mine as we suck everything from the enchanted space.
“Where did you hear that?” I blurt, and her eyes turn glossy.
“It's something my best friend and I used to say when she had her son. It was scary at the time, but he was strong.”
“He?”
She nods. “Walker.”
We both hiss in sync as the magic burns through us, and my heart aches.
Emotions swirl in my gut, but I use all of them to push on through the pain.
My mother sucks in a breath at the same time another crack forms, followed swiftly by another.
It’s a domino effect, one crack leading into another and another until the room starts to crumble around us.
“This could kill us,” she breathes, looking at me, and I nod.
“It’s worth the risk,” I insist, and her lips form a thin line, but she nods in agreement.
“I love you,” she breathes, and I make a croaky noise.
“And if you somehow make it out of this without me, please tell your father that I love him too,” she adds, and my lips part, ready to say what, I'm not entirely sure, but no words come as a yelp rips from my throat, the crumbling overwhelming us as everything turns to darkness, and I can only hope it’s for good.