Chapter Fourteen
W hen we first arrived at the location where Blake was being held, we were greeted by a lone perimeter guard. I made quick work of dispatching him, saying a silent prayer to the Gods asking forgiveness for my actions.
Taking a life never gets any easier. Even when the being was corrupt, full of hate and wickedness, like the foes we are facing off against now. Then again, no matter how dark the soul may be, snuffing it out should never be an easy task.
So all-in-all, I think that I am alright if this kind of task still feels like a fist to the stomach.
Forsythia and I make our way toward the mouth of the cave. For being an incredibly clumsy woman, that aspect of her seems to become dormant in battle mode. She has not tripped or anything once we got close enough to be heard.
She crouches behind a rock and peers at the beings surrounding the cave. I mimic her movements but can’t take my eyes off her.
How did the Gods deem me so worthy of such a mate? I will never doubt them again. She is everything I could ever have dreamed of and more. And the way we were together last night was–
She snaps her head in my direction, and I try to hide the smirk on my face. I know that she can feel my arousal through our soul-bond. I cannot say that I am mad about that, but I try to push those feelings down.
We need to focus on our plan of action.
She rolls her eyes and offers me a small smile before turning her attention back to the cave and the cultists congregating not far from it. There are eleven of those beings.
A two-to-eleven ratio may seem unbalanced, but with our level of magickal abilities, those eleven foes don’t stand a chance.
We should be able to take them on without any problems, but their magicks are corrupt and a bit unpredictable. So instead of barreling in there, our best course of action is a distraction and sneak attack. I tap Forsythia, and when she turns to me, I point at the sky, then wiggle my fingers as I pull my hand down. She nods, understanding the message I am trying to convey.
She turns around and sits down with her back to the rock. She digs her fingers into the earth and takes some steadying breaths. The sky begins to gray, and I hear the low rumble of thunder. As she removes her hands from the ground, droplets begin to fall from the sky. I know the rain won’t last long with her attention divided, but it should be enough to get the enemies all in one spot.
We watch as one group moves closer to the mouth of the cave.
Unfortunately, there is a second group that seems to contain the one who acts as a leader, and he, along with three of his men, turn and heads in another direction.
Once the second group is far enough away that we no longer register their heartbeats, I reach into the ground and out through the roots. I cannot decipher one of them from another, but I can feel them moving together. They move purposefully and quickly.
When they arrive at the point where I have to strain my senses to know that they are still moving away, I know that they will not be able to hear anything that is about to happen.
We will simply have to find them later and deal with them then.
I pull my awareness back into myself and give a small nod to Forsythia before we move down to greet the other seven of Blake’s captors.
We are just behind the treeline when Forsythia proves that not all of her clumsiness has left her. She trips and yelps, drawing the attention of all seven men. They form a defensive line immediately, and I quickly pull Forsythia behind the closest tree with me.
She grimaces up at me. “Sorry,” she says in a dejected tone.
“It is fine. We just change our strategy a little.” A fireball whizzes past us. “Use your air shield and try to confine them.”
She nods and pops back out from behind the tree before I can stop her.
The only downside to my mate is that she has no qualms at all about throwing herself in front of danger. After watching her come back from certain death, I don’t doubt the hardiness of her being.
After watching her die, though?
Yeah, I would prefer to keep my mate out of harm’s way. That is a battle I will have to learn to fight on my own, though, because I will never stop her from doing what she feels is right. It is her purpose, and the Gods could not have chosen a better magickal being for it.
I follow behind her as she snaps the shield down. It does not close behind them, though, and a few are already lobbing curses and magicks over the barrier. Her lips purse hard together, and she holds the barrier with her left hand while reaching out with her right and tugging hard.
I am not quite sure what she did or intended to do, but the closest being on that side comes forward quickly. Too quickly…
He slams into the air shield with a deafening crunch. His mangled body collapses to the ground. Forsythia releases the air shield to cover her shocked mouth with both hands.
“I don’t know how I did that,” she mumbles softly.
There is a momentary stillness that washes over all of us as we grasp the concept that Forsythia is truly far more than a force to be reckoned with. The remaining eight feinds recover from the brief shock of their dead comrade and begin to run at us.
I cannot help that my first reaction is to protect my mate. Blame it on the soul-bond, but I know that it is more my personality quirk than anything. It is not that I find my mate incapable.
It is simply the fact that she is precious to me.
My body moves in front of hers, and my wings snap around her. The fireballs the beings send out smack into my back, but my magick greedily eats them up. Forsythia wiggles out of my hold, and I have enough sense not to stop her. She sees the ashes on my back, and something snaps in her eyes.
Pure rage reflecting from their golden depths.
She raises her hands, and the wind picks up, swirling around her body. I want to admire her and all her glory, but the enemies in the back are trying to use her distraction to their advantage, and I cannot allow that.
Spinning around quickly to face them, I drop to one knee and slam my fingers into the earth. The hum of my magick vibrates deep in my chest, and a small sound escapes my lips as I pull the roots of the trees, thanking them for the help they eagerly give.
The roots snap out like vines. They wrapping around three of the enemies in the back, pinning their arms to their sides. One continues to attempt to toss magicks with his restricted arms, so I tug the roots, and they respond by snapping the bones of his arms. He screams, the sound making my stomach flip.
I was not made to dole out death by torture. I need this to end quickly.
Reaching up with three separate roots, I wrap them around the beings’ necks. Their movements stop with a snap, and I release the roots so that they may sink back into the earth, pulling the bodies with them to help feed their soil. That will make clean-up much simpler.
When I turn back, I see two more bodies on the ground in a mangled mess. Forsythia has another two pinned to the ground with an air shield while facing-off with the last. I flick a fireball at the bodies on the ground, incinerating them almost instantly with my intense fire magicks. I turn my attention to the two she has pinned and applies pressure on the shield with my own air abilities. Shoving them into the Earth, who greedily takes them into her belly.
At some point, I must have gained the attention of the last enemy. He charges me, but Forsythia grabs ahold of him with some type of ability, much like she did with the other one. She inhales deeply, and as she does, the being visibly suffocates, as in you can see his body sinking into itself as he struggles and gasps.
That is when it all becomes clear. She can manipulate the elements to their fullest, including when those elements reside in a living body.
The cultist’s eyes roll back in his head as his pasty complexion becomes increasingly riddled with black veins. He stops struggling, and I hear his heartbeat stop. Still, Forsythia does not let him go. I walk to my mate and lay my hand gently on her shoulder.
“It’s done, Animus Meus .“ I tell her with as much calm and comfort as I can project in my voice.
She blinks at me for a moment, almost as if she is confused. Her attention snaps back to the dead body she still has ahold of before she jumps back and lets it drop to the ground. When her eyes meet mine again, they are filled with tears.
I wrap her in my arms and flick a flame at the body behind her, sending it to ash before she is forced to look at it again. I rub my hands up and down her back, and she finally speaks.
“I killed them,” she says in a small voice.
I pull her far enough away so that she can look me in the eyes. “Yes, you did. You did the task the Gods gave you. You took a gift back that was given to them and that they abused. You did nothing wrong.” I beg her to see the truth of my words reflected in my eyes.
She takes a moment longer, steadying her breath, before she nods at me and offers a small smile.
“You are absolutely right. Thank you, Lucian.” She gives me a small kiss on the cheek and steps back.
With all of the bodies taken care of, we make our way to the mouth of the cave. Knowing that Blake may not be in the best condition, I move my body in front of hers.
“I will lead us in.” When she raises an eyebrow and places a fist on her cocked hip, I realize I chose my words poorly. “I only mean that I am more skilled with healing and can assess the situation.” I hope that excuse–which is not at all a lie–is enough to placate her.
She chews on the inside of her cheek a little, then nods. I take that as my cue and turn to walk into the cave.
I pray to the Gods with every step that her mate is not beyond my abilities.
If he is, I do not think my calm will be enough to quell her rage.