Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
Theo’s grip on my wrist makes me realize what I’m about to do, giving Tobias enough time to reach me.
Tobias grips my wrist along with him but the darkness is stronger as it surges through me.
Sparks move up my arm from their touch, and I can feel Tobias and Theo lending me their strength through the bond as I fight against the darkness. Encouraging me to fight for them.
“You don’t want to do this, Imogen,” Tobias says, his grip tight on my arm.
I feel like I’m stuck, not able to move, frozen in time, when the fog rushes over me.
Only this time I don’t shake it off, I let it move over me, letting it relax me and I throw all my focus on the feeling of the fog calming and muting my thoughts that are racing.
I take a deep breath, concentrating on my breathing, and I release Theo, falling backwards on the grass.
Theo pants as he catches his breath, Tobias lying flat on his back, and I know he can feel the pain Theo is in.
I can still feel the darkness trying to force its way back, force its control over me as the storm above us rages to magnitude levels.
Theo, regaining his strength, sits up and brushes his hand over mine, but I pull mine away.
I fear what I could have done to him. I did this, and I finally understood what Theo meant.
I’m addicted to the power, addicted to the feeling it gives me.
And when I’m like this, I forget who I am, forget what they mean to me.
“I’m okay, Imogen,” he says, trying to reassure me.
I shake my head, guilt eating away at me.
I could have killed him, and destroyed Tobias because I let my emotions get the better of me, let the magic have the control it wants.
But most of all, I’m losing who I am to something that is going to destroy me and those I love.
Tobias brushes his hand down my back as Theo crouches in front of me.
Torn between what I know I need to do and what I crave.
I crave the power that is within me, like a drug.
A drug I don’t want to admit is a problem.
But my love for them outweighs it. I know if I let the magic have control, if I give in to it. I’m not only going to lose myself. I’m going to lose them, too. That isn’t a sacrifice I’m willing to make.
Thinking of Thaddeus, tears run down my face; I’m angry with myself and what I’ve allow myself to become.
“We are going to work this out, Imogen,” Theo says, making me look at him.
Theo is drenched in blood and I did that to him, and he is still here trying to make me feel better even though I hurt them.
He is right, we are going to work this out, but at this moment, I’m a danger to them, a danger to myself.
Theo and Tobias must sense my guilt as they both try to reach for me, but I shake them off.
“Run.” I don’t know what makes them move, Theo and Tobias are suddenly gone from my side. I won’t risk it taking over. I won’t risk losing them when they are all I have left.
I feel it running over me, white hot and angry, the storm reacting to my emotions as I feel it hit me.
The pain rippling through me as I feel it strike me down.
Pulling all the energy from the storm, I direct it to where I stand.
I scream when it zaps through me. The pain isn’t like anything I have felt before.
The sort of pain where you wish for death just so it will be over with.
Every muscle in my body tenses and spasms. Pain shoots down my neck as the power burns up and sizzles, hot like lava.
The pain cripples me, as I feel the magic leave me.
Forcing it back into the broken bracelet that sits on my wrist. Now I know why Witches have talismans.
Sometimes the power is more than we can handle and as much as I want it.
I can’t control it. My magic isn’t worth losing everything.
It isn’t worth losing them. I feel the last remnants of my magic travel down my arm and creep out of my fingertips.
There’s a feeling of emptiness before I feel my body give in to the pain radiating throughout me.
I felt like my soul is being sucked out of my body.
My magic has become such a big part of me, and now it’s gone.
I felt my fight go with it. I can live without my magic; I can’t live without them.
My body becomes heavy as I can’t hang on to consciousness any longer and I don’t want to.
The pain becomes unbearable. I just hope when I wake up, it doesn’t hurt anymore, and I can’t hurt them anymore.
The last thing I remember is feeling slight relief as I feel familiar sparks of the bond travel over my body.
I’m being lifted just before I see the darkness of unconsciousness.
She loses control. One minute she is fine, but now I can feel the darkness swirling within her.
She is a ticking time bomb about to explode.
Theo knows firsthand what the darkness is capable of, and I can feel his fear coming through to me as he watches her eyes blaze.
The entire house shakes and the power flickers.
It worries me that the entire place could come down around us as it rocks violently.
Theo glances at me, and I know what he is going to do, although I’m anxious about him being close to her while she is like this.
Thaddeus screams loudly from the noise, stirring in my arms. Theo reacts quickly as he grabs her, a blur flying past as he runs her outside.
Dad and Mom stare on helplessly, unsure of what is going on.
They know she has dark magic but hasn’t seen the destruction she can cause.
Handing Thaddeus off to my mother, I run to help Theo, knowing he will be the first one to cop the brunt of her anger.
What I’m not expecting to find as I run out is that Imogen has her hand in his chest, about to rip his heart out.
I watch horrified as the two people I love most in this world are on the verge of destroying each other.
Imogen glances toward me as we come out, my mother screaming as she witnesses Imogen lose control.
Theo, noticing her distraction grips her wrist, giving me enough time to reach her. The power surging through her is stronger than both of us put together. I can feel through the bond she is trying to fight against it, it’s a losing battle. Panic seizes me as she fights herself.
“You don’t want to do this, Imogen” I tell her, and I can feel she doesn’t want to do it.
I pull against her, but it is like pulling on a brick wall and I don’t even think it’s her anymore but the magic drawing energy from Theo feeding into her magic .
I can feel her trying not to give in, feeling Theo’s agony through the bond.
When I feel his grip slip slightly, his eyes glaze over and I watch as he tries to compel her.
She notices the fog and I can feel it breaking down her barriers.
Not because he is stronger, but because she is letting it.
Imogen doesn’t want to hurt him and when I feel her relax, I know he has her.
She lets go, and we both fall backward. She becomes plagued with guilt, feeling it rush over her, and I fear what she will do next as I feel her slip into an overwhelming depression.
We both try to reassure her, try to let her know we can help her.
Something shifts inside her. Something that scares me.
I never felt her this sad and lost, yet there is also a determination in her and I can’t understand the intention behind it until it is too late.
Theo flicks through her thoughts before realization dawns on him at the same time, she whispers one word. “Run.”
I want to stop her, want to help her find another way, but Theo stands and shoves me back just as the lightning strikes her.
Pinning her in place, it wraps itself around her like a lasso spreading over her skin.
Her eyes glow brightly as she screams in agony.
Her pain overwhelms her, and I feel Theo drop through the bond.
Imogen’s pain has brought us to our knees as she suffers.
The electricity burns her skin and wraps around her before I see the bracelet on her wrist glow angrily.
I figure out what she was doing. She’s sending it back.
Letting it go, even though it is destroying her to do so.
I can’t catch my breath. Feeling her agony through the bond makes it hard to breathe, like she is tearing a piece of herself away.
Finally, it fizzles out, the sky clears and the gold in her eyes is gone.
She is slipping into unconsciousness and Theo gets to her in time as she collapses.
A smile slips onto her face before her eyes flutter shut, only they aren’t the gold of her magic anymore but the deep electric blue we both loved.
My parents watch on as we bring her inside.
No one says anything. We don’t have to. We all know what she gave up.
We all know how much magic means to a witch.
She may not have known what she was for these years, but we know losing it will take a huge toll on her.
Imogen did it, anyway, knowing full well what she was going to lose. She did it for us, for her son.