Chapter 19
CHAPTER 19
I matched my pace with the men as we jogged through campus and into the woods. Adrenaline flooded my system, feeding my fury with unfiltered chaos.
Not only had Thomas threatened and hurt Lalita and was stalking me at the mixer, but now he had potentially murdered at least one professor. He needed to be stopped, and I was itching to be the one to eliminate him.
The tower came into view, beautiful in its loneliness amongst the eastern white pine trees. Deep grooves cut into the dark gray bark betraying their age. Endlore greeted me like an old friend, its magic swirling around me and lifting the long blonde strands that never made it into my hasty braid this morning. Jax and I led Josh through the meadow, dried foxglove crunching underfoot, and over to the unmarked graves littered around the entrance.
I breathed in deeply through my nose, then exhaled through my mouth, a stream of steam forming in its wake.
“This is it. We set the stage for war here.”
“War?” Josh questioned. “Isn’t that a bit dramatic, Zellie?”
I turned to face his incredulous face and Jax encircled me with his arms from behind. “You saw what that monster is capable of. We came here knowing it would most likely be a trap. The best we can do is take this seriously, and then perhaps, we will survive the night.”
Josh’s jaw fell open, then his mouth moved, but no words came out.
“Close your mouth, idiot,” Jax teased, then his arms tightened around me. “My siren is right. Please take this seriously, cousin. I can’t afford to be distracted worrying about your impulsive ass.”
For once, Josh was silent and only nodded his understanding.
I turned my side into Jax and breathed him in as my eyes traced the thick vines covering the stone exterior of the tower. The residual energy from the witches was building the longer I stood here. The coven whispered in my ear, making their wishes for me clear.
“I need to climb the tower, Jax. Everything within me is being pulled in that direction.” I paused, then kissed the hollow of his throat before pulling back far enough to stare into his dark eyes. I could easily get lost in those pools, just dive in and swim forever within their entrancing depths.
“Pet, that is an incredibly risky decision. There is only one way in and out of that tower. If he corners you, there won’t be enough room for Josh and I to intervene.”
Jax glared at me, his brows pinching together. His anxieties and worry for me pulsed from him, and in that moment, I’ve never felt more cared for.
I stood on my tiptoes, then wrapped my arms around his neck and claimed his lips with mine. He moaned into my mouth as I tunneled my fingers into his hair and pulled. Jax reciprocated the move, a sharp sting spreading across my scalp as he bit my lip and tugged. I gasped and my pussy throbbed as he drove his tongue into my mouth, demanding I accept him. He poured every ounce of himself into that kiss, and I gladly drowned in it.
I pulled back, resting my head against his chest, then whispered, “I fucking love you Jax.” My boots pounded against the damp earth as I bolted away from him and into the ancient tower.
The spirits called to me stronger than I had ever felt as I leaped over the broken door and landed on the first level. The dead didn’t hide from me now. They showed themselves to me in all their truth. My gaze roved over their slit throats, white unseeing eyes, and billowing black cloaks. On each of their wrists were the marks of the Black Lily coven. I may not have been a part of their coven, but they strangely felt like family.
If Thomas was in there, then there was no way I would let him out without a fight. I drew every ounce of power into my extremities, muscles, hell, my skeleton itself. Jax roared and shouted for me, but I sensed the spirits keeping him at bay. I didn’t have time to worry about how pissed off he was—I had a warlock to hunt.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end and something pulled on my senses, urging me to look up. My gaze slowly lifted to the landing several stories above my head. Thomas stepped out from the shadows on the landing. His eyes were such a rich vermillion I could see their eerie glow from where I stood. Thomas laughed, a sadistic, unhinged smile gracing his face.
“Zellie!” He crowed. “I’m so glad you could make it.”
Goosebumps rose all over my body as he laughed. The dead witches said nothing, but they huddled closer, surrounding me like a ghostly safety blanket.
“What are you waiting for? Come up. Come up!” Thomas said, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
I gulped, knowing this was a terrible idea, then made my way over to the old spiral staircase. The dead leant me their strength, practically allowing me to slide up the stairs on their magic. I made it to the top within seconds, fighting to control the dizziness washing over me.
Thomas grinned at me from within the room on the top floor, waving me into the room with both hands.
“Back up to the windows and I’ll enter the room,” I commanded.
Thomas pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose then turned his back on me and sauntered over to the stained-glass windows. This fucker had big balls turning his back on me, I’d give him that. The black candles ignited at once when I crossed the threshold, a wave of heat slapping me in the face from the sheer volume of them.
I spoke as I maneuvered around them, forced to keep my eyes on my feet, lest my pants accidentally graze a candle and catch fire. “Okay, Thomas, enough of the friendly, innocent act,” I spat. “It was all you, wasn’t it? The random deaths at Ghost Rose, each new body discovered in Crimson Leaf and Endlore Forest.”
He laughed, then clapped his hands. “Of course they were all me, Zellie. I killed them. My gift to you.”
I scoffed, then took a large step over a cluster of candles and into the small space in the center of the room. Jax’s screams were barely audible through the thick stone, but it still took a great deal of effort to tune him out. I realized my mistake too late as my body froze, my arms locking to my sides, then my head snapped up, my eyes forced to meet Thomas’. A shiver tried to snake down my spine, but it halted, twitching under my skin as whatever hex Thomas casted upon me strengthened its hold.
The candles slid to the side silently, making a wide, clear path for him as he walked closer. My eyelids twitched as I tried to force them closed, every student at Ghost Rose Academy is taught of the dangers of compulsion and how to avoid becoming a victim—allowing the enemy to stare into your eyes, the first warning we receive.
I licked my lips, grateful my mouth still moved. My protection ring heated and the skin beneath it tingled. Maybe the magic in it was strong enough to break free of his hold if he tried to harm me. Right, goading him it was.
“Aww. That was really sweet of you to think of me,” I paused, “but maggot covered decomposing corpses aren’t really my thing. I prefer black lilies.”
Thomas giggled as I spoke, but he quickly fell silent, and his gaze narrowed.
“Are you rejecting my gifts?” Spittle flew against my frozen face as he screamed inches away from me.
This is it, Zellie. Go for the kill shot.
“Fuck yes I am, prick! That level of macabre is too much even for me.”
Thomas lunged, his hands collaring my throat, exactly as I planned. The spell binding me broke, then I stepped on his insole and kneed him in the balls as hard as I could. He screamed in agony, clutching his crotch and crumpling to the charred floor.
I lurched for the door and breathed a sigh of relief as the dead coven’s spirits surrounded me once more. My legs flew down the stairs as I fled, but I could already hear Thomas crawling among the candles and scrambling forward, albeit slowly.
The spirits followed me through the door at the base of the tower and into the graveyard, still circling me as I ran straight into Jax’s arms.
He gripped my face hard with one hand and squeezed my waist with the other possessively. “Don’t you ever pull some shit like that again!” He shouted, then shook my face lightly. My gaze softened as his eyes drifted to my lips. His chest rose and fell as he panted, his rage burning on without an outlet to quell it. Jax loosened his hold on my face, then slid both palms to cradle my cheeks.
His gaze bore into me, then he spoke. “I fucking love you too, pet.” I blinked rapidly trying to dispel the tears pooling on my water line. My lips curled up, and for a moment I forgot about everything but the knot of happiness unfurling in my chest. My lips crashed against his, bruising our lips with the intensity of our love.
Our love was not sweet or gentle. No, it was violent and chaotic. The obsession between us burned both ways, just the way I liked it.
Josh cleared his throat and we broke apart panting, my arms resting on Jax’s forearms.
“I don't mean to interrupt the love fest, but we kind of have an evil bastard over here that needs taking down a peg or two,” Josh drawled.
I snorted. “Right.”
Thomas stumbled through the exit, then leaned his hip heavily on a nearby gravestone, the attached vines snapping beneath his weight. His hands shook as he ripped and tore his hair, his obsession with me fully bleeding into insanity.
I shook my head, backing away quickly, then widening my legs in a defensive stance. I needed to be prepared for anything this psychopath could throw at me. This was one of the main reasons I needed to control my magic. My siren beauty was toxic in large doses. When not contained, siren magic had been known to lure countless seafaring folk to drown themselves, if only for the chance to be with the siren they obsessed over.
My magic was not the only reason Thomas looked like shit, no, it only festered the rot within him that had already existed. He grinned insidiously at me, then stood upright, black goop oozing between his teeth and dribbling down his chin. Rot had set deep within him as he gave into the type of darkness that overtook and consumed the soul.
Jax pulled out his phone, then placed it on the ground by his feet; Panic Waves by Our Promise blared throughout the graveyard. My void instantly responded bursting from my chest and surrounding me flooding my power in to my fingers.
I closed my eyes and grinned. Fuck me. Jax was right. It feels so damn good to embrace both the light and the dark, to live in the morally gray where I belong.
I took a large step towards Thomas, and he did the same.
“I've had enough of your shit, asshole,” I called, then whipped my power at him like that of a rope, squeezing around his body.
He squirmed violently, knocking his glasses from his face, then raised his arms as my magical connection broke. He laughed long and hard, his voice cracking and barely audible over the encroaching storm, swiftly moving across the sky. He raised his arms and several cracked headstones rose with the motion. My eyes widened at the realization that he possessed more magic than anyone knew.
Fear temporarily paralyzed me, my boots sinking into the dead grass.
“Zellie! Move!” Jax shouted.
I threw my body to the side as a massive headstone crashed to the ground where I’d been just moments before. Thomas continued to laugh manically as he hurdled headstones in my direction. I dashed throughout the graveyard, dodging his attacks, but he followed me.
I could feel Jax and Josh circling around him slowly, one on each of his unprotected sides. I trusted the men to keep me safe as I turned inward, focusing my attention behind my ribs.
Okay, inky void. I know I’ve been shitty to you in the past, but I accept that you’re a part of me—a part of me I’ve been denying for far too long. I’m sorry I trapped you within me. Trust me when I say, from here on out we are in this together . My inky void warmed pleasantly, then purred. I smiled. Let’s do this, IV.
Energy crackled within me, then my true siren magic blasted from my inky void. A wave of dark gray magic flowed from me as I shoved my hands forward and straight into Thomas’ chest.
His body thumped heavily to the ground and his limbs twitched. However, I was not foolish enough to believe he was dead. He rose from the ground on unsteady feet, but his eyes blazed with lust and unhinged obsession.
“You're mine, Zellie. I must have you.” His voice cracked. “I will have you, my darling.”
I raised my chin, then glared at Thomas. “I am no one’s to claim. I am my own woman. Your mind is weak. It’s not your fault you fell like easy prey to my siren magic. Your mind was too weak to resist the pull,” I explained, then circled him. “However, you are the one who made the choice to murder innocent people. No one coerced you. No. You fed the rot in your soul and reveled in the bloodshed.”
I turned my head trying to find Jax and Josh, but Thomas took advantage of my momentary distraction. He climbed on top of me, knocking me to the ground. Pain seared through the back of my skull as it connected with a headstone. My vision swam and bile rose in my throat.
“Get the fuck off me,” I gritted out through clenched teeth. My mind wandered as I struggled to focus as my skull throbbed with my heart beat.
My vision blurred as he straddled me. Thomas laughed hysterically, then leaned forward and licked the blood trailing down the side of my face.
I recoiled as far as I could, then screamed for Jax, but there was no reply.
“Don't waste your pretty cries on him. You’re mine. You’ve always been mine.” I squirmed and caught a glimpse of Jax and Josh much too far. Their mouths moved like they were shouting, but no sound came out.
The evil one caged them behind a shield, the dead witches whispered. The men bashed at the shield and the magic rippled with every impact, but they couldn't break through. We cannot break it as we are already lending most of our power to you.
Fuck me. I was on my own.
I gritted my teeth. “Fuck you, Thomas.”
The ground shook beneath me, and some of the more dilapidated gravestones crumbled to dust before my eyes. Skeletal hands shot from the ground and various stages of decayed bodies, crawled through the packed dirt and rose to stand against Thomas.
I knew instinctively that these living dead were not meant to harm me, I could feel Jax's magic pulsing through the clearing as he pounded on the transparent shield in front of him.
Thomas may have stopped Jax from physically interfering, but he did not consider the fact that most magical battles are fought with the mind.
The skeletal army moved as one to stand behind Thomas, but he didn't sense them. I cackled, then grinned as lightning split the sky. Thomas grinned back, as if he thought I was finally falling for his charming personality. He was so deluded that he lowered his head to kiss me. I flinched, then reared back, agony shot through my brain with the movement. The thought of his rotten lips ever touching mine made me want to vomit, then sew his lips closed with black thread.
Before he could reach me, skeletal hands gripped his arms and hair, then dragged him off me. I turned in a slow circle, admiring the undead witches and warlocks of the Black Lily Coven’s skeletons. Those with eyes left didn’t blink as wind slashed rain lashed against their decaying features. The ghost of each skeletal corpse floated next to them in a macabre display of support. It was horrifyingly beautiful.
I turned my stare towards Jax as he screamed behind the barrier he’d been caged in. Josh stabbed a knife into the surface repeatedly, but nothing worked. I close my eyes and ground myself digging my boot heels into the grass below me. Then I shoved Thomas so hard in the chest with my magic he flew in an arch and crashed into the shield he created to cage Jax and Josh. The shield burst as he landed on top of them.
As I shakily got to my feet, the sound of meat being tenderized helped to clear the fog in my mind. Josh held Thomas’ arms behind his back as Jax tore into him. He threw punch after punch into Thomas's face and landed sharp kicks to his kidneys, all the while pouring dark magic into Thomas's chest.
“Jax!” I screamed and yanked on his arm. “Josh, you need to stop this.”
He shook his head, then pursed his lips. “Let him do this, Zellie. He needs it.”
I blew out a long breath past my lips, then crossed my arms. I watched Jax unleash his fury for a few more minutes and then ripped Jax off him. Josh dropped Thomas’ arms and allowed him to crumple to the ground.
I glared hate fire at Thomas, but my gaze darted to Jax’s and softened. “You can't kill him. I need to make sure he is proven guilty of all the crimes suspected of him over the years. If he is, we can send him to the siren island.”
He nodded, then wiped the blood from his knuckles on the dying grass. Josh stood over Thomas, his magic wholly focused on him.
I crouched next to him. “Now, let's see what's in that putrid mind of yours.”
The wind howled as rain poured into the clearing, small puddles collecting in Thomas’ open eyes. Ghostly specters surrounded us and began chanting. Their power ghosted over my skin as they spoke in unison.
Use us. Use us, young siren. Channel our magic. The Black Lily Coven grants you access. Use us before his mind is too far gone. The voices mingle together in multiple layers. It was almost too painful to listen to, my brain struggled to sort through the voices and match them to the ghosts around me.
I didn’t know if I could trust the spirits enough to allow them to connect with my mind. Jax must’ve seen the indecision. My vision swam, and I felt arms around me.
“Breathe, pet. Do you remember the first time I took you to the tower?”
A frisson of unease tightened my shoulders. Shit. I forgot about seeing Jax in my subconscious. His arms tightened around me. What did he whisper into my double’s ear?
I gasped, Jax’s gravelly tone speaking in random with the Jax of my memories.
When the dead speak, heed their words. It will save your life one day.
“Is this what you meant? The Black Lily Coven?”
Jax nodded, his scruff lightly rubbing against my temple. “We don’t have time for me to explain further, but I meant those words. You can trust these spirits.”
I slowly breathed out through my lips, then kicked off my boots and dug my toes into the meadow beneath me. I ground into their power in the fastest way I knew how.
I closed my eyes and called upon the witches in the house. When I opened my eyes and could see my breath in the air in front of me. The witches stood in a line, staring up at Thomas with a hatred that I shared. Their magic was potent, stronger combined than mine alone, and with both, I felt invincible.
You can do this. They whispered in my mind, giving me the strength to let go of Jax’s hand and step forward. I held out my hand, forcing Thomas to his knees. Fear washed over his features as mine darkened. I placed my hand on his head, then gasped.
I plunged into the depths of his mind.
When I opened my eyes again, I was no longer standing outside of the tower.
Thomas’ mind was a dark, cold place. At first, fear skittered through me. The ground beneath my bare feet slipped on the glossy, black and white tiles. I walked through the dark space until I came upon a row of doors, his memories hidden behind them. Cautiously, I turned the handle of the crimson door in front of me and stepped inside.
We were inside the boy’s bathroom at Ghost Rose Academy. The boy, Callum, taunted Thomas. He was never kind to him, but this time something was different—Thomas fought back.
I felt the emotions each memory prompted like they were my own. The lure of power was everything a man like Thomas could want. His parents didn’t care for him, his father hit him, and he had spent his whole life feeling powerless, but no longer. He raised his hand, then slowly drew his fingers toward his palm and smiled sadistically. Callum laughed at Thomas until his pounding heart slowed, then stopped all together. Thomas watched as Callum dropped toward the floor, dead before he met the surface.
That was his first bloodlust, and it wouldn’t be his last.
I walked out the first door and took a moment to catch my breath. He had killed the student—no surprise there—but still, he did it intentionally. He had no remorse or regret on his face.
With a heavy heart, I pushed open the second door, my pale hand contrasting starkly against the black color.
I covered my mouth with my hand as I stepped through the door. Thomas was in my room, standing over my sleeping self. He reached into my mind and forced dreams into my mind. He twisted them into something sinister and dark. He painted the pictures vividly, tempting me to fear Jax and go to him.
I shuddered at the thought of him being in the room with me while I was sleeping.
I fell out of the second door and landed on my knees. My pulse pounded in my ears. I needed to know everything, I reminded myself, then forced myself to go on.
The next door was dark green. I opened it cautiously, and my worst fear was realized.
When I stepped inside, I saw Thomas sitting with my fucking mother. She smiled at him, a smile more genuine than I’d ever witnessed cross her features.
Thomas dropped to his knees. “Please. Give Zellie Bathory to me,” he begged.
Mother tipped her head to the side, then laughed. “I will, but first you must do two things for me.”
“Anything.”
“First, you will do everything in your power to make her break up with Jax Holmes. I don’t care what you decide, just handle it swiftly.” She narrowed her gaze on him. “Second, during a time of my choosing you will place wards on my house, and more specifically on Rapunzel’s bedroom. They must be impenetrable.”
He nodded eagerly, “I can do that, I swear!”
After I left the last door, I closed my eyes and left his mind. When I opened them, I was back in my body, and I was livid. The witches were gone, and Jax was stroking my hair.
I pushed the memory containing my mother back, but only for a moment. Thomas was dangerous. More dangerous than I had ever imagined.
“There’s one thing I have to do before he gets locked away.”
“Don’t do anything you’ll regret,” Josh advised.
“Trust me, I won’t regret this.” I strode over to my boots, slipped them on, and laced them up, then pulled my leg back and with intense force and kicked Thomas hard in the face. Blood spurted out of his nose and sprayed over the dying grass. “That’s for hurtling Lalita.”
Josh manifested a rope of his magic, then looped it around Thomas’ throat. He tugged and Thomas stood, but his eyes were wide and uncertainty. “Well, we’re off to the principal’s office. Then it’s Cape Sirenorai for this dick,” Josh grinned, then waved before walking away, pushing Thomas in front of him.
The thoughts of my mother I held back crashed into my psyche with the force of a tsunami, then that last memory curled long, sharp claws into my brain. Jax held me as scalding tears fell thick and fast, “I will fucking kill her!” I screamed through clenched teeth.
Jax curled his body around mine, then said, “As you deserve, pet. Come, let’s scrape out the rest of the rot.”