Chapter Thirty-Nine
Walker
C ady’s words rang in my ears.
Is that what they’ll do to our coven to punish us?
Josephine had already tried to steal Cady’s power—would the High Witch attempt to steal her youth?
I followed Freya’s lead and pushed those thoughts aside. We couldn’t let that happen to any member of the coven—we wouldn’t.
We just had to find Elle and Arion, spot the ripple, and get the hell out of here.
Piece of cake.
The hall ended abruptly, and we skidded to a stop. Ryder tried the nearest door, but it was unlocked. Immediately, the smell of herbs, cleaning supplies, and dirty laundry assaulted my senses. I shut the door behind us, and Freya lifted a small ball of flame to reveal an outdated janitor’s closet.
“At least no one lives here,” I said with a wrinkled nose.
“That’s for sure,” Ryder agreed.
Cady stared blankly at the floor. I gently lifted her chin.
“Hey,” I said. “We’re getting out of here, remember? What was that awesome plan you came up with?”
Cady was still unsure. Though her bravery usually scared the crap out of me, she couldn’t afford to lose it now.
“C’mon Cady-Cat,” I whispered. “You can do this.”
My sister took a deep breath and nodded. Pride blossomed in my chest. No matter what, Cady would get out of here.
The world didn’t deserve to lose her.
Cady rummaged through the shelves and pulled down a jar of pink powder. We scooted back, so she had room to pour it across the floor. Cady closed her eyes, and her magic flared. Its tinny song was overwhelming in the small space, but her finger traced through the Himalayan salt.
“I’ll try to mask her spell,” Freya said.
Freya’s magic joined Cady’s, and while both were still apparent, they were muffled. Cady’s finger traced faster through the salt. Finally, she stopped and opened her eyes. I peered over her shoulder to study what she had drawn.
It was a mess of lines and circles and shapes.
Cady pointed to a small x. “This is where we are.” She pointed several horizontal lines up. “That’s where Elle is. I think.”
“That seems right,” Ryder agreed.
“Yes,” Freya said. “And the level below her, there’s the doorway to the ripple. I can sense its magic from here—it’ll be strong enough to carry us out of here.”
Cady frowned. “The only problem is Arion is way over there.”
Cadence pointed toward a level above Elle and far right of the portal.
“We’ll get to him,” I promised, but Freya shook her head.
“Not unless we split up,” she said. “I’ll go after him.”
“You can’t go alone,” I argued. My magic flared in protest.
“Neither can Ryder,” Freya said and laid her hand over mine. “He needs a witch to help him navigate this place, and I can’t ask you to separate from your sister.”
My stomach sank.
“I’ll go with Ryder,” Cady said. “I’ll go with him, and you go with Freya.”
"Your brother isn't leaving your side," Freya insisted.
I wanted to tell Freya she was wrong. Every instinct in my body screamed at me to follow the red-haired witch, but I had almost lost my sister to the High Witch and her Handmaidens once. I couldn’t leave her without my protection again.
Though leaving her to brave this alone killed me, I couldn’t allow my feelings for Freya to muddle my judgment again.
“Frey,” Ryder protested.
Freya shook her head. “Two of the Handmaidens are closing in on us now. We must move. There’s no time to argue.”
Speechless, I stared at Freya. Despite knowing what I needed to do, I wasn’t sure how to let her go.
Freya cupped my face. “I will see you again, cowboy.”
I’ll find you. I always will.
As she moved to the door, every ounce of my spirit protested. My magic sizzled in my veins, as if punishing me for letting her slip away.
“Cady,” Freya said. “They’re closing in from the direction we came in hopes of blocking us off at the end of this hall.”
Though tears pooled in Cady’s eyes, she nodded.
“They’re counting on blocking us in at this dead end. Use your earth magic and tear down the wall. You know what it leads to on the other side.”
Freya’s gaze flicked to mine and quickly moved away.
No, I wanted to say. Don’t go. Don’t go. Don’t leave…
“I’ll buy you some time,” Freya promised.
You can’t die because I won’t survive it.
Freya looked at me one last time and studied my features as if she wished to memorize them. The moment stretched, but I couldn’t find my words. I couldn’t get my thoughts to flow or mouth to move as I stared at her beautiful face.
Freya ran out the door.
You can’t die because I love you.
“Walker?” Cady said.
I took a deep breath. I wouldn’t waste the chance Freya had given us, and I would trust her to keep her promise. I would trust her to see me again, and I would do everything in my power to hold up my end of the bargain.
We hurried out of the closet, and Cady laid a hand on the stone wall. Down the hall, Freya’s familiar magic swelled. It tingled down my spine like a lover’s touch. As Freya unleashed herself on the Handmaidens, Cady whispered a spell.
As if they were Legos being separated, the stones that paved the wall pulled themselves apart. With waves of her hands and bursts of magic, Cady pulled the slabs apart and stacked them neatly out of our path toward the now visible staircase.
Numbly, I followed Cady and Ryder farther from Freya. As the distance between us grew and her magic continued to rage, my heart and magic ached.
She’ll see you again.
When we reached cream-tiled stairs, Cady turned around, waved her hands, and put the wall back together again. I wanted to tell her to leave it open for Freya, but I remembered her journey toward her familiar would take her down a far different path than ours. As soon as the stones were in place, we ran.
This staircase comprised of two landings, each spaced apart by several, white steps. Whimsical blue walls surrounded us. By the time we climbed all the stairs, my lungs burned. A tapestry depicting a white-dressed witch glowing in the middle of battling covens hung on the wall.
I wanted to spit on it.
I resisted the urge and focused on the door in front of me. It was metal, and the High Witch’s emblem adorned it.
“Has this part of the court been remodeled or something?” Cady asked.
“It’s the part she bothers keeping up with,” I said and shook my head in disgust. “We must be getting closer to where Cordelia actually lives.”
“Sense anything on the other side of this door?” Ryder asked us.
Cady and I cast out magical nets, but the familiar, raging magic below us distracted me. Freya still fought the Handmaidens. I wanted to go to her, but I focused on Cady and forced myself to stay in the moment.
I sent my magic forward and closed my eyes. On the other side of the door, I sensed the heady potency of the High Witch’s magic. It was impossible to pinpoint, but rather, she had spelled the entire area to her will.
“There’s a big spell over there,” Cady said. “I’ve never felt anything like it.”
“I have,” I said with a frown. “It’s Cordelia’s magic, but I don’t think she’s actually there.”
“So we’re probably walking into a trap,” Ryder said flatly.
“Yeah,” I admitted. “Probably.”
“I can try to unravel the spell,” Cady suggested, but I shook my head.
“No way,” I argued. “There’s no telling what could happen to you if you mess with it. She keeps a hall of witches to Embrace, Cady-Cat. You can’t untangle that spell on your own. It would take all of Freya’s coven to do something like that.”
“Okay,” she said slowly. “So, what do we do?”
“Prepare to fight like hell?” I asked.
Ryder swore under his breath and opened the door.
He revealed a wide, opulent hall filled with magic. Every wall was lined with herbs, jars of colorful liquids, bones, feathers, and more. Pools of flames, water, mud, and even electricity were interspersed among cyclones of air and separated by white tiles. Pillars stretched to the high ceiling, and a mural of witches peered down at us from above. They wielded the elements stored in this room with unrelenting brutality.
From the far doors, people in black stormed in. I searched for an alternative escape, but our only options were forward or backward, and we couldn’t get trapped in the lower levels of the court, not if we wanted to save Elle and reach the ripple’s access point.
The only way out is through.
“Run,” I ordered and pulled the Sol Sword free.
As we raced toward the onslaught of attackers, lightning danced on the blade. We neared the double-doored exit, and more men and women in black poured through it. I would’ve laughed at the ridiculousness of their outfits if one of them hadn’t almost killed me downstairs.
Their nuanced magic buzzed in the air, but not with the force of dozens of witches. As I swung my sword at the nearest one, I realized they reminded me of Elle’s parents.
They certainly fought like Elle’s dad had.
I dodged the first one’s attack with a sweep of my sword and a lunge, but there were two more to replace them. At my side, Cady launched stones and tripped the nearest attackers. She sent one splashing into a pool of water, and I shivered at the thought of falling into the flames.
Ryder raced down a separate aisle and took out assailants with merciless swipes of his claws. One of the creatures got a hold of Cady’s arm, and she spun with a cry. I reached for her, but a beady-eyed man intercepted me. Too quickly, our attackers separated us in a sea of black. I lunged and parried and struck, but they were impervious to my blade.
“What the hell are you?” I growled as I fought to get back to my sister. I lost sight of Ryder in the chaos.
“We are the Garrison,” one of them growled.
“Which means you’re about to die,” another said.
Though I would have nightmares about it for years to come, I couldn’t let these assholes hurt my sister, so I did what I knew would harm them.
I jabbed my fingers into the nearest one’s eyes and let the magic singing in my blood burn. Before he could scream, the man died. Another assailant struck my arm with a wickedly sharp blade, but I barely sensed the pain over the roar of magic in my ears.
I took out three of the so-called Garrison before one of them plunged a blade into my gut. Pain erupted from the wound, and I stumbled forward, nearing a pool of flames so hot, they burned my face with their nearness. Someone grabbed me from behind, and all I could think was that I wasn’t going to keep up my end of the bargain with Freya—I wouldn’t see her again.
I wouldn’t be able to protect my sister either.
Cuffs snapped over my wrists, and something dark slipped over my head.