Chapter 29
“What do we do?” Katherine trembled, knees ready to buckle any second. “I can’t fight her on my own. I can’t—”
“You aren’t alone.” I kept my manifested form linked to her mind, conserving as much of my remaining strength as possible.
My hope was that, with Moire gone, it’d limit Amara’s access to those tattooed spells she always utilized.
“I can get past her guard,” I thought. “I’ll shatter her mind while you trap her.”
“She’s got a dozen different protection spells at the ready.” Katherine eyed Amara’s tattooed chest and shoulders. “No way I break through all of them in one go.”
“They might be on the fritz since Moire is gone.”
“Doubtful.” Katherine shook her head. “These are prepared spells. The magic and energy to create them are already in place. They literally only require a simple activation trigger.”
“Dammit.”
“With Moire gone, The True Witch might not get new spells anytime soon, but she still has full access to everything else.”
“Then I’ll go in and shatter her mind—what parts I can.” I prepared to leap out of Katherine’s head. “While I hold her back, you grab Caleb and Tara and get as far away from this place as possible.”
Amara turned her gaze toward us, piercing green eyes falling to the burned grimoire.
“Impressive, little girl.” Amara smirked, no sign of sadness or empathy for her fallen coven mate. “Few can hold their own against such a titan of knowledge.”
Katherine took a step back, frightened and suddenly struggling to recall any spell she’d ever memorized.
“Did you do this all on your own?” Amara asked, taking strong strides toward us. Her heels clicked against the cave floor. “Or did a pesky telepath assist you?”
Her eyes glowed momentarily, casting some spell likely meant to locate me.
“He seems to be everywhere,” Amara said with a chuckle. “Like an omnipotent gnat, always there to irritate me.”
Amara flicked her wrist, opening a blue portal behind Katherine.
“Shame about Moire. She’ll be difficult to replace.
” Amara waved her hand, telekinetically throwing Katherine into the portal.
“If you survive the destruction I have planned for your city, little girl, I will find you and extend an invitation. The Celestial Coven could use a strong enchantment witch.”
Katherine fell through the doorway, engulfed by blistering blue lights, and a whoosh that rattled with the force of an earthquake.
This was not the calm travel of before. It seemed the doorway required Amara’s presence to keep the portal safe.
Katherine crashed against the walls of the portal several times, shouting in pain, but unable to control her movements in this place.
When she finally fell through, she returned to Whitlock Estate, where Tobias and his familiar Titus lay dead on the floor beside her.
The portal doorway must’ve been preprogrammed, not offering Amara much choice in the matter.
“No,” Katherine cried. “It can’t end like this.”
“There’s nothing we can do.”
“I’m not losing them, not because I…” Katherine choked on her words, but not her thoughts. Blame bounced in her head, guilt quickly consuming her. “I can fix this. I know I can. I’ll fix this. I have to fix this.”
She chanted a spell, creating blue sparks from where we fell out. Each verse ate away at what little magic she had left, making her vision blurry and her body numb. Still, she continued chanting, attempting to reopen the portal.
“Stop,” I insisted. “Even if you open the portal, you can’t keep it open for long.”
“Long enough to step through.” Katherine ground her teeth, channeling more magic into the sparks of the sealed portal.
“And what if your spell fails halfway back?” I asked. “You could end up lost in some astral plane of existence.”
Katherine ignored me.
“What happens if you make it to the other side?” I asked. “The True Witch will not spare you a second time.”
“I can’t leave Caleb,” Katherine cried. “Do you have any idea what she plans to do to him?”
“I do.”
“She’s going to sacrifice him to demons,” Katherine sobbed. “Open the Gate of Hell and throw him into it.”
“We’ll stop her.”
Amara mentioned requiring a constellation, something preordained for the ritual. She wouldn’t kill him now. We had time to save him, to save Tara.
“This is all my fault.” Katherine fell to her knees, magic completely drained, and emotions overwhelmed.
“If I had never opened that book, never fallen for such a stupid trick, then Moire wouldn’t have gotten in my head.
If she hadn’t gotten into my head, I would’ve been able to help.
Instead, she used me to capture Caleb, to unleash horrible witches and spells onto the city. I caused this.”
“You didn’t cause any of this,” I said, reminded of my own guilt for every shortcoming I blamed myself for over the years. “You are seventeen years old. You are an intern. You are not responsible for the actions of the Celestial Coven.”
“I have to do something…”
“And you will,” I said. “We all will. Soon. We need to regroup and come up with a plan, and then we’ll strike back in full force. This isn’t over. Amara won’t harm Caleb. I refuse to allow it. We’ll stop her once and for all.”
Even as I spoke these words and pushed all the belief I had out into the world, doubt crept into my mind.
“I have to go, Katherine. My magic is almost completely gone, but when I connect with my core self, I’ll send help to get you.”
Katherine finally took in her surroundings, realizing the horrid place she’d landed. Wiping away her tears, she sniveled and did her best to stay strong.
It broke my heart seeing Katherine so devastated, knowing I’d failed so horribly. Even as the last fragments of magic holding my manifested form together crumbled away, I couldn’t shake free from the guilt that followed me back to my core self.
I stood beside Wadsworth, connecting with these new memories and seeing how much had unfolded after sending a manifestation to the Whitlock Estate.
If I’d gone there myself, perhaps it would’ve made a difference.
Instead, I flew to Milo’s side, watching Wadsworth work while there wasn’t a goddamn thing for me to do here.
Even now, they loaded Milo into an ambulance, and I stood by uselessly.
I should’ve gone to the Whitlocks myself. Sending a manifestation was so fucking stupid. Now Tara and Caleb were captured. Amara had all the pieces she wanted. Her goddess, her knight, and her sacrifice.
Composing myself as best I could, I informed the nearby Global Guild reps about the incident at the Whitlock Estate, sending them to retrieve Katherine, and hopefully any possible clues on a lead.
Then I flew to the hospital where they’d taken Milo and the top ten Global Guild members, now that that battle had finally concluded with all the devils being exorcised.
As the dust settled, the city had survived, but at what cost?
Pain and devastation radiated throughout Chicago, minds suffering with the anguish of loss, of death.
The Celestial Coven came in full force and nearly destroyed us, yet their only goal was to grab Tara.
They’d laid waste to our guilds and defeated the top ten witches of America with ease.
I had no idea what came next, but I wasn’t ready for it. I had to be ready. There were too many lives at stake for me to fail again.