Chapter 9 Discord
DISCORD
“Cinder, don’t,” her father shouted, and my heart dropped into my stomach.
I raced through the tunnel, the magical water sloshing in the bucket as I entered the main chamber and shoved it into his arms. “Cinder!”
“Don’t touch her!” he said, his voice breathless, and I froze, my hand mere inches from her face. Her eyes had glazed white, her brow knitted with pain.
“What happened?” I growled, turning a livid gaze to her father. “I demand you release her.”
He scoffed and dipped a rag into the bucket. “Do you think my wife would be standing there if I could? Here.” He tossed the rag to me before grabbing another one. “Keep her skin moist.”
I lifted my brows, his unabashed demeanor surprising me. “Do you know who I am?”
“You’re one of the fiends who cursed Scorsha’s bloodline.” He wiped his wife’s forehead with the cloth, not bothering to look at me as he spoke. “And my daughter, of all people, has taken a liking to you. If you want her to survive this, keep her wet, but don’t touch your skin to hers.”
It appeared brazenness ran in the family. Most mortals would cower in the presence of a demon of my stature, but I tempered my anger and followed his lead, swiping the rag across Cinder’s cheek. “You said only Scorsha could channel the goddess. Why did you allow Cinder to join her in the trance?”
He laughed dryly. “The first thing you need to learn is that no man allows a Holland woman anything. They do what they want, and there’s no stopping them.”
I glanced at him before returning my gaze to Cinder. “So I’ve noticed.”
“I’m Marshall, by the way,” he said, finally looking at me.
“Under different circumstances, I might say it’s a pleasure.” I dipped the rag into the water and wiped Cinder’s neck.
“Even under different circumstances, I doubt I’d say the same.”
“Fair enough,” I said. “I suppose your warning to Cinder was not to touch her mother?”
He nodded. “She can handle it, though. Cinder is a strong elemental like her mom. Hecate said any other witch would die from the intensity of channeling a goddess, and that’s the only reason I haven’t joined Scorsha in the trance.”
He dipped a mug into the bucket and offered it to me. “See if you can get her to drink.”
The cave rumbled again, and dust floated down from a crack in the ceiling as I pressed the cup to Cinder’s lips and tipped it back, trickling water into her mouth. “Drink, my love. I will not leave your side.”
The veil grew thinner by the minute, the higher vibration of the earthly realm seeping into the cave and making my arm hairs stand on end.
The very air we breathed seemed to groan as the pressure shifted, lifting and sinking, pressing in before expanding.
I could only hope the effect was unfolding more slowly on the other side, giving the others time to complete their mission.
“You said Ember and Ash were searching for the amulet,” Marshal said. “How do you know? Have you spoken to them?”
“With my brothers’ assistance, yes, they are.” I set the mug on the table and pressed the rag to Cinder’s forehead.
“How do you know?” Marshall’s jaw tightened, his nostrils flaring slightly, indicating he did not approve of his daughters’ commingling with demons.
Our relationships were woven into the fabric of fate and did not require his approval, but I kept that bit of information to myself for the time being.
“They attempted to summon me, but I refused.” I continued wiping Cinder’s brow. “Ember and Ash followed Cinder’s instructions and released my brothers from the dark prison. But my bond with Cinder makes it impossible for her to survive my successful summoning.”
“Your soul bond.” He blew out a hard, disbelieving breath.
“Precisely,” I said. “My essence briefly crossed the veil, nearly killing Cinder, and I instructed them to find the amulet and re-summon me. It contains Hecate’s power of resurrection, and without it, none of you can return home.”
I turned, meeting his skeptical gaze evenly.
“I love your daughter with my entire soul. Our fates are intertwined at a level you may never understand. She will have my utter devotion until the day my existence ends, but with our bond comes danger. Our very lives are wound so tightly, one cannot exist without the other.”
He pressed his lips into a thin line, regarding me. “And she knows who you are? What you’ve done?”
“She knows me better than I know myself…and she accepts every part of me.” My heart warmed with my words, a hint of a smile playing on my lips. “There is nothing hidden between us, and it is her understanding that gives me strength, even now.”
“She’s a special young woman,” he said.
“Indeed, she is.” I wiped a tear from the corner of Cinder’s eye.
Marshall returned his attention to his wife, dabbing her neck and chest with the enchanted water. “She can’t stay here with you. She belongs in Salem.”
“I am acutely aware, and I have no intention of keeping her in the Underworld.” I tilted my head, studying her pained expression. If my brothers did not send the amulet soon, Cinder and her mother might shred with the fibers of the universe.
Even with their elemental power and whatever magic Hecate had shared, two mortals could not hold the veil together forever. Perhaps not even for another ten minutes.
As if on cue, the cave trembled. The floor shook, the vibration causing a vase to slide across the table and shatter on the floor. Pinpricks of energy skittered across my skin, making my entire body shudder. Marshall gasped, fisting his hands.
Scorsha wheezed.
Ember groaned.
Time was slipping through our fingers, and desperation clawed at my thoughts, urging me to act before it was too late. I dropped the cloth into the bucket and squared my shoulders toward Cinder’s father. “You said any witch other than an elemental would be crushed beneath Hecate’s power.”
“That’s what the goddess told Scorsha when she connected with her mind.”
I nodded, my resolve unwavering. “Good thing I am no witch.”
Before he could respond, I stepped beside Cinder and clasped her hand.
The instant our skin made contact, I was sucked into the trance.
My vision tunneled, turning first to darkness before filling with flickering red and orange light.
I could no longer see the cave nor Cinder’s father, but the veil itself came into full focus, a threadbare tapestry wavering all around me.
“Discord, what are you doing here?” Cinder’s voice echoed from everywhere, yet I could not see her form.
“I came to help,” I replied in my mind, hoping she could sense my words.
“A demon can’t channel the goddess,” Scorsha said.
“Perhaps not, but my soulmate can channel me.” I sent a wave of energy through our soul bond, focusing it into Cinder. “It took both demon and witch magic to shred the veil.”
Cinder gasped. “So we need both to hold it together.”
She opened to me, allowing my magic to mix with hers and sending her high vibration into the core of my being. “Mom, I’m going to give you a little of this. Brace yourself.”
Though all I saw was the unraveling veil, I felt my witch’s inhale. She opened to her mother, and Scorsha gasped.
“That’s one helluva burst,” she said.
“And that’s just a little taste,” Cinder replied.
The threads of the veil began to thicken, weaving themselves back together slowly, methodically, at much too gradual of a pace.
I pushed another wave of magic into Cinder, but this time, something pushed back.
Hecate’s power trickled into me, making my muscles seize.
I tried to suck in a breath, but I only managed to wheeze.
“Discord?” Concern laced Cinder’s voice. “Discord, what’s happening?”
“It’s the goddess’s magic.” My body burned like dry ice, and my heart lost its rhythm, thumping and stuttering, pausing and racing. “You must cut it off. I can’t channel it.”
“I’m trying.” I sensed her effort to release my hand, but we had no control over our physical bodies.
I drew my magic inward, attempting to break our connection, but Hecate’s essence penetrated my psyche, scrambling my power and my thoughts. The veil reversed its mending, unraveling at an even faster pace.
“What’s happening?” Scorsha asked, her voice frantic.
“Demons can’t handle Hecate’s energy,” Cinder said. “You have to cut it off.”
“If I do, the veil will completely unravel.”
“If you don’t, you’ll lose us both,” Cinder’s voice echoed in the distance as I plunged into darkness.