Chapter 21 - Riley
I glanced at Janella, who looked at me with the same confused expression. I had thought it would have taken more yelling for them to even budge.
Jasmine moved a tapestry that was behind them to the side, revealing a hidden door. We both moved, hurrying after them as they popped a door open. A cold gust of wind hit us, and the smell of dirt. We slipped into a long, narrow hallway. I pulled Janella close as we followed them.
I could hear the door shut behind us, and her fingers tightened on mine. I wasn't sure how far we had walked before we reached a stairwell. We started down, the sound of our shoes echoing all around us. As we went down, it started to get colder. The walls were brick, and the hair on my body rose.
The smell shifted from dirt into sewage. I glanced at Janella, who was pinching her nose, and I knew she was trying hard not to vomit.
We got to the bottom, where we were standing in another narrow hallway. The lights were dimmed, and I felt my wolf growing uneasy, as if it knew danger was ahead of us.
Janella’s palms grew sweaty as we walked, her face growing pale, and I wondered if this was the space she had envisioned.
Jasmine froze at the door and pulled it open.
My eyes widened as I took in the cauldron.
It was chained to the ground, with a bubbling sound coming from within.
It was a dark black with a sheer of purple and green around it.
My lips formed a tight line as I looked at the council members.
How long had they had it down here? “You’ve been hiding it here this entire time? ”
Dean shook his head. “No. It came out of nowhere. Someone found the cauldron in the woods and informed us about it. We had it moved down here.”
“When was that!?”
“A while back,” Laura explained. “Before Janella came here.”
“You've had this down here for that long and never thought to tell me once? That you had a cauldron bubbling with dark magic in my pack!?
It only angered me more. “You let us waste time looking for it when you could have just told us it was here!”
“You never told us you were looking for it.”
“Because we could tell you were hiding something!” I pulled my hand free, taking a step closer to the council.
“You could have told me! You should have told me!” I yelled, feeling my anger getting the better of me.
“You let us waste time. We could have been looking at how to handle this rather than running around like idiots trying to locate it!”
“Do not enter the room.” I turned to find Dean grabbing Janella from stepping into the room. “It’s not safe. We don't let anyone go inside.”
Janella swallowed, looking sick. But her eyes were locked on the cauldron. “How do you know that it's unsafe? You obviously got it down here somehow.”
“We had a witch help us get it down here.”
My eyebrows went up. “A witch? So, you have told someone else about it being down here.”
“We tried to have it destroyed. A powerful witch came in, and she did everything she could, but nothing worked. She stated she could sense dark energy inside it and that the best thing was to keep it away from everyone else. So, that's what we did. We moved it where no one would find it.”
I laughed. “So your big bright idea was to put it in the middle of our fucking pack!? That was a genius idea! What's next? Are you going to tell me that you chained it down because it can grow legs and walk out on its own?”
Dean bared his teeth at me. “We locked it away where we knew no one would find it. You didn’t know it was here. So obviously we did a good job.”
“That doesn’t make it right!” I yelled back. “Anything could happen! You brought it into our home. You have no idea what it possesses. You don't know who's controlling it or if it's cursed.”
I looked at the cauldron. I felt a darkness coming from it. The hallway was starting to feel off, like the energy from the room was seeping out.
“Can I try?”
My head snapped towards Janella. Her eyes were still glued to the cauldron. Her hand was placed over her belly, and I shook my head. “No, you are not going near that thing.”
She frowned. “Why not?”
“Because it’s dangerous.”
She looked away from me towards the Council. “I would like to try. I know you brought in someone far more advanced than I am, but I’d still like to see if I can do anything. Everyone keeps telling me that everyone's magic is different.”
“Janella.”
She looked at me. “Riley, you have to at least let me try. If anything happens, we have witches at the infirmary. It's literally chained to the ground. It's a cauldron. How much harm can it do to me?”
I didn’t like the idea of her going near the cauldron. But I knew I couldn't hold her back. We didn't know what kind of magic she fully possessed.
Laura shook her head. “We already told you that no one goes into the room.”
“But I could maybe do something. We won't know until I try. You have to let me try.”
“We don't need more problems than we already have. If a more powerful witch was unable to do anything to it, you won't be able to. We only brought you down here so you knew that we had it and you would stop looking.”
“How am I going to make it worse? And how do we know I won't be able to do anything if I don't try?” Janella asked, looking at them a little irritated. “We can't just sit and wait.”
“We don't know, and that is what makes it dangerous. We don't know anything about the cauldron, and we don't need people poking at it. It's locked up and kept away from people, and we are keeping it that way.”
She crossed her arms. “You brought me here because you wanted me to get bonded to Riley. I happen to be a witch. Maybe instead of trying to push this problem aside, you could give me a chance to see if I can do something about it? Maybe I'm bonded to Riley because I can do something about it.”
I could tell the Council wasn't going to budge, so Janella looked at me. I didn't like the idea. I didn't want her anywhere near the Cauldon, especially now that she was pregnant. But I could see the determination in her eyes. I either agreed or she went in by herself.
“I say try.” I grabbed her hand. “But you're not going in there alone.”
I followed her into the room, not letting her get close to it alone. The cauldron bubbled, the sound echoing off the walls. The room was colder than the hallway, and it smelled rancid like carcasses. I scrunched my nose up and held back a gag. I waved my hand and cringed.
“Does it stop bubbling?”
“No, it’s been doing that since we found it. Nothing ever comes out, and it doesn't bubble over.”
Janella moved closer, staring into it. I watched the way she swallowed, her hands shaking as she reached out to it. I watched her palm press against the metal. Nothing happened, but I could see her face shifting like she was trying to use her magic.
She pulled her hand back. She frowned. “I can feel it. It’s powerful.”
“You tried.”
She shook her head and placed both of her hands on it. But this time, I could see a shock happen. Like lightning slammed into her hands, and she quickly let go. She fumbled back, but I caught her before she fell.
I could see the hurt cross her face, and I grabbed her hands. They were uninjured, and I sighed in relief.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah, it just shocked me a little. I'm fine.”
I pulled her up and glanced back at the cauldron. We could start doing some research now that we know that it is here. I glanced over at the council, still fuming that they kept this from me. If they thought I was done yelling, they were far from it.
We left and made our way home. I shook my head, still fuming. “I can’t believe they hide it.”
“I think they were trying to think about the pack's best interest.”
“I know that!” I froze, realizing I had yelled. Her hand reached out, wrapping around my fingers. I could feel her magic soaking through, calming my irritation.
I hated how she felt the need to calm me whenever I got angry.
A part of it was the bond corruption, but the other half was just my anger.
The council had kept this from me. I’d been running around trying to think of things to save us.
Working endless hours at the infirmary and trying to find a way to handle everything with discretion.
I pulled up in front of the house and turned to Janella. “I don’t want you to feel that you have to take care of me.”
She looked at me, a little surprised. “What do you mean?”
“I know that my emotions are connected to the bond and that sometimes they get out of whack. But I don’t want you to think it’s your responsibility to use your magic to calm me.”
Her fingers tightened around mine. “I’m doing it because I want to, not because I feel obligated to.”
“Are you sure you're not doing it because you're scared, I could do what I did to my bedroom again?”
She shook her head. “No. I…I mean, there are times my mind does worry about it. But I know that’s not you, Riley. I do this because I want you to think about decisions with a level head. I know that the more you stress, the easier it is for your anger to take over.”
I tightened my fingers around hers and sighed. I had come to lean on her, but I only hoped it wasn’t too much for her. With her being pregnant, I didn’t want anything to happen. I wouldn’t risk it.