Chapter 24 #3
“You jumped through terrible magic and onto a cage in the middle of a sea of spikes to help me find my gargoyle. You allowed yourself to be blasted into trees, cut up—all to help me.” I paused for a moment.
“And now I will help you. If you want to take the magic, then take it, but do not block me from helping you. As I told you, we will do this together…or not at all.”
“You should do it here,” Ivy House told me. “The magic is less likely to fluctuate that way.”
I waited for him to take a very large inhale, hold it, and let it out very slowly. Finally, he inclined his head again.
“Okay.” I told him what Ivy House said, which just made sense. Of course it would be better to do it there, near the root of the magic.
And back we all flew, with the shifters in cars and basajaunak running alongside them. This time, as we passed by downtown, a gargoyle rose into the sky with a collection of grocery bag totes. Mr. Tom. Why he didn’t put them in the trunk and return for them was anyone’s guess.
I landed on the backyard grass with my crew. The rest of the gargoyles stayed in the air, circling.
Tristan shifted, as did I. The others followed suit.
“I hope I did the right thing,” Tristan told me.
“You did.”
“Big day, huh?” Cyra came over with a smile. “I don’t know what any of this means, but it certainly seems like a big deal. Glad I got to randomly participate. So…are we supposed to work together to kill him if it all goes tits up?”
Fred lifted her hand. “I was on the exact same page with her right up until she talked about killing. So…that’s where I’m at. Super excited. Hope no one dies.”
“So, he’s finally going to take it,” Niamh said, looking at the bags Mr. Tom had set down before he shifted. “Did ye get any beer or wine or—”
“I got nothing that I’ll offer you,” he replied, gathering up the handles again.
“Ye don’t need to offer, like. I can just rummage around in there and get it meself.”
He sniffed at her and turned toward the back door. “Miss, I’ll be back when Austin Steele shows up. You’ll want your council with you.”
“Ye’ll want to kick that eejit off the council,” Niamh told me.
It wasn’t long before Austin arrived, his shoulders squared and head high. He walked onto the grass like he was walking into battle.
“A little dramatic,” Ivy House said.
“Um…he’d rather not kill me. I hardly think his mentally preparing to fight your magic is dramatic.”
“He shouldn’t fight it. He needs to acclimate to it. Let it consume him. It needs to be part of him. Only then can he control it.”
“Did the others do that?”
“Yes. They were very eager to take the magic. Very eager. They let it unfurl within them however it wanted to. Then they tried to use the added power to kill the heir. Hindsight.”
I’ll say.
The circles re-formed, locking Austin and me in the middle. I stepped closer and took his hands. His eyes roamed my face before sticking to my lips. He leaned down to gently kiss me.
“I love you,” he murmured.
I told him what Ivy House had said. “I’ll be right here, okay?
We have two bonds. I can help you through those, and with the connection and my bullheadedness, we can do this, Austin.
We can. This magic was meant for two people like us, who love each other.
Who want the best for each other. Who will do anything for each other. We can do this, you and me.”
He kissed me harder.
“Should we not hold hands, or does it matter?” I asked Ivy House.
“No one has before, but that doesn’t mean much.”
Indeed.
“Okay.” Austin took a deep breath. “How do I do this?”
“He must open himself to it,” Ivy House told me. “Once he’s ready, I will begin.”
“No blood oath with him, huh?”
“His bond to you is his oath, and he’s done that a few times over. What do you want, his balls dipped in gold and mounted on your shelf?”
That was a bit much.
I relayed what she said…mostly. He steeled himself, and then relaxed everything except for the hold on my hands. He closed his eyes.
“Stay with me, Jess,” he murmured. “Keep me grounded. You’re the only one who ever could.”
His body jolted as though struck by Hollace’s lightning. He tensed, muscles flaring. A plethora of emotions tumbled through the bonds. The connections wobbled and fluctuated, one moment wispy and not right, the next blaring at me. His hands tightened on mine. His teeth ground.
His eyes peeled open slowly. The beautiful cobalt blue now held a little shimmer, as though he weren’t totally in this realm anymore. As though he had a bit of the otherworldly about him. They burned and blazed, off-kilter. Violent. Hostile.
A burst of power rocketed from his body, cutting through me. It didn’t hurt. Instead, it swirled the power within me, pulsing.
Another burst, and the trees waved as though from a large gust of wind. Storm clouds rolled in, dark and volatile. Rain threatened. The crackle of thunder wasn’t Hollace’s doing. Skeletons rose, and the dolls were on the move. He was playing with the power at his disposal.
His gaze stayed on mine, and I held it. He yanked me forward a little, then pushed me away. The emotions in our mate bond increased to a fever, fear and anxiety and elation and hunger.
“Do we fight the skeletons, or…?” Cyra called.
“Fight the skeletons?” Fred shrieked. “Are you crazy? Run from the skeletons, y’all. Run!”