Chapter 21 - Tara
This time, the hunt is during the day, and I was the one who called it.
After Jasper and I made love, we both saw that flower. It was the strangest thing. Another vision—a shared vision we both immediately understood—related to the curse.
I should have known from my research that the crown of feathers could represent the fragility of something like a flower.
It makes so much sense now, of course.
Jasper walks beside me, his hand brushing mine every now and then. Behind us are the witches, and as per usual, there are two witches for every one shifter.
This hunt, I feel prepared.
We were advised to take a certain route around the forest, one that follows areas with the most flowers, where the forest land is sunny and moist. Our team helped map this out into a perfect route, under the direction of Jasper, of course.
“This way,” Jasper beckons the group behind us.
Like last hunt, everyone is working together harmoniously. But this time, we’re more focused. More sure of where we’re supposed to go.
We finally have something more tangible to work with, and both Jasper and I have the image of it.
“I see a large flower,” Danielle says. “But it’s not white.”
Jasper thinks about it.
“We don’t want to go around destroying every flower in sight. Can you each cast a spell to detect for magical qualities?”
The witches communicate through subtle whispers and nods around us, before Danielle agrees.
“Yes, we can. But if we detect the flower, we’ll have to work quick. It’ll see us coming.”
“Sounds good,” Jasper agrees.
As we move forward, the witches carry a purple glow between each of their palms. The orbs are like the ones they carried at night, except that beneath the sunlight, these ones glitter and sparkle.
Every time we pass a flower, big or small, they’ll point the glow at it, momentarily covering it with a purple haze.
I’m not sure what they’re looking for, but after a few seconds, they shake their heads and move on.
“How are you feeling?” Jasper asks me.
“Fine,” I smile, looking around. “It’s such a beautiful day.”
The forest leaves swing back and forth, rustling with the wind. The light is shimmering yellow, tinging the forest with a majestic wonderland feel.
He laughs.
“What’s so funny?”
“You look like you’re on a tour or something. You’re the only one who seems to be so happy.”
I turn back and realize he’s right. No one else is smiling; they’re frowning. Concentrated.
“I’m just happy that we’re moving forward,” I admit. “But I can tone down the smiles if you want.”
He brushes my waist.
“I didn’t say all that.”
“I think I’ve found something!” One of the witches from the back of the group calls.
We turn, the air shifting, and notice that a flower hanging from a nearby branch is swirling in a purple glow.
“The glow is staying,” she says. “That means there’s something here.”
“Jade, look out!”
The skies open to reveal a familiar rippling darkness—smoky and heavy. That scream.
I know what it is, but I barely have time to register the shadow monster before it comes swooping down on top of Jade, and the group breaks out into a flurry of magic and chaos.
The witches stagger back as the purple glow begins to explode in their hands.
The flower is no longer purple.
Jasper puts a protective arm in front of me and orders two shifters to guard me.
Then two more shadow monsters peel out of the tree line, long and twisting, their red eyes honing in on our group.
“Stay steady!” Jasper commands, his voice hard and sharp.
He shifts in front of me, rolling his shoulders back and transforming into his big, gray wolf.
The witches scream around me, falling to their knees. The shadow monsters are weakening them somehow.
Each wolf shifts, lunging for the shadow monsters that dart in and out of their grasp. The two shifters guarding me tighten their stances.
“Shift!” I tell them, “Go!”
They shake their heads. “We’re under orders. We’re not moving.”
Behind us, Danielle cries out, a shadow monster is swirling its body around her, covering her in a tornado of white smoke.
She looks as though she’s choking, gasping desperately for breath.
“Get her!” Jasper yells.
Two shifters leap forward, landing with snarls as they pull at the shadows beneath their claws.
The sound of tearing fills the air as they pull the monster from limb to limb. It lets out one last, defeating shriek.
Jasper checks me again.
I shake my head. I know I’m human, but I’m not the priority, not now.
The witches scramble, whispering frantically, as they attempt to reignite a glow. Their chanting fills the air, momentum growing until another shadow monster dips down through the air and knocks two witches to the ground.
“What do we do?” I yell to Jasper.
He turns his wolf head, dips it back, and growls before hurtling himself into the air.
Mid-jump, he collides with one of the shadows, opening up his jaw and digging in his teeth with force.
There’s another scream, the sound of a deflating toy as the shadow monster dissolves into the air. Leftover smoke settles onto the floor.
The third monster gets away, shooting up into the sky and disappearing among the clouds. The shifters growl above.
I rush over to Danielle, who’s heaving on her elbows, her head barely lifting above the floor.
“Danielle!” I yell.
Jasper shifts back and instructs his crew to tend to the witches the best they can.
“I’m fine,” Danielle manages to say between heavy breaths. “I’m okay.”
But she doesn’t look okay, nor do any of the other witches, for that matter. Their faces have turned bone-white, cold, and lifeless. They’re all struggling to get themselves up off the ground.
The shifters tend to them, rushing to their sides in their human forms.
“Can you go on?” Jasper asks Danielle.
Danielle shakes her head. “There’s dark energy here; the further we go, the more there will be. Our presence will only attract more attention.”
I look at Jasper, whose face has hardened. “So, we call it off.”
“No!” I plead, “We’re so close, doesn’t this mean we’re in the right place? If we leave and come back, the shadow monsters will know we’re coming.”
“She’s right,” another witch says. “Best bet is for you two to go alone.”
From the look on Jasper’s face, I can see just how much he hates that suggestion.
“Alpha,” a shifter butts in. “If we stay here and protect the witches, it may be a distraction. It’ll allow enough time for you and Tara to go through and find the flower. After all, you both are the ones who saw the vision.”
I glance at Danielle, my breath coming out in rapid, panicked gasps. “But how will we destroy the flower, without your magic?”
Jasper has one protective hand, resting on the back of my waist. I expect him to say that going is too dangerous, but he remains silent.
The air is tense.
Danielle swallows and digs for something within her cloak.
“Here,” she says, offering a small silver dagger, enshrined with ancient markings and a glowing red ruby at its base.
I bend down to take it from her. Its weight resting in my palms, far heavier than I thought.
“We crafted this for the purpose of destroying Willow with one clean swoop. It should work better than fire or pure magic. It should be easier, although we haven’t used it yet.”
I nod, watching the dagger hum faintly against my palms, like it’s alive. My fingers tighten around the hilt.
Jasper’s eyes flick down to it, then up to mine, sharp and stormy. He doesn’t need to speak for me to understand everything he’s feeling.
“We’ll hold them off here as best as possible,” Danielle says, though her voice is trembling as she tries to stay strong. “You both should leave as quickly as possible. The darkness is awake.”
Danielle peers up at the heavy clouds above, her face pale as beads of sweat trickle down her temples.
Jasper exhales, his grip at my waist tightening for a split second before he lets me go. “Stay close to me. If you notice anything moving beside you that isn’t me, you stab it, okay?”
I swallow, nodding before remembering to speak. “Yes. Okay.”
The shifters close ranks around the witches as Jasper and I slip past them, deeper into the woods. As we move through the forest, even I begin to feel the darkness.
It’s hard to describe; it’s just an energy, a cold, unsettling sensation that seeps into my bones.
Jasper and I walk side by side as the sunlight fades behind an overlapping canopy of trees.
The world gets a little darker, there’s a mist that surrounds us, but I remind myself to stay strong.
“You good?” He asks, scanning our surroundings.
“Good,” I whisper, clutching the dagger between my palm.
I’m holding onto it for dear life.
In the distance behind us, we hear a shadow monster’s scream.
I panic.
“They’ll be all right,” he tells me. “We can’t stop.”
I nod, moving forward.
Our bodies are moving in unison now, our steps matching up with one another in perfect rhythm.
“Do you remember the way?” I ask him as we head toward what looks like an even darker part of the forest.
“Most of the flowers we mapped out are ones in exposed areas of the forest, but this way leads to those that thrive in the darkness. It’s even wetter here; they’re water flowers of sorts.”
I nod.
The forest has transformed now, no longer a bright shimmering paradise but instead a depth of darkness and mystery, wrapping its tendrils around us. Pulling us deeper into its lair.
“It’ll be fine,” he says, noticing my hesitation as we face the area where the forest narrows. “I’ve got you.”
I nod, savoring the look of complete control and competency in his moonstone eyes before forcing my legs to move.
The path ahead grows tighter, branches stretching like skeletons that seem to pull toward us. The mist thickens around us, and sensing my trepidation, Jasper edges closer to me.
I’m looking around frantically for any signs of the flower I once saw. My fingers tighten around the dagger, ready to attack.
I’ve never ‘attacked’ like this before.
There's rustling through the trees, and I pause, about to lunge with the dagger in hand, before Jasper steps in front of me. He puts one arm in front of my body.
My heart is beating out of my chest.
I glance at Jasper, his profile sharp in the dim light, and despite the fear curling in my stomach, I feel stable. Like nothing could hurt me with him there.
“Jasper—"
“Stay with me,” he says, moving forward. “The darkness is watching.”
I try not to look too closely at the shifting shapes between the trees. I can’t see exactly what’s there, but it’s like the more I look, the more I see faces staring back.
“I have a feeling that what we’re looking for—"
“Is going to be right at the end.”
We both gaze at the darkness, which opens up like a mouth at the end of the path.
Jasper slows, and I do too, taking small, careful steps. All I hear are our footsteps, creaking and slow.
And then, it happens.
What I’ve been waiting for, we’ve been waiting for.
My hand curls around the dagger. When in front of us, the clearing opens up onto a singular, tall white flower.
My heart jumps.
It’s exactly like the vision. White feathery petals, so delicate that it’s as though they could break. The stalk is long and tall. The crown of the flower is bent ever so slightly, as though it’s stooping its head.
I grip the dagger tighter, my breath shuddering out of me. Jasper offers me a reassuring nod.
I take three careful steps before swinging the dagger high over my head.
Here goes nothing.
Then pierce it down into the heart of the flower.
It feels soft and mushy beneath the blade; my heartbeat and breath struggle to stay constant.
I’m not breathing.
But I look, and at first the flower looks broken. Not in a magical way, per se.
How am I supposed to know?
And then the petals quickly change color—turning yellow, bright yellow.
The stalk shortens, a much smaller, different flower lies withered on the floor.
“Jasper—"
I go to turn back, but from the corner of my eye I see the flower disintegrate, and then I’m hit with a tidal wave of excruciating pain.
I topple over, my vision turns black.
I want to scream his name, but the pain is too much. It’s like a fire that snakes up my spine and spreads over my stomach and chest.
Gradually, I feel my life force slipping away from me, and all I can think is:
I don’t want to die. Not before I tell Jasper how I feel.