Chapter 32
Chapter
Thirty-Two
He’d be furious at me later, but Ethan wouldn’t be able to handle getting hit by more than one of those spells. Using all the strength I had, I shoved Ethan, sending him flying through the air.
He landed with a thud and a grunt just as the first spell hit me. Ethan rolled, his face furious when he lifted it from the ground.
Our eyes met. Searing pain bloomed in my chest.
The second spell hit me. I went to one knee.
“MOIRA!” Ethan scrambled to his feet.
The third spell hit. Blood bubbled from my lips. My insides felt like they were rearranging themselves. One of the witches laughed.
I slammed my hands against the ground and called Cernunnos’s magic.
Power sizzled in my veins, the warm, ancient feel of his magic sliding from my fingertips.
The earth buckled, sending the witches flying into the air.
A blur of gray fur flew past me and slammed into the leader. Blood sprayed in an arc.
I crawled toward him, the spells working to slow my heartbeat. Three death curses.
They were waiting for us.
Blood dripped from my nose and eyes, plopping to the ground in large droplets. I reached for that strange power I’d been given at Caelan’s Keep, opening up a portal and pulling out anything that might be able to help me.
Cernunnos thought I might be able to use the power with my will, as in I pushed an image into my mind and opened the portal holding that image. A silver spear appeared in my hand.
“Fuck,” I whispered and choked. I was a vampire, not a Viking.
The spear warmed in my hand, and I used it to help myself to my feet. Ethan had taken three witches down and was trying to reach a fourth, but there were still several witches still on their feet throwing spells. Fortunately, death spells took a lot of prep, and they were tapped out on that front.
He’d shifted and couldn’t use the flare gun. My eyes went to the pile of his clothing. It had to be there. Leaving him felt like a betrayal, but if I could summon help, we might make it out of this alive.
I thought of Cernunnos. We were somehow linked these days, through either our shared magic or something more concerning, and all I could hope was he would hear me.
I used the spear as a cane and sort of half loped, half dragged myself to that pile. I went to my knees when I reached it and dug through until my fingers hit hard metal.
“Thank the gods.” I coughed up a concerning amount of blood and raised the gun in the air, firing off a flare.
I stabbed the spear into the ground once more and forced myself into a standing position.
When I lifted my eyes, my mother stood before me.
Her green gaze studied me, more solemn than I’d ever seen her. “You’re dying.”
I coughed up blood. “I’m aware,” I wheezed.
“That does not suit my purposes.”
I let out a rasping laugh. “Can’t say I care.”
She raised her hand to cast a spell.
“No!” I threw magic, but I was too weak to send more than a trickle that Mom easily dodged.
“You’re too weak,” Mom mused. “Though I’m curious how you are using god magic.”
She stepped closer and gripped my chin, forcing me to meet her eyes. “Curious. It seems all those years did something other than allow you to age. Tell me, Moira. What secrets are you hiding from me?”
Warmth bloomed in my chest, Fee’s presence making herself known. If I died, so would the rest of the phoenix’s spirit, and that was a shame after what she’d done for Evie and the world.
I smacked my mother’s hand from my skin. “Don’t touch me.” I wheezed.
She laughed. “Still far too hardheaded for your own good.”
I looked over her shoulder, hoping against all hope Evie and everyone else would show up, but no one was there.
A pained yelp rang out from the witch’s camp. Hopelessness filled me.
“If you’re looking for your friends, I’m afraid they have been delayed.” She smiled, the sight sending terror through my veins.
Every time she smiled like that, she delivered pain. I shuffled back, a moan of agony bubbling from my throat. Everything hurt. Every breath I took felt like inhaling razor blades.
Mom stepped forward. “If you don’t allow me to help you, you’ll be dead in a few minutes.”
“Going with you is worse.”
“Who says I will hurt you?”
“You always hurt me.”
Mom shook her head. “I needed you to be something more than you were, so I molded you into what I needed.” She made a tsking noise. “And then you ran from me before you knew why I needed you.”
“To keep your smooth skin and lustrous hair,” I growled. “You wanted my essence because you’re obsessed with immortality.”
Mom shook her head. “It’s not quite that simple, my darling.”
“I don’t care.” The next step back was easier to take, that warmth in my chest blooming into a full glow.
I rested most of my weight on the spear. “Leave now and you won’t die.”
My mom’s laugh sounded like silver bells. It always creeped me out how someone so evil could have such a beautiful laugh. “Oh, Moira. It’s such a joy to see you all grown up.”
Another yelp. I had to get to Ethan. Hanging on this long was a miracle. A Lord could do many things, but going up against an entire coven would test even their mettle.
I took another step back, pretending to try to hobble away. Fee’s power burned through my veins, the witch’s curse slowly fading. Mom came closer, a satisfied smile on her lips.
She always expected to win.
My hand tightened around the cool metal. I planted my feet on the ground and watched her.
“You look like you’re making your last stand. Really, Moira. There’s no need to be afraid of me.”
An incredulous laugh broke from me. “You broke every bone in my body! You poked and prodded me with fire.” My voice trembled.
“You hurt me. Every single day. And not only that, you brought in a vampire to turn me against my will when I hadn’t even gone through puberty.
You wanted me to stay forever young so you could continue hurting me. ”
Mom stopped. Her eyes narrowed, perfect lips shaping into a sneer. “You owe your life to me. I gave you everything!”
“I never asked to be born! You only wanted me because you wanted to consume me. Don’t act like you were in any way charitable.”
Mom shook her head, tears filling her eyes. “You have no idea what it’s like to be me. How hard it was back then for a woman alone with a child.”
“I don’t care,” I hissed. “I would have been better off if you smashed my head in with a rock the moment I was born!”
Mom sucked in a breath. “Moira! You were my most prized possession.”
Her eyes flickered as she realized what she said. I slowly lifted the spear from the ground.
“Possession,” I repeated. “That’s exactly what I was to you.”
She took a step forward. “Moira. Mothers make mistakes.”
I stared at her incredulously. “A mistake is forgetting to send the signed folder back in Kindergarten. Or forgetting to make cupcakes for a bake sale. Not letting a creature do unspeakable things to your daughter.”
All the horror and rage rose up inside me.
I let Mom come closer, her hands outstretched as if she actually cared about me.
She always pretended to care about me when she wanted something, and whatever she wanted must be important for her to expend the power to distract Evie and the others and come at me.
She was a few feet away, tears spilling down her perfect cheeks.
I lifted the spear and hefted it at her.
Mom’s eyes went wide as the spear hit her in the center of her chest, sinking in with a sickening squelch and a flash of strange purplish magic. Too concerned about Ethan to worry about it, I left her there as she swayed in shock and ran to Ethan.
Fee’s magic still worked to expunge the curse, and I was running at about half speed, but I was up and I was still alive.
That had to count for something.