Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Finding out that Tharuzel broke through the primary boundary of Sebastian’s wards douses the celebrating spirit as if we’d all been suddenly initiated into the Ice Bucket Challenge.
Well, that and the fact that nobody has connected with Orion or Izzy since the ritual ended.
I know they were in position during the spell because I felt their energy, but after that… what happened is anyone’s guess.
Being persona non grata at Ashcroft Manor meant that the group volunteered Mica and Clara to swing by the Emberwood Coven property to see what they can find out.
Asher drops onto the couch, immediately pulls out his phone, and starts thumb-scrolling. Wylder heads to the kitchen, fills the kettle, and starts pulling out mugs.
Funny thing, he’s a bit of a tea granny.
Rowan paces near the windows, her arms crossed, shadows flickering around her like restless smoke.
I collapse into the armchair and hug a pillow to my chest. “Sebastian swore it wasn't the spell that set him free. It was just crazy timing.”
“And probably why he didn’t retaliate this time.” Rowan adds distractedly. “He didn’t care that we broke his hold because he didn’t need the sigils anymore. He’s powerful enough on his own.”
“That doesn’t bode well for the next two rings of warding. Now that he’s broken through one, it won’t take him long to break through the others.”
“Tharuzel isn’t our most immediate problem.” Asher finishes his doomscrolling and sits up. “Where the fuck are Orion and Izzy, and why haven’t we heard from Mica and Clara?”
Wylder sets up a round of tea and hot chocolates on the kitchen island with careful precision. “They should be there soon. I’m sure they’ll let us know as soon as they have an idea of what happened.”
Asher scoffs. “Laurel is what happened. We all know it.”
He’s probably right, but I don’t need to feed his anxiety. “She won’t be anyone’s problem much longer. Wait and see.”
Wylder looks up from making tea. “Wait, what did I miss?”
I run through everything that’s happened since last night and realize I forgot to tell him. “With Sebastian showing up with the plan for the sigil cleanse, it got lost in the shuffle.”
“What did?”
“Yesterday, Garrison Stonehoof teleported in, gave me super high-level clearance access to the Order database, and Asher and I identified the two mystery witches meeting Laurel. I sent the intel to him and to Vale. We’re waiting to hear back.”
Wylder is around the counter and hugging me in the blink of a moment. “Poppy, that’s incredible. That’s a big step closer to finding your sisters and figuring out what Laurel and her co-conspirators are doing.”
I like this new PDA version of Wylder. He’s a lot less broody and more snuggly. “We actually think we know what they’re doing.”
Wylder eases back. “What?”
I explain our theory and, as horrible as it is, the more I think about it, the more I think I’m right.
Wylder whistles through his teeth. “If that’s true, it’s going to destabilize those three covens.”
“Or more,” Rowan adds. “Nyx Blake and Heath Walker are only two other coven leaders that we know of. That doesn’t mean there aren’t others involved.”
Sad but true. “Well, the authorities are on it, and there’s nothing for us to do about it.”
“So that leaves us sitting here worrying.” Asher's leg bounces against the couch cushion. "Still nothing from Orion or Izzy. Clara says she and Mica checked Ashcroft and there’s no sign of them.”
Dammit. We should’ve noticed them missing from the chat earlier. Maybe then we could’ve been looking for them. “Man, I hate not knowing if they’re okay.”
Asher grunts. “That’s how we feel all the time around you, Pops. You’re a hard woman to love.”
I chuckle. “Sorry. I’ll try not to be such a burden of worry in the future.”
“You do that.”
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and Asher lets out a long exhale. “Thank you, sweet Baby Yoda.”
I pull out my phone and open the chat room.
ORION: We're safe. Explain soon.
Relief floods through me so fast I almost laugh.
"Thank the Goddess," Rowan breathes, slumping onto the couch. "Took them long enough."
"At least they're okay." I reread the message, wondering what Explain soon could mean.
Wylder sets a mug in front of me and brushes his fingers against mine. “That's one crisis off the list.”
“Yay! Let’s eliminate a few more.”
He winks. “I’m game for that.”
Five minutes later, the front door swings open. Orion hurries inside, his ebony hair disheveled, his jacket slung over one arm. There's a scrape across his cheekbone and dirt smudged along his jaw, but he's whole.
I'm on my feet before I realize I've moved.
Asher gets there first.
Him kissing the stuffing out of his sexy shifter boyfriend trumps me hugging my childhood bestie, so I wait my turn. Thankfully, I don’t have to wait long.
"Hey, Pop-Tart.” He wraps one arm around me, his other still firmly being claimed by a panicked Asher.
"We were worried." I pull back, scanning him for injuries. "What happened?"
He grimaces, running a hand through his hair. "Izzy and I got caught sneaking away from Ashcroft after the spell. A couple of coven witches spotted us and dragged us inside to be interrogated."
Asher sits up straighter. "Interrogated? Seriously? You were one of them for years."
"Yeah, but Laurel is pissed about our defection. She was yelling about unauthorized magic, disrespecting the coven, all that. Then that weird pulse hit."
Wylder straightens. "You felt it too?"
“Everyone did.” Orion tosses his jacket onto the back of a chair. “You should have seen Laurel’s face when it hit. It was like she was waiting for something or someone to explode through the door.”
My chest tightens. "Did she say anything?"
"Not to us. She dismissed everyone and told us to get out. Do we know what it was?"
“Sadly, yes. Sebastian said Tharuzel has breached the first barrier of his warding.”
Orion's jaw tightens. “That explains the ick of evil crawling under my skin."
Rowan nods. “Yeah, he’s not even free yet, and that released a wave of dark magic.”
Orion follows Asher to the couch and tilts his head back against the cushions. "So we save the town, and Tharuzel is strong enough to break free, anyway."
“Pretty much,” Wylder says.
Silence settles over the room like a weighted blanket.
Rowan's shadows curl tighter around her wrists. "If he's breaking free, we need Mica to find the Cinderheart Crucible and forge some weapons that can send him back to Hell.”
“Agreed.” I take out my phone to check in with Izzy, and then Mica. “And the sooner the better.”
The voices start before I'm fully asleep. They’re soft at first, whispers threading through the darkness like silk pulled taut.
Come outside, Poppy.
Come to us.
Come home.
The floorboards are cold on my feet, but I don't remember standing.
The hallway stretches longer than it should, the walls pressing inward. Shadows pool in the corners, thicker than night, moving when I'm not looking directly at them.
I’m not lost in the dream—the protections on me keep my mind my own—but that awareness isn’t helping to stop my body from obeying.
One foot in front of the other.
Down the stairs.
Across the foyer.
You are mine, Poppy Hallowind.
I am sooo not. I know I’m not, yet my hand still wraps around the door handle. It's so cold it stings my palm as if it’s burning it.
The sting doesn’t stop me from pulling it open.
Fight this! He doesn’t control me.
I try to scream for Asher, but no sound escapes my throat. I’m silent as I step onto the back porch. Not even the puppies hear me.
It’s a living nightmare, even worse this time because I’m aware of what’s happening and can’t figure out how to stop it.
The forest is an eerie companion tonight, the trees twisting at unnatural angles. Branches claw at me, pulling at my pajama pants and the sweatshirt I wore to bed.
You only have to be caught sleepwalking in the November cold once before you make sure your parts are covered in case it ever happens again.
The moon hangs low, casting long, distorted shadows across my path.
You’ve been a duplicitous little witch. You’re lucky I value betrayal and see the potential in you.
The ebony wolf prowls out of the darkness, its head low, its hackles raised, its gaze locked on me.
Shapes flicker at the edge of my vision—hunched and distorted, with too many limbs and not enough form.
Tharuzel’s demon minions, half-formed and hungry.
But no matter how much I want to go back into the house and climb back into bed, my intentions don’t seem to mean much.
The ground is frosty and hard beneath my feet, and my breath puffs out in white clouds of condensation in front of me.
I felt your interference this afternoon, breaking my connections to the humans. Not that it’ll stop me. My freedom is almost at hand.
The idea terrifies me. He’s causing enough damage while he’s trapped and unable to take form on the physical plane. What will he do if he’s free and corporeal?
The idea makes my insides twist.
I move deeper into the trees, and the forest closes around me, swallowing me into its darkness.
All the while, the eyes of the ebony wolf track me, burning through the darkness like glowing embers.
Haunting me… hunting me.
When it steps out of the shadow, my panic spikes. It's massive—twice the size it was before—its fur matted with something that might be blood.
Its lips peel back, baring its teeth. Gone is the dark seduction of its master. Now it growls, and the sound that rumbles from its chest vibrates through my bones.
And still, my feet take me closer.
Oh, forget this. My body may have drunk the Kool-Aid, but my mind hasn’t.
Ancestors, hear me. I project my intention with all my might, reaching for the magic woven into the Hallowind land. Help me—
The connection sparks.
I feel the power stir, rising like mist from the soil—
And then Tharuzel blasts me with some kind of pissed-off whammie, and the ancestors vanish.