Chapter 35 Trish
Trish
“Where are your wolves?” I asked, trying to remain upright as I sat with my back pressed against Calla’s back, watching the blood thicken and drip down my arm.
This is pathetic, my wolf whined.
Skin really shouldn’t take this long to mend itself. If this was the normal rate of healing, it sucked.
Also, I’d lost a lot of blood.
The silver cage slowed our healing abilities to a trickle, and kept us from stretching out in either direction to avoid risking a contact burn. I’d thought silver cages were illegal. Not that the evil warlock was following any laws—shifter-made or natural—right about now.
Hence me and Calla being locked in said cage while my wolf weakly looked out through my eyes.
“I sent them away,” Calla whispered.
I still had enough energy to gasp. “They left you?”
“After I pulled an arrow from Horton’s flank and told them to go?” Her growl had none of its usual bite. “Yeah.”
I stared at the coagulating blood on my arm, feeling sick at the thought of those wolves being hurt. “Can you sense them? Are they safe?”
“I’m hoping they’ll find their way to Alpha Kera,” she said. “What about you? Can you connect with your pack?”
“No. They’re too far away.” I shut my eyes, trying again even though I knew it was useless. Why had I been so happy to get them out of my head for once in my life? I took it back now, and I wasn’t ashamed to say that I wanted my mom.
Except I didn’t want her or any other powerful witch near Vincent and his crazy ritual.
“You know…” Calla started. “You’d think that if you abandoned me to get laid by your mate, then you’d at least have sealed the bond so we could communicate with someone right now.”
I didn’t know where she found the energy to be angry, but it gave me another burst of adrenaline. “I already apologized for denying my soul-bound yet another time apparently so I could get back here to make sure you were safe.”
“Too little, too late,” she huffed.
“Like I was supposed to know the crazy cult leader would pick today to go off the rails?” It took an enormous amount of effort to push myself off her back and turn around.
Calla was slow-moving too. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?” Really, I was dying to hear this.
She glared at me. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Obviously it does.” I glared back.
“Years ago.” Something in her normally cool demeanor snapped as she slapped her hand against her heart. “You were my friend too. The only one who understood my curse and didn’t avoid me like I carried the plague because I might see their future. As soon as your magic failed, you ditched me.”
My jaw dropped. “You stopped talking to me right after my gram died.”
“You pushed me away.” Some of the fight drained from her as she lowered her gaze.
Did I?
I think you did.
I didn’t know anymore. Everything during that period was hazy. My grief became a wet blanket that muted sights and sounds, heavy to carry, and it felt like I carried it alone.
But maybe I did that to myself.
Getting older sucked when you were forced to examine all your faults and pick which ones to fix. Why were there so many of them?
I wanted to fix this one.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I never meant to hurt you.”
“I’m sorry too. I loved Lisa, and I should’ve tried harder to be there for you.” Calla wiped her hand over her eyes. “It doesn’t matter now. It’s in the past.”
“Still always looking to the future.” I chuckled to myself. This was the Calla I remembered. “Tell me, Seer. Do you know how we get out of this mess?”
I glanced down at my arm, amazed to see that the skin was stitching itself together now.
“The cage door is open,” Calla said.
“Really?” I asked, shocked she’d had a vision that quickly. “Can you see when? And by who?”
“Now, and by that girl.” Calla nudged my side.
Thank the… Maybe we’ll start thanking Science like Mom to be on the safe side.
Fresh air came through the open doorway and I took my first full untainted breath in hours. Sarah stood just outside the cage, nervously backing away.
“Thank you!” I gushed, scrambling to crawl out with Calla right on my heels.
“Wait,” Calla said as Sarah moved to the opening of the utility tent we’d been placed in, right between the crates and unused equipment, because apparently that’s where discarded witches belonged. “Why are you helping us?
“This isn’t right.” Sarah shook her head. Her eyes were blown wide with fear as she peeked outside. “He said we had a choice. None of them are choosing. Hurry and get out of here. I’m going to find my Alpha.”
“You heard her,” Calla said as Sarah ran. “Let’s go.”
“Hang on… She said, ‘None of them.’” I paused outside the tent, turning to the direction we’d been dragged. A warlock on patrol walked down the path, and I pulled Calla back to hide us both.
“No.” Calla stomped her foot. “I don’t want to play hero like some cocksure alpha wolf today. I’ve already been tied up, cut, and caged.”
“It’s fine.” I took a deep breath, feeling my power surge through my veins again.
We can do this. My wolf nodded.
“Go tell Jaxon to find my mom and aunt Kera and tell them all what’s going on,” I said.
“And abandon you so you can hold it over my head for the next decade?” Calla asked. “Screw that.”
I eyed her warily as the guard passed. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
She shrugged. “I’ve had visions where we’re both a little older than this, so I’m assuming we don’t die today.”
That was… oddly comforting. “Speaking of visions, did you end up remembering what yours was from yesterday?”
“Lots of blood and damnation. Something about the old gods descending and not completing the ritual,” she said.
“Makes sense.” I nodded, recalling how foggy Gram said visions could be. “Sounds like it’s about to come to pass. But we’ll stop it. Ready? On three. One… Two…”
“Let’s just get this over with.” Calla pushed past me.
We jogged down the path and ended up back where we’d started, at the rear entrance to the religious tent.
“That blood wasn’t there this morning, right?” Calla pointed at the dirt path mixed with blood and stomped over with boots.
I sniffed. Some of it was ours, and some clearly wasn’t. The intuition I’d tapped into the past few days was screaming at me to hurry up.
It was good to have her back.
We ducked back into the tent with the ceremony, sneaking in behind the female statue of Aphrodite with her loving hands ready to cradle the evil before her.
The warlocks in black that had helped Vincent during the trials now stood as guards keeping the remaining congregation in their seats, while others paraded a group of six or so witches I’d seen on the field down the center. Glassy-eyed and moving slow, the witches were led to the stage.
Vincent stood on the dais with blood running in a river down the trough, chanting as he held the golden knife aloft. Quick as lightning, the blade slashed a witch’s throat, and her body toppled upon the pile growing at Vincent’s feet.
“I’m going to be sick,” Calla hissed, pausing for a moment as we hid behind the statue of some saintly-looking monk I’d never seen before. “He can’t actually think he’ll get away with this. They’re going to find out.”
But it didn’t matter what Alphas or powerful witches were just outside his gates. In here, he was getting away with it and someone needed to stop him.
We’ve got this.
Magic thrummed through my veins as a feminine anger unlike any I’d ever known burned within me. I might not have known these witches, and I may have been cut off from my true nature for years, but every one of them was my sister.
I rounded the next statue—Hecate smiled down at me—and grabbed the warlock who came through the flap of the tent.
The witch in his arms stumbled, staggering into the golden statue of the witch goddess.
“She’s drugged,” Calla cried.
“Get her outside.” I felt the magic warming in my hands, drawing it from the warlock I held in a headlock. A healer. Anger boiled over. “Get them all outside. I’ll take care of the warlocks.”
I couldn’t use his healing power against him, not like he was abusing it now.
It was my wolf’s strength I leaned into. The warlock lost his footing as I cut off his air supply, clawing at my arm that refused to yield.
There were still six other warlocks walking through the center pews, and a few pushing back the congregation. The commotion hid the noise of what I was doing.
I wouldn’t be able to take them all out at once, but I was taking down as many as I could.
The limp body of the warlock went flying into the back of his companion, knocking him down and disorientating the others.
I growled as I jumped into the confusion.
Calla followed right behind me, grabbing the next drugged witch, as my claws slashed into the warlock’s shoulder, tearing through his black cloak and chest.
Those still in the pews started to scream, scrambling to get away as the guards fought to keep them contained.
“You two again?” Vincent’s voice boomed through the tent as he dropped the witch he held.
A warlock grabbed me from behind, trying to subdue me with force alone, which was a dumb mistake on a normal day.
I threw my head back, smashing his nose, and twisted in his arms. His magic called to me, dark and thirsty as it tried to drain my life force.
An energy vampire in the flesh. I smiled to myself, flexing my fingers as he yelled through the blood running down his face and tried to suck my magic from me.
“Didn’t we establish you two witches aren’t powerful enough to be here?” Vincent roared. The crack of thunder followed his voice.
But I focused on the warlock screaming at me instead.
My hands landed on either side of his cheeks and I inhaled, just as his fist wrapped around my throat. I couldn’t quit smiling. The look on his face was priceless as he crumbled and deteriorated under my touch, succumbing faster to his own magic than he could use it against me.
And damn that was a rush.
I’d never played with an energy vamp before.
The two warlocks up ahead abandoned their charges, running at me instead, when a gust of wind blew all of us back.
I caught myself on the leg of a pew, using the bench as cover, and Calla crawled along beside me as we struggled to free another drugged witch from under the warlock’s legs.
The wind was really howling now as Vincent cursed and yelled on stage. “Bring them here.”
A warlock managed to stand tall in the face of the tornado, his dark eyes promising murder as he zoned in on us. The wind beat at his back, almost as if…
I had an idea.
“Stay behind me,” I told Calla as we crawled between the pews, holding on for dear life and passing the congregation that had also ducked for cover.
The warlock reached down to grab me, and I grabbed his wrist instead, feeling the power of his warding strength surround us like a shield.
In his confusion, I snapped his arm, bringing him howling to his knees as I gave Calla the shield to drag another witch behind the cover of the pews.
“You desecrate a sacred ritual!” Vincent leapt offstage.
He’s still talking?
I stayed low, holding onto the screaming warlock to buy Calla more time, until Vincent ripped him from my grasp.
“This is a holy sacrifice.” Spit flew as he yelled in my face.
“No.” I climbed to my feet. “This is murder.”
A gust of wind sent me backwards, but I grabbed his arm just before I flew away.
I loved when they recognized my power.
“You’re a reflection.” His eyes widened when I drew on his strength, almost drunk on the magic he could wield as it filled me. No wonder he thought himself perfect. He’d had this within him all along. The air. The wind. The clouds. The sky. All her power.
I could feel it everywhere. I could drown in it. Control it, and be magnificent.
Focus, my beast reminded me.
Right. I gathered his violent heat, trying to channel it into something tangible and burn this fucker where he stood.
Thunder rattled again. The sky gathered above the tent, anxious to come to my call.
His hand cracked against the side of my face, knocking me off balance.
My wolf surged forward, baring her fangs, and I tackled Vincent to the ground. We hit the dirt together, and he rolled away, just out of my grasp. Growling, I—
The wind knocked me back into the statue of Cerberus. Frustrated, I screamed at these stupid gold statues. Getting thrown against them hurt like a bitch.
“Don’t pretend you can control my power.” Vincent sneered as he stood tall, channeling his wind toward me. Thunder boomed again, and I knew it was only seconds until he charred me with his lightning.
“Oh, I could control it.” I laughed, knowing a few more seconds and I would’ve been able to use it as well as he did, and he’d had a lifetime to practice.
But the ground shifted beneath my feet and I realized it didn’t matter now anyway.
A thorny vine shot up from the earth, wrapping itself around Vincent as he screamed, looking wildly around. “What is this? Whose power is this?”
He’s here! My wolf yipped.
“How rude of me.” I dusted myself off, feeling giddy all over like I always did when I sensed him coming closer again. “Have I not introduced you to my mate?”