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1197 Words
“s**t, she’s coming to.” What we were doing made me sick to my stomach. “Is there anything else you need?”
“The spell book.” Sage rushed to the coffee table and picked it up. “Okay, here it is.”
Endora blinked and grabbed her head. “Oh God, where am I?”
With shaky hands, Beatrice picked up the dagger and brought the sharp edge to Endora’s hand. “This might hurt.”
Those had been the wrong words to say.
“What?” Endora sat straight up, and her bottom lip trembled. “Help!” she yelled.
Unfortunately, she wouldn’t find the help she wanted here.
She yanked her hand from Beatrice’s and swung her feet onto the floor, about to stand.
Here we went again. She had to be talking to her father. Grab her now. I stole the dagger from Beatrice, ready to do the job on her behalf.
Aidan ran behind the couch and captured one arm, holding her in place, while Logan held the arm closest to me still.
“We don’t have time to waste.” I firmly gripped a finger and pricked it with the dagger.
“Ouch,” she whined, thrashing against their grasps.
“I’m sorry, but we’re doing what we think is best.” The words cut like glass. I turned her hand over, and Beatrice held the bowl underneath as I squeezed out drops of her blood.
“You can’t do this!” she cried as she shook with either rage or fear.
“Start the spell.” I got that the witches were struggling with this task—hell, we all were—but this was life or death. “She’s contacting them right now.”
Sage muttered words that made no sense to me. The surrounding air began to charge, and Endora’s eyes widened. She must have felt it.
“No, please, no.” Her skin rippled, proving her wolf surged inside. “I’ve got to go back to him.”
“Who is she talking about?” Samuel watched, wide-eyed, as the scene unfolded.
“Her father.” I’d bet money on it.
Lightning struck outside the house.
Honor’s head jerked toward the window. “What was that?”
“That’s what happens when you take someone’s blood against their will.” Amethyst stood and paced the room. “The magic in the air causes so much friction that lightning takes hold.”
Beth plastered herself against the wall. “Then, how the hell does black magic exist?”
“Haven’t you noticed tragedy strikes when it’s done?” Amethyst wrapped her arms around herself.
“Not exactly,” Beth replied.
Lightning flashed through the window, hitting the floor inches from Gabby.
She jumped in the air and fell to her knees.
“Somebody save me.” Endora gagged as friction chafed my skin.
The magic felt different from all of those times before. Now, I understood why they hadn’t been thrilled about performing it.
The windows shook and vibrated in the howling wind. The lights flickered, and Sage’s words became harder to hear.
“Is there something we can do?” I wanted to help fix this somehow.
“Finish the spell.” Beatrice placed her hands on the girl and lowered her head.
The ground shook. Aidan crawled over to me and pulled me into his arms. Stay here with me.
We have to do something. Coral, Rowan, and Finn were setting up a perimeter spell. Were they okay out there?
“No!” Endora cried out before her body stilled and her head hit the pillow.
“It’s done.” Sage sighed with relief, and the wind calmed down.
The ground rattled as it settled underneath us, and the wind gently stirred outside.
The room remained silent; only our collective breathing could be heard.
“Is she okay?” Amethyst pressed her hand to Endora’s forehead.
“Yes, it’s just that I blocked all of her connections.” Sage shut the book. “It overwhelmed her.”
“How long will this spell last?” Ivory asked as Remus rubbed his hands along her shoulders.
“I … I don’t know.” Beatrice sighed. “We’ll need to do it every few days to make sure it holds.”
We would have to go through all of this again? But right then, that wasn’t my concern. I stood and rushed to the door, racing to check on Coral, Rowan, and Finn.
O
nce outside the house, I sniffed the air and scanned the area. I didn’t know what I’d expected, but this wasn’t it. The moon shone brightly in the dark but cloudless sky. Besides the crack in the window, there was no indication that a storm had raged minutes before.
Aidan inhaled sharply and motioned toward the road. “They’re this way.”
The front door opened, and Amethyst rushed outside. “What’s wrong?”
“We need to check on Finn, Coral, and Rowan.” If the storm had attacked them as well, they might be in a horrible situation.
“They’re fine.” Amethyst gestured to the house. “Nature only attacked us because of the spell. It touched no one else.”
“Are you sure?” I hated the thought someone might need us.
“Yes. We would’ve secured the neighborhood if the spell presented a threat,” Amethyst said reassuringly. “And they should be back momentarily.”
“Okay.” I lifted my head toward the sky and collected myself. “That petrified me.”
“Couldn’t you have at least hinted that something like that could happen?” Aidan placed his hands on my shoulders and rubbed the knots.
I hadn’t realized how tense I was.
“She was waking, and we all reacted.” Amethyst opened the door. “I’m sorry we didn’t think to warn you.”
We followed her back in, and the shifters were still gathered next to the wall, in shock.
Beth’s pale face had sweat along her forehead. “Well, that was a doozy.” She placed a hand on her stomach. “I think I might puke.”
“Go to the bathroom, then.” Gabby took a large step away from her. “I don’t want throw-up on my shoes.”
“You’re both so dramatic,” Ada complained and headed into the kitchen. “Stress makes me hungry.”
“Feel free to eat whatever you want.” Beatrice didn’t take her attention off Endora.
“How do you think she’ll handle it?” I hadn’t considered the ramifications for her.
“I’m not sure.” Sage scratched her head. “Only time will tell. We’ve never performed a spell like this before.”
“She won’t be, like, a rogue wolf, will she?” Sunny asked with concern.
“Maybe.” Sage shrugged. “We’ll have to wait and see.”
“I will say, she’s out for the night.” Beatrice stood and grabbed the green throw from the backrest of the couch and covered Endora.
That’s when Coral, Rowan, and Finn entered the house.
- Writer
