Jonas lets out a muffled sound of shock, but he goes with it for a few beats until he can turn his head away without offending the great mage. She pulls back, eyes lidded with the satisfaction of being able to toy with someone’s life as she wishes. “Very well. How big of a window can you give me?”
Jonas rolls up his sleeves. “Now that Casek’s controlling her whole body? I’m honestly not sure I can do it at all, so the second you see your opening, go for it. Might be seconds. You’ll heal me afterwards?”
“Of course. No charge for that.”
The exchange is pleasant, as if they are talking about buying sweets at the convenience store. “Back up, Cary.” Jonas is all business now, a hard expression covering over the glimpse of dread flitting across his eyes. Carrigan waits until Jonas has a hold of Sophie’s forearm, securing it to the earth before moving aside. Then Jonas pins both of Sophie’s shins down with his own, kneeling over her body with a gap between their pelvises. When Jonas secures the arm I’m holding to the grass, I have a hard time relinquishing my spot by her side. I back up only a foot, ready to pummel if needed.
Sophie looks afraid when she blinks up into Jonas’ determined stare. “Jonas? Don’t let me hurt them!”
In a move so strange, I almost don’t understand what I’m looking at, Jonas dips his chin so he can plant a kiss onto Sophie’s forehead. She tenses before exhaling a whimper at his sweetness. “I won’t, little witch. I can fix this for you.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Valor
Jonas takes in Sophie’s obvious state of distress, his eyes boring into hers with an intensity that fascinates me. A glimmer of sadness surfaces first in her eyes, and then the emotion transfers to him. They’re one heartbeat, when this entire time they’ve been two disparate bodies. All the antagonism and frustration is forgotten in this moment where she needs, and he tries. It’s pain that unites them, along with their stubborn natures I’ve seen flare up in differing rhythms that bridges the divide between them. I’m spellbound by her admitting she’s in agony instead of hiding it behind her gentle smile, and even more riveted that Jonas is the one who can hold her through this anguish. Then she disappears as Casek takes over.
Every now and then, my Sophie breaks through Casek’s control with a raspy whimper and a heart-wrenching plea. “Help me! Jonas, please! Make it stop!”
He studies her face up close, compassion surfacing and tying them together as soldiers fighting in this arduous battle. “I will, Sophie.”
“Mother’s going to kill me! She won’t let me go! Don’t let me hurt Cary! Don’t let me hurt them!”
Jonas isn’t antagonistic when he shushes her; he’s oddly sweet to her. Then it hits me why: they have a common goal. They both adore Carrigan, and will do whatever it takes to give him a better life. Jonas is learning to love her, or at least care for her, because she shares that one sliver of his heart that still manages to beat unencumbered. “I won’t let that happen, alright? You just do your best to relax, and I’ll fix it.” He presses his forehead to hers and closes his eyes. “I’ll fix it all.”
Casek takes over again, and Sophie hisses and jerks to no avail. She’s sufficiently pinned, but Casek is determined to milk every last ounce of energy from the girl he’s thoroughly abused.
I have no idea what Jonas is doing, but when he starts sweating, I know the big guns of his psychic ability are beginning to manifest.
Carrigan tugs at his hair as concern starts to come out of his mouth in a flood of distraction. “Jonas, stop. This isn’t how this is supposed to go. You’re going to hurt yourself! You know you shouldn’t… You know what happened to Keisha! It’s going to hurt her!”
At mention of the name, Jonas turns his head toward Carrigan, his expression twisted in pain. “She was already dead when I broke her apart, and you know it! I’m stronger now. I know things that I didn’t back then. I can fix Sophie for you, Cary! You have to let me try this! Casek’s going to kill her if I don’t!”
Carrigan grips tufts of his blond hair and shouts his frustration to the sky.
Jonas goes into this trance-like state, his forehead pressed to Sophie’s while she vacillates between sobbing and cursing his name. It’s not for several minutes that his forearms start quaking as too much concentrated magic flows through him. It’s a shift I can feel in the air, but perhaps only because I’m old enough to appreciate the nuances of the world that most are not attuned to.
Ellie feels it too, and she positions herself on her knees next to me, at Sophie and Jonas’ heads. She places a hand atop both their crowns, gripping in a way that makes Jonas shout. I fall back, not wanting to be anywhere near the madness that’s flowing through Ellie right now. She’s using Jonas as a conduit, tapping into his massive magic reserves to get her grip on Casek.
Carrigan is frozen in a state of panic the moment Sophie’s screams—which we’ve started to grow accustomed to—ramp up to a new decibel of agony. “No! No, stop! Make it stop! It’s too much! I can’t!”
Jonas’ cry is pure determination. “Stay with me, little witch! Don’t let go! Don’t let go!” Though he’s holding onto her, I guess Jonas is referring to the tether that seems to be born from their fused foreheads. The intensity on both their faces makes it seem like Sophie’s very life is hanging off the edge of a cliff, fingernails scraping as gravity and just plain life threaten to pull her into its abyss. Jonas holds on for dear life, grunting and squeezing her arms as he pulls whole swaths from his magical reserves. He hands them over willingly because Carrigan loves her, so part of Jonas, however deeply buried, is connected to Sophie, as well.
Ellie’s eyes are wide, apparently dumbfounded at Jonas’ magic. “What are you doing? How?”
Jonas speaks through gritted teeth. “I’m a freak, too. I was born with born telepathy and telekinesis.” He grunts at the effort. “I’m reaching into her mind using telepathy, and now that I’m inside, I’m using telekinesis to untie the mage from her.” He lets out a whine of frustration.
“Incredible!” And just like that, I know Ellie’s found a shiny, new toy.
“Would you shut up? Casek’s tangled into every part! I have to be careful, or I’ll jerk loose something important that belongs to Sophie. I need to concentrate.”
Ellie’s usefulness in this situation extends beyond her understanding of magic. She can be cold and unconcerned about the wellbeing of others, which makes her a perfect candidate to get this job done. I’m torn between knocking her off the two of them and asking how I can help her. That’s always been my dilemma, though. She is equal amounts wicked and benevolent. “Oh,” she breathes, her face frozen in rapture as all Jonas has been doing his best to keep hidden from the world is finally revealed to her. “Oh, you’ll do quite nicely. Yes. More, my little soldier. So much more. Push her harder. She can take it. Mmm. Telepathy and telekinesis? In one psychic? I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Her words make my stomach churn because I know that tone. Ellie’s aroused, feeding off of Jonas and finally getting another one over on Casek. It’s akin to public masturbation when she groans, letting Casek see her in her glory. Sophie’s body is convulsing in what I can only guess is a seizure, but Ellie is smiling the grin of a smug victor, immune to the price Sophie’s paying at her very fingertips. “It’s enough, Ellie!” I shout.
“Everyone shut up! I can’t… I think I can hear the voice inside of her!” Carrigan’s holding his head, bracing himself against the onslaught of our internal voices. Sophie’s barrier is officially compromised, which I still can’t tell if I’m rooting for or against.
I cannot imagine what it’s like to be Carrigan—hearing too much all the time. I would’ve been driven mad ages ago.
“He’s saying ‘Mine, mine, mine,’” Carrigan chants with his eyes closed. He’s telling us what Casek’s saying as the great mage fights to keep his essence tucked tight inside his host. “‘If I can’t have her, no one can.’”
“Are you certain it’s
Casek?” I shout. “Has he been inside of Sophie this entire time?”
Carrigan nods. “It was never Mother Nature. He’s laughing now. Oh! Enough! I won’t let you damage her further!” Carrigan’s eyes fly open and he cocks his fist, but pauses when he realizes he can’t punish Casek without hurting his beloved.
Her scream from Casek’s internal attack rips me to shreds. Every time she asks for help, we all rush to her, but there’s nothing we can do. It’s up to Jonas, who’s trembling and sweating and gritting his teeth while he does all he can to let Elowen amputate the wicked parts inside of Sophie without the grace of anesthesia. “Almost! I feel it! I think I’ve got hold of it!” Jonas shouts.
Ellie’s smile is maniacal and filled with greed. “Yes. That’s good. Grip it hard and pull. Rip it out of her.”
“No! If I’m not careful, I’ll hurt her even worse.” Jonas mashes his cheek to Sophie’s, his butt up in the air. “Oh, my little witch. It’s dark. It’s so dark. I can’t believe this is what’s been inside of you all this time. Lay back. Lay back and let go as best you can. I can fix this.”
“Just do it!” Ellie screeches, but Jonas doesn’t listen. He doesn’t listen because he cares. Only Elowen can make Jonas seem like a good person by comparison.
“Hold her wrist for me, Cary.” The second Cary obeys, Jonas cuffs his free hand under the nape of Sophie’s neck, tilting her chin skyward in a move that’s almost… romantic? I can’t say exactly, only that it’s intimate, especially with her splayed out beneath him. He looks massive compared to her dainty form, and so very powerful that I take a step back. “Stay with me, little witch. Easy, now. Deep breaths.”
“It hurts!”
“I know. But I’m right here. I’ll get you through this.”
Sophie does her best to comply, and it’s clear this is the only chance Jonas is going to get.
“Okay, Elowen. On three, coax Casek forward. It’s the clearest path I can get you.”
I hold my breath through the countdown. When Ellie’s eyes close as the magic flows through her and into Jonas and Sophie, the ground trembles.
Carrigan leans forward, tears cascading down his cheeks at the sight of his two loves caught in this maelstrom of magic. When Sophie’s mouth wrenches open again, a black stream of fog barrels out of her, smacking Jonas square in the face. “No! You won’t stay in me,” he commands Casek, and the black fog shoots backwards at the rebuke, funneling up into the sky. I should think it would get smaller and dissipate, but it moves with purpose and form, like a snake slithering through the air.
It’s too much for Carrigan. He scrambles to hold them, ignoring the impotence of the moment. His love is illogical, but it drives him to hook one arm around Jonas’ shoulders, and dip the other to cradle Sophie under her ribs. He holds them together, weeping and pleading aloud with the universe to put a stop to the madness that torments his loves. His chest is bursting with too much empathy, and I know that even if Ellie cures his mind, his kindness will surely be the thing that kills him.
“Harder, Jonas! Pull harder!” Sophie shouts when she has enough of herself at the helm to let us know she’s still with us. Then she lets out another scream that jerks a tear down my cheek. It’s heartbroken, this last cry. It’s something enormous leaving her—for better or worse.
Hagan barrels into the fray, half-clothed with a wild roundness to his eyes. Frankly, I’m surprised he’s held himself back this long. It’s been hours his self-control has held up. Sophie pleading is the straw that breaks it all for him. I can see the collision before it happens, so I stand and place myself between the man on a mission and the mission I can’t let him destroy. I brace myself for the impact, and Hagan doesn’t disappoint. He’s a tank, and getting body-checked by him knocks the breath from my lungs with a pathetic “oof!” I do my best to grab onto his limbs, slowing him down so the spell can be completed, but it’s like hopping onto a truck and expecting it to slow. If I love Sophie, there’s a whole other term for how Hagan is connected to her.
The wind picks up out of nowhere, whistling at a gallop through the trees as if it’s been summoned by a force far greater than nature herself. Ellie tilts her head back and shouts, unleashing her throaty finale to the forest that’s just mysterious enough to contain all that she is.
Hagan shakes me loose and rips Jonas off of Sophie as if he’s nothing more than a pesky pillow to be cast aside. The black fog dissipates as Carrigan hovers over Jonas, slapping his cheeks as the man stares into the ceiling of the woods.
Ellie’s panic is never a good sign. “No! No, I need more! Jonas, come back here.” She leans over Sophie, kneeling on her abdomen. My young one is so bedraggled that barely a moan escapes her lips at the affront. I wonder if she’s hit some sort of pain maximum.
Carrigan rips his gaze from his friend to yell at Ellie. “Don’t even think about it! Casek is your mess to deal with, not ours. Jonas is barely breathing!”
Ellie’s worry bleeds into my brain. “If Casek’s unleashed into the world, you cannot fathom the damage he will do! I need to tap into Jonas’ magic so I can rein Casek in. Bring Jonas over to me now!”
“No! He’s given enough for this. Use your own damn magic.” The balls of steel required to stand up to a mage like Elowen impresses me to no end. “Grab Sophie and let’s get out of here, guys. Let the mages battle this out without us. Now!”
I move to lift our girl but Hagan roars at me. Actually roars. So I pick up our packs and do what I can to be helpful. Hagan’s hands are shaking with either fear or rage, I can’t tell. The fact that he’s a man and not a bear amid all the upset tells me that Sophie’s magic has snapped back into place.
And through it all, I’ve kept tight to my conscience. The tassel looks lighter than a feather on Ellie’s hip, but it’s the one thing I’ve been missing in my life.
Jonas is a big man, but Carrigan angles his friend’s limp body over his shoulders, his face set with so much determination, I wouldn’t be surprised if Carrigan had the stamina to carry the full-grown man like that for days.
Ellie stands with rage pinching her features. “Valor, you will stay with me.”
Her command ricochets off me, but it’s Hagan who lays down the law. “Valor belongs with us. Find a new scratching post if you’re in heat.” He tosses me a hard look that tells me not to look back on the life I barely escaped the first time.
Her finger feathers the tassel I know is mine. “You will never find your peace without me. The only way to get it back is to stay by my side.”
I let out a strangled cry of defeat, but that’s all it is. I’m defeated, not torn. I know I cannot stay with her, even if it would give me back to myself.
It’s like she can sense when my world is about to find homeostasis, which is when she intervenes with her chaos. She clears the gap between us and presses her lips to mine in a forceful kiss.
I’m livid and push her away. “Never again,” I vow, and I realize that I’m with a woman now who wouldn’t dream of taking something precious from me. Sophie wouldn’t call the sick practice of withholding “love.”
Ellie’s fist is clenched at the public rejection but her chin is raised. “Leave me now and your girlfriend will never rest again. She’ll always worry that you’re the wicked man everyone knows doesn’t belong. You have no idea what you’ve just done.”
But I do know. I know, and I walk away all the same.
It’s then that Elowen calls out a curse that brings Carrigan to his knees.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Sophie
I have no clue where I am when I hear the trickling of the faucet. It plinks and pours simultaneously, making me wonder if Dad’s made breakfast yet or if it’s my turn. If it’s my turn, I’m making pancakes. It’s been too long. I bought the real maple syrup, so hopefully he’s hungry. Dad can put away an impressive amount of pancakes if I put sliced bananas and cinnamon in them.
Birds chirp near my window, telling me it’s time to wake up. I w
ant to beg them for ten more minutes. When I try to roll over onto my side, I amend that request to fifteen. Maybe twenty. My whole body feels like it’s whining about the state of things it can’t control. Everything aches but I can’t remember why. Did I go running last night? Did I run, like, five marathons in a row or something? I don’t remember ever being this sore.
When one eye opens to scold the nearby bird who’s harping on that yes, it’s morning, and yes, it’s time to get going, I frown when I don’t see the mural Dad painted on my ceiling. The forest scene with every kind of flower imaginable—painted in order of potency in spell-work—has been replaced by actual nature. The lush greens, browns and yellows confuse me so much that I close my eyes once more, knowing my brain must be mistaken.
When I open my eyes again, there’s a man in my face.
“Hagan?” I rasp. As soon as I say his name, too many facts slam into my mind, reminding me that there is no promise of pancakes or Dad anywhere in my future. The memory of being brutalized from the inside-out washes over me. Miles and miles of pain stretched on for too many hours. But I don’t feel any of that now. I’m achy all over and my throat is hoarse and crackly, but the unending agony is gone. When I shift on the grass, my limbs feel rubbery, almost liquidy with lightness. My whole being feels unweighted, like I’m floating.
Hagan scoops me into his arms to rest against his chest, and I’m dizzy as I try to take it all in. Hagan’s talking to me, but I’m not concerned with what he’s saying. I’m seeing the world through a foggy glass that takes its sweet time coming into focus.
The sound of water running holds my attention, and when I tilt my head to get a better look, I realize we’re at a waterfall smack in the middle of the woods. The greens and blues of nature are so striking that I forget Hagan’s still speaking to me. I forget about the memory of pain. I forget about Mother, and the horror of it all.
Savage Possessed: A Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy Adventure (Twin Rivers Possession Book 2) Page 14
