by R L Medina
I sighed, letting the magic glide over my skin and ball up against my palm.
“Do you want everyone to see this, Diego? Even Sylvie?”
His mate sneered at me.
“Go ahead. Use your magic. Stop me if you can.” Diego turned to the crowd. “She’ll use magic to keep us all in line, but can’t bring anyone back? Can’t break the curse?” His voice rose.
Damn him. It was all a ploy.
Angry hisses and murmurs erupted. The idiots didn’t understand how it worked and they wanted someone to blame. Diego was giving that to them.
“My Queen—”
I silenced Kohl with a look.
Diego watched us. “You stay locked in your palace keeping your secrets, but what about us? Are we just supposed to believe your word? Some of us will be twenty in a few weeks. Are we gonna die just like all the others?”
Yes. The spell was still in effect. No one made it past their nineteenth year.
“Believe it or not, Diego. My coven and my witches are your only hope. You want answers? Let us do our work and stop with this petty, useless killing and torture.”
He shook his head. “We don’t want words, McKenzie. We want action.”
Fire lit inside me. “Action? Well, then. Here you go.”
My body trembled as the energy shook inside me ready to erupt. The burning made me wince, but the pain was fleeting. I released my magic into the wind and smiled as it exploded around us. Colors flashed in the sky.
First, the injured wolf. The wind, infused with magic cracked the stone tablet in half, and he fell to the ground.
Next, it drove the crowd away. Their screams and snarls were music to my ears as the invisible threads of magic tore at their clothes. Clawed their faces.
Diego and Sylvie glared at me.
My witches joined in, pushing the mob back into the streets. Some of the rogue witches tried to fight back, but their hold on magic was pitiful. Laughable. They skittered out of the square, falling over each other.
“You seen enough action yet, Diego?” I taunted.
The magic still thrummed around me, buzzing in my ear. I could do so much more.
He gave me a mirthless smile. “You’ve only proven my point. Stop playing games. We need that cure, McKenzie.”
“Then stay the hell out of my way and stop with these stupid outbursts.”
Sylvie’s eyes narrowed. “You’re the one with the outbursts.”
Diego held a hand up to her, silencing the bitch.
“Any wolf that deserts his mate and pack doesn’t deserve to live. But if you want him take him.”
He kicked the injured wolf from the platform. His large body rolled to the grass and came to a stop. He groaned.
“Kohl.” I motioned for my witches to grab him.
I watched Diego and Sylvie as they directed their pack to stay back. There were more of them than us, but we had magic and what I said was true.
We were the city’s—maybe the world’s—only chance at stopping the curse.
I just had to figure out how.
The coven was in an uproar when we returned. Lips flapped, their whispers echoing off the walls.
“A werewolf in the coven? What was the queen doing?”
“Melody would never have allowed it.”
I lifted my chin and stilled their tongues with my stare. Kohl and the others carried the unconscious boy behind me, the sound of his scraping boots filled the room.
“Put him in the old parlour,” I ordered.
They headed for the stairs. I turned back to face the rest of the coven.
“Reset the wards. I don’t want anyone in. And no one goes out. Not tonight.”
“But we just set the wards,” a witch argued.
My eyes shot to her. “Do it again.”
She flushed and bobbed her head in agreement before skulking back into the crowd. I waited for any other complaints, but everyone fell silent.
Good. I hated having to play the queen card. Why couldn’t they just do what was needed without me having to tell them every time?
With a final glance back, I climbed the stairs to see to the wolf. The giant mirror hanging in the middle landing caught my eye. My reflection stared back at me. My God. How I’d aged. I looked like Mama. Her face flashed in my mind, making my heart twist. Dark flawless skin, full lips, and laughing brown eyes. Only my eyes didn’t laugh. No, my resting bitch face was something I’d inherited from Grammy.
I took a deep breath and blinked away the tears threatening to surface. I was the queen of Savannah and queens didn’t cry. At least not when others could see them.
Pushing away the emotions, I continued the rest of the way. The others disappeared with the wolf around the corner as I made it to the second floor. I charged forward down the hall and headed for the upstairs parlour.
A spirit paused and turned at my approach, but I didn’t stop. Her translucent form wavered as she let out a stream of muffled words. The old mansion was filled with the lonely apparitions. Witches who’d lived there before and were either too greedy to leave the magical place or didn’t know how.
None of them could help me with the curse so I didn’t bother with them. There wasn’t time. Diego’s words replayed in my head.
We need that cure.
I knew that better than anyone. It was the only thing that kept me going, that kept me holding onto the material world when I’d like nothing better than to follow my sisters into that sweet darkness where grief couldn’t claim me.
“My Queen.” Kohl’s voice snapped me to attention.
The others bowed as I entered the room and backed away from the werewolf. His body was sprawled on the couch, his blood bright against the cream, upholstered sofa. Several cuts and bruises marred his brown skin, but nothing my healers couldn’t tend to.
I watched him from a distance, sensing his inner wolf on guard. Though the human part of him was passed out, his wolf could still emerge and take control. A cornered alpha could do some damage.
“I’m trying to help you. Will you let me help you?”
His lip curled in defiance, but his eyes remained shut. Stubborn ass.
“We can heal you, if you want.”
He tossed and turned, nearly rolling off the sofa. A growl came from him. His wolf didn’t want us any closer. He was on edge, any moment he’d shift.
“Cast a sleeping spell,” I instructed Kohl.
His hands flew, summoning enough magic to knock the wolf out. He let the spell fly. It hit its target, the affect immediate.
The werewolf slumped against the fabric.
“Call in a healer and get me when he wakes.”
“Yes, My Queen.”
I turned and headed for my bedroom. Magic still lingered on my skin and after the energy I’d spent casting, I needed a rest. I sighed. I wouldn’t be able to perform any more experimental spells until I could recover which meant the rest of the night was wasted.
Diego.
The wolf was quickly becoming a bigger and bigger pain in my ass. If I’d known he was going to challenge my authority, I never would have helped him take control of the city. What he’d done to the humans since then was on me. It was my fault, but it was the price I’d been willing to pay to try to save us all.
Without the humans hunting us all to extinction, I could focus on what was important—breaking this goddamn curse.
Pushing away the thoughts, I made it to my room and downed the herbal tea one of my healer’s had left for me. The warm liquid burned my throat with its spiciness, the coolness of the mint leaf followed.
I stood and let the magic settle over me, replacing the energy it had taken. Refreshed, I sighed and moved to my desk to pour over more books. It was a tiring existence. Casting, reading, studying, and casting some more. A dull ache filled my head at just the thought of deciphering the ancient texts. I’d give anything to have technology back. It would have made my research so much easier.
Images swam in front of
me as I opened another giant tome. Faded pictures of Savannah witches all through the centuries performing various rituals and spells. My eyes scanned the handwritten list of ingredients, heart sinking. I’d studied all the lists already. Even if we found all the necessary stuff, it was still unlikely the spells would work.
The witches before us did something no one had before. They used vampire, werewolf, human, and witch blood to set the spell. It was the most volatile and powerful spell in the history of witches, and it worked. Just not in the way they, or anyone, expected.
Where the strange sickness came from, no one knew, but it struck hard and fast, all over the globe. No amount of medicine or scientific experimentation could stop the children from dying.
Desperate, the world turned to magic, and magic failed them.
The spell that was supposed to transfer the incurable disease from the kids to their willing adult guardian backfired. Instead of killing the chosen parent or guardian, it took every adult and the kids still died. Only those of us in between survived. To make it worse, technology flat out stopped working, and we were forced to live like cavemen.
Thankfully, we still had our magic, but for how long, I didn’t know.
We would need magic to stop the spell the others had cast. From what I gathered from Blanca, the queen before me, I needed the blood of someone older to reverse what they’d done. Someone older than the nineteen years the curse stretched to. But where was I supposed to get that? Even the vampires, who were stuck permanently at the age they’d turned, didn’t have anyone older than that among them.
If I didn’t find a way to stop the spell, we’d all be gone eventually except the bloodsuckers. The world would be theirs forever.
Hopelessness washed over me. Were we the only witches left in the world? The coven erected a barrier around the city and woods in the hopes of stopping the curse, but it didn’t work and now we were all trapped. Without technology, there was no way to know if others survived outside of Savannah. How could I, alone, reverse what a hundred covens worldwide had done?
“Kenzie.” Kohl’s voice startled me.
He stood in my doorway, shoulders relaxed. We were alone and hearing my nickname made me feel almost normal—the girl I’d been before.
“Is he awake?”
Kohl’s eyes met mine in the mirror above my desk. The warm glow of the candle turned his skin golden. He nodded.
“Still angry?”
He nodded again, eyes dipping to the open books in front of me. “You should rest. I can question him.”
I smiled, but the reality of our situation stung. Not so many months ago, we’d been making the most of senior year and applying for colleges. I thought I had time before my coven duties took my focus. Time for just me.
“What are we going to do about the wolves?” Kohl moved to my lounge chair and sank into the brown cushion.
My smile faltered. “What can we do?”
He pressed his fingers together and held them to his lips in thought. The face he made for every school test and complex spell.
“We could drive them out of the city. To the woods.”
I scoffed. “There’s too many of them.”
“We could ally.”
I gave him an incredulous look. “With whom?”
“The humans. The rogue witches. Some of the smaller wolf packs.”
“The humans? Do you remember what they did?” I shook my head.
He frowned. “We would keep them in check this time.”
“This is crazy.” I pulled the hair tie from my wrist and pulled up my long, thick hair, pretending not to notice his eyes following my movement.
“We could ask the vampires for help.”
My eyebrow arched. “That’s even crazier. Break our agreement with them? We’re not supposed to have anything to do with each other.”
He shrugged a shoulder. “Fane is no friend of Diego’s.”
“Yeah and he’s no friend of ours either. How do you even know he’s alive? He could have been taken with the spell.”
Kohl leaned forward in the chair, his hazel eyes conspiratorial. “He’s alive. The vampires running loose in the city have to be answering to somebody.”
“Well, he’s not gonna help us. Why would he? Diego’s literally delivering humans to the vamps in silver collars. Not to mention our ancient oath that we’re bound to. Vampires and witches do not mix.”
His forehead creased. “It’s worth a try.”
I gave him a flat look. “Since when do we count on others to handle our problems?”
A shudder went through me at the thought of calling on the vampire prince. Fane had a reputation among the higher ranked vampires, but even he was nothing compared to his brother, Prince Ryn, who thankfully was still staked, frozen in his coffin waiting for a release that would never come.
Kohl stood, drawing himself to full height, taller than me, but barely.
“We could hex Diego. Make him mute.”
I smirked. “He could use a muzzle.”
Kohl smiled. Memories flooded back. He’d been my best friend since freshman year, knew me better than any of the other witches. Kohl was kind, smart, and cute. Why couldn’t I return his feelings? What was wrong with me? I loved him, but not in the way he wanted.
“Let’s go deal with this alpha first.” I sighed.
He motioned for me to lead the way, his shoulders stiffening. Gone was the casualness and familiarity. His formality returned full force. The professional Kohl was much easier to keep at a distance. I straightened to full height. We all had our roles to play, even here at the end of the world.
4
Valeria
I couldn’t watch anymore. Jen writhed and hissed, her bones contorting and skin reshaping. The poor girl’s screams and howls ripped through the night air, silencing all. In the distance, my wolf could sense the fear from the forest animals.
“What can we do? Is there anything we can do?” Drew looked from me to Cruz.
Cruz looked to me.
“Give me that gun back. I’m going to put her out of her misery.” Becca held out her hand.
Drew whipped to her, eyes savage. “No, you’re not. Back off, Becca.”
“She can’t survive the change in her condition. It would be better to end this now.”
“You’re not going to gun her down her like an animal. Like Rub—”
Her hand shot out, the sound of her fist against her brother’s face echoed in the tent. He recoiled.
Anguish flashed on Becca’s face replaced with rage. “Don’t. Don’t say her name.” Her voice trembled.
I watched, stunned as he held his bleeding nose. Cruz handed him a cloth, and he took it silently.
Becca stormed out of the tent, her dark braid whipping out behind her as she went.
“Are you okay?” I asked Drew.
He didn’t meet my eyes. “What do you think?”
I didn’t answer. Jen’s howls broke out once more, her body thrashing wildly.
“She’s right, you know. It would be kinder to stop her suffering.”
His gaze snapped to me. “Then you do it. I’m not going to kill her.”
My eyebrows shot up. Kill her? The thought made my stomach roll. I didn’t want to be the one to do it either, but how could we stand there and do nothing? She’d been given vampire blood to initiate the change and the werewolf bite was already turning her.
I looked to Cruz. “Is there something we can give her? To help ease her into…”
He turned to his shelf and rummaged through the bottles and containers. Jen’s snarls turned to sobs, the last part of her humanity being torn from her. The sound struck my every nerve.
Drew flinched and turned away. My throat turned dry. I was so tired of death. So tired of the hopelessness of everything.
What was the point anymore?
“Here. This poison will do it quickly.” Cruz handed the dusty bottle to me.
I stared at him. He kept poison in his s
upply? The thought was unsettling. I gripped the cool dark bottle and gave it to Drew. He didn’t touch it. There was a lost look in his eyes as he stared at his friend. My heart twisted.
“Can’t do it, can you, Drew?” Becca stood at the entrance.
She marched over and swiped the bottle from my hand and thrust it at her brother. Her eyes bore into him and even I trembled under her intensity.
He still didn’t move. Jen’s sobs grew louder, morphing into blood-curdling screams that made my ears ring and my inner wolf retreat.
Becca unscrewed the bottle and strode toward Jen. She threw her twin a dark look. “Coward.”
Tears glistened in his eyes. I looked away, pity filling me. I felt out of place, there as witness to their grief, but I didn’t want to leave and offend them.
“Not too much. You only need a small drop in her mouth,” Cruz instructed.
Jen continued thrashing against the blankets. Her screams quieted. Blood trickled from her open mouth and her eyes stared unseeingly at the roof of the tent. Bones misshapen and skin stretched too thin, it was hard to look at her. At the broken creature she’d become.
“I’ll hold her arms. If you like,” Cruz offered.
Becca gave him a curt nod.
Drew and I watched as Cruz pinned her frantic arms to the ground and Becca rushed forward with the poison.
She held it over Jen’s mouth and dropped it in. Jen hissed. Becca stepped back, screwing the lid back on and Cruz let go of the girl’s arms. We waited as the liquid did its work. A gagging sound escaped her followed by silence. Her body stiffened.
Just like that, she was gone.
A shudder ran through me. No one spoke. I didn’t dare look at them for fear of coming face to face with their sorrow. I’d seen more grieving, broken people in the past few months than I’d ever imagined seeing in my entire life.
“We’ll have to bury her in the woods.” Becca’s monotone voice sliced through the heavy silence.
I glanced at her. “Not here. Further from camp.”
She was staring at the dead body. How many deaths had she witnessed? This was obviously not the first friend she’d lost.
