“What are you going to do?” Mom asks, turning to look at me.
I glance up, settling into a strange sense of calm. “You’ll see. No time to explain.”
Her forehead wrinkles, but she nods.
Outside, another scream makes us both jump. “He’s coming, Autumn. If he senses either of us in here—”
The door suddenly throbs with the force of an explosion, but somehow manages to stay on its hinges.
Mom stumbles back, her arms raised in front of her. “Hurry!” she yells, her eyes wide as she turns back to the door. She splays her fingers wide as she mutters words I have never heard before. Bright light emanates from her palms, intensifying the light binding the door.
My heart thumps against my ribcage, and all I can think about is how this is the only thing that makes any sense. If it doesn’t work—nothing else will. This will be the end of the line.
I flare my nostrils and inhale deeply. “All right, Autumn. I sure as hell hope you know what you’re doing,” I mutter to myself, turning my gaze to the small wooden object in my hands.
Closing my eyes, I focus on the box with the extrasensory sight Abigail had me work on. In my mind’s eye, a pattern emerges on the outside of the box. The bright, neon-like light moves almost slowly, edging from piece to piece. A sense of relief swells, but I don’t have time to give in to it. This might still blow up in my face if I’m not careful.
There’s no way I’m about to do as Lachesis suggested. It might make sense to her, but even if I trusted her, it’s not enough.
Releasing Abigail and Warren’s sins won’t stop something like this from happening again to Wade. Even in another timeline, even in another life, he could be called forth as a Horseman. There could always be another reason.
His father knew this was coming. He knew how big this was about to become and how devastating it would truly be. There were so many ways he tried to stop it from coming to pass, but he had one fail-safe.
This box.
There’s no way he entrusted me with Pandora’s Box, a box that can trap sins and the evil of this world, simply to save my own family.
No, it’s much, much bigger than that—and I intend to see it through.
Settling into the energy of the box, my fingertips work swiftly to unlock the wooden puzzle. As it begins to open, one small wooden component at a time, the gravity of this situation consumes me.
This is what I was made for. Understanding the delicate balance of life and death…knowing how important it is to wield the power wisely was only the beginning. It brought me into alignment with my ultimate destiny—to put an end to fate itself.
I need to consume the sins of the Moirai.
Chapter 24
The Box
The vibration in the air reaches a fever pitch as the box gets closer to opening fully. The power of the box is evident, and even if it’s not Pandora’s Box, whatever it is, it has the ability to cause some serious damage. Each piece slides back and forth, operating in tandem like a wooden Rubik’s Cube.
For a moment, the pounding on the other side of the door ceases and shouts erupt in the hallway. I look up just in time to see the Horseman lifted off of his feet and flung away from the tiny hospital door window. Tiles, boards, and steel beams follow after him and instinctively, I know this is the work of Colton and his abilities. At this moment, I couldn’t be more grateful to have him here. I just hope I have it in me to make their efforts and any sacrifices worth it.
Diana yells something, but I can’t make out her words over the sounds of crunching metal and debris. Shuddering away the images it conjures, I take a deep breath and turn back to the box.
My vision shows me the final three moves and I continue quickly until I remove the final piece. The top of the box opens like a time-lapse video of a flower opening. Bright-white light spews from the opening, making me shield my eyes with the back of my right hand.
Mom twists around, shielding her eyes as well.
The lights in the room dim, then flicker off as the box creates a sort of energy vacuum. The hairs all over my body stand on end, but I can’t seem to tear my eyes away from the white light. It’s as if I could just crawl into it and stay there forever.
Maybe I should just…
“Close the box,” Mom yells, dropping her arms, and racing toward me. “You can’t have it open until you’re ready. It’s too dangerous.”
She reaches forward, pressing her hands to the top components, and forcing them closed one by one. As the last piece locks down, the light instantly goes out, plunging us into semi-darkness. It only lasts a moment because emergency lighting suddenly floods into the room, casting a strange orange-and-red glow.
“That was close. Thank you,” I mutter, shaking my head. “I don’t know what came over me. I couldn’t look away from the light.”
“Its magick resonates with you. You’ll need to be more careful,” Mom says, pulling her shaking extremities back from the box. Her hands are charred black as the skin burns from her fingertips to her forearms.
“Mom,” I gasp, nearly dropping the box. “Your hands.”
She returns her determined gaze to me and holds out a burnt palm between us. “Forget it. They will heal. Focus on your mission. There’s a homicidal Horseman on the loose and we don’t want to be on the receiving end of whatever he has in mind. Trust me.”
My mouth snaps shut, and I nod. She’s right. Besides, if this goes the way I think it will, none of this will matter. What I’m about to do could alter everything.
Swallowing hard, I soften my focus on her hands and look past them to the commotion in the hallway. I can make out Diana and Cat, but Colton must be somewhere near the Horseman. Blood is smattered against the side of Diana’s face, but her expression is as fierce as ever.
I can’t believe any of this. It’s like a nightmare beyond anything I could have imagined. Wade’s gone and his body has become a Horseman for the end of days.
The box is in my periphery, reminding me of everything that needs to happen and why.
Turning back to Mom, I fight back angry tears and say, “I might need your help for what comes next. We need to get the Fates here.”
“The Moirai?” she says, clearly startled. “Why?”
“Because I’m taking them down,” I say, my jaw firm. “It’s the only way this ends. I think that’s what Wade’s father wanted me to do. I think this box is meant to trap their sins—their discretions. But it’s too big for me to do it alone, so it needed to be housed somewhere else.”
Her eyes are wide, hazel orbs. “Are you sure?”
“Not really, but I have to try,” I say. “Can you help me? I don’t know if I can do it alone.”
Dropping to her knees beside me, she nods. “If you want to summon the Moirai, it requires a lot of power. But the Moirai are bound by the laws of the Ancients. In many ways, they’re more susceptible to the pull of magick than even you and I are. If we summon them forth with clear intention, they should be forced to heed our call.”
All of a sudden, the commotion on the other side of the hospital room door kicks up again. By the looks of it, the Horseman has managed to break free from whatever Colton and the others were doing. Colton’s form flies through the air and the backlash from this turn of events is a fireball so big it unleashes the hospital’s sprinkler system.
Water pours out of the little ceiling spigots, dousing everything.
“Goddamn it, Cat—” Diana curses from somewhere nearby.
The Horseman laughs, and the deep, jovial nature of it sends a shiver straight through me. Suddenly, his black streak rushes past the window and without a shadow of a doubt, I know Diana and the others are in serious trouble.
My heart leaps into my throat and I know it’s now or never.
“Come on, Moirai. Is this all you’ve got?” I yell, directing my anger and terror in their direction. Water cascades in sheets across my face, and I wipe it away with the back of my hand. “Why don’t you come
back here and be a part of this fight? Or are you the type that only lets others do your dirty work? I bet that’s it, right?”
“You need to use their names,” Mom warns, cradling her hands to her torso. Water drips from the ends of her hair, but she doesn’t even shudder.
I set down the box in front of me and tip my chin in acknowledgment. Then, I tip my gaze to the ceiling, as if they are somehow watching me from above the way a scientist watches rats trapped in a maze.
“Clotho, Lachesis, Aisa—where are you? Come out and join this mess you’ve created,” I demand, balling my fists at my side. “You wanted this. Come get your own hands dirty.”
“Speaking of hands, hold mine. You’re right, you need help. The message will broadcast better if we summon them together. They won’t be able to ignore the both of us,” Mom says, extending her charred hands. The blackened skin is already flaking away, dropping to the floor in large chunks as the water hits it. Bones peek out from underneath, their soft white in clear contrast to the dying skin.
“What about—” I say, pointing.
“It’s fine. We need to make a physical connection through our energetic centers. The hands are secondary chakras. This is the easiest way,” she says, flicking her skeletal fingertips.
I shoot her an apprehensive look.
“It’s only pain, Autumn. I’ll live,” she reiterates.
Cat screams in the hallway. It’s the kind of blood-curdling scream that comes from true pain.
Pressing my lips tight, I reach out, grabbing hold of her hands as lightly as I can, given the panic rising inside me.
She winces slightly and lets her eyes drift closed. “Here we go. Be ready,” she says, nodding in my direction.
I inhale sharply. “I’m ready.
Mom exhales, trying to relax her shoulders. “Clotho, Lachesis, Aisa,” she calls out. “We summon you to join us.”
She doesn’t wait for them to respond. Instead, she continues to repeat their names over and over again, letting the energy of it build. There’s a strange vibration in the room, like too much static electricity that needs to be released soon or it could cause a spark.
I keep my eyes open wide, peering around the room as I join her. “Clotho, Lachesis, Aisa...” I call out, repeating their names like a mantra.
At first, nothing happens other than getting completely soaked by the torrent of water falling from the ceiling. Just when my insides start to scream at me, telling me this was a ridiculous idea, tiny particles of light begin to swirl around the small, enclosed space.
Within seconds, the three sisters materialize. Clotho forms fully first, her red-hooded jacket standing out in deep contrast to her sisters. She turns to Lachesis, whose white pantsuit is turning gray as the water douses it. They exchange a confused look. Aisa, on the other hand, simply flings back her black-hooded cloak, looking completely irate.
“How dare you summon us for your petty vendetta,” Aisa spits, turning her wrinkled face toward us. Her bright-blue eyes flash menacingly as she takes a step toward my mother and me. “What’s done cannot be undone. This is fate.”
Lachesis and Clotho again exchange a confused glance. They edge closer together, backing away from Aisa, as if they know the tides are about to turn and their mission is to simply differentiate themselves.
“Autumn, now,” Mom say, her voice firm, as she turns to me. Her eyebrows raise expectantly and she glances down at the box.
Letting go of her hands, I pick up the box, and fiddle with the lid to force it open again.
Aisa takes a step forward, watching my movements closely without saying a word.
The moment the box bursts open, the vacuum of light flares to life and begins to suck all energy into its center like a black hole.
Whatever power was left in the generator gives out and the sprinklers abruptly stop spewing water. The emergency lights go out with a pop and the fringes of the room drop into shadows as the box becomes the only light source.
The two younger sisters continue to stand back, but Aisa takes another step forward. For whatever reason, the box alone doesn’t seem to even touch the Moirai. The three of them stand there, staring at the box with a semi-awed and confused expressions.
“Why isn’t it working?” I sputter, turning to look over my shoulder at Mom.
She shakes her head frantically. “Don’t look at me. I’m not the sin-eater.”
Aisa raises a single gray eyebrow and nearly bursts out laughing. “And just what is it you thought would happen, child? You would trap us in the box?”
“N-no,” I stutter, trying to regain my confidence. “I thought I could—”
Lachesis steps forward, leaving Clotho’s side for the first time. Recognition and interest pique in her gaze. “You thought you’d consume our sins?”
I inhale sharply, suddenly feeling very exposed.
Aisa cackles. “You can’t vanquish the sins from the living. You’re not God.”
Lachesis shoots me an apologetic look, but shakes her head and drops her gaze to the floor. The crease of her forehead relays the message loud and clear that she’s disappointed I didn’t take her advice. However, there’s still a hint of something lingering in her features, but I’m not sure what it is.
My heart plummets into my stomach and I realize that I’ve made a terrible, horrible mistake.
“Did you put your bets on this one?” Aisa snorts, looking over at her two sisters. “You always were the fools.”
Behind Aisa, the door to the hospital room thuds loudly as the Horseman tries to break the wards my mother set in place. She stands up, raising her shriveled hands to revitalize the wards, but nothing happens.
“The box must have taken some of my powers. It’s not working—” she says, turning to me with terrified eyes.
Before I have time to respond, the door to the hospital room crumples inward with a force that knocks Mom and I back into the wall and window behind us. Clotho and Lachesis step back, turning to the doorway. Aisa once again cackles, clapping her hands together like a giddy schoolgirl.
“Oh no,” Mom breathes, scrambling to get back to her feet.
I look up, brushing blood and debris from my face just in time to see the Horseman step into the room. From an outstretched hand, Colton dangles by his throat. Behind them, the bodies of Cat and Diana lie on the ground in a heap of blood and debris.
Oh, my god. This is how it’s going to end.
Chapter 25
Sin-Eater
I fight back the hysteria building within me, but it’s useless. Everything I know and love is coming to an end before my eyes. On top of that, everything I’ve been through up until now has been completely pointless. Necromancy, astral projection…even sin-eating. It’s all useless.
With a sickening snap, the Horseman’s black hand clenches, breaking Colton’s neck and severing his head from the rest of his body. His body crumples to the floor beside the Horseman with little fanfare.
I clap a hand over my mouth, forcing back the guttural scream trying to unleash.
Immortal or not—I’m not certain anyone can survive a Horseman of the apocalypse.
Tears flood my eyes as I try my best not to give in completely to despair.
There’s absolutely no resemblance to Wade remaining in the exterior body of the Horseman. It’s like I’m staring at a completely different entity altogether—and in some ways, I suppose I am. Yet, I swear I can still feel him. Like he’s still here with me, even though it seems impossible. God, how I wish he was still here with me.
Glancing down at the open box, I blow out a slow burst of air, trying to calm my nerves. What if there is a way to reach Wade? A way to make him remember who he really is… Even if only for a moment.
Could it be possible?
Wade never crossed over. His soul never left his body. Whatever he is now, he’s some sort of distorted hybrid. Something exploited for the gains of the Moirai—or at the very least, Aisa. Maybe the universe, too. But then agai
n, the universe rarely takes sides.
Completely ignoring the bright light and intense energy of the box still clutched in my hands, the Horseman simply flicks his wrist and Colton’s head flies across the room. It hits the wall to my right with a sickening thud before it comes to a rest on the cold tile floors. Blood pools around it and I bend over, fighting back the urge to vomit.
Mom is suddenly at my side, her bony hands resting on my back as she tries her best to comfort me. It’s no use though. We’re all doomed.
“You know, it’s ironic, really. We had no idea at first that this horrid existence was finally coming to an end,” Aisa says gleefully, turning away from the Horseman to face me and my mother. “It was foretold eons before you were born, but we never knew just when the day would come. It was hidden, even from us, if you can believe it.” She snickers to herself.
Lachesis turns her gaze from Aisa to me, her eyes wide. She opens her mouth, as if she’s about to say something, but Clotho grabs hold of her arm. When Lachesis looks at her, Clotho shakes her head.
I narrow my gaze, unable to believe any of this.
“Why would you want to bring on the end?” I sputter, trying to stand back up.
Even as I talk to Aisa, I don’t take my eyes off of the Horseman because I know he won’t stand by for long. Despite myself, a plan begins to form, and a strange serenity settles over me. It may be a Hail Mary pass, but I’m ready to take it if the right moment presents itself.
“Because we’ll finally be free,” she states, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
My mouth drops open.
Freedom? Of all the things she wants, it’s the same thing as the rest of us.
How’s that for ironic?
Well, if it’s freedom she wants, maybe there’s more than one way to give it to her.
As if on cue, the Horseman stalks forward, his dark, hulking form sending complete terror racing through me, despite any plans. I hold out my free hand, as if my feeble hand gesture could do anything to make him stop.
Cursed Legacy: The Windhaven Witches Series Page 17
