There were people in the mass of darkness, and it was coming for me. Rolling closer like a cloud of doom.
I was immobile. Frozen, while the thing inside me, that precious, silver, shining thing that made me who I was, strained to be free.
I knew what it was.
My essence.
My soul.
Silver ethereal mist began to rise off my skin, and my heartbeat slowed. No. Fuck no.
The black cloud pulsed, tugging on me. Hungry for me. No, this could not be happening. I would not become a face in a fucking void.
The air to my right crackled. The weight fell away from my back, and Jasper materialized in front of me. He pushed out his hands, and the black mass shot back into the hallway.
My paralysis broke, and I was free.
“Take it off!” Jasper said through gritted teeth, his hands out to ward off the thing that wanted to eat my soul. “Take it off now.”
For a moment, I thought he was talking about my clothes, cos hey, this was Jasper, but my survival brain slapped my gutter brain upside the head and took control.
I grabbed the amulet. “No.”
Jasper made a sound of exasperation. “I can’t hold it off much longer, Cora. Not without my full power. Not without full access to you.”
My survival instinct ordered me to tug off the amulet, because when it came to a choice, I’d rather be Jasper’s toy for a while than experience a soul-sucking death now. I needed my soul, and Jasper needed my body.
“Cora, now,” Jasper growled.
Oh fuck, his hands were turning translucent. He was almost out of juice. Then a thought occurred to me. What if this was a trick? His way to get me to take the amulet off. What if this was his plan?
“This isn’t me!” he cried out.
The cloud was inching back into the room as Jasper became more and more see-through.
“Do you fucking believe I’d put your life in danger just to get the amulet off?”
If Elijah hadn’t called less than an hour ago to warn me to stay indoors, if he hadn’t sounded so spooked, then I may have believed just that. But no. This wasn’t Jasper’s doing.
Still, I couldn’t take the amulet off. Not if there was a chance we could defeat this thing, whatever it was. I joined Jasper and began blasting the thing with lightning. My power slashed into the inky black over and over, but dark tendrils of mist surged up to heal any wounds I inflicted, and my blasts were getting weaker. Black hands pushed out of the mass and grabbed the doorjamb to anchor it there, and then it began to bulge back into the room.
Fuck.
Jasper bellowed and attacked with the final vestiges of his power, but the thing didn’t budge.
My eyes stung with impotent rage because there was only one thing left to do. I reached for the amulet, ready to yank it off.
A crash battered my eardrums as the lounge window imploded, and a whirlwind of purple hair and silver blades dashed past me, shot through Jasper, and dove into the dark mass.
The darkness pulsed faster, and a male voice, smooth and filled with authority, rose above the rush of blood in my ears.
I knew that voice.
The black mass shuddered then shot down the hallway. There was another crash as the sound of more windows blowing out shook the house, and then there was silence.
I stared at the spot where the mass had been, at the petite, purple-haired woman clutching twin daggers and staring at me as if she wanted nothing better than to use them on me, then over her shoulder to the dark-haired man holding a book.
Elijah Black straightened the lapels of his winter coat and fixed his blue-green eyes on me. “In hindsight, telling you to stay put may not have been the best idea.”
The purple-haired woman sneered. “Fecking bastard thing’s gone now, E, we need to jet before the feckers recharge it and send it back.”
“I know,” Elijah said. Then to me, “Cora, you need to come with us.”
Jasper was gone, Wren was unconscious on the carpet, and the purple-haired chick was glaring at me as if it was all somehow my fault.
“What the fuck was that thing?”
“A slau,” Elijah said. “And yes, it wanted to kill you.”
“Would have succeeded, too, if we hadn’t gotten here,” Purple said.
“Cora.” Elijah bridged the distance between us, bringing the crackle of his power with him.
My skin tingled with awareness.
“It’s no longer safe for you here. You’re coming with me.”
“Why not? What the fuck have you done?” Because there was no doubt in my mind that this was something to do with him and his bloody Grimswood witches.
“We ain’t done nuthin,” Purple said. “It’s the fecking warlocks that done it.”
“Bramble, please, let me.” Elijah shot her a sharp look, and she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
“Fecking hurry it up then, E. We got to make tracks.”
“Cora, I know you said you wanted nothing to do with the Grimswood Coven or the anchor position. I respected your decision. We had other potentials to take the role, but things have changed.”
“What happened, Black? Just spit it out.”
“Around two hours ago, the secret location where the potentials were being held was attacked by the slau.” His throat bobbed, and darkness flitted across his eyes. “They’re dead, Cora. All of them.”
“You’re the last one left,” Bramble said, raking me up and down, unimpressed. “The last fecking potential.”
Oh fuck.
Chapter Six
Rain lashed at the car windows, and the low hum of the engine filled the silence as Elijah drove expertly along country roads. The main roads were a no go. The people who wanted me dead would be monitoring those. Using magic to get to the Grimswood Coven was also a no go. Once again, the wankers out for my head would be monitoring for use of magic.
So, back roads it was.
I’d opted for the backseat with Wren lying in my lap. Bramble was in the front passenger side, shooting glances at me every so often as if she thought I’d poof into thin air or something.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
Fuck. Fee!
I made to answer the call, and Bramble moved lightning fast to grab it and smash it against the dashboard. Her lip curled as she dropped the broken cell phone onto the car floor.
I stared at her in shock. “What the fuck?”
“They could be tracking you.”
Elijah cleared his throat. “Bramble, I doubt The Order has had time to obtain Cora’s cell phone details.”
Bramble looked down at the busted phone and then shrugged. “We’d have to get her a new one anyway.”
Rage bloomed in my chest, and if Wren hadn’t been on my lap, I would have lunged at her. Instead, I exhaled and summoned a little zen.
“I need to call Fee.”
Elijah met my eyes in the rearview mirror. “You can use my phone. Bramble, it’s in the glove compartment. Pass it to Cora, please.”
God, how could he be so fucking calm? Heck, why was I surprised? This was Elijah. Collected, in control, Elijah. Enigmatic, powerful, and my unofficial mentor, he didn’t get ruffled easily. Still, the darkness lingering in his eyes told me he wasn’t as chill as he was making out.
Bramble retrieved the phone and handed it to me. “Sorry, all right. I was tryna protect ya.” She sounded almost sheepish.
I hadn’t gotten a good look at her until now. She was young, teenage young, and we all knew how impulsive the young could be.
My anger melted. “I get it. It’s fine. I needed a new one anyway.”
She looked surprised, and then she grinned. “Right? It was kinda shoddy.”
“Don’t push it.”
I dialed Fee, and she picked up on the third ring.
“Hello?” There was a wary tone to her voice.
“Fee, it’s me.”
“Cora, what the fuck? What happened? Your house… The windows. Where are y
ou?”
“I’m fine. Honestly, Fee. I’m not hurt. I’m safe.”
“You lied to me.”
Yep, she’d switched from concern to being pissed off.
“Hey, I didn’t know I’d be attacked.”
“I could have been there.” And she was upset now. Upset that I’d left her out.
I sighed. “I know, but Fee, you can’t always be there for me. There are some things I need to do for myself. Just like there’s stuff you need to do yourself.”
She took a shuddering breath. “I get it, Cor. I get you need to find yourself, but you can’t do that if you’re dead. Please, don’t shut me out.”
“I’m not. I won’t. I just… I need to do this alone.” I locked eyes with Elijah in the rearview mirror.
“What is this thing you need to do? Cora, where are you, babe?”
“I’m with Elijah Black.”
“This is about the Grimswood Coven, isn’t it?” she said.
“Yeah.”
“I can come with you.”
“I know you can, babe, and I’d love to have you here, but my gut tells me I need to do this solo. I got this.”
“I love you, Cor.” She sounded almost resigned about that fact.
“Love you, too. I’ll call you once I’m settled.” I hung up but didn’t hand Elijah his phone back. Instead, I caught his eye in the rearview again. “Now, tell me exactly what the fuck I’ve been propelled into.”
* * *
We’d slipped onto a narrow road with hedgerows rising up on either side and only moonlight to illuminate the way, but it didn’t seem to bother Elijah. He drove confidently, as if he could see exactly what was around each bend.
“The warlocks that sent the slau are part of The Order of Croatoan,” Elijah said. “They’ve been around for centuries, and their main objective is to free the threat the Grimswood Coven has been keeping locked away for centuries.”
“So, they killed all the potentials? How does that help them?”
“The seal to the prison where the threat is held relies on the anchor witch.” His gaze flicked to mine. “You do remember what I told you, right?”
I should have paid more attention. “Refresh my memory.”
His eyes pinched with annoyance. “A long time ago, The Order of Croatoan had a weapon. A warlock so powerful he could cause death with a touch, war with a thought, and disease and famine with a breath.”
“Wait a bloody second, are you talking about the horsemen of the apocalypse?”
He sighed. “There are parallels, I suppose, but Croatoan was very much one man. They used him to take over territory, control nations, and wreak havoc in the pursuit of power. The Grimswood witches fought against The Order, but the power of miasma wasn’t enough to defeat them. They needed something more, and then a witch was born who could access the power of the cosmos. A witch born under the sign of Ophiuchus. This witch was the key. Through binding her to the alphas of the three dire wolf packs, the coven was able to create a seal to a prison where they were finally able to trick Croatoan into stepping.”
It was all going well until the binding crap. “Why did they have to bind her to anyone?”
“The power of the cosmos and a single witch’s access to miasma alone wasn’t enough, but if combined with the power of miasma the alphas created—”
“Wait a second. I thought only female Loup created miasma.”
His eyes smiled. “Dire wolves are an ancient breed of shifter. All other shifters descended from them, but the dire wolves are the first and only alpha males able to create miasma.”
Okay, I needed to get this straight. “So, the anchor witch plus the three alphas create a seal?”
“Yes.”
“And why did the wolves get involved in all this?”
“There were once seven packs. The Order wiped out four of them. The dire wolves were invested in stopping the threat just as much as the Grimswood Coven.”
“And the Grimswood Coven got involved because, for some reason, witches feel responsible for protecting humans, right?”
Bramble snorted. “You really have no clue, do ya?” She twisted in her seat and shook her head in disgust. “And you’re the anchor now?”
Annoyance flared in my chest. “Hey, I didn’t ask for this, okay? And just to be clear, I haven’t agreed to anchor to anyone.”
Bramble’s eyes grew wide. “What? You can’t…You can’t—”
I arched a brow. “Can’t what? Say no?”
“Bramble, please.” Elijah sounded weary. “Be quiet.”
Her jaw tensed, and I could see the defiance in her eyes. She wanted to say more, but she sat back and crossed her arms.
“Cora,” Elijah said. “Of course you have a choice. We can’t force you to take the oath. It has to be voluntary. It’s why I need you to understand how important you are. You want to know why witches protect humanity?”
“Er…yeah.”
“Because without humans, there would be no miasma for witches to draw from. Human existence spawns it. Their dreams, their vivid imaginations create powerful energy. Witches aren’t the only creatures who benefit from it. Most outliers do.”
“Except, shifters make their own, right?”
“So it seems.”
Fuck. Well, that made sense. Witches were protecting their own interests.
“We need you to prevent Croatoan getting free,” Elijah said. “The current anchor witch is weakening.”
Bramble made a strangled sound, and my gaze flicked to her. She was breathing heavily.
“Are you okay?” I couldn’t help but be concerned.
Her head whipped round to me. “If you don’t do this, she’ll die. You understand? She’ll die, and the seal will crack anyway.”
Fuck. I knew that look. I’d seen it in Fee’s eyes. I’d felt it in my heart when Fee had been in danger. This was personal for Bramble. She cared deeply about the current anchor witch.
“I’m sorry.” I meant it. “Look, I’m not a bitch, okay? I just need to know what I’m signing up for.”
Her jaw unclenched. “I get it. Let me break it down for you. You’ll be signing up to save a shitload of lives, and yeah, I get the whole stigma associated with the word anchor, but trust me, none of that will matter if Croatoan gets free. Because the world will go to shit.”
Well, when she put it that way.
“You may not even be enough,” Elijah said. “You need to be tested to see if you’re strong enough to be an anchor and be mated to the wolves. Not all potentials are that strong.”
“But if you are, then you have to do this,” Bramble said. “Please.”
Fuck. I sat back and closed my eyes.
What could I say now? Lives were at risk. Loads of lives. Being anchored to three shifters couldn’t be worse than being bound to Jasper. Wait…
“Did you just say mated?”
“That’s what they call it,” Elijah said. “The anchor mates with the wolves.”
“Whoa, I am not mating with anyone. No one said anything about sex.”
“No!” Both Elijah and Bramble spoke in unison.
“Okay…”
Elijah met my eyes in the rearview mirror. “Mating is just what they call the binding. But you can never get sexually involved with the wolves you’re bound to. That’s one of the cardinal rules. If you do, the seal is compromised. The purity of the binding is what gels the anchor witch’s power to the wolves’”
I exhaled in relief. Bloody semantics. “Hey, that’s fine by me. I’m done with bindings that involve sex.”
The words were out before I could stop them, and Elijah’s brows snapped down in the rearview.
I hadn’t given him all the details of Jasper’s deal with me. It was personal and kinda ick. I didn’t want him knowing, but now he did. Urgh.
“Cora—”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Bramble twisted in her seat again to look at me, but I didn’t make eye contact.
Let her think what she wanted. I didn’t have to explain myself to anyone. I was here, and I’d do this anchor thing to save the people I loved.
My choices in this matter had run out. “I’ll test, and if I’m strong enough, I’ll do it.”
Bramble’s eyes misted, and she turned her head away to look out the window. “Step on it, E. We got a potential to test.”
Chapter Seven
We’d been driving for forty minutes when Wren sat up, wide awake, with a look of urgency on his face.
“What’s wrong?”
He glanced at the front of the vehicle and climbed up to my shoulder to whisper in my ear. “Wren needs to go.”
“Go?”
“Badly.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yes, yes, that one.”
We were on a long stretch of road bordered by brush and fields beyond on either side.
“Elijah, we need to stop. Toilet break.”
“We’re almost there,” he said. “Another fifteen to twenty minutes.”
I looked down at Wren, who shook his head, looking miserable.
“Yeah, that’s too long. We need to stop.”
“We’re not stopping till we get there,” Bramble said.
“Then you’ll have to make the rest of the journey with a dump in your backseat cos my buddy here needs to go. Bad.”
Wren groaned and covered his face with his hands. “Oh, the shame…”
He was constantly surprising me with his human qualities. I really needed to look up mogwai when I got a minute.
Elijah pulled up to the side of the road pretty quickly. I guess he didn’t trust my furry friend’s ability to hold it as much as he did mine.
I hopped out of the car with Wren in my arms.
Bramble was beside me in an instant, blades at the ready. “Be quick,” she said to Wren.
“Oh, the pressure,” Wren muttered.
I carried him over to the brush, and he hopped down and vanished into the foliage which stretched for some distance between the road and the mist-covered fields beyond.
God, it was spooky. “Don’t go too far.”
“Wren need privacy,” he called back.
Witch Unexpected: The Thirteenth Sign Book 1 Page 5
