by R L Medina
“I was trying to take that portal, but I couldn’t get it to work. Is that how you got here?”
She nodded. “Yes. It’s okay. I can help you. I’m here now.”
I sighed in relief, blinking back tears. Tyler would have killed me. Without my sword and magic, I was still helpless. Anger burned inside of me at the thought. I didn’t want to rely on others to save me, but my skills were limited.
“Come on. Hurry.” Gloria pulled me to the portal.
Pain spread up my arm. I winced and glanced at the injury. The blood was gone, and you could barely see the cut now. My eyes dropped to my leg. There was still a rip in my pants, but like my arm, the bleeding had stopped and was already healing.
At least I wasn’t completely useless in the magic department.
Noticing I’d paused, Gloria turned back to me. Her eyes followed my gaze. “What is it? Did he hurt you?”
“I’m okay. It’s already healing.”
Her eyebrow arched. “A reversal spell?”
I shrugged. “I guess. I mean, I don’t know how to do it, but my body seems to figure it out on its own. Is that normal?”
She smiled. “There is no ‘normal’ when it comes to magic. Even the oldest of the GRIMM don’t fully understand it. As much as they’d like to think they do.”
“If I could just figure out a way to use magic to prevent the injury in the first place, that would be great.”
“You will. In time.” She turned back to the portal and ran her hands over it.
A thought occurred to me as I watched her start it up. “I thought only GRIMM knew how to operate the portals.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “It’s not too hard if you know what you’re doing.”
With a loud whirring, the portal came to life. I gasped as she pulled me through, without even a warning first.
Nausea rolled inside me as a flash of colors and sounds surrounded me. I clenched my eyes shut until everything calmed. My body trembled and I had the very strange sensation of something pressing on my bladder.
Gloria turned to me. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Thanks for the warning,” I muttered, holding a hand up to my head.
“Sorry,” she replied, sounding absentminded.
I watched as she walked across the room and peered out a window—the only window there. My eyes traveled along the walls, heart stilling as I took in the strange symbols scrawled all over the wood. Dark red symbols that looked like they’d been painted with blood.
“Uh, Gloria. Where are we?”
“Somewhere safe.”
The hair on my neck bristled at her cryptic tone. My GRIMM instincts were screaming at me. Danger. Danger.
There were strange chalk markings on the wooden floorboards and lit candles cluttered the space, the smell of wax and something else I couldn’t make out, filling my nose. They cast an eerie warm glow around the small room.
My eyes fell on red lettering on the wall. No. It couldn’t be.
I moved toward it, my heart pounding in my ears. My heart sank as I read the familiar words. Words I’d hoped to never see again.
A promise made in blood cannot be undone.
Why would Gloria bring me there? Where were we?
I froze. Gloria. Gloria was the mole.
She looked at me, her eyes narrowed as she read the realization on my face.
All this time I thought she was our friend. Anger and hurt burned inside me. I hated her for betraying us, but even more I hated myself for not seeing through her.
I’d walked right into her trap.
17
I took a step back, reeling from the revelation.
“You’re working with Luna Negra? Why? I don’t understand.”
She blew out a breath. “I wouldn’t expect you to. You’re a GRIMM. Just like the rest. You don’t know what it’s like to be a witch. A witch with limits on your magic and trying so hard to play by the rules but look where it’s gotten me. Nowhere.”
“So, join another coven! Not Luna Negra. How could you betray everyone like this?”
“My allegiance is to the coven. It always has been. Not to the GRIMMs. I’ve seen what they’ve done. They promise one thing and do another. Just ask your tío.”
Dread filled my gut.
“Why? What did he do?”
Her lip curled. “He broke up my coven. Charged us all, imprisoned some, and confiscated all of our possessions. I should have handed you over to Luna Negra that night. But I thought I was being smart. Buying my time undercover a little longer. And I didn’t want to involve your friends. It was you the coven wanted, not them.”
I flinched at her words. Angry tears welled in my eyes. She had never been my friend. Not even from the beginning. A dark realization filled me.
“The tea? Was that how they found me?”
She glanced away, guilt flashing across her face. “To break your shield. So, the coven could find you. I didn’t want to be the one to bring you in.”
Queasiness filled me at the admission. It all made sense now, looking back. I took the special tea thinking it would help, but instead it had disabled the shield my conduit had given me. Gloria was the one who sent the shifters after me.
“You didn’t want to be the one to bring me in? Then what are you doing right now? Why are we here.”
Gloria sighed. “I know you think us the bad guys, but you have no idea the crimes the GRIMM have committed. This way—their way—cannot continue anymore. Our supreme, Jimena, has done what no one else has done before. She’s broken the shackles placed by the GRIMM. For the first time in almost forever, we will truly be free.”
My stomach turned over in dread. I couldn’t fault Gloria for wanting to be free. Isn’t that what everyone wanted? But what would that mean for everyone I loved and for the humans?
“You’re going to help her destroy everyone?”
Gloria’s eyes danced away. “Only those who get in our way.”
The GRIMM. Javi. Shiloh. Brady.
“And Grayson? Did you have him all this time too?” My words shook with hurt and rage.
She glanced at me. “No. Luna Negra has nothing to do with him being missing.”
“Then where is he?” I demanded, blinking back tears.
Her face hardened. “Ask your GRIMM. They probably did something with him.”
The words left a bitter taste in my mouth. No. They wouldn’t hurt him. Why would they destroy their perfect soldier?
But if the witches and the GRIMM didn’t have him, then was he really with the wizard? I patted my pocket, realizing I still had it. The fairy had not only given me a way to find the wizard, but to catch him too.
Idiot. You could have used it to stop Tyler too, probably, and then you wouldn’t be in this mess.
Would it work on Gloria? Surely, if it could catch a wizard, it could catch a witch too. But if I used it, would I lose my chance to save Grayson? My brain hurt with all the questions.
Gloria eyed me, suspicion written on her face. I schooled my features and turned away from her. There had to be a way to escape. Grayson and the others needed me. I just needed to find a way to save myself first. Then I could go after them.
Hold on, guys. I’m coming.
I didn’t know how much time had passed as I stood with Gloria in that creepy cultish looking room. Being there gave me a headache and I was beginning to wonder if all the symbols and marks were written spells meant to imprison me and keep me from using magic.
Surprisingly, Gloria had let me come through the portal with my sword and conduit. Though every time I tried to channel any magic through them, a searing pain filled me. My brain worked overtime, trying to come up with a solid plan.
“How long are you keeping me in here?” I broke the stony silence.
Gloria stood guard at the window, refusing to look at me or answer any of my questions. Though I hadn’t known her all that well, I still couldn’t get over the fact she’d been able to fool me so easily. Her betray
al stung. I’d trusted her and she was feeding me to the wolves. Or in this case, witches.
“So, what you’re just going to keep ignoring me and pretend like you’re a good person?”
She shook her head but didn’t answer.
“You are just like her.” She broke her oath of silence.
My body tensed. “Like who?”
Don’t say it. Don’t say it.
Gloria glanced at me. “Your mother.”
Her words struck me. I didn’t want to imagine my mom and Gloria as friends. Why couldn’t everyone leave my past alone?
I raised my chin and met her stare. “You don’t know me. I’m nothing like her.”
Her lips quirked. “You didn’t know your mom very well then.”
My throat burned. I curled my fists. She had betrayed me to Luna Negra and now she was trying to act nice and give me information about my mom? Information she had all along and could have told me from the beginning.
“It’s kind of hard to get to know someone when they’re dead,” I snapped at her.
She flinched and looked away. “I was sorry to hear about her passing.”
A scoff escaped me. “You were sorry? Sorry? Yet not sorry enough to suck up to the bitch that killed her?”
Anger flashed in her eyes. “The supreme did what needed to be done. Your mom was going to expose Luna Negra. She was going to stop the revolution.”
My heart twisted. I’d heard the story before that maybe after all the bad she’d done, my mom had tried to make up for the mistakes. She’d tried to be the hero.
“And she did. She did stop her. Kept me away from her and stopped her sadistic ritual. At least for a while.”
Gloria gave me a sad smile. “Your mother was one of the strongest casters. She could have been supreme herself, but she chose to walk away instead. It wasn’t until after she was already gone that I joined. But it was her—your mom, that inspired me. She didn’t agree with the GRIMM ways. She was one of the few students I actually liked.”
“And you’re okay with the supreme killing her? Killing countless innocent witches to gain more power?”
Her smile vanished. “I don’t like the killing. Especially not the children, but it’s the only way. The GRIMM have to be stopped.”
“So, you’re just going to hand me over then? So, they can kill me too?”
Sorrow flashed in her eyes before she looked away. “I don’t know what they will do with you.”
“They’re going to kill me, Gloria. You do know.” My voice wavered.
Ignoring my response, she turned to face me and walked toward me. I stepped back, holding my sword up. The light was off, but I could still cut with the sharp metal.
“I’m not going to hurt you. I was going to teach you. The reversal spell. To heal.”
My mouth dropped open. Was she crazy? Did she think that teaching me magic was going to make me forgive her for what she was doing?
“I don’t want to learn anything from you.” I glared at her.
She flinched as if I’d slapped her. Hell, I wanted to after learning what she’d been keeping from me. Knowing that she’d planned all along to give me to the coven made me boil with rage.
“It’s funny. Your mom’s affinity was solar magic, but she was skilled with a lot of different forms of magic. And you… seem to be naturally drawn to just one. Earth.”
“You mean healing?”
“That’s one use, yes, but if you spent time learning it, you could do great things. It’s a pity you haven’t been taught properly.”
I snorted. “It’s a pity I’ll be dead before I can even learn something like that.”
Before she could respond, the room lit up. I shielded my eyes from the brightness. An icy tendril of fear snaked through me.
As I adjusted to the light, I stepped back. My pulse quickened. Witches. More witches.
They appeared before us, their eyes narrowing on me. I fought the urge to shrink back. I’d lost my chance to run or fight Gloria. Though seeing her power, I never would have had a chance against her, anyway.
Heat spread through me. I was caught in their snare again, but I wasn’t going to go down without a fight—not this time.
The supreme came last. I met her cold, dark eyes and forced myself to hold her gaze. Inside I was shaking, skin crawling. Flashbacks came to me.
Her knife. The stone. My blood. Ash.
My fists curled. I held my head up as she sauntered closer. Seeing her again brought back all the bad memories as well as my anger. She’d been the key player in screwing up my life by killing or orchestrating the deaths of my loved ones.
“What is she doing here?” She gave Gloria an amused look.
Gloria gaped at her and glanced to me. “Well, I brought her here… for you, Supreme.”
The older witch smiled. “But I didn’t ask for this.”
Gloria and I exchanged a look. We were both confused. Was this some kind of mind game she was playing with us?
“But the witches… you sent witches to her tío’s house and to the school. To get her. For the ritual.” The uncertainty was ringing in Gloria’s words.
The supreme frowned. “No. I sent them to steal something I needed and to scare the GRIMM,” her eyes narrowed on me. “I don’t need her.”
It was just as James had said. Fear coiled in my gut. They had completed the ritual without me.
Swallowing my fear, I tried to school my features. “So, then I guess I’ll go.”
The supreme laughed. “Not so fast. I could always use an extra dose of blood. Have you been practicing your magic like a good little GRIMM?”
Chuckles erupted from the others. My eyes scanned their faces and landed on Gloria. Regret stamped her features, but she said nothing. I glared at her.
It was her fault I was there. I could have been spared another traumatic experience at their hands, but she’d offered me up on a silver platter to them and they accepted it. She looked away, withdrawing herself from the group.
Rage built inside me. I hoped she regretted what she’d done.
“Speak up, GRIMM!” another witch spoke. He threw his arm up and sent a chant flying toward my chest.
I gritted my teeth as it hit, pain spearing through me. He raised his hand again, but I summoned my sword out, holding it as a shield in front of me.
The witches laughed. Their supreme was clapping.
She arched her brow at me. “I see you have been practicing your defensive skills, but your magic? Have you improved your casting and Spellwork? I could help you, you know.”
My lip curled at her offer. “You tried to kill me. Why would I ever agree to your help?”
“The GRIMM can’t teach you what I can. They like to limit magic or control it. You know, put it in a box and study it. I can show you the right way to wield magic. You could do so much with my help.”
“Yeah, just like you helped my mom, right?”
Her lip quirked. “I tried to help her, but she chose the GRIMM over me. Chose family over power, over freedom.”
“Maybe if you weren’t such an evil psycho bitch, you’d have more people on your side.”
She scoffed. “People? I don’t need people on my side. I have the witches. I have the vampires, the shifters, and the werewolves. Do you really think the GRIMM can stop me now?”
I swallowed hard as the others crowded me.
“For so long, you GRIMM thought yourselves untouchable. Walked around like you were the gods of the Earth. When all along, we were the stronger ones. We have always been. We are the gods. And now everyone will know it,” the supreme continued.
Her words chilled me. If the extraordinaire were on their side, how could we win? It would be slaughter. Chaos. The end of the whole world.
“Nothing to say now, Rosa?” she taunted.
Her lips quirked into that smug smile I’d come to hate. Why was it every villain mastered smugness so perfectly?
“You know, I expected a lot more from you. You
r mother sure put up a fight. All the way to the end. I almost wish she’d been alive long enough to see me destroy you first. And your father—well, the man you thought was your father, the ordinaire. He obviously didn’t stand a chance. It was almost too easy.”
Anger burned hot. Spots dotted my vision as I shot to my feet. “Don’t.”
Her smile widened. “What? Talk about your father?” She laughed. “I almost feel bad about him. Poor ordinaire. If only your mother had left him out of her scheming. Maybe he would have lived a happy life.”
I thought of the vineyard. Our house. Memories played out before me. He’d always been happy. Even if it had started as a lie. I knew beyond all doubt, that he had really loved me and nothing she said was going to take that away from me.
“She has earth magic,” Gloria interrupted.
I frowned at her.
The supreme turned to her. “Earth magic?”
“Well, just healing spells right now, but the rest could come,” the younger witch supplied.
What was she doing discussing my magic with the psycho? I didn’t like the leery faces of the other witches.
“She could be an asset to the coven,” Gloria continued.
My eyes snapped to hers. Guilt flickered on her face. Ahh. She was trying to keep the supreme from killing me.
“Yeah sure, I always wanted to add evil coven nurse to my resume,” I muttered.
The supreme gave me a long look and frowned at Gloria. “What would I do with healing magic? We have healers. She’s useless to me. Save for her blood. How strong is her affinity for earth magic?”
I froze under her scrutinizing look. The memories from before flashed before me. As much as I tried to block them out, the came. Like a song that you couldn’t get out of your head, playing on repeat. The stone. The knife. The blood.
Ash. The witches.
Nausea rolled in my gut and heat spread across my skin. This was not the time for my PTSD to rear its ugly self. I needed to stay calm. Collected.
Think of a plan. Think of something.
18
