Pain slapped at me, carving deep grooves into my skin. I screamed, nearly going to my knees, but the magic kept me upright. Flames licked at my body, scorched me from the inside out. Starting with my toes, it wrapped its way around my calves, running up my legs to my hips, my chest, down my arms, all the way to my face. I wasn’t sure if anyone else could see the flames, but I could. A deep purple, a light blue, a scorching red, and a vibrant orange.
I was the flame. I was the pain. This was the end.
Both Jaxton and Ash let out grunts as I reached out to them, my magic trying to find any bond it could.
The curse was still there. It wrapped a mystical cord around my neck, twisting until I could barely breathe.
I heard people shouting, pulling at me, tugging at the others, but there was nothing I could do. I was dying.
This would be my end.
With an unyielding curse and a spell gone awry.
Tears slid down my cheeks and almost immediately turned to mist as they steamed away, the flames intensifying.
Jaxton held on, the same as Ash. As all three of us fell to our knees, I cried. Not for myself, because I knew this was my end.
No, I cried because Jaxton and Ash were going to die with me. We had been wrong. And there was no coming back.
I looked up at my sister witches as they reached for me, as they whispered spells to bring us back. Tried to save us. But it wouldn’t be enough.
I would never be enough.
With a breath, Rome was there, his bear’s roar loud enough to shake the windows. He pulled at Jaxton, and then at Ash. I screamed, the slightly weathered bonds between Jaxton and me snapping as the spell ended as abruptly as it had come along. After, I lay curled in a fetal position, smoke wafting off my skin.
Then Jaxton was holding me close as Rome and Ash went to the others. I looked up at them and tried to speak, tried to do something.
It hadn’t worked.
The curse was still there.
I felt it.
I was still going to die.
I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but my throat ached too much.
“I’m sorry,” Jaxton whispered as he wiped the tears from my face. Suddenly, he looked up, his shoulders tensing. “They’re here.”
I froze as well and looked over my shoulder as something barreled through the door and crashed through the window of Rowen’s store.
The revenants had found us.
And I had weakened my friends to the point that I wasn’t sure we would be strong enough to fight them off.
I’d killed my friends, just as I had nearly killed myself.
Chapter
Five
Laurel
Jaxton threw his body over mine as the first blade soared over our heads.
I pushed at him, needing him to be safe and not wanting to be the reason he got stabbed or maimed. Even with the pain radiating through my body from the spell and the curse, I could handle myself.
“Get off me, Jaxton. Let me help.”
“You’re hurt,” he snapped, and I glared at him.
“All of us are weak from that ritual, but we can fight.”
“She’s right. Let her up,” Rowen ordered, her hair blowing in a wind of her own making. That meant her powers were at the forefront. She may be tired from the ritual and spell, but she was ready.
I had to be ready, as well.
The ritual might not have worked, and I might die in the next instant from magic, but I was part of this coven, damn it. And I would show my family, the coven, and the enemy that I could do this.
Even if I didn’t quite believe it.
“How are they getting through the wards?” I asked as I staggered to my feet, leaning heavily on Jaxton. He glared at me but didn’t say a word. He wanted to keep me safe. I knew that, but there was no keeping me safe when it came to an all-out war and battle. That was something we would all have to deal with.
“They must have a strong necromancer with them. Oriel?” Sage asked, and Rowen shook her head.
“I’m not sure. We can talk about this later, can’t we?”
“Deal,” Rome growled as his claws elongated, and he roared.
The windows shook. I didn’t know if he would shift, but if he did, it could only help.
I turned to the side where I had left my sword during the ritual, only to see Jaxton holding it out to me. My eyes widened.
“So now you want me to fight?”
“I’d rather you be safe, but if you are going to run headlong into something that could kill us all, you might as well be prepared for it.”
I took the blade out of its sheath and stared at him.
“And you fight beautifully with a sword,” he whispered. And then we were off, even as I tried to understand why he had said that and why it did things to me.
As the revenant came through the window, I moved forward, crushing a small pendant that had fallen off one of Rowen’s shelves.
I didn’t want to think about the damage being done at the moment or the fact that Rowen would have to clean all of this on her own. Every time a revenant broke through the wards on the heels of a necromancer, it told us that we weren’t prepared. We weren’t ready.
Or maybe that the powers that be wanted us to fight and prove that we were worth the power they had given us.
I hated that Jaxton’s and Rome’s job was to clean up after the paranormal. It used to be paranormal accidents that occurred because of shifters, fae, and witches with power all in one place. Now, it was to clean up after the dead that walked.
Necromancers used twisted magic. They could begin and end elements, but as they moved closer and closer to dark magic, their souls became rotted and wrong.
Eventually, they were able to raise the dead.
Lower-level necromancers could only raise flesh. Higher ones could do that but also control the spirits that walked among us.
Faith had been a lower-level necromancer, at least from what we could tell. But given the magic that pulsated around us, we had a feeling that Oriel and perhaps others with him were the higher-level ones.
That was why we had used a spell to send Penelope away completely when she died. To ensure that she could never come back to be used by Oriel or any of his ilk. That was why we burned the bodies of those who perished amongst us. Why Trace didn’t have a grave but a small sign that said he had once been with us—had been family and more.
All of that so the necromancers couldn’t come after us.
They couldn’t use those we loved to attack us.
I hated Oriel more and more because of it.
I hated the power that broke within us that told us that we couldn’t be enough. That the world was changing, and we couldn’t fight back.
Though we had used the spell to keep those we loved from being used as spirits and revenants, that didn’t mean we could do it for every single soul in existence. There was a cornucopia of magic outside the wards, and Oriel could use so many spirits and bodies from outside the town while we could barely hold onto the magic we had.
We spilled out of the store, and I was grateful that we didn’t damage Rowen’s place as much as we could have. She had lost so much, just like all of us, and while we butted heads most days, I hated the idea that she could lose her shop. It was a place where we learned magic and performed our rituals. It was also Rowen’s. A centerpiece of her magic. Not the only one, not the main one, but still one of them. And since Rowen needed all she could get, I didn’t want to lose that.
The town pulled on the coven’s magic, and as Rowen was the last Ravenwood in existence, it taxed her more than anyone.
I’d had to block off my connection to the town because with each moment that passed with them needing the wards, I nearly died. It tugged on my soul and burned me from the inside out. I couldn’t give my life force to the town.
Sage didn’t have enough strength in her yet, but she was learning. Just the minuscule amount Sage could give to the town, pri
marily due to her mating bond with the alpha of the bears, had saved Rowen’s life.
Rowen had been fading in front of us, much like my brother had faded into his new existence.
And we hadn’t been able to stop it.
But we could stop this. At least that was what I told myself.
“I put a ward around my shop,” Rowen snapped as she used her wind magic to decapitate a revenant.
“And they still got through?” I asked, slicing through the closest revenant with my sword. The blade melted through flesh. I held back a grimace, thinking this particular revenant was far more decayed than some of the others I had fought.
It seemed that whoever was controlling these had brought them from a longer distance. That meant the spells and rituals we were using on the graveyards close to Ravenwood were working.
And yet, I hated that I was tearing through these souls. That one day, someone might recognize someone they loved as we had before.
We were desecrating these bodies, but we weren’t the first.
And we wouldn’t be the last if this necromancer had anything to say about it.
“With so much power, and to get through both wards, whoever’s controlling these has to be part of a group.”
“Why did you have another ward set?” I asked, slicing into another.
“Because I wanted to keep us safe while performing the ritual. Clearly, it wasn’t enough.” I heard the pain in Rowen’s voice, and I reached out to her, only to stumble back as a revenant clawed at me. A hawk screeched overhead, and I looked up to see Jaxton coming forward, using his talons to rip out a revenant’s jugular. I caught myself, collecting as much strength as I could, and cut off the revenant’s head. My hands shook, my body ached, and I knew I wasn’t going to last long. My magic wanted out. I wanted to fight how Sage, Ash, and Rowen were working together.
They were the power of three, not me. Not now.
Only I needed to help. Fire licked at me, but then Jaxton was there in human form, naked but glaring at me.
“No. Don’t use your magic.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.” I sliced out with my sword, stabbing the closest revenant as Jaxton shifted back to hawk form to fight again.
As a hawk, he was easily two to four times as big as any bird of prey I had ever seen. He could lift a human with one talon and fly around with ease.
He was beautiful in that form, all gold with silky feathers.
He had carried me once, just for the fun of it, and we had laughed and rolled on the grass. Then Trace had shown up, and the three of us had picnicked and just cuddled with one another. We had been each other’s distractions, our salvations. And yet it hadn’t been enough in the end.
Trace was gone, and I was sure I would follow him soon.
Where would that leave Jaxton?
I swallowed hard, pushing those thoughts out of my mind. I couldn’t let myself think. I didn’t want to because I was so afraid that if I did, I would hurt more than I already did.
“Your wards are still up. And while it’s keeping the revenants away from the rest of the town, it means the others in our alliances won’t be able to help,” Ash said calmly, looking at Rowen.
I winced at my brother’s tone, not because he sounded judgy—though he did—but because that was him trying to be helpful. He just wasn’t good at emotions anymore, and I hated it.
Rowen glared at him and snapped her fingers, the wards falling, causing a burst of sweet pain against my skin. “We need to keep these out of sight of any humans that are around.”
“There aren’t that many tourists anymore.” I sighed.
Sage nodded. “It’s as if they know they need to stay away.”
The sounds of fighting echoed through the back alley that led to the trees, and I kept fighting, slicing at those who came at us.
Other hawks and bears came forward, as did Aspen, the fae leader. His people were able to fight back the twenty or so revenants that came at us again and again.
I searched in the distance for who could be controlling them. The necromancer in command had to be close for this many.
Only I couldn’t see who it was.
“We need to find the dark witch,” Rowen said, echoing my thoughts. I nodded tightly.
A jaguar flew through the air over me, and I ducked as a revenant came forward. But Frank sliced through him. The jaguar bit at the man’s carotid artery before moving off to get to another.
I hadn’t seen Frank move that fast in a while, but I did my best to ignore him, trying to focus in front of me. The more I got distracted, the more mistakes I could make.
Then Frank let out a yelp and hit the ground, blood gushing from his side. I ran over to him, kneeling to cover his wound with my hand and apply pressure.
“It’s okay. We’ll heal you.”
He blinked up at me, pain in his eyes, and my magic burst free.
How dare they hurt this man? This sweet jaguar, who was only here to protect us.
He rarely shifted into his other form anymore because he was the only jaguar here and didn’t like feeling alone. He only turned to his animal form these days to race Jaxton and see who was the fastest. And I knew Jaxton let him win.
Because the older man was sweet, a little crackly with us, a bit grumpy, but he was a fighter.
And this revenant had just tried to kill him.
My flames licked out over my sword, even as they burned my flesh from the inside. Jaxton was at my side in an instant, still in hawk form as we took down the closest revenant. And then he glared at me with his hawk eyes before flying over me to get the next one.
With the group of us, we were able to take the rest of the revenants down. I staggered next to Rowen, who was now healing Frank along with Sage. Blood trickled out of my nose, and then Jaxton was in front of me, kneeling naked as he glared at me. He took my chin between his fingers and snapped out, “Why did you use magic? You know you’re not supposed to.”
“Fuck you,” I muttered, blood pooling in my mouth. He cursed again, and then something between us pulsated.
My eyes widened, and I knew.
It was the start of the bond, the one we had tried to create with the ritual. The bond that I thought hadn’t occurred at all. But it was there, in its infancy.
He sent power along the bond, and I did my best to wrap my magic around myself. What if my flames danced along the bond and burned him?
I would never forgive myself.
He sent more magic, and I felt my power rising—not to attack but to heal.
I hadn’t felt that in so long, and I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. So, I leaned forward as Jaxton knelt in front of me, and I simply held back tears.
He was healing me, but I couldn’t do anything for him.
“Did you see her?” Rome asked as he came forward, naked since he had just shifted from his bear form.
I looked between them and shook my head.
“See who?”
“The woman with the strawberry-blond hair and a black mask over her eyes.”
“The necromancer?” Rowen asked as she soothed Frank’s hurts.
“I believe so.”
“So, there’s another one. Officially. This wasn’t Oriel.”
I sighed and pulled away from Jaxton just enough, knowing that I needed to breathe, needed to get away from him. But I couldn’t. Not yet. Instead, I sat there alone. Jaxton looked over at me as if trying to heal me more, but I blocked him. I ignored the hurt in his eyes, not wanting to take any more from him.
I had already taken too much.
And now, with another necromancer in the game, he needed all the strength and power he could have. All he could get.
And I couldn’t be the one who stood in the way of those he needed to protect.
Frank had almost died today to protect me, and the others had tried to circle me, but they needed to focus on themselves, not me. If they hadn’t been weakened from the ritual, nobody would have been hurt at all. In
stead, they had used some of their power to protect me, to try to break this curse. And here we were, weakened, bloody, and outpaced. Outmatched.
I could not do this again. I couldn’t allow them to lose everything because of me.
I would either find a way to heal and survive this on my own. Or I wouldn’t.
I wouldn’t let my friends die because of me.
I looked at Jaxton.
I wouldn’t let my mate die because of me.
Chapter
Six
Jaxton
Cleanup after the attack didn’t take long. Ariel, the bear beta, had carried Frank off to the den where he could heal surrounded by shifters. He might be a lone jaguar and enjoy his time on his own, but he would heal faster in the company of other shifters and bear cubs, who only wanted to show how much they loved their Uncle Frank.
Rome and Sage had followed, the alpha and his mate needing to spend some time with their pack after everything had changed.
Ash had wandered off somewhere after ensuring that Laurel was safe. I wasn’t sure if she could consider nearly dying and knowing that there was a time limit on the essence she had left unharmed, but that was as good as she would get for now.
Rowen had taken one look at her shop and kicked everyone out. I had offered to help clean up, knowing that it wouldn’t be easy for her to do it alone, but she had shoved me out with the rest of them. It didn’t matter that it was my job to care for her just like she cared for us. Rowen had wanted to clean up the mess the bastards had made alone.
I would come by later to fix whatever she couldn’t get done. If she let me, that was. But she would just have to deal with it. I might not be part of the coven, and she might not be a member of my wing and clutch, but she was family. In the intangible spirit, that meant we were all family.
With everyone else occupied, that had left me walking Laurel back to her place. I had wanted to go to mine to check on my wing—and I would—but first, I needed to make sure the woman who should be my mate got home safely.
Dusk Unveiled (Ravenwood Coven Book 2) Page 5
