by Emma Dean
Now here she was trying to find out if she could alter his spell and mix it with the one she found in the library to communicate with the forest on Morgana’s island.
Mika placed the candle before the tree and tried not to think about what this spell could do with the Morrigan’s tree. A snap of her fingers lit the candle. Man, that would never get old. Three years of being powerless had certainly made her grateful for every bit of normal magic she could use.
Her pre-mixed ingredients were pungent and Mika took a pinch and sprinkled them over the candle. That would supposedly awaken the tree to her presence, but Mika had a feeling it was already aware based on the goosepimples breaking out all over her skin.
She was supposed to carve runes into the bark per the enchantment, but something about that felt wrong. Mika glanced at Ethan’s book and saw that it had a gentler approach, thank goodness.
Peeling off a layer of old bark seemed less invasive.
Mika found a piece ready to go and admired the fresh trunk underneath. Then she eyed the enchantment book again and wondered…
Taking out her witch knife Mika carved the runes into her own palm instead of into the tree. A few she tweaked so that the power went from her to the tree instead of forcing the power from the tree itself.
Now normally she wouldn’t be so careful with a plant’s feelings, but Mika needed to ask it a favor. She figured it would be best to start on the right footing.
With blood welling she placed her palm on the freshly exposed trunk and closed her eyes. This part was going to be hit or miss. She wasn’t trying to enchant the tree, but tap into whatever enchantment was already there.
So now all she had to do was wait and see if that enchantment would reach out to her or not.
A morrigan, a whispery voice filtered in through her thoughts. It’s been a long time.
Mika’s heart skipped a beat and then started pounding. She hadn’t expected the thoughts to be so modern, or composed. This was less sentient tree and more dryad spirit in her opinion.
And apparently it knew what she was.
“I, uh, wanted to ask a favor,” Mika said aloud, wishing she didn’t feel dumb and scared at the same time.
I thought you were all dead, the whispery voice stated. I’m glad you’re not.
Mika paused and reconsidered the favor she wanted to ask. “Do you know what happened?”
I know many things. I’ve been here for nearly two millennia. You’ll have to be more specific.
So this tree was snarky. Why didn’t that surprise her?
Mika sighed through her nose. “Do you know what happened to the Morrigan? To her daughters, the blood witches—the ones you call morrigan. Do you know what happened here to open the seal to hell? Or how about the sacrifices of witches here in this forest? Or hey, if anyone might be a part of the Hellfire Society?”
Looks like I’m not the only snarky creature here.
Mika nearly ripped her hand away from the fresh bark, disturbed it could hear so much of her thoughts, but she pressed her hand and her blood harder against the trunk instead.
Fine, I’ll tell you everything I know, the whispery voice said. For some reason Mika was almost certain it was female.
Despite the tree’s general insulting amusement, Mika was relieved she might finally get answers to her questions.
I was never enchanted, the tree confessed. Not by witches. The Morrigan made me and my sisters sentient. The hawthorns and the blackthorns have watched over this place since the very beginning. As your demon friend said, a conspiracy grew under the Morrigan’s reign. Thanks to a conflict between her and Lucifer she was distracted.
Mika had wondered if the trees were watching her, and now it was confirmed. But did they tell the Council, or the dean?
When those witches sacrificed forty-nine of their own to open a permanent door between worlds, the demons came and slaughtered everyone who resisted. Those witches and their descendants have been ruling ever since.
What? “The Hellfire Society runs things?” Mika asked. It sounded like a conspiracy theory, but at the same time…
Not in the way you’re imagining, the blackthorn whispered. Mika could almost hear the chuckle of amusement in her head. But they are everywhere and have been silently guiding the world of witches for a long time.
What did that mean exactly? “And the sacrifices?”
This time the tree’s voice felt…sad. As you suspect, there are more of them here.
“The dean?”
No, not the dean, the tree said. But the Council member she is working with as well as a few professors here. There are students and alumni who are now a part of this society. The same one that created a door to hell on this island. A slight huff and Mika nearly smiled. This tree had a lot of personality and seemed almost desperate for someone to talk to again. I do not know all of them, but I can tell you what I do know.
It was almost too good to be true. “Why?” Mika asked.
You are a morrigan, the blackthorn whispered. We are both daughters of the goddess. I could do nothing while your sisters were slaughtered by the men they trusted most. I want to help now that I finally can.
Mika recoiled as a flash of history slipped into her mind. Demons and witches cut down the women who were so clearly blood witches. They released creatures from the stones around their necks – stones that looked like rubies. But there were too many enemies and Mika had to listen helplessly to their dying screams just as the tree had.
Tears filled her eyes as that feeling of devastating betrayal filled her, so familiar. It made her wonder…were the men who betrayed the blood witches the same as the ones who’d tried to take over the Bay Coven?
Was this all somehow connected?
Slowly she placed her hand back on the tree’s bark, ignoring the tears rolling down her cheeks. “The forest is enchanted.”
They keep your secrets, the blackthorn whispered. My sisters and I rule here, and they do as we bid. You and yours are to be protected at all costs.
Mika wanted to ask why again, but she knew why. The Morrigan had given life to these trees and given them a purpose – to protect what was hers. The only thing left of the goddess’s was Mika as far as she knew.
“Who are they, and where?” Mika asked, pulling out her phone so she could write them down.
They—
Something cut off her speech and Mika felt a chill run down her spine.
Run, the blackthorn urged. Run before they find you.
Mika didn’t know what was happening, but she trusted the spirit. Grabbing her stuff she leapt to her feet and ran. She ran as fast as she could through the forest that seemed to urge her forward to somewhere safe.
But where was safe? What was after her?
Pop, pop, pop—pop.
She froze as four witches suddenly surrounded her. Witches, not demons. How?
“Ms. Marshall, it’s a pleasure,” one of the men said, sweeping a mocking bow. “It’s time to come with us.”
Where were Lucien and Ethan? Where was Audrey? Had Malachi betrayed her after all?
Mika turned and saw the other two men behind her. They wore expensive black suits with shiny gold pins on the lapel. These witches were from the Hellfire Society.
“What do you want from me?” she demanded, dropping her books to free up her hands. Mika flexed them, keeping an eye on the men surrounding her. There was also one woman, but Mika didn’t know who she was or why she was a part of the society other than a sister who probably wanted more power.
“We need you to open the door,” one of the men said, his eyes on her hands.
But Mika didn’t need to touch them.
She reached out and twisted her hand. One of the men fell to his knees with a scream as she shattered the bones in his ankles just like she had with Patricia. Flinging out her second hand she did the same to the knee of another man who started running forward. His shriek of agony made her smile.
They were not going to simply t
ake her. They were not going to force her to open a seal to hell. Not without a fight.
Mika may be outnumbered, but she was a blood witch.
The other two came at her and she had to whirl around. Whipping her hand up as she muttered the words she’d read just the other day – the very same spell Patricia had used on her.
Both of them stopped in their tracks, reaching for their stomachs. They looked down in shock as blood poured from the slices she’d made. Mika hadn’t cut deep enough to disembowel them, but it was certainly an effective deterrent.
She didn’t wait to see if any of them could heal, or if they were coming after her. Mika just ran as fast and as hard as she could for Wolfsbane House. The hunters would be there with their tools to neutralize magic.
Where were Lucien and Ethan?
Pop.
“And where do you think you’re going?” The man who’d appeared in front of her grabbed her arm and Mika pulled away, but he’d already used whatever power he had to transport them both.
The familiar darkness and lack of air choked her as fear rose up.
Mika had a bad feeling she knew exactly where he was taking her.
26
The second she could breathe the man let her go and disappeared again. Smart bastard. Mika tried to get her bearings but the room was pitch black. It was disorienting to say the least. She reached out hesitantly, stepping forward to see if she could find a wall.
“Ms. Marshall,” that voice said over some kind of intercom. “I’d like to come to an agreement.”
“You can fuck right off,” she told him. There was no way in hell she was going to help this guy out.
Too bad she didn’t know Eisheth’s summoning name. But he wasn’t the only one she knew who could teleport. Mika didn’t know the pentagram for Eisheth, or Jessica. But she’d seen Lucifer’s seal. Maybe she could ask Lucifer to contact Eisheth – the only one allowed on the Morrigan’s island.
Her hand finally touched what felt like a dirt wall. She leaned closer and sniffed. It didn’t smell like the rich soil of the tunnels under Morgana. It smelled more like…she sniffed again. Was that desert?
“I think you’ll want to make a deal once you’ve heard what I have to say.” His voice was smug. It was the voice of a man who practically begged to be smacked. “After all, I have something you want.”
She paused at that, but then pulled out her witch’s knife and sliced the inside of her arm deep enough to get the blood flowing, but not too deep she’d damage tendons. Dipping into the hot blood she used it to start sketching the pentagram on the wall – Lucifer’s pentagram.
It was stupid and reckless and it wasn’t like they’d parted on good terms, but it was the only calling card she knew for someone who could teleport.
“Aren’t you the least bit curious what it is?” the man asked.
“There’s nothing you could possibly have that I want,” Mika snapped, making sure to get the devil’s mark just right.
“Mika?” a familiar voice trembled over the intercom.
She froze at the sound of Audrey’s voice. A rage unlike anything she’d ever experienced before filled her and Mika’s hands were trembling. Her magic demanded vengeance, but she soothed it as she tried to understand what exactly was going on.
“What do you want from me?” Mika snarled, speeding up the careful drawing of the pentagram.
Summoning Lucifer was always a bad idea, but in this case she was willing to take the risk. It wasn’t just her life at stake anymore.
“Like I said, I want you to open the door.”
“Which door?” They were clearly not on the university’s island anymore. And there was something extremely problematic about random witches being able to teleport. The skill was insanely rare and was something a witch was just born with – never a skill one could develop or learn.
And demons weren’t welcome, other than apparently Eisheth.
The only other witches who could teleport were demon witches, and from what she’d read it wasn’t all of them, just most of them. But regardless, they had to be able to even get on the island which meant what exactly? Did they have alumni badges? Did they alter the wards around the island somehow?
The blackthorn did say they’d been ruling ever since the fall of the Morrigan.
Mika didn’t like any of those ideas.
“Every seal is protected by a door. And I heard you were able to open one.”
She gritted her teeth as she finished the pentagram. Either Malachi or Patricia told on her. And Malachi wasn’t able to without dying, so unless he was dead…
“Send her back to Morgana, and I’ll open the door.”
All she had to do now was wait and hope that Lucifer would accept her request. But in the meantime she couldn’t simply wait around to be saved. Who knew what these guys planned and if they would hold up their end of the bargain?
Her hand strayed to the titanium necklace, feeling each of the charms. Most were sleep charms and then the one that unlocked anything. Mika supposed she could put these assholes to sleep.
The charms in her earrings were just for sight and sound.
And the blood crystals? She had no idea what those were for.
For the first time she wished Corbin was here. Just her luck that the society had found her before he’d returned.
“We’ll be keeping Audrey here until you complete the task,” the smug man said, knowing he had her over a barrel. “Don’t want you getting any ideas. Hurt one of us and she dies.”
Lucifer better fucking answer her call.
“Fine,” Mika snapped, dropping the necklace. She couldn’t afford to risk Audrey’s life. Her only hope now was that the devil would take her call.
Until then she’d have to find a way to get them both out.
Then she remembered. Mika reached for the vial and breathed a sigh of relief when she found it still there among her blood crystals. Lucifer’s blood could open a door. All she had to do was make sure they were safe enough before doing it.
And Morgana was no longer safe. She’d have to think of somewhere else.
The door creaked open, letting in some light and Mika held up her hand to shield her eyes against the sudden brightness.
“Glad we could come to an arrangement,” the man said.
Mika didn’t bother to ask names. She didn’t care who he was. She knew everything she needed to know by the pin on his lapel and the tight grip he had on Audrey.
“Are you okay?” Mika asked, ignoring the man as she stepped out.
Audrey nodded, but she looked harried and scared. The bracelets on her wrists told Mika everything – they’d bound her magic.
Honestly, she was surprised they hadn’t done it to her as well, but maybe they really did know more about her than the average witch.
“Now, if you’d be so kind as to follow me.” The man turned and dragged Audrey along with him.
Mika’s fingers twitched, dying to shatter every bone in his body – to see if she really could boil his blood. But she followed after him, smiling slightly. There was a bloody pentagram on a dirt wall that no one knew about.
At the very least she hoped Lucifer would show up pissed he’d been called like a dog and rip everyone to pieces if something happened to her or Audrey.
The hall ended in a large dirt room and Mika froze when she saw the others tied up in the center of that room.
Ethan and Lucien were bound and gagged. Malachi was slightly apart from them, bound as well, but he was unconscious with blood trickling from a cut on his forehead. So he hadn’t betrayed her.
What the hell were these psychos trying to do?
“Why do you have them?” Mika demanded. “I agreed to help you, let them go.”
The man tossed Audrey toward Lucien and Ethan. Then he whirled toward Mika with a smile. “Oh, but our agreement only covered Audrey’s life. The others are here to complete the sacrificial ritual since the other was so rudely interrupted and all our organs confisc
ated.”
Mika felt sick to her stomach as her mind tried to comprehend what the hell was going on, and how she could possibly save them all.
“My son failed to bring you in, so he will take the place of the half-blood witch. Ethan is pure despite his low born status, and then we have Audrey. I can exchange her for your hunter if you like – we don’t really need him.”
Her blood ran cold as she realized this was Malachi’s father. Mika thought she would be sick.
Seemed they both had fucked up daddy issues.
The vial of Lucifer’s blood was heavy against her chest. “Where’s the door?” Asking anything else seemed pointless.
Eisheth, I hope you’re paying attention.
There had to be a way to get them all out.
Ethan and Lucien both tried to tell her something, but Mika didn’t bother listening. She was running through the spells she knew, trying to see if there was anything she could do to get them untied without touching them.
Basic magic she might be able to do, but she wasn’t nearly as skilled with that as she was with blood magic, and unless there was blood on those bindings she was shit out of luck. The only thing she could think of…
“Can I at least say good-bye?” Mika asked hoarsely, not having to pretend. This wasn’t a game. If she couldn’t find a way out of this, the people she cared about the most in this world would die. It was as simple as that.
‘What would you do, Mika Marshall, if the world tried to take away what you loved most? What would you do with all that power? Would you go quietly into the night, or would you watch it all burn?’
– ‘I don’t think there’s anything I love that much.’
Mika would never forget that sinister half-smile Hunter had given her. ‘That’s what I thought as well, once.’
Malachi’s dad narrowed his eyes, but nodded.
Mika’s hands went to her neck – a simple movement signaling distress – as she stepped forward.
Ethan and Lucien pleaded with their eyes, both struggling against the bonds. She knelt before them and bowed her head. Her hands moved, up and over to her lap. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were here otherwise I would have bargained for you as well.”
