Soothsayer: Magic Is All Around Us (Soothsayer Series Book 1)

by Allison Sipe

  I looked down at the water. It had completely submerged my legs and now lapped at my waist.

  “I’m ready for you, Ian,” she announced.

  Ian bounded over to her and she handed him a green crude looking stone.

  No, this can’t be happening. Where are they? I pleaded.

  They cupped the stones in their hands and the green light shone upon their faces as they began to chant, “Ætniman hie sáwol.”

  I kicked my legs and splashed water all over the three of us but they didn’t notice. The saltwater stung the cut on my face, but I could barely feel it. Adrenaline coursed through me in a desperate attempt to stop them.

  “Áfeorsian hie æt gást léoht,” they continued.

  Something stirred in me, something unnatural. I tried to squirm free from my bindings but the harder I fought the tighter they seemed to get.

  “Insegel hie sáwol innan déaðbærlic. Llandcofa næfre æt géanhworfennes,” Ian and Lila chanted.

  A guttural scream escaped my throat as they finished reciting the spell. My insides were in knots and I felt sick to my stomach. Whatever they were doing to me, it was working.

  They repeated the spell and the light from the stones grew brighter. I turned away from Ian and Lila and saw the water rising around me, reaching up to my chest now. If Robert and the others didn’t get here soon it would be too late. I tried again to pull free from the pillar, twisting and kicking, but it was no use. Whatever spell they used to tie me to the wood was too strong for me to break with sheer force. I needed to use Magic to fight Magic, but I didn’t know how. I cursed myself for not getting on board with all of this sooner. Maybe Robert could have taught me how to defend myself if only I’d listened to him from the beginning.

  A loud explosion pulled me from my reverie and I looked up to find Lila and Ian in the water ten feet away. I tried to look behind me but couldn’t see anyone. Maybe the spell had backfired?

  “You’re too late,” Lila said, standing up in the surf. “You can’t save her.”

  “Watch me.” I recognized the voice: it was Brett. She came into view on my left side along with Annabel, Jake and a few other people I didn’t recognize. I searched their faces again, but Robert wasn’t among them. The sick feeling in my stomach started spreading through me and made me dizzy.

  Ian yelled something at the top of his lungs and five or six people appeared next to him out of thin air. No one moved at first, each side sizing up the other.

  In the blink of an eye, all hell broke loose. I wasn’t sure who struck first, Lila or Brett, but everyone joined in the moment the first blow was cast.

  Brett kept a shield around her as she raised her hands to the sky. Dark clouds formed above her and the wind and rain picked up. Lighting struck her and a deafening crack of thunder exploded around us. Brett’s entire form crackled with electricity as she lowered her hands toward the enemy. Hot white electricity shot across the beach toward Ian and his cohorts. At the very last second, Ian threw up a shield and the lightning deflected away from him in a shower of blue sparks. Angry red light shot across the beach toward Brett and Annabel. Jake leapt in front of them and threw up his shield just in time.

  I was so caught up in what was going on around me that I had forgotten about the ocean closing in until it slapped me in the face and I inhaled saltwater.

  Coughing and spitting, I heard Robert yell over the din, “Annabel get her out of here!” He came running down the beach and our eyes caught for a brief moment before he turned to face our adversaries.

  Annabel ran toward me, disappearing and reappearing at intervals while dodging fireballs and explosions as the sandy shore turned into a vicious battlefield.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here,” Annabel said as she reappeared next to me. She placed her hand on my shoulder. While standing the water only reached her thighs but for me it was starting to get dangerous. I tried to push myself up with my legs but I was too weak. The spell was taking its toll on me and I didn’t have much time left. Annabel wrapped both arms around me and her whole body moved in and out of focus but I stayed tied to the pillar.

  “Annabel!” Robert yelled.

  “I can’t!” she yelled back, “she’s been anchored to this plane.”

  “Do something, we can’t lose her!” Robert blocked a giant wall of fire with his shield, covering himself and Brett. Brett, for her part, made the ocean rise into a giant wave and directed it at the swirling fire hammering down on them.

  “Violet, I’ll be right back. Just hold on a little longer,” Annabel yelled over the roar of the battle and then vanished into thin air.

  “Stop her!” someone yelled as a wave crashed on top of me. This time it covered me completely and then quickly receded.

  I turned my gaze back to the fight and saw Annabel on the ground writhing in pain. Lila stood a few feet in front of her, a sick green light coming from her hands and keeping Annabel pressed to the ground.

  “Someone…” I started to yell when another wave slammed into me. The sting of the cold water burned my face and I couldn’t focus on anything. My thoughts jumbled together and my vision blurred as the water receded once more. Colorful flashes burst into my sight but I couldn’t discern who it came from. What sounded like a freight train hitting a wall boomed all around me and rattled my bones as another roaring wave almost knocked the breath right out of me.

  My head resurfaced only to be pelted with furious rain and wind. I didn’t know if the weather was getting worse because of Magic or if the storm had finally hit the beach. Trying to open my eyes and get a glimpse of what was happening, the saltwater stung and blurred my vision.

  I tried to yell for help but couldn’t muster enough energy to scream. I wanted to cry. I wanted to fight my way out of this but I was helpless and scared. Most of all, I didn’t want to die. I couldn’t die. I was The Waker!

  Another wave assaulted me and filled my mouth with saltwater. I struggled to hold on to the little air I had left in my lungs until I resurfaced. It felt like my chest was going to explode and I gasped for air. I fought against the weight of the water to hold on just a little longer. Little stars appeared behind my eyelids and I felt my limbs start to go numb. The water still hadn’t receded and the stale air burned my lungs. I exhaled my last breath and my reflexes took over. I inhaled a large gulp of seawater just as my head resurfaced. My face hit the cold air and I tried to take a breath but there was too much water in the way. My body convulsed and salty vomit came back up my throat and out of my body. I coughed so hard my body shook and I gasped for air. My throat felt raw from both swallowing and throwing up saltwater. I coughed again, gagging myself and spewing another mouthful of water. My entire body was being stretched to its limit as I drew in another ragged breath.

  My vision cleared a little and I looked back toward the fight. Annabel was struggling to get to her feet while Brett stood in front of her and absorbed the green light coming from Lila.

  “Help Violet!” Brett yelled back to Annabel.

  Brett almost glowed as Annabel scrambled toward me. I glanced at Lila, who looked to be focusing all her energy toward Brett. Brett stood motionless, staring at Lila as the light entered her body and coursed through her.

  I looked back at the water just in time to take a breath before another wave pummeled me down. The water was growing too high, the sets of waves getting closer together. I didn’t have much more time. If the water completely consumed me I’d die and what if Robert couldn’t get to me in time?

  Annabel appeared by my side again along with someone else I didn’t recognize. They stood on either side of me and tried to undo the magic binding me to the pillar. I heard Jake yell Annabel’s name just as another set of waves came toward me and I felt the pillar vibrate against my body. I held my breath and kept my eyes closed tight. The water didn’t recede in between waves and I fought with everything I had to hold on. I could feel someone’s hands on my shoulders and then their lips on my mouth. They held my
nose and blew air into my mouth as another wave crested above me.

  The wooden pillar vibrated again as my head resurfaced and yellow sparks danced all around me. I kept my head tilted back in order to keep it out of the water and coughed again. Remnants of saltwater and bile spewed from my mouth. I blinked a few times to get the water off my lashes. I could just make out the fight to the left of me through my blurry, squinting vision. The next set of waves came toward me and I knew I wouldn’t resurface this time.

  This was it. I took a deep breath as the first wave approached. I knew that there wasn’t anything I could do. An eerie calm settled over me as the water swirled around me. The sounds of the battle disappeared and darkness overwhelmed every other sensation. The rumble of the next wave passed over me as I held onto life as long as I could. A third wave passed over me and I exhaled the last bit of air I would ever taste. The whoosh of the water and the sound of my heart faltering were the last things I heard as death gripped me.

  >>>><<<<

  Every muscle in my body ached. I felt frozen to my core. Darkness surrounded me and I felt like I was floating, permanently suspended in this cold, light-less place. Every so often a blurry face would break the darkness but I could never quite make out who the face belonged to. I had no concept of time, but somewhere in the back of my mind I knew time was passing me by.

  Slowly, my body stopped aching and the bone-cold chill subsided. The darkness began to lighten and I began to feel restless, trapped in my own body. I heard the muffled sounds of voices and wondered if I’d finally found my place in the afterlife. I hoped; I didn’t think I could stand an eternity of darkness.

  “Violet, are you awake?” an angelic voice called to me. It was like her voice alone cleared away the cold emptiness engulfing me.

  I felt my eyelids flutter open. Deep blue eyes looked down at me with intense focus.

  “There you are,” Brett said and smiled.

  “Where am I?” I squeaked. My voice cracked through a hoarse and dry throat.

  “You’re home,” Brett cooed.

  “Home? What… I mean, I’m dead. Why am I here and what are you doing here?”

  “You’re not dead,” she said emphatically.

  “But how? The ritual?” I asked, trying to clear my throat and swallowing hard.

  “We stopped them before they were able to recite the spell three times. We saved you.”

  “So I’ll be okay?”

  “Yes.” She didn’t offer any more comfort and a small part of me didn’t believe her. She knew something, I could see it in her eyes, there was something important she wasn’t telling me.

  “How long have I been out?” I asked.

  She moved her eyes up and down and watched me carefully. After a lengthy hesitation she said, “A little over a week.”

  “What! What about my friends… Yosemite! They must be worried sick. Becky’s going to kill me,” I groaned.

  “We handled them,” Brett said rather shortly.

  “What do you mean… handled?” I eyed her.

  “You’re not going to like this.”

  “Like what? What did you do to them?” I tried to sit up so I wasn’t looking up at her helplessly but my strength hadn’t returned. Instead I adjusted myself onto my side.

  ‘They’re fine, I promise. We just had to… alter their minds a bit.” Brett frowned.

  “Brett, how could you?”

  “Well, if you must know, it was your Aunt who did it. She did it to protect you, I might add.”

  “You mean protect the Magical world, not me,” I said and sighed.

  “You and the Magical world are one in the same.” Brett gave my shoulder a light touch and I looked up at her. I saw a sadness in the set of her shoulders that made me uncomfortable.

  I looked away from her and asked the first thing that came to mind: “What did you alter?”

  “You and Annabel still went to Yosemite with them. We couldn’t change everything. But you had to leave early for a project you booked. They think you guys drove separately and then left while they were out hiking.”

  Anger filled me and gave me enough energy to sit up. How could they lie so easily?

  “You guys think of everything, don’t you?” I seethed.

  “That’s right,” Brett said and smiled, completely ignoring the anger radiating off of me.

  A glass of water had been left on the nightstand and I reached for it. I needed a moment to try and cool down. The glass felt much heavier than it should have and I held onto it with both hands. I looked around the room. It was the same room Robert had stayed in at the Maxwell’s’ during the wedding. Everything looked the same as it did that day and I took a small comfort in that.

  “Where is everyone?” I asked, taking a sip of water.

  “They’re downstairs. I came up to check on you. Bethany said you’d wake up today,” Brett replied.

  “Is she here?”

  “No, I’m sorry. But she sends her best.”

  “Oh, right… yeah,” I mumbled, disappointed. ”Can I see Robert?” I put down the glass of water. I was surprised that he wasn’t the one to come check up on me.

  Brett looked away from me and dread crept over my skin.

  “He’s gone,” Brett said. She wouldn’t look at me but I could see that her eyes were glassy. I felt the sting of my own tears and fought to keep them at bay.

  Closing my eyes I willed myself to remember what had happened on the beach but no memories appeared. My heart ached for Robert, for some image of him alive and well that day.

  “What do you mean gone?” I asked as a single tear spilled down my cheek.

  “I mean gone,” Brett said and grabbed my hand. She looked me in the eyes. “That day on the beach… there was so much chaos. Annabel was trying to save you and… before we knew it…” She took a deep breath to steady herself. “Before we knew it, they all disappeared, including Robert.”

  “What do you mean disappeared?”

  “One second he was fighting on the beach in front of me and the next they were all gone.”

  I felt like I’d been hit with a stun gun. Nothing made sense. How could he just disappear?

  “We all ran straight to you,” Brett continued, “but Robert wasn’t with us. He never came.”

  “But what does that mean?” I asked.

  “Nothing good.” Brett sighed and let go of my hand. “Either he’s been taken prisoner or he’s a traitor.”

  “Can’t Aunt Beth see anything?”

  “No, she tried. They’re blocking her out.”

  “May I?” I asked, reaching out to her.

  “If Bethany can’t see where he is, what makes you think you can?” Brett gave me a sideways look.

  “I’m not going to try and look forward. I want to see what happened on the beach.”

  Brett thought about this a moment, then nodded in consent.

  “I’m still really weak, so I’ll need your help,” I said. “Try to focus on that day at the beach, just before he disappeared.”

  “Okay,” Brett replied. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

  I put my hand on top of hers and let the Magic build inside me. Then I released it.

  The room swirled around me and we dropped onto the beach. Brett was with me this time; that was new.

  The beach was in complete chaos. A wall of fire surged toward Robert and Brett but he blocked it. I looked beneath the pier and saw myself struggling to survive. Lightning erupted from Brett’s outstretched arms and Annabel ran across the sand toward me. Lila and Ian focused their energy on Robert. Green and yellow light assaulted his shield with such force it knocked him unconscious to the ground.

  “We have to get him out of here,” Lila yelled.

  A few of Ian’s henchmen shimmered and disappeared.

  Brett swung her arms open then brought them together as forcefully as she could, sending Ian and Lila flying with hurricane-force winds.

  “Are you okay?” she asked and knelt
next to Robert.

  “I’m fine, get Violet,” Robert ordered.

  Brett nodded and ran toward everyone else who had gathered under the pier.

  I looked back at Robert. He stood up and dusted sand off of himself.

  Lila and Ian approached him and they stared each other down.

  “Lila,” Robert said through gritted teeth.

  “It’s nice to see you again, Robert,” Lila replied, a wicked smile spread across her face. She reached out to him and before he could make a move they vanished into thin air, just like the rest of Ian’s men.

  The beach blurred and Brett and I were back at the Maxwell’s estate.

  “Like I said, Violet, he’s either a traitor or a prisoner. Either way, we have to let him go,” Brett replied.

  “We can’t!” I refused to believe what I’d just seen. “He can’t be, he wouldn’t leave me like that. Brett, you can’t believe he’s with them.”

  “Then why did it take him so long to reach you when you were taken?” She raised her eyebrows at me.

  My mouth opened to defend him, but I had wondered the same thing that day. Robert could feel everything I did. He must have known something was terribly wrong when Ian got to the house, so why didn’t he come for me?

  “Did he or did he not put a binding spell on you?” Brett asked.

  I nodded and whispered back, “He did.”

  “He played us. He led them right to you.” Brett shook her head.

  “Brett, there has to be some sort of explanation. You can’t believe Robert would do that.”

  “You saw him with your own eyes. He left with them without a fight,” she snapped.

  “I’m not giving up on him.” I flipped the comforter back and got out of bed with a new-found strength. I wouldn’t believe he was a traitor. I knew Robert; he was a part of me and my heart felt certain there was no way he would sell me out to the enemy. There had to be another explanation for what happened.

  I had to find him and get the truth, no matter what the cost.