“I’m not letting them walk into this blind,” I lash out.
Caiden steps up behind me, backing me up. “We need to find them. Now.”
Madelyn scrutinizes the determination in our eyes. “Let them go, Vasily. Grayson is there. He won’t let her be harmed. I need to rally the coven. You gather your wolves and we’ll all meet at Emerson’s house when she finds her friends. Go, now.” She nudges me towards the door. “We don’t have much time.”
We race through the corridors, nurses calling out in surprise as we rush past. Out in the car, Caiden takes the wheel, driving twice the legal speed limit.
Thankfully we arrive at the school without getting pulled over. We jump from the car and dash into the gym where the dance is being held. Gold and blue streamers cling to the walls, balloon archways waving gently as we race by.
The gym is packed, everyone dressed to the nines in prom dresses and suits, dancing and gyrating in the middle of the crowded room. It’s going to take us forever to find them.
“You look on that side, I’ll search over here,” I suggest.
Caiden doesn’t look happy about splitting up, but for once, he doesn’t argue.
I push through the mob, my jeans and sweater standing out like a beggar at a ball. My head swivels from side to side, searching faces illuminated by the flashing lights. I get to the doors on the other side of the room without seeing them.
I swing around to make another circuit when a strong hand grips my shoulder.
“Em, what’s wrong?” Grayson’s deep voice rumbles behind me.
I turn to face him in relief. I still may not trust him 100%, but Madelyn does, and I need all the help I can get. I look up at him, praying he will help. His face shimmers, blurring a bit under the multicolored lights. I blink, trying to clear my vision.
“I have to find Arianna. Have you seen her?”
“Why? What’s going on?” His silver eyes sweep around us warily.
“Didn’t Madelyn tell you?” I assumed she would have called him, warned him.
He looks confused for a moment. “No, I haven't heard anything.” His dark hair flashes yellow for a moment under the strobe lights.
“I don’t have time to explain, we need to stop Caroline! I have to warn Arianna and the others, now!” I twist away, still searching the faces around me.
“Don’t worry Em, we’ll take care of it,” he says behind me.
Across the room I see a familiar, massive body moving through the crowd, silver eyes wide in panic. What the..? How can Gray be all the way over there if he’s standing right behind me?
As I peer back over my shoulder, a hand comes up to rest on my head. My vision goes blurry, the face behind me shimmering like a mirage, dark hair turning light again, silver eyes morphing to blue.
“You’re not Gray...” I gasp. I wobble a little, trying to get away, but he catches me easily.
“No, I’m not. And now it’s time for us to go.” As Grayson’s face fades away, Landon smiles maliciously at me. Then he grabs me around my shoulders and hauls my limp body towards the doors.
I look back across the room at Grayson, who’s now fighting through the crowd with a fierce determination. I watch him throw people out of his way in his urgency to reach me, his face becoming a mask of utter dread when he realizes he’s too far away to save me.
And then my vision goes black.
Chapter 28
I wake to the sound of rhythmic chanting. My head swims, bile rising in my throat. I crack my eyes open, the glare of candlelight stabbing into my brain. Tears stream down my cheeks, running sideways toward my temples.
There’s something hard beneath me, radiating cold through my back. I try to wipe the tears away, but my upper arms and wrists are held down with some kind of narrow straps. Attempting to move my legs, I find that my ankles are similarly bound.
Ignoring the pain in my skull, I force my eyes open the rest of the way, trying to make sense of my surroundings. Above me, dark, leafless branches sway in the wind, illuminated by the moon high above. I can hear rushing water somewhere in the distance. How did I get outside?
I turn my head a little. I seem to be on some sort of raised platform, stone I think. Candles encircle a small clearing, the chanting emanating from shadowy figures outside the circle, moving and swaying.
My eyes focus on a large form tied to a tree, head slumped over, black hair falling into his eyes.
“Grayson...” I croak, my voice raspy, barely audible. I try again, a little louder. “Grayson?”
He groans and begins to stir. His head lifts, blood running down his face from a gash near his temple. “Em–”
A robed figure emerges from the darkness beyond, stepping through the ring of flames. Slender hands reach up slowly, lowering the hood inch by inch, revealing Caroline’s delicate, heart-shaped face.
I try to yell out, to warn the rest of the coven, but when her pale blue eyes meet mine, I find I’m not able to speak. My throat works, trying to marshal up a scream, but nothing comes out. I try to sit up, struggling against the binds, but I can barely manage a wriggle, I’m held so tight.
Ignoring me, Caroline walks over to Grayson, whose blazing silver eyes are locked on mine.
“The time has come,” she calls out to the coven. She bends down and grabs a fist full of Gray’s midnight hair, wrenching his head back violently. “The wolves are nipping at our heels. They sent this beast to abduct one of our own! But Morrigan takes care of her children. His deception was discovered, and now he will be a fitting sacrifice for the Phantom Queen this night.”
An animalistic snarl tears up Gray’s throat, but he keeps his gaze trained on me.
Cheers rise up in response, but a deep male voice calls out over the din.
“But he’s so young. Is this sacrifice truly necessary?”
Rage in her eyes, Caroline straightens up to her full height, spreading her arms out wide.
“Necessary? The war has begun again! He drew first blood when he attacked Emerson’s father! If we hadn’t captured him when we did, he would have killed Emerson as well; the lives of witches mean nothing to these demons! Just ask my son… Was Brent too young for these murderous fiends?”
Shouts of “kill him,” and “blood for blood,” ring out around us.
“After centuries of bloodshed,” Caroline continues, “the senseless murders, the witch hunts and massacres, the time has come to take our revenge on these monstrosities once and for all!”
More applause and shouts of approval rise up from the crowd.
“How many more children must we lose? How many families torn apart, before we take matters into our own hands?” She calls out. “We’ve been hiding and cowering for far too long. Now, we take the fight to them! Witches brought life to these were-beasts eons ago, and now we will bring them death!”
The mob goes wild, hooting and hollering, calling for blood and destruction.
“On this night, Emerson, daughter of Elizabeth, beloved of Morrigan, has eagerly agreed to blood bond herself to me, that we may grow in strength, and destroy the evil hunting us!”
From a small table, Caroline picks up a golden chalice and a wicked dagger as long as her forearm. Raising the blade above Gray, she calls out:
“Morrigan, Goddess of the Battlefield!
Hear me, your priestess, your warrior to yield!
Your children call upon you,
Grant us your strength, guide us true!”
“Blessed be the Morrigan!” The group chants back.
“Lady of Death, Chooser of Slain!
May your blade strike true, bring our enemies great pain!
Phantom Queen, Goddess of Strife,
We beseech you, and offer up this life!”
“Blessed be the Morrigan!” The group chants again as Caroline wrenches Grays head back, exposing his throat to her descending knife.
“Wait!” A voice rings out over the throng. “Stop!”
Whispers break out, people shuf
fling to the side, making a path for Caiden to squeeze through, Arianna, Ethan, and Lydia right behind him.
Caroline releases Gray, smiling at Caiden as he appears in the clearing. “I’m so glad you could make it in time. I know you’ve been just as eager for this day as I. After all, Brent was your friend. Tonight we will know vengeance at last!”
“Let her go!” Caiden demands, eyes glacial, his face a hard mask.
Her smile slips, anger blazing from her eyes. “She has agreed to the blood bond. It must be tonight.”
Caiden’s expression hardens even more. “Don’t do this.”
I struggle against the binds again, hoping to work something loose, but it’s no use.
“This is the only way. These animals have to suffer! What’s happened to you Caiden? Have you forgotten what they did?”
The whispering gets louder, the coven unsure what’s going on.
“It’s over, Caroline. I know that you attacked Emerson’s father to make it look like the pack. Why? To scare her into the bonding?”
Surprise flits across her face as she regards the boy she looks upon almost as a son.
“Has the pack gotten to you, Caiden? They’re messing with your mind. Surely you realize they will say anything to save their miserable lives.”
“I saw it, Caroline. I saw it in Jack’s memory, which you wiped out after attacking him, replacing with a false one of the pack. Did you do the same to Elizabeth? Did you hurt her too?” His eyes beg her to deny it.
The whispers grow louder, angry muttering permeating the air, the coven pushing forward, anxious for her reply.
“Of course not, Caiden, how could you think that?” Her mouth twists with hurt. “Elizabeth was unstable–”
“Then let me see,” he suggests quietly. “Let me see your memories from that night. Prove to me that you didn’t have anything to do with it.”
Caroline’s hurt turns to anger, her jaw tightening. “We don’t have time for this; the beasts are on their way–”
“The pack’s already here,” he interrupts, gesturing to the other side of the circle.
All around people gasp, crying out angrily.
“You brought our enemy here?” Caroline yells incredulously.
“They don’t have to be the enemy.” Startled shrieks ring out as Madelyn emerges from the trees, Vasily by her side. To the left and right, wolves step out of the darkness, teeth bared.
“They want to form a truce with your coven,” Madelyn continues. “The way they did with mine.”
More whispers, louder. Some start shouting angrily.
“There will be no truce with beasts!” Caroline’s eyes glint with madness as she turns toward me, raising the knife high above my throat.
As she plunges the knife down, a vision of a dark haired woman appears, eyes blazing with fury. Her long black dress billows in the nonexistent wind. Her arm shoots out, blocking the knife from penetrating my exposed throat.
With an all-mighty crack, a flash of light engulfs us, illuminating the raven haired woman. When the flash fades, so does she.
Caroline screams, the knife she holds now just a blackened, twisted piece of metal. She flings the misshapen lump into the trees, cradling her hand to her chest. The scent of burnt flesh and ozone permeates the air.
A raven caws from beside me, taking flight into the trees, and then the straps tying me to the stone break, freeing me. I leap up and run toward Caiden.
Pandemonium breaks out, people shrieking, trying to run away, only to stop short as they realize they’re surrounded by dozens of massive wolves. The weres herd the frightened coven into the clearing, not letting any escape.
“See what you’ve done!” Caroline shrieks at Caiden. “They’ve come to slaughter us! You’ve brought death upon us all!”
“They aren’t here to harm anyone. Well, anyone but you,” Madelyn amends, her eyes flaring in anger. “We are here to find out the truth of Elizabeth’s murder.”
Caroline’s jaw juts out, her eyes challenging.
“You will show me,” Caiden threatens. “I can break through your barriers and force you, or you can show me on your own. It’s your choice.”
The coven is huddled together, terrified, staring at the wolves around them, but a few whisper amongst themselves, eyes thick with rage. It’s only a matter of time before they do something.
Wariness enters Caroline’s eyes as she regards Caiden. Then her jaw sets, eyes hardening.
“All I do is for the protection of this coven! Elizabeth was a threat. She knew what was at stake, knew this war was coming, but she didn’t care! She refused to help us. I did what was necessary to ensure the survival of our race. These creatures must be destroyed!”
My heart stops, lungs freeze in my chest at her confession. She did it. She killed my mom. This whole time, my mother’s murderer has been right in front of me, smiling at me, pretending to help me.
An incoherent roar rips up my throat, painting my vision red. I can’t see anything but Caroline, two feet away, still justifying herself to Caiden. Then she’s airborne, soaring through the night air fifteen feet away, slamming into a massive oak with a sickening crack.
I stalk forward, advancing slowly on my prey, teeth bared in a snarl. I lift one hand and her limp body follows, levitating off the ground. Her eyelids flutter, fighting for consciousness. As I get closer, her eyes pop open, full of panic as she sees me bearing down. I smile menacingly, relishing her terror.
“NO!” A large burly man grabs me from behind, stopping me mid-hunt. “Not like this!”
I barely register Mirowski’s voice shouting in my ear. All my focus is on the demon before me. She has to pay! She will pay for what she’s done!
I fight his hold, clawing and biting, howling like a wild animal as Caroline struggles against my bind, breaking it bit by bit.
“She’s getting away!” I shriek. “Nooooo!”
Mirowski’s arms tighten, unwilling to release me. I vaguely notice the chaos breaking out all around. The coven, in their dark robes, screaming and fighting while the wolves snarl and dart around, protecting themselves from the onslaught.
I feel my hold on Caroline falter.
“NOOOO!” I scream again, wild with fury.
Caroline turns her malevolent eyes on me. She smiles at me triumphantly, then vanishes before my eyes.
Chapter 29
Mirowski loosens his hold and I tear across the clearing, dropping to my knees when I reach the empty spot she dematerialized from.
I stare at the woods around me blankly. I was so close. She killed my mother, attacked my father, tried to kill me. I had her; she was within my grasp... and now she’s gone.
Snarls and screams echo all around the forest as witches and werewolves clash, the battle we were hoping to avoid playing out before my sightless eyes.
“EM!”
Grayson’s deep voice rumbles, sending a renewing jolt of energy through me. Gray! He’s still tied up!
I jump to my feet and take off, reaching him just as Landon bends down, a gruesome smile in his face, and grips either side of Grayson’s head, ready to snap his neck.
I fling Landon away without a thought, not caring if he cracks his skull open on a tree, and barrel straight into Grayson’s massive chest. He grunts at the impact.
“Are you okay?” I frantically untie the knots at his wrists, unwrapping the thick rope from around his body.
He groans as he rubs sensation back into his hands. He tries to get his feet under him, blood still oozing from his head wound.
“Wait, don’t get up yet. You’ve lost too much blood.”
“Have to,” he grunts. “Gotta help the pack.”
“Wait, just let me heal you first. Two minutes.”
He shakes his head, still trying to climb to his feet. “No time.”
Rather than argue, I wedge my shoulder under his arm and help him hobble over to Vasily, who’s shouting at the pack to stop fighting, to fall back.
All around me people are battling, the coven casting spells, tossing sizzling balls of energy at the wolves, or brandishing the wickedly sharp daggers that are used during rituals. The wolves, for their part, don’t appear to be trying to hurt the coven; they’re more concerned with protecting themselves from the vicious spells being cast. But as more and more wolves fall to the ground, bloody and beaten, the weres move in to defend their fallen pack mates, biting and slashing the witches foolish enough to get too close.
Directly in front of me, Melanie, a young woman from my coven, jabs her dagger deep into the stomach of a dark gray wolf. The wolf cries out in pain, twisting its body around to snap at Melanie’s arm.
Before he takes a chunk out of her, I throw her backwards, out of his reach. Her head snaps toward me in surprise, but she recovers quickly, lunging back toward the wolf to stab him again.
“No!” I yell at her, jumping forward and twisting the knife out of her grasp. “Stop! That’s enough!” My voice gets lost among all the other screams and cries for help echoing around the clearing.
I push Melanie back again and she stares at me with wide eyes, fear and betrayal written all over her face.
Ignoring her and rest of the chaos surrounding me, I lean over the injured wolf, trying to gauge the extent of his injury. He growls at me, ears laid flat, about to attack, but Gray barks out, “Anton!”
The wolf freezes at Gray’s command.
“Let me help you,” I say to Anton. “The wound’s deep. Let me fix it.”
“You traitor,” Melanie hisses behind me. “You’re going to help that beast?”
“Back off, Melanie. They don’t want to hurt us!”
“Don’t want to hurt us? Look around you!” She gestures wildly to the vicious fighting going on all around. “They’re attacking us, just as Caroline said, and you’re choosing them over your own coven?”
“I said back off!” I yell again, ignoring the pandemonium and focusing instead on the dying wolf in front of me. He growls again, about to lunge.
“Stand down, Anton,” Gray commands.
Deceitful Circle (Silent Circle Book 2) Page 19
