by M. R. Polish
Note to self: never slough off self defense training again—if I made out there alive.
The room blurred then faded. Finally, he let go, and I gasped for oxygen.
I watched him through blurry eyes place the plants in the bowl fashioned like a stone grinder, looking as if it came directly from the caveman days. He used another stone to mash the leaves and berries together. A faint bitter smell from the berries wafted in the air. I threw up a little in my mouth, and then gagged as it slid back down my throat.
Nicholas carried the plants over to me. “So, will you help me create my Crossbreed army? You can be my queen as I will be your king.”
I shivered. The thought of being his anything was repulsive. “Go to hell.” I clenched my teeth.
He frowned. “Well, thankfully I have found other ways to make this work without you. It’ll take more time, but the effects will be the same. Not to mention, I’ll have to kill more witches to make it work…”
I didn’t wait to hear anymore and used whatever energy I had to send a gust of wind through the room, sending papers and plants flying around to cause a distraction. I wouldn’t give up without a fight.
I shot a current of electricity directed at him. He dodged it right before it found his chest, then holding his hand up he redirected it, and sent the jolt into the desk. The wooden desk exploded into splinters around us. The wind picked up the smaller pieces shooting them into the walls. It was as if we were in the middle of a tornado.
I couldn’t do much with my hands tied behind me, so I concentrated on the rope, feeling it loosen, wiggling my hands enough until they were free. Nicholas’s hands shot out toward me, but I placed my hands in front of me, blocking his powers.
Thankfully, he let up. My energy wasn’t up to par yet, and I could feel myself weakening. I sucked in air as if it was water in a desert. I wasn’t sure how long I could last against him. Not long, for sure. He was a seasoned warlock with almost three hundred years of training, and I was drained.
Before I knew what had happened, he soared over to me and shoved a mouthful of the mixed berries and plants in my mouth. “If you won’t work for me, then I’ll have to do this the hard way,” he seethed.
I coughed and spit out as much as I could, but I knew that too much had made it into my system. Anger boiled under my skin, making my body shake. It wouldn’t be long before I would be gone. I needed to do whatever I could to stop him. Listening to everything around me, I pulled from every living piece of energy I could find, including his. Soaking it all in, letting it fill me entirely.
The room spun, and ebony shadows fluttered around both of us. My vision blurred. The Belladonna was already affecting me. Warmth flooded my limbs, making them heavy. I blinked several times trying to clear my head, but it didn’t work. I focused on Nicolas as much as I could. His body stretched and bent in odd shapes. Bile rose, burning the back of my throat.
My palms tingled with magic. I pushed it out away from me, not knowing or caring where I threw it, but I knew that not using it could be worse. More shadows danced around the room, filling all the empty space between Nicholas and myself.
Warmth seeped from my nose. Crimson liquid smeared my hand as I wiped the blood from my face. But I wasn’t going to give up, not until I was dead. I continued to thrust everything I had toward Nicholas. With the remaining ounce of magic I had left, I flung him back against the wall.
“Es!”
I heard my name being called, but it was too late. The world around me went dark and nothing mattered anymore as I slipped into the unknown.
Jarak
“Maztic, in here.” I swallowed hard as I watched Es fall over. My heart plummeted into my stomach. I was too late.
Ailaina brushed past me, holding Es’s head up. Tears ran down her face. “Jarak, I think she’s alive, but barely.”
Nicholas was unconscious, slumped over in the corner of the room, but my attention wasn’t on him. It was fully on Esmerelda.
Placing my fingers on her neck, I searched for a pulse. “Please beat, please.” Then I felt it, very faint, but it was there. I nodded at Ailaina, reaffirming her that she was alive.
A small shuffle behind me averted my attention. Twisting, I spotted Nicholas trying to get up. All my fury and rage exploded, and I unleashed it on him, kicking him in the jaw, sending him backwards into the wall.
Maztic jumped on him, biting him.
Bending down closer to him, I punched him with all the force I could muster. He stopped moving.
With Nicholas out of it again for a moment, I had time to help Ailaina. I sprinted over to them, where Ailaina already had Es’s legs untied. Maztic growled behind me, and I turned in time to see Nicholas dash through the now shattered window with Maztic sprinting after him.
“He’s gone, he transported somewhere.” Maztic came back through the window.
I nodded. “He won’t live long. He’ll pay for this.”
I picked Es up. Her small frame hung limp in my arms. “I need to get her back to Victor. He’ll know what to do.”
Ailaina stayed close, her hand never leaving Es’s. She looked up at me hopeful. “She’s gonna be okay, right?”
I wasn’t sure what to say, so I just held on to Es tightly. I didn’t know the details of what happened to her, but I hoped she wouldn’t die. I carried her to the car I parked out on the street, out of view from the house. As careful as I could, I laid her in the back seat. Ailaina climbed in with her, resting Es’s head on her lap.
I quickly jumped in the driver’s seat and took off. Victor was searching the other side of Zona Alta. I needed to let him know I had her, so he could meet us back at Ree’s house.
Speeding through the city streets, I honked my horn at other drivers who were too slow for me, and blasted past everything on the roads. Ailaina never said anything. I looked back in the rearview mirror and watched her cry over Es’s near lifeless body. I punched in Victor’s number on my cell and waited for him to answer.
“What’d you find?” He asked as soon as he answered.
“Hey Vic, I got her, but it’s not good.” I looked back at her and spotted the slow rise of her chest. She was still breathing. I didn’t hear anything he said. “I’m on my way to Ree’s.” I hung up, in no mood for talking. Besides, he’d let Ree know we were on our way.
“Stay with me. You can’t leave me, not now,” I whispered, hoping that on some wavelength she could hear me.
Esmerelda
My body was weightless as I felt someone cradle me in their arms, carrying me. Trying to open my eyes was a lost cause, not even a blink happened. Distant voices muffled together in an incoherent echo. I strained to listen.
What happened? Where was Jarak? Ailaina? Oh, no, was this hell? Or was I still a captive of Nicholas? I tried to move, but couldn’t tell if I did or not. My body was too heavy, compressed as if thousands of pounds lay on top of me. Whoever held me let go and I realized I must be on a bed.
Images of shadows jerking around me held a scream trapped inside of me. What if this was all a hallucination?
A spasm involuntarily jerked every muscle in my body, sending my limbs flailing around. I wanted to stop, but I couldn’t.
“Grab her arms, help hold her down. Her body is fighting against the poison.”
“Is there anything you can do for her?”
“Possibly, but we won’t know for sure for a couple of days if its’ working. She’s pretty far gone.”
Who was talking? The voices were familiar, but it was too hard to understand.
“Ree, will you be okay watching her while I grab some things to make an antidote?”
Ree, I knew that name. My brain fought against my thoughts and only flickers of real memories came through, but not enough for me to remember clearly.
Someone grabbed my hand.
“Of course.”
I needed to know what happened, but I felt trapped in my own body. The noises sounded as if they were underwater. My mind wanted t
o shut down, making it impossible to listen anymore. I drifted back off into the welcoming void of unconsciousness.
I needed to focus. I could still hear muffled voices, but when I opened my eyes, blurry creatures talked back. What’s wrong with me? When will this hell end? After trying for what seemed like days, I felt the first oomph of magic begin filling me. Hope flared as I realized that I was drawing energy from a source, but which one I wasn’t certain.
Trying to force my fingers to move with the energy, they still refused to work. I was petrified and it scared me. Exhausted, I wanted to cry, but no tears came.
Tiny prickles danced across my skin. It felt as if my hand had fallen asleep and now tried to awaken. I flinched and tried to move it away, but I couldn’t, I was still too weak. Whatever was on me, hurt so badly. I wanted to cry, scream, yell—anything.
“I think she can hear us now.”
“You better be right because if she doesn’t get better any faster, I’m afraid she may not make it.” A man’s voice muddled with another one. I could hear them, but no sound erupted from my throat to talk back.
Who was with me? Where was I? I willed my eyes to open, but they remained shut. Jarak! Ailaina! I called out to both of them in my head.
“I saw her finger twitch.”
Hope fluttered inside me. I knew that voice. It was Ailaina. Even underwater garble couldn’t hide my friend’s sound.
“Did you see it? She moved! Es, I’m right here, can you hear me?”
“I’m here! I can hear you,” I tried shouting, but no sound left my mouth.
Someone grasped my hand, holding it tight, making the tingles worse. “Es, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand.” Jarak’s voice came through much clearer, except he sounded far away, but not muddled like Ailaina’s.
Ugh, that’s what I’ve been trying to do. If I could accomplish that I would.
Instead of letting myself give in to the pity party my heart tried to give me, I focused on my inner power, grasping around the invisible cord that tied me to Jarak and pulled… hard.
Using his energy, I was able to move my hand. It wasn’t a tight squeeze, but at least I made a connection with him. As soon as I squeezed, his hand grasped tighter around mine. My energy drained and faded away. I wouldn’t be able to hold onto his hand for much longer.
“I knew it!” Ailaina squeaked in delight. “Luna, look!”
Luna? Who’s Luna? Luna must belong to the soft voice I heard.
“Esmerelda, you need to sleep so you can heal. We’re right here with you. I won’t ever leave you again.” It was a soft-spoken woman talking. That must be Luna. Her voice was calming, and it helped lull my mind back into the darkness.
Fifteen
Esmerelda
L ooking around, I watched the pale light of the moon cast shadows around the darkened room. The window was open, letting in a brisk breeze.
A small shift of movement under the dancing curtains caught my attention. A large white wolf lay curled up asleep on the floor. I watched the steady rise and fall of the beast’s chest.
Jarak lay sleeping against the massive wolf’s body. His legs were kicked out and crossed over, with his arms folded, resting on his chest. He looked so peaceful while he slept.
My heart leapt for joy seeing him there, and I wondered how long I’d been out. My memory of what happened was fuzzy. Something pressed me into thinking I needed to remember.
I sat up, careful not to make too much noise, not wanting to disturb Jarak and the massive wolf. I never took my eyes off them as I lifted the coverlet off my legs. The wolf’s ears turned forward as if he listened to my movements. I held my breath and sat still.
“You scared me.” Jarak spoke without opening his eyes.
I jumped a little at the unexpected sound. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“I’m not talking about that.” He was fully awake and staring at me. “I’m talking about you almost dying. I’ve sat here for days while you were unconscious.”
I lowered my eyes. Warmth spread through my cheeks as I blushed, knowing he’d watched me sleeping for days. “Sorry. How long was I out?”
“Four days, it was touch and go at the beginning. Victor helped take some of the pain, but he couldn’t do too much since it was a poison deadly to all magical beings.” Jarak stood in one swift motion and was on his feet walking over to the edge of the bed, sitting down next to me. His eyes met mine and I searched his, studying every flake of cerulean blue in his irises. His gaze made me warm all over. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure, it’s still unclear. I remember the darkness and something crawling all over me, hurting me. Dark shadows consumed me, making me think horrible things.” I shifted my gaze to the wolf, which was now wide-awake yet still under the window. Jarak followed my stare and smiled.
“Maztic, come here, meet Es.”
The large beast got up on all fours and stretched his hind legs before leaping over to the bed. My eyes were wide as I watched the full size of Jarak’s wolf come into my view.
Maztic must have experienced pride at my expression because he puffed out his chest in a proud stance. “Esmerelda.”
I jumped back, and hit my elbow on the headboard, in my mad rush to move away. “He talked!” I had lost my mind.
He cocked his head at Jarak, and then looked back at me. “Of course I can talk. I’m just a little surprised you can hear me.” Maztic barked back. It was weird. I heard him in my head not my ears. His mouth never moved. But, I swore he talked!
Jarak reached for my hand. “It's okay, Es.”
I shook my head. Of course, now I’m like freaking Dr. Doolittle, talking to animals. “He’s talking in my head. Can you hear him?”
Jarak laughed a little. “Yes, all Guardians can hear their wolves. It’s not normal for others to hear them, but then again you’re exceptional, so this shouldn’t surprise me. Es, this is Maztic—Maztic is my Spirit Wolf.”
I moved my eyes back and forth from Maztic to Jarak. So this was the wolf he bonded with. Still, never would I have imagined a wolf, or any animal for that matter, could talk to me. Stunned, I moved a little closer to Jarak.
“I think that went rather well.” Maztic’s voice rang with sarcasm in my head.
Jarak rolled his eyes. “Maztic, could you give us some room? I want to talk to Es.”
“Where do you suggest I go? The dog house?” Maztic’s low gruff sounded more jovial than disappointed. I smiled—a little.
“Maztic.” Jarak chided a little deeper. I watched as he walked toward the door, his form evaporating into the air until he was gone.
I didn’t move. “Omigod. He just disappeared.”
“Yeah, they’re Spirit Wolves. They can come and go as they need.”
“Do they all talk?” I still sat frozen, watching the doorway where Maztic vanished.
“Yes and no. Only a Guardian can talk to his or her wolf, but you can hear your mate’s wolf also. That’s why I’m a little baffled why it is you can hear Maztic.” Jarak glimpsed into my eyes, not saying more. “So are you feeling okay?”
I rubbed my arms, and tried to forget about the awkward conversation. “Yeah, I mean I guess so. Emotionally? Not sure.”
“Victor wasn’t sure if he extracted enough poison from your system. He worked for hours at your side using some weird spell and potion. It looked like a green fog settled over your body. I’m glad it worked.”
Jarak moved off the bed.
“Wait.” I clutched onto his arm, afraid that he would leave, and I didn’t think I could handle being alone. “I remember falling, scared that I was dying. I was alone. I tried to stop, but there was nothing there for me to grab to help me.”
Hoping to relax a little from the anxiety the memories provoked, I took a deep breath. Jarak sat back down and pulled me closer, holding me tight.
“Finally, I hit the ground. It was cold and hard, like a dirt-covered stone slab… pitch black, no light. I crawled around, feel
ing my way through the dirt. That’s when I saw the light.” My voice cracked, it was hard to think about what happened.
“What light?” he whispered against my neck.
“It was Moriah—she was with the light.”
He stiffened, his embrace no longer relaxed. “Moriah?”
Tears rolled out of my eyes. “Well it wasn’t actually her, she’s dead, but she managed to come in spirit form. At least that’s how I understood it.”
His hushed tone was deep. “I’m so sorry you went through that.” He kissed the top of my head. He sent me mixed signals and my emotional state couldn’t handle it.
I nodded. “It was horrible.” I remembered the pain in that awful place. “The pain I had is unreal, unfathomable,” my voice trembled.
“I’m so sorry, Es.”
I snuggled deeper in his arms, resting my head on his chest, feeling him loosen up a little more again.
“Don’t be sorry. You came for me, and I talked to you. Well, screamed for you is more like it. Hoping you could hear me through some weird connection.”
“That actually explains a lot.”
I looked up at him. “How?”
“I heard you. Every time I heard your voice it gave me hope, I knew you were still alive.”
Sucking in a sharp breath, I couldn’t believe he’d heard me. I hoped he would, but to know that he did was incredible.
“I can’t believe they threw you down into the ground. I wanted nothing more than to find you. You’ve gotta believe me. I tried to get to you sooner.” Genuine concern filled Jarak’s whole face. His eyes searched mine. “How are you feeling? Really? Nicholas drugged you with something, but Ree isn’t sure what he used. Whatever it was, it was bad.”
“I’m fine, massive headache, but I’m okay. It was Belladonna. I fought him, like Moriah said to do, but he shoved it in my mouth. I thought I was as good as dead.”
A knock on the bedroom door averted our attention. Jarak let go of me and backed up putting space between us once again.
