Leo agreed, ‘okay let’s find Caspian and Gemma, and then get out of here.’
All of a sudden a deafening scream echoed up the staircase. A shiver shot down Laura’s spine.
Grace reacted first, ‘that was Gemma!’
They took off down the stairs, spilling out into the room below. They then realised that they were trapped.
Wicked lined the walls. Each one held a sword resting point down, their hands folded over the hilt. Their eyes watched the centre of the room, where Gemma lay in a pool of blood.
A gaping cut ran along her cheek, and blood spilled from her stomach. She was begging with hoarse whispers for James to stop.
Laura’s eyes moved to James, his face and clothes splattered with blood. He held a sword above his head, ready to slam down into Gemma’s chest. Laura would never, in her life, forget the expression on his face as he stood over her and rejoiced at her pain, laughed at her cries, grinned at the sight of her blood. He was torturing her.
The world around Laura blurred and fury coursed through her veins. She didn’t hear Stella and Grace’s desperate cries as two Wicked secured their hands behind their back. She didn’t see Logan draw his sword and attempt to fight through the Wicked as they closed in on him. She didn’t notice Leo being dragged to his knees beside Cara. And she didn’t feel as Drew tried to grab her, before he was tugged away.
Her legs were moving at their own accord, her thoughts taking over as they once had before.
It was only her and James.
In that moment, nothing else existed.
He did not see Laura advancing on him. He was too busy pretending to bring the sword down into Gemma, before thrusting it back and grinning at her whimpers as she awaited her death.
The more he amused himself with his sick, twisted game, the fiercer, the angrier, Laura grew. If Wicked were endeavouring to stop her, she didn’t know. No one held her back.
And then she was only a meter from James.
‘Let her go,’ Laura hissed.
A single voice pulsed in her head, its whispers repeating save Gemma over and over. She was consumed by the voice, the words, attempting to obey it’s order. No other thought entered her mind as she undertook the plea.
James stopped, noticing her for the first time. Laura was blind to his reaction, but she noticed the way he slowly lowered his sword.
‘Drop it,’ she snarled.
Her voice swept over James like a gust of wind and he stumbled backwards, the blade clattering to the ground.
‘What are you?’ he murmured.
He was backing away, so distracted that he didn’t notice the uneven stone beneath him. He tripped, slamming into the ground.
Don’t escape. The voice hissed.
James tried to stumble to his feet as she advanced on him, but for some reason he couldn’t rise. He scrambled backwards as fast as he could.
Stop moving.
His legs lost strength, and he could no longer push himself further away. He was screaming inaudibly.
His torso went next, and he wasn’t able to hold himself upright. He fell backwards and tried without success to roll over.
His eyes dulled, engulfed by a black abyss.
James needs to die.
James finally managed to roll onto his stomach, searching with bent knuckles for something to drag himself along with.
His arms fell limp, fingers sprawled out in front of him, chin resting on the floor. He couldn’t move.
‘Laura!’
His voice broke through the barrier.
She resurfaced, her mind quickly transporting back to reality. The whispered orders disappeared, the blurring subsided, and she realised that Wicked were beating at an invisible wall that surrounded herself, James, Gemma and her friends. As her surroundings began to further reappear, she noticed more Wicked cowering by the towers walls, shielding their eyes or staring at James with disbelief.
She wasn’t sure how her friends had broken free, but they were all by Gemma’s side. All but Drew, who was staring at her, his hand outstretched.
It had been his voice that broke the spell. That had awoken her from the strange trance she’d fallen into, commanding her to do unthinkable things. Things she felt sick about.
Thankful that her legs were again within her own control, she walked slowly towards him, drawing in a number of shaky breaths.
‘What happened?’ He whispered, taking her arm.
‘I don’t know,’ was all she could say.
She glanced around. The barrier was still up. Was she doing that?
Despite the protection, the Wicked were backing away, set on keeping their distance. They looked too frightened to act, startled by what they had seen.
Laura rushed to Gemma, kneeling down beside the others.
‘You need to get her out of here,’ she said firmly.
Grace turned her eyes to Laura, ‘the Wicked?’
‘We’ll take care of them. Logan, Grace, you need to go. Now. Get her to a hospital.’
Leo spoke quietly, ‘she needs immediate help. She won’t survive if she doesn’t get it.’
Laura saw then that Leo held his hands to Gemma’s torso. She could see much more than she should.
‘But what about you?’ Logan asked quietly.
Stella’s eyes flickered to Logan’s, ‘we will be fine, just get her out of here.’
Laura stood, moving towards the exit. The Wicked guarding the door realised she was nearing them, and straightened.
‘Let them take her to a hospital. Please. We will stay. We will talk with your leader. But please let them save Gemma. Or your fate will be much the same as James’.’ Laura didn’t know if she could do it again; hurt someone like she had James. She only hoped that the threat carried some weight after what they just witnessed her do.
The Wicked regarded her for a moment, before stepping away quickly.
She watched Logan and Grace cross the room, not peering back once as they hurried through the door.
The Wicked stepped back into place, and in unison, took up their original stance, swords pressed to stone. The other Wicked in the room were quick to follow suit.
Then the invisible barrier faltered. Laura could feel it, feel the electricity of the barrier disintegrating around her.
No, please don’t disappear!
But there was a zap, and their only protection became visible in a bright white light, before fading into nothing.
That was when she noticed the echo of footsteps.
‘Nice to see you’re finally here.’
A figure appeared by the staircase, hidden in the shadows. He stepped forward and the Wicked dropped to one knee, bowing their heads over their swords in sync.
There was a collective gasp.
The figure that emerged from the shadows was Caspian.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Or Complete Destruction
Caspian stopped in front of the dwindling group. He wore black gear, Gold armour shielding his chest, his sword clasped to his hip. The Wicked rose, and in perfect unison, lifted their swords in salute.
‘Caspian, what are you doing?’ Drew asked, drawing his sword cautiously.
His voice was unpleasant, ‘you are naive.’
Laura shuddered as his gaze fell upon her. She didn’t know what to think. This couldn’t be Caspian, could it? He wouldn’t betray them, would he?
‘What’s going on Caspian? Why are you doing this? Why are you a part of this?’ Stella choked.
He then glanced at James.
‘A shame. He was a good follower. Just proves how incredible you are.’
His eyes wandered across the room, coming to rest again on Laura’s face. He smiled and took a step towards her, extending his hand. Drew pushed her behind him.
Caspian laughed at the gesture, ‘young love. Beautiful, isn’t it?’
His followers snickered. He waited patiently for them to quieten before he spoke again, ‘It’s a shame Caspian won’t live to
see it. He did adore you two.’
Laura’s heart began to pound, ‘what do you mean? Aren’t you Caspian?’
‘I’m not Caspian. Yes this is his body, only it no longer holds his soul.’
‘The soul we uncovered,’ whispered Leo.
Caspian’s hand moved gracefully through the air, pointing at Leo, ‘yes, the one you knocked over. The one I sent my men to find. But instead, you found it, and set me free.’
‘Where is Caspian’s soul?’ Drew demanded.
Caspian’s body laughed, his eyes wandering from each of their faces to the next, ‘now why would I tell you that?’
‘Tell us!’ Leo shouted and Laura jumped with fright.
Caspian’s gaze moved swiftly to Leo. He drew back his hand and thrust it at the Wizard. A flare of red lightening shot from his fingers and struck Leo in the stomach. He cried out and Caspian laughed as Leo doubled over, falling to his knees.
Stella dropped down beside her husband, drawing her to him. Every fibre of Laura’s being screamed at her to run to them, but she stayed put. She didn’t want to make the situation worse. With Stella’s help, Leo rose from the ground.
Again, a laugh spilled from Caspian’s lips as he flexed his hand, ‘my, my I am quite enjoying this body.’
Laura shivered but forced herself to step around Drew. Finally, she mustered up the courage to speak, ‘why did you possess Caspian?’ It took every ounce of effort to hold her voice steady. ‘Why don’t you possess me, since it’s me you want?’
She heard a whimper escape her mother’s lips.
‘Why indeed.’
He raised his hand to his chin.
‘Well Laura, no matter where I go, you will follow, for I have both Caspian and Cara.’
Laura glared at him, ‘But you need me for your plan! Why don’t you take me, not him? I will trade. I will trade!’
He tsked, ‘you know how possession works. You can only enter one’s body whose soul is weak, its body on the brink of death. Yours certainly is not. No, I can’t possess you unless your mother allows me to with her Charm, which she is currently refusing to do.’
Laura was struck by his words.
‘But Caspian is not weak?’
‘Oh, but he is. Caspian it dying.’
Drew let out a snort, ‘don’t be ridiculous.’
Laura agreed, ‘Caspian is not dying.’
Leo moved away from his wife, turning to Laura and Drew, ‘Caspian is sick.’
Laura’s eyes flickered to Leo. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t even blink.
Leo turned to Caspian’s body and snorted, ‘you should have left your soul to die long ago. You have no place here, Erebus.’
Chapter Twenty-Six
His Armies Will Rise
The Wicked straighten at the sound of his name and Erebus smiled a wickedly evil grin. ‘I see you have figured it out.’
‘Oh I had my suspicions. James gave it away when he relayed your plans to Laura.’
Erebus covered his mouth thoughtfully. ‘Enlighten me, will you? I would love to hear your take on the situation. You’ve always been so very intelligent, Leonardo.’
Leo flinched at the use of his full name, the name he had grown to hate thanks to his father. He knew Erebus was playing with him, but he replied anyway, ‘years ago, not long after the birth of the Enchanted, you devised a plan. You were furious with them, because they weren’t like you. You wanted to rid the world of them; start over. That plan failed dismally,’ Leo concealed a smile, ‘but then, as our race grew, the Wicked were born. You finally had your followers, your perfectly evil Army - only there were so few of them that when it came time for battle, well, you lost. I assume you came close to death after the battle, so entrusted your soul to the Devils, having them pass your messages on to the Wicked once they had strengthened in number.
‘You waited patiently for this moment, before finally rising, bringing together the Wicked to form an army. The army you had intended to create all along, even before you were a Wizard.
‘You hadn’t been experimenting with just anything, had you Erebus? You’d been searching for this power all along. You weren’t stuck in that lab that night, were you? You had finally perfected the experiment, and allowed yourself to undergo the transformation.
‘Only you hadn’t counted on our souls determining who we would become. Good or evil. Enchanted or Wicked. But now that your army was finally complete, you knew it was time to rise.
‘You’d heard whispers of a girl, born under unusual circumstances, and you knew that this was the body you had been waiting for, the body you needed to command your army and take this planet for yourself.
‘When your soul was released, however, you clung to the only body that was weak enough to allow you access. Caspian’s.’
A slow clap echoed around tower as Erebus smiled.
Leo raised his voice, ‘now, you are weak. Your followers are weak. You will never have the power you long for. You underestimate the strength and number of the Enchanted, Erebus. We will defeat you. We will always defeat you.’
The clapping stopped and all was quiet.
After much scrutiny, Erebus spoke, ‘I suppose you would like to know how this was all possible?’
He started towards Laura. Drew was in front of her in an instant, sword drawn.
Erebus ignored this, his eyes on Laura, and she saw for the first time that they were entirely black.
He cocked his head to one side, watching her thoughtfully, ‘you’re scared.’
She didn’t answer.
He turned abruptly to Leo, ‘now, since I don’t plan on keeping you around for much longer, I suppose I see no problem in letting you in on a few little secrets. Someone may as well know of my brilliance.’
Leo stared, waiting.
‘Huh. I thought perhaps you would have something to say to me, for giving you such a generous gift. However, if this is how you’re going to respond than maybe I will just kill you.’
Red Lightening danced among Erebus’ fingers.
Stella pushed in front of her husband, ‘no, please, tell us. We would be…’ she hesitated, before choking out, ‘humbled to hear from our great creator.’
Erebus dropped his hands, lacing them together.
‘Well, since you put it like that.
‘It seems you already know of my army and my greatest hopes for war. I intend on inviting any Enchanted to join me, converting to the ways of the Wicked of course. For those who don’t choose to undertake this transformation, will find themselves battling against me in war.
‘With my army and Laura’s power coursing through my veins, I will defeat the Enchanted, therefore cutting all alliances with the Gods and Angels. The Devils and Demons will furthermore take care of them for me.
I expect to then take the Human World soon after, where I will, at last, take up my rightful place as Emperor.’
Stella pressed on, ‘what I can’t understand, though, is how you preserved your soul? I know a Devil would have done so, but why would they help you?’
Erebus shrugged, ‘what you don’t realise is that we had an alliance with the Devils long before the Enchanted found the Gods. Now, enough talk. I’m bored.’
Erebus charged for Laura, grasping a hold of her arm and yanking her into him before anyone could react.
‘Seize them!’
‘No!’ Drew shouted, lunging for Erebus, but two Wicked were already on top of him, pinning him to the ground. He thrashed wildly in their grip, but they were too strong for him to break free.
Three Wicked appeared by Erebus, containing Laura while he stepped away.
‘Stop your struggles.’
Leo and Stella were already detained by Wicked, and Drew had been dragged to his feet.
Laura paused.
Cara was in Erebus’ grip, a knife pressed to her neck,
‘You won’t kill me,’ hissed Cara, ‘you need me.’
He looked angry. Frustrated.
�
��Fine,’ he tossed her to the ground and seized Stella’s wrist. ‘I won’t hesitate with her. Now stop your struggling.’
Everyone stopped.
‘Cara, rise from the ground please.’
Cara followed his orders, wiping her lip and smearing blood along her chin. She didn’t remove her eyes from Erebus’ face.
‘You were able to cast that mark upon the Map Keeper’s house in Bran, I would like you to now cast your possession mark upon Laura in the same way. Wizards, let her go. Laura, I warn you, one wrong move and your friend, Estella, is gone.’
The knife dug deeper into Stella’s neck and Laura nodded with pleading eyes.
The Wicked released Laura and she stumbled forward into her mother’s arms. In that momentary embrace, Cara whispered something so quietly to Laura that she nearly missed it.
‘When I tell you, speak the names of the four elements.’
Cara backed away, took Laura’s wrists in both hands, and turned them upwards. Her eyes closed as she whispered the Charm’s name. Her Identity Mark began to change colour right before Laura’s very eyes, eventuating to a brilliant green.
A glow ensnared their wrists, entwining its way up their arms like vines. A green light expanded further around them, illuminating the entire room. Then, it exploded, raining down over them and encircling the two with green flames.
The world around Laura disappeared, and all she could see was her mother’s calm face.
‘With my light and power, I summon thee, to help your allies, in desperate need,’ Cara chanted quietly.
Her voice rose slowly and out of nowhere a gust of wind whipped around them. Laura’s hair thrashed wildly and her eyes watered from the winds strength.
Cara remained peaceful, her own hair fluttering about her face. Their clothes billowed, clinging to their bodies as the wind grew wilder with every word her mother spoke. Then, Cara opened her eyes.
Everything disappeared, the glow, the wind, the fire.
Cara released her wrists, turning to Erebus, ‘it’s done.’
He sighed, shoving Stella into the arms of a Wicked. Leo lunged for Stella, but the Wicked holding him grasped his arms tighter, dragging him off in the opposite direction.
Erebus ignored the entire exchange.
The Enchantress (Wicked Book 1) Page 24
