He placed the red pointer on the ground and stretched his hands as if pulling an invisible string from his palms. The red light illuminated a transparent hue that formed an octagon at least six feet in height and eight feet in diameter. He casually walked around the cage, testing the frame every so many feet to ensure its durability.
“Wow, it's nice to see your magical octagon in person instead of on a blueprint,” Luna said.
“She's definitely a beaut, but let's see how she holds up against her.” Thomas's eyes sparkled as they met my wolf’s.
“Now, it's my turn.” Luna rubbed her hands together, then smiled. She circled the inside area, eyes focused. Her platinum hair shimmered; her body glowed. Small purple gems formed and floated in her hands. She placed one at each corner. When the purple gems adorned all eight points, she placed a ninth one on the center of her forehead.
She sat in the center of the octagon, cross-legged, palms held upward. “C'mon, girl. Come in here with me,” she whispered to my wolf. “I call forth with the crown of conscious beings. You are here. You are safe.”
My wolf whined, backing away from the cage.
Aylin. Not safe.
I called to her. Begged her to go forward – to allow Luna to help us.
A force wrenched her forward. I screeched in pain. It was as if the power pulled us in two different directions. I struggled to remain conscious and feared what would become of us.
But it was my wolf’s need to protect us, which trudged us forward—despite the horrific agony we were both facing.
Protect!
I cooed to her, encouraging her. When she stepped inside the octagon, her mournful cry pierced my heart. She collapsed against the wall of the cage, her body limp as it fell to the ground. I sprang free and into the present, demanding vengeance of whoever caused me and my wolf so much pain. I was ready to fight.
Strands of darkness lashed out, binding my arms, legs, and body until I was suspended in the middle of the octagon and coated in the evil tendrils. The ties coiled around me like a boa constrictor squeezing its prey. I screamed as my spirit was extracted from my body and floated nearby.
“Ah, there you are. The body and the soul,” Luna said.
“I've seen nothing like this.” Thomas circled the outside of the octagon, mouth agape.
Aylin. My wolf called to me. Confusion evident in the way my name quivered in our mind. The black char I had cured Connor of now divided my body and soul from my wolf like a chain link fence.
I looked around the area. My reality blurred. Everything appeared as though I were peering through red goggles. Luna sat smiling in the middle of whatever god-forsaken thing held me suspended in the air. My poor wolf lay on the ground. Her fur a wet mass. My heart broke.
Again, the boy circled the boundary of the cage. I eyed him as he studied my bonded soul.
“Help. Me.” I tried to twist and turn in hopes of snapping the black tendrils encasing me.
“Relax,” Luna said.
Easy for her to say. Her body wasn't being smothered by dark magic.
“Thank you, purple crown of consciousness, for bringing my friend forward.” Luna's mystical voice became muffled. “Aylin, close your eyes and focus on the color purple. Imagine it inside your body. There will be several balls. Pull each one toward one another until they form a single massive sphere in the pit of your stomach. Think of it like a form of chakra, but instead of multiple colors, there will be just one. Do you understand?”
I hadn't practiced this form of meditation, but I had heard of it. Could I do it? I closed my eyes and tried to imagine the plum balls throughout my body, but all I saw was black. The tendrils tightened. My ribs cracked.
I squalled, but my cry faded with the onslaught of pain as the tendrils tightened.
“Aylin, you are safe. It cannot harm you in Thomas's protection container. Try again.”
It hurt. The pain made it difficult to focus, to clear my mind. But I needed to save myself. Save my wolf. I couldn't let her die. We were one.
I imagined my silhouette, the dark figure a perfect replica of my body. Struggling to concentrate, I breathed in deeply, held it for a count of four, and exhaled. My mind searched through the figure, looking for the healing crowns.
Each breath soothed my soul. My mind cleared. Slowly, several of floating purple orbs became visible. I moved one with my mind, forcing it into another one. The two expanded into one. I took another deep breath and moved another ball closer. For several minutes, I repeated the process, until one unified ball hovered near my heart. Slowly, I forced my mind to move the ball toward my stomach.
Just when it reached the perfect location, Luna spoke. “Stop! Good.”
Sweat poured from her face as if she'd just moved the several of healing balls. I gasped for air; the exertion burnt my lungs.
“Now, the hard part.”
Oh, I didn't like the sound of that. Combining the balls had been hard enough. I glanced at my wolf. She hadn't moved or acknowledged my struggle with the orbs. I needed to do more. I needed to shift and soon.
“Focus now on the black masses surrounding you. Pull them inside your body and coax them toward the purple halo. She will destroy them. No matter what happens, keep pulling them. Don't let any stray.” Luna's dampened shirt soaked her body, her face red with the effort.
I zeroed in on the smallest strand, pulled it inside my body, and guided it to the purple crown. The slippery bastard struggled like an eel, but once it connected, the sphere sucked it in. The hold the black magic had on me loosened only slightly before more tendrils wrapped around me in a repetitive sequence.
One tried to cut off my air supply. I gasped. The poison was trying to destroy the purple crown by killing me.
“Focus, Aylin!” Luna cried.
I grabbed another small tendril and, working past my inability to breathe, repeated the process. I felt darkness swimming behind my eyes, but I still forced the tendril into the crown. The coil around my neck squealed and loosened its hold. I gulped in breaths of air.
“Good, good. Keep going.” Luna's voice sang.
I continued the process until just one remained.
The biggest strand wrapped around my body from my head to my feet — its thickness like a copse of tree trunks. I visualized gripping it with both hands and yanking it into my body. The perilous bastard swished about like a live electrical wire, ripping itself from my grasp.
“Grab it!” Luna shouted.
It slithered upward, but I grabbed the tail just before it escaped and pulled it back down. I shoved with all my might until my hands, clasping the evil tendril, sank elbow deep into the crown, which she gobbled up the poison and vanished.
I fell to the ground with a thud.
My wolf crawled forward and, when our essences combined, my soul, my body, and my wolf reunited as one. I focused all my power on the transition and shifted. My body stretched. My bones cracked as they lengthened.
I stood, body straight, taking in my manicured nails, my cowgirl boots, jeans and a flannel shirt. Thank, God! I was me again.
Being trapped inside my wolf had been terrifying. I tossed a strand of hair over my shoulder. “Well, that was fun,” I lied.
Luna laughed. “I bet it was.”
“Wow, just wow!” Thomas moved forward and, grabbing his pen, closed the red box. “That was crazy.”
“And I guess you are Thomas?” I asked.
“Sure am.” He extended his hand.
I hesitated briefly, but then remembered that without his help, I would probably still be trapped inside my wolf. I shook his hand. “Aylin.”
“Pleasure,” he replied.
Luna ignored our introductions and looked at her watch. “Um, Aylin. You told those brutes back in the woods that we would meet with Liam in fifteen minutes.”
“Yea, so?” I asked. Liam was the least of my problems right now. I needed to rebalance my aura and recuperate from the effects of the poison. I was dead tired and try
ing to fight off my bitchy mood.
“That was two hours ago.”
“Well, shit!”
“I can give you a lift,” Thomas said. “I left my truck about a half mile up the road. I wasn't sure of your exact location when I located Luna's essence after our conversation last night.”
“Last night?” I asked dumbfounded.
“Well…” Luna shuffled her feet. “After sensing Connor's dilemma, I figured we might need some more help so I called Thomas and went over my suspicions about the poison.”
“Thanks for the heads up.” I half-heartedly punched her shoulder. “But seriously, thanks for the help.”
Thomas collected his bow and arrow, and sealed them in the bag he slung over his shoulder.
“Thomas, you didn't use that, did you?” Luna pointed to the arrow.
Thomas grinned. “Harm only comes to those who are impure.”
Chapter Eleven
Connor
“Because you will need him in this battle.” Nadia's words echoed through my head like a pinball bouncing against the walls of my skull. How could we rely on Mitch during a battle against Gabriel?
He'd been in Gabriel's pocket for years. Hell, maybe he still is.
And we needed him?
I spit the vile taste from my mouth at that thought.
“Hmm...” Mitch cleared his throat.
I glared. Moments ago, I begged to have his life restored. Now that he stood before me, I wasn't so sure it had been a good idea.
“What?” I asked.
“Well, I don't want to leave you hanging with a fire to put out.” He pointed to the fiery remnants of Aylin's house.
The winter wind whooshed. The fire sparked, kicking high into the air. The falling snow sizzled, but failed to douse the flames. We needed the fire department. I pulled out my phone and started to dial.
“Put the phone away. We don't want to draw attention.”
“Last I checked, I can't will the fire away.”
“Well, son of a biscuit eater.” Mitch slapped the side of his leg.
His wicked grin had me gritting my teeth. I didn't trust him.
He flicked his wrist, and the fire sputtered. Black smoke coiled through the air as if he had just dumped thousands of gallons of water on the active flames. The dying blaze crackled and hissed.
A wolf howled, but turned into a gut-wrenching whine, and then abruptly stopped.
My heart fell into the pit of my stomach, flipped a few times, and slowly crawled back to its place before beating again. “What was that?”
“Well, I am quite magnificent. Aren't I?” Mitch circled his hand in front of his stomach and bowed as if I was praising him for putting out the fire rather than inquiring about the wolf's cry—the sound so heartbreaking, so familiar.
“Not you, the wolf's plea. Did you hear it?” The cry of a wolf so close to Aylin's house set electricity to my nerves. Aylin? Was she in trouble?
“Oh, that.” Mitch shrugged. “I hope no one else encountered the marksman.”
“Shit! I assumed he went back to whatever hole he crawled out of.” I tried to open my connection to Aylin. To call to her. But nothing worked. Everything seemed off since I walked over her fallen door.
“I doubt it, man. He was out to kill.” Mitch rubbed his chest where the welt remained from the flaming arrow. “The poison was worse than the arrow. I only know one man who produces such a toxic combination.”
“Who?”
“Tommy boy.” The name rolled off his tongue with a hiss of annoyance.
“You don't sound concerned even though he almost killed you.”
“Oh, we all should be. Tommy has been in the business for most of his puny life. The kid can wield anything from technologically advanced magical machines to dark art spells. He has no bounds in what he can or will do.”
“Is he one of Gabriel's?”
“As far as I can tell, no one owns or rules him. Luna was quite fond of him, for a time, but their relationship didn't last long.”
A screech erupted in the distance. The dark woods glowed with a red hue that moved upward in the shape of an octagon. Black buzzards circled above it.
“What the fuck is that?” I asked.
“That, my newish friend, is the invention of Thomas, a.k.a. Tommy, Lander. It's sort of a portable protection circle with two dimensions to it. The first prevents unwanted interference from anyone on the outside. It can also gather and focus all the energy of the person inside the cage so it doesn't escape.”
I ran toward the octagon, fist clenched.
“Aylin!” My harsh voice cracked. Mitch, the fool, was plucking my strings like a violinist. “So, is someone trapped in there? Aylin?” I pointed toward the red hue.
I tried to open our connection again, praying our bond was finally strong enough to communicate, but something dark slammed me backwards. Blocked, really.
“Don't.” Mitch grabbed my shoulder. “Don't even try to interfere. Tommy doesn't have the empathetic ability to care about punishment others receive.”
“Aylin—” I gasped and shook Mitch off my arm. It had to be her in that box and Mitch was helping!
“—is fine.” Mitch interrupted. “Luna won't let anything bad happen to her. We need to track down whoever is after your girl and my niece.”
The flock of birds broke formation and dove like bombers toward us. Their red eyes matched the glowing hue of the octagon.
We dodged the buzzards who squawked and hovered before returning to the cage.
“Sorry, but my priority is Aylin.” I took off running and, moments later, shifted. I needed to find her and make sure she was safe.
I ran through the woods, veering down paths and racing toward my future, my life. I couldn't or wouldn't let her tackle any challenge on her own. Luna will protect her. No, I will protect her. She's mine.
I ignored Mitch's warning growls as he followed closely on my tail.
I jumped over twigs, ignoring the briars, and ran until my steady breath became short gasps. Finally, I halted by a large tree and eyed the red octagon in the clearing before me. I wanted to bark, growl, howl, but no sound escaped. Aylin was trapped in the middle of the red cage while her wolf lay limp next to it. Luna sat in its middle, her eyes glowing silver, but she didn't move or even twitch at my approach. And Tommy boy, I presumed, smiled wickedly as he watched the two girls in the cage.
I quickly shifted back to my human form and took a step forward. I would kill them both, I vowed, as Luna ignored the turmoil. She appeared calm, centered, as if my mate's life wasn't hanging in the balance.
A low rumble deep in my throat escaped.
Aylin's depthless eyes met my confused ones, but did not see me. I called to her with everything I was, trying to help. The whip of a tendril and the powerful force of evil slammed me back. In my mind, I wrapped my hands around the tendril until blood seeped from my fingers, but I didn't stop. I needed to help. To rid her of Gabriel's poison. My jaw clenched.
I snapped the tendril in half and reached for another one. I would protect her.
“No!” Mitch whispered and pulled me back. “Aylin needs to complete the exorcism without interference. Or else the poison will continue to spread.”
I shook Mitch off again, but didn't advance. I would give Aylin the chance to save herself. Her body glowed as purple hues wrapped around each tendril. When one entered her body, she sucked in a breath as if she had been stabbed.
Luna quietly reassured Aylin as she chanted. “Good, that's it.”
Aylin stopped abruptly, eyes wide as the black char began to overtake the tendrils. I swallowed the lump in my throat as if it were bad medicine. For Mitch's sake, he'd better be right.
Watching Aylin struggle, I realized what true torture was. She screamed, her pain and fear amplified.
I risked a step closer, ready to pounce into the octagon.
Aylin gritted her teeth from the strain of the fight. Prior to this moment, I would have said tortur
e was physical abuse to one's body, like having your fingernails ripped off one at a time, or having each bone in your body broken.
Nope! Not anymore. That type of torture was child's play compared to watching the love of your life fight a battle that you couldn't assist in.
She struggled against one black char that tightened with each wiggle she made. It wrapped its body around her and squeezed.
“No!” I shouted, shaking the cages boundaries.
“Let go.” Thomas spoke from the other side. “I only warn once.”
“Like hell.” I pounded against the walls, pleased when the octagon shifted. I connected another blow, fire exploded from the cage, making me fall backward. My hand burned from the heat.
I approached the cage again.
“I won't be so nice next time.” Thomas's voice sent chills down my body and made me believe every word he spoke.
Mitch wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me back. I fought, like a man struggling for his last breath. But I couldn't escape and save Aylin. This was torture. I would go a lifetime and not ever want to experience this type of torment again. This powerlessness. This weakness.
After I stopped struggling, Mitch released me and I dropped to my knees. I prayed Aylin's suffering would stop. She fell from the air with a light thud onto the forest's floor. I scrambled to my feet and, breathing heavily, inched forward.
The young freckle-faced Thomas collected a bow and several arrows that he meticulously stored in a bag, ignoring my approach.
I would deal with him later.
Aylin?
Her eyes met mine.
Everything else evaporated. The distance, Mitch, Luna, even the red cage that had held her captive moments ago. No one existed but the red firecracker who smirked at me as I grabbed her into a tight hug.
“I'm so sorry.” I apologized for everything, repeating those words over again. I kissed her chastely and ran my hands up and down her arms, the gesture reassuring me that she was safe and unharmed.
I wiped tears from her eyes and kissed her again.
The Half Moon: Soulbond Series Book 2 Page 8
