Madison looked up at Evie's words, tensing at the desperation in the woman's voice, knowing too well what exposure to that kind of trauma could do to someone. "Oh, Evie—" Madison stopped when she saw the shocked horror on Evie's face.
It was the exact expression Madison remembered from fifteen years ago, on the faces of all those children as they watched their friend brutally murdered right in front of them—
Madison's stomach roiled and she quickly dropped her head, closing her eyes as she concentrated on deep breathing, forcing aside the memories. Breathe, Madison. Just breathe.
"I want to see." With that one whisper of macabre interest, the room cleared as people rushed into the lobby to peer out the windows.
Madison started to rise, then a vice-like pressure slammed into her head, dropping her to her knees. "Dear God, no." She crushed her palms to her temples, but the beast within her began to rise, awakening from the dormant slumber she'd kept it in for so long. Awakened by the stress of the Cahir, by Evie's fear, her Illusionist power was coming back to life again. Stretching, baring its teeth, scenting the air for prey. For someone to kill.
Again.
"Dammit!" Madison tried to swallow her panic, fought to suppress her fear, to strip herself of the negative emotions that fed her magic and gave it power.
Her Illusions only reacted when she was threatened, and she'd worked so hard to live a life of peace and serenity, of meditation and deep breathing.
And she had…until now. Until it had all been ripped away from her by whatever had happened in the street. Awakened by her terror of being taken by the Cahir, her defenses were reacting as if she were in true danger. Once free, it would not rest until it had killed.
If her power took control of her, no one in this building would be safe. Her students. Her colleagues. The studio that had taken her in when she'd arrived in Portland, Oregon, needing desperately to put roots down.
The yoga studio and its people were her sanctuary. She would not hurt them. She could not let her monster get free. She had to win. She had to.
Madison dug her fingers into the mat, crushing the rubber in her grip as she struggled for a breath. And another. All is well. Feel only peace. Nothing to fear. There are no threats. Just quiet peace.
"Holy shit," someone said. "Is all that blood?"
An image flashed into Madison's mind of the boy she'd killed so long ago, of a battered wood floor saturated with his bright red blood, the metallic scent stinging her nose, the hot warmth sliding down her hand—
"No!" Madison opened her eyes and lurched to her feet, forcing herself to look around at the room. At the brightly colored yoga mats scattered on the beautiful hardwood floor, at the Ficus plant in the corner, its green leaves so healthy and vibrant. She concentrated on the soft music filtering through the ceiling speakers.
She fought desperately to ground herself so securely in the present that the past could not suck her in. "I am safe," she said aloud. "All is well. There is no threat. No danger. It is only memories. Nothing real."
She opened her soul to her words, embracing the truth of them, forcing that knowledge deep inside her, willing her Illusionist powers to accept it as truth. "There is only peace." She kept her voice quiet and even. "I am safe."
Then she caught sight of her reflection in the wall mirrors that ran along the front of the classroom. She didn't see the black yoga pants or turquoise top she wore.
All she saw were her silver eyes, filled with the same horror that had filled them so long ago. Wide, scared, dangerous—
Fiery pain exploded in her head, and she stumbled backward, gasping at the burning in her veins, racing through her body. Her skin felt like it was being stretched, expanding as if something dark slashed at the barrier keeping it contained. The surging Illusion felt a thousand times more powerful than the last time it had arisen. It felt alive, no longer under her control—
Darlene, one of her students, walked back into the room, her face pale and her hair blowing back from her face. "Madison, don't go out there—"
Madison whirled toward her, dropping into a crouch, her eyes fixating on the girl.
Darlene froze, her eyes widening in alarm. "Oh my God. What are you?" She backed slowly toward the door, her hand over her heart. "Don't hurt me, please don't hurt me."
Pressure constricted around Madison's skull, as if someone was cranking screws into her head, and she had a sudden image of Darlene writhing on the ground before her, screaming for her life, for mercy. She took a step toward the girl, her body throbbing in anticipation as the girl tensed to run—
"Don't. Move." Madison bit out the words, and Darlene went still instantly. "I can't stop if you run," she gritted out. "Please, don't move."
Darlene nodded once, her face pale as Madison eased toward the door, trying to get away from the temptation of a victim. Then Darlene made a small squeak of terror, and Madison felt her control snap.
The Illusion was coming. She wasn't going to be able to stop it.
Madison burst into action and raced for the front door, past the stunned faces of her students. She slammed the door open with her hip, ignoring Frank's shout as she bolted outside. The flashing blue and white lights from the emergency vehicles blinded her, disorienting her enough that the Illusion faltered. She whirled, panicked, needed to get away, but there were crowds everywhere, cop cars, buildings.
She was trapped, and everyone around her was going to die.
Chapter Two
A hand came down on Madison's shoulder. "Hey, girl! I just got here to pick you up for dinner. What's going on?"
"Ashley!" Madison whirled toward her sister. "Help!"
Ashley's smile faded into alarm when she saw Madison's face, realizing instantly what was happening. "How long do you have?"
"A minute or two. At most."
"Then run!" Ashley grabbed Madison's hand and hauled her through the crowd. "I'll find a place!" They broke into a desperate sprint the moment they were clear, their feet pounding on the wet cement as they tried to find a place where they could save Madison in private, where the world wouldn’t see what they had to do.
But they didn't have time.
They made it less than a hundred yards before Madison fell to her knees, holding her head against the raging fire screaming inside her, feeling the last vestiges of her control crumble. "It's coming, Ashley. Right now—"
"We do it here, then." Ashley kneeled beside her, her arm going around Madison in a warm hug. "I love you, big sis. Feel my love pour over you."
As she spoke, Ashley's pure and beautiful Illusionist power burst over Madison's skin like liquid sunshine.
The sound of children's laughter instantly filled the air.
The night sky became an endless field of flowers with purple violets and green clover.
Skipping through the field were two girls with dark curls and silver eyes, giggling and laughing. They were soaking wet from a dip in a glistening, nearby lake. It was a vision of Ashley and Madison as children. Sitting on a picnic blanket nearby were a man and a woman. Their parents. Alive. Before everything had ripped their little family apart.
Madison was suddenly back in that moment, surrounded by the family who loved her, filled with the utter and complete joy of an innocent child.
The predator beneath Madison's skin faltered again, hesitating at the influx of pure, unadulterated peace and love.
Madison opened her senses even further to the tranquil Illusion, embracing the warmth and love of the scene.
The beast inside her began to quiet.
As an Illusionist, she was supposed to have defenses against other Illusions, but she never learned how to protect herself, a flaw that enabled Ashley's beautiful Illusions to save her numerous times.
The key to a successful Illusion was that the victim had to believe it was real. Even Madison couldn't hurt someone who knew the knife was an Illusion. So if her mind knew Ashley's Illusion wasn't real, her sister wouldn't be able to help her. Thankfully,
however, Ashley's peaceful Illusions were so powerful Madison couldn't see through them, not that she would ever try.
Ashley's peaceful Illusions were the only thing that could stop Madison's dark ones. For that reason, the sisters were never, ever far apart.
Heaven help her if Ashley's magic ever stopped working on her. Seriously. But right now, her Illusions were still effective, and Madison could feel the tension fading from her body.
She let her breath out and sat back on her heels, hugging herself as her body trembled. It had been so close this time. Too close. "It worked," she whispered. "Thank you."
"Are you okay?" Ashley asked gently.
"Yeah, I'm good now." Madison's throat tightened when she saw Ashley's brows furrowed with concern. Dear God, what would she have done all these years if Ashley's Illusions had followed the path of most Illusionists and turned dark when she got older? "I love you, little sis."
Ashley smiled, but her eyes were still worried. "I know you do." She smoothed Madison's hair off her forehead, exactly how Madison remembered their mother doing. "What happened? It's never been that bad before." She held up her arm, showing a red rash that looked like sunburn. "You've never done that to me before."
Madison groaned and dropped her forehead to her knees. "I'm going to kill someone," she whispered.
Ashley put her arm around Madison's shoulder and squeezed. "No, you aren't. I won't allow it to happen."
"It's just a matter of time." Madison knew it. She felt it in the marrow of her bones.
Ashley stared at her. "Why do you say it like that? What's changed?"
"I don't know, but something has. I'm not in control anymore." Madison set her chin on her drawn-up knees as she listened to the raindrops ping against the drainpipe on a nearby building. It was weird to hear rain when looking at a sunshiny meadow of flowers and happiness. "I'm not sure that staying here in Portland is the right call anymore."
Ashley stiffened slightly. "You want to move from the city, or from Oregon entirely?"
Madison studied the Illusion as the two girls ran up to the picnic blanket and tackled their parents, and a lump formed in her throat. God, she missed them.
"My Illusions have been more difficult to control since we moved here, and it gets worse every day." She pulled her gaze away from the scene and studied her feet, still bare from her desperate flight out of the yoga studio. "You saw what happened to me tonight. It's dangerous to be here. Too much Otherworld activity, maybe? I don't know." She rubbed her forehead, suddenly so tired. Tired of being afraid of what she was, of what she might do. "I think we should move back to Vermont."
"To fields of violet?" Ashley gestured at the Illusion, a surprised look on her face. "If there's something weird going on with your Illusions, what makes you think moving to Vermont will change it?" Her voice softened. "It's not going to be the same as when we were kids. We can't go back to that time."
"I know that." Madison wished she could make her sister understand how badly she needed to crawl into a hole and hide. "Let's go there, Ashley. I know you don't remember it very well, but—"
Ashley was already shaking her head vigorously. "I love my job here. I feel like I could have friends. Like I could belong. We've been on the run forever. I want roots, Madison, and I feel like this place could become home." She looked at Madison, her gaze pleading. "We've only been here a few months. Can we try a little longer?"
Madison closed her eyes against the longing to give her sister everything she wanted. "I can't afford a home, Ashley. I can't risk making friends or getting close to anyone else. You know that."
Ashley met her gaze. "I can't survive a life on the run anymore, Madison. I'm so lonely. A guy at work asked me out today, and I want to go—"
"A date?" Madison sat up, her heart suddenly aching. "You want to go on a date?"
Ashley nodded. "I do. I want a life. A normal one. Don't you?"
"I—" Tears stung her eyes as Madison bit her lip. What could she say? Every night she turned out the light, the loneliness closed down on her like a heavy weight. She'd just never thought that her perpetually cheerful sister felt the same way. She didn't have a right to deprive Ashley of a life, just because of who Madison was.
Ashley wasn't in danger of killing anyone. Ashley hadn't killed anyone in the past. Ashley didn't have to keep moving for fear of being exposed. Why should she give up a life just because Madison had so many issues?
She looked away, unable to meet Ashley's gaze. Was she selfless enough to walk away and give her sister a chance to create a new life without being bogged down by her crap? Or would she keep forcing her sister to live a crappy life just because Madison couldn't risk being alone? She didn't even know anymore. She wanted to be the person her sister deserved, but that person disappeared fifteen years ago.
Madison swallowed the lump in her throat, glancing around at the crowd watching Ashley's Illusion. Despite the fact they were standing around a murdered corpse, everyone was smiling, wrapped up in the same joy and peace that Madison had felt when she'd looked at it. A peace she'd never felt except when she looked at Ashley's distortion of reality. She sighed, hugging her knees to her chest. "You should shut down your Illusion. It's drawing attention."
The Illusion immediately blinked out, replaced by thick clouds and heavy rain. Madison watched the crowd look around in confusion, trying to figure out what had just happened. "We did the Illusion too close to them."
"It was your Illusion or mine," Ashley said. "Meadows win over murder, at least today."
"Yeah, true." Madison scanned the crowd carefully, hoping the Illusion hadn't been seen by a Calydon warrior, especially not one belonging to the Order of the Blade. If one had seen the vision and recognized it as an Illusion, both sisters were in deep trouble, because Calydon warriors tended to kill Illusionists on sight, and they were powerful enough to do it. "Do the safety check."
"You're looking for a Calydon?" Ashley tensed, looking over her shoulder. "What are the chances they'd be around here?"
"I'm just following protocol." Madison suddenly recalled Evie's words, so she looked around more carefully. Calydon warriors had magic brands on their forearms, from which they could call out their weapons. "The murder victim's arms were stripped open, and a Cahir was searching for the suspect."
Ashley sat up. "A Cahir? You think the victim was a Calydon? That someone harvested the weapons from his arms?"
Madison stood up, her heart starting to pound. "I really hope not." But if the victim had been a Calydon, that meant more Calydons would be here soon. And so would the Order of the Blade, the elite group of Calydon enforcers.
Ashley rose quickly to her feet. "Oh, man. Aside from other Calydons, we're the only Otherworld beings with the ability to kill Calydons. If there's one dead, and we're here, they're going to be quick to think we did it." She quickly scanned the crowds. "Do you think the Order still kills all Illusionists on sight? I mean, just because we can kill Calydons doesn't mean we will—"
"I'd rather not find out." Madison felt the back of her neck prickle, and heat rippled beneath her skin. Not a full-blown Illusion, because she wouldn't be able to create another one so soon after she'd suppressed one, but it was a warning that all was not well just yet. Was it reacting to her fear, like earlier, or was there a real threat this time? "We need to get out of here. Where's your car?"
Ashley moved closer, until her arm was brushing against Madison's. "On the other side of the studio."
"Let's go. Keep to the crowd. A Calydon won't risk hurting innocents even to get to us." They walked quickly back toward the crowd, and Madison looked up at the buildings around them, searching the rooftops. A shadow darted across the roof of a brownstone, the outline of a man with a lithe strength more animal than human. Her heart dropped. "There's a Calydon on that roof! Go!"
She shoved Ashley, and they broke into a run. They were almost to the crowd when a truck skidded to a stop behind them, headlights glaring across the wet pavement.
Footsteps raced up behind them, and Madison ran harder—
Ashley yelped and disappeared from Madison's peripheral vision. Madison whirled around as a huge Calydon warrior grabbed Ashley around the throat and yanked her against him.
Alarm leapt through Madison "Ashley!" She leapt at him, and he knocked her away easily with a hard blow to the side of her head.
Madison stumbled, staggering under the blow as he dragged Ashley swiftly toward a dark SUV parked askew on the street. He was wearing a torn white T-shirt. Rivulets of mud or blood streamed down his cheek over a deep gash. His dark hair was plastered to his face, and a wound gaped in his shoulder...like he'd just murdered someone.
A black knife-shaped brand was burned onto the warrior's forearm, with a serrated blade and a carved stone handle, the telltale sign of a Calydon warrior.
"Let her go!" Madison rushed toward them, dropping all her mental shields, embracing the monster she'd worked so hard to suppress, inviting the demon into her world. To save her sister, she would become the monster she'd fought against her whole life.
But the monster didn't come.
Her skin was cold, her body empty.
The Illusion didn't come.
She screamed in frustration, realizing she had no idea how to call an Illusion after spending her life fighting them off. And after the recent suppression, the Illusion would not come on its own. It was too soon. "Come on!"
But there was nothing. No magic. No power. Nothing. She was so deadly and yet, when she needed it most, she was nothing.
There was a sudden loud crack and a flash of black light, and then the weapon that had been branded in the Calydon's arm was clenched in his fist, like a horror movie come to life.
It was twice the size of the brand on his forearm, but a perfect replica, and made of solid, lethal steel.
Ashley's eyes widened, and a strangled whimper escaped her as she struggled harder against him.
"Ashley! Use an Illusion!" Maybe she could tap into Ashley's power and redirect the happy Illusion into something deadly—
Darkness Awakened Page 2
