“It looked worse than it really was,” I tried to reassure him. “I wasn’t in any pain while I slept.”
“How about when you woke up? The first thing you did was take the pain killers I put out for you.”
“I’d put it at hangover level. Now that I’ve slept it off, I swear all I need is some food and a shower.” My stomach growled again, adding an exclamation point to my statement.
“If food and a shower are what you need, then that’s exactly what you’ll get.” He lifted me off the bed and carried me into the bathroom, not leaving until he’d started the water and pulled fresh towels out for me. By the time I stepped out of the shower, I almost felt like new again. And the meal Camden made me almost finished the job. I was still a little tired, but I rested my eyes on the ride over to Carrick’s house.
When we arrived, I was back to one-hundred percent and ready to work on some protective wards for the house and Camden’s family. Without their own magic, they were the most at risk when the dark practitioners attacked. They had no way to fight against their wicked spells. Last night’s attack had been focused on Carrick, but there was no guarantee they wouldn’t strike out at other members of the clan since they’d failed. Considering Channing’s first strike had been against Annora and her baby, we had to assume nobody was safe from the spells they’d lob our way in the future.
“Selene,” my mom called out as she rushed toward Camden’s truck. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Mom.” I waved her off as I stepped down. “I’m ready to get back to work.”
“Wouldn’t you prefer to relax while Tempest and I handle the protective charms? We’ve already acquired all the materials we need.”
I loved her, but she was thinking like a mother and not a high priestess. “You’re the one who taught me a leader must always use each member of the team to their best advantage based on the person’s unique set of skills. Not to toot my own horn too much, but I have a lot of skills you can use to help protect everyone. Plus, time is of the essence since we don’t know when they’ll strike again. It’s best if we get the charms done as soon as possible so we can move onto protecting the house.”
“Fine,” she grumbled, walking away and leaving Camden and me to follow behind.
“You sure you’re up to this?” Camden murmured.
“Absolutely.”
And I hadn’t overstated my confidence. It took us half the time I’d expected before the charms were done. When Tempest carried them into the kitchen to show Carrick and Camden, it was the first moment my mom and I had alone together since I’d arrived.
“How are you really feeling?” she asked.
“Great, actually. I know it’s probably a surprise. For all intents and purposes, I should still be laying low after the magnitude of the spell I had cast. Finding Camden has made me stronger. Better.”
“I can understand how you feel invincible right now. It was much the same for me when I fully came into my powers and I’m not nearly as strong as you. But I need you to be careful, Selene. I’m asking you, as your mother, to please exercise some caution in the upcoming confrontation with the dark practitioners.”
“I’m always careful.”
“You’ve thrown caution to the wind over the last few days,” she disagreed. “Nothing is like it used to be before we stepped foot on that plane, including your behavior. You can’t say you’ve always been careful anymore.”
“That’s not fair, Mom. I haven’t done anything you wouldn’t have done if you were in my place.”
She heaved a deep sigh. “You’re probably right, but your actions ended up harming you last night.”
“Nothing permanent, though. It only took some rest, a shower, and food for me to feel like myself again.”
“Not yet anyway,” she muttered. “And it wasn’t some rest. It was sixteen hours of sleep!”
This was more than a display of motherly concern. I was starting to feel like something else was at play here. “You’ve needed half a day to recover from a particularly strong spell before, Mom. Sixteen hours isn’t totally outside the norm, not enough for this kind of reaction. What’s really bothering you?”
“Oh, Selene,” she sighed before flashing me an apologetic smile. “I’m not sure if it was only because I was worried about you last night or if it was a premonition. I didn’t want to influence your decisions too much by telling you what I saw in my dream. But here I am making a big deal about the very thing I didn’t want to bring up in the first place.”
“Which means you have no choice. You must tell me all about it,” I insisted. “You can’t leave me wondering like this. It will drive me crazy. Maybe even distract me when I need to be one-hundred percent focused.”
“You’re laying it on a little thick, don’t you think?”
I grinned at her. “That depends, is it working?”
“Yes, I don’t think I could live with the guilt if something happened and I didn’t tell you what I saw. If I didn’t at least try to prevent it from happening.” She led me to the couch in Carrick’s living room and patted the seat next to her after sitting down. “If my vision’s correct, there will be a defining moment in the upcoming battle. A choice only you will be able to make—one that will change the tide in our favor, but not without a steep toll.”
“If it gives us the edge we’ll need, I’m sure it’s a price I’ll be willing to pay.”
“I’m not exactly certain what the decision will be or the options you’ll have, but I did get an impression of one possible outcome.” Her tone was dire, sending chills down my spine. “You were falling backwards into Camden’s arms, and... I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just going to spit it out—you were dead.”
“Couldn’t I have been unconscious from recoil?” I might have been grasping at straws, but I hoped for another explanation.
Her eyes filled with tears while she shook her head. “I don’t think so, sweetie. The depth of sorrow I felt when I saw you fall wouldn’t have come from anything other than your death.”
“I’ll be careful,” I promised, and I meant it. I had no wish to die, not so soon after finding Camden. But even as I said the words, I knew I’d willingly sacrifice my own life for his, if it came down to making a choice between Camden and me.
Chapter 11
Camden
It didn’t take me long to become accustomed to the protective charm at my wrist—or more like addicted to it. It had been made with a braided strand of Selene’s hair. I often found myself stroking it lightly, another visible token of my mate. Not that I needed a reminder; I hadn’t let her out of my sight over the last two days. There hadn’t been any sign of the dark practitioners or Channing and I was starting to get antsy. I was well beyond the point of wanting this to all be over. Everyone appeared to be on edge as we waited, including my mate, who seemed to think it was time to take an offensive approach.
“I’ve been doing some research into summoning spells,” she announced after she finished her daily ritual of checking all the protections in place at my dad’s home with Audra and Tempest and strengthening them wherever they thought we could use additional help.
“Do you really think you can cast a summoning spell strong enough to bring Channing to us?” I didn’t need to know a lot about magic or witches to recognize the skepticism in Tempest’s tone.
“It doesn’t matter. She shouldn’t be trying that kind of spell anyway. A summoning spell is incredibly complicated,” Audra added. “You’ve never done one before and you could end up calling more than what you intend by mistake. They should only be cast by a more experienced witch, not someone still learning the extent of their powers.”
“I need you to believe in me, Mom,” Selene pleaded. “Nothing about my powers or how I came into them is the same as any other witch before me. We have no way of knowing how long it will take before I’ve learned everything I can about my magic. I’m different. Taking Camden as my consort has changed me, and I can’t depend upon
our customs and traditions to make all my decisions anymore. I have to trust myself, and each time I’ve come across a summoning spell, my instincts have screamed out to me. I’m not going to deny them any longer.”
“I didn’t mean it that way,” Audra protested. “It’s important for you to tread your own path, but I’m not sure a summoning spell is the way to go here.”
“Even though I’m asking for your support on this as my mother, I’m not asking your permission as my high priestess. Deep down, I know it’s the right decision, and I’d like your help with it. But if you can’t find it within yourself to offer your and Tempest’s assistance, I’ll understand.”
“Well, I guess I don’t really have much of a choice to make, now do I? It’s not as though I’m going to let you go through this without me,” Audra cried, hugging Selene tightly before stepping away. “Your powers seem stronger when you’re with Camden, so if you share the spell you’d like to use, Tempest and I will gather the supplies needed while you center yourself with your consort.”
Selene pulled a sheath of papers out of her back pocket and handed them to Audra. After her mom and Tempest were out of earshot, I turned to my mate. “Will you have an edge over the dark practitioners since you’re fighting for good while they’re on the side of evil?”
“Not inherently, no. Magic is both dark and light, because human nature is both. The good and bad come from the heart of the witch casting the spell, but not without a price—one that’s worse for the dark practitioners. Whatever you send out into the world comes back twofold.”
The strain she was under was visible on her face, so I asked a question I figured would lighten her mood. “Did she just tell us to have sex so you’ll be able to cast your spell better?”
“No, silly,” Selene laughed. “I need to meditate before trying anything this big, but it will be better if you’re with me while I’m doing it.”
****
Meditating consisted of me sitting beside Selene on the ground while she chanted under her breath. It wasn’t something I understood, or was interested in trying again for my own benefit since I didn’t gain anything from it, but I’d suffer through it a thousand times over if it meant she was better prepared to face danger. It seemed a small price to pay to protect my mate. The changes to the yard Audra and Tempest made while we were busy were much the same—something I didn’t understand at all but accepted willingly because it’s what Selene needed from me.
There was a white ring etched into the grass and arcane symbols in four locations on the circle marking East, West, North, and South. Each represented a different natural element and had an offering inside the circle under the corresponding symbol. A mound of dirt for Earth, a bowl of water for Water, incense for Air, and a pile of burning wood for Fire. It wasn’t the pentagram I’d seen in the movies, but it was impressive nonetheless.
I stood outside the circle and watched as Selene, Audra, and Tempest gathered in the center.
“Be careful with what you unleash with your spell. Once it’s cast, there’s no undoing it. You have to let it run its course,” Audra cautioned as the three witches clasped hands. “The summoning spell you’re using is an old one, rarely used, and could wind up costing you more than it will Channing and his dark practitioners.”
Her warning scared the hell out of me, but now was the worst possible time for me to speak up. This was Selene’s forte and I needed to demonstrate my trust in her abilities, not cast doubt. When Selene began her chant, I took a deep breath and hoped for the best as my dad placed his hand on my shoulder in support. My brothers and their pregnant mates were all in the house since the protections were the strongest there.
“By the powers of mother Earth, hear me. I call upon you to lend me your strength.”
The ground in the circle trembled and cracked.
“Guardian of the sea, I pray of thee. Protect those whom I love.”
A wave of water swirled around us, making it difficult to see more than a few feet past the circle as we were separated from the rest of the world.
“I beg thee, Goddess of the air, bring to me the one who intends us harm. With this circle of three, I conjure him. Ground this spell as I conjure him. As it is outside this circle, so it will be within. I summon him to this circle’s bound. So mote it be!”
I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. The figure of a man materialized in front of my eyes. I blinked hard to ensure I wasn’t imagining things and in that brief moment, the figure multiplied into two. The first was the man we’d been hunting for so long—Annora’s stepfather. The figure behind Channing was garbed in a hooded robe. It appeared Audra’s warning was predictive and Selene’s spell drew more than my sister’s stepfather to us. Although her face wasn’t visible, there was no mistaking this was one of the dark practitioners who’d been helping him—and her attention was completely on me.
She pricked her finger, several drops of blood landing on the burning embers of the wood in the southern point. When they made contact, the fire sparked to life and wound around her body before stretching between her and Selene.
“Fire practitioner,” Selene breathed, letting go of Audra and Tempest’s hands and lifting her own into the air.
Her attention was centered wholly on the dark practitioner while Audra and Tempest were focused on Channing, whose gaze was filled with hatred as he stared at my father. It was as though time stood still for one brief moment before all hell broke loose. My father leapt into the circle, heading straight for Channing. When Dad reached him and tried to wrap his hands around the man’s neck, a blast of blue fire struck, causing him to shriek out in pain . In the blink of an eye, he shifted to bear, writhing on the ground in a heap of black fur. His shift should have sped up the healing from whatever harm Channing had managed to do, but it didn’t seem to help as much as it normally did.
Audra and Tempest rushed to his aid as the dark practitioner attacked. The flames surrounding her body struck me in the middle of my chest, causing more pain than claws ripping into my heart. I gasped, desperately trying to catch my breath as my knees gave out. Crashing to the ground, I threw out my hands to stop my fall and noticed the braided hair wrapped around my wrist was burnt to a crisp. Whatever spell she had thrown my way managed to remove the protection Selene had insisted I have on my body at all times.
“Camden!” Selene cried out, rushing toward me as she glanced over her shoulder, keeping her eyes on the dark practitioner. I watched in horror as she gathered more flames in the palms of her hands and aimed them my way. I wasn’t sure I could handle another blow like the last one.
But I didn’t get the chance to find out. Predicting the assault, Selene stretched out her arms and chanted under her breath. A ray of red light burst from her chest and aimed itself directly at the dark practitioner, but she was a split-second too late—the flames were already racing toward me. Selene’s eyes widened in panic as her gaze locked with mine. I noticed how pale her skin was and the telltale dark circles under her eyes.
Even while using the last of her reserves, she managed to fly through the air and straight into the path of the flames before they could touch her skin. Her mouth stretched open in a silent scream as she collapsed into a heap in my arms. The dark practitioner exploded into a swirl of red dust and quickly absorbed into the ground, disappearing from my sight.
As I lifted her into my arms, Audra raced toward me. “Is she alive? Please tell me she’s alive!” The soft puff of air on my neck let me know she was still breathing. I nodded my head. “Thank the Goddess.”
I strode to my truck, determined to get my mate back to the safety of my home where she could recover in peace. Nothing else mattered, not even knowing we were finally safe from the threat Channing posed. His dead body was in the middle of the circle, his throat torn open with my dad standing over him in bear form.
Chapter 12
Selene
The recoil I suffered from the confrontation with the dark practitioner and Channing wa
s the worst I’d felt yet. I was out for a total of twenty-three hours and in that time, the world as I knew it changed—again. Not only was I a witch with a shifter consort, but a couple hours after I awoke, I found myself sitting face-to-face with the head of the shifter council. It was a position I’d never expected to find myself in, prophecy or no prophecy.
I was seated on the couch in Camden’s living room, my consort on one side and Carrick on the other. I took great comfort in their presence since the man across from us was formidable. He exuded power, seeping from his pores as though his body couldn’t contain it.
“Thank you for meeting with me so soon after your battle. I would have waited, but circumstances are such that I felt this matter couldn’t wait until later. Better to strike while the iron is hot, or so they say.”
“What circumstances?” I asked.
“Let me start by saying I had shifters in town to keep tabs on how the situation was progressing. Not because I didn’t trust the McMahons to handle it,” he rushed to add when Carrick looked like he was about to object. “I wanted a group of impartial shifters to bear witness to everything that transpired.”
“But why?” I didn’t understand what he hoped to gain by having them see what happened or why he wouldn’t have instructed them to step in to help. We’d come close to defeat and his watchers could have been the difference between success and failure.
“Because they needed to see how far a witch would go to save a shifter. In order to defeat those who challenged you, it was necessary to surrender yourself to a higher power. You have a tremendous light inside you, more than I’ve ever seen in another witch, and I’ve met more witches in my time on this Earth than you’d expect. The only way you could have defeated the dark practitioners was if the love you felt for Camden was pure. And once your mother explained the warning she gave you after her vision, that you might have been sacrificing your life for Camden’s when you stepped in front of him, they were left with no doubts about you.”
Bear the Burden: McMahon Clan 3 (Fated Mates Book 6) Page 7
