by Mae Doyle
When I threw my hands down at my sides, power poured from them, sparks of light bouncing off of the floor and ricocheting around the corridor. Etris stared at me, her eyes growing darker.
“You should kill her.”
I paused. For someone who knew that I was coming for her, Etris was sure convinced that the absolute best step for me to take was to kill the person guarding her. Power still raged through me, making it difficult for me to focus, but I couldn’t help but think that something wasn’t quite right.
“Why?” My voice was quiet, but I was sure that she could hear me over the sound that my sparks were making. Magic poured from me, lighting up the corridor and her cell. If I tried to hold it in then I was sure that I’d have an issue like before.
“Why should I kill her? What do you have to gain but me killing you? You seem to have quite the death wish, Etris.”
Shock flitted across her face, but it quickly disappeared. “You don’t have the balls,” she hissed, stalking along the front of the cell. She reminded me of a trapped lion or tiger in the zoo – permanently condemned to walking and looking at its captors.
“You’re afraid. Your sister was afraid. You come from a long line of pussies, Emily. You don’t have the guts, you know that?” She flung her words at me like barbs, and even though I tried to ignore them, I had to admit that they stung.
But did they sting enough for me to kill the girl behind me?
Before Wydar had helped me, I would have killed her, no questions asked. I wouldn’t have been able to help myself. I would have shot my magic at her, stopping her heart, then battled Etris.
But something wasn’t right.
I opened my mouth to tell her to go to hell, but footsteps coming towards us down the hall made me pause. Was it one of the gods? I felt my shoulders drop at how close I’d come to hurting an innocent simply so that I could kill Etris.
“Hello?” I called out. They had to know that I was here. They had to know that I was doing my best to stop myself from doing something stupid, but nobody answered.
One of my gods would have answered.
“It’s not for you.” Etris giggled like a child, making the hair on my arms stand up. “They’re not here for you.”
A druid, with long hair down to her waist and bright eyes that practically shone in the dark walked towards us. She skimmed her eyes over me and smiled at Etris before speaking.
“Are you ready, goddess?”
I’d never heard a druid speak before. Her voice was fluid, like the soft rush of water in a stream. It sounded melodic, like honey poured from the hive. My skin felt alive hearing her talk and I realized that I wanted to hear it again.
“I’ve been ready,” Etris snapped. “Get me out of here before this one bores me to death.”
At this, the druid glanced at me, but she seemed unamused and her gaze slid quickly from me before landing on the girl in the alcove. I watched, curious at first, as she tilted her head back and held her arms out from her body.
Roots tore up through the stone floor, sending clumps of dirt flying. The druid hadn’t broken a sweat but was grinning as the roots stretched high up over our heads. They were pale and smooth, with small root hairs along them, but what was the most amazing was how thick they were.
The roots had to be as thick as my forearm, but under the control of the druid, they moved and arched through the air easily and smoothly. I ducked as they swung over my head, completely under control of the druid, but it took me even longer to realize what was going to happen.
“No!” I screamed, forgetting that I was a witch for a moment and throwing myself at the druid. I hit her around the waist, knocking her to the ground, but she managed to keep control over her roots. “You can’t do this!”
My voice echoed back at me, and over the sound of my terror, I heard Etris laughing. When I risked a glance at her, I saw that she was leaning against the bars of her cell, her face twisted in amusement. “You were afraid! But my loyal followers aren’t, Emily! She’ll do what you won’t!”
My magic. I took a deep breath and reached out my aura, sending it lapping at the three gods. They were all still and quiet, and I panicked when they didn’t respond.
“You looking for backup?” Etris sneered. “You don’t honestly think that I wouldn’t have taken care of them, do you? Don’t worry, I can’t kill them,” she mocked when she saw the fear on my face, “but they won’t be coming to help you, you stupid human.”
“You can’t do this!” Magic flowed from me and I grabbed the druid’s arm, searing it with the energy that was coursing through my body. It hadn’t had much effect on Etris when I did this to her, but the druid screamed, her roots faltering in the air for a moment.
I bit my lip and let go of her with one hand, swinging it back to send a bolt of energy at her. The druid ducked and the energy slammed uselessly into the wall across from us. I should have been afraid when the entire ceiling shook a little, but I was pissed.
I wasn’t going to let this druid kill that girl.
“You can’t!” I screamed, throwing more energy at her. It was the only spell that I really knew how to control, since I hadn’t had time to learn anything from my parents, but it was losing its effectiveness. A root flew up from the ground and wrapped around me, pinning my arms in place as I struggled.
“I can do whatever I want,” the druid said calmly, turning to look at me for the first time. She had mossy green eyes that glowed slightly. “And what I want to do is kill that girl and free my goddess. You’re an annoying gnat.”
A gnat? I couldn’t move my arms, no matter how hard I struggled, and then the druid had the audacity to call me a gnat?
“Fuck you,” I spat at her, still fighting against my bonds. The root tightened even more around me to hold me in place. It smelled earthy and was cool, and I twisted my hand around, digging my nails into it.
Nothing.
Not that I thought that I could simply squeeze a root into submission, but it would have been nice if that worked. The druid had turned back around to face the little girl, exposing her back to me.
Not like I could do anything about it.
“Kill her!” Etris screamed from behind me. “Kill her and let me out! Now’s not the time to have any doubts!”
Her voice echoed through the corridor and the druid lurched forward as if pushed closer to the alcove by Etris’ voice.
I screamed, completely jibberish pouring from my mouth as I tried to get her to stop. “Please,” I begged, “please, you don’t have to do this! Nobody will make you do this! You can walk away and everything will be okay!”
That made the druid pause, and I felt a burst of hope rise in me. If I could appeal to her then I might be able to save the girl. Save the girl, keep Etris locked up. Keep her locked up, I survive.
“I don’t have to do anything,” the druid said, spinning around to face me. “That’s what you don’t get. I want to do it. I want to kill her and free my goddess.” She turned back around, but not before the roots squeezed me tighter.
It was getting harder for me to breathe, but I had to stay awake. I had to pay attention to what was happening and make sure that I was there to help, if necessary.
“Kill her!” Etris screamed again. Her voice sounded full of hope and joy, and I looked back at her over my shoulder. Energy was coursing through her and she floated above the floor. It was obvious that she was surging on power and as soon as the little girl was dead, I was fucked.
The druid moved right as I looked back at her, bringing her arms down towards the girl. Roots shot out towards her and wrapped around the girl, yanking her from the alcove. She still didn’t open her eyes, not even as the roots slammed her down to the ground, smashing her into the stones.
The druid flicked her fingers, and upon her movement, the roots released her, but the girl didn’t move. Her limbs were crooked and stuck out from her body. There wasn’t any way that she had survived the slam into the floor, but I still couldn’
t believe what I had just seen.
“No!” I screamed. “No! Don’t do this!”
But it was too late. The girl was motionless and I felt the breathing heat of the cell die away. There wasn’t any pulsing light any longer. Nothing was there to hold Etris in her cell.
“And now, the blood oath. You owe me, Emily, and I’m surprised that you and your little gods thought that you’d be safe here. You need to give me what is mine.”
Etris floated over the body of the little girl, and although I didn’t want to stop looking at her, willing her to live, I had to tear my eyes from her to look up at Etris.
She was drunk on power. My parents had told me that this could happen sometimes – that witches would channel too much energy and wouldn’t be able to handle it. Etris looked like she was starting to come apart. She had cracks along her forehead and cheeks that weren’t there before, and something inside of her glowed through.
Sara. She looked just like my sister had when she was overcome with energy and my mom had needed to siphon some from her. Magic coursed through her veins and every cell was alive with it. I knew that she needed to rid herself of it soon, before she fell apart.
Right then she was made of pure energy. She was running on magic, energy, and hate and I was her focus.
Fuck.
I hadn’t been struggling against the root wrapped around me, but then I started to kick and flail to try to get out. I saw the look on Etris’ face and I knew that she was not going to let me walk away from this. I had my own power in me, but without being able to move my hands…
I honestly didn’t think that I could do anything to stop her.
“Stupid fucking witch.” Etris’ voice was twisted and dark. It soaked into my bones, and I fought harder against the root. “You stupid fucking witches have really pissed me off, you know that?”
She pointed at me and a flash of light whipped around me. I flinched, sure that I was going to die, sure that the light was going to tear me in half, but it burned the root, severing it completely so that I fell down to the ground.
I landed with a thud on my hands and knees but stood up as quickly as possible, wiping my burning palms on my jeans.
Why the hell did she let me go?
As if she could read my mind, she tilted her head to the side. “I like to play with my food,” she said, smiling. Her teeth were longer and sharper than I had noticed before, and a chill ran through me.
She wasn’t really going to eat me, was she?
I wasn’t sure, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to stand there like an idiot and wait to find out.
Chapter 21
Running isn’t brave, but standing in front of certain death only ends one way. At least, that’s what I told myself as a launched my body back behind the roots and rocks that the druid had pulled up from the ground.
Was it enough to keep me safe? Undoubtedly not, but at least it gave me something to hide behind while I tried to regroup. Before attacking Etris, I reached out for the gods once more, my aura slamming into them in my panic.
If I could just get one of them to wake up and pay attention then they’d help me, I knew it. I knew that they wouldn’t leave me down here by myself, not with Etris.
But no matter how hard I cried out for them or how hard I sent my aura smashing into them, none of them moved. I was completely on my own, and totally fucked.
“Come out, sister of a whore,” Etris hissed. Her voice echoed around me, but I wasn’t sure if it was because of the acoustics in the corridor or if she did it on purpose. I didn’t put it past her to try to freak me out just using her voice like that.
“Come out here and give me the blood that I’m owed. Your ancestors haven’t ever screwed me out of the blood I deserve before, and this is not going to be the first time.” Etris moved closer to me. She was silent as she floated through the air, but I felt like I knew exactly where she was at all times.
The hair on my arms and on the back of my neck stood straight up. She was coming for me and there wasn’t anything that I could do to stop her. At least, that’s how it felt, but I didn’t want to go down without a fight.
Taking a deep breath, I summoned all of my power. Etris knew that I only knew a few spells and that they weren’t as strong as hers, but I was hoping that I might be able to catch her off guard. When I felt like my skin was tingling so much that I could crawl out of it, I slowly stood up, holding my hands out to my sides.
“There you are.” Her eyes were sunken and dark. I couldn’t see any whites around the iris, and her pupils were dark as obsidian. “Come here, witch. Let me take the one thing from you that you owe me, and then I can leave this wretched realm.”
“Come get it.” I knew that she could feel my blood pumping through my veins. It was what she wanted, and she was drawn to it. Her hand flashed out to the druid and she grinned at me as she turned her dagger over and over in her hands.
I would have thought that the gods would take that from her, but it glinted at me, the runes glowing slightly on the blade, and I knew that it was the same one that she’d tried to use to kill me before.
“My dagger?” She asked, catching my eye and turning the blade over in her hand before letting it go so that it floated between us. “I don’t go anywhere without it. Your gods stole it from me, but my druids took it back.”
The druid watching her practically purred at her goddess, and I felt my stomach turn to a lump. I had to stop her. Had to kill her. I wasn’t sure if the time was right, but then again, I didn’t know if there would ever be a right time for what needed to be done.
Etris and the druid were watching her dagger spin slowly in the air. I had no doubts that at any moment she would grab the dagger and either lunge at me or send it flying towards me using her magic. I had to act. I had to stop hiding and do something to save myself.
Screaming, I thrust my hands forward at Etris. Magic and power poured from them, visible streams of bright blue light that lit up the corridor, making it so bright that I had to close my eyes. The two streams of magic hit her squarely in the chest, and she gasped, flying backward through the air.
The dagger fell to the floor with a loud clatter, and the druid immediately lunged for it.
“No!” I pointed at the druid, taking one stream of magic off of Etris. It was a gamble, and I knew it.
Etris immediately recovered. I wasn’t strong enough to stop her with just part of my power. Hell, I didn’t know if I was strong enough to stop her with all of my power, but I had enough to stop the druid in her tracks. The dagger flew off of the floor and rose into the air, spinning slightly before coming towards me.
I was doing it. I was calling it to me, and I knew that if I could get my hands on it, then I might have a chance at defeating Etris.
Suddenly, though, the dagger stopped flying towards me. Etris’ was staring at it. She was floating higher than before, her eyes locked on the dagger, my magic flowing off and around her harmlessly.
“It’s mine,” she called, gesturing for the weapon, and it slowly started to float towards her.
“Give it here, you fucking bitch!” My scream was ripped from my throat by the swirling magic that surrounded us. Etris was focused on the dagger, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to get it to come closer to me.
She was stronger than I was, and that was all there was to it.
The dagger flew into her hand silently, and I realized that there wasn’t anything that I could do any longer. I wanted to keep fighting her, but the only spell that I knew drained me, and I didn’t know any other spells.
I wished that I’d paid more attention in the house when mom was doing things. I wished that I had more power and could somehow stop her.
I wished that the fucking gods would wake up and feel that I was about to die. They all claimed to be my fated mate, but when I needed them the most they sure as hell weren’t anywhere to be seen. I felt tears welling up in my eyes, but the last thing that I wanted to do was cry. I di
dn’t want to die down here, by myself, crying, while a devil goddess took my life, but it looked like that was exactly what was going to happen.
Chapter 22
“I didn’t give your whore sister this chance, but do you have any last words?” Etris floated over me, the dagger in her hand. I stared up at her, defiant even though I was crying, but I didn’t have anything to say.
Nothing useful, anyway. “Go to hell,” I told her, gripping my hands into fists by my sides.
She laughed, throwing her head back and letting the sound pour out of her. It filled the halls of the corridor, but it didn’t sound happy. It was twisted and dark, and I noticed that even her druid took an involuntary step back away from her.
“You are my own personal hell, Emily. You and everyone on your stupid earth. At least I can know that I did my part in ridding the world of two horrible wastes of space: you and your sister. Now, was there anything that you wanted me to pass along to the gods? I know that they’d gotten fond of you, but they don’t seem to care enough to come here to save you, do they?”
That hurt, and she knew it. There was a grin on her face that I wanted to slap off, but she was simply too far away for me to be able to reach her.
“Fuck you,” I spat at her. I didn’t know what else to say.
I didn’t know what else to do.
She laughed again and raised her hands, the dagger clutched in them. This time, though, I didn’t have any energy or power to try to stop her. It was going to slam down into me, slice me open, and that would be that.
I’d just have to take my death with grace. Lifting my head, I made sure to keep staring right into her eyes. I didn’t want her to ever be able to say that I wasn’t brave when it finally came time to die.
“Goodbye, Emily,” she whispered. The runes on her dagger glowed and I wanted to shield my eyes or look away, the light was so bright, but I didn’t, and that was why I saw what happened next.
