Bound

by Christina Garner

  Take him, Bes’tal commanded. Take him now before it’s too late and he kills us both.

  She could do it—she could take his soul and end this. She’d felt his surrender when he’d closed his eyes. He’d been about to kill her, and he’d surrendered to the deed and to her.

  Her face hovered inches above his, all the while, she felt his weave around her tighten as Ash loosened Sarah’s.

  Take him!

  It was the only time she’d ever heard Bes’tal in sheer panic.

  The never-ending pit of hunger opened inside of her, a void so great it could swallow the world.

  Eden opened her mouth.

  Chapter 43

  Sarah and Alex raced down the rock corridor. No simple cave, it was a series of complex tunnels.

  Alex had felt it as soon as the wards had dissolved. It meant they hadn’t been passive but tied to the person holding them. That person was now either dead or unconscious. They’d dashed inside.

  Turn after turn, they worked their way deeper into the mountain.

  Where are Kai and Quinn?

  It was too risky to call out.

  The ground beneath them had stopped shaking at least.

  Another turn and the pair stopped short. Sarah let out a squeak.

  It was Kai and Quinn, coming straight at them.

  “That’s a dead-end,” said Quinn, pointing. “So is that.”

  Which left only one direction to go. The four tore off in a sprint, Quinn leading.

  Sarah’s lungs burned, but she pressed on.

  Chapter 44

  Take him. Take him. Take him.

  Eden sensed Mikel’s essence even before it slid from his lips.

  His eyes widened in surprise and terror. He struggled furiously beneath her.

  His binding weave dissolved at the exact moment Ash finished, unburdening Eden completely.

  This was the moment. She was free.

  The energy she’d been denied flooded through her—more power than any human should hold. Her flesh burned with it.

  Take him. Take him. Take him!

  Bes’tal reached through her, needing Mikel’s soul, desperate to add to the ocean of pain and power he’d already amassed.

  “No!”

  The word erupted from deep within her. The power belonged to Bes’tal, but she belonged to herself.

  A percussive blast exploded—so strong it shook the cavern walls. Debris fell from the ceiling.

  Eden locked eyes with Mikel, the man she’d once thought of as kind. The man who had been eager to sacrifice her in order to summon a being worse than Bes’tal. A man like that wanted power more than his humanity. A man like that…

  For weeks she’d been trying to hold it together. No, not weeks—years. Since the moment the borahn demon had kidnapped her and no one had believed her story, Eden had been out of sync with the world—living a reality separate from the one everyone else inhabited. She’d spent her life trying to cajole herself into their world—one where walking nightmares didn’t exist. She’d thought if she just tried hard enough, was strong enough, she could will herself into being normal. Her entire life had been an exercise in control.

  In that moment, in that cave, Eden surrendered.

  She let go of torment and pain, and the lies she’d made herself believe. The ideas of who she was and who she had to be.

  The dam broke, and souls rushed out of her in a torrent. Mikel’s hungers would better serve their own, and they entered him willingly.

  All but Bes’tal.

  This is not how we end.

  His words were indignant, but she heard the panic in his tone. Felt his terror and fury, and let it fuel her.

  “Not we.” Eden bit the inside of her lip and made a vow on her blood that it would be the last time.

  Even as Mikel’s eyes bulged and the veins in his neck swelled, he drank deeper and deeper.

  “Just…” She grunted with the effort of forcing Bes’tal out. “You.”

  Like a stuck weed that finally gives way, the roots entangling Eden’s mind released. Bes’tal burst from her, sucked into Mikel by his thirst.

  A moment later, Mikel’s eyes glazed over; his head lolled to the side. Eden checked for a pulse but found none.

  “I guess you weren’t a worthy vessel either.”

  Bes’tal had been many things, but a liar wasn’t one of them. And now he was gone.

  Eden rose on unsteady legs as Ash raced in.

  He surveyed the room, registering the bodies of three unconscious minions plus Mikel, dead. His eyes caught on the circle where Eden had almost been killed.

  “Eleven.” He hurried around the circle, plucking the talismans from the ground. “There are only eleven.”

  “What does that mean?” Eden wasn’t sure if she should let him take those stones, regardless of his help saving her life.

  “It means they haven’t found the final one.” Ash said it in a way that made Eden think it was good news. “I don’t know what they were thinking trying to free Agamon before they had all thirteen seals, but—"

  “Seals?” Eden interrupted.

  “These stones were used to seal Agamon’s prison. His acolytes have been searching for them for thousands of years.”

  “You mean acolytes like you and your sister?” Eden hadn’t forgotten what they’d done to try to steal one of the stones from her.

  “My sister never cared about these.” He held the stones in both hands and gave them a shake. “She only wanted to find one to please my father. And then he died, and she wanted to be done with the whole thing. If she’d succeeded in stealing yours, I think she’d have sold it on the black market and disappeared. When she failed, she just did the disappearing part.”

  “And you?” Eden asked, preparing a weave. She was not letting him go with the seals that held a god so terrible he had to be imprisoned. “Where do you fit into all of this?”

  “I don’t.” Ash shook his head. “I did. It’s complicated.”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m complex.” Eden folded her arms across her chest. “Try me.”

  Ash’s eyes drifted up and to the left. “We have to get out of here.”

  His voice was urgent, and Eden followed his gaze.

  A crack had formed in the ceiling to match the new fissures in the ground. Debris only sprinkled down from it, but the stream was growing.

  They ran, Ash leading the way.

  A loud crack echoed, and Eden spared a glance over her shoulder as she exited the cavern. The rupture had widened. Dirt and rocks now poured from the opening, blanketing the cavern and the bodies it contained.

  Chapter 45

  A thunderous boom made Sarah and her companions stop cold.

  “What was that?” Kai’s eyes darted; she shined the light from her phone upward.

  Sarah and Alex exchanged a scared glance. It was magic—a lot of it. The way Sarah’s hair stood on end made her sure of it.

  “I don’t know, but look.” Quinn pointed. “There’s light.”

  He was right. The faintest glow was coming from farther down the corridor.

  Quinn tore off, Sarah and the others in tow, adrenaline providing a much-needed boost.

  “Stop, stop!” Kai yanked Quinn backward.

  Large rocks tumbled from the ceiling, thudding into the earth where Quinn had just stood.

  The group backed up farther as dirt and smaller rocks filled the path where they had been racing.

  “We’re cut off,” Alex said.

  “No.” Quinn climbed a pile of fallen dirt, tossing rocks and debris out of the way.

  “Quinn.” Kai pulled on his arm, but he didn’t stop. “Quinn. We can’t get there.”

  “Then go,” he said. “But I’m not leaving Eden to die.”

  “If Eden is still in there—”

  Alex cut off at Sarah’s warning glance.

  Do not say she’s already dead.

  “If she’s still in there,” Alex continued, “the b
est thing we can do is get help.”

  “Can’t you just magic it away?” Kai said. “I thought that’s what you witches do.”

  “Link with me.” Sarah grabbed Alex’s hand. “Use my power.”

  Alex didn’t pull away. Instead, Sarah felt the connection slip into place as Alex melded Sarah’s power with her own. Quinn stepped back while rocks and soil slid down the hill they had formed. It was slow going, and Sarah didn’t have much more to give.

  “I can’t.” Alex dropped Sarah’s hand. “I’m not trained in earth magic, so it takes twice as much power to get anything done. If you need something electrocuted or a small fireball, I’m your girl. Carolyn had a plan for me, and it didn’t include this. I’m sorry.” Alex stared at the ground, but before she’d lowered her face, Sarah had caught a glimpse of true regret.

  “Please.” Quinn’s tone held a pleading edge. “Pl—”

  A large cracking sound started past the blockade and traveled toward them.

  “We have to go,” Kai cried, grabbing Sarah’s hand. “Now!”

  Kai raced back the way they’d come, pulling Sarah along with her, Quinn and Alex close behind.

  The only sound louder than their feet pounding as they ran, was the hammering of Sarah’s heart as they tried to outrun the cave-in.

  Chapter 46

  Eden doubled over with the effort to breathe.

  She and Ash had made it outside before the cavern had collapsed, emerging at a spot different than where she’d entered.

  She’d expected it to be dark outside, but her captivity had lasted less time than she’d realized. Though obscured by clouds, the sun was still high in the sky.

  Even as she panted, Eden rejoiced at finally being able to breathe. Magic pulsated within her. Bes’tal was gone. She was free.

  “We have to leave.” Ash was apparently used to doing cardio; he had barely broken a sweat.

  “I just need a second to catch my breath,” she said. “Then you can take me back to Coventry House.”

  “You can’t go back there.”

  Eden lifted her head to see he appeared completely serious.

  “What are you talking about? The Council—the real Council—doesn’t know anything, and Bes’tal is dead. I finally can go back there.”

  “You don’t understand.” He stepped closer, locking his gaze on hers. “The effort to free Agamon didn’t die in there with those people. His followers are legion, and they are crazy.”

  “Does that mean you’re crazy? Because your pockets are now stuffed with the very things those ‘crazy’ people wanted.”

  “I’m not one of them.” Ash stepped back, as though sensing Eden might be planning to take them from him. “Not the way you think.”

  “And I’m supposed to trust you?” Eden didn’t hide her derision.

  “No.” Ash shook his head. “I wouldn’t if I were you. But please, listen to me anyway. That symbol on your chest? You can’t just wipe it away.”

  Eden’s hand flew instinctively to where one of the women had smeared blood. “What do you mean?” Now dried and crusty, parts of it flaked off when she rubbed at it.

  “It’s the most ancient magic there is, and you can’t undo it. As long as that mark is on you, Agamon’s followers can find you. And they will kill anyone who gets in their way.”

  “What do you mean it can’t be undone?” She hadn’t just survived housing countless souls to get her life and her power back just to lose everything.

  “I said you can’t undo it.” He paused. “But I know who can.”

  Chapter 47

  Eden had rubbed away the bloody mark over her heart but still felt its stain. She didn’t trust Ash, but about this, she believed him.

  As they made their way around the back side of the mountain where she’d been held captive, she once again thought of knocking him out with magic and taking the stones he now held. Again, she discarded the notion.

  She didn’t know if he was leading her into a trap. Maybe his sister hadn’t disappeared at all and was lying in wait, ready to strike. But for what? If Ash had wanted her dead, he wouldn’t have rescued her. And if he knew someone who could remove the mark that made her a target for blood-thirsty followers of a dangerous god, what choice did she have but to go with him? She’d considered going to the Council but dismissed it outright. Mikel may not be the only traitor in their midst. If she had to take her chances with someone she couldn’t trust, she liked her odds against Ash more than fully-trained witches of the Council.

  They rounded a corner, and Eden stopped short.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Quinn, Sarah, Kai, and Alex stood in a loose huddle, covered in dirt and panting.

  “Eden!” Quinn’s face filled with shock and joy. “You’re alive.”

  Sarah let out an audible gasp, and even Alex appeared relieved.

  Quinn raced over to her, wrapping her in his arms and lifting her off the ground. She wanted to lose herself in his embrace—in him—but with his chest pressed against hers, she felt the tracking mark and knew she had to be strong enough to stay as far away from him as possible until it was gone.

  He set her back down on the ground, and Eden pulled back enough to look him in the eye.

  “How did you find me?”

  Quinn took her face in his hands. “There is nowhere you can go that I won’t follow.” The truth of his words settled deep into her bones—an exquisite agony. “Unless there’s a cave-in.”

  They shared a small laugh.

  “I can see you tried.” She brushed dirt from her hair, attempting to prolong the inevitable. She forced herself to meet his gaze. “But there is somewhere I have to go now, and you need to promise you won’t look for me.”

  Ash wouldn’t say exactly where he was taking her, but had indicated she’d need her passport.

  Confusion filled Quinn’s face. “What are you talking about?”

  “I can’t tell you.” Tears spilled from Eden’s eyes and streaked down her cheeks. “Please just trust me—you can’t know.”

  “But I—”

  “Don’t hate me, okay?”

  “Hate you? Eden, I love you. I will never stop loving you.”

  “I know.” She pressed her trembling lips to his and whispered, “But you have to.”

  She stepped back, the pain on his face, a punch to her gut. It was no more than she deserved. She should have done this the second she’d taken Bes’tal. If she had, Quinn would be halfway to over her by now, not having just escaped death in an effort to save her.

  Sarah stepped forward. “What is this? What’s going on?”

  Eden shook her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you.” She spoke with urgency now. “But if anyone asks—if anyone asks any of you—you have no idea where I am. One of you saw me get into a car with Mikel, and then I disappeared. That’s it.”

  “Mikel?” Now Alex spoke. “What does the Council have to do with this?”

  “Nothing. At least, I hope nothing. He was a traitor. He was the one who kidnapped me.”

  “Where is he now?” As bedraggled as Kai was, she shifted her stance and seemed ready to fight.

  Eden glanced back toward the cave opening. “In there, dead. Along with his friends and the dagger he was going to use to kill me.”

  “Why would Mikel want to kill you?” Alex didn’t sound suspicious, exactly, but she also didn’t seem to trust Eden at her word.

  “I don’t know. He was using the darkest magic. Nothing I can believe the Council would sanction.”

  “Maybe he wanted your power.” Sarah’s words held weight, and Eden took her meaning. Maybe he’d known about Bes’tal.

  “They always want power. I think he got more than he could handle.” Eden flashed her friend a small smile, and Sarah’s eyes widened with understanding.

  With the gentlest flow of magic, Eden squeezed her best friend’s hand.

  The moment of relief was broken by Alex. “If all of this is true, you need to
explain it to the real Council. You can’t just bail.”

  Behind her, Eden sensed Ash’s impatience. He’d made it clear, more of Agamon’s followers could arrive any minute.

  She glanced at Alex then to Sarah, and finally Quinn. They weren’t going to let her go.

  All three collapsed in unison, their falls cushioned with a flow of air inches off the ground. Eden lowered them gently the rest of the way.

  “What the hell—”

  “Kai.” Eden turned to face her. “You don’t like me.”

  “What?” Kai stopped short. “Who cares? What did you—”

  “I care. Because I love Sarah, and she loves you. But that’s not important now. All that’s important is that you understand I have to go. I’m doing this to protect them, and I know you know about making hard choices to protect the people you love.” Eden glanced back at her sleeping friends. “And Alex.”

  Kai’s laugh was stilted. “If it’s worth protecting that one, it must be pretty bad.”

  “The worst.”

  “Eden…” Ash’s tone held warning.

  Eden held up a hand, a request for one more minute.

  “Help them let me go.” Eden wiped the tears threatening to spill anew. “Please.”

  Kai’s solemn expression said she might not fully understand, but she got it. “I will. I promise.”

  Eden nodded in thanks then took in the faces of Quinn and Sarah, asleep on the ground, unsure if she would ever see them again.

  “Eden?”

  Eden glanced back to Kai.

  “I like you a little more now.”

  Even with her heart shattered into a thousand pieces, she managed a small smile. “I’ll take it.”

  When Eden turned away, it felt final.

  “I’m ready.”

  The words came out barely a whisper.

  She wasn’t ready, but since when did that matter?

  She took one step and then another, into the unknown.

  Epilogue