The ground begins to roll under my feet; the shaking so strong and rumbling so loud it feels as though the mountain is about to split open.
I reach out a hand to brace myself against the huge rock in front of me and feel someone grab my shoulder. Gasping, I turn and immediately pulse, sending the person shooting backward into the trees behind me. The pulse should have been strong enough to send them a good thirty feet into the air, but they only fall a few feet away. That’s when I notice the worn boots and realize my mistake. It’s Trevor. The pendant must have protected him.
I rush over to him, both worried I may have hurt him and furious that he followed me. “What in the hell are you doing here?” I ask over the loud rumbling and the shrieking of the Redeemers.
“I couldn’t leave you. I have the stone. They can’t hurt me.” He sits up and shakes his head. There’s a small scratch on his cheek where he must have hit a branch when he flew backward, but otherwise he looks fine. If he followed me, does that means he saw what I did to Mason?
“Did you follow me the entire way?” I ask.
“No,” he says. “I got lost in the fog. It wasn’t until I got close to the falls that I saw the glow from the fire. I figured this is where you’d be. Lucky guess.” He shrugs and smiles, like I should congratulate him for being so smart.
“You can’t be here. I appreciate the effort, I really do, but you have to leave before someone finds you.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
The shaking stops and the shrieking in the air lessens. I turn to look over my shoulder as the Council begins to chant, the Associates responding to everything they say. I don’t understand the language, but it sounds intimidating. My heart begins to pound harder than I ever thought it could. It’s time. I have to go.
“You have to leave. Now!”
He starts to protest, but I stop him, my voice low so that only he can hear me. “I swear to God, Trevor if you don’t leave now … If you go out there and get yourself hurt or killed I will never speak to you again.” Once the words leave my mouth I realize they don’t make sense, but I don’t care. I’m pissed. I’m scared. He can’t be here.
I hear someone scream, and one of the kids begins to wail.
“Go home now. And don’t stop moving until you are safe in your bed.”
He looks at me, and I point over his shoulder toward the trees. He stands and dusts himself off before retreating into the forest. When I know that he’s gone, I turn and go back to my hiding place.
I peer around the rock to see a figure cloaked in royal blue hovering in front of the fire. One by one, the red-robed Council members walk to the figure and extend their hands, chanting. The figure in blue drags a knife across the palm of their hand then holds it over a chalice. One of the Council members takes the cup and drinks from it before turning to face a black-robed Associate who stands next to him, the little Edwards girl in his arms.
The Council member places his hand on the child’s head, then removes a dagger from their hip. They then take the chalice and hold it to the girl’s lips, forcing her head back to drink from the cup. The Council member slides their dagger across their hand, and then across the Edwards child’s forehead. Blood streams from the wound, and the child cries out in pain. Everything is still as the Council member places their aging hand against the little girl’s forehead, mixing their blood. In a flurry of motion, the figure in red drives the dagger into the child’s chest, wraps their arms around her, and falls backward into the fire.
A scream pierces the air and I look over to see Chastity, her blond hair tangled in knots, her clothes streaked with mud. She’s still struggling and obviously giving them a run for their money.
“Get the fuck off me,” she says, struggling against the Associate dragging her toward the Council. She kicks and spits at them. I have no doubt she would claw their eyes out if they didn’t have her hands bound behind her back. She cries out in pain as the Associate places a hand on her forehead, forcing her to the ground.
“Leave her alone.” Jeb’s voice pierces the air, and I see him break free from his restraints and rush toward Chas. The Associate who held her turns and swings, but Jeb ducks and comes up with his elbow, hitting the Associate in the face.
Jeb grabs Chas by the shoulders and pulls her to her feet. The man he’d just hit lunges for him. Chastity screams and Jeb ducks. Jeb turns to face his attacker, ready for a fight. Chas tries to run, but one of the Council grabs her around the waist and pulls her back.
The Associate hits Jeb with a spell that sends him, screaming, to his knees. I have to help them. I know I’m supposed to wait until it’s Mitch’s turn, but I can’t just sit here and watch them hurt my friends.
Jeb staggers to his feet and lunges for Chas. The Council member strikes out with his knife, leaving a deep gash in Jeb’s chest. My blood begins to boil and I’m about to take him down when my head fills with a blinding pain. Who the hell is blocking me?
I sink to my knees, pushing back, prepping myself for an early attack. It’s difficult, but the pain eventually subsides. I stand, ready to save Chas, but I’m too late. Just as I look up Chastity’s Council member drives their knife into her chest and falls backward into the fire.
I clamp my hand over my mouth to stifle my scream. Tears burn my eyes.
Jeb cries out when the fire swallows Chas. Blood covers the front of his shirt. Two Associates rush him, pulling him to his feet. He struggles, but he’s no match for them.
“No!”
I’m jolted out of sadness at the sound of little Abby’s voice. I look over and see an Apprentice pulling Mitch to the center of the circle. Mitch holds Abby’s hand as she kicks at the Associate.
The Associate pushes Abby away and carries a kicking and screaming Mitch to the circle and drops him at the feet of one of the Council. Fury fills my chest. My energy shifts—a shift I’ve learned to attribute to my powers running rampant. I feel the same murderous intentions I felt when I went after Mason. I’m going to kill every last one of them. I throw my shoulders back and immediately feel the effects of the comforting protection bubble. It won’t keep them off me for long. I don’t have much time.
I step out from behind the rock and watch as a Council member lifts the chalice to Mitch’s lips.
“Stop!”
My voice echoes across the clearing, causing everyone’s head to turn in my direction. Three Associates immediately rush me, throwing spells in my direction. My body tingles as they hit, only slightly weakening my protective shell. I toss their spells back at them and watch as one of them flies up into the air before crashing into a towering pine tree. Another lies screaming in pain on the ground. The third continues toward me, spells flying. I block them easily, barely blinking as I toss the spells back.
I rush toward Mitch. His head is thrown back and blood trickles from his forehead. A Council member has his palm pressed against the wound.
“I said stop, damn it. I’m here. Take me. Let him go.”
The Council member pulls back their hood. Reverend Carter smiles back at me, holding Mitch’s limp body easily with one hand.
“You’re too late,” he says, pulling back his knife.
My body goes numb when I realize he’s planning to stab Mitch. I immediately reach out with my mind and grab my little brother, flinging him to the side just as Reverend Carter thrusts his dagger downward.
I hear Mitch hit with a thud behind me. He cries out, and I turn to see him grabbing his knee. Oh God. I hurt him.
I feel myself pulled backward and realize that in the brief moment I looked back at Mitch, I’d let my guard down. A strong arm wraps itself around my neck and I feel the sharp point of a dagger pinch my cheek.
“Thank you for joining us, Caitlyn.” Reverend Carter’s breath is warm and rancid against my face. He spins me around and pushes me forward. Somehow I manage to stop myself before my head smacks into the rocks. The heat of the blue blaze raging in front of me stings my face. I feel myself lifted off the ground; a blinding pain, stronger than it’s ever been, fills my skull. My arms shoot out to the side of their own accord. It’s like I’m attached to an invisible crucifix, my legs tight together, my arms splayed, the heat of the fire searing my back.
“Your willingness to join us will benefit us all,” Reverend Carter says, staring intently at my face. He runs the edge of his dagger lightly across my cheeks and forehead, stopping with the point resting under my chin. He drags the tip downward, barely grazing my throat as he runs it down my chest, resting over my heart. “Will you accept Malahas as your queen?”
“No.” My voice is small but strong as I struggle against the pain in my head. Why isn’t Nana helping me?
“Say you will, or I’ll kill Mitch.”
He reaches up and cups my face in his hand. I feel the pain in my head release the minute his skin touches mine. I send a pulse through my body and he screams out in pain. I don’t waste any time. I pulse with all the force I have and watch as he flies backward. Once he hits the ground, a flurry of black and red cloaks descends upon me. This is it.
Hundreds of invisible fingers probe my skull as every one of the figures tries to block me. I push back, sending waves of power outward, pulling their powers into me and then releasing. I’m not even paying attention to where I’m sending the energy. I keep pulsing, hoping to keep them at bay long enough for me to get to Mitch.
An Associate lunges at me, knocking me to the ground. I watch as they are picked up and flung backward. Nana stands a few feet from me. She glances my way and nods before focusing her attention on Reverend Carter.
I turn my attention back to Mitch. Abby crouches next to him, shaking him, begging him to stand up. Jeb lies on the ground mere inches from the two of them, a hand pressed to his chest.
Bodies fly through the air around me and I hear people screaming in pain. Nana and Miss Simmons must be fighting them off.
“Mitch, you have to get up. You have to run, you hear me? Abby, help him,” I tell her as I help Mitch stand. “Get as far away as you can.”
Abby tugs at Mitch’s hand as I turn my attention to Jeb.
“Jeb? It’s me. You have to get up. I know you’re hurt, but I need you to go with Abby and Mitch.”
His head lolls to the side as he tries to speak, his face pale. He’s lost a lot of blood.
“Jeb!” I smack him across the face, and he winces. He looks up at me and smiles when he recognizes me. “Cait? What are you doing here?”
“I can’t explain. I need you to run, Jeb. Do you hear me? Take Mitch and Abby and r—”
Someone grabs me by the hair, ripping me away from Jeb. As I turn to fight, the ground beneath me begins to rumble. Miss Simmons stands across the clearing, hands pointed down at the ground, a pile of Associates at her feet, struggling to stand.
I hear someone scream and turn to see a Council member dragging the Anderson boy to the blue flame. Before I can save him, the Council member drives their dagger into his chest and flings them both into the fire. Shit. They’re getting away. I’m supposed to stop them.
I turn back to Jeb and see that he now stands with Abby and a limping Mitch. Movement from the corner of my eye catches my attention, and I turn to see a bloody Erin standing at the edge of the clearing, completely disoriented. Where did the blood come from? She needs to run. She has to get out of here.
“Erin! I need your help. Take Jeb and the kids and—” Before I can finish, I’m knocked to the ground. I jump to my feet and find myself face to face with Monique.
“They said you were strong.” She wears a smug expression. “They promised me I could kill you if you didn’t join us. I was hoping you’d refuse.”
“Good luck with that,” I say as I force a ball of energy her way.
She immediately deflects it, sending it hurling into the ground. The earth shakes around her. She stumbles and then rights herself.
She sends a ball of fire at me, but I feel it coming and mentally force it away from me and into the back of an unsuspecting Associate. Screams of agony pierce the air as their robes are engulfed in flames. Monique laughs and then shoots upward about ten feet into the air. Before I know it, I’m shooting up after her. I’m surprised at my new-found talent. I’d never been able to do more than float before. Looks like the Thunderbird found her wings.
“Oh, look, she can fly,” Monique mocks as she circles me, her dress billowing around her.
I reach out with my mind and grab hold of her, pulling her toward me. She easily deflects me and before I know it, the air around me fills with a dense fog. I can’t see anything.
“Peek-a-boo.” Monique’s face appears inches from mine and then dissipates into the fog again. “Come and get me, Caitlyn.” Her voice echoes all around me. Tiny pinpricks hit my face, traveling down my shoulders and to my hands. My limbs feel heavy, and intensely cold. It’s ice. She’s turning me to ice.
I will myself to the ground, away from the fog. My teeth chatter and my skin burns. The fog in the air rolls over me and I drink it in, reversing it to send out a burst of heat, warming myself as the flame engulfs the fog. The air clears immediately, but no one is there.
“Here I am.” Her voice comes at me from behind. Before I can turn to face her, I crash into the ground, frozen. I can’t move.
“Caitlyn!”
Oh, God. No.
No, no, no.
I look up to see Trevor running toward me through the trees, right into the middle of the battle. Associates rush him, throwing spells his way, but the protection of the stone deflects them easily. Out of the corner of my eye I see that Abby and Mitch sit huddled on the ground. Erin crouches over Jeb who appears to have collapsed. I try to call out to her, to tell her to leave him and take the kids, but I can’t move.
I push back against the cold sheet of ice that appears to lie over my body. Monique stands above me, her dagger grasped in both of her hands, ready to drive it into my chest. Thunder rolls above us, and just as she’s ready to strike, I pull a lightning bolt from the sky, slamming it into her.
She screams as the energy flows through her and into me. She flops down on top of me, her body shaking. The bolt of energy was too much for her, but it made me stronger. I push her limp body off me and grab her dagger, flinging it at the Associate fighting with Trevor. The knife hits the man in the chest, pulsing with electricity. His body shakes as he falls to the ground.
“Trevor, go! Take Mitch and Abby and go!” I scream, hoping he can hear me.
He rushes toward the kids and removes the pendant, placing it around Mitch’s neck. He picks him up and takes Abby by the hand. He takes off for the trees, away from the fallen bodies.
Everything will be okay. They’ll get away. They will be fine. They—
I scream when I see Reverend Carter throw his dagger in Trevor’s direction. Trevor stops in his tracks, stumbles, and then falls forward, the end of the dagger protruding from his back.
Dodging spells and flying bodies, I rush to Trevor, stopping when I see the blood pooling around the hilt of the dagger. His body lies completely still.
“Trevor?” I kneel beside him, grasping the dagger in my hands, wincing as I pull it from his back, immediately regretting doing so as blood begins to pour from the wound.
I roll him over, cradling his head in my lap. His skin is sickly white, his eyes blank. His mouth moves, but no words come out. A small trickle of blood escapes his lips.
I look up just as Reverend Carter flies toward us, grabbing Mitch and Abby by the arms.
Nana appears, sending a spell his way that stops him in his tracks. He grabs his head, spinning around to face her. I hear her scream as she is lifted into the air and then slammed to the ground.
I look back at Trevor, trying to do anything I can to bring him back. His eyes are vacant, staring past me. He’s gone. No. He’s not. He can’t be. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He was supposed to stay home and wait for me.
Another agonizing scream comes from Nana, and I turn to see her floating in the air. A split second later her body flies into the blue flame, disappearing from sight.
Reverend Carter turns back to me, and my body tenses with energy. I reluctantly push Trevor’s lifeless body off me as I stand. My vision shifts and I immediately pulse, hitting Reverend Carter with every ounce of energy I have left. He screams out in pain, and I pulse harder, lifting him into the air as I focus on the tightly wound blue and red souls writhing inside of him. I mentally grab hold, pulling on them, forcing them to break free. It’s not as easy as it was with Mason. It feels as if I’ve grabbed hold of a set of guitar strings. They don’t want to budge. I pull him toward me, squeezing my invisible fist tighter around his life force, sending out strong pulses of my energy as I try to weaken him.
“Y-you, c-can’t k-k-kill me. Y-you don’t h-have it in you,” he says, sweat covering his brow.
“Watch me.”
I give a tug and feel his souls give a little. They no longer feel as taught as they were. He cries out in pain, his eyes bulging from his head. I place my hands on the side of his face and my body tingles. He cries out the minute I touch him. I feel his soul begin to release. I give another tug when suddenly a figure shoots out of the middle of the blue flame and lands next to us.
The figure in blue who had flung itself into the fire earlier now floats before me. The hood has fallen away and long silver hair flies around her head in ribbons of ghostly white. The power emanating from the thing before me is unbearable. It opens its mouth to speak and a deep, feminine voice echoes around me.
“You can’t beat me.”
Reverend Carter is ripped from my arms, and the figure descends upon me. Everything goes white, and the sound leaves my ears as a searing, burning pain stretches across every inch of my body. Something within me snaps, and I feel my body weaken as the burning subsides and I begin to relax.
“I warned you,” the voice purrs in my head. “I’ve had years to prepare for your arrival. You can’t beat me. I can kill you and every one of your friends and family. You have no choice but to join us.” The voice is all around me, coming at me through the blinding light. I’m too weak to respond.
Don’t let her take you. My mother’s voice fights against the voice of the figure. I know I need to listen to her, but I’m too tired. I can’t fight. I don’t want to. I need to rest.
“Caitlyn! Fight it,” my mother screams.
Trevor’s face appears directly above me. A warm, white light envelops him, casting a halo around his dark curls.
“Cait. It’s okay,” he says. “Let go. Don’t fight it. Come with me. We can still be together.”
Yes. That’s what I want. I want to be with him. I have to go with him.
Trevor reaches for me. “Cait. I love you.”
My eyes snap open as I hit the ground. A shriek of pain fills my ears as I drop to the ground. Miss Simmons stands a few feet away, the silvery woman facing her.
“You came back,” the deep feminine voice says to her, bursting into laughter. “How clever of you, using the body of one of my own to try to mask who you are. I should have forced them to kill you years ago.”
It really is her. She really is my mom.
“Caitlyn, I need your help here,” Miss Simmons—my mother—says.
I pull myself off the ground, my head still swimming. The silvery figure swoops toward Mom, her arms outstretched. Mom crouches to the ground, throwing her hands above her head, preparing to block the murderous soul flying at her.
I try to pulse, but I can’t. My body is completely numb, my powers weak. What the hell did that thing do to me? I thought I was supposed to be invincible against them.
Mom stands as soon as the figure is above her, sending pillars of flames skyward. The figure shrieks and flies upward above the trees.
There’s a groan to my right, and I turn to see Reverend Carter dragging himself across the ground, his hand grasping his chest. He gasps for air as he crawls toward the fire.
Another shriek pierces the air, and I look up to see the silver woman flying at me, claws outstretched, mouth pulled back in fury. I can’t do anything. I can’t protect myself. My mother grabs me around the waist, and I feel a shudder emanate from her body as she envelops us in a protective bubble. The shrieking figure bounces off the protection spell with enough force to send us scattering across the ground. The figure lifts an arm and sends Mom hurtling backward, out of my sight.
As the figure turns to face me, the fire behind her begins to weaken, and the bell on the old church begins to chime. A powerful wind churns through the trees, and at least six Associates scatter, flinging themselves into the dying fire in the middle of the circle.
Abby screams, and I turn to see Reverend Carter moving toward her and Mitch. Erin crouches next to them, cradling both of them in her arms. A revived Jeb stands above them, facing Reverend Carter. “Leave them alone, asshole.”
The swirling wind cuts through the air with as much force as a tornado. At first, I think it’s coming from Jeb, but then I see the twisting flames in the center of the circle. It twists and writhes as it descends into the ground taking broken branches, abandoned cloaks, and fallen bodies with it.
The wind grows stronger, sucking at me. I pull myself toward Jeb and the others.
Something grabs my foot, and I turn to see Reverend Carter’s ugly face glaring back at me. I search inside for one last pulse of energy. He tugs at me just as I push outward. The energy sends him flying backward, away from us, into the arms of the silvery figure. The swirling wind increases in power, sucking Malahas and Reverend Carter into the ground. I dive forward, wrapping myself around Abby and Mitch. I tug at their hands, pulling them into the protection of the trees.
Branches fly through the air and rogue pine needles sting my cheeks as the wind whips at us, the church bell ringing in the distance. Just when it begins to feel like we may not survive, the twelfth chime rings through the air. The wind stops and, suddenly, everything is still.