Descent

by Rylee Winters

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Linne

  Anxiety thrummed through my veins, and blood beat in my ears like war drums as I stood in the center of the park. Memories of this place were burned into my brain, and I grappled for Derek’s hand to hold them with tight white-knuckles. Sweat poured down my back, dampening my hair and sticking my clothes to my skin, but I only ignored the discomfort.

  “They’re here.” Alpha Jackson’s voice slithered harshly between hard pumps of my heart, and he came up on my other side without another word. My nails dug into my mate’s hand, and I ground my teeth as I waited on bated breath for whatever would come next. Despite how well-acquainted Alpha Jackson and Derek were with the witches, I couldn’t help but be curious of these beings.

  The prickle of Melinda’s familiar magical sign skittered across my skin, and I tensed at the long procession of cars that appeared from behind the corner of a building. Widening at the shiny black that reflected the harsh sunlight, my eyes darted for anything I could even vaguely recognize as a face. Tinted windows met me, and my eyelid twitched in irritation as my wings ruffled and puffed out.

  “Here we go.” Muttering under his breath, Derek squeezed my hand reassuringly, and I tore my gaze off the sight to stare at his pensive expression. Behind us three, the entire clan had gathered, bristling with animosity that spoke of many years of turbulence. Twisting to stare at the familiar and unfamiliar faces alike, I pursed my lips tightly and flared my nostrils to inhale a sharp breath.

  “Linne – ” Whipping around, my head ached slightly when my brain spun on its stem, and Alpha Jackson lifted his arm to point at the convoy and draw my attention. “That’s the Head Chancellor – Savannah. She’s the most powerful witch alive right now, and she’s a nasty fucking bitch. That woman coming out next is Jennifer, Savannah’s personal bodyguard.”

  “Can they see your wings?” Shaking my head at Derek’s quiet probe, I narrowed my eyes on the Head Chancellor, and my lips twisted into a sneer. She wore her power and prestige on haughty features, and I exhaled a hard sigh through my nose before opening my mouth.

  “They will see my wings soon enough.” Savannah stared straight at me, and I bared my teeth at her across the field as a nasty snarl bubbled up in my throat. Carefully releasing Derek’s hand, I flexed my fingers wide, taut, before raising my palms up in front of me. Goosebumps blanketed my entire body thickly, and a fierce, throbbing ache spread through my skull as my magic threaded through my veins.

  Spreading my wings wide, I inhaled a deep breath even as the shadows between blades of grass whispered to me. Savannah gave me a slight smirk before her underling shielded her from my gaze, and my eyes narrowed into slits as white-hot rage surged through me.

  Jennifer – poor Jennifer… I was not even using enough magic to tickle my fingertips, and she was on high alert.

  “Cut the shit, Savannah – you’ve got no right to come here.” Growls and grunts of agreement from the rest of the clan met Alpha Jackson’s loud declaration, and I tensed when Savannah boldly stepped out from behind her meat wall. “What we do is none of your concern.”

  My gaze flickered from woman to woman before landing on Melinda, and betrayal cut through my chest. Her eyes swam with guilt, widening when they met mine, and the fine hairs on my body stood up. Of the dozen or so people that had piled out of the cars, she was the only one that offered me more than a passing glance.

  Maybe it was because she knew – she knew, and she didn’t tell anyone. Yet.

  “Anything involving magic comes to my attention, Jackson. Especially when it’s only a three-hour drive from my headquarters. Now, you cut the shit. Show me the witch that caused those shockwaves, or I’ll blow your clan into oblivion. You of all people should know this wouldn’t be the first time.” Threat rolled down my spine like a ball of needles, and goosebumps washed my skin. Savannah’s blazing eyes flickered to me, raking down my form in disgusted disinterest, and she raised her hand to point dismissively. “You have resorted to inducting base, feral creatures now? Control your clan member, or she will be the first to fall.”

  “You make many threats for a pathetic human…” Spitting venom, I clenched my teeth even as Derek wrapped his hands around my biceps, and Savannah’s gaze narrowed into fine points on me. “I would advise against being so stupid as to speak such a way to me. You are nothing more than a microscope grain of salt in an ocean.”

  “Babe – it’s okay. Stop, let Jackson handle this.” Derek’s rough mumble rode on a deep, threatening growl, and I clenched my hands into tight, trembling fists. “If you don’t calm down, your canines will drop.”

  That sent freezing ice through my veins, and Derek forced me back a short step and into his chest. Wrapping his arms securely around my chest and abdomen like iron bars, he breathed down my neck gently. For the first time, I realized that my wings had shrunk on their own, and panicked alarm spread through me.

  “So, she’s a foreign, feral creature. How primitive. Jackson, give me the witch – I know you have her, or you know who and where she is. Give her to us, and we’ll leave you alone. You can’t contain that kind of power anyway.”

  My narrowed, sharp gaze flickered from woman to woman, the threat in Savannah’s tone interrupting all thoughts of my wings. Jutting out her chin, she downright glared at Jackson as wild magic began to swirl around her. Against my ear, Derek sucked in a shallow breath, and I stiffened as he crushed me to his chest.

  “You can see the wild magic, Derek?” My mate only nodded curtly, and I frowned deeply at the sudden, slight change in developments. “I will only just – ”

  “Who says I want to contain it?” Alpha Jackson’s amused question cut me off, and my frown twisted into a sneer when Savannah and her entourage all tensed. “You must know, then, what happened to Alpha Liza and her pack. The witch decided to take care of the situation after finding her mate in my clan. With her, I can take over anywhere I please without any threat to myself or my people. A hundred wolves, dead in an instant – and that was only a tiny fraction of her power. What could she do if she unleashed it all…?”

  “You wouldn’t dare! That’s an empty threat, and I can see right through it, Jackson! You’re not that kind of man.” Storming across the field, Savannah railed at Alpha Jackson as fury colored her face a deep, purplish-red. Her magic flickered and gorged on itself, and thick welts rose on my skin as my wings ruffled heavily between my mate and I. Reaching us in just a few strides, Savannah jammed her finger into Alpha Jackson’s chest – but he only watched her with a huge, shit-eating grin. “I’m not stupid, you insolent beast – you’d never try it.”

  “Maybe not…but – she gets seduced by the darkness very easily and completely, Savannah. If I told her to use more than just what’s contained in her pinky finger, could she fight off the desire to kill for pleasure? Who knows…” Alpha Jackson’s voice dipped low, dripping with venom and threat, and my eyes widened at the absolute seriousness in his face. “Trust me, Savannah – it’s in your best interest to leave it alone. She’s my witch now, and I would just hate for her to take your idiotic, degradative treatment of me the wrong way. There are more dangerous people to go after, you know.”

  “You’re going to regret defying me, you dumb mutt.” Contempt dribbled from Savannah’s voice, and my heart nearly stopped beating when she smirked viciously – like she herself was an animal in this moment. “I’ll only tell you one more time. Give me the witch.”

  “…Fine. Since you’re so insistent.” Alpha Jackson’s smirk never faltered, and he glanced at me with a slight, curt nod. “There she is. Take her. Derek is her mate, so you can take him, too…if you think you can.”

  Hesitation thickened my blood, and I turned to Derek even as Savannah’s sharp, biting gaze landed on me. Slowly, carefully, my mate eased his grip on me, and his jaw ticked wildly as he simply moved to hold my waist. His hands flexed, vicious anticipation seeping from his pores to invade my nostrils, but our stalemate ended when Alpha Ja
ckson laughed a humorless bark.

  “You think I would lie to you, Savannah? After all we’ve been through together? Come on…that’s supposed to be one of your most potent non-magical abilities, right? To tell if someone is lying. Well? Am I? Don’t actually insult me. Go ahead – try to take her. I will even help you out.” Turning to face me fully, Alpha Jackson gazed at me with a bright twinkle in his eye, and my own widened almost comically. “Linne, as your Alpha, I demand you go with these women.”

  “B – but you –” Derek’s palm flew from my hip to cover my mouth, and I let out a surprised squeal even while my thought finished within the confines of my skull.

  But you are not my Alpha. Derek is my Alpha.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Linne

  “Head Chancellor, this is a terrible idea – I told you on the phone, there’s been no other unusual activity in the area, and – ” Melinda’s objections were cut off by a merciless stab of wild magic, and guilt clawed at my throat as she stumbled back to clutch at her chest. Around my waist, Derek’s hands tightened until his fingernails dug into my flesh through my shirt, and I held my breath in tight lungs when Melinda hit the ground.

  “You obviously haven’t been diligent enough, Melinda. Either that, or you’ve been involved since the beginning, and that makes you a traitor. You’ll be thoroughly interrogated when we get back, once Jennifer is done with these two.”

  Staring at Melinda’s writhing, tense body on the concrete walkway as she suffocated from an invisible spear to her airways, tears watered my vision. She didn’t know that she would cause so much suffering, and – now – it was very apparent why she couldn’t dig deeper.

  My eyelid twitched, the shadow of a nameless Chancellor creating the perfect dispersal system, and I pursed my lips together as Melinda’s bulging eyes met mine between her vicious hacks and chokes.

  Guilt. Fear. Uncertainty.

  But, beyond that, was the furiousness of determination.

  Determination not to betray me. The thought came up on me with a quickness I wasn’t prepared for, and I planted my feet firmly on the sidewalk. Tearing my gaze off Melinda, I ignored her gasping sounds as she tried to catch her breath. Savannah twisted, glaring while her hand came up to point at me, but my pupils became fine points as I jutted my chin in defiance.

  “I will not allow you to hurt Melinda. It is not her fault that I know how to control my magic.”

  “I couldn’t care less about what you want – you forfeited your rights when you decided to break the law.” Savannah’s angry snap rippled through the air, and she flexed her hand as magic swirled around her. “Unless you want to be next, you’ll get in the car. Or, maybe, I’ll just force you to watch your mate suffocate to death and show you exactly how powerless you really are.”

  Rage gorged my muscles, and I trembled as I struggled to contain the fury that swept through me. Stepping up to Savannah’s outstretched hand, I grabbed her wrist hard while magic pumped through my growing wings. Surprise flashed in her eyes, but she only sneered openly at me as my façade threatened to shatter into a million pieces.

  “You do not understand true power. You do not understand finesse…but I am a master at both.” The trap laid down by Alpha Jackson sprung as I dropped my guise, and I spread my wings high as they came into view of these pitiful beings.

  Beating my wings hard, my feathers ruffled in the burning sunshine of mid-morning to blow back the waves of shock that rippled through the air. The magic surrounding Savannah vanished, her hand going limp in mine, and a wide, sick smirk stretched my lips at the paleness in her cheeks.

  “You are so disgustingly pathetic that you do not recognize real magic when it is right in front of you – slithering into your ears and eyes and distorting your reality.”

  Squeezing Savannah’s wrist hard, I could feel her bones shifting and cracking under her thin skin, and I relished her pained, shrill cry. My smirk widened, and her bodyguard seemed too surprised to react even under direct threat. “I will show you true power…show you exactly how powerless you really are.”

  “Babe…we’re going back now.” Twisting to find Derek propping a weak Melinda against his side, I released Savannah’s wrist as relief spread through my chest. “We did what we came to do.”

  Melinda’s rescue wasn’t in the plan, but I couldn’t help the happiness of the moment after what I’d just witnessed. Alpha Jackson had said that this show would be much more affective if I was as close to these witches as possible. My objective had been accomplished. Sidling up onto Melinda’s other side, I wrapped my arm around her waist while her hoarse, rasping breaths floated into my ears.

  “I thought you hated me.” Weak and wheezing, her declaration tugged at the corners of my mouth, and I shook my head.

  “I did. I do not anymore.” Turning to the still frozen, stunned witches, I pursed my lips together and wrapped my wings around Melinda, Derek and I. “Goodbye.”

  Each step we took became lighter as we made our way back to Alpha Jackson and his clan, and I only took a breath when my bare feet shuffled through thick, healthy grass. Glancing over my shoulder, I managed to catch the exact moment that Savannah registered what happened. The anger that washed her expression, the unfiltered hatred at being humiliated, reached us to skitter just between my skin and my spine.

  Anxiety mixed with anticipation in my gut, and excitement roiled in my chest as Savannah threw out both her hands palm up. She didn’t say anything, but she was as harmless to me as an annoying fly. Smirking slightly, I slipped out from under Melinda’s arm to face her. We’d only traveled a few dozen feet, and my pupils blew to take in her magic as she hurled it at me in slow motion.

  Folding my wings to protect me from the blast, adrenaline flooded my veins as blood rushed in my ears, and my heart beat was all I could hear. Itches assaulted my knuckles as my fingers curled into fists, and I shook myself off before catching sight of Savannah. The Head Chancellor hit her bodyguard across the face, knocking her from her shocked stillness. “Attack her!” she yelled.

  “Your pathetically weak magic will not work on me.” Drawling slowly, venom dribbled from my tongue, and I took a threatening step forward even though Jennifer hesitated. “Do not die for the stupid ego of your master.”

  “Go kill her, Jennifer! Or I’ll kill you for being a traitor!”

  “You can’t expect me to go after her – she’s a fucking angel or something… She didn’t even hurt you. It’s not in my job description to hurt someone unless they try to hurt you, Savannah.” Deep, surprisingly so, Jennifer’s words echoed beyond the blood pounding against my ear drums, and Savannah turned an ugly beet color. “Let’s just leave. She’s right – I’m not going to die because you don’t like her. Even if I did beat her, I can’t live with that on my shoulders.”

  Appreciation rocketed through me, and I cocked my head when Jennifer gave me an awkward, stiff bow. She was a good woman – a witch with morals – a witch with an understanding of the bigger picture – a witch that understood that magic did not make one all powerful.

  It was a nice change when compared to the witches I had met thus far.

  “I’ll do it myself, then. And when I’m done, you’re next.” Shooting Jennifer a nasty glare, Savannah pushed her way past her underling to storm towards me. Arching a brow as curiosity dampened the ecstasy slowly building inside me, I leaned back on my heels and crossed my arms over my chest. “I refuse to let some winged bitch destroy the order I’ve spent four hundred years building.”

  “I will not destroy it if you leave me alone.” My answer only further infuriated Savannah, and she pulled a necklace out from under her plain, orange blouse. Pupils widening at the sight of it, I tensed as recognition pierced my brain, and I pursed my lips tightly before finding words. “How did you get that?”

  “You’re not the only one getting help from over the Veil.” Savannah’s snarky response dribbled with haughty hatred, and I clenched my jaw as I stared intently at the tiny
ornament on the chain. Jewels glittered a rainbow in the bright sunlight shining down from above, and the chips of green and blue had been magically fused together to create the shape of a rabbit. Even though the creature was not native to my realm, they could be plucked from the other side of the Veil as a familiar.

  I had never seen a bunny until I came to this realm, but I had heard stories.

  “Not so confident, now, huh?” My eyes snapped to Savannah’s face, and both my brows shot up as my mirth escaped my throat. Confusion clouded her expression as it darkened red, and I covered my mouth with my hand to stifle my laughter.

  “That is useless on me.” Waving my hand carelessly, my laughter only intensified at the shocked, stupid look on Savannah’s face. “Who gave you that silly trinket?”

  “Linne, babe…let’s go, already. We have more important things to worry about, remember?” Coming up next to me, Derek wrapped his arm around my waist with impatience, and I shook my head hard in denial.

  “No – I want to know who gave her that necklace. It is from the other side of the Veil.” Derek’s surprise rippled through me, and I leaned over to snatch the necklace from Savannah. The magical properties imbedded in the stones didn’t feel familiar, and a sigh of relief escaped my lips. “It is not from Bareiijnr or Kaslni…or any other Courtier. It was probably created by a Lesser Seelie. It feels very…light. White. Not like Unseelie.”

  “Light?” Peering at the object dubiously, Derek’s grunted question earned him a nod, and I licked my lips as they twisted in distaste.

  “You have seen it – the darkness. It is because I am Unseelie… Seelie are light, and Unseelie are dark. We are more susceptible to the darkness.” I had no care for the Seelie, and I tossed Savannah’s little, worthless trinket at her with a shiver of disgust. “We are leaving. These witches are cock-a-roaches not worthy of being squished.”