Fated Box Set

by Stacey Thompson

  “Time, we don’t have,” I snapped. “You said it yourself, I have to get this.”

  I felt myself panicking. The worst of my fears playing out before me. My three men dying because I couldn’t control my powers. Zander was there in a second, holding onto me.

  “It’s not real. It’s Owen. He must not realize someone new is here,” Zander said, holding me tightly. “He can control and project fear.” Zander held my face in his hands. “Concentrate on me.”

  I looked into his bright blue eyes and thought about all the great things we would do together. We were linked and our magick was powerful. He was the air to my fire and I was everything to him. That much I could see in his eyes.

  The fear subsided as a tall man wearing a biker jacket and leather pants walked towards us. He had a scowl on his face, but there was something familiar about him. His dark blond hair peeked out from under a bandanna he wore on his head and I could see the beginning of tattoos on his arms.

  “What the hell was that?” He demanded.

  “She’s learning her powers,” Zander said, helping me to my feet.

  “Huh, that was a lot of power to be learning,” he said. “Does Zane know?”

  “Yes, he does.”

  Owen narrowed his eyes at Zander. “You better not let him get caught up in all this or you’ll have me to deal with.”

  “He’s a grown man and can take care of himself,” Zander snapped.

  “He’s still my brother and I’m going to keep him out of trouble. It’s my job,” Owen slid his gaze to me. “What were you trying to do, destroy the forest?”

  “I was working with fire and air,” I answered without thinking.

  He laughed. “No wonder you couldn’t keep it under control. You can’t put those two together without everything going to shit.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me back to the house. “Where did they find you?”

  “In the desert,” I answered.

  “I guess that’s as good a place as any. We keep looking for our fifth, but he is hard to find.”

  “You aren’t a complete coven?” I asked.

  “No, not yet, but we operate a little differently,” he said. “Less rules and stupid people controlling what we do.”

  I didn’t say anything more, but let Owen chat about when he and Zane were kids. It was a good thing Zane wasn’t here to listen to him talk crap about his little brother, but I learned they grew up in New Orleans and they were legacy Witches. They knew they were going to join a coven and be a part of this world one day. Owen talked about how Zane rejected it at first and tried to live a normal life, but it always catches up.

  “It’s odd to me that with the amount of power you have, you aren’t a legacy,” Owen said.

  “I don’t know. My parents were very against any religion or magick,” I said. “I never even tried it except for a stupid book at a friend’s house once.”

  “Did it work?”

  “The spell? I don’t know,” I said with a smile.

  He took a drink of his beer and stood. “I have things to do, but it was nice talking to you,” he said before he wondered inside the house. Zander watched me for a moment and then stood himself.

  “I need some rest,” he said. “You’ll stay in the wards, right?”

  I nodded. I had every intention of staying inside the wards, but I also wanted to get this magick thing right. I was going to train myself and figure this out, even if I burnt the whole forest down.

  Six

  I wondered into the woods until I couldn’t see the house anymore. I could feel it, which meant I was still well within the borders of the wards, but I wanted to do this alone. I wanted to see if it was me that was really this lost. The first thing I needed was to talk to the air. It knew me all the way to my soul and if anything could help me temper my issues, it was this.

  I closed my eyes and felt the air around me whisper. It talked about Erik and how he was nervous with us here and the Witch hunters that were after them. It talked about Zander and how he didn’t know if I could really do this, even though he said I could. I felt my heart fall. They didn’t believe in me. I didn’t know if I blamed them. I was very much new to all this and it wasn’t right of me to take them down with me just because I loved them.

  I pushed the words away and focused deeper into it until I connected with something I didn’t know would be there.

  “Hello, my love,” the voice said and I startled at the touch on my shoulder. I kept my eyes closed. If this thing was truly here, I couldn’t stop him. I begged air to be wrong, but it grabbed my arms and shook me to open my eyes.

  I opened my eyes and felt his hot breath on my neck.

  “I was hoping you would call, although, I’m not sure you realize you are,” he said.

  I pulled away and stood, taking in what I’d done. I’d called the Demon right to us and had no way to stop him.

  “You can’t be here,” I said.

  “Why, because of the wards? There is nothing strong enough to keep me out when I want something.” He stepped closer and I stepped back.

  “Why can’t you just do what you do and leave us alone?”

  He looked hurt for a second. “You, are the key to everything for me. There is no point in burning this place without you by my side. We are one, you and I.”

  “No, we’re not. I am never going to be yours,” I spat.

  He smiled. “We’ll see.” He reached for me. I didn’t even have to call the air to my side as it came and threw him away from me.

  “You’re learning fast, but it’s not enough,” he said, getting to his feet. “Your magick is not enough.”

  I concentrated on the fire in my bones and the air that was all around me. I fused it together in my mind and they melded into one different kind of element. I threw my hands open and released it at the Demon. Fire engulfed him and spread up to the sky. I watched it lick the clouds before it came crashing down into the earth. The sound was deafening, but the Demon was gone and I collapsed on the earth.

  I let my head rest on the soft grass as it pounded with pain. My legs were so worn, it felt like I’d ran a marathon in a few seconds. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my breathing. I felt the earth hug me with energy. It pulsed through me, touching every part of my body. From my toes to my fingers to the top of my head. It eased my pain and brought a sense of peace to me.

  I raised my head and got to my feet. My men would be looking for me and wondering what the hell just happened. I was wondering and I was there.

  As I walked, I thought about the energy that had just come out of me. It was stronger than anything I’d ever felt before. It was as if the elements already knew what to do. I was just the way they came through. I wondered if that was something that could happen or if I was just worried about how this had happened.

  As I got closer to the house, I could see Zander and Zarrick wondering around the back looking for me. I hesitated, wondering if they would think I was crazy for what had happened. Zander already had his doubts about me. What if he thought I was changing sides? I didn’t know if I could take that. I stepped back and felt arms wrap around me and gasped as the air was sucked from my lungs. I closed my eyes and tried to fight it, but before I could do anything, I was standing in the middle of a circle.

  Caleb was leaning on the wall watching me.

  “You,” I spat. “You’re a part of this?”

  “Relax, you’re safer here than you are with those idiots,” he said.

  I shook my head. “You planned this.”

  “I was just following orders.” He took a step towards me. “Whatever you did, damaged him pretty good.” He squinted. “You can’t kill him with your magick, but you made him feel it.”

  “Good,” I said. “I hope he dies.”

  Caleb laughed. “I just said it won’t kill him. You need a lot more than that.” He watched me as I stood there taking in the symbols on the floor.

  “Where the hell am I?” I said.

  “I tol
d you, safe.”

  I glanced around and realized I was in an old school gym. The basketball hoops were still intact at each end and the court was still made of polished wood. The walls were draped with weird red fabric, probably to make it feel more like home to the Demon, but there was nothing else there that made any sense.

  “Get some rest. The next few days are going be rough,” he said, closing the doors behind him.

  As soon as he was out of the room, I started working with the symbols to see if there was any way I could break the circle. Every time I tried to call an element, it would fizzle out and nothing would happen. Whatever they had done, I wasn’t getting through.

  I was stuck here and no one knew where to find me.

  Seven

  Zander

  He walked through the forest, and connected with the element he worked with, air. He waited for the whispers to tell him what he needed to know, but they were silent. He shook his head in confusion. His element never failed him.

  “Did you find her?” Zarrick asked, panic in his eyes.

  “No, and air is being very silent,” he answered.

  “It’s not air you need to worry about,” Erik said from behind him. “There is darkness all over these woods. Powerful Demon work.”

  “You can see that?” Zander knew he could read energy very well, but he’d never realized he could see the difference between Demon and Witch.

  “I can see all magick,” he answered.

  “That means the Demon found her.” Zarrick shook his head. “But how? We have wards all over here.”

  “This Demon was powerful. More than any I’ve ever seen,” Erik said. “Nothing can keep out that kind of evil.”

  “Can you trace it?”

  “I can try,” Erik said walking deeper into the woods.

  Zander followed with Zarrick close behind and Zane on the other side of him. They trekked along for at least a mile before hitting the source of all the magick problems. There was a small clearing with a fallen tree and in the center, a spot of not just burnt grass but dirt as well.

  “I didn’t even know dirt could burn,” Zarrick said looking at everything. “This was extremely hot to get that to happen.”

  Zander paced back and forth as Erik put his hand on the still smoking burnt spot. He shook his head and turned to Zander.

  “This isn’t where she was taken. This was her defending herself,” he said. “She must have been taken after by someone other than the Demon.”

  “So, he’s working with someone,” Zarrick said. He laughed. “That’s just great.”

  “We were as prepared as we could be for Demons. I never thought he’d have someone else working with him.”

  “Alda was,” Zane said from beside him. “Who else would gain something by working with a Demon?”

  “I can think of someone,” Zander said. He clenched his fists and shook his head. “We have to find Caleb.”

  “You think he’s working with this Demon?” Zane said before sighing. “He did lose his whole coven.”

  “He’s wanted to take us down for a long time. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was behind all of this.”

  “Erik, can you help us find him?” Zander asked.

  Erik shook his head. “I won’t. I have treaties in place that I won’t break, not for anyone.”

  “You have treaties with Demons?” Zane said.

  “You have your ways, I have mine.”

  “I’ll help you as much as I can,” Owen said.

  “You can’t go anywhere near any Demons. We have rules,” Erik said.

  “Tell them I went rogue,” he said without flinching.

  “You’re going to die, all of you,” he said before heading back to the house.

  Zander figured he was right, but Cat was worth dying for.

  #

  “How do we find a Demon that doesn’t want to be found?” Owen asked from the back seat of the car.

  “I know someone that can track anyone,” Zander said. He gripped the steering wheel tightly as he drove. Every minute she was in the Demon’s hands, was a minute she could be in danger. He didn’t want to waste time, but had to have a plan if they were going to go in and kill a Demon that had thousands of years on them. Celeste was his only hope.

  They pulled into the driveway after driving all day and Zander rushed to the door. Zarrick, Zane and Owen followed closely behind, but none of them had the determination he had. This was the last hope he had in finding Cat and nothing was going to stop him.

  The old man answered the door. “What are you doing here?” He shook his head. “There is no meeting tonight.”

  “I need Celeste’s help,” he said. “Please, it’s important.”

  The old man eyed him before opening the door the rest of the way. Zander hurried in and the old man disappeared up the stairs.

  “I don’t know if this is such a great idea,” Zane said. “Celeste doesn’t just use energy to find it, she takes it too.”

  “I don’t care,” Zander said.

  “Look, I’m with you.” Zarrick said. “Just remember to rest after.”

  “I can’t rest until we find Cat,” he said.

  “I know,” Zarrick said.

  “What the hell do you guys want?” Celeste said, looking up from her phone and meeting Zander’s gaze.

  “I need your help finding Cat,” he said.

  She snorted. “You want to find someone? Do you have any idea what that does to me?” She slid her phone in her pocket.

  “I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important,” Zander said.

  She sighed and slid her gaze to Owen. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Zane’s brother. Just tagging alone in case they need back up,” he said.

  She eyed him and then slid her gaze to Zander. “This is going to hurt a lot and you could be out of commission for a while if it takes too long.”

  “I’ll be fine,” he said and she shrugged.

  “Okay, then.” She put her hands on his chest and closed her eyes. The lights dimmed in the room and all the energy was sucked away. It made the color of life seem so dull. The energy filled everything and when it was taken so fast, it did something to the way everything looked and felt.

  Zander felt himself go under and into the dullness. He was standing with Cat in the middle of an old gym. She was rubbing her shoulders, but she was okay. He reached for her, but a barrier kept him from touching her.

  He felt himself being ripped backwards and was standing outside the gym. It was hot and there was dirt from the desert all around. He felt himself being pulled back again and standing outside the hotel in Primm with the rollercoaster zooming passed. This time the pull brought him back to Las Vegas and his own body.

  He felt her release him and open her eyes. Everything was spinning. He could hear the world again and could breathe finally.

  “She’s not far,” he said, but couldn’t’ quite get his barring’s.

  “You will need some rest and I need some water,” Celeste said, her straight red hair was frazzled from the energy transference. She looked paler than normal and she clearly was irritated.

  Zander took her hand in his. “Thank you,” he said.

  “Do me a favor,” she said.

  “What.”

  “Don’t come back.” She pulled her hand away and walked into the kitchen.

  Zander tried to stand, but his balance was way off so he fell back down onto the couch.

  Owen offered his hand and helped steady Zander to the car.

  They all piled in with Zarrick at the wheel this time. “Where are we going?”

  “They are in Baker.”

  “That’s only an hour away,” Zane said. “Why would they stay that close?”

  “When you’re a Demon that can do anything, you won’t care how close you are to anything,”

  “He wanted to be close to her,” Zander said. He closed his eyes and hoped this drain Celeste had done on him would be over soon. He had to get to Cat wh
ile she was still alive.

  Eight

  I kicked at Caleb as he strapped my arms down. He laughed and pushed my legs down onto the chair. I was still stuck in this stupid circle that wouldn’t let me do any kind of magick. I wondered what the hell was going to happen today that would involve me being strapped down.

  The Demon walked into the room and stopped just outside the circle. He watched me and wrinkled his forehead.

  “I didn’t want to do this,” he said. “You just won’t do it on your own. Now I’m going to have to force you.”

  “Force me to do what?” I kept my eyes on him and he smiled.

  “This is the unbinding process. Your friend Zarrick is very familiar with it. He was the one that Caleb created it for,”

  “Zarrick didn’t want to be a part of Caleb’s coven. He changed his mind.”

  “But Caleb was going to change it back.” He moved the salt around the circle and stepped through. “I’m sorry for the pain I am about to inflict on you. I’ll ask you one more time, please do this willingly.”

  “I don’t want to be bound to you,” I spat. He ran his hand down my cheek and sighed before walking back through the open circle. He moved his hands and the salt moved back to its original place.

  He nodded to Caleb who started speaking in a language I didn’t understand. At first, there was nothing I noticed happening. Then all there was, was fire in my bones. It burned through me and I screamed with pain. I tried to move, to fight it, but the fire only got worse when I attempted to move. I felt my skin peeling off, even though it wasn’t and tiny cuts all throughout my body. I fought and the pain dug in worse. I curled my fingers around the metal, burning the tips of my fingers with the spell work. I closed my eyes as tears rolled down my cheek. This was the worst pain I’d ever felt. Even when I’d broken my arm, I hadn’t had pain like this. It felt like every bone was breaking as it was burning down to my soul. I couldn’t stand it, but had no choice.

  Everything went quiet and I caught my breath. The Demon watched me and I leaned my head back, welcoming the short-lived relief.