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I settled on the edge of the fountain, feeling the water washing over my fingertips. I watched it moving, thinking of how the fae had sent the ocean after us and Mel had countered it.
As if it could hear me, the water moved and squirted in my face.
Blinking several times, I looked around and saw no one. I knew I didn’t do that, so how in the hell had it happened?
Giggling came from somewhere behind a bush. Standing, I crept over and looked, but saw nothing.
“Over here, Sadie Tabors,” Tarann said from behind me.
I spun to find her standing on the outer rim of the fountain. “Oh dear Lord, now I’m seeing you.”
She smiled widely. “You and only you.”
“Why is this happening?” I cried. Covering my face, I lowered my head and wished her away.
“Won’t work,” she hissed inches from my ear.
Jumping, I moved away from her. “What do you want?”
“Acceptance,” she stated. “I can’t go on, you know go on, until you accept you’re the Dark Sorceress and get all that power.”
“I said I wouldn’t do anything until tomorrow,” I said.
“Doesn’t matter,” she shrugged. “You’re gonna do it either way. Might as well get it over with so I’ll leave you alone.”
Narrowing my eyes, I stomped away from her. “Why you?”
“Because I died for you,” she said like it wasn’t a big deal. “I wanted to help you, and the people of Clarqa, the other side, realized that. They thought I’d be perfect for you!”
“The other side?” I asked. I stared at her, realizing how utterly insane I must have looked, but it didn’t matter. I wanted answers.
“Yeah,” she said eagerly. “The other side, where people go when they die. There’s a whole group of people in charge, kind of like your council.”
“You’re kidding.”
She shook her head.
“Ok,” I drawled out. “I guess tell me what to do.”
“Yay!” she squealed. “Be right back.”
She disappeared before my eyes. I looked around for her, but she wasn’t here. So I walked deep into the gardens and ducked behind a large plant. Sitting on the grass, I prayed I was hidden away from prying eyes and waited for Tarann to return.
“Back!” she screeched not long after, scaring the crap out of me. “Gosh, being dead is so much easier than being alive.”
“Why are you so different?” I asked bluntly. “No offense, but you were a bitch before…well, until you helped me.”
“Bram did that me,” she pouted. “He took everything from me, turned me bitter, and then killed me when I tried to get out.”
“I thought he killed you for helping me?”
“That was my way of getting out.” she shrugged. “Didn’t work. Well,” she said, looking around. “I guess it kind of did!”
I shook my head, unable to keep up with all her random thoughts. “Ok. How do I do this?”
She sat in front of me, reaching out to touch me. Her hand went through my skin, a feather soft, cool chill staying behind. “I need you to dig your fingers into the dirt.”
Absurd, but ok. I did as she instructed.
“Close your eyes,” she said next.
I did it.
“Sadie Tabors, I need you to feel the energy around you. Pull it from the ground. The other side is surging right now, sending it through the core of the earth. You just have to find it. Pull it to you, embrace it, become it.”
She silenced then, so I focused. I moved my fingers around in the dirt, feeling the wet mud beneath my nails and on my skin. Digging deep within, I used my magic to feel for more, and picked up on something. Pushing my hand further in the ground, I desperately tried to reach the power.
It needed me.
I needed it.
My head fell back, and I felt it crawling through the earth to get to me. It spun and shot through, claiming me as its own. I felt the power touch my fingers, then coursing through my veins.
In the background, I heard Tarann cheering me on, her voice fading quickly.
I kept on, pulling the energy that latched on deeper inside me. It filled me to the brim, my body feeling full and more powerful than ever before. It consumed me, taking me over as it sunk into my bones, mixed with my own power, and made me stronger than ever before.
My eyes were closed, but I saw the blinding light through my lids. It was bright, probably to the point of blinding me had my eyes been open. With a flash, it disappeared and the surge stopped. Flying back, I lay out in the garden, my body humming with power.
“Tarann?” I called. I wasn’t sure I could move.
She didn’t answer, and I knew it had worked. I was the Dark Sorceress and she’d moved on to the other side. A part of me was sad I didn’t say goodbye. We were briefly in each other’s lives, but she’d made such an impact.
“Thank you, Tarann,” I said softly.
The wind picked up, caressing my cheek, and a small droplet of water landed just below my eye. She’d heard me.
Finally certain I could stand, I got up and started back toward Chamber House Castle.
Grandma would not be pleased with me.
Scornful Sadie Page 29