"What's the plan, Laurie?" Kai asked, taking the seat to my left.
She stood, brushed her knees, and returned to her basket of stuff. "This spell is ancient, I had to translate several old texts, but in theory, this should work," she told us.
Cam sat down to my right and Sloane was across from me.
"Where's Bette?" Cam asked, running his palms down his thighs.
"She was too upset to come out. Didn't want to get her hopes up if this doesn't go the way we want," she explained. "Shall we begin?"
"Let's do this, I want to see my girl as soon as possible," Cam nodded, his voice gruff and deep.
"I will give you directions as we go and I'll chant the spell, just focus on what I tell you to do and this nightmare will be over in less than fifteen minutes." She clapped her hands and I caught a flicker of excitement coming off her body. She must really think this is going to be successful.
A breeze ruffled through the forest, the leaves above us rustling in the wind and Cam quickly pulled his hair up to keep it out of his face.
"Sloane, if you could please cast some of your fire at the ground, then I will ask Cam to do the same in a few moments, okay?" Laurie directed and I watched Sloane's face illuminate briefly as he pushed fire from his hand and dropped little flames against the grass. A whoosh and then a burning pentagram was ignited, surrounding us.
"Perfect, now, Cam, add your magic to Sloane's."
Purple sparks flew from Cam's fingers and the flames around us surged to ten feet high as his electricity crackled and the flames changed from orange to blue before they shrunk down to only a few inches high.
"By using your power in the flames, it will keep them going when the storm comes," Laurie explained, holding a book that was practically falling apart from age. "At this point, I am assuming the prophecy is real and that you four are a part of my daughter's 'five', so I am running off the hope that by combining your physical powers, along with Fischer's cognitive abilities, and Kaito's mate bond, I will be able to use an advanced locator spell which will give us access to the portal. Does that make sense?"
It did, actually. This might actually work. Then I felt him again, pushing against my restraints I'd put in place to keep him away.
‘Just chill out,’ I told him.
"Yes," everyone agreed.
"Great, when I tell you, cast your magic as forcefully as you can to the center of the pentagram. It will feel draining, that's normal. It is going to take a tremendous effort to get this spell to work, so push yourselves. We'll get her back."
I could feel the excitement from the others, the hope. He certainly was hopeful.
‘Let me out of here, you psychopath!’ he screamed in my head.
‘Not yet.’
“Kai, add your magic,” Laurie directed.
A burst of yellow magic fired from Kai's hands to join the red fire and a sparking line of electricity from Cam. The earth actually shook beneath my feet and I grinned.
After a few moments, Laurie looked to me and nodded. Holding my own hands out, I let my own black and silver magic fly toward the center of the pentagram to join the others last, just as the first raindrop hit my cheek. The wind increased, blowing my hair around my head as our magic swirled in the center of us, cycling around and around until it resembled a tornado. A tornado of fire that flashed with lightning and produced the sounds of Kai's animal and the screams my power induced.
It was scary as fuck. And I didn't scare easily, fuck, I didn't scare at all.
Sweat was running down my face and I could hear the groans of the others as they continued to funnel their magic into the cyclone.
But this felt... unnatural. Not right. Something wasn't right.
"Keep going, not much more now," Laurie shouted and then continued her low chanting as she moved around the outer circle, careful to stay back from the flames as her hair whipped around her face. The book was no longer in her hands and I saw a slow smile on her face as she looked out into the woods where a figure moved in the darkness.
Is it Saige? Did it work?
Suddenly, there was pressure around my ankles and my torso, which caused me to break my concentration for a moment as I glanced down and saw a vine twisting around and around, securing me tightly to the chair I was in. Before I could call out, my wrists snapped down to the armrests and more vines made sure those were equally secure.
"What the fuck is happening?" Cam boomed. "LAURIE?!"
Our magic died as we all realized something was wrong. Very, very wrong.
Tinkling laughter danced in the air and a chill ran up my spine. No.
"You boys are fools," Laurie chuckled just as the figure in the woods stepped forward.
Bryce.
The flames of the pentagram burned out, leaving smoke in its wake, wafting up to the dark sky.
Kai let out a savage roar and I knew that Bagheera must've returned. That wasn't a sound a human could make.
‘Faris! Let me out, you fucker!’ Fischer screamed, my brain aching.
My eyes looked around at the guys, we were all tightly secured to our chairs. Kai was about to lose his fucking head, rocking his chair and snarling. Cam had closed his eyes, like he was trying to get a hold of himself, and when I looked at Sloane, he was still as a statue, his eyes locked on my face.
Laurie moved to the center of the pentagram, Bryce beside her, a smirk on his face.
"I honestly expected Khol to have trained you all better than this, it's slightly disappointing," Laurie taunted, her blue eyes, the same shade as Bette's, were cold and full of fury.
"What the fuck are you doing, Laurie?" Cam barked, his eyes narrowing.
She laughed and tutted, like he was a six year old asking a stupid question.
"Cameron Jacobs, thirty-one years old, storm mage, brother to Hunter Jacobs. Such a sad story," Laurie sighed, holding a hand to her heart in mock sympathy.
Fischer snarled in my head. “Gods dammit.”
"Fuck you, you crazy bitch," Sloane growled.
Laurie threw her head back and cackled. Unhinged.
"Oh, poor Sloane Sullivan, aren't you tired of never being good enough? You just keep trying, bless your pathetic little heart. Daddy didn't love you, did he?" she teased, getting closer to him before she leaned over in front of his face. "Don't hit me, Dad! Please, I'll be a good boy."
Holy fucking shit. This bitch is insane. Maybe crazier than I am.
Sloane's body was trembling with rage. It called to me like a beacon in the darkness. Unfortunately, it also called to him. I felt Fischer shatter the cage I'd locked him in and my awareness faded as he pushed forward, but I refused to give up total control. Never. Again.
"Sloane," I rasped. Shaking my head free of that fucking psychopath who had possessed me for the past several days.
His gaze snapped to mine from across the grass, I could make out the icy coldness in his eyes, the pain that flickered there.
"Don't listen to her. Nobody listen to her," I told them, "we have to keep our heads."
"Shut. The fuck. UP!" Laurie screeched and I shifted in my chair. How the fuck are we going to get out of this? Our powers were depleted, as I reached for mine I felt a tendril of magic, but I needed to save it until the perfect moment. Until she revealed herself, what her end goal was.
"Was this your plan all along?" Cam asked, his voice not wavering a fucking octave.
"Of course it was. I made it twenty-eight years without Khol finding me or learning anything about this shitty fucking town. Then one day he magically finds me on an ATM camera in Emerald Lakes? Please. He played directly into my plan, just like you all have. This has been a long, long time coming."
"Why is douchemage here?" Kai spat venomously and Laurie snorted.
"What an interesting nickname, Bryce. Maybe I should start calling you that? It’s fitting for you." She raised a brow in amusement as Bryce glowered at Kai.
"How long has he been working with you?" Sloane asked, getting back to the i
mportant shit. Keeping her talking to get as much information as possible, like we learned in training.
"Working with me? No, he works for me. And we both work for Montague Industries. It’s amazing, state of the art training, you know? Fun fact, Asrael runs that company. He used to be best friends with Khol. He's the king's brother, and when he takes his throne, I'll be the one beside him," she grinned maniacally, spilling all her secrets like an unhinged psychopath.
Bryce stood dutifully beside her, his emotions rotated between anticipation and desire, but my powers were so weak that the colors of his feelings were dimmed. But the desire wasn't directed at Laurie, nor anyone in this circle. My jaw ticked when I thought it was probably for Saige. I'm going to kill that motherfucker. Slowly.
‘Yes, yes we fucking are,’ He growled darkly from the depths of my psyche.
"I've had enough chit chat, boys. Let me tell you how this is going to go. You've no doubt figured out that your powers are depleted. You're not getting out of those chairs until I let you. I was seventeen when I first learned about the prophecy. It's about me, did you know? I found four of my five, but without being able to get to Besmet, I wasn't able to bond with King Thane before my twenty-eighth, such a shame," she singsonged, shaking her head.
"If the prophecy is real, Saige has already completed it. She has her five, you dumbass," Kai snarled.
"Hmm, does she though?" she cocked her head to the side as she glared at Kai.
"One of you isn't completely tapped out. Any guesses on who?"
My blood turned to ice. She knows. She planned all of this. Everything. Right down to the order in which we were instructed to use our magic, having me go last so that I’d use my power the least amount of time. I’d be amazed if I wasn’t so disgusted.
Sloane's face paled and Cam lunged against the vines that were keeping him captive.
"I wonder, how would the prophecy come to fruition if four of my lovely daughter's five don't remember who she is? Do you think it would still be her? It's never fucking been her. I created her, hid her for this purpose. I sent Bryce here to keep her occupied, to keep her uninterested in other men. It was going great until he fucked up." Bryce scowled at her, but didn't comment. "Luckily for Bryce, I'm a quick thinker."
"How could you do this to your daughter?" Cam growled, his face red, sweat glistening on his brow from his useless efforts to free himself.
Horror slid down my spine as a thought hit me. No. She wouldn't.
"Laurie," I spoke, my voice sounded like someone else's, "where is Bette?"
The guy's heads all snapped to me with matching looks of shock and fear.
"My darling mother is none of your concern, Fischer Bahri. But I'll tell you what is!" She clapped her hands. "You're going to use that little remaining bit of magic that's coursing through your veins and you're going to dip inside your friend's heads and erase every last memory of Saige."
Shouting and cursing echoed throughout the woods from my brothers.
"Get fucked," Sloane snarled.
"He would never, ever do that," Kai yelled.
"Oh, but I think he will. Otherwise, I'll just kill you all." She shrugged. Fucking shrugged, like this was just a discussion about what television show we would watch later.
"Don't do this, Laurie," Cam growled, his face pained.
"Oh! But Cameron, I almost forgot! Must have slipped my mind earlier when we were discussing your dead family. Did you know that Montague Industries studies rare affinities?"
The hairs lifted on the back of my neck.
"This is actually good news, so don't look so pissed off." She walked over to him and knelt between his thighs. "Where did you hide that day we came and burned your little cabin to the ground?"
Cam's mouth fell open and nobody breathed.
"Don't get too hopeful, your mothers are still deader than doornails, but your brother? Hunter?” She tilted her head to the side, and my heart pounded in my chest. No fucking way. Cam was frozen in his chair, I wasn’t sure he was even breathing at this point. “You'll all return to the compound with myself and Bryce once Fischer does as I asked. It'll be a lovely little family reunion." She reached forward and smacked him patronizingly on the cheek.
"You're lying," he spat, venom dripping from his words.
She crossed her arms. "And why would I lie about that? Fischer can tell I'm being honest, can't you?"
Cam glanced at me, his face pale. I observed Laurie, not wanting to use my power to sort through her crazy, but this was important and I gasped as she literally pushed an image into my head of a young man, likely in his early twenties and my eyes flew to Cam's.
"He's alive. By the fucking stars, Hunter is alive, brother," I choked, emotion taking over.
Cam tilted his head back and roared like a beast. A feral, terrifying, murderous beast.
"Moving on, Fischer, let's focus. Erase everything from the moment before you were given this mission. I want them to have no memory of Emerald Lakes, Saige, my mother, nothing. Then you will plant in their minds that they work for Montague Industries and they'll leave willingly with me."
Bryce cleared his throat and Laurie snapped her head around to glare at him. "But he will remember. He will know even if he removes their memories," he unhelpfully pointed out, but my gut was already twisting with the words I knew she'd say next.
"That's why I'm going to kill him afterward."
All hell broke loose. Well, as much hell that could break loose when four incredibly powerful mages are powerless and strapped to chairs.
"Like fuck you are! I'm going to rip your gods damn head off!" Sloane screamed, the veins in his neck protruding.
"I'm going to rip your throat out!" Kai promised, his teeth flashing in the night.
"And if I refuse?" I questioned, trying to remain calm.
"That's why Bryce is here. I'll give you a moment to say your goodbyes because afterward, you’ll have one minute to do what I said, or he will drown them where they sit, you included," she sneered.
"Fischer, don't you fucking dare," Cam's eyes met mine, they were shining. Fuck.
"You don't want to do this, she'll never forgive you.” I tried to reason with Laurie. What the hell else can I do?
"You think I care about that, Fischer? We've already established that this plan has been in the works for years. Let's give them a moment, Bryce." She grabbed his arm and pulled him with her.
"This isn't happening," Kai breathed.
"Fischer, don't even think about it. We'll figure something out. Don't do it," Cam begged, his voice hoarse. Our gazes connected and he was pleading with his eyes, his expression pained. He must’ve seen the acceptance in mine and I watched a tear as it trekked down his red cheek. It broke my heart.
My eyes closed and I went over my options quickly, I had none. The amount of magic I had left wasn’t enough to try and break through Laurie and Bryce’s mental shields. Cam’s brother was alive, he was going to get him back. Asking me not to save my brothers was futile, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for them, and I know if the situation was reversed, they wouldn’t hesitate either. I inhaled a deep breath and opened my eyes again.
"I love you guys—"
"NO!" Cam bellowed.
"And the past month has been one of the best of my life. Our bond, our brotherhood. Saige," I breathed.
"Fischer." Sloane's voice cracked, but I couldn't look at him. I wouldn't be able to do this if I did.
"She healed me in a way I didn't think was possible, or that I deserved. Not after what I've done. The blood, the screams... the fucking pain."
"Look at me, Fischer."
I can't.
"You three will fix this, okay? It will be okay. The stars will shine down and fate will guide you, but you have to be alive to do it." My heart was pounding in my chest, my throat was so tight it was hard to breathe.
"Brother," Kai whispered, tears on his cheeks, "don't."
"I think we both know that I have to, brother."
"I love you, Sloane," I murmured, needing him to hear the words, needing him to understand.
"Don't say goodbye to me, Fischer, I need you. I've always needed you. I barely survived the past three days, I won't survive a lifetime. Do you hear me? If you die, I'm going to chase you into the afterlife. Do you hear me?" He was desperate. Wildly so. It was devastating.
Sloane was straining to get free from his binds. The cords in his neck on full display in his fight against his restraints. Tears trekked down my cheeks as I studied him. He was so beautiful. He’d always thought he was the dark one of the two of us, but he was my light. My savior. All I’d ever hoped for him was that he would one day allow himself to feel. He screamed in frustration before stilling, his chest heaving. Those icy blues slammed into my honey oaks and the emotional exchange that happened between us in those seconds was more than we’d ever had. It was brutal honesty. Sloane accepted that he was not only capable of love, but that he was deserving of it. Gods, I am going to miss him so much.
"You saved me, Sloane. I never would've made it past twenty if I hadn't had you. And now, I'm going to save you." I looked away, trying to block out the screaming, the pleading, the begging.
"I love you, Fischer. I fucking love you, don't leave me. Fuck! FUCK!"
He loves me.
Laurie stepped back into the center of the pentagram. "You have one minute, Fischer."
Bryce lifted his hands and the yells and screams from my brothers were replaced with gasps and gurgles. They should be able to hold their breath for a minute, but just in case, I didn't hesitate.
The Magic Of Betrayal Page 31