Follow my body. My feelings. I was reminded of what Max had told me in the stadium. I could see a perfect image of him in my mind’s eye. More than anything – his expression. His utter sincerity. Why did I feel as if it was so different from Jason’s? Despite the fact that the sensations I was feeling in Jason’s presence were 100 times more powerful than those I’d felt in Max’s?
This…. Something wasn’t right, the smallest voice in the back of my head told me. And yet that voice was completely overshadowed by the rush of sensations that blasted through me as Jason took one final step toward me, closing the distance between us. He hesitated, brought up a hand again, hesitated once more, then placed it gently on my shoulder.
Those sensations tripled. They were categorically the strongest thing I’d ever felt. It felt, in fact, as if the human body wasn’t designed to process this much emotion at once.
I must’ve looked like a complete mess, but apparently Jason didn’t care.
He let his fingers gently caress my shoulder. “I’d hoped we would meet during a safe time, but that isn’t the case. We have to blast apart the Cruze Gang. And we have to do it now. Before they move the books,” he said, his voice dropping down low.
“The books?” I couldn’t look away from him. If an explosion went off behind me, I would continue to stare at him as if he alone gave me life.
I could hear the thoughts going on in my head, and a part of me realized how sappy and stupid they were, but at the same time, I couldn’t stop myself.
I… it was like I wasn’t in control of my body anymore – it was like this stupid forgotten destiny was instead.
“Important old books that contain old spells,” his voice became gravelly again. “If the Cruze Gang learn them, they could become almost impossible to defeat.”
“I don’t understand – I thought they were simply bringing in D 20?”
“I get it, Beth,” his voice became kind, but not nearly as caring as it could be. “You’re new to magic, and you haven’t been as steeped in this world as I have. You’ve only learned about magic in school and on TV and in magazines. The real world of magic,” his voice dipped down on the word real, “is much darker. It has a much longer, grander history, too.”
The way he said grander reminded me of somebody standing on a mountaintop and drawing their arms out wide. In other words, it had all of the power of an orator giving a speech to a crowd.
Jason… had so much power in him. It wasn’t simply his magic; it was every single move…. I….
He kept brushing his fingers against my shoulder as he tilted his head down and stared into my eyes. For a flickering second, I thought he would kiss me, and my heart sang at the very concept.
But that tiny little grain of doubt in my mind could not be pushed away.
Something wasn’t….
He tilted his head down until his eyes were even closer to mine. “Beth, you need to find the leader of the Cruze Gang.”
I stiffened.
“He has your friends,” Jason reminded me. “He also has the books. And he’s planning to use them. You have to find him, Beth.”
“But… you said that you were a sorcerer. You said that you were a finder—”
“I know. I also said that I don’t have nearly as much skill as you. This task is beyond me. Please, Beth,” he said as he rubbed his thumb a little higher up my shoulder until it reached the nape of my neck.
A tingling sensation shot down into my chest and plunged into my stomach.
“Beth, concentrate. Follow your feelings,” his voice dipped down low and seemed to match the same vibrations shifting through my belly, “you must find the leader of the Cruze Gang. But most importantly – you have to find those books. If they aren’t in the same place, find the books first.”
There was a sonorous, dreamlike quality to his voice as if he were trying to hypnotize me.
The next thing I knew, I closed my eyes.
He’d told me to follow my sensations. In all truth, I couldn’t help but follow them. They were raging through me like a great torrent of a river. From my heart, down to my stomach, through my legs, across my back, into my face. It felt as if I was exploding with sensations.
The next thing I knew, I felt him whispering by my ear. “Concentrate on the Cruze Gang. On the D 20. On the warlocks and illusionists,” I felt him gesture a hand toward the side, indicating one of the comatose men, “on every experience you’ve ever had with them. Concentrate,” he said, and his voice did it again, becoming so dreamlike it was as if I was walking into a hallucination.
I started to lose awareness of where I was in space. The only thing that mattered was this path that was opening up in front of my mind’s eye. A path that seemed to lead straight through the wall in front of me.
The next thing I knew, I started to move. My eyes were still closed, reminding me of the experience I’d had in the stadiums where I’d led Max to Josh.
But this was on a completely different scale. At least back there my mind had still functioned. Here it felt as if I was nothing more than a dream walker. One who was being followed by a sorcerer. Because Jason didn’t leave my side. He remained steadfastly beside me, his hand always locked on my shoulder.
Though it was gentle, that was no misuse of a term. His fingers may only have been lightly pressing into my flesh, but at the same time, I felt trapped beneath them.
I walked forward, following the tunnel in my mind.
Whenever we reached a door, Jason used his unimaginable power to blast through it. If we came across any resistance, they met exactly the same fate.
Though all of these things were going on around me, I barely paid any heed to them. My mind was completely filled with the prospect of finding him.
Max. Not the books. Not the head of the gang.
Because he was in my heart, and there was nothing anyone could do to pull him out.
The next thing I knew, I stopped at a door.
I heard Jason take a sharp breath beside me. “Is this it? Have we arrived?”
I allowed my eyes to open wide, the skin pressing hard. “Yeah. He’s in here.”
“What—”
Jason couldn’t stop me. I thrust forward, and luckily for me, the door wasn’t locked. I wrenched it open and ran in.
The room was completely empty except for one feature. Max. He was tied to a chair, his head almost resting on his chest.
I jerked forward, his name spilling from my lips before I could take a breath, “Max!”
Before I could jerk toward him, Jason grabbed me back.
Max slowly lifted his head, a trail of blood visible dripping down his chin.
The beginnings of a smile met his lips. They froze. His eyes widened as he stared at Jason.
… Have you ever felt trapped? I don’t mean by a cage or a wall or a door or rope – I mean by circumstances. Have you ever felt as if history itself was pinning you in from every single direction?
Jason had promised me that together we would find our destiny, but as I stared at Max’s terror, I couldn’t deny my own fear.
“… Jason,” he said. The slightest and yet most wretched chuckle met his lips as he looked from me to Jason, focusing on Jason’s hold on my elbow. “So it was you? All this time?”
I wasn’t following. I tried to muscle out of Jason’s grip to get to Max. When Jason held onto me steadfastly, I turned my angry gaze on him. “Let me go. We found Max—”
Jason wouldn’t look my way. Nor would he loosen his fingers. “Brother, that’s no way to greet me after so long.”
Brother? I’m sorry – they were brothers?
I turned over my shoulder to stare from Jason to Max. There was a similarity. It wasn’t just in the way I felt tethered to both of them – it was in their eyes. Though they had different jaws and builds, their eyes were both equally as intense.
“What’s going on here?” My voice shook.
Neither man reacted to me. It was as if I wasn’t even in the room.
Max was clearly tied to the chair, and with one look at his wrists and ankles, it was obvious it wasn’t mere rope doing it. Chains were wriggling around his wrists and ankles as if someone had spelled them to look like snakes. If Max dared breathe too hard, they appeared to tighten.
And now, as Max apparently faced his brother, he took a hard breath. One that saw his chest punch out against his torn shirt. The chains looping around his wrists tightened with the sound of metal against skin. “What are you doing here?” he demanded.
“I’ve come to save you,” Jason answered.
“… I doubt that. What are you really after?” Max’s gaze locked on me.
There was so much trying to pass between his eyes and mine – so much he obviously couldn’t say aloud.
My heart was shaking – I swear that. I swear it was shuddering in my chest like a bird that desperately wanted to fly away, but Jason still had a hard hold of my arm.
Jason let out a soft chuckle. Perhaps he meant it to be kind – but I could read between the lines. It was as hard as a shard of ice. “I’m here to save you – from yourself. I’m also here to retrieve the books.”
Max stiffened. Watching him was a lesson in anatomy. I swore I saw every single unique muscle group in his chest and neck tense. “What—”
“Don’t do me the indignity of asking which books.”
“I wasn’t going to. But what do you mean they’re here?”
“It seems the Cruze Gang were always stronger than we gave them credit for. They’ve acquired them. Now it’s time to acquire them back before any more damage can be done.”
I wasn’t following a word. That must have been obvious from just how dumbstruck I looked. But it didn’t matter who I stared at – no one would explain a thing. I was like a toy being dangled between two dogs.
And screw that. I finally wrenched my arm free from Jason, putting a heck of a lot of effort into it as I darted back and threw my weight into the move. Though Jason had an appreciably strong grip, obviously he was too distracted by Max to stop me.
But as soon as I was out of his grip, he darted forward to grab me again. I stared at him challengingly. “What are you doing? What do you mean you’re Max’s brother? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because we just met, and there wasn’t the time. Now, beloved, you need to come with me.”
Two things happened when he said the term beloved – my heart sang and wanted to embrace him, but that little scrap of doubt in my head grew at the same time.
The result was an exasperated expression that widened my eyes and tugged my lips hard to the side. “We’ve only just met—”
“Beth, please,” Jason suddenly changed his tune – his body language, too. He no longer looked as if he was going to rush forward and grab me like I was a mere object. He brought both his hands up wide, and his expression opened just as much. “I understand that this is confusing, but we’re running out of time. We need to find those books. You appear to have found Max instead,” he said, and just for a fraction of a second, his teeth clenched.
Max snorted. Still tied to the chair, he kept swiveling his head between us, spending more time watching me than he did his wayward brother.
Shit, brother. Max’d had a brother all this time. I wanted to ask why he’d never told me, but to be honest, we’d had precious few conversations that hadn’t revolved around Josh.
Josh.
He was still out there, too.
The mere thought of him hardened my resolve. I might hate Josh, but a part of me begrudgingly respected him. And all of me didn’t want him to die.
I took another step back from Jason, and I stared at him with as much determination as I could muster, completely pushing away the tingles in my heart. “You need to explain to me exactly what’s going on here. You’re Max’s brother? What kind of books are you talking about, anyway—”
“Beth,” Max said, his voice soft. It was soft in a completely different way to Jason’s tone. It didn’t seem as if it’d been manufactured to force me to fall into it. Instead, it had no intent. It didn’t want me to believe it – it was simply believable.
I turned my head toward him. “We’ll help you get out—”
“There’s no time. Jason is…” he wouldn’t make eye contact as he stared at his knees, “Jason is right. You need to go find those books. Before it’s too late.”
“Why does everyone keep saying it will be too late?”
“Because there’s a lot going on here that you do not understand. You will understand one day, but right now we don’t have the time. Please… Beth,” Jason said, obviously changing his mind and not calling me beloved again.
I stared back at him.
I fought with the sensations running through me. It was probably crazy – because everything I had told me to give into him, told me that I’d finally found my soulmate.
And yet, at the same time, the only thing I could hold onto right now was my reason.
There was no point giving into Jason until I knew exactly who he was.
I straightened up and faced Max. “Are you lying to me?” I asked directly.
He tilted his head up slowly, his eyes hooded as little trails of blood fell down the side of his face from the cut along his brow. “No, Beth, I’m not lying to you. You must find those books. I can wait.”
“Like hell you can wait,” I snapped.
I had absolutely no idea how to remove the chains around Max’s wrists and ankles, but I knew I could try.
I marched toward him. Jason took a tight step in front of me. He reached a handout, obviously to grab my arm.
I stared at him with all the defiance I could muster. Hell, it felt as if fire suddenly erupted in my eyes.
I might only be a finder witch for now, but if Jason was right, and I could potentially find a way to practice all other magic, then maybe I really was a force to be reckoned with.
Or maybe Jason cared more about me losing affection for him. Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter. Begrudgingly, he stepped the side.
I rushed over to Max, getting behind him and falling down to one knee. Before I could draw up a hand and place it on the chains, he shifted hard to the side.
“You’re running out of time, Beth—”
“Then help me get these things off you. What exactly am I meant to do? Should I touch them?”
“No, you absolutely shouldn’t touch them. You need magic.”
“Remove the chains.” I looked at Jason. Then my shoulders deflated at the hard look in his eyes. “Please.”
“… Jason has to save his magic,” Max explained. “I told you – just leave me here.”
“I’m not leaving you here. We have no idea how many members of the Cruze Gang are left.”
“Beth, please listen to me – those books are extremely important. They could save many people’s lives – or condemn them. You don’t have the magic—” Max explained.
I did it. Screw the consequences – I latched my hands onto the writhing chains.
And it was a mistake.
I screamed as pain erupted through me, spreading over my fingers and palms as the scent of burnt flesh filled the air.
“Beth!” Max screamed as he tried to jerk forward. But the chair wouldn’t let him. It was anchored into the ground.
Jason skidded toward me, the sound of his rubber-soled shoes filling the small room.
I could have jerked back, brought my hands off the chains, and given into the pain, but I didn’t. I kept my hands wrapped around the chains as I tried valiantly to pull them apart.
It was stupid, idiotic suicide. I didn’t have any real magic, but you couldn’t tell my heart that right now. I wanted to free Max. And I knew it was important.
Jason wrapped an arm around my middle and tried to haul me back, but I wouldn’t let go of the chains, and somehow I had the grip – despite my pain – to hold onto them.
“Beth – let go. Let go!” Jason bellowed.
I w
ouldn’t let go.
“Fine,” Jackson spat.
I felt him align a hand over mine, and the next thing I knew, magic blasted between my fingers, sinking into the chains.
Whatever the chains were made from, they simply melted away. They didn’t become molten hot, thankfully – as that would eat away what remained of my fingers. They simply disappeared in little sparks as they sank down to the floor.
As soon as they were gone, Jason had the strength to haul me back.
I’d done a lot of stupid thing since finding out I was a witch, but this took the cake. I was completely overcome by pain. It was ringing through my body, blasting up into my arms, and slicing into my cheeks. It felt as if I’d tried to take a bite out of an electrical cable.
“Dammit, Beth,” Max spat. He jolted forward in his seat, trying to turn around to face me, but he still couldn’t get free – as his ankles were chained.
“We have to get out of here,” Jason demanded as he wrapped his arms underneath me and hauled me to my feet.
My eyes blasted wide as I stared at him. “But Max is still trapped—”
“I have to save my magic. We’re going—” Jason spat.
“But I just—”
“You just needlessly injured yourself. We must go,” Jason demanded as he turned and strode toward the door.
“Stop,” Max said. Ever since this conversation had begun, his voice had been weak around his brother. Now? It rang out with the same authority of the Max of old – precisely the same man who could stop a criminal in his place with nothing more than a hand on the man’s shoulder.
It worked on Jason. His shoes skidded against the polished concrete floor. Slowly, he turned. Looking up at him, I could see his expression perfectly, and I noted just how tensed his cheeks and jaw were. That was nothing compared to the tension around his eyes. It looked as if he was trying to squeeze them from his very skull. “What?” He could barely push the word out of his clenched jaw.
“Your opportunities have changed,” Max said flatly.
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