Wolf Unleashed (Hybrid Prophecies Book 1)
Page 18
“Raven. I want him to pay. Can we do this or not?” Zara said to Raven.
“We can. Are you sure about this?”
“Yes.” Atara and Zara said together.
Everyone looked to Atara. “I want him to pay for this. Pay for everything he’s done.”
“Me too. I want him to know why he should fear us.”
“Let me bring the Coven here.”
Raven did not hesitate any further. She rounded them up and Atara had never felt that level of power in one place. The Coven alone was a power beacon. Then add Zara, whose power and magic felt stronger than ever before into the mix. Atara could feel her own within the group as well as Tobias’. She felt Sophia’s, Xander’s and Lucus’ begin to emerge. It was almost as though each and everyone’s power was drawing from everyone while they all stood there. “If Cyrus did not know we were all together before, he does now. I think he’s losing it.” Atara said it to lighten the mood. It worked. There were a lot of soft chuckles and smiles.
Raven introduced everyone individually before she could start the spell. Sebastian was as tall as Tobias, but much leaner. He had a more athletic build compared to him. His chestnut brown hair reached his shoulders. His green eyes were bright and kind. His features were similar to Sophia’s. Dark, tan skin, high cheekbones, and a bright smile. He was Raven’s right-hand man and his specialty was persuasion and reality manipulation.
Asher was introduced next. He was an inch shorter than Sebastian, his skin lighter. He had spiked black hair with blue highlights. His eyes were dark blue and almond shaped. His specialty was conjuring.
His sister Violet, shorter than him was next. Her black hair had blue and purple highlights and she had pale blue eyes. Her features were remarkably like his, making it easy to tell that they were related. Her specialty was glamour.
Next up was Phoenix, or Nix as he liked to be called. He was almost as tall as Asher. His reddish blond hair was close to his ears, his eyes were reddish brown and set in a round face. He looked dangerous. When Atara learned his specialty was phasing and teleportation, she figured his bad boy look fit his skill set.
Naomi shook everyone’s hand and had a strong grip. Her features were dark, and she had wider eyes. Her hair was dark blue but looked black in the dark. Her eyes were dark blue as well which she knew had to have come from her witch descent. She was just as tall as Violet but looked twice as deadly. Raven explained that her specialty was height manipulation and that is why Atara picked up on the deadly vibe.
Lotus was introduced next. She was a very shy girl and could not meet anyone’s gaze. Her hair was blond to the point it looked white. Her eyes were a shade of purple that made her look freaky. She was around Atara and Zara’s height and very curvy. Raven said her specialty was necromancy and Atara understood why her personality was meek. She had to be afraid of her power. Most necromancers throughout history were because it was a power that was hard to control.
Camryn, or Cam, was happy to shake everyone’s hands and appeared a little perky. Her hair was a vibrant red and it was styled in a pixie style, and her eyes would shift colors as she met a new person. She had freckles across her face, and it made her alluring. Her specialty was density manipulation. Atara could not wait to see that in battle.
Hunter was what humans called a beach boy. Tanned skin, sun kissed blond hair, green eyes set in an oval face. He had a brilliant white smile. He even had the beach body. He was tall like Tobias and had full sleeve tattoos up both of his arms. His ability was to see into the future. His twin brother, Jaxxon, could see into the past. Making these two very handy. Where Hunter had green eyes, he had blue. His chest was tattooed as well as the back of his hands. Hmm. Badass twins. Like me and Zara.
Roxanna was next. She had a calm demeanor and her stance was straight as an arrow. Her auburn hair fell to her shoulders and her emerald green eyes continuously scanned every person. She was curvy like Lotus but of average height. Raven said her specialty was power nullification and that is why she did not shake anyone’s hands.
Lillian was the “green thumb” of the Coven. Her ability as the green thumb allowed her to grow anything at will. Her mother was a witch and her father were an earth elemental; this pairing resulted in Lillian’s green thumb. She was as tall as Violet with chestnut brown hair and brown eyes. Her face was round, and her bangs fell over her eyes.
Last, but certainly not least, was Enya. She strawberry blond hair and gold eyes. It was almost as if she was a wolf. She had a triangular face and her hair was short. Making her face look twice as beautiful. She was shorter than Lillian and Cam and Atara noticed a tattoo on her ankle. She could not tell if it was a mate tattoo or not. Her specialty was controlling the weather.
Raven wasted no time after the introductions and had Atara and Zara join the circle. Raven began the incantation, and everyone was to repeat it. One by one they had to enter with repeating the incantation in a counterclockwise motion while holding their hands with their palms facing upward.
I call on the ancient power
Make this man live in cower
Go into the depths of his mind
Claim his memories in a bind
He will relive each victim’s fate
Through their eyes of the fateful date
Until he feels the rightful remorse
Allow this spell to run this course
Atara watched as each person’s magic came out of their hands and pooled into the middle of the circle. Raven’s navy blue, Zara’s pearlish white that now had a mixture of Tobias’s within it as well as her wolf’s blue, Atara’s black, Sebastian’s bright green, Asher’s pale blue, Violet’s pale purple, Nix’s red, Naomi’s sky blue, Lotus’s gray, Roxy’s emerald green, Cam’s yellow, Hunter’s vibrant green, Jaxxon’s pale yellow, Lillian’s forest green and Enya’s orange made a rainbow of magic as it all mixed in the middle. Atara could feel the connection to each of the Coven members and understood why they were recruited to be a part of this Coven. They are all powerhouses. She watched as the smokey gray colored magic swirled in the middle then shot straight up in the air. Atara looked up and saw the spell curve and headed into the direction that she knew the castle was.
I hope your heart stops from fright as you relive each of your murders, Cyrus.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cyrus:
Cyrus was pacing on the terrace outside of his bedroom. There have been surges of power coming from the Midwest territory and he knew that Atara had found her sister. He realized that the prophecy was beginning to tip in the twins’ favor more each day and he started to fear the battle that would take place at the full moon. Cyrus was disgusted with his predicament. Until that barrier spell dissipates, I cannot do anything. He snarled to himself. He stared off into the distance pondering his strategy. He thought about who else he could summon to take care of the twins or how to lure them out of their territory.
Over the horizon he saw a smokey gray mass emerge. It was a shapeless cloud that was rolling over the landscape and it was barreling towards him. It seemed to gain speed and moved faster and faster. The winds howled as the cloud narrowed into a coursing river of blackness aimed directly at his face. He ducked behind the rail of the terrace gripping it with white knuckles. It crashed over him like a wave with a deafening roar. He shut his eyes tight to protect himself. Is this the Sorcerer’s doing?
He opened his eyes as the sound dissipated. He was no longer on the terrace; Cyrus found himself in the throne room. Cyrus was standing in front of the throne and the room was packed with members of his court. But it was not his court. He scanned the room and saw familiar faces from the Kingdom Pack’s past. Some of these faces belonged to people who were killed during his last purge, and more were from the purges before that one. The room was also decorated differently. He had not seen the room decorated like this since the days of King Krimm.
The doors to the throne room flung open. The crash of the doors hitting the walls turned everyone’s head tow
ards the door. Standing there in the door frame was a frenzied yet familiar face. Cyrus was staring at a younger version of himself. Young Cyrus walked into the room, demanding attention, then issued a challenge. Cyrus laughed in his head. Who is this nobody? Why do we even let this weasel live among us? Why am I thinking these thoughts? I will tear this scoundrel apart!
The voices in his head conflicted, argued, and overlapped. He heard his own voice, he heard the voice of the late King Krimm, and he heard the voice of Krimm’s wolf. Accompanying the clash of voices in his head was the threatening shouts of the young Cyrus. He stepped off the throne and toward the young challenger. This body was not his own, and half of these thoughts and feelings were not his either. He locked eyes with himself and he heard the wolf growling with glee. The late King was ready to assert his dominance and his wolf just as elated to make it happen. He shifted into his wolf and he saw his young-self shift into a fighting stance. He lunged and missed. Cyrus desperately tried to get control of this strange body to try and avoid what he knew was inevitable. Maybe I can run? Cyrus felt his own fist slam against his face and the body of the King reeling back from the impact. He felt the sudden wave of fear and disbelief of Krimm, as this submissive kept landing blows against the King. Young Cyrus’s hands wrapped around the King’s neck. Please no! Not like this! Cyrus was unsure if these were his thoughts or Krimm’s. How will my people live under this coward? The hands got tighter and began to squeeze the life out of the King. He felt regret and fear. As he choked and gasped for breath, helpless and unable to move any part of his body, he saw a familiar face in the crowd. He saw the face of the Sorcerer looking right into his eyes and smiling. The Sorcerer winked. Is he looking at Krimm or ME?!
Blackness. The young Cyrus squeezed the life out of the King and Cyrus was alone in the blackness. He strained his mind to move even so much as a finger, but there was nothing. All he could do was think and fear. A light descended and consumed his entire field of vision. It was like an explosion directly in front of his eyes. As the light dimmed his vision returned and he was able to see his surroundings. He was still ducked on the terrace gripping the rail with white knuckles.
Cyrus was hyperventilating as he still felt his own hands wrapped around his throat, felt the pressure as his younger self was taking King Krimm’s life. He had even begun choking as he relived what he had done to the late King. Did I have a flashback of the King I killed to take his place? Cyrus began to shake.
Am I losing my mind? Is the spell I once agreed to for power beginning to become a curse?
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Zara
After being abducted, Zara was done playing games. All she could think about was bringing Cyrus to his knees and executing him. Cyrus needed to pay for the crimes against his people. He used fear to make sheep of wolves. This will come to an end. Zara thought about what she needed to do. What they all needed to do. First, she needed to see if Atara was ready.
Zara asked Raven to round up the best sword and hand-to-hand fighters within the coven. She wanted a training session that would gauge just how prepared they were for this battle. Tobias and Xander had pulled her aside after her, Atara and the Coven had cast the spell against Cyrus. Tobias mentioned that they have no idea what kind of army Cyrus truly had, and Atara did not know because he knew not to trust her. “I got an idea.”
It was the crack of dawn. Zara watched the sun peak in the trees and the sky turning from navy blue to light blue and pink. Tobias and Atara were standing next to her; they were waiting for Raven to arrive. “Does this really need to happen at the crack of dawn?” Atara said while yawning. “Be prepared for everything. You never know when an enemy will strike.” Zara saw navy blue magic forming a box out of the corner of her eye. “Look at that. Auntie Raven finally stopped scaring the crap out of us.” Tobias let out a “ha.” Atara appeared bored. Raven brought along Sebastian, Nix, Roxy, and Enya. Reality manipulation, teleportation, power nullification and weather control. Nicely done, Raven.
“Oh God, the devilish grin is back.” Atara groaned.
“Do I want to know what you’re thinking about, Zara?”
“Nope. Let’s start.”
Zara’s objective was simple. Fight like your life depended on it. Today’s training session and every session until the full moon was going to be this way. Everyone at full power. Only rest if their magic needed to be replenished.
And I got exactly what I wanted.
Everyone was equipped with swords. Magic was at full capability. Zara had chosen herself and Atara as captains and they picked teams. Zara chose Tobias, Sebastian, and Enya. Atara chose Raven, Nix and Roxy. They were on either side of the clearing in the woods. Bex tied his long, chestnut brown hair back. Nix stretched, checking out Atara as he did. Tobias bumped Zara and gave a slight head nod his way. Zara smiled and figured that Nix would regret it if he were not careful. Roxy and Enya looked like warriors when they ignited their magic and their auras flared around them. Roxy’s emerald green was vibrant and bold. Zara could feel that she was a confident fighter from across the field, and she knew how to wield her magic. Enya’s was orange and her aura was like electric static all around her.
Bex’s aura pulsed bright green and Tobias cocked an eyebrow at him. Zara had a feeling that Tobias did not like that he could manipulate reality too much. Nix’s red aura was almost transparent. Zara deduced that it may be due to his ability to teleport and phase. Zara, Tobias, Atara and Raven followed suit and called their magic. This much power in one spot, even though it was half of what was together last night, was still thick. Those with less power than everyone present would not have been able to stand near them.
One team was supposed to just cast the first spell or charge into the opposite team to start the exercise. No one moved, getting a feel for everyone. Finally, Zara charged to start the exercise. Everyone joined in. At first, they all met in the middle and clashed their swords together. Zara was impressed with everyone’s ability with a sword. Raven especially, since Zara never took her aunt to be someone who would be fluid with a weapon.
The men were pushing harder against one another. Zara could feel a few cuts that Tobias endured and was thankful that he could pull her healing ability to heal himself. The fight was going on for a few minutes and Zara could only hear clashing metal. Zara felt a gash across her own torso and looked to Tobias. Nix had gotten too enthusiastic. Zara growled and it almost sounded like a roar. Tobias’s magic flared and a root came up from the ground, wrapped around Nix, and threw him backward. He nearly missed a tree as Raven caught him with a spell so that his landing would not be fatal. Everyone froze. Raven looked to Zara, “do we continue?” Zara nodded and took a few deep breaths. Tobias pulled on their mate bond and healed himself. Tobias walked over to her and kissed her on her forehead. “I’m fine, my Luna. More magic, less swords.” Everyone agreed.
They started again, using their magic this time. Roxy threw a ball of her magic at Zara and she knew it had her specialty in it. Take out the strongest player in the room first. Zara threw up a shield and the spell exploded against it. Tobias opened the ground under her feet, and she tripped. Nix teleported in front of Zara and Enya zapped him with a lightning bolt, only powerful enough to shock him. Zara knocked him back with her magical energy. He landed on his ass. Atara called her magic into creating the tornado of her energy again and it was coming straight for Zara. Raven teleported across the field and clashed her sword against Bex’s, who put his up in the nick of time. Bex’s green magic flared and she noticed Raven stop in her tracks, looking confused. I wonder what Bex is making her see, Zara thought as she made her own magic burst into the tornado to deplete it.
Zara threw her magic around until she started to feel tired. She watched as the colors of everyone’s magic flew around the field. Roxy’s magic ended up connecting with Enya, causing her magic to disappear and Raven said she would step out. Bex caused Nix to throw up with his reality manipulation so Zara told him to sit it out. Tobias had Raven
tangled in vines and she was out. Zara put Roxy in the same magical box that she had put Tobias in, taking him out. Tobias knocked out Bex in a hand to hand fight and he dragged him off to the side. Zara and Atara were left on the field.
“Ready for this, sis?” Atara asked, hopping on the balls of her feet.
“I was born ready.”
Atara’s obsidian magic was flaring all around her and Zara could not help but be proud. She has come a long way with her magic in a few short weeks. She still blew things up from time to time, but her control over her magical energy almost matched Zara’s. She looked strong, confident, and powerful. Atara mentioned after the wedding that Zara had looked more powerful than ever and she was proud to call Zara her sister. Atara had no idea how proud Zara was of her. She hoped that this upcoming battle would not affect Atara in the way she feared. They were plotting to kill her “father” after all.
Zara and Atara went toe to toe in their magic. Atara had learned to block attacks and spells, but she did not know how to use it as a steppingstone. Zara threw her magic to create literal steps and she ran up them to get higher. Atara threw her energy at her to knock Zara off as she ran on the magical steps. Zara was above Atara and jumped down toward her, calling lightning down with her. Atara jumped out of the way in time and Zara landed on the ground. Atara threw an energy wall forward and it collided with Zara as she stood up. Atara threw another one, but Zara had roots come up and grab Atara’s hands. Atara’s magic flared out, shattering the root so she could get free.
Zara and Atara were panting and staring at one another. Raven whistled and said that was enough for today. Everyone was catching their breath or laying on the ground, resting. “Good thinking, Zara. We have not used our magic like this in some time. It was an incredible idea.”