Reaching Retribution (The Prophesized Series)

by Kaitlyn Hoyt

  I have absolutely no idea. I open my mouth to tell him that when my chest tightens. An invisible hand has reached into my chest and squeezed my lungs free of any air. Coughing once, I fall to the ground gasping for breath. Nothing comes to me. Through the indiscernible noise in my ears, I hear whispers about Natasha. I already know this is her doing.

  Leaning my arms on the ground, I grunt as my chest tightens further. Hearing Ryanne growl, I look up and through the clouded spots in my vision, I see her whip around and thrust her arm toward Natasha. Her concentration on me is broken when Ryanne sends her flying across the hall. Air suddenly floods back into my lungs and I breathe in, coughing as the organs try to start working again.

  When Natasha lands in a heap on the floor, Ryanne turns around and faces Dravin, who also flies to the opposite wall and is pinned there by her magic. He struggles to get free, but is unable to. Ryanne’s magic surrounds us as she creates a shield separating them from us. Logan puts a hand out and heals me as he helps me stand. When he finishes, I walk to the edge of the shield and push on it, trying to get her to drop the shield. We could fight if she would let us.

  “I told you I would go with you if you left them alone,” she says through clenched teeth.

  “I did leave them alone, dear. Your little friend over there is the one that attacked them.”

  “You must not be a very good leader then if they don’t listen to you.” Dravin growls and struggles to break away from the wall again, but it’s useless. Ryanne has grown stronger with all the magic training she’s been doing with Colin recently.

  What is she doing and why is she doing it? There must be something we can do, but Tom shakes his head. Ryanne’s much stronger than us, and there’s nothing we can do against her magic. I push away from the shield and start pacing. Emma runs up to me and tells me, “Ryanne must have a plan, Colton.”

  “No, Ryanne’s like freaking Jack Sparrow,” I mumble as I walk around Emma and start pacing again. She won’t understand that, but those were Ryanne’s exact words. She just makes it up as she goes.

  Turning around, I watch as she walks over to Natasha. Helping her stand, she pulls her forward and whispers something in her ear, too quietly for anyone else to hear. Natasha’s eyes widen, but she doesn’t say anything. Ryanne drops her magic from Dravin. His face contorts into an expression I easily recognize as he pushes off the wall and runs over to Ryanne. He forcefully slaps his hand across her face. The force of the impact echoes through the hall that even Natasha gasps at the noise. Liam, David, and Tom all rush over to me. It takes the three of them to hold me back.

  Ryanne’s head whips to the side, but she doesn’t cry out. Slowly, she turns back to Dravin and flips her hair back. A large red welt in the shape of a hand is forming on her cheek. I start struggling again when I see the redness.

  “I said I would go with you. There’s no need to be violent,” she tells him politely. Dravin laughs and turns her around, handcuffing her hands behind her.

  “I hope you know those handcuffs really aren’t stopping anything. If I wanted to fight you, you’d know,” she tells him.

  “Oh, I know dear,” he whispers loudly in her ear. Ryanne flinches away from his touch. Dravin laughs again and pushes Ryanne toward the stairs.

  “Take me with her!” Liam yells as he steps away from me.

  “Liam, what are you doing?” Natalie asks him. He walks over to her and pulls her against him, kissing her gently. It looks like more of a goodbye kiss than an I’ll be back kiss. Natalie must have felt the same way because tears start streaming down her face when he pulls away.

  “I love you,” he whispers to her. A surprised look crosses her face, before she says it back to him. Liam turns back around and faces Dravin again. “Take me with her,” he repeats.

  All of the Gadramicks stare at Liam in bewilderment because he voluntarily wants to go to Dravin’s compound. Ryanne starts shaking her head as she looks at him. Liam nods slightly at her. He’ll die if he doesn’t go with her. “Do it, Dravin,” Valdus tells him. Valdus is the only one who can convince Dravin to let him go. He’s the only one who understands what Liam is going through.

  Dravin nods, but turns toward Valdus. “If they escape, it’s your life.” Valdus glances at Liam again and with hesitance in his eyes, he nods.

  “I understand.”

  Liam looks at Ryanne who is now crying. “Drop the shield, Ryanne.” She bites her lips and shakes her head again.

  “They’ll kill you,” she whispers to him.

  “Then I’ll die either way,” he tells her. Natalie gasps behind me. Emma goes over to her and tries to comfort her, but it’s no use. I understand what Natalie is feeling right now and no amount of comfort will help.

  Ryanne turns and looks at everyone, her eyes lingering on Incendia. “Don’t try anything. Please,” she pleads with us then drops the shield. If she’s pleading with us, she knows more than she’s letting on. David and Tom tighten their grip on me, but I don’t try anything. I promised her that I would try to trust her. Ryanne looks at me again. She mouths, “I love you” to me, and a second later, she spins around and kicks the man holding her in the chest. When he falls backward, a thin lightning bolt materializes out of nowhere and strikes behind Ryanne, separating the metal links of the handcuffs. With her hands free, she moves toward him.

  Dravin looks momentarily surprised, but quickly masks that emotion. Ryanne stops in front of him and gets in his face. Poking him in the chest, she says, “If you hurt him, I swear I will kill you.”

  “I don’t think you have it in you to kill, little mage,” he taunts. “Would you be able to watch the life drain from someone’s eyes? Watch as they take their last breath, and know you are responsible for their pain? No, you’re too pure of heart to end someone’s life.”

  Ryanne takes a step forward until she’s literally standing against Dravin. Looking up at him, she says through clenched teeth. “I wouldn’t tempt me, Dravin. I like to prove people wrong.”

  Dravin stares down at her for a couple of seconds before pointing toward one of his men. The man standing in the back nods and walks toward Liam, who willingly turns around and lets the man cuff him. Another man on the left side of the room slowly starts moving toward Ryanne. I open my mouth to warn her when she spins around. “I wouldn’t try that if I were you.”

  The man holding the vile of dormirako stops moving toward her. She must have read his mind. Dravin grabs Ryanne’s hands while she has his back to him and cuffs her again. Ryanne hisses as he tightens the cuffs too tight, but she doesn’t complain. Dravin pushes her toward the stairs as the man moves Liam.

  Dravin turns around and looks at Incendia. Winking at her, he disappears down the stairs. Incendia glares at him and attempts to move toward the stairs, but Bragden grabs her around the waist and pulls her against his chest. She fights against him, but Bragden is a lot stronger than her.

  “You can’t go after him. Not yet,” he tells her.

  “He knew who I was,” she says as she turns around and looks up at Bragden. He still has a hold of her. “He killed the only family I ever knew. I need to go after him. I can’t let him get away again,” she pleads with him.

  “If you go after them, either Ryanne or Liam will get killed. Is that what you want?” he tells her. She sighs and leans her head against his chest, dejected. Incendia is a little under a foot shorter than Bragden. I imagine that’s what Ryanne and I look like together.

  A loud boom echoes from downstairs, shaking the entire house. I reach out and steady myself on the wall. “Stay here,” Tom tells us as he and Colin walk down the stairs. We all turn and look at each other, confused as to what just happened.

  Last night was amazing. I sat with Ryanne outside and under the stars, and we talked about our future for the whole night until we both eventually fell asleep. This morning, she’s gone.

  Tom returns, shaking his head. “They’re gone.”

  “Just like that?” David asks. Larkin and
Kyril both cuss. We all turn and look at them. “What?”

  “While we worked for Dravin, there were these rumors swirling around that Dravin had found a mage named Zahtri. A mage stronger than all other mages. If they have him, it’s not Dravin we have to worry about,” Larkin says. “He’d be able to transport large groups like that quickly.”

  “Why haven’t you mentioned this before?” I ask.

  “It was just a rumor,” Kyril answers.

  Colin walks back into the hallway. “Well I’d say that we’ve got some planning to do.”

  Bragden reaches up and pulls his necklace off. Natalie and Emma gasp. Incendia tears her eyes from Colin and turns toward Emma and Natalie. She follows their eyes up to Bragden’s hands. She instantly starts backing up from Bragden, who’s still holding her. Bragden tightens his arm around her waist and hands her the necklace.

  “I can’t take that Bragden,” she tells him.

  “I already took the necklace off, Incendia. If you don’t accept it…” Bragden trails off.

  “You big stupid man. I’m not worth protecting!” she hits him on the chest. Bragden pulls her against him. She gasps as she collides into him and looks up at him. Without hesitating, Bragden crushes his lips to hers. Incendia tries to fight him, but when Bragden’s hands moves into her hair, she stops and kisses him back.

  I draw my eyes away. Natalie walks over to me and wraps her arms around my waist. I place my arm around her shoulder and take comfort in her embrace. “We’ll get them back.” She looks up at me. “We have to.”

  Bragden pulls back and hands Incendia the pendant necklace again. “Now take the stupid necklace.” She glances down at the pendant and back up at Bragden—a dazed look still in her eyes. She doesn’t say anything, which causes Bragden to act himself. He moves her hair aside and clasps the necklace around her neck.

  Incendia pokes Bragden in the chest when he steps backward. “If I get killed and you die because of it, you have no one to blame but yourself!”

  “Duly noted,” he says with slight amusement.

  “So, what are we going to do now?” I ask. Natalie removes her head from my shoulder and turns to look at Tom and Colin. Both Natalie and I just had to watch someone we love be carried away by Dravin.

  Tom looks toward me and shakes his head. “If we stand any chance of getting Ryanne or Liam back, we need more help. It’s time to start calling everyone. We’ll still need more people though.”

  “We have to go out and find more people while Dravin has Ryanne?” I say. Natalie clears her throat. “And Liam?”

  “They’re not going to try anything yet. Ryanne just proved that she’s stronger than he is. He’ll be a little weary around her. He needs to change his plan if he wants any chance of standing up to her. The only thing that worries me is this Zahtri mage,” Colin says.

  “You’re really willing to risk their lives? What if we get more people and this Zahtri has already killed them? Then everything we’re about to do will be for nothing,” Natalie says.

  “We have to stop Dravin and now apparently Zahtri. Ryanne’s not weak. She’s proven herself so many times. She may look small and fragile, but she’s not and you know that. She’s fully capable of defending herself, and you know Liam will do everything in his power to make sure she doesn’t get hurt. Ryanne knew what she was doing when she went with them. You have to trust her,” Tom tells us.

  I hate it when he’s right.

  Incendia turns toward me. “Colton, Ryanne’s a beast. She won’t take any crap from them anymore. We’ll be closer to getting her back if we rally more troops. Now, quit your pouting and man up.”

  I can already see that Incendia’s going to be trouble. Colin claps his hands. “Let’s do this then.”

  Chapter Twelve

  I slam into the wall as the Gadramick who was guiding me throws me into yet another cell. “Esh, you don’t have to be so forceful. I already said I would go willingly,” I mumble. Liam is thrown into the same cell, so they obviously aren’t worried about us escaping.

  When I hear the sound of the lock turning, I turn toward Liam. “You shouldn’t have volunteered to come, Liam. This isn’t the Hunger Games. We might not make it out of this,”

  “Both Peeta and Katniss made it out of the Hunger Games,” Liam retorts.

  “But we’re not book characters…or movie characters for that matter! I highly doubt you’ve read the books.”

  “I’d rather suffer here with you than from miles away knowing that there is nothing I can do. I knew what I was…well not in its entirety, but for the most part, I knew what I was doing when I gave you that pendant. What’s going on here, Ryanne? Why didn’t you bother fighting? You could have taken them all.”

  “Dravin’s not their leader. He doesn’t run the Gadramick’s. He’s taking orders from someone else,” I tell Liam as I sit down, back against the wall. I’d already undone our handcuffs. The metal is still on our wrists, but they aren’t connected anymore. “I had a vision. In the vision, I fought and everyone was killed. I watched everyone be killed by something…I didn’t see who or what it was, but I couldn’t risk it.”

  Liam sits down next to me and rests his head against the wall, “Dravin’s just a figurehead?”

  “Yep, he’s basically the queen of the Gadramicks.”

  “I resent that,” Dravin says as he storms into our cell. I remain seated and just stare up at him. “Just because you know our little secret doesn’t mean anything.”

  “It doesn’t?” I ask him.

  “No, because your little posse doesn’t know about him. How can they defend themselves against something they don’t know about?”

  “You said you’d leave them alone.”

  “I’ll leave them undisturbed for now, but you didn’t give a time span to follow. When the time is right, I will lead an attack. Your group has caused too much trouble for me lately. They need to be taught a lesson.”

  I stand up and glare at him. “I swear to you Dravin. If I find out that you attacked them, I won’t hesitate to fight back. I can see it in your eyes. You’re scared of me now. You know I’m more powerful than you, but you don’t want your men to see it. You still need them to follow you. What are they going to do when they find out it’s not even you they’re working for? Hmm? That you’ve been lying to them this whole time?”

  “Do you think they’ll honestly care that it’s not me in charge? Do you think they’ll change their minds? They’re still fighting for the same goals. Nothing has changed except for who is calling all the shots.”

  “I don’t know what’ll happen, but we can easily find out. Is that part of his plan?”

  You stubborn, annoying…I tune out his thoughts when the cursing starts. I smile at him because I know I’m right. An image of him punching me is projected in my mind. I drop to the ground right as he swings his fist out. Liam jumps in front of me before Dravin can attempt to attack again.

  “I wouldn’t try that again if I were you.” Dravin warns me, but stares at Liam for a couple of seconds, before turning around and quietly leaving the room. Liam bends down and helps me stand. “Do you always have to egg him on? Do you like getting slapped?”

  “No, I don’t have to, but where is the fun in that? And of course, I don’t like being slapped. It hurts and makes my face swell, but someone has to stand up to him. No one has ever gone against him. He’s a good leader, that’s why he was chosen for this, but he’s leading for the wrong reasons.”

  Liam leans back against the wall and crosses his arms. “You’re going to be a good leader, Ryanne.”

  “I don’t want to be a leader. I just want all of this to end,” I tell him as I walk over to him and rest my shoulder against the wall next to him.

  “Fate rarely calls upon us at the moment of our choosing,” Liam tells me as he angles himself toward me.

  “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” I mumble. “You know Colton quoted that to me when I first met him.”

  “We�
�ll get back to them, Ryanne. You’ll see Colton again,” Liam pulls me to him and wraps his arms around me.

  “And you’ll see Natalie again,” I promise him as I hug him back.

  Of course he has his hands on her.

  “Wow, you move on quickly,” Adam says as he walks into the cell. I step away from Liam and move toward him.

  “What do you want Adam?”

  “Dravin requests your presence, Ryanne. Alone.”

  “Why? He just stormed out of here angry at me.”

  “Just follow me,” Adam says as he turns around and heads toward the door. Liam grabs my arm to keep me from moving. “If you come willingly, we can avoid the cuffs. No one will hurt you if you behave.”

  “I’ll be okay,” I whisper to Liam. Liam looks between Adam and me, but releases his grip on me.

  “And no one will touch Liam?” I ask as I step toward Adam.

  “You’re boy toy will be safe,” Adam says with a sneer, while opening the door of the cell. As I pass through the doorway, I look over my shoulder at Liam and give him a small smile. I don’t know what’s going to happen right now, but hopefully Liam will remain as safe as he can get while inside this compound.

  “What does Dravin want with me?” I ask Adam. I try to make a mental note of where we’re heading, but all the hallways look exactly the same.

  “He just wants to talk.” An unfamiliar emotion moves through me. I turn and look up at Adam, trying to decipher what he is feeling. He’s facial expression is neutral. Keep your mind blank. Keep your mind blank. He’s chanting to himself.

  “What are you trying to hide Adam?” I stop in the middle of the hallway and cross my arms. I’m not going any further until I know what is really going on. Adam keeps walking, but stops when he realizes I’m not following.

  “I’m not trying to hide anything,” Adam says as he turns and faces me.

  “Liar. You keep chanting “keep your mind blank,” so forgive me for thinking that you’re hiding something.”

  “You’re forgiven. Now come on.” He turns around and continues walking down the hallway. I remain frozen in my spot. Adam stops midway down, hangs his head, and groans. He turns around and walks back to me. “Do you have to make everything so difficult?”