Entrapped (Cursed Magic Series

by Casey Odell

  “What about the town?” she asked, knowing that there was nothing she or the Syndicate could do for them.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Deliah echoed her inner thoughts. “We barely had any warning ourselves. There’s nothing we can do now.”

  “I thought you said that you would know.” The woman had been so sure of herself and her men just days before. What had gone wrong?

  “It seems those beasts have enlisted new members,” Deliah said, her displeasure clear.

  Claire immediately thought of the General and his vulture army. Were they becoming more proactive now that they knew what was at stake?

  “My scouts never returned,” Deliah added. “Nor the men I sent to search for them. Either they’re becoming more cunning or they have someone else working for their cause. I should have known…” She broke off, mumbling to herself, cursing under her breath.

  Claire turned to Deliah again, a new thought enraging her. “What about my mother?” She was missing and there hadn’t been enough horses in the fortress to suggest that she would soon follow. Were they just going to abandon the others at the fortress?

  Deliah looked down, silent.

  “You’re just going to leave her there?” Claire lunged at the other woman, her fists curling into Deliah’s shirt. “Turn around, now!”

  “I can’t!” Deliah shot back, her own face furious. “I won’t! Your safety is my only priority. I will not risk you or Lin for the life of one. There is much more at stake here.”

  Claire clutched Deliah’s shirt tighter and brought her face close to the other woman’s, her fear of her forgotten in her anger. “Turn around now! I refuse to leave my mother behind!”

  Deliah laughed and slammed her knee into Claire’s stomach. Claire doubled over, coughing, her hands clutching her abdomen.

  “You will do as I say,” Deliah said in a calm but commanding voice. She towered intimidatingly over Claire in the confined space. She shoved Claire down onto the seat and wrenched her arm behind her, twisting it around and pulling it up, sending shocks of pain through her body.

  Claire screamed, in agony and desperation, frustrated that she was still so powerless.

  “You are just a helpless little girl without your knives and magic. What do you hope to do against those beasts, let alone me?” Deliah’s other hand wove into Claire’s hair and she shoved her face into the leather upholstery. Soft sobs came from Lin in the darkness.

  Something crashed into the carriage then, jerking it off its wheels and sent it tumbling onto its side. Claire, Deliah, and Lin landed in a heap on the wall, now the floor, splinters of wood raining down around them. Under the weight of the other two, Claire couldn’t move or breathe. Her head spun.

  Shouts of the other men rang out around them along with the panicked screams of the horses. The sound of metal clashing soon followed. Someone, or something, had attacked them. Claire didn’t want to know what was powerful enough to derail their whole carriage. She hoped against all hope that it wasn’t another Beast of Old. None of them would survive the night if it was.

  Deliah climbed off of Claire and pushed the door now at the top open with some effort. The wood creaked and crumbled away, shards of glass raining down onto Claire. “Come, Lin,” she said in an impressively composed voice. To Claire’s amazement, the boy did so, unquestioningly, gathering himself up a little.

  Claire tried to do the same and draw off Deliah’s calmness. She’d survived against worse odds. There was no need to panic now. It would do her no good. She did as Lin had and got to her knees. She listened closely to what was happening outside. She felt more than heard the thuds of something massive moving toward them. The ground vibrated with each step taken, more wood and glass shards fell, she could feel it in her chest. Her heart pounded in time with the reverberations. They needed to get out of here, and fast.

  “Go!” Claire shouted, and Deliah lifted Lin up before pulling herself out of the hole.

  Deliah froze when she saw what approached, and Claire could see the shock on her face in the low light. Orange from a distant flame flashed across her face. An ear-splitting roar, almost a scream, filled the air and shook the carriage once again. Claire winced and covered her ears. She could only guess that it belonged to whatever had finally scared Deliah.

  “Give me your hand, quick!” Deliah reached back down and without hesitation Claire obeyed.

  She did not wish to be trapped with something so menacing approaching. With one strong tug, Claire was up and out and already climbing down the side when she finally glimpsed what had attacked them. A dark shadow almost twice the size of the carriage loomed up before her, lined in firelight. It stood on two legs, almost humanoid in a grotesque way, but lumpy and muscular in places humans weren’t. Its head was round, almost melding into its hunched shoulders, and its arms hung nearly to the ground. It lifted one of those thick arms and swung a tree trunk it used as a club at the men attacking it. The ground shook again as the club dug into the earth, followed by the death cry of one of the men.

  As quick as she could, Claire dropped to the ground on the far side of the carriage, joining Deliah and Lin in a crouch. The unmistakable shout of a centaur froze her in place momentarily. Claire shook it off and crept to the edge of the roof to peek around it.

  She almost wished she hadn’t. Chaos surrounded them. Fire and blood filled her vision. Screams and shouts of the men and centaurs echoed in her ears. They had been ambushed. Had they been waiting for them?

  A fine tremble spread through her body as she watched as the men, one by one, were taken down by the beasts. It was a slaughter, not a fight. They needed to do something. Claire searched frantically and finally laid eyes on her only hope. Bertrand lay still on the ground a few paces away, but too close to danger for Claire’s comfort. He had the pendant around his neck still. If she could only get to it…

  She could feel her magic respond to her, flaring up, but dying again just as quickly. The silver bangles along her arm grew uncomfortably hot. That’s right— she’d forgotten about that. She spun toward Deliah, who, to her relief, was comforting and protecting Lin. She held the boy close. No matter what the woman said, she cared for the boy. Claire could see the concern in the woman’s eyes. She didn’t want to lose him any more than Marion wanted to lose Claire. Claire felt sympathy for the woman for the first time. She was as human as the rest of them, and even she wasn’t immune to love.

  Claire found a new resolve. She would try her best to protect them, so neither Deliah nor Lin had to feel the pain her or Marion had felt in the past. Claire shoved her right sleeve up and edged closer to Deliah. “Can you undo this?”

  Deliah looked at her for a second, confused at first, then suspicious, but she finally relented, defeat in the sag of her shoulders. She set Lin aside and dug a long chain out from her blouse. Two small keys dangled on the end. The Syndicate liked to keep important things close, very close— which, given the current situation, was a boon for them. With hurried and slightly shaky hands, Deliah undid the silver bands that contained Claire’s magic. With each shackle removed, Claire could feel her power grow. Blue began to glow around the mark already. She wouldn’t be able to do too much without her pendant, but she could buy them time. Deliah let the chains and bands fall to the ground.

  “Go!” Claire told them. The mark burst to life then, the lines convulsing and the glow growing brighter. She gasped as the burn started along the scar. It felt like so long since her magic had been repressed that the sudden onslaught was almost too much for her to handle. She took a couple of deep breaths, struggling to keep it under control. “Run, now!” she shouted, shoving Deliah away.

  Without any more hesitation, Deliah grabbed the boy and disappeared into the darkness.

  Claire whirled, closed her eyes for a brief moment as she gathered courage, and searched for the first string of her magic. She found it quickly thanks to her training and stepped out from behind the carriage. She raised both her hands above her head and chan
neled all her fear and anger into the attack, then fell to her knees and slammed her fists down to the ground. The earth shook violently, splitting under a centaur, swallowing it up, and sent the others teetering and falling to their knees. The ground shook again as the giant brute fell to the ground.

  Loud howls split the air as the centaurs spotted her. Claire’s heart jumped in her chest. No, she wouldn’t let the fear control her. She would stand up to these beasts, face her nightmare. No longer would she run from them. They had taken everything away from her, and from countless others. The Council may not be able to stop them, but she would.

  Two centaurs got to their feet before the others and charged at her, their swords drawn high. Claire ran for Bertrand. He lay still, covered in a dark liquid, but when she knelt next to him and ripped his shirt open, he grabbed her wrists, a frightening look in his eyes. She wasn’t sure that he saw her, though. She grabbed for her pendant, but he wouldn’t release her. He was lost to shock.

  The centaurs were almost on her now. The tremors of their hooves beating the earth beneath them raced up through her knees into her spine. Their vile stench reached her nostrils. It was too late.

  Claire jerked back, finally wrenching free of Bertrand, and stumbled to her feet. Quickly, she formed two blue orbs of magic and threw them at the beasts. They hit, but only stunned them momentarily. Another ear-splitting roar rumbled as the great beast rose to its feet again. The sting in her arm grew to an unbearable burning. But she couldn’t stop now.

  She raised her hand above her head again and flames started to trail to her palm. She hadn’t done it since the night in the cave. She didn’t even know how she knew how to do it, but she let her instincts take over, her magic take control just a little. She was on the edge already. If she lost herself to it completely, she could probably defeat all of them, but go mad in the process.

  The flames grew in her hand, the heat searing, but it was taking too long. The centaurs were almost to Bertrand. It wasn’t powerful enough, but she needed to release it. She launched the attack at the centaurs and the flames engulfed them, but it was too late. The one on the left hurled a spear at her. Time seemed to slow around her. The metal tip of the spear was inches away from her face when something slammed into her, tackling her to the ground, knocking the breath completely out of her.

  She didn’t have time to wonder who had just saved her. The pain took hold of her then, spreading out from the mark, engulfing her in its own fire. A scream tore from her throat and she writhed on the ground.

  “Claire!” She heard a distant voice shout, but she was too far consumed to recognize it. Hands grabbed her and tried to drag her away, but they only sent more searing pain through her where they touched.

  “Stop!” she managed to shriek. “Don’t touch me!”

  The hands dropped her immediately. Chaos erupted around her again as fresh sounds of battle surrounded her. The crack of lightning blasted overhead, sending a buzz through the air. The ground shook violently again. That could only mean one thing…

  The magic bubbled up inside her again in a last attempt to try and take control, and she screamed again, seeing stars. A hand clamped down around the base of her neck, pushing her down against the ground and relief hit her instantly. Blackness swallowed her up, and she gladly welcomed it. Anything to end this nightmare.

  Claire clawed her way up from the darkness and woke with a start, her eyes going wide. She took a shaky breath, her body tense, until she took in her surroundings. A familiar ceiling greeted her for once, though it wasn’t exactly a welcomed one. The floor was hard beneath her, even through the cushion she’d thought she’d grown used to over the past several weeks. A fire crackled serenely in the hearth like it always did. Perhaps it was all a dream after all… But how many times had that proven to be wrong?

  She looked over to find the silver-haired elf from her dream sitting cross-legged next to her, only this time he wore a brooding expression.

  “Fare, are you really here?” Claire reached up to touch him.

  He remained motionless, ice-blue eyes glaring.

  Claire sighed and let her hand drop back down. It was him. “You were much nicer in my dream,” she mumbled.

  She saw his eyebrow twitch. “You dreamed of me?”

  Claire closed her eyes again. The familiarity of his voice soothed her in a way she’d never thought it would. Relief flooded her. He was safe. And if he was safe, that meant her mother was as well. Or at least she hoped. They were together the last time she’d seen them.

  “That’s not the kind of greeting I expected, I must say,” she said, though she hadn’t ruled it out entirely. He highly disapproved of her reckless side, and that was just what she had been.

  He made a noise close to a laugh. “Is it alright to touch you now?”

  Claire cracked her eyes open again. So that had been him in the forest. He’d come in the nick of time once again. She would be eternally grateful to him, that was for certain. She felt the weight of her pendant on her chest and then quietly nodded.

  Before she knew it, she was in his lap, his arms around her so tight it was almost painful, but she reveled in the security. His mouth found hers, the kiss almost desperate, harsh and passionate at the same time. Claire wound an arm around his neck to pull him even closer. The kiss softened and neither of them pulled back until they were out of breath.

  “Don’t ever do any of that again,” he said, nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck.

  Claire closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. He was solid and real and just what she needed. How he had managed to find her was a mystery to her. Razi had to be present as well since he was the only one who was able to suppress her mark again. He could sense her, but the elf’s resilience and persistence were something else altogether. He hadn’t been joking when he’d said he would find her wherever she went. He really wasn’t easy to get rid of. She was grateful for his stubbornness now.

  “I love you,” she whispered. The words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them.

  He tensed, but said, “Again.”

  “I love you,” she repeated the words, even though she knew he had heard her the first time.

  “Say it again,” he whispered.

  “I love you,” she said again.

  He pulled back enough to look at her and grinned. “I just wanted to hear it before you were too stubborn again to say it.”

  She hit him playfully on the shoulder. The teasing sobered her up a little. “What happened? How long have I been out?”

  “Two days,” he said, as he adjusted her more comfortably on his lap. “We liberated this fortress from our good friends in the Syndicate.”

  “Who’s we?” she asked to clarify.

  “Well, me and that surly captain, two of his men— Chet and Zeriod, I believe are their names— and a few new friends.”

  “What about Alan and the older one?” She felt bad for not remembering his name, but after such an ordeal he was sure to forgive her.

  “I sent them back to Derenan,” he said. “Alan and the old man were injured back in Linesbrough. They’ll live, but I needed men who could still fight.”

  Claire sighed, relieved that no one had been seriously injured because of her. “Do I want to know who these new friends of yours are?”

  Farron shrugged. “Probably not, but you’ll find out soon enough.”

  His answer only confused her more.

  “I hired them, so they aren’t so much as friends, anyway. More like allies with a specific interest.”

  “Which is?” His evasiveness was making her uneasy.

  “Gold, of course. It’s rather amusing that shiny metal can turn enemies into allies, really.” He smiled, but Claire frowned.

  “Who exactly did you hire?” she asked, tensing.

  “Our lovely friends from Linesbrough.”

  Claire nearly jumped out of his lap. “What? The men who attacked us?” She had to stop herself from slapping some sense i
nto him. What was he thinking?

  He shrugged again and said, “How do you think we escaped so easily?”

  She thought he would have slipped away or overpowered them, not offer them money to fight for him instead.

  “I simply offered them twice as much as the Syndicate had paid them, three times as much if they followed me. And what can I say? Men like that, their only allegiance is to gold. Profit outweighs any personal grudges they may have.”

  Claire still wasn’t certain about the whole thing. “Are you sure it’s safe?”

  “I didn’t care as long as I got you back,” he said and looked her in the eye. “And as long as I am here, I won’t let any of them lay a hand on you again.”

  She nodded. That she believed, but she would still sleep with one eye open.

  “And I’m sure that new Council Dog would object to them touching you as well.” Farron frowned, looking surly again. “It was nice of him to finally show up after we started to storm the fortress…”

  So Razi was in the fortress as well. She would have to thank him for helping later. “And my mother, Marion?” Claire added her mother’s name, needlessly clarifying which one she was talking about.

  “She’s safe,” Farron said. “But she’s not here.” He said it softly as if to ease the blow.

  “What do you mean?” Claire could feel the first twinges of dread stirring in her gut. “Where is she?”

  Farron sighed, looking tired. She wondered how much he had slept in the past couple weeks. “You’re probably not going to like it, but it was the best solution at the time.”

  He was stalling again. Claire gripped his shirt tight and narrowed her eyes.

  “After we left Linesbrough, we regrouped in Alexos,” he said. “We needed to resupply and come up with a plan. I summoned Lianna while we waited…”