Enchanting Wilder

by Cassie Graham

  “Kind of appropriate, don’t you think?” Candy notes, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

  “What do you mean?” Declan asks.

  “It makes sense there’s a gate to Beneath at one of the bloodiest sites in Massachusetts. It’s tainted our history for centuries. Witches cower at the mention of it. Of course this Maker person would put a doorway there.”

  My chest tightens.

  “Maker is nothing if not inappropriate,” Sally chides.

  “So, blood?” Wood says, snapping us back to our mission. “We’ll need Kai’s blood for the first gate. Then what?”

  Sally sits down, placing her hands in her lap. “I’m sure it’s guarded, so you’ll need a weapon that can kill demons.”

  “We don’t have that,” Wood says, his eyebrows wrinkled.

  “Well, actually,” Declan reaches into his pocket, producing a small pocket knife. “I’ve had this all my life.”

  Noah scratches the side of his head. “It came with you, I’d always wondered what it did.”

  Declan slides out the knife from its holder, pushing on the end with his thumb. Bright white color radiates from the handle and the knife grows double in size. The clean, shiny silver blade gleams in the chandelier light above us.

  “Whoa,” Candy and I say together while something in the pit of my stomach warns me to stay away from it.

  Kai watches the blade carefully, the same thoughts probably running through his mind.

  “Holy crap,” Wood croaks, stunned. “How did you do that?”

  Declan pushes the end of the blade again, the knife snapping back into its case. “It’s been my weapon for as long as I can remember.”

  “Those memories are coming in handy,” Wood says, looking proud. Maybe he’s finally accepting what Declan is.

  “Looks like,” Declan marvels, his eyes excited.

  Sally nods. “Good. That’ll help. You can also exorcise the demons as well, but that’ll take time.”

  A thought crosses my mind. “What if we record the exorcism on our phones and have it playing on a constant loop?”

  “That’ll definitely stun them, but they’ll need to hear it start to finish to be truly exorcised.”

  Candy’s face scrunches. “We’ll already be in Beneath, isn’t exorcising moot? There’s nowhere to send them to. Technically, they’re already there.”

  Sally shakes her head, playing with the bracelet on her arm. “No. It’ll actually kill the demon. When you’re in Beneath and you exorcise a soul, it kills it automatically. No going to into Limbo. Nothing. It just…dies.”

  “Wait!” Kai holds his hand up. “What about me? I’ll hear that spell and die.”

  Sally rubs her lips together. “That’s going to be difficult. I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “He’s right,” Declan offers. “We need him there – he’s part of the team, but if we exorcise him, it’ll all be over.”

  Kai puffs his chest, beaming. It’s good to know even though Declan has his memories back, his heart is still the same. He’s still willing to work with demons because he believes in the good.

  “I have it!” Sally snaps her fingers. “Once he’s inside, he can dissipate somewhere else, away from you guys.”

  “How will I know where they are?” Kai asks. “I’ve never been that way. Hell, I’ve only ever been in Maker’s chambers.”

  “You only have to dissipate yourself far enough to not hear the incantation.”

  Kai swallows, his eyes drifting down to his lap. “I’ll try.”

  Wood slaps him on the back in an encouraging manner.

  “You’ll be okay,” Sally reassures. “Your instincts will kick in.”

  “Is there anything else we need to know?” I ask.

  “There is…” Sally stops to grab my hands. “I’d imagine if they haven’t killed your parents yet, it’s for a reason—a big one. I’m thinking you might be the reason. That means, you’ll have to find Maker in order to get them back.”

  “You’re saying they’ll probably be with Maker. Like, watching over them?” Candy questions, her hands wringing on the table.

  “I’m almost positive. They’re big game.”

  I swallow, leaning against Declan. “Do you know why I play such a big part in all of this?”

  Ashamed, Sally refuses to look at me. “I’m afraid I do, but now isn’t the time. Find your family, get back safe and the rest will work itself out.”

  “And if it doesn’t? What if we don’t make it back?”

  “Thinking like that isn’t going to help.” Sally stands up in a flash, her eyes blurry with tears. “Take Wood and Candy and dissipate to Massachusetts. Go get your family.”

  We stand and I wrap my arms around Sally, hugging her with ferocity. I’ve leaned on her—depended on her—my entire life. This could very well be the last time I see her.

  “I’ll see you soon,” Sally promises, squeezing my arms when she pulls back. “Keep your sister safe.”

  “I will.”

  Sniffling, she walks to Candy and engulfs her in a hug. Waving to the rest of the table, she fizzles out, leaving us alone.

  “Can you dissipate?” I turn to Declan.

  He smiles, the dimples in his cheeks looking cocky. “I can get there.”

  I laugh, thankful he can bring a little levity to the situation.

  “On the count of four?” Declan asks.

  I smile and then frown. “On the count of four? What happened to three?”

  He shrugs a shoulder, his mouth turning to the side. “I don’t know. Three didn’t sound as good. I don’t know if I’ll be ready at three. Just come on. It’ll be our thing.”

  I snicker and roll my eyes. “Fine. To the count of four.”

  I wave to Noah and Sarah, and they smile.

  “Please be safe, kids.” They look to Declan and Wood, rising, tugging them into a group hug. “We love you, boys. We’ll see you soon.”

  I observe as this amazing family says goodbye and I only hope I get the opportunity to hug my family. Grabbing Candy’s hand, she takes hold of Wood, sure to not forget him. Kai stands next to Declan, his posture ready.

  “Everyone know where Gallows Hill is?”

  We all nod, the adrenaline tangible in the air.

  “On the count of four…” I say.

  Declan winks. “One, two, three, four.”

  I’m the first to arrive back in Massachusetts, so I sit down on a rock just outside the park.

  Flashes of my former life—before Noah and Sarah, I mean—my original life, I guess you could say—pass in my mind’s eye. It runs like a movie reel, playing constantly on repeat. I try to block it out, but the memories continue to slap me in my face.

  Especially the last memory I have of Heaven, my fight with the Dominion angel, Apolly, and the way he lied to God about why I refused to kill our brother angel, Angelo. It sticks out like a sore thumb, throbbing and swollen.

  Apolly had it out for messenger angels, and Angelo was number one. You know the saying, ‘don’t kill the messenger?’ That came from him. Apolly’s sole purpose in life was to kill messengers. He thrived on it. And it was all under God’s nose, totally unbeknownst to Him.

  But Apolly forced my hand when he ordered me to kill Angelo.

  Angelo was a brother—a friend—I couldn’t do that to him. When Angelo was set to inform God of Apolly’s wrongdoings, Apolly assigned me to take him out.

  “We have to nip this in the bud before it gets out of hand,” Apolly had said, his brow creased in selfish worry.

  “This bud?” I questioned with disdain in my voice. “Apolly, brother, you’re wanting to kill an angel who is following the orders of God. He is to report back with any information he comes along. You are the one who is in the wrong. Do you question God Himself?”

  Apolly shrugged nonchalantly. “It is my orders and I am your superior. You are to kill Angelo.”

  “I will not,” I had said. “You may be my superior, but you are not Ange
lo’s. I’ll take this up with God and if Angelo is a traitor as you claim, making up false accusations about you, I will do what needs to be done. Until then, I am to hold off.”

  I shake my head of the memory.

  Needless to say, Apolly got to God first. He had made up a convoluted story claiming Angelo had been trading information with Lucifer to get him back into Heaven. It was all smokescreen for the evil Apolly was actually dealing with.

  God was forced to cast me out for not following orders. Apolly was higher on the hierarchy, after all, and angels never lied. I wasn’t even able to tell my side of the story. I was to take my punishment and deal with the consequences.

  That’s what we were taught to believe, anyway.

  I saw the ugliness that day. I was content to leave. I needed a break. I just didn’t know I’d be sent as a baby to an immortal family.

  Starting over was irony. A baby, God? Really? I’d probably find the situation hilarious had I not been the butt of the joke.

  Done with reminiscing about my former life, I pick at the dead grass on the ground, throwing the tiny wheat-like tendrils on the ground.

  Gallows Hill is nothing like I imagined. It’s not grassy knolls and rolling hills. It’s barren and sad. The trees lack leaves and the hillside is absent of any personality. It’s apparent something tragic occurred here. The scars of the catastrophic time, blemishing the land with heartbreak.

  One by one, gusts of wind hit my face as McKenna and Kai snap into view, landing a few feet away from me. Next comes Wood and Candy, Wood shoving Candy’s hands away the moment their feet hit solid ground.

  McKenna looks down carefully at her appearance, pulling at her shirt and jacket, her eyes prepared yet scared. She blinks, the now dark sky setting a tone for the evening.

  When she realizes where I’m sitting, her fearful expression vanishes and she allows herself to smile a tiny bit. I do my best to comfort her with my own appearance, hoping I look ready for whatever is to come next.

  As the group approaches me, I can tell just how exhausted we all are. It’s been such a hellish day with everything moving in fast forward. I’m going to need to sleep for a year when this is all said and done.

  I push my grogginess back and grab for McKenna’s hand when she comes close enough to touch, but instead, she wraps her arms around my neck and brings her mouth close, touching mine softly. I feel every emotion she has in the kiss. All the things, I think, we both want to say but don’t have the time to. I cup her face, leaning into her as much as I can.

  Crickets chirp in the background and our boots shuffle closer toward each other.

  “Everything is going to be okay, right?” she asks, flushed as she pulls away. “We’re going to walk in there and come out the same people?”

  I’m already nodding my head. “Yes. Of course.”

  She licks her lips and wipes a stray tear falling from her eye. “Are you sure? Because I feel like the moment I step foot into whatever is down there, my entire world is going to change.” She rubs her lips together. “No matter what, I don’t want to lose you. Promise me, no matter what we find out down there, you won’t give up on me.”

  I take hold of her shoulders, soothing her. “I promise, Mighty. There’s nothing you do or say that can make me leave you. Each and every one of us is here no matter what. We’ve got your back. You’re going to be okay.”

  “Nothing’s going to change,” Candy promises, placing her hand on McKenna’s shoulder.

  McKenna’s teary eyes find Candy and she sniffles. “Okay.”

  “Don’t worry.”

  McKenna scoffs.

  I give her a leveled stare.

  She huffs and then smiles.

  Kai steps in, uneasiness plastered all over his face. “Guys, this is a huge deal. Not to freak you out, McKenna, but we’re trying to fool Maker, this isn’t going to be easy.”

  Wood crosses his arms, his stance firm. “We can do this.”

  Kai smiles. “I know we can, but we have to go in together and leave together. There’s no other way we’ll survive.”

  “We’re a team,” Candy says.

  “A tribe,” McKenna offers. “A tribe of badass witches, angels, Pursuers and Thayans. We can do this.”

  “Right,” I agree.

  “First things first,” Kai says, “we have to find the entrance.”

  McKenna points to the hill just beyond where we’re standing. There’s a large wooden cross in the ground on the top, it looks ominous and a little frightening. “It’s there. I can feel it.”

  “You…you can feel it?” Kai stutters, his skin turning an odd shade of white.

  “It’s just a feeling,” McKenna says, her cheeks becoming a blotchy red. “It’s almost like whatever is there wants me in.” Her eyebrows furrow. “You don’t feel it?”

  Kai shakes his head, bewildered.

  McKenna shakes it off. “Come on, let’s go.”

  Candy and McKenna walk in front of Wood, Kai and I, and Wood pulls me back, his eyes hard. “It can’t be a good sign McKenna can feel Beneath.”

  I chew on my lip, and watch as she walks with such elegance in front of me. “One thing at a time, brother.”

  He rolls his eyes and walks ahead of me.

  “What’s his deal?” Kai asks, watching Wood saunter off.

  I shake my head and don’t answer.

  When we make it up the hill to the cross, McKenna reaches for it, cautious. “There’s something engraved in the wood.”

  “What does it say?” Candy asks, squinting her eyes.

  McKenna shakes her head, feeling the indented carvings. “It’s in another language.”

  Wood stands in front of it, his brows pulled down in concentration. He reaches into his pocket and produces his phone, turning on the flashlight. “This…this is Deusian. The same language Mrs. Carlson and her son wrote all over the walls in their home.”

  I scratch my eyebrow. “Makes sense seeing as how it’s the entrance to Beneath. Kai, can you read it?”

  Kai nods quickly.

  McKenna presses her lips together, her posture rigid.

  “You okay?” I ask, placing my hand on her arm, but she flinches away, taking a tentative step to the side.

  “I’m okay,” she says shortly. She continues to stare are the wood, captivated by what’s written there.

  “Can you read it, too?” My voice is low because I’m not sure if she’d want to answer the question in front of everyone.

  She shakes her head with a tight jaw.

  Just like that, she’s closed herself off. Her walls are up, and I hope I can penetrate them enough to pull her back. I don’t know if it’s that she’s scared because this place calls to her, or she can feel herself trying to stray from who she used to be, but she looks like a different person.

  Candy moves back a couple steps and allows Kai to stand in front of the cross. “Those who dare cross this threshold shall be held responsible for what lies beneath. Those who taint the grounds underneath, shall be the key to the entrance.” He takes a deep breath. “Open your skin, for what’s needed is more.”

  “How much more?” Wood asks.

  “A lot.” Kai clears his throat. Producing his knife from his back pocket, he places the sharp blade on his wrist. “I have to offer the ground my life and it’ll grant us entrance.” He winces as the knife cuts into his skin, pumping his hand open and closed to get more blood flow.

  The ground underneath us begins to tremor, knocking us off balance. McKenna grabs for me and Candy uses Wood for support.

  Kai bends on one knee, his eyes squinting shut in pain, the blood seeping the ground.

  “We’re getting close,” Kai says, his voice quivering. “Get ready.”

  Linking our hands together, McKenna and I stand our ground, watching as the earth below our feet opens up. It begins to split, the screeching of hundred-year-old roots breaking.

  “Come on!” Kai pushes himself off of his knee, massaging his arm from his
elbow to his wrist.

  Finally, the ground opens up, revealing a staircase leading down into the earth.

  Kai smiles and falls to a heap on the ground. We rush to him, our knees hitting the dirt as we surround him.

  Eyes determined, McKenna grabs Candy’s arms. “We have to help him.”

  Kai convulses, his body reacting to the loss of blood.

  “Healing spell,” McKenna orders. “Now.”

  “A vulorilous tus san,” they chant, their eyes closed. Their hands dig into each other’s arms, engulfing Kai in flashes of white light. It swirls around him, moving in and out of his body. He thrashes against the spell.

  Then, what feels like only a moment later, the white light dies and Kai blinks awake.

  “You okay?” McKenna asks, a little out of breath. She releases Candy’s hands and steps back.

  Kai gets to his feet and brushes off his pants. “Yeah…I think so. Thanks, girls.”

  Candy winks. “Don’t mention it.” She smiles. “Actually, please remember this as we’re beating demon ass.”

  Kai laughs. “You got it.”

  McKenna moves to Kai, engulfing him in a hug, he oomph’s at the impact. “I’m glad you’re okay. You did it.” She pulls away. “We can get in.”

  Looking over her shoulder, bewildered, Kai swallows and then walks around McKenna.

  I squeeze McKenna’s hand as she walks by me and she flashes her radiant smile. It’s the one I know is her proud smile. The one she wears the least, but is the most beautiful.

  Taking a deep breath, we walk down the stairs. They’re made completely of earth. All rocks, dirt and dead grass. The hallways are thin, allowing only one of us at a time. Kai heads in first, followed by Wood, then Candy and McKenna, and me holding up the rear. The moment each of us descend on a step, the stairway closes, keeping us hostage.

  “Was that supposed to happen?” McKenna asks, a little panic in her voice.

  Kai shushes her. “Yes.”

  She turns back to me to roll her eyes and I allow myself to grin.

  The farther we make our way into the entrance, the darker it becomes. Soon, we’re feeling our way down, hoping we don’t trip.

  “Illuminet,” Candy and McKenna say together, and the hallway lights up with dim, hardly noticeable light, though it helps us tremendously in the pitch black darkness.