Tennessee held his free hand out toward his father. Kessler cursed and put a ten-dollar bill in his palm. Tennessee chuckled and shook his head. “Told ya’ he was covering.”
Royce whistled under his breath. “That’s a story I’ll want to hear in detail, but let’s get in there and find her first.”
Kessler mumbled something to Timothy. He nodded and gripped the chain-link fence. White light surrounded his hand, and it looked like a little storm cloud swirling around. The metal turned white— No, wait. Not white… Ice. It was frozen.
My jaw dropped. Somehow I’d never actually noticed what Timothy’s gift was. His ice spread up and down the fence in a straight line. He stepped away and nodded to Kessler. I knew what his gift was. It was strength—super strength. I smiled and waited. Kessler didn’t even have to try. He just grabbed the fence on either side of the ice and pulled it apart like it was butter.
Tennessee moved to push through the opening first. Once we were all inside school grounds, our Emperor returned his attention to the pendulum. “Okay, George. Bring us to her.”
The pendulum swung immediately, like it was an excited puppy happy to do whatever his owner asked of him. The magic in this pendulum was amazing. I had no idea how it knew where buildings were, but it led us around one after another. And in the dark. It was no wonder why Tenn carried it in his pocket every day.
We were almost all the way across campus when it happened. My chest burst with heat. I stumbled and hissed through clenched teeth.
Tennessee’s gaze turned to me. “You feel her?”
I nodded. The air in my throat was so hot I thought I’d be breathing smoke like Lonan the dragon. Like Emersyn. Every nerve ending in my body screamed with urgency. “We’re close.”
George guided us in a diagonal line, cutting through grassy areas and around bike racks. I focused my eyes on that crystal until it stopped moving. I looked up to see where he’d led us, and my heart stopped. The gymnasium. This can’t be good.
“The gym,” Cooper whispered.
“The dance,” Royce said with a groan. He yanked on the handle. “It’s locked.”
“George, is Emersyn inside the gym?”
Yes.
“Thank you, George.” Tennessee stuffed his crystal back in his pocket, then unsheathed his sword. Green lightning bolts shot out of his palm and slammed into the handle. When he pulled on it, the door opened with a soft creak. He glanced over his shoulder. “Follow me.”
I jumped to enter right behind him. We crept down the dark hallway with only the soft thud of our shoes and our breathing to signal our presence. With every step, my chest seared hotter and hotter.
When we reached the double doors that led into the actual gymnasium, Tennessee lit up his palm so only his hand glowed. He signaled for us to wait, then tiptoed over to the door. My heart pounded in my chest so loud I could’ve sworn astronauts could hear it.
Tennessee peeked through the narrow glass in the door…and his face paled.
My stomach turned. Oh Goddess. Tennessee made a face of utter disgust, like he couldn’t bear the sight he was seeing. I hesitated half a second longer, then raced over. I looked through the glass…and my body filled with ice.
Emersyn was inside. Her hands were tied behind her back and around the basketball pole.
Bright red material was wrapped around her mouth. She was gagged.
“No.” I pushed through the door and raced toward her.
My heart pounded louder than the hurried footsteps of my Coven-mates as they charged after me. All of my other thoughts and concerns disappeared. All I cared about was getting to Emersyn and getting her free.
Evil, maniacal laughter echoed through my mind.
The air in front of Emersyn shimmered like glass under moonlight, and then Tegan appeared, standing tall and terrible and wearing a sickening grin. She threw her hand out, and my body locked up. All of my muscles tensed. My legs burned and trembled as I tried to fight her hold. She flicked her wrist, and I flew through the air. I hit the polished wooden floor with a thud then slid to a stop. Something heavy landed on my back. A tan hand flopped into view. Silver rings glistened under the fluorescent lights. I followed the arm up until I spotted the IV Mark.
Tennessee cursed between coughs and rolled off of my back. He got to his feet then pulled me up to mine. A chorus of groans and curses sounded as everyone scrambled back to their feet.
When I turned, Tegan was watching us with one eyebrow arched. I growled and ran toward her. She snapped her fingers, and glowing white bars shot out of the ground. I hit them at full speed, and electricity shot through my body. It threw me back ten feet. My body twitched and tingled. I got back to my feet, but it was no use. The bars surrounded us on every side. Magic swirled around each one, the energy so thick it was almost visible.
We were trapped. This whole thing was a trap, and we fell right into it.
“Well,” Tegan said with that evil grin. Her lips were bright red. Her pale green eyes sparkled like diamonds. “That was easier than I expected.”
Chapter Fifty-One
Tennessee
The girl in front of me wore the face of the one I loved, but I no longer recognized her.
A side door opened, and golden yellow light poured into the dark side of the gym. A dark figure walked in, their steps clicking and clacking as she strolled into view. Henley. Behind me, Royce whimpered like he’d been kicked in the gut, which I supposed he had. He, too, was looking at a person he didn’t recognize.
She threw her head back and laughed while clapping her hands. “Oh, Tegan, you were right. They are predictable.”
“I told you so.” Tegan turned and sauntered over to our cage. Her eyes met mine, and her grin turned wicked.
“I’m going to get us ready. Why don’t you prepare our guests?”
“My pleasure. Speaking of pleasure… Hi, Tenn.” She licked her lips and looked me up and down. She wrapped her fingers around the magic bars and leaned her face against one. The electric energy didn’t affect her. “My, my, you look rough. I kinda like it.”
My stomach tightened into knots. My heart twisted like someone was ripping it out of my chest. I feared one of these days the feeling would become literal. She reached out to touch my face, but I pulled back.
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to hurt you, Tennessee.”
“You already have,” I heard myself whisper, but it was barely audible.
Her eyes widened for a second, then flashed back to that wicked glint. She looked around at our Coven-mates and shook her head. “I’m not a monster, y’all.”
“Aren’t you, though?” Paulina said with a little growl in her voice.
Tegan pursed her bright red lips. “I haven’t killed anyone.”
“Yet.” Paulina snarled in disgust.
Tegan’s eyes sparkled as she smiled. “Oh. I like your optimism. You’re a real glass half full kind of gal. Or is it half empty?” She cocked her head to the side and strolled around our cage, dragging her fingers across the bars. Each time she touched one, it shined a little brighter.
“You’re broken, girl,” Timothy grumbled. “A real broken witch.”
Tegan rounded the corner of the cage and stopped right in front of him. She leaned forward and aimed lasers with her eyes right at his face. “It’s funny how one witch gets a little broken and everyone blames her, yet takes none for themselves. The Salem twins, for example. History tells the story of a witch who went dark and lured her twin along with her to almost destroy the world. But no one talks about why.”
“Why doesn’t matter.”
Tegan leaned forward and hissed. “Why always matters. They weren’t born that way. Unless you think the Goddess, in all her infinite, glorious wisdom, chose to Mark her without her being worthy?”
Why is she talking about this? Has she lost her mind…or is she taunting us? I could tell by my Coven-mates’ faces they thought the former, but I was leaning toward the latter. She’d lu
red us here for a reason. Tegan always had a reason. Why always matters, as she’d said. So the question was…why? I glanced behind her to where Henley sat on the ground with her back to us. Red light flashed from in front of her, but I couldn’t see what she was doing.
Emersyn tried to scream through the gag, but it came out as just a mumble. She pulled against her restraints. Tears ran down her cheeks.
“Emersyn, enough already.” Tegan rolled her eyes. “You know the Salem twins had been the most powerful females of The Coven. I may have given you the whole ‘they got power hungry and lost their minds’ thing but…”
“Like you?” Timothy said with a growl, interrupting her.
For once, I was glad he was here. He was saying the things I couldn’t get my mouth to say. My heart hurt too much. Whenever she was around now, I turned into a puddle of rain on cement. Useless.
“You can’t go power hungry if you’ve already got all the power. Keep up, Tim.” She shook her head and backed away from him. “Or at least I’m about to have it all.”
Before I could process what she meant, she threw her hands up. Rainbow mist coiled around her palms. She thrust her hands out, and her magic slammed into the cage. White light seeped between the bars and wrapped around my body. I gasped and jerked upright. What’s happening?
My pulse slowed until I couldn’t feel it beating. My body turned cold, like my insides had turned to ice and it was spreading outward. Every muscle twitched and tingled. My lungs felt like they were going to be ripped right out of my chest. Pink light shot out of my glyph, strong and vibrant. I swayed and stumbled forward. My feet were numb, not like I’d been sitting too long, but like I never had them at all. I dropped to my knees, and pain shot up my thighs.
The muscles in my thighs and stomach twisted and tightened. They contorted like they were being tied in knots. My bones screamed in protest. Any second they were bound to snap right in half. I gasped and the air seared a path down my throat. It tingled and burned, like a million fire ants were eating me from the inside out. I tried to open my mouth to scream, to do anything to ease the pain, but my jaw was locked closed. The muscles in my neck contracted and trembled. My head filled with pressure. It built and built until I thought my eyes would pop out of my skull.
“Tennessee!” Cooper screamed.
My back arched, and I fell backward.
“Tenn!” Cooper’s face appeared over mine. His skin was ashy and pale. His eyes were wide and panicked. He turned to glare at where Tegan stood. “What are you doing to him?”
“It’s worse for him because he’s got more power,” Kenneth whispered.
My vision tunneled. My heart pounded like a woodpecker, so fast it was bound to break. The pain grew and grew until I thought my soul was being ripped out of my body.
And then it was gone.
I collapsed in Cooper’s arms and gasped for air. For the first time, I knew what drowning felt like. I tried to move, to get up and check on my friends. To scream at Tegan. But my body refused to cooperate. My muscles were heavy, weighing me down to the ground like a ship’s anchor. My body was numb. The world wobbled, and then Tegan stood in front of me, just outside the cage.
What did you do? I tried to ask, but my mouth wouldn’t move.
Tegan chuckled and bounced a ball of pure white, glowing energy in her hand. She looked at us and grinned. “Well, now I have all the power.”
“She stole our magic,” Kenneth whispered. He huffed and puffed, like it took all of his energy to speak at all. “All of it.”
“TEGAN!” Henley screamed. She stood with her arms raised to the sky. “He’s here!”
I blinked over and over until my vision cleared. Behind Tegan, a thirty-feet-tall circle hovered above the gymnasium floor. The edges sizzled with raw energy. Bolts of lightning shot out as far as the eye could see, ripping through the gym walls. Flames flickered out of the fiery, blazing red hole.
A roar like a dinosaur ripped through the gym. The walls trembled. The glass windows up near the ceiling exploded, raining shards down on the floor. A massive black head poked through the hole. Yellow, chunky goo oozed out of its mouth, around razor-sharp teeth the size of my body. The goo dripped onto the wood and burned holes through the floor. Smoke that smelled like bile billowed. The creature hissed, and it sent a shiver down my spine.
“What is that?” Easton mumbled.
“A greater demon,” Kenneth whispered, his voice barely audible.
NO. No, no, no, no, no. This can’t be happening. Why, Tegan? WHY?
Tegan gasped, and for a moment, I thought she’d realized what she’d done. For a moment, I thought I saw her. But then she turned toward her still tied and gagged twin, who was thrashing around and yanking on her bindings. Tegan mumbled words in the ancient language. I recognized the sound of it. I knew I’d heard it before, except my brain didn’t give me the translation. It was like it was gone. Tegan had taken our magic, and apparently with it our knowledge of the ancient language.
Emersyn went still. Her eyes stared at nothing. She opened her mouth, and words spilled out, a mumbled mess of gibberish. Her body lit up like mine used to. It glowed bright white. Tegan laughed. She actually laughed. She threw her free hand out toward her sister, and her fingers flexed. Emersyn flopped lifelessly to the ground. Her eyes stared at nothing.
I braced myself to feel her magic, too, to see it in the air, but nothing came. I couldn’t feel anything. A strangled cry slipped out of my lips. She’d stolen my life from me.
“Emersyn!” Devon cried. Tears poured down her face. She moved to grab the magic bars, but Hunter tackled her.
Deacon yanked on his shirt, tearing it away until he could see the soulmate glyph on his chest. He knew what I did. When your soulmate died, the crystal turned pure white. But Deacon’s was blue, faint and pale, but blue.
“She’s alive.” He sagged with relief.
The greater demon opened its mouth and screamed. Tegan slid a few feet away then dropped to her knees. She leaned down, holding that sizzling ball of our magic in one hand and a ball of fire in her other. Black smoke shot out of the greater demon’s mouth and aimed straight for us.
Every instinct inside me tried to react, to move or use magic to block it, but there simply was nothing left. I flicked my wrists and nothing happened.
Henley spun around with happy, delighted eyes and a squeal like she wanted to watch us die.
The black magic slammed into our magic cage…
Those white bars surged with energy. Little bolts of lightning shot out of the bars and over to the one beside it. The black magic bounced off our cage like a basketball hitting a wall and slammed right into Henley’s chest. Her body lifted off the ground and flew backward. She crashed to the ground.
The black shadow demon that possessed her stood over her body.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Deacon
Oh my God.
Oh my GOD.
HENLEY.
“HENLEY!” Royce screamed. “It’s gone! It’s out! Why isn’t she up? HENLEY!”
My heart pounded in my chest. The shadow demon was out. Henley was no longer possessed. I had no idea how it happened, but I didn’t care. My amazing, wonderful, totally weird goth of a cousin was free of her captor.
And we were trapped in a cage.
Emersyn jumped to her feet.
I gasped and climbed to my knees. Emersyn. Emersyn. Emersyn. She was alive. She was on her feet. She was running right toward our cage. My heart fluttered. I wanted to be near her, but she couldn’t come in the cage. It would hurt her. Maybe kill her. Tegan had taken her magic, too.
The shadow demon hissed and turned its red eyes to my soulmate. It growled and stepped forward. I opened my mouth to scream for her, to warn her, except nothing came out.
Tegan threw the ball of Emersyn’s magic across the gym. The flame soared through the air. Emersyn caught it, and in a move I never would’ve expected her to be able to do, she planted her feet and flung th
at fire ball at the shadow monster’s face. Tegan spun and shot magic out her hand. It shot like a missile toward Emersyn’s flame then swallowed it whole. The two pieces of magic became one…and slammed into the shadow demon’s chest.
It shrieked and flew backward, crashing into the greater demon.
Tegan charged toward the hole, toward the Gap she helped create.
Emersyn ran over to Henley, who was still lying there lifelessly, and grabbed her by her leather jacket. Her golden eyes were bloodshot. Her face pale. But there was a fire there I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen before. She dragged Henley’s body across the polished wooden floor then pushed. Henley slid through the magic bars.
Royce leapt forward and pulled his sister into his lap. He put his fingers to her throat and cried, “She’s breathing!” Then he hugged her close to his chest.
Emersyn shouted something in the ancient language, but I no longer understood what it meant. She dropped to her knees and flicked her wrists. Her muscles flexed and twitched as her magic rippled through her. She thrust her hands forward and shot flaming balls of magic right into Tegan’s back.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Tennessee
TEGAN!
I screamed and dragged myself out of Cooper’s arms. I crawled to the edge of the cage with my heart in my throat. I didn’t care what she’d done. I didn’t care how much damage she’d created. I didn’t care that she’d stolen my magic. However sick and stupid it was, I still loved her. I needed her alive. Even if I had to battle her for the rest of our lives. TEGAN!
Everything moved in slow motion and in rapid speed at the same time. Emersyn collapsed on the ground on her stomach. Heat filled my chest, burning like the fire that had hit Tegan’s back. I held my breath, waiting for her to scream in pain or drop to the ground.
But she growled.
The Broken Witch (The Coven: Elemental Magic Book 4) Page 23