A FATED FANTASY QUEST ADVENTURE
Book 6, Taken:
The Blood Spell, The Fugitives, and The Firemancer’s Son
Rachel D’aigle as Humphrey Quinn
TABLE of CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
Read the Next Book
CHAPTER 1
Jae Mochrie felt the brisk winter air rushing over his body as he plummeted towards the rocky coastline below. He was not afraid at all that he was about to die. He was relieved. Relieved that it would all be over soon; the guilt, the pain, his betrayal to friends and family. At least now they knew the truth. Juliska Blackwell, Banon, Queen and leader of the Svoda Gypsies, had created the Scratchers. The hunters who had tormented and killed so many.
Why? A question still to be answered and one he’d never discover the reason for seeing as he’d be dead any second now.
Was he facing the ground or the sky as he fell?
No way to tell. His eyes pinched tight waiting for the inevitable impact, drawing peace from the fact that his life would end instantly. He would not suffer in death. One hard and fast blow to end it all.
Any second now.
Surely now.
He waited. And waited.
Shouldn’t I have hit the ground by now?
Why do I even have time to think about this question?
Perhaps it was true about the rumors he’d heard… that the moment of death had a way of drawing itself out. Seconds passing like long minutes. Except he wasn’t reliving his life, he was just waiting for it to end already!
Or had it already happened?
The impact already over and he didn’t even feel it.
Jae pried open his eyes. Something he’d sworn not to do, in fear that he’d do so only in time to see himself crashing into the rocky coastline.
“Huh?” he breathed out in shock. There was no ocean or rocky shoal below him, or sky above him, only a swirling mist of white. His body hovered over the swirling mist until the mist started to swirl faster, forming a vortex, which started to pull his body inside of it.
He cried out it the vortex sucked him in, body whirling uncontrollably deeper into the white mist. He had no idea what was happening, or where this vortex was taking him.
Was this the entrance to his afterlife?
Or, his worst fear, it was some trick of Juliska Blackwell’s. That she would not allow him to die. That she’d never let him go. She would force him to live, doing her bidding as the monster he had allowed himself to become.
CHAPTER 2
Meghan Jacoby stood apprehensively at the entrance of a cave.
A cave in which her mother lived; a woman believed to be dead until Sebastien had informed her otherwise. And to Meghan’s incredible relief, was not Juliska Blackwell. Another theory proven wrong.
She peered into the cave, so far, unable to step inside.
Just a short while ago they’d fled the Svoda Island after Jae had taken his own life, but not before making sure everyone discovered the truth: that Juliska had created the Scratchers. The agony over is death was still fresh. It felt wrong, in a way, to be so happy to be off the island and about to meet her mother.
Meghan had needed a few minutes to gather herself before going inside the cave.
That few minutes was now turning into almost an hour.
They were also debating what had happened after they’d fled the island. Imagining the horror that awaited those still there. Had the Svoda overthrown Juliska? Or had she overpowered them? Had they believed what Jae said and shown them when he transformed into a Scratcher and killed Darcy Scraggs? Had enough people understood him? Or was it possible Juliska somehow managed to discredit Jae’s outburst as some sort of treachery?
It wasn’t something they were going to find out right away.
And it was time to meet her mother.
Only she wasn’t able to force her feet to make the action yet.
Just what type of woman waited for her? How did she know her real mother wasn’t evil, too? Sebastien had insisted she was not, but Meghan was quickly learning not to trust anyone. She didn’t even know her friend like she thought she did.
And this woman, her mother, whoever she was, had abandoned her. And Colin. And allowed herself to carry the children of the Immortal Grosvenor. As to what this meant for her future? She had no clue. Other than the same blood ran in her veins.
Meghan was positive it wasn’t all so simply explained.
Nothing in this crazy magical world was simple.
She shook herself back into the moment and took a short step closer.
Ivan, Sebastien, and Nona stood some distance back, taking cover amongst the shadows of the tree line. They took a glance her way, mentally attempting to push her closer. And yet they understood why she was nervous about it.
While they waited for Meghan, they were devising a plan. What to do, and where to go next. They had fled the island so quickly, their only thought had been getting off the island alive. They were not sure what the right move would be, other than they felt confident that they needed to help the Svoda on the island.
The longer they thought about it, the more they feared the Svoda were in terrible danger, especially if Juliska had an army of Scratchers at her command. Neither of the young men wanted to think about what was happening back there right now.
What was Juliska going to do to everyone?
Could the Svoda find some way to overpower her?
Somehow, they felt she would not be taken out of power so easily. This is something Juliska had been planning and implementing for years. She would have a backup plan, no doubt. Probably even a few backup plans.
But before they could decide anything specific, they needed to see what happened after Meghan met her mother as their actions might change depending on this as well.
"What is taking her so long?" said Ivan, growing impatient. "Is she just going to stare into that cave all day?"
"I can hear you, Ivan," Meghan retorted anxiously. Nona hissed softly at him.
"Sorry, take your time," Ivan told her, regretting his annoyed outburst. They had been through a lot in the last few days and he needed to remember that, regardless of the urgent need to get on with the journey ahead. Whatever that might be.
They had just watched Jae Mochrie die, after jumping off a cliff. Meghan had found out her father was a Grosvenor and that her brother, whom she had betrayed, was a Projector (and not Catrina Flummer as originally thought).
And now, she was about to meet her mother. Of course she would be nervous. He tried to imagine how he would be feeling if by some miracle he was suddenly about to see his own mother again. This could not happen, however, seeing as she had died when he was just a toddler. Not long before his father had been killed in the first Scratcher attack. He was disappointed that he’d never had the chance to find the treasure that was close to her heart while on the island. He still hoped to find it one day, and
discover what his mother had left him, and what answers this treasure would give him. Although, he wasn’t even sure what the questions were that needed asking or answering.
They watched Meghan take another step towards the cave.
“Even once she is inside, this will probably take a while,” reminded Sebastien. “We might as well get comfortable and try to come up with some sort of plan.”
“Yes,” agreed Nona.
Ivan nodded in agreement as well. Just as they turned to go deeper into the woods and find a safe, hidden location to talk it out they heard a scream.
“Meghan,” shouted Nona.
When they spun to see what had happened, Meghan had fallen to her knees and was cupping the sides of her head with hands like she was in pain. They raced over to her.
“What’s wrong?” Sebastien sank beside her. Ivan the other side.
She dropped her hands, using them to steady herself, motioning for them to wait.
“It’s not me,” she stammered after a moment. Her head filled with strange visions, ones that were not her own. But the visions flitted through her mind so fast she could not catch on to any of them. They were out of control.
At least the mind they belonged to out of control.
“It’s Colby,” she whispered. “Something is…” she wasn’t able to finish.
What was wrong with him? He was obviously in a lot of pain, and was scared. Meghan felt sorry for him, although she was not sure why seeing as he’d tried to kill both her and her brother on more than one occasion. Plus, he had actually killed Ivan back in Grimble, which had been followed by Colin’s book, the Magicante, bringing Ivan back to life.
Whatever was happening to him was not of his own volition. She could sense some dark power taking over inside him. Something strong. Something wild. Something he could not manage.
Could she help him? Could she reach out to him?
Most likely, he’d just ignore her as in the past.
It stopped.
Disappeared.
His rampant thoughts no longer invaded her mind. Something had changed.
She looked up to catch the intently concerned faces of her traveling companions.
“What the heck just happened?” demanded Ivan.
“Not entirely sure. It was Colby. His problem, not mine.”
“That kid that keeps showing up everywhere?” clarified Ivan. “The one who killed me back in Grimble?” he stated bitterly.
“One and the same.”
“Are you okay?” asked Sebastien. “Can you stand?”
“Think so, but Colby is definitely not okay.”
“I’m confused,” said Ivan.
“What’s new?” returned Meghan.
“Are you hearing Colby’s thoughts?” inquired Ivan.
“Yes. Just like I can with Colin.”
“Really?” said Ivan. “Colby... huh.”
“Yeah, huh,” Meghan agreed.
“What was happening to him?” asked Sebastien, helping her to her feet. She smoothed out her clothes before answering.
“It was like he suddenly couldn’t control his thoughts; they got all scrambled or something. And there was this intense pain like he had just been stabbed in the heart or something crazy. I don’t know what happened but I’d say he’s having a very bad day.”
“Frankly, this is something we don’t have time to worry about,” reminded Ivan. “He’s caused us nothing but trouble in the past. I say his problems are his problems.”
“Actually, I agree.” Meghan returned to her post, readying to enter the cave. Determined it was time to meet her mother.
“We’ll be waiting,” advised Sebastien.
Meghan glanced back and tossed him a tight smile.
Nona stayed behind as well, wanting to give Meghan her own time with her mother. As a Catawitch, she had the advantage of hearing Meghan’s thoughts too, and could keep Ivan and Sebastien updated on anything important.
Meghan stopped again. A too familiar tug tried to break through her mind block. She didn’t have the time for this. “No,” she refused Colby. “You never want to help me so why should I help you?”
He was going all bonkers again. Shouting at someone.
“Why did you do this to me?” he was demanding. “I can’t- I can’t...” he stopped speaking, seeming instead to be struggling to breathe. Colby’s thoughts zoomed in too many directions at once for her to latch onto anything specific.
Meghan stepped back, she could not go inside to meet her mother with this insanity in her head. He was nearly impossible to keep out. And though she had many reasons to despise him, he was in pain. Something difficult to ignore.
“What now?” called out Ivan.
“Colby,” Nona answered for him.
“I can’t get him out of my head.” She made to join them nearer the woods.
A low rumble echoed up through the ground below their feet.
“What the heck?” Sebastien bellowed.
“Meghan, hurry…” Ivan motioned for her to get to them fast. She took off only to stumble when the ground started to shake violently. So much so, they were forced to grab onto tree branches to keep on their feet. And there was no way to get back to Meghan. Even Nona, normally well balanced under rocky conditions struggled to make her way.
Meghan lifted her body up with her arms, a low hum banging around her head. The shouts of her friends becoming distant, almost like echoes. She made it to her feet, the ground a little more stable. But over their heads, the sky growing darker by the second. Clouds swirling in an ominous vortex aimed right at them.
A violent crack rent the skyline, a deafening thunder stopping them all in their tracks.
A figure out of nowhere.
Meghan gasped out, “Colby!”
He did not answer, and instead, fell to his knees and cupped his head like she had done a few minutes ago. Elisha, his Catawitch, jumped down off his back with a snarl and a swipe at Nona who’d come running at full attack. She met Elisha with a swipe and hiss of her own, each protecting their Masters.
Colby screamed and started rocking back and forth, mumbling incoherently.
Elisha hissed and left Nona to return to Colby.
“Evil father, evil father,” she spat out in a snarling meow. “Might as well have killed you.”
“Don’t ever say that,” Colby ordered her harshly. She backed away, afraid of him. Something that had never happened before.
“What’s going on? Why are you here?” broke in Meghan. She motioned for Nona, Sebastien, and Ivan to keep their distance. Colby didn’t respond to her. She reached out and touched his shoulder, jumping when his body jerked. He jumped to his feet, peering down at her with a lethal gaze that stole her ability to breathe.
She raised her hands promising she wasn’t trying to hurt him.
“What happened to you?” she choked out.
His eyes pinched inward, almost like he wasn’t understanding what she was saying. He shook his head, the lethal gaze dissolving into another round of agony. It crept into Meghan’s mind, getting harder and harder to block out.
“You have to stop, Colby,” she pounded back from her mind, to his. “Control it!”
“I can’t,” he managed to return.
Ivan and Sebastien were having an up close and personal conversation Meghan only imagined was trying to figure out how to get her away from the crazy young man apparently losing his mind.
Elisha called out to him, he didn’t hear her. She attempted to jump into his arms, her unexpected movement sent him into a panic and he blocked her with a spell not realizing it was his Catawitch. The spell which should have only knocked Elisha away from him hit her with a hard impact and sent her slamming into a tree trunk. Her neck snapped and she slid down the tree, lifeless.
Meghan gasped. She didn’t know a lot about Colby, but the bond between a Catawitch and its Master were unbreakable.
“Elisha,” Colby shouted. “Oh, God, Elisha. I’m sorry.” He looked
down at his hands like they were not his own hands. Like somehow they’d been exchanged for someone else’s. The ground started to shake again. So violently, that Meghan fell against Colby who grabbed her by the shoulders and pinned his wild gaze into her ocean blues.
“You’re coming with me.” In her mind, no one else can help me.
Before she could protest, the ground around them began to melt away.
She had no choice but to hang or fall into the nothingness creeping closer around them. Sebastien, Ivan, and Nona called out to her but they had no way to reach her. They could not jump over the ever-expanding chasm and were forced to retreat back into the woods.
She gasped as she and Colby started to sink. Their small patch of earth lowering below the surface. Her friends no longer in sight. Their panicked shouts, distant. Down. Down. Down. Into the dark nothing, like sinking into the depths of oblivion.
CHAPTER 3
Ivan, Sebastien, and Nona watched in horror as the earth surrounding Meghan and Colby dissolved, leaving a deep, dark pit of nothing, and no way to reach them. They shouted but got no response.
Colby and Meghan began to sink, dropping below the surface of the ground and then boom, the earth, whole again. Everything back to normal in a single blink. Except Colby and Meghan were gone.
The others raced forward, spinning and shouting but there was no trace of them. They were gone. Just gone. Nona darted around in circles, wildly. How had she not been able to go with Meghan? She sensed out for her Master, feeling only emptiness where Meghan was concerned, almost like their bond had been broken. Which was not possible!
“Make a fire,” she demanded. “I’ll find her!”
But when Ivan magicked her a fire and Nona jumped in, she slipped right back out bouncing onto the ground.
“It won’t work,” a cattish voice called out from behind them.
They turned, bewildered to see Elisha cleaning herself off.
“That’s my second life used up,” she mused in a dismayed tone. “Only seven lives left to live.”
“Why won’t it work?” demanded Nona, ignoring the fact that Elisha had died and come back to life. “We are one with our Masters. Nothing can break that bond.”
Taken (The Blood Spell, The Fugitives, and The Firemancer's Son) (A Fated Fantasy Quest Adventure Book 6) Page 1