“Yer a clever one, but you’re still going ta die,” Addie continued as I caught Jamie’s eye and tilted my head toward the exit. He nodded once.
“Vee, watch out!” I turned toward Kenna’s voice as she ran into the room, Duncan and Fergus barreling in behind her. Ken pointed over my shoulder at the witch and I spun toward the threat. Addie stared rapturously at her ring, watching it ooze black goo that coalesced on the floor like nightmarish Jell-O molds.
“Serpents!” Fergus shouted as he drew a large two-handed sword and charged. “Three o’ them.”
Duncan rushed into the fray, tossing Jamie his spare sword before unsheathing his own weapon.
Addie’s serpents bore little resemblance to snakes or dragons; they were more like wriggling, ashy slugs. I stumbled backward as their gaping maws hissed, permeating the air with the stench of rotten meat. Black ooze dripped from between their rows of sharp teeth. In mere seconds, they quadrupled in size. Their ravenous mouths snapped hungrily as they writhed back and forth.
Jamie grabbed my arm and hauled me behind him. With a glance toward his fellow swordsmen, he yelled, “Now!”
Fergus, Jamie, and Duncan slashed at the serpents. They deftly sliced their way down the length of the creatures, but by the time they hacked the serpents’ tails off the severed heads had begun to shimmy. Other disembodied pieces followed and grew like something from a science-fiction experiment gone wrong.
“They’re like giant worms!” I exclaimed, grateful I’d paid attention in Honors Biology. “Every piece will grow into a new monster.”
Kenna clutched my arm in a death grip. “We have to help them!”
Not only were our guys severely outnumbered, but they’d ended up on the opposite end of the chamber, separated from us by a live wall of voracious serpents. Despite the danger, they held their own, so I tried to focus on the source of the threat. If I could thwart the witch, the victory would hopefully put an end to her monstrous worms as well.
My head swiveled to find Addie lounging against the wall behind us, reveling in her work. I glanced at the seemingly lifeless ring on my finger. I’d used it in defense, but I’d no idea how I’d done it or how to activate its magic again.
Pushing off the wall, the witch strode toward us at a leisurely pace. “You girls think yer so smart. Yer just like them.” She raised her angular chin to indicate Fergus and the MacCrae brothers. “So predictable. So easy ta control. Just like that feeble-minded captain of the guard—so afraid of the evil Witch o’ Doon, and yet he fell instantly under my spell. My merest suggestion had him committing murder.”
Although I didn’t exactly care for Gideon, that didn’t mean I approved of Addie using him like a hand puppet—I knew the feeling of being played all too well.
Kenna let go of my arm and faced the witch. “You’re pretty proud of yourself … for someone who used a rent-a-cop to do her dirty work. Can’t handle things on your own?”
Addie chuckled and advanced like a hungry wolf stalking its prey. Suddenly, she stopped and shook her head. Her edges blurred once again. Long blonde tresses wound about her shoulders as the effects of twenty years of aging reversed. “I used you lasses too. And ye did everythin’ perfectly. Thanks ta the two o’ you, my plans are nearly complete.”
“Ally?” Kenna gasped, stumbling back a step.
She was showing off, performing her tricks for my best friend. But why? Was she trying to distract us? Maybe if I could keep her talking, she’d give me a clue. “Why, Addie? Doon was your home once. Why would you want to destroy it?”
“Silly girl. ’Tis more than destroying Doon that I want. When Doon was … blessed, I became cursed. As long as the kingdom thrives, my magic is unstable.”
As if to underscore her point, she morphed back into her forty-something self. “But there’s power in Doon. Once the kingdom has vanished, the enchantments it contains will be mine for the taking.”
She turned to regard a mirror that I hadn’t noticed before. Her reflection was the stuff of demented nightmares—cadaverous gray skin stretched too tightly over sharp bones; brittle yellow-white hair hung around her skeletal face in uneven tufts; thin, flaking white lips pulled back to reveal rotting brown teeth. Only her violet eyes remained unchanged.
Goose bumps prickled the back of my neck as Addie looked away from the hideous image. Hatred for her true appearance burned in her false, attractive face. “When Doon is destroyed, I’ll finally be free. I’ll take the kingdom’s power and recover my true beauty. Once I’m restored, I’ll rebuild my coven and the modern world will worship me.”
Outrage poured through me. This hideous creature sought to gain power at the expense of hundreds of innocent souls. I stepped toward her. “People will never worship you.”
The witch chuckled, an icy sound like claws scratching my brain. “We shall see, little queen.”
Before I could react, Kenna shrieked and swung her duffel bag at Addie’s head.
“Mackenna!” Duncan yelled in warning. The bag stopped mid swing, falling out of Kenna’s stunned fingers and dropping to the floor.
Addie arched her perfect brows and flicked her hand in Kenna’s direction. My best friend froze in place, unable to move a muscle—except, apparently, those around her mouth. She let go a string of profanities and threats that under any other circumstances would’ve been inspiring.
The witch emitted a humorless chuckle. “Now that the colorful sidekick is out o’ the way, it’s time to address the wee girl who would play the hero. For you, o’ queen of Doon.” She raised her hand, made a circular motion, and then a quick downward slash.
Reflexively, my arm jerked up, and I saw the ring on my finger was glowing again. But before the magic could form, a weight like a concrete wall crushed me to the floor. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Panic ripped through me as I felt my body being crushed to nothing. As if from a great distance, I recognized my own hysterical voice screaming for help.
Wave after wave of crippling pain slammed down on me. Through it, I could just make out Jamie’s voice. “Vee.” His words were punctuated by blows of his sword. “I shoulda—told you. The monarch o’ Doon’s—meant to be the—counter balance to the witch. When the ruler’s weak—the witch’s evil grows—more—powerful. Ye must—be—strong—love.”
His words bolstered me, giving me the strength to focus and mentally push against the crippling, invisible weight. I had an instant of relief before it slammed back doubly strong, the attack no longer just an external pressure but also a mental assault. The spell moved through me like jagged bits of glass, gouging my soul and draining my will.
A thousand insecurities bombarded my mind, urging me to give up. Telling me I couldn’t win. That I was nothing but a powerless fraud. A pathetic loser. Unwanted. Stupid and weak. Never good enough …
Tossed in a raging river, I was drowning in self-condemnation. Memories of my many failures flashed through my mind—Eric in Stephanie’s arms, Mom’s resentful gaze, Dad waving as he backed out of the driveway for the last time—draining my will with each recollection. Who was I to think I could make a difference? I was just a worthless girl from Podunk, Indiana who’d never done a noble thing in her life. I wasn’t a warrior like Jamie. Tears leaked from my eyes and my lungs burned, ready to explode.
Darkness closed in on my vision, and I realized it was over. The substitution had been a mistake. Doon’s new queen had failed.
CHAPTER 38
Mackenna
I would never look at a game of Scene Freeze the same way. In fact, if I ever got out of this I would never play it again. Being frozen was painful and humiliating, not to mention terrifying.
All I could do was watch my best friend being crushed to death. Gawk as the boy I cared for fought off a half-dozen hell worms alongside his brother and his friend. And stare at the Big Bad Witch strolling from one end of the room to the other inspecting her handiwork.
The only arsenal I had left was my words. I hurled them at her like
a virtuoso, calling her every name I could think of and then making some up when Vee howled again in pain. If this was the end, I would not die quietly.
“What’s the matter?” I goaded. “Did some prince ditch your skanky butt for a nice girl? Or were you just born a pathetic, monarchy-hating slag?”
Bull’s-eye.
Addie’s smile faltered as I earned her full attention. A vein under her eye twitched. As she sauntered in my direction, I worried that slag would be the last word I ever spoke.
Nah—I could do better. But just as I opened my mouth, Addie’s hand made a grasping motion. Suddenly, I had no air. My chest seized, paralyzing my lungs as my eyes began to bulge.
“Slag,” she mused. “Such an interesting colloquialism.”
Although her attention was riveted on me, her fist opened to hurl a gust of air at Duncan. The blast knocked the sword from his hand. Helplessly, I watched as he ducked into a roll and dove after the weapon, narrowly avoiding a snapping serpent in the process.
Addie clapped her hands and my air returned. I wheezed like an asthmatic bullfrog while she studied me as if I were some kind of lower life-form. From the opposite end of the room, Fergus yelped in pain, causing the witch to chuckle. “Careful,” she called in mock warning. “They bite.”
She was toying with us—adding insult to our injuries and impending death. My body may’ve been a statue, but my insides seethed with rage. “One day you will rot in hell, you shriveled old troll.”
With a shrug, Addie mused, “Perhaps. But not before her.” She stepped around me to sneer down at my best friend. A wave of her hand and Vee shrieked like she was being skinned alive.
“Stop! Please …” I was no longer cursing, I was begging. For the sake of my loved ones, I’d go silently.
“Does the plucky sidekick want ta add anything else?” With a satisfied smile, Addie tipped her head as if to say, “I could keep this up all day, you incompetent slag.”
But we didn’t have all day—just minutes. A quarter hour at best. Once the clock struck twelve, her sick little game would come to an end along with Vee and the rest of Doon. Was it too much to ask for one final twist in the plot?
Vee moaned. Sweat coated her face while she struggled against an unbearable weight. As I watched my best friend whimper in pain, I decided to use my words in a way that I hoped would cause less of a backlash. “Vee, if you leave me again, I’ll never forgive you. Doon is your destiny. Fight for it!”
“Can’t—” With great effort, Vee’s hand—the one bearing my aunt Gracie’s ring—reached out to brush against my ankle. As the golden metal touched my skin, a live current raced up my leg and throughout my entire body. The sensation stung like thawing ice with flash fire, but I was free.
I was free!
My instincts screamed at me to stay still, to use my freedom to some advantage. But how? I couldn’t fight the witch with my bare hands. And I would clearly lose any kind of verbal sparring match.
“You know—” Addie raked her nails softly down my cheek, her tone casual as I pretended to be too helpless to do anything other than submit. “I could freeze your internals, ta match yer exterior. All your bodily functions would cease, instantly. Painlessly. Or …”
Or I could endure unspeakable agony.
Despite the crushing pain, Vee sputtered on my behalf, “Please let. Her go. Take me. But let Ken go.”
“Perhaps—although she would make a lovely minion after the rest o’ ye are dead.” Addie’s eyes narrowed into snakelike slits as she leaned over Vee. “Such a sad little queen. All alone … in excruciating pain … Are ye ready to meet yer destiny?”
But Vee wasn’t alone. She had Jamie and a kingdom … and she had me.
The truth I’d been so reluctant to face burned from Uncle Cameron’s ring into my finger. The Rings of Aontacht had chosen us—both of us. I had a significant role as well.
As the metal seared my skin, my finger twitched. Luckily, that hand was hidden behind my back. Hidden from the witch, but not everyone.
“Vee! Look at me. As much as I’ve denied it, Doon is our destiny. We need to stick together. Are you paying attention?”
I prayed that even in her weakened state, the girl who shared my brain would be able to discern my unspoken meaning. I couldn’t best the Witch of Doon with physical power or clever words. But I did have one skill that Addie would never see coming.
I was a damned good actress.
CHAPTER 39
Veronica
Through a haze of agonizing pain, I saw Kenna’s finger wiggle behind her back. The emerald stone of her ring shimmered luminously in the shadows. A spark of life bloomed in my heart, and with it hope pushed against the darkness, driving back my growing despair. I may not have been able to defeat the witch on my own, but fortunately I wouldn’t have to.
My own fingers twitched as I clenched my eyes and focused outside of myself, on my purpose—our purpose. Kenna and I had always been stronger as a team. Even the rings we wore symbolized unity. My ring had allowed me to neutralize the witch’s earlier attack, so what if combining the rings made them even more powerful? Blood began to flow back into my knotted muscles as my strength returned. Addie may have won the battle, but she would not use me to harm the people I loved. She would not win this war.
Visualizing my purpose as a sledgehammer, I crashed through the pall that threatened to crush my will and lunged toward Kenna. “Now!”
Our hands locked and Ken pulled me to my feet. The witch’s shriek of protest echoed in the small room as our rings’ power fused. The red and green united, and energy crackled through me like a lightning storm. Instantly, the lingering weight of the witch’s hex lifted.
“Yer going ta regret that, little queen!” Addie screeched.
Furtively, my eyes shifted to Jamie. He edged nearer, still battling the serpents—beating them with the flat of his sword. Even in the midst of fighting for his life, he was amazing.
Addie cackled, pulling my attention back to her. The hair at the back of my neck stood on end as her hands moved in a circle like she was caressing an imaginary ball. Words I couldn’t understand spewed from her lips. A purple haze swirled between her palms, growing more solid by the second.
My chest tightened for the impending blow of magic as cold sweat trickled down my back. The glow of my ring began to dim. I’d broken free from her binding curse, but that was only half the battle. What was I supposed to do now? I met Kenna’s frantic stare, searching for answers she didn’t have.
And then Jamie was there. His dark eyes locked on mine, and something beyond reason, beyond even time, passed between us. His gaze surrounded me like a physical force and ran deep inside my soul. A slow, confident smile spread across his face. He didn’t need to speak; faith shone from his eyes, filling me with strength. And I knew not even a maniacal, power-hungry witch would stop me from saving him.
Addie continued to chant, the violet mist between her palms growing stronger. The dark magic illuminated her face like a ghastly X-ray, revealing her jawbone and every tooth beneath the transparent veil of her skin. The ball knitted faster in her hands.
I turned and squeezed Kenna’s fingers. “We have to do this together.”
She nodded and we lifted our joined hands. The ring’s combined power blazed, brilliant and sparkling like the sun reflecting on a fresh blanket of snow. We moved forward as one, and Addie froze in place, the midnight shine of her spell fading rapidly. The demonic sphere swirled faster and faster, until with a high-pitched squeal it imploded into nothingness.
As Kenna and I advanced, I chanced a quick glance in her direction. She arched her eyebrows in challenge. “Are you the queen or aren’t you? Take that witch down!”
With a slight nod of my head, I turned back to Addie. She mumbled words that seemed to wilt in the wake of the divine power arching from our rings. Her magic faltered. But I needed to do something more, something that would keep her from hurting those I loved ever again.
&nbs
p; Remembering how Fiona and I had broken the spell on the journal, I pictured Doon in my mind—the cobbled streets, castle turrets reaching into the sky, the old chapel emanating the glory of the souls within, and lastly, the faces: Jamie, Duncan, Fiona, Fergus, Mario and Sharron, the Rosetti sisters, and even poor, abused Gideon.
The people were the essence of Doon. I focused every ounce of my being on saving them and their enchanted kingdom, which I’d come to love with all my heart. Then I sent up a desperate plea to Doon’s Protector.
Blinding beams shot from the rings, passing through the witch’s torso. Addie twitched as if burning from the inside out, purged by fire and righteousness.
She screamed in outrage, “Nooo!”
A hellish shriek rent the air, and Addie slumped over, her body aging rapidly before my eyes. Her lush blonde hair grew stringy and gray. Her skin turned sallow and shriveled into a thousand wrinkles. Her gorgeous figure shrunk, bending into her drab medieval dress and cape. Behind her, the self-perpetuating serpents began to deflate like damaged tires, dissolving into putrid lumps of ebony slime and ash on the floor.
Pure, unadulterated shock crossed Addie’s rapidly aging face. Her eyes became huge and buglike as she clutched at her throat. “What have ye done?”
“What someone should’ve done a long time ago.” I released Kenna’s fingers. This one I could handle on my own. Stepping forward, I balled my hand into a fist and punched the old woman smack in the face. “That’s for hurting Jamie!”
“And for calling me a sidekick!” Kenna added as the hag dropped to her knees and crumpled into a heap on the floor. Stripped of her wickedness, she appeared nothing more than a pathetic old woman. Innocuous, if not benign.
I stared at the miraculous ring on my finger, wondering how such an innocent-looking object could harness the power of the Almighty Protector of Doon—who somewhere along the way had become my guardian as well. I harbored no delusions that Kenna and I possessed latent superpowers; it’d simply taken an unwavering belief in the light to extinguish the dark.
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