by Kristen Day
"Stasia," Liam said simply.
"What?"
"Nadia took her, too," he said with a sigh, and I felt my body tense protectively. I had just allowed my mother to throw herself to her death, and now he was telling me Stasia was in danger. I wanted to punch him again. He knew she'd been taken and did nothing but stand by and watch. I felt anger burn under my skin and it took everything I had not to unleash my rage onto Liam. Instead I took a deep breath.
"Where is she?" I said through clenched teeth.
"In the observation room," he said with a clipped tone, and then gestured to the north. "That way."
STASIA
I labored back up onto my unsteady feet with the help of the glass wall and peered outside. Three of the walls of the room were actually glass. The fourth wall was stone and hid a door that wouldn't open no matter what I did. As for the other three glass walls, I was able to see the entire island and crux, the ridgeline expanding out from the north, and the Atlantic ocean. I could even see the monolith in the distance.
I slammed my hand against the glass once more in anger and felt my frustration boil over. The room itself was enchanted, leaving me useless to get out. I gathered what little essence I had left and directed it outward with a cry of pain. It shot out of my body and slammed into the glass, only to dissipate into thin air. I collapsed onto the floor, pain and anguish enveloping my body as the wailing began to increase.
With all of my strength I dragged myself over to the glass wall to see what was happening. Angry tears burned at the back of my eyes and spilled over onto my cheeks. Though I cried out with rage, still the glass in the room stayed intact. I was going to die in this room, shut out from the crux and the people I needed to save. Allowed to watch the destruction of my Order, but powerless to do anything about it.
A silver glow lit up on the other side of the island. Selene. She stood between two cloaked Auras an equal distance away. The witches down on the beach were positioned in their circle around the crux. Selene raised her arms and two silver threads of essence shot out of her fingertips and into the Auras next to her. Soon, the entire ridgeline was entrapped within a circle of silver essence, humming through the Auras.
An ebbing lavender glow grabbed my attention on the beach and I realized it was Fallon. She was on her knees, her hand hanging. Beside her was Nadia, her gaze on Selene as if waiting for something. And Sebastian. Nadia still had Sebastian. A scream that should have shattered the glass room took my breath away. The energy drained from my body and the sound of the chanting Auras and witches echoed in my mind along with the screeching wail of the ocean.
I watched helplessly as Sebastian fell to his knees on the beach and grabbed the sides of his head. Nadia abandoned Fallon long enough to yell something at him, but he remained on his knees. The the island suddenly began to shake and my vision moved back and forth as I slid around on the floor of the room. I made it back to the wall facing the crux just in time to see a cloud of essence leave Nadia's hand and encapsulate Sebastian's body, causing him to collapse onto the beach. The shaking stopped in cadence with her attack, and I remembered the sign Sebastian was supposed to give. An earthquake. He did it. A slice of small victory filled me with pride for my brother and I hoped the others were having better luck than we were.
Pinpricks of pain rippled over my body as Selene increased her attack on the crux. The island shook once more, this time with the slowing of the crux at its center. A stream of mist lifted from the mouth of the crux and shot into the sky and into...Fallon? I cried out in pain when another wave of agony hit me. It felt as if my blood was slowly thickening and congealing into a solid. I closed my eyes and swallowed dryly, the effort to do so almost taking all of my willpower.
I vaguely remembered the glass around me splintering and cracking with a sickening sound. I was barely aware of the shattering that soon followed. I hardly noticed the air pressure in the room burst forth, sending fresh air and wind circling my body, lifting my hair and ruffling my clothes. All I noticed was the warmth. It wrapped its arms around me before he did; filling my body with love before he did.
"Sean! Go!" his voice echoed from a faraway place. His arms cradled me and I felt a slightly jarring motion as he took me away. His warm essence filtered through me and I was able to open my eyes with much effort. A sparkling sheen surrounded us. His cloak. My lips parted as something warm and tingly was poured into my mouth and down my throat. It brought with it sizzling power and clear thinking.
"Stasia." He rubbed my cheek before a loud noise made him look up with alarm. He yelled several more commands before returning his attention back to me. The elixir shot through my body with speed and my focus shifted back into the present. Sharpening. Narrowing and centering in my heart. I was soon able to sit up.
"I'm okay," I coughed.
"Olivia," he mouthed gravely, his eyes staring down at the beach. Another screeching cry sounded from the depths of the crux and my heart seized again. Thankfully, the elixir partially smoothed over the pain and I was able to venture a glance at the whirlpool. I gasped at what I saw. What was still churning mere moments before, was now only swirling gently. Fallon was, in fact, suspended above the mouth, essence filtering up and through her body. But that wasn't all. I recognized the lifeless form of my Paladin lying on the beach at the feet of Nadia and Sebastian. Several more figures were making their way down the cliff side, but it appeared they were too late.
OLIVIA
"By all the powers of land and sea, be obedient unto me," I chanted alongside the Captains. "By fire, well, and sacred tree, stillness reigns, so mote it be."
I had a good feeling my usefulness had run its course as far as the chant went. Lying on the beach with only pain reminding me I was still alive was not a good look when trying to incapacitate ghost witches. Thankfully, the Captains continued their chant despite my collapse and appeared to be making progress.
Almost half of the witches had lost the ability to chant, their mouths stuck in whatever syllable they last spoke. Realizing the loss of power in the circle, the other witches were frantic; attempting to unfreeze their brethren to no avail.
Unfortunately for the Captains, my essence had waned and snuffed out completely, leaving them completely vulnerable. The fact that Selene was still very much alive and standing on the ridgeline was not comforting either. I had hoped Stasia, Sebastian, and the Sons would have gotten to her by now so at least she couldn't come down to the beach and terrorize us. Unfortunately, I was about to learn that she didn't have to.
I coughed up blood as a handful of sand blew into mouth. The grotesque mixture sprayed onto the sand in front of me, another reminder of my deteriorating state. A blast of air circled the beach at hurricane speeds and I glanced up at Fallon's body. It had appeared out of the crux itself and was now eerily floating above the mouth of the whirlpool, effectively draining the essence from the crux. Despite our efforts to freeze the witches, it was becoming obvious that Selene was winning. The whirlpool was slowing. The radiating pain in my hand told me Stasia was in no better shape than I was, but I couldn't help her. I couldn't even help myself.
A flash of light out of the corner of my eye amidst the sand of the beach was Nadia, who made her dramatic entrance several feet away from me. I glanced up to see a dazed Sebastian accompanying her.
"Sebastian!" I shouted at him. "What the hell are you doing?"
His gaze turned to me but there was no spark of recognition or reaction to either my condition or words. What did she do to him? I didn't have time to think about it, because in the next horrifying moment, all of the Captains collapsed onto the ground around me. Vette's lifeless eyes stared at me from where she lay lifeless on the sand a few yards away.
"No!" A guttural scream welled up in my throat and matched the intensity of the crux as it ripped out of me. I squeezed my eyes shut in an effort to wake up from this nightmare, but it didn't work. The Captains began sliding towards the crux by the same unseen force that had taken Oliver.
"No!" I cried out a second time, scratching at the sand beneath me but failing to move my body anywhere but the same patch of sand I'd been lying on for twenty minutes. I could hear Nadia chuckling as she watched her handiwork with pride.
The witches that were frozen were suddenly free, and with an earsplitting command from Selene, they promptly returned to chanting.
"Oh my God!" I heard Carmen's horrified cry behind me. Carmen? I managed to twist around in time to see her, Avery, and Phoebe filing down onto the beach.
"Olivia!" Avery called to me; oblivious or simply not caring that the devil herself was standing nearby. I felt the sand tremble as they ran towards me. Nadia watched them with amusement, but allowed Avery to fall to her knees beside me while Carmen and Phoebe tried in vain to pull the Captains back. They were soon ripped away with force, their bodies and essence consumed by the crux while we could only watch on helplessly.
I yelled out in an incoherent roar as my heart broke into a million pieces. I pushed myself up into a sitting position to face the piece of shit who just wiped out four of the strongest Tydes I'd ever known, but a high heel stabbed my shoulder as Nadia easily pushed me back onto the ground with her foot. I rolled onto my back and groaned; my energy non-existent. I could only stare up at her golden eyes, flanked by a mute Sebastian.
"Some Paladin you are," she observed with a sneer, glancing at my blazing palm and the hot, angry tears streaming down my face. She snapped a command at Sebastian, who stepped up to stand next to her. His dead expression washed over me with no emotion. Nadia muttered something to him under her breath and his vacant stare shifted into something more sinister, cruel.
"Sebastian!" I called out to him angrily. How could he allow her to take control over him! He was stronger than that! The sorrow of the wail still ringing in my ears, the grief of watching the Captains slaughtered, and now the unfamiliar expression on Sebastian's face was almost too much for me to bear. I closed my eyes to gather myself. "Sebastian," I whimpered with no strength left in my body. I pressed my forehead against Avery's arm and fought for solace. His once beautiful blue eyes were muted and absent as he continued to glare at me unknowingly.
"Achilles!" Avery tried his first name; her voice containing more force than my weak attempt. He still didn't respond. He simply turned to look at Nadia for direction.
"You can't just kill anybody you want to!" Carmen stomped up behind us, fists clenched and eyes blazing.
"Actually, I can." Nadia shrugged and placed her hands on her hips. "Isn't that right, love?" She draped a glistening, golden arm around Sebastian's shoulders with a come-hither smile and I felt my blood pressure rise. She ran a sensual finger down Sebastian's face with pleasure. I tried to get up again, but failed miserably. Avery's healing hands weren't working whatsoever, but I suddenly wanted to annihilate something. Or someone.
"Bitch," I heard Carmen growl at her. Phoebe dropped to her knees behind us and gawked up at Nadia.
Nadia peeked at me out of the corner of her eye before leaning in slowly, an evil smile forming just for me. Sebastian stood motionless while she ran her tongue over his lips with a moan. I heard Carmen curse under her breath again as my exploding anger sent a jolt of electrical essence through me somehow. I was able to crawl up on my hands and knees, but coughed again uncontrollably, sending more blood onto the sand.
Nadia chuckled at me and slid her hand down Sebastian's stomach. He failed to do so much as blink as her fingers continued their descent between his legs, where she cupped him and pulled him to her in one quick motion. Red hot rage caught my heart on fire and my skin began to sizzle.
"Leave him alone!" I yelled and attempted to lunge at her. It didn't work.
"Jealousy's not a good look on you, Paladin." She smiled sweetly down to me.
"Olivia," Avery urged quietly. What was left of my essence collected in my hands and I threw them outward, unleashing a wave of electricity that struck Nadia with a sizzle. She stumbled backwards with surprise, but quickly regained her balance.
I gasped when she was suddenly struck from behind, the force throwing her forward and onto the sand in front of me. A mass of sandy blonde hair covered the face of her attacker as Nadia was hit again and again with deep blue essence. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for Nadia to take control of the situation. Her attacker was blown off of her as she stood up with inhuman speed. The honey color of her eyes sparked golden; menacing and angry.
"Olivia!" Nadia's attacker called out to me from a couple yards away. She stumbled across the sand towards me, glaring at Nadia the entire way. Blythe.
"Blythe? But how-?" I stared up at her wild eyes with bewilderment. I had to be seeing things. I witnessed first hand her body being stolen by the crux!
"I'm always the victor," she reminded me through clenched teeth. She was dripping wet and her clothes were torn, but somehow, she was alive.
A flick of Nadia's wrist interrupted her as a cloud of hot essence consumed me and sent waves of scorching pain down the length of my body, while the groans next to me told me Blythe was struck as well. I heard Avery yell something back, but my cries faded to whimpers and I looked up helplessly at the devil who had her hands all over Sebastian. She laughed and nudged Sebastian playfully. He remained completely emotionless and just stared at me curiously.
Up on the ridgeline, Selene raised her hands and the witches strengthened their chant, sending a new wave of fresh agony and horror through me. I clutched my body and fell onto my side.
"Make sure they don't get in my way," Nadia commanded Sebastian before turning away.
"Sebastian! No!" Phoebe begged him. "Don't listen to her!"
He paused momentarily and his eyes seemed to clear for a split second. His brow furrowed with confusion. Realizing he was hesitating, Nadia spun around and flicked another wrist, clouding over his eyes and setting his jaw with indignation once again. This time he didn't hesitate.
OLIVIA
With a sweeping motion of his arm he threw Phoebe, Carmen, Avery, Blythe and I against the side of the cliff. My head snapped back and slammed against the wall with tremendous force, blurring the world around me and dotting my vision with black spots. Several seconds later, a shower of enormous boulders began to rain from the sky; falling to the beach in a thunderous boom and rolling towards us. They stopped just short of crushing us, pressing us against the wall so hard I had trouble breathing. Phoebe screamed out in pain and I heard the sick sound of bone breaking.
"Phoebs!" Carmen yelled to her weakly, struggling against the rocks. I took a deep breath and pressed against them with all of my energy, which wasn't much, but the boulders wouldn't budge. We weren't going anywhere. I was going to die here. This island. This beach. It would be the last thing I would ever see. Sebastian grinned victoriously before spinning on his heel and following Nadia down the beach. Where was Stasia? Finn? Why was Selene still standing? My mind feared the worst as my heart closed in around itself, accepting its fate.
My eyes snapped open as a brilliant light exploded before us and a tidal wave of razor sharp darkness washed over us. It infiltrated my skin, momentarily strengthening me. The sand beneath my trapped feet shivered and heated from the newest presence to arrive on the beach.
The witches dropped their arms with shock and instantly abandoned their chant as they slowly turned their attention to the woman facing them. She wore a long, black velvet dress that snaked behind her in the sand as she walked towards the stunned witches. A mane of jet black hair glistened with countless strands of crimson gemstones showering their light upon the beach. Secured around her head was a wide, golden band, adorned with more glistening red gems.
Another flash and an irate Nadia appeared directly in front of the woman, eyes flashing with fury and nefarious smoke rising from her skin.
"Back away, Princess," the woman warned her evenly. Her voice captured my attention. Familiar, yet laced with a commanding power.
"What do you think you're doing?" Nadia hissed back at her.
/> "Taking back my Order."
With those words, she quickly produced a writhing sphere of fire in her hand. She swung it above her head, creating a loop. In one quick motion it was tossed outward, expanding with surging power and creating a ring of dancing fire. Instead of hitting Nadia like I expected, it wrapped around the circle of witches and brightened. It consumed their bodies and exploded in a show of fireworks before knocking them to the ground. The woman glanced over her shoulder at us and we all gasped.
Eyes that were once blue were now shining a glorious gold, taking my breath and leaving me stunned. Just like Nadia's, they shone bright as fire and immediately captivated me in their hold. But there was no evil emanating from them. Her essence was warm and inviting; powerful yet serene. Hecate had returned.
Natasha nodded her head ever so slightly and the boulders dissipated into a shower of sand at our feet. We all fell forward in exhaustion. A light smile crossed her crimson lips before she turned back to the fallen witches.
Unfortunately, Sebastian was nothing if not thorough. Another shower of boulders rained down, pinning us against the wall once more. The amount of bruises on my body had to outnumber the amount of unblemished skin I had left. I glanced up at Selene who was diligently working away, ignoring the chaos down below and relentlessly spreading her essence out across the ring of Auras dotting the ridgeline. Where was Stasia?!
"No!" Nadia boomed, shaking the ground and lunging for Natasha. A stream of sizzling red essence burst from Natasha, throwing Nadia back up the beach and hard against the rocky wall, leaving her crumpled on the sand as a shower of dislodged rocks pelted her body. Sebastian's body jerked and he shook his head, collapsing to his knees.
"Now!" I hissed to the others, the warmth of Natasha's essence filtering up through the sand and strengthening me just enough. We pressed against the boulders with all of our strength and I was able to move mine slightly, just enough to slide out from behind it. Carmen was next to escape and we worked feverish to free Blythe, Avery, and Phoebe.