“Devon?” Gerard gently guided me away, interrupting my thought pattern. “Where did your mind go?”
He squeezed my hand, which was currently squashing his fingers in a death grip. Jerking back to reality, I moved so he could gain better access to the gate.
“Sorry, I was having nasty thoughts about Helena. Make sure the others take her down. I don’t trust myself not to get all psychotic on her.”
Touching my cheek to let me know he’d heard, he turned his attention to the gate. I waited for him to do a spell to unlock it, but instead, he hauled himself onto the metal poles and somehow flipped up onto the top of the wall. Well, I hadn’t been expecting him to do a ninja move. Mind blown.
“Okay,” I said from where I still stood. “I want to do that.”
He leant down, his body almost hanging off the wall to reach me. “If you could’ve done it, you would’ve done it by now.”
“Your arm’s too short.” Jumping, I tried to grab hold of his hand.
“Really? My arm’s too short? Okay, Devon the giant. Just go and find something to stand on.”
Another scream came from inside the garden. My stomach exploded in butterflies as heat travelled through my veins. Someone was in pain. I had to help them.
Backing up, I took a run up, jumping as high as I could. Gerard groaned as I managed to leap and wrap myself onto his arm somehow. He breathed hard as he tried to haul me up. Using his other arm, he managed to get it around my waist to bring me up onto the top of the wall.
Letting me go, he wheezed, completely out of breath. I glared at him before he went to reach for me again. Not giving him the chance to help me down, I swung my legs off the wall, landing in a crouch on the grass beneath me.
“I’m not that heavy,” I muttered to myself as his feet thumped on the ground next to me.
“You are when I’m only using one arm.” Gerard’s reply was dismissed when the same strangled cry came again.
If my feet hit the dirt, I didn’t know. I was so focused on getting to whoever was in pain, I ignored everything around me. Following the glow, I rounded the oak tree. My boots skidded on the mud as my gaze landed on my enemy.
“You!” Helena cried.
She was standing on a bench, her arms wrapped around herself. The long skirt of her purple dress was muddy and torn. Was she the one who had been screaming?
Mascara had smudged down her face from where she’d been crying. My mother and father were on the ground nearby, their faces lifeless, their eyes closed. What had she done?
Every muscle in my body started to shake as panic rose up my throat. I was about to thrust forward to check on my parents when Helena pointed at me.
“You severed the connection to my greatest power. I can feel them leaving me. How dare you!” Throwing her hands in the air, she screamed. “Incendia!”
Flames rose up around us, trapping us in a circle. The witch had lost her mind, which wasn’t good for any of us. Sweat poured from my skin as the heat penetrated me. My gaze sought my parents. Were they alive? They had to be alive. Was Helena crying because of the loss of her magic, or because my parents were dead?
“So, you want to kill her or just maim?” Gerard asked, his gun ready.
A quick death would be too nice for her. She needed to know that her actions had consequences. Like being locked up in a dark room with no one to talk to for the rest of her life. Oh, yes, I was cruel, but not as sick as her.
The fire dropped suddenly, the cool breeze swirling around my face. Helena got down from the bench, taking a couple of steps towards me before she paused. Justina and Kurt were approaching her from behind. Keeping still, I watched as their silent footsteps took them closer.
“Don’t think I’m stupid,” Helena called. “I know you’re there.”
She hadn’t even bothered to turn, her gaze intent on something in her hand. Our bosses stopped their advance, staying exactly where they were. The crazed look in Helena’s dark eyes made me pause. I physically looked just like her, but I knew in my heart, I wasn’t the same. We may have shared features, even a blood line, but my mind was my own.
“See this?” Helena looked directly at me, beckoning for me to go nearer.
Putting a hand on Gerard’s arm when he went to step forward, I squeezed it to let him know that I would go alone.
My steps were slow, calculated. If I reacted too fast, she would too. With the power she had, and the insanity it was causing, I hated to think of the damage she could do to the people I cared about.
“This…” Holding up a leaf, she grinned wide. “Is yours. Well, it was yours. Now, it’s mine.”
Was that…? Oh, shit, that was the leaf I’d picked up from the warlocks tree. That wasn’t good.
“How did you get that?” My tone was easy, light, even though the question wasn’t.
A smirk appeared as she flicked her wrist. A squeak came from Justina as she fell to the ground, her eyes closing as her body hit the grass. Kurt followed, a grim expression on his face as his gaze met mine.
“Don’t worry, they’re all just asleep. I might be a monster, Devon, but I rarely kill people in cold blood.”
“No, you just drain their magic,” Gerard blurted, his cheeks turning red when I glared at him.
A cackle came from Helena as she ran her gaze up my partner. He was something good to look at, but for some reason, she dismissed him.
My stomach settled slightly as I glanced at my parents again. It was okay, I could protect them.
“This, my child, is a leaf full of warlock magic. It will help me to destroy those bastards. You see, no matter how much your mother loved your father…” She sneered in their direction as she moved closer to me. “…I could not bring myself to forgive her for producing an heir that would sever our family tie to the ley lines.”
Clenching my hands so I didn’t lash out, I stayed completely still. My heartbeat had slowed since she’d told me that my parents were just asleep. Praying to mother earth to wake them up, I kept Helena’s attention on me.
“I’m part warlock,” I said. “If you cast that spell, you’ll kill me.”
Glaring at me, she tucked the leaf in her pocket. “You were careless when you left this powerful link in your jacket pocket. I stole it from you.”
Conveniently ignoring the part about me dying, she flung her hair as she went over to the bench. Grabbing a bag, she stormed away from us, heading towards the gate.
Glancing at Gerard, I shrugged when he held his hands to the side in question.
“Well, are you coming to watch me cast this spell?”
My grandmother looked over her shoulder, a question on her face. The way she’d asked so casually made my skin crawl. Was she seriously being friendly with me? When she was about to destroy a whole species?
“I’m not climbing that wall again,” I said loudly. “I almost broke my arm being hauled up.”
Rolling her eyes, Helena clicked her finger, smiling when the sound of falling metal reached us. If I wanted to get to her, it would have to be a surprise attack. Playing along might just work.
Stomping past Gerard, I ran my fingers over his arm. “Try to wake the others, I can’t do this alone.”
He grunted a reply as he let me go. One foot moved to follow me as I glanced at him. He paused, knowing full well that I could handle myself to a certain extent. He also knew that there was no chance I could defeat Helena on my own. Not while she still had all the magic in the ball to use.
“Come, my dear, I have a vendetta to end.”
“Thanks, Grandma,” I muttered. “Just kill me off in the process, why don’t you.”
“I heard that.” Her shout from ahead made me speed up.
Trotting through the gate, I followed her down the lawn. Her dress flapped as she walked, even though there was no breeze. My heart paused as I watched her. My childhood was full of memories of when she had played with me and taught me spells. The love that had poured from her couldn’t have been fake.
“How?” I called to her as she stepped down the stone steps and onto the patio that surrounded the fountain.
Turning, she put her hands on her hips as she frowned at me. “How?”
Coming to a stop at the bottom of the steps, I glanced at the fountain behind her. The stone was carved beautifully, the water running out from the woman with roses and into the pond below.
“How could you love me so much back then? When you knew what I was.”
A lump came to my throat as she sobered, the blinking of her eyes the only clue to her emotion. “You want the truth? I’m not sure you can handle it. It may hurt.”
“I’m stronger than you realise,” I pushed through gritted teeth.
And, I was. The last few months had thrown curve balls bigger than anything I’d experienced before. If I didn’t fight, I would break. I wasn’t ready to go down. I was Devon Jinx, kickass heroine. Still witch and warlock, but now I knew who I was, and what I was capable of. I could be tortured and still live. I could fall in love and still breathe. Although, I did wonder if that would be the case when I finally got Brawny Mac-agent into bed.
Shaking my head, I stared her down. “Stop with the dramatics, just tell me.”
Sighing, she dug a grimoire out of her bag. Putting it on a raised stone platform that made up part of the fountain, she opened it.
“I was going to use your warlock magic to do the spell. It would’ve made you a complete Essex witch.”
Her fingers traced something in the book. She probably had a copy of the spell that I’d written all those years ago. I had to do something, quickly.
“You what?” I feigned anger.
To be honest, nothing surprised me anymore. Inside, a part of me died, the little child who had hoped that somewhere deep down, her grandmother was just having a psychotic break and could be brought back from the brink. In truth, she’d always been crazy.
“Come now, I can feel your real emotions. This magic is pure, remember?”
Waving for me to join her, she stepped away from the book. Had she memorised the words? No doubt she had.
“It’s not pure. You’ve tainted it with the way you obtained it.”
The twist of her lip made me shiver. The air changed as she raised her hands suddenly, calling out a name I didn’t recognise.
“Ah, there you are,” she said, dropping her arms.
My skin erupted in goose bumps as the energy around me shifted. Someone was behind me, someone whose energy was even worse than my grandmother’s.
Slowly turning, I froze when I saw Vernon Jupiter, the warlock who had a grudge against my father. He was laughing to himself, the crazed look still in his eyes.
“I resurrected him.” Helena gloated. “And, now, he’s going to help me get rid of every single warlock in the world.”
I couldn’t move. My leather boots were glued to the spot. I had to stay completely still as I watched my father struggle in Vernon’s arms. Helena must have released my parents from her spell.
The evil warlock who had been brought back from the dead was glowing red. He’d been to hell, alright. And, it looked like he was ready to take my father back with him.
Chapter Sixteen
Fluttering heartbeats were obviously present all around. If I overreacted, Vernon would kill my father instantly. If I didn’t do anything, we would all die. Helena wouldn’t let anyone live, even if she did believe that draining my warlock magic would keep me alive. Which it wouldn’t.
“No matter what happens,” Helena said as she turned back to the grimoire. “I did care about you, Devon.”
Her words made my whole body grow cold. There was nothing left of her. Any humanity that could’ve been there was now gone. I was a fool to believe I could appeal to that side when I had run away from my new family.
“What do you need my father for?”
If she was going to watch him die, just because he took my mother away from her, I would have to die to protect him. It wasn’t a price I’d ideally like to pay, considering I’d not quite settled things with everyone else, but I couldn’t let her harm him. I couldn’t let her take down a whole race that was part of me.
Heat seared my veins as I allowed warlock magic to slide up into my feet. The warm sensation travelled all over me, igniting my power. The thread of witch magic that was left in me was weak. If I had to let it go to stop her, well, so be it.
“You need to release him,” I demanded, taking a step forward.
Vernon Jupiter was watching me, his eyes full of hatred. “You killed me.”
Ah, crap. Not only did I have to deal with my insane grandmother, but also a warlock with a grudge against both my father and myself. Quite honestly, I didn’t have the energy. And, yet, I would not let them win.
Feeling into the ground for my witch magic, I suddenly flew back from where I stood as a bolt of magic zipped up through my legs, the force so strong, it sent me flying.
“Is she having a seizure?” I heard Vernon say in a high pitched voice.
Almost laughing, I lay still for a moment. My muscles stung from landing so hard on the ground, but man, something had just happened. Pure witch magic was combining with my warlock magic. Just like it used to. A lump came to my throat as tears came to my eyes. I’d missed this feeling more than I realised.
“What was that?” Helena’s voice was approaching me.
Rubbing my head where I’d bumped it, I sat up. Pretending that I was weak, I slowly tried to get to my feet. Fucking, Halleluiah. Inside, I was powerful. My muscles were strong, the magic pulsing through them. My head was clear, even though it throbbed like a bitch. I was back, baby. Well and truly back.
“I tripped,” I said, skipping to my feet before she could reach me.
I didn’t want the witch bitch to get anywhere near. I was somehow full of pure magic, which meant I could take her down. Well, attempt to, anyway.
“Devon,” my father called. “You need to get out of here. She won’t hurt you.”
Glancing towards him, I clenched my jaw to stop myself from taking out Vernon. The evil warlock was whispering something in my father’s ear. Probably threats of pain or something.
“She will hurt me, Dad,” I eventually replied. “If she cuts the tie to the earth’s warlock magic, half of me will drain away, and I’ll die. But, she doesn’t care. Do you, Grandma?”
Her gaze narrowed on me. “You seem a little more confident than you did a moment ago.”
Shit, she was suspicious. I had to switch my cockiness to meek mode. She wasn’t easily fooled, and I needed the element of surprise to help me. Where was Gerard? I could do with his grounding energy right about now.
“Kill him,” Helena commanded as she went back to the fountain and took the leaf out of her pocket.
Where did I go first? Vernon cackled, the sound almost vibrating with a deeper, more evil tone.
Shoving my father to the ground, Vernon held his hands in the air. A large stream of black magic formed between his hands. It would kill my father instantly. Just one touch of complete black magic, especially in warlock form, would trap the soul inside it so it could go back to hell with its owner. Vernon had been touched by that awful place.
“Wait!” I shouted just as Vernon was about to throw it. “She’s going to kill you, too.”
Taking it slowly, I crept closer to them. Helena was still reading the spell, probably trying to memorise it completely. Sometimes, when a witch didn’t write a spell, it was harder to perform. She obviously didn’t care about Vernon, or she would’ve taken notice of what I was saying.
“I’m her greatest asset now.” Vernon was deluded. Still.
Closing my eyes, I thought about all the spells I’d used in my childhood. All the ones I’d taken for granted until I was no longer able to use them. Whispering in my mind, I put my strongest protection spell around my father. He flinched from where he leant against the fountain, looking at me quickly. His eyes were stretched wide, which meant he could feel h
ow intensely my magic had grown. From where, I didn’t know, but still, I was going to use it.
“For years, your family have kept us away from the magic. Finally, we have a link to it. Which means we don’t need you anymore.”
Launching his stream of magic, Vernon laughed in glee, the sound echoing around the garden. As soon as the offending darkness hit the wall in front of my father, he fell silent. The magic rebounded, almost hitting him. Jumping out of the way, he growled deeply in his chest.
Helena looked at me before her glance went to them. “What are you doing? Just kill him!”
Her attention was on the leaf which now lay on top of the book. She was about to cast the spell. For some reason, just before I was about to leap at her, I paused. An image of me standing by the tree, my hand in hers, shot into my mind. It played out as she smiled down at me. How was it so vivid?
“You don’t want to harm me with that magic,” she crowed as my vision cleared.
She had forced the memory. It was now a bad one. One that had played over and over in my mind. Once all this was done, I would get Kurt to erase it.
So, she knew that I had just somehow inherited some extreme magic from somewhere. There went my surprise attack.
“Devon!” Gerard shouted at the same time as a bullet flew past me.
Doing a ninja move, I somehow ended up by my father. Gerard, Justina, Kurt and my mother stormed the area. Squeezing my father’s hand, I tried to pull him to his feet. He shook his head, pushing me away.
A bolt of lightning zapped towards us, hitting me on the calf. Hopping, I swore like a motherfucker as the pain almost incapacitated me. Vernon was coming closer, trying to get to my dad. Half turning towards him, I bared my teeth. The bastard would pay. I’d killed him once, I’d have to kill him again.
“Devon, we need you!” Justina called.
Gerard came out of nowhere, knocking Vernon to the ground. Oh, please, mother earth, I couldn’t have my tattooed man touched by the darkness inside Vernon. It would kill him.
Magically Betrayed_An Urban Fantasy Novel Page 13