Rebel Witch

by September Stone

  “Simple friendship wasn’t enough,” Mona says as if I didn’t ask a question. “I knew from her time with Calder that a physical closeness would increase her powers. And his, in hindsight. I assumed he was just growing into his telekinesis, but his improvements coincided with his time spent with Bryn.” The corner of her mouth quirks slyly. “I can smell the magic in you, too. More potent than it was when you worked for me. You finally crossed over that physical barrier, didn’t you?” She clucks her tongue. “I wouldn’t have thought Bryn had it in her to take multiple lovers.”

  My skin crawls at the idea of discussing my love life with someone so vile. Although I can understand why Ryder can’t spare a team from the Front to move Mona to a secure location, I can’t help wishing he had diverted the resources.

  “How strong is that bond, I wonder.” Mona says the words more to herself than me, and I ignore her musing. I had to sit through too many of her pontifications to count while I was undercover in her organization, and I don’t have to feign interest anymore.

  “With all the gallivanting around you’ve been doing, have you had the chance to test her limits?” Mona asks.

  I ignore the question. She’s fishing for information, and there’s no good reason for me to play along.

  “How often does she need to… reconnect with each of you to keep herself strong?” She’s quiet for a long moment, as if giving me the space to respond. Except I’m not going to. The time when Mona could collect data on Bryn is long over. I won’t play her games now. “Now that there are four of you—she is intimate with all four of you, correct?—will closeness with just one of you do? Or does she still need each of you to keep from exhausting herself?”

  I press my lips together, but not because I’m tempted to answer. The fact is, I have no idea. Something special happened the night she and Silas accepted their connection to each other—they had a vision about Poe so strong that even Calder and I felt the aftershocks. I took that to mean our circle was complete, but what if that’s not the case? Is her connection to Silas somehow stronger than it is to the rest of us? Does that mean she doesn’t need us all equally? And how will that play in to who she wants?

  I clench and unclench my fist to pull me from my thoughts. This is exactly what Mona is trying to do. She wants to get in my head, to make me question everything I know. I can’t let her mind games work.

  But Mona’s next question hits me hard. “Has she begun displaying any of your powers yet?”

  I can’t help turning to face her. “Has she… what?”

  The smile that spreads itself across her face tells me she’s pleased to have struck upon something I don’t yet know. “It’s a benefit of being an anchor. Or, perhaps it’s a consequence. It depends on how equipped one is to deal with the influx of abilities.”

  I shake my head as I try to wrap my mind around what she’s saying. “Do you mean that Bryn can somehow tap into my magic and begin wielding fire?” The thought is ludicrous. While I’ve read a handful of accounts of witches having limited mastery over two elements, even scant control is difficult to achieve. It isn’t something a witch can simply wake up and master. And that’s nothing to considering Bryn could suddenly use Calder’s telekinesis or Silas’ mastery over weather or Poe’s… “Wait—are you saying that Bryn could shift now? People don’t just become shifters.”

  Mona shrugs as if conceding my point. “I’ll admit, I’m not entirely sure how it would manifest in that particular situation, but multiple accounts of anchors have reported that the focus is able to tap into abilities beyond her natural magic.” She leans forward, her arms straining against the cuffs. “That’s why she’s so important in this battle. Don’t you see that? Lillian is a vampire—old and strong. And to that, she’s added the powers of a fire affinity witch, a water affinity, and an air affinity. Think of your own power with your element and multiply that by the power you’ve already observed in Bryn. She’s a once-in-a-generation talent—and Lillian has harvested the talents of similar witches for decades. That’s why Bryn is the only one who can stop her.”

  I snort. “I won’t argue about Bryn’s strength with her affinity, but how is one earth witch supposed to take on a vampire with three affinities at her disposal?”

  “Aren’t you listening?” Mona’s eyebrows hike up her forehead, giving her an almost comical appearance. “It isn’t just her strength as a witch that makes her powerful—it’s her connection to you and the others. She can draw on all your abilities. It’s why she has to face off against Lillian.”

  I try to wrap my head around what Mona’s saying. “But if our abilities come into play, too, wouldn’t it be better for Bryn to face Lillian with the four of us at her side?” I press my lips together as soon as the words are out of my mouth. What am I saying? Bryn can’t go anywhere near Lillian. There’s too great a danger Lillian will siphon off Bryn’s magic. If what happened at the elders’ mansion is any indication, Lillian is already more dangerous than anyone anticipated. Adding the final affinity to her repertoire will make her completely unstoppable.

  Mona clucks her tongue and shakes her head in the way I’ve seen dozens of times before—always when one of her subordinates has disappointed her in some way, and usually followed by punishment of some sort. But Mona has no power here, and the expression serves only to irritate me.

  “My dear Taj,” Mona says slowly, my given name on her tongue jarring. “Having you and the others around while she fights Lillian will only be a liability. She’ll be too worried about the four of you. Her attention needs to be wholly focused on her task.”

  I squeeze my eyes shut. No. I don’t have to listen to Mona. Bryn isn’t going up against Lillian. The Front has all Mona’s intel about where Lillian will be. We have a plan to take her down before she can hurt anyone else with her euphorium. Nothing Mona wants will come to pass. “I’m ignoring you now,” I say, turning my back to her. “I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with Bryn facing off against Lillian, but it isn’t going to happen. We’ll make sure of it.”

  “Oh, I know,” Mona says, her voice silky. “And that’s why you’re going to break Bryn’s heart.”

  The melodic notes of Mona’s words clash against the harsh meaning, but something inside me wants to hear more.

  “You don’t trust her,” she continues, her voice like a symphony. “She’s weak and foolish. You need to leave her behind while you clean up her mess.”

  My head nods of its own accord. Everything Mona is saying makes perfect sense. This is all Bryn’s fault. If she hadn’t been so reckless… The connection to the reasons why are murky, but I have no doubt that Bryn will only do more harm than good if she’s allowed to have any say in the mission to stop Lillian. She needs to stay put.

  “Now,” Mona continues, “bring the other boys to me. They need to understand, too.”

  My feet are in motion almost before the words are off Mona’s lips. The others need to hear this. They need to know the truth. Bryn will only endanger the mission. We have to take down Lillian without her.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Bryn

  The tension in the cabin is palpable. Everyone has been on edge since they found out I contacted Mona.

  And while I’m not confined to a room like she is, I’ve barely ventured out of Silas and Poe’s room in hours. It seems every time I poke my head out and try to get a sense of what’s going on in the broader world, I’m met with a cold edge that chills me to the bone.

  I can’t even blame the guys for being mad at me. If I were in their place, I’d probably be feeling the same way. But if they’d just let me explain, I’m sure they’d understand.

  Instead, I keep my head down, sticking close to the cracked bedroom door whenever I near someone’s voice above a whisper.

  A knock at the door pulls me from my thoughts. Silas pokes his head in, his distracted expression softening when his eyes land on me. “Hey. Dinner, if you’re hungry.”

  He turns to head back into the
main part of the cabin, but I call after him. “Wait.”

  With what seems to be a monumental effort, Silas turns and crosses the threshold into my room. “Yeah?”

  I press my lips together. No matter how long I’ve had to think about how to explain my actions, the words still aren’t quite right. “I had to do it. You understand that, right?”

  He sighs, his gaze drifting to the floor. “I can’t do this right now.”

  My gut lurches at the distance in his words. Of them all, Silas understands me the most. He knows what it’s like to be twisted against your will, to be forced to do things you wouldn’t ordinarily do. He knows what it’s like to not know your place in the world because you’ve lived so long apart from it. If he can’t see the logic behind my actions, there’s no chance anyone else will. I need him on my side.

  I decide to try a new tack. “Is her information good?”

  Silas’ lips twitch. “It… looks promising.”

  I nod encouragingly. “That’s good, right? We didn’t have a lead before, and now we do. Now we can stop Lillian.”

  He shakes his head. “You can’t be this naive. Do you really think Mona wants to help us out of the goodness of her heart?”

  His words sting. “Well, no, but—”

  “How do you know she’s not in league with Lillian? This could be a trap.”

  The accusation hits me like a punch in the gut. “Don’t you think I’ve considered that?”

  He lifts a shoulder. “Hard to tell.” Holding my gaze, he blows out a breath. “If you’re going to eat, you’d better come to the kitchen.”

  Before I have a chance to respond, he’s out of the room.

  It takes a few seconds to get my bearings. If I can’t drum up an ounce of compassion from Silas, what hope do I have with the others? Still, the fact that they’re inviting me to join them for their meal instead of bringing me something to eat alone in my room must count for something.

  When I emerge into the hallway, I can’t help stealing a glance toward the room where Mona is being held. Someone stopped by about an hour ago with some protective enchantments from Ryder, and a few of those stones now line the doorway. My heart twists, but not out of concern for Mona. Do the guys really feel Mona is so dangerous as to need to be magically barricaded away? I harbor no misconceptions; I know Mona is dangerous. But since her downfall, she hasn’t behaved in a way that’s dangerous to any of us. In fact, the only time she’s reached out is to help us. And what’s the old saying? The enemy of my enemy is my friend. If Mona knows something that can help us, it’s foolish not to use the information.

  By the time I make it to the kitchen, the guys have already filled their plates. Taj, Calder, and Poe sit side-by-side on the couch I was supposed to sleep on last night and Silas leans against the wall opposite it. No one looks up when I enter.

  And the chilliness continues.

  I pick up the remaining plate and spoon some kind of casserole onto it. It’s a far cry from the world-rocking meal from last night, but since I’ve barely eaten today, I have to force myself to keep from shoveling it into my mouth.

  I walk toward the guys and try to locate a place to eat. No one makes room on the couch, so I sit on the floor by the wall near Silas. The only sound in the room is the clink of silverware against plates.

  The light filtering through the windows has the pale golden look of late afternoon sunshine. Mona mentioned that Lillian was hosting her big announcement in a town two hours outside Twin Rivers. I wonder when we’ll be heading out. If we go too soon, we run the risk of being spotted before Lillian shows herself. If we go too late, there may be too many vampires around for us to get a clear shot at the woman herself. I chastise myself for giving in to the allure of sleep. I should have stayed up to keep up on all the details of the night’s mission.

  One by one, the guys finish their meals and wash their plates. I watch as they begin gathering supplies that have steadily streamed into the cabin throughout the day—silver stakes and hand guns with magazines full of silver-tipped bullets. Each packs his own backpack.

  I finish the rest of my food as quickly as possible and rinse off my plate until it’s mostly clean. As I walk to the long table where the guys have congregated, I look around expectantly, but no matter where my eyes scan, I come up short. “Where’s my pack?”

  Beside me, Poe stills. “We don’t have one for you.”

  I study the supplies. Some are small enough to tuck into my pockets, but if I’m facing an unknown quantity of bad guys, I’ll want a variety of tricks up my sleeve. “Do you think we can stop somewhere in town and pick one up?”

  Poe glances down at me, his expression unreadable. “Why would we need another one?”

  The corner of my mouth twists upward. “I can carry my own bag, you know. I’ll even stay next to one of you, if it makes you feel better.”

  Poe’s face puckers with confusion. “You don’t need a pack because you’re not going.”

  His words hit me like a punch in the gut. “What are you talking about?” I look to Taj and Calder, waiting for them to come to my aid, to tell Poe he’s being overly protective. But they both gaze steadily at me with no hint of support brimming in their eyes. “I have to go.”

  “Why?” Poe asks.

  I gape, words failing me for several seconds. “What do you mean, why? Because I can help!” Anger surges in my veins. This is just like back at Elowen’s cabin when Poe was positive I would be a liability in a fight. “In case you’ve forgotten, we wouldn’t have made it out the forest with the Order of Theurgy without me. I know how to fight. I’m strong enough to hold my own.”

  “We know that,” Silas says. I turn to face him, positive I’ve finally located the sympathetic corner in the room. “But Lillian is another matter. You saw what she did at the elders’ mansion. This is beyond anything you’ve trained for. We’ve discussed it, and we’ve decided it’s best if you stay here.”

  My body forgets how to breathe. When air finally renters my lungs, it comes in a desperate gasp. “What? Why?”

  “Because we don’t trust you,” Taj says, his voice even.

  “You don’t trust me?” The sentiment is almost laughable coming from Taj, who lied during the first several months we knew each other. He pretended to work for Mona so he could get close enough to me to break me out of her compound. I understand why he had to keep his identity a secret, but learning the truth made it initially very difficult to believe he had my best interests at heart.

  “You’re not being logical,” Calder says in a maddeningly soothing voice. “Reaching out to Mona—that was all emotion. We told you not to do it, but you went behind our backs. Sure, she didn’t kidnap you right away when you met her in the dark forest—alone. But who knows what will happen if we bring you to face Lillian? If you disobey orders again, you could get yourself killed.”

  My heart pounds against my chest. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “I promise I’ll follow orders,” I say. “I won’t breathe unless Ryder gives me the go-ahead. Just take me with you.”

  Poe shakes his head. “No. You have to stay here. And when this is over, I think the five of us have to have a long talk about the future. Because I for one can’t be with someone I can’t trust.”

  He holds my gaze for a long moment, and in his eyes I see what he’s not saying. It’s over. As far as he’s concerned, my going to Mona is tantamount to betrayal, and that’s something someone as loyal as Poe can’t move past.

  It’s like a piece of my soul shears off as Poe adjusts his pack on his back and starts toward the door. I look to Taj, Calder, and Silas, searching for some sign that one of them is on my side—that one of them will stand up for me. But all I see are heads shaking in disappointment.

  “Taj.” I reach for him as he passes. “Come on. You can’t really believe you can’t trust me.”

  He pulls out of my grip. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

  I turn to Calder, tugging at his hand. �
��Come on. You know me. You have to know I was doing what I thought was right.”

  He shakes his head as he shakes off my hand. “People change, Bryn. And you’ve changed.”

  A knife twists in my heart as I turn to Silas—the one who sees me clearest of all. I step into his path, placing a hand on each of his shoulders. “Sometimes we do things because we have no other choice. This isn’t about my history with Mona, it’s about stopping Lillian. Tell me you can see that.”

  Silas presses his lips together and brings his hands up to cup my cheeks. Relief wells in my stomach. Finally, someone can make the others see the truth.

  “Goodbye, Bryn.”

  Silas drops his hands and moves around me so quickly I can barely react. Surely he can’t mean…

  The four of them are out the door by the time my body begins obeying commands again. I run after them. I can’t let them leave with things like this between us. I won’t fight in the battle if they don’t want me to, but they at least have to let me go with them so we can talk things through.

  At the threshold, a force like an electric shock forces me backward so violently that I almost lose my footing as I stumble backward. “What the…” I move forward again cautiously, but when I stretch my hand toward the door, something repels it. “What’s happening?” I shout.

  Poe slows and turns to face me. “The supplies the Front brought us weren’t just to keep Mona in one place. We knew you’d try to follow us, so we had to make sure you couldn’t.”

  I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “You’re imprisoning me?”

  “It’s for your own good,” Silas says. “You don’t know what Lillian is like. You’ll be safe here until she’s out of power. Then… Well, we can cross that bridge when we come to it.”

  Something in the way he says it makes me think that whatever bridge stands before us, we won’t be crossing it together.

  “Please don’t leave me here!” I shout the words over and over, but the guys continue on their way down the trail. I call out, pleading for someone to come back, but one by one they disappear, leaving me alone.