The owl dove toward the ground, flying right over us and behind a bush. Dillon sprang up, his red hair sticking out every which way as he tried to pull his pants on, not drop his pack, hop toward us, and talk at the same time.
“But, sir, it’s bad. He’s got everyone really upset and wondering why we’re waiting on Mr. Aidan instead of going to attack Cresthaven. He doesn’t believe in Mr. Aidan and now they sound like they don’t either. But, we still do, sir. Mr. Aidan is the one, right?” Dillon eyes shifted from Elias, to me, to Will. At this point, we all had pulled on sweats left in the trees and thankfully, Elias spoke, because I had no idea what to say to Dillon.
“Breathe, Dillon. Why don’t you tell me where Braxton is and we’ll just go find out exactly what’s happening? And yes, I don’t just believe Aidan is our leader. I know he is. You trust me, don’t you?” Elias crouched down, getting on Dillon’s level. He held up a closed fist and Dillon smiled, bumping it with his own.
“I sure do, sir. Let’s go get ‘em. He’s talking in the clearing.” Dillon stopped and muttered, “Trying too damn hard to be like you, sir, if you ask me.”
I struggled to keep a straight face and so did Elias. I even saw Will press his lips together. Through clenched teeth, Elias tried to reprimand Dillon’s swearing, but failed miserably. Instead, he said, “Let’s just go.”
We all snuck along the perimeter quietly, wanting to hear exactly what this Braxton character was up to. I had no clue who he was, but Elias hadn’t seemed surprised that he was causing trouble. We didn’t have to go far before we could hear him.
“Are we really going to trust some guy who showed up out of nowhere and can barely maintain his own shift? A guy who claims to be the discarded boyfriend of the Keeper? Why aren’t we mobilizing and making our way to Cresthaven? We know the Keeper is there and so is the Queen. We could be getting the girl and even finding a way to take out the Queen!” We could hear the muddled questions and hollers of agreement in response to Braxton’s accusations.
“We’re going to entrust our lives and our futures to a stranger? Elias’s vision is clouded. This Aidan is not our leader. He claims he looks like the long lost Zendrick, but none of us knew Zendrick. There is no one to corroborate his story—”
Just as my blood pressure rose and my wolf stirred, I heard a man’s voice carry over the crowd. “Excuse me.”
Braxton’s response to being interrupted was filled with fury. I could feel his barely contained rage before I even heard his words. “What? Who are you? You aren’t an AniMage. You have no right to speak here.”
“Don’t I?” he responded. “You speak of the Keeper. A girl who is prophesized to change our future, and is being kept captive by the Queen. You think she can help you and give you back your place in the world. That girl is not just some girl. She is not just the Keeper. She is my daughter.” I had known it was Nathaniel speaking before he finished. I only wished Amelia could be here to see her father fight for her.
The crowd quieted and Nathaniel continued.
“You say you don’t believe in Elias or Aidan? I can tell you the three of us were just as close to Zendrick as Elias was, and we will also vouch for his son. I have been a friend of the AniMages my whole life. My wife and I ran from our home, not only to escape Julia and keep our children safe, but to fight on the side of those we believed in—you. My Liana died at the hands of a Hunter, on orders from the Queen, while she was bringing our daughter into this world. I have spent the last eighteen years bound by Rhi. The Queen holds both my daughter and my son captive. We share a common enemy and a common goal. I’m telling you there is no one else who can help us.”
We were just around the corner at this point and Elias looked back toward me, his eyes glowing blue. He was holding back his panther, but the power was flowing through him all the same. I knew the feeling. My power was slowly becoming a familiar piece of me. As it uncoiled and spread through my veins, I could feel the change. I was lighter on my feet, more alert and attuned to the emotions and movement around me.
Elias moved back to me and whispered, “I think you need to face them—to face him. If you don’t establish your dominance now, all is lost. And we need fighters if we’re going to get to Amelia.”
I wanted to argue, but his logic was sound. Whether or not I believed I was their leader—which I was still on the fence—if I didn’t stand up now, I’d never have their support. This wasn’t about me, it was about Amelia.
I moved to the corner and peeked around at the man standing in front of the group. Immediately, I thought, I know him. But, I couldn’t place him. It didn’t matter. I took a quick breath in and out and sauntered around the corner, as if nothing in the world was wrong and I wasn’t about to face down fifty AniMages who could rip me to shreds. Literally. With their claws.
Chapter 20
I had spent the afternoon working with my contained Keeper power. After being deposited back in my room, I heard a knock and opened it expecting Baleon. Instead, I found an unknown Hunter who wore a terrifying smile and shoved my tray at me. Instantly, I knew Rhi must have Bale and I was sick to my stomach. Baleon hadn’t been there this morning and he wasn’t here now. I had no idea what was happening to him, but I knew it was my fault. Guilt weighed me down.
I threw the tray onto a table and tried to call for Micah via our connection, but I couldn’t find him. I hoped him being unavailable meant he was either trying find Bale or getting Cole out of here. I needed to know my brother was safe.
I had to distract myself somehow, so I focused on my Keeper. A certain nervousness always came over me when I was intentionally engaging with the Keeper power. I didn’t fear it as I had before, so long as my cuff was securely in place, but I still didn’t entirely trust it either. There was too much at risk and too many unknowns.
It took me some time to calm down and focus long enough to withdraw inside myself. I found all five entities separate again and floating around the room. The door was once again wide open and they simply existed, moving about the room and emitting relief at being in their preferred form. It didn’t seem like they enjoyed the dark and dangerous being they became when combined.
I wanted to make progress. I had to make progress. So, I tried mimicking the cuff symbol again by inserting my fists and trying to separate the mixed Hunter power. Within seconds, it melded back into its magical orb and moved from my grasp. The white orb was elusive as always, staying near the ceiling and mocking me. I knew she was the key and not being able to get to her frustrated me. I couldn’t afford to get worked up, though, so I left them alone and spent the rest of the time staring at the ceiling, wondering what was to come.
I hadn’t expected to be summoned again by the Queen, especially not just hours after our first encounter. But another new Hunter stood outside my door, this one actually introducing himself.
“I am Joran. I am here to take you to the Queen.” His head was bald and covered in tattoos, but his voice was surprisingly soft. There was pity in his eyes I hadn’t expected, yet I still felt no emotions from him. Baleon was nowhere in sight and I hoped he was behind Micah’s door with Cole.
“It’s nice to meet you, Joran.” He was the only Hunter outside of Bale to show me any kindness and I didn’t want to give him a reason to change his mind. He gave me a small smile and gestured into the hall. I nodded and we fell in step together.
“Where is Baleon?” I asked. I wasn’t sure whether Joran was the right person to ask, but he was the only person to ask.
“He is otherwise engaged.” Joran’s tone reeked of disgust and my stomach fell. Rhi had Bale and it was my fault.
“Will he be okay?” I clenched my fists, digging my nails into my palms as I waited for his answer.
“He will survive. The Queen will not allow otherwise.” Joran turned away from me and I knew that line of conversation was closed.
Once we hit a point I didn’t recognize, I let Joran lead, but my anxiety grew. He turned in directions I wasn’t fami
liar with and I found myself going underground.
I had never considered myself particularly phobic of anything, but as we went down flight after flight of stairs, the darkness overwhelming the space outside of the orange flame erupting from Joran’s palm, my fear elevated. If I were walking into some sort of ambush, I knew I could at least remove the cuff and protect myself, but it was a last resort. I couldn’t guarantee I could stop the Keeper once she got started again.
As we reached the bottom of the staircase, Joran stopped and turned to me. “This will only be temporary,” he said apologetically before waving a hand in front of my face, making me blind. I turned my head in every direction and saw nothing. Blank. Black. Darkness. No shapes, no colors…nothing. I was paralyzed, my power lashing out, but whatever Joran had done to me was more than my own magic could combat.
“Be calm, Keeper. I’m not hurting you. I simply must not allow you to understand the rest of our journey.” He placed his large hand on my shoulder and another at the small of my back. “I will lead you and let no harm come to you. I swear it.”
With his touch and words, my mind and body sprung back into action. I whipped around, unable to see him but well aware of where his voice had been. I lashed out, using every bit of training Cole had taught me. I struck out with my left hand, hoping the butt of my hand might connect with his nose, as I lunged in with a right cross. Both missed the mark and I heard his chuckle to my right. I pivoted on my heel, planted, and threw out a left sidekick, barely grazing him. I dropped back into my stance and stood still, listening for him.
“Keeper, we can do this forever if you’d like. But I can see you and you can’t see me. It isn’t a fair fight. If you’d let me take you where you need to go, I can remove the bind that took your sight.” I hated how his logic was sound and even more, the humor laced in his voice.
“Where are you taking me? Tell me and I’ll play along.” I considered trying to get one solid roundhouse kick in before I did, but I knew if anyone got hurt, it would likely be me.
“My gift is recognizing truth and because I know you speak it now, I will concede,” he said. I wasn’t sure if he could see my eyes, but I rolled them, realizing the last thing I needed was a Hunter who would know when I was lying. Even if he didn’t seem to hate my guts like the rest of them.
Joran continued. “The Queen has determined you cannot be convinced of her true motives until you see them for yourself. If you will allow me, I will take you to her.” Joran slowly curled his fingers over my shoulder, though he didn’t dig them in to prove his superiority, as I would have assumed.
“I know you do not trust me, and that is fine. It’s likely for the best. But I hear the truths you speak, Keeper. They are louder than your words. There are more truths inside you than you even understand, but there are also many lies.”
“What does that even mean?” I asked, frustrated on many levels as I started forward, cautiously putting one foot in front of the other.
We walked for some time before I felt his warm breath on my neck as he leaned down, his words a light whisper in my ear. “Sometimes we convince ourselves lies are truth and truths are lies. We convince ourselves so vehemently, we cannot tell the difference. You have been told many things and it can only be you who finds the real truth. Now, hush, we must not speak anymore. Just walk.”
I turned his words in my mind, over and over. I couldn’t argue with him. Elias had told me a version of the same thing and he had been right, too. So much of what I saw as facts were most often withheld secrets or misinformation. Things I had taken to be absolute truths were nothing close to reality. I had once told Cole we just needed to listen to everyone and figure out who was worth believing. Right now, I had no idea who to trust. From what Joran had just said, I wasn’t sure I could even trust myself.
Finally, he stopped me and I heard a door open. Placing his hand on my lower back once more, he guided me into a room. I heard the loud thud of the door being closed and the snick of the lock. I focused on the sounds. Beeps at regular intervals. The ting of metal on metal. Quiet feminine voices. A television in the background. The sound of muffled tears.
My nose wrinkled at the smell of bleach. Anxiety crept through my system. “Joran?” I said his name quietly, unsure of who else was in the room, but knowing there was no way we were alone. He didn’t respond, but the air shifted as what had to be a hand moved across my face. And, just like drapes being pulled to one side, my vision returned.
My mouth gaped open and I gasped as I took in the scene around me. There were women everywhere—there had to be twenty of them—all in hospital beds, hooked up to multiple machines. Each one looked at me in fear, their eyes wide as they pulled themselves to the furthest corners of their beds. Only one looked at me passively—indifferent even. She had long, deep red hair pulled to the side in a braid that interrupted the blue-checkered pattern of her hospital gown. She stared into my eyes with such intensity, such hate, I could hardly maintain the contact. She didn’t know me or why I was here, but it didn’t matter.
My eyes travelled the cavernous room, with rows of beds and scared women, finally landing on barred doors lining the walls. One look at the animals struggling to move to the back of their cells and I knew what was in front of me. I had seen enough pregnant stray cats growing up to recognize it right away. I walked slowly through the room, looking at each woman, even though most wouldn’t look at me. Joran didn’t try to stop me, but he stood still, his face blank as he looked in the opposite direction of the women. Then I came to the cages.
In the first cell was a cheetah. Her coat was dull and patchy, her frame small but clearly bloating with pending kittens. A collar around her throat was anchored to the wall, giving her only a few feet of chain to work with—just enough to lay on the floor as she labored to breath. Next to hers was a cage far too small for the tigress contained in it. She, too, was chained to the wall, her belly swollen with kittens. She huddled in the back of the cage, baring her teeth at me as I wrapped my hands around the bars of her cell. A low growl rumbled in her throat and tears welled in my eyes. Her fear was only slightly outmatched by her determination to protect her kittens.
Not wanting to scare her, or anyone, further, I pulled away and stood. Seeing the two pregnant AniMage females made me look harder at the women around me. Each one protectively wrapped their arms around their bellies. The women were all in varying stages of pregnancy—a few weren’t even showing. I was certain I had found myself in Julia’s personal breeding center. Our conversations suddenly made sense now. She was up front about the fertility challenges the Immortals had been facing and had alluded to finding the solution, but I never imagined this.
Anger rushed through my veins and I debated removing the cuff right then and there, ripping the doors off the AniMages’ cages and getting both the women and animals out, but I had to be smart. I had no idea where I was, I had no help, and I wouldn’t have any clue what to do with these poor women when I got them free. I had to remind myself these were women carrying children. I couldn’t put them in more danger than they were already in.
“Where is she?” I demanded as I strode to face Joran. He opened his mouth to answer as I heard the door open. I turned to find Rhi enter the room. I crossed my arms over my chest as I watched him move toward us. Rhi stared me directly in the eyes, gloating over my rage. His mouth twisted into an evil smile and he ran his hands over the foot of the women’s beds as he passed. He didn’t spare them a look, but his smile grew as they cowered away. He enjoyed their fear and it made me want to break him. I clenched my fists and reminded myself again, now was not the time.
As he got closer, Joran adjusted his position so he was standing beside me. He moved only inches, but I felt his presence and it gave me confidence. Between his earlier words and his behavior now, I knew he was at least a partial ally. Right now, I would take whatever I could get. Unfortunately, Rhi also noticed his movement.
“Do you stand with the Keeper now, Joran? Do y
ou betray your people and your Queen?” Rhi walked around us in a tight circle. He took slow, measured steps as he eyed not only me, but Joran. His eyebrows rose over his bright orange eyes as he appraised me. His eyes met my own, traveling to my toes and back again. As he walked a second circle, he stopped in front of me, leaning in so his face was only inches from mine. Power rippled through me and from the way my Keeper bounced around frantically inside me, I was sure his swirling orange eyes were met with the deep violet of my own. Violet smoke I couldn’t stop gathered in my palms as I struggled to stand still.
“You are an abomination, girl. What’s inside you should never have been, and we will get it out. One way or another, the Elder power will be put in the hands of the Queen and used for its rightful purpose. You may think otherwise, but you are only a pawn in this game. You mean nothing. You are nothing.” He smiled and then a flash of surprise crossed his face as I smiled in return. A wide grin formed as I leaned into him this time, whispering my own threats.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Hunter. I broke your binds once. I have more power inside me than you’ve ever had in you.” His eyes narrowed and his smile melted into a thin line as his jaw clenched. I continued. “You can’t begin to know what I’m capable of. And bringing me here to see this was the wrong move. I didn’t know firsthand what you were doing. I didn’t understand. But I see it now. You’ve just made this my fight, and I will fight you with every ounce of what’s inside me until you beg me to stop.”
“Enough.” Her clipped tone cut through the tension between us, and both Rhi and I pulled back, turning to see the Queen standing just inside the door. She walked toward us, wearing a pantsuit, her heels clicking across the cement floor. It was the first time I’d seen her in anything but a formal dress. She looked like woman ready to go into the office instead of a manipulative mastermind. Every hair was perfectly in place, pulled up in a loose chignon. Her face was made up flawlessly, down to the smoky eye shadow making her blue eyes seem even brighter.
Bound by Spells (Bound Series Book 2) Page 18