Winter Fire (Witchling Series)

by Ford, Lizzy

Noah stared.

  “Yeah, he’ll chop off your head when he finds out,” she added.

  He appeared genuinely surprised then uneasy.

  “Go back to your corner,” he told Summer. “Nothing will happen to you guys. This was just some stupid joke Dawn was playing.”

  Summer went back to her corner.

  “You really believe that?” Morgan asked, surprised. “Alexa tried to beat me up in the forest twice because your sister told her to.”

  “Dawn isn’t playing a joke. She’s going to kill us, Noah,” Summer added. “She’s tried to hurt me twice already.”

  “Stop it. Both of you,” Noah snapped and rose. “Dawn is just … upset. She’s not going to hurt anyone.” He glanced at Morgan. “Your leg was an accident.”

  “Ask Jason or Troy what Dawn wants with us if you don’t believe us,” Summer replied. “They were both in the forest when Alexa taser-d Morgan.”

  Noah paced.

  “Ice,” Morgan reminded him.

  “Don’t move. Either of you.” He strode towards the door and left.

  After a moment, Morgan glanced at Summer. “Now would be a good time for you to run.”

  “Probably,” Summer said, smiling. “But I’m not leaving you here.”

  “I’d leave you.”

  Summer laughed.

  “Okay, so I wouldn’t,” Morgan said with a sigh.

  “No, you wouldn’t. Just like you didn’t burn down the tree and whatever happened with Beck, it wasn’t because of you,” Summer said firmly.

  “You’re right about everything but Beck,” Morgan replied. She’d never burn down another tree, now that she knew they had their own spirits. The idea alone hurt her to think about.

  “I see how good you are, Morgan. It’s one of my gifts. I see the good in Decker, who’s possessed by Darkness,” Summer said. “I see it in you, too.”

  Morgan’s throat grew tight. “You’re the only one,” she whispered.

  Noah entered the room with a block of ice. He rustled through a backpack and pulled out a t-shirt. He wrapped the ice in it then approached Morgan and knelt beside her again.

  “This is heavy. You might want to hold it,” he said. He rested it on her shin, and she jerked.

  Noah’s eyes flew up to hers. In that moment, Morgan sensed something. Pain. Not physical, but mental pain. Something was wrong, and she didn’t know what. He was beyond troubled. He was distressed.

  A curse in the hallway outside the door made him twist. Morgan took the ice before he lost focus on her. Noah stood, and she rested the cold t-shirt gingerly on her calf.

  “We lost her,” the third dark teen, Jason, said. He flung his coat in frustration.

  “Lost her?” Noah asked. “Biji?”

  “She’s fast, man. You’ve never seen her run track,” the other Dark boy said. “She won’t get far. There’s a storm coming tonight.”

  “We need to find her,” Noah said. “She’ll freeze to death otherwise.”

  The boy shrugged. Morgan felt Noah’s pain and anger increase. She glanced at Summer, who was also studying Dawn’s brother.

  “That’s what you get if you’re stupid enough to run out into a storm,” Jason said.

  “She doesn’t even have a coat,” Summer said quietly.

  Noah glanced at her. Morgan saw his indecision. Summer wanted him to go after her. Morgan wasn’t so sure. Was it really worse to be out there than here with Dawn? Summer’s words returned to her. She saw good in people who seemed beyond redemption.

  “No gloves or boots, either,” Morgan added.

  “Her problem, not ours,” Jason said and sat beside the fire. “Dawn won’t care. She wanted these two.”

  “Biji was just caught in the crossfire,” Summer said.

  Morgan saw Noah’s resolution.

  “I’m going to find her,” he said and strode towards the door.

  “Whatever. Just be back before the storm. Your sister is supposed to be here soon, too,” Jason said, unconcerned.

  Noah left, tugging his coat on as he did. The two Dark teens waited until he was gone before they glanced at each other.

  “I’m guessing he doesn’t know that Dawn doesn’t intend to let Morgan and me go,” Summer said.

  “Shut up,” Jason said quietly. “We don’t know what her plans are for you.” He, too, seemed suddenly uncomfortable.

  “Noah thinks Biji’s hot. There’s no way he’ll find her, if Jason couldn’t,” the other boy said. “He’ll be back in an hour or so. She might’ve fallen into the lake.”

  Summer grew sad. Morgan pitied her. She knew her fate, but the idea of Biji in pain somewhere made Morgan’s fire agitated. Her brow was clammy, her body starting to shake. The ice wasn’t doing much more than annoy her. If she fell into shock, there was nothing she could do to help Summer.

  Please, Summer, just run. I can’t be responsible for hurting you, too.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Beck awoke with a start, unaccustomed to nightmares. He’d dreamt of the Darkness consuming him and then a fire that almost burned him to the core. Someone else was in his dream. Tyron-the-Bright, holding out a soul stone and uttering words Beck hadn’t been able to make out.

  Panting, he glanced around his room at his parent’s cabin. It was nighttime, though the hearth in his room was lit. He was surprised to see he wasn’t alone.

  “Please tell me you haven’t been sitting there watching me sleep or something weird,” he said to his brother.

  Decker just glared at him from his spot standing by the fire with his arms crossed.

  “How are you feeling?” his mother asked from the seat beside him.

  “Hot,” Beck replied. He glanced down to make sure he was wearing clothes then tossed off the covers. “I feel like I got hit by a snow plough then run over by a bonfire.”

  Decker laughed. “Welcome to my world, Beck. What you felt was the Darkness trying to claim you.”

  Beck frowned.

  “Do you remember what happened?” his mother asked.

  “What happened …” he repeated, not expecting the question. “I take it I didn’t just fall asleep and wake up with you all staring at me?”

  “No,” she replied. “I’ll call Amber and let her know you’re okay. She’s been texting me every five minutes.”

  Puzzled, Beck watched her leave. His mother was the queen of secrets and riddles. Fortunately, Decker was blunt to a fault.

  “What the hell is going on?” he asked his twin.

  “What’s the last thing you remember today?” Decker asked.

  Beck thought hard. Morgan.

  “Waking up with Morgan,” he replied. “We went to Linda’s ceremony last night.” He couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face.

  The air around Decker was sizzling. Beck stared at him.

  “Your sweet little Morgan is number one on my list now,” Decker growled. “She almost killed you, Beck.”

  “What?”

  “Amber found you knocked out in Morgan’s room this morning, Morgan standing over you. Whatever she did … whatever she is, she somehow summoned the Darkness to take you.”

  Beck’s blood ran cold. “I don’t remember that.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s what happened. She must’ve chickened out at the last minute and tried to save you,” Decker continued. “If she hadn’t pumped you full of fire magick, the Darkness would’ve stopped your heart. Mom and I used fire magick to reverse the rest of the damage.”

  Speechless, Beck could only gaze at his brother, stricken by the idea of his Morgan doing anything of the sort. She was strong and sweet, tough on the outside, but genuinely good on the inside. He considered what Sam had told him about how only fire could counter Darkness. It made sense that she tried to help him. It didn’t make sense that she meant to hurt him.

  “No, Decker,” he managed at last. “That can’t be what happened. I know her.”

  “Like you knew Dawn?”

  “I’m not the i
diot you think I am!” Beck snapped and rose. “Tell me you didn’t hurt her!”

  “Only because no one can find her. They’re gone.”

  Beck paced. He felt worn out, but his mind was clear. Nothing Decker said made sense.

  “Who’s gone?” he asked, Decker’s words registering.

  The air around Decker stilled dangerously, the way it did when the Darkness was starting to take hold of him.

  “Summer.” The word was barely human. “Morgan. Dawn. Biji. Alexa.”

  “Disappeared?”

  “Completely.” Decker shook off the Darkness and paced. “Morgan can’t be tracked because she’s in-between. I can’t track Summer and Biji, and Dawn and Alexa – along with a group of others – are off my radar.”

  “That means they figured out how we hid Summer from you,” Beck said pensively. “I’ll sense Summer and Biji, if they’re in danger from magick.”

  “Unless they learned something to block you, too.”

  Beck wiped his face. “Swear to me, Decker, you will not touch Morgan. Whatever happened, I can’t believe she’d hurt me.”

  Decker grimaced.

  “Swear it!”

  “Amber saw her over your body, Beck,” Decker replied. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

  “Omigod. This sounds like the reverse of a conversation we had a couple of months ago,” Beck replied with a tight smile. “When I was standing between you and the Darkness. Remember?”

  Decker rolled his eyes.

  “Swear it, Decker,” Beck said firmly. “If she hurt me on purpose, she’ll be Dark when we find her. I need to know what happened, before you go do your thing.”

  “Fine.”

  Relieved, Beck didn’t voice his own hurt or worry at the thought that Morgan might’ve hurt him, accidentally or not. He thought hard but couldn’t remember anything other than how incredible it was to wake up with her in his arms.

  “We need to find them,” he said, forcing himself to focus on their task, not his emotions. “Dawn will kill Morgan, Decker.”

  “I’m not so sure that’s a bad thing.” Darkness flashed through Decker’s gaze.

  “I can see we need some rules before we start looking,” Beck said. “One, you don’t kill anyone, until I have a chance to talk to them.”

  “I can – “

  “No one.”

  Decker hesitated then nodded.

  “Two, if you feel your friend Mr. Darkness starting to claim you again, you tell me then get the hell away. Got it?”

  Another stiff nod.

  “Alright. What do we know?”

  “Nothing.”

  Beck looked twice at his brother, his panic stirring. If Morgan and Summer were at the mercy of Dawn … If Morgan hadn’t knocked him under, what happened?

  Since the mess with Dawn, he hadn’t fully trusted his judgment with girls. Or much of anything else. But every part of his being told him Morgan wouldn’t hurt him.

  Beck summoned his magick and froze in place.

  “Final piece of bad news,” Decker said calmly. “Our wekeyen right of passage started at midnight today. I guess someone in this room told Dad it was okay.”

  “Oh, shit,” Beck muttered. “We can’t use magick.”

  “Nope. We can’t use our magick again until we complete the rite. I swear, Beck, if Summer –”

  “Don’t threaten me, Decker,” Beck said. “I couldn’t have known all this would happen. You couldn’t have either.”

  “You could’ve asked me before volunteering us!”

  “You could’ve not thrown yourself to the Darkness!”

  “Oh, you’re going there?” Decker snarled. “Let’s talk about Dawn!”

  Rarely did Beck want to fight. Normally, he preferred to be the peacemaker, the protector and the mediator. Tonight, though, he was too worried to back down.

  “You know what, Decker?” he demanded. He approached his brother and shoved him. “You’re a selfish asshole! Morgan is out there, too, or do you give a shit that the girl I like is in danger?”

  “The girl you like tried to kill you!”

  “You have no –“

  “If you’re finished discussing your plans.” The loud, calm voice of their grandfather caught both their attentions. “I’ve packed you snacks to take with you on your journey to the forest.” The family chef and favorite relative was a full head shorter than the twins, with dark skin and eyes. His hair was almost all white from age, and his double-elements lent his calming influence a two punch effect on those around him.

  “Your father says you have to find your own food in the forest, but no one said anything about snacks,” he continued.

  Beck mumbled an apology to him. He always felt like a five-year-old when Grandpa Louis looked at him like that.

  Decker swept out of the room. Beck hugged the elderly man on his way out and then followed his brother. Decker was out the door by the time Beck grabbed the small cooler from the table.

  “Bye, Mom! If Decker doesn’t kill me I’ll see you in a few days!” he called.

  “Take your cell phone, son,” his mother replied.

  Beck was about to retort that he didn’t think Native Americans had cell phones when they started the coming-of-age tradition hundreds of years ago. He thought better of it. Decker was already pissed, and his mother was right: Beck wasn’t going into the forest without a phone.

  “Hey, wait!”

  Beck turned, not expecting to hear the voice of a classmate in his parent’s cabin. Connor trotted out of the family room, looking distraught.

  “What’re you doing here?” Beck asked.

  “You said this was where Morgan would be,” Connor replied. “No one can find her. I thought she might be here or she might’ve told you where she was going.” He waited expectantly.

  “Well, we might know where she is,” Beck started. “Decker and I are going to find out for sure.”

  “I’m going with you.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “My sister is out there somewhere, and you don’t think it’s a good idea? What’s going on?” Connor demanded. “Is she in danger?”

  “Well, short version: the girl who tried to beat her up in the forest is working with my ex. We think Dawn snatched three girls,” Beck summarized. “Decker and I are going to look for her while on our rite of passage, which means we can’t use magick to find the girls.”

  “Rite of passage,” Connor repeated and raised his eyebrows. “I can help you find my sister, can’t I?”

  “Yeah. But if something bad happens, we can’t use our magick to help you.”

  “I’m going,” Connor snapped and marched towards the front door.

  Beck watched him. He was surrounded by angry people. At least when Morgan was pissed, she was beautiful and kissable.

  Morgan would never hurt me. Disturbed, he trotted out the front door, snatching his jacket on the way.

  “Hey, Decker,” he called. “Did you ask Dad if we could have our magick back, given the circumstances?”

  “Of course I did. He said it was the elements that pulled our powers and the elements that will return them.”

  “I’ve got mine,” Connor volunteered.

  “Great. So you can make us icicles.”

  “Don’t be an ass, Decker,” Beck replied, before the two broke out into an argument. He oriented himself quickly. Decker led them down the driveway from the cabin to the road that ran north around the lake and south to the town. They went north at the end of the drive. “We headed to the resort where I found Tanya?”

  “You got a better idea?”

  “I forgot how much easier you are to deal with when your girl is around,” Beck grunted.

  They walked in tense silence for an hour, until the plowed part of the road ended. The abandoned resort where Beck discovered Tanya’s body was located on the near side of the lake. Snowplows didn’t remove snow past the residential area, which meant they faced
a choice: march down the un-cleared road or cut through the forest.

  “How far is it?” Connor asked.

  “A couple of miles,” Beck answered. “I’m thinking forest. Decker?”

  “Forest,” his twin agreed.

  They moved off the road, following a deer trail into the woods. Beck tested his magick. It was there, just outside his reach. The earth was waiting for him. He was accustomed to the warm magick moving within him. Without it, he felt cold. Empty.

  “What happened yesterday?” Connor asked. Walking behind Decker with Beck trailing, Morgan’s brother glanced over his shoulder.

  “I’m not sure,” Beck replied.

  “You said you were going to take her somewhere safe.”

  “Really?”

  Connor glared at him, as if uncertain if Beck was serious.

  “I’m serious. I don’t remember,” Beck replied.

  “You don’t remember the tree? Morgan getting blamed for it?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Someone burned down the Christmas tree in the Square. The fire damaged the dorms and the forest,” Decker supplied. “Morgan is the only fire witchling on that campus.”

  “She didn’t do it,” Beck replied quickly.

  “Well, she threatened to burn it down in class and wouldn’t tell me where she was last night,” Connor grumbled. “I want to believe her, too, but it’s hard.”

  “She spent the night with me,” Beck said. “She didn’t leave my side.”

  “She what?” Connor spun so fast that Beck had to take a step back. “Didn’t I tell you not to get involved?”

  “Didn’t I tell you to keep your pants zipped?” Decker added. “Can’t you just not sleep with every pretty girl you meet?”

  “I don’t sleep with every girl,” Beck replied. He could feel how tense Connor was. “I didn’t sleep with Morgan. We were at my cousin’s wedding ceremony, surrounded by people, the whole night.”

  “Stay away from my sister, Beck,” Connor snapped.

  Beck was quiet for a moment. “No. Unless she tells me she doesn’t want to see me, I don’t care what you guys think.”

  Decker snorted. Connor mumbled something.

  “Case closed,” Beck said firmly. “Let’s go. I promised I’d take care of her, and I will.” He brushed by both and moved into the forest.