Within a few moments, Mandy was able to make out the screams that could only belong to Rebekah.
~~~
Andre: Munich, Germany
Andre’s back slammed hard onto the floor, nearly knocking the wind out of her. And then, she felt her body lift into the air and slam into the wall before falling back down.
“Pathetic,” Henri sneered as he slowly approached her. “I would have expected better from the one who killed Dimitri Andreivich.”
Andre glared at him through hair that clung to her face. Wordlessly, she lunged at him again despite her body screaming in protest. Effortlessly, Henri caught her and spun her around so her back slammed against his torso. She struggled against him, but he proved to be much stronger than Dimitri had been.
“Tell me, Andre,” Henri rasped as he started dragging her backwards. “What did Dimitri do to deserve such a fate?”
Andre met the horrified gazes of the rest of the mortal magic users. None of them would attack Henri while he had her in his clutches.
“He grabbed me,” Andre said before the cold metal that could only belong to a knife pressed against her throat.
“It seems he did a lot more than that,” he said before making the tiniest cut on her throat, feeding the knife’s poison into her veins.
Andre felt her movements slow as the room grew in and out of focus.
“You’re weak,” Henri sneered as he brushed his finger over the cut he made. The smallest droplet of blood appeared on his skin. “Perhaps at one point you could have been strong, but that time has long past.”
Suddenly, the door to the room slammed open, and Henri violently shoved Andre away from him. Before her body had a chance to hit the ground, strong arms caught her, wrapping her in a protective embrace.
“I got you,” a voice that could only belong to Reilly said. His body stiffened against hers. “We have company.”
Before Andre had time to process what Reilly meant, he dragged her over to a vacant side of the room and gently set her down. Then, he kneeled in front of her, and she could barely distinguish his form from the rest of the room as the emerald continued to take hold.
“Stay with me,” Reilly said as his fingers glowed with magical heat. Around them, the room shook.
“Reilly, what are you—” Andre began, soon cut off when Reilly pressed his hands to her neck. Instantly, power flooded through her, more power than she should have, as it started combating the emerald that infiltrated her system. She felt the effects soon reverse, and her vision solidified. At once, Reilly took his hands away, and she stared at him, baffled. “What did you do?”
Reilly quickly stood up and offered her a hand, which she hesitantly accepted. “I lent you some of my power,” he said as he pulled her to her feet. “That should help combat the emerald in your system.”
Andre was still confused by why Reilly would do such a thing. After all, she was unnecessarily rude to him at Christmas, since she didn’t particularly trust him. Now, however, she began to see him in a different light—and she was about to say so when something else caught her attention.
Mandy.
The Foreseer was currently trembling behind Aaron and Courtney as Henri eyed her with malicious intent. In her hands was a knife, and Andre instantly knew it was Rebekah’s knife.
“No,” Andre said as she moved away from Reilly. “I left her in the room for a reason!” And then, she met someone else’s gaze from across the room. Ava. Of course. Burning hatred soon coursed through her veins at how the spirit recklessly endangered Holly’s and Rebekah’s lives and now Mandy’s. Though before she had a chance to confront Ava, Johnson appeared by her side in minutes, and the two of them soon disappeared in a plume of non-dissipating white smoke.
Jason took the opportunity to advance on Henri, and Andre was about to join him when something—or rather, someone—slammed into her from the side. Quickly, she spun around and saw Elyse, whose burning hatred told her everything.
“Murderer!” Elyse spat. And then, she cackled as her hands lit up in blue electricity. She struck out with an electrical whip, and Andre barely had enough time to put up a shield before the electricity was upon her. Dozens of currents skirted past her, leaving behind Elyse, who looked absolutely drained as if she used the bulk of her power for that attack.
Andre pressed her advantage as flames appeared in her hands. Before the immortal witch had a chance to recover, Andre sent the flames into Elyse, who instantly started screaming before black smoke consumed her and took her away from the scene.
Andre huffed before whirling on Henri and Jason, who were locked in magical combat. The rest of the chaperones and Royal Guard were skirting around the perimeter of the room, some checking on Holly and making sure she was alive before carrying her out of the room.
And Reilly was at Rebekah’s side, trying to figure out how to undo the shackles that bound her to the wall.
Rebekah was still just barely holding on, and Andre willed some of her magic into the Innocent in order to soothe some of her pain. “I’m sorry I failed to protect you,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Rebekah smiled weakly at Andre. “You didn’t fail. I should’ve listened.” Her smile then vanished. “You were right about Jeffery. And when Holly left, I should’ve stayed in the room. I don’t know why I didn’t, but—”
“Rebekah, stop,” Andre commanded as she soothed away more of Rebekah’s pain. “We’re going to get out of this.”
The first shackle fell from Rebekah’s wrist, and her wounded arm dangled helplessly at her side. Reilly grinned. “One down. Three to go.”
Andre felt the presence of someone else next to her, and she turned only to find Mandy, who was still clutching the knife. “Ava wanted me to bring this to you,” she said softly, “but it seems like we were too late.”
A second shackle soon fell to the floor.
Andre took the knife from Mandy, and the Foreseer spun around as if to return to her room, but Andre reached out a free hand to stop her. “Stay. You’re safer here with us than you are wandering alone.”
Mandy returned to her side. “Will she be okay?”
Andre nodded. “As soon as we get her out of here.”
“No!” a shrill scream suddenly sounded, reverberating throughout the room.
Andre spun around, and there was Johnson, who was looking on in horror as Reilly freed Rebekah. “She’s supposed to be dead!” she screamed again, and then, she wailed.
Momentarily, Henri stopped what he was doing to stare at the spirit with pure malice—and Jason used Henri’s distraction to his advantage. With one final push, he released a great amount of magic into Henri’s system—and dazed, the immortal warlock flew backwards. Before he slammed into the wall, however, black smoke started to consume him. And then, he was gone.
Reilly unlocked a third shackle. And then, a fourth. And then, Rebekah fell into his waiting arms, and he secured her in a protective grasp as he began to carry her away.
Johnson halted her wailing. And then, she dove at Rebekah and Reilly in a futile attempt to salvage what had been lost.
At the same moment, Andre darted in front of Rebekah and Reilly and held up the knife as a warning.
And Johnson paused as she, too, was calculating the risk versus the reward. And then, she disappeared as well.
Not long afterwards, the presence of immortal magic started diminishing and then soon disappeared. The Massacre was finally over.
CHAPTER
FORTY
Rebekah: Munich, Germany
A
couple ice packs encompassed Rebekah’s neck in an attempt to soothe her blistering skin, and her hands were wrapped in tight bandages. She was lying down on an infirmary bed, and she was not alone. All the beds were occupied with injured participants.
The events of last night were still a little hazy to her, but what she did remember was Rosalie. She remembered the pain in Rosalie’s face as the new witch was forced to torture her. And
she remembered the tears in Rosalie’s eyes that looked so foreign on an immortal magic user. But lastly, she remembered Jeffery, the boy who had simultaneously stolen her heart and betrayed her. She remembered Andre saying that Jeffery was in thrall to Henri Anderson. But what does that mean?
Rebekah’s bed creaked with added pressure, and Holly came into view. For just having survived a mass killing, Holly looked good, and there wasn’t a scratch on her.
“Hey,” she said as she laid a hand across Rebekah’s forehead. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I just survived Hell.” Rebekah cracked a weak smile. “I see you’ve been healed.”
“Andre,” Holly said by way of explanation. “She’s helping the magic users heal. She said she’d be here soon, but she wanted me to come first.”
Rebekah shifted her position but then winced as pain shot up her limbs. “How many are dead?”
“A few,” Holly said solemnly. “None of the participants, and not nearly as much as we were expecting. I think…I think Jason may make a better king than everyone originally made him out to be. It’s a shame what happened to his son, though.”
Rebekah winced again, though this time it was due to Holly’s casual mention of Jeffery. And then, a thought came to her. “What does it mean to be in thrall to someone?”
Holly opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, the door to the infirmary slammed open, revealing Andre, who was quickly followed by Jason.
Andre beamed at her, though even she looked a little sad. “You’re awake.”
Rebekah smiled weakly in return, though the smile didn’t reach her eyes.
“What’s the verdict?” Holly questioned, and it was like a bit of silent understanding passed between the three magic users.
Jason’s expression soon turned solemn. “I’ve sent Jeffery away,” he explained. “He’s not going to prison, per se, but he is going somewhere where he can be…evaluated.”
Rebekah’s heart sank, but she said nothing.
Andre seemed to read something on Rebekah’s face, for she said, “Because his actions weren’t his own, he’s technically not under arrest.”
“Because of the enthrallment,” Rebekah said bitterly. “What does that even mean?”
The three magic users glanced between each other again as if debating what and how much to tell her.
“It’s a very outdated practice.” It was Holly who suddenly spoke. “Back in the Medieval era, certain witches and warlocks of lower rank would flock to the nobility for protection, and that protection was sealed with the enthrallment bond. But the bond itself was later considered to be very parasitic, for it granted the caster complete control over whom they promised to protect.” She paused as she eyed the other two magic users warily. “It was officially outlawed by mortal law in the early nineteenth century.”
Rebekah shook her head, confused. “But what does that mean for Jeffery?”
“It means,” Jason began, and Rebekah could tell it pained him to speak of his son in such a regard, “that sometime during Jeffery’s captivity, Henri forced him into his service through the enthrallment bond.”
“And until they can figure out how to break the bond safely, which has never been done before,” Andre added, “Jeffery has to remain locked up in a place where he can’t harm himself or others.”
Rebekah froze, and then, she thought of Mandy. “Is that how he…controlled Mandy too?”
“No, the enthrallment bond only works between two magic users,” Andre said, and Rebekah released a relieved sigh. “However, she was still under the spell of a similar sort.”
“Which you managed to break,” Rebekah said as she eyed Jason, “right?”
Jason hesitated before replying, “Correct.”
“So, why can’t you break the bond between Henri and Jeffery?”
“Because this is different,” said Holly as her eyes widened in horror. “Bonds of this sort have been broken before, but it always cost the victim his or her life. Jeffery could die!”
Jason eyed Holly warily. “Yes. He could die.”
“So, his only two options are eternally being Henri’s slave and death.” Rebekah scoffed. “And I let him into my life.”
“No one knew. Henri was very careful to keep us in the dark,” said Holly.
“I suspected something was wrong with him,” Andre added, “but not this.”
“Which reminds me,” Jason said, turning to Andre. “I have to leave now to prepare for the final ceremony. I trust you’ll have Rebekah in good condition to attend.”
Andre nodded before flashing Rebekah a smile. “Shouldn’t be too hard.”
“And, Andre, a little bit of advice before I leave.” Jason paused. “You are very perceptive, and that will go a long way in helping the Royal Guard. But, and I am going to have a talk with every single member about this, you have to come to me with any concerns you have. A lot of this could have been avoided if you had just done that instead of randomly attacking my son while the Massacre was already in session.”
“It wasn’t random, but noted,” Andre said. “And, if I may offer some advice myself, never, ever volunteer to host a human competition again.”
Jason smiled wistfully. “I wasn’t planning on it.” And then, he was gone, and Andre sat next to Holly on Rebekah’s bed.
Andre reached over and undid the bandages on one of Rebekah’s hands. “This may hurt,” she said before she entwined her magic with the broken bones and began to fuse everything back together.
And it did hurt. Rebekah bit her lip to stifle her screaming as her bones twisted and contorted, reminding her much of what happened when Henri and Rosalie broke her hands in the first place. Yet soon, she gained movement in her hand again as the last of the magic faded, along with the pain.
Andre took Rebekah’s other hand in her palm and slowly unwrapped the bandages, meeting her gaze. “Ready for the next one?”
Rebekah nodded as she blinked back lingering tears from the pain. “Just get it over with.”
Andre nodded in response, and then, her eyes fell to Rebekah’s hand as she repeated the same process as before. This time, Rebekah let a pained groan escape her lips.
When Andre was done, she stared at Rebekah’s hand for a beat longer than necessary. Then, she reached for Rebekah’s bedside and scribbled something on a piece of paper before folding the piece of paper into Rebekah’s palm and closing her fingers around it.
“What’s this?” Rebekah questioned as she unfolded the paper and read what Andre had written.
“My number. You may already have it because Holly here used my phone to text you before, but,” Andre paused as she took a deep breath, “just in case.”
Rebekah didn’t know what to say, so instead, she refolded the piece of paper and pocketed it.
“Now,” Andre continued, “the burns and that gash.” And then, she continued to heal Rebekah until the awards ceremony was due to take place.
~~~
“What…happened last night?” Jamie asked Rebekah when she sat down with her group in the dining hall, waiting for the Speirs family and the chaperones to take their places in front of the room like before. She leaned forward in her seat and began to rub her temples as if she felt a headache coming.
Rebekah shrugged. “I don’t know.” She couldn’t tell Jamie about the fire and the attack because Jamie couldn’t know. None of the regular humans could know, thanks to Jason’s use of illusion magic.
“And where were you? You left us and didn’t return,” Jamie noted, eyeing Rebekah suspiciously.
“I’d…rather not talk about it,” Rebekah said, which was true. Not only did she not want to bring up such a terrible memory for conversation, but she also knew she wouldn’t be able to tell Jamie the truth without explaining everything that had happened to her, starting with the fact that she wiped out on the bus over a year ago. She knew Jamie would never understand such paranormal and supernatural events.
As soon as she was done sp
eaking, Jason entered the room with the chaperones, and they took their seats. As much as Rebekah didn’t want to see Jeffery in that moment, she couldn’t help but notice that both Jeffery and Annabelle were absent. And then, she remembered Jason mentioning that he had sent Jeffery away.
“What happened to Jeffery?” Jamie questioned as if reading Rebekah’s mind.
“He probably left because of me,” Teri said. “The moment he was allowed to leave, he took it so he would never have to see me again.”
Rebekah did all she could to not choke on her saliva, knowing the real reason Jeffery left had nothing to do with Teri.
“You’re too good for him,” Jamie said. “It’s rather immature that he would leave because of you, but he’s not worth your time. You’ll find someone better.”
“Hey, geniuses,” Holly said, leaning across the table, “Jeffery didn’t leave because of you. Jason probably made him leave because he disobeyed the rules.”
Jamie glanced at Holly. “Jeffery disobeyed the ICW rules, even though he wasn’t a participant?” she questioned. “How likely is that?”
“I think she’s just defending him,” Teri said. “I mean, she’s friends with the whore.”
Whore. That simple word echoed around in Rebekah’s head. Yet, even though such a word would have bothered her over a year ago, she didn’t feel any sort of offense for being called that. She had been through torture that most humans couldn’t even imagine, and meaningless words no longer affected her.
Then, Jason began to address the ICW participants. “Good morning to you all,” he said with a notecard in his hand that Rebekah guessed had the final point totals on it. “Today, I will announce the winner of this year’s ICW and give you all a chance to claim your prizes.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Rebekah witnessed Jamie eyeing the first-place cup with hunger. All of the cups, stemming from first to eighth place, were neatly lined up on the table in front of Jason and the chaperones.
Bleeding Misery (Threatening Souls Book 2) Page 42