by T. M. Cromer
“But they are all dead,” Spring whispered achingly. “All the bushes but the one.”
“Yes. It appears the Enchantress was using the life force from the other plants to feed hers, never knowing it couldn’t breach these warded walls to get her the blood magic she needed to wake.”
“Mackenzie changed all that when she climbed the wall,” Damian said. “Her presence attracted the plant runners, and when it sliced her, it brought Isolde enough magic to wake.”
“Curiosity killed the cat, and all that,” murmured Spring, as she stared grimly past the blue barrier at the ravaged land. “Let’s get this over with.”
Alastair couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong about this whole scheme. He searched the faces of the people around him, looking for a sign they sensed it, too.
Damian’s attention locked on him. His dark eyes were fiercely intent. “What is it, Al?”
“Does this seem, for lack of a better word, off to anyone else?”
“How so?”
“I’m not sure, but I have a bad feeling.”
Chapter 27
The words were hardly out of his mouth when Hugh charged Nathanial. The two of them crashed through the shield, into the garden. The moment they did, the rosebush unfurled, branching out in all directions, hurling toward them.
“Goddess, preserve us!” GiGi charged forward, but Damian blocked her path.
“No. Nathanial is the only one who can cross.”
“We can’t leave him in there to fight Hugh alone. Those runners will tear him to shreds!”
“GiGi, if you try to walk through that barrier without the help of a Guardian, you’ll be eviscerated.”
She looked at Alastair, but he had no answers or clue as to what to do. Spring, bless her quick-thinking soul, ran for the oak tree. “Knox, give me a boost up.”
“Hell, no!”
She didn’t take the time to answer but lifted her arms, palms up. “Rise, my babies.”
The ground rumbled, and the roots of the tree became mobile, digging their way up from the earth to provide steps for her to climb to the top of the wall.
“Goddammit, woman!” Knox took the steps two at a time, and the rest of them followed the couple up and over.
Three plant runners were poised like vipers, and they bobbed in a back-and-forth pattern, prepared to strike.
Right before Alastair could get to him, Nathanial lifted Hugh and threw him bodily into the threatening vines. Hugh’s screams echoed off the stone walls surrounding them, lending to the eerie setting. As much as he didn’t care for the little weasel, Alastair still shuddered at the agonized sound.
However, what disturbed him the most was when Hugh stopped his horrified cries and began to laugh.
“What. The Fuck?” Spring asked from beside him.
“You’re all so predictable.” Hugh grunted when another thorn pierced his flesh. “Do you really believe this wasn’t her plan all along?”
“Fuck!” Damian blasted fire from his hands straight at the tendrils amassing around them. “We have to get to Mackenzie. That’s what the lighted sigils and freak storm were about.”
“Dear Goddess!” GiGi cried, and her fear was like razor blades down Alastair’s skin, or perhaps it was his own terror for the woman he considered a daughter.
“She’s possessed Mack.” Later, he would blame the black smoke from the fire surrounding them for his hoarse, breaking voice, but for now, Alastair didn’t care. He had to get to Mackenzie. “Nathanial! The gate!” They all ran for the entrance at once, with Spring and Knox taking up the rear to magically halt whatever plant runners Damian’s firebombs had missed.
Once they cleared the exit, they left Nathanial to seal the door as they each teleported to the yard closest to the house.
Mackenzie wasn’t gone as Isolde had lied and told the others, but she was definitely locked out of her own body. It had happened the second Sebastian released her hand and approached Hugh. One moment she was there, and the next, the Enchantress had taken over. There had been no pain like before. No warning headache. Just a hard tug, like she’d been sucked through a vacuum tube.
She’d tried to fight it, and in her struggle, she was able to kick up the wind and clouds. But no one had recognized she was gone. Alastair certainly hadn’t, and neither had Sebastian or Ryker until the moment before Isolde threw them across the room.
And now, from this distance where she resided, she could see Sebastian’s fierce struggle to break the Enchantress’s magical hold while Isolde was distracted by Evie.
Mackenzie’s fear for her great-great-grandmother was multiplying as she caught glimpses of Isolde’s thoughts. That bitch fully intended to play the “don’t hurt your great-great-grandchild” card.
With a fervent hope Evie would set aside any sentimentality and do whatever needed to be done, Mackenzie concentrated on regaining control. It was right then she heard the small voice of Sabrina address her own grandma.
“Please don’t hurt Ms. Evie, Grandmother.” The little dark-haired girl crossed the room. Her pixie-like face was pleading as she stared at Isolde. “Don’t hurt any of them, and I’ll go with you.”
Behind her, Isolde could hear the garbled sounds from the words Sebastian Drake tried so hard to speak. The chivalrous fool was trying to warn the girl off. He, however, didn’t know what both the child and Isolde did: this young girl had the second sight, and she had already seen how Isolde’s takeover would end. If Damian’s daughter had decided to set foot on the battlefield, the girl knew exactly what would happen and the part she’d play. Looking into the dark eyes, so like her father’s, Isolde saw a knowing that Damian had never possessed at the girl’s age.
“All right, girl. Come here to me, and I’ll let them live.”
Sabrina shook her head. “No, you won’t. You’ll try to take my magic.”
“Of course I will, but I’ll let them go. I promise.”
Again, the child shook her head. “The Darkness made you say that, Grandmother. But I need you to promise. If you do, you can beat it.”
A wave of dizziness swept Isolde, and she grabbed her head.
“Don’t listen to her, you fool! She’s collaborating with the Aether to stop you,” the Evil insisted.
“Grandmother. Please.” The girl took a step forward. “You can beat it. I know you can.”
From the corner of her eye, Isolde saw the Guardian lift her arm to strike. She countered with a mere flick of her hand, breaking the other woman’s forearm.
The Guardian cried out and grabbed for the pulsing green energy ball from her useless hand.
Sabrina stepped into the space between them, with her back to the other woman. Her wide eyes held only a trace amount of fear, but it was enough to tempt the Evil. It had never wanted anything more than to crush the innocent before it.
Another wave of dizziness struck, but this time, excruciating pain accompanied it. Isolde pressed her fingers to her temples.
“Mack?”
“Yes, it’s me, Sabrina.” Mackenzie smiled to show her sincerity and ease the girl’s fear. “We only have a few minutes, but I want you to teleport home now. Find your mother and have her get you far, far away from here. Right now.”
“You have to come with me.”
“I can’t, sweetie. There’s no telling when or if your grandmother will come back. I need you to get to safety.”
“We can fight the Darkness together. You and me.”
Mackenzie wanted to cry in the face of such bravery. Here, in front of her, stood a six-year-old child ready to take on the worst evil imaginable. “Okay, sweetheart.” She held out her hand to Sabrina. “Let’s go.”
“Mack!” Sebastian called her name, and she turned to see him sagging against the wall. He looked haggard and drained.
“It’ll be all right, Baz. Find the others and get Evie help for when Isolde comes back.” Because Mackenzie had little doubt she would, but Mack hoped to give them all a head start first.
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They made it as far as the yard when she felt her grip on her mind loosen. Mackenzie couldn’t stop Isolde’s takeover this time. The Enchantress had grown too strong to subdue.
But she could at least warn Sabrina.
“Run!” Opening her fingers, one at a time, she attempted to release the girl’s hand. “Please run,” she begged.
She had the satisfaction of seeing Sabrina make it out of her reach before she was lost to the darkness, only able to hear the events around her.
An ear-piercing scream rent the air, and Mackenzie desperately fought to take her body back from Isolde.
“Papa!” Sabrina hollered for her father a second, then third time.
The sound tore at Mackenzie’s soul. The sheer terror in the girl’s voice was difficult to withstand, as was the wave of power that slapped her backwards into a wide, solid tree trunk. The pain stole her breath, and Isolde’s hold slipped for a split second. Mackenzie was able to glimpse her surroundings in that instant.
Damian had arrived, and the rage radiating from him was enough to set her knees to trembling. His hands were already lifted to strike, and Mackenzie wondered if his was the magic that had sent her body flying. Her initial thought had been Sabrina defending herself, but now she suspected Papa Aether had arrived to protect his daughter.
“Go, beastie,” Damian ordered.
“Please hurry,” Mackenzie begged.
Confusion flashed in his eyes as he stared at her. “Mack?”
“For the moment.” She gasped as a tearing pain in her abdomen doubled her over. “Goddess, preserve us. She’s determined!”
“Good Christ, Mack!” Sebastian had appeared at Damian’s shoulder and began to cross to her. His intent to help her was obvious, as was the worry clouding his face.
She held up a hand. “No! She’s here. Just under the surface.” A cry was ripped from her as a slashing pain tore through her a second time. “I can feel her scratching to get out.”
Vicious, vile words spewed from Isolde and flooded her mind. The Enchantress threatened, promising she’d make Sebastian suffer if Mackenzie didn’t surrender her body immediately. Nausea rose up and burned the back of her throat at the images of destruction Isolde used to break her.
Across the distance, she met the Aether’s wary obsidian eyes. “Damian, it’s time.”
He gave her an understanding nod, and she was pleased he recalled her instructions should she not be able to stop Isolde.
Mackenzie’s gaze sought Sebastian’s. “I love you, Baz.”
Horror dawned as he registered her intent. He surged forward only to be knocked off his feet by a sweep of Damian’s arm.
“Commoro!” The Aether’s magical command locked Sebastian in place on the ground.
The guttural shout from her husband and Sabrina’s terrified cry were the last things Mackenzie heard as Damian struck. A blazing-hot shockwave scorched her insides, not once, but multiple times. Unable to withstand the agony, Mackenzie screamed and surrendered her body to Isolde. Her only hope was that the Enchantress wouldn’t be strong enough to survive his assault either.
Isolde only had a moment to savor her successful control of the psychic witch’s body before the searing pain of the lightning strikes penetrated her consciousness.
The fierceness on her son’s face as he flung bolt after bolt was a sight to behold. He was pure savage intent. The part of her not controlled by the Evil felt pride in his determination to protect his daughter and friends. But that was the part that couldn’t withstand the torture he was inflicting on her.
Looking down at the charred remains of her arms, she gave control over to the Beast.
“Damian!” It cried out. “Stop… please stop.” It began to weep and rock. “She’s gone. Please… stop,” the Darkness wailed.
“Dethridge, it’s Mack,” Sebastian shouted. “Stop this now!”
Damian paused, hand lifted to throw another crackling bolt, uncertainty in his eyes.
His hesitation was all the time the Evil needed.
It teleported to where his daughter stood and grabbed the child by the throat. “I’ll break her neck with one snap,” It warned.
A muffled sob escaped the girl. She knew her father couldn’t win against the threat to her person.
The Evil laughed.
But Isolde heard the cry and had a momentary pang of conscience when Damian lowered his arms.
“Mama, she’s your granddaughter. A true innocent.”
Isolde’s gaze lowered to the solemn girl, and in the tiny face, she saw the image of her son when he was her age. The large, all-knowing eyes stared back. Yes, the fear was there, but so was courage.
The Beast snapped and snarled, trying to gain control again.
Mackenzie’s soft, pleading voice filled her head. “Don’t hurt her, Isolde.”
Again, the Evil roared its displeasure.
Isolde was mesmerized by the guilelessness and purity of Sabrina. Although it was a struggle, she seemed to recall that was the child’s name.
“Grandmother, don’t do this.”
With her heartbeat drumming in her ears, Isolde was able to silence the Beast inside her for a moment. She eased her hold and stroked her hand down Sabrina’s dark, silky hair. Something akin to love filled her chest and made it ache. She wondered if she had it in her to sacrifice again, like she’d done with Damian when he was a small boy.
“Hide, my dear. Use the cloaking spell, and go as far and as fast as you can. I cannot control it forev—ahh!”
The punch of pain she experienced from the knife entering her back surprised her enough to loosen her hold. The Evil hissed its fury as Isolde lost her grip on Sabrina completely. She looked down at the arm banded across her chest, somehow knowing immediately whom it belonged to.
“Nathanial Thorne. The savior of small children,” she said.
“I couldn’t let you hurt her, Isolde, just as I couldn’t let my father hurt your son all those years ago,” he said almost regretfully.
“But you made a mistake, Nathanial.”
The arm holding her tightened even as he began to withdraw the knife for a second plunge of the blade. “I don’t think so.”
She smiled and closed her eyes, allowing the Darkness to resume its plan for destruction.
Chapter 28
When Mackenzie’s burnt body collapsed at Nathaniel’s feet, he felt deep, gut-wrenching sorrow. He’d only known the young woman a short time, but he’d fallen in love with her quick, sharp wit and bubbly, fun personality. She had truly been a beautiful soul.
He knew she wasn’t dead. Not yet, anyway, but it wouldn’t be long. Her body, driven by the Enchantress, would struggle to heal, but something would have to give, and it would be Mackenzie who lost out and paid the ultimate price for Isolde’s insane drive to rule supreme.
“Finish it, son,” he ground out, looking at Damian.
The lost expression on his face reminded Nathanial of the first time they’d met, when Damian, as a young boy, had teleported him away from the imminent battle between the Enchantress and Isis backed by the Six.
“Damian, please,” Sebastian hollered. “Please don’t kill her.”
Sebastian looked as tortured as Nathanial had ever seen him. Even the death of the young man’s parents hadn’t had this effect on him.
“I’m begging you. Don’t kill Mack.”
“Finish it, Damian,” Nathanial ordered roughly. He felt his own grief building, and he needed to retain control of his emotions until the Enchantress and her brand of evil were gone for good.
What happened next was instantaneous. The Aether lobbed another bolt of lightning just as his daughter ran to Mackenzie’s crumpled form.
“No, Papa!”
Nathanial tried to scoop her up and get her away, but he wasn’t as fast or agile as the girl.
Damian couldn’t retract the lethal blast he’d thrown at Mackenzie, and as a result, it hit its target along with Sabrina and Nathanial.
Somewhere in the distant part of his brain, right before he lost consciousness, Nathanial heard Vivian’s bloodcurdling scream and Damian’s tortured shout.
Mackenzie found herself in the Otherworld for the second time in her life. But this time, she wasn’t alone. Across from her stood Isolde—the Enchantress who had caused her no end of grief—and Nathanial. They all stared at one another as if unsure what to do.
“Where is this place?” Isolde asked, with a wondrous look around.
Mackenzie’s gaze darted around, touching on all the beautiful things she’d witnessed on her first visit: the crystal-clear water, the startlingly green grass, a stone bench under the tallest, fullest oak tree she’d ever seen. She loved it and hated it, because it meant she was dead. There would be no Preston to save her now.
“I think you know, Isolde.” Mackenzie moved closer to Nathanial. A small part of her wanted the comfort of his protection, but a larger part wanted to protect him from the Enchantress. Silly, because he was the far more powerful of the two of them.
“The Otherworld,” Isolde guessed.
“Actually, a holding area in the Otherworld. It’s my understanding Isis uses it to determine what the next course of action is for a soul.” Mackenzie felt only slightly more confident when Nathanial’s large warm hand encompassed hers. “Last time I was here, I met with Isis and Set.”
“Set?” Isolde laughed. “That burly creature is here? Of course. It will be good to see him again.”
Rage detonated like a bomb inside Mackenzie’s brain at the other woman’s casualness. Isolde was acting as if there would be a joyous reunion with old friends when, in fact, there would only be pain in Mackenzie’s heart until the day her family joined her here.