With each blink, I see more chaos. More destruction. More death.
A bloody war has broken out! The hit to my head has really done a number. I feel my Physical magic trying to heal me, but the hit was so hard I’m struggling to stay conscious.
I roll onto my back, knowing I need to keep off my belly. Jensen has taken his chance and picked the lock on his cuffs, freeing himself and is now picking the lock on Mutt’s restraints. After the next long, drawn-out blink I see Mutt burning the many restraints holding Collins hostage. After the next blink, Collins is free and stumbling to his feet to get to Connor while Jensen tosses the collar he’s just unlocked away from Gabriel’s neck. Gabriel wastes no time and instantly starts sprinting to me.
My wolves have faded. My magic is all over the place, as are my senses.
Gabriel lifts me from the ground and sits me up, using his body to protect me from a shower of dirt and stone after yet another explosion rings out.
‘Are you alright?’ he asks quickly, brushing the hair from my face and looking at my heavy eyes. ‘Shit. You’ve taken a hell of a hit to your head.’ He runs his palm over the back of my skull and examines the blood. ‘Are you healing?’
‘I’ll be okay. It just… it takes a few minutes.’
His hand then rests on my bump.
‘She’s okay,’ I assure him. ‘I feel her. She’s fine. What’s going on?’
‘I have no idea. But whoever’s attacking, it isn’t anything to do with Theo. He’s fighting them. Him and his Hunter scum. Come on. It’s not safe here.’
He gets me to my feet, holding me close as I sway and using himself to shield me from any further attacks or debris. He starts pulling me away to safety, keeping my head down and my body close as he runs.
Another explosion blasts at the ground a few feet away. Gabriel drops me to the floor, and we crouch behind a large lump of stone. Slowly, he lifts his gaze to the sky.
To the moon.
It’s starting to eclipse. Gradually, more and more of the moon goes black. Any minute now, it will turn red.
When he looks back down at me, his eyes are black.
‘Gabriel, don’t! You don’t-’
‘Lilly. Listen to me now.’
He’s taken control and my magic is too focused on healing the crack in my skull to fight him off.
I fall still and entranced by the deep darkness of his eyes as he tucks my hair behind my ears.
‘Lilly. You have one job. One. You perform the second spell. You will not fulfil your plan to leave us.’ He grips my face in both his hands and pours all his Mental power into my mind. ‘You don’t stop the spell until it is finished. You do whatever you must to keep yourself and the baby alive but you must complete the spell.’ He clicks his teeth, clearly pained by his command. By taking control of me in this way. ‘I’m sorry, Beautiful. But I know that you would never forgive yourself if you let her run away like that. And I simply cannot allow our entire race to die bloody and screaming, when you have the power to save them.’
‘You’ve just sentenced me to death,’ I whisper. ‘Theo will kill me.’
‘I’ll protect you. We all will. I promise you, Lilly. We’re going to win! Together.’
He leans in and kisses me. This time, my mouth does not respond.
‘Now. Where’s the journal?’
‘Inside my coat.’
He reaches in and takes it from me, placing it in his jacket before zipping it closed.
‘I’ll keep it safe for you,’ he tells me. ‘I promise. I’ll keep the journal safe.’
He then takes my mother’s necklace from my neck and places it in my hand, pressing them both against the stone currently shielding us. When I look up, I see that it’s not just any stone. It’s the Bloodstone.
‘When the moon is red, you perform the spell. You get that Mortem Wall up as soon as you can. It will protect you. Nothing can pass through the wall and survive so you’ll be safe. You just focus on the spell.’ He plants a final kiss on my forehead and all I long to do is tear his fucking face off. ‘I love you.’ When he glances up, he sees the first hint of red claiming the moon. ‘I’ll see you after.’
And with that, he leaps to his feet and sprints away. Desperate to get clear of the boundary. I spot Collins grabbing Connor by the scruff of the neck doing precisely the same thing. Jensen finishes shooting a Hunter between the eyes before glancing back at me sat on the floor, still as a statue, with such hatred and wrath they would explode if I could focus my power.
My head is still sealing back together. My vision starts to clear and I manage to get back on my feet.
But no matter how hard I try, Gabriel’s compulsion is absolute.
I watch the moon keenly. Perhaps it will turn red before he manages to get past the boundary and I can kill him with the Mortem Wall. His hold over me would fade and I can channel the power of the stone to leave this shit hole for good.
Gabriel runs away, his eyes on the moon as well as the enemies that surround him. But the Hunters have realised the situation and know that in about five seconds, they’ll be fried by a magical death-wall unless they get the hell out of the way.
Everyone is running, but my only focus is on Gabriel.
Come on, Blood Moon. Be bloody already.
He’s close to the boundary. Another few steps and he’ll be safe.
The moon fills red. The power in the Bloodstone spikes and begins to react to the necklace in my palm, which I still have pressed on its surface. The colours in both spring to life. I watch anxiously, with the memories of the last stone’s torment replaying vividly in my mind, as the deep reds swirl like a storm. They move faster and faster. The Bloodstone becomes hotter and hotter. Brighter and brighter. I squint against the luminescence and groan as a deep heat seeps into my skin. There’s a flutter of movement from inside my belly. My baby’s little limbs kick out at the sudden energy surge, which I am sure she can feel.
Gabriel and the others have made it beyond the boundary and they all stand shoulder to shoulder, blocking anyone who even attempts to get to me. But the Hunters are busy fighting this unknown invading force. All I can see are a mass of entangled bodies, guns blasting and screeching, unlike anything I’ve ever heard. The boys aren’t interested in joining the fight. Their focus is on protecting me with everything they have. A ring of fire encircles the stone and even more fire spills from Mutt’s fingers. He manipulates the fire with skill, creating twisting infernos that ravage anything and everything they touch. Including anyone who intends on causing me harm. The roaring of the flames drown out the screams of his victims, and his face is firm in concentration. Gabriel uses his words, controlling those around him. I’m amazed at how far along his powers have come since I healed him and restored his arm. I watch, with astonishment, as some take their own lives, plunging blades into their temples or firing bullets into their mouths. Others turn on their own, murdering, hacking and butchering anyone close. Soon, he has a small army surrounding me. After Gabriel slits a masked man’s throat, he turns to me and watches as the stone trembles and continues to glow.
The colours within the stone are moving so fast now; they’re nothing more than a blur. And just as it was last time, my hand is stuck on this damned rock as if it’s glued in place.
It’s going to explode. Just as it did before, I’m going to be hurled backwards through the air, and then the challenge will begin.
I wait. Wait for the flash of black and red. Wait to be tossed away.
But the stone just glows brighter and brighter.
‘What’s it doing?’ Jensen asks, slowly backing away.
‘I don’t know!’ I call back. ‘But it’s getting bloody hot!’
It’s quickly becoming unbearable! It makes my eyes stream and my hand starts to burn. I try to pull myself free, but I can’t. I scream in frustration and slam my foot on the stone, wrapping my free hand around my wrist as I tug and tug and tug.
‘Lilly?’ Gabriel calls. ‘What’s happening?’
‘It’s too hot!’ I yell back, straining to disconnect from the stone as my skin starts to hiss and char. ‘I-I can’t get free! My hand’s burning!’
The rock starts to groan demonically as if something inside has crawled from the pits of hell, starving and desperate for freedom. The light from the stone begins to seep outwards as thick smoke, but seemingly alive! It slithers slowly, moving snake-like through the air and moaning in a dark, distorted manner. It rises high above my head and looks down at me, revealing a hollow tunnel running through the centre of this snake-like smoke creature. Red and black lightning fires wildly within it. A tornado springs to mind, especially as it whips my hair across my face and blasts against my skin with ferocity. The otherworldly groaning is coming from within the vortex of energy, smoke, heat and light. When the ground below starts to tremble, making me stagger and stumble, I quickly begin to believe that there may really be a beast breaking through from another world.
Cracks splinter the ground and spread further and further, like a shattering pane of glass, stretching outwards in a circular ripple. Below the cracks, the same light coming from the Bloodstone and the energy vortex swells outwards, churning up the uneven terrain even further. Shards of stone, clay and tree roots jut outwards.
‘NO!’ Mutt bellows, grabbing Gabriel as he attempts to return to my side. ‘The Mortem Wall is forming!’
‘She’s gonna fall!’ Gabriel insists in a panic, shoving his brother’s hands away. But Mutt is determined not to let his brother leave his side to die. ‘THAT’S MY LIFE, TOBIAS! MY ENTIRE FUCKING WORLD!’
‘She won’t fall!’ he replies, far more confidently than I feel. ‘She’s not supposed to so she won’t. She will complete the spell because that is what she was born to do! This stone and this spell were made for her. She won’t die! Trust her. She can do this!’ He grabs Gabriel’s collar and looks him in the eye. ‘You go to her, and the Mortem Wall will kill you. That’s a fact. Nothing living can survive its touch.’
It’s a painful nod Gabriel delivers.
‘FUCK YOU!’ I scream, sobbing at the agony of my burning hand. ‘YOU’RE JUST GOING TO LEAVE ME HERE? FORCE ME TO GO THROUGH THIS! IT’S BURNING ME ALIVE! THIS IS ALL YOUR FUCKING FAULT AND YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!’
I howl in pain as my hand continues to burn. The unsteady footing causes me to fall to my knees and I barely dodge the sudden hole that appears just below me before it can claim me. But considering the stone is still stuck to my slowly cooking hand, I doubt I would fall. Just dangle precariously over the deep craters that have torn up the world around me.
Gabriel yells. I look over and see that three men have managed to get past the ring of fire which now holds several gaps. Mutt must be distracted. Maybe he’s fallen into a chasm, I hope. I watch as the three Hunters run straight at me. My breath catches in my throat when I see a great big flash of red and black energy explode from beneath the base of the Bloodstone and spread outwards in a giant ripple, chasing the cracks in the earth.
I realise what it is. The pattern of the destruction forms a perfect circle. Exactly the same size and shape as the Mortem Wall boundary. When the light passes the three men, their skin burns in an instant and they fall to the ground. There are no flames, just the effect of extreme heat. The same as my poor hand but for them, it’s all of their body. And it’s deadly. Their screams permeate the air as they writhe and judder for a matter of seconds before death claims them.
I’m sealed off from the others, trapped inside a death-circle. The wall glimmers like the flesh of a bubble, catching the light and creating delicate rainbow colours. Beautiful and deadly.
Gabriel and the others use it to their advantage straight away and start tossing people into it. Their burnt bodies fall silently to the floor, and they never return to their feet. I watch the others fight the army of masked men and women until Gabriel turns to me and points at the stone.
‘FOCUS!’ he orders. ‘YOU LEAVE THIS TO US! YOU FOCUS ON WHAT YOU NEED TO DO!’
Before I get a chance to turn back to the snake vortex, a familiar voice whispers to me from deep within it, past the howling wind, the lightning and the demonic groaning.
‘A blessed Blood Moon to you, Lilly Hooper.’
‘Rebecca?’ I reply, peering further into the smoke. ‘Is that you in there?’
‘Indeed. My apologies. I should say Lilly Kendryk, yes?’ she adds, a light giggle trails behind her words. ‘Congratulations on your matrimony, dear ancestor.’
‘Erm… thanks? Listen, can you let go of my hand? It feels like it’s on fire.’
Again, a soft laugh trails out through the tunnel. ‘Soon, my dear child. The Mortem Wall is in place. For now, you are protected from those who could harm you. Forgive me, Lilly, for this part of the spell will not be pleasant.’
‘More unpleasant than my hand burning to a crisp?!’ I snap.
‘Considerably so, yes. The force of the magic linking our realms is fierce. To any other, this magic would have them nothing more than a burnt up husk.’
I glance around at the dead who met its wrath and angrily scoff.
No fucking kidding!
‘Rebecca? Is it a challenge?’ I ask her. ‘Because if it is, if you mean to throw me around and face my past in the form of giant elemental monsters, there is something you should know.’
‘I know you are with child,’ she says. ‘Know that this will not harm your child. I assure you. I do not need a test. I have already seen what is in your heart and found you worthy.’
Good job you haven’t had another look today, I think to myself.
‘I propose we get this done as swiftly as possible, don’t you agree?’
‘Definitely,’ I groan in response, gripping my wrist and grinding my teeth as my skin starts to bubble. ‘So what do we need to do?’
‘You will need to access all your realms of power and create a link between them there, in the mortal realm, and the same realm of power over here in the Arcane realm. Think of the link as corridors. Seven corridors. One for Telekinesis. One for Elemental. One for Sensativa. One for Energy. One for Physical. One for Mental and one for Sight. At the next stone, you will create the doors to those corridors, and each descendant with access to that ability will be able to travel through it. They will appear here, in the Arcane Realm, where they will all be safe. Free.’
‘Free…’ I whisper longingly, recalling the beautiful, safe and magical world I witnessed before. The world as it was five hundred years ago, with crystal clear skies. Miles of rolling hills. No pollution. No Hunters. No chains. I think of the stone cottages in the small village at the base of the hilltop and the wild horses that galloped past us. Of the clean oceans and of course, that incredible dragon soaring overhead.
The Arcane Realm. There are all sorts of magical creatures lurking around in here.
That’s what Rebecca said as she watched the herbivore beast fly into the endless sky. Who would have thought… vegetarian dragons!
I shake my head, feeling disgusted at such a pathetic sense of sentimentality and hope.
‘Lilly? Are you ready to perform the second spell?’
‘Yes,’ I tell her, compelled to obey Gabriel’s instructions and do whatever the spell requires. ‘Do it.’
‘There is an incantation you must repeat seven times. When you recite the words, you must release a burst of one of your seven realms. You know the incantation. It was in the knowledge I gave you. Here we go.’
The smoke snake lunges at me and slams into my chest with the force of a truck! It feels like a fist clenching and crushing my heart. My lungs constrict as I gasp painfully for air. I would fall to the floor, but the snake-like creature keeps me on my feet, suspended in the air with the tips of my toes barely touching the floor. My hand is still stuck to the stone, and my other falls limp by my side. My head falls back as my mouth opens in a hollow O as if screaming, but there’s no way I can get past this agony long enough actually to yell. I look upwards, focusing on the bright red moon high above, wishing I was up there alone instead of down here suffering so much pain.
My attention shifts to the figure frantically jumping up and down beyond the Mortem Wall. Gabriel looks on in panic as the smoke monster buries itself further inside my chest, lifting me off the ground entirely.
Another figure appears before me. Her long red hair flows down her back and doesn’t move an inch, whereas mine whips across my face furiously in the chaos of the energy created by the creature crushing my heart. Her emerald green eyes look at me in furious concentration.
My Unbroken-self’s mouth moves.
I hear nothing but a muffled whisper. With a blink, she’s an inch from my face. Her mouth moves again, but it’s still nonsense and completely distorted.
Her palms slam hard over my temples before red lightning appears on her chest and steadily travels towards her arms. I scream out. Her focus is intense, and her composure remarkably relaxed.
She leans in close, and with a beaming smile, she tells me, ‘I just opened the white fucking door, bitch! Wanna see?’
The lightning shoots from her fingertips and penetrates my brain. The pain of which has me convulsing and forces my eyes into the back of my head.
Suddenly, I’m in warm and brilliant sunshine. Perfectly soft grass tickles my feet and the smell of roses fill my nostrils. From behind me, the sound of a soft, young and beautiful giggle reaches my ears.
Slowly, I turn. And what I see melts my heart. I can’t help but smile the widest smile and laugh the most thankful and bliss-filled laugh. I sob. Tears of joy stream down my face as I witness, without doubt, the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
I hear a slam. I spin and see that the pristine white door has sealed shut. I run towards it, reaching for the handle, but before I can get to it the door fades from sight.
‘No… NO!’ I let out a furious yell, livid that I let myself get distracted by this small slice of heaven. ‘YOU’RE GOING TO DIE!’ I throw out into the air. ‘YOU’LL NEVER MAKE IT WITHOUT ME! DO YOU HEAR ME? ARGGH!’ I slam my foot hard into the ground and fight the urge to take another look at the wondrous scene behind me.
Lilly’s perfect memory.
I walk away, seeking out another door.
This is not over. Not by a long fucking shot!
