Everwild (The Healer Series, #1) (34 page)

Twirling her around, he leaned down and
whispered in her ear, “You’re just jealous that I’m a better dancer
than you…and a better spell caster.” His lips tickled her ear as he
finally guided Willow out of the center of the floor towards the
edge. He had a sudden urge to nibble her ear, but resisted.

They stopped moving, but Declan continued to
hold her firmly. Damn, she felt so good against him. He wanted to
move his hands and explore every single inch of her perfect body.
He was thinking of trying to seduce her. She always took him to
that level, no matter how hard he tried to resist her. She was the
only
Witch that could affect him that way.

Willow looked up at him, batted her eyelashes
shyly, and ever so slowly stepped into him even more. What the
hell? What was she doing? Whatever it was, he hoped she wouldn’t
stop.

Declan’s eyebrows jacked up and his mouth
fell open slightly. There was no space between their bodies now.
Willow leaned in close to his mouth and he froze, confused. His
body was tense and still against hers. Whispering huskily and as
sexily as she could, she said, “You know what? You may be a better
spell caster than me, but I’m better at
everything
else…”
His grip loosened on her instantly and she quickly squirmed out of
his hold smiling complacently.

She left him standing there stunned and
turned on. Whoa. Declan had to lean into the wall and take a deep
breath. Instead of him seducing her, the tables had turned!
She
had seduced
him
! And she was damn good at it! Was
she implying that she was better at kissing, or sex, or what? What
did her word
everything
mean? The damn woman was so
bewitching!

Declan watched her body sway as she moved
quickly away from him. She had a nice backside and he shamelessly
admired the view. She would be the death of him! His heart was
beating out of control, confirming all the emotions swirling inside
of him.

Right then, Declan Aldridge had made a
decision. Right then, Declan knew that he wanted to possess the
beautiful Willow Rose in every way.

“Not that I’m all excited about entering a
school filled with a bunch of crazy, male Warlocks, but if it’s all
right with you, I think I’m going to sit this one out,” the
Werewolf Chase Hawthorne said, putting his hands on his hips
assessing the large ominous silver gate that bordered the entire
castle of Darkmeer Academy. The gate stood nearly ten feet tall and
was sure to be protected by extensive spells to ward off intruders.
It wasn’t meant to look welcoming.

Willow Rose turned to face him and smirked.
“Do I detect a hint of fear, Wolf-Boy?”

“Puh-lease,” Chase said waving his hand in
the air dramatically. “I’m just saying that somebody has to stay
here and protect Elirana’s virtue from all those hot-headed
Warlocks who don’t know how to respect a woman.” He looked back at
Elirana and winked.

“Is that an insult to my race, Chase?” Willow
chided, knowing she was taunting the very person who incessantly
flirted with any woman on legs.

“Not at all, Healer baby. Besides, don’t you
want to face Pretty Boy yourself? I don’t think he’d be too happy
to see me with you.”

“You’re right, Chase. I should be the one to
do this. I
can
do this. Yep. I’m going to do this.”

“Now who’s being scared?” Chase came up to
her. His gorgeous blue eyes glowed from the green lights coming out
of the castle windows. Sometimes, it was easy to forget Chase was a
Werewolf, until his physical body showed the obvious signs. His
midnight black hair hung on his forehead as he stood with a cool,
yet cocky demeanor. He glanced back at Elirana again, who was
standing patiently waiting for Willow to make a decision. Willow
could sense that Chase was very protective of the beautiful Elf
maiden, but she hadn’t made a connection as to why just yet.

Elirana stood quietly with her arms crossed
in a casual stance. She didn’t make a sound, but there was
skepticism in her facial expression. If Willow wasn’t looking
directly at her, she would think her and Chase were the only two
around. Elirana had long blonde hair, pointy ears, and wore a long
flowing maroon gown that emphasized her slender figure. Her face
was completely smooth and void of any blemishes. She was
breathtakingly beautiful, but Willow knew that all Elves were
attractive and youthful looking. That wasn’t the point. The point
was that they were also a secretive race, and at times, deadly.
They could be so mellifluous and sneaky it was unnerving watching
her stand there as immobile as a statue, which she could probably
do for hours without tiring.

Willow didn’t say anything as she looked past
the gate towards Darkmeer Academy. She was scared, but it was an
entirely different kind of fear than Chase’s. Just hours ago,
Willow had rejected the love of her life, Declan Aldridge, who
happened to be the son of the Head Warlock of the Emerald Circle,
the most powerful of the Warlock Orders. Now, she had to go into
the Academy with her head held high and beg him to go with her
group to the Deadlands in search for the key that would unlock
Pandora’s Box. At least, that was what the Seeker Carmela intended
when she sent her through a portal and Willow winded up at the very
place said broken hearted person was.

Willow looked down at her talisman, a
beautiful, thin golden bracelet linked to a ring around her middle
finger, reminding her why she was here in the first place. The
talisman silently pumped magic into her body, strengthening and
expanding the magic within her. In the moonlight, it was faintly
tinted a light yellow color. It was finally where it was meant to
be. She should be confident that her powers were slowly gaining
strength and stamina, and yet, she was far from being assured with
who she was. And that insecurity may be due to the fact that an
evil Witch wanted to kill her. Well, actually, it was the exact
reason.

Hekate, the Queen of all Witches and High
Prophesier of magic casters had hidden Willow’s talisman in the
dangerous forest of the Everwild so Willow’s magic would remain
stagnant, allowing Hekate time to kill her. Hekate desired Willow’s
power, capable of healing any magical creature by touching them.
This power was so rare, that centuries had gone by before the gift
appeared again. Through Willow, the healing power emerged. But this
power, which was supposed to be a blessing to all magical races,
had turned out as more of a curse, because everything Willow knew
had been forcefully taken from her.

Hekate had manipulated everyone into
believing she was working for the good of others. But this was the
biggest lie in the history of magic casters, for secretly Hekate
had been killing and gaining the magic from other casters to
increase her power among their race to ultimately become
omnipotent. She betrayed all magic casters by becoming an
Extractor, and by doing so, locked the sisters of her Coven in
Pandora’s Box, feeding Hekate more power by holding them hostage
there. A box of souls slowly (very slowly) drains the magic out of
those trapped in it.

This gave Hekate the ultimate leverage
against Willow. She knew Willow would go to great lengths to save
her sisters. They were what mattered most. She loved them and
missed them terribly. Hekate put the key in the Deadlands to make
it impossible to retrieve. If no one went there to find it, then no
one could free the souls. It was simple logic, but twisted at best.
Hekate was afraid she would be overpowered and if she had the key
with her, it would only be too easy to undo the spell to free the
souls. By hiding the key in the Deadlands, Hekate was sending
Willow a clear message: do not attempt to recover the key. But if
finding the key was the only way to free her sisters, Willow would
go, whether she wanted to or not.

“I smell magic,” Chase said turning her
thoughts back to the task at hand.

“I’m not even going to comment on that one,”
Willow rolled her eyes. The whole place was filled with spells,
charms, enchantments, and magic casters! Of course it smelled like
it!

“No, it’s fresh,” Chase said looking to the
left, “like someone just cast a spell. Maybe we can follow it to
the source and find a way in,” he suggested. Willow turned and
raised her eyebrows at him. “Unless of course you were planning on
walking in through the front doors to say hi…”

“No. The less people know I’m here the
better. Lead on, oh fearless guide.”

“Just like old times, huh?” Chase whispered
excitedly and started following the scent.

Willow rolled her eyes and reluctantly
followed Chase (who led her into trouble more often than not), but
she didn’t exactly have a plan to get inside Darkmeer yet, so she
trusted Chase to guide her. They walked northward in line with the
gate around the castle. Being careful to stay near the forest that
bordered the Academy, they could be easily concealed within the
shadows. Willow didn’t turn around to make sure Elirana was there,
but the Elf had nowhere to go, so she didn’t need to worry about
her. Besides, Elirana knew where the Deadlands were and had
promised to take them there. She wouldn’t abandon them now. When an
Elf made a promise, they were faithful enough to follow
through.

Willow was keeping her eyes on the ground
trying not to trip or fall over anything. She didn’t have wolf
vision like Chase and wasn’t exactly coordinated when it came to
walking in forests, so when Chase stopped abruptly in his tracks,
Willow ran smack into his back.

“Chase!” She gasped but was instantly
silenced when Chase pushed her deeper into the forest. He put a
finger to his mouth and pointed straight ahead of him. He was still
blocking her view, as he was both really tall and muscular, so
Willow nudged him to move so she could take a look.

Three figures stood conversing quietly just
feet from them. One was behind the gate on the Academy side, while
the other two were on the forest side. It was obvious the two on
their side were girls, even though their backs were turned from
them. They had small statures, long hair, and were wearing short,
kinky gothic looking clothes, complimented with fish net stockings.
It was well into the fall months and their clothes were far from
appropriate for this weather. What was going on, who were they, and
what were they doing at the Warlock Academy at this hour?

“What are you going to do? Just walk up to
them?” Chase hissed in her ear. Willow shrugged. At this point, she
was just acting out of pure instinct. She waited a little longer,
unsure of how to approach the situation.

Suddenly, a green light beam lit up their
view and Willow breathed a sigh of relief. Luck was on her side!
She recognized the Warlock behind the gate. It was Finley Harris,
one of Declan’s friends and part of the Emerald Circle Order. She
could spot that mess of shaggy blonde hair anywhere. Not to mention
he had large distinguishing ears that poked out of his hair. He was
wearing a long black cloak to blend in with the night, but there
was no mistaking him.

Finley was using his magic to cut a small
opening in the gate and then bowed to the girls welcoming them in.
They turned to each other and giggled, entering the gate to the
other side, and then Finley sealed the gap back up. How he was able
to make that hole without setting off the defensive magic baffled
her, since he was only a Warlock in training and the teachers at
the Academy made sure their students couldn’t break the barrier
unless they were preapproved to leave the grounds. But she couldn’t
reflect on it because right now Finley and the girls were heading
back up to the castle. Without thinking, Willow sprinted up to the
gate.

“Finn!” she called out to him, careful not to
touch the silver gate, even though she stopped inches from it.
Finley immediately stopped walking and whipped around to face her.
He stood there squinting in the dark, trying to see who it was. The
girls with him also turned around and crossed their arms, looking
shocked and slightly annoyed. Finley slowly walked back up to the
gate. Using magic, he created a small light in the palm of his hand
and held it up so he could get a better look at Willow. Recognition
dawned on his face and his eyes grew wide as he regarded her.

“Well, well, well,” Finley said haughtily.
“What do we have here? Is that you, Willow Rose?”

“Yes, of course it’s me, Finn,” Willow
snapped back annoyed. She didn’t like the taunting tone he was
using towards her. Out of all the Warlocks in Declan’s posse, she
disliked Finley the most, so of course, it had to be him that was
here now.

Finley sneered. “What the hell are you doing
here,
Healer
?” He mocked her.

Willow took a few calming breaths before
speaking. She
really
didn’t like Finley. “I have to see
Declan. There’s something important I have to ask him.”

“I think it’s too late to ask for
forgiveness, Willow. You broke him.”

“How do you know about that?” Willow asked
alarmed.

“I’m his best friend. I can tell when
something’s off with him. And he is acting way, way off.
Something’s changed in him. He gets angry and snaps so easily. I
only assumed it was because he was forced to come to the Academy.
But then he ‘fessed up and told me the whole story. Hate to break
it to you, sweetheart, but you’re the last person he wants to
see.”

“Finley, I’m only going to tell you this once
so listen up!” Willow scolded. “You better let me in right now, or
I’ll alert the Headmaster of this little shindig you’ve got going
on here. Whatever it is you’re doing with those girls. Knowing you,
it’s something that shouldn’t be happening. So what’s it gonna be?
Let me in or get in serious trouble?”

Finley huffed loudly and crossed his arms.
Willow had caught him. She could see the conflict in his eyes as he
was weighing his options. Willow crossed her arms and tapped the
ground impatiently, smirking a little too cockily. Finally,
Finley’s shoulders hunched in defeat as he walked up to the gate
and once again, created a gap so Willow could pass through.