Magick (The Unwanted Series Book 1) (9 page)

I wipe my face of the tears that remain and put on the necklace, the pentacle of the Goddess. If I ever thought I would be able to escape the choice for the crown, it’s resolved in this moment. I feel my magick flowing and growing to my will. I silently call Rhydian in my head, find me. I need his help; I don’t know how to get out of this… in between. Will I be stuck here?

I hear Rhydian’s voice. “Willow? Where are you?” A moment later I shield myself from a bright light at the open door. He walks through as my Guardian. I run to him and hug him for dear life. He’s here. I can touch him, and he can touch me. I sob into his shoulder. He found me in this black and white in between.

“How did you…? When no one else can see or hear me… how did you? Thank you.” I’m babbling.

“I’m blooded to you; I will always find you when you need me.” He pulls back from holding me. “We need to go; they will find you in this split plane. The rift is helping to throw off positions, but not for long.”

I nod in agreement and say, “Rhydian, Wiccans were here with demons.”

He doesn’t look surprised. He is looking at Mrs. Scott; I can’t bare it. I know she’s gone but I can’t see it anymore. I can’t. If I do, I’ll be torn apart and I need to keep it together to find my father.

A bright light appears, and Dr. Evan comes running at us, sliding to a stop.

“Dr. Evan?”

“Get away from him! He’s a Guardian, sent to kill you!” Dr. Evan yells.

Theon from my dream comes from behind Dr. Evan and shifts into battle gear like a knight in shining armor. He draws a sword and advances so quickly that Rhydian pushes me to the side and morphs into his sleek battle gear — just as I had seen him in the woods earlier tonight. He is dark and brooding, although his face is not covered like Theon’s.

Evan grabs my arm and transports us. My eyes blur as swords hit and lights erupt. I say a silent prayer to anyone who will listen to keep Rhydian safe. I can’t lose anyone else.

Chapter Eleven

I
open my eyes, and I’m in the familiar surroundings of Dr. Evan’s office. I’m on the chaise lounge. I push myself up.

“Don’t you dare say it…” I say.

“Say what, Willow? That was really close.”

My mind immediately plays the trick that everything that has happened in the several days wasn’t real; it was all in my head. I’m losing my mind. What about Mrs. Scott death? The demons and Wiccans who raided my home? Rhydian fighting. The Guardians. Sabine and my father? My friends. Daniel.

I look at Dr. Evan to center myself. He’s in different clothes from when I was here last. Isn’t he?

“Willow. Focus, Willow.” He says. His voice smooth and calm.

The office is twisting and turning. It’s like those fun-house mirrors. I am definitely losing it. I close my eyes and breathe deeply.

“What’s up with her?” Theon asks as he enters the room, and reality snaps back into focus — especially as soon as his small horns show through his long, messy hair. He’s a demon!

“Whoa, look at her hands.” Theon is holding his helmet, and puts it on the desk in the middle of the room. “By the way, the Guardian is fine. Good fighter. I think I may look him up for fun next time.” Theon stretches out his shoulders and neck.

I look down and my scrolling pattern on my hands and arms is pulsing and flowing like a river. I push my sleeve up and see the design flowing there, too, and then push it back in place. I feel a hum inside as it flows up my arms and down my shoulders. It’s powerful, and it comforts me, makes me brave. I’m not okay being in the presence of a demon. I don’t trust Dr. Evan as a result of being with Theon. Something is off here and I’m tired of not knowing. I grit my teeth to steady myself.

“Look at that.” Dr. Evan responds looking at my hands, takes off his jacket and throws it on a chair in front of his desk. “Hell of a night. You know the Guardians have orders to kill you. What were you doing at your house with a Guardian?”

“So, it’s fair to say you aren’t a doctor?”

He shakes his head to confirm.

“As you’re condemning me for being around a Guardian, exactly who are you, and why should I trust you?” I stand up in my emboldened state. This man, who I trusted put me under hypnosis, my doctor. Evan is in front of me, while Theon stays in the background working on a laptop. Probably a smart move demon.

“I really wanted more time for us to get to know one another before Sabine came riding in on her dark horse.”

“What does that mean? And how do you know Sabine? I assume you’re a Wiccan?” I pace the floor.

“Yes, I am Wiccan. Sabine’s a bit complicated when it comes to me. I’m the bastard child of Harkin MacKinnon. Harkin and I had an interesting relationship, to say the least, but Sabine and I… well, I was the reminder she hated and ignored.”

“You’re my uncle.” I stand there, frozen to the spot. “Did you grow up with my… my mother?”

His face softened at the mention of my mother. “I lived in the house since I was a baby. I grew up with Liam and Nuala in the highlands of the Ember region in Edyari. It wasn’t an awful childhood, but I stayed in the shadows as the dirty little secret of the family. Liam and Nuala were the joy of Harkin, and the Wiccan covens. A new era, if you will.” He pauses and turns away from me. “Nuala was wonderful to me. I was her baby brother.” He smiles and it reminds me of a photo of my mother. She’s laughing and her eyes sparkle. He continues, “When Liam left it hurt, but when Nuala ran with Aiden, it broke the foundation of the family. Harkin became bitter, and I became a bargaining chip to retain the royal line and High Coven positioning.”

I walk over to Evan, wanting to comfort him. He’s my uncle, we are family, but I’m cautious. I see familiar features of my mother in him. The dark blonde hair and dark blue eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me this in the beginning? Why pose as my doctor?” I ask.

“I hope you can forgive me for that. I needed to ease my way in. Nuala and I use to do this when we were younger. Come together in riffs and alternate planes, it was a safe way for me to reach you. You see, Sabine and everyone else think I’m dead.”

I step back and Theon, who’s been quiet, chuckles. “Surprise.”

“And who are you?” I snap.

He looks up from the laptop. “I’m Theon. No familial relation.” He goes back to typing.

“He’s a good friend,” Evan says. “Come on, let’s get you something to eat.” He walks to the door, and I follow.

The familiar office gives way to an apartment. Through the door there’s an open floor with a spacious, modern living room and kitchen. I sit at the bar in the kitchen while Evan prepares coffee.

“Just so you know, Rhydian has gone rogue from the Guardians. He wasn’t there to hurt me, only to protect me. He said he’s blood bonded or something like that? I dunno.”

Evan raises his eyebrows.

“What?”

“Do you know what that means?”

I shrug. I figure it’s like the Secret Service, but I don’t want to sound foolish, so I kept my mouth shut on that one.

“His family and yours made a bonded blood pact, and his life and duty are yours.”

“O-kay…”

“Without his choice in the matter. Or yours, I might add.” He sounds bitter and continues, “he will die for you, literally. Should something happen to you, he will follow to protect you in Heaven, Valhalla, or in the Elysian Fields — whichever you’re inclined to believe.”

Why would someone commit to something like that without knowing the other person? I didn’t know what to think or say. I don’t know a lot about Rhydian, but I can’t see why he’d do this without knowing me at all.

“Yeah, a little crazy huh? Let me tell you: Wiccans, in general, are stubborn in their profound beliefs, one of which is the dependence of royal blood lines from the Goddess. Lucky you for being in that line of fire.”

We finish our coffee and Theon comes out of the office. He looks like a grunge teenager, my age. “Evan, we need to get her to the High Coven. They’re meeting tomorrow. Sabine called the meeting, as you anticipated.”

Evan nods.

“I need to go home and talk to my father.”

Evan nods his head up at Theon. Theon shakes his head no.

“Share with the class, please. What?” I ask.

Theon turns and goes back to the office.

“Just tell me.” I huff.

“Your father is missing. I’ve been trying to reach him. Theon is excellent at tracking, and he hasn’t had any luck either.”

I stand and pace. “What? Oh no, that’s what Mrs. Scott…” her name hangs on my tongue and chokes me. I wipe the immediate tear that falls. “She was looking for both of us.”

“I’m sorry about Mrs. Scott. Really, I am. I think whatever form of magick she had, she imparted to you. It’s why your magick is flowing; it’s compounding.”

I don’t like that he talks about Mrs. Scott in the past. I don’t like that he knows she imparted her magick to me. He maybe my uncle, but I still feel like something is wrong. I brush the faded white designs on my hands and fingers. It comes to life and glows blue. “Can a person give their magick to another?”

Evan sits down on the modern red sofa that faces the windows to a patio.

“Only someone very powerful can loan magick. You can only impart magick in death.”

I immediately think of father. He has been teaching me and talking to me about dark magick, which is his heritage. It isn’t like most conventional magick.

“This place is well protected, so you can stay here as long as you’d like. However, in return I need you to take me to the High Coven tomorrow,” Evan says.

“How would I take you? I don’t even know where it will be.”

“It’s not a problem. It’s at the Hallowed Hall in Edayri by the Lunar Fields, but the invite will have a magick seal that will only allow those invited. They are your High Coven when you take the crown. You need to start those interactions.” His eyes sparkle.

I nod to Evan in agreement and yawn.

“Sorry about that. I haven’t had any sleep for over 24 hours now,” I say.

Evan leads me to a guest room with a private bathroom. His apartment isn’t large, but it’s certainly comfortable. I decide to take a shower, and that’s where I melt into all of my emotions. My tears and anguish for Mrs. Scott, my fear of what’s happening, and my hopelessness that I can change any of it all pour out of me. The water turns cold and I lean away from the tile and turn off the water. I have no idea how long I’ve been in there, but the mirror isn’t foggy.

I brush my hair and examine the scrolling design on my arms and shoulders that go down my back like a pair of wings. It’s beautiful, but they disappear and are barely visible unless I think about my magick, the hum. Then, I can make it come to my will, and it lights up in a neon blue color, similar to the light ball I can conjure with my hand.

I put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that Evan has laid on the bed. They fit me and it makes me uncomfortable. Was he anticipating my stay here? I pace the room and go to the window. Looking out the window I see we are several floors up in the apartment in a city I don’t recognize. I hear Theon and Evan talking in the living room. I’m tired, but I want to listen to what they’re saying. My magick flowing, I get into bed and concentrate on self-projection. I haven’t tried this before I’m not sure it will even work, but it goes smoothly as I ghost down the hall and hang back so I can hear, but not be seen by Theon and Evan.

“Evan, I know you’re doing this for Meghan. You should tell her what Sabine and Harkin did.”

“In time. But first we need to stay on task, and it’s tough to manage as it is. She’s a lot like Nuala. She’ll run; I feel it. We need to keep her away from that rogue group and Rhydian, he’s blood bonded to her. Can you reach out and tell her we have Willow? Maybe she’ll back off on her primary agenda.”

“Fine. If I don’t come back, it’s because she’s killed me.”

They both laugh, and Evan claps Theon on the back. Evan goes to his office, and Theon opens the balcony doors. I pull myself back to the bed, and my eyes flutter closed. Exhaustion overtakes me to the dark comfort of nothingness.

I toss and turn and feel wetness around me. I open my eyes to darkness and cold. I push myself up from a concrete floor. The liquid in front of me is dark and thick. I stand, and my eyes start to adjust until I can make out bars ahead of me. I’m in some sort of jail cell? I step over the liquid when I hear a shifting noise behind me. I turn, but can’t make anything out.

I whisper, “Hello?”

In a croaking, strained voice, I hear: “Willow? Sweetheart?”

My father! “Dad, yes where are you?”

“Don’t move. I don’t know how long… the connection isn’t strong, I’m weak.”

I stand still, but my magick flows, and like a night light the square cell glows. My father is lying on a cot in the corner. His face is beaten and bloody. His body looks weak. I want to step forward, but I’m afraid I’ll lose the connection he spoke of.

“Wills, don’t trust Evan. His agenda is beyond yours. Go to the High Coven and get their support with the Guardians. Find me and Lucy.”

My heartbeat thunders in my chest.

“Rhydian.” He coughs. “Rhydian, seek him out. Call to him, he’ll come to you.” He coughs again. The tears flow down my cheeks, and I clench my fists at my side.

“I love you, Daddy. I’ll find you — and Lucy.”

“I love you, too.”

The creak of the door sounds. He waves his hand, and he blurs before my eyes. All I can do is scream in anguish, and I wake up in the darkness of Evan’s guest room.

Theon opens the door. “Are you—?”

My magick throws him back down the hall and into the opposite wall. I envision my jeans and shoes on, and they move from the chair onto my body in a second. I walk through the door to find Theon out cold. Lucky. The satisfaction of eliciting a physical outcome on someone… wow, what a rush. I stepped over Theon’s body and feel my hum and know I can’t transport from inside the apartment. I go to the balcony, but it’s locked.

Determined and feeling powerful beyond what I’ve tried before, I step back, wave my hand, and the glass breaks in the sliding door. Evan comes running out of the office. I ignore him and step outside, quickly transporting myself to a beach — a white sand beach from my childhood.