Under the Burning Stars (27 page)

An apparition had appeared. Then another, and another. They were hooded figures with white glowing unclear faces.
The Necromancer seemed unfazed by the apparitions.

“Let the
spirits in,” her mother’s voice said. “Don’t be afraid. They will guide you.” Then, the flames swallowed her mother’s apparition.

Ava shivered
as the wind blew out the candles and the apparitions drew closer. Darkness settled over her. It almost felt like death was in the room or like her soul was being tainted. She wasn’t strong enough to fight off the cold or the darkness. Ava opened herself to the apparitions.

She collapsed to her knees as a
strange evil filled her. And she wanted more. Whispers began to fill her head and she felt woozy.

Kill them all. 

Bind yourself to us.

You have chosen your destiny.

Ava blinked and felt as if alcohol filled her bloodstream. Her stomach clenched and sweat beaded her upper lip. Something weighed her down and she could barely keep her eyes open. Her breathing slowed and the candles slowly flickered alive. She looked down and saw several droplets of blood on the floor. Then, she rolled onto her side, holding her stomach, and closed her eyes.

Ava slowly opened her eyes. They were dry and scratchy. Her whole body felt as if it had been turned to stone. She couldn’t move at all. Her stomach churned and her head pounded.

What had happened?
Once her eyes came into focus, she realized that she was at the cabin. How had she gotten there? She didn’t even remember coming back from the club.

Then, the strangest thing happened. Her body sat up from the bed and stood. But it wasn’t her that moved her body. It was like she was watching from the outside. Had she died and the spirits invaded her body? Had that really happened?

Her body continued to move, but for Ava it was
like she was trapped inside a box. She had no control over her motions. She even tried to speak, but nothing came out. She fought and struggled for control, but nothing happened.

She heard t
he front door to the cabin open and her hands clenched into fists as she waited.

“Ava,” a voice
shouted.

Peter!
Ava tried to say but nothing came out. She banged against the invisible wall and struggled to regain control of her body. She couldn’t even warn Peter.

She heard his footsteps coming closer, and then the door to
the bedroom flew open. Even in the darkness before the dawn, she could see the worry in his brown eyes.

“Ava,” he
said, relief in his voice. “Omigod. We’ve been looking everywhere for you. What happened?” He crossed the room toward her, and reached up to touch her face.

She recoiled
and backed away. What was going on? Why couldn’t she control herself?

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Don’t touch me,” her voice snapped. But it wasn’t Ava. It was her voice, but not her thoughts. Had someone possessed her body? Was she dead? Alive?

Peter! Help me!

But he couldn’t hear her. She had to attack the Manor.

Ava walked past Peter out of the room. It was like she was hidden deep inside her mind, but could do nothing but watch and hear. She didn’t understand the thought about attacking the Manor. Was that what the spirit was thinking? Was the war going to start then?

“Ava, where are you going?”
Peter grabbed her hand, just as she reached the front door.

She pushed him
so hard that he fell back. “Get away from me,” she demanded. How dare he touch her? The anger made her veins pulsate with energy. But these weren’t her thoughts. Whose were they? She opened the door with vigor and it slammed against the wall. The sky was beginning to lighten. She had mere minutes to get to the Manor before sunrise.

“What is wrong with you?”
Peter ran out of the cabin. “What happened last night?”

Ava
turned around and faced him. He was inches from her. “You’d better leave me alone, or I will kill you.”

Terror washed over his face. “
Your eyes, Ava. They’re black. What happened to you?”

“Something that finally made me see things clearly.” She got inside her car and left. She didn’t want to go to the Manor and
encounter all those Enchanters, but she had a mission.

Ava didn’t understand what was going on with her.
She felt like her hands were tied behind her back and was just forced to watch. She hoped Peter would follow and stop her before she did something unthinkable.

Ava finally arrived. She wanted to destroy the gaudy mansion, but held back. In due time.
She pushed open the heavy door and looked around. Where was he? And how could she find him without anyone noticing? She made her way through the hallway toward the kitchen and Colden emerged.

Colden! Help me! Get Savina!

But Colden didn’t hear her.

“Hello, Ava.” He smiled. “How are you?”

She walked closer. “It’s time.”

A crease appeared between his bushy eyebrows. “I’m sorry?”

Her possessed mind
imagined him under water. An inescapable wall of water built around him.

No! No! No!
Ava punched and kicked the invisible barrier, but with no luck. Whoever or whatever controlled her body was going to kill Colden. She had to do something.

Colden dropped to the ground, trying to inhale gulps of air. His black eyes widened in fear as he
reached for her. “Don’t…” He tried to get out, and then his body began violently thrashing as though he was having a seizure.

“Ava,” a voice shouted. Then something collided with her, knocking her to the ground.

She looked up to see Peter pinning her down. She pushed him and kicked him, but he refused to let go of her. “Let me go.”

“What are you doing?”

“Get off of me.” Finally, one of her hands loosened from his grip and she punched him in the face.

He stumbled back enough for h
er to straddle him and deliver a crushing blow to his chest. He cried out.

She had her fist in the air, and was about to hit him again, until something dragged her off him.

“What’s going on?” Eric’s voice came from behind her. It took several of his duplicates to hold her down.

Natalia rushed into the room and bent down to hold Colden from the thrashing. “What
did you do?”

Then Colden
stopped moving and his eyes closed.

“Colden,” Natalia yelled.

Savina, Aaron, Ava’s father, and others rushed into the room, frantically worried and shocked at the scene.

“What have you done?” Savina asked, and then narrowed her eyes.

Ava recoiled from them. She had to get out of there. She elbowed Eric in the stomach and he doubled over.

“She’s possessed,” Savina said. “
Take her to the parlor.”

Eric reached
for her, but she backed away, right into Gabriel’s body. Damn his teleporting. He grasped her arms behind her back and she fought against him, and then several Eric’s helped take her to the parlor.

Gabriel!
She cried, but he didn’t hear her. It took seven of Eric and one Gabriel to hold her still.

“You’ll all be next,” Ava said.

Eric shook his head. “How the hell did she get possessed?”

Gabriel pressed his lips in a tight line, and Ava could see the muscles in his jaws twitch. His blue eyes held so much anger as he stared at her. She couldn’t stand
his enraged look.

Savina
rushed into the room with Ava’s father, Peter, and others on her heel.

“You need to hold her,” Savina said. “I have to kill the spirits inside her and this is going to be painful.”

Her father moaned and Joss held him. They all stood around, their faces twisted with worry.

Savina
kneeled down and raised her hand.

Ava squirmed and struggled, but Eric and Gabriel held their grips. “Don’t touch me.”

Savina pressed her hand against Ava's chest, over her heart, and at first, it was as if she was on fire. The burning grated against her skin and under her flesh. She felt like sandpaper coursed through her veins. She screamed and thrashed. The intense pain was worse than anything she had ever felt physically. It seemed to have lasted for hours.

Slowly,
the darkness lifted, the drunken feeling alleviated, and the invisible wall vanished. She drew in a deep breath. Her body was exhausted and she felt weak, but relieved.

She hadn’t died. She was alive.

Ava
opened her eyes to see everyone still watching her. She moved her hand and it obeyed. Gabriel helped her into a sitting position and feeling his touch was amazing. She was back to normal, but felt embarrassed with everyone’s eyes on her. Her father knelt down beside her and hugged her.

“Are you okay? What happened?” He kissed her forehead.

She felt her cheeks redden and buried her face in his chest. “I’m fine. How is Colden?”

“We don’t know.”

Her heart faltered. Had she killed him? She raised her head. “I can heal him.”

“Your healing has been compromised,” Savina said.

“What happened to him?” Joss asked.

“Who did this to you?” Savina asked. The piercing look in her eyes caused Ava to shiver.

Ava bowed her head. “I don’t know.”

Don’t lie, Ava. Tell us what happened.
Savina mind-spoke to Ava.

She looked up, but tears distorted her vision. She couldn’t tell anyone that she’d gone to a Necromancer. There was no way.

But it was too late. The horrified look on Savina’s face told her she had read her mind. Her pulse quickened.

Savina
pressed her lips in a thin line. “She went to a Necromancer.”

Several g
asps sounded. Her father removed his arms from around her and she could feel his eyes. Ava dared a glance at the group and her necklace warmed.

Natalia folded her arms across her chest.
“You did what? How could you be so stupid? You almost killed Colden.”

Savina stopped Natalia from getting closer.
“Who told you to do it?”

“No one.”

“Who told you where to find one?” She asked, punctuating each word.

She swallowed her tears. “No one.”
Ava stared at Savina defiantly and blocked her from reading her mind, but then she touched Ava’s head.

Ava fought against her mind-reading ability, but it was no use. Savina knocked down the wall and grabbed at her memories. Ava felt a sharp pain in her skull and cried out.

Savina drew a sharp breath, and recoiled from Ava. She shook her head.
Colden could not have told you to see the Necromancer. The spirits tainted your memories.

Ava wondered if that was Savina’s way of ignoring the truth. Nevertheless, Ava almost killed him. Almost beat Peter to a pulp. What was wrong with her?
She couldn’t remember anything past finding the Necromancer. It was as if it was a black hole of missing information.

“
You don’t know what you’ve done,” Savina said and turned to the group. “She sought a Necromancer to speak to her mother’s spirit and in doing so, spirits possessed her.”

Natalia glared at her. “She should be banned.”

“She didn’t mean to hurt anyone, Natalia,” Gabriel said.

“I don’t know why you always protect her. She is an insidious child with no regard for anyone’s feelings but hers.
She needs to learn selflessness.”

Ava felt small and incredibly unworthy.
A heavy ache resided in her heart. Then, she heard a piercing sound and grabbed her ears. It wouldn’t stop until Gabriel shook Natalia.

Slowly, her hearing came back to her. “I’m so sorry.”

“Your apology means nothing.” Natalia left the room followed by Gabriel.

Savina turned to her. “A
va, you are bound to this house. You are not allowed to travel outside a mile of the premises.”

Ava couldn’t stand the mortified looks from everyone, nor could she stand herself. The crowd dispersed except for her father and Peter. She feared looking into her father’s eyes.

“Ava.” He shook his head. “I can’t begin to tell you how disappointed I am in you. I can’t believe you did this. How could you be so thoughtless? Did you not realize how dangerous this was?”

“I’m sorry, Dad.”

“I have to go check on Colden,” he said, and walked away.

She buried her face in her hands, and then felt an arm around her shoulders.

“Come on,” Peter said. “Let’s go to your room.”

A hot aching guilt rushed over her. This was the worst betrayal any witch could have ever done to their coven. Why couldn’t she
have just listened to Gabriel? He’d warned her it was a bad idea. Now her entire coven hated her.

Peter helped her to her room and then closed the door behind them. Feeling his arms around her was
incredible, but she didn’t deserve it. She held onto him so tight.

“What happened, Ava?” Peter asked. She was surprised he even talked to her after what she did to him.

“Are you okay?” She reached up and touched his face. His lip wasn’t bleeding and no longer swollen. It had healed itself.

He
removed her hands and gave a half-smile. “I heal, remember? What happened, Ava?”

She shook her head. “I’m so sorry, Peter. I would never hurt you. I don’t know what was wrong with me. It was awful. It was
like someone else controlled my body and mind. I was screaming for you but you couldn’t hear me.”

He pulled her against him, and she felt his arms wrap around her perfectly. He kissed the top of her head. “Why did you go?”

“I wanted to talk to my mom.”

“
Was that your plan all along to go to New Orleans?”

She nodded.
“What would you have done after you found out your mother was a Cimmerian and promised your soul to them? I was desperate. And I almost killed Colden.” Tears streamed down her face.