Page 80 of Soulbound Shadows: Part 2

Morgana’s shapes started to dwindle. At the start there had been more creatures than I could name—things I had only seen in books and things I had never seen at all. Now, as the wand drew them out of her, the forms got simpler. A shape trapped halfway between human and wolf. A gray-haired humanoid form with dappled black spots, wrapped in sealskin. The snapping teeth and claws some of the more ancient vampires had.

Finally, just as I could feel my reserves starting to well and truly get low, Morgana stopped spasming. For the span of a heartbeat, I thought she was dead, but then she jolted into a sitting position, chest heaving. She looked up at us, wide-eyed.

“What have you done?” Her voice was ragged from screaming, but there was still a hint of that unnerving lilting musicality she’d once had. It was even more jarring now. “What have you done?”

I didn’t reply, just stared down at her. She had changed. Her eyes weren’t those perfect, uncannily white orbs anymore, now just regular eyes in an unremarkable shade of blue. She was still as pale as a frog’s belly, but her veins didn’t look like they were only separated from the world by a layer of frosted glass anymore. Her beauty seemed human now, not the sort of thing that could only come from the hands of a very talented sculptor.

She pressed her hands to her face, touching her nose, her cheeks, her lips, her jaw. A few of her long, sharp nails had broken off at the tips, and her knuckles were bloody from her flailing against the floor. She stared up at me through her fingers and let out an awful, barking laugh. “So many years,” she murmured. “All that magic. Undone so quickly.”

With stilted movements that spoke of pain, she turned her face to the floor. The obsidian was dark and smooth enough that her reflection stared back up at her.

Witches were long-lived, even without insane rituals. The magic kept the body going. Now, without her magic, the years were catching up to Morgana. It started with crow’s feet, then frown lines around the mouth, and creases on her forehead. Silver streaked her hair. She laughed again, touching her reflection’s face.

“Well, well,” she said in her wrecked voice. “I look just like my mother.”

The first few decades had washed over her in a matter of seconds, but it was going faster now. A lot of other years were piled up in line waiting for their turn, and they were impatient after such a long wait. Before our eyes, Morgana twisted up and withered. The time she’d held off was coming back brutally quickly. I blinked, and she went from a very old woman to something that looked like a bog body. I blinked again, and she was dust. The wand, still gripped tightly in my hand, shuddered and sighed. Its job was done.

And so was mine. I felt woozy again. The world tilted on its axis. I had just enough time to turn to Gabriel and say, “I think I’m going to need you to catch me.”

Then everything went dark.

I woke up in fresh air and to a very blue sky. For a moment, I watched the clouds scuttling along way up in the distance.

A familiar face popped into view, upside-down, and blocking out the sky. Blue eyes went wide behind the face’s scratched glasses.

“She’s awake!” Marcus called, and I winced. “Sorry, sorry,” he said at a more reasonable volume. “Oh, Gabriel is going to be beside himself. He’s been by your side the whole time, and the first moment he gets pried away, you wake up.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Classic.”

There was the clattering of someone running on loose stone, and Gabriel came into view, relief and worry fighting a pitched battle across his face. He folded himself down to sit next to me, helping me into a sitting position when I grabbed at his arm.

“Evangeline,” he said, like my name was the best set of sounds that had ever existed. “You’re awake. How are you feeling, love?”

I reached up to touch his face. My hand was a little clumsy, but I felt better once I had my fingers pressed to the line of his jaw. “Sore,” I said honestly. “Tired. I haven’t burnt myself out like that since I was still an apprentice.”

Gabriel was patting me down for injuries, which I would’ve been willing to bet good money he’d already done at least twice.

“Hey, hey,” I said soothingly, catching his hand. “I’m okay, I promise. I’m glad you were there with me or I would’ve been done for. Ow! Ow! Vampire strength!”

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly, loosening his death grip on my hand and helping me to my feet. “I was… I was worried.”

I kissed him, and he kissed back sweetly as I leaned against him. It would’ve been romantic if it wasn’t mostly to keep me from falling over.

“Thank you,” I whispered. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“I will always be here for you,” he told me. “No matter what.”

Our lips met again, and I lost myself in the kiss. Then I remembered everything that had happened, everything that still needed to be done. Reluctantly, I pulled away.

“Where’s…?” I started, and before I could finish the sentence, Gabriel held up the wand. The stone set into its pommel had gone the same milky-white Morgana’s eyes had been.

Marcus watched me carefully. I knew exactly what he was thinking. An artifact like this could be used for damn near anything now it was so full of magic. The person who held it would be unstoppable, all-powerful, with that much power.

I took the wand in both hands and snapped it in half.

The magic surged out of it in a torrent. What came out wasn’t light, but it gave the impression of it, like the pink-orange of the sun against closed eyelids. Hundreds of colors, all surging and swirling together as they burst out of the artifact. They spiraled up into the sky, wild and beautiful, a kaleidoscope of different magical signatures. An intense golden cluster of magic floated down to me, and I welcomed it back. It settled into my chest, and I felt energy flow back into me. Then, one by one, the pieces of magic began to spread out, drifting lazily at first, but picking up speed as they went. High up on the mountaintop, we watched as the magic went back to its rightful places.

Soon, there was only one piece of the magic left. It was a huge, bright white thing, coldly brilliant. Morgana’s. It drifted aimlessly.

“What’s going to happen to it?” I asked Marcus.

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