Page 91 of In the Dark

CHAPTER 22

Astix and Aisanna clenched their hands tighter with every passing second. Each sister tried, in her own way, not to think of what was at stake. Not to focus on the possibility of failure. Fought to read the shifting words on the page of their spell book and believe what they did would make a difference.

“Bound for love and not for woe. Threads of life to steal from night, magic bright and give to light,” they called in unison. “Gods above please hear this plea. As it is willed, so must it be.”

They finished the spell together, both voices fighting to be heard. Astix felt a familiar stirring of power, something inside of herself, an integral piece of her chemical and spiritual makeup. She closed her eyes, inhaled, and released it.

Please, let this work. Her last thought as they unleashed the ancient magic of their lineage. Please!

Silver sparks burst to life in a circle around their youngest sister. Astix could make out only the vaguest outline of Karsia, watching the gemstone heart in her hand dissolve. Her next breath ended in a scream when the rest of Karsia’s body crumbled. “No!”

“Astix, don’t!”

Blackness turned each inch of supple skin to ash, burning and eating along the lines of her form until nothing remained. The charred skeleton poised in the air for a moment before disintegrating to the cavern floor in a pile of detritus.

Astix continued to scream, allowing Aisanna to pull her to the ground. Their hands slapped the ancient stone in unison and a great resounding boom filled the cavern. A harsh whine rose from the pillars of stone and hairline fissures raced across their surface, a second blast rocking them.

“What the hell is happening?” she screeched.

Aisanna used her body to shield them both from the blinding light. “Close your eyes!”

Astix did, still able to see the glow from behind closed lids. She pressed her forehead to cold limestone and prayed. Prayed that whatever they unleashed would work. The image of her sister’s destroyed form played on a loop in her mind. “No, no,” she moaned.

Light filled every cranny of the cave with the brightness and force of an atom bomb, deadlier for its silence.

She glanced up—nearly blinded—in time to see the fabric of their reality tear. A great rendering in space, filling the cavern with the sound of shredded fabric.

Aisanna scrambled back from the hole, bringing Astix with her.

A foot appeared from the other side.

In an instant, Morgan burst through the gap, his wings scraping the floor. He scrambled across the barrier. The hole closed immediately behind him. Silence filled the space, hanging heavy.

Astix may have said his name. His ears rang like the tolling of a bell and he watched through the buzz as she bolted to her feet, catching sight of the small, damaged body held in those great arms.

She ignored the horns shrinking back into his head. Made no mention of the alabaster feathers rapidly decreasing in size until only a man stood before her. Sound returned in a blast.

“Morgan!”

He dropped to his knees.

“What happened? Oh my God, are you okay? Is she all right?” Aisanna took hold of Karsia and drew her out into the open. Human lips, skin unchanged by fire, the slow uneasy beat of a heart.

“I got her out.” Morgan felt saliva drip from his lips and brought his sleeve up in time to wipe it away.

Aisanna glanced up sharply. “Did you see Cecilia?”

Morgan nodded his head and the motion sent him crumpling to his side, knocking his elbow in the process. “Karsia is not dead. Yet.”

“Rest,” Aisanna said. “You’re no good to us like this.”

“The man deserves a frickin’ thank you, not orders for bed rest,” Astix snapped.

Together, they rolled their little sister onto her back and watched for the rise and fall of her chest. Saw nothing.

Aisanna immediately drew whatever magic she had left and focused her healing power on the girl. “Come on,” she ground out. Her palms rubbed together and a green aura flared around her wrists. She drew strength from the oak, the acorn—Nordic emblems symbolizing life and vitality. Adder’s tongue and amaranth and angelica she used for healing. Bittersweet and bloodroot and cedar.

“Astix. I need you.”

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