Page 11 of Whispered Warnings: Part One

“No,” Van says and then suddenly slams the breaks on as we appear outside our house. “Damn man, you could have given me some warning.”

Doc frowns, “Sorry, my magic is coming a bit quicker than it usually does.”

“It’s her,” River says.

None of us reply to that, none of us really know how, although I am pretty certain that none of us will argue with him.

She arrived in a whirlwind and, even in such a short amount of time, has turned our world upside down. I have a feeling that it is only the beginning.

“What do you need from us?” River asks.

I shrug, I don’t really know for sure, I do know that it wouldn’t be good if it happened in here. “I just need to be under the stars.”

We all climb out of the van and the guys start asking me questions but it’s like the second that I stepped out she stopped trying to hang on.

“Fuck!” I curse. “She’s going.”

“You do what you have to,” Evander says. “We’ve got you.”

I nod.

I can’t do this slowly and steadily; I don’t have the time. Her spirit is leaving, and her heartbeat is slowing.

“You need to stand back,” I say. The guys hesitate, sharing a look. The lock is already loosening on my other side, almost like it knows who I need it for and what I need it for. The power leaks into my voice, it comes out deeper, full of darkness and light, and commanding, “Now!”

Their eyes widen as they all move back.

“Fucking hell,” Doc curses.

I ignore them and take a deep breath. The moose said to follow my magic, and so as hard as that fucking is, that’s what I do. I tear away the lock that is holding back my other side, my other magic, and it blazes forward. My shift is instant, my reaper bigger and stronger than it has ever been, and I look down at Neith, still cradled in my arms. My eyes burn with magic, my back searing with pain before what I instinctively know to be wings burst free.

That’s a new one.

I grasp hold of my magic, feeling whole for the first time in maybe forever, it comes easily enough, happy to help and I get a pang of sadness spear my heart. I don’t have time for any of this though. My magic picks up on what I want, and it quickly sets to work. It wraps itself around her soul, tethering it to her body with a golden thread, and another thread tethers to me. I frownslightly, I don’t know why but I don’t think that was supposed to happen.

My magic swells, as it builds the tether, and then with a sharp snap clicks into place. She is not going to be crossing over any time soon. When she is healed enough, the magic will dissipate, that I know instinctively.

Although the task is complete, I take a moment, breathing deeply and reveling in the peace and freedom that having all of my magic free is giving me. The memories are staying at the edge of my consciousness for a moment, and I appreciate that because I know that they aren’t going to stay there.

All too soon, I admit to myself that I need to pull my magic in and lock that side of me away again so that I can get Neith inside. She needs rest, and I am starting to think that she needs food too, and lots of it. Reluctantly I pull it back and force it back into the cage that I created for it. It doesn’t want to go, and I don’t want to put it there, but I manage it. My wings retract, my eyes stop burning, and that heaviness settles back over me, feeling impossibly heavier now that I have felt what it is like to be free.

When it’s finally in there, I am hit with a wave of sadness. The only thing that helps right now is the weight of Neith in my arms and the fact that I helped her. My magic helped; it didn’t hurt.

Slowly, I turn to face the guys. I frown when I see them way further back than they were.

“What are you doing all the way back there?” I ask, and then fear spears me. I wonder if they are that far back because they fear me.

Evander grins, “You pushed us this far back with your magic.”

“All of you?” I ask, my eyes on Reed.

He nods, “I moved with the others to a safe distance, but you didn’t move me. I think you could one day though.”

My eyes widen, holy fuck.

River rushes up to me and then bounces around, my eyes barely able to trace his rapid movements, “Dude, that was fucking epic. I mean, your other magic is insane.”

I allow myself a half smile, more for River’s benefit than for my own, as I stride toward the house, each step feeling like it weighs a ton. Allowing my magic free was far easier than I ever thought it would be after all of these years. Putting it back, however, was extremely hard, and I hadn’t realized how much it was dragging me down having it confined.

---