Page 71 of Fallen Angel

Callan pushed Hannah forward and followed Mara.

Mara’s servants surrounded Hannah. One witch with long, blinding white hair, and skin so thin it appeared colorless, fixated on her and released a blood-curdling screech that felt as if it could shatter glass.

“Oh, good,” Mara called from her altar. “Gwendolyn here is a Banshee. Her cries are a herald of an impending death.” Callan stood by Mara’s side like a loyal pet.

Her words didn’t concern Hannah. She knew her death was right around the corner, but it needed to be at Mara’s hand. That wouldn’t happen, however, if she let Mara’s creatures rip her to shreds. One of the witches slithered forward. His skin glistened with scales. His eyes were yellow, and he heaved forward heavy breaths, as if there was something stuck in his throat. He opened his mouth, revealing a forked tongue. Hannah recoiled. Red and orange sparks flickered inside his mouth. The witch spat out a long stream of fire.

Hannah threw up her hands, and a shield of light deflected his flames.

His blaze fizzled out. Tendrils of smoke curled from his lips and glided up his scaled face.

Hannah braced herself, hands radiating with light. A young girl, sixteen or seventeen, walked toward Hannah and tucked her short, red hair behind her ear. She was small and unassuming, but in a flash, she shifted into Landon—sweet, caring Landon.

Hannah froze.

“Hannah, what are you doing? What is all of this?” Her voice was an exact mimic of Landon’s. She even had his warm brown eyes and sandy brown hair. “We had that special moment on the beach the other night, and then I just don’t hear from you again?”

To know about her and Landon’s night on the beach, she must have been able to read minds.Fuck off, witch bitch,Hannah thought.

Insult played on fake Landon’s face, and he immediately threw a punch. Hannah blocked the shapeshifter with her arm but recoiled from the heavy impact. The young girl not only displayed Landon’s features, but his strength as well. Before Hannah could recover, fake Landon high-kicked the center of her chest.

Hannah’s body plummeted against the hard, slate ground. Winded, she managed to stand back up. The fake Landon sprinted toward her. Hannah stepped to the side and grabbed the shapeshifter’s arm.

“Turn back into your pretty-little-self,” Hannah commanded, forcing her Siren’s influence to fill her.

She wasn’t sure if trying to compel the shapeshifter would work, as Mara’s compulsion had proven to be undeniable. But she wouldn’t be able to fight off these creatures for long, and this wasn’t how she was supposed to die. “Stop attacking me. You don’t want to hurt me.”

Fake Landon transformed back into the little redhead girl and looked at Hannah apologetically. Hannah released her grip, and the girl stumbled back.

“I do not desire to hurt you,” the girl repeated.

In that instance, Hannah knew that she was equally, if not more powerful, than Mara. The fact that her Siren ability could overturn the undying servitude instilled within one of Mara’s creatures was a game-changer. She was unsure why her song to turn Mara’s creatures away from the library didn’t work, yet in this moment, her command was strong enough to sway their allegiance. Perhaps her compulsion by touch was more powerful than she ever imagined.

She looked to the altar. Mara’s upper lip twitched as she grated her teeth.

There wasn’t time to touch and compel all of Mara’s creatures, especially when she didn’t know what other supernatural abilities they contained. So, she took a chance.

She surveyed the witches, connecting her eyes to each of theirs. They appeared confused and angry and were seconds away from attacking. Hannah filled her mind with her alluring Siren song and hummed the entrancing melody, allowing it to blanket over the dark creatures before her. And just as her magic once provided her a spell from the old language when she was influenced by Mara’s evil, she now felt as though her light magic was feeding her a spell—words to put to her tune.

“Though once you bowed at Mara Eden’s feet,

and acted as her malicious fleet,

you now answer to me—my every command.

Ignore her orders. Together we stand.”

Her words danced along her melody like mesmerizing lyrics to a hypnotic song. It felt more condensed over a smaller number of witches—each note more saturated with her magic. Hannah’s heart thudded against her chest as glowing light glazed over Mara’s creatures.

The witches softened and relaxed their stances. Hannah was overcome by both a cooling sense of relief and an empowering surge of conviction. She had turned the tables on Mara and part of her wanted to sic her new soldiers on the black witch who forced darkness upon them. But that was not part of Hannah’s plan. Besides, Hannah didn’t want to control her fellow witches. She was not like Mara. She wanted them to be free. And now, more than ever, she felt Raven’s spirit swirling within her.

“No,” Mara cried. She raced to the edge of the altar.

The witches stood behind Hannah. While Callan looked confused and concerned, Mara was pure rage.

“You answer to me, you imbeciles,” Mara shouted. “Kill her! I command you!” She screamed at her creations, but her words no longer mattered to them.

“If you want me dead, Mara, then you’ll have to kill me yourself.” Hannah’s magic zipped through her limbs, and she felt electric at the power she possessed. She knew, however, that it would soon come to an end. While Hannah’s magic may have been able to turn the witches away from their master, she didn’t believe it could overtake Mara.

---