Page 32 of Whispers of the Magical Forest

"I think I'll pass," I said, trying to sound braver than I felt. I reached for my mate bond with Argies. He could cut me off from my magic, but he couldn’t touch the mate-bond. I searched for that familiar warmth of dragon fire. My heart broke when I felt nothing. How had the runes blocked that too? Reality sunk in like a lead weight. I was well and truly on my own.

"An interesting theory," I added, stalling for time. "But what makes you think my hybrid nature won't reject your corruption entirely? Fae magic isn't exactly known for playing nice with others." That’s why it was impossible for other Fae to combine their power with a witch’s. My unique bond with Fiona and Violet made our unique brand of magic possible.

Marcus smiled. It wasn't a pleasant expression. "That's precisely why we've spent so long preparing. Each failed vessel helped us refine the process. The wine barrels were a particular stroke of genius. We took Fae crafting and corrupted it to our purpose. The wood is enchanted to store and enhance power, you see. We simply... redirected their purpose."

A scream pierced the air as one of the vessels convulsed. Purple energy poured from them in a heavy stream. It wentinto the nearest barrel, which swelled like a tick gorging on blood. I watched in horror as the victim's magic flickered and died. My mind screamed in denial as I stared at the empty husk left behind.

"You don't have a choice," Marcus continued as if nothing had happened. "The preparations are almost complete. Your friends will fall into the trap and be here in no time. Then the First Ones will reward me with power beyond imagining. No more artificial boundaries between magical disciplines. No more rules about what magic can and cannot do. There will be pure, unlimited potential."

My back shrank against the stone when he produced a ceremonial athame from his jacket. The blade was dark metal that seemed to absorb light. It was wicked sharp and would filet me with ease. I wanted to look away but the corrupted runes seemed to hold my gaze. I let out the breath I was holding when he used it to cut his own palm. He began mixing the blood with what looked like liquid shadow in an ornate chalice.

"This will hurt," he said conversationally as he began painting runes directly onto my skin with the mixture. "Try not to pass out too quickly. The process works better if you're conscious. Besides, you’ll want to feel your individual magic type being unified."

The first rune burned like acid. Tendrils of corrupted magic burrowed beneath my skin and tried to get into my magical core. Only my connection to Argies and my friends kept me from being thoroughly infected. I bit back a scream as he continued working. Each symbol connected me more deeply to the network of stolen power. The marks spread across my skin like corrupt ivy. Purple light pulsed in time with my heartbeat.

Hatred washed over me when I began to feel the other vessels. Their pain, despair, and fading essencesacted as a poison that ate at what little protection I had left. Their power began flowing through me. It used my unique nature to stabilize and strengthen the matrix. It felt like being torn apart and stitched back together with barbed wire.

"Fascinating," Marcus murmured as he completed another set of runes. "Your dual nature adapts so beautifully to the process and keeps you alert. The resonance is already building. Soon, you'll be fully integrated into the circuit, and then..." He paused, head tilting like a predator hearing distant prey.

A particularly vicious surge of power cut off his words. It drew a scream from me that I couldn't suppress. It felt like my very soul was being used as a conductor of wild electricity. Through the haze of pain, I noticed Marcus consulting what looked suspiciously like my mobile.

“Your friends are being quite persistent,” he commented, showing me the screen. Messages from Fiona and Violet flashed continuously. "I do hope they figure out where you are soon. Once I have the phoenix and the witch, the circuit will be complete. Perhaps we should send them directions? After all, we wouldn't want them to miss their part in the grand transformation."

"They're going to kick your arse," I managed between waves of agony. The thought of my friends walking into this trap gave me the strength to fight against the corruption seeping through my veins.

He just smiled and continued drawing runes. Each symbol burned worse than the last as more power was forced through my unwilling body. I fought it and rejected the foreign magic. However, I couldn’t keep it all out. His magic was too strong. All I could do was endure as darkness crept through my veins and shadow magic sang in my bones.

Somewhere in the distance, I thought I heard Argies roar. But that was impossible through all these wards. Wasn't it?The thought slipped away as Marcus began the next phase of the ritual. After that, everything dissolved into purple fire and pain.

"Your mate is quite powerful," Marcus observed as he added more runes. "A dragon of his caliber is rare. I look forward to studying how his magic reacts with the network. Though I imagine he'll be more... challenging to contain than you were. Perhaps we should send him a message? Let him know exactly how his beloved mate is contributing to our great work?"

The suggestion sent rage burning through me. It was enough to momentarily overwhelm the pain. "Touch my mate or my daughter," I snarled, letting my rage show in my voice, "and I'll show you exactly why the College should have locked away their dark grimoires and stuck to proper magic."

"Brave words from someone bound and helpless," Marcus chuckled. "But don't worry. Soon, you won't care about mates or children or anything else. The First Ones will remake everything. And you'll be at the heart of that transformation. You should feel honored."

Another surge of power ripped through me. There was no holding back the screams. As consciousness began to fade, I clung to thoughts of Argies, Kalli, and my friends. They would come. They would find me. And when they did, Marcus would learn exactly why you don't mess with the Backside of Forty.

CHAPTER 12

FIONA

The last thing I saw before Aislinn vanished was her face. That stubborn, beautiful face with its mix of horror and fear. She was gone in a swirl of purple magic like some demented David Copperfield show. The image kept replaying in my head. Each loop cranked my rage up another notch until I could practically feel my magic crackling in my teeth.

So much for our relaxing wine weekend. We were supposed to be three sheets to the wind by now and cackling over some stupid show we were watching on the telly. Instead, we had apocalyptic cultists with their budget-bin evil leader who had kidnapped Aislinn. And I had this corrupted wound trying to eat its way through my side.

Speaking of which. Bloody hell, it hurt. Each heartbeat sent tendrils of vile magic creeping further through my veins like ice-cold fingers of death. This was like something was trying to hollow out your insides with a rusty spoon. It made me question everything we’d done the entire trip. How had they gotten us here in the first place? It had been my idea to go wine tasting. Hadn’t it?

I even questioned the backup plans we’d made when everything went sideways. There would be no sampling the Winter's Embrace this evening. Something I could desperately use. It might help dull the pain. At this point, we'd need to raid the whole damn winery just to numb the edges. Maybe two wineries. And a distillery for good measure.

My mind raced as the café's neon sign buzzed and flickered overhead like a dying firefly. Through the windows, the mundies who'd been cowering in the back were wandering around aimlessly as Gadross worked his magic with his disc. They'd gone from frightened rabbits to catatonic zombies. I gave myself a mental shake. We couldn’t just stand here. We had to find Aislinn.

"Call Thanos," I told Violet as I clamped my hand harder against the wound. The world decided to do a merry jig around me at that moment. It felt like someone had replaced my blood with liquid nitrogen and forgot to tell my body about it. "Now, before this corruption decides to get properly creative with my internal organs. We are going to need help to find Ais."

Violet grabbed my arm as I swayed. She probably saved me from an embarrassing face-plant into the filthy snow. Her free hand fumbled for her phone. She was so upset she left little trails of phoenix fire hanging in the air like fireflies. Her fingers were trembling as she tried to dial. Nothing says ‘we're totally in control of this situation’ like shaky hands.

"Already on it," she muttered and finally hit his contact. Sher put the call on speaker phone. "Knowing how the mate bond works, the guys are probably-"

"Already together?" Thanos's voice came through clearly despite the magical interference crackling in the air. "We're at Pymm's Pondside with Grams. Argies felt something was wrong through the mate bond about tenminutes ago. He nearly tore down half the garden. Bas just got him calmed down. You have good timing. What happened?"

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