Page 37 of Whispers of the Magical Forest

The pack's library was a massive chamber that would have made any Oxford college proud. If they were into books that writhed on their shelves like they were having fits. It wasn’t because the books contained powerful magic in them. It was the external power that covered them and everything around them. Something dripped from their spines like black tears and made horrible little splashing sounds on the floor.

“Fi, look at this,” I called softly as I pulled a journal from a desk that seemed less possessed than the others. The leather cover was warm to the touch and seemed to pulse like a heart. "It's Richard Blackwood's personal records. He’s the mage that went bad. He and the alpha at the time worked together. It was their relationship that caused the pack’s decline."

The others gathered around as I carefully opened it. I tried not to think about how the pages felt disturbingly like skin. The handwriting started neat and proper.It was something you'd see in a solicitor's office. It became increasingly manic as the entries progressed.

"Here," I pointed to an entry dated eighty years ago, "he writes about finding ancient texts in a sealed chamber beneath the wine cellars. They were about the First Ones and their power. Listen to this rubbish. 'Our magic is but a pale shadow of what it could be. The First Ones offer so much more. Their whispers grow stronger with each ritual. The power they grant is intoxicating. The pack resists, but they'll understand once they've tasted it themselves.'

"The lot of them are barking mad," I muttered as I turned pages. "The next bit details his experiments. He was deliberately corrupting shifters. He moved on to the pack bonds.” My stomach roiled when I read the next part. “He used them to spread the taint to others. Those who fought it were... bloody hell." Bile burned the back of my throat. "They were sacrificed to strengthen Blackwood’s hold over what he called animals and his connection to the First Ones."

"Like father, like son," Fiona muttered. She was referring to the family member currently leading the charge. She was leaning heavily against Bas. It was her pale face that had my heart aching. "Keeping it in the family, apparently. Though I have to say, their family reunions must be mental," she finished.

More journals revealed the horrible progression. Pack members who resisted were ‘converted’ through brutal rituals that made my recent visit to the dentist seem pleasant by comparison. Those who couldn't be turned were used as fuel for darker workings. The corruption spread through pack bonds like a virus. It tainted those who initially fought against it. And the alpha fell last.

"This is wrong," Bas said. His voice was tight with fury as he examined a ritual circle carved into the floor. It looked like someone had taken traditional pack magic and put itthrough a demonic blender. "They've taken sacred magic and warped it into something else. Shifters were never meant to be led like this. Their animals have specific needs only an alpha can provide."

"It feels a bit like that kebab shop on the high street," Fiona quipped weakly. "You know, the one where even the rats won't eat the leftovers?"

"Not helping, Fi," I said. Although, I appreciated her attempt at humor. It meant she was still with us.

Thanos was fiddling around with some books and jumped back when the book he moved opened a hidden door. It was behind the bookcase. These nutters really were going for every evil lair cliche in existence. We poked our heads in and saw that it led to what looked like a research room. The walls were covered in charts and diagrams that would have given my old math teacher a migraine. They detailed magical compatibility and resonance factors for different supernatural beings.

My blood ran cold as I studied the information. It was like looking at a shopping list written by someone planning to build a bomb out of people. "This is why they took Aislinn.”

“And why they need us,” Fiona added grimly. “Look. They need individuals with multiple magical signatures who could act as a bridge. Aislinn fits this as well as both of us. She’s got Fae blood combined with her connection to dragon magic through carrying Kalli."

"The perfect vessel," Thanos agreed grimly. He entered and picked up a set of documents. "They've been collecting other supernatural beings for decades. Testing different combinations and trying to find the right mixture of power types. They’re some demented magical mad scientists."

The alarm that shattered our investigation sounded like a cross between a police siren and a banshee witha head cold. Shadow essence began pouring from the walls like someone had turned on corrupted taps. "Company is coming," Fiona announced unnecessarily as heavy footsteps thundered above us. "And they don't sound like they're bringing tea and biscuits."

We backed away from the hidden room and turned to face the attack. The first enforcer burst through the library doors in a form that defied natural law. It was caught between wolf and man. It had too many limbs and eyes that burned with purple fire. It looked like large sections of its organs had been pulled outside its body. More followed. Each was warped in its own unique and horrifying way.

"Well," I said as I called my phoenix fire, "I suppose subtle is off the table. Rather like my gran at Christmas dinner after too much sherry."

The battle that followed was pure chaos. My flames met corrupted flesh while Thanos carved paths through horrifying beasts. Bas wielded his weapons with as much skill, while Fiona lobbed magical bombs at them. Like the night before, there were too bloody many. They were damn strong. Each enforcer could shift between multiple forms. It made them nearly impossible to pin down. One moment, you'd be fighting what looked like a wolf. The next, it would dissolve into something with too many teeth and not enough physics.

"We need to fall back," Bas called as another wave of enforcers poured in. "There are too many, and they're drawing power from the corruption in the walls!"

He was right. Even Argies's dragon fire wasn't enough to keep them all at bay. Argies could shift and take a large portion of them out, but we wouldn’t survive the collapse of the building on top of us. There wasn’t enough room for how big his beast was.

We began retreating. We had to fight for every step like it was the last queue at Tesco's before a holiday. That's whenone of the enforcers got too close. Something caught Argies’s attention and made him roar with fury. "Aislinn," he snarled. Dragon fire lit his eyes. "Her blood is on this one. They're using it to track our movements!"

The enforcer's laugh was like breaking glass. "The vessel serves her purpose well. Soon, you'll all serve the First Ones. The old ways will-"

Argies's flames cut off whatever else he was going to say. Thankfully, we'd heard enough. They were using Aislinn's blood for tracking magic. Which meant she was still alive, but for how much longer? Bas and Thanos shoved Fiona and me behind them. The three men acted as a wall between us and the shifters.

We fought our way back to the tunnels. Fiona and I used our magic to seal the entrance behind us with every ward we could muster. The sound of corrupted enforcers throwing themselves against the barrier echoed through the stone like the world's worst drum solo. "Well," Fiona said as we caught our breath, "that could have gone better. Though I suppose finding out Aislinn is still alive counts as a win? Even if we had to fight the pack from hell to get it?"

I nodded in agreement and continued down the tunnel. "They’ve got to be keeping her close. And we know why they chose us. That's something."

"It's not enough," Argies growled. His hands were still smoking from the battle. "We need to get to her before they complete whatever ritual they're planning."

"We will," I assured him. "They can’t finish without Fiona and me. We need a new plan before we try again. One that preferably doesn't end with us fighting an entire pack of corrupted shifters in their own territory. They will overwhelm us if we try again."

"I might have an idea about that," Thanos said slowly. "But you're not goingto like it."

Looking at his expression, I had a feeling he was right. But then again, when had any of our plans gone the way we expected? At least this time, we knew what we were up against. Sort of. Now, we just had to figure out how to save Aislinn from being used as a mystical battery for ancient horrors beyond comprehension.

CHAPTER 14

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