Page 54 of Wicked Fate

Some witches slumped in back corners while others stared blankly ahead with vacant expressions.

One of the witches moaned when Cassi stepped forward, the faint sound snapping me back into motion.

“They’re afraid,” she said softly. “There’s no telling what’s been done to them.”

Ryker’s gun clicked softly as he lifted it, eyes scanning the far end. “No visible guards. Yet.”

Right. I needed to search for shadows. I examined the area, which forced me to study each witch. Some were young, some were old, but the one in the back right corner broke my heart even more—a child.

“No shadows as of now,” I muttered low, not wanting to frighten these witches more.

“I’ll look for the witch who spelled me,” Ryker rasped, moving to the first cage, examining the older woman.

My heart stopped. We were going to be in here longer than we should be.

Xander paced slowly behind us, and Kendric adjusted his gait as Cassi buried her head in his neck, no doubt trying to block the awful smell.

I took another step, scanning the darkness... and then I saw it.

A thread—faint and nearly invisible—linking Ryker’s chest to a corner of the room. It was stretched thin like a spider’s strand of silk soaked in shadows. A magical tether.

My blood turned to ice.

“I found her,” I whispered and took off walking.

Ryker’s pulse spiked as the bond between us sparked like a live wire. He rushed to my side as I passed Cassi and Kendric, needing to face the witch responsible for half of our problem.

We moved together, crossing the line of cages to the other end of the cells, and stopped at the one across from the young girl.

The woman appeared to be close to my age. She was chained to the wall. Her black, oily hair clung to her face, her skin pale, nearly blue. The thin, barely visible magical link came from inside her chest, where her witch magic must be stored, connecting the two of them.

She lifted her head, eyes dull and sunken—until they landed on Ryker. Then she flinched.

That isn’t her.Ryker shook his head.She was an old woman.

“I’m sor-ry…” Her voice cracked, so soft it was almost a ghost. “I didn’t have a choice.”

I see the thread.I blinked, trying to make sense of it. But we didn’t have time to hang out and talk about it.

Then we’ll figure it out later.“We’re getting you out of here,” Ryker growled. “Then we’ll get around to the spell you placed on me.”

Cold pressure built inside me. Faint but undeniable.

Cloaked vampires. They had to be coming. “We need tomove. I sense something,” I rasped.

Ryker aimed his gun at the lock and fired.Bang!The shot echoed through the cavernous corridor like a thunderclap, and the cage door sprang open.

My ears rang. All around us, the other witches groaned, some flinching, some sobbing.

“Shit,” Ryker muttered, rushing to the witch’s side. He took the handle of his gun and hit the base of the chain that held her to the wall. Bruce rushed past me and started doing the same thing on the other side, though he and Ryker were pressed together in the small area. The witch’s arms released, and she collapsed against them, her frail body trembling.

Gage, come here,Ryker commanded.We need to put her on your back,

Without a moment’s hesitation, Gage backed into the small cage, half his body sticking out into the hallway. Bruce and Ryker lifted the witch and placed her on his back.

“Hold on the best you can,” Ryker whispered.

The witch whispered something, but even with wolf hearing, I couldn’t make out the words. Her arms moved around Gage’s chest like she was trying to hang on.

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