Page 29 of The Discovered
My heartrate picked up at the sound of Daelon’s condescending, but also growing-on-me pet name. How could he possibly know that kind of information? Just as he’d done before, this entity sought to challenge my trust in Daelon. But why? I figured it must’ve had to do with Daelon’s shielding powers. If I didn’t trust him and ran off, then I’d open myself up to attack.
You hide because you’re the one who’s weak,I retorted, ignoring his attempts to distract me and seed doubt.You want to frighten me with all of these games. Because I’ve returned to Aradia and...you’rescared ofme. You know that I could destroy you.
A sickening, bone-chilling laugh erupted in my ears.
How wrong you are…
The figure suddenly rushed toward me. As he came closer to the window, the smoke cleared to reveal skin made up of darkened, rotting flesh—a true embodiment of what I pictured the Devil to look like—his black robes whipping all around him. He bared his pointy, uneven teeth, and I couldn’t help but let out a blood curdling scream, despite knowing this was all a show. I wasn’t much of a horror movie fan, even if I knew the monsters weren’t real.
Leave me now,I yelled, channeling all of my fear into an intent to banish. My magick travelled up and out of my circle to carry away my intent. It swarmed the windows, and it melted away the field scene and my enemy to reveal tall pines and evergreens once more.
A loud thump at my door made my heart nearly leap out of my chest for the second time. I quickly dispersed the circle, releasing its energy back into the world, and went to investigate. My breathing was shallow as I crept toward the door, my hand shaking as I turned the knob. As I did, Daelon fell from where he’d been slumped against the other side.
“No,” I croaked in a panic, reaching for him. His body was far too heavy for me to carry, so I carefully brought him down to the floor and dragged him onto the rug. “Daelon. You answer me right now,” I begged, shaking his shoulders as I knelt over him. His dark eyes were wide open but empty, staring into the abyss. His body was rigid and lifeless.
I reached two fingers to his neck, searching for a pulse. As I found the right spot, my breath caught in my throat. His heart was beating, so soft and so faint. Tears pricked my eyes, threatening to overflow. If anything happened to him it would be my fault. Why couldn’t I just do as he asked? I knew not to do magick under his nose. He told me to leave it alone, and instead I provoked something dangerous.
I made a silent prayer to the Universe, to the Goddess my mothers prayed to, to every deity ever worshipped by human or witch. I promised I would start listening to his guidance.Just let him live.
I wiped the tears from my cheeks and began to call upon the forces surrounding me, but before I could transform energy into magick, his pulse strengthened under my fingers. The pounding moved quicker, his heartbeat jumping to meet my skin with vigor. I sighed a breath of relief, letting my head fall to his chest. “Oh, thank you. Thank you,” I gasped to no one in particular.
I lifted my head up, watching Daelon’s chest rise and fall. His eyes were still open and unfocused. I stared into them, tentatively raising my hand to touch the side of his face. I trailed my fingers from his temple down the side of his jaw. When I moved my fingers back up to continue the movement, Daelon suddenly caught my wrist in his hand. His grip was so tight it hurt.
“Ow,” I yelped. “Ease up a bit, please.” I started to smile, but it quickly turned into a grimace when his grip only grew firmer. A look I’d never seen before flashed in his eyes. They were fiery and hostile, and hauntingly devoid of any semblance ofDaelon.
He let go of my arm, and in one swift motion sprung up and rolled over on top of me. I yelled out as my head slammed into the floor, blinking back tears from the impact. I fought back against him as he overpowered me, putting his full weight on my torso and pinning my flailing wrists to the ground.
“Daelon, stop,” I cried.
But it wasn’t Daelon at all. For the first time, I could read the energetic field around his body, and it held the screams of thousands, thick like blood and as sour as rotting flesh and charred land. My body rejected this energy like the plague. Hot nausea rose up in my stomach. I had to block it out completely.
He glared down at me, operating robotically like a wind-up soldier. “Do you still think I’m weak?”
It was the distorted voice of the witch who cursed me moving through Daelon’s lips. He let go of my wrists and wrapped his hands around my throat, grinning sadistically. I tried to throw him off with my power but was met with an energetic wall that encircled his body. I could’ve found a way to break through it, but my ability to concentrate on my magick faltered as I ran out of oxygen.
I clawed at his hands, attempting to pry them from my neck, digging my fingernails into his skin. I searched his eyes, begging Daelon to come back to me as my vision blurred. I channeled whatever I could through my hands into his, but all I could seem to think about was my feelings for him—my foolish sentiments that weren’t going to do me any good in this moment. My longing, my frustrating infatuation, my gratitude for his protection and expertise, and, as hard as it was for me to admit when I wasn’t close to death… my incurable and irrational adoration of him. Despite all of the chaos and confusion, I couldn’t deny this connection that felt just as natural to me as my magick did.
This connection that felt like the home I’d never seen.
My hands tightened around his one last time as I held my gaze steadfast, some of my energy flowing into him as the darkness descended.
I was on the beach my mothers told me about, overlooking the ocean that I used as my psychic metaphor. The rushing of waves and calls of birds flooded my ears. I wasn’t quite sure how I got here or how this day began, but it felt too real to be a dream. The sand sparkled in multicolor, and I looked down to see I wore a long, white dress. I walked to the water and willed it to act as a mirror. I stared at my ethereal reflection with glowing skin and copper hair that shimmered with the tones of a sunrise. A crown made of white roses encircled my head like a halo. White roses were Momma Jane’s favorite.
Chills danced down my spine as the din of a familiar song rose up around me, carried by too many voices to count. Though it was wordless, I knew it was a song of hope. It was a song about unity. A love song for a people who must overcome. This song had carried over mountains, through valleys, across deserts and snow-covered hills, and it crested over the tall waves that brought it to our shore.
I turned from the ocean to see witches dressed in white forming a semi-circle, like a crescent moon. I scanned their faces and saw my mothers, who looked youthful and radiant, smiling at me. Momma Celeste’s blond hair was silvery and short, and Momma Jane’s was dark, long and wavy, with the faintest tinge of red in its undertones. I ran toward them, but soon found myself falling to my knees in the warm sand. I wanted so desperately to get up and embrace them, but I couldn’t move.
“No Áine, not yet,” Momma Jane said, stepping forward from the group.
I knew she was right. This was not my time. I did not belong in this place. If I touched them, I might never leave.
“I miss you so much it hurts,” I choked, clutching my chest. “I love you.”
“We love you too, sweet child,” Momma Celeste cooed, clasping her hand in Momma Jane’s.
“And Áine—stop blaming yourself,” Momma Jane said, her face grave. “It is but a distraction from your grief, and a way to deny your destiny of a greater purpose… do you understand that?”
I looked at all the faces before me, young and old, and knew that they were family too. They smiled at me, beginning to chant softly, and I knew it was spells of protection, of strength, and of renewal.
