Page 71 of The Discovered
“You’ve dug your grave,” he spat, wiping blood from his nose. “Man ofhonor.” He laughed—an ugly, cruel sound.
“Oh I doubt that, Nathaniel.” Daelon’s voice was surprisingly cool and collected given he’d just assaulted someone. “We both know this changes nothing. You’ve never been anything more than aggressively mediocre and unimpressive.”
They sounded like quarreling brothers, surprisingly petty even as they hinted at a deeper conflict, one that I was desperate to unravel. In a flash, the stranger—Nathaniel—shot out a dark bolt of energy, which slammed into Daelon and sent him flying backward.
I cut off my audio channeling and flew into action, forgetting all about Daelon’s command to stay put. Without stopping to wonder if it was possible, I jumped through space rather than waste time running.
In a rush of wind and disorientation, I appeared in the sand next to Daelon, which stunned both men into momentary pause.
“I told you not to follow me,” Daelon growled through clenched teeth, pushing himself back to his feet.
I took a purposeful step forward, placing myself in between the two men. Nathaniel eyed me up and down, and I was glad to be wearing clothes again. Humor danced in his hazel eyes.
I stiffened, narrowing my eyes at the instigator as my palms tingled in anticipation. “I saw that you boys weren’t playing nice,” I said without meeting Daelon’s gaze, which I could only assume was deadly right about now.
“Marvelous,” Nathaniel mused, spitting blood in the sand to his left. Something about his face looked very familiar to me, but I couldn’t quite place it. “Here I thought Daelon turned you into his pet,” he laughed.
I bristled, feeling power swarm us.What thefuckdid that mean?
Daelon stepped forward to be level with me, letting out a sharp breath. “I think we’ll be going now. Always a pleasure, Nathaniel.”
Before Daelon could turn away, Nathaniel stepped forward. “Oh, come now, Daelon. Don’t be selfish.”
I watched as Daelon’s jaw clenched, his eyes fiery. The tension was palpable, and my anger at this stranger and his arrogance bubbled up, threatening to spill over. If he came any closer, I couldn’t be held responsible for what happened to him next.
“You try it, and I’ll cut off your hands,” Daelon spat. It was like I missed a portion of their dialogue.
Nathaniel grinned. “You’re going to cause a lot of trouble for yourself, you know that? I think you’ve forgotten yourself.”
“You have it all wrong. Goodbye, Nathaniel.”
Daelon grabbed my arm, but before either of us could begin to channel, Nathaniel unleashed another attack with the flick of his wrist. It was a dark, aggressive energy that flew at us, as sharp as a dagger and as chilling as the energy I’d felt radiating off of Lucius. It was the frequency that my body rejected.
Failing to brace myself, it knocked the air out of me and sent Daelon and me in opposite directions. The sinister magick slithered in my blood like paralytic venom, leaving me immobile as I lay on my back in the cool sand.
Panic began to set in as Nathaniel strode over to where I lay, crouching down next to my helpless form. He looked completely unbothered, curiosity dancing in his eyes.
“Don’t worry. I just want a taste.”
I glared, searching for my power as I fought in vain against his insidious spell. Every command to my body to move my limbs, to run far away, was thwarted. I felt unbearably cold, shivering as I did that day in the clearing. This magick was corrupted, polluted, dirty...
It was evil.
He reached for my arm, just above my wrist, and began to syphon like the energy vampire had done weeks ago. It was so invasive, and I was socold.
“Ah. It’s true, then,” Nathaniel said, still pulling from my power as he grinned, appearing to be in pure ecstasy. “I’ve never felt anything like it.” He licked his lips as his eyes grew wide, and the tugging feeling grew more and more uncomfortable as the biting cold hollowed me to my core.
Help,I called out, digging deep into my psyche for my source of connection—all of the forces that seemed to be guiding me, revealing a cosmic story piece by piece. I needed themnow.
“I will fucking kill you, Nathaniel. Get away from her,” I heard Daelon bellow from a few feet away.
“What’s wrong with her?” Nathaniel asked, staring down at my shuddering, cold body pensively.
I closed my eyes, moving beneath the cold, the dark, the ugly—following the voices of my mothers, the songs in an ancient tongue, the sound of the ocean roaring in the distance, and even the magick that seeped through the land beneath me—and I found my footing again.
In a surge of strength fortified by thousands of witches, I began to channel.
“Ow, shit,” Nathaniel cursed.
