Page 61 of Magic Claimed
Esoti sat at his desk. My eyes bugged when he tugged the tray toward him. I offered a silent prayer to the gods I had long given up on that he wouldn’t notice the key was missing. If he found it on me, I shuddered to think about what he’d do. The thought of suffering every painful death imaginable coursed through my mind, twisting my stomach and making my limbs go weak.
“You may go.”
I held in my gasp of relief and made myself walk to the door and not give into the urge to bolt. The back of my neck prickled as I tensed for the shock and burn of magic. My palms grew sweaty as adrenaline coursed through me. I made it to the door. My palm slipped on the knob and I had to wipe it before trying to open it again. The knob wouldn’t turn.
I tried turning it with two hands and the buzz of familiar magic prickled into my palms. The door wasn’t stuck, it had been locked with magic. Chills broke on my body even though I was coated in a film of sticky perspiration.
“Tsk, tsk. You should know better by now, vermin.”
I turned to face Esoti, my body trembling from head to toe, surprised I didn’t wet myself. He leaned across his desk, fingers arched and pinning me with magic fire dancing in the pits of his soulless eyes.
“You think you can hide what those filthy shifters have done to you? You’re stupider than you look. I will rip that magic out of you as well as taking every last drop of their bond.
“I will make you suffer like you have never suffered before and then I will take every one of those animals you call a mate and turn them inside out and roast them in an open fire while you watch. Then I will turn that memory into a nightmare and make it play out in your mind over and over, whether you are asleep or awake.
“Return the key and prepare yourself. You will never win against me. You will forever be my slave. I will forever own you until the day of your natural death. You will never be free of my will.”
Chapter Thirty
No! No, no, no, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. He’d set me up. He’d known. I remembered Ben at the door, Ben in the wolf Territory, the Guard attack. Esoti had pieced it together. How many other spies did he have? How many other eyes? My stomach twisted and the muffins I’d eaten lurched in my stomach.
Esoti picked up his favourite wand from his desktop and aimed it at me. This would not happen again. I would not let Esoti hurt me again. I would not let him kill my mates or destroy my soul. He had done enough to me.
Rage powered through me. I dug deep into the well of magic that resided in me. Golden light burst out. Electric blue light spewed from the tip of Esoti’s wand. I came down onto my knees, expecting a violent burst of agony, but opened my eyes to a golden umbrella of light protecting me from Esoti’s magic.
Esoti roared, a sound of outraged disbelief. The door smashed open behind my back and shards of wood splintered about me. Hands closed around my biceps and I was picked up and propelled backwards.
An arm tucked about my waist and we were half way down the corridor before my sluggish mind understood Alerick had me in his powerful grip. Jarom and Eike ran beside us.
“I can run!” I gasped.
Alerick put me onto my feet. A streak of magic singed the wall. Eike dropped to one knee and threw a dagger from each hand at Esoti, before pounding after us.
“We need to get out!” Jarom yelled.
We passed a dumbwaiter. I gripped the edges. “Fast way down. Here.”
I threw my legs into the void and slid down the rope that was fastened to the top of the dumbwaiter, where it rested on the ground floor. Alerick stuffed his huge body into the hole above me. I didn’t have a chance to see if Jarom or Eike followed before my feet struck the top of the wooden box.
It shattered beneath the force of my bodyweight and I rolled, scrambling to get out of the way. Alerick pummelled through next before coming to his feet and looming like a force to be reckoned with in the middle of the kitchen. The kitchen hands screamed, scattering out of the room and hiding in the pantry when Eike barrelled through next.
“Where’s Jarom?” I screamed.
A crunch of boots on splintered wood announced Jarom’s entrance into the kitchen. He rolled onto the balls of his feet and hands, eyes darting about the room. Eike grabbed my hand. “To the Lodge. Quickly.”
We bolted out of the kitchen, darting onto the external veranda. Alerick ripped off his shirt, as did Jarom and Eike. Our footfalls pounded off the stones as loud as my heart thundered in my ears.
A streak of blue magic struck the brick wall near my head. Shards of sharp stone exploded above us. I raised my hands, acting on instinct. Eike looped his arm about my waist and my feet flew across the ground, matching his speed.
“Guards! Get them!” Esoti shrieked.
We bolted into the forest, followed by a volley of crossbows. The leaves closed about me as Jarom yanked the dress from my body and Alerick thundered, “Change!”
My body morphed mid-step. My four paws landed on the earth and pounded through the forest, my mates flanking me as branches and leaves whipped past in a blur. Moonlight highlighted everywhere in a silvery glow and as we ran, wolves dashed from their hidden places in the shadows of the underbrush.
Flashes of blue light streaked past me, hitting the ground and spraying up grass, debris and dirt. I glanced behind me. The Guards streaked towards us with superhuman speed, their bodies glowing with the light of Esoti’s magic.
A thunk sounded at my side, and a shower of blue sparks exploded about me. I yelped as the sparks hit my fur and burrowed down to burn my skin. The crossbows were magically powered. High-pitched whistles sounded above as glowing arrows sailed through the air.
