Page 22 of Gift from the Source
“We freed a real dragon. A giant’s going to be nothing,”Draken says.
“He’s coming. It’s decided. Let’s go,”Corentin orders, taking Willow by the hand and pulling her forward.
“You all will be returning with us. Lead the way and let’s get this over with. Gaster, Ry, no sense on anyone above us?” I ask.
“No,” they both respond.
The sudden nerves running through Willow have the other three of us stepping closer to her and Corentin. Her shoulders begin to relax once again, and her chest rises and falls in measured breaths. Mine instinctively race to match hers until I know our hearts beat the same.
“No matter what’s in here, little warrior, we’ve got you,”I tell her.
“I know. Just until this point, I haven’t let myself dwell too deeply on how this got into their possession. I’ve just focused on the mission in front of me. I feel like the reality is about to slap me in the face.”
“It is, Primary. But we’re here.”
She doesn’t respond with words. Rather shadows lace their way around our wrists and she creates ties to each of us as she grounds herself. I allow myself a moment to relish in the feeling of her gift before steeling myself to what we’re about to see as the distance in the hallway shrinks.
No matter what, we’ll be strong for her.
Carrington continues on in the room that we can’t quite make out yet, but Dec and Xander stop a few feet in the doorway, turning back around to face us all.
Rapidly, Keeper steps around, standing between them and us before they can speak and looks down sadly at Willow. “Let me handle this, Adored. You don’t need to go in there.”
“That bad, huh?” she asks quietly.
“Worse than I could’ve imagined,” he murmurs.
Her body shivers, but she doesn’t cower and I already know her answer. She’s going to want to see it, do this for herself.
“We’ll do it together,” she states calmly.
He doesn’t argue, although his pupils bleed the slightest bit crimson, and my brothers and I share a look. Each of us thinks about just grabbing her and running, but we know that’ll get our asses fried.
“All the wards have been broken aside from the one on the door in here. Just don’t try to open it. It’ll electrocute you. There’s nothing on the other side but a hall that leads under Franklin’s house. There’s another relic here as well. It’s evil, plain and simple, so just don’t touch it,” Xander says as he turns and walksthrough the threshold.
Willow takes that as her sign to follow. With purely faked confidence, she strides forward, ready to face whatever this room holds.
Four steps past the threshold, a choked gasp gurgles from her and she lifts her hands to cover her mouth.
“Elementra, no,” she breathes as she starts to sway.
Her whisper plus Oakly’s and Aria’s sharp inhales seem to echo in the otherwise silence. The tension grows to unbelievable heights as the rest of our family glares around the room that is far, far larger than I expected.
My neck cranes as my gaze follows the red shelves up to almost the ceiling, and the precise organization of the gallon-sized jars makes my eyes sting. There’re no decorations, no frills, nothing but four remarkably high walls filled to the brim with my little warrior’s, her mother’s, and grandmother’s blood.
I’ve seen my fair share of blood. My hands have been covered in it more times than I could admit. They’ve been painted red by my Primary, brothers, best friend, E.F. members, enemies, and innocents alike, but this is one of the most horrific things I’ve ever witnessed.
A strangled sob attempts to fall from Willow’s chest, but she takes a deep breath, closing her eyes as they leak tears. Her body trembles as we crowd behind her, rubbing our hands down her back as Oakly, Gaster, and Lyker surround her from the front.
“It’s okay to let it out, but she wouldn’t want you to cry for her, little dragon,” Lyker whispers, cupping her cheeks as he uses his thumbs to wipe her tears away.
“There’s so much more than I thought.” She hiccups.
“I know. None of us expected this. All the more reason for us to do what we’re meant to do now.”
“I’m going to kill him,” she swears quietly.
A small, predatory smirk crosses Lyker’s face that has all of us mimicking the gesture. “Then come on, fortune teller, tell us what to do.”
