Dragon Magic, page 12
part #4 of Ever Witch Series
I would not let him hurt Tank.
“You doubt me, even now,” Peter said loudly.
“You’re strong. I’ll grant you that.” I quieted down, wiping my face on my shoulder. “You managed to pull a fast one on the High Council. Using Lucius was genius, but you made a mistake. A few actually.”
“How did I do that?” he demanded. “Look around you. No one knows it’s me. No one ever will.”
“Oh someone knew. Actually, a few of us knew.”
“You’re lying.”
“Am I?” I challenged as a small puff of smoke rose behind Peter’s shoulder. “The poltergeist was a nice touch. It was clever. However, the day Melody was killed, we all wondered if it was you behind the killing. I never wanted to believe it, but looks like the others were right.” A spark went up next. Close. We were so close to getting out of here. “Tell me, Peter, which is the real you. The psychopath who murders people, or the good, kind-hearted warlock I grew up with?”
He sneered as he lowered his face to mine. “You tell me. You’re the one who turned your back on all of us for the sake of that damned school you went to. For the Shadowguards who dragged you into a war that you weren’t meant to fight in.”
“I fought by my friends, as I would have done for you. How can you not see that?”
“They’re dragons! They are beneath us,” he ranted, throwing his arms in the air.
And at that moment, I spotted the strange silver, glowing light in his eyes.
“Shit,” I whispered. “You’re not Peter.”
He arched a brow, then shrugged. “I am. And I’m not. Fun, isn’t it?”
The poltergeist hadn’t been Peter’s pawn. It was the other way around. This was bad. Really bad.
“Hey asshole,” Tank growled.
Peter’s eyes widened as he spun around.
“In the mood for some barbeque?” Tank sucked in a deep breath, and dragon fire filled the room.
Right as it reached Peter, he snapped his fingers and blinked out of view.
“Figures.” Tank grunted.
“Can you get out of those chains?” I had one hand free, and though my magic was back, it was weak. Getting through these ropes would take too long. “We can’t let him escape. He’s been possessed by a poltergeist.”
“What? You sure? I thought they were cleansed.”
“Guess it managed to stay tucked away in Peter when they cleansed.”
His brow rose like he wasn’t sure whether he should believe it or not.
“You trust me or not?”
Tank didn’t seem too happy that Peter had an excuse for the way he was acting. He shut his eyes, and his body shuddered.
“You’re going to shift, here?” I asked alarmed.
Too late to worry about it apparently.
Tank shifted. The chains stretched then snapped as his dragon body filled the room. He roared, shaking out his head, but kept his wings tucked at his sides. He would not be able to fit through the door like that. With his razor-sharp talons, he sliced through the rest of the ropes holding me.
I hugged his snout. “Sorry I was late.”
He huffed in annoyance.
“What? You didn’t want me to come at all? Yeah, okay, tough guy. How about we get out of here and find that bastard?”
He shifted his gaze toward the ceiling, and I was about to tell him no way in hell. Then he shoved me up onto his back and burst through the ceiling using his talons and head.
Stones tumbled around us, but his wings shifted, so they covered me, keeping me safe.
I wasn’t sure which part of the dungeons we were in until dirt and grass fell over us.
Cool night air hit my face, and then we were outside on the grounds.
There were cries of alarm and confusion as Tank’s body pulled itself up out of the dungeons and stood on the grass.
“You’ll never win!”
“Peter.”
His voice resounded around us.
Those on the lawns pointed toward the castle. The north tower exploded and at its center was Peter. Possessed Peter. The poltergeist had to have been the wayward spirit of a warlock. It was the only explanation for how powerful he was.
“We have to stop him. Let’s go.”
Tank hesitated, wings fluttering as if to go.
I knew he worried about me getting hurt. “Just like the battle, remember? I’ve got your back, you’ve got mine. We stop him together.”
This time, he pumped his wings, and we were off, soaring through the air to get to Peter.
Stones circled around him in protective shields, but I’d learned a few tricks from Everest during the war.
Trusting Tank with my life, I stood on his back and held my hands out before me. Taking a deep breath to clear my mind, I formed a shield using my magic. It spread from my hands around Tank’s body.
Together, we broke through the stones protecting Peter.
He yelled curses at us, aiming bolts of black and silver magic.
Tank dodged most, while I deflected the others.
“Give up,” I yelled as we circled closer. “Stop this before it’s too late.”
“It’s already too late.” Peter shut his eyes and drew his hands in close to his chest.
The air grew thin. Whatever he was about to do was not good.
“Land,” I urged Tank. “We have to stop him.”
He shifted as he brought us closer to what remained of the tower floor. By the time we reached it, his arms held me, and we touched down, stumbling forward a few steps until we righted.
“You have a plan I hope?”
“Plan. Right. We can call it a plan.”
“Amelie.”
“What? I didn’t exactly expect him to be doing this.”
The air became charged, and we cringed, almost forced to our knees.
“Knock him out. If the poltergeist is possessing him, we have to get them apart. Can’t do it without a ritual which I can’t do up here.”
“That’s the best you can think of right now?” His voice was a low rumble.
“Pretty much.”
We moved closer.
I formed the shield once more as Peter’s magic fought against us.
He faced away from us, his arms spread wide.
The electric charge crackled around my shield but left us alone.
Whatever he was going to do, we were out of time to stop him.
I glanced at Tank. He nodded. Now or never. We made ready to charge forward.
Peter spun around and clapped his hands. A burst of lightning struck the tower right where we stood, forcing us to jump apart to avoid being hit.
Peter turned his attention to Tank as I yelled at him to stop.
A bolt nearly struck Tank, and suddenly it was like we were back in that battle against Radnak.
Tank dodged the next hit and threw himself at Peter.
They scuffled. The edge of the tower grew closer.
I shouted in warning. Then they toppled over the edge.
“No.” Magic exploded from me as I dove for the edge.
Green tendrils of light shot toward the two falling figures.
I yelled, straining to stop them from crashing into the ground.
Feet from the ground, my magic snagged them. Both of them. They paused, then hit the ground with a thud. Peter moved, trying to get away, but Tank punched him twice and knocked him out.
I sagged in relief when he glanced up at me and waved.
“Damn dragon,” I muttered, pushing myself upright, then sprinting for the stairs.
By the time I got down there, everyone inside was outside.
Selma was demanding to know what was going on.
Several warlocks crowded around Peter’s unconscious body.
I only had eyes for one man. I leapt into Tank’s arms, kissing him fiercely as he lifted me off my feet.
“Never again. You hear me?” I said in-between kisses.
“What? You don’t like it when I fall off of towers?”
“No. Not even close.”
“Some vacation, huh?” he mused.
“You could say that.”
“Amelie, what in the goddess’ name is happening here? Victor was found in his room. Bleeding. Now Peter appears to be possessed by some dark magic. Explain.”
“The poltergeist,” I told Selma as I walked with her toward Peter. “It was the damned poltergeist the whole time.”
“Impossible. We cleansed the castle.”
“Not sure how it got in him or managed to stay in him, but that’s what it is. Trust me. We need the High Council to free him.”
Selma’s mouth fell open in shock. She gathered her skirts and said she would get those required to save Peter.
Tank’s hand found mine.
It wasn’t over yet, but soon enough we could start to heal and put this mess behind us.
Peter would never forgive himself. If he could be saved, his recovery would be long.
I’d be here for him if I could. That’s what friends did.
The last two days passed in a blur.
Peter was taken inside the castle, and a ritual was performed on him to separate the angry poltergeist spirit from his soul. Once it was free and dispatched to the next life, he fell apart.
I held him as he cried, after realizing what he’d done and how he’d been used.
Tank stood by, looking sympathetic.
Afterward, we took him to his room to rest.
He hadn’t spoken a word since.
I checked in on him every few hours, to find him staring out the windows.
I assured him no one would blame him, but he didn’t seem too convinced.
Victor, who had thankfully survived the attack, even stopped by to visit him. He sat with Peter for hours.
I left them alone once Victor assured me they would be fine, and he wouldn’t try to get revenge against Peter.
When I came back an hour later, Peter was crying with Victor, his head on his shoulder.
The sight brought tears to my eyes, and I had to go sit with them, too.
Now, I walked the grounds, watching as the north tower was repaired, again.
“How long did the poltergeist have a hold over him?” Tank asked, walking with me.
“Not sure. A few months, at least. He said the last thing he remembered doing under his own power was searching for a book in the old archives. He had finally moved on from trying to impress me and the others and focused on the betterment of his potion-making. He was onto something big when the poltergeist came out of the shelves and shot right into him. He blacked out and the next thing he knew, he was trapped inside his own head.”
“And here I hated the guy.”
I held Tank’s arm. “Don’t feel too bad. We all were convinced Peter had lost his mind. Turned on us. But, now that this mess is slowly getting behind us, we can focus on something else.”
“Like what?”
I stepped in front of him and planted my hands on his shoulders. “Like tracking down your sister. If she’s out there, we’re going to find her.”
“I don’t even know where to start. Or who might have her.”
“You do realize where you are, right? This castle is filled with witches and warlocks.”
“It could be dangerous, very dangerous,” he warned, though his lips lifted in a slight grin.
I waved away his worries. “What’s a little danger to us? We’ll be alright. You with your dragon badassness and me with my magic badassness.”
He rolled his eyes then wrapped his arms around me, bringing me in for a kiss.
We’d rest up, ensure Victor and Peter were going to pull through, then we’d focus on our next great adventure.
It was time we brought every Shadowguard dragon home.
No matter where they might be.
Eleven
Amelie
Dirt covered my hands as I dug into another potted plant. I moved my fingers through the soil until I felt the roots and gently worked the lavender free. All these herbs needed to be re-potted, and for the last couple of weeks since dealing with the terrible poltergeist situation, that’s exactly what I’d been doing.
Victor’s wounds were healed, and though Peter was doing better, there were days he locked himself away from the world, worried he’d get possessed again and kill someone else.
The gathering had ended without ever really beginning. Selma felt it would be better for Peter if there weren’t so many people here. She’d been right. The mansion had emptied out swiftly enough, and lately, there’d been Selma, a few of the High Council members, me and Tank, Victor and a handful of other witches and warlocks.
Lucius was around, of course. Once he was exonerated from the accusations of murdering Troy, he took up his post without any hard feelings.
Peter constantly apologized. Lucius repeatedly told him they both fell victim to an evil entity.
Peter would heal. It was simply going to take time. But he wasn’t the only thing on my mind these days.
There was another problem I was more than ready to tackle. There were simply a few more ingredients I needed to harvest and then I’d be ready.
I was elbow deep in another pot of dirt when a tray bearing steaming mugs of coffee was sat on the work table. Two strong hands glided down my arms and joined mine in the dirt as a chin rested on my head.
Tank.
I rested against his chest as he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“How do you always manage to smell of honeysuckle?” He kissed my cheek, his hands helping mine to break up the dirt.
“It’s a gift.”
“Hmm. It’s a good gift.”
He kissed my other cheek, then my shoulder. I laughed as he nibbled my neck up to my earlobe. He stopped, chuckling.
“What’s so funny?”
“Smell of honeysuckle and taste of dirt.”
I elbowed him, and he closed his arms in around me, wrapping me up in a bear hug.
“I could get used to every morning being like this.”
“Good. Thinking of putting in a greenhouse back at my place.”
“Really?”
“Why not? I’ve learned quite a bit from you since coming here. Hell, I could get some land outside of town and start a small farm. Growing things. That’s something I’m good at, right?”
I spun around in his arms, stood on my toes, and tugged on his head until he lowered his face to mine. “You’re damned good at a lot of things. Tank the farmer,” I mused. “You going to wear overalls?”
“That’s pushing it.” He growled and picked me up as he kissed me. “Brought you coffee,” he murmured against my lips. “And we’re going to have visitors soon.”
“We are? Who?”
“Who do you think?”
I scrunched up my face trying to think then rolled my eyes as he laughed.
Then it hit me. “Seriously?”
“Apparently, she’s going stir crazy. She convinced Slade they need to check up on us. Both of them accused us of hiding something, and it had nothing to do with, well, our being like this.”
I handed him his coffee then picked up mine.
He took a sip. “She’s close to popping now, isn’t she? Barely a month away.”
I blew on mine. “I’m surprised Slade’s letting her travel.”
“Didn’t sound like he had much choice. She was threatening to shift and fly here on her own if he didn’t agree to bring her.”
“Wonder what changed?” I let the coffee warm my fingers a bit longer, then went back to the pots. A heavy flannel shirt landed on my shoulders. I gave Tank a crooked grin. “I’m not cold.”
“You have goosebumps.”
“Really, I’m fine,” I said, but tugged the shirt on anyway. It was chillier than I thought out here in the greenhouse with autumn fully settling in.
His hip brushed mine as we worked, and I nudged him playfully.
It went back and forth like that for another hour until our coffee was gone and we were both thoroughly covered in layers of dirt.
He brushed his hands together. Dirt scattered and dropped to the ground. “Another greenhouse nearly completed. You should’ve talked some of the others into staying a couple extra days to help out.”
“Nah, the murders and the poltergeist shook them up. I don’t mind doing this. Miss it.”
He gave me a look. “You don’t have a greenhouse at your house.”
I wiped my hands on my jeans then hopped up on the table. “Never got around to getting one built.”
His dark blue eyes narrowed telling me he was up to something.
“What are you plotting?”
“Not plotting. Just thinking.”
“About?” I pushed.
He rested one hand on either side of me on the table, encasing me in with those arms. Tank was just so comforting all the time.
“I’m thinking I was serious about moving out of the main part of town, finding some land, and seeing what I can do with it.”
“Okay, and why does that require a lot of thinking?”
“I want you to come with me. I’ll build you a greenhouse that’ll put these to shame.” He hesitated and avoided my eyes. “I mean if you think it’s a good idea. I know you were just with Jared and if we’re moving too fast—”
I grabbed his shirt and dragged him closer, so I could cut off his worries with a kiss. “I would love that,” I whispered. “All of this with you, this feels right, you know? I don’t want to waste any more time overthinking or worrying. I just want to live and enjoy it.”
He wrapped me in a hug. “Good. Think I know of some land. Just have to run it by Slade.”
“Speaking of him, guess we should get cleaned up for our unexpected guests.”
Tank lifted me off the table then threw me over his shoulder. I laughed as he carried me out of the greenhouse and across the lawns like that until we were inside.
We ran into Selma. Her eyes crinkled in amusement with our antics.
“Greenhouses are almost all replanted,” I reported.
