Dragon Magic, page 19
part #4 of Ever Witch Series
“No, you idiot, I’m one of the ones who helped you save them.”
“Liar.”
“I’m not. Let go. What are you doing?”
I dragged her to the door, ready to take her to Zion and his guards. “You don’t belong here.”
“Let me go. You’re not in your right mind. He made you forget.” She dug her feet in.
I was stronger and simply lifted her up, throwing her over my shoulder.
“Put me down before you make me do something you’ll regret.”
“I don’t know how you got here, but you’re leaving.”
“The hell I am. We came here together to save your sister, remember?”
“My sister is saved.” I reached for the door.
Her hand slammed into my back, and a shock had my body jerking backward.
“What did you do? Are you a witch?”
“Damned straight.” She hit me again.
Another shock had me gritting my teeth. It didn’t hurt, but a weird fuzziness filled my head.
“Tank, snap out of it. Remember why we’re here. Remember who I am. Who you are.”
“I know who I am.”
“Do you? You’re part of the Light Guard. Best friend to our clan leader, Slade.”
“Slade?” I set her on her feet to stop her from shocking me again. “You’re wrong. Zion is our leader.”
“Wow. He got you good.”
“I don’t know what you mean, but you and I are going to see him. Now.”
“The hell we are.” Magic swirled around her hands.
I growled, “Don’t make me knock you out, witch.” I reached for her, expecting her to pull away.
Instead, she threw herself in my arms. Her lips crushed against mine, catching me off-guard as her hands pressed against my temples. I was too stunned at first to move, and then it was like a veil was being lifted from my mind. The memories I thought were mine faded away as the reality of what I’d lived through came back to me with a vengeance.
I glanced down at Amelie’s green eyes, clutched her to me and kissed her back, picking her up in my arms. How could I have forgotten her so easily? Zion, that bastard. I was going to make him pay for this. If Amelie hadn’t been here, I’d be trapped like the rest of them.
“Tank?”
“I’m sorry,” I growled against her lips, kissing her again. “I can’t believe he managed to take over my mind.”
She sagged against my chest in relief. “Just glad I was able to pull you back. You weren’t under long enough to let those new memories settle in too deep.” She punched my shoulder.
I winced and laughed.
“I told you to be careful. What did you do? Ignore the plan?”
Cringing, I nodded. “I may have called him out on his lies.”
“And you get onto me for putting myself at risk.” She punched me again for good measure then followed it up with another kiss. “Did you at least learn anything before you went all angry dragon him and lost your mind?”
“You’re not going to let this go for a long time, are you?”
“What do you think?”
I rested my forehead against hers, looking into those dark green eyes. “I’m sorry.”
She sighed. “You’re forgiven. Not like anyone can really stand up to magic that strong anyway. We have to figure out what it is and how he’s using it.”
“Packs a hell of a hit.”
“We need to do more poking around. Whatever he did to you, he must’ve done the same to everyone here. Probably did it before they even left whatever realm they’d been trapped in.”
It would make sense. No one would’ve willingly followed that dragon anywhere. Whatever Blood Moon Priest artifact he found, he’d used it against those he should’ve been fighting for. He took them from one prison and put them in another. “We can’t get into his cabin unnoticed.”
“We’ll think of something.”
“Stay here. I’m going to track down Cara and Darren.”
She caught my arm at the door. “Remember, you don’t remember anything about Slade or the real battle. You’re just like them now. Don’t let him know you’re not or he’ll figure out there’s someone else here.”
“You don’t think Cara and Darren told anyone about you yet, do you?”
“If I see anyone coming except you, I’ll go hide.”
I didn’t like leaving her alone, especially after Zion had been able to get inside my head so easily. It’d be too hard for her to sneak around during the day. I kissed the top of her head, told her to be careful, then walked back outside into the surreal town that was New Haven. I put a smile on my face to blend in with everyone else as I weaved around cabins and other dragons. The greenhouses weren’t too far of a walk, and it was in the third one I spotted my sister and Darren. They waved when they saw me, though neither one asked about Amelie. Did they even remember she was with me?
“Tank, I’m so happy to see you.” Cara hugged me. “How was your talk with Zion?”
“It went very well.” My smile was forced, but neither seemed to notice.
“Good. I didn’t want those worries of yours to keep giving you nightmares. Life here is meant to be peaceful now that the war is over.”
Amelie had said the magic used here was unlike anything she’d seen. Was it possible when Zion zapped my memories, he reached out and changed Cara’s and Darren’s too? I glanced around the greenhouse. The other dragons waved at me, called out my name like they knew me. Like they had known me for years. The longer I looked at their faces, the more I realized I did know them, or at least had been made to know them. Their names flowed one after the other across my mind. It was bizarre. I frowned, wanting to just take Cara and run for it. Too bad that wasn’t still an option.
“Yes, well,” I continued, working to meld the new memories with what I knew to be the truth, “I think I can finally let the past go.”
“I’m so happy to hear it. Mom and Dad would want us to be happy.”
“That they would.”
“I was worried you were sick. Like the others.”
I picked up a trowel nearby and worked at weeding the raised beds. “Sick? Who’s been sick?”
“You know, Danny. And the others.”
Danny. I scrounged around in my head for a face to go with the name. “He’s one of the Hunters, right? Which others?”
She rattled off more names. It took a second, but I managed to put a face to each one. Almost the entire Hunter party. They were sick?
“It was strange really. Danny got sick first, and then the others must’ve caught it. I worry about them.”
“Why don’t you go check on them?”
Darren and she exchanged a look. I mentally kicked myself, wondering if I said something out of character.
“You know we can’t. They’re in quarantine until they get well.”
“Right, of course.”
Quarantine. Why did that sound like another lie? These dragons weren’t sick. Amelie had been able to break me free of the magic’s hold. What if Danny and the others had done the same? When I’d pushed Cara, I saw the haze lifting from her gaze until the magic sucked her right back under its control. I had to find Danny and the others. No way they were actually sick. I considered darting back to the cabin to fetch Amelie, but in case I was caught, I didn’t want to drag her down with me. One of us had to be able to get a message to Selma. I worked alongside Cara for a while longer, then told them I was going to grab some water and left the greenhouse. Outside, everything seemed like another perfect day in New Haven. I remembered these days even though I never lived them. This curse was going to drive me crazy for real if we didn’t lift it soon.
Where would Zion hide dragons he deemed troublemakers? I worried he would kill them, but he was into saving his kin. He would keep them around, try to brainwash them again.
Keeping an eye out for Zion and his guards, I wandered through the town, poking my head in every building I came to that wasn’t someone’s home. I steered clear of Zion’s cabin, eventually spreading my search further out, heading toward a dirt road led higher into the mountains. After walking for at least half an hour, I was considering turning back, until I heard male voices coming down the trail.
I ducked into the trees, out of sight, as two dragons passed. That same tingling struck me that I felt when I was with Zion, right before he wiped my memories.
Their words fell away, and I sensed bits of myself slipping out of reach.
I focused on Amelie, on her face and her voice. Her laughter and digging my fingers into a nearby tree, I managed to hang onto my memories.
“Thank you, Amelie,” I whispered as I pried my fingers free of the bark.
I headed in the direction the guards came from, picking up the pace.
I turned a bend in the trail.
The entrance to a cave appeared. There were no more guards, as far as I could sense.
I crept closer, expecting to feel some magical resistance. Apparently, Zion was so confident in the curse that no one would come looking. The cave entrance was barred off, but I didn’t have to go inside to see what was hidden away. Or rather, who.
“Danny?” I whispered to the group of dragons huddled in various cells.
“Who’s that? I don’t know you.” A dragon pressed his face to the bars. “Who are you?”
“Tank. Cara’s brother. I’m going to assume you’re all here because you remembered the truth?”
“Damned straight we did,” he said with a vicious growl. “That bastard lied to all of us.”
“I know. I’m with the Light Guard. I work directly under our true clan leader.”
“You going to get us all out of here?”
“Going to try. Not working alone. I have a witch with me.” I tugged on the bars, but if I broke them, it’d make noise. That, plus these dragons couldn’t go anywhere, not with the magic barrier in place. “Is he going to try and erase your memories again?”
“Not sure. We’ve been up here for weeks. Some of us for months.”
“Do you know what he has in his cabin? What’s doing this?”
Several shook their heads.
I paused, then asked. “What about the guards? Are they like the others?”
“No. They know exactly what’s going on.”
“How?”
“They have a charm in their pockets. A bundle of sticks is what it looks like to me. It’s what they use to brainwash everyone. What they use to keep their own minds clear. I’ve seen it,” Danny explained.
It made sense, seeing as how, when they’d passed me, I almost lost myself again. I had to get one away from them, if I couldn’t get close enough to Zion to get his. After seeing so many trapped in this damp cave, I was tempted to confront Zion again and punch him until he gave me the charm and artifact.
Last time, he barely had to touch the charm, and I was lost. I couldn’t face him without some protection of my own. If I could get it to Amelie, she might be able to replicate it, or at least understand what was making it work. We’d need it if we were to get close to the artifact.
“I’ll be back for all of you,” I assured them. “Don’t let them take your memories.”
“That dragon is nothing but a coward. He deserves to suffer for everything he’s done to us.”
“He’ll be held accountable for his crimes. You have my word.”
I would’ve shaken his hand if I could’ve reached it. A nod was all I could offer, then I turned and headed back down the trail. The guards wouldn’t leave their prisoners unguarded for long.
Thinking fast, I sprinted into the trees and scrounged around for anything I could be foraging for that would give me a reason to be up this high. I turned right and spotted the moss on the trees. Amelie told me a couple of times that moss was good for healing. I ripped as much as I could from the tree trunks then bundled it in my arms and walked back to the trail. The male voices were returning. I had to time it just right. As soon as they were in sight, I burst from the trees, brushing between them both.
“Hey, watch it,” one of them growled as I bumped into him.
My hand dove into his pocket as my other fumbled with the moss against his chest. “Sorry, I was a bit lost in my own world.”
“It’s fine,” the other one said, glaring at the angry guard I’d snatched the charm from.
I tucked it under the moss.
He patted me on the shoulder. “Best get that moss to whoever needs it before it browns.”
“Of course. Sorry again.”
The first one grunted, clearly annoyed, and trudged up the hill. The second nodded to me, rolled his eyes, and followed the first.
I waited until they were gone, dropped the moss, and sprinted all the way back to Cara’s cabin. She and Darren were absent, but Amelie was right where I’d left her.
“He’s keeping prisoners,” I burst out as soon as the door closed behind me.
“What? Why?”
“There are others who are breaking through the curse on their own, remembering the truth. He’s holding them in a cave.”
“How many?”
“Ten? A few more? Sounds like he’s trying to brainwash them again, but it’s not sticking.”
She swallowed hard. “You don’t think he’ll kill them if he can’t control their memories. Do you?”
“The man has everything he could ever want here. A clan who respects him and loves him. A home, family. No one remembers the coward he was. Yes, he’ll kill them. We’re running out of time.” I handed over the small bundle of sticks tied together with colored strings. “This is what the guards are using to stop the curse from reaching them and what they’re attempting to use on the prisoners.”
She gingerly held it in her palms, weighing it, her eyes calculating. “These aren’t just sticks.”
“No?”
“No, each one has a different magical property. One for warding and protection. Another for manipulation. This one here, this is strange. I’ve never seen a stick this color before.”
It had a purplish tinge to it, and I sighed. “Yes, you have.”
“Where?”
“Fell Gates. That plant grew at the Fell Gates.”
The look in her eyes said she wanted to set it on fire. To get rid of any remaining trace of the Blood Moon Priests. “Because this couldn’t get any better.”
“And the strings?”
“They have magic in them, but not as much as these sticks do. They’ve been touched by the artifact. They were a part of it. The Blood Moon Priests must’ve used this plant for their rituals. Evidently, they had them in places other than just the Fell Gates.”
“The rituals for stealing souls?”
“That’s usually what they were after, wasn’t it?”
This was bad, worse than bad. Not only was Zion brainwashing everyone, but he was also stealing their souls. I frowned, thinking back to when I was in that room with him. I’d been around evil enough times to know what it looked like and how it reacted. Zion might be a fool and a coward, but he wasn’t evil. He cared for the Shadowguard clan. Cared for it too much.
“I don’t think he knows what he’s doing,” I said when I turned back to Amelie. “He’s going to kill everyone here and not even realize why they’re dying.”
“We have to stop him.”
“Do you think you can use that charm to get through the barrier?”
She held it by the strings with a disgusted curl to her lips. “Don’t have much choice.”
“Using it won’t hurt you, will it?” I hadn’t even thought of her magic and that it might react badly.
“Honestly, have no idea. I’ll wait until tonight then sneak back to the barrier and see if I can get through enough to send a message to Selma.”
“I’m going with you.”
“Not happening, tough guy. If something happens to me, one of us has to be around to save everyone else before Zion accidentally kills them all.” She patted my cheek. “What’s the worst that can happen?”
“You’re not helping at all.”
If Zion found out there was a witch here, he’d lock her up with the others. Or he’d get rid of her.
I wasn’t so sure about this plan anymore. I was sure my expression made clear my concerns because Amelie punched me in the shoulder before I even opened my mouth to protest.
“It’ll all work out. Just have to stay positive.”
“Sure, because that always helps.”
I glared at the charm in her hands.
Why couldn’t anything ever be simple?
I wanted to find Cara and bring her home. Now, we were in another fight that could end with one of us or both seriously hurt.
Or worse, locked in a cave. Forever.
Seventeen
Amelie
Night came as I walked from Cara’s cabin down through the woods to the barrier. I went to the same spot Tank and I had entered through, hoping that the magic there would be weakest.
I clutched the charm in my hand. I hadn’t told Tank—didn’t want him to freak out more than he already was—but the thing gave me the creeps. Touching it left that same metallic taste in my mouth. Remnants from dark magic. Why had Zion ever believed using this was a good idea?
From what Tank told me about their short conversation, he wasn’t the smartest dragon around. And he never witnessed the true horrors of the Blood Moon Priests. Most didn’t even know Blood Moon Priests were back until Everest and Slade faced them down. Probably thought it was nothing more than rumors meant to scare the masses into submission.
The barrier glowed in the approaching darkness.
I stopped a couple yards back, remembering all too well what happened the last time I got too close. Holding the charm in one hand, I grabbed the coin to contact Selma with the other and took a deep breath. There were several possible outcomes. Either it didn’t work at all, and I was simply thrown away from the barrier like I had been the first time. Or the charm parted the barrier and let me through.
