Hedge Witch Diaries Complete Series Boxed Set, page 23
The magic continued to cycle between us, swelling into a well of power that spread through my body.
“Thanks, Smokey!” I called, and the bear grunted before rejoining the fray.
We were almost within reach of Rémy when Sydney and Aiden appeared at our side. Sydney’s hands danced, weaving intricate patterns that called upon her magic. With a flick of her wrist, she sent a wave of fire crashing into a group of undead, incinerating them to ash.
“Keep going!” she yelled over the roar of the flames. “We’ve got your back!”
Aiden raised his rifle, taking careful aim and firing precise shots into the heads of the closest undead. Each bullet found its mark, and the creatures crumpled to the ground. “That’s how you kill a walker! Headshots work! How’s that lead taste, motherfuckers?”
Even that didn’t keep the Réminians he shot down for good. Moments later, the ones my brother had downed writhed and started to rise.
Bang! Bang!
“Stay down, bitches!” Aiden shouted.
“Let’s keep moving!” Dorian instructed, and we pressed forward. As we advanced, I felt the magic between us strengthen. “Briar, about the spell to banish Rémy. There’s something you should know.”
I raised an eyebrow, my heart pounding as fear gnawed at me. “What is it?”
“Using this spell comes with risks,” he admitted. “There’s a chance it could backfire or draw darkness toward us.”
“Darkness?” I questioned, my mind racing. “You mean like dark magic? Is that what we’re using?”
He shook his head. “No, not dark magic, but it’s powerful enough that the darkness of the realm we’ll be sending Rémy to could try to latch onto us. The key is not getting too close to the fissure when casting the spell.”
“Is there any way to protect ourselves from it?” I asked, my voice barely audible over the sounds of battle.
“Distance and focus,” he replied. “We must concentrate on the light within us, the bond we share, and our desire to protect those we care about. That will act as a barrier against the darkness.”
“Okay.” I drew a deep breath. “We can do this. Together.”
As we neared our target, Rémy’s twisted laughter filled the air, sending a chill down my spine. He raised his hands, and dark energy crackled between his fingers. With a wicked grin, he hurled the spell at us, its tendrils reaching out like some voracious beast.
“Watch out!” I cried as panic surged through me.
The animated trees reacted quickly, their branches intertwining to form a shield before us. The dark energy collided with the barrier, and the sound of splintering wood echoed around us. The trees shuddered but held firm, protecting us from the worst of the attack.
“Get ready, Briar.” Dorian’s voice remained steady despite the chaos. “It’s time to end this.”
I nodded, gripping his hand tightly as we faced Rémy together. I saw Dorian’s other hand rise into the air, his fingers moving gracefully in a series of intricate patterns. As he traced the sigil, a shimmering glow formed, its light growing brighter with each fluid gesture.
“Concentrate on our bond, Briar,” he reminded me, his eyes locked onto the sigil. “Our love, our connection. That will protect us.”
I closed my eyes, focusing on the warmth of Dorian’s hand in mine, the way his presence made me feel safe and loved. I felt the magic within me respond, swirling around us like a protective embrace.
“Ready,” I breathed, opening my eyes to see the sigil complete.
With a final flourish, Dorian finished tracing the sigil, and the air behind Rémy seemed to warp and twist. The fissure opened, an abyssal maw hungry for its prey. The darkness within it clawed at the edges, desperate to escape, but I held onto Dorian and our shared strength, keeping it at bay.
The fissure’s pull was immediate and powerful, a vortex of force threatening to consume everything around it.
“Aiden, Sydney!” Dorian screamed. “Get back!”
They didn’t ask any questions. They took off, desperate to escape the tug of the fissure trying to swallow us up like a vacuum.
Rémy’s eyes widened with fear as he realized what was happening. The undead Réminians shrieked and clawed at the ground, trying to resist the pull, but it was no use.
“Non!” Rémy roared, his voice filled with rage and terror. But there was no stopping it now. The fissure eagerly drew him in like a ravenous beast. His screams echoed across the battlefield, sending chills down my spine.
As Rémy disappeared into the darkness, the suction intensified. Suddenly, Dorian and I were being pulled toward the void as well. My heart pounded as panic set in. This wasn’t part of the plan. We weren’t supposed to get sucked in too!
I widened my stance and dug in my feet. Dorian did the same. It was too much. As I felt myself losing my grip on Dorian’s hand, two familiar forces intervened. Smokey and Roy lunged forward and grabbed my shirt, their combined strength anchoring me in place. I felt their fierce determination, their love for me fueling their efforts.
However, Dorian was still being pulled in, his feet off the ground, his arms flailing. He was inches away from the dark maw. Time seemed to slow down as I watched him struggle, desperate not to lose him.
Suddenly, one of the animated trees fell in front of me. Before it hit the ground, its branches reached out to snatch Dorian from the air, pulling him back before the abyss could swallow him.
The tree hit the ground like thunder, but it maintained its grip on Dorian before lowering him slowly to the ground, holding his waist to prevent him from being pulled in again.
“Are you all right?” I called, my voice shaking.
Dorian’s eyes met mine. “We need to close it, now!” he shouted over the howling winds.
“Right!” I agreed, stepping forward as Smokey and Roy continued to anchor me to the ground. I took Dorian’s hand. Our connection pulsed with energy.
We shut our eyes and reached deep within ourselves. “Let me draw on our shared power!” Dorian shouted.
A wave of energy shot from Dorian’s other hand toward the fissure. The ground beneath us trembled, and a brilliant flash of light illuminated the area as the spell collided with the darkness. The fissure shuddered, its edges flickering as it folded in on itself.
“Almost there…a little more,” Dorian encouraged, sweat dripping from his brow as the tree that held him splintered apart against the pull of the void.
Our friends, both human and spirit, held their breath, watching intently as the fissure continued to shrink.
With one final push of our combined magic, the fissure closed completely. The last remnants of darkness winked out of existence like a dying ember. The sudden silence was deafening, the air around us heavy with relief and exhaustion.
“Did we do it?” I whispered, my voice trembling as I looked around at the battlefield. The undead Réminians had crumbled to dust, their dark magic vanquished.
“Looks like it,” Dorian replied as the tree released him, a weary smile stretching across his face. “But I—”
Roy and Smokey released my shirt, and I raced to catch Dorian as he lost his balance.
He weighed too much for me to handle, but I braced his fall as best I could and cradled his head in my arms. A spider web of darkness spread through the whites of his eyes. He’d gotten too close to the fissure.
I did the only thing I could. I lowered my head and kissed Dorian on the lips. A surge of power cycled, as it had when we held hands, but stronger this time.
When I pulled away from the kiss, Dorian looked at me, his eyes wide and white. It worked. He was fine, narrowly escaping a darkness that threatened to change him, to take him from me. And we’d won.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
As the dust settled on the battlefield, I stood hand-in-hand with Dorian, my heart still racing from the adrenaline that surged through my veins. My spirit animals released their corporeal forms but lingered in the area as spirits, visible only to Dorian and me. The trees still lurked around us as if they were on guard for any other enemies who might emerge from nowhere.
We’d fought the entire night. It felt like only a few hours. In the middle of it all, I hadn’t even noticed that the sun had risen and was now almost halfway across the sky. It was a long fight, a bitter ordeal, but we’d emerged victorious.
Aiden and Sydney were beside us, breathing heavily from the effort of the fight. The air was still thick with the scent of death, a nauseating mixture that made my stomach churn. My gaze fell on Aiden, who had fought bravely alongside me.
“Jesus, Aiden,” I breathed, taking in the extent of his injuries. His left eye was swollen shut, a dark bruise blooming around it like a dead nettle. Blood trickled down from a gash on his forehead and pooled at the corner of his mouth, staining his lips a gruesome red. Angry scratches marred his exposed skin, and I could only imagine what lay hidden beneath his torn clothes. “Bro, you look like hell. There were some healing spells in my dad’s old book I can try.”
Aiden managed a weak grin, wincing as the movement pulled at the cut on his lip. “Nah, Briar, don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine. It’s nothing time and alcohol can’t handle.”
“Right,” I stated. “We have some gauze and rubbing alcohol back at the trailer.”
“Rubbing alcohol? Tastes like shit. I was talking about beer!”
I laughed. “You’ve drank rubbing alcohol before?”
Aiden shook his head. “If it’s not meant for drinking, why the hell did someone put alcohol on the label?”
Sydney laughed, thinking my brother was joking. I wasn’t so sure it was a joke, but I wouldn’t dissuade her. I was going to clarify that rubbing alcohol is an antiseptic, but I figured he’d probably think that meant if he used it, it would back up our septic system.
“Well, I could go for a beer as well,” Sydney commented, her eyes shining with admiration. “You were incredible out there, Aiden. No powers at all, but that didn’t stop you. So brave.” She took his hand, the warmth from her touch seeming to ignite a spark within him.
“Thanks, Syd,” Aiden replied, trying to sound nonchalant despite the flush creeping up his cheeks. “It was nothing. You know, protecting family. That’s what I do.”
I turned my attention to Sydney. “You did amazing, too, with that teleportation spell. I knew you could do it.”
“Ah, thank you, Briar,” she replied, modestly brushing off the compliment. “I’d never been able to pull something like that off before. I’m also not exactly sure where I sent Gareth. It was all I could do to get him out of there.”
“Speaking of which,” Dorian interjected, a shadow suddenly falling over his face. “Gareth may soon become a problem. From my own experience, it will take a century or longer before the darkness within him wanes. When I was infected by the same spell, all I could think about was vengeance. Rage consumed me.”
The thought of Gareth, twisted by dark power and seeking retribution, sent a shiver down my spine. Gareth knew what he was doing. He must’ve put the pieces together and realized the betrothal was false, that he’d been cursed by our kiss. Even so, he came to help. He saved us at great personal cost.
“Wait,” I stated, my voice shaking slightly as the reality of what we’d done settled in. “If Gareth knows about the false betrothal and the curse, he’ll want revenge on us. On me.”
“Exactly, Briar,” Dorian agreed, his tone grim. “He’ll take out his fury on anyone else who encounters him, though.”
I shook my head. “We can’t let that happen. There must be a way to save him. He didn’t have to come. Sure, he complicated everything when he killed Jim Bob and the Honeycuts, but the darkness was already in him. He also didn’t know about the ritual from the Daemonolatreiae.”
Dorian drew a deep breath. “If there were a way to dissolve the darkness, I would have done it. You saved me from enduring that again, but for obvious reasons, it won’t work on Gareth.”
“What happened to you?” I asked. “When you were infected?”
Dorian shook his head. “A lot that I regret. Too many people suffered on account of it. All I can say is if this impacts Gareth the way it did me, a lot of people could die. We need to prepare for that eventuality.”
Sydney sighed, her brow furrowed with determination. “I must report this to the Morai. They may be able to help track Gareth down before he can harm anyone else. If we reach out to the Grand Coven, including Gareth’s parents, they might know a way to help.”
“Careful,” I warned. “His parents killed my parents. I don’t trust them.”
Sydney inhaled and nodded. “Understood, but it’s their son we’re talking about. We might not have any other choice.”
“Agreed,” Dorian concurred. “While I’m not eager to have the Grand Coven poking around here and getting into our business, we also can’t risk what will happen if we can’t help Gareth.”
“Well, I won’t let him hurt you, Sis.” Aiden nodded before glancing around at the battlefield strewn with the bodies of fallen enemies. Jim Bob, the Honeycut brothers, and a few other locals I didn’t know. “What about…all this? We can’t leave them here.”
“Agreed.” Sydney’s gaze swept over the somber scene. “We should dispose of the bodies properly and ensure this place is cleansed of their presence.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Cleansed of their presence?”
Dorian nodded. “This field is bathed in blood. Something like what happened here can affect the spirits of the place. I know these men weren’t exactly our friends, but the sooner they receive a proper burial and we can bless the land, the better.”
“Well, I’m not digging any graves,” I insisted. “I’ll ask the trees to help.”
Dorian nodded. “I don’t see any harm in that. If the forest lays these men to rest, it may help cleanse the land.”
I closed my eyes and focused on the spirits of the forest surrounding us, feeling their energy pulse through the totem hanging on my neck. Several animated trees crept toward us, their roots and branches moving with surprising grace.
“Please, help us bury these bodies,” I asked them softly. The trees bent as if to nod, their leaves rustling in agreement. They began to dig into the earth with their roots, creating deep holes in the middle of the field. One by one, they lowered the lifeless forms of our enemies into the ground, covering them with dirt until nothing but fresh mounds remained.
“Thank you,” I whispered to the trees. Then, they left, slowly moving back to the forest and rooting themselves back in place.
“Join hands,” Sydney stated as she knelt and traced a geometric pattern over the ground, the magic sparking from her fingers and settling into the soil. We all formed a small circle or perhaps a triangle. Aiden declined to join us. This magic stuff wasn’t exactly in his wheelhouse and, frankly, probably still creeped him out.
Energy flowed between all three of us. I didn’t have the same bond with Sydney that Dorian and I had, but we’d fought side by side. We had the kind of connection people could only forge through a shared struggle.
Sydney took charge and directed the magic into the symbol she’d traced on the ground. A cool breeze spread across the field, and the energy faded. “It’s done,” Sydney announced. “Hopefully, the spirits here will endure, unaffected by the battle.”
I nodded. “Let’s get out of here.”
We followed the narrow trail back through the woods. A peace washed over me, enhanced by the spirit animals that appeared all around us. Not only those who’d fought with us but deer, birds, squirrels, and even a few raccoons, opossums, and armadillos. Pretty much anything native to Missouri’s woods. Except for the snakes. I was grateful for that. I’d never managed to connect with snake spirits.
When we finally emerged from the woods, we found ourselves at the truck where this whole ordeal had begun. We climbed inside and agreed to head back to my trailer to clean up and rest. But as I glanced at the dashboard clock, I felt a sudden jolt of panic.
“Shit!” I exclaimed. “I’m late for my shift at Charlie’s!”
“Double shit,” Aiden added as he turned his key in the ignition. “I’m late too.”
“You’re in no shape to work,” I told him.
Aiden shrugged. “All I need is a triple-S, and I’ll be good to go.”
“A triple-S?” Sydney asked.
“A shit, a shower, and a shave. If we want to add a fourth S, I won’t refuse.”
Sydney raised an eyebrow. “Sex?”
“How’d you know?” Aiden grinned.
“No time for that,” I remarked. “At least it’s a mid-week lunch shift. Hopefully, we’ll be spared the worst of Charlie’s rage.”
“Come on, Briar! Let’s go home and get our S’s on!”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s one thing we won’t be doing together. None of the above.”
With that, Aiden pulled onto the paved road and drove us back to the trailer.
I couldn’t say everything was back to normal. What was normal anymore? Nothing would ever be the way it was before I met Dorian. Before I learned I was a witch. However, this new normal was something I could get used to.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Aiden stopped at the grocery store. He pulled into a parking spot next to my truck, which sat there like a faithful dog waiting for its owner.
“All right, let’s get going so you can get ready for work,” Dorian suggested.
“Sounds good,” I agreed, climbing into the driver’s seat. Dorian slid in beside me, his knees nearly butting up against the dashboard.
Aiden leaned out the window of his truck. “Race you to the trailer!”
I nodded and turned the key in the ignition, feeling a wave of relief wash over me as my truck roared to life.
I wasn’t in the mood for a race. I’d had enough adrenaline pumping through my system over the last several hours to last me for a while. I allowed Aiden to speed ahead. I figured he could get a head start with the shower before I arrived. If he didn’t get pulled over first.
