Hedge Witch Diaries Complete Series Boxed Set, page 51
“Be that as it may, such errors come with consequences. If you wish me to help you, I must claim your power.”
I huffed. “Fine. Then take it! Fix all this shit!”
The Morrigan laughed. “Not yet. No, it isn’t time. First, you must defeat your brother.”
“I have to kill Set?”
The Morrigan nodded. “He will not be easily thwarted, even by the likes of me. It will require both of us to bind him and send him back to the otherworld.”
I snatched a breath. This wasn’t only about me anymore. If surrendering my magic could fix things, it was a small price to pay.
“Okay,” I told her. “You’ve got a deal.”
The Morrigan laughed, a sound both musical and sinister. “Very well. We will stop Set together. We will need others. Those who wield your strange people’s magic.”
I nodded. “I have friends. They’ll help.”
The Morrigan rolled Charlie’s eyes. “Friends. You have friends but call yourself a goddess?”
I snorted. “Would you prefer I call them my subjects?”
“Not at all, dear. I simply find your…humility amusing. You’ve changed.”
I nodded. “Yeah, well, this Isis shit is like old memories buried in my mind. I don’t feel like a goddess. Just a girl, a waitress, trying to save the world.”
The Morrigan tilted her head, regarding me with those ancient, inhuman eyes. Charlie’s warm brown irises were now an icy blue that pierced my soul.
“You have a certain fire about you,” she remarked. “I can see why my vessel is drawn to you.”
I resisted the urge to shudder. “What do you mean, drawn to me?”
The Morrigan grinned. “Oh, my dear, do not play coy. The druid has been enamored with you for some time now. He seeks your approval, your attention, your affection. It is endearing.”
My heart sank. “Charlie. He said he loved me.”
The Morrigan shrugged, Charlie’s body moving awkwardly with the gesture. “He does. That does not mean you must love him in return. It does not mean you must return his feelings. Love is a fickle thing, Briar. It comes and goes like the tide. Take it from me. I loved a mortal once. I paid the price for it.”
I swallowed hard, trying to keep my emotions in check. “What happened?”
The Morrigan’s expression darkened. “He rejected me. He chose another woman over me, and I lost control. I killed him and those he loved. I destroyed everything.” She shook her head, regret crossing her features. “This is what happens to the Divine who set their hearts on mortals. It never ends well.”
I frowned. “What are you saying? That I can’t love anyone?”
The Morrigan shrugged. “I am saying love can be a dangerous thing. It can cloud your judgment and make you vulnerable. In times like these, you need to be strong, detached. If you are not, Set will treat your love as a weakness. He’ll use it against you.”
I gritted my teeth. “He’s threatened to kill my friends and raise them into his army if I don’t join him.”
The Morrigan’s eyes hardened. “He is not beyond such cruelty, but you cannot allow him to have that power over you. You must be willing to sacrifice your loved ones, if necessary, for the greater good.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “I can’t do that. I won’t do that.”
The Morrigan’s voice grew cold. “Then you are not fit to be a goddess. This is the reality of our existence. We are not human. We are not mortal. We are beings of power, of magic, of strength. The fate of the world rests on your shoulders, Briar. You must be willing to make sacrifices and do what is necessary. Even if it means giving up everything you hold dear.”
I inhaled deeply, feeling the weight of her words. “Well, if you take my power, none of that will matter. I’ll be human again anyway.”
The Morrigan laughed. “I cannot make you a mortal, even if I take your power. What I require is your control over the dead. Your ability to resurrect souls. That, my dear, you’ve proven unfit to wield. You’ve destroyed the balance and cast your magic without knowledge of the damage it could cause.”
I shook my head. “I was trying to make things right.”
“People die,” the Morrigan commented. “This is the natural order.”
I shook my head. “You don’t understand. A warlock used dark magic to save my life. It turned him into a killer. I owed it to him. And those people died before their time.”
The Morrigan tilted her head—Charlie’s head. “Who are you to know if it was their time?”
I shrugged. “Well, come to find out, I am a goddess.”
“That doesn’t mean you have the right to decide when it’s someone’s time. If someone dies, no matter the means, it is their time. Even this body, this vessel. It was his time.”
“No, it wasn’t! Fucking Set killed him!”
The Morrigan’s eyes flared with rage. “Are you not listening to a word I speak? You Egyptians. You think you know better than the rest of us. It’s infuriating.”
I shook my head. “I barely know who I even am. My life as Isis before is more like a movie in my mind than a memory.”
The Morrigan sighed and softened her gaze. “I understand your frustration, Briar. You must try to remember who you were and what you stood for. Your error was not on account of your divinity but your humanity.”
“So I fucked up because I’m human?”
The Morrigan signed. “For all her faults, Isis was a goddess of balance, of healing, of magic. She would never have cast a spell without understanding its consequences. She would have known that death is a natural part of life and that resurrecting souls unnaturally could upset the delicate balance of the universe.”
“But I—Isis. She resurrected Osiris.”
“A god! Not a mortal! And she knew how to repair the veil when she was done. You did not!”
I nodded, feeling guilty for my ignorance. “You’re right. I need to learn how to control my powers, to use them responsibly.”
The Morrigan smiled. “It doesn’t matter. Our agreement remains. I will claim this power so that you do not repeat your error. First, we must deal with Set. He is a threat to the balance of all worlds.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes,” I promised.
“Good,” the Morrigan replied. “Because we have much to do.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The Morrigan’s cold, bony fingers gripped my wrist, her nails digging in. I winced. For a goddess, she had the claws of a harpy.
“Take me to where you last saw Set,” she rasped, her voice like nails on a chalkboard. Charlie’s usually warm brown eyes were now flat and black, filled with an ancient, calculating darkness. “I can sense his magic. Track him.”
I yanked my arm back. “So what, you sniff him out like a dog?”
The Morrigan released a cackling laugh, sending chills up my spine. “Given this host’s proclivity for the canine form, an apt comparison.”
“Right.” I shivered, glancing back through the trees toward Dorian’s sanctuary.
“The bar, then,” I told her. “That’s where I last saw the sonofabitch, right after he yanked Charlie’s heart from his chest.”
The Morrigan grinned, baring Charlie’s straight white teeth. “Lead the way.”
I turned and trudged down the leaf-strewn path away from Dorian’s sanctuary, listening to the Morrigan’s shuffling steps behind me. My spirit companions lurked in the distance, watching from afar as we two goddesses marched through the woods toward our destination.
When we arrived at Charlie’s, the place was trashed. Chairs overturned, glass shattered across the floor, tables smashed. All the result of our fight with Jim Bob and the Honeycuts.
Gareth and Sydney were already there, surveying the damage. Sydney gasped when she saw us.
“What the hell happened?” Gareth asked, eyebrows raised.
“Balzac happened,” I told him. “He came back with Jim Bob and those Honeycut assholes. Resurrected and looking to party.”
Sydney’s face reddened. “Those monsters tried to burn you and Dorian at the stake!”
I waved my hand. “Yeah, well, they’re ash again now. Thanks to yours truly. Balzac’s still out there somewhere, though.”
Gareth was staring at Charlie, or rather, the Morrigan inside Charlie, with a curious expression.
“Gareth, Sydney. Meet the Morrigan,” I announced. “She’s, uh…borrowing Charlie’s body for now. After Balzac killed Charlie, I resurrected him—”
“You did what?” Gareth’s eyes widened.
“Look, I know it was reckless. Charlie wasn’t happy about it either. He invoked the Morrigan and asked her to take his body before he lost control and turned homicidal like the other resurrected.”
Sydney blinked in surprise. Gareth only nodded thoughtfully.
“A wise choice on Charlie’s part,” he stated. “We need the power of the goddess to heal the veil and defeat Set.”
“Yeah, eventually the Morrigan will help us with that spell. First, we gotta take care of Balzac.” I gestured to the goddess. “According to her, we need to defeat Set and send him back through the veil before we can repair it.”
The Morrigan smiled, an unsettling expression on Charlie’s normally kind face. “You and Gareth are two of the most powerful witches here. If you can keep Set occupied, Briar and I will be able to force him back through the veil.”
“What do you need from us?” Gareth asked.
The Morrigan leaned forward, steepling Charlie’s fingers in a gesture that looked bizarrely out of place on him.
“Here is what we must do,” she explained. “Gareth, Sydney, you will engage Set directly, drawing him into battle. Focus your attacks on his physical form and keep him occupied with your magic. Briar and I will use that opportunity to move in unseen and bind him.”
She withdrew a slender cord from Charlie’s jacket pocket. It glimmered with a strange light, clearly enchanted in some way.
“After we have him bound, I will open the portal and force Set back through the veil into the realm of the gods where he belongs. With the added power of Isis, the binding should be strong enough to contain him.”
I studied the cord anxiously. So much depended on that little loop of rope. Did Charlie have it all along, or was it a common rope the Morrigan had repurposed? I didn’t know. It didn’t matter. The plan was sound but dangerous.
Gareth cracked his knuckles, eyes hard with determination. “Sounds good. Let’s do this.”
Sydney squared her shoulders and gave a curt nod. She looked nervous but resolute.
I drew a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s end this, once and for all.”
The Morrigan raised Charlie’s finger. “One moment. Set’s magic lingers here. I can follow it.”
She closed her eyes, and a moment later, a strange expression flickered across her face. “Ah. I believe I have found it.” She opened her eyes, looking at Gareth. “Would you kindly open the door?”
Gareth stepped forward, a sense of trepidation in his movements. He grabbed the door handle, pushing it open with a creak.
The Morrigan smiled. “Follow me. Try to keep up.”
Then, she shifted into the form of a raven. Whether she did it with her own power or Charlie’s, I wasn’t sure.
She flew out the door, and we followed. The Morrigan perched on the branch of a tree and cawed at us.
“I guess we follow.” I shrugged.
Gareth shook his head. “This is going to be interesting.”
I nodded. “And dangerous. Look, you two. If you don’t want to—”
“Stop,” Sydney insisted. “We’re with you.”
Gareth nodded in agreement. “This ends tonight. But Briar, are you sure you can trust this Morrigan?”
I shook my head. “Not at all, but we need her. From what she’s told me, she’s concerned with restoring the balance.”
As we followed the Morrigan’s lead, I couldn’t help but feel a creeping sense of dread. This was it. The final showdown. The fate of the world rested on our shoulders. My mind raced with the possibilities of what could go wrong, but I pushed those thoughts aside. I had to focus.
We came upon an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. Old, rusted boats littered the lot. The Morrigan landed on one of them, then returned to Charlie’s form.
“Set is inside.” She pointed to a door. “Be careful. He’s not alone.”
“Not alone?” I asked. “What do you mean?”
The Morrigan sniffed at the air. “I’d say he’s gathered a small army. Fifteen, maybe twenty, resurrected dead accompany him. This will not be an easy task.”
Gareth shook his head. “I’m calling the Morai. Those undead bastards are invulnerable to our magic, but if all you need is a distraction, we can do it.”
No sooner did Gareth get on his phone than a large swirl of magic swelled over the warehouse. It spun into a tornado that shot out into splinters of magic as far as the eye could see.
Gareth lowered his phone from his ear. “What the hell?”
“He’s resurrected the dead,” the Morrigan revealed.
I gulped. “How many?”
The Morrigan shook Charlie’s head. “All of them. We must hurry. More will arrive here soon. We do not have time to wait for your friends. If Set gathers them and takes control, he’ll be impossible to reach.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
We couldn’t wait for Morai reinforcements, but that didn’t mean we had to take on the crowd alone. The Morrigan wanted a distraction? I could give her one.
I thrust my hands toward the sky with my fingers spread like a preacher at Sunday service. I reached out to every spirit all around. With my power stronger than ever, I could connect to thousands. Maybe millions if you included the dead insects.
Balzac might have had all of the world’s dead. Did he really raise all of them, like everyone who’d died in all of human history? Maybe. Still, he couldn’t gather all of them at once. They couldn’t teleport. For the moment, there were more dead animal spirits in the area than humans.
The woods trembled, leaves shaking free from branches. Squirrels and raccoons poked out from tree hollows. Deer raised their heads, ears pricked. With my Isis power, I gave them physical form. Before, I needed a special totem. Now, I only needed a thought.
A chorus of howls and screeches rang out as animals poured from the forest, their forms wavering like smoke. Raccoons and squirrels scampered at my feet. My black bear, Smokey, lumbered forward, followed by a pack of wolves with moon-bright eyes led by Roy. Owls and hawks circled overhead while snakes slithered through the grass. I had never connected to snakes before. It was probably a mental block because, well, ew. Now, I had no hesitation.
The sensation was exhilarating as the power thrummed in my veins. I loosed a wild laugh like I was being mercilessly tickled. I couldn’t help it. “All right, everyone!” I shouted to the animals as much as my friends. “Let’s go kick some undead ass!”
I whooped and thrust my fist up. The animals charged, a tsunami of fur, feathers, and fangs. As they flowed around me, I laughed, drunk on primal energy.
Take that, Balzac! You mess with this Ozark witch, you get the claws!
Gareth strode up beside me, hands glowing with magic. With a flourish, he traced a symbol in the air. The lines blazed crimson before shooting toward the warehouse in a concussive blast.
The wall exploded in a shower of brick and mortar. My army of spirits flooded through the gaping hole.
A raven alighted on my shoulder. “Nice work, Isis,” the Morrigan remarked, a smile in her voice.
I rolled my eyes. “It’s Briar.”
“Of course.” She rubbed her beak against my cheek affectionately before launching herself through the breached wall, melding into the tide of animals.
Sydney fell in on my other side, face set with determination. The three of us shared a nod before charging into the warehouse on the heels of my spirit army.
Gareth and I slung spells as we ran, sending the undead flying like bowling pins. My magic felt wild, primal—no longer the careful, cautious magic I’d clung to these last few years. Each blast erupted from me with the force of a geyser. I whooped again, drunk on power.
We plowed through the warehouse, spirits snarling and snapping on all sides. The undead were distracted and confused. Perfect. Now, to find Balzac and end this nightmare.
I spotted him across the warehouse, lounging on a makeshift throne of crates. He sat with one leg crossed casually over the other, regarding the chaos with an amused smile. When he saw me coming, his grin spread wider. He leaned forward, steepling his fingers.
“Well, well. If it isn’t the goddess herself, come to grace me with her presence.” He clapped his hands together. “That’s the Isis I know and love! Come on, doll, let’s have some fun.”
My lip curled in a snarl, magic flaring brighter around my hands. I started toward him, ready to blast that smug look off his face.
Before I got close, a blur of black feathers shot past me. The Morrigan, still in raven form, dove directly for Balzac. At the last second, she shapeshifted, becoming Charlie again. With practiced ease, she looped her enchanted rope around Balzac, binding his arms to his sides.
He roared in rage, writhing against the rope. The Morrigan only laughed and gave the cord a sharp tug.
“It’s over, Set,” she pronounced. “You’ve caused enough trouble here.”
Balzac giggled. “You’re too late. The chaos has already begun!”
With a flourish of Charlie’s free hand, the Morrigan opened a portal, its horizon like a black, simmering abyss.
The Morrigan dragged Balzac toward it. He struggled furiously, but her rope held fast.
“You can’t stop this!” he shouted. “You’re too late! You need me, Isis! You can’t end this without me!”
“We’ll see about that.” I stepped toward him, magic tingling at my fingertips. With a mighty heave, I launched him through the portal.
Before it closed, a tide of undead poured into the warehouse.
Snarling and clawing, they hurled themselves through the gateway en masse. I watched in horror as the surging horde swept the Morrigan away into the portal.
