Deadlands (The Healer Series, #2) (7 page)

Right before her eyes, the
pointy eared goblin astonishingly transformed into Elirana! She wasn’t dead! She had turned herself into a goblin to save them! Bagalug’s eye’s widened as the beautiful Elf emerged from the hideous goblin skin. He gave a battle cry worthy of ten thousand warriors and suddenly, from behind, swarms of goblins answered the call and ran full force straight towards them, yelling and screaming with maddening rage!

If Willow thought she was in
deep trouble before, she thought wrong.

“What do we do?” Willow panicked watching the goblins sprinting towards them. They were close!

A powerful gust of wi
nd rushed around her and she saw that Elirana was using her Elven magic against Thund and Bagalug to part the way for them to escape out of town. Bagalug was easily thrown into a wall, but Thund, with his massive hands raised, was trying to push the wind back. Elirana chanted in her language and the wind picked up speed, gaining the power of a mighty tornado. Thund roared a booming cry when his feet picked up from under him and he was airborne for a time before crashing through a window of a nearby house.

The way was momentarily clear, until more goblins came
running from the north, hearing the chaos of the fight. They crawled out of houses, ran across rooftops above them, and stepped out of the alleys. They seemed to emerge out every opening and crevice imaginable. They carried small swords and flails, and some even carried slingshots and whips. They were surrounded on all sides!

“Dec!” Willow cried for him as the goblins pressed in closer. Time was up! They were dead!

“GET DOWN!” Declan screamed and extended his arms letting Willow go. He was pissed, and a halo of green magic was encompassing him, throbbing and pulsing Warlock light. Willow looked at him questioningly until he glared at her to obey. Willow’s heart dropped when she saw that in place of Declan’s pretty hazel eyes, the pupils were bright orange again and flickering like fire. His face was contorted with fury and a crazed anger. Declan was a ticking time bomb blazoned with internal fire. What was happening to him? Willow felt herself being yanked down by Chase, who was crouching and covering his head.

Willow could do nothing but
watch in awe as Declan exploded with a burst of magic that rippled out from him on all sides. Goblins, trolls, and the like were knocked down backwards in a daze from the sheer force of Declan’s power. Willow’s mouth dropped open. He had single-handedly knocked out hundreds of creatures. The chaos and noises died almost instantly. Declan fisted his hands together and turned around slowly to face the three. Elirana was already up on her lithe feet in a battle stance, at the ready, but besides the occasional twitch of their bodies, not one single goblin was awake. Chase helped Willow up since her limbs were a bit shaky.

“You should probably close your mouth now,” Chase whispered in her ear. He chuckled as he let go of her arm. Willow was still staring at Declan with complete bewilderment and wonder. Declan’s eyes were back to normal as he quickly looked around
, assessing the damage. 

“Let’s go,” he said casually
as if he didn’t just display magnificently impossible power disarming an angry mob of blood thirsty hellions. He picked up a long, slender sword and belted sheath from a fallen goblin, walked up to Willow, and grabbed her hand to pull her along, stepping over the goblins as he did so. Chase and Elirana also grabbed weapons of their choosing.

Willow’s mind was spinning with questions. How did he do that? Why did he look so scary? What kind of spell did he use to hinder all those creatures at once, affecting them all the same?

Now, Declan was rubbing circles
absentmindedly on the back of Willow’s hand as if it comforted him. She didn’t think hand holding was off limits, so she allowed it. After all, friends held hands didn’t they? Besides, she felt ten times better with him physically touching her skin than when he wasn’t. Call it like it was, but she figured she couldn’t have her cake and eat it too. And Declan was the sweetest, most tempting piece of cake there was, even if he did look a little scary by blasting the goblins. She had to choose what she wanted because she couldn’t have the best of both worlds. She couldn’t lead him on if she wasn’t going to follow through. But she couldn’t remain Declan’s friend after all this, because she wanted all of him or nothing.   

 
The last house of the village came into sight and then beyond, flatlands. Only a few minutes had passed before movement and grunting sounded behind them. Willow turned to see that several of the creatures were sitting up already, rubbing their heads and looking around confoundedly.

“Uh…Declan?” Willow said
. “The goblins are coming back to life…”

“Of course they are,” he
sighed and looked back cautiously. “I can feel their evil slithering on my skin like oil.”

“You c
an?” she wondered. Witches and Warlocks had attuned senses and feelings in the magical world. They felt when something was close, whether it had good or ill will, or even in dire situations, sense the emotions of others. Being a First Degree Witch, Willow could pick up subtle moments of tenseness when evil was near. But that was just it, feelings. And sometimes, she got it wrong. It wasn’t tangible as Declan was describing. She didn’t actually feel the evil slithering on her skin. It was just her natural instincts saying agents of darkness could be around, like the paranoia that came with feeling that you weren’t alone in the dark. Her powers were still very much underdeveloped, but even Second Degree Witches struggle with distinguishing between good and evil.

“
Don’t even ask me how, Willow, okay?” Declan said, knowing what she was thinking. He turned around and pulled her faster until they were steadily jogging. They made it out of the village.

“GET THEM!” voices howle
d and raged from behind and a fear spiked through Willow’s body. She didn’t even look back to know that the goblins were alive and kicking, beginning to chase after them. Forget about jogging! She took off in a dead sprint! Willow watched enviously as Elirana and Chase sped ahead of them. Both races were extremely fast, and soon she was panting just trying to keep up with them. They were running for their lives, but they had nowhere to go! Nothing but land stretched before them. No shelter, nowhere to hide. What are they going to do?

Willow quickly grew out o
f breath and her muscles tightened from exertion. She was sweating bullets. The heat was even more unbearable while running. She cried out in pain and tried to rub a piercing cramp in her side. It wasn’t helping, and soon her face was drenched with tears. Her breathing was shallow. She tried to suck in oxygen, but it was no use. The cramp wouldn’t go away! Not to mention her throat was extremely dry from lack of water. Dehydration was an awful way to die, and she just sped up the process by running like a manic. Her life depended on it.

Even with the cramp
, she ran on. She had to continue no matter what! Willow refused to slow down. She could hear the yells of the goblins right behind her and her heart jumped with panic. It was amazing how much she could push her body in life threatening conditions. They ran sprinting for at least half a mile, but she was slowing down fast. The painful cramp bit into her side and her feet just couldn’t seem to keep going, no matter how strong her will was.

Willow tripped and fell, taking Declan with her to the hard ground. She looked up. A goblin! He had her
by the ankle! Declan thrust his hand out and a green lightning bolt burst from his palm and hit the goblin straight in the head. The goblin’s head dropped and Willow felt him loosen his hold on her. He was dead, but twenty, no thirty, goblins were right there to take his place!

Suddenly, she was being lifted into the air as Declan hoisted her up and threw her over
his shoulder, taking off as fast as he could sprint away from the goblins. She could see the goblins wildly pursuing them. The chase was on again. The goblins pushed and shoved each other in the process aiming to be the first one who catches them. Trying not to be the helpless Witch she felt like she was, Willow charged her magic and tried taking them out.

“Casurus! Afflictio!
Quod non omnia!” She threw spells at the goblins. The spells that hit each goblin made them fly backwards and get trampled on by the others. One by one they fell into the throng of the chasers. Willow couldn’t do more than strike individual goblins, unable to attack all of them at once like Declan had, but she effectively hit the closest goblins to her, putting more distance between them and the hordes.

“There’s a bridge ahead!” Declan huffed out and continued running. “Elirana and Chase a
re going over it. If we can reach it, I can separate us.”

“What? How?” Willow asked. “
Inmitto!” Willow cast a spell that caused a few weapons of the goblins to fly out of their hands. One flew her way and she grabbed the dagger and threw it into the masses, striking a goblin in the shoulder. He went down with a shrill cry.

Declan placed her back on her f
eet and she turned to see a narrow stone bridge. Elirana and Chase had already made it to the other side. A deep black trench that seemed endless in depth stretched for miles under the bridge. Willow swallowed thickly. It was
really
dark. One wrong step and she’d fall, but the bridge looked like the only way to get to the other side. “Don’t just stand there! GO! GET ACROSS!” Declan yelled at her suddenly, startling Willow. He had some serious anger issues at the moment.

“
Don’t tell me what to do!” Willow yelled back shakily, unable to help it. She fed off his energy, and right now, he was giving off some really strong domineering vibes. What was his problem? Didn’t he know how scared she was? Yelling at her was not helping!

“JUST DO IT!” D
eclan roared and Willow cringed. “NOW!” Her eyes widened as she saw the goblins only feet away now. She started to walk across the bridge hesitantly, because she was not one for heights, and it was a long, long way down. If she slipped and fell, that would be the end of it. Her heart pounded in her chest from fear, and she heard Chase’s voice encouraging her across from where he stood safely on the other side. When she made it, she breathed heavily in relief and then turned around quickly to see what Declan was up to.

He had gone nearly halfway across the bridge and
just stood there! Green light was pulsing from him again, a deeper emerald color radiated from both hands. He crouched down and touched the bridge with those crafty hands. He was like a beacon in the dark, with the light surrounding him. The goblins yowled wildly and were going crazy as they finally reached the bridge and started running across. In their minds, victory was near. And they were probably right. The goblins outnumbered them twenty to one.

Closing his eyes,
Declan whispered something, talking down into the bridge. It was indistinguishable. But then his eyes snapped open and he turned and ran across the bridge to reach the others. Willow saw a small green light on the bridge that Declan had left? What was that?

Just as the goblins reached the area where Declan had been seconds before, a huge explosion detonated from the
green spot, blasting the bridge to pieces. Debris and rock went flying everywhere as the great BOOM created waves of energy and fire. The pressure of the explosion sent rubble soaring high up into the air at reckless speeds in every direction. The unfortunate goblins on the bridge fell to their doom with piercing screams. A billow of dust rose into the air. Declan knocked Willow to the ground on her stomach and covered her body with his as the burning rocks dropped to the ground. She felt electricity on her skin and the sounds of the crash muffled. A shield had gone up around them.

They stayed that way for a time until Declan squirmed on top of her getting ready to move. She’d like to say that the position she was in was uncomfortable, but that would be a lie.
Slowly, she felt his fingers entwining with hers, holding her hands in a completely submissive position. Declan pinning her down with his strength and gorgeous body made her feel protected and safe. The pressure of his body was heavy on her and she closed her eyes savoring this moment.

Both h
is protectiveness and possessiveness of her made her desire for him exponentially increase. She wanted his lips on hers everywhere. NOW. Her body was so tense with need for him, she wondered if Declan could sense it. Yet, every touch made her yearn for him more and more. He was her life saver, and right now, was extremely tempting. She hoped she could resist him enough on this journey before she gave into him completely. But Declan had come to her rescue once again and the walls she had built up against him were crumbling faster than the burning explosion of the bridge.

When Declan felt like it was safe to get up, he let down the shield and stood, pulling Willow up with him. She smiled awkwardly and looked around. The goblins were standing on the other side of the trench raising their weapons and screaming curses at them in their crude language. Elirana and Chase were safe, completely unharmed. Elirana looked as beautiful as ever-not sweaty, dirty, or disheveled like Willow was. Willow tried to tame her unruly auburn spirals with her hands, but her hair was so tangled a bird could set up a nest in it.

Chase was the first one to address the situation. “If
that
was Grungetown, I don’t even want to know what the town of Slaughters has to offer.”

“Agreed,” Elirana flattened her dress down with her hands, taking time to primp herself. Chase was practically drooling as he watched her run
her slender fingers through her long, shiny blonde hair.

Declan came up to Willow
and cupped her face suddenly so that she was forced to stare into his hazel eyes. “I’m sorry for yelling at you, Willow Tree. I had to make sure you were safe. I needed you to be safe. I was out of control, and in that time, took my rage out on you. It’s selfish of me to demand my will upon yours. I know you don’t like being told what to do, but we were almost killed and I could never forgive myself if it was my fault.”

Declan’s declaration took her by surprise.
She stepped back and Declan’s hands dropped from her face. “Your fault? Dec, none of this was your fault. Look around. You saved us!”

“I almost killed us…” he shook his head
and frowned.

“Those goblins almost killed
us. Let’s just get out of here,” she said watching the angry, hate-filled goblins continuing to stand on the edge of the wide gap. Some threw their spears at them, but the girth was too wide to reach them. Luckily, they didn’t have bows and arrows. They quickly turned away from the goblins and started speed walking in silence until their pursuers were no longer seen or heard.

Willow turned to Elirana. “
What was with you, Elf girl? How did you turn into a goblin?”

Elirana almost smirked at the nickname but responded as formal as ever. “The necklace I was wearing was an amulet allowing me to shift forms. It contained the magic of my people. I suppose its purpose is like that of your talisman
, channeling the magic when needed. When the goblin called Bagalug ripped it off me, the amulet’s power stopped and I immediately changed back to who I am.”

“Jealous you can’t shift into different forms at will anymore, Eli baby?” Chase teased.

“If I wanted to transform into a large, smelly beast with fleas, then no, I am not jealous.”

Willow giggled at Elirana’s insult to Chase. Elirana smiled brightly
as well, looking slightly conceited and Chase was choking on his laughter, trying not to laugh, but failing. The insult was aimed at him, after all. Even Declan laughed with everybody. It seemed to release a lot of stress and built up tension by joking about remedial things, even if it was at Chase’s expense.   

“
Wait,” Willow said. “What I don’t understand is how you knew where to find us? And the whole conversation about bringing us to a Master? What was that all about?”

“Well, the first thing you need to know is that after I changed forms, I followed the cart they had put you in into Grungetown. I saw them take you in the pub through the very same cellar door we exited from. While you were chained to the spiked wall, I was in goblin form milling about the pub. Goblins can be very open to talk and readily stab one another in the back. I gathered information that word had been sent to the Deadland King about your capture. Winged creatures were sent to the Dark Kingdom, as they called it, bearing the message of
their newfound hostages. Gossip buzzed around the city like a beehive. I soon learned that the King was sending someone to collect you. So there you have it. I acted as the one whom was sent by the King. Of course, that’s when it all became a bit complicated.” Elirana giggled. “Apparently I spoke too properly to pass as a goblin. Bagalug must have suspected something amiss.”

“Baby, you speak just fine to me,” Chase chimed in flirtatiously.

Elirana, along with everyone else, ignored him. “Deadland King?” Willow asked. “Who is he?”

“Apparently
a very important figure down here,” Elirana contemplated. “Perhaps that solves the mystery of who established the provinces in the Deadlands. I wish my army of A’minthrid Elves were here to put an end to this. They must know of this deception.”

“
Your
army?” Willow emphasized.

“Well, in a way, yes,” Elirana said looking off into the distance. “I am very well known by my kin
in my realm. I was Princess Aralee’s first handmaiden since I was a small Elfling. We grew up together, and she came to love and respect my knowledge and input in political affairs. When there was talk of war, My Lady always asked for my advice. Many of my suggestions reached the King’s ear and he acted upon them. She jokes that I single-handedly prevented many brutal battles. I was once engaged to be married to the Captain of the Guard, which would be a very prestigious position among our people.”

Chase growled dangerously low at that admission.
Willow was slightly awed listening to Elirana’s story, holding onto her every word, barely breathing. Elirana was giving away some of her past about the Elven race. That never happened. It proved that Elirana was starting to trust everyone in the group to give away such information. It was also enchanting, the way she spoke about her people. Willow could certainly listen to more, but it seemed like Elirana was done telling this story. It was strange hearing her recall her past, since many of her memories were ripped from her through magic.

Willow knew Elirana could be cured. She was itching to heal her fading mind, but stubborn Elirana refused. But maybe…just maybe, Eliran
a could heal herself from the memory loss. A feeling of rightness came with that revelation and Willow urged her further to dig into her mind and her memories.

“What was Princess Aralee
like?” she prompted and gave Chase a pointed look. Chase’s eyebrow jacked up when he caught her gaze, but he didn’t say anything, just continued walking closely to the Elf maiden.

“Um…” Elirana cleared her throat. “After the activities of the day, I am completely worn out and cannot continue this journey until I’ve had rest.
I know you all must be feeling the same. I see an area ahead where we may possibly have that rest, only about three miles away.”

“Whoa!”
Declan exclaimed beside Willow. “You can see that far ahead?”

“Of course,”
Elirana said facetiously. Willow got the hint that Elirana was done with the conversation and talking about her kin and past, so she didn’t press her further. They continued walking in silence until they came to what was actually a decent looking area to rest for the night. Elirana was right. The trees and plants were much denser here and there was a small rock face that they could rest their backs against, protecting their backs from oncoming intruders and being slightly concealed by the foliage.

There was no safe place in the Deadlands, but as the seconds turned into minutes, Willow
calmed the incessant fear in her mind that she was being stalked. She slowly massaged her legs, working out the cramps and sore areas. Her body had fully healed from earlier, but the aftereffects had kicked in and tiredness pulled heavily at her. She braided her sweaty, now greasy hair as the conversation shifted into deciding who would take first watch. Good old Chase volunteered and of course, Declan had to ream into him about it.

“You better use those senses you’re so proud about on your watch, Wolf. Don’t forget for one second what happened
last time when you promised us safety. You make me doubt the abilities and usefulness of Werewolves.”

“All I h
ear is blah blah blah Werewolves rock,” Chase said and settled in nicely beside Elirana. Elirana shifted away from him to lie down and Willow smiled at her rejection.

“I’d hate to have to kill you now
, but honestly, I don’t think anyone would care if you died or not. So I guess I’ll let you live to see another day.”

“Just remember to sleep with one eye open, Warlock. You never know who could be watching,” Chase threatened.

“Yeah, okay,” Declan said sarcastically and
laid down tucking his hands behind his head.

“I would miss you, Chase,” Willow
chimed in smiling sleepily and trying her hardest to keep her heavy lids open.

“Thanks Healer. I love you too.” Chase said. “Now sleep.” He didn’t have to t
ell her twice before Willow passed out cold.

So many nightmares surrounded
her unconscious thoughts. It was a restless night. Willow would dream of darkness and then see Hekate’s face and snap her eyes open. But she just saw canopy and the black night above her. Hekate’s face became more and more twisted in her dreams, until she became a mix between a Banshee and the beautiful Witch she once was. Hekate had the long black hair and pale features of that of the Banshee, so it was easy for her mind to form the horrifying, contorted images of the Dark Witch.

Somehow, Willow
had moved and found herself lying down awkwardly on her back. A rock on the ground had wedged itself into her side so that when she moved, her muscles strained and her bones cracked from stiffness. Unable to take it anymore, she sat up, found the rock, and harshly chucked it away from her.

“Happy now?” an amused
voice asked her. She squinted in the dark to see Declan watching her. It must’ve been his turn to stay up and search for dangers. She saw the others were sleeping in weird positions as well. Chase’s mouth was wide open and he was snoring softly.

“
Do I look happy to you?” Willow asked him groggily. She felt exhausted. She rubbed her tired, dry eyes. Willow was scared to sleep, even though she needed sleep more than anything right now.

“Come over here,” he prompted
sensitively.

Might as well,
she thought. There was no way she could fall back asleep where she was, so she stood up, stretched, and went over to sit closer to him.

“
So…you can’t sleep?” he asked her. Declan’s arms were wrapped around his knees. He gazed at her in the dark, studying her facial expressions.

“What gave it away
?” she muttered sarcastically.

“You were tossing and turning,” he shrugged, “…and talking. It was kind of entertaining.”

“I was?”

“Yeah,” he said. “You kept saying ‘stop’ or ‘don’t’ and a couple of times I saw you wake up. But then you fell right back asleep.”

“I was having nightmares,” she confessed, remembering the Witch Queen’s face in the dark and shuddered, “…of
her
.”

“
Willow,” he asked, “Are you feeling okay?”

“No,” she
said honestly, feeling tears prick her eyes. “I’m so tired, but I can’t sleep. She haunts me in my dream, Dec. Every single time I close my eyes she’s there. I’m scared. I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

“It’s the darkness
and fear inside of you,” Declan said so confidently.

“What?”
she asked confused.

“I couldn’t figure it out at first, but I think I’m beginning to understand.”

“What do you mean?”

“
You saw me tonight,” Declan shivered, even though the temperature of the Deadlands were hot and humid, far from being cold enough to cause chills. “How furious I was. How the thought of something happening to you turned me into some kind of fusion bomb. I was out of control, Willow. After the goblins fell in Grungetown, I immediately took your hand. Do you remember?” Willow nodded. “Well…I was sort-of testing this theory I have about you and me.”

“Okay, genius, lay it on me,” Willow smirked slightly.

Declan smiled and continued. “You are everything good. You heal, love, care for others, feel their hurt and take their pain upon yourself just to make them feel better. You are beautiful and selfless, kind, sympathetic. But you’re struggling with something. You won’t tell me what it is, but I can feel it. I believe it’s the darkness inside of you trying to take over. Something you feel, something you think will happen hinders you from your true potential. You let fear get in the way and you shut people out because of it.”

Willow stared at Declan shocked. He could tell she was conflicted about the future? Of the possibility of her living a lonely life healing creatures day in and day out because it was her destiny to do so? Of
her never being able to overcome Hekate and save her sisters? And all her insecurities about her powers? Willow cleared her dry throat. “And what about you?”

Declan chuckled darkly. “
Me? I’m just the opposite of you. I have darkness inside of me, letting it take over,
allowing
it to take over. I have rage that lies under my skin itching to burst forth and destroy everything that tries to take you from me. I have…bad intentions…plans to keep you all to myself and never let anyone else have you. I am jealous, overbearing, and when the darkness takes over me, I am unstoppable. The thought of being without you drives me crazy.”