Reawakened (Chronicles of Cas Book 1) (11 page)

After a while, the coven members retreated. Gigi stayed until the High Priestess came running back in and making sure she followed out after her. I didn't care. I barely even looked up. Gigi was not an ally, and she most definitely was not my friend.

How did I get in this mess? It was fucking Green Eyes' fault. If he hadn't lied to me, I wouldn't have stormed off all by myself.

I gasped. Oh my god. I knew Green Eyes' real name. I could call him. Warn everyone what was going to happen. Maybe he could even help me get the fuck out of here.

"Troian," I croaked out, trying to sit up again. Nothing happened. "Troian!" I yelled.

Finally, the air around me shimmered. My heart exploded in my chest.

Before he was even fully visible, he began to talk. "I hate non-fae folk. This is why I don't want anyone knowing my name. God--...Cas." He fell to his knees beside me once he got his bearings. "Are you okay?"

I struggled to sit up and he helped. When I cried out in pain because of the wire around my wrists, he looked behind me and within a few moments, he released me from them. I pulled my hands to the front and held my left wrist. "The Wiccans caught me. They're planning to break the ley line for good for complete control of Salem. It's going down tomorrow night. I don't know where. Go. Tell them."

"Are you--?"

"Now."

He closed his eyes and then he was gone. I stood on shaky feet and then went for the door. An invisible force field around the pentagram in the middle of the room stopped my forward movement. I went around the whole circle, there were no weak spots. It was solid. I was trapped. Still.

I sat back down in the middle of the room and held my head. Powerlessness enveloped me. It wasn't a good feeling.

A hand on my shoulder brought me back to the present. I jumped and scooted away, but it was just Troian.

"What did they say?"

He took a vial out of his pocket. I recognized it immediately. It was the same stuff I used on Jake when he got hurt trying to take out Earth Man. He poured it on my wrists and they immediately stopped throbbing and healed. He capped it and then stuck it back in his pocket. "The Wiccans had already been in touch with them. It's going down on Gallows Hill tomorrow night. They want the amber stone." I was already shaking my head, but he stopped me. "I know. They know. None of them can touch it and they wouldn't even if they could. They're glad you're okay. Especially the shifter."

"Jake," I said.

"Yeah. Him. He's a little agitated." He sat next to me. "I'm going to stay here with you until they come for you."

"You're not going to get me out of here?"

"They think it's best that you stay. Right now, we have information they don't. We know you're okay. We know they're taking you for the ritual and we'll get you back then. The necromancer--Frankie--has what he needs. We're going to wait until the line is vulnerable and then shut it down for good."

"You're...going to stay with me?"

He shrugged. "I was ordered to."

I nodded. I didn't care if he was ordered to or no. I was just glad to have someone there with me.

We had a plan. That was good. With the Elite, I was sure it was well thought out and would go down smoothly. By evening tonight, I'd be free, and the ley line would be safe--all despite me. Maybe I wasn't cut out to be a Guardian. When Damen... I swallowed, my emotions were trying to take over. I took a deep breath. Maybe when Damen returned, he should take over the whole thing and I could stick to what I was good at, being a librarian for humans.

"They have Damen, too," I told Troian. "They didn't tell me where, but they plan on getting rid of both of us after they turn the ley line on so that they can have complete control over Salem."

"Don't worry about that. We'll find your brother."

I shivered. Troian put his arm around me. "Why don't you get some sleep? Rest up for later."

Nodding, I scooted over and laid my head in his lap. The floor was hard, but at least his lap was like a pillow for my head.

I never thought I'd be saying that about a fae.

Chapter Seventeen

I awoke to my head bouncing off the cement and my hands tied around my back again. I heard a rushed, "Sorry", before the door to my current prison opened and Zion, the High Priestess, and her followers appeared. They ushered me outside.

It was dark again. Lamely, I wondered how long I'd been sleeping. I hoped the Elite were ready to kick some ass. I hoped they brought a weapon for me. I was pretty sure the stupid coven took my dagger.

Bitches.

The dew on the Gallows Hill clearing shimmered in the moonlight. The Elite were already there. I spotted Alec and Jake in front. Troian was in the back, his blond hair practically glowing in the twilight.

One of the Wiccans stayed my hand as the High Priestess walked forward. Alec met her. "Do you have the stone?"

He nodded.

"We are a coven who keeps our word. The girl for the stone."

"Bullshit," I said.

The witch holding me squeezed my hand, making the wire cut into me again. I sucked air in through my teeth as the pain shot up my arm.

"We're prepared to hand her over."

I wanted to roll my eyes. They didn't plan on giving me up. The Elite knew that though. There was no way the Elite had the stone either. It just wasn't possible. I guess all was fair in magical wars.

Behind me, I felt a tug on the wires binding me and they fell away. Next, I felt the hilt of a blade. A familiar hilt. I turned slightly. Gigi had just placed my dagger in my hand.

Not wasting any time, I slashed out at the witch next to me who fell. Then, I crouched and aimed for the High Priestess. My blade soared through the air and stuck in her lower back. I had aimed for her spine, but she moved at the last second.

After that, all hell broke loose. The Elite ran forward, weapons drawn. The Wiccans raised their hands and did everything in their power to stop the onslaught. An Elite to the left fell as the Wiccan in front of him moved the Earth. All around the Wiccans, a crack formed so wide none of the Elite could jump over. Those with long distance weapons tried using them, but the same thing that kept me in the pentagram last night, kept their weapons from penetrating us.

Shit.

I ran toward the High Priestess to retrieve the only weapon I had in this place when I was frozen mid-stride. She bent forward and pulled the blade from her back, tossing it aside. She held her palm over the injury and it immediately healed. Bitch had more powers than I remembered.

She spun, her eyes narrowed in on me. "They don't have the stone."

"They can't get the stone. Only I can."

Her gaze switched back and forth between me and Gigi. I was sure the wheels in her head were turning. She'd realize soon enough who helped me get free of my restraints and gave me my weapon.

"Get it," she said through clenched teeth. "Get me the stone."

"Hell no," I spat.

Her hand shot out and a blast of energy hit me square in the chest. I flew backward and landed in the damp grass. Jake shouted my name along with someone else.

Before I could even get back up, Zion leaned over me, her hand around my throat. "If you give me the stone, I'll tell you where your brother is."

"Do you think I'm stupid? You said you wanted us dead. For all I know, he's already dead."

Her hands dug into my skin, blocking precious air. "I said
wanted
you dead, not needed you dead. I'm willing to give you a stay as long as we have the stone in our possession. I know where he is. I'll tell you."

I hacked at her arm. "I don't believe you."

Her eyes rounded and then glowed an eerie green. "I promise, in the gaze of Hecate, that I will tell you where your brother is as long as you hand over the stone."

Gigi inhaled sharply behind me. Zion meant it. I could tell. She'd just sworn some kind of oath that I didn't understand, but I knew she'd give me my brother's whereabouts if I gave up the stone. If I gave her the stone though, I'd be giving up Salem. I'd be giving up my life's--my family's--work.

I closed my eyes as the High Priestess's grip loosened. "If you don't, I'll make sure he dies."

My brother or Salem? Family, or duty that had been ingrained in me?

I remembered what my Grandfather said when he came to visit me. "Do what's right. Always do what's right."

I pulled my knees up and kicked out. Zion flew through the air. I didn't wait to see where she landed. I rolled toward my blade and stood. The Priestess was already up, her hand outstretched. "Wrong decision, Guardian."

She was right. But both decisions were wrong. The history of Salem was more than just Damen and me. The safety of everyone here was more than just Damen and me.

My heart ripped open. Anger singed my veins. I ran forward. Her power was able to stop me. A little. It was as if I were running in slow motion. She stared down at her hand and then she concentrated harder. Remarkably, I could still move. I kept trudging along as if I was stepping through quicksand, but I kept at it, kept moving. I switched the grip of the dagger in my hand, Michael Myers style, and moved forward. All at once, her powers broke. I lunged forward and slammed the blade into her chest.

I fell with her onto the grass. Blood trickled out the side of her mouth. Her eyes glazed over as she stared into the night sky. "You've sealed his fate."

I pulled the blade from her chest and spun. Around me, the Elite had found their way over the chasm and were attacking the coven. We weren't aiming to capture this time. We were aiming to kill.

Jake dodged a stone that was magically thrown at his head. He took out his long sword and cut the head of the witch clean off. Troian was caught in an empty-handed battle with a male witch. I was running over to help when Alec caught my eye. He had Gigi.

I stopped. "No, Alec!"

He looked back at me, confused.

"She helped me."

Gigi closed her eyes in relief until they shot open again.

Alec took a few steps back.

A red stain expanded on her stomach, soaking her shirt. The point of a knife stuck through her abdomen. When she dropped to her knees, the second Wiccan in command stood over her, smiling. "That's for betraying us."

"No!" I screamed.

Chapter Eighteen

Alec used his sword to cut the witch clean through.

I ran toward Gigi, who lay on the grass gasping for air. Blood bubbled from her mouth. I took her hand and squeezed. Hers was limp in mine.

She closed her eyes and then opened them again. "I--"

"Shh. It's okay." I searched the clearing for Troian. Last I knew he had the necromancer's healing liquid. I didn't know if it could heal this kind of would, but wasn't that what magic was for. "Troian!" I called.

A small pressure on my hand caught my attention. "I'm sorry, Cas. I didn't--I didn't know."

I stroked her hair from her eyes. "It's okay." I turned my head and called for Troian again.

Gigi shook her head. "I'm so-rry."

She stopped. Her head lulled to the side and there was no indication of life in Gigi's hand anymore. She just stopped. She ceased to be.

I rose, shaking from head to toe. I blanked out. I saw nothing except for the terrified looks of witches as I removed them from this life. Like Gi, they were no more. I stabbed them, I cut them, I ended them until I stood in the middle of the clearing breathing heavily among all the other Elites. We'd done what we'd came here to do.

The witches were gone and the ley line was back to normal.

Frankie stepped out of the woods when we started burning the bodies. He didn't have to tell us he'd done his part. We could tell. As soon as the Zion's powers had gone out when I faced her, I knew we'd won. Everything would go back to normal now.

Except there was no more Gigi. The town had gone through one hell of an experience. There would be clean up work to do there. And of course, I'd given up my brother's freedom, possibly his life, to save them all.

An arm fell around my shoulders and Jake pulled me close. "I heard what you did. You have more courage than anyone I know."

I nodded, unable to speak.

"We'll find him."

"I hope so."

"I know so."

He kissed my forehead and then released me. We grabbed the remaining bodies and threw them on the growing pyre. After they were all burning, I watched the flames lick the sky and made a promise.

"I'm coming for you, Damen. And I will take down whoever did this to us."

The Guardians all around me, including Troian, inclined their heads toward me. I didn't know if they would all be there to help, but in that moment, I knew I had their backing. I had it within me to go out there and kick some ass to find my brother. And that's just what I was going to do.

THE END