Spring Rain (28 page)

“I was going to do it until I found out it
was you,” she rushed on. “He said he’d kill my father. But when we
met … when I …” Her words choked her, and she stopped.

Her confession sparked both new anger at
Gordon and a deeper understanding of the level of her suffering.
Beck rested his chin on top of her head, unable to fathom what she
had been through the past few years. “Morgan, I understand,” he
said gently. “You did nothing wrong.”

“But I was going to!”

“But you didn’t,” he said with a small
smile. “Is your father okay?”

She nodded. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m proud of you, Morgan,” he whispered,
aching for her. “You’re so strong, so sweet. So good.” He lifted
her chin and gazed into her green eyes. There were tears on her
cheeks, and the mask had slid away to reveal her pain. “I swear, on
my soul and my life, no one will ever hurt you again.”

Her lips parted in a soft sigh. “I believe
you.”

He kissed her gently then hugged her once
more, uncertain if he had ever felt so blessed in his life. He held
the heart and trust of the damaged, beautiful woman in his arms
whose fire had driven him crazy since shortly after meeting.

The distant rumble of thunder worried him.
The storm was closing fast, and Morgan couldn’t cross onto the
Light campus where she’d be safe. Gordon and Dawn were on the
outside, and both had a reason to track her down.

“I need to get you somewhere safe,” he said
and called for his fog.

“No.” Morgan drew a deep breath, struggling
to steady herself. “Sam … Sam taught me how I can protect your
baby, but I need you to help me. I think the same binding spell we
use on the stone will work for your baby. Five elements, two
Masters.”

Beck gazed down at her, not expecting her to
admit she needed him after her flat denials about protecting him.
“You’re not safe here, Morgan.”

“Together, Beck.” She searched his gaze.
“You said we can do this together.”

He smiled, touched by her willingness to
help him, and cupped her cheek in his hand. It was dangerous for
her to remain, dangerous for her if Dawn wasn’t dealt with. He
didn’t know what was the smartest decision, but he knew he’d rather
have Morgan close than risk someone finding her if he sent her
away.

And … he couldn’t lose her again. “Okay.
Together.”

She wiped her face with one hand. “Thank you
for … Gordon.”

“We protect each other, right?”

“Right.” She drew a breath, her
vulnerability replaced by determination. “Look.” Her magick surged.
Instead of taming it, Beck let it flow through him, cautious of the
moment when she lost control.

She lifted one hand. It blazed blue then
purple then pure, blinding light. She threw a flame into the air
over their heads – and it soared back to the source of Light. He
felt the tiny surge of magick as it dropped into the pool of Light
beneath the school, a drop in a lake, but a drop large enough to
cause ripples that moved through him.

“Did you just …” Beck drifted off, staring
first at the school then at her. “My god, Morgan.”

She nodded. “But I can’t control it. Sam
says only you can. I can burn hot enough to create Light,
especially when I’m upset. Which is kind of often.”

Beck kissed her, astonished by the ability
he didn’t know existed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and
surrendered instantly, her body molding to his and her fire magick
accepting his earth without resistance.

“Yo.” Connor sounded unhappy.

Remembering they were in the middle of the
driveway, Beck lifted his head without releasing Morgan. Breathing
heavily, they rested their foreheads against one another.

“I know you’re dating my sister and you are
the Master of Light, Beck, but I’ll still kill you if you do
anything to hurt her.”

Beck smiled. “I won’t. I promise.”

Morgan managed a smile in return, her
trembling gone though he saw the troubled expression that hadn’t
quite left her.

Cold rain began to fall, and Beck looked up.
The black clouds were at the edge of the driveway, closing in on
the school.

“I know where I can take you for now,” he
said. “It’s close.” Without waiting for her to object, he swept
them away with his white fog and took her to the tree house where
he’d been staying during their separation. He released her when
they materialized. Concern replaced all other emotion as he looked
up. The cold rain was here, too, and where it hit the ground, puffs
of black fog resembling Decker’s shadows popped up.

“This isn’t natural,” Morgan said and bent
to run her fingers through the fog.

“It’s not,” he agreed. “I’m not sure how
we’re supposed to take on Dawn or what this is.” Rain avoided him
and the fog shied away as he walked, bending to his Light.

“If we capture her, we can protect your
baby.”

“And Bartholomew?”

Morgan hesitated. “Maybe we can cage him,
too, with the soul stone then bind it to keep him there.”

I don’t think it’ll work
that way.
He wasn’t able to reject or
fully accept Sam’s insistence Dawn was gone and only Bartholomew
remained in her body. If it were true, then there was no way to
separate Bartholomew’s soul from Dawn’s, and both were too far gone
to survive if Morgan tried to burn the Darkness out of them. “Where
the hell is Decker?” he grumbled and pulled his phone free. His
twin hadn’t responded to him yet, but he had a note from Summer and
one from an unknown number whose identity he didn’t have to
guess.

I’ve got Decker and Biji. You want them to
live? Come to Miner’s Drop.

Biji’s in trouble,
Summer texted.

Beck paled. “I have to go.”

“Beck, I can help!” Morgan insisted.

“You will.” He touched her face once more.
“But there are certain things only I can do. I promise to come back
to get you when it’s our time to work together.”

She was gazing up at him with the same odd
expression he had twice seen on Amber’s face, as if she realized it
was the Master talking and not him. Morgan kissed him lightly on
the lips.

“Together,” she reminded him. “Or you’re cut
off.”

He laughed, startled by her fiery claim.
“Something tells me that’s not true.” He winked. “But I’ll be sure
to obey you just in case.”

“Go on. Leave me here in the forest with
your pet bigfoot.” She stepped away.

He had the urge to stay,
to kiss her until she melted for him again. There was nothing more
arousing than her complete surrender, the sweet-spicy mix of fire
and trust that left him fevered. Everything about Morgan, from her
challenging gaze to her small pout and the scent of both of them on
his skin left him yearning for her with need he had never
experienced before. He wanted …
needed
to claim all of her, her
body, fire, soul.

With difficulty, he shifted away. “I’ll be
back.” His senses were too filled with her for him to manage
anything more romantic. Before he changed his mind and stayed, Beck
left.

He materialized on the cliff where Summer
had jumped last summer and crouched, taking in the situation below.
Over a dozen Dark witchlings, Noah, Dawn … he didn’t see Biji or
Decker from this angle, and he rose, backing away to search the
surrounding area.

This is it,
he thought.
This is
where we either cage Bartholomew or lose the Light.

Morgan watched the fog sweep him away, not
certain what exactly she felt. Gratitude, humiliation, anger and
…

Something warmer, deeper whenever she
thought of Beck that replaced the negative emotions normally
tormenting her. He was her peace and Light in a world she wanted to
lock out. She didn’t understand how he was so calm in the face of
someone like Gordon when her reaction was to crawl inside herself
and shrivel up until it was over.

The rain pelted her, and she retreated into
the tree through the small opening of the trunk. Inside was warm,
dry and clean. It smelled of Beck, and she sat in front of kindling
in need of nothing more than a spark.

Morgan lit the fire with her magick and sat
back, torn between wanting to listen to Beck and remain where she
was and feeling excluded when she knew she could help. She pulled
the soul stone out of her pocket and placed it at the center of her
hand. She summoned the magick and pushed it hotter and hotter,
until the white fire appeared. Rather than float off towards the
Light source, she did her best to keep it in place, to surround the
soul stone so its coldness could no longer hurt anyone.

She struggled. Sam had said her magick was
too powerful for her to control without help, but she thought
otherwise, that she was simply too weak. She envisioned it working
and tried to recreate the feeling herself of being grounded and
warm whenever Beck touched her.

She burned hotter until she was sweating and
molded the magick the best she could before releasing it with a
sigh. The Whitefire floated out of the tree towards the school –
except for a thin film that remained, clinging to the soul stone.
She tested it. The stone remained cold but was no longer
freezing.

“All that effort …” she sighed. If she
couldn’t shield a rock, how was she going to shield a baby that was
much more susceptible to being burnt than the stone? Troubled,
Morgan set the rock into the fire. The flames avoided it and
dimmed, their heat stolen by the stone. “My curse, my companion.”
She picked up the stone, disappointed in herself. Beck’s magick
touched everyone around him and made them better, happier
people.

She envied him for more than this.

Stoking the fire until the flames were
purple, she replaced the stone in the center. This time, the flames
could handle its coldness. The binding was working, at least a
little, since it didn’t snuff out the fire.

Eyes on the mesmerizing blaze, Morgan
thought hard for another moment about how to help Beck. The buzz of
her cell distracted her, and she pulled it out.

You didn’t show last night.

Morgan muttered a curse. She was supposed to
meet Dawn and ended up turning her brother Light instead. She
debated how to respond before texting the truth about where she’d
been the night before.

You did that?

Morgan almost laughed, sensing either Dawn
or Bartholomew was surprised. And then it hit her – Dawn already
knew Noah was Light. Which meant …

She pulled up Noah’s new contact information
and texted him to see where he was.

He’s with me,
came the response from Dawn.
Bartholomew taught me a few things. Like how to block Decker.
How to block Beck. Noah and Biji are with me. How about a trade
since no one else can help them? You for them? Find me at Miner’s
Drop.

Morgan’s heart fell. She hadn’t yet
recovered from Gordon’s sudden appearance, and she feared running
into him again if she did as Dawn wanted.

But Biji … Noah …

She was on her feet before she consciously
made up her mind. Morgan stepped into the cold rain and drew on her
magick to warm her before summoning a flame in her palm. She fed it
until it was white then tossed it up in the air to watch which
direction it flew. She had no other way to gauge where she was. It
headed to the east and sparked lightning when it moved through the
shield Beck had created. If she followed the perimeter of the
shield, she’d be able to find the road.

She hurried back into the tree to grab the
stone out of the fire and paused, considering. As far as she knew,
no other fire witchling could summon purple or white flames, which
might also mean they couldn’t tolerate or control them. How would
the fire stand up to other elements? If she dropped the stone into
the middle of a white fire, would the white flames rebuke other
magick?

Pocketing the stone, she left the tree and
made her way through the forest towards the shield. She bumped into
it, bounced back a foot and trailed her fingers along the invisible
barrier. It wasn’t just the rain soaking her clothing or the black
fog at her feet that left her feeling cold but the sad
acknowledgement she’d never be able to set foot on the Light
campus. No amount of fire would purge the soul stone and she would
never risk Beck or his Light by trying to find a means to take the
rock onto the campus again.

Wishing Sam was there to clear a path,
Morgan moved as fast as she could through the trees, bramble and
mud, using the shield as a guide. Her magick kept her warm, and her
gaze was as much on the tiny fireworks caused by her touch on the
shield as the gathering fog.

The Darkness was getting thicker, its
tendrils butting up against the Light and eliciting sparks and
lightning. It was a solid blanket on the ground now, past her ankle
and growing with the rain.

Morgan glanced at the sky and the unusual
black clouds billowing overhead. It was definitely not a natural
storm, though what it was, she didn’t know.

Half an hour later, she reached the driveway
leading up to the school and stopped inside the forest.

There were Dark witchlings everywhere on the
driveway, their cars blocking the path to the school. More fog was
here, and lightning shot off the shield as they tried to attack
it.

Her chest tightened at the thought of Beck
facing them alone, even though she knew it was his duty as the
Master of Light. It was unbearable to think she only had one night
with him and today, they might lose to the Darkness once and for
all.

There must be a way to
cage Bartholomew into the soul stone so we can bind him, without
killing Dawn,
she thought desperately and
eased back from the road before anyone saw her. She walked parallel
to the driveway towards the street leading into town. Her thoughts
flew back to her classes, where she’d learned some of the history
of the Masters and Mistresses of Dark and Light. The soul stone was
created because of Bartholomew, to capture his soul initially after
he unleashed Darkness. It worked once; it could work
again.