Enchanting Wilder (30 page)

Noah scratches his chin, his beard a dark brown color like his cold eyes. “Maker wants a war. Why?”

“Is there any other reason to go to war?” Mrs. Carlson laughs. “For power. She wants to rule.”

“The world?”
God, I sound so naïve.

“The world, Beneath, Heaven. All of it.”

“Heaven?” Noah coughs and clears his throat. “That’s not possible.”

“Oh? But it is. Our army has grown quite a bit since the last time.”

My eyes narrow and our heads whip to Noah. He doesn’t respond.
What the hell is happening?

“How much has it grown?”

“We’ve grown triple in size. Maybe more.”

Noah laughs. “We outnumber you tenfold still.”

“You know that won’t matter when they find out.”

“It’s not going to happen. All the information in the world won’t change the outcome. You know her heart,” Noah boasts convincingly.

“Not anymore, it’s been tainted.” Mrs. Carlson’s mouth turns down in a disgusted manner.

“Some would disagree,” Noah gloats.

Who? What are they talking about? Who are they talking about?

“Dad, what’s going on?” Declan finally asks.

“Later,” Noah snaps and returns his eyes to Mrs. Carlson. “Why does it matter if she knows or not? She’s already proven herself more times than we could have asked for.”

“All it takes is one flip of the switch, and BAM. Done.”

Noah shakes his head, stuffing his knife back in his jacket pocket. “No. We’ve been under close watch for years. Her heart is pure.”

“Maybe now, but a heart could be easily changed.”

“Shut up, demon,” Noah warns.

“I’m just telling you what you don’t want to hear. You know what I’m saying is true.”

“We will see.”

“And the boy?” Mrs. Carlson quirks an eyebrow. “Will you tell him? It’s getting out of hand now. He should have known a decade ago.”

Noah turns away, rubbing between his eyes. “This is pointless.”

“What’s she talking about, dad?” Declan asks again, his voice trembling.

“Son,” Noah says carefully, turning to look at him. “Now is not the time.”

“Why?” he challenges, getting close to his face. “Dad, does he know you? Do you know him?”

“Dad,” Wood warns.

Heart thrashing in my chest, both scared and uneasy, my flight or fight instinct is about to take over.

“Oo, the drama of it all,” Mrs. Carlson taunts. “Would you like me to tell him, Noah?”

Noah reaches for a blade in his jacket pocket, moving quickly to the trap.

The room goes dead silent and then everything happens at once. Noah rushes Mrs. Carlson. Declan grabs Noah’s arm. Wood stands between Declan and Noah as if some sort of barrier. Candy rushes to me, and Kai stands alone outside the mouse trap on high alert, his eyes wide.

Dripping sounds off in the distance distract me for a short second while the wind howls through the wooden door above the stairs.

Noah thrashes against Declan, pulling out of his grasp. We all inhale when Noah steps into the mouse trap.

“Dad, stop,” Wood says.

Sweat breaks out on Declan’s forehead, the tiny beads shining in the dull light. His hands tremble as he watches his dad stomp with certainty to the demon.

“That little pig sticker won’t kill me, and you know it,” Mrs. Carlson says, malevolence lacing her every syllable.

Kai steps up, his voice a little wobbly. “It’ll put you down long enough for me to get the job done.” Kai looks to Noah, his eyes bright blood red. “Do it.” The panic in his voice makes me wonder if he knows what Mrs. Carlson wants to say.

Noah’s eyebrows furrow and he reaches for Mrs. Carlson, her tired and dilapidated body not in any state to fight back. He pulls her from the ground, onto her feet, and brings the knife to her throat.

I take a quick glance at Declan. His hands are fisted and his nostrils flared.

“Your parents are in Beneath,” she says to me, her body shuddering. “You promised you’d let me free.”

“They lied,” Noah says, and his eyes flash to Declan who rolls his shoulders.

“How do we get to Beneath?” I ask, stepping closer. If she’s going to die, I need answers now. The look in Noah’s eyes is enough to tell me Mrs. Carlson doesn’t have much time. Was this Declan’s plan all along?

Maybe he’s just as lethal as Noah…

“You’ll know…” Mrs. Carlson advises.

“That’s enough!” Noah cautions, the knife’s pressure starting to slice her skin.

Mrs. Carlson snickers and thrusts out her chest. “You don’t want me to tell Declan he’s a…”

Noah clenches her jaw shut and his eyes dart to Declan. Swiftly, he pulls the blade away from her throat and plunges it deep into her heart, stunning us all.

“What the hell, Dad?” Declan says, dumbfounded. “We weren’t done.”

Wood covers his mouth. “Holy shit.”

Kai rushes the mouse trap in a black blur, moving to Mrs. Carlson’s body. Noah drops her to the ground and walks out of the cellar, his head down and hand swiping away the sweat on his forehead. He doesn’t look at any of us as he ascends the stairs.

Mumbling an incantation I’ve never heard, Kai positions his hands over Mrs. Carlson’s limp body. Within seconds, a bright glow of red light surrounds her, swirling around, and she screams, pounding on the ground with her lifeless fists.

Kai turns his head toward me, knowing I’m confused as to how the body is moving already. “It’s the demon fighting to get out. That knife won’t kill it.” He’s screaming now. “We have to kill the soul.” The magic overpowers our space. It hugs us, pushing our good into the demon.

Declan squints against the wind, and rushes up the stairs to find his dad.

“Wood!” I yell. “What’s happening?”

He shakes his head, somber, not taking his eyes off Kai. “Just let him go.”

I breathe in and move to Candy. “We have to help Kai.”

“But his eyes…”

That worries me, too. They’ve turned their deadly shade of red. Demonic magic can’t be good. “I know. But we have to help him.”

She nods apprehensively, her clammy hand grabbing mine.

My boots stomp heavy against the cement trap.

Listening carefully to Kai, I mentally say the incantation in my head. Once I have it down, I take hold of Candy’s other hand and move over Kai and Mrs. Carlson. “Ready?”

“I think I have it!” Candy yells.

I nod and close my eyes. “Ejiatco daemonia, extermati soont.”

Over and over, with the help of Kai, the red light starts to engulf us in its power.

Unlike Strix magic, this feels different. This pulls from my insides, tugging on my desires, my insecurities, my fear. I don’t like it, but I can also feel myself growing more powerful. The sensation working its way into my veins, coursing through my blood; it energizes my soul. From the inside out, I feel commanding. I demand it. I don’t want to crave this feeling—but I do. I like it.

“McKenna stop!” Candy shouts at me. I hadn’t realized but I’d let her hand go and I was producing the magic all by myself.

I sneer, and then comprehend what I’m doing, shaking my head of the magic. “Oh my God.”

Kai stands, moving away from the motionless body of Mrs. Carlson, his eyes back to their chocolate color. “That’s enough McKenna.”

I cover my mouth, my cheeks burning from embarrassment. “I’m sorry.”

I don’t know exactly what I’m sorry for, but what I do know is that overwhelming feeling isn’t something I should have embraced.

Kai moves to me, his hands up. “It’s okay. Take a deep breath and take hold of Candy’s hands. Channel her.”

Candy gulps, her eyes huge.

“O…okay.”

My hands burn the moment they touch her cold hands. The instinct to pull them away overpowers me. But I don’t.

“Channel her,” Kai demands. “Now.”

Breathing in through my nose and out my mouth, Candy begins to chant. Clearing my mind of all thoughts, worries and embarrassment, her cool, tranquil emotions blanket me like the darkness that was just housed in my body. She pushes and shoves into me, forcing me to hold her emotions.

I can’t help the desire to push them back. Reject her.

There’s a tug of war raging inside my body and I’m not sure who I want to win.

Finally, after long minutes of chanting, Candy stops and I’m able to fully breathe again, the weight of the bad leaving my body. I let go of her hands and step back, feeling naked and exposed.

“What was that?” Candy roars.

I blink rapidly. “I…I don’t know.”

Kai rushes to me. “We don’t have time for that now. We have to find Declan.”

“Where’s Wood?” I ask.

“He left a while ago.” His eyes downcast and he crosses his arms over his body.

I didn’t even notice.

Candy backs away from me slowly, a stern expression on her face. “Come on.”

Pulling my leather jacket tight around my body, I follow behind her and Kai as we make our way up the steps outside. White pieces of snow flurries around us, and I tug my scarf higher on my face. The tall evergreens move and sway in the harsh wind. It pierces my uncovered skin, prickling me with its tiny icicles.

None of us say a word as we make our way down the dirt path to the house, each of us in our own world.

We find Wood sitting outside the house on a white rocking chair, a scowl deep on his forehead. His blue jeans are creased from the long day of sitting in the car, and there are splatters of mud on his University of Denver hoodie. His feet bounce with nervousness as rocks he back and forth.

“Hey,” he says when he notices us walking up the porch.

“Where’s Declan?” I ask.

Wood points to the house with this thumb. “Talking to dad.”

I bite my lip and pull fretfully at my jacket. I feel awkward being around Candy and Kai after the way I acted. “I’m going to use the bathroom.”

Candy opens her mouth to say something, but I turn away from her quickly and race into the house. Before I close the front door I hear her say, “She’s acting strange.”

Understatement. I’m feeling so unlike myself, I might need to sit down.

The kitchen is empty as I make my way farther into the house, and the downstairs bathroom is locked.

Taking off my jacket and hanging it on the back of the couch, I quietly make my way upstairs. Declan’s room is on the right side of the house, so I decide to head left, figuring I should probably stay clear of it. I’m sure that’s where him and his dad are talking.

More family pictures decorate the walls on this side of the house. Most of them Declan and Wood at various ages. I stop at one, and touch my finger to it. Declan’s smile is so bright. It couldn’t be more than a few years old. He and his dad are sitting in a boat with a fish on the line, and Noah has his arm wrapped around Declan’s shoulders.

So carefree.

The third door on the left reveals a marvelous bathroom. My bladder sings its praises. Closing the door behind me, I quickly do my business.

When I’m done, I walk to the sink and stare at my reflection in the mirror.

The mascara under my eyes makes me look a couple years older and my scowl ages me more years than I like to admit. I straighten myself up, I replace my grimace with a smile and erase the black smudges with my finger. The water runs over my hands and I pat my neck, staring down at the running water. It’s so cold outside, but, in here, the heater must be turned up because sweat is beginning to form on my face. When my eyes meet the mirror again, the woman staring back at me in the reflection isn’t me. She looks like me, but her eyes are red like Kai’s and her teeth are long and pointed. She snarls, her face contorting into something that resembles a monster.

I inhale deeply and fling my body back with teeth-shattering force, my back hitting the doorknob. I quietly shriek in pain. Closing my eyes to the point of discomfort, I will my body to settle down.

The hairs on the back of my neck and my arms stand at attention and my breaths come out in shallow wheezes.

That wasn’t me. That wasn’t me.
I repeat on a loop in my head.

That wasn’t me.

That wasn’t me.

God, that looked a helluva lot like me.

I shake my head of those thoughts. It must have been the magic. The way it made me feel, it had an effect on me. I can’t do that type of magic anymore.

Demonic magic.
Is that what Manifestation is?

No. No. I put both of my hands on the side of my face. I didn’t like the way it felt as the power flowed through my body.

Stop it!
I press the palms of my hands into my eyes. Bursts of color fills the blackness behind my eyelids.

“Seelias a me, fuut me, pasis,” I chant, putting my head between my knees.
Calm me. Make me peaceful.
Over and over. I repeat it.