Ignite (Circle of Light Book 2) (12 page)

“You can hear it better than we can because the song is meant for you, my love.”  Eric said with worry filling his eyes.  I focused harder on the words I was hearing, trying to give the others a sense of what it all meant. 

Bailey is going to die.

I am going to kill her.

Come out of the house Queen.

Come meet your fate.

I listened as the girl sang the words repeatedly.  It was an incredibly chilling feeling to hear someone singing about killing me, but this time I didn’t panic.  I wanted them to understand that I was not just some kid they could mess with any time they liked.  I am a Queen in the Circle of Light and I will be damned if I let some evil thing cause the destruction of good.

I shuddered when I heard my parents pull up to the house.  Thankfully, the witches had already heard them coming down the road and cast the invisibility spell on everyone but Eric and myself. 

I also knew that no harm could come to them outside.  That was taken care of as well.  I owe my new friends my life for what they are doing for the whole world and us.

I was definitely going to have to find a way to repay them when this is all over and done with.  But first, I was going to have to deal with all of the other mess that was going on.

When my parents came in, I could tell that my mother was exhausted.  Eric and I acted as if nothing was going on, although the singing had become louder in my ears.  The sound was burning into my mind and it was getting harder to ignore it.  I have to hold on as long as I can, but I wasn’t sure as to how that was going to be. 

“It has been a long day sweetie, and I think I’m going to go on to bed.”  My mother said to me after letting out a yawn.  My father agreed and they both went upstairs.

Eric and I waited a moment before saying anything, just because we were not sure if they were going to come back downstairs or not.  I hope that they wouldn’t.

Several minutes passed as we waited.  I heard one of the witch s invisible whisper come to me, 
I put a sleep spell on them.  They won’t see or hear anything.   That fact eased the worry I was having about them getting up and seeing some of the guests that were in the house with us. 

Right then, the singing got to the point to where I was certain if it got any worse my head was going to burst into a million pieces.  Rage filled me as I dashed out the front door of my house.  The frigid wind cut into my body as I walked down the sidewalk.  I didn’t care what I had to do to make that annoying song go away.  All I knew was I had to do something or I was going to go absolutely nuts.  I could feel the others surrounding me, although I didn’t see them.  The only thing that was concerned about at the time was getting whoever was singing to me to shut up.

When I finally stopped, I saw the girl that had tormented me with her voice.  She couldn’t have been over twelve years old.  Her face was innocent and compelling.  I had a hard time taking my eyes off her.  I was afraid to all the same.  She demanded my attention just like the child that she was. 

“What is it that you want, young one?”  I asked her strongly.

She had a look about her that made me think that I had said something that hurt her feelings.  That is, if she really had any feelings at all.  She could be a shape shifter.  Just taking a child’s form to see if we would be taken off guard by it.  I couldn’t know for sure. 

Our plan came to mind and I paused to ask her to join our side.  She stood there as if she was actually trying to make the decision.  I am sure that she knew if she did not, that she wasn’t going to be allowed to walk away from us.

“What’s in it for me?”  She asked.

Air Queen stepped up to my side and said, “Peace.  Happiness.  A true, joyful, life without darkness and fear.  That is what’s in it for you child.”  

I watched the girl closely, and as I did, I took the opportunity their discussion had created to look into her soul. 

It was as if I had been watching the good in her battle the evil that had invaded her.  She was essentially a good person, but I needed to find out what had happened to her that made her choose the path that she had. 

The farther I went into her soul, the harder it was for me to see anything.  The evil had almost consumed all of what was left of her good nature.  That was disturbing to me because it looked as if she was doomed to lose the fight that was going on inside herself, but I had faith that we could help her come back to the innocence that she had previously had.

It was not long until I found the hole in her that made her choose evil.  Her parents had been killed during a home invasion.  She had been the one that found them.  The more I watched, the harder it became for me to ignore her pain.  It was pouring in to my body and I now realized how Maggie must feel. 

I didn’t shy away from it.  I forced myself to watch all the details of that horrible day.  It was the only way I was going to be able to help her if she made the choice to join us.

There had been so much blood.  It was everywhere I looked.  The scene was like it came straight out of a slasher movie.  My stomach turned and I had to swallow back vomit in my throat. 

The intruders were standing over her parent’s bodies congratulating each other on their gruesome work.  In that instant, I felt the girl’s fury.  The burning feeling of hatred was hotter than any fire could have been.  I could also feel the icy coldness hardening her heart at the same time.

When they noticed her standing there with them, they turned and laughed at her.  That was all it took to finish turning her into the unfeeling cold shell of a person that she is now. 

The sorrow that I felt for her was immeasurable.  It tore away at any wrong feelings that I had for her and I realized what a waste it would be if she made the decision to remain in her current alliance with the Dark Union.  However, it was not a choice that I could make for her.  She had to do this on her own free will and nothing more than that.

When I was out of her soul, I knew that the other members of the Circle had been trying to sway her to join us with every bit of energy that they could, but they didn’t have the information that I now have.

I know what you have been through and I am sorry for the pain that you carry with you every day.  That is still no reason for you to live your life in hate.  It does not have to be this way for you anymore.  I can show you a better way of life, but you have to choose it and be committed to make the changes in your life that need to be made  I said to her as I saw the tears stream down her face. 

I was on the right track.  She was thinking harder about it now.  Several minutes passed as we awaited her response. 

“Time is running out.  They won’t stop until they get what they want the girl said shakily.   How do I know you can protect me from them?”

“We can.” Silas said with utter confidence.

“Are you sure of that?”  She asked.

“As sure as the air you breathe.” Air Queen responded.

“As sure as the ground beneath your feet.” Earth King said.

“As sure as the sun on your skin.” Fire Queen said smiling at her.

“As sure as the oceans and rivers.” Water King replied.

“And as sure as time.” Eric said as he reached out to her.

Maggie stepped up beside me and took my hand.  I instantly knew that we had to wrap this up or she was not going to be allowed to make her choice.  Through Maggie, I felt the Gin.  He was getting closer.  Under strict orders to eradicate the girl. 

“The Gin is close.  You must decide now.” I told her.

She started looking around her frantically for any sign of the dreadful creature.  Honestly, I think she had thought that we were lying to her until she saw him emerge from the tree line.  He was smiling and I saw that he was walking faster when he caught sight of us. 

“He knows that we are different.  He is going to kill her then try and kill all of us.” Maggie said in a tense voice.

Eric and all of the Kings walked closer to the girl, but still not going far enough to break the protective shield that surrounded the entire grounds. 

“Come to us if you expect to live.  He has been sent to kill you.”  Eric told her. 

That was all it took.  She went into a dead run for them with her hands extended to grab onto them for safety.  I do not think I have ever seen another person as frightened as her at that point.  She had joined the Circle of Light.  She ignored all the evil that had resided in her and chose a new life. A life of peace and joy.  Free from the fear that she had felt for so long.

I was relieved, but it was quickly replace with anxiety over now having to face the Gin.  He had caused so much trouble in the short time that he had been here and it was only going to get worse the longer he was allowed to remain here.  Worse the longer he remained alive.

He stopped just short of touching the invisible shield that divided him and us.  He scanned over the crowd, taking careful consideration of our numbers.  Taking a single step back, he smiled at us and tried to use his power to infiltrate the shield. 

He attempted only to fail.  Knowing that his power was useless against it, he gave up.  Or so I thought.  He then did something that caught us all off guard.  The Gin called out a name.

Jax.

I had heard the name before.  Jax was one of the most powerful wizards known to the supernatural world.  He was ruthless and the epitome of pure evil.  His only concern was to be able to rule the world with his magic, leaving all the humans to be his slaves and not to mention, his food source.  The wizard survived on the souls of his victims.  The souls heightened his power as well as being his sustenance. 

It was only a matter of seconds until Jax was at the Gin’s side.  The wizard’s absolute power shook the shield and I knew that it would only be a matter of time until it came down. 

I took Eric’s hand in an unconscious act to strengthen the Circle’s power.  The shield was shaking more violently now and another rush of power from the wizard tore at the shield, making breaks in its coverage, but our Circle was completely unified now, as well as every other person that vowed their loyalty to it.  Each member was attached to someone else and that made our power stronger than I could have ever dreamed it could be.

Light filled the air so brightly that if any regular person had seen it they would be forced to think that the sun had fallen to the ground.  It was even blinding to us.  It forced us to fight the battle with the Jax and the Gin with our eyes closed.  We relied solely on our senses.

Shocks of power hit us as the shield fell.  It was painful and I could sense that some of our members were not going to be able to take much more of it.  That made me extremely angry.  I wasn’t going to allow someone to harm any member of the Circle. 

The rage consumed me and once again, I was forced to let it out.  I screamed the most blood-curdling scream known to man.  I felt the souls of others on our side magnifying it.  Love flowed through me from them.  What better way to kill evil than with love. The thing it hates worst of all.

My scream was more than the Gin could handle.  He was instantly defeated.  Only Jax remained.  The fact that I had killed the Gin only fueled my power.  It gave me the confidence I needed to strike back at the wizard after he dealt us an almost crippling blow.

Several of the witch covens were on the ground.  Some were lying there and some were kneeling from the heaviness of the power attacking us. 

Each attempt from Jax was brutal and I could feel the rest of the witches falter, but they never let go of the person s hand that they were holding on to.  If they did that, it would be a disaster and they knew it.  I prayed for them to have enough strength to keep the Circle intact.

As the battle raged on, the werewolves shifted from their human form to their true form, sending a jolt of desperately needed energy to the witch covens.  It made them strong again, but knowing what getting up would cause, they stayed on the ground where they were; careful not to disrupt any effort of the members surrounding them and in hopes that the wizard would not discover their renewal of power.

I felt the wizard stumble as the werewolves began howling along with my scream.  Their power in their true form was feeding mine.  I screamed without ever feeling the need to take a breath and I could hear the chanting of the witches in my head.  The language was foreign to me, but it did not matter at the time.  I had full trust in them that they knew what they were doing.

It wasn’t until the vampires starting feeding me their energy, that I knew we could truly defeat Jax.  All the power that was being given to me was more than enough to kill him, but I directed every bit of power at him that was flowing through me.  I had to be sure.  I couldn’t risk the lives of the others by being wrong.

Fighting against the brightness of the light of our Circle, I opened my eyes.  The wizard had dropped to his knees on the ground in front of me.  I could see the strain that our attacks had placed on him.  His body was withering and unsteady.  The magic around him had the same appearance as his body. 

He looked up at me with an unforgiving pleading in his eyes and I saw that his soul was unclean and purely evil.  “Are you not going to ask me to join you, my Queen?”  He asked trembling.

“No.  I do not believe that is an option for you now Jax.”