Witches Be Burned: A Magic & Mayhem Novel (16 page)

Screams of horror coursed through Nexi’s veins like a disease, the sense of wrongness slithering inside as thick as tar. She passed through the dark shadows of the hellish portal, clinging to the last strands of hope in an attempt to survive.

A flash of the moonlight beamed in her eyes seconds before she crashed to the ground. She gulped at the clean, pure air, swiping her hair away from her face and taking in her surroundings. Her mind spiraled with a thousand unknowns, her heart remaining back at that lodge with Kyden.

Please be safe…

Hints of the sunrise were cast low in the sky, and a small lake lay in front of her, with crystal-blue water leading up to an endless display of mountain splendor. Rich evergreens layered the sides of the high hills, nearly reaching the snowy peaks. She inhaled the fresh natural scents, relieved that she’d remained in the Earthworld.

That meant she could find her way home.

“Don’t look so hopeful. You won’t be found here.”

Nexi jerked her head to her right, discovering Astoria sitting on a rotted-out log. The petite brunette witch waved out to the mountains. “The natural energy of the mountains disrupts your magical signal, leaving you unable to be traced.”

Great.

Shoving that thought aside to find out what trouble she’d landed herself in, Nexi stared after Astoria, trying to figure out
why
she was brought here. On one hand, she was glad to be alone. Those she loved were far away from this evil witch. On the other hand, the fact that she was here
alone
meant that Astoria wanted something from Nexi.

She figured that
something
wouldn’t be in her favor.

Astoria returned the hard examination, her soft blue eyes could fool one into believing she portrayed kindness. “It’s a bit hard to believe that
you’re
the cause of all the trouble.”

Nexi swallowed deeply at the darkness lingering in Astoria’s eyes, an evil Nexi had never known, not even in Lazarus, and at one time in her life didn’t believe existed. This wasn’t a soul that had gone dark. Astoria’s very essence was dark. Now there was no denying the existence of the Underworld; demonic energy lived inside this witch, and the sheer power wafting off Astoria reflected ancient magic.

While fear registered, an unexpected strength rose alongside the tremble of her limbs. She was not alone—her magic swirled within, ready to defend her. Both exhausted and exasperated by evil creatures, she sucked in the moist air, calling to her magic. Tingles erupted throughout her, spreading like wildfire within her veins, indicating the elements were there to protect her and stayed close.

Don’t fear her.
The words were whispered in her mind.

Drawing in that sense of safety, all the while not fully understanding the swelling confidence inside of her, Nexi asked, “You’ve gone to a lot of trouble to get me alone. Why?”

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised you haven’t pieced it all together.” Astoria chuckled.

Nexi thought a frown would’ve been friendlier. She bit back a groan as a wave of thick power soared through the air, raising the hairs on the back of her neck. Astoria’s energy crackled like sparks of electricity, ready to consume anything in its path. Refusing to look afraid in the presence of anyone who accepted such darkness into their soul, Nexi squared her shoulders.

“Confidence will do you no good,
white witch,
” Astoria spat out, before a gust of blistering air soared under Nexi’s feet, sending her straight onto her ass with a loud
thud.
Her tailbone took the brunt of the harsh hit, and she cringed as the pain shot up her spine, telling her how powerful Astoria was.

You’re not alone,
her magic reminded her.

Nexi gritted her teeth, pushing up and preparing herself to fight. “What. Do. You. Want?”

Astoria played with a strand of hair by her face. “Do you know who I am?”

As if Nexi wanted to or cared. “A black witch.”

“Yes, that’s right. I do belong to the Underworld.” Astoria’s eyes narrowed, her voice chilled. “But what I’m sure you don’t know is that I’m also the mate of someone you killed.”

Nexi studied Astoria, looking for any sign of deceit, but found none.
A scorned lover?
That was a bit hard to believe. Nexi recalled all of her kills over her time in the Otherworld. Truth be told, she hadn’t counted on a vengeful lover coming after her, especially a black witch who went to the extremes Astoria had. Really, though, only one point mattered…“If your mate is dead, then he deserved to die.”

“That’s your first mistake.” A slow, scary darkness swept over Astoria’s features, changing the air about her, increasing the danger she presented. “You should have died that night
he
wanted to take your blood.”

Astoria’s statement registered through Nexi in an icy wave of shock as her mind stuttered. The
why
suddenly made a whole lot of sense, and unease carried into Nexi’s soul. When all this had started, she had wondered if Lazarus had a hand in this act of revenge. Now she knew it wasn’t his influence that caused this, it was that someone had loved him and sought an eye for an eye. Stunned, Nexi gawked at Astoria, realizing that this ran far deeper than anyone had realized.

Like a puzzle coming together in a dangerous plot of evil, Nexi realized the most horrific thought of all. Trefan and Radek died because of a personal vengeance against Nexi—they were killed only to get to
her.
The thought was unthinkable, and her heart clenched, rejecting it. “Lazarus” was all she could manage.

“He
belonged
to me,” Astoria said softly, despair dripping off her voice. “He didn’t deserve the fate you handed him.”

A quick flash of hurt soared across Astoria’s face, and that sent a chill right down to Nexi’s bones. She, more than anyone, understood the need that drives a person to kill someone because they’d hurt her loved one. Still…“That point can be argued.”

Astoria smiled, a cold and ugly thing. “Ah, which is what brings us here now.”

Nexi’s mind spun with questions and with a guilt so heavy she could hardly breathe. Her stomach roiled that two innocent guardians had died in the crossfire about Lazarus. Yet all the same, she couldn’t get lost in emotion—she needed to
think
and figure out what Astoria wanted. “You could have killed me many times”—that Nexi didn’t doubt in the least—“so why turn new vampires and kill guardians?”

“Well, that will take us back a bit.” Astoria picked up a rock off the ground, throwing it into the lake and skipping it along the water. “After I became aware of Lazarus’s death I wanted to burn you where you stood.” Her glare briefly flicked to Nexi’s before returning to the lake. “Then I realized that would be too easy of a death—one that would leave you not understanding the gravity of what you’ve taken from me.”

Nexi blinked, reeling in ice-cold shock. “So you planned all this—killing two guardians—just to get me alone tonight?” It seemed too extravagant, too thought-out for this moment, and that worried Nexi far more than anything else.

There was more to this, there had to be.

And the
more
concerned her.

Astoria shrugged. “Of course, my Lazarus wanted a new world for vampires, but I have never had any interest in that. My loyalty is to the Underworld”—she sent another rock skipping into the water—“although Lazarus’s desires gave me a way to get the Otherworld into my plans…since, well, we have unfinished business where they tried to kill me.” Her smile was as deadly as it was calculating. “And being that you were blind to it all, you fell perfectly into my trap.”

“Which was getting me alone?” Something about all this didn’t seem right. Astoria wasn’t killing Nexi. Hell, she wasn’t even threatening her—she seemed too calm, too collected, and deep in Nexi’s soul, a flare of fright appeared telling her there was a good reason for that.

A reason Nexi wasn’t going to like.

“Yes, I wanted to get your alone,” Astoria replied in her fake sweet voice. “All of this was to experience
this
moment with you. The killing of the guardians was simply to get the rest of the Otherworld into the lodge tonight.”

Nexi shut her eyes, willing the tears to stay away. God, her heart bled and broke into a thousand pieces.
Trefan…Radek…those humans who were murdered by the vampire suffering bloodlust.

All of this was because of
her.

She locked her knees, refusing to fall, as the guilt of that hurt far worse than a sword to her gut. After her mortal family had been murdered and her birth father, Drake, had died during the fight with Lazarus, she had vowed that no one she knew would die like that again. Nor would they be ripped away in such violence that haunted Nexi’s dreams, but here she was
again…
facing the knowledge that others died when it should have been her.

Fight back.
The pulsating magic rushed through her veins as if stealing all the guilt and heartache away in a single heartbeat. Yes, she could crumble into the unfairness of it all. Sure, she could fall into a pit of darkness, hating others more than she loved. But she wouldn’t—not tonight, not ever—she would always rise above the evil, because if she didn’t, she’d be one of
them.

That she would never allow.

“If you’re saying this because you think it will hurt me, you’re wrong.” Nexi raised her head, hearing her voice turn deadly. “It does nothing but make me pity you that your soul is so far gone.”

“How
you
perceive me doesn’t concern me.” Astoria snorted, flicking her long locks over her shoulder. “I’ll admit that part of me has hungered for nothing less than to have your blood spilling on my hands.” She grabbed another rock off the ground, tossed it up in the air, using her magic to make it float. “The other part of me wants you to suffer, as I have suffered.”

Power brushed against Nexi’s skin, and she inhaled sharply, rejecting such evil traveling along her skin. “I did suffer”—she growled—“at the hands of your fucking mate.”

Astoria’s eyes narrowed, promising a pain far worse than death. “I have long suspected that you truly don’t know what it means to
suffer.
What it means when your heart is ripped from your body without choice. But after tonight, you will.”

Energy cracked in the air like a loud bang of thunder and the wave hit Nexi in the face, sending her flying back. Astoria added, “Tonight you will understand that my revenge isn’t blood for blood, it’s heart for heart.” Her eyes glowed dark red, swirling with an unthinkable power. “You took my heart. Now I will take yours.”

Nexi absorbed the statement, the cruel smile on Astoria’s face telling her all she needed to know. She realized that Astoria was right. There was something far worse than death itself—living in a world without Kyden in it would be her own personal Hell. “You’re lying,” she snapped.

“Am I?” Astoria sneered. “I could have killed all of you in that lodge as easily as I breathe.” Her nostrils flared. “I could kill you now with a single flick of a finger.” Raw energy seeped into the air, making it hot and thick, dropping Nexi to knees, gasping for air. “Ask yourself why I’m not doing what I could do with little effort.”

Coldness slid into Nexi and a panic overtook her, making all sense of herself vanish. “You have me,” she screamed. Pain that held no measure stormed into Nexi’s body, forcing a sob from her throat. She ignored the strength flaring inside of her as her magic begged her to fight.

Without Kyden, the fight would not be worth it.

Without
him,
the world was darker than Nexi could survive.

There was something far worse than facing Astoria; believing what the witch had said sent Nexi’s world crumbling to pieces. Desperation made her beg. “Don’t—”

“This is
not
a negotiation.” Astoria rose, taking a step forward, as the rock she held with magic fell to the ground. “Minutes ago, I sent hundreds of my vampires into the lodge with one order:
to kill your guardian.
” Dark amusement filled her eyes, a wicked thing to behold, as she took another step forward. “Seeing you now, watching your heart bleed and die as mine did”—her voice lowered with a hatred that would forever be heard in Nexi’s soul—“is my sweet revenge.”

Blood soaked Kyden’s body like a sheen of sweat. The magic from his sword couldn’t possibly keep up with the amount of vampires he was killing. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear he’d been targeted. If Talon, Finn, Thalia, Maddox, and Zade hadn’t assisted him, he would’ve been dead—that he didn’t doubt.

His muscles burned with each strike and his body ached against every blow he took. Fang marks littered his upper body and his shoulder bled profusely from the last attempt a vamp made to remove his head. He swiped at anything that held a shape, hoping to hell he didn’t hit a friendly.

Though, through all of it, four words remained on his mind during the fight:
She is
Lazarus’s mate.
Those had been the final words coming from the vampire that Kyden trapped on the wall before more vampires stormed the lodge. But they were strong enough words that Kyden remembered them. And that was all he needed to hear to understand the
why
behind it all.

Astoria must’ve promised the vampires tonight she’d step in where Lazarus had failed—he assumed she had offered them the new world order that Lazarus was after by destroying the Mistresses so the rogue vampires could lead the Earthworld. But she hadn’t stayed and fought with them—and the vampire stuck to the wall by his sword had told Kyden that he believed she planned to help them.

Astoria did this to get to Nexi.

To kill her.

A vamp nearly knocked Kyden to the side, so he planted his feet wide, holding his stance. The dark-haired vampire rushed him and Kyden swiped his sword from left to right, connecting with the vampire’s neck. He didn’t have the chance to relish his kill, as another vampire jumped him. A hard blow to Kyden’s jaw sent him tumbling backward and he crashed to the floor
.
His body ached to stay on the ground. Muscles burned with exhaustion. The earlier fight had worn him out, but he gritted his teeth, refusing to accept his weakness.