Of Thorn and Thread (Daughters of Eville #4) - Chanda Hahn Page 0,1
ground and sinkholes opened. It was as if the earth belched out its displeasure at the dark magic being poured into it.
Aspen pulled Velora away to safety as the door continued to glow green. The pleasant aroma of magic was dispelled by the sulfurous amount of dark magic being used.
“It’s not enough,” Aspen whispered.
Allemar shot an ugly glare over his shoulder. “It will be.” With renewed determination, Allemar returned his focus on breaking down the magical barriers. With each lock he broke, there was a repercussion in nature.
“Look!” Velora pointed as water poured down in rivulets from an underground cistern above their head. “Should we run?” she asked, as it soaked their feet.
“If you do, he’ll kill you.” Aspen’s grip tightened on Velora in a silent warning. “Stay.”
Allemar screamed. A surge of power erupted, blasting through the final magical lock, and knocking everyone from their feet and into the muddy cavern.
The door hung, broken on its hinge, and it swung outward with an ominous creak. Within the darkness, something moved and slithered about. The creaking and churning followed by an almost human groan.
Allemar got to his feet, wiping his muddy hands on his cloak. He peered into the darkness and whispered. “You’re free. Go. Do what you were born to do before you were so unjustly bound.”
The creaking stilled, the curse listening to the words of the sorcerer.
Dormir groaned as he sat up. Using his palms, he wiped at the mud coating his eyes, and he heard the slithering noise.
“What the—?” Dormir looked up at the broken door.
Vines shot out of the doorway, wrapped around Dormir’s leg, and dragged him screaming into the darkness.
“Can we run now?” Velora asked, her body tense.
A thick fog poured out of the doorway, spilling into the cavern. Behind it, crackling thorn branches sprouted from within, growing and reaching for them.
Aspen nodded. “Run.” He released her arm, and they began running back up the way they came. Slipping and sliding in the mud, the steps almost washed away.
A slippery thorn branch inched closer to Allemar’s leg, and the sorcerer blasted it, turning it to ash. The rest of the prickly vines retreated and instead found a path around him, growing, and sprouting over his head.
They followed the rooted archways that grew and spread— an infectious disease killing everything in its way.
Allemar spoke aloud. “Now, I will have my revenge.”
Chapter One
Blindfolded, I ran through the meadow. My breath burst in my lungs as I struggled to calm my mind and focus on the surrounding sounds. No—not the sounds. The thoughts.
She’ll never find me. A burst of yellow appeared in my mind—intense joy.
I lifted my skirts to stalk my prey, but hesitated as I tried to gain my bearings.
To the left. You’re about to run into the fence.
“Thanks,” I whispered to Hack, our orange tabby cat. He sat on an alder tree stump watching my progress with feigned feline disinterest. But whenever I was about to walk into danger, he would mentally feed me clues. If Rhea or Maeve knew I used Hack to cheat during the test, they would never let me live it down.
I adjusted my course and the soft swish of grass under my shoes turned into the crunch of dried pine needles. I was leaving the field and heading into the woods.
It was Rhea. I could tell by her meager attempt to visualize a mental wall to keep me out of her thoughts. It was useless. Just thinking about a brick wall didn’t create a mental barrier, despite what many believed.
I paused and tried to focus on where she was. Reading thoughts didn’t give me a direct clue to where my sisters were hiding, but sometimes they let an emotion slip, or a thought would give them away.
Ouch! Stupid thorns.
And like that, I was off. I knew where Rhea was. Carefully, with my hands out in front of me, I headed toward the garden wall and the blackberry bushes on the edge of the woods.
“Rheanon. You can come out.” I waited with the blindfold on and heard her whisper a cuss under her breath.
“That’s not fair!” she whined, as she struggled to get out of the thicket. “Ouch. Stink. Ow.”
“Maybe that will teach you to pick your hiding spots better,” Lorn called out.
“Whatever,” Rhea snapped and marched over to the stone fence next to Lorn to await the outcome of the game.