Captured (Shadow Guild Hades & Persephone #3) - Linsey Hall Page 0,3
while they drank tall pints of beer and short, squat mugs full of tea.
We ignored the lot of them and raced toward the bar. I reached it and shoved aside a patron leering at Mac. Eve stepped up beside me. I placed the frozen raccoon on the bar. Mac’s eyes widened, and she waved her hand at the man. “Scram, Carl.”
The man left, and she stared at Cordelia, her face white. Her short blond hair was held back by a bandanna, and her plaid shirt hung open to reveal a tight T-shirt beneath. “What happened to her?”
“A curse,” I said. “It’s taken over our guild tower.”
Her eyes flashed up to me, shocked. “What kind of curse?”
“I don’t know. Carrow sent Grey to check it out. She’s coming.”
“Good.” Mac reached for Cordelia’s frozen, furry belly, but I stopped her.
“Wait.” I squeezed her hand. “It might not be safe.”
“You were carrying her.”
“I had to use my power to keep myself from freezing.”
“How does your plant magic help?”
I shrugged. “It’s also a life power. And this freezing is a little bit like death. So I think it was keeping it at bay.”
Mac frowned, her gaze flicking between Cordelia and me. “She could still be alive.”
“I think she is.” I rested a hand on her belly. “I can feel the life in her.”
“What happened?” Carrow’s frantic voice sounded from behind me, and I spun around. She lunged across the taproom, her blonde hair wild and windblown around her face and her eyes dark with worry. Beatrix, her best friend, followed behind her.
“I think she’s still alive,” I said.
Carrow stepped up to the bar and stared down at Cordelia. She stroked the raccoon’s furry little face, her eyes glinting with tears.
I snatched her hand back.
“Hey!” Carrow glared at me.
“We don’t know if it’s safe. You could freeze.”
Carrow looked at her hand. “I’m not frozen.”
“That’s good enough for me.” Mac pressed her hand lightly to Cordelia’s belly and closed her eyes. Her magic flared on the air, and I gripped Mac’s hand, trying to feed my support into her.
Mac had a seer’s power, and I prayed she could figure out what was wrong with Cordelia.
After a few moments, Mac opened her eyes. “It’s Chronos.”
Shock lanced me. “What?”
“This is Chronos’s doing.”
“Shit.” I dragged a hand through my hair, my mind racing. “How?”
“This is the natural result of him being on Earth. It’s his power, somehow. Like he’s freezing time. Kind of. I’m not entirely sure, but I do know it’s him.”
I looked at Carrow. “I’m so sorry.”
She shook her head. “Not your fault.” She looked at Mac. “Can we revive Cordelia?”
“I don’t know.” Mac frowned and closed her eyes tightly, focusing hard as she rested a hand on Cordelia, using her as a conduit for her seer power. “If you defeat Chronos and send him back to Tartarus, I think that could do it.”
Shit, shit, shit.
That was my plan, but I still didn’t know how. And the books were frozen inside the tower.
I drew in an unsteady breath and opened my eyes. “Let me try.”
“What?” Carrow said. “How?”
“With my magic. I managed to keep the ice from hurting me by counteracting it with my life magic. Maybe I can help Cordelia.”
Carrow nodded, hope shining in her eyes. I rested my hand on Cordelia’s belly and called upon my magic, remembering the training sessions with Hades. I still wasn’t as strong as I could be—I needed to find out who had bound my magic and unbind it in order to reach my full potential—but I was a lot more skilled than I had been.
I shoved away thoughts of the god who haunted my dreams and focused on my magic, calling it to the surface. It bloomed inside me, warming me, so pure and bright that it almost made me giddy. I forced that magic into Cordelia, focusing on driving away the ice that froze her solid.
After a few moments, Carrow whispered, “I think it’s working.”
I opened my eyes, but Cordelia still looked the same. I tried harder, growing woozy as I poured more of my magic into the raccoon. Gradually, I could feel it drive the icy grip of death away from her, but it was slow going. I leaned against the bar for support, determined not to give up.
My vision went blurry as I worked, putting everything I had into it. When Cordelia’s head twitched, hope flared. I worked harder, ignoring the weakness that pulled at my limbs.
Finally, Cordelia’s entire head looked normal again. Her black eyes,