leap from the inevitable attack coming my way, but I can’t. I am frozen in time, rooted in place, left only to watch as my own grandmother approaches. Using her air magic to pin me in place, she moves slowly, confidently, with a hideous grin plastered across her face.
While she approaches me, I wonder if I did exactly what the darkness wanted. I reversed the spell, returning the witches’ powers so it could feed once again. Slowly, we were dying, but maybe a death at the hands of our own actions would have been better than slowly losing our minds and being eaten alive by whatever this thing is.
I think it is fair to say this is no longer a darkness. This evil has become real. It is an entity that craves life and destruction, and I cannot allow it to leave the manor. It must be destroyed, and if it cannot die, then it must be contained.
Suddenly, my grandmother stops. Still several feet away, she raises a single hand before her and summons her magic. The wind shifts, becoming grittier, harsher, and she uses that to solidify it into shards from nothing but the cool, winter breeze. I watch as it swirls round and round, taking form, becoming lifelike in her very palm.
Still pinned in place, my pulse is racing, my heart pounding so loudly, I can hear nothing else. My grandmother drives her arm forward, throwing her magic into the air and aiming her daggers directly at me. I shriek and claw at the floor, desperate to move but unable to go far. I manage to shimmy over, but I am nowhere near far enough away to save myself.
The shards of air poniards slice through the space, and I hear them zipping toward me. They sound like a thousand buzzing bees swarming around my head, but the moment they tear through flesh, something changes. The air feels…off.
I blink, and the air magic directed at me is gone, lost somewhere, rooted deeply in flesh, evaporating as though they never existed to begin with. And I feel no pain. Could they have missed me?
I have no time to consider what is happening. The world is spinning, with everything moving too quickly, and I am falling. Something solid slams against me, and I grunt loudly as I fall to the ground. The back of my head smacks against the hardwood floor, and I am dazed. My vision blurs briefly before it clears again.
Something hot and sticky seeps into my T-shirt. It coats my skin as the aroma quickly reaches my nose.
Blood.
The air becomes sweet and thick, my stomach rumbles, and I suck in a sharp breath as I lick my lips. I cannot stop myself from the effects blood has over me. My blood lust is back and stronger than ever before.
I shift, moving upright, and the force that pinned me in place tumbles over. I blink several times, taking in the sight before me, unbelieving of what I see.
Spiritless, he stares up at me. His eyes already glossy, as though he did not just take his final breath. Blood spews from a gaping wound in his chest. With the air magic disintegrated, no evidence remains except for the hole, displaying flesh never meant to be bared. I see bone and muscle, tissue and blood, but nothing moves, nothing works. Everything just looks dead.
He stares up at me, his neck bent back uncomfortably, and his eyes are hollow, empty pits.
And as I stare at Will’s lifeless body, now still in my arms, I scream.
Chapter Nine
Will is dead. He sacrificed himself to save me from my grandmother’s ruthless attack. And now that he lies limp within my arms, I am frozen in place, stunned by what has transpired.
How is this possible? How is he dead?
Only yesterday, only a few hours ago, just before bed, I spoke with Will, and he told me his dreams. He explained why and how he released his magic, choosing to store it within me. He had plans and hopes. He was supposed to live his life before he died a mortal death, not die shortly after setting himself free.
He is supposed to walk out the door, never looking back. I am supposed to break down, crying in Jasik’s arms because I have lost yet another friend. But not like this. He was to leave my life by choice, not by my grandmother’s hand.
And now he is dead, and I do not understand why. How can things change