Chapter Twenty-One-Confrontations
Sleep didn’t come easy. I tossed and turned, fighting the urge to break something, and the desire to join Aiden in the bed he lay in. The overload of emotions that came with the immense amount of power I now held was overwhelming and frightening.
What if I couldn’t control myself when the Six came?
I snuck from Tessi and Mel’s room before dawn to go outside and stroll the grounds. I didn’t expect him to show up so early, to be waiting for me.
A tall man, looking to be in his forties with salt and pepper hair stood by the fountain watching me. His beady, dark eyes followed my every movement, and I just knew it was Bram.
“You came early,” I observed. The power within me stirred at the sight of him. I was ready to fight.
“I see you’ve accepted who you are,” he smiled. “Now reveal your deepest secret and we can get this over with.”
Shaking my head, I stepped closer. “I don’t want to do that.”
“You have to,” he growled. Another sorcerer appeared behind him and I heard a scream from somewhere within the castle.
“What are you doing?”
“They will pay for your defiance,” he grumbled. His words caused the earth to move and shake beneath my feet, sending me flying back.
Anger took over. I held both hands at my sides, feeling the power circulating, and sent the energy at them. They both flew through the air, their bodies thumping as they fell to the ground. Grinning in satisfaction, I turned to run inside and help.
“Not so fast,” Bram said. He stood in front of me, looking not at all like I’d just thrown him a few hundred feet in the air.
Exhaling deeply, I felt my fingertips tingle and moved my hand. He countered the act, sending the surge of power into the side of the castle, breaking off a large chunk of the brick.
“Grandma is gonna be so pissed,” I mumbled.
He moved fast, sending a wave of energy over me, but I stood my ground and used my own powers to counteract it. This went on for longer than I would have liked, while I continued to hear screaming and shouting inside.
“You want to save them, Sadie Tabors?” he taunted.
I growled. He was playing with me and I didn’t like it.
“You know what to do,” he continued. “Accept it, reveal it, admit it.”
I shook my head. “I won’t.”
He stomped his foot, sending a mini earthquake rumbling through the grounds and castle. “You will!” he bellowed.
Aggravated with his teasing, I transported myself inside and away from him. I saw disaster and devastation. Grandma, Lucas, and Mark were fighting one of the Six by the stairs, and a few bodies lay around the room.
One I recognized as Allison.
Pissed didn’t even begin to describe how I felt. Reaching deep inside, I pulled out my power and flung it at the sorcerer they were fighting. He flew against the wall, falling in a heap at their feet. He didn’t move.
Grandma spun, eyes wide as she stared at me. “Sadie!”
Running to Allison, I attempted to heal her, but it was too late. She was gone.
Mark came up behind me, resting a hand on my shoulder. “She believed in you, Sadie. Don’t let her down.”
I nodded. “The others?” I pointed toward the other bodies.
“Gone,” he said sadly.
“Where’s Aiden?”
He looked around in uncertainty. “I don’t know. Most of us were still asleep.”
“I have to check on him,” I said urgently. I transported myself to the bedroom, but it was empty. The sinking in my gut told me Bram or one of his partners had already gotten to him.
Tessi came running in and sighed in relief when she saw me. “Thank God, Sadie. You have to come,” she urged. “They have Mel and Aiden.”
My fists clenched, I hurried behind her. We ran down the hall and to the room I’d shared with them the night before.
“They’re in there,” she whispered. “I came out to see what was going on and this man appeared with Aiden. He was knocked out. There was a big bump on his head, and he went in there, and I can’t get in.”
A feral growl rumbled in the back of my throat and I beat my fist on the door once. All the anger I felt flowed when I hit the wood, the power flooding around me and sent the door flying across the room.
I stepped inside, grabbing my dagger from my boot. “Who’s first?” I asked. No more messing around.
A man laughed from the corner. I saw Mel tied to a chair, and Aiden lay passed out with a large knot on his forehead. I glared at the man and stepped closer. “And which one are you?”
“Wolfe,” he said with a grin. “You sure are a pretty little thing.”
Ew. Was he hitting on me? “My looks won’t matter in a few.”
His eyes lazily looked me over, undressing me. My skin crawled in disgust, but I decided to use it to my advantage.
“So, Wolfe is it?” I said.
He nodded, giving a half smile and a wink. “Yeah, baby.”
Nothing could have made me angrier in that moment. “I’m Sadie,” I said, holding my hand out. “Nice to meet you.”
Tessi gasped behind me and I waved my hand behind me, silencing her. Wolfe looked surprised, raising his brow in delight. “Sadie Tabors, I know.”
He took my hand and I struck. Wrapping my power around him, I locked him in a magical cocoon and pushed him against the wall. Pressing my dagger to his neck, I let the blood trickle. His dark eyes grew wide as he gulped. “What are you doing?”
“I’m killing you. You hurt my friends,” I said. “You don’t get to survive that.”
“You can’t kill me,” he chuckled.
I pushed the dagger deeper, right against the vein. “I can’t? You sure about that?”
He looked scared now, his forehead breaking out in sweat. “Please.”
Infusing the dagger with my magic, I pushed it all the way in, hearing his gasp as blood began to spill.
“From the grave you came
Now you’ll be gone
Go back to the ground
Where you belong.”
I sent more power into the dagger and he fell. Checking for a pulse, I sighed in relief when there wasn’t one. I spun, seeing Tessi and Mel staring at me like deer stuck in headlights.
“What?”
“You killed one of the Six,” Mel said, watching his body disappear. “Like it was nothing.”
“That was not nothing,” I scoffed. Pushing past them, I rested my hands on Aiden and sent my healing essence into his body. The knot grew smaller until it faded completely, and he groaned. He gripped his head and opened his eyes. “Sade?”
“Aiden,” I said happily. “I’m so glad you’re ok.”
“Is it over?”
I shook my head. “I’m going to finish it now.”
He locked his hand in my hair, kissing me hard and fast. “Come back to me,” he whispered.
“I promise,” I mouthed. Before the confrontation with Bram and then Wolfe, I didn’t think I’d survive today, but I felt more powerful than ever.
I would survive this and take a few of them down in the meantime.
Taking the steps two at a time, I found Grandma and Bram facing off in the living room. “Leave her alone,” I demanded. A protective wall of my magic appeared in front of Grandma, and I watched as Bram’s magic bounced off it and back at him. He fell back, landing on his butt, and howled in anger.
Slowly and deliberately, I wiped the bloody dagger on my jeans. “Met your friend Wolfe,” I said. His eyes grew large as he watched me clean the dagger. “He’s not gonna be coming back down here.”
He let out an animalistic growl and jumped to his feet. “You killed him?”
Grimacing, I sucked in a breath. “Yeah…is that a problem?” I asked. I was taunting him, teasing him like he had me.
And I liked it.
He rushed forward, but with a wave of my
hand I froze him in place. “I don’t think so. We’re not going to fight anymore today. You’re going to get your resurrected goons and leave. You aren’t going to come back here, and you’re going to leave my family alone.”
Snarling, he shook his head. “Never.”
I was in his face in an instant, pressing the dagger to his cheek. “Then I’ll kill you now.”
He breathed heavily, and one of the other Six rushed in, stopping at the scene he came in on. “Bram?” his friend said, voice full of uncertainty.
“Call them down,” he said through clenched teeth. “We’re leaving.”
The guy looked at me with wide eyes, his also dark like the others. Was it part of the resurrection? Or because they were part of the Six?
“We are?” he asked.
“YES!” Bram screamed. “Get them now!”
The guy rushed from the room, and returned about five minutes later with four others in tow. They all looked me over, assessing me silently. Still holding the dagger to Bram’s cheek, I pushed until there was blood. “Now, you aren’t going to come back here. We’ll meet again in Clorva.”
His lips turned up and he spit in my face.
I sliced the dagger from his upper cheek to his lip and through it. He cried out in pain. Wiping the spit from my face, I pushed the dagger into his chest. “You ever do that again, and I will cut your heart out and feed it to your friends. Leave,” I demanded.
Releasing the magical binds, I stood my ground as he backed away, still glaring at me, and joined his friends. The now five of them disappeared in an instant and I dropped to my knees.
I’d just faced the Six, knocked it down to the Five, and seemed to put the fear of me into all of them. Who was I?
“Sadie,” Grandma said. She crouched before me, taking my shoulders in her hands. “Are you ok?”
I nodded. She wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug.
“You were amazing.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I killed one.”
“Which one?” she asked. Her eyes held the pride she hadn’t yet conveyed with words.
“Wolfe,” I told her. “Is everyone ok?” I asked. Getting to my feet, I walked to Mark and Lucas. “You two all right?”
They nodded. “Yeah, Sadie. We’re ok.”
Looking around, I saw fallen council members scattered around the room. “How many have we lost?” I asked, my voice breaking.
Grandma rested her hand on my shoulder. “We’ll let you know. Mark, Lucas, Andy—can you three get a headcount on the fallen and the injured? Sandra, help me go along and heal the ones who need it.”
“What about me?” I asked. “I can help.”
She shook her head. “You have saved us all; we can do this much. Go find Aiden and make sure he’s safe.”
“He is,” I assured her. “Wolfe had him. That’s why he had to die.”
She smiled weakly. “I see. Well, go check on him then. And your friends. We’ll talk later.”
Wrapping my arms around her neck, I squeezed her and let her scent wash over me, calming my nerves. “I love you.”
She sniffled. “I love you, Sadie.”
Before any more tears could fall, I hurried out and dashed up the steps and back to the room. Tessi and Mel were guarding Aiden, the both of them holding weapons and looks of determination.
“They’re gone,” I told them. “You can stand down.”
They both grabbed me for a three-way hug. Tessi told me how proud she was while Mel insisted I was the biggest badass she knew. I was pretty sure I was the only badass she knew, but that didn’t really matter. Once my friends were comforted and felt safe, I broke free.
“Grandma could probably use some help downstairs,” I told them. “There’s damage, and some people didn’t make it.”
Tessi covered her mouth and cried out. Mel looked grim as she nodded and headed out the door. Turning back, she called, “Sadie…thank you for saving us. I’m proud of you, friend.”
Smiling, I took her hand and squeezed as I allowed my eyes to show the appreciation I wasn’t sure how to put into words. She seemed to understand though. She dropped my hand, taking Tessi’s instead, and the two of them went downstairs.
“Aiden,” I sighed. Jumping higher and quicker than was natural for me, I landed beside him on the bed. “Are you sure you’re ok?”
He chuckled. “Yeah. You healed me.”
Taking his hand, I transported us back to the bedroom we shared. After I sealed us in, I put an extra soundproof barrier. The tasks downstairs could wait. I couldn’t handle any more of the stress associated with what happened. Death counts and injury counts could be dealt with by Grandma; I needed to spend time with Aiden.