Divination (Spells and Sins)

Chapter 22

Chapter

Twenty-Two

"Power lies not in the spell, but in the hand that casts it."

Lunara

M y hands vibrated, a cool sensation traveling up my arms as I held onto the orb and listened to its magical, melodic hum singing in my mind. It was as if all the magic of Faerie resided in this one small object.

“What are you doing?” Morgana shrieked, rushing toward us.

Without thinking I cast out one hand, relying purely on instinct to protect Elysia and me. Orangish magic flowed from my palms, a sliver of sunshine that must have originated from the orb circling the aura as it thrust out, narrowly missing Morgana when she dove at us.

Instinctively, I thrust my body on top of Elysia and the orb, keeping one hand nestled on the artifact’s cool surface.

One of Elysia’s palms remained pressed against the orb even as I knocked her to the floor. It was as if we were no longer able to draw our hands away, like we were now one with the life-force that flowed from within.

For the briefest moment, Elysia’s gaze held mine before she shouted, “Look out,” thrusting out her own hand as Morgana recovered from her fall and came at us again.

Power raced from me, through the orb, into Elysia. I could sense that movement as if we were suddenly and completely one.

With Elysia’s arm outstretched, a force like no other blossomed from her hand, growing larger by the second until its brilliant light shone fully and surged toward our attacker.

As Morgana’s eyes widened and her brow inched higher, the magic sought her out until it crashed into her chest, sending her backward into one of the many stacks of boxes. The stack suddenly crumpled until Morgana was no more than a lifeless heap on the floor.

“Is she dead?” Elysia asked, her tensed posture slightly mirroring my own.

As I slowly climbed off Elysia, I kept my sights trained on Morgana, lest she thought of attacking once more. Her shallow breaths told me that she wasn’t dead, but she was definitely unconscious. “She’s still breathing.”

Elysia sighed, drawing my attention to the hole in the floor where our hands still clung to the orb. “What do we do now?”

We both scrutinized the artifact as its energy continued to swell within us.

I knew so little of The Starfire Orb. Where had it originated from? How did it work? And what would happen when I returned it to Faerie?

Directing my gaze to Elysia’s widened eyes, I spoke without words, instructing her to move with me as we slowly, carefully lifted the orb from its resting place.

A subtle rustling put my senses on high alert and I turned to find some of the boxes Morgana had landed on giving under her weight. While Morgana appeared to still be unconscious, I didn’t dare turn my back to her. There was no telling what she would try when she came to.

With my peripheral constantly on Morgana, I studied the orb, placing my free hand back on its energy laden surface. “You can let go now.”

“But, what if?—”

“It’s okay, Elysia. I know what I have to do.” I nodded as I eased the orb away from her. “This is my responsibility. It’s what I was sent here for.”

“But, we’re in this together, Lunara.” When the orb slipped from her fingers, she moved closer, trying to retain her connection with the artifact.

A scream echoed from outside reminding me time was of the essence. “This is my problem, Elysia. My burden.” I cradled the glowing ball against my chest, slowly standing from the floor. “The elders are expecting me to return it to Faerie before Samhain unleashes its fury on Hallow Ridge Grove and all of the Faerie realm.”

Elysia followed, jumping from the floor and moving closer as she rested her hands on my shoulders then slowly eased them to my neck while her thumbs slid up and down my pulse point. “We’re in this together, Lunara.” She pressed her forehead against mine, magnifying the tears that lined her lower lashes. “We’re bonded. You can’t cast me aside, now.”

My eyes fluttered closed, unable to bear the sight of those unshed tears. “We’re running out of time, Elysia. I have to return this to my homeland before it’s too late.”

“Let me go with you.” She angled my neck higher, easing her forehead from mine as I opened my eyes to see those tears now slipping down her cheeks. “I love you, Lunara. Please .”

“It’s not safe for you there.” I retreated a step, feeling her hands fall away as I put distance between us while keeping The Starfire Orb close. “I don’t know what the elders would do if I showed up with you by my side. They already harbor so much hatred for the human realm after Morrigan stole the orb.”

It wasn’t that I wanted to return to Faerie without her, but I wouldn’t let her be harmed by the most powerful of the Fae when I returned the orb to our realm. I couldn’t let them hurt her, or worse. I loved her too much to let my kind, however little of them dwelled within me, be her demise.

“You’ll protect me, Lunara. I know you will.” While she didn’t reach for me this time, her eyes dug into my soul and created an ache so deep, I didn’t think it would ever leave me. “We’re stronger together. You know we are.”

“Don’t you see. Everything I’m doing is to protect you.” I pulled my gaze from hers as that ache I felt grew even stronger until I could barely catch my own breath. “If I don’t return this to the elders, they will come for me and they will surely end you. They’ll see you as a distraction and maybe even a threat to our world.”

“But you’re human, too. You have a place here, with me.”

I shook my head, hating that I was hurting her, and in turn, breaking myself. “We can’t be together until Morrigan’s curse is broken, until I’ve set things right in your realm and mine.” I draped my coat around the orb, keeping it protected as I turned away from Elysia. Before I walked out of the room, I whispered a broken, “I’m sorry,” then headed downstairs.

“Lunara, wait.” Elysia’s footsteps rushed after me as I hurried down the stairs.

Once I reached the first floor, I did my best to ignore the remaining members of the Moonshadow Coven as they stared vigilantly while I raced past.

I’d barely opened the front door when Elysia shouted, “Stop!” then used her magic to slam the door in my face. “I won’t let you leave.”

“You’ll be the downfall of Hallow Ridge Grove if you force me to stay.” My calculated words were crisp and even as if this entire situation wasn’t breaking me in two. I knew the only way Elysia would let me leave was if she felt the weight of what my staying would mean to her town.

Cassia dropped what she was doing, hurrying to Elysia’s side. “What’s going on?”

“I’m taking The Starfire Orb back to Faerie.” What else did I need to say?

The coven knew the importance of that artifact and they had, no doubt, witnessed the chaos that was erupting all over town. That wild melee was growing closer and closer to Morgana’s home by the second. My only hope was that one of the coven members could talk some sense into Elysia before it was too late.

“You found it?” Rowan asked, carrying a handful of crystals as she moved closer.

“It’s been right under our noses this whole time.” My upper lip trembled as thoughts of Morgana’s deception raced through my mind.

“What do you mean?” It was Cassia who needed answers this time.

A clock hung just over her shoulder as the seconds ticked by, ever closer to midnight.

“Elysia can explain.” I sent a pleading stare in her direction, hoping she’d finally let me go. “I have to return the orb to Faerie so that the elders can put a stop to Morrigan’s curse before it can no longer be undone.”

Elysia’s arm stayed outstretched, the full extent of her magic keeping the front door closed while I beseeched her with my stare. We were running out of time.

When she wouldn’t yield to my request, my shoulders fell, wondering what it was going to take. I didn’t know how else to reason with her that this was all for the best. “Please, Elysia.”

Something in her gaze shifted as her lips spread in a thin line and her eyes narrowed. “Fine.” Her arm fell to her side before she spat an angry, “Go.”

I mouthed I love you then rushed out of the house, darting through the night with only the stars to guide me. On foot, it would take some time to return to the portal that brought me to Hallow Ridge Grove, but I had no other choice. I wouldn’t ask Elysia to drive me and risk having to fight her to leave all over again and I knew damn well that none of the other coven members cared for me enough to give me a ride.

I was on my own now, faced with the horrified screams and wild shouts that signaled Morrigan's curse was closing in.

An excruciating chill swept by and I looked up in time to see one of the shadow figures flying overhead, casting turmoil wherever he could.

Pulling the hood of my coat over my hair, I lowered my head and took off toward Elysia’s cabin and the portal that would take me back to a land where all of this could end.

“Foolish half-blood,” shrieked in my ear as I pushed myself to my limit. The shadow taunted me as I continued. “Do you actually think you can stop this?”

The darkness swirled around me with its inky blackness shrouding the stars overhead as those taunts continued. “Give us the orb. Only we can save you now.”

“Never.” I darted over to a tree and ducked beneath its branches, trying to evade the shadow, but it moved effortlessly, continuing to circle around me.

As I swept my arm at the figure, another emerged, joining the first as he hissed, “Yes, child. Let go of the orb and take what is owed you from these foolish mortals.”

I dodged left and right, trying to cast their goading aside, but it was no use. They stayed right on top of me, never looking toward any of the humans that wandered blindly into the mayhem.

When a third shadow descended, I did the one thing I’d ventured never to do. Extending my hand, I forced my earth magic out of me, sending it toward each of the figures and watching them disappear from view while a pair of humans looked on.

“Did you see that?” One asked the other, but I didn’t have time to care.

The figures were growing in number and the madness would soon be thrust on the entirety of the town.

While cries of anguish and shouts of panic emanated from all around me, I had to get back to Faerie, back to the elders before Elysia or any more of her coven were hurt.

The orb pulsed beneath my jacket as if it could sense home was nearby just as I spotted the familiar entrance. Its see-through surface rippled like water reflecting the shadows close behind me. I slipped through as more screams split the night.

I just hoped I wasn’t too late.