Shadows Entwined (Shadows Descent #3)

30. Violet

30

VIOLET

As we gather around the Nexus tree, I can feel the sheer enormity of the power coming from it, making my skin tingle. The guys form a loose circle around me, their faces grim with the coming fight. We don’t even know what we are walking into, and I sure as shit don’t even know what my magick is to fight these arseholes. Maybe power is the only thing I need. I have that in spades… apparently.

“Oh, this is so bad,” I mutter out loud.

“Okay,” Thorne says, ignoring my doom-and-gloom attitude and flipping through the purple book. “According to this, we need to channel our combined power through Violet and the specific page of the book to open the gateway to the Old Ones banishment zone.”

“Is that what they’re calling it?” Flint grunts.

“Don’t we need a game plan?” I blurt out, my nerves getting the better of me.

“Speed and power,” Caine says. “Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Where have I heard that before,” I mutter with an eye roll, but I can’t deny that he has that dead on.

“Link hands,” Thorne states, letting Caine grip his wrist as he holds the book up.

I stand in the middle of their circle. As soon as the circle is complete, I feel a flow of energy. It’s like standing in the eye of a storm, power swirling around me.

“Now what?” Caine asks through gritted teeth.

“Focus on Violet,” Thorne instructs. “Channel everything you’ve got into her. I’ll do the rest.”

I gasp as I feel their power flowing into me. Caine’s icy chill, Flint’s fiery heat, Thorne’s shadowy void - it all crashes together inside me, mixing with my chaotic energy.

A stream of light shoots up out of the top of my head, and I gasp, stumbling from the force. I keep my gaze on Thorne. A black swirl of what can only be described as nothing swishes around him, growing in size. It flies off to the side and grows bigger. I gulp, fear hitting me hard as the void engulfs us, and for a terrifying moment, there’s nothing. No light, no sound, no sensation at all. I can’t even feel my body anymore. Panic rises in my throat as I wonder if we’ve made a terrible mistake.

Then, abruptly, we’re somewhere else. The nothingness gives way to a bizarre landscape that defies description. The sky swirls with impossible colours. The ground beneath our feet shifts and ripples like water, yet feels solid. It makes me feel seasick, and my stomach lurches uncomfortably. In the distance, I see floating islands and fragments of reality drifting by.

“Holy shit,” Flint breathes, his eyes wide as he takes in our surroundings.

“Stay alert,” Caine warns, his grip tightening on his ice spear. “They could be anywhere.”

I try to tap into the wellspring of power I know is inside me. It’s there, but it feels different. Wild and unpredictable.

“Guys,” I say, my voice shaky, “I don’t know if I can control my power here. Everything feels wrong.”

Thorne puts a reassuring hand on my back. “Remember what Magdeline said. Trust in our connection. That’s real, no matter what else happens here.”

I nod, taking a deep breath.

And then I’m alone.

“Guys?” I call out, spinning in a circle. “Fuck. Fuck.”

Taking a deep breath, I try to calm my panic. Magdeline said strange things would happen here. The guys are probably still around me; I just can’t see them.

“Well, hello, little flower.”

I spin and come face-to-face with Nathaniel.

“Ugh,” I spit out. “I had hoped to never see you ever again.”

“I owe you something,” he says and slams a stake into my heart so hard, I stumble backwards, falling onto the ground.

“No!” I cry out, my hands going around the stake, but nothing happens. I don’t turn to ash or even bleed. Blinking, I pull it out, and the wound in my chest remains but is simply a gaping hole.

“Oh, that was anti-climactic,” Nathaniel states, standing in front of me with his hands clasped behind his back. “But fun all the same.”

“You are sick!” I spit out, getting to my feet, trying to ignore the air flowing through the hole, which is unnerving as fuck.

Nathaniel just grins, his fangs gleaming. “Oh, little flower. You have no idea.”

He lunges at me again, his hand going around my throat. I struggle in his grasp as he presses his body close to mine. I can feel his breath on my neck as he leans in and bites down, drinking my blood rapidly. I try to fight, but I’m not strong enough. It’s like trying to push against a mountain. “Get off me!” I shriek, thrashing wildly against Nathaniel’s iron grip. But my struggles seem to have no effect. His fangs sink deeper into my neck as he drains me, my strength fading with each passing second.

Just as my vision starts to darken, Nathaniel is suddenly ripped away from me. I stumble, gasping for air, and look up to see Caine standing there, his ice spear impaling Nathaniel through the chest.

“You okay?” Caine asks, his eyes never leaving Nathaniel’s writhing form, impaled on the shard of ice.

I nod shakily, pressing a hand to my bleeding neck. “Yeah, I think so. Where did you come from?”

“I was here the whole time,” Caine says, frowning. “I just couldn’t get to you.”

“You saw him stake me?”

He nods grimly, and I can see the toll that has taken on him. “I can’t see the other guys.”

“Me either.” I take a shaky breath, trying to process what just happened.

Caine nods grimly. “We need to stay focused, remember what’s real.”

I glance at Nathaniel. His form shimmers and dissolves into wisps of darkness that fade away.

“Good riddance. Again.”

I rub my neck where Nathaniel’s fangs had been moments ago. The puncture wounds are still there, just like the one in my chest. “This place is seriously fucked up.”

“No arguments here,” Caine says, gripping his ice spear tightly. “We need to find the others before we face the Old Ones. We don’t want to do that alone if we can help it.”

“Agreed.”

Suddenly, the ground beneath our feet lurches violently. The bizarre landscape around us blurs.

“Caine!” I cry out, reaching for him.

Our fingers brush for just a moment before he vanishes, swallowed up by the swirling chaos around us.

I find myself alone again, in a new impossible landscape. The sky above me is a deep, pulsing red. The ground is covered in black glass, reflecting the crimson sky.

“Caine?” I call out, my voice echoing strangely in this alien environment. “Thorne? Flint?”

No answer.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. “Okay, Violet. You can do this. Just stay focused.”

But something catches my eye under the surface of the glass. “Flint,” I murmur as I see him grappling with something twice his size. “Flint!” I shout and drop to my knees, banging on the glass. He doesn’t hear me. He can’t see me.

I scramble back when I see the shift take over. Sliding across the glass on my arse as it shatters into a million pieces where I was moments ago, an enormous white and dark orange Dragon appears, breathing fire and furious.

“Flint?” I whisper as he turns his attention to me.

His wings stretch easily twice as wide as before when I saw him in his Dragon form, and he takes flight.

Flint’s massive form casts a shadow over me as he hovers in the air, his wings creating gusts of wind that whistle through the hole in my chest. His eyes, usually so warm and playful, are now cold and alien. There’s no recognition in them as he stares down at me.

“Flint,” I call out, my voice trembling slightly.

A low growl rumbles from his chest, and I see flames licking at the corners of his mouth. I throw my hands up instinctively. To my shock, a pulse of purple energy bursts from my palms, hitting Flint square in the chest. He roars in surprise and pain, tumbling backwards through the air.

“Shit!” I scream. “Flint!”

Flint rights himself in the air, shaking off the blast. His eyes narrow as he focuses on me again.

“Flint, please,” I plead. “This isn’t you. Remember who you are, who we are to each other.”

For a moment, I think I see a flicker of recognition in his eyes. But then it’s gone, replaced by primal fury. He opens his jaws wide, unleashing a torrent of flame straight at me.

I dive to the side, narrowly avoiding the blast of fire. The heat sears my skin as I roll across the glassy ground.

“Flint, stop!” I scream, desperately trying to reach him. “This isn’t real! We’re connected, remember? Focus on that!”

But my words seem to have no effect. Flint swoops down, talons extended. I throw up another burst of purple energy, more controlled this time. It forms a shield around me that Flint’s claws scrape against harmlessly.

As he wheels around for another attack, I rack my brain for a way to break through to him. Then I remember Magdeline’s words: our connection is real, no matter what we experience here.

Taking a deep breath, I lower my shield and stand tall as Flint dives towards me again.

“I trust you,” I say firmly, looking directly into his eyes. “I love you, Flint, and I know you love me too. This isn’t you.”

For a heart-stopping moment, I think it hasn’t worked. Flint’s massive form barrels towards me, jaws open wide. But at the last second, he pulls up short.

With a shimmer of magick, Flint shifts back to his human form. He stumbles forward, catching himself on my shoulders.

“Violet?” he gasps, looking around in confusion. “What happened?”

I let out a shaky breath, relief flooding through me. “This place is messing with our heads. You didn’t recognise me for a minute there.”

Flint’s eyes widen in horror as the memories seem to come back to him. “Did I hurt you?”

I shake my head, giving him a weak smile. “No, I’m fine. Well, aside from this weird hole in my chest that won’t heal. Long story.”

Flint notices the wound and reaches out tentatively, his fingers hovering over the edges of it. “What the hell?”

“Nathaniel showed up earlier and staked me,” I explain. “But nothing works quite right here. I’m not dust, just... holey.” I show him the puncture wounds as well.

Flint’s expression darkens at the mention of Nathaniel. “That bastard. Where is he now?”

“Gone. Caine took care of him. But then Caine vanished too.” I look around at the bizarre landscape. “We need to find the others and figure out how to face these Old Ones before this place drives us all insane.”

Flint nods grimly. “Agreed. But how do we?—”

His words are cut off as the ground beneath us starts to shake violently. The glass-like surface cracks and splinters, jagged shards rising up around us.

“Flint!” I cry out as he is sucked away from me, and I’m left alone again and getting mightily pissed off.