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Wiley continued to work his special magic. Each time a new little light popped into his brain, Baer grabbed control. He sorted through them all while on the run. Small creatures were set free, sent off far from the battle. Anything large such as a coyote, black bear, or gator was recruited to the Circle’s army.
The army was growing faster now, the light popping across his mind like fireworks. The darkness was starting to recede. His mate was doing it!
A loud shriek of frustration echoed across the campgrounds. Ardette likely realized she was losing the battle. Baer had to close the distance between them. He had to kill her before she started trying to control those they’d freed. He had to kill her before she harmed any of his family.Wiley grunted as the hard ground banged against his knees through his old jeans. He hadn’t meant to fall, but he was using all his energy to rip away the spell. His legs had begun to tremble and the next thing he knew, he was kneeling in the dirt.
“Wiley!” Grey shouted.
“I’m okay. Still…working,” he gritted out.
Oh God, his head hurt so bad. His brain was getting pounded into fucking mush. He was lucky he knew his own name at that moment. The only thing he kept repeating in his mind was to push out the darkness. Over and over again, he grabbed great sticky handfuls of the darkness in his mind and shoved it back. Sometimes one animal would pop free. Other times, three or four would burst out the other side, feeling shaky and terrified.
As he worked, he had no idea what he was freeing until the animal jumped clear of the spell. Snakes, rabbits, birds, raccoons, two more gators…the numbers seemed endless. And so did the darkness.
The spells felt layered on top of each other, twisting around one another like a writhing bed of snakes. There was no way of finding the beginning or the ending. He just kept pushing them, shoving the darkness. He had a feeling that he was moving all that power and darkness toward its source. Good. He hoped Ardette fucking choked on it all.
Pain lanced through his brain as if someone had shoved an ice pick through his left eye. He cried out and tried to fold in on himself against the pain. He pushed one hand over his head, making sure there really wasn’t a knife sticking out of his skull, but there was nothing there.
“Wiley!” Grey suddenly felt closer. The larger man was crowding against him in the dirt, his left arm wrapped around Wiley’s hunched shoulders. The other arm was missing, but Wiley suspected it was holding up the shotgun to ward off attackers.
“It hurts,” he said, hating the whimper in his voice. He’d told Baer he could do this. Swore that he could get rid of all the darkness and be a superhero just like the rest of the Circle, but it was getting too hard. He wasn’t strong enough.
“I know. You’re doing amazing. You’ve freed so many animals.” Grey’s voice was so soothing and calm. It had become a cool, gentle stream flowing lazily through his head. The worst of the pain ebbed, but his body still shook. He didn’t know if the Soul Weaver was in his mind, and he didn’t care. If he could take away just a little of this pain, Wiley could push on.
A strained chuckle left the Soul Weaver. “I’m doing what I can.”
“You’re doing this?”
“You’ve pulled your brain muscle. I’m trying to help you find some mental reserves to keep pushing on. That’s what you want, right?”
“Yes, please!”
“Just concentrate on breathing with me. In through your nose and out through your mouth. Couple of deep breaths.”
Wiley followed Grey’s directions, and more of the pain dropped away. He didn’t feel strong enough to climb to his feet, but he was more centered. More in control than he had been.
“I’m good,” Wiley murmured.
He opened his eyes and blinked against the flickering firelight. The scene before him was horrific. Blood was splashed across everything that wasn’t already burning. Limbs were strewn across the grounds like confetti while other bits smoldered. Birds and beasts streaked back and forth. Some were running for safety, while others attacked.
“Wiley! The coyote!” Grey shouted.
Wiley stiffened, his eyes searching for the creature in anticipation of it running toward them. But it wasn’t. It was racing across the open grounds and running straight for Lucien. Swearing under his breath, Wiley gathered up his new powers and reached for the coyote. But it was already leaping into the air. The Fire Weaver’s attention was directed toward a group of pestilents that were trying to circle around them.
He entered the coyote’s mind just as its teeth sank deep into Lucien’s throat. Wiley’s stomach lurched and he nearly vomited as Lucien’s muffled shout echoed through his brain. He mentally followed the coyote and Lucien to the ground with a hard thud. Clenching his teeth as hard as he could, Wiley shoved into the coyote’s head, pushing out the darkness and setting the creature free.
