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I feel a tear run down my cheek, and I sniffle.No. I refuse to fall apart. I will survive this—somehow.Erik will come forme!Then it hits me like an axe to the chest. Erik will come for me.In my dream, he— I swallow back a new flood of tears—I can’t bring myself to relive the memory.No. No! They can’t. I won’t let them take him from me!He’s the first soul who has loved me for who and what I am. Regardless of my history, my burdens, and my flaws, he accepted me into his life with open arms, knowing all that could befall him and his clan.
Closing my eyes behind the blindfold, I summon the Chaos within me, tearing every shred of pain and darkness from the depths of my heart to the surface. I feel it building inside me, growing in intensity and rage until I can no longer contain it. I scream with all the strength I can muster, unleashing my magic in a raw torrent. It explodes out of me in a tumultuous cloud of shadow.
For one heart-racing moment, all of my anguish is outside of me, and I realize too late that the sarcophagus hasn’t been spelled to absorb magic or allow it to pass, but to reflect it right back at its caster. My scream dies in my throat as all of it slams back into me with three times the force.The Rule of Three.Memories and darkness dance hand-in-hand, assaulting my mind and leaving a trail of blazing pain with every amplified step.
It’s too much. Far too much. My eyes roll back in my head, and I feel blood, hot and cloying, trickle down my cheeks. Then, in a breathless whisper, the darkness claims me, relieving me of my exquisite agony.
****
Where am I?There is nothing but darkness, an eternity of impermeable gloom that reaches into some unfathomable and unknowable Beyond. I feel strange and somehow different—intangible, almost—as if I might be little more than a dream of mist caught before the dawn or a fleeting shadow lost in the night.
One by one, a million stars manifest around me, peeping through the dark. Their blazing white fires sparkle, holding back the gloom.I don’t understand.Ahead of me, a path appears, lined with eerily beautiful, glowing crystals.Where does it lead?My head throbs, not with pain, but with a strange pressure I can’t seem to shake.
“Come, Child.”
My heart skips a beat. I recognize the voice as surely as if it were my birth mother’s. It’s the Goddess. And for the second time in a day, the brutal axe of realization slams into my chest, all but cleaving my heart in two. I recall my last few moments.I’m dead. The sarcophagus … all my Chaos rebounded times three…I swallow the urge to be violently ill.Erik…
“Come to me.”The Goddess’s voice echoes around me.
The surreal and timeless landscape of ether is haunting, yet beautifully so. Taking a deep breath, I step forward, each footfall lighting up the path beneath me. It leads ever on, a winding, bridge of crystal and shimmering light, a safe way preventing me from plummeting into the Void of Forever.
As I walk, memories of my life play out before me like moving photographs that fade as I pass. I see myself as a carefree child, a little witchling still filled with the hope and the possibilities of the future. I see birthdays with my family—my mother, father, and brother singing together as I blow out my candles.
Then there’s a deluge of red. My Moontide. And the day I learned that I was a conduit of Chaos. I hear raised voices and arguments. My mother weeps, and my father’s face is sullen. My brother simply turns away. I watch on as I am dragged away by the orderlies of Rosewood Valley Asylum for Wayward Witches.Why did Chaos choose me?I remember thinking as they sedated me for the first time.What did I do to deserve such a curse?
The path ends abruptly, and a woman of such darksplendor and majesty awaits me that tears stream unbidden from my eyes. She is Her. The embodiment of magic, itself—of Chaos. The Goddess spreads her arms wide in welcome. She smiles, her eyes soft and kind. An endless gown of a billion glittering jewels adorns her, the gems tinkling softly like the whisper of bells on a distant wind.
“My Child,”she says, her lips unmoving.“Chaos is a gift, one that few souls are strong enough—or worthy enough of—to wield. But you are, Asha Ravensong. And so, it is my gift to you, Daughter of my Heart. Embrace it. Now go. You have Sisters. Channel them. Save yourself, and then, save them.”
Chapter Twelve
Erik
“When I give the signal, we attack,” I say through gritted teeth. Every inch of me burns for vengeance. “They have stolen my mate, and have incarcerated her Sisters long enough! We’ll save them all. Kill anyone who isn’t a Chaos witch.”
The clan, save for our cubs, the feeding mothers, and our elderly, await my command. Their glinting eyes regard me with trust. They are loyal to a fault, and I love them for it. Each and every bear I know by name and heart.I just hope we don’t suffer causalities.
“The staff of Rosewood Valley Asylum are bound by the very same spells that binds the Chaos witches. It prevents the casting or use of magic within its walls. It’s an intangible barrier that surrounds the entire castle. So, once inside, they are as helpless as any mortal against our teeth and claws. Show no mercy! These nurses and orderlies are corrupted under the influence of The Five and have knowingly harmed the innocent.”
I look to the moon above, obscured by unseasonably dark clouds. “The Goddess is on our side. We will liberate her children, and—until further plans are made—keep them safe. These witches are our queen’s kin!”
I give my clan a solemn nod before skulking through the shadows to reach the front of the castle. Great, ornate iron gates bar the way, and there are two guards on patrol.Nothing I can’t handle. I’d slaughter an entire army for Asha.Scaling the fence, a dagger clenched firmly between my teeth, I drop down into the garden without a sound.
Flanking one, and then the other, I sneak up behind the fools on duty. I could snap their necks, but my rage won’t be quelled.This is war on The Five, and I will have blood…Reefing their heads back by their hair, I slice their throats. The bladewhispers through their flesh with a beauty that sends a fleeting shiver up my spine.It’s been too long.
Doubling back, I use the dagger to pick the ancient lock holding the gate. A metallicclinksounds, and the arched arm of the lock pops, releasing itself. After tossing the lock into the roses, I throw the gates wide. They creak in the darkness of the shadowed night, but there are no voices forthcoming at my forced entry, no candles flickering in windows.It’s time. Shifting, I lift my head to the sky and roar, offering up my indignation, anger, and pain to the Goddess.
The thunder of more than a hundred paws bearing down upon the earth echoes through the valley, and then we descend upon the asylum like a plague of fur-clad death. Shrieks and screams fill the stone halls as we surge forward. Teams of bears clear each wing of the castle with terrifying ferocity and precision. Several staff members try to defend themselves, wielding whatever they’re able to find at the moment, but their efforts prove futile.They made their choice.
I stalk the corridors, ensuring no spineless staff have taken to hiding like spiders and snakes in the Chaos witches’ chambers. When my team leaders report back to me, I shift. “Chaos witches,” I shout, my voice echoing throughout the immense castle. “We are here to help you! You needn’t fear us.”
With a nod to my nearest clan members, I instruct them to shift and take care of any wounded, and to see to the witches. “They will likely be drugged, confused, frightened, or possibly aggressive. They’ve been caged as no creature should be. Be patient and show kindness, brothers and sisters.”
I turn to the dark stairway at the end of the hall that leads down into the bowels of the asylum, and my heart begins to race anew. “I don’t know what awaits down there,” I say. “So, I will not ask you to come with me.”
My best friend and younger brother shift, standing talland resolute.
“We’re coming with you,” says Garth.
