AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What’s going on?” she asked. “Are you guys here for the report? If Gunther told you, then he’s right, but it’s not done yet. A summary is all you’re going to get, I’m afraid.”
“Gunther told us,” Verity said, voice clipped out and filled with contempt. “And I knew I should never have trusted the likes of you.”
“What?”
Confusion gave way to horror when Henry finally looked up and she glimpsed his greenish-pale face, then the dead look in his eyes. It was like seeing a stranger, only she knew him, and the sight of him like that made her mind stutter. Belatedly, it registered that Verity was speaking again, the accusing tone prominent.
“It’s all her doing. I should have known she would find a way to take advantage and eventually use her dark magic on us just like her brother did—”
“Grandma, her brother’s been proclaimed innocent—” Ryan was saying but was cut off by a sharp wave of Verity’s hand. Pearl frowned.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Verity, and I don’t appreciate being accused of nonsense. Were you the ones who called the Council for this so-called confrontation?”
“I was the one who called them,” Gunther replied. They locked eyes, and she glimpsed the moroseness in his. But more so, she read the anticipation underneath. “Seeing is believing and I needed to show them what you had done.”
He stepped forward until he was beside Henry, who remained unresponsive. He gingerly patted Henry’s shoulder—and in that second of quick movement, Pearl saw that his hand was sticky and thrumming with a bit of magic.
She moved even before she knew she was moving, her instinct taking over. But the Lyras saw it as a threat and blocked her path, sending her an array of magical zaps that she had no choice but to avoid. The horror intensified when she felt Gunther’s magic above it all, spreading across Henry when no one was looking. She opened her mouth to yell, but in a blur, Henry was transforming before their eyes and it was too late to put a stop to it.
The giant came to life in fast motion, a formidable creature that stunned Verity and had the others pulling her to safety. Gunther pretended shock, too, but there was no erasing what she saw and she lunged in his direction. Pain slammed into her at her first attempt, then her next attempts, before a great roar shook the house. She watched as the giant heaved and stumbled from the crowd trying to subdue him, then broke free to reign chaos on whatever it could find. Furniture and artifacts were smashed all over again while Gunther pointed in her direction.
“She did this to him with her black magic! Capture her!”
Desperately, she looked around for John or Ryan, but the two were busy trying to get the giant under control. Fury spurted when the Lyras combined their efforts and shot a great, heaving ball of magic toward the giant. It hit him squarely in the head, releasing even more energy that blinded the room with a bright light.
“Henry!” she screamed, willing him to return to his human form. But Gunther’s magic had a different effect, turning him into the monster he wasn’t supposed to be. She pushed against the bright light, trying to get to him.
A harsh yank pulled her back, then entrapped her with another slam of pain.
That was all Pearl remembered before blackness wrapped around her like a not-so-warm blanket.
She woke up in prison, disoriented and feeling like her head was about to explode. She debated using her magic and ended up rattling the cage bars while she called for someone, not stopping until a prison guard ambled in her direction. Pearl didn’t recognize the man, but she cocked her hips to the side and flashed him a sweet smile.
“I’m hungry. Would you be kind enough to get me food, and an update on what’s happening? I’m lost and confused, and…”
Her words trailed off when the guard walked away, then came back with a tray of bread and water a few minutes later. When she tried magic to heat her food, she felt a sizzling pinch in her fingers and stopped.
“It’s not going to work,” the man said. “You’re in the magical chambers for a heinous crime and it’s built to work against that.”
“What heinous crime?” she demanded.
“Cursing a member of the Council and the head of the Lyra family,” a third voice announced.
Ryan stepped forward, thanking the guard and shooing him off. They eyed each other, her body turning stiff when he gave her no smile and she couldn’t read his expression. But she sensed his hesitation. The habitual part of her would have turned on the charm already, but something stopped her from doing it to this man.
“What is this? A visit to check that the person they’re accusing of a heinous crime is still in bars?”
“You could say that,” was his prompt reply, surprising her. “My family’s busy at the moment and the task has been given to me.”
“Oh.”
“Gunther volunteered for it, actually, but…” He shrugged. “I thought it best if I come instead.”
A chill went down her spine, knowing how the confrontation would go if Ryan hadn’t intervened. But she didn’t thank him yet. Instead, she perused him.
“I didn’t curse him.”
“I saw you do it.”
