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So, when it was finally dawn and we were approaching the area where the shields for the coven were supposed to be, we all noticed the thick, black smoke filling the air.
“Oh no,” Ayla said, beginning to rush forward. “No, no, no,no!”
I was right after her, my heart in my throat, and as we approached, it became more and more apparent that something was very,verywrong.
Chapter 20
Ayla
I…
It couldn’t…
There wasn’t…
I stared openly at the smoke filling the air, my soul searching frantically for the tell-tale feeling of my coven’s protective magic.
But it wasn’t there. It was all gone. Then that meant…
I couldn’t even consider the notion, but at the same time I had to, because that was what was right in front of me. The closer I ran, the worse it got, with houses ransacked and what could be on fire burning high above the trees.
“Zara! Willa! Ryu! Tabit!” I called as I vaulted through the area that once held multiple barriers but now was only empty. Surely it was a trick, a defensive illusion to throw the enemy off their trail.
But all of the debris, broken furniture, and uprooted plants looked plenty real to me.
That was when I saw the first body.
It was barely recognizable, thick black hair atop a body that was so beaten and bloody that the air was ripped right out of my lungs. It was so over the top, grotesquely violent that I'd no doubt who was responsible for the carnage.
The Shrouded Shriek.
But how? How had he made it in?
Was it my curse? That was the only answer, really. I didn’t even know why I was questioning it. If I hadn’t returned, if I hadn’t reintroduced them to the awful magic haunting me, they would all be alive.
“Willa!Zara!”
I went farther, looking everywhere, but I only saw another body. Then another. Then one more. None of them looked even remotely human, and most were missing pieces, leaving me to collapse where I was, sobbing violently.
They were gone.
They were allgone.
“Hey, hey, breathe for me, baby girl.”
Suddenly, Kai’s arms were around me, holding me tightly. I felt safety try to sneak its way past the horrific terror and sorrow within me, but it was beaten back by immense guilt. If I wasn’t careful, Kai was going to be next, and I couldn’t let that happen.
“Come on, Ayla, it isn’t safe here. We need to get out of here.”
I wanted to agree, to just pop onto my feet and run away from the horror surrounding us, but I couldn’t. Not yet.
“We’re going to finish this,” I said shakily as I wiped my eyes. Stepping out of Kai’s embrace, I marched toward the center of the coven.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m getting that relic and whatever else I can find,” I answered resolutely. If I'd indeed cost Tristian, Irina, and all of my coven their lives, I was at least going to get what we needed to save all the innocent townsfolk around the base.
I half-expected an argument from Kai, but instead he just got to his feet and gave me a solid nod. “All right. Let’s find it.”
