Page 25 of Magic & Secrets (Twisted Magic #1)
CALLA’S DREAMING LEFT me rattled. My mind was on fire. I sensed I was losing grasp of my sanity. A part of me wanted to hurt her. If she were dead, I could break free of this raw desire.
Rather than harm a single golden hair on her head, I followed Calla toward Elatalora. She frequently glanced back at me. Her gaze seemed annoyed at first. Whatever she saw on my face softened her expression.
We left behind the blood-soaked outpost and headed into Pandorium Forest. There was no avoiding the treacherous woodlands. They spanned three Territories.
“It crosses six Territories now,” Calla corrected when I mentioned how we must face whatever dangers lurked inside the forest. “Pandorium is expanding. The Murade tried destroying the new growth near Orvician and Zorata, but the forest came back. It even extends into Golyana, where it’s begun to alter the desert. ”
The forest around us breathed and hummed. My every step was met with moss carpeting the ground. The primeval trees towered high above us with gnarled branches blocking out much of the light. Their bark was slick with constant dampness.
“The Murade claimed the ancient ones were dead,” I told Calla as we worked our way through the forest. “They said the magic twisting humans into new creatures was a side effect of the ancient ones’ rotting corpses. They swore it would decrease over time.”
“The humans excelled in Lavinia for a long time before the first magic folk appeared. Whenever faced with an enemy, they triumphed. I doubt they were lying when they told you those things, but the Murade hasn’t controlled all seven Territories since your kind retired.”
“I assume Balzica was first to be cut loose,” I said, considering the southernmost Territory in Lavinia.
“Yes,” Calla said, glancing back and smiling at me. “The Territories demanded more than war. Unable to control the entire continent, the Murade made pacts with the Elves, Warlocks, and various other magic folk factions.”
“Were you taught these things by Tirso?”
Hesitating, Calla didn’t want to deceive me.
I recalled my dream of her childhood. I knew she was trained by more than Tirso.
The Citadel was hiding its true purpose.
If the Murade had created a new secret army away from Operation Overlord, could this beguiling creature before me be capable of surviving on Mt. Elysium?
“Understanding the Territories is an important part of my vocation,” Calla said rather than answer my question.
“I never cared for history or politics. The Murade told us how to kill before setting us loose on the world. We knew our targets. We tried to avoid collateral damage. There was nothing more to the operation than that.”
Calla glanced back at me over her shoulder. Her green-eyed gaze flashed with annoyance. I offered her a smile, refusing to be worried over a battle that wasn’t mine. She looked away only to glance back again and smile.
The power of the need between us swirled around my heart and tightened. I struggled to breathe. Calla’s smile widened.
“I know you feel it,” she murmured.
Lying to keep her from feeling so smug, I replied, “I only feel boredom, little one.”
Calla’s smile remained soft yet mocking. A love spell would put me under her control. What greater weapon existed than a lovesick Bane Shifter? I would have suspected her of witchcraft if this feeling didn’t also inconvenience her.
I remained distracted as we walked through Pandorium Forest. I barely noticed the sun fading behind the heavy canopy of old growth. The darkness didn’t bother me. I saw as well in the brightest light as in the darkest night.
Up ahead, Calla moved steadily through the darkness.
Her hair was loose, tied back only at the top.
I suspected the sisters braided each other’s hair.
Occasionally, the sunlight would break through the tree canopy and shine against her golden locks.
I once again consider how soft her hair would feel against my fingers.
When I thought Calla was dead, I had also wanted to die. Never had I wished for death before, yet the loss of a stranger destroyed me. A love spell seemed unlikely. Could Calla somehow be my mate? What would that mean for our future?
“How did you become an orphan?” I asked as the forest became colder and the moldy scent grew stronger. “Did your mother die in the same situation as her sisters?”
“Yes, our mothers died giving birth to us,” Calla explained, and her voice held a hint of sadness. “They died to give us life.”
“How do you know?”
I recalled how the Murade had used artificial wombs to spawn the Bane Shifters. Did they truly use human women to birth their newest weapons?
Calla glanced at me over her shoulder. “What do you mean?”
“Who told you that was how your mother died?”
Halting suddenly, Calla looked at me and frowned. I realized she didn’t know the answer. Or she hadn’t been given a sufficient lie for this specific question. I felt her struggling to find an answer.
“Did you ever meet anyone who knew your mother?” I asked, circling her as she struggled.
Calla stared dumbfounded by my question. I almost laughed at how confused she appeared. Tapping her nose, I smiled.
“Don’t hurt yourself coming up with a lie.”
“I’m not lying.”
“No, because you can’t think of one.”
Calla shook her head as if I were making absurd accusations, yet she didn’t counter anything I said.
“Shall I lead now?” I asked when she eyed me a bit longer.
“No, I can’t focus when your behind is flashing me with every step you take.”
Chuckling loudly, I startled tiny creatures watching us in the trees. I spun around, trying to spot them up above.
“Don’t worry. They’re only Faeries,” Calla said, walking again and glancing upward. “Lore claims they were once human babies or small children discarded into the forest to die. Pandorium twisted them into their own pack of magical creatures. Besides stealing food and trinkets, they’re harmless.”
Nodding, I followed Calla while catching sight of the tiny things giggling at my interest in them. Their eyes glowed the color of burnt umber, seeming especially bright against their pale-blue skin.
Focusing on Calla, I appreciated her knowledge.
What could she teach me if we were alone without concerns for my pack or her sisters?
I hadn’t enjoyed my studies at Operation Overlord.
The focus was on how to kill, something I already knew how to do.
With Calla’s style of knowledge and her fetching presence, I might enjoy learning.
Watching her move ahead of me, I noticed her pause and lift her chin to sniff the air. I mimicked her gesture.
Something was nearby. A new magic lingered in the trees and brushed across the ground. I stepped closer to where Calla hesitated.
“Warlocks,” I whispered to her.
“And something else. A Shifter.”
“No.”
“Serpent Shifters,” Calla said in almost a hiss. “I saw their kind in a great hall with the others who plotted the Haven Junction slaughter.”
“And we just happened to stumble upon them?” I asked, dubious of her dreams of great conspiracies.
“No, they’ve been tracking us since we landed here.”
“How can you possibly know that?” I balked, wondering if she had lured me into a trap.
“Because they’re moving toward us rather than away. What kind of creature would face off against a Bane Shifter?”
“Those with a death wish.”
“Or those within a cult,” Calla said and stepped away from me. “They took blood sacrifices from Haven Junction. They hope to reclaim what we’ve taken from their dead allies.”
I realized Calla’s fearful expression was on my account.
“Sweet youngling,” I mocked. “The vermin attacked Haven Junction rather than the Bane Shifters for a reason.”
“Your blood is the same. They want their blood sacrifice.”
“For what?” I asked, frowning at how she claimed to know the motivation of these vile killers.
Calla scanned the forest and stepped away from me. “The ancient ones aren’t dead, Roque. You’ve seen the world. You must feel them. They have followers. Blood sacrifices of powerful creatures like you would be a great gift to an ancient one.”
“You’ve gone mad.”
“No.”
“Then, the world has. No creature with any sense would challenge the Bane Shifters.”
“There’s only one of you. And they challenged three of you back in Arbdorre Territory.”
“We only failed because of you and your kind.”
“True, but the Bane Shifters have been gone for a long time. The world moved on with only stories of your kind. These creatures might not understand the foe they face.”
Calla spoke these final words loudly as if calling out to the Warlocks hiding in the darkness.
“The Bane Shifters once destroyed entire Warlock covens,” Calla continued, speaking louder still. “They wiped out hundreds of Shifters of all kinds.”
Calla’s praise for my kind was meant for the enemy, yet my skin warmed under her tribute. Her scent intoxicated me, distracted me, and left me lightheaded. I could barely focus on the enemy. I only felt Calla’s flesh calling out to be touched, tasted, consumed.
Calla turned to me in the darkness, feeling my need beckoning to her. Our gazes met and held. Her need for me stole my breath. My need for her made Calla swoon.
The magic between us distracted us from the enemy on the march.
A Serpent Shifter lunged from behind a tree.
I had only heard of such creatures. They were rare and kept to the densest parts of Pandorium Forest. This female exuded a coiled menace.
Her scaled skin was the color of moss. Her slitted pupils glowed faintly gold.
From between her black lips flicked a long, venom-laced tongue.
The Serpent Shifter’s first strike with the tongue barely missed hitting Calla. A second creature appeared from the darkness and struck the warrior through her back, just below her armor.