Page 136 of The Unbound Witch

But Eden ignored him, swiping her hand through the air, her mother falling before her. One step. One single step in. A moment of hesitation from her daughter and Endora Mossbrook struck like a snake, clutching Eden’s throat with invisible hands and lifting her from the ground.

“Damnit,” Bastian roared, pounding his fist into the barrier, staring at Eden as she thrashed her legs. “Bring it down, Raven.”

I moved my hand over the magical wall, its texture hard as stone. “I can’t.”

“She’s going to kill Eden. We have to try.”

I looked at the ceiling, taking a long breath, considering what spell I might try. Unlock didn’t work, though I knew it wouldn’t. I tried casting vines to grow from below Endora, but the spell would not penetrate the barrier. Nym moved opposite of me, casting everything she could think of as well.

“Kir?” I yelled over the sound of flying magic. “Can you get in?”

She raced along the barrier beside Atlas, digging his claws into the surface of solid rock, blood coating his massive nails.

Eden dropped from Endora’s blast and raced across the circle, tackling her mother to the ground with a scream that echoed in the domed room. All of her life, she’d been ruined by her mother. Every moment, overcast by the decision of a power-hungry hag with no true sense of family. All those years, we’d believed her to be mourning the loss of her precious daughter, but as she threw that daughter across the barrier, blood spattering down the wall, I wondered if even Endora knew how to keep the truth sorted from the lies in her mind.

Kir emerged beside me. “I can’t break through it.”

“I have an idea, but it’s dangerous,” I yelled.

Bastian froze, blood dripping from his palm as he’d tried to use it to break the magic. “Do not risk yourself.”

“You’re going to try to crack the barrier by shifting the ground beneath us, aren’t you?” Nym hollered.

“You can’t move the mountain, Rave.” Kir swept in front of me. “It’s a fucking mountain.”

My limbs tingled as I could practically hear the clock ticking on Eden’s life. Wiggling my fingers, I turned to Bastian. “If I do this, all hell might break loose.”

He stormed across the space between us, gripping my face. “We’ll escape hell together then.”

I cast.

Steadying myself, the mountain rumbled, then shook violently as it roared to life.

Eden called out, arms flailing as she attacked her mother with a beet red face. Swinging her arms as much as her magic until someone’s blood coated the inside of the barrier and dripped down the side. Moss and vines grew from the top, inching their way down. The fire from the sconces along the walls flickered. And then absolute dread gripped my heart as the stalactites covering the towering ceiling fell like honed weapons.

59

KIRSI

“Fuck you and your mountain moving, Raven Moonstone,” I yelled as the damn world crashed down on us. Of course that thoughtless barrier remained, but the entire space transformed.

“I’m not casting anymore,” Raven shouted back over the rumble, but it didn’t matter. Whatever she’d started, continued. She threw her hands outward and the boulders blocking the doors rolled away.

“Everyone out,” Bastian shouted, just as he tackled Raven to the ground, saving her from being impaled.

Atlas shifted, more limber as an animal. Nym screamed and my phantom heart stopped. Talon, that beautiful white tiger, one leg stained with red blood, shielded Scoop underneath him.

“Get them out of here,” I yelled. “All of you need to go, now. This whole fucking room is going to cave in.”

Nym shook her head, lifting Scoop from her familiar as the mountain continued rumbling, protesting Raven’s attempt to save Eden. The beautiful, spirit blessed marking on her forehead glowed a golden hue, lighting her face in an ethereal beauty. Talon limped forward taking Scoop by the back of his neck and racing out of the room.

“Seriously, Nym. You too.”

She shook her head, lifting her hands. The bracelets on her arms clinked together, and the melody was so misplaced in the chaos. “I need to tell you something.”

I jerked my hand out. “No. Fuck no. You don’t get to have serious conversations because you think something bad is going to happen. You don’t.”

“Kirsi, shut up and listen to me for once.”