Page 45 of Wings of Lies (Daughter of the Seven Circles #1)
The air pulsed, and a blue ball of fire formed in Miriam’s hand. Sweat slicked our arms from the uncomfortable heat. But before she could smash it into Marcus’s face, it fizzled.
“Having issues?” Marcus taunted .
“No!” she screamed, pulling a knife from one of her many sheaths. It plunged toward his side. He clawed into her burning flesh, pulling her forward. She cried out but managed to stab the horrid male in the leg.
“Bitch!” Marcus seethed, stumbling back.
Miriam unsheathed another dagger, holding it out as her half-eaten arm dangled by her side.
“You’ll pay for that,” he said, forming another cloud of red smoke between his hands.
Miriam retreated, Marcus limped forward, and Miriam’s son decided to play the hero, positioning himself in front of his mom with clenched fists raised. Beside him, Oliver’s sister stood frozen, mere inches from Marcus’s swirling red smoke.
We jerked back, nicking our finger on the blade protruding from Oliver’s unconscious mom as we applied pressure.
“Melanie!” Oliver whispered.
By the eager gleam in Marcus’s eyes, Oliver should’ve never brought attention to his sister.
The cloud of red split. One went high, the other low.
Time slowed down, and Miriam spoke to me.
Lucille, if you can hear me, if you’re in there, save my son. Save them all. You’re the key.
I stilled.
Tell your mom I forgive her. And remember, Lucille. Remember, she was only trying to do her best by you.
Then, as if time paused to give Miriam that moment, it sped back up.
She grabbed her son and turned them around.
The cloud of red hit her back. She arched from the impact of Marcus’s power and screamed.
Her son stared up at her with watery eyes, watching her agony until she reined it in enough to press a hand to his face and mumble soft words only for him.
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I didn’t want to watch as a little boy witnessed his mother’s death while she held him, and he shed silent streams of tears. Please, I want to wake up now. Release me. But my temperamental powers didn’t listen to me.
The other cloud came for us. But before it hit, Emily managed to push to her knees and shove Oliver out of the way.
Surprised, we fell into the wall, banging our head.
Our vision blurred, and our ears rang. Warmth dripped down our forehead as we tilted our head up.
Black dots interrupted the picture of Marcus’s retreating steps.
Blinking, it took us a second to see two little bodies being dragged out of the house.
Miriam’s son was knocked unconscious, and Oliver’s sister cried in Marcus’s arms.
“No! Mom!” Oliver yelled, looking back for help, and froze.
“Mom?” His voice broke along with my tender heart.
He blinked, unable to comprehend the sight.
More than anything, I wished I could control his arms and cover his eyes to shield Oliver from the horrendous sight.
Tears helped to blur the two half-eaten bodies.
But nothing could stop the sound of the sizzling flesh or the smell of burnt meat and hair.
“MOM!” he wailed, then puked.
I woke, gasping for air, and puked into the leaves.
“Oliver was telling the truth. ”
That didn’t make what he did to me okay, and I didn’t forgive him for it, but after witnessing and feeling what he went through, I hated him a little less.
What I didn’t understand from my dream-walk was how Miriam talked into my mind.
Lucille, if you can hear me, if you’re in there, save my son. Save them all. You’re the key. Tell your mom I forgive her. And remember, Lucille. Remember, she was only trying to do her best by you.
Invading the body meant I invaded the memory. I didn’t give power to the memory for anyone to change it, or that was what the male said. But then how was it possible that Miriam spoke to me? And how could I save her son?
I assumed her son was the boy with her, but I didn’t recognize him, and depending on when that memory took place, he could be dead or older.
Save them all? You’re the key?
That didn’t make sense either. I could barely save myself, and she was telling me I had to save them all? Who is all ?
At least the last part I was doing. I know my mom was only trying to protect me in the only way she knew how. I already forgave her for isolating me and refusing to teach me control.
Sighing, I pushed myself off the wet ground and rubbed at the mud on my face. Everything looked lighter, but I couldn’t see the sun as it hid behind the thick foliage.
I stilled.
The sun.
Cursing, I peered around. Trees, dangling moss, and large patches of carpet moss filled my vision. I moved, jangling at a brisk pace. There were no amount of curses I had left at the noise my cuffs made. The king said I couldn’t unlock them, but once I found a safe spot to rest, I would try anyway.
I hid behind trees, searching for movement. My ears were useless when it came to Aspen, or the Drunes, for that matter. Both were silent as death. But I figured I’d at least try to sneak, ignoring the fact that I jangled like a dinner bell to anyone in the near vicinity.
After a couple of hours of walking, I sat behind a tree and took out both my bobby pins.
I bent one in an “L” shape for the tension wrench and curved the tip of the other to create a small hook.
Inserting the tension wrench with one hand and applying rotational pressure, I added the hooked bobby pin and pushed at the pins.
When a couple of pins released, I smiled.
“ Temper resistant, my ass.”
At the final pin, the keyhole flashed, sending a searing heat into the bobby pins. I yelped and coated my fingers in purple flames. But even as my Infernus soothed the searing heat, it did nothing for the melting metal.
I slumped. Damn.
Resuming my walk, I stressed over where I was going. A Drune wouldn’t be half bad right now, at least to point me in the right direction to Magda’s and food for a drop of blood.
At the mere thought of finding food or water, I nearly sent myself into a panic attack.
Alone, hungry, and tired, and I had no idea how to hunt or provide for myself.
If I found a berry bush, I could pluck some off to eat.
That was if Elora even had berry bushes.
As for the water, Elora had rivers, but based on the poisonous one I was just in, who knew if they’d be safe to drink?
It looked like I was back on the starvation train until I found help .
Foot by foot, tree by tree, I traveled through the Drune Forest with no sightings of Aspen, Brock, or Drunes.
Eventually, the trees widened until they were the width of a small compact car.
Unsurprisingly, there was still moss. But this moss was fluorescent orange, swallowing the thick roots that erupted from the ground like tufts of fur.
In between the tufts were bright blue mushrooms. But I most enjoyed the little clusters of white flowers blooming in the spaces between each car-sized trunk.
Yet, my gaze kept training back on the mushrooms.
Were they edible? Probably not.
With my stomach a twisted mess, energy leaking out of a hole created by the lack of food and water, my thoughts took a dive. I was either about to starve out here, collapse and get eaten by some hellish creature, or collapse and get caught.
With heavy eyes, I paused against a tree to take a break, then jerked back.
It hummed.
I placed my hand back on the rough bark, feeling the vibrations tickle my hand. Each tree I touched resulted in the same sensation. Strange.
It took twice as many steps, but I weaved around the giants, marveling at their vibrant foliage and curious vibrations.
When my stomach cramped with pain, I grabbed a mushroom, desperate.
Blue residue brushed off on my fingertips as I turned it, contemplating.
Brock mentioned something about things I couldn’t eat unless I wanted to puke my guts up.
But as the spongy mushroom pressed into my fingers, and my stomach craved sustenance, I brought it toward my lips .
With no warning at all, someone tackled me from behind.
Air fled from my lungs as my face planted into a cluster of white flowers.
Panicked, I squirmed and thrashed at my captor.
Their hands dug into my arms, and their body pressed against my back, holding me to the ground.
Once I realized I couldn’t get out of this, my ears registered a noise. They were talking to me.
I froze, recognizing the voice. He must’ve noticed the change in my body because he released me. Turning around on the ground, I looked up into emeralds.
A devilish grin lit his face. “Hey, Luce.”