: Chapter 26

I reach out and grab Ryan by the throat, squeezing with all the strength my Physical magic gifts me. I push him away, keeping my grip firm, and get to my feet. The more pressure I apply, the more I can breathe. The wind that howls around us diverts all its strength to Ryan and pelts his form. I let go and he’s sent flying through the air. Oxygen returns and I can breathe once more. The earth below cracks and rumbles. More water rises from beneath its surface. Beside me, my Broken-self remains by my side, holding onto everything that was holding me back.

I have control now. Complete control.

‘That’s it, Beautiful,’ Gabriel encourages. ‘You can do this. You can win.’

I turn to face him. ‘I know,’ I reply.

The wind moves upwards and raises me in the air. I make it carry me down to the base of the pit. My feet land gently on the floor as the form of Ryan continues being forced back, speaking all the things he used to say. I walk closer.

I know what I need to do.

Defeat the fire beasts with beasts of my own.

Let’s do this.

I shatter the stone keeping the panther’s prisoner. As soon as they’re free, they roar and charge all at once. They jump. Their bodies are flaming. Their claws are out. Their teeth are bared. Their mouths are open wide and they’re going for my throat.

Not today.

I hold out my hands and send out another stream of fire. But this one is not for a wall or a barrier. And it’s not to attack them. The flames crash in front of me and build. I don’t stop until standing between me and the two panthers, are two more creatures.

My creatures.

Wolves.

They stand as tall as me, three times bigger than any real wolf. Their long flame-made hair covers their strong, muscled bodies and moves like molten lava. It drips onto the floor, melting the ground beneath it. Their claws, their teeth and their eyes glow brighter than any real flame ever could. They raise their big padded feet to show the scorched earth beneath.

They – are – beautiful.

Their mouths open wide, their lips pull back showing their huge fangs. Each one of their movements… is me. I am the wolves. I wanted them. I needed them. And now, I have them. I own them.

The blue panthers and the red wolves.

‘Kill,’ I order.

They charge.

The beasts don’t hold back. Their claws, their teeth, their sheer strength is as real as I am. I hear the whimpers of all the creatures as they tear into each other. The furious roars that come with each attack. One of them gets past my fire wolves and comes for me. My fire erupts all over my arms like a snake.

she remarks, still standing up on the ridge, her white hair blowing gently across her face.

The flames leave me slowly.

a snake. Slithering across the ground, growing in size until its body is as thick as Hendrix’s giant form. The panther leaps. The snake too. It twines itself around the panther, crushing it as it writhes and growls. I walk towards the panther, pinned and helpless. I hold out my hand and ball it into a fist. The snake crushes the panther completely and both turn to shapeless fire. The blue flames mix with my red and return to me, covering my left arm in vibrant purple light and heat. My wolves have the final panther pinned. With a nod from me, they tear off its head and toss it high into the air. They all turn back to formless flames and return to me. They become a part of me. Both my arms are alight but there’s no pain whatsoever. Just warmth and strength. The image of Ryan fades and everything falls still.

I turn and face the ghostly image of Rebecca who still hovers in the air as if suspended in water. As I make my way to her, she lowers, and plants her feet on the broken Bloodstone still protruding from the ground.

‘You have succeeded in your first challenge.’ Her voice is low. Only I can hear her. ‘You faced your fears and overcame them. Congratulations.’ She reaches out her hand for me to take.

I look up at Gabriel. He observes me nervously, itching to come to me but forced to stay put. I reach out, and touch her hand.

My head fills with whispers. It’s like a million words are being said all at once in the quietest of hushes. They’re Rebecca’s words in Rebecca’s voice. All her thoughts and spells and insights about magic. It’s her knowledge. All of it, pouring into me. But each voice wants to be heard. Each one, desperate to pass on their wisdom and warnings. Her whisperings turn to yelling. And then to screaming. A million words and sentences getting louder, and louder, competing, until my head feels ready to explode. My brain stretches to make room as the information forces itself inside me like a balloon filling with water. But there’s too much water. There’s too much knowledge. It’s too loud. I feel like I’m about to burn from the inside out. She’s screaming. No… I’m screaming.

Magic erupts from within her like a violent outward swell. Flames and lightning and energy. It goes straight through me and towards the barrier. To the others. I can’t get the coordination together to yell at them to run. But it hits the invisible barrier and rises up like a wave striking a cliff. We all watch it go right up into the trees, higher and higher, turning every branch it touches to ash. But the power can’t get beyond the wall. So, it continues rising. I think it could travel to the sun and never get past the Mortem Wall.

Everything falls silent. I look at Rebecca still holding my hand. She continues looking straight ahead, her eyes unfocused and distant.

There’s no sign of the magic that disappeared into the sky. No fire beasts. No Ryan. No crickets chirping. No birds tweeting. Even the air is still. Not a breeze passes me. She won’t let me go, so I just wait for whatever’s coming next.

‘What’s happening?’ Gabriel yells over.

I shrug. ‘I have no idea. Is that it? Is it done?’

Then, from the distance, a low grumbling sound starts. It gets louder and louder. Nearer and nearer. The closer it gets; the more the ground begins to shake. We all turn to the heavens.

‘Oh shit.’ The magic is crashing back down to the ground, and rushing straight towards me.

It roars and I can do nothing to stop it.

It’s coming.

I turn to Gabriel. He looks between me and the roaring above. Grayson is holding him back from the Mortem Wall in case he tries to reach me. Everyone is protecting their ears. The noise is enough to make your nose bleed. I try to pull away from Rebecca, but her hand holds me there.

‘I love you,’ I tell him. But I know he didn’t hear me. But he saw me say the words and that’s enough. We watch each other. Comfort each other. But when he glances away from my gaze, I know it’s almost here. I don’t dare look up. The fear that contorts his features tells me enough.

I see him scream my name. Honestly, by the sound of it, an airplane could be crashing on top of me. I stumble as the ground rattles below my feet. More rocks fall from the edge of the cliff face surrounding me. Everyone shuffles away from the edge, apart from Gabriel and Amara, who are so busy watching me, Grayson and Collins must haul them backwards before they fall.

Gabriel gives one final yell.

I look up and see a ceiling of red fire and energy crashing down.

And then it hits me.

It’s like being attacked with a flame thrower charged with a thousand volts of electricity. But a hundred times more powerful and painful. My skin begins to flame. My hands first, in a mix of red and blue and black and white. The flames claim me more and more, crawling up my arms inch by inch. They consume my clothes, covering me with an inferno of power. Lightning too. It crawls across my skin, forces its way down my throat and nose. Everything hurts. My skin. My head. My very soul. I don’t know if I should cry or scream. As it stretches across my torso, I feel like I’m burning alive.

And then… boom! I feel every muscle tear. My blood boils. Every nerve, every cell, all of me detonates upwards. A tornado of power streams into the sky. I soar in a million pieces, through the air like sand in a storm. And as quickly as I was torn apart, I’m hurled back together again. And once I’m whole, there’s no more pain.

The whispers and murmurings, all the million words that poured into my brain, become clear. Become absolute. Rebecca’s knowledge and theories and command over her magic, I know it all.

I open my eyes to find myself lying on the ground amongst tall grass, fully clothed and utterly unharmed. I sit and see I’m still at the bottom of the ditch. The Bloodstone remains buried in the earth, bright red and swirling with magic, and whole. The sun is high in the sky and there’s not a tree in sight to provide any shade. A moment ago, there was a canopy above me and now… nothing! I get to my feet, looking around, and see I am completely alone.

‘Hello?’ I call out. ‘Gabriel? Amara?’ I do a full three-sixty. ‘Anyone?’

I wait. Nothing.

I turn my attention to the ridge and start to climb. When I reach the top, I can’t believe my eyes.

‘What the hell?’ I whisper, hauling myself up and planting my feet on the ground. The woods are gone. The densely wooded trail we trekked through has disappeared and in its place, are hills of wild grass and bracken. Wild ponies are running in the distance. Birds soar overhead. The air feels fresher than any air I have ever breathed in. ‘HELLO?!’ I call out. ‘ANYONE?’

‘Hello, Lilly.’

I spin round so fast I almost fall. Standing behind me is Rebecca Hooper, but this time, she is far from ghost-like. Her skin is a healthy pink. Her eyes are a deep hazel. Her blue dress trails elegantly to the floor and she smiles kindly at me.

‘What’s going on?’ I ask warily, looking around for any other threats that may be sneaking up on me. ‘Is this part of the test? Where’s Gabriel?’

‘Your friends are exactly where you left them, Lilly. They are on Dartmoor. In this exact spot, probably wondering where on earth you have gone,’ she chuckles.

‘Okay… then… Where am I?’

‘You are in the Arcane Realm.’ She opens her arms wide. ‘Welcome.’

What the hell am I supposed to say to that? I continue staring at her with my mouth agape.

‘I apologise for the nasty test I put you through back there.’

‘Uh-huh…’ I take a step back, my eyes not daring to look away.

‘I had to see.’ She takes a step closer.

‘See what?’ I take another step away.

‘Why you are here.’ She takes a step towards me and holds up her hands. ‘Please do not fear me. I am not a threat to you.’ She waits and when I nod, she continues. ‘Fear reveals our true self. I saw your fears. I saw why you fear the people you do. And I saw why you are attempting to lower the Veil.’

‘And? What did you see?’

‘That although you are being held captive and forced to do the spell, you are doing it for the right reasons. You are not doing it to start a war. Or for power. Or for revenge. You are doing it to save our people. And I saw that you will never give into the demands of tyrants again. That is crystal clear to me. You are a very brave and strong young woman. You are reuniting witches with their magic for the right reasons, Lilly Hooper.’

‘And if I wasn’t?’ I ask out of curiosity. ‘If you saw something else in my motives?’

‘You would be dead. I would have ensured it.’ She smirks and tilts her head to the side. ‘So your motives are pure. But what of your resolve? Tell me, how far will you go to save them? To save our people?’

‘As far as I have to,’ I reply.

‘Even if it means war? Because war will come. War always comes to those who have more power than others. Five-hundred years, and it will still end the same way. Humans fear what they cannot control. And witches are wild things with wild hearts. No human can tame a witch. As no witch can tame the hatred and fear in a human’s soul. Power corrupts, child of my child. And humans are so weak and delicate, they crave it more than any other creature alive.’

‘War has already come,’ I reply. ‘For Hunters and humanity at least. They are doing terrible things in the name of killing us. If we do nothing, we are choosing to be slaughtered.’

‘That was the choice I was faced with. Slaughter, or fight. I chose neither.’

‘You chose to hide. You sealed away magic and left the Descendants defenseless.’ My outburst makes her smile affectionately.

‘Spoken like a true warrior. Come.’ She turns and starts walking up the hill behind her.

I follow, and we head up, side by side.

‘What do you know of the spell I performed?’ she asks.

‘Not a lot. I have been translating your journal, but you haven’t made it easy.’

She chuckles, lifting the hem of her skirt as we continue to climb the slope. ‘No. I did not. But now, you will be able to read it all. The whisperings you heard was all my knowledge. Including the many languages I can read. You must have worked very hard to get to the first stone knowing only English and French.’

‘I had help.’

‘Ahh… yes.’ She looks at me with a glint in her eye. ‘I had a peek inside your mind when I brought you here. The middle Mr Kendryk has grown a great deal since I knew him. He is a good man. He was always a good man, truth be told. Easily led, and desperate to please his family, but at heart, a good man.’ She nudges me and winks. ‘And not too bad to gaze upon, huh?’

I can’t help but laugh at her playfulness.

‘Well, the spell was of my own design. In truth, I had no idea if it would work, but I had no alternative.’ Her face falls and she looks ahead, avoiding my gaze. ‘You have heard about the war, but words can never truly do war justice. The things we saw. The pain and suffering that spread across the whole planet. It was indescribable. An evilness covered the globe. It tainted everyone. All of a sudden, in the blink of an eye, we were hated. I thought perhaps that it was just fear. Lies spreading about our wicked intentions. I knew that was a lie when my best friend, a human, turned against us. She was like a sister, really. Her heart was pure. She was the sweetest most loving woman I had ever known. When she was six, her mother died and her father turned to drink and whores. My family took her in. She grew up amongst the witches. She married one. Had a child with him. Then, a year after the first attacks, while we were all in hiding, she led Hunters to her family. She stood in the crowds and cheered at their execution.’

‘Oh my god!’

‘When I caught up with her, when I saw the way she looked at me, all that hate and disgust, I knew instantly that whoever she was, she was no longer the girl I knew. Whoever was looking at me behind her eyes was not her. Something had happened.’ Rebecca looks at me. ‘Something on a global scale had changed. It was affecting humanity, turning them into heartless monsters, thirsty for the witch’s death and pain. It was not fear and propaganda causing all the hatred. It was a spell. Dark magic.’

‘A witch caused the war?’

‘Yes. A witch started the war, Lilly. A power-hungry witch with a dark agenda. It was the Hunters Mark that led me to the truth.’

‘How? What truth?’

‘The Hunters mark is a poison of hatred and malice. Those who are marked are corrupted by an unwavering desire to not only kill us, but to make us suffer as much as possible. They become obsessed with killing anyone connected to the Arcane Realm. And any human that comes with a ten-mile radius of a Hunters mark, becomes just as obsessed. Hunters were infected with a plague, and they were sent out into the world to spread it. Five-hundred years ago, a witch decided they wanted to kill every other witch on the planet, and they used the Hunters mark to do it.’

‘Why?’

She stops half way up the hill and faces me. ‘Think of the Arcane Realm as a ball of energy.’ She holds out her hand and creates an orb of red energy. ‘When a witch is conceived, their link to the Arcane Realm is instant.’ Small threads of energy leave the ball. Thousands upon thousands of them spread out and disappear across the Moors. One connects to my heart, and another to hers, representing our links. The ball in her hand grows dimmer. ‘The energy will never die, it’s power only ever shared. Now, even with the Veil up, all these strings are still attached to each and every witch. What I did, was block the power.’ She creates a second orb that surrounds the first. Inside the second orb, the threads are still vibrant. But beyond that, on the strings stretching out of sight, they turn black. ‘When you kill the witch, the power returns to the Arcane Realm, ready to be connected to another yet to be born. When the war began, we lost two thirds of our kind.’ She waves her second hand through the strings, severing them so only a third remain. They fade, and the orb, as well as the remaining strings, glow brighter. ‘Look at how bright it is. Look at its power.’ She lifts it higher and we marvel the beauty of it. ‘As the war raged on, and more of us perished, we became stronger. Our powers increased. Witches could access parts of their abilities they never before could. With our friend’s deaths, our strength increased. But despite this, we were not winning. No matter what powers we had, we were dying in droves. The Hunters could find us through our connection to the Arcane Realm. The Mark led them straight to us. With the Veil blocking it, they couldn’t sense us any longer. After a while, they stopped hunting. They retreated into their forts and castles, training and creating more of their kind, getting ready for our return. With them away from humanity, the hatred faded. The effects of the mark wore off.’ In a swift move, she severs the remaining strings, including ours. The ball returns to its full glory, glimmering and bright. Her eyes lift to mine. ‘What if only one witch remained?’ She creates a single thread. Its intensity is a hundred times stronger than any other thread. ‘What if only one witch had access to the Arcane Realm and they didn’t have to share their power with another?’

‘They would have an unbelievable amount of power.’

‘Yes. They would, wouldn’t they?’ She lowers her hand and the orb fades.

‘So, five-hundred years ago, a witch created the Hunters mark which infected humanity with an unstoppable desire to kill anyone they thought may be a witch, all with the intention of being the last witch left alive, so they alone would have access to the Arcane Realm?’

‘Precisely.’ She nods.

I think back to the actions of the humans at the two museums. Their behavior was certainly irrational. ‘But why would anyone want so much power if they would be forced to live in the world alone, surrounded by humans that hated them? What on earth would drive someone to want to kill thousands of people?’

‘The one who created the mark has made themselves immune from its effects. They control the Hunters. They do not fear them.’

‘But why? Why start the war? Why try and kill us all?’

‘The reason why they did this was the same reason why most do dark and unforgivable things. Power… and love.’ A sad smile appears on her face, and grief settles in her eyes. ‘My mother was a great woman. Her heart was full of love and compassion. She was a true beauty, and the object of many a man’s affection. But although her spirit was vibrant and intoxicating, her body was tired and beaten. Her soul neglected and abused.’ Her face hardens. ‘Soon after I was born, my father changed. He became a cruel and jealous man, with a short temper and quick fists. For both my mother and myself. His infidelities were countless and it was not long until my mother fell for another. A powerful witch, one who ruled the largest coven in England, fell in love with my mother. But my father discovered them. He murdered her. Burnt her alive and sent the ashes to her lover. I was six. When he told me what he had done, I manifested my first realm of power and murdered him for it. My hair turned red and I became the first Arcane witch in two-hundred years. Ten years later, the war began. It began because my mother’s lover wanted to bring her back from the dead. And to do that…’

‘He needs full access to the Arcane Realm.’

‘Yes. Only that much power would ever allow such an unnatural act as to return the departed back to the world of the living.’

‘Your mother… and Theodore Kendryk?’ I stagger back, stunned at the realisation. ‘That’s why he wants to perform the spell to kill all the Descendants? He has no intention of saving any of them, does he?’

‘No. He does not. He cares only for my mother. He even killed me in the name of bringing her back.’

‘Theo said he loved you. He said he held you in his arms as you lay dying. He says that the spell to kill the Descendants is in your journal.’

‘He held me in his arms because he was the one that tortured me to death,’ she scoffs, turning away and resuming her trek up the hill. I follow at her side. ‘There is no spell to kill all the Descendants, Lilly. I would never create such a thing. The spell he seeks is the one which will return the dead to life.’

‘You created that spell?’

‘No. It’s an ancient spell, thought to be lost to the ages. But Theodore found it shortly after receiving my mother’s ashes.’ She looks at me and gives me a smug grin. ‘I stole it from his mind, and stored it in the pages of my journal. He has no memory of how to bring her back but knows that it is hidden in my journal. The only one alive who can read the spell is you. He wants the journal and he wants you to translate it for him.’

‘Then what? Does he need me to do the spell for him?’

‘No. He has no need for you beyond reading the journal. He will kill you and let the Hunters plague continue to spread, making more and more of them, until you are all destroyed. Then he will be the only one connected to the Arcane realm and have the power to perform the resurrection spell.’

‘How did Theo kill you? You’re an Arcane.’

‘He caught up with me as I was creating the last lock of the Veil. I was in a weakened state and he caught me off-guard. You shall see what I mean when you return to your realm,’ she adds. ‘These spells are draining, to say the least. After each stone, you will need protecting. Ensure you are well guarded as you will never be more vulnerable than in the days following a spell such as this.’ She waits for me to show her that I understand. I nod and she carries on. ‘When I refused to tell Theo what he wanted to know, after two days of his torture, my body gave out. My soul… or whatever I am… was sent here. I managed to send a message through the Bloodstone for when an Arcane would return to complete the spell, but since that day, I have been here.’

‘Hold on, what do you mean, complete the spell? Don’t you mean reverse it?’

‘No. I mean complete it.’ She takes my hand and grins. ‘Let me show you.’

We reach the top of the hill.

‘What…the…’

Below are stone cottages with thatch roofing. Thriving farms. Small villages and cobbled roads. Wild ponies and sheep. But not a single other person.

‘What is this?’

‘This is the world, five-hundred years ago, sealed in the Arcane Realm. The spell wasn’t supposed to just seal us off from our magic, Lilly. I was only half way through with completing it when I died. I created a plane where only those connected to magic can live. A world separated from humanity. This is the Arcane Realm. The whole planet, in the exact condition it was in on the day I died.’ She turns to face me. ‘The Hunters mark cannot be removed when the human realm and the Arcane realm are still connected, and they will always be connected if our kind exist there. For as long as we live in their world, the poison in the Hunters mark will continue to spread. They don’t only kill witches. They kill anyone they see as different. No one will ever be free there, Lilly. Humans, they have polluted the land. The sea. The air. They hunt and kill for sport. They go to war and send children to fight their battles. Witches, they are peaceful beings. We protect the earth. We protect each other. Or at least we did before the war. When you complete the spell, when you destroy the locks I put in place while creating this world, every Descendant alive will appear here and all will have access to their magic. And humanity will never find us. The Hunters Marks will fade. The hatred of humanity will die. Peace will return, and we will all survive.’

‘This is your plan?’ I ask, awestruck.

‘This is plan.’ She takes my hands in hers and we look into each other’s eyes. ‘I started the spell. I created this world. And it is a beautiful world. I have seen Paris. Rome. Egypt. I have been across the globe and it is perfection. It is waiting for you all to fill it with life! But I need you to complete the spell, and bring everyone home.’ She rests her palm against my cheek. ‘Theo will do anything he can to complete his mission. He will create more Hunters. He will hunt you to the end of the earth. Time will be against you, Lilly. The unlocking of the first Bloodstone has started a chain-reaction. At the next Blood-moon, you must unlock the second stone, or this one will reseal, never to be opened again.’

‘When is the next Blood-moon?’

‘Seventeen weeks from now. If my interpretations of the stars are correct.’

‘Will there be more challenges at the next stones?’

‘Not like at this one, no.’ She sighs heavily and observes me for a moment. ‘The road ahead will be hard.’

‘The road behind me hasn’t been easy,’ I reply.

‘No. It has not. I do not know what the future holds for you, Lilly Hooper. My visions never blessed me with anything further than this meeting. But I have faith that you will see this through.’ Her eyes narrow. ‘You will see this through, won’t you?’

I let out a breath I hadn’t realised I was holding and nod. ‘Yes, yes I will see this through. I can do this, Rebecca. I can save us all.’ Something behind her catches my eye. ‘What the hell is that?’

She glances behind her. In the distance, high up in the sky, is a giant flying bird. ‘That?’ She looks back at me and laughs. ‘That’s a dragon, silly. Don’t worry. They’re herbivores.’

‘A d-dragon?’

‘Arcane Realm.’ She shrugs. ‘You will be amazed at what’s lurking in here.’ Her head whips upwards. ‘It is time for you to go. And it is time for my soul to rest now. The first stone has been broken and I am no longer tied to this place.’

Above us, the same noise that almost deafened me back at the Bloodstone begins. I look up and see the ceiling of energy charging down towards me.

Rebecca turns to face me. ‘I may not have had a vision of you beyond this meeting, but I do remember telling you this.’ I look away from the impending attack above me and look at her smiling at me. ‘Your greatest enemy, will become your greatest ally. Trust your instincts when seeking revenge. And forgive, Lilly. You must forgive.’

‘What does that mean?’ I call over the noise above us.

She reaches out and takes my hand before placing her lips on her wedding ring which is still on my finger, and kisses it. ‘A gift for you, for when your heart is broken.’ She lets go and steps back.

‘WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?’ The energy is close now. My ears hurt with the bedlam above.

‘I have no idea!’ She laughs, shrugging her shoulder and stepping back. ‘Good luck, Lilly.’ She carries on retreating. I prepare myself for impact. ‘Lilly?’ she calls. I take a final look at her.

‘Yes, Rebecca?’

‘Before you go, tell me, do you know if my daughter had a good life? Did she survive the war?’ She waits, a hopeful smile on her face. ‘Her name was Rose.’

My expression betrays any words of comfort I could have ever had for her.

Her face hardens. ‘Who?’

‘Grayson. And Theo. I will see her avenged, Rebecca. I swear to you. If it’s the last thing I do, they will pay for what they have done.’

She nods firmly, tears sliding down her face.

‘I know you will. Good luck, my child.’ She blows me a kiss.

The energy slams into me and the exact same torturous explosion happens to my body. Every muscle tears. My blood boils. Every nerve, every cell, all of me detonates upwards. A tornado of power streams into the sky.

And as quickly as I was torn apart, I’m hurled back together again.

I stagger on my feet as the world around me spins. The earth and the trees are scorched. I’m panting. Exhausted and sore. My legs give and I fall into the dirt, naked, with the strength only to look up at the sky above me. My ears are ringing. My head is throbbing and I’m feeling sick as the trees above me continue to spin.

I’m back where I was. Back on the moors in the human realm.

My magic is gone. I lift my hand and look at the ring still on my finger, but the stone has started to fade from the brilliant red, to a clear and plain crystal. And as it does, the magic within it disappears too. Grayson has cut me off from my Bloodstone and once more, I am powerless. I cry out as I lose the source of magic I hoped would help me. How can I do what needs to be done with no magic of my own?

Gabriel falls to his knees by my side, his jacket already off and quickly laid over me as a blanket. He’s yelling at me, stroking my face and shaking me. I let out a desperate and angry yell which claims the last of my strength. I’m lost in grief at the lost power supply. And as the magic fades, the new knowledge Rebecca shared with me fades too. It flickers out of my mind like the dying embers of a fire. The magic has gone, and the knowledge along with it. All I remember is what she told me as we walked up that hill.

I lie motionless and spent, understanding now how Theo managed to kill her without much fuss. Each blink brings more faces. Soon, everyone surrounds me, all talking and yelling at each other. Listening to them argue about what needs to be done with me is too much to bear.

The doctor. A hospital. Sit her up. Keep her still.

‘Clothes,’ I mumble.

‘Don’t worry about that now,’ Gabriel says gently. ‘Let me check you over.’

I groan as he moves me like a doll. It hurts too much. ‘No. Stop. Please, stop. Hurts… Stop.’ I have to whisper. The sound of my own voice is like a hammer in the skull.

‘I’m sorry.’ He lowers me back down gently, placing my head onto the ground with upmost care. ‘Fuck. Okay. Shit… W-what hurts, baby?’

‘Everything.’ I close my eyes. ‘Everything hurts. Clothes!’ Something feels like it’s sliding down the back of my throat. It makes me cough.

‘Fuck!’ Gabriel whispers, horrified as he looks down at me. I’m rolled onto my side so I can cough up the blood stuck in my throat. ‘Lilly? Talk to me, baby. Look at me.’ He inspects my face, searching my eyes with terror. ‘What happened? Where did you go?’ He wipes a streak of blood away from my lip. ‘Grayson, give her access to her magic. Let her heal.’

‘No way.’ He shakes his head, watching me with fear. ‘No way. She’s too strong.’

‘Look at her! She needs to heal!’

‘Tough! As soon as I saw her return, I gave Billy the Bloodstone and sent him away so you couldn’t get it from me.’ Grayson backs away as he looks down at me. ‘She’s too powerful. I will not let her near her Bloodstone ever again.’ He points at me furiously. ‘Where did you go?’

‘Go?’ I groan.

‘You disappeared,’ Gabriel says, clearly distressed. ‘An hour ago. Grayson tried using the Bloodstone to find you, but we couldn’t. I thought…’ His eyes brim with tears. ‘We thought you had died.’ More blood drips from my nose. He turns to Grayson. ‘She needs to heal! Get Billy back here! Give her, her Bloodstone!’

‘I said no.’

Gabriel is about to attack. Collins rests his hand on his shoulder.

‘No,’ he warns quietly, glancing over Gabriel’s shoulder. ‘It’s too late. Billy’s gone. It’s too late.’

I can’t keep my eyes open. Gabriel brushes the hair from my face.

‘Stay with me. You hear me, Lilly? You stay with me. Stay awake.’

‘I-I ca-can’t. I-I… It’s gone!’

‘What’s gone, baby?’

‘Magic… Magic… Knowledge… It’s gone…’

‘What is she talking about? What does she mean?’ Grayson demands. ‘TELL ME! TELL ME OR AMARA DIES!’

Hendrix steps between us and begins trying to calm him down as I lay helpless on the floor. Collins is shielding Amara incase Grayson follows through on his threat, and Gabriel is desperately trying to ease my suffering.

Just before I give into the overwhelming pull towards unconsciousness, I look to the mirage of the Broken Lilly still standing atop the ridge. She’s looking to her left. At Connor, who remains up on the ridge alone. A man emerges from the tree line behind him. Broken Lilly watches him walk out and approach Connor from behind.

Jensen Hartley.

He carries on calmly walking towards the unsuspecting Connor as I struggle to get any words out to warn him that death is coming! But death is not coming. Not for Connor. Jensen stops by his side. They look at each other. Connor’s not surprised to see him there. They share a slight nod and then both men look down at us all in the ditch. They both pull out guns from their waistbands and points them downwards at us.

Gabriel sees the look on my face and lifts his gaze to see what has me so wide-eyed.

The two men above us open fire. We’re fish in a barrel and everyone is too distracted by me and what just happened to see them, never-mind react.

The first to be hit is Hendrix, taking three shots to the chest. He spins before falling into the dirt.

The second, Grayson. He takes four and lands on his back.

The third… me.

Everything goes black.