18. LEVIATHAN

Chapter 18

LEVIATHAN

Briar's lair is nothing more than a small cave hidden deep in the woods. It feels like we've been walking for ages but every time I look up, the scenery changes. She must be using her magic to propel us further because it's the only explanation for how the sun seems to dim the longer we're out here. I keep silent, mostly because her magic has stolen my voice, my thoughts wandering.

There's no doubt in my mind that Amand and Rowan are on their way but there's only a very small chance they'll be able to figure out where we are. Briar points to a small corner, silently demanding that I take a seat. "You're a very cooperative captive, little Chameleon. I thought you'd put up a better fight. Even the Omegas tried to scream."

I narrow my gaze at her as she pushes me to the ground after I don't sit at her command. My voice comes back and I take a deep breath, slightly relieved. "What's the point of fighting against strong magic? I don't have the power to do so and I'd only tire myself out. What the fuck are you doing anyway?" Tired and irritated are the first things I feel but it slowly morphs into anger when my gaze lands on a small sleeping Omega a few feet away.

It's the one Omega that hasn't popped up yet and she's very much alive. Weak and bruised but alive. Briar bounds over to the opposite wall, humming her way through a song I don't recognize. That's when I realize it's not a song at all but an incantation that has me grunting, magic binding my wrists behind me. My legs snap together, magic forming real rope until any movement other than wriggling is futile.

"There. Now I can finally relax," Briar whispers to herself. Her humming continues, strange words slipping through her lips every so often. Her hips sway as she dances along the far side of the cave, her shadow moving with her beneath the dimly lit lanterns set along the edges of this space. Nothing about this woman matches the image I had in my mind.

I expected the dark witch to be ruthless and angry at the world but Briar seems almost sweet.

"What's the point in all this?" I ask again.

"I should have gagged you. The Omegas never wanted to talk." Briar's shoulders fall before she ventures over to me, kneeling beside my legs. "We live in a world where power is held by the strong and the weak are left to suffer. All I want is a little power."

"By stealing it from Omegas?"

She huffs out a laugh. "You figured that out? You are smart. Vince mentioned that you are. I can't wait to use you. And it didn't have to be Omegas. I never told Vince I needed that. I just asked him for pure energy. He could have asked a fairy to donate some magic for all I care. It was his choice to deliver me bodies and once they were here… well, I couldn't just return them." She shrugs and leans back as if we're just having a conversation.

Her innocent demeanor belies her dangerous persona, one that only cares about herself. "But what are you doing with all the magic? You've killed at least four Omegas already." With that much pure magic, Briar could resurrect a village. She could control the city with the power she has stored but she hasn't made a move. Not one.

"I am not a trivial witch, little Chameleon. My plans far outweigh any little tricks and small dreams of grandeur. If I'm going for power, I'm going to do it right." Briar pushes to her feet and points to the middle of the cave. I didn't notice it before, the dark red lettering and circle drawn in what looks like blood. None of the Omegas that lost their lives to this crazy witch had any open wounds so I assume that the crimson paint is from something else. "I'll bring back a power so great that no one will ever be able to stand against me."

My first instinct is to ask ‘who hurt you' but I refrain, stuffing that down for a laugh later on. Instead, I focus on the fact that she really is trying to bring something back that would be best staying where it is. I don't believe in all that heaven and hell hocus pocus bullshit but in this moment, I'm sure Briar could create a portal of some kind to either one. "And what is this power ? What could you possibly-"

My tongue swells in my mouth, cutting off my words and my ability to breathe. I squirm against the stone floor, glaring at the woman who has my life in her hands. "I knew I should have gagged you. Why did I think you would be interesting conversation? Look, little Chameleon. You wouldn't understand and you don't have to. All you need to do is sit there and look pretty until I'm ready for you. I'm bringing back the first Alpha, a wolf who will heed my every command."

The first Alpha? There's been rumors floating around about a beast so ruthless and so animalistic that he listens to no one. He died over a century ago, horror stories told to children to keep them in line. Several rules in society have been set in place because of creatures like him, creatures that thought they could wield their beast to get what they wanted.

There are several issues with Briar's plan.

Necromancy hardly ever works. Reanimating a body? Sure. Creating something from nothing and then expecting it to perform as it once did? Almost always results in uncontrollable chaos.

Using pure magic isn't going to make this plan work any better. Sure, pure magic is stronger than dark magic in large doses but it's also infamous for not doing the will of a dark magic user. It's one of the reasons the man who killed my father was caught. Killing innocents made him easier to find and lock up.

The biggest issue, however, is that individuals are not puppets, resurrected or not. If Briar had been trying to create a puppet, that would be one thing. However, she's looking to bring back a creature that's been dead for over a century. If this does work, the last thing that creature will do is listen to Briar. He might utter a thanks but he'll most likely continue his reign of terror by first killing those who took his life.

If Rowan and Amand aren't on their way, we're all fucked for sure. Either I'll die and then my mates will follow in a slow descent of madness or this beast will be released into the world. Or both.

I struggle against my restraints, glad when the swelling of my tongue retreats so I can breathe again. I drag in several gulps of fresh air, the Omega a few feet away stirring. She coughs, her pretty green eyes making an appearance as her lids slide open. She doesn't move as her gaze peruses the cave and then lands on me. The light in her eyes dim and I wonder what she's endured being here. She must have seen some of the others and watched them slowly lose their lives until they were discarded.

"Let's start with the little Chameleon today and then I'll finish off the Omega. Everything is perfect and knowing that there's no one snooping around to ruin this helps."

I guess Vince doesn't expect Rowan or Amand to do anything. However, if he knows that we're mates, I'm not sure why he thinks those two will sit still. Maybe he believes that Briar will work fast enough for it not to be a problem. That's when I remember I never hung up, my phone still in my pocket. There's a slight chance that they're still on the other side, listening to my muffled voice, hoping to pick up something distinct enough to come get me.

"Why wouldn't you use your basement or something? Out here in the woods is just so-"

An invisible hand wraps around my neck as Briar lets out a little growl. She swipes a few ingredients from a table before stomping over to me. "Do you ever shut up? I tried to suffocate you and you thought you'd still ask a question? For your information, dragging anyone to my little corner of suburbia would be in poor taste. I live alone and there would be questions."

She plops onto the floor in front of me, dropping several little items into a cast iron bowl. Briar begins to crush them with her fingers before meeting my gaze again. That humming starts up, my entire body beginning to curl into itself. Pain explodes through my chest as she continues, picking up volume until her voice is the only thing I can hear.

A scream tears from my throat as I feel my magic leaving me. It feels like liquid fire flowing through my veins, every nerve pulled tight as the melody rings through the cave. Something wet drips down to my upper lip as I struggle to pull in a breath, anything to keep on living.

Not soon enough, the pain ceases as I gulp several lungfuls of air.

"You have way more magic than Vince must know about or he would have never given you to me." She stares down into the bowl as if my magic is just lingering in there. "The first Alpha will come tonight. You can be proud that you have helped."

I can't help myself and I know I'm digging my own grave. "It won't work." The Omega groans but I ignore her, trying to bide my time. There's a small tug in my chest that reminds me of all the stories my mother used to tell me about my father. Stories about mates and bonds and connected emotions. Rowan and Amand might not be physically here with me but I can feel them and that feeling is slowly getting closer.

They're on their way.

"Of course, it will work. I've done too much for it not to. Everything is perfect."

Briar is still staring into her little stone bowl, a deviant smile spreading across her lips. I lean back against the cave wall, trying to regulate my breathing before she steals more of my magic. I have no idea what she meant by the fact that I have more than Vince knows but I'll capitalize off of it. "Nothing is perfect. You can't use pure magic to resurrect something evil. It's against everything that Mother Nature stands for. Besides, necromancy means that the first Alpha may not even come back with his soul intact. Briar-"

"Ugh!" My mouth is once again sealed shut with her magic, pain seeping into my skin as she glares at me. "I have done everything right. Studied the spellbooks. Learned from the other witches and then broke off on my own. This will work. The first Alpha will be here." Despite the wrinkles I caught from before, Briar acts no older than some of the Omegas she's stolen. Her temper reminds me of a spoiled toddler but her magic is strong and fierce, forcing me to focus on my breathing so I don't pass out.

If I can't fight her hold on my magic, she may very well take all of it and while I don't have many qualms about dying, there's one last Omega to rescue.

I also need to see my mates rip her apart.

Just beneath the pain, the growing bond between my mates and I tightens and strengthens. They're close. "It won't work," I say again, just before the darkness claims me.