Library

Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

Jaron burst into the ritual room, Keegan and Mordyn at his heels. The scene that greeted them was one of chaos and terror. The kidnapped victims, including Jaron's siblings Casca and Fei, and Mordyn's mate Apollo, were unconscious and shackled to the walls. Glowing bonds encircled their wrists, the eerie light pulsing and flowing towards the center of the room.

There, at a large lab table, stood Malkira. A complex array of alchemical equipment was arranged around a floating sphere. The sphere pulsed with the same eerie light as the shackles.

Clearly, Malkira was already drawing power from the victims for her dark ritual.

Mordyn tried to run for Apollo, but several mages intercepted him—and while he got them to stop, it seemed to be costing him all the energy he had just to keep them from attacking.

Jaron swallowed hard, his attention drawn back to the witch at the lab table. The woman he'd thought he knew.

She gazed at him with a sad look on her face. "I'm truly sorry it had to come to this."

Jaron stared at her, a mix of betrayal and confusion churning in his gut. "Why?" he demanded. "Why are you doing this?"

Malkira sighed. "You don't understand the forces at play here, Jaron. The sacrifices that must be made for the greater good."

"Greater good?" Jaron spat. "You've kidnapped my little brothers!" Jaron glanced over to them, and noticed, for the first time, that the shackles they wore didn't glow red like the shackles on the other victims did. Theirs were glowing blue.

He didn't know what that meant, but it probably wasn't good.

"I don't want to hurt children," Malkira said, "but these children weren't conceived in the natural way."

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Jaron demanded, his voice shaking. He felt Keegan's hand rest on his shoulder, a silent gesture of support.

Malkira gave Jaron a long, searching look before she spoke again. "Your mother was desperate for another child when she came to me. At the time, I sold all thoughts of spells for cheap, having been let go from my job."

Jaron shook his head, trying to make sense of her words. "I don't understand what you're talking about."

His mother had sought help from Malkira? Because she'd needed another child? Because Jaron failed to live up to expectation?

"At first, I didn't know how to help her, but then I had an idea," Malkira continued, shaking her head. "I was younger then, and stupid. Too brilliant for my own good."

"What did you do?" Jaron demanded. His voice rose against his will.

Malkira met his gaze, her eyes filled with regret. "The virus we'd been working on," she said, "I changed it and infected your parents."

Jaron felt like the ground had been ripped out from under him. His parents, infected with a virus? His brothers, conceived through some unnatural means? He couldn't wrap his mind around it.

"What virus?"

"The one that used to be the scarlet curse," Malkira said. "Normally it eats a person's magic, but I managed to make it act in a different way. I infected both of your parents and the virus established a magical link between them, almost like a bonding."

That was possible? "But why?"

"All that magic helped your mother have more children, didn't it? Very powerful children." She looked down at a pot that sat on the table before her.

Idly, Jaron wondered if it contained the mind-control potion.

She'd never get him to drink it now.

"Why does it matter that Casca and Fei are powerful?" Jaron asked, still trying to process the fact that Malkira and his parents had worked together at some point.

"They carry the virus too," Malkira said. "And it's mutated inside of them. I never accounted for that."

"It's mutated?"

While Jaron's mind was still reeling, Keegan dug his fingers into his shoulder. "All this time," he muttered, "I thought the other seer was threatening the future with this ritual… but I got it all wrong, didn't I? It's the children."

"What?" Jaron whirled to him. "My brothers are innocent!"

Keegan winced. "I know that."

"The virus inside them is drawing magic out of the atmosphere around them and growing stronger," Malkira said. "It's going to keep eating and eating, and with its ability to link to other people, it's going to destabilize the balance of the world before long."

"No," Jaron said, refusing to believe that. "That isn't happening. My brothers never hurt anyone."

"It's not up to them." Malkira's expression was pained, but there was a steely resolve in her eyes. "I wish it was different, but this is the only way to undo my mistakes."

"By undoing them?"

How could that be her conclusion?

How could she think Jaron would stand here and let her hurt his baby brothers?

He didn't care what virus lived inside of them. He'd find another way to excise it.

"If what you're saying is true," Keegan said, "why did you have to drag all these other people into your ritual? Wouldn't it be enough to… focus on the children?"

He said 'focus,' but Jaron knew he meant 'kill.'

His stomach drew tight.

Keegan had a point, though, when Jaron let himself think about this. Why this whole ass ritual?

"Simply killing them would just release the virus," Malkira said, not mincing her words. "I'm going to need all the energy gathered here to contain it when the deed is done."

The deed.

How could she talk about it like that? Like his brothers were pests to be eliminated. They weren't. Jaron glanced at his unconscious siblings, remembering the day Casca had taken his first steps, arms outstretched and legs wobbling as he made his way toward him with the biggest smile on his face. He remembered Fei drawing pictures of their family. In this picture, you can breathe fire too , he'd told Jaron proudly.

Jaron returned his attention to Malkira, anger burning through him.

The witch's gaze hardened. "Sometimes, to save the many, we must sacrifice the few."

Jaron shook his head vehemently. He wasn't going to let her do this. The next second, he lunged for the glowing sphere, intent on stopping the ritual, but Malkira threw out a hand, a blast of magic sending Jaron flying back.

He hit the ground hard, the breath knocked out of him. Keegan was at his side in an instant, helping him up.

"Are you alright?"

Jaron nodded, his gaze locked on Malkira. She was watching them, her hands poised over the sphere, ready to continue the ritual at any moment.

She had been like a mother to him. How could she do this?

"Is this why you took me in?" he demanded, guts twisting. "So you could keep an eye on my family? So you could get access to my brothers?"

Malkira's expression softened, and for a moment, Jaron saw her the way he used to see her, as a kind old witch. The woman who'd gifted him that scarf, who'd told him to believe in himself. "Oh, Jaron," she said, shaking her head. "I truly wish I did not have to do this to you. I did come to care for you."

Jaron waited for the 'but.' There had to be one.

"Your siblings were not the reason I took you in. I didn't need you for that." Her gaze flickered to Keegan and Jaron's chest tightened with horror.

No.

Somehow she'd known he was connected to Keegan.

Had she foreseen that?

But why did it matter?

What did she need Keegan for?

Jaron's stomach churned. He wanted to throw up.

Had he led his mate to this witch?

"What do you want from me?" Keegan asked, coming to the same conclusion as Jaron.

"To be a seer is to establish a connection to fate itself," Malkira said. "Without that connection, observing its workings would be impossible."

Keegan's eyes widened, understanding dawning in them. Jaron could almost see the pieces falling into place in his mind.

He only wished he understood himself.

"I'm a natural seer," Keegan said slowly, "which means my connection to fate is firmer than yours. Especially now…"

Jaron swallowed hard at the implication in Keegan's words. He was referring to the fact that he was more powerful than ever before. All because he and Jaron had bonded. A bitter taste filled his mouth, remembering how supportive Malkira had been of him pursuing his mate.

She'd only wanted that so she could use Keegan for this.

"You need my help to conclude this ritual," Keegan stated, his voice flat.

Malkira nodded. "I couldn't do it without you, dear."

A silent fire burned in Keegan's gaze. "I'll never help you hurt my friends or Jaron's family."

"I thought you might say something like that." She reached for the pot on the table and filled a cup with its contents.

Jaron watched her, clutching the protective amulet around his neck. What was she going to do with that mind-control potion? Surely she couldn't think he or Keegan would drink it willingly.

She might be a witch, but she would have a hell of a time forcing that stuff down their throats.

Malkira didn't try to get them to drink it, though—she drank it herself.

The realization hit Jaron like a lightning bolt. The potion didn't put someone else under mind control; it gave the drinker the power to control others.

And she wasn't planning to control Jaron.

He whirled around in a desperate bid to rip the amulet off his own neck and place it around Keegan's, but he was already too late.

Keegan's eyes glazed over as Malkira's power took hold.

A dense fog shrouded Keegan's mind, muffling everything that was happening around him. Jaron's desperate pleas reached him as if from a great distance, distorted and meaningless. He felt his body moving against his will, fighting the strong arms trying to restrain him.

"Keegan, stop! It's me, Jaron. You have to fight it!" Jaron's words.

Keegan wanted to listen to them, to listen to his mate, but it was impossible. His thoughts were scattered and slippery. His limbs moved with a purpose that wasn't his own, throwing Jaron off balance as he shoved at him.

Jaron's draconic strength was noteworthy, but vampires weren't weak either, and Keegan had superior agility. The moment he broke free from Jaron's grip even for a second, he moved out of the dragon's reach.

"Yes, come to me," Malkira's voice resonated through his head, drowning out all other thoughts. "You understand now, don't you? The ritual must be completed. It's the only way to save the future."

Keegan felt himself nod, his body no longer his to command. The world around him blurred and shifted, but Malkira remained clear, her presence anchoring him to a newfound purpose.

Jaron's voice cut through the fog once more. "Keegan, please! This isn't you. Don't let her control you!"

But Keegan's gaze remained locked on Malkira, her words etching themselves into his mind. The virus within Casca and Fei, the threat it posed, the necessity of the ritual—it all made perfect sense now.

"We must cleanse the world of this danger," Keegan heard himself say, his voice sounding distant and foreign to his own ears. "The ritual will set things right."

Malkira smiled, her approval washing over him like a warm embrace. "Together, we will save the future."

Keegan felt a sense of calm settle over him, the last vestiges of resistance fading away. He knew what he had to do. The ritual would be completed, and he would be the conduit for all the power Malkira had gathered here.

For some reason, Malkira reached for him and removed the scarf. He wanted to protest. Jaron had given that to him. His protest was swallowed by the fog in his mind, but somewhere in the depths of his consciousness, a glimmer of his true self remained awake, fighting against the fog that enveloped his thoughts. He could hear shouts and the sounds of a struggle as the mages broke free from Mordyn's hold, but he couldn't act on any of it.

His body moved without his consent, touching the glowing sphere. Its energy flowed out to him, enveloping him in its otherworldly radiance. He became a vessel for its power.

The life-force of the unconscious victims, including Casca and Fei, began to transfer to him, drawn out by the ritual's dark magic. Keegan wanted to scream, to break free and stop this from happening.

Somehow, he had to…

Amidst the chaos, a sound pierced through the haze—Jaron's cry of pain as one of the mages wounded him.

Something inside Keegan snapped back to life at that sound. A spark ignited in his mind, burning through the layers of control Malkira had imposed on him. His eyes cleared for just a moment, enough to see Jaron clutching a wound on his side, blood seeping between his fingers.

"Jaron!" The name escaped his lips before he could think, filled with an urgency that pierced his heart.

He surged forward, power pulsing outward from him as he broke free from the magical grip that held him.

The mages were thrown aside by the blast, even Malkira, temporarily knocked out by so much raw energy.

Jaron yelped too, but his system wasn't as sensitive to being overloaded by magic.

Keegan knelt beside him, his hands shaking as he assessed the wound. "Jaron, I'm here. I'm so sorry. I couldn't… I couldn't fight it."

Jaron looked up at him, his eyes filled with pain and relief. "You're back. You broke free."

Keegan wanted to nod, to embrace Jaron and tell him that everything was going to be okay, but he couldn't make any false promises to Jaron.

Keegan felt the ritual's power coursing through his veins, an unstoppable force that had taken hold of his very being. The same power that had knocked out the mages. He was full overflowing with it. His fate had been sealed the moment he touched that glowing sphere. The magic had found its vessel, and there was no turning back.

He looked down at his hands, watching as tendrils of energy danced across his skin. It was a beautiful and terrifying sight, a manifestation of the raw power that now resided within him. He had become the ritual, a conduit for the dark magic that threatened to consume everything in its path.

And with that realization came a sickening clarity. The vision that had haunted him, the one where he had begged Jaron to end his life, suddenly made perfect sense.

He used to think of it as a warning. A future that needed to be prevented.

Now he understood the opposite was true.

All this time, his powers had shown him the only way to fix the fate of the world. Fate itself had guided him here, chosen him for this job.

Keegan looked at Jaron.

God, he wished he didn't have to ask this of him.

"Listen to me," Keegan said, his voice strained with the effort of fighting against the magic that threatened to overtake him completely. "The ritual can't be stopped now. It's too late for me."

Jaron shook his head. "No, there has to be another way. We can destroy the sphere."

They both looked at the sphere. It had stopped glowing. It wasn't necessary anymore. All that power was inside of Keegan now.

Keegan reached out to cup Jaron's face. How he loved that face. Those kind eyes. He would remember them long after he was gone. "There is no other way. The magic, it's a part of me now and it's going to keep working. If I don't die, everyone else will."

He could see the pain in Jaron's eyes, the desperation to find a solution that didn't involve losing the one he loved. But Keegan knew, with a certainty that came from the depths of his being, that this was the only path forward.

"You have to do it, Jaron," he whispered, his voice barely audible over the crackling energy that surrounded them. "You're the only one who can end this now."

Jaron's jaw clenched, tears trickling down his face as he struggled to come to terms with the reality of their situation. Keegan could feel his mate's sorrow, the agony of being faced with an impossible choice.

But there was no choice, not really. If Jaron didn't do this, his brothers would die.

Keegan looked deep into Jaron's eyes. He knew that what he was asking of his mate was too much, but time was running out, and they had to act.

"Jaron, I know you can do this," Keegan said, stroking his cheek. "The ritual is almost complete. If you don't stop it, it will kill me, but if you end my life first, at least no one else has to die."

He could see the conflict raging within Jaron, the desperation to find another solution warring with the realization that there was none.

With a gentle hand, Keegan drew him into a long, tender kiss, pouring all of his love into that one final moment of connection. When they parted, Keegan reached for a stake that had fallen from one of the unconscious mages and pressed it into Jaron's hand.

Jaron's fingers curled around the weapon. "But the fate of the world," he tried to argue, as if that suddenly mattered to him.

"I'll take care of it," Keegan promised.

"How?" Jaron demanded.

Keegan didn't have time to explain. "Trust me."

When Jaron killed him, the snapping of their bond would release a tremendous amount of energy, compounding the magic already coursing through his veins.

In that moment, as his soul departed his body, Keegan would tap into his connection to fate itself. He would harness all of that raw power, all of that potential, and do everything in his power to set things right. It was a gamble, a desperate hope that he could continue to be undead for just a little while longer, just long enough to undo the damage that had been done.

That was why Jaron had to be the one to put that stake through him. Keegan would need that extra energy from a fate-bond severed so brutally.

"Please," Keegan said. "If you love me, don't make me complete this ritual."

An inhuman sound wrenched itself free from Jaron's throat, a cry of pure emotional anguish that echoed through the lab. Keegan's heart ached for his mate, but this was the path they had to take.

It had always been the path they had to take.

"Do it for your brothers," Keegan pushed. "Do it for me."

Jaron's tears flowed freely now, streaming down his face as he struggled with himself.

"Never blame yourself," Keegan whispered.

Jaron nodded, and then, with a swift, decisive motion he lifted the stake and buried it in Keegan's chest.

The shock of it was so sudden, so intense, that Keegan couldn't even cry out. He felt the sharp, searing pain as the wood pierced his heart, felt the rush of energy as his soul began to dissolve into raw power.

But even as he lay dying, Keegan's mind remained focused on his final plan. He reached out with every fiber of his being, tapping into the vast well of energy that now coursed through him.

He could feel the strands of fate, the delicate web that connected all things, became one with it more than ever before. This was his moment to shine.

The one chance he had to course-correct fate.

Comments

0 Comments
Best Newest

Contents
Settings
  • T
  • T
  • T
  • T
Font

Welcome to FullEpub

Create or log into your account to access terrific novels and protect your data

Don’t Have an account?
Click above to create an account.

lf you continue, you are agreeing to the
Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy.