Chapter 35

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

PIPER

D are I let hope spring? What other choice did I have? This had to work. We had no other options. Grayson had the powers of Queens behind him. I had to believe that meant something. When we walked through the portal, Moira was waiting for us just outside the cell. She looked odd in her perfect elegance among the horrid aesthetic of the dungeon. The walls were made from thick, rough rock, and bars ran from the top of the ceiling all the way down to the floor. The sound of dripping water came from somewhere in the back of the dungeon, and it smelled damp. The air was moist and cool. It sent a shiver down my spine.

"How . . . depressing." It was dark here, nearly black. There were no windows, and it looked like there was only one way in or out.

Kylian moved to my side and wrapped his hand around one of the bars. He tried to jerk it free but only ended up shaking his own body back and forth. "I've been in worse."

"That is not comforting." Moira met his eye. "And you are?"

"Kylian the elf." He gave a slight bow of the head, and I found myself surprised at the blatant show of respect.

Moira blinked up at him. "The Dark Prince. How interesting. I've heard things about you."

"All good I hope." He winked.

"Hardly."

I stepped closer to Moira. "Allow me to introduce you to the Queens. This is Zinnia, she's the Siphon Queen, Astrid is the Queen of the Occult, Tabi over there is Queen of Elements, and Serrina is the Queen of Desires." I turned toward the others. "And these are their Guardians. Tucker is a phoenix, Beckett is a Warlock, and Brax is a tiger shifter. That's Maze, he's a psychic, and this is his soulmate, Tilly. And of course, Niche and Adrienne."

Moira gave them a perfect curtsy. "Thank you all for being here to help my son. It means the world to me. Forgive me, but is that a dog strapped to your chest."

"Da, he goes where I go." Brax scratched his fingers over the pug's head.

Moira's eye widened for a second, then she forced her features to go back into place. "Right, of course. Are we missing two Queens?"

Zinnia nodded. "Well, Nova, our Queen of Death, is stuck in the underworld. Ironic, I know. And my sister Ophelia will be here soon. Actually, let me give her a call."

She pulled her cell out and dialed the number quickly. It rang once and O picked it up. "Go for O."

"Where are you?" Zinnia asked.

"Why? You need an alibi?" The scraping of metal against metal sounded in the background, as if she was sharpening something.

"No, I need you here."

"Can't. I'm busy."

Zinnia sighed. "Whatever it is you're doing, just bring it with you."

"Okayyyy, but you're not going to like it." She dropped whatever she was sharpening to the ground, and it clattered there. I was going to tell her not to bring Dice here. It was way too dangerous, and she was way too fragile. Too human.

"What? No." Maze stepped forward interjecting before I could. "O, leave it there with Cross. We won't need him for this."

"Okay, creepy dude, but if anything happens to him while I'm gone, you're gonna pay for it in flesh."

Maze's eyes went milky-white. "I checked. He'll be fine."

Ophelia gave a heavy sigh. "It's always hard work when you're the glue that keeps everyone together. Cuz, toss me a portal, will you?"

"On its way, O." Beckett waved his hand and the blue swirling portal appeared in the dungeon.

Ophelia sauntered through and my jaw dropped. She was not in her normal Ophelia gear, this was Ophelia times ten. Her hair was braided into buns on the sides of her head, and she wore leather shorts and a sports bra. Weapons were strapped to both her arms, her thighs, and around her ankles. When she turned around to look at all of us gathered here, I saw that there was a sword strapped to her back that ran the length of her spine.

"The gang's all here." She wrinkled her nose at our surroundings. "In a cell. Listen, if you've gotten arrested, the answer is not to let me join you afterwards. The answer is to let me join you before you do the crime so I can make sure you don't get caught."

Moira's eyebrows shot up. "I must say, that's a new way of thinking about things."

Ophelia pointed toward her temple. "It's because I'm a mastermind."

"Indeed." Moira nodded in agreement.

"So why am I here?" O crossed her arms over her chest. Though she was the smallest one in the room, she seemed to command attention.

Niche and Adrienne stepped forward with the book.

Adrienne flipped the pages open. "We're going to do this spell and summon Grayson here to this cell."

"Is it strong enough to hold him?" Ophelia pointed toward the bars.

"I gave it a try," Kylian offered.

She gave him the once over, then chuckled. "Right, because you're that strong." She nodded her head toward me. "You, crazy vamp girl, give it a yank, then we'll really know."

Moira stepped to the side, gesturing to the cell. "She has a point."

I moved over to the bars and wrapped my hands around them. I pulled back as hard as I could, and they didn't budge. I yanked three more times and still nothing moved.

Moira gave a single nod. "Very well. What now?"

Zinnia glanced around at the group of us. "Now we do the spell while the rest of you wait outside. Except Tuck and Beckett. We might need you in here—you know, just in case."

She didn't have to say just in case this doesn't work and Grayson tries to kill us all .

"Here you go." Adrienne passed the book over to Zinnia. "Just follow it perfectly."

"Perfect, right, got it." She took the book. "No big deal."

Moira placed her hand on my shoulder as she passed me on her way out. "Good luck."

When the door to the dungeon swung shut with a deafening thud, I was alone with Zinnia, Astrid, Ophelia, Tabi, and Serrina. My stomach twisted into knots and nervous energy shot through my body. I knew it wasn't a cure to the curse, but this was one step closer. If we captured Gray, they might be able to figure out what was wrong with him, and that meant I was one step closer to getting him back. I might end up killing him for not telling me any of this, but I had to save him . . . before I killed him.

"What now?"

Zinnia stepped into the cell, and we all followed her in. "Now they lock us in."

Tuck reached for the door to the cell and slammed it shut. "Love the idea of locking my soulmate in with a crazy bloodthirsty vampire."

"Hey, I've got it under control now," I teased, trying to break the tension of the moment.

Zinnia reached through the bars and cupped his cheek. "Now weld it shut. Once he's in, I don't want him to get out."

Tuck looked at the bars and hesitated. "Then how will you get out?"

"I think that's why I'm here." Beckett moved in closer to him and met Zinnia's eye. "I'll make sure you get out."

Astrid blew him a kiss. "I know you will."

"Enough with the PDA. Ew." Ophelia gave a visible shudder. "Are we here to summon a killing machine or what?"

Zinnia chuckled and shook her head as she stepped back from the bars. Tuck placed his hands on the seam between the bar and the door. Fire and sparks shot from between the two as the metal melted together into one solid block. He ran his hands over it like a sculptor molding clay. It looked molten and dripping, but as he moved his hands up and down, it smoothed over, quickly turning into a thick bar. When he stepped back, he crooked his finger at me.

"Give it a kick."

I moved toward the door, planted one foot, and kicked out with the other. The room rocked and dust fell to the ground, but the bars didn't budge. "Well done."

"Yeah, welding seems to be a new talent." He stepped back and crossed his arms. "Now for the hard part."

Zinnia waved me closer. "Join us, Piper."

The others all stood in a circle. Zinnia placed the book on the ground and pointed toward it. "O, can you draw the symbol on the ground? Do you have the stuff we need?"

"Don't ask silly questions, sis. Do I have what we need? Duhhh." Ophelia reached into her potion pouch on her hip and pulled out a vial of white powder. She shook it up and let the dust fall into her palm. She closed her eyes and cupped her hands together, holding it close to her mouth. Grey smoke swirled around her hands, and when she held her palm up, the white powder glowed. She held it up to her lips and blew on it. The powder soared up into the air and mixed with her grey smoke. It spun around in a whirling circle and started to drift toward the floor in slow motion. The tiny particles landed in a perfect circle. She waved her hand and more lines ran through the middle of it.

I tilted my head to the side. "Is that a triquetra?"

"It's the symbol that'll let us tap into the powers of the Witches that came before us and those who will come after us. It represents the stages we go through: the maiden, the mother, and the crone."Zinnia waved toward the three points in the circle.

Ophelia dusted her hands off. "Piece of cake. You're up, vamp."

"Blood of the vampire." Zinnia read part of the spell. "You're his progeny so your blood will work."

I raised my wrist to my lips and gave my skin a little nip. Blood trickled from my arm and I held it over the symbol on the floor. The second my blood hit the mark it quaked beneath our feet. My eyes widened and I held my arms out to keep my balance until it ended. "Is that right? Did I do it right?"

Zinnia licked her lips. "Everyone has to let their power flow all around us, even you, Piper, you have to let your blood magic go for this to work."

"What do I do with it?" I was so new to all of this that I wasn't even sure what to do.

"Don't you worry. Just open it up to me, and I can do the rest." Zinnia let her silvery magic flow from her hands. It wound around her body in dazzling circles and struck the center of the symbol. The others followed suit. Streams of yellow ribbons came from Tabi. They bounced over the ground until they too struck the center of the symbol. Serrina was next, and her red sparks flew across the room and landed next to Tabi's. Astrid's golden, glittering power looked more like Zinnia's, except it was more direct as it arched over the others like a rainbow and landed in the middle. Ophelia opened her hands, and her grey smoke crept over the ground like fog in a graveyard. It rolled and slithered toward the symbol.

When they all looked toward me, I swallowed down my doubts and let my power flow from my body. I reached down deep into the well of my stomach and pulled at it, letting it go little by little. Red mist seeped from my body and moved toward the symbol. It wasn't as controlled as the others, it was more like a swarm of bees moving through the room. When it hit the symbol, the circle glowed even brighter.

"Good, Piper, now don't pull back, "Zinnia warned, "no matter what happens."

"Ominous."

The second their powers mixed with mine, I felt it. It was like having my insides pulled at. It was so strong I almost fell forward onto my knees. I wobbled back and forth but managed to keep my feet under me. A buzzing sounded between my ears, and it drowned out Zinnia's words.

The wind kicked up in the cell, and I felt my hair whipping around my head. The power swirled together in an array of colors and shapes, but it started to form a man out of magic. It flashed like lightning, slowly forming and disintegrating. For a moment, Grayson flashed into the cell. He curled his fists in front of his body as he hunched slightly and bellowed in agony, then he disappeared, his scream trailing him as an echo.

"He's fighting it!" Zinnia yelled over the howling wind. "Push harder!"

I felt my blood magic being sucked from my body. It pulled at my insides and ripped at my lungs. My breath left me, and my throat closed around a scream. I would endure, I would hold this, I would do whatever it took. The others all stood with their arms spread wide and their eyes closed. Zinnia screamed the words, and as one, our feet lifted up off the ground and power swirled around us in a sphere of magic. It grew impossibly brighter, and Grayson flashed back into the center of the symbol. This time he was solid. He snarled in Zinnia's direction and blood magic poured from him out toward her.

"No!" I forced my power to meet his and stop it before it touched her.

The sphere around us shrank toward him. I felt it melt over my body and move toward Grayson. It surrounded him like a fish in a bowl. Magical white chains shot from the ground and wrapped around his wrist and ankles. They wove like a snake around his body, up his neck, and down over his shoulders. They grew so bright I could hardly look at them. Grayson struggled against their hold, but it was futile. When his power snapped back inside him, he threw his head back and bellowed.Magic exploded out of him, and we all soared back from the circle on the ground. My body slammed into the bars and I slipped to the ground. The others too were thrown back, but they landed on their feet and skidded to a halt.

Those white chains burned into his skin and smoke drifted up toward the ceiling. Grayson fell to his knees, his shoulders hunched over. All at once the magic stopped and the magical chains faded into his skin, letting us know that magic would hold him there.

I scrambled to my feet and sucked in a deep breath. "We did it!"Elation ran through my body. "We really did it!"

The others all stood there looking like we'd just run a marathon.

Grayson's face snapped up to mine. His voice was deep and rough with an edge of aggression to it. "Hello, Piper."

It sounded like him but didn't. My brow furrowed. "Gray?"

"Let me out, Piper." He looked manic with wild black eyes and red veins all over his face. His tongue darted over his lips, and he snarled at me.

The others moved to my side, and Ophelia gave me two awkward pats on the shoulder. "Want me to sew his mouth shut?"

"Dare you," Gray hissed in her direction.

Ophelia met that hiss with a wide, psychotic smile.She reached into her potion pouch and pulled a vial with a needle and thread in it. "With pleasure."

"O, no." Zinnia held her hand out, stopping us from getting closer to him. "No one goes near him. Beck, get us out of her. Now."

A blue portal opened up on the other side of the cell, and we all hurried toward it. Grayson leaned forward, but the circle under him illuminated and he was thrown back into place. We hurried through and ended up on the other side of the bars. Beckett quickly closed the portal, and we all stood there just staring at Gray. He was a shadow of himself. His movements were jerky as he turned his head from side to side, talking to himself incoherently. He rocked back and forth with his arms wrapped around his body. I hated seeing him like this. The others all just stared at him in silence.

The dungeon door creaked open, and Moira walked in with Maze and Tilly right behind her. The others all followed her in, and Brax slid the dungeon door shut behind them. Moira moved to my side, looking like she was fighting to keep her face passive, but when her lip started to quiver and unshed tears glistened in her eyes, I felt myself almost wanting to cry with her.

She dabbed her finger under her eyes. "What now?"

Zinnia cleared her throat. "Now we try to get the damn thing out of him."

"What about what the voice said? Bring him Dracinda and he will free Grayson." I didn't know why those words kept lingering in my mind, but I couldn't seem to stop thinking about them.

"Dracinda?" Moira's eyebrows shot up.

"You know her?"

"Yes but," She paused and glanced around at us. "She's dead."

"What? How?" That couldn't be possible. I wanted all the details and why this voice was obsessed with this Dracinda person. It had to mean something.

"I doubt whatever he's hearing could be trusted. We need to focus on what's in front of us now." Zinnia sounded so confident.

"How?" Moira tried to sound confident, I could tell that she did, but her voice quivered ever so slightly. I couldn't imagine what it must be like to watch her child in this state and know that she'd lost her soulmate to this very same thing. The threat of death was very real to her, much more real than it was to any of us.

"Like this." Zinnia opened her hand and her power flowed from her body. It drifted over the floor and wrapped around Grayson. "I'll siphon it out of him now that we've got him."

"No!" But it was too late she already surrounded him with her silvery power.

Gray threw his head back and bellowed to the ceiling. Blackness flowed through Zinnia's power right toward her. The moment it touched her skin, she sucked in a sharp breath and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Her body fell to the ground. Convulsions racked her from head to toe, yet the flow of magic didn't break off between her and Grayson. Everyone leapt into action at once, trying to get to her.

"Back up!" Ophelia reached into her potion bag and pulled out a vial. It was a glittering purple liquid. She pulled the cork out with her teeth and dumped the contents over Zinnia's face.

Zinnia stopped convulsing and her body went limp. She sucked in a deep breath and rolled to her back as if she was sleeping. Tuck staggered back and hunched over and vomited . . . tar.

Astrid threw her hand out and a bucket appeared in front of him. "What the hell is this? Beckett?"

"Dark, dark shit." He turned to Ophelia. "Any ideas?"

"How would I know? I'm not the one killing them with black magic!" She reached into that pouch and began rummaging around. "If I was they'd be dead already."

Moira pushed her out of the way and dropped down to her knees right next to Zinnia. She held her hands over her and a pinkish mist flowed into her body.

For a few moments it looked like nothing was happening, then Zinnia's eyes fluttered open and she sucked in a deep breath. "What happened?"

"You're an idiot." Ophelia shoved her shoulder. "I thought we all agreed that the only one who gets to play with dark magic is the most responsible one: me."

Tucker stood up straight and ran his hand over the back of his mouth. Sweat beaded his brow, and his skin was sickly pale. "I don't usually like to say your sister is right but . . ."

"From now on we do not test any magic on Grayson until we discuss it." Astrid held her hands out like she was stopping traffic. "To avoid any of whatever the hell that was."

Moira rose to her feet. "I quite agree."

I nodded. "The only way we're going to help Grayson is if we all work together and get as much information as we can, then we form a plan and do it."

They all nodded in agreement.

Grayson just cackled. "Come on. Let's play. I wanna play."

Moira turned to face me, and her face turned deadly serious. "Piper, there's something I need to tell you. Actually, I need to tell all of you."