Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

“ S tella, dammit!” I yelled, but she didn't stop. Without hesitation, we sprinted after her, leaving the odd comfort of the room behind. Bursting through the doorway, we found ourselves in a long, dimly lit hallway. Stella was already at the other end. Her figure was silhouetted against the faint light coming from a distant source.

“Stella!” I called again, louder this time. My voice echoed off the narrow walls, yet she didn’t respond or slow down. Desperation fueled my magic as I raised my hand and muttered a quick incantation. A soft, blue light shot out, enveloping Stella and freezing her in place. Her eyes widened in surprise, and looked back at me.

“We're making too much noise,” Nana hissed as her eyes darted around. With clipped words, she cast a silencing spell. A second later a veil of silence fell over us. Our footsteps became soundless, our breathing inaudible, and our conversations unheard by others outside our group.

We reached Stella quickly. Her eyes were wide with fear and determination as I released her from my spell. “What’s got into you?” I demanded .

Stella took a deep breath. Her face was flushed and she was clearly upset. “My mom,” she said in a trembling voice. “She has to be in here. Why else would those symbols lead us to this house?”

Nana's eyes softened, though her expression remained stern. “Did you feel her presence, Stella? Do you sense her?”

Stella shook her head, and her shoulders slumped. “No, but... why else would we get here?”

“This could be a trap, Stells. Think about who we are dealing with and how we got here.” I placed a hand on her arm, trying to offer some comfort. “You can't go running off like that. We need to be careful so we don’t end up at Lyra’s mercy. And we have to stick together.”

As I spoke, my eyes caught sight of an open door to my right. Inside, I could just see the gleam of white porcelain. Holy shit it was a bathroom! A wave of relief washed over me as I realized just how long I'd been holding it in.

“Guys, I need to pee,” I said before Stella could respond. “I've been holding it for far too long.”

Nana nodded, giving me a small, understanding smile. "Go ahead, Phoebe. We'll wait here and figure out our next move."

With a grateful nod, I hurried towards the bathroom. With my bladder finally relieved, I rejoined the others. The transition from the rough stone walls of the tunnel to the plastered interior was jarring. I hadn’t had a chance to really think about it before. We had been underground, and now we were above it. It was like we’d stepped into another world. The house was dimly lit. The moonlight coming in the windows cast long shadows that danced across the floor and walls.

The house was massive. Much larger than the one I’d inherited from Hattie and it was a mini-mansion with eight rooms and ten bathrooms. The walls were covered with various paintings depicting serene landscapes. I cringed when I caught sight of one that was a stormy sea. It was incredibly caustic to look at.

“We need to find any clues that might tell us more about Lyra's plans and where Rosemary is at,” Nana instructed. “But do not go opening doors without us first doing a magical scan. We don’t need anyone falling into a trap.”

Nodding, we fanned out. Aidon remained close to me as we walked further down the hall. Each of us looked into the open rooms. Stella stepped inside one of them, and I rushed to follow. She was standing in front of a bookshelf, and her fingers traced the spines of ancient tomes. Nana entered the one next door and examined a small writing desk that was cluttered with papers and odd trinkets. I wandered into the room with Nana. An ornate mirror with a tarnished surface drew my attention.

As I studied my reflection, I noticed something peculiar in the mirror's glass. It was a faint glow that seemed to come from behind me. Turning around, I saw a series of runes etched into the plaster. They’d practically been hidden in the room’s shadowy lighting. There was a rhythmic pattern that made them seem alive.

“Look at this, Nana,” I called softly.

“These seem familiar,” she murmured, her fingers lightly brushing over the symbols. “I wish I could remember all of them from that other chamber.”

“What did you find?” Stella asked as she came in from next door. Aidon and the others walked in behind her.

“I'm not sure yet,” Nana replied with a frown. “But they feel like Lyra's magic.”

As we examined the runes, I got the unmistakable feeling that we were being watched. The house had an eerie quality that made my skin prickle. It felt as if the walls themselves were alive and holding secrets just out of reach. It was not a place I wanted to be for long. The problem was that on first glance it seemed to have a couple dozen rooms.

“There’s something else here, too,” I told the others. “It could be one of Lyra’s tricks. I’m not sure. We need to check everything. Aidon, check the far wall,” I directed with a jerk of my chin. “Stella, take the left. I’ll cover the right. Can you look through the books on that table, Nana? Layla and Murtagh sniff out anything amiss on the south wall. And Tseki, keep watch at the entrance.”

Everyone nodded grimly as they went to work. Fear and hope crushed me as I crouched to examine the lower section and the floor. Lyra would have to mark any traps and I reasoned she would put those on the floor. Most people didn’t look up or down until it was too late.

“Do you sense anything?” Stella asked in a hushed voice.

“Give me a second,” I replied and then closed my eyes. I allowed my magic to flow outward. I told it to search for any disturbances in the energy around us. I squatted like that for so long, I didn’t think I could get up on my own. I was about to ask for help when something tickled my senses. “There's something here,” I murmured. My fingers brushed against a section of the stone floor that felt slightly warmer than the rest. “Help me move this.”

Together, Stella and I used our magic to push a heavy armoire aside. We revealed a small, concealed compartment. Inside was a dusty, leather-bound book covered in strange symbols, along with a few scattered scrolls. Stella reached for the book before she yanked her hand back.

Aidon reached around me. “Let me touch it. I’m tougher to hurt,” he replied.

Once it was in his hand, I grimaced and gave him a pleading look. “Can you help me stand up? I don’t think I can do it on my own.”

Holding the book away from me, he wrapped his free arm around me and hefted me to my feet as if I were a toddler. “Are you doing okay?”

I patted his chest. “I’m fine. It’s not easy getting around anymore, and I’m only halfway there. What is that?”

“It's old magic,” he observed as he took a step away from me. He carefully opened the cover. “It contains spells that are a combination of ancient rites and Blood magic.”

Stella scanned the pages over Aidon's shoulder. “Can you translate it?”

Aidon nodded as his fingers traced the delicate script. “It will take time, but yes. This could give us valuable insight into how Lyra is controlling the Tainted witches.”

Meanwhile, Layla and Murtagh were searching the walls for hidden passages or secret doors. Layla yipped, drawing our attention. Her sharp wolf senses found something. Her nose twitched as she sniffed the air, while Murtagh’s keen eyes scanned for any irregularities.

“What have you found?" Murtagh asked softly and then more loudly said, “There's a draft coming from this wall.” He pressed his ear to the wall, listening intently. “I hear something. There's a faint echo behind it. Probably a hidden passage. These old houses were made with tons of them.”

Aidon joined Murtagh, and they worked to uncover the entrance. Tseki's low growl echoed through the chamber. “Something's coming,” he warned. Dragon scales rippled over his skin, at the same time, he moved protectively in front of Nana.

“We need to hurry,” I urged my mate. A sense of urgency pricked at the edges of my awareness and made me bounce on the balls of my feet. My magic didn’t know whether to surge out of me or simmer under the surface.

Layla bristled and shifted to her human form but didn’t reach for the clothes in Tseki’s bag. Instead, she glared at me. “ Your magic is prickly. Don’t worry. We’ve got this.” With a determined push, Layla and Murtagh managed to shift a section of the wall. The dank, narrow passage that was revealed looked foreboding.

Ever the protector, Aidon stepped forward with his sword at the ready. “I'll go first,” he said. His eyes met mine with a look of love and affection. “Stay close, and be ready for anything. Put that in your bag, Tseki,” he said gesturing to the book on the chair.

I was right behind him. The warmth vanished, as did the light when Tseki slid the wall shut. We all held our breaths and continued moving away from the room where we’d entered. I’d lost all hope of remembering how we were going to get home from there. I was counting on my brilliant mate to solve that problem for us when the time came. We couldn’t ignore the clues as they surfaced.

The walls were narrow, which forced us to move single file. My heart pounded with each step. We were wandering through hidden passages of some freaking house connected to Lyra. This could go bad any second, and my muscles were strung tight as I waited for demons to launch at us from the shadows.

What seemed like a half hour later, we emerged into a smaller chamber. This one was filled with strange, glowing crystals that reminded me of a fantasy novel I read once. Pushing that story to the back of my head, I directed my magical senses to search them for danger. As we moved in to allow everyone to enter, I noticed dark rust-colored spots on a large central crystal. It was etched with more of the evil runes and looked like some kind of ritual site.

“Do you think this is where she performs the transformations?” Stella asked with horror in her gaze.

I stepped closer to the center, and a chill ran down my spine. “I’m not sure, but we need to destroy this,” I said. “If we can disrupt her ability to create more Tainted witches, it will weaken her significantly.”

Aidon nodded, raising his sword. “Let's do it.”

Nana held her hands up. “Do you think that’s a good idea? Will it backfire on us?”

Aidon pursed his lips. “There’s a chance of that. Erect a protection shield around it that keeps shit from blowing out but will let my sword in.”

“Already done,” Nana replied. “I was thinking more along the lines of alerting Lyra.”

I gaped at Nana. “I didn’t even feel you using magic,” I added mine to bolster what she put in place.

Nana gestured up and down my body. “I did it when I felt you probe the thing. I was worried it would react and didn’t want to risk you or the babies.”

“Thanks for thinking so fast,” I told her with a side hug. “Let’s remove the power from that crystal. It isn’t enchanted, but it is a funnel and is currently storing a significant amount of power.”

Stella and Nana nodded, and we channeled our magic into a spell to siphon the power from the thing. The runes flared brightly in response and resisted our efforts. We refused to relent, and I latched onto the power like duct tape. That allowed Nana and Stella’s magic to go to work and suck the power from the crystal. Aidon’s sword followed their efforts and sliced the thing in half. Those halves shattered when they hit the wood floor. Nana and Stella released the energy, and it dissipated into the air.

“That's one more of Lyra's tools destroyed,” Layla said in a voice filled with grim satisfaction.

“She could have felt that,” Nana reminded us.

There was nothing else in the room, so we backed out and continued through the stifling passageway. We were one step closer to uncovering Lyra's plans and putting an end to her reign of terror. My heart raced as we followed the passage until it ended. There were a few rooms along the way, but none of them called out to use when we looked inside. It was the large bedroom at the end that caught me.

We entered and found it surprisingly mundane. A bed dominated one corner. There were also personal effects scattered over the various surfaces that hinted at someone living there. On the dresser lay a shell necklace, delicate and unassuming. When Tseki approached it, the book in his bag began to heat up. He winced, quickly dumping it onto the floor. The book fell open and sat there glowing a bright orange. Intrigued by the reaction, we gathered around it.

“Look at this passage,” Tseki said, pointing to the glowing text. The book revealed intricate sketches of coastal landscapes and cryptic notations. As we read through the pages, a specific passage caught my eye.

“Here,” I said, my finger tracing the words. “‘The cave along the shore holds the key to bringing down the imposter Pleiades once and for all, ending the chaos she has caused’.”

Stella's eyes widened. "What does that mean? Who’s the imposter Pleiades?"

I swallowed hard as the realization dawned on me. "It's referring to me. No one believes I should have this power.”

Nana's face grew serious. “That’s not true. Most love you as their leader. Regardless of the author’s ignorance, this cave sounds crucial. And if I am interpreting this right, we might even find Rosemary there.” I was thinking the same thing. The one thing that would always lure me was the life of someone I loved and cared for being in danger.

Stella's determination hardened. “Then we need to find it. But first, we have to get out of this house. ”

“Before we leave, we should make sure there’s nothing here for us,” Layla suggested as she crossed her arms over her naked chest. “Do you think there’s any hint in the house about Stella's mom or Lyra? My gut says we should go straight for the cave, but I don’t want to miss something here.”

“Let me check,” I offered and then closed my eyes. I focused on my magical sensors and sent them to search for Stella’s mother or Lyra. It took over a minute for me to check the place. The house thrummed with malignant signatures, but none of them felt like Lyra's. And there wasn’t a hint of Rosemary.

I opened my eyes and shook my head. “Nothing that feels like Lyra or Rosemary,” I confirmed. “We need to find a way out of here.”

Nana moved to the window, peering down. “Who's up for climbing down to the first floor?” she asked with a wry smile.

Tseki handed Nana the bag, telling her, "Climb on my back. You too, Phoebe and Stella. I will take you three first and come back for the others.” After stripping down and shoving his clothes in the bag Nana was holding, Tseki jumped out the window. He shifted into his dragon form mid-leap.

Nana, Stella, and I scrambled onto his scaled-back. With a powerful beat of his wings, Tseki soared across a manicured lawn and then over the cliffs. He landed gracefully on the shore. Once we dismounted, he flew back to retrieve Aidon, Layla, and Murtagh.

As we waited for their return, a group of hellhounds appeared, snarling and snapping. The beach went from serene to deadly. "Run!" I shouted. We sprinted in the opposite direction with the hellhounds hot on our heels. I worried about Nana lasting very long. Hoping the cave was along this section of the shore, I cast a spell to move our scent out to sea. Hiding would do us no good if they could follow. All we needed was to get ahead of them enough so they lost sight.

We turned a corner, and I almost fainted with relief. There was a cave ten feet to our left. I cast a cloaking spell next. We made it inside before the beasts caught up. The hellhounds prowled outside the cave, confused by our sudden disappearance. They raced back and forth, going a couple of feet inside the cave before racing back out and heading into the waves. I helped Nana move deeper into the cave and out of sight entirely.

We didn’t stop until we could no longer hear them. Panting, we finally caught our breath. I looked around the dimly lit cavern, hoping for any clues about where we were. "Is this the right cave?" I wondered aloud. Was it too much to ask that our desperate escape had led us to the right place?

Stella wiped the sweat from her brow, and her breaths were still coming in heavy pants. “Well, it’s a cave. Let’s hope it’s the right one.”

Nana glanced around, her eyes narrowing. “We can’t just sit here. Let’s see if there are any signs that this is the place we’re looking for.”

Stella sat down on a rock, her head in her hands. “Shouldn’t we wait for the others?”

I pondered her question. The sound of claws on the sand decided it for me. “They will find us. Aidon can follow our bond anywhere.”

Nana and Stella nodded and we slowly continued our journey. “I thought I felt something earlier,” Stella interjected into the silence. “For a moment, I thought my mom was nearby. I don’t know. Maybe it was just wishful thinking.”

I put a hand on her shoulder, feeling hopeful that we were finally getting close. “She might be in here. If this is the cave in the excerpt, then I have a feeling she’s in here. ”

Nana scowled at me. “That makes no sense. Why would Lyra be hiding in a cave on the beach?”

“I doubt Lyra got her hands dirty and kidnapped Rosemary,” I replied.

Stella's eyes glistened with unshed tears. “She might be in even more danger than we thought. Lyra’s smart enough to keep her captive alive. I can’t say the same about her lackeys.”