Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

M y chest was heaving as I tried to catch my breath while also keeping up with Stella. “Do you feel your mom?” I called out.

Stella shook her head. “I wish. I’m not sure what it is.”

We raced through the forest searching for the illusive dark nexus. And Stella seemed to be following some cryptic directions. She was plowing ahead of us like a woman on a mission. I was normally the fast walker in our friendship, but I had to hustle to keep up. She suddenly halted, making me run into her back. My little soccer player kicked her, and we both chuckled. Stella sobered quickly, and her eyes narrowed. She focused on a seemingly impenetrable wall of foliage. I followed her gaze, noticing the subtle shimmer in the air. It was a telltale sign of powerful magic.

“Do you see that?” Stella whispered, pointing ahead.

Aidon and I stepped closer. I squinted through the dense undergrowth. There was a barely visible curtain of shimmering magic. It appeared to be a veil concealing something significant. “Yes,” I murmured. Energy radiated from it. “Do you think this is the entrance to the nexus? ”

Stella lifted a shoulder. “I have no idea, but there is something there. Don’t forget they said Lyra’s enchantments were powerful.”

Aidon examined the magical barrier. “You will have to dispel this magic first. It’s intricate and might be dangerous.”

I took a deep breath as anticipation built within me. “I expect nothing less. Alright, let’s do this.”

Stella, Nana, and I formed a small circle. Our hands barely touched as we channeled our energies. We focused on the shimmering curtain. “We need to get a feel for the complex web of enchantments,” I told them.

Nana nodded and added, “Once you have that, focus your intent on unraveling the elements. There is definitely Dark magic underlying the thing, so I plan on dispelling each piece as I pull it apart. I don’t want to hold any part of it longer than I have to.”

Hearing the last bit of advice made me look at how I would handle these situations in the future. “How are you going to do that? Push it into the ground? Or the air?”

Nana tilted her head to the side. “Good question. If we send it in the direction of another of Lyra’s spells, they could combine and make an even stronger one. I highly doubt she has buried her wards in the ground, so I’m going to take a chance and direct the energy there.”

With that plan in place, I focused my mind. We practically murmured an incantation simultaneously. Our voices were steady and clear. I pushed each thread into the earth as I pulled it apart with my magic. The air around us vibrated with tension as we synchronized our efforts. The shimmering barrier flickered and resisted our combined assault. Sweat trickled down my forehead as I poured more energy into the spell and tried to untangle the threads completely. Half of it was buried in the ground and losing power while the other half clung on. An undignified grunt escaped my lips as I pushed more power into it.

“We’re close,” Stella encouraged. She sounded as strained as I felt. “Just a bit more.”

We broke through with a final surge of effort. The shimmering curtain dissolved and revealed a narrow path that went deeper into the forest. A wave of relief and exhilaration washed over me. Stella sighed and said, “I wish that was the worst of it. Let’s move quickly. We don’t know what else Lyra has hidden in here.”

The way was tight and winding, making us move single file. I was sandwiched between Layla in her wolf form and Aidon. The trail was flanked by ancient trees whose twisted roots seemed to reach out. “Do you think they’re trying to warn us or hold us back?” I asked as I pointed to them.

“That’s a toss-up,” Stella said as she stuck her head around Aidon’s side. “That dark energy is all around us, but I'm hoping the forest is still fighting against her.”

As if it understood her comment, the leaves on the forest floor rippled when the ground cover fluttered. And strange, luminescent flowers began to glow. They pulsed and then dimmed entirely. Stella inched around Aidon and got up close to my back. “I’m not sure if we are going in the right direction. Shouldn’t we have encountered more of Lyra’s wards by now?”

A grimace crossed my face and I fought the urge to curse. “I was just thinking the same thing. I don’t want to turn back before we explore more. We need to exhaust this lead before going home. We will find her. I know how hard it is to be patient when your mom is missing, but you have to try.”

She nodded and we moved single file along the narrow forest path. I inhaled the scent of pine and flowers. It helped ease the feeling as the foliage pressed in on us from both sides. It was unnerving to be surrounded by a living wall of green that pulsed with hidden energy. The forest was alive with the sound of rustling leaves and distant bird calls. It was a symphony of nature that both soothed and unsettled me.

The sudden rustle in the underbrush to our right was our only warning. I barely had time to shout before creatures burst from the shadows. They were a grotesque blend of bear and hellhound. They had the massive, muscular bodies of bears, but their heads were elongated and lupine. They also had eyes that burned like coals and teeth that gleamed in the dim light. Their fur was matted and dark. And they moved with a terrifying, predatory grace.

“Aidon, are they demons you can banish?” I yelled in a voice tight with fear. I hoped we would have an easy solution to this one.

“No,” he replied grimly, swinging his black sword to intercept one of the creatures. “They're something else.”

The path was too narrow for an effective defense, which is how the creatures were able to drive us into the thick of the forest. The trees and shrubs made it almost impossible to fight. I backed up while keeping my eyes peeled for movement behind us.

Branches clawed at my clothes and face and the uneven ground threatened to trip me with every step. “Stella, now!” I called while raising my hands and summoning my magic. Beams of witch fire shot from my fingertips. I kept them narrow and aimed at the creatures coming after me. One stream struck one of the beasts and sent it reeling. Stella responded with her own spell. Raw power crackled through the air and slammed into another beast, sending it sprawling.

In their wolf forms, Layla and Murtagh darted through the underbrush. Their fangs flashed as they lunged at the creatures. Their agility and speed were incredible. They were able to strike blows that we couldn’t. But even they struggled with the confined space .

Layla sank her teeth into one creature's leg. She dragged it into a prickly bush, but it shook her off with a roar. After freeing itself, it swiped at her with a massive paw. Murtagh leaped onto another, biting down on its neck. He nearly had it until the beast twisted and flung him aside. I had to douse my flames when they came too close to the trees. Burning down the forest would make enemies of the spirits we’d promised to help.

Aidon fought beside me. His black sword cut through the air with lethal precision. He parried a swipe from one of the creatures, then countered with a powerful slash that left a deep gash in its side. The creature howled in pain but kept coming, its eyes burning with rage. I threw a magical bomb at it, hoping to end what Aidon had started. I cringed and cast a spell to put the fire out that resulted from the flailing beast.

A cry from above got my attention. I was afraid it was more creatures, but it was Tseki and Nana. They circled but were unable to join the fight. The canopy was too dense, the trees too close together. I saw a flash of dragon flames through the branches, and my heart stopped. Cupping my hands around my mouth, I shouted, “Tseki, no! Don't burn the forest! We have to help the forest spirits, not destroy them!”

He roared in frustration but pulled back, his flames dying out. Meanwhile, the rest of us were being driven further into the woods. The creatures were relentless in their assault. My arms ached from casting spells, and I could see the strain on Stella's face as she fought beside me. Layla and Murtagh were both limping, and their fur was matted with blood. Aidon's sword was slick with the dark, tar-like blood of the creatures, and his breathing was heavy. This was not going well.

“Phoebe, we need a plan!” Aidon shouted, deflecting another blow .

I looked around, trying to find some way to turn the tide. My eyes fell on a particularly thick cluster of trees, and an idea formed. “Stella, we need to use our magic to bring those trees down.” Her brow furrowed as she looked from me to the trees. “You want to smash them?”

A wicked smile spread across my face. “Absolutely, but make sure to keep the roots intact in your intent. We will put them back in place.”

Together, we focused our magic on the trees. I nudged my spell to weave with hers the second she cast hers. It seemed as if the forest understood what we wanted and cooperated. Without much effort, the ground trembled, and then with a creaking groan, the trees began to fall. They crashed down, smashing a significant portion of the creatures.

“Now!” I yelled. “Attack while they're disoriented!”

Layla and Murtagh surged forward, their wolf forms became blurs of motion. They tore into the creatures with renewed ferocity. Their claws and fangs found vulnerable spots and tore beasts apart. Aidon and I pressed the attack from the other side. His sword and my spells worked in tandem to take the creatures down.

Slowly, the tide turned. One by one, the creatures fell, their bodies crumpling to the forest floor. The last of them let out a final, pitiful howl before collapsing. We stood in the aftermath, breathing heavily. The forest around us was eerily silent, the only sound the distant calls of birds.

Stella swirled a finger in front of her body and said, “We should put these back in the ground before we move on.”

“Tseki has it,” Nana called out as he swooped down and picked a tree up in his talons. He worked fast, setting them back where they’d been. I heard Nana chant something and felt the ground shift below us. The dirt was cementing them in place again.

I huffed out a breath and conjured an electrolyte drink for each of us and a large bowl of water for the wolves. Aidon took a drink and wiped blood from his cheek. “We lost the path,” he said wearily.

“We'll find our way,” I replied. “We just have to keep moving.”

“Preferably before more creatures attack,” Stella added.

I hated leaving the creatures, but we had no choice. Burning them was out of the question. My nerves were strung taut as we traversed the dense forest. Thirty minutes later, we encountered a ward. I smirked at Stella. “Looks like we have encountered Lyra’s protections.”

“Next time, I need to keep my mouth shut,” she grumped.

“I’ll work the ward from up here,” Nana called out.

I gave Nana a thumbs up and focused my intent on unraveling the ward and directing the energy into the ground beneath us. This ward was much harder to dismantle than the last one. Aidon held me up when my legs weakened. He also fed me power. I pushed some of that to Stella and Nana so they weren’t burnt out during the process. It seemed to take forever before I felt the ward give up the ghost. We moved forward when the last of the dark energy was pushed into the ground.

A wave of energy washed over me and reached out to touch my soul. Next to me, Stella shivered. “The magic here is strong,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper. “And it's far more Tainted. Be on guard.”

Aidon nodded as he scanned the area with his sword gripped tightly in his hand. “Lyra’s influence is everywhere. This has to be the nexus.”

A chill ran down my spine as we ventured deeper into the woods. The energy that had initially washed over us now pulsed with a life of its own. The Dark magic there was a living entity. And aware of our presence. It made my power spring to the surface and crackle along my skin .

Here, the corruption was more evident. Vines twisted unnaturally and their leaves were blackened and brittle. The ground was littered with withered petals and the remnants of broken branches. At the center of a small clearing stood an ancient stone altar. It was nothing like the one I’d seen earlier. This was more like a pedestal. There were arcane symbols on it but I couldn’t make any of them out. They were worn away, and in some sections, scratched out completely.

Stella approached the altar cautiously. Her fingers hovered over the runes. “These markings… they’re a blend of old and Dark magic,” she observed. “It feels like Lyra.”

Aidon scowled as he crouched next to the stone. “The markings are glamoured. I can feel it.”

I stepped closer, feeling the oppressive weight of the magic. It was making me sick to my stomach. “Can you decipher what she’s done?” My hand went to my stomach as unease gnawed at me.

Tseki landed, and Nana joined us. Stella’s brow furrowed in concentration. “We need to break through the glamour first.”

Nana cracked her knuckles and then her neck. “This bitch is going down.”

My chuckle turned into a gasp that made me choke as I felt Nana attack the glamour. Stella and I stood there gaping at each other for two seconds. Aidon and the others kept watch while we worked with Nana. The clearing pulsed in response. Energy stung me through the soles of my feet. Refusing to let that sway us, we redoubled our efforts. A few pain-filled seconds later, we broke through the glamour.

“I don’t like this place,” Aidon muttered. His eyes never ceased their vigilant scan. “The forest is alive, and it’s angry.”

“I know what you mean,” I replied, keeping my voice low.

Nana pointed to the stone. “Lyra’s used this altar to amplify her control over this nexus. She’s woven powerful enchantments into the very fabric of this piece.”

Disgust filled me, and my upper lip curled. “Then we need to disrupt those enchantments”

Aidon nodded, his jaw set. “Let's do it. What do you guys need?"

I glanced around the clearing, my mind working quickly. “We’ll need to sever the connections she’s established here. Aidon, use your magic to weaken the vines and roots she’s corrupted. Stella and Nana, I’ll need your help to channel a counter-spell. We need to purify this place.”

“Easy enough,” Stella replied with a smile.

Layla, Murtagh, and Tsekani stood guard while the four of us went to work. Aidon’s magic flared to life. His power surged through the ground as he targeted the twisted roots and vines. Nana, Stella, and I stood before the altar. Our hands joined as we channeled our combined magic into a spell of purification. An acrid smell burnt my nostrils and made my nausea even worse. I had to resist the assault on my stomach with every fiber of my being.

With the help of Nana and my best friend, I didn’t falter. Our determination burned brighter than the darkness surrounding us. Slowly, the corrupted vines began to heal. Their destructive grip loosened. The oppressive atmosphere lifted slightly. And for the first time since entering the clearing, I didn’t feel like I might hurl.

We continued pushing our cleanser out, and finally, the last of the corrupted magic dissipated. A soft glow emanated from the altar, and a hidden compartment slid open. There was a charm that was steeped in Dark magic sitting inside. A bubble spell left my lips automatically and surrounded the thing. Nana opened her purse and used telekinesis to lift it. “This belonged to Lyra. We might be able to use it to scry for her location. ”

“This is the first time we have something personal of hers. We might actually be able to find her,” I replied.

Aidon stepped forward. “If anyone can do it, you can. Let’s get out of here and regroup. We have work to do.”

As we turned to leave the clearing, a creature emerged from the shadows. Its form was barely recognizable as a deer. Its eyes glowed with the same unnatural light as the bear thing. This, too, looked like it had mange. It let out a low, mournful sound before disappearing back into the twisted foliage.

“We can’t leave without finding the source of this corruption,” Stella interjected. “We promised the spirits we would, and that altar wasn’t it.”

Nodding, I pinched the bridge of my nose. “As much as I want to go, you’re right.”

“Look for anything that feels like decay,” Aidon instructed. “Or a stronger version of what those creatures feel like.”

We each took a different section of the clearing and surrounding forest. As I worked, the stench of decay became almost unbearable. The twisted flora seemed to close in around us as it returned. Stella was right. We hadn’t discovered the source. It was all reverting to Lyra’s dark nexus. It felt like the energy was trying to trap us within the nexus's malevolent embrace. This was not a place I wanted to be as pregnant as I was.

“Over here,” Stella called out from somewhere in the woods to the west. We hurried to her side and found ourselves standing before a crystal monolith. Its surface was slick with fresh blood and dark, pulsating runes.

“Holy crap, you found it,” I said. A shudder wracked my body. “And the babies don’t like it.” I bent over and tried to breathe through my mouth. “They really don’t like it. ”

Aidon wrapped an arm around me. “Dismantle the thing. Now!” He told Stella and Nana.

Stella looked over at me. Panic flitted across her face, and she grabbed Nana. “We need to channel our magic together. Phoebe, if you can focus on purification. Aidon, use your power to weaken the Dark magic like you did on the altar. I will guide the spell. It’s going to be harder this time."

We joined hands, forming a circle around the monolith. Layla leaned her lean frame against my legs while Murtagh pressed against Stella, and Tsekani pressed against Nana. I poured every ounce of my magic into purifying the monolith. I felt a trickle of it from Layla and then the others as well. Energy crackled around us as we began to chant. Our voices rose and fell in unison. The runes on the monolith glowed brighter, resisting our efforts. We persisted and kept funneling all the energy we could into the spell.

I closed my eyes, feeling the power of the Pleiades flow through me. A pure, cleansing light emanated from my core. It spread outward to combat the Dark magic that pulsed from the monolith. Aidon’s energy intertwined with mine to create a steady, grounding force that bolstered our efforts. The babies even put some of their energy into the mix. Stella’s voice rose in a powerful incantation. Her words wove through our magic and guided it with precision.

The runes on the monolith flared angrily, and the blood on its surface bubbled as if in protest. The ground beneath us trembled, making me stumble forward a step. Layla caught me before I hit the crystal. A low, ominous rumble echoed through the woods. Sweat dripped from my brow, and I could feel the strain in my muscles as I pushed harder. It wasn’t easy to keep drawing on every ounce of power I had.

“Keep going!” Stella urged. “We’re almost there!”

Aidon’s grip on my hand tightened. His energy surged in a powerful wave that merged with ours. With that, the runes began to crack. Thin lines of light spread across the surface of the monolith like fractures in glass. With a final collective push, the runes shattered. It was a marked difference this time with the dark energy dissipating. The woods sighed in relief as the oppressive weight lifted from the air.

“We did it,” I said, my voice trembling with exhaustion and triumph. “We broke the spell.”

Stella nodded. Her face was flushed with exertion but lit with a fierce light. “We’ve dealt her a blow. But we need to stay vigilant. This is only the beginning.”

Aidon squeezed my hand, and his eyes met mine with a look of regret. “We did good, but we’re not done yet. We need to find Lyra and put an end to her plans.”