Page 52 of Wicked Ties
“You’d like to think so.” She opened her hand and held a ball of magic there. “Looks fade, but I am eternal.”
Tilly tsked. “You know, like, every villain ever always says something to that effect. I’m eternal, I’m inevitable, I’m the supreme. Blah, blah, blah. And you know what happens to them all?”
“I’m no villain.”
Tilly didn’t listen. “They all die.”
The Crone threw her head back laughing. “And yet I haven’t.”
“There’s a first for everything.” Tilly dropped the fake book behind me and ran at the Crone.
The Crone threw a ball at her, and I knew she couldn’t dodge it. If it sailed by us and hit the wall of magic, this whole thing would be done. The Crone would run, only to strike back another day. Tilly tilted to the side and the ball exploded against her shoulder. She got knocked back, sliding on the ground and crashing at my feet. Blood seeped from a burning hole in the trench coat, yet she popped right back to her feet.
Anger flared in my body hot and heavy. My cards flew from my pocket and whirled over my head. My neon smoke mixed in with them, and I knew what had to be done. I grabbed one card and threw it at Tilly. It hit her shoulder, and green smoke spread over her body. When she turned toward me, her eyes glowed a bright green.
A wide smile spread across her face. “Oh, I like that.”
She sprinted back at the Crone. The Crone launched another ball of magic at her, but this time it exploded against her like running through a cloud. She kept on going as the Crone threw one of those balls after another. Not even one stopped her. She put her shoulder down and crashed into the Crone, sending her flying back into the tall maze walls. She crashed into it and the rocks splinted and fell all around her. Tilly stood there breathless, watching for movement. A huge boulder came flying out of the pile toward her.
“Tilly!” I wanted to reach her before it would crush her, but I wouldn’t.
She caught the boulder and stopped it. Her feet dug into the ground, making a deep trench where she stood. She held the boulder there like a shield against the shots of magic the Crone threw as she stepped out from the rubble. Dust covered her body and she looked even older, if that was possible.
Enough. No more. I didn’t want to see my soulmate hurt or worse. I’d already seen it, and it was my worst nightmare come true. I wouldn’t live through that again—not now, not ever. I grabbed the hanged man card and threw it between the two of them. Long red ribbon-like ropes flew from the card and leashed around her arms and legs. I yanked her forward and she cackled wildly.
“Oh, a little rope. That’s going to stop me.”
I grabbed another card and threw it on top of the other. The ropes began to steam. She screamed and squirmed under the gathering heat. They caught fire and I let it rage, calling on all the heat the sun card had to offer. Strands of bright white magic laced from her fingertips. They looked like thin spider webs. She raised her arms and brought them down, cutting the ribbons with them and dropped to the ground. They all curled around her body like long whips. She threw them toward me, and I tried to raise my magic to stop them, but it was too late. They latched onto my body, feeling like a million pins and needles hitting me all at the same time. I froze. Every muscle in my body strained against her power. My breath caught in my throat, and the blood boiled in my veins. My skin felt like a thousand fire ants marched over it.
“Your contract has been called. Your soul is mine and your power is mine.” She took a step closer. “All that power, all the magic . . . mine.”
“Maze!” Tilly threw the boulder at the strands holding me. They ripped from my body, and I sucked in a breath, struggling to keep on my feet. Black dots swarmed my vision, and I shook them away. I opened my hands and neon green smoke poured forth. “You like living off souls. How does it feel?”
The Crone chuckled and tried to swat away my power like the Keres had done, but it didn’t stop. My power crept and crawled over her body like ants over a dead animal. It flowed up toward her face and invaded her nose, mouth, and ears. She pressed her hands to the side of her head and staggered back. “No, no!”
“See them all,” I muttered and flooded her mind. “Hear them all.”
Voices, so many voices, filled the air, whispering on the wind and drifting to her. I saw the faces of her victims, the cries of families she’d ruined, and the evil she’d done. But this wasn’t for me to see, this was for her to see. She wanted my madness, she could have it. I walked the brink of madness all my life. Now I would drag her down the rabbit hole with me. Being psychic wasn’t a blessing, it was a curse. The wicked ties that bound me to this world and all the turmoil in it would drag her to her undoing.
I felt my eyes blaze a bright white. “You want my power? Enjoy the madness that comes with it.”
The Crone hunched over, screaming. She pressed her hands to her ears and shook her head back and forth. “NO! STOP!”
She staggered back and bloody tears tracked down her face. I threw my head back and a maniacal chuckle of madness escaped my lips. How fast the pictures them all would flash through her head rapid fire style. People were used to their own voices in their minds. The thousands I heard would crack her like an egg. “Take it all.”
Blood trickled from her ears and the corner of her mouth. I looked to Tilly. “Now!”
She sprinted toward the Crone. “Liesin!”
The wall of magic dropped from behind me, and the Crone fell to her knees covered in my power. Tilly grabbed the back of her neck and lifted her off the ground, and the Crone’s jaw dropped at the sight of the gates of Tartarus. Her face paled, and she scratched at Tilly’s arm.
Liesin put the key in the door and twisted the key. The gears cranked and moved like they were covered in years of rust and had never been opened. It sounded like the odd ticking of a very old clock. A wave of burning hot air hissed out, and the door popped open.
“One second!” He tugged the door open a fraction.
Tilly launched her at that door just as shadows charged for the door. They were dark and smoldering with fire and smoke. Their eyes blazed bright red and crackled like lava. The Crone sailed by Liesin and into their waiting hands. They wrapped around her, consuming her in darkness and fire. Her wails echoed out toward me. We’d thrown her in Tartarus just as those shadows reached the gate. Sweat covered Liesin’s body, and his face was a bright shade of red as he threw his body into the door and slammed it shut behind her. It rattled behind him as others tried to push their way out.
He shoved his shoulder into it again. “Little help.”
