Page 41 of White Charms and Dark Secrets

We reach the library, and I’m thankful that the door has been left open. We share a nervous glance, and we move into the room, using stealth to try to creep unnoticed to where I sense Elias. As we turn past a bookshelf, we finally see him.

He stands facing the fireplace, a glass of what I can only hope is red wine in his hand. He takes a big swig of his drink, before setting it down on the mantlepiece. He turns in our direction, and I feel my heart drop when it seems as if he’s looking right at us.

“Hello, Kier,” he greets his son, the man who came here with the intention of killing him. He appears both unsurprised and unbothered by Kier’s arrival.

“How the hell can he see us? He’s not supposed to be able to see us,” I mutter under my breath, but as I’m in a room with vampire hybrids, both of their gazes dart to me.

“Hannah?” Elias questions, looking shocked at my appearance at least. It takes me a beat to remember I gave him the fake name when we met in The Tomb. He looks back at Kier. “I was expecting you, but your accomplice is most unexpected. No matter, one more body at my feet makes no difference to me.”

Before Kier can form a response, a gust of power sends us both flying back into a bookcase. Pain radiates from my back, but I ignore it as I pull myself back onto my feet. I’ve just straightened up when I notice Kier shooting a bolt of lightning-like magic at his father.

Without waiting to see if it hits its mark, I dart towards the door to ensure no one interrupts them. Kier has enough on his hands fighting his father alone, much less everyone else in the building if they join in. I peek down the corridor, breathing out a sigh of relief when I don’t see anyone coming.

“HARLOW!” Kier yells.

I dart to the right, feeling something scratch against my left side. I whirl around, but Kier has already turned back to face his father, though Elias watches me instead. Using his father’s distraction to his advantage, Kier shoots off more lightning bolts. Without missing a step, Elias dodges or deflects the magic sent his way with little effort, then throws a spell in my direction. I jump to the side to try and avoid it, but the white charm is too big to avoid. The magic rushes over me, trapping me in a bubble. I blink in surprise. He trapped me in what is unmistakably a protection sphere.

What the hell?

With me trapped in the bubble, the two of them carry on with their fight. Streaks of lightning and bright flashes of colour fly around as they exchange and deflect attacks.

Not wanting to remain helpless, I push my hands against the bubble, feeling the current of Elias' magic running through it. Shuddering at just how dark and twisted it feels, I keep my hands against the barrier, feeding my own magic into it. Without anything restricting my magic, I should be able to do this.I take a deep breath in and push my magic out into the bubble at full force. The sphere around me shatters much quicker than I expect, and I stumble, barely able to keep myself from falling over. Glancing at the surrounding chaos, my eyes widen, and I cringe reflexively as I witness Kier take a direct hit to the chest. Elias strides closer to his son, while Kier sways on his feet.

Desperate to help even though my knowledge of attack magic is limited at best, I use the one curse I know will burn a vampire into thinking better of taking a bite out of anyone.“Imperium cutis ardeat!”I yell, hurling my magic towards Elias. The fire magic alights, burning through the air until it hits its intended target.

Elias roars in pain when it hits, but he regains his composure much quicker than the vampire in The Tomb had. He murmurs something and the flames on him go out, but the ones still swirling in the air around him remain. He backs away from the fire in shock, and I notice Kier is retreating too.

Not wanting Elias to get away, and with Kier looking as if he's still in pain or shock or something from Elias' last hit, I use the curse again, throwing my hands out in Elias’ direction as I all but scream the curse out.

The flames spiral out of control, missing their destination and setting fire to bookcase. But the magical inferno doesn't cease there, instead it continues spreading, dancing through the air, not needing any substance to travel. I back away from the flames, my nervousness skyrocketing as I watch them grow.

Maybe a witch cursed with bad luck shouldn't use fire magic...

I feel the first licks of fire against my skin and scream as they begin to engulf me. I shriek for so long with such force that soon my throat can’t even produce an audible sound anymore. Trying to will the fire away from myself, I push back with my magic. That only seems to fuel the fire further, and I collapse, falling to my knees as the flames curl around me in a twisted embrace. A loud crash draws my attention, and with tears burning in my eyes, I watch Elias vanish from sight. An audible curse comes from Kier’s direction before he turns towards me and notices my magic attacking me too.

Without hesitation, he rushes through the flames to get to me. Despite the fire still burning all over my skin, the pain seems almost muted in some places now. He grabs my arm, dragging me up and holding me close to himself. Not wanting him to burn along with me, I try to pull away from him, but my attempts are futile and only cause him to tighten his grip.

I feel Kier's magic roll over me and the room around us vanishes as he portals us out of there, using himself as the portal, rather than casting one for us to cross through. The complex magic would shock me more if I wasn't in such agonising pain. We're surrounded by blue, and I wonder where he has taken us.

“You need to let me pull you with me,” Kier shouts. I cringe from the loud noise.Didn't we already leave?“Kayla, let go of your hold on where we were, or we'll both be trapped in the between. Let go!” he yells again.

Wishing he'd stop shouting, I try and comply with his demand. My eyes start to roll back when another pulse of his magic rushes through me, and then my stomach lurches as he pulls us through the rest of the way.

Twenty

A Few Too Many

Burning, scorching fire surrounds me. The flames lick at my skin in desperation, seeking my destruction…

Falling to my hands and knees on the floor, I realise that I’m screaming as I hit the ground. My eyes are squeezed shut in agony, and my skin feels like it's burning away. A memory flickers, a younger me touching the tray in the oven and crying out in pain. It's like that's happening again, but with much more intensity, and all over my body. Everything stings. Everything hurts. Everything burns.

“Breathe, Harlow. The fire has gone out, just breathe.” I feel a hand on my back, cold and soothing as it rubs across my bare skin. I lean into his touch, seeking out its cooling feel, and yet pained sounds still escape my lips. Everywhere else still feels like it’s burning, and it’s pure torture. “It's okay. I'm making it better, just breathe. Try to keep calm. I need you to take a deep breath, because this is going to hurt like hell for a second, but then the pain will go away. You need to accept the pain. If you try and throw the magic off, it will kill you.” He pauses, allowing me a moment to contemplate his words as I stop screaming and take a few haggard breaths. “Do you understand me, Harlow?”

I try to force myself to nod, but everything feels wrong. Some parts of me burn and hurt, some parts of me feel cool from his touch, and other parts of me... I can't feel a damn thing. My mind struggles to process the contradiction of both the onslaught of sensations and the lack of. It's utterly consuming.

“Kayla?” he prompts, and I manage to nod again, flattening my hands against the floor and bracing myself. I can do this. I have to do this. There's no other—

What feels like an electrifying shock zapping all over my skin cuts off my thoughts. A wash of pain surges over me, so intense I think I may combust, and I begin to struggle under its attempts to drown me.

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