Page 31 of Unbroken

“No! Help me!” I shout, but if it bothers any of the Witches around me that I’m about to be gutted they make no moves to show it. I am on my own. It’s almost laughable if my situation wasn’t so dire. I should have told Micah, made her aware of what was going on the moment I had a chance earlier, then maybe we could have been prepared. She would be here; they would all be here. There is no one here to save me but me.

I thrash and buck and scream. I won’t die quietly. Fuck her. The High Priestess pushes her hand against my stomach, pressing me down against the stone slab to hold me in place. I am completely immobile. Well, fuck. She might look like a decrepit zombie but damn, she is strong.

The weight of her hand lessens from crushing to a firm hold as she yanks my sopping wet shirt up to place her hand flat on my stomach. Her eyes close for a moment before she opens them again and locks eyes with me. She smiles slowly, like one of my worst nightmares. I never felt safe in her presence, she took me away from my mother, my home, hid me away like a leper and threw me away like trash. She has always been the villain in my story, and I won’t let—

“I see you chose after all,” she says as she closes her eyes once more. “Yes,” she croons. “The Wolf.” She opens her eyes and raises them over my body. “Well, two souls are better than one. Either way, there will be one less abomination in the world.” Her words strike true, hitting me in the chest, sending my thoughts spiraling, no. . .no. . . I’m—

Something in me snaps. Fire floods my veins as adrenaline courses through me. It fills me up, making me stronger as my power rushes to defend myself, to defend us. A tiny spark of life, swirls around in my mind, pulsing bright, the vision comes to me so fast that all I can do is react. I snap the bindings on my wrists just as she begins to plunge the knife into my belly. I grip the blade tight between my fingers, my blood pours down my hands as Isadura fights to gain control.

The chanting Priestesses go quiet, but I won’t give them a chance to try and subdue me. With my other hand, I unleash my Water Elemental magic. Water blasts the High Priestess in the chest and sends her fragile body careening away from me. Then I turn the force of it on the women standing around me, pushing them back into order to give myself enough time to free my legs.

“Contain her! Now!” Isadura shouts just as I slide off the stone table, clutching her blade between my bloody fingers. My legs tingle as blood rushes to my extremities and I stumble out of reach of my pursuers. I feel for my Tether and my bond with Micah and Sam, but I feel nothing. I don’t know if it’s because we are behind the wards of the mountains or if the High Priestess has somehow taken my bonds away from me. Anger fuels my thoughts as I blast my way around the stone circle. I can see clearly now that I’m upright. Torches light the circle, surrounded by the all too familiar tall Spruce trees.

“Where are you going, Esmeralda? You can’t escape. I will never grant you permission to leave. You are mine! Surrender now!” The High Priestess bellows maniacally, her eyes wild as she pushes more of her Priestesses toward me. I grew up with these women, none of them gave me an ounce of acceptance. All of them treated me like I was invisible most days. I will be damned if I feel bad about bombarding them with water.

I watch them fumble, tripping over their feet as the force of my power brings them down all around me. It’s moments like this that I wish my magic was more defensive, that I could control Fire or Earth. Anything to give me an advantage. I’m not kickass like Micah, and it’s moments like this I wish I hadn’t been so afraid at the Academy and actually learned to fight. Hell, to get away from this place I wouldn’t feel bad about snatching a few souls to stop them from coming after me. But I will never admit that to Ty and Trys.

I need to get back there, back to the people who actually give a damn about me. My family, as weird as it sounds, they are my people. Now, I have to free not only myself but the child I carry inside of me to freedom as well. I make a run for it, reaching the edge of the circle as I collide with an invisible force that sends me flying backwards.

I hit the ground with a smack as the wind is knocked out of me. The Priestesses closest to me pounces, pinning me to the ground, but not before I stab one of them with the knife and slash another one in the face. They both cry out, falling away from me, giving me just enough room to kick out with my legs so hard even Professor Maverick would be proud. Scrambling to my feet I face off with the High Priestess as she slowly steps forward, attempting to corner me with her uninjured Priestesses at her back.

“You’re done, Esmeralda.”

I swear, if she says my name one more time. “No.” I grip the knife in my hand, my last line of defense. Exhaustion from lack of sleep hits me hard and from all the power I’ve used. If I don’t get out of here soon, I am as good as dead. Then she will win.

“No? You don’t have a choice.” She sneers as she grabs the robe of a Priestess next to her and shoves her forward. “Bring her to me,” she says, sending the poor woman barreling my way.

Goddess give me strength, I send up a prayer, even though in the time that I’ve lived here, my prayers were never answered. No one ever came to my aid, not even the family I had left. No, I gave up on praying a long time ago, but to protect my future, I am desperate. I flip the knife in my hands the way I’ve observed Ty doing numerous times and I throw it with all the strength I have left.

I watch in slow motion as the Priestesses running towards me slows, watching the trajectory of the knife as it twists through the air, until with a satisfying thunk, it embeds itself in Isadura’s chest. The world around me speeds up as the adrenaline that flooded my system minutes ago drains out of me, sending me weak and shaky to my knees. The High Priestess’s mouth parts, she glances down at the knife and then back at me with surprise and shock as she falls to her knees.

“What have you done? You foolish—” She falls over, her hand clutching at the knife, chest rising and falling slowly until she gasps her last breath. Her head rolls to face me, gray eyes vacant and lifeless.

Stunned silence. No one moves or speaks as the rain begins to slow and then cease all together. I killed her. I should feel horrified by what just happened, but I don’t. It was her or me. If she could have bled me out on that stone slab, she would have given my body to the waterfalls and forgotten I existed. I don’t feel bad at all.

I want to leave this place and never look back. I stand, swaying on my feet from the amount of power I used but roll my shoulders back for one more fight. These Priestesses were chosen by Isadura to be privy to my murder, they all took part in her ritual. If I had the power to kill them all, I would. They don’t speak for the entire Coven, in fact, I am sure no one else knew I was back but these women.

“I want to leave, now,” I demand as they all look at me as if they had been possessed by some hive mind. Moving as one, they remove their hoods. Some of them I recognize, some are older, yet all are a part of Isadura’s inner circle.

“What makes you think you can leave after what you’ve done?” One of them steps out of the line, her name slips my mind, so I’ll just call her lackey number one. I mean, how dare you look at me in accusation?

“Excuse me? I shouldn’t be here. You kidnapped me!” I point at all of them, whether they did the kidnapping personally or not, they are all guilty by fucking association. “I’ve done nothing but defend myself against a crazy psycho bitch. She banished me, she made me leave my home, sending me from one hell to another. So yeah, I think I can leave, and I want to go, now!” I shout as the Earth beneath our feet starts to shift and crack right up the middle of the circle we are standing in. The fissure widens as the Earth quakes so violently it knocks us all off our feet. I crawl back as more cracks open up, swallowing some of the Priestesses, including the High Priestesses’ body. The sounds of their screams echo from the hole as they plummet to their deaths. The stone slab I was tied to cracks with a resounding boom, sending two large boulders and debris soaring through the air to take out more of the women who were trying and failing to get past the wards that were put in place to keep me in. The irony. They are all dying, and all I can do is scan the darkness while I duck and dodge danger. Is Micah here? Are the guys? Sam? Can they not break down the barrier to get to me?

I get my answer as a brilliant bright blue light appears suddenly and begins to take shape before me and the few Priestesses remaining. The shape grows bigger, wider, forming arms and legs, long silver hands and dark brown skin sparkles with its own ethereal light. The figure steps from the spot where the stone slab once stood. Her feet bare, her delicate hands clasped together in front of her as she studies the scene before her with shrewd scrutiny. She wears a gauzy blue dress that moves unnaturally around her, as it writhes and undulates around her, reminding me of serpents made of fabric. She raises her hands, not regarding any one of us in particular, as she snaps her fingers and the circle around us begins to knit together, as if it hadn’t just swallowed a ton of people, Isadura included.

“That takes care of the non-believers.” She dusts her hands together, as if she’s just taken out the garbage. I guess in a way, she has. With her hands now on her curvaceous hips she turns and gazes around the circle at everyone still on the ground before her, until her eyes stop on me.

“Rise, my new High Priestess. Rise and be claimed.” She smiles warmly, reaching out to me to help me to my feet. My mouth opens and closes as I stare wide eyed at the Goddess Ourea in the flesh, goddess of the Blue Mountains, well, one of them anyway.

The other Priestesses lay prostrate on the ground as they too come to the same realization as I did. I didn’t want to believe she was real but here she is, standing in front of me about to help me stand. My hand touches hers and she frowns, tilting her head as if she’s listening to something or someone.

“Oh, I see,” she mumbles as she turns both my hands over palms up and studies them. I can feel her power assessing me, surrounding me completely, her fingers trace over the lines on my palms, sending tendrils of power shooting through me. I gasp breathlessly as she drops my hands and takes a step back.

“Esmeralda, daughter of Cashira, you have a choice to make, and not an easy one.” She smiles kindly, but it’s not as genuine as it was before she touched me. “It appears that Isadura made a grave error. You were banished, taken from us when you had yet to receive your gifts. You were made to feel unworthy, an outcast. For that, I am truly sorry. It’s with my solemnest regret I allow you the choice I am offering now,” she says sincerely as she beckons me forward.

I step towards her, and a pool of blue light surrounds me. I panic and try to step out of the small circle only to find myself imprisoned within it. Before I start to freak out, she places her hand on the barrier. “Don’t be afraid. This is only temporary,” she says softly, and I take a deep reassuring breath as I let my anxiety subside.

“I just want to go home,” I plead.

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