Page 101 of Fighting for Her Heart
Holding one arm toward the trapped witches, I turn my head and sweep my other arm toward the fake wall. In a flash of light, it evaporates.
But my relief at seeing the men quickly disappears.
From behind me, wooden stakes fly through the air, stopping just in front of each of my men’s hearts. Axe is back on his feet, and his muscles grow and flex as if he’s struggling to move, but can’t.
None of them can move. Or speak. They’re immobilized, each with a stake ready to penetrate his heart.
The horror and fury on Axe’s face as he strains is just like when Octavia controlled his body back in the cave. That painful reminder threatens to shatter my concentration.
Nora can control Axe, just like Octavia did, and clearly she can also control Ryker and Zuben.
I fight to calm my panic and develop a plan. The stakes, if they’re real, have not yet pierced the men’s hearts. I don’t think Nora would kill them before I’ve created more lambent vampires.
But, on the other hand, the witches have already collected some blood and semen from the men. Perhaps she’s willing to kill at least one to make her point.
I can’t take the risk.
“Don’t make me kill them,” Nora says.
I turn back to discover she’s free from my hold and sauntering toward me.
“Because Iwillkill them,” she says coldly. “Trust me on that, darling. These vampires are fully replaceable, now I have you.”
A silver rope wraps around me, tightly trapping my arms and squeezing my legs together.
“No!” I shout. Then I focus my thoughts and the rope disappears.
I rebuild the tornado of light around me and then use it to push back Nora. I remember the silver fence that Zuben found surrounding the farmhouse property. If Nora could create the illusion of a fence around that whole property, silver that felt real to Zuben, then perhaps I have not yet broken all of her illusions down here. Is the cage even real?
I was able to get rid of that wall once I knew it wasn’t really there.
But before I can try to break the cage’s bars, I need to deal with these witches.
Directing my force first at Nora, I send a stream of light her way.
Laughing, she deflects it. But I can tell that she’s weakened, at least temporarily. She picks up the amulet, puts the chain around her neck and holds the pendant tightly.
While her eyes are closed, I focus my light on the other three witches. My magic manifests into long ropes, seemingly formed from light, and it binds the three of them tightly together so none of them can move.
“Well done!” Ryker shouts, and I turn toward Nora who still has her eyes closed as she tightly holds her amulet.
“Concentrate, cherished one,” Zuben calls out. “And remember, whatever happens, I love you. I love you like I haveneverloved another on earth.”
“You are my love, my mate for all time,” Axe calls out.
“Hey, I love you too,” Ryker adds. “You know that right?”
“We all love you and believe in you,” Zuben says. “Concentrate. Do not hold back. Use all the power you have. Whatever it takes.”
Their declarations of love are like fuel, increasing the brightness and intensity of the light inside me a thousand fold.
“But it is I who has loved you the longest. “Nora’s voice draws my attention. “It is I who loves you themost.”
Walking toward me, Nora’s dressed in the exact same green, tie-dyed t-shirt, under a denim, bib dress she often wore when I was little. On her feet are the same tan Birkenstock sandals she wore all summer, and the illusion of a summer breeze lifts her red hair, highlighted by sunlight.
“A man’s declared love is fleeting, lust fueled, and can never measure up to the bond between mother and daughter.”
I spin to take in my surroundings. Mom and I are no longer under the church; we’re back in the field near the farmhouse. My knees and hands sting and I see a boulder hidden in the sea of grass near my sneaker-clad feet. The illusion is so real I can smell the grass, hear birds chirping overhead and feel the sunlight on my bare arms.
