Page 34 of Bear's Midlife Bridesmaid
“But—”
“This isn’t a fight that can be won that way. I’m sorry.” Now, both of her hands were moving in that odd pattern. She’d been using the right one to protect herself, but she didn’t bother anymore. More tears slid down her cheeks and dropped into the sand.
The flurry of motion behind Gretchen caught Jace off-guard. The nearby trees were reaching out, their branches like long, woody limbs. He hadn’t even realized they were that close, but then he remembered that they hadn’t been. Erin had been bringing them forward this whole time, asking them to come to her. They creaked as they wrappedaround Gretchen’s ankles, tightening as they moved upward.
The witch screamed and tried to step backward, but her feet were trapped. She fell, caught by the other branches that were on their way to her. Gretchen twisted and writhed as they spread out across her back and wound down her arms. She jerked and wrenched against them, determined to cast another spell. Red sparks shot out from her fingertips, impotent fireworks compared to what she’d been able to do before.
“Do you think this is actually going to stop me?” Gretchen screamed.
“No.” That was the only word that came from Erin. Her hands were up in front of her now, palms out. She moved her fingers individually, giving the illusion of plucking the strings of some giant invisible instrument.
Seeing her held at bay made it all the harder for Jace to control himself. It would only take a few seconds for him to run forward and tear her to pieces. But Erin insisted that she had to do this. He had to trust her in that, though it felt wrong not to do something.
The grass was moving now. It crept forward along the ground, stretching and reaching towardGretchen. It used the tree limbs that were already wrapped around her, braiding into itself as it climbed up her body.
“What are you going to do?” Gretchen taunted. “Did your little foray into dark magic teach you enough? Are you going to use it to kill me?”
Erin pulled in a deep breath. “You’ve become a giant pain in my ass, Gretchen, but I’d never kill you or anyone else. I can’t let you do that, either.”
The grass continued, snaking up her thighs. It curved around her hips and ascended her ribs, curling inward when it reached her collarbone. The plaited strands of grass met at the center of Gretchen’s throat and twisted into a knot before continuing around to the back side of her neck.
Erin closed her eyes, and her fingers continued to work through the air. “Let the powers of nature bind you from the harm you wish to cause, both on yourself and others.”
“Stop it!” Gretchen screeched.
Coming back forward around her ears, the grass wove itself over Gretchen’s mouth and muffled her speech. It twisted and bound and braided, taking hold of her.
“May the vibration of this green energy dissolve your negativity and drain into the earth where it canbe transmuted and no longer hurt you or anyone else,” Erin intoned. “Let Mother Earth take the darkness from you and leave you with only light. So shall it be.”
Gretchen stopped fighting. Her body grew still. Then she went completely slack, slumping against the trees and grass that held her.
Erin made a few last motions through the air. “Please, take her someplace safe.”
As if what he’d already witnessed hadn’t been astonishing enough, Jace stood watching in shock as the tree branches moved once again. Gretchen was laid on her back and carried off through the trees, passed from one to another into the night.
Jace caught Erin as the last of her energy gave out. He pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms tightly around her. Her tears were hot against his shirt. “It’s all right now,” he murmured into her hair. “I don’t know exactly how, but you did it.”
“I don’t like to make the plants work for me like that,” she whispered. “It feels wrong.”
He rested his chin against the top of her head. “Perhaps they wanted to.”
“Please, tell your family I’m sorry.” She buried her head in his chest.
Barbara stepped forward and laid a gentle handon Erin’s back. “There’s no need, dear. There’s nothing to apologize for at all. Why don’t the two of you get some rest? You’ve been through a lot tonight.”
Jace gave her a thankful nod. He kept an arm around Erin as he guided her down the beach to his house. They came in the back door, sliding off their sandy shoes on the mat. The yellow glow of the kitchen light, the feel of the carpet under his bare feet, the sound of the clock ticking. It was all so normal, and that felt strange after the night they’d just had. He hardly knew what to do with himself or how he’d carry on after this. The only thing he knew for sure was that he needed to take care of Erin.
He brought her upstairs and set her on the edge of the mattress. Jace dared to leave her there for a minute as he ducked into the bathroom, returning with a warm washcloth. He lifted her chin with one hand and wiped her tears away. Then he brushed out her hair, gently unpicking the knots that’d formed as she’d fought Gretchen. Slowly, gently, he pulled her shirt over her head and removed her shorts before laying her on the bed.
Jace joined her a moment later. He lay behind her and put his arms around her, holding her as she recovered. She had just fought off a deep darkness.Without understanding anything about magic, he knew this was more than just defeating a foe. She’d fought a darkness that hovered within her, created by her difficult past. Physical wounds could be healed if she shifted into her bobcat, but it wasn’t her flesh and blood that needed to recuperate. It was her heart, and that could only be mended with time.
Jace would hold her for however long that took.
16
Erin lay awake,staring at the ceiling. The gentle whump of the fan was usually soothing when she had a hard time sleeping, but it wasn’t enough right now. Nothing would be, not with the racing thoughts that’d taken over her brain. She rolled over and curled on her side, flinching as she felt her tight muscles protesting. Fighting off Gretchen had taken so much out of her, and then lying still afterward had made her stiff and sore. Erin bit her lip as she waited for her lower back to release.
She’d been completely drained when Jace had brought her back to his house. There was so much she’d wanted to say to him, so much ground that needed to be covered, yet she hadn’t had the energy to speak beyond a few sentences. His arms had beenstrong around her and his hands gentle. He’d spoken softly to her as he brushed her hair off her forehead. Erin smiled into her pillow as she recalled the way he’d brought her into the bedroom, washed her face, and taken off her dirty clothes. He’d tucked her into the bed like an exhausted child.
