Page 1 of The Magic of Revenge
Khol and I raced out of the small cottage, leaving Goldie to help her grandmother. Unease prickled in my gut as a deep sense of foreboding settled into my bones. Smoke swirled through the trees giving the forest a sinister, spooky feel. Goldie’s arctic fox, Maven, was ahead of us, frantically turning back and barking at us to move faster.
Branches and leaves snapped and crackled beneath our heavy footfalls and finally, we burst through the edge of a clearing. The smoke here was heavier, denser, like the ground itself was burning underneath.
“What the fuck?” Khol asked, taking in the chairs that were positioned around a pentagram. It was hard to see through all the smoke and the darkness of the night.
“Where is everyone?” I approached the area cautiously; gods only knew what kind of magic might still be lingering.
Just then, the clouds drifted away from the full moon and the soft light floated down, giving us a less hindered view of the clearing. It was then that Maven flew across the scorched earth and began whining, pawing at a dark shape lying motionless on the ground. The hairs on the back of my neck lifted, my mind giving my body a pretty clear warning that something awful had happened.
“Khol, shit! Over here,” I called out, moving fast as hell to see who it was and if they were okay. Maven seemed satisfied that we were paying attention to what had him so worked up and he took off like a flash, heading back toward the cottage.
We reached him at the same time, both of us skidding in the dirt, dropping to our knees.
“Fischer, oh my gods,” Khol rasped, immediately feeling for a pulse. My own heart felt like it’d never beaten so fast. Fischer’s face was pale and I’d seen enough dead men to know Khol wasn’t going to find a rhythm.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I chanted, immediately starting chest compressions as Khol pulled out a sharp knife and began cutting the vines away from Fischer’s body.That crazy fucking bitch had murdered her daughter’s love?Hatred simmered in my veins but quickly turned to determination. This would destroy my woman, and I’d do everything in my power to bring him back. He was still limp and slightly warm so that was mildly reassuring.
“Blow!” I shouted at Khol as I paused the chest compressions. He quickly blew into his mouth and I started again right away, frantically working to jump start Fischer’s heart.
We repeated this process for what felt like hours, but was more likely only several minutes. Sweat was dripping down my forehead when Khol grabbed me by the shoulders, halting my work.
“No,” I panted, out of breath and in shock. “It’ll be okay. Maybe I’m not pressing hard enough?”
I tried to resume, but Khol held me still for a moment before crushing me against him in an embrace with Fischer beneath us. His shuddering breaths and the wetness I felt against my neck showed his grief over losing one of his own. I’d never seen the man cry before—hell, I’d barely seen his mouth even twitch with a smile. And yet, here he was, breaking down.
“But—Goldie. She… She trusts me. We can’t let her see him like this. I’ll head back and keep her occupied until you can… figure something out. It will be okay, it’ll be okay,” I repeated, trying to convince myself of something that I knew was a lie. This was going to break her. This was going to break everybody. The others weren’t even here. I released Khol and dropped down onto my ass.
“Fuuuuck.” I cursed, running my hands through my hair.
Why must the stars fucking do this at every damn turn?
Straining to listen, I heard the telltale sounds of someone approaching. The snapping of a twig, the crisp crunching of leaves, a small animal’s startled whimper.
“Go, Bram. Don’t let her come over here, not right now,” Khol urged, his eyes still wet. I scrambled to my feet, desperate to get to her, to protect her. Shield her from this devastation a little longer.
Fischer is dead. Oh my fucking hell.
The intense desire to protect her from this pain hit me like a sledgehammer to the head. I thought if I could just keep her inside her gran's house, we could buy a little time to break the news to her more gently. Having my princess see her lover's dead body like that, knowing her mother was responsible and the other guys were missing... No. I couldn't let it happen.
So I tried to keep her away. Tried and fucking failed.
I intercepted her on the path.
“Did you find them? Where is everyone?” she asked, still moving toward me. Toward him. “Is my mother still here? I’m going to fuck her up for hurting Gran like that. Who would do something like that to their own mom?” She threw her hands around animatedly as she spoke and all I could do was stare at her. I couldn’t even speak.
“Bram?” she whispered, questioning, her voice shaking.
“S-Saige,” I croaked, my voice breaking. Her eyes widened at the use of her real name.
“Don’t call me that,” she snapped. “Let me past, Bram.”
She knew something was very wrong.
“I can’t, you don’t want to go over there right now, okay? Just—just stay right here with me,” I pleaded, my stomach twisting painfully at the thought of her seeing Fischer right now.
“What’s over there, Bram?” she asked, her voice low and anxious as her hands wrapped around her stomach. I couldn’t do anything except shake my head. Fuck. Fuck. My hands found my hair once again and I tugged slightly in an attempt to get my brain to fucking function.
“You’re scaring me,” she rasped, her eyes already glittering with wetness that nearly made me sick for her.
