Page 111 of Woven Souls

JONAH

We were almost killed.

I feel like that’s something I need to process. Unfortunately, the day isn’t over yet. As we follow the spirits up various flights of stairs and down hallways, the sounds of a full out war grow louder and louder. The building shakes, causing wide cracks to race down walls or split apart ceilings. Dust and debris drift through the air and cake in the back of my throat. Drawing in a deep breath only results in a fit of coughing.

Whatever is happening upstairs doesn’t sound good.

And Willow and Kwil are right in the middle of it. My heart leaps up into my throat, making it even harder to breathe. She’s here trying to saveus. I must have been amazing in my past life to deserve this woman.

And Willow must’ve messed up pretty badly, having been paired with the likes of us.

“Almost there,” one of the spirits says from in front of us.

The three of us have to sprint to keep up with how fast they float across the floor. As the sound of fighting grows louder, I curse myself for not grabbing a sword like Theodon and Viktor did. As we run up yetanotherflight of stairs, this one leading to a door, I hear Willow’s scream. All at once, our pace quickens. We burst through the door and enter into the most chaotic scene of destruction and mayhem I have ever seen.

Whatever roof was in place before is gone. A few pillars remain standing, albeit they are a bit shorter than they once were. Surrounding the building are five Utikyie. Each reaches in for their target. One or two of them disappear as they’re sucked back into the Realm of the Dead through an open Veil. Another is hit with a spell. I can see the magic ripple over the metal of the black knights like a heat wave. Whatever spell was cast is ineffective. All it does seem to do is piss off the Utikyie, which lets out a deep bellow of rage. It shakes the temple, knocking people off their feet.

Around us, Ghosts are dropping like flies for what looks like no apparent reason, but they are suddenly on their feet in the next instant. Green flames race like a whip through the air, hitting a few here and there.ThoseGhosts don’t get back up. Those who jump out of the way hesitate to continue forward. I can almost hear them trying to figure out how to get close to the woman throwing the flames without turning to ash in the process.

Finally, I spot Willow.

Covered in dust, dirt, and splattered with blood, Willow looks utterly spent. She’s pressed against what is left of the wall, glaring at those who have trapped her. Two people throw thick, dark chains at her. Her hands go up, and her power whips across the scene. Whatever she did doesn’t stop the chains from hitting her. One slams against her face. She stumbles before falling onto her knees, and her hand rises up to cup her cheek. The other sails over her harmlessly.

A loud snarl snags my attention.

I watch as Kwil moves like a blur from where he was fighting an outrageous number of Ghosts to get to Willow’s side. He takes out one of the chain throwers by biting their neck. As Willow gets to her feet, another person rushes towards her, his chains lifted and ready to be used. Before I can move, he tackles her to the ground, and they roll. My blood runs cold at the sight of her in trouble.

All of this happens within seconds of us breaking through the door. In the next second, all three of us rush towards her.

Ghosts lunge for us, blocking our way to Willow and Kwil. Theo and Viktor make quick work of them. As they take down their own people, I rush by. I leap over rubble and knock people out of the way to get to Willow. She lets out a scream that shifts into a hard sob.

I slam into the man pinning her to the floor and knock him away from her. My fist connects with the middle-aged man’s face over and over until he goes limp beneath me. When he’s unconscious, I jump to my feet looking for Willow. I find her still on the ground. Her screams of agony are nauseating. I rush over to her side to find the chains lying across her body.

“They’re spelled, Jonah!” she sobs, her body seizing before she lets out another scream.

Shit, this is what that woman downstairs was talking about. They really plan to bind Willow and use her magic. Bile rises in my throat. Without thinking, I grab for the chain, ready to yank it off of her.

It’s a mistake.

Haven’t I learned not to touch things full of magic? There had to have been a better way to remove them besides touch the metal links with my bare hands. Too bad the thought comes after an unbelievable amount of pain shoots up my arm and explodes into the rest of my body. I fall onto my back as my body seizes. I’m burning and freezing from the inside out. How that’s possible I don’t know, but add an electrical current to that and I’m in all sorts of misery.

The pain doesn’t last long.

It gradually passes, but I’m stunned enough it takes me a second to gather my wits to roll onto my knees. Willow’s screams have grown weaker. I get to my feet just in time to see someone else throw another set of chains around her. He mutters a spell, and I watch in horror as both lengths of chain wrap around Willow’s body, pinning her arms to her sides and her legs together. Her screams cease as her head goes limp.

I rush the warlock who’s casting the spell.

Lowering my head, I hit him with my horns. The warlock goes flying. Out of sight, I forget about him and turn to Willow. I reach for the chains again but remember just in time not to zap myself. Just as I yank my hands back, Viktor and Theodon appear on either side of me.

“Don’t touch the chains!” I slap Theo’s hands away as he goes to reach for her.

“Get back!” Viktor orders.

We both scramble out of the way as his blade cuts through the air. My breath catches in fear. For a second, I’m sure he’s going to cut Willow in half, too. But his restraint is incredible. Viktor’s blade hits the metal, breaks through it, and doesn’t leave a nick on Willow’s skin. The chains lose their glow as they fall away from her body.

“Watch out!” Theo’s warning comes just in time.

He leaps forward and scoops Willow up before diving out of the way of a Utikyie’s hand rushing through the air towards us. Viktor and I scramble out of the way as it grabs right where Willow was.

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