Page 3 of Undeniable

The air is instantly filled with cries of pure agony. The fur and skin of all twenty wolves begins to melt off their bodies and fall to the ground in putrid piles. Most of them collapse from the shock and pain caused by this mutilation, but a few manage to stumble back from where they came, only to succumb to their injuries a few feet away. The sound of their death throes makes my skin crawl. I let go of Oberon to cover my ears, but my hands only muffle the dissonance of their dying.

Without warning, Oberon sweeps me up into his arms and maneuvers us through the carnage his spell caused.

I don’t protest. I welcome his care and take advantage of it by burying my face in his shoulder so I don’t have to look at the death surrounding us.

A few minutes later, he sets me on my feet. We’ve cleared the ravine and now stand on the edge of a forest.

Tentatively, I lower my hands. Only the sound of crickets ring in my ears.

“That was horrible,” I declare, pressing my hands against my stomach to ease its queasiness. “Is that what the spell was meant to do?”

“No,” he admits, slightly confused. “It was supposed to shatter their brains inside their skulls, not melt the skin from their flesh. It’s not a spell I’ve used often because it’s hard to contain, but since we were inside the ravine, I knew it would be safe.”

“Oberon.” It’s one of the few times his name has passed over my lips in his presence. “This new source of magic you found on this other world. Was it tainted in some way?”

“Magic is simply energy,” he explains unnecessarily. “It’s not good or bad. That comes from the wielder of the spell.”

“I suppose that’s good to know.” I instinctively take a step back from him.

Does Oberon realize he just admitted he’s evil? The look of realization on his face indicates he does.

“I’m not evil,” he’s quick to correct.

“You were the caster of that spell,” I remind him. “I’ve never seen a better example of evil incarnate.”

“I told you that the spell didn’t work the way it was supposed to.” His anger stems from frustration, but also something else that is clear to see.

What he did frightens him. Maybe he didn’t know what would happen or maybe he did. I don’t know him well enough to know the answer. The only thing I’m certain of is that Oberon needs to be kept at arm’s length until he proves himself worthy of my trust.

I turn on my heels and head to the trail I see leading farther into the woods.

“We need to keep going,” I say. “We’re bound to come across a town soon. Hopefully, I can get word to my mother so she can send us some transportation to get back home.”

Oberon jogs to catch up with me. He tugs his shirt back on but remains silent.

“What are those brands on your shoulders and arms?” I ask. “I’ve never seen anyone with them before.”

“My inheritance.”

When I glance in his direction, I see no amusement on Oberon’s face. He meets my gaze and smiles grimly.

“When my father died, they appeared on my body. All I know and all I’ve been told is that they’re supposed to enhance my magic when I need it.”

“Do they have to be exposed to work?”

“Not really. I just wanted to feel your touch in case we died.”

“Oh, please.” I roll my eyes at his corny line.

“As I said before, Emily, I’ll never lie to you no matter how hard the truth might be to admit.”

If I trust his word that he’ll never lie to me, then I have to believe what happened with the wolves wasn’t his original intention. Either way, I need to keep an eye on Oberon. Anyone who can cast a spell as horrible as the one I just witnessed needs to be kept in check. The last thing I need is for him to lose his mind and go rampaging through this world, destroying what took us years to rebuild.

An hour passes by and we seem no closer to finding a town than we were when we crash landed.

“We should rest and try to find something to eat,” Oberon suggests. “Neither of us are going to do anyone any good if we don’t take care of ourselves.”

“I thought you would be more anxious to find your sister and your seer. Honestly, I thought we would have come across some of your people by now.”

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