Descending Darkness(93)

This is where I come in.

“Look, Dravin has found a way to extract magic from mages who can push their magic out. Natalie and I are the only ones that I know of that can do this, but I’m sure there are others. Dravin wants more magic, and he’ll do anything to get it. He’s becoming more ruthless, and he definitely needs to be stopped. I’ve had it with him, and I know that he’s torturing people to find information out about me, and that needs to stop. I don’t want anyone to go through what I’ve been through because of him. This last time, I thought I was done for. I would have been killed if Valdus didn’t change his mind.”

At his confused expression, I quickly explain who Valdus is. “I can’t just sit around and wait for Dravin to come to me anymore. I’ve been training. I’m prepared for the challenges ahead. In fact, I’m looking forward to them. I want all this to end. I don’t want to live in fear anymore. I want to prove to Dravin that I’m not going to take everything lying down. I can fight, but I need more people. We need more people. All mages need to stand up and fight if we want to stand any chance. The Gadramicks numbers are too large. Can you help us?”

James regards me curiously. I can’t tell what he is thinking based on his expression. I can read his mind…

“She’s something, isn’t she?” Tom says behind me. I turn around and look at him, but he’s not looking at me. He’s looking at James. When I turn around, James is still looking at me with a slight smile. Colton reaches out and wraps his arm around my shoulder, basically showing James that I’m his. James laughs at his reaction but nods.

“I can help, yes. I have connections. You’re worried about who to trust, aren’t you?” he asks me. Instead of verbally responding, I just nod. I am afraid of putting my trust in the wrong person. Natasha is proof of that.

“I can go with you when you guys go and look for others. I can be pretty intimidating when I want to be,” he says. That’s an understatement. “I’ll contact some people that I trust and tell them that the prophecy is coming to an end. It’s almost here. They’ll know what that means, and they’ll be prepared.”

“This is actually happening…” I say quietly to myself.

Colton’s arm tightens around my shoulders. “Yes, it is.”





Chapter Twenty-Seven




“So you’re not really some girl crazy jerkface who thinks Ryanne is way prettier than me?” Emma asks, while we all sit in James’s living room. I turn and look at her questioningly. Was she jealous because James didn’t attack her?

“No, I’m not some girl crazy jerkface, and you are very beautiful, Emma. But I could tell that Colton and Ryanne needed the extra boost while you and David did not.” James points to Colton and me. “From what I hear, even after me going after Ryanne, it still took them a while.”

Colton points over to me. I scoff and hit him lightly on the chest. It’s true though. I knew my feelings, but I thought that if I ignored them long enough, they’d eventually go away. I thought that if I ignored them, I could keep him safe. “It didn’t take that long,” I mumble.

“Oh, whatever. It took Colton dying for you to admit your feelings for him,” Emma says.

“Death is only the beginning,” I say and turn toward David. This one is easy, peasy. He looks at me for a moment before grinning widely.

“The Mummy!”

“I feel like I’ve used that one before, so I don’t think that counts,” I say as I scoot closer to Colton. David glares at me but doesn’t react like I expected him too. Wrapping his arms around me, Colton pulls me even closer to him.

“So, what’s the plan for tomorrow,” Tom asks.

“I’ll make a few phone calls tonight and talk to some people. See what side they’re on, their thoughts on everything, etc. Maybe we can get some stories to use later on when we’re trying to sway others. I think that we should only visit those on the fence—those who aren’t sure of a side. It’ll be dangerous, and we’ll have to protect Ryanne. There is a pretty hefty bounty out for anyone who can bring her to Dravin alive.”

“There is?” That’s not good.

“Oh yeah, you’re number one on Dravin’s Most Wanted list,” James replies.

“Perfect,” I yawn and lean into Colton’s side. I haven’t really used any magic today, but I’m still pretty tired.

“We’ll make sure nothing happens to you. There’s enough of us here, that it shouldn’t be a problem,” Kyril says. I’m not really worried about being captured again. If I can use my magic, I’ll be fine. I’m worried that they are all going to be captured because they’re helping me. I’ve had visions and have been to the compound enough times to know what he’ll do if he gets a hold of them.