Page 24 of Charisma
“Whatever, you’re hurting my head, Landry. I’m just on edge with all of this shit going on. I know the right words to use but was trying to lighten the mood a bit by agreeing with my hatchlings terminology.”
“In that case, carry on, because itwasfunny. I bet Airvyd didn’t think so when you two threatened to annihilate him.” Landry’s chuckle has a smile crossing all of our faces.
“I think we managed to burn down one of the old sheds on our property while chasing him down,” Drakko lightheartedly muses. “Remember that? Father was fit to be tied because Mother wanted to renovate it for use as a she-shed or some shit.”
“I remember the fucking splinters we got building one for her after that,” Buvor retorts.
“Let’s get our shit done, you guys,” Maverick says, bringing us back to the reality we’re about to face.
BALDWIN
The ladies sleep for six hours straight while we gather the troops, make calls and wait on Maizy, Mari, and Bell’s grandmother and mother to arrive. They were going to gather supplies on their end and wait for one of the guys to call before they spelled themselves here. Their father was told to stay behind and protect their property with Drakko, Airvyd, and Buvor’s parents, but I get the indication that Inni, the guys’ mother, has some ailment and they’re trying to keep her close to home.
If my eavesdropping was right, when a female dragon is far from her treasure, she ages instantaneously, and becomes sickly. Inni’s treasure, according to the boys’ conversation is her home, which from my understanding, has been moved numerous times as they had to find a new homestead to hide in. But there’s some heirloom that travels with them from place to place that satisfies her dragon’s need to hoard which she guards that’s sacred to her.
I find myself drawn to learn as much information as I can. Not because I’m gathering intel on them, but because something inside of me insists that I do. My bear has rumbled a few key phrases since they’ve arrived such as“guardian”and“dragon defender”which has me wondering if I have some prophecy of my own to fulfill. But since everyone believes I’m clueless and ditzy, which I allow them to believe by purposefully being obtuse, I don’t voice my thoughts out loud. I have a role to play, and I play it well. My father sat me down when I was just a cub and told me that I needed to keep my intelligence on certain aspects buried deep. He made me swear that even my brother, Beast, would be kept in the dark. I’m not sure why he demanded this, but my father was a wise bear, an oracle of sorts to our clan, and I never second guessed what he told me.
My ability to blend into the background has enabled me to learn things which allow me to protect those I care about and love. Whether or not I have a prophecy to fulfill, I’ve always remembered what he told me. I’ve amassed so much knowledge on so many topics it’s ridiculous. I could probably win at a game of trivia if I wanted to play. I sometimes wish I could talk to Beast about all of this, but I made an oath to our father, and I always keep my vows.
* * *
After a somewhat relaxingevening with my mate that involved showing her just how much she means to me, I wake the next morning ready to get this shit done and dusted. “Are you ready to head out?” I ask Charisma, walking into the bedroom.
“Just have to finish with my hair,” she replies, moving toward me. Leaning up, she plants a kiss to the underside of my jaw, which has me pulling her into my arms for a proper kiss. “That’s much better,” she sighs out once she moves back slightly.
“Absolutely. I hope the witches got their shit together. I’ve got a bad feeling that keeps getting more intense the longer it takes.”
“I trust Esmerelda, Baldwin. She’s going to make sure we’re all protected while she and the other ladies craft the best possible incantation they can.”
“I’m praying you’re right, Risma. Not that I doubt her abilities at all since I’ve seen what she can do firsthand. It’s the others who are unknowns to me, you know?”
“Esme knows them too, so we have to believe they’re going to accomplish what they’ve set out to do. Now, are you ready?” she asks, having put a braid in her hair. I personally love seeing it down around her shoulders but understand why she has it up since we’ll be outside and typically, when Esmerelda is working an incantation, wind is involved for some unknown reason.
“I’m ready, mate. Just waiting on you,” I tease, kissing her upturned nose.
“Then let’s go see what’s happening.” Taking my hand, she laces our fingers together as we head out to the field where everyone else is standing around talking.
“Now that our two sleepyheads have arrived, we can begin,” Esmerelda decrees once we reach the group.
I notice there’s a small table with several bowls on it, along with what looks like a dragon’s scale, some of Paxton’s fur, and one of Beast’s claws. Esmerelda carefully takes a handful of the herbs I know Charisma got for her and sprinkles them into the bigger bowl where she grinds them into dust. A puff of colorful smoke rises as I watch from outside the protective dome Esmerelda immediately put around herself, the other three witches, and two older women who I guess are the mother and grandmother once Charisma and I arrived.
“Not sure I like this,” Drakko growls out.
“You and me both,” Paxton replies. Considering my mate is inside as well to protect Esmerelda and the other ladies' backs, I fervently agree with both men.
“Did you two actually agree on something?” Maverick muses. “Will wonders never cease.”
“Shut up, fucker. If something goes wrong, we can’t protect them out here,” Pax retorts.
“We’re out here to protect everyone else, remember?” Mav jeers. “It’s going to be fine. Leigh is with the ladies who are expecting, Buvor and Airvyd are overhead. We’re as ready as we can possibly be. Now, shut the fuck up and let’s let them work!”
As the ladies clasp hands, the wind shifts and it becomes hard to keep myself up on my two feet. The atmosphere feels heavy as the witches harmonize their tones and start their chanting.
“To rid this world of the demonic entities who’ve risen, we offer our blood as a sacrifice to keep all good and bad things equally balanced. When we ask for you to take from one, we must give an offering from ourselves in return. The gates to the underworld have been broken, and infiltrated by those with malicious endeavors, innocents will pay the ultimate price if they are allowed to roam freely. Send them back to hell where they will burn for eternity. So mote it be times three.”
I start to freak the fuck out when all of us bystanders’ bodies lift from the ground as if we’re weightless. My feet dangle and as the panic sets in, I begin kicking them mid air. I look like an octopus out of the water as all of my limbs flounder as I try to find a way to anchor myself. But with nothing close by to grasp on to, I have no way of getting my footing. The only thing that’s keeping me from screaming a warning is the fact that Drakko is floating near, he’s sitting Indian style with his legs crossed and he’s inspecting the area around us as if nothing’s amiss.
“Is this normal?” I ask my new ally.