Page 31 of The Powerless Witch
Falling to my knees, I took out the container with black salt mixed with a pinch ofChaosite Crystal. With ingredients like that, we’d be risking the entire city, but with the vampires, we couldn’t hold back.
Creating the circle in the spot Regina had marked on the map of the building, I made sure it was all evenly distributed before stepping inside it. I was going to be fine as long as I stayed in the boundary and once we sent the signal, I’d be gone. Hopefully, that would be enough to blast them all to hell.
I felt a sharp prickle at the back of my head and let the foreign presence slide into my mind. I hated sharing my thoughts with others, but in this instance, it was necessary. And in their case, their fear would keep them too busy to poke into my business.
‘Ready,’they said one after another.
I looked around one final time, then nodded to myself.
‘Ready,’I echoed, letting the power flow out of me.
Black flame burst over the salt line, sinking into the concrete. The ground shook as cracks formed where the spell touched, shattering the base that held the whole building. I felt it move beneath the ground, sensed it fight the resistance of man’s creation.
We waited. Regina had said to keep the spell working for a minute, so it spread through the rest of the warehouse district. Then we were to flee to safety, leaving the vampires to…
A movement caught my attention, and I looked around, preparing myself for an attack. The circle protected me from the tremors and the ground from swallowing me in, but it wouldn’t stop another person from entering it. Not even a vampire.
“Shit!” I gasped, sending my magic in search of the monster stalking me. My energy spread and spread but found no undead creeping closer. It found something else, though. Something small and alive. A child maybe?
‘There is someone here,’I said to the others, and a wave of surprise passed through the connection.‘They are human.’
‘Regina said not to stop for anyone!’one of the witches hissed.‘Just thirty more seconds. Do not step out of that circle, Second!’
‘I’m not a murderer!’I snarled, leaving the protection of the circle. The ground beneath me swayed, but I managed to stay on my feet as I strode forward, searching for that beating heart. There were several cars parked inside the underground garage,but most of them looked old and abandoned. All except one with a brand new coat of paint, reinforced doors, and a sleek, shiny surface.
Something moved inside of it, but right before my eyes settled on them, they ducked into their seat.
‘Ten seconds,’the others echoed, their impatience seeping into my bones.‘I’m sending the signal.’
I didn’t bother replying as I neared the front of the vehicle, looking at the form curled almost on the floor. When our eyes met, a wave of recognition washed over me. The world faded, my vision blurring. My head filled with laughter and happy screaming, and my body felt warm from invisible hands hugging me tightly. Then those same dark eyes, wide and full of glee, stared at me over a half-unwrapped present. She grinned, opening her mouth to speak, when an ear-splitting crack shattered the world anew.
I swayed back, falling on my ass as the floor caved in while pieces of the ceiling crumbled. Dust fluttered in the air, making it hard to breathe.
I had to translocate now. Before everything collapsed, before…
The ceiling just above the car split in two and one of the pieces tumbled onto its roof. The metal bent under its weight, diving lower and lower until the car was almost squashed under it. The passenger’s seat door flew open, and the girl threw herself out while the whole vehicle sank into the ground that had opened beneath it.
The human shrieked as the concrete segment shifted, tilting so she started sliding toward the hole. My body moved on instinct and I threw myself forward, reaching for her. She screamed in surprise but caught my wrist at the last possible moment. I cried out when her weight pulled on my arms.
The ground beneath me cracked.
A whimper escaped from her lips as she struggled to find purchase on the ragged concrete, but her fingers slid over the surface, leaving a bloody trail behind. I watched her face pale with horror and acceptance and my heart broke in a way it had never before.
“Hold on!” I snarled through gritted teeth, letting go of one of her hands. I pressed my free palm over the snapping concrete and poured my magic into it, commanding it to stop moving, then to straighten and bring us up. The stone obeyed even as it chipped and crumbled bit by bit.
Once I was no longer sliding, I wrapped my magic around her body and hoisted her up. Flailing her arms, she landed on top of me, but quickly rolled to the side and started coughing.
I needed to get out, but if I left her here, she’d die. And if I took her with me, Regina would kill her. And considering what I just saw, what it could mean…I wasn’t leaving without her. Not before figuring out who she was, what she was…to me.
“T-Thank you,” she croaked, turning her head in my direction. We were still lying on the ground even as the building crumbled around us and the screams from above grew louder and louder. Her eyes found mine, and she sucked in a breath, reaching toward my face. “It’s…it’s really you. How can this be?”
Swallowing the dust that had filled my mouth, I tried to speak, but nothing came out. She recognized me. She knew me. She…
“Samara!” a familiar voice screamed right when a loud crack came from above us. I had no time to react. Before the building could collapse on our heads, something yanked me to the side. I managed to grab the girl’s hand and drag her with me as the world shattered around us. Once we stopped rolling over, I pushed myself to my elbows, blinking at the figure running toward me.
Meghan, one of the younger witches on our team, crouched by my side, helping me up.
“What were you thinking?” she hissed, checking my throbbing forehead. “We need to go now! Everyone else is…” Her eyes landed on something beside me and her face blanched. “Oh, fuck, she’s one of hers!”