章節 71: Chapter 71: Rogue Block
Ravyn POV
Lilia's shriek of joy upon seeing Jude and Ravyn was the best sound Ravyn had heard in a while. Wrapping her arms around them both, Lilia hugged her as they both stood in the hall. Dane joined them, too.
The embrace was just what she needed. The group hug filled her with tremendous strength and boosted her flagging energy reserves. The musky scent of both Dane and Jude felt so comforting. While savoring the closeness, Jude mumbled something against Lilia's shoulder.
Pulling back, Lilia said, "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"
Jude sighed deeply and looked at Ravyn. "Will you tell them or should I?"
Bram and Marieke looked curious. "Tell us what?" Bram asked, his eyes turning wolf gold, just like his father's. "What did you find?"
Marieke shuddered. "Do we even want to know?"
Ravyn pressed her lips together, and Jude said grimly, "You need to know."
With bated breath, Ravyn watched while Lilia and the others gathered around the journal, leafing through it rapidly. The shock was palpable. Bram let out a curse. "I don't know what this means entirely … but my wolf is going crazy right now."
Dane's eyes blazed like twin suns. "I DO know what it means, my friend, and my wolf is absolutely running in circles. This journal is proof that Hades has merged with the most unappealing witch I've ever met."
Marieke paled. "Oh, gods' toes, I didn't know."
"That was the point, Marieke," Lilia muttered. "He chose a woman–his descendant–to completely hide."
"In plain sight." Marieke looked green, as if she were about to vomit. "To think that I … how could she? Or he?"
"Call him Hades," Jude advised. "It's who he is. Melisande is gone."
Lilia nodded fervently. "Just like everyone Hades has possessed. Melisande doesn't exist anymore. Hades has completely taken over. This sort of possession is usually irreversible."
Dane put a steadying arm around her. "It's horrible," he said gruffly. "I never cared for the woman, but no one should suffer such a fate."
Ravyn trembled at the unpleasant prospect. "Do Patch and the others know?"
"Morgana suspects," Lilia said, her voice subdued. "I think she more than suspects–she was mated to Hades. She's never said anything, but I think that bond has endured despite his multiple deaths somehow."
As someone who had suffered at Hades' hands through Cyran, Lilia was handling this news remarkably well. Ravyn felt awed by her daughter. This woman she'd raised to be a powerful witch, a protector of the weak and vulnerable, was stronger than Ravyn had ever realized–but then, she led a pack of mighty shifters.
Bram raised a hand. "Wouldn't that mean he and Cyran would still be connected?" He looked upset at the thought, and Ravyn got the sense he was concerned for Cyran.
Jude put an arm around his son. "A troubling thought, to be sure," he said gruffly.
Ravyn's eyes opened wide. "Goddess, I never even considered that. We thought the bond had been broken!"
"We've all had a habit of underestimating Hades," Dane growled. "I for one never thought he'd inhabit a female host! He showed contempt for Garnet."
"Thank God," Jude added dryly. "I'm sure Jiro is relieved. But we can debate that later. Let's hurry and find the others, and get out of here."
The others chorused enthusiastically, and Ravyn felt her spirits lift. "We can teleport back," she said. "Back to Wildefell. Between Lilia, Anneliese, Daxius, Morgana, and I, we should be able to."
The party turned and made their way back to the tower. Ravyn's violet eyes peered into every shadow. Melisande/Hades might be indisposed, but evil still lurked in the corners of the tower.
Suddenly, Jude and Dane tensed, growling.
Bram hissed, "Ambush!"
Dozens of rogues poured into the hallway, coming out of the rooms.
* * * * *
Lilia POV
Where did all these rogues come from? Had they just been lying in wait? Had they sensed Melisande's collapse? Hades always did know how to keep a tight control on his minions. From their feral eyes, Lilia could see that they blindly protected their master, not knowing–or caring–how truly evil Melisande/Hades was.
Bram growled and glanced at Jude. "We can fight our way through."
Jude cuffed him gently. "Think like an Alpha, not an enforcer!"
At his father's words, Bram stood straighter, with a certain strong set to his shoulders and jaw. An attitude that screamed "future Alpha." He took in the swarming, snarling mass of rogues.
"Teleport," he said instantly. "Teleport us out of here. Can we find the others and teleport them out, too?"
Lilia concentrated, focusing on Anneliese's, Patch's, Duffy's, Daxius's, and Morgana's energies. "I'll send them outside the tower at least."
But her powers hit a wall, a block on teleporting. She screamed in frustration. "Why? Melisande is down for the count!"
Ravyn responded, her lips pulled back from her teeth, "The cat is away, so to speak, and the mice can still play. It's dark magic, and it takes on a life of its own."
Shivering, Lilia said, "It's more than that. This place is cursed. We'd be doing everyone a favor if we knocked it down."
"Later for that," Dane growled. "But it'll give me a righteous satisfaction to see it blown to bits."
Jude narrowed his eyes at the rogues who stood intimidating them. "Why in Fenrir's name don't they attack?"
Lilia observed the wolves, unnaturally muscular in wolf form and looking like superhumans in human form. "They want to scare us."
Bram snorted, his fangs sharpening. "Not happening."
The air crackled with magic as Ravyn crafted a spell, and Lilia added to the weave. They blasted the rogues with energy bolts meant to knock them unconscious and make them fall like dominoes. Feeling the surge of magic through her, Lilia straight up blasted the rogues … only to have the bolts vanish into thin air.
Ravyn howled in frustration. "HOW?"
Lilia spotted several of the shifters in human form with glowing hands, energy crackling. They'd neutralized the carefully crafted spell! They'd thrown up a shield that moved with them.
As one, the rogues pounced, leaping on the trio of Dane, Jude, and Bram. Two Alphas and one future Alpha pounced in return. No mercy. No retreat, no surrender. Jude howled to Patch and the others, seeking assistance.
Lilia's breath came out in short bursts. "Mother … what spell are they using?"
Concentrating, Ravyn said, "It's a Web of Annihilation. It's among the strongest defensive spells. It EATS magic."
Alarm bells rang in Lilia's mind. "In most cases, don't magicians use that to add the spells' magical power to their own?"
Ravyn nodded grimly. "Whatever we throw at them will only make them stronger."
An idea hit her, and Lilia smiled. "Then let's use our strongest spell."
Ravyn growled. "Don't be ridiculous!"
"We overload them. We can do it."
Ravyn paused for a second, thinking. "That could work. Marieke, stay back."
Marieke held up a statuette of a man with a wolf's head. "I believe this is magic."
Lilia nodded. "It is. It's the one object in this place that doesn't immediately reek of dark magic. Any magical object can be corrupted, but somehow this one resisted. It must be a very old relic."
Ravyn noticed the rogues pulling back, seeming to recognize the object. "The carving is ancient. It probably dates back to when Hades was alive originally, but I'm no expert on some of these artifacts. It's a powerful weapon."
Marieke held the object. "What do I do?"
Ravyn took the object from her and concentrated. Lilia and Marieke focused their thoughts and concentrated on channeling their energy into the object.
The rogue wizards snarled, sending spirals of energy at Ravyn …
She vanished as one of the spirals hit her.
Lilia's horrified scream rang throughout the corridors. "MOTHER!"
Jude howled. "MATE!"
創作者的想法 
AmandaMadden
AmandaMadden The wolf statuette was planted in Chapter 62. At first I thought it was just a cool magical object that Hades might have kept around. But there's more to it than meets the eye.
Will Ravyn be okay? What do you think?
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票