Or maybe she was just getting old, she wryly acknowledged, panting as she came to a halt next to the tall pile of stones. She didn’t know who’d originally stacked the rocks into the formation of a pyramid, or what it was supposed to do, but she had a vague impression that the coven had considered it a holy place. Was that the reason the witches had chosen the spot to burn her? Maybe. Right now, she didn’t care.
Nothing mattered but finding Azh.
Falling to her knees, she pressed her hands against the ground, desperately seeking any hint of her dragon. Or even an echo of the magic that had saved her from the witches.
She cursed when she felt nothing.
No magic. No heat. No lingering quakes. There wasn’t even a fault line visible from where the ground had been split open two centuries ago. It was as if it’d never happened.
There was...nothing.
No. Wait. That wasn’t true. She leaned down to press her head against the mossy grass. She could hear something echoing through the earth. A distant thud, as if someone was banging a drum. Or something was pounding against a barrier.
Wynn sucked in a sharp breath, leaping to her feet as she was struck by a sudden realization.
She’d sensed that Charlotte was unhinged, but she’d allowed the woman’s confession that she was trying to raise the dead distract her from her original suspicion that it had a connection to the corruption. That was the sort of thing a person did out of grief, not to gain power.
But what if the corruption was forcing her to open its prison? Or even using her as a conduit to spread his evil through the world? Charlotte was a witch who could channel magic and yet human enough to be easily manipulated. The perfect tool.
A sharp cry echoed through the air, and Wynn whirled around to run back down the hill. She didn’t consider the fact that she might be rushing into a trap. She was convinced that Charlotte was the key. Not only to locating the magic that had abducted Azh, but the corruption that was spreading through the world.
When she’d fallen into the pit two hundred years ago, the white light and the green slimy magic had been imprisoned together. She was betting that they were still there, in an endless battle for dominance.
Reaching the edge of the trees, she skidded to a halt, discovering Charlotte in the center of the circle. The older woman was kneeling next to the cauldron, her head tilted back as she screamed in pain.
Wynn still held on to the strand of magic that contained the spell of darkness, but she had no idea what was causing the witch’s pain. Any attempt to help her might make things even worse.
Glancing around to make sure there was nothing lurking in the shadows, Wynn slowly crept forward to step into the circle. The power of the magic hit her without warning, nearly driving her to her knees. She hissed. It was no wonder the witches had decided to build their coven in this spot. It wasn’t a Gyre, but there was a core of magic directly below the circle that sent out shockwaves of energy. As if they were standing on top of a nuclear reactor.
Taking a second to regain her balance, Wynn was stepping toward the sobbing witch when the tremors returned. She braced herself, a surge of hope racing through her. This was exactly what was happening moments before Azh disappeared.
Charlotte lifted her head, as if belatedly sensing Wynn’s cautious approach. Her features were frozen in an expression of sheer terror.
“Blessed goddess, what have I done?”
The words were still trembling in the air when Charlotte’s eyes rolled back in her head and she tumbled to the side, as if she’d been knocked out by some unseen force.
Wynn didn’t have time to worry about the witch as the ground buckled beneath the bubbling cauldron before it abruptly collapsed and the pot disappeared along with the fire. The hole continued to spread, dropping the unconscious witch into the empty space.
Wynn stumbled back, lifting her hand to shield her eyes as a blinding light abruptly burst out of the opening. At the same time, an intense heat washed over her, searing her skin until she felt blisters form. With a muttered curse, she tried to back out of the circle. The power was going to destroy her.
But despite her mental command to run away, her feet refused to budge. She glanced down in confusion. She was stuck in place, as if she’d stumbled into a magical quagmire.
Grimly struggling against the invisible bonds, Wynn felt another blast of heat. She lifted her head to glare at the light that was obviously determined to finish what the witches had started two hundred years ago, only to feel an unexpected stab of hope.
The light was shrinking. As if it’d reached a critical mass and was about to implode. Then her hope died as quickly as it appeared. The light wasn’t shrinking, it was being sucked into the creature that was currently crawling out of the hole.
Wynn’s mouth dried as the light continued to flicker around the slender form of a woman.
“Stay back,” Wynn commanded, ignoring the massive surge of magic that swirled through the air.
This creature could destroy her with ridiculous ease.
“There’s no reason to be afraid, child,” a female voice assured her. “We are old friends.”
“Are we?”
“Don’t you remember?”
