Page 27 of Shadowed Summer Sun
Moira screamed, the awful sound of an unnatural beast choking around blood, and she reared back. I collapsed to the Earth before taking the spear of the Taking that skewered me in both hands and wrenching it free. The Darkness within me stitched the wound closed and swirled around my hands as I held the furious, wriggling Taking in my grasp.
I closed my eyes, seeking the beings I’d met along my journey, seeking Badb and my Coven and the fallen wolf Servant.
“Take us there. Bring me back.”
The world changed, blending into streaks of color as we moved too quickly to see. I fought to hold onto the Taking, dragging Moira, its corporeal form, along with us as my friends moved us through time and space.
Everything came back into focus with a jarring snap, and I felt the burning heat of wooden planks beneath my knees. Opening my eyes, I saw Moira take in her new surroundings.
“No! No!” Her gaping mouth glared at me. “You fucking bitch!”
“Always exit through the same door you entered.”
My Darkness swelled, entwining with my Sun as I pushed the Taking against the invisible crack that hung over top the middle of The Simple Bridge. The sky remained a half-split enchantment, and the red-orange glow behind the blacked-out moon raged.
With all my strength, I held the Taking against the portal as it thrashed in my grip. Shadows tunneled into a thick cord enveloped by my glowing radiance—an eclipse made manifest.
Moira’s distorted form was yanked into the Taking as it fought to consume whatever it could. I pushed harder, the black hole of my power reigning over the monstrosity’s writhing form. The crack glowed with the malice of the Pit, and Hungries and husks scattered through the Vinemire Forest were pulled into the Taking. They stretched past me, streaks of black that were devoured by their maker.
Badb dug her claws into the Earth, shoving her side against my back as I forced the putrid thing back where it belonged. Claws of hatred scrambled for purchase against the pull of the Pit. But it did no good. As the wrong sound of its screams echoed across The Simple Bridge, the Taking was consumed itself, drawn back to the isolated land of evil the King worked so hard to keep locked away.
It was done.
Chapter Eleven
The Wind From One Door’s Closing, Opens Another.
Icollapsedtotheground, my heartbeat frantic and my blood too thick. The eclipse above me hung in the sky like a bullseye, throbbing in time with my over quick pulse.
“Mistress, are you all right?”Worry coated Badb’s voice.
My eyes flickered closed as I struggled to take in a breath. At my side, I felt the softness of my familiar’s feathers and the point of her beak as she nudged me.
“I’m… tired.” The words were barely audible.
“Part of you needs to remain here, and part of me needs to go there,”she cawed.
A whooshing sound filled my ears, and the wind rushed across my skin as Badb took my hand in her talons and squeezed. I cracked open an eye and looked at our connection. The tiniest prick of blood welled up from my palm, right over my lifeline, and Badb took my hand in her beak to lap up the black, gold-edged liquid.
She shuddered and fell to the ground as she returned to her usual size. Hopping onto my chest, Badb placed her wing between my fanged teeth. I clamped down just enough to break the skin, sucking in a tiny bit of her blood.
Badb screeched into the sky, but the erratic beat of my heart slowed, my vision cleared, and I could feel the magic of my crow flowing in my veins. I pulled myself up to sit and looked at my faithful friend.
“Thank you, Badb. I truly don’t know what I’d do without you.” Her gift sang in my veins with each new breath.
Lowering my head to hers, I said, “In all ways, you are a part of both worlds now.”
“I will not part from you. Ever.”If her spirit voice could crack, it did.
Black tears pooled in my eyes, and I stroked her feathers. Standing, I looked back in the direction of the Coven House. Not all had been lost on the lawn, and instructions needed to be laid.
“One last trip home.” I moved Badb to my horn. “You will stay with them. For now.”
She cawed, and in a blink, we were at the gate to my former dwelling.
The remaining Siblings sprinted outside, freed from the aura trapping them in the house, eyes wide with terror and confusion. They wept over the black silhouettes of char that remained of our fallen companions until they spied me walking down the path to the front door.
Agatha, now Priestess of the Coven, approached with Margaret not far behind.
