Caged in Darkness (Caged #1)(37)

The cone shuttered, as though it were pulling against an invisible force that refused to allow it purchase. It began to fold into my physical self by plying my skin and sinking through my pores, nourishing its hunger on my soul. It burrowed through my barriers, until it found my core and coiled around my essence. I was consumed; each of my senses extended to their limits.

I was no longer me; my energy merged with everyone and everything around me. The oxygen I had been deprived, exerted pressure and dug its way into my chest. The world blazed brighter, as if taking its own breath. My feet became the roots that ground the trees; my hands were leaves that extended towards the sky; my skin was each and every member of the Meadow Falls coven. Here there were no secrets; here we were one. Being able to sense my coven and hear their voices once more, calmed me.

The covens magic pulsed into one purpose; one conscious goal, to merge my essence with my inner power, while building a bridge to my mental self. My power was held within me. Until now, I had been unaware of the electric blue fire at my core. My youth had protected me from irresponsible use of my power, but now it would weigh me down with each choice I made. I would be confronted by temptation to use my powers for personal gain; it was in my blood. My parents had proven that to me; I had seen what unlimited power could do to a person.

The pain came in waves. At first, I felt miniature pin pricks against my temples, but then my skin felt like it was being scraped raw by sandpaper. I could feel each layer of skin burn away. The small ball of energy within me had grown to the size of a softball. I could feel the worry emanating from the coven. I knew that it wasn’t normal for my power to increase to the extent. It shouldn't be this intense; this overwhelming, and yet it was. It strained against the chains that bound it within me and raged when it could not be freed.

Confined to my petite frame, the power was enraged and pulled against my taut skin. Growing bolder, it tore through to lay flat against the outer edge. It solidified and lengthened to mold itself to my frame and contained me in a transparent cocoon.

My fingers flexed against the waxy surface, while I panicked. I was cut off from my coven now; their thoughts distant echoes. Concern showed on their faces, as I fell onto my side; convulsing within my cocoon. A seizure racked my body, while I blended into the agony. I was going to die; the old saying was true, children do pay for the crimes of their parents. I was going to be exhibit A in that time old trial.





ASH





I desperately wanted to go to Savannah, but I knew it would be foolish. Every member of the coven needed to remain in place or Savannah’s life would be in jeopardy. We had to hope that she would come out alright in the end. The elements would overwhelm her if even one of the five representations of the elements moved. The other members were joined and if they broke the circle, hell would rain down on Savannah's vulnerability. To protect her, we needed to allow her ascension to finish, even if it meant watching her scream in anguish.

I couldn’t watch Savannah any longer and instead looked at the other witches. Willow held a hand over her mouth, while tears streamed down her face. Maye’s arms were crossed and I could see her fingernails digging into the skin of her arms. The expressions on each face contained worry, distress, and horror. Watching everyone else run through the emotions Savannah’s pain evoked, was as bad as watching it myself.

I looked back at her. The strange substance coating her skin kept me from hearing her screams, but I could see them. She lay on the ground, while her body was taken by wave after wave of power; enough to shatter bones. The coating hardened and gained pigment. It terrified me that she was no longer visible. My only confirmation that she remained alive was her movements within the cocoon.

After the ascending hour had passed, we closed the circle and immediately rushed towards her. I knelt at her side to touch the object coating her skin. It felt like a bats wing; a hybrid of leather and wax.

“How do we get her out?” Willow knelt at my right and I looked up to see Maye and Josephine on the other side of Savannah.

“I don’t know. Does anyone have a knife?” I looked around, but Josephine protested.

“You have no way of knowing how deep this goes. You might cut her. Besides, since we don’t know what this is, we can’t risk removing it. What if it’s protecting her somehow?”

I ground my teeth. “What if it’s hurting her somehow? Have you thought about that?”

“Here man.” Griffin came to my shoulder and handed me his pocket knife. I flipped it open and touched the cocoon with it. Pressing gently, I tried to ease the knife in, but before I could slice my way through, the cocoon began to stretch. I could make out two hands pushing against the substance, try to claw their way through the layer.

“Move back!” Maye pushed everyone away from Savannah and we all watched as she emerged.

Somehow, I expected her to be coated in slime, but instead she her skin was decorated with a golden sheen. While that was stunning, I still wasn’t prepared for the other changes. Savannah stood completely nude, but it was no longer the Savannah I knew. Her hair was long before, but now it hung to her thighs in wild curls. Maye placed a robe around Savannah’s shoulders, but it had already seen that her body had matured. The silver in her eyes was almost blinding and her face had sharpened. Savannah had always looked young for her age, but now she looked exotic and womanly.

Maye ushered her back into the house, while the rest of us stood outside in shock. I sat on a boulder to wait for the other part of the ceremony, but I really wanted to take Savannah away and protect her. Everyone else stood around gossiping about the ascension, but Isis, Griffin, and Willow came to stand near me.