Spring Rain (The Witchling #4)(65)

The moment Dawn looked their way, her eyes flashed ebony once more. “It’s nothing! We move forward as planned!”

“Dawn, you’ll risk the baby if you don’t get help!” Noah shouted in frustration.

The woman struggled to stand with Troy’s help.

Biji glanced at Decker, whose movement had stilled. His eyes were on Dawn as well, fury and worry on his face. A flicker of hope went through her that he wasn’t going to kill Dawn’s baby to get to Bartholomew. With the others occupied, Biji inched closer to Decker and waved to get his attention.

“How can I help?” she mouthed the words to him.

He gazed at her for a moment before responding. Finally, he shook his head and replied. I won’t risk you getting hurt.

“Omigod!” Biji muttered. She planted her hands on her hips. “Tell me now or I scream!”

Amusement flickered across Decker’s face. He glanced towards Dawn and those trying to figure out what was wrong before motioning Biji closer. She paused a foot away. He waved her closer still. A little scared, Biji realized he was asking her to step into the cave filled with Darkness. With a deep breath, she did it.

Coldness ripped through her, and she gasped.

“You’re okay.” Decker rested a hand on her forearm, and his fire flew through her to push the frigid cold away.

The cave was silent, the Dark restless and shifting around Decker.

“Leave her alone,” he growled to the shadows reaching out to her. They obeyed and retreated, waiting.

Biji shuddered, horrified by the idea of being sucked into the Dark even with Decker beside her.

“I came here looking for more patches of Dark to dispel and walked straight into the trap. Obviously, I can’t get out,” he started in a furious tone. “But at least they can’t hurt you either.”

“Yeah, because this is better,” she said and motioned to the Dark.

He flashed a smile. “Better to be standing beside the devil than in the hands of his crazy minions.”

“You’re not the devil.”

“You know what I mean.” His focus was on outside the cave. “Dawn’s hurting.”

“Yeah.” Biji followed his gaze. “She’s bleeding. Bartholomew’s in control, though.”

“She can’t have that baby with him in control.”

“There may not be much of a choice if you’re trapped. How do we get you out?” Biji asked.

“I have a feeling Beck’s the only one who can.”

“So you’re just waiting around for him?”

“Yep.”

Biji looked at Noah again. He was focused on his sister. “I hope Beck comes soon.”

“He will.”

She wanted to tell Noah to join her, but suspected he was going to stick by Dawn, for the baby if not her.

“Noah’s a good guy,” Decker said and nudged her.

“I don’t want him to get hurt.”

“We’ll be out of here soon.”

I really, really hope so.

“You’re air. Can you sense the magick behind the barrier?”

Biji approached the invisible wall. She placed a hand on it and closed her eyes. Familiar, cool, aloof magick made her fingertips tingle. “It’s air. But there’s something else mixed in with it.”

“Bartholomew and Dawn.”

Biji tested it without being able to break through the barrier. She lowered her hands.

“We need some help then,” Decker said and began to pace.

Biji nodded, her mind on Noah. She couldn’t help thinking he was in more danger out there than she was surrounded by Darkness.





Chapter Twenty Two





Beck stopped at the edge of the Light, gaze on the storm. It felt … wrong. He couldn’t explain the sense except it was another of the Master of Light instincts. He hadn’t found anything else when the Light whispered a warning and begrudgingly wished it had waited another hour so he could make love to Morgan again.

His body flared with heat just thinking about her. He smelled her, tasted her, breathed her in even though she hadn’t accompanied him. Any tease his brother had made about fire in bed paled in comparison to what happened last night. Morgan’s unfettered magick had torched him, pushed his passion and need to heights he didn’t know existed. She had scorched her brand into him from the inside out, and he’d claimed her with possessiveness that bordered on feral.

He touched his goatee to bring his focus once more out of his head. Light and magick glowed around him, and he felt … charged. Energized to the point his earth magick couldn’t quite dampen the effects of Morgan’s lingering fire magick and the Light.

Something was wrong. He just didn’t know what. Crouching, he touched the ground in the hopes that direct contact could help him clarify what was going on. The earth revealed nothing but its concern, and he checked his phone next.

Decker hadn’t responded to his text. “Summer, did you get him?” he asked, twisting to face the Master of Dark’s counterbalance.

Her features were drawn, her gaze on a point in the distance in the direction opposite the incoming storm. “No,” she said so quietly he barely heard her. “I can’t feel him either.”