Descending Darkness (The Prophesized #3) (32 page)

Bragden’s face furrows in concentration. The palms of his hands brighten until they’re shining a bright yellow orange, similar to heating metal. “Keep picturing it,” she encourages. “You’re doing it,” she smiles as she watches his hands. They’re getting brighter and brighter. Bragden looks up from his hands and looks over at Incendia again.

When their eyes meet, two flames ignite in his hands. His swift intake of breath tells me that he’s slightly afraid. Incendia takes a step forward and extinguishes the flames with her hands. I can’t take my eyes away from the two of them. When she removes her hands from his palms, the flames return. “Wow, you have a lot of magic in you,” she whispers as she places her hands under his. How does she know that? “Now, imagine water cascading down your arms and pooling in the palms of your hands, extinguishing the flames.”

As Bragden heeds her instructions, Incendia studies him. I briefly tear my eyes away from them and look over at James. He glances at me at the same time and gives me a subtle nod. Bragden and Incendia are meant to be together. I bite my lip to keep my elated giggle in.

Hearing a sizzling sound, I look back to Bragden. The flames in his hands are slowly dwindling. Smoke is rising up toward the ceiling as the flames are dissipating. When the flames are gone, Incendia steps back. “Thank you,” Bragden says. She nods, but doesn’t look at him.

“Not cool. Now it’s just me!” Emma complains.

“Your time will come, babe,” David says as he pulls her to him.

“Yeah, well it better be freaking amazing for making me wait so long.”

“Hey, I had to wait twenty three years,” Bragden says. “In four years, you can complain.”

“Can we talk about Ryanne’s new fan club now?” Larkin says. I turn and glare at him.

“You just had to bring that up didn’t you?”

“Yep,” he says as he casually leans against the wall.

“Fan club?” Colton asks.

“I recruited some more people just now,” I tell him.

“You mean the group of guys who obviously had the hots for ya?” Larkin says. If we weren’t cramped in such a small area, he would be soaking wet by now.

“What?” Colton straightens up and looks between Larkin and me.

“You always have to go there don’t you. They did not have the hots for me. They were just impressed that I was able to help them fight. That’s all.”

“Yeah, because the look on Lucas’s face after you mentioned your soulmate was the look of someone impressed.”

I laugh. “You saw that too?”

“I see everything, tiny. Everything.”

“That’s creepy, Larkin. Real creepy,” I mimic.

“So if you two are done, can someone explain to us what happened?” Logan asks.

I shrug. I don’t really know what just happened. As I open my mouth to tell everyone that, Incendia raises her hand. “I can.”

“So do you want the long version or the short version?”

“Might as well give us the long version. We’ll probably be here for a while anyway,” Tom says. I crawl up onto the bed and lean against Colton while everyone gets comfy and waits for Incendia to start. I look around the room for Olive. I haven’t seen her in a while. I hope someone has been taking care of her.

“Where’s Olive?” I whisper to Colton. Colton points over to Kyril who has Olive in his lap. Aww, they look so cute together. She seems happy enough, so I let her be.

“Ok, well both of my parents were killed when I was a baby, so I never knew them. Apparently, they were both elementals. My dad could affect the earth. He could control plants, speak with animals, manifest some weather elements, etc. My mom controlled water. She could bend water to her every whim. I hear it was pretty impressive. I don’t know much about their deaths. I just know that Gadramicks did it. They were looking for you even back then. They thought my parents had information about the girl from the prophecy.

“Anyway, they were killed because they proved to be worthless. My mom hid me before they took her, so they wouldn’t find me. That’s the only reason I’m alive right now. I was found by a human a day later and was put into the foster care system. The only indication of who I was was my name stitched onto the blanket I was wrapped in. I’ve never stayed in one place for more than a couple of months, so I’ve never really had a home. Most of the families couldn’t handle my fiery personality. I didn’t know I was a mage at this point. I didn’t know that there was anything special about me until I turned eighteen. I got into an argument with Mr. Garrowen. He was completely drunk and started yelling at me for no reason, calling me a good for nothing orphan, telling me that I’ll be homeless forever, and that I’ll never have a proper family.

“I was so mad at him. I imagined the beer bottle in his hand bursting into flames. To my surprise, it did. He screamed and threw the flaming bottle at me, but I ducked, and it hit the curtains behind me, catching them on fire. Pretty soon the whole house was up in flames. He accused me of burning it down and kicked me out. Since I was eighteen, there was nothing I could do about it.

“So, I lived on the streets for a little bit. Sleeping on park benches, hiding in the slides on playgrounds, sleeping on doorsteps, you name it. It’s a little scary when you’re an eighteen year old girl, but no one bothered me. I stayed at a homeless shelter a couple times, but there were people that needed that more than me, so I moved on.

“After leaving a place in Delaware, I wasn’t sure where to go. I was getting tired of walking and always being on the move. I sat down at a bus stop and waited. The bus would come around, but I couldn’t get on because I didn’t have any money, so I watched. I watched everyone get on and off, all with a destination in mind. All with places to go to and people to see. A man in his mid-forties came up to me and sat down, asking me what I was doing just sitting on the bench. At first I was a little wary of him because no one ever approached me before that wasn’t completely drunk or trying to mug me. Who mugs a homeless person? Really?

“After a while, I started to get the feeling that he genuinely cared about what I was going through. Another bus rolled through the station and a younger man got off and came toward us. They introduced themselves to me as Mr. Thomas and Alex, his son. Mr. Thomas reached out and took my hands. I tried pulling them back, but he had a strong grip. Alex kept smiling at me like something amazing was going to happen.

“When Mr. Thomas let go, he told me that I had a lot of magic inside me. He taught himself to recognize the magic inside of people. He’s the one who explained to me what a mage was. I had no idea that magic existed until that point. I’d never met another mage or if I had, they never revealed their powers to me. He asked me if I wanted to learn how to control my magic, since I’d literally had no training at all. At first, I said no because I thought they were being crazy, but then I got to thinking about Mr. Garrowen. Sure, he was a jerk, but I didn’t want him to lose his house. I didn’t want that to happen to anyone else either. I needed to learn to control it because fire is not something you mess with. It’s dangerous, so I agreed. That’s how I ended up in Maine.

“They ended up taking me under their wings. Mr. Thomas taught me how to control my magic and Alex taught me how to train. They helped me look into my background, and we were able to determine who my parents were. I don’t know how they knew that I was a fire affinity though. Mr. Thomas kept talking about how a prophecy would be fulfilled during my lifetime—that I would be around when the Gadramicks were ended.

“He helped train other mages when they didn’t have anywhere else to go. He’d let them stay at his house. He often traveled to different states and stayed there for an extended period of time, just training people. That’s how I got to know those mages in the woods tonight,” she says while looking in my direction.

“Lucas always made fun of me because of how bright my hair was, but that kid is hilarious, so I never torched him.” Everyone turns and looks at me when she says that. My power is slightly less dangerous, so I’m allowed to do it. “We started training together. One day, during a training session, a bunch of Gadramicks stormed into our facility. I was working with Alex that day, and he pushed me behind him and took on all the Gadramicks himself. I tried to help him, but he kept yelling at me to go—telling me that my time was coming, but this wasn’t it. I wouldn’t have left, but Lucas grabbed me and pulled me out of the building.

I can hear the sadness in Incendia’s words. She’s trying not to let her pain be obvious to everyone, but Natalie can read her emotions, so it’s already known. Natalie scoots away from Liam and touches Incendia’s forearm. Her eyes widen, and her mouth falls open.

“How did you do that?” Natalie just smiles and scoots back. Liam reaches out and pulls her to him when she’s close enough. “Okay, well, Mr. Thomas ran into the facility to help Alex fight. I kept struggling to get away from Lucas, but he wouldn’t let me go. I needed to help them. They were the only family I’d ever had, but Lucas kept pulling me backward, farther and farther away from them. Once I could no longer see the building, I stopped. It was over now anyway. Lucas guided me into a smaller shack that Mr. Thomas had built in the woods as our emergency meeting area. He always said that if we ever got separated that we’d meet here. I knew that we’d never meet up with Alex them again. They were gone—killed by Gadramicks.

“Ever since then, I’ve wanted my revenge. They killed the only family I ever knew. Dravin’s men killed them. I didn’t know it was him until I started doing my research. I know about Dravin. I know about Adam. I know about Dr. Arden.” I gasp as she mentions his name. She looks over at me questioningly, but continues. “I was even about to find the location of his compound. The area around it is covered in booby traps and magic spells to alert them of someone’s presence.”

“We know that all too well,” Logan says. Incendia looks a little surprised.

I lean forward and point to Larkin and Kyril. “They used to work for Dravin.”

“You were Gadramicks?” They both nod. “But now you’re not?”

“Nope,” Larkin says.

“Why?”

“Her,” Larkin and Kyril both point to me. Larkin explains his story. He tells Incendia about how I thwarted his attack on Claire but wouldn’t let anyone hurt him because I had read his thoughts and saw his memories. He didn’t like what he was doing. Later on, I ended up saving him from Dravin. Kyril basically explains the same thing. He didn’t want to be a Gadramick but couldn’t find a way out until Dravin found out about him helping us.

“Oh,” she says while looking at me.

“So what were you doing there tonight?” I ask.

“I wanted to draw Dravin out of his compound. I heard that magic can’t be used in there except by himself.”

“You’re correct,” I tell her. For the most part, I think you just can’t use magic in certain sections of his compound.

“So, I wanted to draw him to me. He apparently extended his perimeters because he knew we were there long before he was supposed to. A bunch of Gadramicks stormed out of the woods and attacked us while we were still trying to sneak up on them. We were surprised and unprepared at the beginning. I’d already taken out two men when you came, Ryanne. There were too many of them for us to fight off. I thought that was the end for us, you know? I’ll be fine if I die fighting. I don’t want to go down any other way during this time.” Everyone looks at me again. I’ve said that same thing so many times now.

“That’s basically it. I was there for revenge, and I didn’t get it. There were too many of them and too few of us. Dravin’s recruiting people; their numbers are rising steadily by the day. If you want any chance of bringing them down you’re going to need more fighters.”

“That’s what we are trying to do. Yesterday, Ryanne was able to convince the Howicks to help. We were on our way to a second house when we hit a little road bump,” Tom says.

Colton’s arms tighten around me. I lean back against his chest and look up at him. He’s clenching his jaw. I lean up and kiss the underside of it, trying to relieve some of the tension in his features. He sighs and looks down at me. I watch as some of the anger dissipates.

“Road bump?” Incendia asks.

“James’s sedan was t-boned by a truck full of Gadramicks,” Bragden says. “I tried to shield Ryanne from the flying glass and metal since the car was hit on my side, but somehow her seatbelt came undone, and she hit her head on the roof of the car as it flipped over. One of Dravin’s men was a traveler like Larkin, and he transported into the car and took Ryanne back to Dravin’s compound.”

“And you got free?” Incendia asks.

“I’ve been kidnapped by Dravin three times now and gone into the compound through dreams more than that. I’ve managed to escape every time, usually with help though.” Man, I’m getting tired of telling this story all the time.

“Okay, well if you’ll let me, I can help. I want to stop Dravin just as much as you all,” Incendia says. “Actually, it doesn’t matter to me if you want help. I’m helping.” Bragden laughs. Incendia turns and glares at him, which makes him laugh harder.

“You may have a lot of magic, mister, but you’re untrained, so I’m still stronger than you,” she threatens. “I’m not afraid to prove it either.”

Bragden stands up and walks toward her. Incendia gets up from the bed and places her hands on her hips. She’s not as tall as Emma or Natalie. I’d put her at about 5’7,” which puts her on the short range for a mage female. She doesn’t step back as Bragden walks toward her. Being 6’6,” Bragden stands above most people.

“Then why don’t you prove it,” he says in a deep husky voice. Shoot, even I think that voice sounds totally hot on him. I see Emma and Natalie briefly smile. This is getting interesting.

Incendia takes a step toward him. Poking him in the chest with her right index finger, she meets his intense gaze. “I’ve been surrounded by drunks and addicts my whole life, Andre.” David points to me at the Princess Bride reference. “If you think a macho dude with a pretty face will intimidate me, you’ve got another thing coming.” Bragden doesn’t step away from her when she finishes talking. He stares down at her with an expression I’ve never seen before on him. Her body remains defensive, but her facial features soften slightly.

Tom clears his throat, trying to subtly bring their attention back. Incendia blinks a couple times and takes a couple steps back. The glare returns to her expression. Seeing it, Bragden laughs and walks back to the wall. Darn, Incendia doesn’t blush. I’m tired of being the only girl around here that blushes at everything.

“Incendia, what do you know about Dr. Arden?” I ask.

She stops looking at Bragden and turns her attention to me. “Not a whole lot. He’s been working with Dravin for a while. I don’t know much else. Why?”

“My name is Ryanne Arden,” I say. “Dr. Arden is my biological father.”

 “Well, isn’t he just Father of the Year material,” Incendia mutters.

“You can say that again,” Emma says.

“Well, isn’t he just Father of the Year material.”

“Yep, she’s going to get along with us just fine,” Emma exclaims.

Colton

“So, what’s the plan now?” Logan asks.

“I think I should do the protection enchantment on the Howicks and Incendia. We don’t know if Dravin knows about them,” Ryanne says.

“That’s probably a good idea. Do you have enough energy to do that though?” Tom asks.

“Oh yeah, I’m like the energizer bunny right now,” she says. I scoff but kiss her temple. She crawls away from me and walks toward Mrs. Howick.

Holding her hands out, she waits for Mrs. Howick to take them. Her eyes dart down to Ryanne’s outstretched hands, confused. “I need to be touching you when I perform the enchantment,” she explains. When she places her hands on top of Ryanne’s, she begins the enchantment. “
Magic come forth, I call you to me, protect her from danger so evil cannot see
…”

Mrs. Howick gasps and tries to pull her hands away, but Ryanne tightens her grip as she continues. Mrs. After a few seconds, she stops struggling and watches Ryanne. I can hear her quietly chanting the spell. Her voice slowly dwindles into silence as she finishes. She smiles up at Mrs. Howick but doesn’t say anything. Letting go of her hand, she moves onto her husband. Mr. Howick gives Ryanne his hands willingly. She performs the enchantment on him and moves on to Travis.