Passion for War

Chapter 9:

Fitz:

She looks innocent beneath me, her brown eyes connect with mine. The unsurety in them brings back the guilt, she's still sceptical. I don't blame her, the last time we kissed I was in her head and she picked up on it very quickly. But like I said I have no regrets...but why do I feel bad when it was all done to protect her in the end.

Our moment gets interrupted when we hear yelling from behind the door. Madeleine jumps at the sound of something crashing.

"You bastard! You did what?" Theas voice booms, making me sigh. It seems she and Henry have gotten into a fight. "Is your friend staying here?" Madeleine whispers, almost like she is afraid they would hear her. "He is, for a short while." I climb off her and straighten myself. I watch as she sits up and fixes her dress, her cheeks are red bringing colour to her pale skin. She releases a sigh as she feels her face, making me smile. The shouting on the other side begins again and I have to suppress my anger before I land up killing someone. It's in the middle of the fucking night, what could they be fighting about.

I reach the door but stop to see if Madeleine has sorted herself out. When she looks up, she seems shy all of a sudden. I take that as my que and open the doors, where I find Thea at the stairs glaring at Henry who wears a smirk of his own. "What the fuck is going on?" I say my voice echoing in the hall, "He's messing around with the barrier." she points accusing him. "Why would you do that?" I ask only for him to roll his eyes. The barrier was created by both Thea and I to protect the pack from any outside threats. It's a defence against the rogue wolves, predators that seek the destruction of other packs. These are wolves that are either exiled from their pack or lost their entire pack. A wolf without an Alpha goes insane and all sense is lost. That is also why I didn't believe Madeleine when she said she saw a wolf that night. It would be impossible for a wolf to enter the territory.

"I was trying to see if anyone else tampered with it, it would be the only explanation as to how she saw a wolf or how the forest was acting," he says matter of factly.

"Anything?" I ask even though I already know the answer to that, I tried and there have been no signs of other gifted or wolves. "Nah."

"Then what the hell did you need the powder for?" Thea fires with another question, her anger never ceasing. "Truth serum." I smack my hand against my forehead, oh the exhaustion. You have got to be kidding me. "I could have used that to save her." I say in an obvious tone. "That's not how we're going to save her." I raise a brow urging him to continue. "Unlike you, who forced her thoughts out, I plan to get her to confess them." He smiles triumphantly as if he accomplished something but I don't see how this can accomplish anything.

The idea of the truth serum does put me on edge, I have my own secrets that I would rather keep buried. Especially from Madeleine.

The next morning after everyone calmed down, we decided to go through with Henry's plan. Madeleine was unsure at first but once I explained it to her, she calmed down a little. The idea is to see if the serum manages to get her to reveal something even she wasn't aware she knew. She seemed quite fine with the idea, I suppose she has nothing to hide.

"Alright so, you just need to drink this and it will take effect in its own time." Henry hands her a glass of the most disgusting concoction I have ever seen. It had me turning away. The drink is chunky and in the darkest green I have ever seen. She stares and pulls a face at the smell. Even I can smell it from here, it smells sour and something else that I can't put my finger on. Fuck no. "Bottoms up." Taking one last look at it she gulps the drink down. Thea gags which has me turning and looking out the window of the library. I hear the sound of it travelling down her throat and I curse these abilities for letting me hear this. Madeleine's disgusted face is stuck on her face as finishes it.

When she is done she places the glass on the table, thank the goddess. "How do we know when it has started?" she asks. "You'll feel a burning sensation-" "What?" I interrupt taking us all by surprise. "Don't fret, the pain goes away so long as you tell the truth. It gets the mind working."He uses his fingers in a circle motion around his head for emphasis.

Ten minutes go by and nothing has happened. "Are you sure you did it right?" Thea asks unimpressed so far. I roll my eyes and focus back on Madeleine who seems to be zoning off somewhere. "I know how this works, of course I did it right," Henry says, irritation evident in his voice. "So why has nothing happened?" "Will you let it work?" "It's been ten minutes," She points to the clock. She has a point. "It takes time, I wouldn't expect a woman to understand patience." "Seriously!" Both me and Thea shout. He holds his hands up in defence and finally, the bickering ends.

Madeleine starts to writhe in her seat, "It's starting." Henry moves to squat in front of her. "It burns," she says with a whimper. "We'll start quickly, is your name really Madeleine Collins?" He starts with an easy question to ease some of the pain. "Yes, Madeleine Eve Collins." She sighs in relief as some of the pain starts to ease. "Madeleine, you recently found yourself in a situation where you followed a ghost into the forest, correct?" "Yes," she says with a nod of her head. Her hands grip the chair until her knuckles turn white, focusing my ears, I listen to her heartbeat. Its beating rapidly, is she nervous?

"You said you saw visions of Fitz and Anastasia-" "Anastasia!" Thea repeats in shock. Both Henry and I glare at her, making her blush. "How did you see the visions?" "There was a wolf, it showed me their memories." Her heartbeat slows a bit and her knuckles start to gain it's colour again. She was speaking the truth? Then how did the wolf get in? "Madeleine, there have been no signs of a wolf here are you sure?" He asks to which she nods her response. "It's burning!" she shouts, sweat is dripping down her forehead as her knuckles turn white again. "How did you land up underground?" "The tree pulled into the ground, its roots had a life of its own. They were cutting me." She continues to speak but the more questions he asks and the more she reveals the more pain she experiences.

I feel the presence of an unwanted guest but the problem is, I don't know where they are. It's coming from everywhere. "Henry." I say in warning but he holds a finger up to give him more time. "Madeleine, who led you to the forest?" "She did." Who? "Who led you there?" she doesn't answer at first, her teeth are clamped onto her lips. She's trying to suppress something. "Anastasia!" she screams and pants once it's out. "Something is wrong," Thea says as she looks around the room. "Madeleine, did Anastasia make you kill the animals?" "Yes, yes she did." She starts to cry as she keeps gripping the chair. "Why?" He asks but she shakes her head. Her hands fly to her head and she grips it tightly as she keeps shaking her head. Something is stopping her. "Madeleine." He tries again but she keeps shaking her head. "She made me do it, she made me kill them," she cries. "The animals?" I ask and she nods her head.Her eyes are shut tight as she holds her head. Hearing a choking sound, I turn my focus on Thea who is holding her throat. "Thea?" she holds her hand up as she turns to the side to cough. Her coughing worsens and soon she spits out a black liquid. Panting she keeps herself hunched over as she waits for more to come. What the fuck is going on? "Madeleine did she tell you to hide their hearts?" henry asks again. "Yes." "Where did she tell you to put them?" between Thea choking and Madeleine losing it I am not sure who to focus on. "Don't touch them," she says looking straight into his eyes. "Why not?" he asks, unaffected by the chaos. "They need to grow." Henry frowns at this but before he can ask another question, Madeleine speaks again. "Enough, please stop!" She cries at this moment Henry stands up and places his thumb on her forehead. His close and he whispers a spell, I can hear her heartbeat slowing down.

When he's done he lips his hand and snaps his fingers, Madeleine instantly passes out and catches her. The unknown presence also disappears.

Looking at Madeleine worry fills me from head to toe, noticing this, Henry gives me a reassuring nod.

Hearing Thea gasp for air, I turn to find her using the couch for support. There is black goo around her lips, making me cringe. "You son of a bitch, that was black magic!" she shouts, her lungs still strong even after all that choking. So that's what the dark aura was. "Oh please, as if modern day practices would give me the answers, it's not my fault you haven't grown accustomed to it." He glares at her. "Did you? Get the answers I mean,"I ask as I approach him and Madeleine. I pick her up from the chair and lay her on one of the couches. "I may know where she buried the hearts."