The Opal Witch

Chapter Thirty-Six: A New Start

Lux

They had reached a standstill. Lux resisted the urge to wipe at the blood streaming down her face and arms, terrified Daphne would see it as an opening. Her head buzzed from calling the lightning bolt, but that didn't bother her nearly as much as the stabbing pain in her chest. The familiar ache was ten times worse than it had ever been before, but it scared Lux to release her grasp on her magic. She didn't know if she could call it again, or if it would take over without constant control. Neither were acceptable options.

Declan roused the Circle, moving between each fallen girl with efficiency. When he'd first emerged from the cellar, her heart had soared. Only the raw bands around his wrists evidenced his exposure to the cold iron chains.

"You think you're battling some great force of evil, right now, but if you'd seen the future I'd seen, you would end your own life," Daphne said with venom. Flickers of fire and devastation rained through Lux's mind as the other witch recalled those visions. It couldn't be true.

"The future isn't set in stone," Lux replied, shifting her feet. "But the one thing I know for sure is that you're a murderer, a manipulator, and a thief. The end doesn't justify the means."

"That's child's talk. A few lives are nothing compared to the many I'll save by ending you."

"If you knew this all along, why did you have children? Why even chance it?"

Gray eyes grew large in Daphne's black lined face, but she didn't offer an explanation. Instead, the gems on her body glowed- a clear warning she was drawing on her magic. Lux tensed, fighting exhaustion to pull more power into her body.

"Do you think that's wise?" Daphne asked, pulling something out of her shirt. She unfurled her fingers, revealing a stone shaped like a key. Lux hissed. "Such a young, untrained witch shouldn't practice magic without her stone on her person. Someone with my knowledge can use nearly any stone."

Agony ripped through Lux's body at the same time the stone blazed in Daphne's hand. The black vines in Daphne's skin thickened, becoming ropes. Scratches that had closed, broke open again, the color turning from red to silver. It was as if Lux's very essence was being drawn from her body.

"Did you know that you have to capture a witch's soul in her stone while she's still living?" Daphne asked, tightening her grip on the stone as it pulsed brighter. She threw her head back, a moan escaping from her throat. "I usually perform Rites over the witch while I pull the soul. It lessons the pain they experience."

A memory of strange symbols carved into Corinne's skin rose. Lux wanted to speak, but she was afraid if she opened her mouth, she'd splinter into a million pieces. She didn't even dare scream.

"Lux!" Declan's voice washed over her, a soothing balm. But it wasn't enough. She reached for him, wondering if his touch would stop the pain. It had before. He saw her trying to get to him, but an invisible barrier held him back.

"But you're going to feel every single moment. I want to watch the light dim from your eyes until it is gone completely. I'll know I saved the world." Black boiled across her body until only the whites of her eyes and the piercing light of the channeling stones were visible in the night.

The ground rushed up to meet Lux, and she couldn't muster the strength to break her fall. Blades of grass and chunks of soil filled her mouth. The world blurred until the only thing she could bring into focus were the faces of her Circle as they pushed against Daphne's barrier. Tears ran down their faces, but they were not defeated. They shouted, demanding that she stand. That she fight.

"Why bother?" A hard foot pressed into the center of Lux's back, stopping her from surging to her feet. Her southern drawl was cold as she continued. The pressure lifted, sharp pain followed it in the ribs as Daphne kicked her. "You're making this harder than it has to be."