The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 84

CAULDER

There was something about this session that felt worse. Every inch of my body felt like it was on fire, and I felt like I couldn't breathe. Everything hurt, even my teeth. My body started buzzing, and there was something deep inside of me that churned. I felt sick, and I wasn't sure if I would be able to hold on much longer. The buzzing grew louder, and then my skin started glowing, despite the restraints that were supposed to nullify my magic.

"Yes! Keep going," Winslow cheered on. He was looking at me with power-hungry eyes, and he was ready to see me suffer for as long as it took. "More!"

Another sorcerer joined in by shooting their magic into me, and then something inside of me snapped. An ear-shattering scream escaped my lips, and it felt like I was no longer in control of my body. The sorcerers around me, including Winslow, covered their ears and crumpled into themselves.

My wrists glowed red hot, and then the restraints snapped off of me and went flying into the room, hitting the wall. I jumped to my feet automatically, and even though moving made the pain in my body feel a million times worse, I continued moving anyway. Immediately, I walked over to Winslow, who was still holding his head after my scream. I grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the wall. The concrete cracked beneath his body, and I felt stronger than I ever had with magic flowing freely through me. "If you ever threaten me or my family again, I will kill you and every last one of the council members," I growled. My voice didn't feel like my own. It was like the anger had taken on a life of its own, and I was just an innocent bystander.

To my surprise, Winslow started laughing. Blood dripped out of his nose, and he looked crazy as he continued laughing. "It worked! I did it."

I slammed him against the wall. "Shut up! Don't say another word or I'll kill you."

A sorcerer shot a beam of magic at me, but with a simple flick of my wrist, I diverted the attack. I didn't even have to think about it. My magic simply reacted to the attack and took action itself.

"You're stronger now," Winslow continued on, looking a little dazed from the beating he was getting. "You can contain that creature and save your sister. I have saved you all."

"I said stop talking," I repeated, slamming him against the wall again. "You didn't save anyone, and I'm not going to let you control me any longer. I'm leaving. I'm done with you, and don't bother coming after me."

"There's nowhere you'll be able to run. You can't get out of here," Winslow laughed. "The facility was made to be magically resistant, or have you forgotten?"

This time it was me who laughed. "I just broke free from your restraints, or have you forgotten that? You can't keep me contained."

Winslow's face tightened and his eyes grew wide. "No, you won't be able to escape. The layer of the belladonna is too strong. You won't be able to break free."

"Watch me." I dropped Winslow, and then the world around me slowed down.

I walked towards the door, but when I tried the handle, it was locked. I touched the door, and I could feel the belladonna inside of it, fighting against me, but it was weak in comparison. With a blink of my eyes, I shifted out of the room with ease. I turned and shot a fireball at the door handle, searing the metal into a blob, so it would be impossible to use a key on the door.

The hallways started flashing red, but the lights were blinking at slow motion. I walked down the hall with ease, and I saw sorcerers running towards me, but they moved slower than if they had been walking. It was like I was in some strange time bubble where I moved normally while everything else moved at a tenth of the speed. As they got closer, I raised my hand in defense, but they just moved right past me without even a second glance. I pressed myself against the wall to avoid them, and then continued on as if nothing happened.

As I entered the room where the dark creature was being kept, the creature screamed and turned towards me, sensing my presence. It was the only other thing in the room that didn't seem to be affected by the magic filling the room that seemed to slow time. I walked down the metal pathway, avoiding the sorcerers adding magic to the cage that was keeping this creature contained.

I was ready to watch this place burn, but I also understood that these people were the only ones keeping this creature from running rampant. I knew what kind of damage this thing could cause, and I couldn't allow that to happen. Before I left the room, I lifted my hand and shot a wave of magic into the shield, making it significantly stronger with just the one blast.

I hesitated to leave the room, realizing this was exactly why Winslow wanted me. These sorcerers were pouring everything they had into keeping this creature, and it was barely enough to contain the thing. Just a few seconds of my time, and I could feel the barrier at least ten times stronger than before. I never would have thought I was this capable before, but now I felt almost high on the magic filling my body.

For a brief moment, I wondered if it was my responsibility to stay here and keep the world safe. Then I thought about Winslow's threat to Harper. The ache inside of me from being away from my mate made me feel like I was about to burst open, and I knew I couldn't stay here any longer. I had to return to Harper. Winslow did this to himself, and he could burn in hell for all I cared about.

I turned on my heels without another thought and made my way to the elevator Winslow had mentioned. I pressed the call button, and when it arrived, I stepped inside the metal box. I could also feel the belladonna filling the space in here, but it didn't seem to have much effect on my magic.

There was a panel that asked for a hand print to operate. I knew my hand print wouldn't activate the elevator, but I placed my hand on the screen anyway. I shot a bolt of magic into the system, and the elevator sprung into movement. It flew up, climbing more levels then I even realized existed.

When I finally made it to the top, I stepped outside of the elevator and into a small house that almost looked like a shack. There was one person in the room that looked like some sort of concierge. She noticed my presence, and it was clear the world was no longer moving in slow motion.

As a safety net, I shot the panel of the elevator, melting it into an unusable mass. Winslow and the council thought they were being clever, trapping me in a facility that prevented magic users from entering or escaping. Now, they were the ones trapped with no way out, and I didn't care.

"Wh-who are you?" the young woman in the room stuttered.

I looked at her, and she didn't look much older than me. "Just forget you saw me," I said, knowing she had done nothing wrong.

I shifted out of the little house, and I ended up outside on the grass. The sun shone down on me, and I had to squint my eyes. I hadn't seen natural light for much too long, and my eyes weren't used to it.

I took a step, ready to go home, but my body collapsed, completely exhausted. I willed myself to get up and move, but all of the pain returned in full force, and I couldn't get my body to respond. I had come so far. I couldn't just give up. I had to escape while I had a chance, but my body had already pushed itself past my limit. Instead of getting up, the world grew dark around me.

-

REMY

I heard footsteps outside, and I knew some large group of people had just arrived at the pack house. I rushed towards the front yard, wondering who our unexpected visitors were. When I opened the door, I saw my parents already outside greeting Alpha Reyland and his group of warriors behind him.

I ran forward, shouting, "Grandpa!" I threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"Remy, darling. How are you?" he asked.

"I'm happy to see you," I said, not wanting to get into too many details with a casual greeting. I wasn't sure how many details my mom had been sharing with him about what was going on here, but the fact that he was here with his army was a pretty good indication. "I know. It's been too long. I'm sorry I couldn't make it to your birthday. I did get you a present, though." He pulled out a little pink box wrapped with white ribbon and handed it over to me.

I eagerly took the box and opened it up. It was a necklace with a silver moon with an opal imbedded in the middle of it. "It's beautiful. Thank you!" I hugged him again, happy to see him.

Reyland only lived a town away, but often life got in the way on both ends of the family, so we didn't always get to see him.

"Are you here to stay for a while?" I asked, looking at all of the warriors standing behind him.

"I am. Your parents told me about some of the trouble you are facing, so I'm here for extra support. If that vampire wants a war, then that's exactly what we will give him," Reyland said. "I have reached out to other packs to see if any others are willing to help, too." I pulled my lips tight and nodded along. I understood it was necessary to prepare for war, but I couldn't get over the feeling that this was the wrong path to take.

"He's also here to keep an eye on the pack while we go talk to Cain," my mom added.

"I still can't believe you are actually going to see that bastard," Reyland growled.

He looked pissed at the mere mention of Cain, and I was sure he was around when my mom was dealing with all of that. His reaction was too personal.

My mom touched his shoulder. "I know, but we have to for Remy's sake."

He grunted in response, but he also nodded his head. "If he tries anything, I will personally kill him this time."

"Wait, so does that mean you found Cain's location?" I asked.

My dad nodded. "Scythe and Percy were able to locate him finally. We can leave tonight if you want."