Descending Darkness (The Prophesized #3) (23 page)

“I’d rather not do that.”

“Eh, doesn’t matter anyway. You can just use that magic of yours to get what you want,” Emma laughs as she walks over to me with a brush and a handful of bobby pins.

I sit down on the edge of Emma’s bed and let her work her magic. Natalie hands me a handful of clothing. Emma blow dries my hair but lets the ends curl. Without looking at the clothes, I get up and go into the bathroom.

I put on the jean shorts and black cami and grab the shirt. I put the shirt on and look at my reflection in the mirror. Besides the dark circles under my eyes, I look…decent. However, when I get a closer look at my outfit, I know I can’t leave the room wearing this.

I open the door and look at Natalie and Emma, “I can’t go downstairs looking like this.”

“What? Why? You look hot,” Emma said.

“Besides the fact that this shirt is see-though, I’m basically just wearing a cami and my boobs are hanging out of it,” I tell her.

“That’s the point,” Natalie says as she throws open the bedroom door.

“What is it I always say?” Emma grabs my arm and pulls me out of the room. “Oh, if you’ve got it, flaunt it.”

Colton

Entering the kitchen, I try to regain my composure. Ryanne in a towel was almost too much. Her wet hair was pulled over her left shoulder, cascading down her back in ringlets. I wanted to run my hands through her hair and then there was that towel—the only thing covering her body.

“Colton?” A hand slaps my back, jarring me out of my thoughts.

“Huh?” I ask, blinking back into the present. I am standing in the middle of the kitchen with everyone watching me. David is standing behind me, looking at me with an amused expression.

“What are you thinking about? You are completely out of it.”

“What are you talking about? I’m not thinking about anything.”

“Sure, because we’ve been talking to you and you have yet to answer any of our questions,” Larkin says.

Shoot, I didn’t hear any of their questions. I stare at him waiting for him to ask me the questions again. Tom laughs and asks, “How’s Ryanne doing?”

“She’s fine. Emma and Natalie are helping her get ready…which is odd now that I think about it.” Why would Ryanne go to Emma to help her get ready? She hates the outfits Emma picks out.

“You’re crazy if you think I’m going to go in there looking like this,” Ryanne says from the top of the stairs.

“Oh come on. It’s not like you’re showing too much skin or anything,” Emma says. “You’re covered.”

“There’s barely any fabric to this shirt, Emma. I’m going to put on a t-shirt.” All the guys get up from the table and walk out of the kitchen. I push past everyone. They do not need to see her wearing a shirt with ‘barely any fabric.’ However, when I make it into the living room, Ryanne is already at the bottom of the stairs. Natalie is standing behind her with her hands on Ryanne’s shoulders.

This Ryanne is almost as bad as Ryanne in a towel. Her shorts reveal too much skin on her legs. They seem to go for miles and her shirt…The black material is completely sheer, revealing a tight plunging camisole beneath; also revealing too much skin. She looks amazing but not when she is surrounded by a bunch of guys.

“Do you see that? They’re all staring at me. I want a t-shirt,” she says while trying to turn around. Emma and Natalie both grab onto Ryanne and pull her the rest of the way down the stairs. She fights against them for a little but lets them pull her the rest of the way down. “Gosh, Ryanne. You couldn’t have just gotten ready on your own. Screw being tired,” she starts mumbling to herself.

Brushing past everyone, she walks into the living room, grabs her sketchbook, and sits down on the couch. “Stop looking at me,” she says as she opens the book and stares down at the blank page. Larkin whistles as he walks back into the kitchen. I glare at him as he passes which causes David and Bragden to laugh at my reaction. I walk over to Ryanne and sit beside her on the couch. “Don’t say anything.”

I wrap my arm around her shoulders. “I wasn’t planning on it,” I tell her as I look at the sketchbook. The page is blank. Drawing her knees up, she grabs onto my arm and pulls it onto her legs. Flipping my arm around, she uncaps her pen and glances up at me, looking for permission. I nod at her, and she lowers the pen tracing lines onto my wrist.

I look over toward Emma and see her and Natalie both watching us. Natalie is smiling at me. I know that she is reading our emotions. Liam walks around Ryanne and sits down on the other side of the couch. He glances at my hand in Ryanne’s lap but doesn’t say anything. He briefly looks at Natalie before turning his attention to the TV. I glance down at my wrist and see the outline of an anchor forming.

I look over at Ryanne. Her focus is completely on the drawing. She bites her lip as the pen moves across my skin. Leaning forward, I watch as she starts coloring in the anchor. Her long hair cascades over her shoulder and falls across her face, lightly brushing against my arm. I use my left hand and brush her hair back behind her ear. She doesn’t stop drawing or look at me, but I see her lips quirk. She does have dark circles under her eyes.

“Did you sleep okay last night?” I whisper to her, quiet enough so no one else will hear. She shrugs but keeps her eyes on my wrist. I lean forward and place a small kiss on her temple. “When you’re done, you should rest a little.”

She shakes her head and flips my wrist over, drawing on the other side. I lean back and let her finish. She’ll end up falling asleep sooner or later. I just have to make sure I am nearby when it happens.

Thirty minutes later, Ryanne removes the pen from my wrist and flips it over again, looking at the inked design. “Ok, I think I’m done,” she says while letting go of my wrist. I look down at the intricate tribal design swirling off of the anchor. The swirls wrap around my wrist and connect with a small teardrop shaped object with a lightning bolt in the middle. The entire time I’m looking at her design, I feel her eyes on me, waiting for my reaction. Because of that, I ask her to tell me what it means.

“Well, the swirls are supposed to represent magic. When I call my magic to me, it looks similar to this,” Ryanne’s fingers trace a swirl around my wrist lightly. Turning my wrist over, she taps the teardrop shape. “This is supposed to represent me. I didn’t know what to draw, so I drew something that visually represents my powers.” Turning my hand over, she touches the anchor. “This represents you because you’re my anchor. You keep me grounded and are always there to make sure I don’t drift out to sea…metaphorically. You’re the reason why I haven’t gotten lost in all the magic around me.”

She blushes as she finishes talking. I reach forward and grab her chin, pulling her toward me. I know that she hates public affection, but I can’t help it. I lean toward her, kissing her lips briefly. Instead of pulling away, Ryanne leans into me and kisses me back.

“Awwww,” Natalie and Emma say at the same time. Ryanne pulls back. I watch as the red stain appears on her cheeks. I laugh and pull her closer to me. Resting her head on my shoulder, she watches the movie playing on the TV. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Emma and Natalie watching us, but I refuse to acknowledge them.

Ryanne’s hand starts sliding down my chest. She’s fallen asleep just like I predicted. I lean back, readjusting her against me.

“You guys are too cute,” Natalie says.

“Oh, next time she asks you guys for help getting dressed just give her a t-shirt, okay?” I tell them.

“What? You don’t like it?” Emma asks me.

Oh, I like it. I just don’t like how everyone else does as well. I scoff at her but don’t answer her question. Liam gasps and falls backward, slumping against the back of the couch. Natalie and Bragden jump up. Bragden walks over to him and crouches in front of him.

“He’s in the dream-world…” he whispers.

I sit up a little. “Why didn’t he say anything?”

“I’m assuming that like Ryanne was yesterday, he was pulled into it,” Bragden says. Ryanne starts stirring and opens her eyes.

“They’re trying to pull me back,” she whimpers as she starts shaking. I reach out to make her look at me, but she closes her eyes and falls limp against me again.

“Dang it,” I say as I look around the room. Everyone is looking between Liam and Ryanne because none of us have any idea about what is going on.

*****

I open my eyes and find myself tied to a chair in the middle of a room. Liam is out, handcuffed to a pipe across the room. We’re stuck in a cell. I’m trapped in another freaking cell without my magic. I was with Colton, so how were they able to bring me here?

“Liam,” I whisper loudly.

Silence.

“Liam!” I whisper-yell at him. Liam rolls his head to the side, groaning. Blinking rapidly, he opens his eyes and looks around the room confused. When he lands on me, his eyes widen.

“What’s going on?” he asks.

“I have no idea.” I try to move, but the ropes tying me to the chair are tight. Moving causes them to scratch against my skin. I can feel the skin rubbing off around my wrists, but I continue to struggle against the bindings. Liam is struggling to rid himself of the cuffs. Metal clanging against metal echoes through the room.

“It won’t do any good. They’re infused with magic,” Valdus’s voice fills the room. Both Liam and I stop what we are doing and turn towards the door.

“Why are you doing this?” Liam asks, giving up on the cuffs for now.

“We need the protection, Liam. Our tribe is strong, but not strong enough for what is coming. We need all the help we can get.” Valdus’s eyes travel over to me. “I need to give her over to Dravin. Once she’s there, he’ll leave us alone.” Returning his attention to Liam, he says, “You and your brother could come back home. We shouldn’t be a part of this upcoming war. ”

“I won’t be able to do anything if you take her, Valdus, and you know that. There’s no way that Bragden would go back after this. It’s a good thing you’ll have protection, because you know how Bragden is when he’s mad.”

I briefly see the fear in Valdus’s eyes before he regains his composure. “I’m sorry that you’re involved in all of this, Liam. I wish I could have warned you beforehand. You should have come to me before you gave away your pendant. Is she really worth it? She’s dangerous and brings danger to everyone around her. She’s going to get you killed.”

“Ryanne has saved everyone around her on multiple occasions.” He doesn’t mention that I’ve only saved them from situations that could have been prevented if I wasn’t in the picture. “You’re making a huge mistake. Do you really think that giving her over to Dravin will solve anything? You’re just making him stronger. He’ll just kill her if he gets his hands on her.”

“One sacrifice for the lives of many,” Valdus says while looking at me. I bite my lip and look at Liam. “This has to stop. You don’t know what’s going on out there because you’re not a part of it. Mages are rising. They’re going against all the rules that were put into place in the beginning. Our time on this earth is coming to an end if something isn’t done. Humans don’t believe in our magic, so how can we exist among them? Dravin’s finding a way for our populations to thrive. We need someone with a plan, and quite frankly, she doesn’t have one. Her purpose in the prophecy is to stop a Supernatural war. The way that has to be accomplished is by giving her magic to an existing being…someone fit to help control the mages. Someone with a plan and way to perform that plan.”

The prophecy claims that I’m supposed to give my magic up? All this was for nothing?

No, I don’t believe that. Something isn’t right. I really need to read what the original prophecy proclaims before I do anything.

“Dravin doesn’t care about any of the other mages, Valdus, and you know that. He wants power. He wants to be the one in control, but it is not so he can help mages. He’s selfish. You think that giving him more power is the way to go? Look at what he does now with the amount of magic he has,” Liam says.

I remain silent during their conversation. I know that talking won’t help anything because I always end up saying the wrong things. I’m not very good with words. I look over at Valdus. He is the oldest mage that I’ve come across yet. Looking to be in his sixties, Valdus has a long graying braid falling down his back. If I wasn’t being held hostage right now, I’d probably think he looked cool. He has that whole hipster vibe. What I would assume were usually warm brown eyes, glare at me as I continue watching him.

“Can I ask you something?” I whisper to him. He regards me skeptically but nods. “If you had a daughter, would you ask her to do what you’re asking me to do?”

“That’s different.”

“No, it’s not. What if your daughter was the mage in the prophecy? Would you be willing to just hand her over to Dravin, no questions asked? Would you be willing to risk her life for the promises of a lying man? Would you be able to give her up knowing that he’s going to kill her? Honestly, I don’t care what happens to me. But if I’m going to die, I at least want my death to mean something. I want my death to show that I didn’t stop. That I fought for what I believed in. This isn’t what I believe in. I know you’re a good man for Liam’s said nothing but good things about you. But where is that man? Where is the man that taught him how to use his gift? Where is the leader of a strong tribe? Where is he? Because the man standing in front of me isn’t him.”

Valdus watches me after I finish talking. I don’t like the eye contact, but I refuse to look away. I’m tired of looking weak. After a couple of seconds, he silently turns around and leaves the room.

“You’re getting pretty good at giving speeches,” Liam says with a small smile.

“Too bad they don’t work half the time. No one listens to me which is how I always end up in situations like this.” I start moving my wrists around trying to loosen the ropes but only manage to rub more skin off my wrists. “How is Valdus able to bring you here? Being a dream-walker, shouldn’t you be able to counteract his magic or something?”

“Valdus trained me. I’m starting to think that he left a few things out. However, he is much stronger than I am, so even if I knew how to fight his magic, I don’t think I’d be able to. He’s had a lot more practice through the years. I’ve only had two years to figure everything out.”

“Liam, if they kill me here…”

“They’re not going to!” Liam yells.

“But if they do,” I can feel the tears building up in my eyes, “please take care of everyone. Make sure that no one does anything drastic, okay? Make sure Colton doesn’t try to get revenge. I need you to promise me that you’ll help everyone. I can’t have anyone else die because of me.”