Deadlands (The Healer Series, #2) (17 page)

Willow didn’t know how long she had been crying. “I’m sorry, Declan,” she said thickly through her tears. “I’m so, so sorry.” She scratched her nails on the floor of the cage, petting it. It was hardened dirt that she stirred up with every long stroke of her hand. She was waiting for them to torture her. There was no hope to get the key, now. It was obvious Selene was very powerful. It made sense that the cell she was in was unbreakable for Witches. Selene had made it because she was a Witch as well. Her friends were probably meeting the same fate, knowing it was helpless to escape their specially designed cells. If only she could see them. If only she could be with them.

What could Willow do against Selene
? Heal her? Her powers were growing, but Selene was centuries old and ten times more powerful than she. Like her sister Hekate, being that old gained her wisdom and knowledge of spells. Plus she was a form changer? Changing into a hideous beast at will! Willow didn’t even know that was possible for magic casters! Not to mention she had a massive army at her beck and call. It was hopeless! She was trapped until Selene decided to give her to Hekate to do the one thing she’s desired from Willow since the beginning: kill her for her powers.

Healing Declan drained most of Willow’s energy and she felt tired and groggy, but she refused to fall asleep. She thought of Declan
. She loved him so much and never wished this fate for him. She always knew Declan was a powerful Warlock. He was at the top of his class, and was always so smug about it. She wondered if Declan knew that he had special powers before this journey through the Deadlands-the power of a Destroyer.

She s
till didn’t understand what being a Destroyer meant. Declan always thought with his emotions first. When he got angry, scared, or hurt, his powers got out of control and everything he touched just fell apart. Like his ever-changing moods, if he wasn’t careful, that darkness inside would come out and he became dangerous. He told her this. He told her she was his light, and he needed her, just as much as she needed him to settle her. They were two halves to a whole.

There was more going on
that was hidden from her, secrets and lies that were veiled from her sight. It wasn’t just Hekate in this. Hekate had a darker purpose than just to extract Willow’s powers. Selene told her as much! They wanted ultimate power, to be above every race, forcing them to bow down and worship them. Willow’s mind was set. They would have to kill her before she would ever fall under their rule, which would happen anyways now that she landed right into the hands of the Witches.

Willow blinked through her thick tears.
Out of the corner of her eye, there was strange swirling silver light. It lit up the dark cell. She sat up, wiping more tears from her brown eyes. Was she imaging it? No! The light was growing, expanding into a vortex. Was it a portal?

A ghost burst forth out of the silver light and landed in front of her. She didn’t even have time to scream it happened so fast! The light died i
nstantly and Willow cast a light around her to see who it was. Long, white flowing hair and soft brown eyes landed on her.

“Carmela!” Willow exclaimed with elation. More tears burst out of her eyes at seeing the beautiful Seeker standing before her.
Willow was an emotional wreck at this point, and if this was a dream, it was an irrational, completely strange, exciting dream. Carmela was wearing an elegant black dress, emphasizing the brightness of her white hair. Willow jumped to her feet and rushed into the Seekers’ arms. This wasn’t fake! Carmela was real! She was here!

“Shh, shh,” Carmela soothed her and let Willow cry into her
shoulder. She was overjoyed to see Carmela, her body shook with tremors she was nearly hysterical. “There, there,” Carmela said then unhooked Willow’s arms behind her back so she could take a look at her. “How’s my Healer doing?”

“Carmela…how did you get here?” Willow asked trying to calm herself and comprehend this incredible fortune.
She dried her eyes and concentrated. Carmela held her hand up. A small, glassy emerald stone glinted in the light before she tucked it away in the pocket of her dress. “The Emerald Emerson gave you…” Willow whispered awed.

“It—”

“Transports a person anywhere they wish to go,” Willow finished for her. Carmela beamed. “But how did you know where to find me? Are you here to rescue us? What’s going on? Has the war started yet? How are Emerson and the Wolves?”

Carmela laughed
and stood back. “Calm yourself, Healer, I will tell you what you wish to know.” She looked around the cell dismally, “I see you’ve fared well in the Deadlands.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“Yes, that was a joke, Healer. I’m impressed you made it this far. I assume you know where the key is?”

“
Selene is wearing it as a necklace.”

“
Selene? As in…Hekate’s sister?” Carmela asked carefully.

“Yes! She’s a form changer! She disguises herself as a blue demon, making the creatures believe he is the Deadland King. She is playing everybody! Even Hekate herself! She will not call upon Hekate until she’s through with me.
She’s is a cruel, heartless monster, Carmela!”

“Interesting…” Carmela said. “
She has definitely fooled many…even passed my Sight.” Carmela looked into the distance as if in deep thought about something. Then she looked at Willow and her eyes softened on her. She took a hand and cupped Willow’s dirty cheek. “I looked into this future and saw you triumph. Yet even I do not see all ends. There is something quite wrong with my plan I’m afraid…”

“What? What’s wrong?” Willow asked. “Um…I mean besides the fact that I
’m locked in an unbreakable cell waiting to be tortured.” Her eyes shot to Carmela desperately as a thought popped into her head. “Seeker, I need you to go find Declan, Elirana, and Chase. I need you to get them out of here. Can you do that for me? Please? They’re being tortured, Carmela.
He’s
being tortured. I need you to save them.”

“Always such a caring spirit, thinking of others before yourself.
You must be frightened here all alone and yet, you ask me to leave you and save the others? You truly are a wonderful person.” Carmela looked at her knowingly and dropped her hand from her face. “How is the Destroyer doing?”

“You know? You know about Declan’s powers?” Willow asked stunned.

“Of course I know. I’m a Seeker,” Carmela said.

“What does being a Destroyer mean? What is this connection between us?”

“Do you remember when I pushed you through the portal into the Everwild? And I pushed someone else in there with you?”

“
Yes, you sent Declan to help me,” Willow said. “That’s nothing new. Wait! You made it happen? You knew he was a Destroyer, then? You made us fall in love!”

“Healer,” Carmela stopped her. “There are many things I can influence…but love is not one of the
m. My power only bends the fate. It is up to the fated to decide their true destiny. I simply…pushed you in the right direction.”

Bend the fate? That sounded familiar.
In fact, it was the exact wording at the end of the chant Willow had in the dream about the three cloaked Witches. Willow kept that to herself, though. Something didn’t feel right about what she saw. Those words were haunting, but Willow didn’t want to tell the seemly omnipotent Seeker about her dreams. Instead, she said, “so, you were hoping Declan and I would be together, that our destinies were linked somehow.”

“Yes, I was hoping that. I knew Declan possessed a great power
, a deadly power, that only another with the opposite of that power could balance out. You are the opposite power. You have a pure heart and were gifted to heal whatever is destroyed. There is always a fine line…a thread, if you will, to the balance of nature. If that balance gets out of line, terrible things can happen. Have you found that you can calm Declan’s anger? That when he turns into the darkness of his true nature, you bring him out of it?”

“Yes…” It came out as an unsure whisper. It was scary, listening to the amount of knowledge the
Seeker had, how much she knew of the connection between her and Declan. “So if I understand what you’re saying, I am forced to love him because I balance him out? My feelings for him aren’t genuine? Just because we are opposite, we have to be together, regardless of how we feel?”

“No, no, no,” Carmela shook her head adamantly. “You are not listening to me. You could’ve left him to his own ways, Willow. You could have let him fall into his own darkness and become a powerful agent of evil, for that is what he would become without the light to balance him out.
I saw that in one of his futures. But you care about him, love him even. You are not, or have not been forced to love him. In fact, you are not obligated to stay with him at all. You are capable of leaving him any time. It is a
choice
that you made to love him. That choice, to love him unconditionally, only makes your connection to him stronger…and my life easier,” she mumbled the last part to herself. Willow looked at her strangely before Carmela’s eyes landed on hers again. “Don’t you see? You are not only soul mates, but you choose to be, which makes you two a lethal combination.”

“
What is Declan’s power capable of?” Willow asked.

Carmela lifted a corner of her mouth in a smirk. “
Great things, Willow…think about what is happening around you. Who are you up against? What force would be great enough to overpower the most powerful?”

Willow’s eyes grew wide. “But…I thought it was my destiny to destroy He
kate! I thought I was the one who has to kill her.”

Carmela shrugged and cleared her throat. “Only time will tell.”

“What aren’t you telling me, Seeker? Are you hiding something from me?”

“
I’m offended, Healer,” Carmela said, even though she didn’t sound like it. “All I can tell you that by choosing to accept your powers and by choosing to love Declan Aldridge, you have set something in motion that will be revealed very, very soon.”

“You speak in riddles,” Willow growled.
This conversation was getting nowhere, so she decided to switch it to more urgent matters. “Carmela, how do I escape? Do you know if Declan, Elirana, and Chase are safe?”

“
Currently, I do not know their predicament,” Carmela said sadly. “Tell me more about Selene. Tell me what she told you…” she pressed, and Willow was taken aback at the firmness in Carmela’s plea, but she reiterated everything Selene did, from the time she was brought out of the cell by the two Vampires.

“
She told you her
sisters
and she would overcome the races? That was her exact words?” Carmela asked, her eyebrows furrowed with worry.

“Yes. She claimed she was the oldest sister and hinted that she didn’t take orders from Hekate because of it. She said I will be her pet and
she will push my limits…my healing abilities. I think…” Willow stopped afraid to say it, but Carmela filled it in for her.

“You
think she will mutilate Declan to the point of death right in front of you over and over again to see how bad the body can break until you aren’t able to heal anymore.”

“Yes,” Willow said tears falling down her eyes. “I think she will try to kill Declan slowly. That I will k
eep healing him until his body is so broken that he dies.”

“Well…we mustn’t let that happen, must we?” Carmela said
. “Declan is powerful, indeed, but he hasn’t learned to harness his power yet, just as you are still learning how much you can heal. I think I will pay him a little visit before it’s too late.” Carmela pulled the emerald transporter out of her pocket and made to leave.

Willow rushed up to her and tugged on her forearm. “
Seeker, wait! I must know what I need to do. I have to know my future.”

“The future is not set in stone, Healer. Always remember who is on your side. Look to your friends for help.”

“What about the war? What’s going to happen?”

“A great evil is upon us,” Carmela said looking grim. “
Hekate has gathered many followers. Several battles have broken out since you have been here. They were small, but significant. The Werewolves have joined the Warlocks as you know. They have also accumulated several Vampires, surprisingly. It seems Hekate has wronged many of the Vampire Tribes and they seek revenge. I believe some of the lesser magical races have also joined Emerson’s cause. No word has come from the Elves or Dwarves, but that is to be expected, I suppose. Now…do you want me to check on your lover or not?” She put her hands on her hips.

Willow groaned. “Please don’t call him that.”

Carmela chuckled. “Before I go, Healer, please remember that no matter how dark the world becomes, there is always light. Light rules over darkness. There is always a way. Free your sisters. That is your mission. Everything else will come to light if you believe.” She held the emerald firmly in her hand and raised her head to gaze into Willow’s eyes. “Oh, and I must tell you…remember that nightmares always have a hint of truth to them.” Willow’s mouth dropped open. Did she know about her nightmares of Hekate?  Before she could say anything, Carmela winked and disappeared out of the cell, leaving Willow’s head spinning with new discoveries and even more questions.