Everwild (The Healer Series, #1) (27 page)

They walked a bit further, until the spacing
between trees grew sparse. “Okay, summon your broom,” Declan
said.

Willow closed her eyes and whispered an
incantation. When she opened them, Declan was right there! He
caught her gasp in his mouth and silenced her with a fierce kiss.
Declan backed her up into a tree and Willow’s hand automatically
reached up and grabbed his neck, pulling him closer to her, but
still she wasn’t close enough. Declan moaned when she tugged his
hair, and Willow was suddenly grateful for the tree’s support.

They were lost in each other. Every time
Declan kissed her it was like the first time. Declan captured her
every thought and feeling until the world and all her worries
dissolved. His lips were so perfect and his tongue was a wicked
tool. Declan’s hands moved down her body and squeezed her hips,
pushing her harder against the tree. But it felt so good.

They didn’t notice when slow, winding,
tendrils of fog filled the air. Suddenly, Declan’s hold on her
loosened and he stepped back. “That’s weird,” she said as they both
watched how the fog was rising higher and higher around them.

“Fog at this time?” Declan asked. “That is
weird. Wait a minute,” he said desperately and looked at Willow
with wide eyes.

“Go Willow! Run!” she heard him say, but it
sounded sluggish and deep, like it wasn’t his voice at all. “Don’t
breathe it in!”

“What? Why?” Willow asked when Declan grabbed
her hand and made a mad dash to escape the fog. But it was too
late. Willow had instinctively breathed the fog in, and she
breathed it in deeply. The effects took place immediately. She felt
lightheaded and dizzy; the need to close her eyes was powerful. The
fog covered her, floating around her in a white smoke. She couldn’t
see anything in front of her the fog was so thick. Somewhere in the
distance, she heard a voice calling her name. The voice was smooth
and velvety, slithering like the fog swirling around her. She felt
Declan’s hand on her loosen and release.

It was irresistible. There was no way she
could fight it. Willow closed her eyes, wishing she never had in
the first place.

“As Head Warlock of the Emerald Circle, it is
with great honor and pleasure that I now pronounce you…witch and
warlock,” Emerson said smirking out at the audience that was
gathered for the wedding. Hisses and giggles erupted from faceless
people in the pews of the church. “Okay, okay,” he said settling
the crowd. “What I meant to say was…I now pronounce you man and
wife. Declan, you may kiss the one you love.”

Declan turned towards his bride all dressed
in white. Her beautiful off-the-shoulder couture gown flowed
elegantly down the stairs as all eyes focused on her and the beauty
she was. Declan was beaming and dressed to the tee in a black tux.
His silky hair was gelled in a messy look and he was radiating
happiness. He lifted the veil that hid the bride’s face and lowered
his head to take the lips of the one who possessed his heart and
soul in every way imaginable.

Somewhere in the distance, a horror-filled
scream resonated in the air, but the two lovers on the stage paid
no attention to it, as if the sound wasn’t really there. Willow
realized the screaming was coming from her, for the bride that
Declan was now kissing with fervent passion was not her.

“Stop! Declan! I love you! Don’t do this!
She’s not the one! I thought you wanted me! I thought you LOVED
ME!” her screaming grew desperate as the ceremony continued. No one
turned around to look at her. No one even noticed she was there.
The married couple turned to the crowd, and with clasped hands,
raised them in the air. The crowd erupted in applause at the happy
moment, but all Willow could do was cry her heart out. Her very
soul felt like it was crushing her as she collapsed to meet the
cold black floor.

Willow slowly uncurled herself from the floor
to see that she was no longer at the wedding. No one was
around-just a black void. She sat on the ground and looked around
her, but all she saw was darkness. Slowly, a dim lighting
illuminated the surroundings and she found herself in a forest. It
wasn’t the Everwild. The Everwild was evil and had warped trees and
such foulness in the air that only the wicked could tolerate. This
forest was very pleasant with the sounds of birds and lush green
grass and healthy looking trees, flowers bloomed and bees and bugs
thrived in the paradise haven.

Ahead of her was a small cottage. The exact
same one she had seen in a vision earlier. It was the cottage where
she would set up her healing services to those in need. She looked
around her and stood up. No one was here. Not yet. Slowly, heart
pounding softly in her chest, she walked towards the cottage. With
each step she took, her heart grew heavier and heavier. She was
dying inside. A deep loneliness she had yet felt penetrated so deep
within her that she had to wail out loud. Tears came faster than
possible and fell down her cheeks.

Declan wasn’t here. Her sisters were gone.
Then, Hekate’s voice spoke in her head. “You will never get what
you want. You will be all alone forever. So give me your powers so
you can have your happiness, or be ALONE and DIE ALONE!”

“NO!” Willow screamed even as she felt
completely empty inside. Just as she was reaching for the handle to
open the cottage door, she heard voices talking about her.

“I think she’s coming to,” a deep voice
said.

“Ah, finally…I was beginning to worry,” a
voice like Emerson’s said. “Declan will want to know she’s waking.
Henry, go tell him will you?”

“Sure thing, boss,” the voice answered and
then the door closed.

“Willow, can you hear me?”

Willow pried her heavy eyes open and stared
straight into the faces of Emerson Aldridge and Bane. The scowl on
Bane’s face was something mixed with hate and surprise. Emerson’s
gray eyes softened dramatically and the crinkles around his eyes
squished together as he attempted to smile.

“Welcome back to the world of the living,
Willow.” he said. “Do you think you can sit up?”

Willow was on a comfortable mattress with a
white sheet covering her. When she sat up, her head spun
momentarily, it cleared and she felt perfectly fine. She turned her
gaze and opened her mouth to speak when Emerson halted her. “I know
your little head is swirling with questions, but you just woke up.
Food, shower, a little rest first and then--”

“Willow!” Declan’s voice stopped her heart
when he burst through the door in front of her. She smiled as
Declan pushed the two large warlocks out of the way and wrapped her
up in a tight hug. She hugged him back and savored the feel of him.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Emerson and Bane with crossed
arms looking at each other across the bed with fierce expressions
on their faces, like they were silently communicating something.
They noticed her watching them and quickly masked their
expressions, but not before Willow saw that strange exchange
between the two of them.

Declan pulled back and cupped her face. “Are
you okay? I was so worried about you. You were asleep for two days!
My dad—” he looked over his shoulder with a frown, “wouldn’t let me
see you.”

“As was necessary for the situation,” Emerson
chimed in behind them. Declan’s back was now turned to his father,
so he rolled his eyes and Willow suppressed a smile, but she felt
weird. She was asleep for two days? It felt like minutes. “Bane and
I will be in my study. Declan, there’s something important we need
to discuss now that you two are back. Willow, I want you to clean
up and eat. Be ready to recount the tale of how you came to get
your talisman and ultimately started a war with the Fey.”

Willow’s mouth dropped open at his brashness
and Declan jumped off the bed with his hands in fists. “DAD! That
wasn’t our fault and you know it! I told you what happened! It was
the damn werewolves!”

“Declan…go to my office. Now. There’s
much
to discuss.”

“I’ll be right behind you. I want to talk to
Willow for a minute.” Declan was pissed and it showed on his face.
His brow was furrowed and his mouth was turned down in a deepened
scowl. Willow didn’t realize how intimidating Declan and his father
could be when they were angry. Emerson stared at Declan for a few
tense moments before turning to leave. When he reached the door, he
turned around and lifted a corner of his mouth. “Congratulations,
Willow. I’m happy you received your talisman and showed Hekate that
there’s much more to you than she will ever know. See you in a
while.”

Willow muttered a quiet thank you. She could
tell Emerson was a very formal, very rule abiding man. He was
powerful, but strict, only wanting things his way. She could see
how the hotheaded Declan and his father probably had many clashed
opinions and battles of will under his leadership.

Once Emerson left, Declan exhaled deeply and
then practically flew into the bed with Willow. Willow squealed
when Declan covered her body with his. “Declan what are you—” she
began to say, but then was swallowed by his kiss. When he pulled
back, she was breathing heavily, trying to catch her breath.

“Glad I can take your breath away,” Declan
said and sat up. He twined his fingers through Willow’s.

“When you crush me with your body and cut off
my air supply, then yes, I’d say you definitely took my breath
away,” Willow responded sarcastically.

“So my kisses don’t satisfy you anymore? Hmm,
I’m gonna have to step up my game,” He said playfully.

“How about you just tell me how we are in
your house? One minute I’m in the Everwild and then POOF! We’re
back here! I mean, I know I’m totally the best witch out there, but
even my magic doesn’t teleport me wherever I want to go. What
happened?”

Declan smiled. “What, my beautiful Healer
girlfriend doesn’t believe that her man can deliver?”

“You’re saying you did this?”

“Well…” he said pinching his fingers
together. “I may have had a slight part to play in it.”

“Stop playing around and just tell me, or my
lips and your lips may have to momentarily break up.”

“Okay, it’ll have to be quick, since
apparently my dad has something important to tell me.” He rolled
his eyes again and lifted his fingers in air quotations. He
obviously did not care what his dad did or did not want him to do.
“Here’s a quickie,” he said and wagged his eyebrows
suggestively.

“Dec—”

“Okay, okay. You summoned your broom and then
the fog hit us in the Everwild. Well, that was no ordinary fog. It
was MindStorm-fog of hallucination. Someone conjured it while we
were making out,” he smiled wide at that last part. “Hekate’s
minions were extremely close to us, conjuring the fog quickly as a
way to hinder us so when they got there, we’d be so far gone that
they could snatch us. They were literally minutes away from
reaching us before I could get us out.”

“No way!” Willow said stunned. “I remember
learning about MindStorm. You see and feel things that aren’t
there. It’s dangerous stuff! People can get trapped in their own
minds for years, never snapping out of it and--”

“And nothing. We escaped. No big deal.”

“But how?”

“You have to know what you’re dealing with.
I’ve had training with that stuff before so I knew how to counter
it. All you do is tell yourself it isn’t real and then it just
becomes the typical, very normal, fog. Of course, it’s harder to do
than you think; took me a couple months to master it.”

“Okay…” Willow said slowly putting the pieces
together. “So, you were able to fight it, found me and a way to get
us both home before we were taken?”

“Yeah,” he said slowly. “Something like that.
Listen, baby, I gotta go or else my dad’s gonna come get me, and
that won’t be a good thing.” Declan stood up and stretched lazily,
but before he started to walk away, Willow grabbed his arm
desperately.

“Declan…this MindStorm…” she sighed and
slightly shuddered at remembering the vivid images she experienced,
especially hearing Hekate’s voice
again
in her mind. What
was that about? “None of the things I saw were real, or would
be
real, like in the future or something, right?”

Declan paused and looked down at her
contemplating. His hazel eyes searched her face in brief concern,
then he leaned down and hugged her. “Nothing you saw was real,
baby,” he said and kissed her quickly. “What did you see that’s
making you so scared?”

Willow waved him off, “The usual death and
despair…”

Declan shrugged, “Then it definitely wasn’t
real. I’m leaving now. You going to be okay? Because I could
totally stay with you and help you shower…”

“Just go, Declan,” Willow shoved him and
stood out of the bed. Declan wrapped her in a tight hug and
whispered “I love you” in her ear, which sent a shudder to cascade
down her spine. He still affected her with a single touch. Declan
turned and left laughing under his breath. She found a neat pile of
clothes on the nightstand for her and she made her way to clean up
in the bathroom.

A soft tapping on the bedroom door alerted
her. She opened it, expecting Declan or his mother. It was Bane. He
stood at least six foot five and filled the doorframe with his
masculine shape. As he crossed his arms (that were more like small
tree trunks), he leaned against the frame and regarded Willow with
narrowed eyes. He didn’t smile or show any emotion in his face
whatsoever, besides the occasional widening of his beady eyes.
Willow had to take a step back as Bane’s presence simultaneously
overwhelmed and intimated her.

“Hello Bane,” Willow said slowly. “Are you
supposed to take me to see Emerson? Because it’s okay, I know where
his office is…”

Bane smirked slightly at her comment and then
his face darkened. “No,” he said and stepped inside the bedroom and
closed the door. Willow’s guard immediately went up, just as alarm
bells were ringing in her head. She backed up even more to give her
space between them, but concept of personal space seemed to flee
him as he advanced on her.