Spring Rain (30 page)

“My god,” Morgan breathed, horrified by the
power of the brothers.

“Yeah. It’s crazy,” Summer agreed. “At least
they aren’t fighting each other this time. That was insane.”

“Guys, I think we need to help Dawn,” Biji
said. “There’s a lot of blood.”

All three looked towards the semi-conscious
woman. Morgan watched until a direct path to Dawn formed amidst the
lighting, shadows, ice, and tornadoes. She bolted for the blonde
woman lying on the ground. Morgan dropped to her knees beside her.
There was blood on her legs and pooled beneath her. Dawn was pale
and sickly, her breathing ragged.

“Dawn?” she called hesitantly. Her eyes went
to the baby bump. Without Beck, she couldn’t protect the baby with
her fire without hurting them both.

“What’s wrong?” Summer asked and sat. She
placed her hands on Dawn’s belly without hesitation. “Baby’s okay
for now but, Dawn isn’t. I have to stop the bleeding.”

Morgan glanced at her then back. The area
around them suddenly fell quiet. No Dark witchling remained, aside
from Dawn.

“Morgan!” Beck knelt beside her, breathing
hard and radiating Light. “Everyone is here. We need to act
now.”

“What’re you talking about?” Decker asked as
he joined them.

“Binding spell. We have to have all the
elements and us to bind the baby. Noah! We need a pentagram to
focus the magick. Can you make one out of ice?”

Noah nodded. Seconds later, rivulets of
water ran around them.

Morgan stood and stepped back, along with
the others. Biji levitated Dawn into the air so the pentagram could
form beneath her and lowered her after it had hardened. Each of
them took up a position on a point, surrounding Dawn with all five
elements while Summer crouched in the center, hands on the
semi-lucid woman to stabilize her.

“Hurry!” Summer said urgently.

Beck reached for Morgan’s hand on one side
and Noah on the other. The moment Morgan touched their hands,
electricity flew through her, a combination of cool water and warm
earth magick. Biji was on the other side of Noah between him and
Decker while the two Masters held hands.

“You all know what you’re doing? Binding
spell?” Decker asked quietly.

Everyone nodded, except for Morgan, who was
starting to freak out about her magick.

“Fireball, can you control your magick
enough to focus?” Decker asked when she didn’t agree.

“I can.” Beck smiled at her. “Team?”

Please don’t let me hurt
anyone,
she thought.

“Trust me, Morgan.”

Morgan nodded and wetted her lips. Having
never tried to work with anyone else and her magick, she feared
burning them all to a crisp in the process.

“Hurry,” Summer urged.

“Everyone focus,” Beck said and closed his
eyes.

Morgan followed his lead. The sensations
tearing through her didn’t hurt – but they were scary. Hot Light
and cold Dark mixed with Noah’s water, Biji’s air, Beck’s earth and
Decker’s spirit. She timidly unleashed her fire to join the other
elements, aware of her magick joining the ring. It raced hot and
bright, darting around the other elements as the five of them
coalesced and joined. She tried to focus on Dawn, but felt the fire
slip from her control, only to be caught and balanced by the other
elements that weren’t about to let it escape.

She relaxed when she realized no one was
getting hurt and her fire wasn’t derailing the efforts of the
others. As she did so, she began to see the image of Dawn in her
mind, surrounded by the colors of the elements moving like smoke
around her stomach while Light and Dark came between the Dark soul
that was Bartholomew’s and Dawn’s. Everything worked in harmony to
build a shield around Dawn’s baby so Bartholomew couldn’t get to
her while Summer’s gentle earth magick stabilized Dawn’s body.

Morgan watched in amazement as the shield
closed around the child.

“Okay. Stone,” Beck said. “I’m not entirely
certain how this works, but Morgan, move quickly. The earth is
telling me Dawn needs more help than we can give her. I’m going to
heal Dawn. You focus on chasing down Bartholomew.”

Her heart leapt. Morgan opened her eyes, and
the vision of Dawn stayed in her head.

Summer replaced her at the point of the
pentagram, and Morgan went to Dawn’s side. She pulled the soul
stone from her pocket, not at all certain what to do with it.
Magick swam around her, easing her distress as she realized Beck
was right. Dawn was too pale, the pool of blood around her too
large.

She shifted closer.

“Burn him out, Morgan,” Decker ordered.

“I can guide you,” Beck added.

Suddenly, Dawn snatched Morgan’s wrist and
yanked her close. “Give it to me!”

Morgan caught herself on the ground.
Coldness like that originating from the stone swept through her.
Dawn’s eyes were inky black, her super human strength fueled by a
former Master of Dark. She grabbed it with her other hand, but Dawn
didn’t let go.

The black flashed away from Dawn’s eyes,
returning them to normal. A surge of air magick originating from
Dawn fed Morgan’s fire. “Save her,” came the stricken whisper.

Morgan gasped. Dawn was still there. “I’ll
try.”

“Burn … me.” Dawn’s magick flowed into
Morgan. She sagged, her eyes closing.

Morgan began to burn. Her heat was absorbed
by the cold of the stone and the Dark soul, and she struggled to
burn brighter when they were sucking everything out of her.

“Beck,” she called uncertainly.

“Try now.”

His calming influence had all but left her.
Morgan’s fire erupted into a flame four meters tall and engulfed
everyone around them. She frantically pulled her magick back.

“It’s okay, Morgan,” Decker called.

“You can do this. We’re fine,” Beck
added.

Bolstered by their support, she relaxed the
guards on her magick and let the fire blaze. Dawn’s air magick
continued to feed her. The Dark witchling had fallen unconscious,
but Bartholomew remained strong. Dawn’s Dark magick was faint and
threadlike compared to the thick, cold fog of Bartholomew. Morgan
focused on him rather than Dawn’s magick.

Uncertain what exactly to do aside from
burn, Morgan focused on chasing down the tendrils of Dark in Dawn’s
body, mentally watching her white flames rip through the woman to
get to Bartholomew.

Her flames bounced off the shield around the
baby sustained by the others and chased Bartholomew’s cloud of
Darkness through Dawn. Her excitement grew – she had him cornered.
How to get him into the stone, she wasn’t certain about, but –

If I can’t have her, I’ll
take you.
The distinct voice in her head
jolted her.

Morgan hesitated, and Bartholomew leapt.
Cold like that she had experienced when she swallowed the soul
stone swept through her while the sense of not being alone in her
own body made her start to panic.

Bartholomew was inside her, fighting her for
control of the flames that could so easily destroy those trying to
cage him, if he were able to wield them. Morgan released Dawn and
opened her eyes.

The world was black.

“Beck!” Morgan cried, unable to see anyone
or anything beyond the Dark Bartholomew thrust into her.

“Burn, Morgan!” His arms went around her,
and her whole world suddenly went quiet, dark, calm.

I have you now, girl.

“Shit!” Beck felt Morgan go limp in his arms
and her fire start to subside as she fell unconscious. She was
shockingly cold. He shoved as much earth and Light magick into her
as possible. “Decker! She’s cold.”

His twin crouched and peered into Morgan’s
face. “Bartholomew,” he said, his gaze haunted. “I’ve been here
before. She has to fight him.”

Summer knelt beside them and took Morgan’s
hand.

“She needs her fire,” Beck said, his heart
dropping into his stomach as he realized he’d damned his
counterbalance to becoming a vessel for Bartholomew. Morgan was
clutching the soul stone hard, even in her crippled state, and he
pulled her into his body. “Decker – fire.”

His twin nodded and reached for Morgan.

“No,” Summer said and caught his hand. “The
Dark is a drug, Beck. Bartholomew can’t ever be in contact with
Decker again.”

Beck hesitated, his urgency screaming at him
to hurry, and thought fast. “Okay. Take her hand, Summer. Decker,
feed the flames through Summer.”

Summer obeyed quickly, though Decker
appeared less than certain about torching his counterbalance.

“I’ll be fine,” she told him with a smile.
“Beck’s magick will protect me.”

Decker wrapped an arm around her.

Summer burst into flames – but didn’t burn.
Beck felt her draw off her own earth magick as well as his and
helped guide the flames into Morgan.

“Come on, Morgan. Fight him,” he whispered.
Closing his eyes, he loosened his restraint on the Light and sent
bolts of lightning into her as well.

Roaring filled his ears, the intense
combination of ice cold and blazing hot ripping through him. He
didn’t try to balance the two and instead, waited for Morgan to
begin pulling on the combined magick of Light, Dark and fire to
protect herself. His heart raced, and he refused to let himself
think about what happened if he failed to bring her back or expel
Bartholomew.

Gradually, she began to tug at the lightning
and Decker’s flames, to pull them into her. Beck felt the shift,
but it was faint, and the cold was gaining ground.

“Decker … spirit,” he said to his
brother.

Unable to hear any response above the roar
of magick, Beck trusted his twin to help him and waited for the
connection between Morgan’s spirit and his to form.

Silence was followed by the sounds of
someone crying.

“Morgan?” Beck said. Everything was dark,
cold, quiet. “Are you here?”

“B… beck?”

“I’m here,” he said, relieved. “What is this
place?”

“This is where Bartholomew sends you when he
claims your body,” Decker’s whisper was faint, scared. “I spent so
long here.”

“How do we get out?” Beck asked.

“You fight.”

Morgan’s crying had stopped. Unable to see
her in the darkness of her mind, Beck ached to touch her, to hold
her and tell her everything would be okay. “I can’t leave. How do I
fight?” she asked.

“Magick. Burn the darkness away,” Decker
replied.

“Summer, you here, too?” Beck called.

“Yeah,” was the soft response.

“How did you help Decker when Bartholomew
had him?”

He felt a tingle of earth magick in
response, the first magick he was able to identify in the confines
of Morgan’s mind.

“Move towards me, Morgan,” Summer said. “I
can block the Dark in Decker. I might be able to do the same for
you. Can you feel it?”

“Yes.”

“Now fight.”

Silence fell, and Beck began to worry that
Morgan wasn’t responding. A spark lit up one corner, and he was
able to see they were trapped in a square room.

“Decker,” he whispered.

“Got it.”

Morgan tried again, and this time, two
sparks flickered and joined into a sickly flame.

Earth magick surrounded the flame,
protecting it. Summer’s air magick fed it, and the flame grew
stronger and brighter.

“It’s working,” Morgan breathed.

“Burn, Morgan,” Beck whispered. “As hot as
you can. I’ll focus you.”

The flame turned colors, struggling in the
darkness, but growing hotter and hotter until finally, it blazed
brilliant white.

“Release,” Beck directed her.

Whitefire smashed into him. Beck caught it
and turned it on the room trapping them. Morgan began to burn
white, protected by Summer’s earth magick. Within seconds, the room
exploded into rainbow colors.

The connection with Morgan severed, Beck’s
eyes opened, then closed when he was blinded by the fire consuming
them. Morgan was awake and tense in his arms, and he sought to see
what she did, to focus the wild fire against their enemy. He
watched in awe as her magick chased Bartholomew’s Dark soul through
her body. He took over guiding the magick.

The pulse of cold from the soul stone in her
hand tickled the side of his mind. Joined with her still, he was
able to feel what she did, and he urged her fire towards the soul
stone, herding Bartholomew with it.

Dark and Light swirled within Morgan,
battling for control. He sensed Decker’s fire feeding Morgan, along
with Summer helping stabilize her since Beck’s magick was
concentrated in guiding Morgan’s.

With nowhere else to go, Bartholomew escaped
Morgan’s body and retreated into the soul stone. A flare of cold
Dark magick passed through Morgan and Beck before it subsided.

Gasping, Beck opened his eyes. Morgan was
shaking, and her fire began to calm. He pushed soothing earth
magick into her, and she relaxed against him. Summer withdrew and
flung her arms around Decker, whose magick quieted instantly.

Breathless and exhausted, the four sat in
quiet for a moment, recovering from the battle with
Bartholomew.

Beck had Morgan’s closed fist in his and
twisted her wrist over to gauge whether the soul stone was secure.
Her white fire was concentrated on her hand.

“Hey, Noah,” he called, twisting to see the
two witchlings beside Dawn. “We need water to bind this.”

Noah rose, his features tight, and knelt. He
clasped both hands around Morgan and Beck’s and focused his cool
water magick into the binding spell around the stone. He leaned
back, and they both observed the flow of magick surrounding
Morgan’s hand.

“Summer!” Biji called. “Decker! You have to
get Dawn to a hospital.”

Morgan shifted in Beck’s arms. “Go.”

His gaze went to Dawn. The woman was
starting to seize.