“Violet,” she whispers, “I can’t live without them anymore.”
She picks me up; I have no more spells in me. Everything hurts. Something red floods over my eye and I can’t keep it open. Eyes closed as they move me around, my stomach lurches. Maybe I can still puke on them.
“Hold open her mouth,” Abraxas demands.
I feel the rough monster hands on my face opening my mouth.
“Face her towards the window.” I’m turned. My eyelids feel a breeze, but I still can’t open them.
A clawed hand grips my chin too hard and I’m afraid he will take it off for all I’ve done. Metallic liquid is poured onto my tongue. They hold my mouth closed. In a last-ditch effort, I refuse to swallow. Abraxas puts his beefy hand over my nose. “You won’t win this, witch,” he hisses. I can’t breathe and instinct takes over for one second too long and my mouth swallows the liquid metal. Abraxas lets go. Oxygen fills my traitorous lungs once again. I can feel the cold liquid flowing through me. I have failed - really failed. They let me drop to the floor. Landing on all fours, I don’t try to stand. I just begin rubbing what is likely blood out of my eyes.
The whooshing of wingbeats suddenly fill the room. I blink a few times; my sight is hazy.
“They’re here,” Megara calls.
“Let them come.” Abraxas laughs.
“Meg!” Zemira’s voice breaks through.
Zemira’s voice makes my eyes snap open; I stand using the last of the energy I have. The gargoyles are here. Abraxas and his minions are on one side of the giant hole, with me. My gargoyles on the other. They look to me and then to Megara and Abraxas.
“What have you done, Meggie?” Zaphyra asks upon seeing my face.
“What I had to,” she snarls.
“Abraxas, let her go,” Percy says to him. Abraxas doesn’t look back at him though; he’s staring at me, waiting.
“You won’t need her in a minute,” Abraxas responds.
“What did you do?” Alex roars.
I feel something strange flowing through me. A warm sleepiness curls up my spine, my head doesn’t ache so much. I see everything incredibly clearly for a moment, like the blood is washed away. More than blood, worldly binds of science and common sense are gone. My gargoyles are bathed in lights. Bright colorful lights. The other gargoyles have varying degrees of a dark fuzz around them. I feel them. I feel what they feel. My gargoyles have concern flowing throughout them, it’s like a wind on my face caressing me with their emotions. I feel them all, full of fear and...love. For me. They all love me. It’s so strange. Even Percy has a growing protective breeze hitting me. The biggest love though is coming from Achilles. He shines with it. The sleepiness gets thicker. I have to tell Achilles I love him too.
“Achilles,” I whisper. Fear shoots through him, and then they’re gone. I am asleep.
Chapter Nineteen
Achilles
A hush forms around the room. They took her away. Violet is gone, wrapped in stone like one of us. But stone is for monsters, not her. She faces me, almost peacefully. Her last word, my name. My family looks at each other to make sure we aren’t turning too. If Violet was gone from this world, we would be stone. So, she must be alive, and if she is alive, there is still a chance. I snarl flattening my ears and holding my wings out as far as they go readying for attack. I will make them bring her back!
As soon as I make noise the others jump in.
“Bring her back!” Phelix.
“Meggie, no!” Zemira.
“Set her free now!” Zaphyra spits.
“ENOUGH!” Percy yells to all in the room holding his hands high. “What is going on, Abraxas? Explain what you have done.”
He doesn’t even glance at Megara. I notice her notice that.
I jump forward snarling again, ready to let loose as soon as Percy allows. I don’t care how or why they did this. I don’t care that Megara used to be one of our family. That Abraxas and his ilk fought alongside us in many great wars. They hurt my Violet, and they will be sorry.
“So now you would like to listen? For years I warned you of what would happen if you gave into the curse and you shunned me. Megara,” Abraxas runs his hand under her chin in a caressing gesture, “was wild, free. The way we should all be. You had your witches shun and enslave her until we broke her out. You shunned all of us that held on to the old ways without even trying to fight back against the zoana scourge. You gave into a curse and became nothing but willful slaves.”
“Are you done pontificating?” Zemira rolls her eyes.
“What exactly did you do to Violet?” Phelix butts in. Alex surprisingly doesn’t speak; he’s just standing in place shaking. I’ve never seen him without a quip.
“Don’t worry, we didn’t hurt her. I couldn’t hurt Violet. I mean I trapped her, but you know that’s just business. She and I have become so close in the last few months.” Megara grins wickedly, the implications sliding out of her like a warm black molasses. Megara always full of secrets and creating an unholy mess like usual.
Alex finally speaks, “What do you mean?” The words come out between his teeth but his chin tilts in curiosity.
“We became quite chummy after she beseeched my tutelage.” Megara runs a clawed finger over the Book of Zoanas. “When you all tried to keep the full potential of her power hidden from her. She thought I was a human, of course, but the bond was there no less. She was my prize student. And oh, can she spin an opening spell like no other! I really should have told her how proud of her I was before it was too late. Maybe she can still hear me.” Megara shrugs.
Alex growls. He lurches as if he’s about to pounce across this divide and strangle his ex-mate. Maybe that’s why he’s so angry, his ex-mate is the one hurting our zoana. His body is vibrating in pure hate. Never acting like he hated Megara in the past, he piques my curiosity for a moment. She did break his heart. He feels heartbroken now. Then again, we all are. I can’t shake the feeling something is off. I snort at him to get his attention. He glances at me out of the corner of his eye. As if remembering for the first time that he and Megara are not alone, he grinds his teeth holding back whatever in him wanted to hurt Megara.
Zemira breaks the silence. “How much of the book did you have her read?”
Megara doesn’t look at her sister’s angry gaze. “All of it.” She annunciates every syllable making sure it sinks in. Horror rocks us. This is one more mess she’s created and it explains a lot. Violet reading from certain pages of the book would release the demons who were trapped by its spells. Demons that would be even more attracted to Violet because she released them. Demons that have been keeping us busy at night so we didn’t question what Violet was up to in the day. Demons we can’t bottle back up without Violet. Megara always has been free-willed chaos. Blind savagery coated with arrogance. She does not hesitate, does not feel remorse. She used Alexandros how it pleased her, then toyed with him once she knew he had real feelings for her. Torturing him with human conquests, flaunted them in his face, until he killed one. Ripped the boy to shreds. That was the final act that got her banished and imprisoned in the catacombs. She has not changed; she’s still toying with us. She needs to be taught a lesson.