Chapter 106 - Their Cursed

Remi

We stood there anxiously waiting for anything from Gentry. He had already been down in the trap door for over 10 minutes. They were doing their best not to show it, but I could feel both my mates' nervousness. Finally, Gentry slowly emerged from the opening as if he were being levitated. I let out a breath seeing that he was okay. He rose until he could step forward safely onto the floor. In his hand, he held a dagger nestled inside its sheath.

“Is that it?” Calder asked.

“I think so,” Gentry said quietly. He looked down at the small weapon in his hand. “I can feel the magic inside of it.”

“We should go. Despite your mate’s precautions, this place may not be as guarded as we’d like,” Cullen said. I could still feel how nervous he was. I held his hand, and he squeezed mine back. He didn’t wait for confirmation from Calder or Gentry; he just turned around and pulled me from the shop with him.

Gentry sat in the front with Calder on the ride back, holding the dagger in his lap. He barely looked at it; instead, he stared out the window silently. Cullen sat in the back with me, pulling me close to him. Something was bugging him, and I couldn’t figure out what.

“Cullen, what’s wrong?” I linked him. I figured this was my best bet at getting him to admit what was upsetting him rather than having a conversation in front of everyone.

“Nothing, my love,” he replied, but I was unconvinced. I gave him a disapproving look.

“Something is wrong. I can tell,” I said. He sighed and looked out the window for a moment before turning back to me.

“We are out of time,” he told me.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“The witch told you to get stronger and for us to get ready for Voldigoad. Instead, we let ourselves get wrapped up in merging the packs and business stuff. We haven’t prepared for this fight at all, and it came sooner than we thought,” he admitted. I brought my hand up to cup his cheek.

“Cullen, I am stronger. We are stronger. No, what happened wasn’t ideal, but I think our bond is stronger now. I’ve felt different since marking you both,” I tried to reassure him. He bent his neck, running his nose along mine.

“We should have been better. I’m terrified our mistake is going to get you hurt,” he said.

“You don’t need to beat yourself up over it forever,” I told him. I already forgave them, but I knew I would never forget about it. Knowing that Cullen still worried about it reinforced that he would never make the same choices again. “I’ll do my best not to get hurt, but I don’t think I am worried about it.”

“Why aren’t you worried?”

“Don’t misunderstand. I am scared. I am terrified of Voldigoad; I never want to feel him touch me again. But I also know that I have two amazing mates who will do everything they can to keep me safe. I know you are strong enough to protect me just like I am strong enough to break the curse,” I told him. He gave me a small smile before leaning in to kiss me softly.

-

We all sat in Calder’s office with the dagger lying on the desk. I didn’t know much about weapons, but this one looked special. The sheath and handle were made of some type of hide, and I guessed it was probably some magical animal. There was metal gilding on the outside of the sheath that looked similar to the swirling designs of Gentry’s witch mark. The handguard curved away from the blade and handle elegantly. It was no more than a foot in length overall.

No one seemed to want to remove the sheath and look at the blade. I have never seen a magical weapon before, and my curiosity was eating at me. I read about different magical weapons and how they are made while studying the Supernatural Realm, but this was the first time I saw one. Werewolves generally shy away from this type of combat, preferring basic hand-to-hand styles.

Holding my breath, I reached forward and grabbed the dagger. Cullen tried to stop me, but I gave him a look to tell him no. He watched me carefully, his body tense and ready to act if something happened. I pulled the sheath from the blade, revealing a leaf-shaped blade that looked deadly sharp on both edges. It felt heavy in my hand, but I never held anything more than a kitchen knife before. As I turned it in my hand, looking it over, the blade seemed to shimmer with rainbow iridescence.

“Wow,” Calder said with wide eyes. He motioned for me to hand him the blade.

“What?” I asked as I transferred it to his waiting palm.

“That aura. Gentry, Sammy is amazing. I don’t know what kind of magic is in this blade, but I guarantee it's far more powerful than we can even comprehend,” he said, looking it over. He weighed it in his hand, judging the weapon. “It’s extremely well balanced too.”

I looked over at Gentry, who had a small, proud smile on his lips. He already knew his mate was special. “The magic aura it emits wasn’t detectable in the sheath,” Cullen commented.

“She thought of almost everything. Hopefully, the sheath will hide it from Voldigoad, so we have an advantage. The only problem now is finding him,” Gentry said.

“Maybe she solved that too,” I said, looking down at the discarded sheath. There was a small piece of paper sticking out of the opening. I grabbed it, unfolding it to reveal a hand-drawn map. ‘Dark Forest’ was scribbled at the top. It was a crude depiction of the Dark Forest with a red line leading to a star placed near the center of the map. Along the bottom, there was something else scribbled.

“Let the dagger lead the way…” I read aloud. Three pairs of eyes moved to me while Cullen took the paper from my hands.

“I guess your witch did think of everything,” Cullen said, looking up at Gentry.

Sam

They found the dagger a couple of days ago. I knew the moment Gentry reached his hand through the looking glass. I felt the warmth in my palm. I closed my eyes and tried to remember what his hand felt like in mine while the feeling lasted. With any luck, they would be getting here anytime now.

I focused my energy on Gentry. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to feel him as he got closer. I was sure there would be some type of warding up around this place. I haven’t left this room the entire time he held me captive, though, so I couldn’t get a good idea about the layout.

The door opened, and light flooded into the room, casting a shadow around Voldigoad. “It’s almost time, little witch,” he sneered. He snapped his fingers, and it felt like invisible hands were pulling me to my feet. My legs were sore from lack of use in the couple of weeks I have been here. I followed Voldigoad on shaky legs as the invisible hands compelled me to move forward.

I kept my head down, not wanting Voldigoad to catch on to the fact that I wasn’t as bad off as he thought. I tried to look at my surroundings through my peripherals. I could tell the structure was once lavish and probably well cared for. The tile below my feet was cracked and dirty. It wasn’t long before he was leading me through a set of double doors onto a broken porch or walkway of some kind. I tilted my head up slowly, trying to take in as much of my surroundings as possible. My assumptions were right; we were definitely within the Dark Forest. We stood in front of a dilapidated house that once clearly reflected Voldigoad’s arrogance. There was a large area in front of us that looked like a dead field. The disgusting living-dead trees that inhabited the Dark Forest surrounded us. Eerie noises emitted from the darkness of the trees.

“They should be along shortly,” Voldigoad mused. “Maybe I should give them some encouragement to move a little faster.” I turned my head to him and saw a sinister smile on his face. He grabbed the back of my hair forcefully, jerking my head backward. I stumbled in his grip but managed to stifle the yelp of pain that threatened to escape my lips.

“Aw. Going to be brave now, are we?” he taunted. I closed my eyes and focused on Gentry’s mark. Where are you? Please be close. Voldigoad pressed his fingers to Gentry’s mark on my neck. I ground my teeth, keeping myself from yelling out as pain radiated throughout my body.

“Sam…” I heard a whisper in the back of my head. Was that him? Was he close?

“Come out, filthy mutts,” Voldigoad called. He lifted me by my hair, and I struggled against his grip. My hands were still magically bound, so I couldn’t even try to pull my hair from his grasp. I was on my tiptoes now, trying not to let him lift me higher. Tears were silently rolling down my cheeks while my scalp burned. He pressed his finger to my mark again, and this time I couldn’t stop the sound from escaping my lips. “Or I can have fun with this one all night long!” He was taunting them, and it was going to work. Gentry wouldn’t stand by while he did this, and Remi would do anything to stop someone from getting hurt in place of her.

“Stop!” A growl sounded from the trees as bodies emerged from the darkness. Gentry was stalking quickly towards us, with Remi hot on his trail. She managed to catch him and grab his arm, trying to stop him as Calder and Cullen joined them. Through watery eyes, I could see him breathing heavily.

“Gen…” I whimpered. Terror and relief were simultaneously flowing through me. I didn’t know if it was his or mine anymore. I could feel him unquestionably, but how much I wasn’t sure. I struggled against Volidgoad’s grip, wanting to get to my mate. I looked at Remi, who looked like she was going to be sick.

“Let her g-go,” she called out shakily. “You want me, not her!” Calder and Cullen flanked her protectively, but she kept her hand on Gentry’s arm to keep him from attacking.

“Finally, you are all here. Now we can begin!” Voldigoad said gleefully.

“Give us the witch,” Cullen demanded.

“Why should I do that? You still haven’t given me a child,” Voldigoad countered. Cullen and Calder both growled. Voldigoad just chuckled. “You dogs and your little growls. It’s cute, really.”

Gentry’s eyes were trained on me. “The ashes,” I mouthed at him. He nodded his head the slightest fraction.

“Release Sammy, and I will comply,” Remi shouted. She managed not to stutter, but the fear was still evident in her voice.

“So, you will come to me willingly?” Voldigoad mused. The twins both took a step forward.

“Just let her go,” Remi begged. Voldigoad sighed and released his grip on my hair. I wasn’t expecting it and tumbled to the ground. He snapped his fingers, and everything was silent. I looked around me only to realize he had placed me inside a magical barrier. I began to panic. There was no way I could help them unless I could get out of here. I realized my hands were unbound. I sat up and began trying to physically push at the barrier even though I knew it was useless. Gentry had a look of panic on his face as he looked at me.

I couldn’t hear anything that was being said outside the barrier. I could see Remi shouting then Calder and Cullen. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared. I looked at Volidgoad, who was now holding her by the throat, her back to his chest. There was no missing the cruel intent behind the wicked smirk on his face. One of the twins shifted, and I could see Voldigoad visibly laugh. Where were the ashes? Where was the dagger? What was their plan? I looked to Gentry watching the twins and Voldigoad’s exchange; he was just waiting for his opportunity. I shook my head at him, but he wasn’t looking at me. They needed to break the curse and stab Voldigoad. Only then would I have a chance at breaking through this barrier to help them.