side despite my warning. “When I took Jamie’s place, I could complete the spell by declaring myself the new ruler. Now I’m the one who’s life is linked to the fate of Doon.”
Addie clasped her hands behind her back. “I gravely underestimated you, Veronica.”
Her relaxed posture tempted me to let down my guard, but I couldn’t allow myself any weakness. This was no time for gloating. We still had to find a way to get out of here and back to the bridge in less than twenty minutes. Now that Jamie was free, all we had to do was get past one very angry witch.
“Yer a clever one, but you’re still going ta die,” Addie continued as I caught Jamie’s eye and tilted my head toward the exit. He nodded once.
“Vee, watch out!” I turned toward Kenna’s voice as she ran into the room, Duncan and Fergus barreling in behind her. Ken pointed over my shoulder at the witch and I spun toward the threat. Addie stared rapturously at her ring, watching it ooze black goo that coalesced on the floor like nightmarish Jell-O molds.
“Serpents!” Fergus shouted as he drew a large two-handed sword and charged. “Three o’ them.”
Duncan rushed into the fray, tossing Jamie his spare sword before unsheathing his own weapon.
Addie’s serpents bore little resemblance to snakes or dragons; they were more like wriggling, ashy slugs. I stumbled backward as their gaping maws hissed, permeating the air with the stench of rotten meat. Black ooze dripped from between their rows of sharp teeth. In mere seconds, they quadrupled in size. Their ravenous mouths snapped hungrily as they writhed back and forth.
Jamie grabbed my arm and hauled me behind him. With a glance toward his fellow swordsmen, he yelled, “Now!”
Fergus, Jamie, and Duncan slashed at the serpents. They deftly sliced their way down the length of the creatures, but by the time they hacked the serpents’ tails off the severed heads had begun to shimmy. Other disembodied pieces followed and grew like something from a science-fiction experiment gone wrong.
“They’re like giant worms!” I exclaimed, grateful I’d paid attention in Honors Biology. “Every piece will grow into a new monster.”
Kenna clutched my arm in a death grip. “We have to help them!”
Not only were our guys severely outnumbered, but they’d ended up on the opposite end of the chamber, separated from us by a live wall of voracious serpents. Despite the danger, they held their own, so I tried to focus on the source of the threat. If I could thwart the witch, the victory would hopefully put an end to her monstrous worms as well.
My head swiveled to find Addie lounging against the wall behind us, reveling in her work. I glanced at the seemingly lifeless ring on my finger. I’d used it in defense, but I’d no idea how I’d done it or how to activate its magic again.
Pushing off the wall, the witch strode toward us at a leisurely pace. “You girls think yer so smart. Yer just like them.” She raised her angular chin to indicate Fergus and the MacCrae brothers. “So predictable. So easy ta control. Just like that feeble-minded captain of the guard—so afraid of the evil Witch o’ Doon, and yet he fell instantly under my spell. My merest suggestion had him committing murder.”
Although I didn’t exactly care for Gideon, that didn’t mean I approved of Addie using him like a hand puppet—I knew the feeling of being played all too well.
Kenna let go of my arm and faced the witch. “You’re pretty proud of yourself … for someone who used a rent-a-cop to do her dirty work. Can’t handle things on your own?”
Addie chuckled and advanced like a hungry wolf stalking its prey. Suddenly, she stopped and shook her head. Her edges blurred once again. Long blonde tresses wound about her shoulders as the effects of twenty years of aging reversed. “I used you lasses too. And ye did everythin’ perfectly. Thanks ta the two o’ you, my plans are nearly complete.”
“Ally?” Kenna gasped, stumbling back a step.
She was showing off, performing her tricks for my best friend. But why? Was she trying to distract us? Maybe if I could keep her talking, she’d give me a clue. “Why, Addie? Doon was your home once. Why would you want to destroy it?”
“Silly girl. ’Tis more than destroying Doon that I want. When Doon was … blessed, I became cursed. As long as the kingdom thrives, my magic is unstable.”
As if to underscore her point, she morphed back into her forty-something self. “But there’s power in Doon. Once the kingdom has vanished, the enchantments it contains will be mine for the taking.”
She turned to regard a mirror that I hadn’t noticed before. Her reflection was the stuff of demented nightmares—cadaverous gray skin stretched too tightly over sharp bones; brittle yellow-white hair hung around her skeletal face in uneven tufts; thin, flaking white lips pulled back to reveal rotting brown teeth. Only her violet eyes remained unchanged.
Goose bumps prickled the back of my neck as Addie looked away from the hideous image. Hatred for her true appearance burned in her false, attractive face. “When Doon is destroyed, I’ll finally be free. I’ll take the kingdom’s power and recover my true beauty. Once I’m restored, I’ll rebuild my coven and the modern world will worship me.”
Outrage poured through me. This hideous creature sought to gain power at the expense of hundreds of innocent souls. I stepped toward her. “People will never worship you.”
The witch chuckled, an icy sound like claws scratching my brain. “We shall see, little queen.”
Before I could react, Kenna shrieked and swung her duffel bag at Addie’s head.
“Mackenna!” Duncan yelled in warning. The bag stopped mid swing, falling out of Kenna’s stunned fingers and dropping to the floor.
Addie arched her perfect brows and flicked her hand in Kenna’s direction. My best friend froze in place, unable to move a muscle—except, apparently, those around her mouth. She let go a string of profanities and threats that under any other circumstances would’ve been inspiring.
The witch emitted a humorless chuckle. “Now that the colorful sidekick is out o’ the way, it’s time to address the wee girl who would play the hero. For you, o’ queen of Doon.” She raised her hand, made a circular motion, and then a quick downward slash.
Reflexively, my arm jerked up, and I saw the ring on my finger was glowing again. But before the magic could form, a weight like a concrete wall crushed me to the floor. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Panic ripped through me as I felt my body being crushed to nothing. As if from a great distance, I recognized my own hysterical voice screaming for help.
Wave after wave of crippling pain slammed down on me. Through it, I could just make out Jamie’s voice. “Vee.” His words were punctuated by blows of his sword. “I shoulda—told you. The monarch o’ Doon’s—meant to be the—counter balance to the witch. When the ruler’s weak—the witch’s evil grows—more—powerful. Ye must —be—strong—love.”
His words bolstered me, giving me the strength to focus and mentally push against the crippling, invisible weight. I had an instant of relief before it slammed back doubly strong, the attack no longer just an external pressure but also a mental assault. The spell moved through me like jagged bits of glass, gouging my soul and draining my will.
A thousand insecurities bombarded my mind, urging me to give up. Telling me I couldn’t win. That I was nothing but a powerless fraud. A pathetic loser. Unwanted. Stupid and weak. Never good enough …
Tossed in a raging river, I was drowning in self-condemnation. Memories of my many failures flashed through my mind—Eric in Stephanie’s arms, Mom’s resentful gaze, Dad waving as he backed out of the driveway for the last time—draining my will with each recollection. Who was I to think I could make a difference? I was just a worthless girl from Podunk, Indiana who’d never done a noble thing in her life. I wasn’t a warrior like Jamie. Tears leaked from my eyes and my lungs burned, ready to explode.
Darkness closed in on my vision, and I realized it was over. The substitution had been a mistake. Doon’s new queen had failed.
CHAPTER 38
Mackenna
