I would never look at a game of Scene Freeze the same way. In fact, if I ever got out of this I would never play it again. Being frozen was painful and humiliating, not to mention terrifying.
All I could do was watch my best friend being crushed to death. Gawk as the boy I cared for fought off a half-dozen hell worms alongside his brother and his friend. And stare at the Big Bad Witch strolling from one end of the room to the other inspecting her handiwork.
The only arsenal I had left was my words. I hurled them at her like a virtuoso, calling her every name I could think of and then making some up when Vee howled again in pain. If this was the end, I would not die quietly.
“What’s the matter?” I goaded. “Did some prince ditch your skanky butt for a nice girl? Or were you just born a pathetic, monarchy-hating slag?”
Bull’s-eye.
Addie’s smile faltered as I earned her full attention. A vein under her eye twitched. As she sauntered in my direction, I worried that slag would be the last word I ever spoke.
Nah—I could do better. But just as I opened my mouth, Addie’s hand made a grasping motion. Suddenly, I had no air. My chest seized, paralyzing my lungs as my eyes began to bulge.
“Slag,” she mused. “Such an interesting colloquialism.”
Although her attention was riveted on me, her fist opened to hurl a gust of air at Duncan. The blast knocked the sword from his hand. Helplessly, I watched as he ducked into a roll and dove after the weapon, narrowly avoiding a snapping serpent in the process.
Addie clapped her hands and my air returned. I wheezed like an asthmatic bullfrog while she studied me as if I were some kind of lower life-form. From the opposite end of the room, Fergus yelped in pain, causing the witch to chuckle. “Careful,” she called in mock warning. “They bite.”
She was toying with us—adding insult to our injuries and impending death. My body may’ve been a statue, but my insides seethed with rage. “One day you will rot in hell, you shriveled old troll.”
With a shrug, Addie mused, “Perhaps. But not before her.” She stepped around me to sneer down at my best friend. A wave of her hand and Vee shrieked like she was being skinned alive.
“Stop! Please …” I was no longer cursing, I was begging. For the sake of my loved ones, I’d go silently.
“Does the plucky sidekick want ta add anything else?” With a satisfied smile, Addie tipped her head as if to say, “I could keep this up all day, you incompetent slag.”
But we didn’t have all day—just minutes. A quarter hour at best. Once the clock struck twelve, her sick little game would come to an end along with Vee and the rest of Doon. Was it too much to ask for one final twist in the plot?
Vee moaned. Sweat coated her face while she struggled against an unbearable weight. As I watched my best friend whimper in pain, I decided to use my words in a way that I hoped would cause less of a backlash. “Vee, if you leave me again, I’ll never forgive you. Doon is your destiny. Fight for it!”
“Can’t—” With great effort, Vee’s hand—the one bearing my aunt Gracie’s ring—reached out to brush against my ankle. As the golden metal touched my skin, a live current raced up my leg and throughout my entire body. The sensation stung like thawing ice with flash fire, but I was free.
I was free!
My instincts screamed at me to stay still, to use my freedom to some advantage. But how? I couldn’t fight the witch with my bare hands. And I would clearly lose any kind of verbal sparring match.
“You know—” Addie raked her nails softly down my cheek, her tone casual as I pretended to be too helpless to do anything other than submit. “I could freeze your internals, ta match yer exterior. All your bodily functions would cease, instantly. Painlessly. Or …”
Or I could endure unspeakable agony.
Despite the crushing pain, Vee sputtered on my behalf, “Please let. Her go. Take me. But let Ken go.”
“Perhaps—although she would make a lovely minion after the rest o’ ye are dead.” Addie’s eyes narrowed into snakelike slits as she leaned over Vee. “Such a sad little queen. All alone … in excruciating pain … Are ye ready to meet yer destiny?”
But Vee wasn’t alone. She had Jamie and a kingdom … and she had me.
The truth I’d been so reluctant to face burned from Uncle Cameron’s ring into my finger. The Rings of Aontacht had chosen us—both of us. I had a significant role as well.
As the metal seared my skin, my finger twitched. Luckily, that hand was hidden behind my back. Hidden from the witch, but not everyone.
“Vee! Look at me. As much as I’ve denied it, Doon is our destiny. We need to stick together. Are you paying attention?”
I prayed that even in her weakened state, the girl who shared my brain would be able to discern my unspoken meaning. I couldn’t best the Witch of Doon with physical power or clever words. But I did have one skill that Addie would never see coming.
I was a damned good actress.
CHAPTER 39
Veronica
Through a haze of agonizing pain, I saw Kenna’s finger wiggle behind her back. The emerald stone of her ring shimmered luminously in the shadows. A spark of life bloomed in my heart, and with it hope pushed against the darkness, driving back my growing despair. I may not have been able to defeat the witch on my own, but fortunately I wouldn’t have to.
My own fingers twitched as I clenched my eyes and focused outside of myself, on my purpose—our purpose. Kenna and I had always been stronger as a team. Even the rings we wore symbolized unity. My ring had allowed me to neutralize the witch’s earlier attack, so what if combining the rings made them even more powerful? Blood began to flow back into my knotted muscles as my strength returned. Addie may have won the battle, but she would not use me to harm the people I loved. She would not win this war.
Visualizing my purpose as a sledgehammer, I crashed through the pall that threatened to crush my will and lunged toward Kenna. “Now!”
Our hands locked and Ken pulled me to my feet. The witch’s shriek of protest echoed in the small room as our rings’ power fused. The red and green united, and energy crackled through me like a lightning storm. Instantly, the lingering weight of the witch’s hex lifted.
“Yer going ta regret that, little queen!” Addie screeched.
Furtively, my eyes shifted to Jamie. He edged nearer, still battling the serpents—beating them with the flat of his sword. Even in the midst of fighting for his life, he was amazing.
Addie cackled, pulling my attention back to her. The hair at the back of my neck stood on end as her hands moved in a circle like she was caressing an imaginary ball. Words I couldn’t understand spewed from her lips. A purple haze swirled between her palms, growing more solid by the second.
My chest tightened for the impending blow of magic as cold sweat trickled down my back. The glow of my ring began to dim. I’d broken free from her binding curse, but that was only half the battle. What was I supposed to do now? I met Kenna’s frantic stare, searching for answers she didn’t have.
And then Jamie was there. His dark eyes locked on mine, and something beyond reason, beyond even time, passed between us. His gaze surrounded me like a physical force and ran deep inside my soul. A slow, confident smile spread across his face. He didn’t need to speak; faith shone from his eyes, filling me with strength. And I knew not even a maniacal, power-hungry witch would stop me from saving him.
Addie continued to chant, the violet mist between her palms growing stronger. The dark magic illuminated her face like a ghastly X-ray, revealing her jawbone and every tooth beneath the transparent veil of her skin. The ball knitted faster in her hands.
I turned and squeezed Kenna’s fingers. “We have to do this together.”
She nodded and we lifted our joined hands. The ring’s combined power blazed, brilliant and sparkling like the sun reflecting on a fresh blanket of snow. We moved forward as one, and Addie froze in place, the midnight
