Alpha Asher by Jane

Chapter 219

Instantly, I could tell that I had no control over this form. Thoughts drifted through its head, flowing like a winding stream, but I couldn’t tap into them. The terrain was too

rocky, too tumultuous to allow me to get any closer. Instead, I was left with whatever stray thoughts washed ashore and the emotions that followed them.

I stood on the shoulder of a narrow, winding road. Clusters of trees surrounded me like a cage, spanning up and up and up to kiss a sky full of stars and to bask in rays of silver moonlight. By all accounts, it was beautiful, but there was a sourness to the fresh air that felt an awful lot like foreboding.

Sensations battered me left and right. Sounds and colors were duller, not as vibrant as what I was used to. The sheer cold of the air against my skin was numbing, carving through the flowing skirt and buttoned blouse I wore.

A single emotion was all I could snag, and it filled every crevice of this body until it’s joints began to ache.

Cordelia was worried.

I looked back at my car, a Nissan that had seen better days. Somehow I knew that she’d taken a beating on the long drive to the pack all those months ago, but that she was in good enough shape to run.

Which is why, as I stood there on the shoulder of the road, I knew that there was no reason the engine should’ve stalled. The minute I pulled over and lifted the hood to inspect it, another wave of emotion trickled through this body, along with a harrowing realization.

Somehow, I knew that magic had been involved.

It was dull, but there was a fragrant sort of darkness that tainted the air and mixed with the pungent smell of the exhaust.

A branch snapped just beyond the guard rail, too far within the darkness of the forest for the human eyes I stared through to make out. There were no other sounds, but the feeling of being watched, it was strong enough that anyone would take notice.

Much like the familiar rush of my own magic, a pulse of electrifying energy swirled in my stomach, but it carried with it something dour.

Just then, a pair of eyes gleamed from within the forest, right where the crack of tree branches had sounded. They were round and golden, peering through the darkness to where I stood.

“You do not frighten me.” My mouth moved, but it wasn’t my voice that came out. It was Cordelia’s. “I have lived a long life, but you are mistaken if you think I’ll part this world willingly.”

The branches shifted again, only this time the cracking worsened. Trees bowed as the wind kicked up, cold enough to make me shudder. Another wave of magic and I somehow knew that I needed to leave this place right now or something bad would happen.

I waited for my heart to leap through my chest, but the feeling never came. In fact, Cordelia felt oddly calm all things considered.

This was the first time I’d felt Cordelia’s magic for myself, and the intimacy between her and her gift was incredible. It was like an instrument she’d crafted with her own two hands and spent the last decade mastering all on her own. There was a fondness between the two, a mutual sort of respect that was astonishing.

Moving as quickly as a human could, I grabbed the charms around my neck and plucked the right one from the mess of tangled chains. The amber bottle was no larger than a quarter, but the oil inside was strong and fragrant.

It was the scent of autumn, of crisp leaves and spices, carrying notes of elderberry and holly.

It was warm against my pointer finger, it’s heat never once fading, as though the wind couldn’t touch it.

Hastily, I began to draw a sigil on the hood of the car. Lines crossed left and right, surrounded by a ring of two circles that overlapped one another.

situations. Magic sparkled in the oil like specks of silver, but it wasn’t as strong as it should’ve been. I could tell it wasn’t going to last very long, which meant I

forcing

to my stomach, and I

was going, another thought

handful of guards. They’d believe me when

minutes later, Cordelia let slip a

the car in thick waves, clouding the sky and temporarily

pedal to the floor, but the accelerator refused to budge. A flicker of panic broke through the stream of Cordelia’s thoughts, but like someone truly

a stop, collapsing against the curb as it let out a

out the passengers. There was a small park, completely desolate this late

was looking for until I pulled out a cellphone. I jammed my finger into the

hearing Cordelia’s voice rather

at the forest and the park, looking down the long stretch of road I was on, hoping I could make the walk, but somehow knowing that I wouldn’t.

foot in the future, and the other in the present. At least, that’s what it felt like when it slithered around her head, pulling a single thought to the

get out of this car, something bad

that led the hand that opened the door, along with a gust of acceptance

door. Closing it would only cause unnecessary sound. Every crunch of cold earth beneath

trees along the road, buried in the mulch of the playground, in the hedges that lined the paved pathways in

grasp an amulet I didn’t know the purpose of,

will accept my fate, but please do not let it

began to walk alongside the road, following it back into town where I knew the prison was located. It didn’t take long for the feeling of being spied on to grow to the point of panic. There wasn’t a joint

shrouded in a cloak the color of midnight. They straddled the median, rod

was to come, when a second appeared.

thoughts that hit me at the last minute. There was no way out of this, not in this aging body with the limited magic at its disposal, but I wasn’t going

of branches lashing my face was numbed by the cold. The creeping sensation of being watched-being followed, continued to grow, slowly closing in on me like a vice I couldn’t escape.

distant part of me knew

tire at an

me, invisible claws yanking me down as I fell. The impact knocked the air from my lungs, but as I lay on my back in this tiny

then out, pushing past the pain for a taste of oxygen. All the while, I stared up at the sky. The stars were bright, sparkling as if they were rivaling

a beautiful place to die.” A voice said, one that felt familiar in the same

shadows, but not nearly enough to tell who was speaking. Their face was shrouded by

to respond to me. The witch was so close-so unbelievably close that if I reached out, I could tear the cloak from her head without a

such thing. Instead, we tilted our head up, soaking in the

it?” Cordelia said, somehow mustering the strength to push us to our feet. “I’d tell you to join me, but we both know it isn’t your time yet.”

but by pure will alone, we remained

silky and smooth like waves of velvet.

it couldn’t be. Someone whose heart was