spellbound | book #1 | completed

X L I I

[edited: 17/03/2018]

Hilda did not waste any time. As soon as her son had disappeared into the cloud of black smoke, she pulled herself up, using the countertop as support, and began to make a portal of her own. She knew that she could not run through the city in the state that she was in now, with torn clothes and a pain that shuddered through her whole body. Her eyes stung as she tried not to choke on the stench of dark magic. She could not bear to look at her destroyed kitchen, though she knew it would be easy enough to fix, nor could she look at Annika's unconscious body. She hoped that it was only a sleeping spell affecting her—for her son's sake, of course. Annika was dead to her now.

A swirl of green came to life in front of her, though it was weak and did not look as though it would stay open for very long; Hilda had used too much magic fighting Annika. Without hesitation, she flung herself into the portal like a cat pouncing at a mouse and ended up in August's office in Central Hall only a few seconds later. After centuries of portal travel, she was accustomed to landing on her feet, and this is what she did now, though her knees threatened to fall from under her. Still, a relief washed over her as she was finally able to breathe again.

"Hilda?" August questioned immediately. He was sat behind his desk wearing a puzzled expression, his grey hair dishevelled and his face paler than usual. "Portal-use is forbidden. You know that. What—?"

"Shush," Hilda interrupted urgently, much to the surprise of the Principle Warlock. "There is something far more important that I must tell you."

The warlock stood up with a stony expression, and it was clear that he was about to reprimand Hilda for being so rude to him. Hilda did not give him time to.

"We must assemble an army at once. I know where The Dark Ones are, August." She brushed her clothes down then, realising that in order to appear in control, she must look it, though the task proved difficult with so much debris and dust covering her clothes. "They have taken Remy, and Maksim has already taken a portal to find her."

"The mortal girl?" he questioned, concern crossing his features. "And the key?"

"She still has it," she nodded, unsurprised that August was more concerned for piece of metal than the people in danger. Perhaps it was this attitude that had turned Annika into what she was now. "If we do not get to them in time—"

"Well, where are they?" the warlock asked, stepping out from behind his desk frantically. "Where are The Dark Ones?"

"Nil Lake." The words tasted like poison on her tongue. "They are at Nil Lake. Please, August. You must assemble an army before it is too late."

He nodded and pressed down a button on his timepiece; Hilda assumed it would be the one that summoned the other Council members. Her suspicions were confirmed a moment later when Celeste Quinn, one of the only Council members that Hilda could tolerate, entered the office. Her amber eyes looked surprised to see Hilda, most likely because cause she was covered in thick soot. 

"Yes, Principle?" She raised her eyes politely.

"Celeste, gather as many warlocks and witches as you can in the Central Hall. Gather our armies and any volunteers willing to battle The Dark Ones. Create as many portals as possible to Nil Lake. We have found them."

Celeste did not need clarification on who August meant; she, like everyone else, had seen the effects of The Dark Ones for far too long. Instead, she simply nodded with wide eyes and let the door swing close behind her as she left.

"You should join them, Hilda. I wish for you to be in charge once you get to Nil Lake."

"I will not wait for the army to be assembled. I am going now. My son needs me." She began to make another portal, ignoring the exhaustion that seeped through her as she did. When the black waters of Nil Lake appeared in the middle of a green ring of magic, she let her arms fall to her sides and took a deep breath. Her stomach turned at the sight of the eerie place.

"There is something else," she said quietly and turned back to face August. "Something you must know."

"And what is that?" He tilted his head to the side, no doubt noticing Hilda's solemn expression.

"It is your daughter, Annika." She could not help but scowl as she said her name. "She is not ... well. She attacked me; she did this to me." She motioned to her shredded dress and bruised body. "She is practicing dark magic with my son."

August scoffed. "I can assure you that that is not true. My daughter would never do such a thing."

"Wouldn't she?" Hilda asked disbelievingly, and gulped down the instinct to shout. "Because that is what I thought, before she tried to kill me. She wants to marry Maksim so badly that she has turned to Ackmard, his brother. She thinks that this is the only way to get him. She has gone mad, August. Your daughter is a Dark One."

"You are wrong. Not my Annika." There was something in his voice that did not sound completely sure, and she wondered what he had seen that had made him doubt her. She did not think that he would believe her, had told him only because she felt as though she had to, but it seemed as though a part of him had already known.

She glanced at the portal again. Nothing had changed; the black and grey landscape still did not look any more appealing than it had a few moments ago. Still, impatience clawed at her. "I do not have time to argue with you, but I thought that you should know the truth, even if you do not wish to believe it. Your daughter cannot be trusted."

She made an attempt to step towards the portal, but August caught her wrist and pulled her back. His thick eyebrows were furrowed. "I know that there is nothing I can do to stop you, but you must be careful. The lake is a void portal, and anyone that falls through it will be lost. Do you understand?"

Hilda nodded with pursed lips and pulled her arm from his grasp. 

"I will begin to send the army out immediately. Get the mortal girl and your son and leave the rest to them. And please, Hilda, try to remember that Ackmard is not your son anymore. Your son has gone, now."

She nodded a final time, though the words meant nothing to her, then stepped from a world of green into a world of void of anything but grey rock and shadows. The portal immediately closed behind her.

There was no returning to Astracia now, not without saving her son first—or, perhaps, both of her sons, if she was very lucky.