SPELLBOUND
〈chapter twenty〉
"Any available units, Beacon Hills telecom is requesting an 11-5 at the communication towers off Cypress Lane," dispatch said through the radio inside of the Sheriff's patrol vehicle.
Ivy and Hayden were currently inside the patrol vehicle with Hayden's sister, Deputy Clark. "10-4, Dispatch. I'm in the area."
"Copy, Unit 5. A technician was sent over an hour ago and telecom hasn't heard back," Dispatch stated, as Ivy focused on the trees that the car passed by. "Copy, I'm 10-76."
Hayden rolls her eyes at her older sister, "You're gonna drag me to work every night?"
"If I have to," Deputy Clark responded, as Ivy sighed and listened in to the conversation between the two sisters.
"You can't keep an eye on me 24/7."
"You disappeared for three days. I'm keeping an eye on you for the rest of your natural-born life."
"I told you I was with Ivy." Ivy chuckles at the sound of her name being brought up into the conversation.
"Maybe you think you can do your own thing now. I don't care. You still need me. We look out for each other, remember?" Valerie stated.
Ivy sighed, in a way, Ivy understood Valerie's standpoint. She and Ethan always looked out for one another. She understood Valerie's concern and worry for Hayden. She too would worry if her brother disappeared on her without warning.
"For all I know, you could have been dead," Valerie stated, snapping Ivy out of her thoughts. Ivy leaned forward to join the conversation. She wanted to help reassure Valerie's nerves.
"Hayden was in good hands the whole time. I swear, no harm came to her."
Valerie gave Ivy a small smile, appreciating Ivy looking out for her sister. Even though Ivy had just lied straight through her teeth to the Deputy in front of her. It was probably better that Valerie never knew the real reason why Hayden disappeared for three whole days.
✯☾✯
The three of them finally arrive at the communication towers off Cypress Lane. Valerie stops the car engine and exits the car, before warning both Hayden and Ivy to stay in the car.
The two of them carefully watch Valerie approach the technician's car, which was on for some reason, before walking towards the building and entering it.
Ivy's phone buzzes, causing her to pull it out from her pant pocket. She sighs as she realizes who the incoming text messages are from. Ivy's phone buzzes again, causing Hayden to groan in annoyance.
"That's like the hundredth message he has sent you. Just answer him already, Ivy!"
"I can't, I don't even know what to say."
Hayden chuckles at her best friend's clear distress. "How about just answering whatever question he sent you?"
Ivy playfully rolled her eyes, "How about you? Have you spoken to your boyfriend?"
Hayden smiled, "Yes, I have. It's not very complicated."
Ivy frowns, "I know. It's just how do I tell him that I'm now on the enemy's side. An enemy that I no longer see as an enemy."
"You don't see Theo as an enemy anymore?"
Ivy shook her head, "How could he be the enemy after he saved us? But I doubt Liam would see past that. And besides, you know what I'm most afraid of."
"Yourself," Hayden stated, knowing that ever since the pair have come back to life, Ivy hadn't really been feeling like her normal self. Truth be told, none of the Chimeras did. But for Ivy, that feeling was stronger.
"Yeah."
The girls grew quiet, none knowing what to say to one another. Hayden decided to listen in on her sister, making sure she was safe. While Ivy scrolled through the millions of messages that Liam had sent her.
"Ivy, did you hear that?"
Ivy locked her phone and looked up, "Hear what?"
"Listen," Hayden told her, and listen is what she did. A voice was calling out for help. Hayden and Ivy gave one another a concerned look before they both slowly exited the car.
Ivy closed the car door and jumped when she saw her boyfriend's reflection through the window. "LIAM!" Ivy called out as she almost accidentally hit her boyfriend.
"Sorry!"
"What are you doing here?" Ivy asked as Hayden continued on listening in on her sister's movements.
"I sent you like a hundred texts."
"I saw," Ivy bluntly states.
Liam stutters, "You saw? That's it?" Ivy sighed as she looked down into the ground in disappointment. "How could you not tell me that you're alive?"
"Eventually I would have."
"Eventually?" Liam asked, hurt.
Ivy nodded, "Liam, you weren't even there when I died. You practically left me for dead."
"You were dead."
Ivy rolls her eyes, "Liam, please just go."
Liam and Ivy turned to the building in front of them as they heard gunshots from inside.
They heard a snarling sound as they saw a creature with bright white eyes approaching from the inside of the building. The creature throws the gate in the direction of Hayden, Ivy, and Liam.
Liam tells the girls next to him to run. He grabs Ivy's hand and the three of them run away.
"HAYDEN, IVY RUN!" They hear Valerie screaming for the girls, causing them to run even faster.
"Why is there something always chasing us?" Ivy yelled in frustration.
✯☾✯
Hayden and Ivy stop in their tracks once they realize that they hit a ravine. Ivy held out her arm to stop her boyfriend from falling over, seeing he had managed to fall behind a bit.
"Jump," Ivy and Hayden tell Liam.
"Are you kidding me?"
"Liam, just trust me," Ivy said before grabbing Liam's hand and pulling him back. Then they ran to jump over the ravine.
Hayden and Ivy easily made it across the ravine, Liam, not so much. Ivy quickly made her way towards Liam, trying to help him, seeing as he was hanging on the ledge. Hayden was quick to Ivy's side.
The creature also jumped across the ravine, blocking any path for them to run to.
"Do you trust me?" Liam asked his girlfriend.
"What kind of ridiculous question is that?" she replied. Liam grabbed onto Ivy's hand and let go of his hold on the ravine. Ivy quickly grabbed Hayden's hand, dragging her down with her. Both girls scream as they fall towards the bottom of the ravine.
✯☾✯
"Is he alive?" Hayden asked as Ivy stared at her boyfriend's unconscious body.
"How am I supposed to know?"
"He's your boyfriend!"
Ivy sighed before smacking her boyfriend across his face, waking him up. Liam groans as he regains consciousness. Ivy smacks him one more time before his eyes finally open, "What are you doing?"
"Had to make sure you were still alive, what else?"
"Oh, I can't move my legs. Argh, I think my back is broken."
"Oh, you'll heal," Hayden stated, annoyed that Liam had dragged them down into the ravine.
"He should be fine," Ivy reassured her best friend before the girls turned around to leave.
"Whoa! Where are the two of you going?"
"To find my sister and make sure she's okay."
"You two are just going to leave me here?"
Ivy sighed, "Hayden, go. I'll catch up." Hayden nodded and walked ahead.
"I swear you're an idiot. Pulling us off a cliff, really, Li?"
"I saved our lives," Liam rebutted.
Ivy rolled her eyes and bent down to Liam's level. "This time."
Ivy mumbles a quick healing spell to help Liam heal faster. "I helped speed up your healing ability, you should be healed soon enough." Ivy gets up and begins to walk away to catch up to Hayden.
"Wait, Ivy! Who saved it last time?"
Ivy doesn't look back knowing that the look on her boyfriend's face when she tells him wasn't something she was ready to see, "Theo."
✯☾✯
After leaving Liam behind at the bottom of the ravine, and reassuring Valerie that the creature hadn't hurt them in any way. Ivy was free to go, though Valerie insisted keeping Hayden with her. So Hayden gave Ivy her spare keys and Ivy left to Hayden's house.
Ivy desperately needed a nap. A big and scary creature with bright white eyes chasing them through the woods at night was enough to make Ivy crave sleep.
The creature's face wouldn't leave Ivy's mind. It looked exactly like the creature that was in the painting in the dread doctors' lair. The same picture that Theo had shown Hayden and Ivy.
Ivy sighed as she snuggled the blanket on top closer to her. She almost drifted off to sleep, when her phone dinged, a text message had just come in. Ivy groaned before reaching to grab her phone. 'I swear if it's Liam again...'
Ivy unlocked her phone to see that the text had not come from Liam, but from Theo.
Theo: Are you up?
Ivy: Yeah, what's up?
Theo: Where are you?
Ivy: Hayden's house why?
Theo: Great, I'll pick you up in 10
Ivy sighed, so much for that nap.
✯☾✯
True to his word Theo had picked up Ivy from Hayden's house.
"I'm surprised you're still staying at Hayden's."
Ivy gave him a look, "Where else am I supposed to stay at? It's not like I could go back to the McCall house, you made it clear, you didn't want Scott knowing I'm alive yet."
Theo nodded, liking that Ivy had been doing as he told. "You're right."
"Where are we even going?"
Theo gave her a smirk, "I think it's time to see what those powers of yours can do?"
Ivy rolled her eyes, "Good luck with that."
✯☾✯
Twenty minutes later, Theo and Ivy arrived at the same warehouse that they had been at when they were tracking Noah down. Ivy didn't dare question why Theo had driven them here, knowing it was better to just trust the man who saved her.
"What can you do?" He asked.
Ivy quickly allowed the flames to escape her fingertips, before watching them disappear. Theo was about to talk but Ivy's actions cut him off.
Ivy's eyes flashed yellow, as the magic inside rose up. Ivy mumbled "Forbearnan" and a ring of fire grew around them. Theo watched the flaming fire in amusement. He knew to have Ivy in his pack was a smart move, and watching her show off her magic just proved it to him.
Having Ivy under his control was going to be a whole lot of fun.
✯☾✯
Ivy had continued showing Theo what else she was capable of doing with her powers. She also discovered herself doing tricks and spells that she hadn't been capable of doing before she died. Maybe dying did have some perks.
Ivy dropped to her knees when she felt a power force pulsing through her body. She grabbed her head as she groaned in pain. Whatever was happening was powerful and stronger than anything she had ever left.
"IVY!" Theo yelled as he rushed to her aid, "What's happening?" as he tried to get her to tell him what was going on. But she continued screaming in pain.
Ivy's eyes flashed black, her eyeballs were completely black. Theo was thrown back a bit by this but thought that maybe whatever was currently happening to Ivy, could be of good use to him.
"Ivy, what do you feel?"
Ivy groaned, "Pain. It's like something inside me is fighting. I don't know, it hurts."
Theo nodded, not necessarily enjoying the fact that Ivy was in pain. "Ivy, stop fighting it."
"What?"
Theo sighed, "Don't fight it. Just let it in. You won't feel any more pain, I promise."
"But Theo, whatever is fighting inside of me. It's dark, evil almost."
Ivy didn't notice the smile that appeared on Theo's face when she mentioned the words 'dark' and 'evil.'
"It's okay, Ivy. I won't let anything happen to you. Trust me, Ivy. I'll keep you safe."
Ivy looked up at Theo, something inside was telling her to trust him that he was going to be true to his word. But then there was this small part of her to not trust Theo, to continue fighting whatever was happening to her. But the look of sincereness on Theo's face was enough for her. She gave him a nod, before taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.
She stopped fighting, allowing the darkness in. Her eyes open, completely black.