Alpha Asher By Jane Doe

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.

of 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

side of the car and hopped inside, forcing it

tug to my stomach, and

wonder where I was going, another thought floated

be there along with a handful of guards. They’d believe me when I said I was being chased, they’d

sputtering just ten

from the car in thick waves, clouding the sky and temporarily

flattened the gas 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

collapsing against the curb as it let out a final gut-wrenching

then turned to look out the passengers. There was a small park, completely desolate this late at night. There were no writhing tendrils of shadows in the forest, only unending darkness, the kind a human-witch or not-couldn’t peer through.

what I was looking for until I pulled out a cellphone. I jammed my finger into the power button and

huffed, hearing Cordelia’s voice rather

forest and the park, looking down the long stretch of road I was on, hoping I could make the walk,

bones and forced you to pay attention. It was almost like it had one foot in the future, and the other in the present. At least, that’s what it felt like when

I get out of this car, something bad is going

that opened the door, along with a gust of acceptance that swelled in

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

road, buried in the mulch of

bowed my head, my hand snaking up to grasp an amulet I didn’t

my fate, but please do not let it

to grow to the point of panic. There wasn’t a joint in my body that didn’t ache, and I knew that I wouldn’t last long like this, especially on

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

of what was to come, when

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

The stinging pain of branches lashing my face was numbed by the cold. The creeping sensation

make it far, but some distant part of me knew I

tire at an unnatural

to seize, and joints ached, the pain turning my bones to lead until my body refused to respond. The ground rose up to meet 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 clearing, I realized

of my concentration to breathe, forcing air into my lungs and 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

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

nearly enough to tell who was speaking. Their face was shrouded by a

me. The witch was so close-so

we tilted our head up, soaking in the moonlight

place to die, isn’t it?” Cordelia said, somehow mustering the strength to push us to our feet. “I’d tell you

swayed, but by

The voice chuckled,

someone evil, it couldn’t be. Someone whose heart was black with darkness wouldn’t sound so kind-so