CHAPTER 189

A maternal feeling overwhelmed him as more images came. The Nirumbi hunting deer in the woods. Sitting around the owl as she told them stories. Letting her play with their children.

She spoke to the mystical creatures of the woods, pleaded with them to band together and find someplace safe, somewhere away from humans. He watched as many of them died, from forest fires, deforestation, and even men in white coats with swords. So many painful memories surfaced, and the pain filled him up until he threatened to burst.

And then it would shift. Long walks with Nirumbi elders, speaking about philosophy to a giant bear that walked on stilted legs, flying through the sky with an emerald serpent. There were peaceful times amidst the chaos, and almost none of them involved power or magic of any kind. She had formed bonds with the others, bonds that had eventually cost her life.

His own face appeared. There was an upswell of hope that was almost scary to experience, and then she was speaking to him with her clacking beak. The world was still now, save for the sound of his own heart beating deep within.

"You should know that magic like yours can be quite powerful, but only if it can be controlled. Be warned that it has a life of its own, very much like a roaring fire. If you aren't careful, it will consume you."

The words resonated with him, and he contemplated the blade of magic in his right hand. He could drive it into Leeds right now, sever the bond between spirit and body and banish him from the world.

There's always a cost. They were his own words now, and they gave him pause. For the first time in hours, he truly saw the brutality of the magic he had summoned. It had indeed become a wildfire, one that threatened to escape him. If he destroyed Leeds, it wasn't just on a physical level, but a spiritual one. Immortality required a high price to achieve, but what was the cost of destroying a soul?

There were suddenly too many questions, and he could feel the pressure building in his head. He had summoned this magic, and it demanded an outlet, craved the change that would come once it was released.

I am not just a structure in the forest. The stag was watching him from the edge of the clearing, its dark eyes brimming with power. I am also the ground beneath your feet, and the trees around you.

Mike screamed, desperately trying to regain control of his hand. The blade was swinging down in slow motion, aimed for the center of Leeds's chest. The magic had been born of rage, and it hungered for the demon's blood.

Your true power isn't something that grows from within. The stag walked toward the trees, immune to the slowing of time. It flicked its tail once and then looked back at him. It is also your connection with me and with others.

"Aagh!" Fiery pain lanced through his shoulder as he tried to force the blade to stop. Leeds' eyes had widened in terror as the blade moved closer to the demon, now, less than a foot away.

When last we spoke, you did not carry such an earthen aura. He saw himself through the owl-woman's eyes once more, but now he saw the magical aura that surrounded him. It was a cloud of colors that sank deep into the ground and spread out like tree roots. It is very much like the fae, but also the magic of the forest.

The fae. The forest. His mind flashed to Titania, then back to the incident in the clearing with Abella. The Queen of the Fae was triggering a memory of his own.

This little shit stain wants to be king of the forest. Besides fucking up the flow of my woods, he is also the reason you cannot get home. He couldn't tell if he was remembering the cabin's words or hearing them live in his head. Your compassion and kindness have brought you some very powerful allies.

Allies. From the corner of his eye, he saw Yuki summoning a barrage of ice and skewering the Nirumbi. Dana was frozen mid-kick, sending another one of their warriors across the clearing.

Someone must care for the forest children. He was the owl-woman now, holding out her eye to Mike. He could see the concern in his own face, the lines of despair that were already forming. This was the Mike he had been, the one who didn't know that he would never see Velvet alive again.

Yuki took the eye from the owl-woman's hands, and then Bigfoot leaned in, his body smelling of cloves. Below him, the steady humming of the forest was beating in time with his own heart as the owl-woman's final memory came to a close.

Now sleep and be one with the woods, Bigfoot told her as everything went dark.

The blade was inches away, and Mike's eyes locked on his hand. He had become so lost in his rage that he had forgotten who he was, what he was meant to be. His magic had been summoned in a fit of rage, and he could now feel it simmering beneath his skin, spreading through his body like a poison.

Driving that blade into Leeds would kill him, but it would change Mike forever. Over the last nine months, his actions had not only shaped his magic, but had changed him. Acts of love, lust, and kindness had changed him for the better. Would participating in this act of rage do the same?