were just hysterical ramblings about winter, snow, and all of the ways she had been wronged by my grandmother in the past, the present, and even the future.
“Stop!” I threw a ball of fire at Eliza. It grazed her face but didn't injure her.
“I'll give you what you want. Just leave them alone.”
I shocked myself. How did I so easily form fire and throw it? Where did that
come from – inside me? Am I capable of being just as dark as her?
“No, Mara,” Gram cautioned.
Before she could finish her warnings, Eliza struck her and sent my
grandmother spinning. With a thud, she hit the hard ground.
I held up another ball of fire. “Don't make me use this."
I had Eliza's attention now. "You think your little ball of magic scares me, Marina?"
"I'll give you what you want. I'll release the binding that was put on your magic." I extinguished the flames and blew a breeze at her. "I have the power you seek."
Eliza's eyes brightened.
"I'll only do this if you stop hurting Gram. And, you must promise to leave
us alone once this is done.”
“Fine.” Eliza's cold black eyes pierced through me. She pointed at my
grandmother, who was lying motionless on the ground. “I'll agree to your demands, but only if you bind her magic, also.”
Confidently, I stepped closer to Eliza. “Deal, but how do I know you will keep your promise and leave us alone forever…all of us?"
"My word is not enough?" Eliza asked with a smirk.
Don't fight her, I warned myself. I shrugged, feigning indifference. "Fine. I will take your word as an oath, but Miles is part of the deal. I want him to come
to live with us – permanently.”
“Whatever you want, Marina.” She spun around and marched towards my
grandmother. Standing over her, she said, “You are going to return everything she stripped from me.”
Why didn’t she protest about Miles? Come to think of it, she didn't evenacknowledge him. How can a mother willingly give up her child? My mind raced
with all the realities of her promises. She’s not going to keep her promise, even if I kept mine. She will never leave us alone, and she’ll only keep my brother to hurt us. There’s no way I’m letting her take him from us.
Calming myself, I said, “We need to go to the forest behind my house."
Eliza raised her eyebrows.
"It’s the only place with enough magic to cast this kind of spell.” I looked up
at the moon, trying to process my thoughts, and an idea came to me. "We must
go before the sun rises, or I won't be able to break the binding.”
“Cedric, put them in the back of the truck,” Eliza ordered. Then, she turned
and pointed her long, sharp fingernail at me. “You will ride in the front with me,
my darling daughter. We have so much to catch up on.”
Cedric Drygen threw my struggling father into the bed of the truck and
began to tightly bind his wrists and legs with cord. He growled and punched him
in the face. “You're lucky the girl is here and wants you alive. If it was up to me,
I would feed your bloody carcass to the animals.” He gave my father one last kick in the ribs as he hopped out of the truck and turned to glare at my grandmother. “I wouldn't try anything stupid, old lady, or I'll make you sorry.”
Gram crawled into the back of the truck while Cedric watched. I stood back,
expecting him to do something to make it difficult for her to get into the truck’s
high box herself. Instead, he just scowled at her.
Next, Cedric picked up Miles and tossed him in, next to my father. My little
