Journey 'The Chosen One Trilogy: Book Two' by Mireille Chester Page A

use me to kill these
beings?
    The crowd parted and Braw made his way
to me. He stood a few feet away from me and addressed his
people.
    “Hayden comes to us, willing and able
to aid us on our quest for a pure world.”
    I opened my mouth to contradict this
statement but changed my mind when the guard dug his fingers into
my arm.
    Braw closed the distance between us and
touched the black staff Brice had talked about to my arm. It didn’t
look like stone. It seemed to be made out of black crystal. I felt
the magic flow into me in waves. The energy it created caused my
muscles to cramp and I fell to the ground as a spasm raked through
my body.
    My eyes widened as a scream filled the
inside of my head. It split through me and my own scream joined
into the chorus. I tried to push it out of my mind, but couldn’t.
Whatever this magic was, it was stronger than even
Ternach.
    I felt the energy reach deep inside of
me before projecting itself outward. I heard my screams being
echoed by the six tied to the posts. I looked around wildly until I
focused on Brice, expecting him to be one of the screamers. He was
staring at me, his eyes wide. Sonia had a smile on her face.
Another spasm shook me and I tried to keep the energy from leaving
me. I jerked as it broke through my barriers and I heard a wet
ripping noise. A look at the posts showed me six animals, cats and
dogs, all of them falling to the ground. An instant later, their
human halves joined them.
    Braw pulled the staff away from me, the
magic sucked away from me and the screaming stopped. I lay on the
ground whimpering. I couldn’t catch my breath and my head as about
to explode. My escort grabbed me roughly by the hair and hauled me
to my feet.
    When I tried to get my feet under me
but couldn’t he pulled again, then decided it would be easier to
drag me back.
    “Let go of her!”
    I heard Brice’s fist connect with
something that crunched in the other guard’s face. Brice’s arms
cradled me and lift me up. “Shush, Hayden. I’ve got
you.”
    I leaned my head against his chest, my
eyes closed against the pain in my head. “Why, Brice?”
    “I’m not sure anymore.” He started
walking back toward the castle.
    I started to sob. “Oh, god. They’re all
dead. I killed them all!” My whole body shook with shock. “I felt
it in my head, and I tried to push it out. But I couldn’t! And then
I felt it projecting out of me, so I tried to hold it in. And I
couldn’t do that! And now they’re gone.”
    Brice opened the door to my cell and
stood in the middle of the room for a moment. He turned back to the
door, closed it, and sat with his back against the far wall with me
still in his arms.
    I opened one eye so I could see his
face. He was frowning, staring at the door. He glanced down at me,
gave me a sad smile, and tucked my hair behind my ear.
    “I was thirteen the last time I saw him
do that. It made sense at the time.”
    “How could you have thought that? You
saw them die! And how are you still alive? That thing, it projected
everywhere. Why didn’t it get you?”
    “I’m not Namael, Hayden. I’m
human.”
    I frowned. “But I’ve seen you shift.
You’re a jaguar.”
    He shook his head. “Sometimes, when a
Namael or a Maj gets separated, Braw is able to capture the animal
spirit. He traps it in a stone. Whoever carries the stone can use
it to shift at will.” He pulled a stone out of his pocket to show
me. “I got this when I was thirteen. Braw said my orders were to
get into the Namael’s guard, find you, and get you back. He said
you could help us rid the world of demons.”
    The door opened and William looked in.
“Hayden?” He glanced at Brice and turned his attention back to me.
“Are you alright?”
    I tried to look better than I felt.
“I’m ok, William.”
    “Captain?” The tone wasn’t sarcastic
this time. Obviously, Brice had scored some points with him after
punching the other guard.
    “Close the door and lock it,” Brice
ordered.