Crescent Legacy Nicole Taylor (top young adult novels .TXT) 📖

onto my side. Where was everyone? Where was Boone?

A clunk and a creak echoing across the clearing forced my head to rise, then I turned my face away as white light streamed from the base of the hawthorn. A burst of magic flowed over me, pure and intoxicating. Power like that couldn’t come from Carman. It had to be…

The doorway was open!

The light was blinding, and I raised my hand to shield my eyes from the glare. Was this it? Was this how the apocalypse began?

“Skye! Get out of the way!”

The sound of Aileen’s voice tore me out of my stupor, and I twisted, rocks digging into my back as I commando rolled my ass out of the line of fire. They were here!

A silent shockwave exploded from somewhere in front of me, and the trees around the clearing shuddered violently.

Hands grasped me under the arms, and I was dragged away from the hawthorn. I kicked and cried out, reaching for the light and where Carman had been. I couldn’t see her, the light from the fae realm far too bright. Had she already crossed?

The athame… Where was the athame?

“Shh,” a familiar voice crooned.

Warm eyes met mine, and I crumpled against a familiar strong chest. Someone had given him a shirt. It wasn’t black and red checks, but it covered all his indecent parts.

“Boone?” I whispered.

He smiled. “I’ve got you.”

“But…”

He glanced up, his body radiating with a power I’d never felt before. His true form…

“It’s not over yet,” he said. “Can you stand?”

I nodded, my fingers finding the curve of his jaw. “Let’s finish this.”

Chapter 19

People were running past us as Boone helped me to my feet.

Sean McKinnon, Roy, Maggie, Mairead, Mary Donnelly, Fergus and his furry companions, Mark and Fiona Ashlyn, Mairead’s parents—Beth and Gregory, Cheese Wheel Aoife, Father O’Donegal, even Mrs. Boyle. They all rushed through the forest and into the clearing and formed a circle around Carman, who was pinned to the ground by a burst of golden light.

Aileen.

She stood above the ancient witch, her hand outstretched and her silver-streaked hair flowing backward. Behind them, the base of the hawthorn was alight with a blinding glow.

Aileen was the only thing standing in the way of Carman crossing over, but something amazing was happening. The villagers formed a circle around Carman, their arms linked at the elbows and their crystals clutched in their hands. Even Donkey had joined the chain, Fergus and Mary grasping her mane. Jack stood on his best mate’s back, his teeth bared, and the little spear of quartz on his collar glowed a bright shade of yellow.

I ached all over. I could feel my joints grinding together and the cuts on my knees and arms stinging as I moved toward the circle. Boone’s arm slid from my waist, and his hand grasped mine as I wound my other with Aileen’s hand. Sean yanked Boone into the circle with a grin, happy to have his best friend back and mostly in one piece.

The entire village of Derrydun surrounded Carman, and the power of their crystals joined together. As Aileen and I placed our magic into the circle, the web tightened, forcing our prey to cower.

“No!” Carman screeched. “Human scum!”

“Well, I never!” Mary Donnelly exclaimed.

“It’s over,” Sean said. “You can’t hurt us anymore.”

“We won’t stand for it,” Mairead added.

“No one messes with Derrydun,” Beth said.

“No one at all!” Cheese Wheel Aoife cried.

Donkey hee-hawed, and Jack barked to add their support.

The light of our circle grew, whipping up a gale as Carman fought back with the Legacy she’d stolen. I felt Boone’s power rise beside me, clear and crisp as it was when he’d grasped my ankle. We hadn’t been enough to fight her then, but all of us together was just enough to bind her bitch ass in place.

“I have to close the doorway,” Aileen said, her gaze meeting mine. “My spirit will bar the way, then you can end her. The athame is in my boot.”

“No!” I exclaimed. If she did that, she would… I couldn’t lose her again.

“It’s the only way.”

“No, you can’t sacrifice yourself. Not again.”

“It’s the only way,” she repeated. “The loss of one life is better than the loss of millions. I know you wanted to save the witches magic, but it can’t be done.”

I desperately racked my brain for another solution. Boone was safe, his connection to his mother severed, but it would mean nothing if Carman crossed over into the fae realm. We had to kill or imprison her… Any of those would do.

My gaze caught Mairead’s, and I had an epiphany. We had to give Carman a new home. One she couldn’t get out of this time. One that would allow me to take back what she’d stolen.

“Can you hold her without me?” I asked.

“Skye…”

“Can you or not?”

“Not for long.”

“I’ve got a better idea,” I declared, hoping my crazy idea would save everyone, not just a few. “Stall her for as long as you can.”

“Skye—”

“Trust me, Mum.”

She choked, a tear falling from her eye. “That’s the first time you’ve called me that.”

“Third,” I corrected her, breaking away from the circle. “Buy me ten minutes.”

Aileen nodded, grasping Boone’s hand. He stared at me, his wild hair blowing in all directions.

I blew him a kiss, then I was off.

My boots pounded on the path as I sprinted toward the village. The icy air burned my lungs, and my heart beat faster than it had ever beaten before. I was so not made for track and field. Short distances were my best friend. Why was the cottage so far away? I never did sign up for those mixed martial arts classes…

A branch whipped my face as I sped past, opening a cut on my cheek. Ignoring the sting, I pushed on, adrenaline fueling my flight. The coven was counting on me, so was the village. I’d vowed to protect them whether they knew it or not, and seeing them all standing there, all of them human, facing a thousand-year-old suped-up