The Keepers: Sienna (FREE Prequel)

Sienna - CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The flames tore through the tomb with a reckless vengeance, endangering everything in their path. The heat was unbearable, threatening to envelope Sienna in its relentless path of destruction.

Flames sparked by her grief but they couldn’t touch her. 

Nothing could touch her.

Heat flooded her cheeks, her veins bulged, her heart raced uncontrollably; her body had been overrun by a force she had no control over. Driven by rage, grief and devastation, Sienna had given in to the powerful energy within.

She sank to her knees, exhausted and depleted, but the fire inside her raged on as much as the fire surrounding her.

In the distance, she heard the moaning of her name through the crackling of flames; groans of pain.

But she couldn’t stop it, couldn’t snap out of it.

There was a blur of movement around her as the groans faded away. Drawn to oblivion, she edged toward the heat of the fire.

A strong pair of arms reached for her through the orange glow of angry flames; drew her back from the inferno that threatened to devour her. “Sienna!"

Somewhere in the distance, far beyond a darkness she’d never experienced before, she heard Archer’s voice. It jerked her back, beckoned her, and the haze slowly began to lift as she emerged from her trance.

“Sienna, stop it!” Archer dragged her out of the tomb and into the tunnel, coughing from the thick blanket of smoke that filled the air. He dropped to his knees, grabbed her chin in his hands and snapped her name again. “Come back to me, baby.”

She blinked as his face came into focus. Dark eyes, full of concern, were pinned on her. His brows were furrowed in a harsh frown, his jaw clenched in a grimace of pain.

Archer.

She glanced around them, cringing at the flames that licked the walls in the main tomb. She shifted her gaze back to his, confusion twisting everything around her.

And then it hit her like a dark, dirty reminder that would never let go.

Sarah was dead.

Her wail of anguish joined the sounds of the crackling flames and she began to cry; uncontrollable sobs that ripped through her.

With the sound of a caged animal, Archer yanked her toward him, crushing her against him. Trembling furiously, he staggered to his feet, drenched from the heat, and gathered her in his arms.

Cradling her, he stumbled through the tunnel, his own devastation splashed across his face, lacing his muttered ramblings. 

They tumbled out of the tunnel into the cold night air, gasping for the fresh air that had evaded them in the tomb.

In the distance, Sienna was vaguely aware of her grandmother rushing toward them. “Sienna! Oh my God, Sienna!”

Archer swayed down the stairs of the platform and, in a clumsy movement, lay her down on the forest debris. Grunting, he collapsed on his side next to her, his shoulders heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

The smell of burnt flesh snapped her attention away from his face and she recoiled at a black mesh of scorched skin on his right arm. She glanced around them, trying to make sense of her surroundings in the darkness, and cried out when she saw the still frames of Declan and Ethan on the ground nearby. They were dirty, drenched in sweat, their clothes a singed, torn mess; their bodies blackened from the heavy smoke.

She scrambled over to them, shouting their names, squealing with relief when she found movement. 

Weak, drained, but alive.

And then the cold realization struck with a force that threatened to devour her and she stared in horror at her three Keepers, shame washing over her in a way that could never be cleansed.

“Oh my God,” she gasped, steely fingers wrapping around her heart. She looked at the two men before settling her gaze on Archer. “I did this?”

Archer glanced at his brothers. Panting, he straightened until he was on his knees. He didn’t reply and she struggled to breathe as the impact of what she’d done finally sank in.

“I channelled them,” she whispered, her voice sounding foreign to her own ears. “My powers, our connection... my God, I could have killed them!

“Sienna.”

“Warrick –”

Archer shook his head. “He bolted.”

She scrambled to her feet, gaping at her Keepers, reaching for fragments of memory that might clear the blur of what had happened. Her powers had overwhelmed her, an easy task once her guard was down and rage had set in. She’d lost herself to the magic and destroyed the tomb. And when she’d drained her own energy, she’d used the sacred bond she had with her Keepers to channel theirs. It was a special connection, seldom used because of the dangers that came with it.

But she hadn’t had the strength to stop herself.

Mortified, she squeezed her eyes shut, unable to shoulder the horror of almost having destroyed what she treasured most in the world.

Her Keepers.

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Author's Note

Enjoying The Keepers?  Please show some love by voting and/or leaving a comment.  I love to hear from my readers. Another chapter still to come!  Thanks for reading!

Rae Rivers