by K. C. RILEY
FALLEN
Secret Society of Souls, Book 2
K.C. Riley
Copyright © 2021 by K.C. Riley
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in an article or book review.
All characters and events depicted in this book are a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-1-7374439-3-3
ISBN: 978-1-7374439-2-6
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
About the Author
Books by K.C. Riley
1
“Men are vile things,” Mrs. Ellington said. “Well, except for my Reginald. And you boys, of course.” It was strange...the way she spoke about her dead husband as if he was still alive.
My mind flashed back to Mrs. Ellington’s cellar, the muddy pool of seaweed, the books of spells, and old photos of Mr. and Mrs. Ellington. I wondered if Aunt Norah had held up her end of their bargain. Had she really brought Mr. Ellington back to life?
“For centuries, men have oppressed and abused the divine feminine for being smart, beautiful, resourceful, and intuitive.” She led the way down a stone hall of statues and portraits of different women from different periods of history as we all followed. I still couldn’t believe there was an entire secret world beneath the floors of All Saints.
I remained a few steps behind her, skeptical of the sweet and innocent act she poured on like honey to biscuits. They say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Mrs. Ellington, with her perfect Marilyn Monroe brunette hair, her perfect figure, her perfect everything, was all enemy. Apparently, so were Cassie, Josie, Mason, and Boyd.
Regardless, I held my tongue as we walked. I had to if I wanted to get Jake back. The more I thought about the lies Cassie and Josie had shoveled my way, the more their betrayal burned me up. They knew all along about Jake being an angel. And they knew all along about magic and secret societies. The guilt was scribbled all over their faces. Mason’s and Boyd’s too.
“Mathematics, philosophy, astronomy, beauty. Women have always been ahead of their time, sensitive to the understanding of nature, science, and the mystical arts, how it’s all interwoven. However, despite our insight and evolution, we’ve always been suppressed to nothing more than vehicles of the devil. Pagan riffraff. Heretics and witches.” Mrs. Ellington pointed out each portrait as we passed by.
“Hypatia of Alexandria, a genius in philosophy and mathematics, stripped naked and stoned to death with roof tiles by a mob of angry Christians. They called her work and understanding of the universe an abomination. Joan of Arc. She was said to have spoken to God himself. From peasant girl to warrior and leader of the French Army during the Hundred Years’ War. Her fate for bringing men to victory? Burned to death for being a witch.”
The portraits and the stories of the women in them went on and on. What history had done to them was horrible.
“Lucrecia de León, a great seer of her time foretold the defeat of a weak king, Phillip II in the Spanish Armada of 1588. The result? He had her imprisoned, tried, and tortured by the Inquisition for being a heretic.”
Bridgette Bishop, Sarah Good, the list of innocent women that had been burned at Salem for being witches continued on until coming to an end. Mrs. Ellington opened the large wooden doors in front of us and continued talking.
We stepped into a stone chamber room, a temple filled with ancient looking markings on the walls that breathed and pulsed in an electric blue light as though they were alive.
“This room has been dormant for hundreds of years, ever since Sir Isaac and his students were burned alive. It was you, my dear, Lizzy, that set their souls free. Unbeknownst to you, and all of us really, it was your actions that brought life and magic back to this place.”
I stared at the markings, mystified as to how everything was connected—following my brother’s ghost to the statue of Remy and Sir Isaac’s crypt, finding the map to the amulet and not realizing that any of it had anything to do with freeing Sir Isaac’s spirit or his students.
“It’s a spell room. Sir Isaac spent a lifetime building it and this place.” Mrs. Ellington looked around the room, wide-eyed and filled with awe. Everyone did. “He wanted a place where his students could practice the mystical arts safely. However, we all know how that turned out.”
We continued walking through the secret chambers beneath All Saints until she opened another set of doors. The sound of her stilettos clicked against the granite floor. “I know it’s late and there’s much to see, but this is what I wanted to show you. The Halls of Alexandria.”
I had to admit. I lost my breath. The doors opened to a library the size of the school’s football field.
Everything was built in what looked like limestone. From the Greek columns to the Egyptian and Greek statues that were as tall as buildings. Not to mention the walls upon walls of ancient scrolls and books.
The place smelled of incense. Myrrh or maybe frankincense, with a mix of something floral and sweet. Huge spheres floated at the ceiling illuminating the place in golden rays of light that warmed my skin like the sun.
“There’s no traditional electricity here.” Mrs. Ellington smiled. She then leaned in and whispered. “It’s all magic. We’re so excited to have you. You’ll learn soon enough.”
There were still no words. Alexandria was nothing short of fantastical, a forgotten world where time had stood still.
I followed Mrs. Ellington down a stair case to the main floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed someone working at a stone table piled high with scrolls. A woman in white sat elegantly poised while scribbling at the manuscript in front of her. The sparkle of white silver hair was a no brainer. Sister Clara. I should have known she was in on it too. It all started to make sense—her comment about always being either in the chapel or the library. Clearly, she meant this library.
“You already know Sister Clara,” Mrs. Ellington said.
“What?” Sister Clara took off her glasses and looked up as though surprised. “I told you she wasn’t ready. These are sensitive matters, Wynona.”
“Oh, she’s fine. Aren’t you, Elizabeth?” Mrs. Ellington never did give me the chance to answer. “Of course, she’s ready. Sister Clara is the current guardian and librarian of the place. We both are. She’s dedicated a lifetime to translating all the scrolls retrieved and rescued from the first Library of Alexandria before it was destroyed.”
“Hello, Miss Maverick.”
“Sister Clara,” I said, my tone sharper than a knife. All this time they had all been pretending to be my friend. There were so many lies to cut through. What did she ex
pect?
“This was not how I wanted you to find out.” Sister Clara glared at Mrs. Ellington. “But what’s done is done.” Sister Clara placed her glasses back onto her nose and went back to whatever she was doing. “It’s late, Wynona. I’m sure Miss Maverick needs to rest.”
“You’re right. It’s just all exciting,” Mrs. Ellington said.
“I don’t understand.”
The woman that practically killed my mother placed her hands on my shoulders like we were best friends for forever. “We’ll talk all about it tomorrow.”
I gritted my teeth and squeezed my stomach tight to keep from puking. If she hadn’t raised Aunt Norah’s sick spirit from the dead in the first place, my mother would still be alive. “What about Jake? You said you could help.”
“And so I shall,” Mrs. Ellington said with a smile as sweet as pie. “However, these matters take time and patience.”
Yeah? Well, I was short on both, and so was Jake.
“Your lessons will start tomorrow,” Mrs. Ellington said.
“Cassie and Josie will explain everything you need to do to get started in the morning. Your regular classes will be rearranged to accommodate your new studies. You’ll meet the rest of the girls then.”
“Girls?” I asked. “What about the boys?”
“At the moment, we find it more appropriate to harness the strengths of our young women separate from our young men. At least at this branch.” Mrs. Ellington glanced at Sister Clara who looked a bit uneasy.
“How many branches are there?”
“The Society exists all over the world. There are many,” Sister Clara said. “Mason and Boyd will be pursuing a different tract within the organization. One highly regarded and needed, a different type of magic.”
“So many questions,” Mrs. Ellington continued. “It will all be clear soon. I promise. In the meantime, do get some rest. You do look a bit tired.”
Yep. I still hated her. But more than that, I hated that I needed her. And yes, my head swarmed with a thousand more questions, however, I decided not to push. It was better to stay quiet. I would watch, study, and learn my enemy. Besides, they all needed to believe that I was one hundred percent onboard.
“We’ll get Jake back, don’t you worry about a thing,” Mrs. Ellington said.
Sister Clara rubbed her temples. “Josie, Cassie? Please show Miss Maverick the way back to the dorms.”
And the girls did just that.
No one had said a word until Josie closed the doors to the main entrance at the altar with the crystal skulls.
“Look,” she said, “we’re sorry we couldn’t tell you.”
“It’s complicated,” Cassie interjected. “Dangerous. You wouldn’t understand. Not yet.”
Try me, was the first thing that almost slipped out of my mouth.
I couldn’t understand it. I had told Cassie everything about my mom. She knew what I had found in Mrs. Ellington’s cellar, and she knew Mrs. Ellington was responsible for raising Aunt Norah’s spirit back from the dead. Not to mention what Mrs. Ellington had done to Kai. What part of the woman is evil were Cassie and Josie not getting?
Cassie sighed. “The dorms are this way.” She took the lead through and past the caverns I had first entered from the statue in the chapel. “There are secret passages all over the school,” she said. “Sir Isaac created them in case students ever needed to hide or escape.”
Mason placed his hand on my shoulder. “Liz, we really did want to tell you, but there’s just so much—”
“Mason, we can’t,” Josie said.
“We really are your friends though,” Boyd added.
They were only making it worse, the betrayal. “How much further until we get out of here?”
“This way.” Cassie took a left and we ascended several flights of stairs. A few minutes down a darkly lit corridor and we had come to a dead end.
“Kuresche Pitar Moblem,” the girls said as their eyes turned black.
“We’ll see you guys tomorrow,” the boys said.
The girls nodded.
Cassie then turned to me as she proceeded to walk into the wall. “Come on.”
She stepped through the stone wall until it had completely swallowed her while I was left dumbfounded.
Josie was the next to follow and had all but disappeared when she stuck her head back out. “It’s safe, don’t worry. It’s just a spell.”
I turned back and looked at Mason and Boyd who both egged me on with a nod.
I took a deep breath and placed my hand into the wall just to make sure it was indeed safe.
I couldn’t explain how, but with another step, I was instantly back in the girls’ bathroom.
Josie peeped out from inside the stall to make sure no one else was in the room to see us. Cassie followed, and so did I. And okay, fine, so there was something cool about magic after all. Walking through walls. Who knew? I almost smiled at the thought. But that was overshadowed by the bitter taste that was still lingering in my mouth, being lied to by the girls. Despite now knowing they were a part of a secret society of witches, they still hadn’t said a word about any of it. Nothing that made sense, anyway.
As far as I was concerned, as a formal member of The Secret Society of Souls, they weren’t the only ones with access to a library full of magic. If no one was willing to talk, I would figure out how to save Jake myself. Besides, even if they did say something, anything, they still couldn’t be trusted.
The girls walked me to my room. “Thanks,” I said coldly.
“Liz, please don’t be mad.” Cassie’s eyes appeared to be full of regret.
It didn’t matter.
“We really are your friends,” Josie added.
With a smile as flat as a tire, I nodded and closed the door.
What a night.
I was still wearing the dress from Josie’s birthday party. The silver-pink gown that once glittered like the moon wasn’t so glittery anymore. Not without Jake’s laugh, his rugged, sexy smile, and the way he would look at me like I was the only thing he ever wanted. No one had ever made me feel like that. Warm. Desired. Special.
I climbed out of the dress and into some shorts and a tank top. I pulled my dark brown hair up into a stubby ponytail, plopped myself on the bed, and fell backward next to Jake’s black sweater. I wrapped myself in the rough but soft fabric as though wrapping myself in the curl of his arms. The feel of the material reminded me so much of him, rough around the edges, but oh, so cozy and the perfect fit once broken in.
I slipped the sweater over my tank top as I contemplated how the world had gone completely mad. There was no end to it.
I stared at the ceiling as I pretended like Cassie and Josie’s betrayal didn’t hurt, a lie that was the furthest from the truth. How could I have been so stupid? And who could sleep?
An hour later, I finally got up to turn off the light when the sound of something slid under the door, a note. As soon as I read the words out loud, Kuresche Pitar Moblem, the note engulfed into flames just like the invitation to The Society. But this note wasn’t signed. Attempting to avoid third-degree burns, I threw the note into the air and within seconds it had completely combusted into nothing. But that wasn’t all.
The wall attached to the radiator slid open—a secret door.
On the inside of the door was an illuminated drawing of a dragonfly. Goosebumps tracked up and down my arms as I finally got why the stupid radiator never worked. It wasn’t a coincidence—my room number, 483, and the drawing of Mom’s Familiar behind a secret door. Aunt Vye said my mother, along with Norah and Jonas, knew this castle like the back of their hands, that for a short period, they had all gone to school here and studied magic. I wondered if my mom and her siblings had been a part of The Society. It was the only thing that made logical sense.
I stared at the black entrance in my wall, nervous as heck as to how far I wanted to go down the rabbit hole when my phone beeped. A text from Cassie.
We’re sorry.
We know you’ve got questions. Lots of them.
Meet us tomorrow...
After school...
Vye’s...
We can’t say anything till then.
I continued staring into the dark entryway, wondering if it was all a trap.
Trap or not, Jake needed my help. I wasn’t going to sit around and do nothing. Mrs. Ellington had been twenty steps ahead of me the entire time. I needed to figure out how to beat her at her own game.
With bated breath, I stepped through the doorway which led to a set of stone stairs. The door closed behind me but there was still enough light to see from Mom’s dragonfly.
Panicked at the thought of being trapped, I said the magic words from the self-combusted note, and the door to my room reopened. It wasn’t long before the door closed again, but, at least I knew I could get in and out as I needed. Still nervous as hell, I descended the stairs toward a flickering light.
The granite floor was hard and cool under my bare feet. And every so often there was a glowing marker of a dragonfly on the wall.
I followed the source of light to an entryway. The light was just like the spheres in the Halls of Alexandria, except this sphere was smaller and flickered with flames of fire. The pathway led to a stone door with Egyptian hieroglyphs on it.
“Kuresche Pitar Moblem,” I whispered, hoping the magic words from the note would work again.
They did. The door unlocked and slid open.
It was the main library. I peeped around the foot of an Egyptian goddess with a large disc that stood like the sun above her head. Isis, I believe. I still couldn’t get over how massive the statues in this place were.