Fated Loss (Red Rose & Black Ash Book 1)

by Claudia Caren

  “So is this all you got?” Ash said. “Well, I overestimated you.”

  “We are just warming up,” I replied, but truthfully I was wiped out.

  I ducked and rolled out of the way of another blast of Dark Magic. Skylar tried to attack Ash from above, but she was having a hard time finding an opening. I blasted a fireball at Ash. But Ash deflected all of our attacks with a flick of her hand as if shooing away pesky flies.

  We couldn't keep this up forever. As the fight progressed, we tired while Ash seemed to get more energized. But there was no way to end the battle. The secret to defeating Dark Magic was still a mystery.

  I really tried, but I couldn't figure it out. Love against hate? What was I supposed to do? But without the secret, there was no hope of defeating Ash, so the only thing we did was avoid getting killed while time ran out. And it did.

  Suddenly, the fissures in the walls grew faster and split wider, making a sound like paper tearing multiplied by a thousand times. Dust and large chunks of rocks rained down from the stone ceiling while the room shook from another earthquake that signaled all the petals had become Ash's land and Astella had died.

  “It's noon!” Ash yelled.

  No, it's too late.

  ROSE

  Chapter 37

  As the rifts of Dark Magic reached Ash's throne, the room shook even more violently and started to collapse. The roof came down in huge chunks, and the walls started to fall apart.

  Ariel was on the other side of the room when a wall unexpectedly crumbled and buried her in an avalanche of stones. I stood there stunned and stared at the rock pile burying Ariel. The vision Ash showed me was coming true. And it just got even truer. While Skylar was also frozen with shock, Ash shot a ball of Dark Magic at her that solidified into a solid black cage.

  I ran toward them, but before I could reach my friends, the room exploded with a loud booom. The remaining walls instantly toppled, and the roof disintegrated to dust. All that was left of the throne room was the badly damaged floor and few piles of debris.

  Now that the room was gone and we were standing outside, my clothes got soaked with the heavy rain, and I could see a violent storm brewing overhead. Though there was one thing that I wished had gone but didn't. Ash stood there—her expression was as dark as the thunderstorm.

  “You and I have a private matter to settle,” Ash said.

  Logan was still under Ash's control, Ariel was buried under rocks, and Skylar was trapped, so the last thing I wanted to do was having to deal with Ash. But she gave me no choice.

  Ash spread her hands. That dreaded black smoke appeared again and drifted toward the stones on the ground. When it touched the pebbles, the stones moved and meshed together, forming a twenty feet long log of rock as thick as the trunk of a tree. The rope of stone became black and started to move. The head turned to face me, and I realized Ash had created the world's largest serpent.

  A bright red collar fanned out from the base of its head, and the serpent opened its mouth, displaying two white fangs and the cavern size hole.

  After it was done showing off its features, it struck aiming to eat me. I jumped out of the way just in time, and the snake bit the dirt. I ran and tried to get farther away from the head. But I forgot about the tail. When I wasn't expecting it, the tail lashed out and coiled around my legs. I tried to get out, but the serpent used its length to wrap me till my neck while increasingly squeezing me.

  The snake's jagged hide tore my clothes and scraped my skin. The hardness of the rocks was effective in cutting off my oxygen—too effective.

  I desperately looked around for anything that would help me get out, and I saw Ash standing with her hands stretched out to the snake and holding eye contact with it so she could control the serpent. That is my escape.

  While Ash wasn't looking, I concentrated and formed a sharp, pointy knife from the rain and shot it toward her. But suddenly the snake gave an extra tight squeeze making my aim inaccurate, and the dagger sunk into Ash's upper leg instead. Ash let out a loud howl and broke eye contact with the snake. Without Ash controlling it, the serpent went still then crumbled back to pebbles.

  I dropped to the ground and gasped for breath. After I got air in my lungs, I looked around for Ash. But she had disappeared. I scanned the battleground and turned at any sound except the rain pattering against the stones, but Ash wasn't there.

  I was starting to think Ash gave up (Of course, my life is never that easy.) when something heavy slammed into me from behind. I toppled over and landed hard on my front.

  “You are no match for me,” Ash hissed in my ear.

  She was sitting on my back with her knees around my chest in a straddling position. Her cold fingers gripped my neck and held me down. She began to murmur a spell, and I knew I couldn't let her finish.

  Using all my weight, I jerked my body sideways, flinging Ash off my back and into a pile of marble a few feet away. I got up, and using the rain, I sent another ice dagger at her. Ash melted it easily, but her green eyes narrowed to slits.

  “I. Will. Tear. You. Apart,” Ash growled.

  She got up. But instead of charging at me, she ran toward Logan, who was standing thirty feet to the left. No! I can't let her get to him. I sprinted after Ash, but she was closer and would get there first.

  The rain really poured down now, but I used that to my advantage. I formed a sheet of ice stretching from me to Logan, and using my already built momentum, I skidded to a stop in front of him just before Ash.

  A cloud of Dark Magic appeared in Ash's hands. “Step aside.”

  When I didn't, she smiled. Too late I realized that this was her plan. If she threw that ball of magic, I couldn't dodge, or it would hit Logan. And Logan couldn't defend himself.

  “No,” I replied.

  I had to protect my friends—even at the cost of my own life.

  Ash lobbed the ball of Dark Magic. My instinct said to duck, but I forced myself to stay still. The magic reached me.

  Getting hit by Dark Magic was the same as getting hit in the chest with a bowling ball—but even worse. The smoke turned to black sand and poured into my mouth. I tasted metallic blood as the sand became broken glass that cut my throat while making its way down to my stomach. Knives stabbed my lungs with every breath, and my bones seemed to dissolve into nothing.

  I collapsed to my knees. The shards of glass coursed through each vein, racking every single inch of my body with agony. Ash's laugh seemed a mile away, but I could still feel her giving me a hard kick in the ribs that was sure to leave a bruise the size of her foot. The force of her kick made me keel over and sent me sliding a few feet backward. My vision blanked out, so the only thing I knew was that I was lying on my side, barely able to breathe, while relentless icy rain sent needles into my skin.

  After a few seconds, my fuzzy and dim vision returned. I saw Ash standing ten feet in front of me pulling out her staff from a fold in her dress. She raised the scepter in the air and started chanting. Thunder boomed. Lightning split the dark sky. I tried to get up, but a burning iron fist clamped onto my heart, and I doubled over again.

  Everything that happened next seemed to be in slow motion. Ash finished her spell with a chorus of thunder and lightning. She laughed in triumph while flashes of light illuminated her face like something you would see in a movie with a mad genius. Except she wasn't a genius—she was evil. She pointed her staff at me, and from the orb formed a dagger-shaped cloud of Dark Magic that came toward me.

  No, I couldn't die now, I thought. I didn't finish my quest. I tried to move, but my body felt like it was filled with boulders. I couldn't even feel my fingers anymore, much less jump out of the way of an oncoming death sentence. I watched paralyzed as the blade came closer and closer.

  “I am sorry,” I muttered as an apology to Astella, to all the faeries, my parents, and especially to my friends and sister. All of which I failed to save.

  The dagger was just two feet from
me when I caught a movement in the corner of my eye. Logan ran out from the shadows and leaped in front of me, intercepting the Dark Magic.

  No! I screamed, but my voice didn't work.

  With a dull thump, Logan landed unmoving on the pavement.

  ROSE

  Chapter 38

  Several different emotions surged through me at the same time. Anger, rage, and fury at Ash. Shock, sorrow, and horror at what Logan sacrificed for me. But most of all love for Logan, who was always dependable, always kind, and saved my life countless times. Ash killing him was the last straw.

  All the emotions that raced through me gave me strength, and I pushed myself up, ignoring the pain. Nothing mattered now except finishing my job.

  “No, Ash you are wrong. The ones who love you are the ones who protect you. But to be loved, you must love in return. I don't think you are quite there yet,” I said.

  My fingers tingled and got warm. Now I fully understood how I defeated the Griffgon and the true secret to defeating Dark Magic. Love isn't just made of one thing. It is much more complicated than that. Love is a combination of trust, friendship, compassion, devotion, kindness, faith, and sacrifice. All of which I have for Logan and he has for me.

  The tingling in my fingers got stronger and stronger. I looked down, and in my clenched fist was a ball of swirling rainbow-colored magic that wasn't water, ice, fire, or nature. So it could only be one thing.

  Using all my might, I hurled it at Ash. Ash was so stunned she didn't move until it was too late. The magic hit her and let out an outburst of rainbow light that flooded in all directions and over mountains and Ash's castle. As it hit the castle, Ash's fortress began to collapse and crumble behind me. The cage holding Skylar cracked and shattered, and the stone pile burying Ariel turned to dust.

  As soon as the light touched me, all the pain vanished. Ash, however, slowly started to melt. Her hair became black sand that trickled down her shoulders, and her dress became wisps of smoke. Ash was like a melting ice cube except that she dissolved into dark sand.

  Ash stumbled a few feet toward me—her disintegrating hand reaching for my neck. But then her lower legs melted, and she fell onto her knees. Surprisingly, she made no further attempts to get up.

  “Don't think you have won yet, Rose,” Ash said. Now more than ever, her voice sounded like the pure hiss of flames. “I swear I will come back, and I will get even with the one closest to your heart!”

  If a pile of sand could look threatening, Ash succeeded. The last of Ash's face melted and was gone.

  For a split second, all the pressure, doubt, and stress I had felt during the whole quest lifted. I actually did it! I defeated Ash and got rid of her Dark Magic…at least for now. But a new feeling settled in—grief.

  By this time Ariel and Skylar woke up. They were a bit bruised and battered but otherwise ok.

  “Grea—” Skylar spotted Logan on the floor and became quiet.

  We gathered around Logan's lifeless body. I gently flipped him onto his back. There was a gaping hole in his shirt where he got hit in the chest by Ash's Dark Magic but no physical damage. However, starting from his heart and creeping toward his neck and arms, his veins were turning black. My arm trembled as I touched my fingers to the icy skin above his heart. Please be alive, I prayed even though he was sickly white and as cold as ice. A few still seconds passed. I removed my hand.

  “The Killing Curse,” Ariel whispered gravely.

  The sun was shining. The rain stopped altogether. The air was warm and fragrant and no longer reeked of tar. Instead of looming mountains, a carpet of green trees stretched out in front of us. I assumed all the petals were back to normal and no longer crumbling or getting bigger. Hopefully, the remaining faeries were still alive. They should be since Ariel is fine. But the gray clouds and numbing cold better matched what I felt inside.

  It's just you who will cause it in the last stand. You can't avoid it. You can't stop it. You will fail, Rose. All of these phrases—the words that made me doubt myself the most—cycled repeatedly in my head.

  More than just a friend's life shall end. Understanding dawned on me. Logan is much more than a friend to me. He is more than a boyfriend as well. He sacrificed his life to save mine. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't even be here. None of us would be here. But I couldn't ignore the fact that Ash was right. I caused my friend's death.

  Hot tears ran down my cheek. I buried my face in my hands and didn't try to fight the sobs that were welling up my throat. Why does life have to be so difficult and complicated? I saved the world, but I couldn't even save Logan. Logan, who saved me so many times, sacrificed so much to help on this journey, gave up his life to protect me. And I can't even keep him alive.

  For the next few minutes, I was lost in grief. I remembered the first smile Logan gave me. The smile that chased the fear from my heart and warmed it instead.

  I missed those deep hydrangea-blue eyes. The eyes that were so understanding and so warm.

  I wept even harder when I realized Logan won't be there for me anymore. He wouldn't be able to catch me when I fall physically or emotionally.

  I couldn't bear the ache in my chest as I recalled the time where he wrapped his only coat around my shoulders. He gave himself up for me this morning and right now.

  Something skated across my knee. A spark of hope ignited, but I smothered it. If I lift away my fingers and see Logan's dead and expressionless face, I was going to lose myself completely if I haven't already. The thing tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, but I still didn't move. I was afraid it was my imagination, afraid to hope, and afraid of being terribly disappointed.

  As the object brushed its warm fingers along my jaw, I realized it was a hand. The hand gently lifted my palms from my face. I slowly opened my eyes and saw Logan smiling at me.

  He looked a lot healthier. His hair was golden blond. His eyes were vibrant blue. His skin no longer looked like a dead zombie but normal. And the black veins disappeared without a trace. So the prophecy did come true but wasn't permanent.

  Relief, happiness, and joy washed through me. The tears stopped, and the heaviness in my chest lifted. Overwhelmed by elation, I bent down and kissed him. I suddenly realized what I've done and quickly pulled away.

  Logan grinned even wider. “Missed me?”

  “Don't ever do that again,” I replied.

  “What? Save your life or kiss you?”

  “The first one.”

  Logan brushed his thumb across my cheek and wiped away a tear. “I don't think I can agree to that.”

  The world narrowed to just me and Logan as his lips met mine. Each and every cell in my body buzzed with electricity. My heart was racing, then galloping, then soaring. And for the first time in weeks, I felt truly, deliriously happy.

  

  We found the execution tower lying on its side. It was the only part of the castle that wasn't completely destroyed, but it was in bad shape.

  The bottom half of the tower was gone, but the chamber on top was still intact—which was a bad thing since we couldn't find a way in. Ash melted the lock on the door, sealing it shut, and there were no windows.

  “Hello,” I called, hoping my parents could hear my voice through the walls.

  A muffled sound came from inside, but I couldn't make out the words. Thankfully, they were still alive. Now we just had to get them out.

  I scanned the tower. A small plant growing out of a crack in the stones caught my eye. I made that little plant weave in and out of holes and cracks in the tower then made the vine grow stronger and thicker splitting the rock as the plant grew. After I was done, there was an area of loose stone that could be easily knocked down. But I hesitated.

  I wondered if I should feel so nervous about meeting my parents, but after two years of being apart, they were like complete strangers. I don't know them any better than I know a random person walking down the street. But now it's time to rebuild a bond.
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br />   “Stand back!” I yelled.

  I gave the weak wall a shove. It crumbled easily and revealed my long-lost mother and father. They wore brown rags for clothes and were painfully skinny, but I recognized those faces from my distant memory.

  We stood there studying each other for a few seconds. I didn't know whether to run up and hug them or bow down on my knees. But Skylar did. She walked into Mom's waiting arms.

  Dad smiled, and his brown eyes sparkled. “Come here, Rose. We won't bite.”

  I walked up to them but unsure of what to say.

  “So my little girl is all grown up, attending high school, making friends, studying for the SAT, learning how to drive a car, risking her life to save the world, and succeeding. I am so proud and thankful,” Dad said.

  His voice was just like I remembered—smooth, deep, majestic, and, I guess, very kingly.

  “Yup, just like a regular teenager,” Mom said. “But you were never regular. You are special, Rose Kristal.”

  They wrapped me in a hug. Usually, a teenager would back away and say Jeez, Mom! You are embarrassing me! Especially if they are in front of their friends. But I didn't. I missed Mom and Dad dearly. Gramma and Gramp were great, but you just can't substitute for parents.

  “And we can't forget you,” Mom said to Logan and Ariel when she pulled away. “Thank you very much for your bravery and for helping our daughters. Is there anything we can do to repay you?”