Ruby Morgan Box Set: Books 6-10

by LJ Rivers

  Behind us, I heard the familiar creak of the drawbridge lowering.

  “They’re coming,” Rowan called. His hand was clasped with Charlie’s, but I didn’t have the capacity to even begin to sort out the implications of his presence, or his relationship with my best friend.

  “This way,” Taryn urged, sprinting into a narrow street. Jen and I followed, with Brendan, Charlie, and Rowan at our heels, the centaurs flanking us.

  Every bone in my body hurt, my throat was sore and my mind foggy. It had been a long day and night, to say the least. But I couldn’t wallow in my own misery. Not yet, at least. Not until my friends were safe.

  Voices shouted in the distance, as footsteps pounded the ground somewhere behind us.

  Silently, Taryn guided us forward with his arm. We slipped through an alley and into another street.

  “Your Highness?” a familiar baritone voice said.

  I looked around to find Tallaks pushing a cart of delicious-smelling fresh bread towards us. I halted, making the rest of our group pause, albeit somewhat hesitantly.

  “We’re being followed,” I whispered. “Auberon has taken the castle, and his men are after us—after me.”

  The baker puffed up his already puffy chest, his brows knitting together. “The Sorcerer king has no business here. None in Avalen will bow to him.”

  I reached out to touch his shoulder, grimacing as I noticed the blue sparks, and lowered my arms again. “Be safe.”

  Shadows flickered from the alleyway behind us, and angry voices echoed through the narrow street.

  “Here,” Tallaks said. “Follow me.”

  I looked to Taryn, who simply shrugged.

  “Well, we can’t stay here,” Jen said. “Lead the way, old man.”

  Tallaks grunted, then pointed his finger at the open door to his bakery. “Through there. Hurry.”

  A fireball whizzed by, thundering into a window on my right.

  “The princess. She’s here,” someone yelled.

  Jen and I picked up speed, darting into the bakery with the rest of our group close behind us. A woman stood behind the counter inside. She looked up curiously. Mouth agape, she bowed her head at me. “Your Majesty.”

  “Please,” I said. “Tallaks said to come through here. We’re being followed. Auberon has taken the castle.”

  She quickly shot up to attention, bursts of flour clouding the air around her. “Well, then. This way.” She waved us into another room, nodding at the door. “Beam.”

  Taryn looked around, but Aranos was already lowering the beam the woman had pointed out, barring the entrance.

  “Good, that should buy us some time.” Straightening out her apron, she gestured with her chin at an enormous sack of what looked like potatoes. “Centaurs. If you please?”

  Clamouring issued from inside the bakery, making my heart speed up into a furious drumbeat. Anwinar trotted forward, lowering his head as he went, so as not to bump into any of the pots and pans hanging on hooks on the ceiling. “You want us to move it?”

  “Well, what else?” The woman rolled her eyes.

  The two centaurs picked up the sack as though it weighed nothing, and the woman quickly removed the rug underneath, revealing a trapdoor in the floor. Brendan proceeded to swing it open, a grin spreading on his face.

  “Ru.” He held his hand out to me.

  “Jen and Charlie first,” I said.

  They both opened their mouths to speak when someone started banging on the door.

  “Don’t argue or we’ll get caught.” I would have crossed my arms over my chest, but had to settle for my best glare.

  Jen hopped into the darkness below first. To my surprise, Rowan scooped Charlie into his arms, then jumped in after Jen.

  “Now you, Brendan.” I tapped my foot on the floor. “We don’t have time to argue.”

  “You better jump in right after me,” he said.

  “Don’t worry.”

  Shaking his head, Brendan swung himself into the opening.

  “Princess!” Taryn urged.

  I hurried to the trapdoor, but turned to the woman. “What is your name?”

  “Ygrin.” She smiled.

  “You coming with us, Ygrin?”

  She smiled warily. “I couldn’t leave my Tallaks. Besides, I have other ways to avoid those cretins.”

  “Thank you. And stay safe!”

  “You too, Your Majesty.” The door lit up orange, the familiar crackling of flames pounding at my eardrums. Ygrin shoved me closer to the trapdoor. “Now go!” In the blink of an eye, her clothes fell to the ground, and a tiny Pixie appeared, flour-dusted wings and all. She spiralled through the room and disappeared into a slit in the wall.

  I grabbed Taryn’s hand and pulled him with me, only now realising the trapdoor wasn’t big enough for the centaurs.

  “Anwinar!” I said, my voice breaking. “Aranos!”

  “It has been an honour.” Anwinar bowed, bending his front hoofs, and Aranos did the same. “Protecting you was always my purpose. And if you do not get out of here this instance, you will have robbed me of that.”

  A tear spilt over the brim of my eye as Taryn yanked me into his arms, and I briefly registered the sound of the trapdoor slamming shut as we tumbled into the darkness. It felt like riding a rollercoaster as we slid down what had to be the longest makeshift slide I’d ever been on. Swaying with the path laid out for us, we continued to rush downwards at an accelerating speed. The slide eventually began levelling out, and we hit the ground with a thud, Taryn standing solidly on his feet. He lowered me gently, so I could stand on my own. There was no sign of anything behind us, only a black void leading back to the bakery, separating us from the Crimson centaurs who willingly gave their lives to save mine.

  “Ru.” Jen’s voice echoed in the darkness. “Some light, please?”

  With a shaky breath, I looked down at the blue sparks of the mydredd snake. “Still cuffed.”

  “Oh, right.”

  Ahead, a globe of fire came to life, the underground tunnel lighting up to reveal the dirt surroundings and Rowan’s grinning face. He held the globe triumphantly over his head, and I narrowed my eyes at him, though he likely couldn’t see that. At least we had more light than the dim blue glimmer from the snake.

  “That was too close, Ru,” Brendan said, eyeing me with a frown.

  I offered him a slight smile, then took a deep breath. “Let’s run,” I said, regretfully leaving the centaurs behind. The six of us dashed through the tunnel, not knowing where we would end up or what would happen after this. I hoped Tallaks and Ygrin would be all right, though. At least I’d had time to warn the baker, whose powerful voice still lingered in my mind.

  Staggering, my hands flew to my head, and I fell to my knees. My vision blurred, and the tunnel vanished. Cobbled streets wound ahead as I scurried past a group of black-clad men with canes. I suppose they really were staffs, Sorcerers’ staffs to be precise. Yowling, I slipped between the feet of one Sorcerer, skidding around the next corner. More of the men in black were entering peoples’ homes, dragging them outside. Avalen’s people cried and begged, shielding their young and kneeling at the enemy’s commands.

  My breath caught in my throat as I spotted the old Goblin woman with the small girl I remembered from my first tour of Avalen. The girl who had given me a flower from the Goblin’s garden. She had her chin held high, her mouth turned down in defiance. I wanted to help them, but I couldn’t. My feet wouldn’t listen. Instead, I kept running this way and that, as if I had the very devil on my heels, which, come to think of it, wasn’t too far from the truth.

  Bouncing onto a cart, I bit into a piece of bread, tearing out a sizeable chunk. It was still warm, and I tasted the blend of delicious spices on my tongue. As I looked around, however, there was no sight of the cart’s owner. Tallaks had left his cart in the middle of the street. The surroundings faded once more, and I shook my head. I shut my eyes, and when I opened them again, I was back in the tunnel
.

  Jen kneeled before me, shaking me by the shoulders.

  “You with us, Red?”

  “Huh?” Rubbing my temples, I got back on my feet. “Sorry, I’ll tell you later.”

  “There’s an exit over here.” Rowan’s voice echoed through the tunnel.

  Taryn grabbed both Jen and me under his arms, running like a beast. The tunnel came to an abrupt stop, and so did we. In the centre of the dirt wall, however, was a door.

  “Do you know where this leads to?” I asked Taryn while wriggling free of his hold.

  “I do not. I have half a mind to leave you here, to be honest, so I can go outside to scope out our surroundings, though knowing you, that probably won’t happen.”

  I smirked, despite myself. Taryn and I had had somewhat of a rocky road together, but he was loyal to a fault. And he had come to know me well enough to understand the person I was.

  “You may do the honours, if you wish.”

  Taryn nodded, then pushed the door ajar, peeking outside. A gust of air rushed inside, the scents of salt and seaweed sailing in with it. “The sea?”

  “Looks like we’re underneath Avalen Port. Seems we took a shortcut.”

  “That must have been some shortcut,” Charlie muttered.

  Sliding the door fully open, Taryn stepped outside, followed by the rest of us. I looked up at the roof of timber, then out at the sea. We were standing on a narrow path, close enough to the water that the spray of the waves doused my skin. The air was misty, the early morning dark, and I couldn’t remember ever having felt this cold.

  Taryn closed the door behind us, and it all but disappeared. It was a perfect fit for the rocky wall, the frame and door itself covered in moss and rocks, seamlessly fitted so as not to be seen.

  “Where do we go from here, then? Do we summon the Serenae or something?” I almost laughed. The Serenea were vicious creatures, and no part of me believed we were any safer with them than with Auberon.

  “Halwyn!” Charlie said, adjusting her glasses. “Do you think they have sailed yet?”

  “Only one way to find out.” My shoulders slumped. “If we can find our way to the topside, that is.”

  “Anyone say topside.” Rowan was hanging lopsided, his torso above the water, his hand clasped around something on the rocky wall.

  A ladder?

  We edged closer as a group, my feet slipping on the wet surface, though Taryn kept me steady, while Brendan kicked small rocks and pebbles out of the way in front of me. Indeed, it was a ladder, leading straight up along the wall to a hatch in the timber above.

  When we had all arrived topside, we hurried down the docks, searching for Halwyn’s boat. Looking up at the city, my heart sank. Fires burned at odd places, and people were screaming. A couple of Pixies darted into the air on the other side of the nearest house, only to catch on fire as a fireball slammed into them.

  “They’re everywhere,” Jen whispered.

  “Over there.” Brendan pointed at a small boat, slowly drifting out on the water. Wadyan was pushing the boat away from the dock, looking back at his father.

  “Run!” Taryn shoved me forward, and the group of us sprinted out into the open, trying to catch our one shot at escape, with the eagle Shifter taking up the rear.

  “Halwyn!” I screamed, catching his attention. He waved his arms at Wadyan, and the two Goblins frantically moved around, trying to steer the boat along the pier.

  I legged it, my feet hammering against the woody ground, when an arrow plunged into the water next to me. I swung onto the pier, behind Jen, Brendan, Charlie and Rowan. Another arrow splashed into the water behind me, then another. Jen grabbed Charlie and hurled her into the boat. Rowan and Brendan jumped over the railing next.

  “Come on, Ru!” Jen waited for me. As I ran past, she locked her hands around my waist, then sent me flying. I crashed into Rowan’s arms, the young Sorcerer catching me in a steady grip, then lowering me into Brendan’s embrace. Next, Jen leapt into the boat as it began sailing away from the pier.

  “Taryn!” I yelled.

  The eagle Shifter spun away from us as two black-clad men came running towards him full pelt. Dashing onto the dock, however, was Kit. He bolted onto the pier, past Taryn and his attackers. While my cat made his escape, Auberon’s men lunged at Taryn. The Eagle Shifter unsheathed his sword and slashed it through the air. What the others were, I didn’t know, but chances were they had no formal training, and Taryn was a sight to behold. He was a warrior. He cut and slashed until his enemies were but pools of blood on the ground. With an unsettling smile, he turned up the pier with determined steps, blood smeared across his lips.

  Kit bounced off the edge of the pier like a lion pouncing on his prey. His paws caught the edge of the railing, and I reached with my still cuffed hands to help him climb inside. Raising my arms, creating a bowl between my bound wrists, I lowered them around him. I glanced back at Taryn, who was nearly at the edge of the pier. He had to hurry. His former smile died, and I sat up straighter, releasing Kit.

  Taryn roared. Stumbling forward, he caught himself with his palms. An arrow protruded from his back. Lifting one hand, he unclasped the pin on his cloak, and within seconds, he reemerged as an eagle. Wings spread wide, he took off into the sky, shakily flapping his wings. With the arrow still sticking out from his back, and blood dripping down, he rose higher. More arrows rained after him. One sliced through the tip of his wing. He shrieked, struggling to stay suspended. I reached out, stretching myself as far as I could go as the eagle plummeted from the sky. And straight into my still cuffed arms. The moment we connected, blue sparks crackled around him and his body started changing back into a man.

  The weight of him pulled me forward, my feet losing touch with the ground. Someone grabbed my legs. Rowan, maybe? Then Jen and Brendan were there, bending over the railing on either side of me, taking Taryn’s arms before he could slip out of my grasp. Together, we hauled him into the boat, the three of us sinking down beside him.

  Panting, I dared one last look at the port. My insides crumbled at the sight. Fires roared, and people were running through the streets. Black dots emerged from every corner, all the way down to the pier. Auberon’s soldiers had taken hold of Avalen, and there was nothing I could do about it. I had been defeated, and Avalon’s fate was no longer in my hands. My body stiffened, and no tears fell from my eyes. I was completely numb. My vision had come true, and I had failed them all. Slumping back down, I fixed my eyes on Halwyn. His grim face was downcast, staring at the blood pooling from Taryn’s wounds. Behind us, Avalen port disappeared, and the sound of voices faded as we sailed into the mist.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The sea lapped around us in gentle waves as the day advanced, and for once, I was grateful for the darkness of this world. Halwyn was tending to Taryn’s wounds, while it seemed Rowan had taken charge of the boat. I still had no idea what his role was in all of this, though I couldn’t deny that he had whisked us away from my father’s grasp. But why was he even at Auberon’s side to begin with? I’d been so sure he was the one who had tried to shoot me with an arrow after seeing him in Gwyn Tala Glade. Now, however, my mind was a jumbled mess, and I wasn’t sure I knew up from down anymore. What I did know was that we had been defeated. While we had thought we managed to conceal Morgana’s death long enough for it to not reach Auberon’s ears before my coronation, I hadn’t counted on Puck. No one had confirmed it, but it had to have been him. I knew he was damaged, but I hadn’t realised to what extent. Mynydd Dewin was likely the only place he knew as home, no matter how badly he’d been treated. And no matter what he had done, I couldn’t bring myself to be mad at him for returning to his masters. Thinking about him only made me more sad.

  “We need to decide which way we’re going,” Rowan called from where he stood at the helm.

  “Crochan island, of course,” Halwyn called back.

  Crochan Island! The portal! Yes, that was exactly where we needed to go.

 
“Are you sure?” Rowan asked.

  Halwyn wrapped Taryn’s injured arm in what looked like seaweed, huffed a little and patted the Shifter on his head. Taryn’s torso was already bound in the same leaf-like substance, and his breathing had started to become steadier. “Yes, Northerner, I am.”

  “Very well, then.” Rowan steered the boat eastward, and a spray of water washed over the deck.

  It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that Halwyn would want to return home, but it gave me hope that we would make it out of this place. There was nothing left for us in this world, and though I wasn’t sure what awaited us on the other side or how many years might have passed, it was better than spending the rest of my days running from my father.

  Wadyan leaned over me, a vial in his hands. “Allow me?”

  I wasn’t sure what he was asking, but his eyes drifted to the mydredd around my wrists. “Oh, yes, please.”

  He stepped closer, pouring the familiar black liquid over the snake. As soon as it came in contact with the blue sparks, it evaporated, and the glow vanished. The snake fell off me in a hiss. Wadyan grabbed it and tossed it into the water.

  I rubbed my wrists and sighed as I leaned back into Brendan’s arms. We had made it out. All of us. At least for now. But then what? My father wouldn’t stop searching for me, and my friends had barely made it. Next time, we might not be as lucky, and I wanted my friends safe. This entire adventure had turned into a living nightmare, one that would never end if we didn’t leave this place. I’m sorry, Mum, I thought, but I’m not strong enough.

  I glanced at my angels. They sat huddled together opposite me, Jen murmuring something to Charlie. What would I have done if I had lost either of them? I couldn’t lose anyone else. And if we stayed, I would keep putting their lives on the line. I had brought them here, to this wretched place, in some childish pursuit of saving my grandmother. And I hadn’t even managed to do that. Looking at them now, I knew what I had to do, and though it pained me to leave Jack and Erica behind, at least they had acclimated to this world. And if the rest of us could only get back to Earth, then I could surely ask Taryn to send word to the remainder of our little pack from Talani after we were gone, and they could decide for themselves where they wanted to call home.