“You really do have a death-wish, don’t you, Sera?” Rumpel grinned. “Guess I’ll have to kill another of your friends…”
She watched as he turned to Ixion, moving to throw the spell directly into his chest. If he succeeded in doing so, Ixion would be killed. Taking a spell like that directly to the heart would mean instant death. Having only one trick left, she prayed that it would work.
“How about a wager, Rumpel?” she smirked.
“Wager?” Rumpelstiltskin sneered. “And what do you have to offer?”
“I promise to not try to escape ever again and give you the children you want without any struggle,” she frowned. “You said you preferred things easy, right?”
“Hmm… I suppose that is fair,” he tilted his head. “Add him into the pot and then tell me your wager.”
“Him? Why do you want him?” she turned to Ixion, biting her lip.
“He may not be a child, but I could use a new Midas,” he smirked. “He’ll fit the bill nicely.”
“O-okay,” she prayed once more that he hadn’t noticed the small act she had done when she had first awakened at the motel. “If I win, you will release all of the children and return to your original form.”
“Original form?” he laughed. “This is my original form, dear! But alright. Deal.”
“What’s in your pocket?” she asked slowly.
Rumpelstiltskin frowned at the question and then laughed. “My pocket? Nothing, of course! You lose, dear!”
“Show me,” she smirked.
“Alright,” Rumpel gave her a smug grin as he turned his right pocket inside out and revealed nothing.
Then he turned the left one inside-out.
And a crescent moon charm—Serafina’s charm—fell to the floor.
“You lose, Rumpel,” Serafina smirked.
“You! You tricked me!” Rumpel glared and then paused, smirking. “No matter! I can still kill him and ta—”
Serafina watched in satisfaction as Rumpelstiltskin began to age in front of them. His body began to weather and she watched his eyes widen in panic.
“Your original for is without the magic, Rumpel,” she grinned. “How old were you again?”
“You… NO!” Rumpel cried, his body weathering every second.
“The bet was made,” Serafina said, “you lost.” Taking a step forward, she drove her foot into the graying lump of his belly. “Take the defeat with some dignity.”
The two watched as he withered away to only bones, the bones then also deteriorating and turning to ash.
“Whoa,” Ixion marveled. “Did you… did you mean to do that?”
Serafina nodded. “Before he knocked me out,” she explained. “I wasn’t sure it would work, but…”
Ixion chuckled weakly and nodded. “Guess that answers it, huh?”
“Guess so,” she said, turning as she heard the hauntingly familiar sound of a baby’s crying.
Rushing towards it, she saw her daughter in a small basinet. Rushing towards her child, she reached down and picked her up, relishing in the feel of her baby against her.
“What about the other children?” Ixion frowned, looking around the empty room.
“The magic will return them to their parents,” Serafina whispered.
“Does she have a name?” Ixion stepped beside her.
“Bailey,” Serafina smiled. “Her name is Bailey.”
“I think it’s a great name,” Ixion grinned. “You did it, Sera!”
“We did it,” she corrected him.
“So, what now?” Ixion looked around as the room began to vanish, leaving them in the middle of an empty street. “Well, that was weird.”
“His magic is gone, so is his home,” Serafina frowned and looked down. “As for… would you be willing to come back with me? To my home?”
“Would they accept me?” he frowned.
“Some may tease you at first,” she grinned. “Get used to the nickname raklo in the beginning, but we are a lot more open to outsiders than before. Especially with me coming back alive, I’m one of their prized healers.”
“Well, then yes,” Ixion smirked down at her. “I’d love to go home with you.”
Epilogue
She could still remember it all. Every awful detail.
But she now looked back on those memories and the new ones she’d formed since with a smile.
Awful though they were, things had come of them—magical things, one might say—that she could never bring herself to regret. Every night since then—every night with little Bailey and Ixion—had helped Serafina remember how wonderful her life could be. She could still remember the pain, yes, but now that she was once again with her people, safe and sound, there was little reason to resent it. She was back: back to her senses and back with her people. She loved them for that, knowing this was exactly where she was meant to be.
It was her time to be happy, and with her daughter in her arms and her in Ixion’s own, it was very, very easy to be happy.
Especially knowing that Rumpelstiltskin no longer was out there, plaguing the world.
Serafina had decided to continue training in combat as well as reclaiming her role as the camp’s healer, while Ixion, who’d had a few trials to face before he could join, had joined with Jerock as a warrior for their people. Serafina, having seen firsthand what he was capable of, assured the elders it was a wise decision. And while, long ago, she had refused to watch the fighting that went on in the ring, she now she not only enjoyed the spectacle, but she even went so far as to participate in a match or two.
Especially when Ixion was her opponent.
She smiled at her most recent memories of her people celebrating her return. Wielding neither the disgust nor the animosity she’d expected, they’d instead hailed her as a hero for defeating one of the world’s great evils. And even when a traveler appeared and said that she’d promised them an entire case of blackberry wine and discounted wares, the voivode could only muster a defeated look in her direction and a coy grin as they made good on her promises. It had, after all, been for the greater good.
A golden opportunity.
Again and again her people—their people—celebrated. They celebrated her success, they celebrated the safe return of little Bailey, and they even celebrated Ixion’s arrival. And when they’d run out of reasons to celebrate, they’d decided that any of those hadn’t been celebrated nearly enough for their liking. Feasts, song and dance, and stories. Oh, the stories! Serafina had lost count of all the retellings, and as others took up the mantle of telling them she began to hear new bits—more dramatic and harrowing details—weave their way into place. The tapestry of hers and Ixion’s struggles, the fall of Rumpelstiltskin, had begun to be woven.
And for this her people had another reason to celebrate.
The entire community had shown up for the event and they all added their own cheers as the voivode took to telling the tale, and Bailey offered a small giggle and a clumsy clap as their leader’s booming voice told the tale of how she’d been reunited with her mother. Serafina smiled at this—she’d found more reasons to smile, and her aching jaw was proof of that fact—as she nestled further into Ixion and listened to yet another retelling.
The End
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About the Author
Megan J. Parker lives in upstate New York and is normally found lounging in the writing office with her husband and fellow author, Nathan Squiers. Since the debut of her first novel, Scarlet Night, Megan J. Parker has gained international recognition and has been a bestseller in paranormal romance and dark fantasy. Her first novel, Scarlet Night, also was a runner up for 2013’s Best New Series Award on the blog, Paranormal Craving. In 2017, she became a USA Today bestseller with her title, Dark Melody.
Nathan Squie
rs resides in Upstate NY with his wife and fellow author, Megan J. Parker. Nathan is usually found in his writing lair where he is either typing away at his latest work or staring out the window as he plots a new idea in the subspace of his mind. His first series, Crimson Shadow, is a bestseller in both Dark Fantasy and Horror categories. Along with that, his Death Metal novel two awards in 2013 for best paranormal thriller and best occult. Nathan Squiers was awarded 2012’s best indie author of the year and has since then been rampaging the literary world with his take on vampires and the paranormal world.
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The Last Daughter
Monica Leonelle
The Last Daughter © copyright 2017 Monica Leonelle
Copyright notice: All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
The Last Daughter
How did Milena van Rossum die?
Sirena Guerrero has spent the last eighteen years hiding from the supernatural government that murdered her entire family, save one. When her twin sister turns up dead, she travels to New York City to get answers. But she struggles to re-enter the Archworld after so long away, and her old alliances aren’t what they used to be. Can she follow the trail and and enlist the help of others to find the answers she’s been looking for all these years?
Brie van Rossum is devastated when her mother dies suddenly in a plane crash. As she fights to discover her new normal, she receives shocking news that changes everything. But her erratic behavior is causing tension with the people she loves, and she can’t seem to remember many of the things they’re accusing her of. Can she overcome obstacles in the midst of strange supernatural events surrounding her?
Sirena
“I need a reading. Not that tarot bullshit. An Archworld reading.”
Sirena’s entire body vibrated with excess energy as she waited for the young blonde girl behind the counter to pull out large, leather bound notebook. She didn’t need the reading, she needed information on her sister’s death. But first, she needed to see if this old alliance would be of any use to her eighteen years later.
The teenage girl stared at the notebook, thumbing through the pages, pressing her lips together. A wrinkle formed across her forehead. Finally, she looked up, a smile plastered across her face. “Harmon’s not in the shop right now, but you can come back at 1pm when he gets back from lunch.”
Sirena leaned in, crossing her arms over the glass counter that separated her from the girl. She stretched out her fingers, calmly sliding the notebook to the side. She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “I need that reading now, actually.”
The girl’s mouth dropped open. She nodded, moved to the counter behind her, and picked up the phone.
She turned her back on Sirena, speaking quietly into the mouthpiece. “She’s pretty insistent,” Sirena heard her telling the person on the other line.
Insistent. Hah. Little did the earthlie girl know what Sirena would do if she didn’t get her way.
She hung up the phone. “He’ll be out in a minute,” the girl said brightly. “You can look around until he gets here.”
Sirena nodded, though she had no interest in looking at earthlie trinkets. The shop had shelves and tables full of crystals, tarot decks, stones, candles, orbs, pestle and mortar sets, amulets, essential oils, statues of saints, and ornate jewelry. She wandered to one of the tables and picked up a light blue crystal. She squeezed it in her hand, but couldn’t feel much energy, if any, from holding it. She tossed it back into the pile of useless crap earthlies bought to make themselves feel connected to her world, the world of the descendants of archangels and archdemons. The Archworld was made up of the Hallows and Nephilim, warriors for their respective gods and collectors of earthlie souls.
With her twin sister’s death, she was now the sole rightful queen of the Hallows, the archangels’ army on earth. But the New Order, led by President Mateo Vega, had snatched that from her nearly a hundred years previously, when they wiped out her entire family and the archangel Michael’s bloodline.
Milena and she escaped as newly born babies just a few days old at the time of the coup. They were placed into hiding at opposite ends of the earth so they could grow up and someday, restore Michael’s bloodline.
A door opened and Harmon ambled into the room like a small bull, knocking into tables as he squeezed through the cramped shop. He stood over six feet tall and had a wide bust that barely fit through a regular sized door. His dark features contrasted his plump, pink face.
“What seems to be the issue?” he asked irritably.
The teenage girl’s mouth dropped open again, but she didn’t speak. She held out her palm toward Sirena, as if to direct attention away from her own incompetence.
Harmon’s eyes settled on her, dawning with recognition. “Sirena!” he exclaimed. “You don’t look a day over twenty.” He paused. “Still,” he added for emphasis.
Her body hadn’t aged a day in seventy-seven years.
“Can we talk,” she said. It wasn’t a question.
He frowned, looking away. “I don’t know, Ri. I got clear of Archworld business years ago.”
She smirked. “You’re in the biz if I say you are. Now, come on. We have a lot of work to do.”
She walked past him, into the back rooms of his store. Not much had changed since she was last there.
“Where are you going?” he asked, following after her, albeit slower.
She didn’t answer; he knew exactly where she was going. She bust through door after door, despite his protests.
She opened one last door and emerged into his family living room/dining room combo. Jos, Harmon’s wife, and Kizzy, his second cousin, sat at the dining room table, chatting over food.
Jos stood up immediately when Sirena walked in. “How dare you,” she accused, her eyes zeroing in with recognition. “You aren’t welcome here, Hallow.”
“Nice to see you again too, Jos,” Sirena said.
A weapon clicked to her left side, and she saw a teenage boy pointing a shotgun at her.
“No, Luca,” Jos said, eyeing Sirena. “Put the gun down.” She shifted her gaze back to Sirena. “Don’t you dare touch him. I will rip out your heart even if it costs me my last breath.”
Sirena smirked as Luca, confused by the exchange, lowered his weapon. “Your son, I’m assuming?”
She scanned the room for other family members; satisfied, her eyes landed on Kizzy, who looked to be in her mid- to late thirties. The last she’d seen her, Kizzy had a teenage Hallow look about her. “I see you’ve let your Diviner powers go. Shame, because I need them right now.”
“What is the meaning of this?” Harmon asked, bursting through the door behind her. “You come into my shop, you demand my presence, you disrupt my family, you intrude on our private life—”
“Calm down,” Kizzy said. “She’s looking for a Diviner. Jaelle!”
Sirena heard creaking floors upstairs, and a few seconds later a blonde-haired, blue-eyed teenage girl popped out of the stairway, all grins.
She walked over to Kizzy and kissed her on the forehead, then stepped toward Sirena. “You want an Archworld reading, I hear?”
Jos stepped in front of Jaelle, putting herself between the girl and Sirena. “I will not let my future daughter-in-law get mixed up in Archworld business.” She turned around. “Go back upstairs. The Romani do not do the bidding of strangers.”
“I’m not a stranger,” Sirena said, her eyes flashing. “My sister is dead and I need information. That’s all. Once I have that, I’ll be on my way.”
“Give her what she wants,” Kizzy crowed from behind the two other women. “We’ll be rid of her faster.”
Luca moved toward Jaelle protectively, though of course he would be of no use to her.
Jos glanced between Harmon and Kizzy. Neither said another word. She glared at Sirena, then stepped aside.
Sirena’s eyes met Jaelle’s. It was never easy to know a Hallow or Nephilim’s age, but if Kizzy was Jaelle’s mother, she couldn’t be a day over twenty. A babe, even by earthlie standards.
“Will you help me?” she asked.
Jaelle nodded. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
Sirena frowned. She had no use for these earthlie condolences. They reminded her of her humanity, which couldn’t serve her in this situation. She had no time to break down or mourn.
She pointed to the kitchen table. “Let’s set up over here. That is, if Kizzy wouldn’t mind clearing out.”
Jos opened her mouth to protest, but Kizzy shook her head at her, laughing. Kizzy grabbed a cane next to seat and used it to stand up and hobble out of the way like a woman much older might have.
Sirena watched her, confused, though she didn’t have much space in her mind to give to it. Jaelle disappeared upstairs in a flash before reappearing seconds later with a large deck of cards.
“Please,” she said, inviting Sirena to the table.
Jaelle closed her eyes, slipping into a meditation. Luca’s eyes widened as her body flickered in and out of the earthlie dimension, though the earthlie adults seemed to know what was going on. Jos turned away, shaking her head; Kizzy and Harmon watched solemnly.
Magic After Dark: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels Page 97