The Torn World: The Harvesting Series Book 5

by Melanie Karsak

  I nodded. “Let’s go.”

  With Amelia leading the way, we headed through the corn field toward the stream.

  I needed to make this right. It couldn’t go on like this anymore. We run. We’re hunted. We run. We’re hunted. We were better off dead. I had to make this end now. I knew what to do. I knew how to make this work. And I believed in the others. I cast a glance back at Cricket. If she could survive, we all could survive. I had to make this work.

  “Grandma?” I whispered into the ether.

  “See, Layla. See everything.”

  When we got to the wall, Amelia and Zoey climbed over first while Vella and I helped Cricket. Then I picked up Cricket’s furry little companion.

  “Careful,” I told the little dog. “Foxes around,” I said then steadied him on the branch before crossing.

  I climbed over, meeting the others. I pulled my shashka. “They may have people scouting the perimeter. We need to avoid gunfire as long as possible.”

  “No machete, no wrench,” Cricket said.

  “And an arm full of stitches,” Vella reminded her.

  I cast a glance at Amelia. “I’m going to need you,” I told her.

  She nodded. “I know.”

  “Around the back, right?” I asked her.

  “Keep to the back wall. We’ll head to the rose garden. The lattice arbors will give us cover and a good line of sight.”

  I stepped in front of the others and moved quickly. Just as we were about to round past the grape arbors, I paused. In the distance, I saw a man walking the fence. His hair was brilliant red.

  I looked back at Amelia who nodded, placing her hands together. She closed her eyes, concentrating, and then set her palms forward. She opened her eyes and nodded to me. I had no idea what she’d done, but the air around us seemed to shiver and all the hairs on the back of my neck rose.

  Signaling the others to stay behind, I swept in low and fast on the kitsune. By the time he turned, it was too late.

  “You,” he managed to spit out before the shashka swung, the blade singing as it vibrated through the enchanted air. His head rolled to Zoey’s feet.

  “Gross,” she said, kicking it into the weeds.

  With a nod, we headed forward. We stayed low as we passed the grape vines. The vines sheltered us from view from the house. That, and whatever Amelia was doing. I couldn’t see her magic at work, but the air all around was tingly.

  When we reached the back of Witch Wood, we heard voices. Our people had been moved to the front of the house. We couldn’t see them, but we could hear them.

  Someone was shouting. Was it Tristan?

  The stricken look on Cricket’s face confirmed my suspicion.

  “There,” Amelia whispered, pointing to a path leading into the garden.

  “Hey! Stop,” someone called from behind us.

  I looked back to see a kitsune woman come out of the vines. Zoey swept in on her, but the woman knocked the blade from her hand. I rushed to her aid, but Zoey swung around quickly and decked the woman with a right jab so strong the kitsune woman fell to her knees. I joined the fray and lopped off the kitsune woman’s head.

  When I turned back, I saw Amelia standing near the edge of the garden, concentrating hard.

  “See. See everything.”

  It was then that I realized what she was doing. She was shifting the space around us, a little at a time, out of view of this world. Everything took on a strange vibration, like it was there and then it wasn’t. She was opening up space in the otherworld, a space she herself was creating, so we could pass unseen.

  “Let’s go,” she whispered.

  We followed her into the rose garden then down a path that led us toward the back side of the house. We were able to see the others collected in the driveway.

  “Everyone is outside,” Vella whispered.

  “The kitsune…there are eighteen of them,” Zoey said.

  “Who is she?” Cricket asked, pointing. We couldn’t make out her words, but Tristan and a red-haired woman were in a fierce debate, Madame Knightly and Logan standing nearby.

  Tom was holding Kira. Susan was holding onto her mother’s leg. Both girls were crying. Rage swelled up in my chest.

  “I don’t know, and I don’t care. Let’s do this,” I said then turned and scanned the back of the house. There, I saw what I was looking for: the propane tank.

  “You sure everyone is outside?” I asked Vella.

  “Yes.”

  “It’s about to get really loud,” I said, pointing toward the tank. I hoisted the gun I’d loaded with incendiary rounds and took aim. “Everyone ready? Cricket?”

  “Grab our folks and head into the maze. Got it,” she said. “Get ready, Frankie,” she told the little dog.

  “Just keep your dream in mind. It will take you where we need to go.”

  “We need to be fast. The noise will draw the zombies,” Vella said.

  “Amelia?”

  “I’m ready.”

  “3…2…1.”

  Inhale.

  Aim.

  Fire.

  The ground shook as the propane tank sitting along the back of the property behind Witch Wood exploded into a massive fireball. Glass shattered in both the greenhouse and the windows of Witch Wood. Part of the back wall behind the house exploded.

  “What the hell,” one of the kitsune screamed.

  The kitsune rushed toward the explosion.

  “Now,” I yelled, and we headed across the back of the property toward them.

  The first group, running to investigate the explosion, never even saw us emerge from the cover of the garden. Firing, Vella, Zoey, and I finished them where they stood. Their bodies crumpled onto the ground.

  “It’s her! Kill her,” the red-haired woman screamed, pointing at me.

  They turned toward us, weapons drawn.

  We were vastly outnumbered.

  But they weren’t expecting Amelia.

  “No,” Amelia screamed, and with that strange magical force, she squinted her eyes hard and sent a wave of light toward them, knocking them off their feet. Dead or unconscious, I wasn’t sure which, they fell to the ground.

  I pulled my blade and rushed toward my people just as Chase threw his head back, slamming his skull into the nose of the kitsune man holding him. The man let him go at once. Chase turned and started kicking the kitsune man.

  “Do something, you cows,” the woman screamed at the kitsune soldiers around her. But her eyes were glued on Amelia.

  I heard an arrow speed past my ear as I turned to see the remaining kitsune head my way. Chase ran toward Vella who cut loose the binds on his hands. She handed him a gun, and they rushed to free Darius and Kellimore.

  Cricket moved in toward Frenchie and the girls while I made my way toward the woman who, I presumed, was the kitsune queen. As I raced across the grass, I saw that the first of the undead had made their way to Witch Wood.

  “Layla?” Frenchie yelled as Cricket began to lead her and the others away.

  “Frenchie, Cricket, go,” I called then rushed the queen.

  Cricket turned and she, Vella, Ariel, Elle, Frenchie, Will, who was holding Susan, and Tom, who had Kira, ran into the maze. The little dog followed quickly behind them.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Darius and Kellimore, along with the newcomers Brian and Brianna, fighting the remaining kitsune.

  “Tristan,” Cricket called, but he motioned for her to go as he hurried to join me.

  Logan, leading Beatrice, ran after Cricket. Zoey grabbed Brian and Brianna, leading them away from the fight toward the maze.

  “Stop them,” the kitsune woman yelled, seeing they were about to make their escape.

  Darius, Chase, and Kellimore moved quickly to intercept the kitsune who went after Cricket’s group.

  The kitsune woman, who’d been distracted, noticed that I was headed her way. Then she did something I hadn’t expected. Moving quickly, she grabbed Madame Knightly roughly a
nd put a blade to her throat.

  “What are you doing?” Tristan yelled at her.

  “Tell your bitch to put down her blade,” the woman seethed.

  “Layla,” Tristan whispered aghast.

  I looked behind me. Only Chase, Darius, Kellimore, and Amelia still remained. The kitsune lay dead or dying on the ground, and about a hundred zombies were closing in fast.

  “Give her to me, and I’ll give you this old bag of bones,” the kitsune woman said through gritted teeth, glaring hard at me.

  “Maeve, my dear, you’re making a very big mistake,” Madame Knightly said very calmly.

  “Shut your mouth. I’m sick of your interference. We have won this battle. Mankind is dead. Why are you protecting these waifs?”

  “Look around you,” Tristan told her. “Your army was defeated before you even knew what was upon you. This is over.”

  “Never,” the woman seethed. “Never. They must perish…all of them. I will bring all my people down on their heads if I must.”

  “No, I don’t think so,” Madame Knightly said. “In fact, from what I understand, not all your people agree with what you have done. And from what I hear, your sister did not condone your apocalypse.”

  “Who cares what she thinks, you old hag. I’m in charge.”

  “Isn’t she heir to the throne of the unseelie after you?”

  “Is that a threat? I’m not going anywhere, but I think your time is done,” she said, pressing the blade to Madame Knightly’s throat. A small trickle of blood dripped down her neck.

  “Stop,” Amelia cried out.

  “Drop your sword,” the kitsune woman told me, “or I kill her.”

  “No,” Amelia replied for me. “Bastet,” she called toward Madame Knightly.

  Catching her meaning, Madame Knightly winked at Amelia and with a flash of light, shifted form. The small black cat slipped away from the kitsune woman. Amelia then flung her arms forward with so much force that I could see the blast of white light slam through the air toward the kitsune queen.

  The woman screamed as the blast hit her, and she fell to the ground.

  Sweeping in quickly, I held my blade aloft, ready to strike off Maeve’s head. But then I realized it wasn’t necessary. Blood leaked from the kitsune woman’s eyes and ears. She lay motionless.

  “Look out,” Kellimore yelled then began shooting at the undead who were now upon us.

  Amelia picked up Bastet.

  “To the maze! Quickly,” I called.

  Darius and Amelia, who was still holding the shape-shifted Madame Knightly, rushed toward the hedge. Chase, Tristan, and Kellimore rushed after them.

  “Layla? Where are we going?” Tristan called to me.

  “Everyone just think about Cricket. Follow Cricket and the others.”

  I shot into the massive horde of the undead as I wove back into the maze. A thick mist began to settle all around. As I backed deeper into the hedge, deep fog swirled all around me. I shot the undead tumbling toward me. There were so many of them.

  “Here,” I heard Tristan call to the others. “Turn this way. Now!” There was a flash of blue light from somewhere behind me and then there was silence.

  They’d gone through the portal.

  I was alone.

  Aside from the gurgling sounds of the undead advancing through the maze, there was no other noise. Everyone was gone. Everyone would be back in Hamletville, with Cricket and Amelia, safe.

  For a moment, I stopped.

  The undead were just feet away, but I could feel their confusion. They were lost in the mist. And somewhere inside that crowd, I heard voices. Their strange words rattled in my head. The living undead walked among the rotted corpses. Were they talking to one another?

  “Layla?” someone said then, grabbing my arm.

  I turned to find Kellimore standing there, a confused and worried expression on his face.

  “I waited for you. Come on. Let’s go,” he said. Taking my hand, he led me to the end of the maze where a strange blue light glimmered around a small circle of stones on the ground.

  We stepped into the light and were immediately engulfed.

  CHAPTER 39: LAYLA

  BY NOW, I’D GROWN USED TO THE STRANGE FORCE hurtling me through the in-between spaces. When I landed with a thud, I didn’t think anything of it. My shashka bounced from my hands across the leaf-strewn ground.

  “Are you all right?” Tristan asked, offering me a hand up.

  “Layla,” Susan called, running to me, her sister following behind her. The girls wrapped their arms around my waist.

  “Is everyone all right?” I asked. “Cricket?” I said, turning to her. I saw she was leaning on Vella and pale as ever.

  “I’m okay but wouldn’t mind getting off my feet.”

  Kellimore retrieved my blade and handed it to me.

  I smiled at him, fully aware of the fact that he’d waited for me. The implications weren’t lost on me.

  Madame Knightly, who had shifted back into human form, turned to me. “I must thank you,” she said then. “Now, I presume you know where you are?”

  “Yes. Home,” I replied then turned to Tom, Will, and Frenchie.

  “Home? Hamletville home?” Tom asked, looking around with assessing eyes.

  “We’re in Fox Hollow, back behind my property.”

  “Nice name,” Chase said.

  I smirked. All things considered, he was right.

  “Very well,” Madame Knightly said then signaled to Logan and Tristan. “You’ll need to excuse us. As you can imagine, these changes present some challenges for us. We must consult with our people.”

  I nodded. “Follow the stream into the woods. It’s thinnest there. That’s where I’ve seen Peryn.”

  Madame Knightly nodded then turned and walked away.

  Logan squeezed Amelia’s hand then followed behind the ancient matriarch. Tristan and Cricket exchanged low words, but eventually I heard Cricket say, “Don’t worry. I’ll be all right.”

  Tristan frowned, then turned to follow the others. He paused when he got to me. “Nightfall. You must be cautious. You’re still not alone.”

  “I know,” I told him. “I have a plan.”

  “I expected no less,” he said then followed Madame Knightly and Logan into the woods.

  I turned back to the others. “Follow me. My house is just this way,” I said, leading them through the woods.

  “Oh Mommy, are we really back home?” Kira asked.

  “Yes, I think so,” Frenchie told her.

  “But what about those bad vampires? They won’t come back for us, will they?” Susan asked.

  “No,” Frenchie said, but the tremor in her voice told me she wasn’t entirely sure.

  Frenchie didn’t know it, but it was a lie. If my grandmother’s words were true, there were already vampires in Hamletville. And they were waiting for us. But I had a plan. With a little luck, I could finish this mess once and for all.

  “So, a plan, huh?” Will asked, falling into step with me. “Seems like you might need someone familiar with Hamletville to help.”

  “Make that two someones,” Tom offered.

  I smiled at them. “I thought you’d never ask.”

  * * *

  Tom, Will, Chase, Zoey, Kellimore, and I stood outside the gate of my grandmother’s property. Well, at least we thought we were standing outside the gate. Amelia had cast a powerful spell rendering the property invisible, just as it had been at Witch Wood. A heavy fog covered the space where the fence should have been.

  “How will she know when to let us back in?” Will asked.

  I shook my head. “She won’t. When the sun comes up, we go home.”

  “Well, this should be fun,” Chase said.

  “I didn’t tell you to come,” I said with a smirk.

  “No, but Cricket did,” he said with a laugh.

  “Now what?” Tom asked.

  “We have about five hours before sundown. We need to pick
off any stray undead roaming around. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to fight vampires and the undead at the same time.”

  “Have the syringes?” Zoey asked.

  I nodded. Beatrice had managed to escape Witch Wood with a tote full of supplies, including the vaccine, Doctor Gustav’s notes, and the undead blood.

  “All right, let’s head over to Tom’s,” I said then got into my Range Rover. To my relief, it started with no problem. It seemed like ages since we’d left Hamletville, but in reality, only a couple of weeks had passed. When the world unfolds, it does it fast.

  “So, all of you have seen these vampires before? For real?” Zoey asked.

  “Unfortunately,” Will answered.

  “There was a hive of them living on an island in the Great Lakes. They were hunting people. They found us,” I explained.

  “And we were stupid enough to go with them. Look at us now,” Tom said. “Layla, we should have listened to you.”

  I shook my head. “There was no escaping them. Even if we hadn’t gone to the Harpwind, they’d found us.”

  “Do you think any of Rumor’s vampires survived?” Will asked.

  “They had very little time to get to land before the sun came up, and Sarah, the one who showed up at Claddagh-Basel, said their numbers were decimated.”

  “Until we decimated her,” Will said.

  Kellimore laughed. “I’ve seen a lot of shit, but that was gross.”

  “What about other stuff that’s supposed to work against vampires? You know, garlic, stake through the heart, holy water?” Zoey asked.

  “Holy water?” I pulled out a small plastic gun from my pocket. “Yeah, it works.”

  Zoey shook her head in disbelief, her blue eyes wide.

  I turned the SUV onto Main Street. So far there were only two undead wandering the streets aimlessly. I slowed, and Chase and Kellimore got out, killing the mindless creatures. I turned down Ash Street toward Tom’s house which sat along the lake. I parked the SUV, and we all got out. Tom and I went to his garage.

  “It feels surreal,” he said, bending to lift the mat in front of his garage door. Underneath was the key. “I can’t wrap my head around it. It feel strange to be home.”

  He was right. The moment I stepped onto the property on Fox Hollow Road, I’d felt the same way. We were back, but so many of us were missing. We’d lost nearly everyone. “We made it back, but—”