Advent: Book 3 of The Summer Omega Series (Summer Omrga)

by JK Cooper

  Kale wished he had a scythe of his own. Instead, he partially shifted, letting his claws extend the gauntlet into sharp points. That’ll do.

  The rest of their party arrived. Bryanne knew the Fae better than any of them, so she had to come. Genn insisted she get to see Underhill. And Chelsea had volunteered to help. She’d been too instrumental in defeating the demon to be refused, and she’d reminded them of that fact quite vehemently until they relented. Kale had to refuse Bubba’s request though, at Bryanne’s urging. He was too loose of a cannon to drop into the weird rules of Underhill.

  Kale felt bad leaving his best friend behind, but he needed Bubba and Francis to take care of the pack while he was away. He could still feel the link though, and he informed Francis they had all arrived safely as Theo came through and the sheet of light in the shape of a door vanished.

  Theo stopped, eyeing Kale and Shelby. “What is it?”

  “Demons,” Shelby answered. “Lots of demons. Can’t you smell them?”

  “Fae nostrils are not as sensitive as Lycan, thank the Goddess.” But he looked concerned. “Follow me. Stay close, stay alert.” He ran, almost as fast as a Lycan on his long legs.

  He jumped over demonic bodies, barely glancing at them, though he slowed as he passed piles of ash.

  He’s looking for someone in particular, Kale said to his wolf.

  The queen, Skotha said. She is of the Morning Glory House. He’s royalty.

  How do you know that?

  The mark on his wrist.

  Kale noted the tattoo on his wrist of the flower. It had darkened since they’d arrived in Underhill. He had no time to ask about it.

  They raced through a throne room. There were plenty of demon bodies there and a few injured Fae, but none Theo seemed to care about. That’s not fair. He does care, you can see it on his face. He’s just hoping not to see one person in particular.

  Kale also discovered the source of the strange, sweet scent. Fae blood.

  Theo staggered into a posh room full of silk, fine wood, and elegant lighting, or at least it had been before it had been spattered in red, black, green, and orange. Theo dropped the black trash bag and ran to a woman sprawled on the floor surrounded in spidery demon carcasses. She had fought well.

  She gasped as Theo lifted her. “Careful, son. I’m dying fast enough. I don’t need the push.”

  Theo put a hand against the large gash in her neck. Worry washed over his face. In a frantic voice, he said, “I did it, Mother. I brought the girl with eyes of green, orange, and red. See?”

  He pointed to Shelby, and the woman, Theo’s mother apparently, weakly rolled her head to take in Shelby. A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

  “Greetings, Eira-mit-Thyra.” She lifted heavy eyes to Kale. “And Daeglan-mit-Skotha. I wish . . . I wish I could have stood beside you again. The magic is rent. Tarloch is coming. The Advent—” The woman broke off in a weak cough that sounded wet.

  Kale felt Skotha’s hollowness, that feeling of inevitable loss.

  She was noble and great once, Skotha said. She would have been a valuable ally.

  “We can heal you, Mother,” Theo said. “Just hold on.” He tried to influence the entropy around her but it did not change. Theo punched the ground, and Kale empathized with the tortured cry that escaped clenched teeth. Pleadingly, Theo looked to Shelby. “Please.”

  Shelby shook her head. “We’re trying, but it’s not working.”

  “Try harder!” Theo said.

  “No time,” the woman said. She pulled a decorative silver coin from the front of her gown and pressed it into Theo’s hand. “You must take her to Mount Estorathi.”

  He took the coin and stared at it. “You’re sending me alone to open the doors in the midst of a demonic invasion?”

  “That gate was not used. It seems the demons have found a new point of ingress somewhere else on Alsvoira.” She coughed.

  “Even if the way is clear, I’ve never forged anything without you. I’m not even sure if I can, half human and all.” Theo stared at his hands as though they revealed something ugly about himself.

  She hissed darkly. “That was a lie I told you to protect you and your brother. You never were rejected from the Changeling Program. You never could have qualified.”

  Theo’s knuckles went white around the coin. “What are you saying?”

  “I dared not lose my darling boys to Unseely Court.” She gestured toward where a Fae man slumped against a wall, unconscious or dead. “He would have claimed one of you. How could I break you up, especially after the Goddess promised me a son would be my most important possession.” She coughed. Orange dribbling down her porcelain chin.

  Theo sat back, hard on the tile floor. “You pushed me away. You made me guard the gate that killed my brother.”

  “All to protect you. That was the least active gate. I thought I . . . was keeping you safe. I . . . was wrong. I’m so sorry, Son.” She pushed on his hand. “Go now. Who knows how many escaped to the surface. They will be sending magic back to fuel more arrivals. We must abandon Underhill.”

  Bryanne stepped forward. “Go, Genn and I can take care of her and the king, if he’s alive. We’ll search for other survivors too. We’ll meet back here, or Salt Lake if we find someone well enough to open a portal.”

  “Chelsea might as well stay here too. She’s pretty good at healing spells.”

  “Oh no, not gonna shake me that easily, Kale. I’m your third wheel through this whole thing.” She took Shelby’s hand. “Besides, you might need an extra spell-slinger wherever that one’s taking you.” She whispered to Shelby. “I don’t trust him. His eyes are too big to be honest.”

  Theo stood, slow, concern all over his face for his mother. “Unlike our sense of smell, Fae hearing rivals Lycan. Fine, the witch can come.” He glanced at the garbage bag. “I got the one that killed Alec. Doesn’t seem to matter now. It wasn’t why you banished me, was it?”

  She smiled. “My clever boy.” The smile turned sad. “When Alec died, I knew it was you who had to be the one to find the Summer Omega. You are the child of both courts. You alone can both give consent and unlock the key.”

  Theo shook his head. “I’m really not half human?”

  “You really aren’t. Now, go. She needs the key sooner than later. The end is coming.” She coughed again, harder.

  Bryanne began working a spell, pushing light into her chest, but her expression said she wasn’t sure it would work.

  Kale turned to Shelby. “You want to try?”

  “Eira isn’t sure it will work on a Fae.”

  “What?” Theo asked.

  Shelby stepped toward the queen. “My Immortal Wolf is a healer.”

  “No, leave me to die. You are more important.” The queen tried to sit up and move away from Shelby, but didn’t get far before collapsing.

  “All children of the Goddess are important.”

  Kale didn’t recognize her voice. “Shelby?”

  “It’s okay, sweet Daeglan. She gave me permission to try.” Eira, having been granted control by Shelby, shifted into her wolf body and held her head over the Fae queen, eyes closed.

  Silphinaera squirmed and then went still with a soft sigh.

  “No!” Theo ran forward and pushed Eira away.

  Eira shifted into a human and stood, but then it was Shelby’s voice when she spoke again. “We are so sorry. Eira was able to take her pain, but not undo the damage. The demon wounds resist our magic. She has minutes left.”

  Theo cradled his mother’s neck, pulling her head into his lap.

  The queen smiled up at him. “You will make a great king.” She coughed, her body vibrating. Skin and flesh dissolved into flower petals that caught on fire and fell as ash around Theo.

  He sat in silence. Shelby put a hand on his shoulder. Theo tried to shrug it off, but then leaned into it as tears streamed down his face, streaked with ash. When he stood, his jaw was clenched and his eyes clear. “Let’s go s
ee Alsvoira.”

  Kale glanced at Shelby. “Is that safe?”

  Theo pointed around the room at the shattered furniture and blood, before staring hard at the dark pile at his feet. “Where’s safe anymore?”

  Kale took Shelby’s hand, looking back at Theo. “Lead the way.”

  Athena threw another bone at the wall, enjoying the musical echoes it made through the halls. She picked up a new one, bouncing it from hand to hand like she might start juggling. She tossed it at the wall.

  Must you? Ptyas asked.

  Not much else to do. Besides, it’s pretty. But Athena took a break from her new musical sport to tear open one of the silver packets left behind by her angry Fae guide. Keanie Meanie would become her nickname if it didn’t sound so petulant. Or childish. But, it did help Athena remember the Fae woman’s name.

  She was happy to find that the silver color of the packets was not from real silver like she suspected. It had to be aluminum. Inside was a heavenly honey colored paste that tasted like fresh cinnamon rolls drizzled in caramel. It was also much more filling than she expected. The assortment left for her would probably keep her alive a couple days. Longer, if she could find water.

  You don’t happen to know if there’s an elvish drinking fountain around here?

  Ptyas showed her a memory, layering the dark cavern with warmer, brighter images of what it once was. That way. He gestured with his nose, and she knew where he meant.

  Wait, I was joking. There’s an actual elf drinking fountain?

  Not exactly, but it may still be there, if it isn’t frozen over.

  Athena rubbed her arms, though she really rubbed her gauntlets over the metal covering her arms. It had grown distinctly colder since the Fae had abandoned them. The armor kept her from freezing, but she wasn’t comfortable.

  She followed the memory images that overlaid the actual cavern, tripping over bones and rubble absent from Ptyas’s recollections. Do you think you can make those more transparent?

  Hmmm, never tried. Let me see. The memories thinned, becoming ghostly.

  Athena picked her way through reality and the memories with more ease. It was beautiful once, wasn’t it?

  His head dipped in agreement, but he said nothing. She let him relive the past in silence until they reached the fountain, happily bubbling in his memory, but cold and dark in the present.

  She punched a chunk of ice free. Don’t suppose we can build a fire and melt this down? And I forgot a pan.

  Ancient warriors used their helm as a cooking vessel and to boil drinking water, Ptyas replied.

  Really? Too bad mine’s keeping me alive and all. It doesn’t come off either, so much as just disappear.

  Guess you’re sucking on ice chips until the Seely Fae show up and unlock the key for you. Do you know how you’re going to get it this time?

  She rolled the coin across her knuckles. Pretty sure this puppy will do most of the work, along with proximity. I have consent. That’s all I needed the first time. She gathered up several chunks of ice. Will you show me what Alsvoira looked like before everything went to hell?

  Ptyas filled her mind with rolling fields of perfect grass and wildflowers. Wolves raced one another through the grass and into the forest beyond. The purple leaves of the trees flashed blue in the wind, like aspen trees alternate between green and silver.

  Athena felt the ice fall from her hands. Show me more.

  Ptyas led her past falls that tumbled down from an impossible spire of stone into dreamlands she had never thought possible. Each race had their own section of Alsvoira, filled with wondrous life. The Druids lived in hilly territory full of wheat fields interspersed with dense forests of gnarled old trees and glowing mushrooms the size of cars.

  The Fae had their beautiful mountain, green, but topped with snow. The inside was a maze of corridors, silken dividers, and living barricades. There were hedges, trees, grass, and a million varieties of flowers all growing within the mountain. They were masters of herbs, medicine, fruits, and vegetables. The Fae traded with all the other races for anything else they might want or need.

  What happened?

  Ptyas showed her a crystal doorway, a small human girl stepping through it. She was young, but familiar in a way that made Athena’s jaw clench. Was that Shelby?

  Thyra was the first to arrive.

  Of course she was.

  More humans arrived, coming in small groups after that first glimpse of Athena’s rival. They introduced joy, laughter, love, and mourning to the five races. But the population grew. With more humanity came crime, deceit, disagreements, greed, hoarding, dissention, and a hundred other problems. The five races fought and warred. Peace shattered.

  Wait, you’re showing me thousands of years. How did Shelby live so long?

  Ptyas showed the Goddess once more, a stunning being of gold and light. She didn’t let any of the humans who came to Alsvoira die, not of old age anyway.

  The vision faded and then reappeared, showing the demons ripping open holes into the world, flowing like blood from a wound. The Goddess refused to fight back. She even forbade her creations from engaging their new enemy. Alsvoira burned while many escaped to Earth through the crystal portal.

  The Goddess’s gateway was never meant to be used more than once, Ptyas chimed in. It isn’t like the demon gates, holes in reality. It’s more passive than that, so many Immortal Wolves sacrificed themselves so humans could cross the threshold once more. It came with costs.

  Athena nodded. Loss of autonomy.

  More than that. The human sides were stripped of memory, even when linked to another soul. The gate was kinder to the other races, especially those who left early.

  In the vision, a group led by Mareus ignored the Goddess’s commands, bringing war to the demons. Thyra led a group against him, enforcing the Goddess’s wishes with violence, bringing death to her own.

  I left before the end, at your father’s command, so I don’t know exactly what happened after that, but I do know Mareus killed the Goddess. He, Thyra, and Daeglan were the last to leave Alsvoira.

  Athena picked up the ice once more as the apparitions of the past faded to black, not caring about the sediment on it. The dim halls held even less life for her, knowing what they had once been. Why did the Goddess give up on her world?

  That is the ultimate question, and your father took the answer from us. Perhaps she was tired and wanted it all over. Perhaps she was ashamed of her creations. Perhaps she, like the Fae, absorbed some of humanity’s madness. Perhaps she did what she thought best for her children. I do not know. She is gone, so I suppose it no longer matters what her reasons were.

  Athena picked her way back to the wall of embedded demon bones and sat across from it. She used a rib bone to chip off a small piece of ice. She popped this in her mouth, only worrying about alien ice viruses for a second. “I’m Lycan. I can heal almost anything.” The water was also sweet on her tongue as the chip melted, hints of a floral taste. The Fae didn’t do anything without flare.

  Shhh!

  Athena had tossed a larger piece of ice into her mouth now that she trusted it more, but it was so cold it froze her saliva and stuck to her tongue. “Whub?

  I think I hear someone, Ptyas warned.

  The clattering of bones echoed down the halls from near the entrance.

  Demon, Fae, or Lycan? I can’t smell anything through this filtered air.

  Hide. We’ll have to wait and see.

  Athena dodged behind the largest mound of bones. The demon would have been the size of a dump truck.

  “You can do this, right?” Sadie waited an extra second to see if her Immortal Wolf would appear and say something encouraging back. “Talking to myself would be a lot more fun if you were real, Sexy Lexi.” She stood naked in the cool Louisiana rain. “That armor would be nice too.”

  She gulped and then ran into the warehouse, shifting as she did so, letting her fur change to a mottled gray and brown that mimicked mud stains. He
r pelt reeked of mud, ivy, and pine, with just a touch of humanity. She wanted to appear wild, but not one of the Feral.

  Sadie had infiltrated and convinced another dozen small packs and one larger one, sending them to Salt Lake to meet up with the rest of her strange packmates. A few more were on the fence, but she suspected they would tip soon enough. The Advent had spread like a plague across the country, and small, independent groups wouldn’t be allowed to exist for long.

  Today wasn’t her usual mission. Can I call them missions, when I give them to myself? She had avoided the packs that had joined the Advent, other than to spy on its movements against those she hoped to turn toward Kale.

  Here’s hoping this goes better than my last attempt. I’d rather not get anyone killed this time . . . especially since it’s just me here. But she needed to reestablish a link to the Advent if she wanted to keep spying. Her hack through Athena no longer seemed to work. Either Mareus’s daughter was dead—A girl can copulating hope!—Or Athena had discovered the hack and severed the link. Or something else. Athena felt strange, like a different person, and then my hack stopped working.

  Sadie didn’t avoid the sentries this time, instead following the sounds of their breathing past empty metal barrels and rotting wooden crates. Here we go. She steeled her nerves and stepped around a cement pillar to almost run right into one.

  He snarled while she shrank back and whimpered, letting out a tiny hint of fear and urine scents. She shifted, covering herself and cowering into the shadows. “Please don’t hurt me. I’m so hungry.” It came out with a pitiful rasping squeak to her voice.

  “Who are you?” The man stood tall, ignoring his nudity while he growled in a husky voice.

  Sadie shrank back more and tried not to giggle at the dad-bod this sentry sported. Like I can talk. She had starved herself for three days and smeared soot and dirt on her body for good measure. “I’m Kallie, sir.”

  “And why are you here?”

  She whimpered again. “I miss having a pack. Been hiding in the woods since my parents died a few weeks ago.”