by Chelsea Fine
Gabriel was about to argue when suddenly, everything made sense. Tristan’s secrecy about who his murder victim was…Scarlet’s fear of the arrow…everything.
Gabriel’s eyes burned with fear and anger.
How could he be so selfish?
Scarlet sat up and started shaking out her limbs. “We have to go. Now!”
“No way,” Gabriel said. “You’re not going anywhere. That bastard just drugged you. You are staying here.”
Her neon eyes lit up the room. “Like hell I am!” Scarlet scrambled off the bed, her dark hair falling in a mess around her face. “We need to stop him!”
Gabriel started to argue with her but was afraid the fight might be too emotionally draining for her and cause her heart to break even faster.
“Fine. Come on.” He led her out of the cabin and to his parked car, the engine still running. “Do you know where he went?”
Scarlet shook her head. “No idea.”
“Then we’ll start looking downtown.” Gabriel started to get in the car when he saw Scarlet pause at the edge of the driveway.
He watched her close her eyes and tilt her head to side.
He waited.
Then she took off running into the woods.
What the hell?
Gabriel hurriedly turned off his engine and chased after her into the darkness.
75
Scarlet was running, blind and hopeless, through a thicket of trees that were the only thing between her and Tristan’s precious life.
She didn’t know where he was. But she could feel him. And she followed the feeling without question.
Through bushes and mud puddles and broken leaves she ran, the icy winter wind whipping at her foiled hair and releasing her curls. She felt the silver ring come loose and grasped at it so she wouldn’t lose it.
Running and running, she dried her tears and kept her head high.
Now was not the time to fall apart, now was the time to focus.
She was getting closer, she could feel his anxiety…his fear…his love for her pouring out of his soul in mourning and regret.
Oh, Tristan, what are you doing?
Please don’t die.
Her feet pounded the earth as she traveled as quickly as her high-heels would allow.
Screw it, she thought, kicking of her heels and flying barefoot through the trees.
Terrified and freezing, she ran towards the only person stupid enough to die for her.
Tristan Archer.
76
Tristan finished positioning the auto-rigged bow and set the arrow toward the outlined target in the distance. Tristan double-checked his calculations until he was satisfied the arrow would pierce his heart straight-through, slicing it in two.
After checking the wind, he left the bow and went to stand with his back against the bull’s-eye. It seemed like a million miles separated him from the tree he would die against, but he walked them anyway.
Once there, he placed his back against the target and faced the arrow pointed at him from afar. He took a few deep breaths, closed his eyes, and waited for his life to come to an end. The auto timer gave him only 90 seconds and, with those seconds, he chose to think back on the beautiful life he’d had.
Scarlet, her voice, her laughter, her love, her forgiveness, her hope…. He was more blessed than any other being to ever live.
And he had lived.
Now it was time for him to close his eyes and give Scarlet the chance to do the same.
With shaking hands and a nervous heart, he stood up tall.
His eyes were still closed as he envisioned Scarlet’s sweet face.
He could almost hear her calling out to him. He could almost feel her nearness and the peace that came with it.
A final feeling of serenity before his life went black.
He heard the arrow latch pull back, about to release, and took a final breath.
With his last thought, he prayed Scarlet would find it in her heart to someday forgive him for saving her life.
77
“Tristan, no!”
Scarlet saw the arrow positioned in the distance and called out in a hoarse voice. “Tristan!” Her heart pounded crazily, louder than any other noise in the forest.
He didn’t move. He didn’t respond. Like he was deaf and blind and….already lost to her.
The idea broke her heart and sent her running faster, reaching his body just as she heard a snap in the distance.
Before she realized what was happening, she felt something sharp slice into her back, cutting off oxygen to her lungs and shutting out everything but the sight of Tristan’s beautiful eyes opening in a look of absolute horror.
“Scarlet,” Tristan’s voice caught in his throat as he caught her falling body for the second time that night. “Scarlet…?”
His voice shook almost as much as his hands as he gently lowered her to the ground.
What was going on?
Her hand fell to the side, still grasping the shiny ring, as he shifted her gently. She saw a tear fall from one of his brilliant green eyes.
Scarlet looked up at him in detachment. She felt no pain, no sadness…just curiosity at his pained face.
Why is Tristan crying? Why is he sad? He’s alive!
Peaceful joy settled on Scarlet at the realization that Tristan hadn’t died.
He was alive.
She had saved him.
Her eyes began to burn and Tristan’s face contorted in agony. “No, no, no…Scar…no, no. This can’t happen…oh, Scar….” He leaned down and started kissing her face and stroking her hair.
But she felt nothing.
His broken voice fell into her ear, “I’m so sorry…I’m so sorry…I’m so sorry….” He was coughing and crying and shaking and cold.
He was really cold. And his coldness was seeping into her.
She blinked.
No.
She was cold.
Everywhere.
And she couldn’t feel her hands or feet or head….
“Tristan…?” she said, confused.
He kissed her forehead through his tears. “I’m so sorry…so sorry.” He choked on his emotion. “I’m so sorry, Scar….”
Sadness came over her as she watched agony overtake his shaking body. Her burning eyes began to go blind as a memory assailed her. She drank it in, trying to absorb as much as she could.
After a time, she blinked her way out of the memory and back to Tristan’s sweet, wet face.
Darkness was coming down on her, shrinking Tristan into a tunnel and pushing him far, far away.
“Tristan…,” she said, her voice distant and muffled. With every fiber of strength her had left, she whispered, “I know where the fountain is.”
And with that, everything went black, cold, and dead.
Stay tuned for...
Awry
The Archers of Avalon Book 2
Coming summer 2012
www.TheArchersofAvalon.com
Also by Chelsea Fine...
While other high school seniors are dreaming about their futures, Sophie and Carter are just trying to make it through each day. Carter is overwhelmed by troubles at home as he struggles to support his mother. Meanwhile, next door neighbor Sophie is left to care for her three younger siblings in place of their absent and troubled mother. All that holds these two best friends together is each other, and knowing that each night they’ll sit together on Sophie’s front porch swing and escape from their troubles, if just for awhile. But as their relationship reaches a turning point and high school graduation nears, what lies ahead for Sophie and Carter?
ISBN 9781935089445, 128pp,
$7.95 softcover, $2.99 Nook or Kindle.
www.acaciapublishing.com
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