Freya continued her lonely vigil, trying to escape the cloying claustrophobia of the fear that had taken seed deep within her and refused to be silenced. Sage. It all came back to her daughter; the child she had waited so long for, who could be taken from her at any time. Freya would not let the vampires get their hands on her. They had no mercy and the thought of her precious baby falling prey to their evil filled her heart with a pain so severe she almost doubled over. She wondered whether, if the time came, she would have the courage to do what needed to be done. She would rather end Sage’s life herself than allow the vampires near her. Freya would follow Sage to the otherworld, if it came down to it.
“Penny for your thoughts?” a soft voice intruded, and Freya whirled to find Evangeline standing behind her. Her white hair gleamed in the moonlight and, despite her blindness; her milky eyes were fixed on Freya. Her own bow was slung across her back.
“I was just trying to clear my head,” Freya admitted as Evangeline fell into step beside her.
“These are trying times,” Evangeline replied. Such a simplified statement and yet Freya knew that the older woman understood exactly what Freya had been thinking. “They will not harm the child,” Evangeline stated calmly. Freya felt the weight ease slightly off her chest. Magic might be gone, but Evangeline had always been gifted with a sight that nobody could explain. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to simply place her faith in an old woman’s prophecies.
“You can’t know that.”
Evangeline simply shrugged. “We will rise again,” she said. The words were spoken with such confidence that Freya almost believed them. Then Evangeline stumbled on a gnarled tree root and Freya caught her as she fell, her spirits plummeting.
“Do you think we can...” she trailed off, feeling slightly uncomfortable talking to a woman of Evangeline’s age about procreation.
“Re-populate?’ Evangeline asked, smiling smugly. “No need to be shy, dear, I wasn’t always this old.” Freya smiled as she continued, “Of course we can. There are sixteen of us, most unrelated. And from what I can tell, there are some very fit, young Fae amongst us. We will survive.” She reached over and patted Freya’s hand. “Besides, if all else fails, we’ll do what we did before. We’ll call upon our human friends.”
Freya couldn’t stifle a gasp of surprise. Before Summerfeld was created, taking human lovers had been common among the Fae. Humans were enchanted by them, and, in turn, many of the Fae had felt a strong fondness for mankind’s vulnerability, but that had been over a thousand years ago.
“No need to be shocked,” Evangeline chuckled, sounding years younger. “I lived in man’s realm longer than you did. Longer even, than my time within the City’s enchantments. The old ways will return now that we are back where we started. Do not resist it; it is how it should be.”
Freya glanced sideways, staring at Evangeline’s white hair and the leathery coarseness of her skin. She had never asked the old Fae woman why she had aged so quickly. When they had their magic, the Fae had been immortal. Once they reached maturity, they remained youthful, forever frozen in time. Without their magic they aged; but infinitely slowly. Evangeline was the only member of the Fae who had aged so quickly.
“I am an old woman,” Evangeline murmured, letting Freya know that she sensed where her thoughts lay. She did not, however, offer an explanation. Instead, she mused on a time long past.
“I never believed the vampires would sustain their anger. Despite Eldon’s preventative measures, I thought the war would simply run its course and that things would return to how they were. It would seem that Eldon knew better.” She smiled then, lost in the memories. “I should have known. He was always right.”
“You were on his council,” Freya recalled. Her memories of the time before the war were far less clear than Evangeline’s must be, but she did remember Eldon’s council.
“Lucian and I were his most trusted advisors,” Evangeline nodded.
“What happened to Lucian?” Freya had told Quinn about the vampire who had been so close to King Eldon, but she had never known what had become of him after the war had begun. “Did he join the Quest?”
“No,” Evangeline shook her head with the conviction of someone who has lived long enough to know better than most. “Lucian would never have joined the Quest. He didn’t want any part in the war. Eldon sent him away to join his brothers. I don’t know what became of him after the City was sealed.”
The mention of Summerfeld turned them both sombre.
“I still can’t accept that the City is gone,” Freya whispered.
“It isn’t gone. Summerfeld remains; it is simply waiting for Wintyr to resurrect it.”
“Do you really believe the Guardians can open that portal?”
“They have never failed us yet.” Shame washed over Freya in a wave.
“I didn’t mean... I wasn’t implying that...”
“Of course you weren’t,” Evangeline soothed. “You fear for your child, it’s as simple as that. Now, how about a bit of target practice?”
Freya didn’t argue. She lifted her bow, sliding an arrow into it and steadying her breath as she took aim. The arrow flew true and hit the centre of a slim tree trunk, thirty yards away. Satisfied, Freya stepped back, allowing Evangeline to take aim. The older woman nocked her arrow, her breath steaming from her mouth as she exhaled slowly. A moment later, her arrow split Freya’s in two. It was an impossible shot, and Freya gazed, wide-eyed, at the sight of her sheared arrow, two pathetic splinters of wood sagging toward the ground. An idea blossomed in her mind, one that gave her hope, not for herself, but for Sage.
It was only as they were walking back to the house that she found the courage to ask the question.
“Will you take her away from here?” The words were whispered on a slight breeze, but Evangeline heard them and understood what Freya was asking.
“When?”
“If they come for us... if they find us. Will you take her and run? I know you can protect her.”
“If all hope is lost, what would be the point?” Evangeline asked gently. “She would grow up without her family, without her people.”
“But she would grow up,” Freya pointed out determinedly.
If Kellan sensed something had changed in her, he didn’t show it. She walked into the barn where he was tending the unicorns, listening to the soothing sound of his voice as he spoke in a low murmur. The herd were still not settling, and the only time they calmed down was when a member of the Fae was with them.
“Where is Sage?” he smiled, spotting her.
“Sleeping. Isadora is with her. She seems to bring her some comfort.” Kellan bowed his head in understanding. It was unlikely that Isadora would ever fully recover from Mairin’s death.
“Where have you been?”
“Walking.” He eyed the bow still slung across her shoulder but didn’t say anything. Freya shifted under his gaze and he moved away from Zinnia to come and stand before her.
“Everything is going to be all right,” he said, lifting his hand to cup her face. He had loved Freya for hundreds of years, loved her to the depth and breadth of his soul, and not a day went by that she didn’t dazzle him.
“Let’s not talk about it now,” she smiled, but she couldn’t stop a single tear tracking its way down her cheek. Kellan wiped it away with his thumb, his aquamarine eyes reading the pain in her own.
“I love you,” he whispered, his breath sweet on her face.
“I love you too.”
Chapter 29
“You need to go faster,” Quinn murmured, her eyes never leaving the road. Obligingly, Drake pressed his foot down on the gas and the engine growled as it picked up speed. The Audi that Drake had chosen from Lenora’s garage was fast, very fast. Even so, Quinn picked at her nails incessantly, the car seeming to move in slow motion despite the fact that they were well over the speed limit. Braddon sat in the back, squashed uncomfortably against his door. Spacious as the car was, there was ba
rely enough room in the back for him and the three hostages they had rescued from Charlotte’s. They needed to protect them, Quinn had insisted when Drake had offered to alter their memories and drop them at the nearest hospital. Braddon understood his daughter’s need for information. If Avery had indeed been a prisoner of Charlotte’s there was a possibility that Anna and her friends might have seen her.
Quinn cast a longing look over her seat at the slumbering women. She had tried to question them before they set off, but Laura and Jen had been too terrified to answer her and had fallen asleep shortly after they had entered the car. Anna, who had seemed stronger down in the dungeon, was still out cold.
Drake kept his eyes on the road. Quinn had asked him to drive because his reflexes were that much faster than her own and he would get them there safely, in less time. Still, she was terrified that they wouldn’t make it. She had a pretty good idea of where Avery would go if she had managed to get herself a car, but her sister had a long lead.
A few minutes passed in silence, until Anna stirred on the seat behind her and Quinn whipped around, grateful for the distraction. The young woman woke with a start, and her eyes widened as she glanced around the car, before settling on Quinn. The sight of the woman who had released them from the cell calmed her slightly and she cleared her throat.
“Where are we?”
“We’re far from that place,” Quinn reassured her. “You’re safe now.” Anna said nothing and Quinn pressed on. “You recognised me back in the cell. How?” Anna gazed at her in confusion, but then she seemed to notice Quinn’s short hair.
“You... I mean, she looked just like you.” The words confirmed her suspicion and Quinn felt dizzy with relief. Braddon let out a gasp of astonished surprise as he too realised that this girl had known Avery.
“Where did she go?” Quinn asked, her heart thundering in her chest.
“She escaped. One of the guards went into her cell... I think he wanted to...” she trailed off, and Quinn felt a knot of fury settle in the pit of her stomach. “She fought him off,” Anna continued. “And then she came for us but she couldn’t open the lock.” She blinked, tears welling in her eyes as she recalled her desperation. “The others came looking for the guard and she fought her way through. She left us.”
Quinn didn’t share Anna’s condemnation. Avery had done the only thing she could do, the same thing Quinn would have done. She had survived. Forcing herself to keep calm in light of this confirmation that Avery was alive, or had been only days ago, Quinn continued.
“Were there other women in there, with you? Other prisoners?”
“Oh God!” Anna’s hand flew to her mouth as she recalled what her mind had tried to block out. “My sister... Riley. She was there. They took her, and...” she sank into silence, unable to continue.
Quinn felt bile rise in her throat as the girl’s emotional upheaval overwhelmed her. No doubt her sister had been butchered by Charlotte. The bloodstains all over the dungeon were proof that Charlotte’s prisoners were not likely to ever see the light of day again.
“I’m sorry,” Quinn murmured gently.
“They all died,” Anna whimpered. “She killed them... we could hear the screams. And there was an animal, some kind of animal; like a dog, only worse.” In her mind’s eye, Quinn could picture the scene. Charlotte had used the women for feeding and no doubt to satisfy her pet wolf. “You’re safe now,” she repeated, leaning over and squeezing Anna’s knee. “She will never hurt you again.”
“I want to go home,” Anna pleaded.
“You will, soon. We just need to make sure that it’s safe.” Turning to face the front once more, Quinn met Drake’s eye briefly and an understanding passed between them. He would calm these women down enough to question them and then he would erase all memories of their captivity before letting them go. He would take away their pain, but not yet, first, they needed to find Avery.
Chapter 30
Avery Ormonde drove recklessly, one hand gripping the steering wheel and the other pressed to her temple, trying to ward off the dizziness that threatened to overcome her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten, or how long it had been since she had escaped the dungeon prison - an escape which had used up the very last reserve of her strength. The stolen car she was driving veered perilously near the edge of the road and Avery jerked the steering wheel, skidding back on course. There were no lights to guide her way and the darkness that engulfed the car frightened her more than she cared to admit. She had been a brave Guardian. She had been brave in that dungeon, facing the evil of Charlotte and the betrayal of Tristan with courage and defiance. But now that freedom was within her grasp – now that she was so close to Summerfeld, her safe haven – she no longer felt brave. Only desperate and incredibly alone.
She had to make it back. She had to warn the others even if it killed her. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being followed and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she checked the rear-view mirror again. She had been doing this, obsessively, ever since she left Glenashley, although she could see nothing now but her own terrified face gazing back at her, swallowed by a black nothingness. If only she hadn’t passed out in that alley for God-alone knew how many hours. If only it hadn’t taken so long to steal a car. If only she hadn’t wasted so much time waiting around that call box, praying Quinn would come. Her sister was obviously inside Summerfeld where technology didn’t work. Who knew how long it would take for her to listen to her voicemails and hear the frantic call Avery had made. She had broken into a small café and stolen just enough change to make one phone call, but, before she could leave a full message, headlights had lit up the booth and she had run for it, expecting the worst – expecting Charlotte’s henchmen to have discovered her. She could have wept at the kind face of the elderly gentleman who drove innocently past her hiding place a moment later, but it hardly mattered. Piper would trace the call back here. So she had waited. Avery cursed her own foolishness. She would have made it to the City already if she had just left the second she escaped.
An owl swooped low across the street and Avery flinched, expecting it to impact the windshield. The bird soared away, wings outstretched, the white underbelly visible even in the darkness. Her relief was temporary and she shook her head as her vision clouded. The dizziness was overwhelming her. Automatically, she lifted her other hand from the steering wheel, clapping it to her face, but the involuntary action was her undoing. The wheel spun to the left and, with a terrifying squeal of tyres, the car careened off the road and into the trees. Avery grabbed the wheel and slammed on the brakes, but not fast enough. Too late, was her last conscious thought, as the car slammed head-on into a tree and everything went black.
When she came to, it took a moment for Avery to get her bearings. She groaned, clutching her head, where a warm, sticky trail of blood ran down her forehead and dripped into her right eye. Wiping it away, smearing her face, the metallic scent assailed her senses. Her vision was erratic, and she blinked frantically, trying to clear the dark spots that danced before her eyes. She wasn’t sure how far she was from the portal, but she was sure she was close enough to make it on foot if she wasn’t caught first. She still felt as though she was being followed, but she couldn’t distinguish whether the nausea she was feeling was her Guardian alert system warning her that vampires were nearby, or the result of weakness and hunger.
Pushing open her door, faint with exertion, she fell out of the car, landing painfully on the ground below. She crawled a few paces toward another tree, before using it to pull herself up to a standing position. Using the thick trunk for support, she peered around, before looking upward at the stars. She had to find her bearings or she would become lost in the woods. It took a few minutes for her to find the road, given how far the car had travelled into the thicket of the woods and her delirious state, but, once she did, she used it as a marker and set off on a parallel course toward the City. Her mind and body were exhausted, but she put one f
oot in front of the other, focusing only on the next step. And the next. And the next.
She had only been going a few minutes when the nausea intensified. This time there was no mistaking it. Vampires. There were vampires nearby. Avery crashed through the bracken of the woods, her fear and adrenalin rising with each passing second. She tried to move as silently as possible, but her light-headedness played havoc with her reflexes, and eventually she gave up, half-running, half-sobbing as she threw caution to the wind and raced toward the portal, knowing that she would never reach it in time.
The trees were sparser now, and Avery pushed forward. The flat plateau which ran from the edge of the woods to the portal was only a few yards away. She was desperate to escape the cloying darkness of the woods and the dangerous shadows that flitted towards her. She stumbled, dropping to her knees, and, with nothing to help her up, she gave a roar of sheer determination as she pushed her muscles to breaking point, tugging her feet beneath her and using every ounce of willpower left to get up again. She breathed a sigh of relief as, despite the burn, her body complied, and she took comfort in knowing that her mind was still strong. Her moment of euphoria, however, was dashed in an instant. She had taken only a step when someone grabbed her from behind, clapping a hand over her mouth to stifle her scream. Avery leaned forward, her fingers reaching desperately for the final gap in the trees, so close; she had been so close. She would never make it now. She was no match for the strength of the vampire who had seized her, but she refused to go down without a fight. Snapping her jaw, she bit down hard on his fingers, tasting the metallic tang of his blood as it flowed into her mouth. He cursed, jerking his hand away, and Avery threw back her head, hearing the satisfying crunch as her skull connected with his nose.
Guardians of Summerfeld: Full Series: Books 1-4 Page 72