by H. D. Gordon
FALLING STARS
A SURAH STORMSONG NOVEL
~BOOK TWO~
H. D. GORDON
Copyright © 2013 H. D. Gordon
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media and incidents area either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and publisher of this book.
For Soraya and Akira, my sun and stars.
PROLOGUE
THE REDMINES
He awoke to the sound of his mother’s scream.
It was a sound he would never forget, one he would carry with him over the centuries, the pitch and terror always as clear as icicles when he’d call up the memory, which he did as rarely as he could manage. And when he slipped, when he allowed himself to think back on that fateful morning, all the details, every moment, came back in cold clarity, the icicles jabbing into his heart and soul and never quite melting there.
He jolted upright in bed, his eyes flying wide and his head whipping around to meet the wide eyes of his brother, who was also sitting up on his bed. Both boys were drenched in sweat, shaggy, dark hair sticking to their necks and foreheads. There was moment just then when time seemed to have been suspended, a moment between that terrible scream and all hell breaking loose, where both of them could do no more than sit and gasp and stare at each other. It couldn’t have lasted long, probably only a handful of seconds in real time, but the enormity of it was something that would last a lifetime for Charlie Redmine and his older brother, Michael. In fact, if Charlie had to pinpoint one event that marked the beginning of several centuries of darkness that would plague his brother and him thereon, this would be it.
“Mikey,” he whispered, the one word coming out in a trembled rush.
Both boys were standing now, staring at the door to their bedroom, beyond which had come the scream. “Stay here,” Michael whispered, and began creeping toward the door.
He was only halfway there when the first scream was followed by a second. Then the sounds of several heavy footsteps, breaking glass, and more screams came from beyond the walls of their small home and within. Next, a bright orange glow flashed outside their window, and they realized their neighbors’ homes were on fire. Sweat broke out on the backs of their necks and foreheads, and they accepted that their own home was also ablaze beyond that door.
Charlie grabbed his older brother’s arm in a vice grip. “Don’t go out there, Mikey. Don’t leave me.”
Michael turned to him and placed his hands on his little brother’s shoulders. His eyes, the same green-blue color as Charlie’s, were wide with fear, but calm for the sake of his brother. “It’s gonna be okay, Charlie-Boy,” he whispered, forcing a small, reassuring smile to his lips.
Their mother screamed once more, the last time she would ever scream, though they wouldn’t know this for sure until morning came and the ashes had settled and grown cold.
Michael’s hands tightened on Charlie’s shoulders as they both winced at the terrible sounds. Michael stood indecisive for only a moment, his eyes darting to the smoke that was creeping under the crack of their bedroom door, toward the sound of those heavy footsteps, which were drawing closer and closer. He swallowed once, then pulled Charlie over to the window, peering out at the chaos beyond.
Several homes were bright with fire now, and creatures unlike any either boy had seen in their short lives were dragging women out of their homes by their hair, cutting the throats of children and bashing the men with huge clubs. The creatures had wings and horns, snarling mouths with fangs that dripped ropes of saliva.
“We gotta get outta here,” Michael whispered, pushing the window out slowly and offering his brother a boost with his hands, which were trembling slightly.
At first, Charlie made no move to leave. “We can’t. What about mom and dad? We can’t just leave them.” Tears were pooling in his eyes, his heart beating fast and furious. He was too young to truly understand what was happening, what this meant, but come morning his innocence would be gone forever, ripped away like a blanket on a cold night, and all the horrors of the big bad world would no longer be a secret to him.
Michael took his shoulders again, and this time his grip was nearly painful. “Listen to me, Charlie-Boy. We’re at war. Everyone’s at war.” He glanced out the window, and back to his little brother. “I got to protect you. It’s my job. We ain’t kids no more.” His voice cracked and he swallowed. “Dad told me this might happen. He said all the races were at odds and somethin’ big was comin’. He said if it did, I’m supposed to take you outta here and keep you safe. That’s what I’m gonna do, so stop arguin’ and get your butt out this window.”
Charlie could see his older brother was on the verge of tears, but was fighting them desperately and covering his fear with a faulty mask. Charlie had never and would never again see his brother so afraid, so shaken, and this scared him more than anything. He did as he was told, but he would wonder forever what would have happened had he refused to leave. Maybe he could have saved his parents. More likely, he would have died right alongside them and the thousands of others that would meet their ends on that night.
The boys made it out of their village, holding their breath as they slunk around corners and avoided the creatures at all costs. Though they kept hoping for it, no Hunters rode in to defend them, no Highborn showed face to save the day.
Once Michael and Charlie were a good distance away, they stood atop a hill overlooking the village, watching as the only home they’d ever known, as all the people they’d ever loved screamed and cried and burned. They were two boys at the weigh station between childhood and manhood, too young to witness what lie before them, and yet witness it, they were.
Come morning, all that would remain was ashes. Cold, dead ashes.
But from those ashes something would arise, as things usually do when a slate is wiped so plainly clean, and that something would be a hatred that would carry on in Charlie’s older brother for the rest of forever, that would make him into the man he would someday be. A man to fear. A man hell-bent on revenge. A broken soul determined to break the souls of others.
Though he didn’t know it at the time, the biggest question for Charlie was, when the time came, would he follow his brother again? When the time came, would he stand beside him as Michael set his own fire and blazed his own path of destruction?
Until then, there was really no way to know.
But after nearly a millennia, now that time was drawing near.
CHAPTER 1
SURAH
It was hard to breathe, but Surah was doing her best to control herself, to keep her cool. It was quite a task considering the circumstances.
She was especially aware of his eyes on her, which only served to make her more nervous, twisting her already wrenching stomach. She spun slowly in a circle, dry vegetation crunching under her boots, dark cloak fluttering with her movement. She surveyed her surroundings. How had she gotten here? How had things unraveled so quickly?
Because that’s the way things always unravel, she thought, quickly and without warning, so as to leave you… breathless.
“You okay?” Charlie asked, snapping Surah out of her thoughts. She found it harder to look at him than it should have been, especially since she could still feel the kiss the two of them had shared on her lips. The kiss that had made her heart beat fast and her blood rush in her ears and had drowned out the world… The kiss that had shattered the world. Hers, at least. She could do little now but stare at the wreckage.
She did not know what lie ahead, but deep inside she somehow knew that after the events of t
he past week, things would never be the same again. She stole a quick look at the man who was the cause of it all, though she didn’t blame him for the current situation, or anything that had happened. How could she blame him, when he had betrayed his own brother to save her life? How could she hate him, or not trust him, after the song he had played to set her free of the dark chains Black Heart had been using to hold her captive? She couldn’t. She couldn’t seem to help any of her feelings toward Charlie Redmine.
“I’m fine,” she said, when she realized he was still waiting for an answer. She found it annoyingly difficult to look into his jade-colored eyes, like a silly school girl with a crush. “I don’t know where we are, but I’m fine.”
She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he turned and took in the lay of the land, his lean body twisting easily. She couldn’t help but admire the way his muscles flexed as he moved, so visible without the cloak that most Highborn Sorcerers in the kingdom wore. He wore only jeans and a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows, scuffed brown boots and a brown belt, skin slightly tanned from hours spent in the sun. So very different from all the men she knew, because Charlie Redmine was not a Highborn Sorcerer, he was a commoner. She was a princess. And that was just the beginning of where things got complicated.
After scanning the area Charlie looked back to Surah and gave that easy smile she was starting to get used to, despite her best efforts against it. Charlie’s smile was one that just couldn’t be ignored. It made her feel better and more nervous at the same time. Straight white teeth flashing beneath eyes the color of tropical ocean water, not quite green, not quite blue, but somewhere in between.
“I know where we are,” he said, staring at her in a way that made her stomach feel funny. She was in deep trouble here, and the fact that Charlie was a suspected murderer and traitor to the kingdom with a crazed brother hell-bent on overthrowing the throne—which she happened to be next in line for—was only the half of it.
Surah studied the line of trees in the distance, dotted along rolling hills covered in green and yellow grasses that were barely discernable, even with her superior night vision. Overhead the sky was a black blanket sprinkled with glittering bits of sugar, the moon a huge orb of soft white light. The land here was untouched and uninhabited by people, quiet but for the small whisperings of the night. There were several places in her father’s kingdom that fit this description, and she couldn’t see how Charlie could know just where they were. Unless…
“Did you bring us here?” she asked.
He shrugged, the moonlight catching in the liquid of his eyes, making them appear almost silver. “The Magic came from you, but I guess it’s possible my mind supplied the location,” he said. “It all happened so fast. I guess you didn’t have a strong destination in mind, and I thought of the place I always come to when I need to… not be found for a while.” He spoke slowly as he said this, as if waiting for her reaction. She wondered why he would need to “not be found for a while”, and remembered there was so much she didn’t know about this man, an entire history that was still hidden from her.
She hadn’t gone down to the dungeons in her father’s castle planning to help Charlie Redmine escape—not exactly, anyway. The truth was that when Theo had caught her and Charlie mid-kiss (something she hadn’t planned on, either, or so she told herself), she’d panicked and teleported out of there with Charlie before her mind even had a chance to question the decision, or the destination. But she was questioning it now.
Surah was surprised when she found herself telling him exactly what was on her mind. She still couldn’t look directly at him while she spoke, which was a strange thing for her. As a princess she’d never had trouble making eye contact with someone. Charlie seemed to be the exception to several of her rules.
“If I’m being honest,” she said, “I’m scared out of my mind.”
She risked a look up at him. Her heartbeat kicked up a notch. He just stared back at her, said nothing, waited for her to elaborate. She didn’t even know where to start. In the course of a week the Black Stone—a Magical Stone capable of great devastation—had been stolen and recovered, her father had been poisoned by demon scratches, she had been captured and tortured, and Theodine Gray had asked for her hand in marriage. That was before Theo had caught Surah and Charlie in Charlie’s dungeon cell, sharing the kiss that shattered the world. That was before she had teleported the two of them out of there, becoming a criminal herself in aiding Charlie’s escape. She realized there were a whole bunch of things she could categorize as before Charlie Redmine had walked back into her life, and after. The worst part was, despite all the danger she knew was ahead, she wasn’t sure she would go back to life before Charlie if given the opportunity.
And that was the most concerning problem of all. Who knew what secrets Charlie was keeping? If Surah had learned anything over the course of her long life, it was that everyone had secrets, and people who lost sight of this were often made the fool.
“What are you afraid of?” Charlie asked, when the silence went on so long Surah had forgotten the topic.
Had she thought about her answer a little bit, she might’ve lost the nerve to say the first thing that came to mind. As it was, it was hard to think about anything with him so close. “You,” she said. “I think I’m afraid of you, Charlie. Of getting too… involved with you.”
Charlie studied her, his expression neutral, but his eyes deep and guarded. He kept his distance, which seemed to Surah to make the space separating them feel charged with electricity. He was silent for so long she was sure he wasn’t going to answer, and she wished she could see into his thoughts right then. How was it that only moments ago his lips were practically burning across hers with passion, and now he’d gone right back to the way he’d been before, withdrawn and… haunted? Yes, that was it. She wasn’t sure why it had taken her so long to recognize it. Under that calm, laid-back demeanor, and beneath those deep, beautiful eyes, Charlie Redmine was a haunted man.
And haunted men had more secrets than anybody.
At last, he rubbed a hand down his jaw and met her eyes directly. “Well, Princess, I guess that makes two of us,” he said, and with that, he turned on his heel and began heading off to wherever he was leading her.
Surah was dumbstruck. She didn’t know what to think or what to say to that, though he didn’t seem to be waiting to hear her response anyway. She stood staring after him a minute, her stomach turning in circles for no good reason.
Then she sighed and followed after.
CHAPTER 2
THEO
He had never known such rage as he was feeling now.
It was thrumming in his veins, at his temples, making him sweat under his dark cloak. Theodine Gray was a man unaccustomed to sweating, and though anger had been a longtime friend of his, and death an even closer companion, he had never wanted to kill someone so much as he wanted to now. Just thinking the name of the man made a murderous red haze fall over him.
Charlie Redmine. If it was the last thing Theo did, he would see Charlie Redmine dead.
He refused to examine too closely the reason for his rage, refused to acknowledge that it was mostly a deep hurt that fueled it. Despite his faults, Theodine Gray truly loved the princess, loved her more than even he had known. He had served her and her family dutifully for hundreds of years, done all that had been asked of him. And now he had become the fool. He had professed his love to her, had even asked for her hand in marriage, and had walked in to find her in the arms of a criminal and traitor to her father’s kingdom. In the arms of Charlie Redmine. The betrayal here was so immense it only registered with Theo as hate and a great need for revenge.
Even so, he wasn’t sure he could do anything to harm the princess, wasn’t sure that when he found them he could bring himself to throw Surah in jail for her assistance in the traitor’s escape. But he was sure of one thing; He would take great pleasure in watching the life leak out of that common
piece of trash Redmine. He would savor the moment when their world was rid of him forever, and then maybe—though he was too afraid to allow himself to hope—she would see that Theo was better for her, that they were meant to be together. It was a possibility, wasn’t it?
Or maybe she would hate him forever. Maybe she had been swept away by Redmine’s snaky charm and would force his hand, make him do something that would surely haunt him for the rest of his days. That was a possibility, too.
Either way, it didn’t matter, because if Theo couldn’t have her, nobody would. He’d waited too long and worked too hard. Surah was, by all rights, his.
He climbed the stone steps out of the castle dungeon—a place he would forever associate with hurt and anger and betrayal—and thought very hard and very quickly about his next course of action. The answer struck him so strongly that it surprised even him, and for a moment he wasn’t sure what it meant or if it meant anything at all. He was too upset to care, anyway. All he knew was that action was what he needed.
The princess was gone and King Syrian had not yet awakened from his demon poison-induced coma. It was time Theo paid him a visit.
CHAPTER 3
SURAH
Being that she was a pragmatic person, Surah’s mind was racing to find a solution to the problems she was facing, but it was hard to concentrate, so she just ended up walking through thick grasses behind Charlie and silently reciting a spell that kept the bugs and critters away. The last thing she needed was to find a spider in her hair or get stung by a wasp. That would be the cherry on top of this mess of a sundae.
“Where are we going?” she asked, stopping and shielding her eyes with her arm. The sun was just beginning to lighten the sky, and the temperature was increasing steadily. If it got much hotter she would have to take off her cloak and gloves, and though this wasn’t that big of a deal, it seemed to be one to Surah. She wore only a black tank top, black leggings, and boots under her cloak, and she wasn’t sure it would be a good idea to shed any clothing around Charlie. She refused to examine the reason why she felt it wasn’t a good idea. There was enough on her mind as it was.