Eyes Like Autumn (Seasons of the Magi Book 1)

by C. E. DeRosier

  The curtains opened to a full audience. It was a sea of extravagant masks and malicious grins. I searched desperately for any sign of John, Johannes, or Atohi. They had to be out there somewhere.

  He turned his gaze from me and spoke into the mic in his hand. “Hello, everyone. There’s been a change in the plan for this evening. You see, this dirty, vile, little Magus here has taken away all of your spoils for the night. So what do we think about a little execution for her, the mongrel, and her pets?” He kicked at the bag with one of his polished shoes.

  The crowd cheered. One man shouted, “Why don’t we have a little fun with them first?”

  “There just isn’t the time, my wonderful guests. Who would like the honor of ending their pathetic lives? Should we open the bidding at five hundred thousand?”

  “Perhaps you’d like to offer your life instead?” Johannes asked loudly, voice like ice. I squinted against the spotlight, barely making out the shape of him as he came down the main aisle. The light of the room cast eerie shadows on the skull of his Magus form, making him look even more frightening than usual. He looked like Death itself, come to take its prize.

  The stage shook as Atohi stalked in through the side of the stage in his Lycan form. He held a massive sword with runes carved into the blade that glinted while it swirled with blue magic, seeming to take on a life of its own that was yearning for battle.

  As they neared the stage together, John appeared with them, and for the first time ever, I saw his true form. He had elegantly long ears and eyes that were angled sharply down and so completely silver they shone like a cat’s in the moonlight. His complexion was darker now, with intricate designs across his features in the same luminescent metallic color as his eyes.

  They were all sights to behold, and exactly what I needed to see in that moment.

  “Filthy beasts,” Cole snarled.

  “Did your good patrons know that their most gracious host is a Mage? He's rare beyond imagination. And yet, here he is selling his own kind and Fae alike.” Johannes waved a skeletal hand to point at Cole. “I suspected the night you stole my son, but dear Doctor Thompson has confirmed it.”

  Behind the large Magus was a small man, maybe five-foot-five with snow-white hair and mustache and large black eyes. They had found the doctor. As long as we made it out, Ben would be able to continue his treatments.

  “S-shut your mouth!” Cole took a step back. He had seemed so eager to speak about it when it was just the two of us, but now faced with a room of his peers, his panic was rising. “You’ve no proof.”

  There was a loud pounding on the doors at the back of the room and the other side of the stage. The Fae were closing in, and they wanted their revenge. Cole, the man who had led me to believe he was nothing more than a teacher, leered at Johannes.

  “There’s nowhere to run now, Mage. You dared to take my child.” Johannes’s eyes flashed dangerously. It felt as if a cold chill was rushing through the room, biting down to the bone. “If you give up now, maybe we’ll spare your life.”

  “Do you really think you have any leverage here?” Cole spat as he spoke and gestured to us behind him. “I can just kill them now.”

  A small tear appeared in the bag the Pixie and dragon were in, tiny claws slicing through it. Moments later, they both popped out.

  I could feel the magic becoming unstable with Cole’s shift in mood. I flexed my magic and broke from the binds. I looked at my hands in wonder. I was free.

  Atohi’s eyes traveled to me and he smirked. “I’m afraid your leverage is no longer valid.”

  Without much thought, I charged Cole from behind while the Pixie worked on Ben’s shackles. We both collided with the ground hard. For a brief moment, the wind was knocked from me, but I didn’t care. I pinned his arms down.

  “How could you do this?” I shouted in his face, my nails biting into his arms.

  “Poor Alice. You just don’t get it, do you?” Cole’s look of disappointment disgusted me.

  I was so wrapped up in dealing with him that I barely heard the sounds of battle around me. The doors had finally caved and Fae had flooded in, going after their tormentors, who were quickly fleeing the room, only for guards to take their place.

  “How could you do all of this?” I tried to hold back a sob of frustration. “These are your people too!”

  “Oh, come off it, Alice. How can you feel any connection to these people? What have they brought you since they came into your life?”

  “Shut up. I won’t let you in my head.”

  “I bet those men just pity you too. The quiet ones are always freaks in bed.”

  I slapped him across the face. He licked the blood from his newly split lip and smirked. It was infuriating.

  “Ooh, do it again.”

  A magic-locking blast whizzed pass my ear. I jerked to look where it came from just in time to see the large, gnarl-toothed Fae slam the man away.

  Cole managed to get his footing and bucked me off him. He pressed a foot against my throat, stamping down enough to cut off my airway. I clawed at his shoe and ankle.

  “It’s a real shame. I could’ve made so much money from you and that little brat.”

  He yelped suddenly as the Pixie appeared and began tugging at his hair hard enough to make him lose his balance. Danae giggled as she flitted away.

  I kicked out, swooping his legs from underneath him.

  “You insolent little bitch!” he cried as I scrambled to my feet.

  “Miss, miss, they’re taking the boy!” Danae started to pull on one of my dress straps.

  “Ben!” I shouted.

  Johannes and Atohi roared. The room rattled with the sound, which started up a chorus of whoops and hollers from Fae and Magi alike. It was deafening, but I was able to break away from Cole while he covered his ears from the sound.

  I ran as quickly as I could to follow the man that had Benjamin. Bursting through the doors, I saw him being dragged into a side room. As I entered and spotted Ben against the far wall, I put my hands up just in time to deploy my shield against the pipe aimed for my head. Magical light flickered around me as my form changed, my Magus blood coming to the forefront.

  The man shouted as the pipe rang off my shield. He dropped it, and it vibrated against the ground, still reverberating the blow.

  I grabbed it and swung it at him, catching him off guard. It caught him on his arm with a sickening crack. He dropped to the ground, clutching his arm with his good hand.

  Ben slowly cracked his eyes opened. I knelt by his side and brushed hair away from his face. I smiled at him. “Hey, sweetie. You okay?”

  He nodded and took my hand to help him stand up. He was a little unsteady on his feet. I swept him up, one of his legs on either side of my body and his head on my shoulder.

  “We just need to get the others and we can go, okay?” I tried to reassure him as best as I could.

  Danae flew around my head, the dragon in her arms once more. She plopped him onto Benjamin's head with a giggle. Ben laughed as the little beast slid down his face to look at him. The dragon made a few sparks of electricity in the air when Ben scooped him into his hands before settling down against his chest.

  Ben looked up at me wide-eyed. Despite everything, I couldn't help the bubble of happy laughter from flowing out.

  “Do you like him?” He nodded. “You can name him if you'd like.”

  He gasped. “Really? It's okay?”

  “Of course.”

  Ben seemed to think for a moment, lightly rubbing the dragon's head as it made a noise similar to a purr. “Static!”

  “I think that is a perfect name.”

  “Head out, I'll let your friends know you've escaped,” Danae said as she swirled around me.

  I nodded to her. “Thank you so much.”

  With a renewed sense of vigor, I made my way through the halls until I found the stairwell from which we’d entered. It appeared everyone had cleared from the area, either running for their life o
r fighting for it.

  My steps were getting lighter and lighter as I neared the doorway. We were finally getting out.

  As I took the final step up the stairs, my happy thoughts were stolen from me. A hand gripped my ankle and pulled my leg from under me. I twisted to try and take the majority of the blow. Despite my efforts, Benjamin still tumbled from my grasp.

  “Ben, run!”

  He got up and fled, though not without stealing a glance back at me.

  Flipping around, I caught sight of Cole. His hair was disheveled and hung in his face. “Fucking prick!” I shouted and kicked at him, catching him in the shoulder.

  It gave me enough time to straighten myself and run free. My body throbbed painfully from all the abuse. I begged it to just hold out a little longer.

  A burst of magic whizzed passed me and encased the door ahead of me, which slammed shut. I tugged and tugged, but it wouldn't budge at all. I whirled to face Cole, feeling deflated and defeated. “Why are you doing this? What is the point?” At least Ben—and the others—had made it out. That was what mattered right now.

  “Why, Cole? Why are you doing this? Did a Magus hurt you?” I grasped at anything to reason with him.

  He scoffed. “I got nothing from the Magi.”

  “Are you angry because you were never taught how to properly use your magic? Is that it?” From the curling of his lip I could tell that I’d hit a sore spot. “Did you feel abandoned by them?”

  “You don't know anything!” His wand trembled with his words.

  “Mages are harder to find than Magi. The people at Hecate probably didn't even know you existed. It’s not your fault, and it’s not too late to stop this. Please, let’s talk this out,” I implored.

  “My parents knew what I could do. They hid me away like I was an embarrassment,” he spat.

  “I'm sorry that happened to you, Cole. But that school isn’t a good place.”

  “Any place would've been better than living with my parents! Do you know what it's like to see absolute disgust on your parents’ faces when just the week prior they were promising to take a family trip to the zoo?”

  “Cole—” I wanted desperately to explain to him that to some degree, I did understand what he meant. My father had tried to cut me off from everything magical. He was never going to let me back into his life. He was the one that had led Cole straight to Janafield.

  “Don't. Don't you dare look at me like that,” Cole growled. “They got what they deserved in the end.”

  “What did you do?” I may have asked the question, but I was still afraid to know the answer.

  A cruel smirk twisted up his pale face. “I locked all the doors with my magic and set fire to the house.”

  I gasped. “That's awful!”

  He shrugged. “I let the cat out first, doesn't that count for anything?”

  He threw his head back and laughed.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Johannes's grim visage slipping in the shadows of the doorway.

  Talking with a louder volume than necessary to ensure Johannes could hear me, I said, “Ben has already gotten outside, he's gone. They’re all gone. Why do we need to continue with this, Cole? Just give up. Please... We can get you help.”

  “Help? You think I did all of this as a cry for help? Ha!”

  Johannes moved suddenly, creeping along the corners of the room before slipping under the door after Ben. I felt like I could breathe a sigh of relief knowing they'd be reunited.

  Atohi and John came through the entryway a second later, temporarily taking Cole's attention away from me. I used that moment to shoulder him out of the way, knocking him to the ground. While he wheezed, John was quick to act, darting forward and snatching up Cole’s wrists.

  “You will have a trial before the Faerie courts to determine your punishment for your crimes against both the Magi and Fae,” Eldris told him before blowing a plume of a sleeping powder into his face. Cole went lax in his arms. I felt a small snap in the air as the spell he’d cast on the door dissipated.

  Awaiting us outside was a large horde of Fae and Magi of all shapes and sizes. They cheered and bellowed loudly as we came through the door.

  “What are they saying?” I asked Atohi as Johannes and Ben joined our side.

  “‘Wolf pack,’” he answered.

  In that moment, I realized that was a perfect description for out little group, our family. Our pack. Ben reached for me as his beautiful blue eyes watered. I smiled and held his hand before pressing a kiss to his forehead.

  “It's all right, sweetheart. Let's go home.”

  The people parted to let us through as they continued their cheers.

  Before we made it completely through the crowd, someone threw a rock at Cole's prone form. Eldris moved in time for it to collide with his shoulder, avoiding injury to his prisoner.

  I looked around to find who did it, only to see more stones soaring in the air. Atohi batted one away that nearly impacted my chest. He snarled, loud and fierce. All of the cheers, jeers, and ruckus stopped as they stared into his terrifying maw.

  “That is enough,” he bellowed. “He will be tried by the Faerie Council.”

  “He kept us locked up like livestock!”

  “He sold my brother!”

  “He should die for what he's done!”

  John spoke up. “That's not for you all to decide.” He oozed authority, his status of knight in the Seelie Court shining proudly.

  A murmur went through the crowd as people began to recognize him.

  “You must trust that the court will make the correct decision on his fate,” he added.

  I grabbed Atohi's large, fur-covered paw and squeezed. He bumped his head into mine before transforming back to his human self. I let my own Magus form melt away as well. Tears sprung to my eyes.

  “Alice!” Someone shouted my name as we neared the car.

  My line of sight landed on the familiar face of my father as he pulled a shiny black mask away from his eyes. The smile dropped from my face. “Dad?”

  He shook his head as he looked at us. “Why are you doing all of this, Alice? I gave you a way out. He was going to take away the Magi so we could be a family again.”

  “Dad, you don’t understand. Until you can accept me as I am, we cannot be a family, not like we were.” I almost choked on my words that felt like sandpaper in my throat.

  “Mama... what's going on? Why are you crying?” Ben’s quiet voice flowed over me.

  He reached for me again. I hadn't even felt the twin trails running down my face.

  I grabbed him and pressed a kiss to his forehead, my lips lingered. Feeling him in my arms again was enough to make me cry even harder. I had been so scared I’d never be able to do this again. “I'm okay, baby.”

  He wiped away my tears with his free hand. I thanked him quietly before turning my attention back to my father.

  “Alice—" My dad took a step forward.

  I cut him off. “This is Ben. He is my... our son.” I gestured my head back to Johannes. “This is my life now. This is the life I choose, here with Ben, and Atohi, and Johannes. I can't go back and pretend like none of it happened.”

  “You can't stay here with them!” he shouted, spit flying from his mouth with his angry words. Such ferocity didn’t match the handsome suit he was wearing. I hadn’t seen him dressed up like that since my mother’s funeral.

  “I'm not going to fight you right now.” I resigned with a shake of my head. I didn’t want to continue this. We had done so much; we had saved Ben. I just wanted to be happy.

  “I am your family.” He pointed to himself, his finger jammed against his chest. “Not these disgusting creatures.”

  “If family was so important to you, why did you let Mom die? Huh? You could have let me heal her. She could still be here, and you took that away from me. I won't take that away from Ben.”

  “Don't you think that hurt me to watch her die?” He was incredulous.

  I s
coffed. “Obviously not enough to save her. You made me wear that stupid necklace and claimed Grandma wanted me to have it, but it was you all along, wasn’t it?”

  Ben whimpered and started crying into my chest. I cradled him tighter and whispered to him that everything was okay.

  “I think it's time for you to leave,” Johannes growled as he stood before us.

  “This is all your fault, you filthy monster! You and that awful town. And now that brat. Did you mess with her mind to make her believe he's hers? You'll pay for all of this!”

  My father pulled a gun out that he had hidden in the waistband of his jeans. I gasped and handed Ben to Atohi.

  “Please keep him safe. I need to talk him down.” I pressed another kiss to Ben’s head.

  Atohi nodded. “Alice, stay safe yourself.”

  “Mama, no!” Ben tried to throw himself back at me, but Atohi held tight. His face was going red from his crying.

  “It's okay, baby. It's okay,” I cooed.

  “Thomas, why don't you go home? She has made her choice.” Johannes crossed his arms over his chest.

  The hatred my dad held for Johannes burned brightly in his eyes. “You've ruined everything ever since I was a child. You couldn't have my mother, so now you've taken my daughter.”

  “You ruined everything for yourself,” Johannes challenged. “Your mother loved you, and you shunned her.”

  “You stupid freak,” he cursed.

  Johannes started to approach my dad while he transformed into the skeletal body of the Ghoul.

  “Johannes, wait. Let me talk to him again.” I tugged on the sleeve of his arm.

  “Stop, Alice. The time for talking is long over.” He grabbed my arm to push me behind him.

  “Don't you touch her!”

  The gun fired. Johannes went incorporeal so that the bullet phased through him. But that's when my chest exploded in a burning pain. I couldn't catch my breath, and I dropped to the ground. Before I hit, I saw the distraught face of my father.