Tala Prophecy: The Complete Series

by Tia Silverthorne Bach

Amélie faced him, and Reagan could see the challenge in the woman’s eyes. “What you’re doing is wrong, Rafe. You’ve turned our sons into killing machines and you took my sister from me. I won’t let you hurt anyone else.” With the last words, she morphed into a wolf and flung herself at him.

  In turn, everyone else shifted into their battle forms.

  Reagan attacked the demon wolf closest to her. She could hear noises all around her: bodies slamming into trees, growling, paws beating the ground, the thudding of hearts, conversations. It combined to form a cacophony of deafening stimuli. She forced herself to focus on the beast in front of her, baring her fangs and closing them around the demon’s throat. Blood spurted into her mouth and almost caused her to dry heave. Disengaging, she spit the offensive liquid out. When the wolf’s body fell limp, she kicked it to the side just as a guttural scream erupted from behind her.

  Reagan spun around to see Rafe raking his teeth down Amélie’s back.

  Madeleine and Reagan took off to help, but it was too late.

  Amélie fell to the ground.

  Reagan knew they needed to get the woman back to base, find out what they could from Jessica, and better prepare for the war to come.

  “Madeleine, grab your sister and run!” Reagan communicated first to her friend and then concentrated on Sam. “Get Jessica and go!” Then, for any friendly wolf in the area. “Run, now!”

  “What are you doing?” Rowan’s voice came roaring back.

  “I’m going to light it up.”

  Rafe was staring her down as she approached. She opened her mouth and started to throw flames like she did before, but Rafe was too quick. He jumped her and sent her flying across the clearing. She stumbled, and turned to try again. Rafe was flying in the air, but just before he could make contact with her again, Rowan came at his brother from the side and sent them both flying.

  Reagan couldn’t risk throwing flames at both of them, so she focused her efforts on the demon pack closing in on her. She wanted them to suffer like she’d suffered, like her Mom had.

  Mustering up energy from the depths of a wounded soul, Reagan concentrated on the ground. The earth began to rumble and a chasm formed. A few wolves jumped it and continued advancing. She needed help.

  “Winona?” Please, please be able to hear me.

  “Yes.” With her sister’s response, Reagan breathed a quick sigh of relief.

  “I need your help. Focus with me.”

  Pain. Over and over again she thought it.

  Struggling against the looming darkness, she held her ground. Her knees buckled. Just before she lost consciousness, she felt herself being lifted. The last words she heard were: “I’ve got you, Tala.”

  Reagan’s eyes opened to a room full of people. But it was Sam’s face at the forefront. She struggled to sit up, the events of the day rushing into her brain. “Rowan? Amélie?”

  Sam shushed her and came to sit next to her on the bed. “Rowan is fine. He’s just got a few bruises and cuts that’ll heal in no time. Amélie isn’t doing as well.”

  “Madeleine?”

  “She’s with her. But it doesn’t look good.”

  “I have to go to them.” Reagan tried again to push herself out of bed. But her spinning head forced her to slow her movements.

  “You need to recuperate. Your powers grow every day, but you’ve also pushed them to the limits in a short time.” Nana.

  Reagan looked around the room to see Rowan, Papa, Mom, Dad, Nana, Aunt Sarah, Winona, and Sam. More determined than ever, even though tears threatened to take over, Reagan knew she could face whatever the final battle brought with her family by her side.

  Rowan moved closer and took her hand.

  “Rafe?” she asked.

  “When he saw his demon wolves writhing on the ground, or what was left of the ones that didn’t fall through the hole you created, he took off. I don’t know exactly what to think of it. He’s not so easily deterred or unprepared. I’m surprised he didn’t come with more, but maybe the whole Amélie thing threw him. Maybe, just maybe, a part of him really cared for her.”

  “Do you really believe that?” Reagan asked. After everything that happened, could Rowan still hold out some hope his brother could be saved?

  “I don’t know.”

  “Will you take me to see Madeleine and Amélie?”

  In response, he put his arms under her and lifted her. On the way out, each of her loved ones gave her a kiss or pat. She smiled when they reached her brother. Seeing him reminded her who was absent. “Is Jessica okay?”

  “Yes. She’s with Madeleine and Amélie,” Sam responded.

  His look confused her, but Rowan continued out of the room and down the hall. After a few minutes, he stopped. “We’re here. Do you think you can walk in?”

  “I think so.” Reagan reached out for his hand and pulled him into the room with her.

  Amélie lay on the bed.

  Madeleine was sitting close by, stroking her sister’s arm, while Jessica was draped over the unmoving newcomer.

  “Do you mind if we come in?” Reagan whispered.

  Madeleine waved her hand.

  “How is she?”

  “It doesn’t look good. She’s been in and out. I wish she’d conserve her energy, but she uses every breath to tell me all she can about Rafe. About her sons and more like them.”

  As Madeleine finished, Amélie began to stir. “Come.”

  Reagan heard the word, although it was faint, and went to Amélie’s side.

  “Ask your brother to come as well. You should both see this. It might help you defeat Rafe.” The words seemed to drain Amélie as she croaked them out.

  Reagan started to reach out to Sam, but then she decided to call the person who really needed to be there. “Winona? Could you come to Amélie’s room?” Winona’s affirmative response came quickly. “I’ve called my sister instead.”

  At the words, Amélie’s eyes went wide. Then a smile crept over her face. “He’ll never suspect that.” Her energy was draining, evident by the coughing jag that erupted after the last words.

  Winona came in and joined her sister by Amélie’s bed. They each took one of her hands.

  Connected, Amélie could now talk to them more easily. “There’s so much I need to show you, and my time is coming to an end.”

  A flood of memories flowed into the sisters. Rafe was the center of the visions, as Amélie seemed determined to share some of his most gruesome acts: sending the demon wolves to attack villages to ease their hunger, killing unsanctioned children amongst the pack, manipulating his own children to perform heinous acts. On and on. They could sense the life force draining from the poor woman, but they knew it was her dying wish to provide them with as much knowledge as she could. When the memory of bringing Jessica to Sam entered Reagan’s mind, she loosened her hold and looked to Winona who did the same. Amélie begged them to hold on a few more minutes. “I have a few more things to tell you before I go.”

  After her revelations, Winona and Reagan dropped their shaking hands to their sides.

  “Is there anything we can do to save her?” Reagan communicated the words to her sister.

  Winona shook her head.

  Reagan turned to Madeleine. “She doesn’t have much time left, so we’re going to leave you with her.” Then, Reagan leaned in close to Amélie. “Thank you.” Reagan placed a kiss on Amélie’s forehead, and she smiled in return.

  Before leaving, Reagan grasped Madeleine’s hand and gave it a squeeze.

  Rowan was still waiting in the hallway. Before Reagan could say a word to him, Jessica came out.

  “What did she tell you?”

  Winona and Reagan exchanged glances. “Stay with her for now. We can talk about that later,” she said, placing a hand on Jessica’s shoulder. “She’s dying. She needs you. And, Rowan, Madeleine will need you.”

  “But there are things we need to discuss.” Reagan sent the rest of her message privately.

  R
owan arched an eyebrow.

  Still shaking, she watched as he entered the room and put his arms around Madeleine. Jessica was sobbing as she clung to Amélie.

  “What are we going to do now?” Reagan asked, turning to her sister.

  “We need to find my father and your grandfather.” Winona took Reagan’s hand. “They have to know.”

  Every word of Amélie’s confession came rushing back.

  “I think we need Nana. Let’s run all this by her first, and then go from there.”

  After some searching, they found Nana in one of the bedrooms. Thankfully, she was alone. “We need to talk to you.”

  “How are you feeling, dear?” Nana asked. “You look flushed.”

  “Amélie is dying, if she’s not gone already,” Reagan said.

  “Poor Madeleine. She just got her back.”

  “I know. But there’s more. Amélie wanted to tell us some things,” Reagan said, hesitating to finish. Still recovering, the stress of the day began to take its toll. Shaky, she sat down. “Dyani’s still alive.” Reagan remembered how Papa told her parents about Winona, the whole rip the Band-Aid off approach. “Seems Amélie wasn’t the only one having Rafe’s children.”

  “Oh, God. Have you told Cheveyo?” Nana asked, focusing on Winona.

  Reagan jumped in to answer. “Not yet. We need to tell him and Papa, but we’re still processing. Just before we broke contact, she kept repeating Jessica’s name over and over. But I’m not sure what she was trying to say.”

  “I am.” Jessica’s voice startled the other women in the room. “I’m Dyani’s daughter.”

  Reagan stared out the cave entrance into an ever-changing and uncertain world. So many lives depending on her, and it was a lot for a seventeen-year-old to bear.

  Nothing about living in a cave was ordinary, even though her grandfather and his pack had set up a home within the rock walls, including military technology and modern conveniences. Heading down the hall, her eyes scanned the simple furnishings and accoutrements. She was grateful for her new home, especially since her family was together again. So much changed since Reagan shifted for the first time. She found the grandfather and brother she thought were dead, reunited with her grandmother and aunt, met a twin sister for the first time, discovered a powerful magic pulsing through their family’s veins, fell in love, and became part of a pack.

  While she counted her blessings, Madeleine, a friend and fellow pack member, grieved for her sister a second time. Reagan knew loss, the feeling of emptiness that seemed to swallow a person whole. Her friendship with Madeleine was new and tentative; Reagan wanted to ease the burden.

  Every ounce of pain had one name written on it: Rafe. He’d destroyed so many lives, and she was more determined than ever to stop him. She had no doubt Madeleine shared the same sentiment.

  Deep in thought, Reagan jumped when a hand touched her shoulder.

  “Sorry,” Rowan said.

  She slipped into his embrace and breathed in his scent as he closed his arms around her. He was the one good thing Rafe had brought into her life. After indulging in Rowan’s touch for a moment, she pushed away enough to make eye contact. “How is she?”

  “She’s struggling. To lose her sister again…”

  “I hate what she’s going through,” Reagan said.

  His arms slid from her upper back and down her waist, lingering there long enough to send a blush to her cheeks. He kissed her forehead, grabbed her hand, and led her down the hall.

  Amélie had sacrificed everything to bring them crucial information and deliver Jessica, who became a strong ally in the war with Rafe, safely. Images came flooding back to Reagan. Amélie had passed on all her memories to Reagan and Winona just before death came swooping in. Only they knew the details, and everyone else needed to be updated. With everything that had happened since, there hadn’t been time.

  Thinking about Winona brought a pang of guilt. While Reagan had gained a sister, Madeleine had lost so much of her own family. It wasn’t fair.

  Reagan halted, mid-stride. “I’m going to go see Madeleine. Would you mind gathering everyone? There’s a lot we need to discuss.”

  Rowan stopped and turned around. He covered the distance between them in two quick steps and pressed his lips to hers. She let herself get lost in it. When he pulled away, she chewed on her bottom lip. If only she had more time to explore her feelings for him.

  “Join us in the library when you can,” he said, pulling away slowly.

  As he walked down the hall, she watched and savored every inch of him. When he turned the corner, she made her way to Madeleine’s room. Her door was ajar, so Reagan pushed it open. “Madeleine?”

  “Come in,” Madeleine said with a shaky voice.

  Only a small lamp illuminated the room, and she was sitting on her bed with her knees drawn to her chest.

  Reagan walked over and sat down. “How’re you holding up?” She hoped she’d find the right words to provide comfort.

  Madeleine uncurled and turned her body so her feet were touching the floor. “I can’t believe I’ve lost her again.” Tears formed at the corners of her eyes, and she reached up and wiped them away.

  “What your sister did was amazing. She saved us in so many ways. Was she able to share everything with you?” Reagan asked. Amélie passed a lot of information to Reagan and Winona in a flash, but Reagan wasn’t sure how much Madeleine knew. Or how much more there was to discover.

  “Some. I always thought I was the stronger one for leaving. I was wrong.” She walked to her desk and gave it a hard smack with her hand. “If only I’d stayed, I could’ve spared her so much pain.”

  Reagan moved closer. “Would you have been able to change anything? We’re all prisoners to our destiny.”

  There was a time when Reagan actually spoke like the seventeen-year-old girl she was, but so much had happened in the last six months. Often, even to her, her voice sounded like someone else’s. Someone much older.

  Madeleine didn’t respond, and both women knew there was nothing productive about wishing the past were different.

  “Does she know why you really left?” Reagan had only heard bits and pieces of the story from Madeleine and had seen her sister’s viewpoint through visions. In neither case had it been clear whether Madeleine shared her condition with her sister before leaving.

  “I told her just before she died. Do you want to know what she said?”

  With the intensity of the moment, Reagan fought back her own tears. She nodded.

  “She said she wished she’d had the courage to do what I did.”

  Two sisters, both pregnant by a madman. Amélie decided to keep the child, while Madeleine took a different path. Both suffered greatly for their decisions. Madeleine’s and Amélie’s experiences weren’t meant for a children’s bedtime story or a Disney fairy tale. Reagan had seen it all clearly in Amélie’s memories.

  Madeleine wiped her tears away. “So, what’s our next move?”

  Reagan knew her friend needed to get back to business. Rafe was still out there, and he had to be stopped. Few understood that as well as she did. Except Rowan.

  “Rowan’s gathering everyone for a meeting. Are you up for it?”

  Madeleine nodded.

  ↄↄↄↄↄ

  When she and Reagan walked into the library, almost everyone was there. Looking around the room, she saw the faces of so many people she loved. From the corner of her eye, she noticed her brother sitting with his girlfriend, Jessica. Reagan had spoken to Jessica yesterday, knowing she’d be greatly affected by some of the secrets divulged later that day. On the other side of the room, all at one table, sat Reagan’s mother, father, Nana, Papa, and aunt. Standing close to them were Winona, Cheveyo, and Reagan’s father.

  Only Rowan, Sasha, and Ricardo were missing. They were part of the new family along with Madeleine. As soon as Reagan opened her mouth to ask the whereabouts of the rest of the crew, Rowan walked in. Reagan tilted her head, wondering wh
ere the last two were.

  Rowan seemed to sense her question. “Sasha and Ricardo will be right here.”

  “Ah, I guess we can start then,” Papa said.

  He stood and crossed the room to Madeleine, putting a hand on her shoulder. “How are you holding up, dear?” His tone was soft and gentle.

  “I’m ready for a plan.” Madeleine said what Reagan suspected everyone was feeling.

  “I understand,” he said, walking to stand by Cheveyo. “Cheveyo and I have been talking, and there are some resources we must explore to help us face Rafe.”

  Reagan never thought she’d see the day Papa and Cheveyo would work together. After all, he was the man who impregnated Reagan’s mom with boosted magical power that resulted in Reagan and Winona’s births. Then, he’d hidden Winona and raised her his way. Papa had given up everything to keep his family safe, forgoing years with the woman he loved and their family. But after all that, the two men had a common goal.

  Saving the world made for strange allies.

  “We’ve arranged to meet with Lucent,” Papa said.

  A collective gasp sounded, coming from everyone except the two men at the forefront of the conversation.

  Papa had only mentioned the centuries old vampire once or twice; Lucent played both sides, and there was always a price for his involvement. Reagan wondered what the cost would be. She wasn’t sure how much more her family and friends could afford to lose.

  “Can we trust him?” Reagan asked.

  “No,” Papa said without hesitation. “But we need him.”

  Dad threw back his chair, leaned over the table, and pressed his hands against the wood, the veins in his neck pulsing. “Vampires aren’t trustworthy, much less one of their leaders. They come from the pits of Hell. Or is that it? We fight fire with fire?”

  She noticed her mom reach over and lay her hand on his; he seemed to calm down. Her parents had been through so much, and Reagan was glad to see them have a tender moment.

  “Lucent agrees with us on at least one thing: we do not want Rafe’s version of Hell unleashed,” Cheveyo said. His words were steady and devoid of feeling.

  When it came to him, Reagan was torn. Should she be impressed with his business-like approach to everything, or wary of his lack of emotion? She knew he wanted to destroy Rafe, but she feared how far Cheveyo would go to do so. Did the people in the room matter to him or just the end result?