Watching them all staring at Annabell as she told her life story bothered me more than I could understand. Perhaps it was because I knew what it felt like to contain such darkness, to be good in heart but controlled by something with an essence all its own.
“I was often exhausted for hours after each transference, but for a long time, it maintained Cole’s balance, so it was worth it. We never aged past twenty, but why that was so, I cannot say. I can only assume the Darkness preserved us for its own use. But after several decades, it started to wear me down, and I was unable to recover for days. One day, Cole had absorbed more Darkness than he could manage, and he... changed somehow. The wolf was uncontrollable, insatiable, and he wanted to hunt humans. I transferred more that day than ever before, a misguided attempt to keep him from harming innocent people, and I took more of his Darkness than my body could manage.” Annabell bit her lip as if choosing whether to tell them the truth.
“What happened?” Sutton asked—the only one who still looked at my daughter with any understanding at all despite her short temper.
“I needed to absorb light or risk becoming... Well, we remember what happened to Hayden. Cole rushed to the village, where he found the baker’s daughter. She was a kind, sweet person, but after the absorption, she died.” Annabell clenched her jaw.
“And... that’s when you decided to leave?” Calla asked. “You just left him here alone to destroy the entire forest?”
“Hey, I don’t think she knew this would happen,” Sutton argued.
“We shouldn’t fight. We need to work together,” Sierra said, putting an end to the squabble before it even began.
Calla rubbed her forehead and groaned. “You’re right. I’m certainly in no position to judge, but if she hadn’t... I mean, what if she had...”
“Yeah, not really an easy answer, is there?” Sutton said. “I’m sorry I snapped.”
“Me too. What happened after that, Annabell?” Calla asked.
“I couldn’t make Cole understand why I was so upset. He’d passed the point where taking human life bothered him, but you see, that’s not entirely his fault. It’s a curse of his family line, and I had always thought we would find a way to end it. If we could then... then perhaps he would have been able to live his life normally, and the Darkness would be no more.”
“Are you... in love with him?” Elizabeth asked, but her tone was comforting and sweet, just Elizabeth in every way.
“I was, yes, and I do still love him, but that will not stop me from doing what must be done,” Annabell said.
“And what, exactly, are we doing?” Kai asked. “We’re flying by the seat of our pants back in the kingdoms. It’s difficult not to fight for our people when he comes and takes them. All he has to do is get Ethan, then this thing is on. First, we tried to prepare them to fight, but now it seems like we’re just rolling over and letting him win.”
“Cole penetrating the protective spell around the kingdoms was not part of the plan. I never intended to go anywhere with him, but I thought it was the safest option for everyone if I humored him.”
“Didn’t you recognize him when he first returned?” I asked.
“That’s the odd thing. I didn’t at first. It was like something blocked my memory of him for a short time, then suddenly I remembered. That said, I think something odd is going on. Do any of you have your stones?”
“No, of course not. Where would I hide a spear?” Sutton asked.
“Or a crossbow?” Elizabeth asked.
“I have my—” Calla cut herself short when she reached into her boot and came up empty. “Where is the dagger?” she yelled.
Ulrich reached for the pendant he kept tucked under his shirt and it was gone, as was Sierra’s bracelet.
“I don’t have my sword either, but I had it with me in the field. It’s possible I dropped it when Agustus accidentally stabbed me,” Parker said.
“There’s another option as well,” Annabell said. “Another traitor.”
“What? No, that’s... I guess it is possible,” Ulrich said, his shoulders slumped. “Who would do such a thing? Surely, none of the royals? A villager with a grudge, perhaps?”
“Any ideas who that might be?” Larkin asked, glancing at Annabell. She still worked hard to control her dragon as her anger and frustration with the situation grew more heated.
“No, not off the top of my head. But you see, everything has changed. The stones had a purpose, but I’m not so sure now that they will work as I had imagined.” Annabell wrung her hands and started to pace, thinking out loud as she did. “If I cannot find the stones... No, it just won’t work. But I thought perhaps... I suppose it might, but if I can... No. I can’t depend on that. I can’t see how I can even perform my new plan without them. It’s... impossible, I believe.”
Kai flicked his wrist and sent a flutter of snowflakes toward Annabell. They settled on her shoulders and dusted her dark hair.
“What was that for?” I asked, glancing at my husband. Jack was too busy chewing his lip to pay attention to anything else.
“Just a reminder that the impossible is always possible in this forest. Let’s not lose before we’ve even tried. What was the new plan, Annabell? Maybe if we know, we can help you?”
“I can’t—”
“Annabell,” Jack said sternly, finally jumping into the conversation. “Have we ever let you down? Haven’t we tried to be good parents and to do what you asked of us?”
“Yes, but—”
Jack wagged his finger. “No buts, young lady. The truth, now.” By all accounts, Jack scolding a child who was centuries older than he was, was comical, but it turned out to be just the push Annabell needed to trust us all with the truth. She ceased her pacing and sighed.
“You won’t like it, but it’s the only way. The problem is, I think I will need the stones for this spell as well. Hayden has already helped me with the falling star spell, and soon my help will arrive. With the aid of three stars, the Seven would have been powerful enough to transfer Cole’s darkness into the stones where it would be permanently encased.”
“In Seven little stones?” Luzia asked. “The stones my family kept safe for all this time were meant to contain it?”
“They were meant to corral it when the Seven merged, but Cole is far too powerful for that now. Something must have happened, a large absorption of darkness that pushed him out of balance again... I’m... I’m not sure what it was, but he cannot hold it much longer. The only option I have is to... I think I must go with option two as I have been planning, and pray it is enough without the stones to catch the overflow if there is any.”
“What is it, Annabell? The whole truth,” Jack said, still the stern father.
“When the Seven merged, they were meant to use the stars to amplify their light power. Then, they could absorb Cole’s power a little at a time, funneling it into the stones—a more manageable amount to eliminate at one time. The purpose of the stones was to hold it while the light doused it. Think of them as a storage pouch that would utilize the light magic while keeping the Seven from infection themselves, but now that Cole is so strong, I fear it won’t be enough.”
“But we thought that was the plan,” Nikola said. “What changed? How was the prophecy wrong if the whole point of it was to reach this time when the Seven were their strongest?”
“I wish I knew, but I don’t. Something made him darker than even the prophecy writers could have anticipated. The only thing I can do is use the stars and funnel the darkness into something stronger than the Seven and their stones,” Annabell said.
“Which is?” I asked, a pit growing in my stomach.
“Me,” Annabell said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to contact Stella so she can investigate the missing stones.”
“Wait a minute!” I shouted, but Annabell ignored me and rushed outside. I dropped my hands to my sides and pursed my lips. “She just... just drops that on us and runs away?” I asked, turning toward Jack. “Some
thing isn’t right. What she said makes sense, but what could have made Cole so dark? If the Fairies of Weisserwald wrote the song—”
“But remember, two of them were traitors,” Sutton added.
“Right, but even so, if most of the prophecy was right, then why is it suddenly all wrong? Simple miscalculation? Maybe this isn’t the right time?” Ulrich said, a waver in his voice. Larkin took his hand and squeezed it. “Could it be that though we are all alive now, it is still not the proper time?”
“Annabell seems to think it is,” I said.
“Hayden, I love Annabell, I really do, but... but what if she’s confused? Or wrong?” Calla asked. I hated to admit it, but Calla made a lot of sense. Annabell did seem to be missing something, and it bothered her. I chewed my lip for a moment and tapped my foot, working to put all facts in order while ironing the kinks and ditching the bad information.
“Okay, here’s what we know for sure. I can say, without a doubt, Cole is in love with Annabell. She’s always been his weakness from the beginning of his life as the vessel. We know that the Seven are important to him, presumably to level the darkness so he can continue to contain it as he has said. I don’t think there is any reason to think he is lying about that.”
“What if that’s wrong?” Nikola asked. “Just for argument’s sake.”
“Let’s say it is right for a moment. That means Cole is a tool, and the real issue is the Darkness, the evil. What is it exactly?” I asked.
“Sin? A virus? Who knows? Why does that matter?” Calla asked.
“I’m not certain it does but isn’t that always the question? Why? Why does any of this matter? What made the Darkness? What made the vessel, and why does the vessel need a constant source of light to douse the power of the Darkness? Something is off about this entire situation.” I chewed my lips some more, determined to figure it out. It was possible even Annabell didn’t know the key we were searching for, which meant the deterrence from her plan might not even be a deterrence but a veering in the right direction. The more I thought, the more I confused myself.
“How could something so evil find a way to love?” Elizabeth asked. “Doesn’t the ability to love prove something is not entirely evil?”
“Perhaps, but a lesson in romance won’t help us right now, I wouldn’t think. But maybe... Who knows?” Kai asked.
“Wait... let’s walk through history for a moment. If Cole wasn’t the first vessel, then that means there were others before him. Where are they?” Calla asked.
“Dead, I would think,” I said. “The duty transfers to the child, so I would think the previous vessel would live their life and die as normal after the transfer.”
“Okay, so Cole doesn’t have children, and he doesn’t want to. If the power grows so much that he needs to keep absorbing light to maintain control, it stands to reason Annabell’s plan for a star to absorb it all could work. But... does that eliminate the darkness completely, or does it only remove it from him so that he can start from scratch?” Parker asked, finally feeling well enough to really contribute to the conversation.
“No clue. And if the plan was to avoid having the Seven merge with him and to kill him instead, does that mean the Seven would have dissolved it if they had the stones? Could that be what Annabell hopes to do by absorbing it herself, dissolve it, so it doesn’t exist anymore?” Luzia asked.
“Where does it come from in the first place?” Kai asked.
“And we are back to the beginning,” Sierra said with a huff as she sat on the bed beside Parker.
I groaned and tapped some more, then it hit me. If we wanted the truth, there was only one way to get it. Cole. I had to find him and hope he would tell me the truth, knowing full-well he could kill me if he chose. I had a feeling Annabell, despite her best efforts, was missing information that might be vital to our cause. If only I figured out what it was, then maybe the battle could be won without bloodshed, without absorption, and without breaking my heart when I watched my daughter die from the Darkness.
“I have a plan, but you won’t like it,” I said, staring at my husband.
“Why am I not surprised?” Jack said. “Lay it on me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Annabell
Hidden Cabin, Das Unbekannte
SOMETHING WAS STILL wrong; it hadn’t all been Parker’s injury that I sensed. It was something more, something important I couldn’t place just yet, but it had to be the reason my plans kept going off-track. Once I figured out what it was, I hoped it would be something I could control, but often in the forest, that was a longshot. I couldn’t shake the gnawing in my brain, the one that said once I discovered the problem, it might be more than I could handle. Had I been wrong all along? Was Cole truthful when he said there was more to the story, or was he trying to get into my head enough to derail my plan entirely?
I tried to silence the questions. There were more pressing matters to attend, ones that involved figuring out where the stones were before Cole got his hands on them. If he did, I would never get them back in my possession again. Even if I couldn’t use them for my original plan, I still couldn’t risk Cole retrieving them and using them for some other dastardly plan.
When I was out of sight, I focused on contacting Stella again. The poor girl would be sick of me before everything was over, but she was the only one I knew would do what needed to be done no matter what.
Stella, are you there? I waited, hoping she was still willing to hear me and that it wouldn’t cause her additional pain.
I do. This isn’t permanent, is it? She replied with her usual sarcasm, but there was no time for that.
No, but I need you to do something. The stones are not with the Seven members Cole has already brought. Are they safe? Can you find them?
A moment passed before she replied, but the news was grim. They’re gone, Annabell. We’ve already checked all over the kingdoms, and they're gone. Are you sure they don’t have them?
I groaned—always two steps back at every turn. No, they don’t. I need Snow. Please have her prepare and meet me at the border of Das Unbekannte. She’s our guide, and I need her as soon as possible.
Another moment of silence passed before Stella replied, her thoughts tinged with frustration and anger. I don’t trust her. Everyone here is avoiding her, and with good reason.
I had a feeling everyone would turn on Snow when they heard the news of their possible demise. It was the reason I had never told anyone to begin with—that, and I wouldn’t let it happen, so there was no reason for them to be concerned. Then trust me. Please send Snow. And whatever you do, keep everyone else away from this final fight. I don’t want anyone caught in the crosshairs when I confront Cole.
Stella’s irritation was palpable even from so far away. Fine. I’ll do it now.
The connection ended, this time in Stella’s time. She was getting more control over her magic, even if she didn’t realize she was.
From where I stood outside, I heard the others talking amongst themselves but nothing discernable. I decided it was probably best to let them have some time to work through their emotions and everything I had thrown at them and took a short walk around the grounds.
Just behind the barn was a frozen pond, so I sat on the shore and studied the crystalline patterns that dotted the top. It was beautiful but also marred by the desolate feeling of my former kingdom. Everything was dismal and gray, old, tired, and dead except for the few things brightened by my magic when I passed. I sighed and whispered, “Oh, Cole. How did we get here?”
I looked over my shoulder, expecting to find an array of lilies that bloomed even during winter, but instead, I found—
“No!” I shot to my feet as dread settled in every cell of my body. “This is not right.”
The lilies were dead, dripping with thick, black ooze that trailed along behind me. I spun in place, observing the area where I stood. The darkness spilled onto the pond, covering its surface until it was nothing more than a pit of tarli
ke evil large enough to swallow a house. Panic rose in my chest until I had to bite down a scream.
“No... no... This is all wrong.”
“Annabell,” Cole’s deep voice echoed through the forest though he was near enough that I felt the chill of his tone.
“No! You said you wouldn’t see me again until—”
“I had no plan to,” he said, breaking through the trees. “But you called me here. When you call, I come, remember?”
“I never called you,” I said, grasping my cloak in tight fists.
“You did. I cannot be held responsible for your memory loss, Ellie. I tried to warn you that you were missing pieces, but you wouldn’t listen.” He stood beside me now, his hand outstretched. Black hair and dark eyes, a sweetness he reserved only for me... Oh, how I wanted him to be good if only so I could live the rest of my life knowing I had done something right, that my life had been good for something.
“You’re lying. I know I didn’t call for you. What are you doing to me?” I asked even as I felt the darkness tickling my feet as it swirled, waiting for the opportunity to strike.
“I am trying to help you without ruining you. Ellie, please believe me,” Cole said, his voice wavering. He took my hand, careful not to spark a transfer. “I am what I am for a reason, and that reason has always been to serve you. We are linked in so many ways, Ellie, and when you call for me, I hear. I always hear when your heart screams my name. Please let me do what I must so that I can ensure you—”
“Stop! I will not let you kill the people I love!” I jerked my hand free and ran, leaving a path of destructive darkness in my wake. Once the stars came, once everything was aligned, I would suck the darkness right out of him and destroy it once and for all—even if it killed me.
“Elfriede! Wait!”
I heard Cole’s calls behind me, but he didn’t bother to chase me. He could catch me, but he chose to stay behind. For that, I was grateful, but it didn’t make sense. I continued to run until I reached the border where I would wait for Snow. Once she arrived, she would help me. Snow would clear my confusion and set me on the right path again. She had to. It was the prophecy, and prophecy never lied.
The Heart of the Darkness Page 15