by Candy Crum
She turned, watching both of the dark Chieftains run like cowards. She raised her hand to the sky, sending lightning bolts raining down in a wall to stop them in their tracks. They tried to run in a different direction, and she whipped her hand around, a wall of wind throwing them back.
She continued to advance, slowly stalking her way toward them. "What's wrong? Ready to leave so soon?"
Both the Chieftains stood there, panicking as they debated what to do. They looked to the sky, each of them peering around Arryn. Jerick lifted his hands again, but she flicked her wrist, and telekinetic energy pulled his arm out of the socket; she repeated the process on the other side. Screams erupted as he fell to his knees.
She laughed. "You really are afraid of him, aren’t you?" Her irises began to turn green as the white parts turned even blacker. The storm clouds began to dissipate as the bright skies returned. "There you go, ladies. Now you can focus on me because I’m the one you need be afraid of. I made a promise to you, do you remember, Alaric?"
She came to a stop roughly twenty feet away, knowing his death touch was no longer a worry. If he even attempted to use it again, he would go down before she did—though she didn’t have much left, either.
She could see the look of disdain on his face as he slowly nodded his head. "You said that you would send me to hell."
With a very wide smile, she said, "You know, I always make good on my promises."
Alaric shook his head. "If you think this fight is your last, you're wrong. We only brought a fraction of Locke’s men. There were hundreds more down there. His wife is even worse than he was. She'll come for you. I can help you."
Arryn laughed, throwing her head back a little before focusing back in on him and shaking her head. "You can't even help yourself. If you think for a second I'm going to let either one of you live after what you've done, you have never been more mistaken in your life. Jerick, the justice I seek is for Corrine. For the torture you delivered to her—a child—over the course of her entire life. Alaric, your crimes are far too many to list. Your death will be justice for many, but for me, it will be specifically for my father."
As her voice became more heated—they no doubt sensed their end coming, along with her increasing rage—their eyes flashed. But she only smiled.
She spread her legs shoulder-width apart, thrusting her hand downward. A blast of physical energy hit the ground hard enough for a massive crack to form between her feet. As she focused on it, the earth quaked even more, splitting it even further.
"I should have killed your father the day Aeris brought him to me. Instead, I just told Aeris to beat the shit out of him," Alaric said.
Even hearing it sent her further into a rage, Jerick obviously taking notice and quickly turning and begging him to run. Unfortunately for Jerick, Alaric had accepted the inevitable.
Arryn brought her hands out to her sides, massive chunks of dirt and rock lifting from the ground as it continued to shake. The crack grew exponentially, traveling directly between the brothers.
"You're going to spend eternity right here in this very spot, never able to return to the Dark Forest, forced to live in the Arcadian Valley that you hated so very much. For your crimes, you're sentenced to die. And yes, I'm sending your fucking asses to hell—your version of it."
Arryn's entire body flexed as even more rock and earth exploded from the ground, everything around them shaking as it knocked the dark Chieftains off balance and threw them into the chasm. She heard them screaming as she brought her hands down, all that dirt and rock slamming back down to the ground and crushing them inside.
She no longer heard them, and she could sense the moment their life forces ended. Now that they were gone, her entire body wavered, and she had to catch her balance. She wasn't nearly as weak as she had been when leaving the dark druid encampment, but she was certainly close to collapsing.
Had it not been for the healing she had received before engaging them in battle, she never would have been able to survive that.
Everyone rushed to her side, pulling her into hugs and kissing her face. Cathillian grabbed her and kissed her before pulling her against his chest and holding her for several moments.
"By the way," Arryn said, her voice weak. "According to Alaric, we didn't get so lucky with the bandits. We killed their leader, but he said there are more. A lot more. I'm not sure how accurate that is, but at least we know the possibility."
"Shh. Let's not worry about that right now. If he meant it, we’ll deal with it when we get there. If not, then we can move on to Kemet," Cathillian said.
Arryn yawned as he picked her up bride-style and carried her back toward the forest. Snow made her way out, Corrine riding on Dante.
"Look who's finally big enough for me to ride!" Corrine said excitedly.
Arryn laughed. "Glad to hear it. Seems you needed a good mount when the time came, anyway. When you find your own familiar, it's hard to say if he or she will be bigger, or change in other ways. So, at least you know you'll have Dante to ride."
"I have my baby wolf! Reaper. He might be my familiar one day, and then I can ride him," Corrine said.
Arryn tapped Cathillian's shoulder, and he let her down. She straightened her mess of a shirt and made her way over to Snow on steady feet.
"Hey," Cathillian said. "I thought you were all weak and stuff."
She shrugged and smiled. "Actually, I just wobbled a bit. You're the one that picked me up and didn’t bother to ask. You just assumed I was weak. You underestimated me."
He laughed. "Well, historically speaking, the majority of times I find you after you've been in a big battle, you’ve gone all lady balls out and have exhausted yourself."
"Point taken. I definitely need a nap. Like, a two-day nap and some food. That would be great," Arryn said.
Snow head-butted her arm, rubbing her cheek on Arryn’s shoulder before kneeling down. Arryn climbed on and gave her scratches as she leaned forward, laying her face in the soft fur and snuggling in. She couldn’t wait to get back to her cabin.
EPILOGUE
Several days passed, and everything in the Dark Forest was beginning to settle back in. Because of their quick planning, no children or elders in the village were injured during the battle. Zoe had done her job, and had done more than that. She had kept them protected, but also kept them calm.
Shortly after the celebration in Arryn’s honor as well as the triumph over Alaric, Zoe said her goodbyes and headed back to the Heights with a group of ten well-trained warriors. With no worries about someone coming for the Dark Forest now, the Chieftain felt confident sending several along with her to make sure she made it home all right. Though Locke was dead, they knew the possibility of bandits roaming around in Arcadian Valley was still there.
Especially once Locke’s wife discovered he wouldn't be returning. At least, if the dark Chieftain was to be believed.
Arryn asked Cathillian to send Echo to Arcadia with a letter for Amelia to let her know the war was over, and peace among the Arcadian's, the mystics, and the druids had finally been found. The Arcadian Valley was now a place of unity they had all said was in the design from the very beginning with Ezekiel. Now, life could begin the way the Founder had always meant for it to be.
The only thing standing in their way was the damn bandits, and Arryn intended to deal with them soon enough.
Amelia had sent back a letter letting them know Sven and Ren had arrived to request assistance because the murders had gotten worse. Julianne had also returned to the Temple, and Arryn knew she would soon hear of what had transpired from Zoe upon her return.
Though Arryn was enjoying her time relaxing with everyone with no worries of anyone coming for them, she knew that time was coming to an end.
Even if the large number of bandits south of the Heights didn't exist, they would still have to leave to go to Kemet and save Bast and Cleo's people.
"When are you guys planning to head out?" Elysia asked as Arryn stood from the fire,
preparing to go back to her cabin.
Arryn exhaled deeply, shaking her head. "Honestly, I'm not ready. But I can't just sit by and let innocent people suffer. We still need time to prepare, so I would say within forty-eight hours."
"Have you thought any more about Corrine?" Elysia asked.
"I'm conflicted. What do you think I should do? I want to take her, because I don't want her feel like I've abandoned her, but I'm so worried," Arryn said, her eyes momentarily flashing black as she conjured a fireball and threw it into the fire pit. It roared back to life.
"Personally, I think you should take her with you. Yes, it might be dangerous, but I think with all of you, she will be just fine. Not only that, but if she misses out on this journey, she might regret it. She might resent you. You were pretty strong when you initially left for Arcadia, but just how much stronger did you become while you were gone?"
She sighed as she nodded. Corrine walked past them, heading toward her own cabin when Arryn rushed over to walk next to her.
"So, I was thinking," she said.
Corrine stopped, turning her beautiful face toward Arryn. "What about?"
"First off, thank you for saving me. I can't repay you for what you did. You saved my life twice, and helped me to bring peace to everyone here in the Dark Forest including my father, including you, and also including me. What you did drives me insane, and it makes me want to tie you up and lock you away. But it also makes me very proud. In the short time you’ve been here, you have grown incredibly fast."
Corrine smiled, the fire lighting her face up just enough that Arryn could see the blush rise to her cheeks at the complements. "Thank you."
Arryn nodded. "After serious thought, and also after talking to Elysia—who is the smartest person I've ever met, and unfortunately the only mother-figure I've known for most of my life—I decided you should go with us when we leave."
Corinne's face lit up as a large smile grew. She leapt forward, wrapping her arms around Arryn and hugging her tight. She returned the hug, leaning down and laying her head on Corrine's.
"I won't let you down!" Corrine said.
Arryn smiled, her thumb brushing across the girl’s cheek. "I know you won't. Now, go get some sleep. We leave in two days."
Without saying another word, the girl ran off to her cabin. Arryn turned and nearly ran directly into her father. Yet another person she was incredibly proud of. She had seen him fighting, using his favorite sword as he had long ago.
He had cut down dark druids left and right, taking them down with ease. It was true that he was rusty, and he wasn't nearly as good as he used to be, but he was still incredible. She knew that if he kept training, he would be just as strong as he once was.
"Two days, huh?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yep. Are you gonna be okay here without me?"
He smiled. "I hate to see you go, but I know that you have to. I know it's what you have to do. And even though I hate that you won’t be around, I can't complain about it. I raised you to be strong and fight for the weak. I'm so proud of you."
She smiled as she hugged him. She’d had enough hugs the past three days to choke an antisocial person. Luckily for her, they were from people who mattered the most.
"It's getting late," he said. "You should take your own advice and get some rest. I know you slept for the last two days, but you still need it."
She smiled and nodded. "Good night, dad. I love you."
As she turned, heading toward her cabin, he said, "And Arryn?"
"Yeah?" she asked turning to face him.
"Kick their asses. They’re Samuel's family and friends. Teach them why messing with good people is the worst sin a person can commit."
Arryn smiled. "Did you have any doubts?"
FINIS
Author Notes - Candy Crum
Written December 22, 2017
Well, fancy seein’ you here! Book SIX!!!! Yes! All of the exclamation points!!! I’ve been trying not to elicit any eye rolls or exasperated shakes of Michael’s head while he reads them, so I have been cutting him some slack lately. *winks* Just kidding. He likes that we all joke about the e2p2 (excessive exclamation point problem) that I suffer from.
Anyway! How have all of you been? Do you know what? The reviews have been amazing to read, and I LOVE them! Thank you! All of you have been so generous with them, and I appreciate that deeply. Keep them coming! We love to hear from you (especially me—the make the days so exciting! Mostly when trying to power through and focus that day!), and we love them!
This time, instead of ending with your “review assignment”—I’m going to begin with it!
Given the date of release, I would love to know what holiday traditions you celebrate! I don’t care if it’s Christmas, or Hanukkah, or anything else. Or, if you don’t have typical holiday traditions, is there something else that you like to do this time of year (big annual ice fishing trip, vacation spent reading, etc)?
Our holidays have been relatively the same for years, except that one time my dad randomly forgot like… ten or more years of traditions? No idea about that…
But since I was a kid, Thanksgiving Day was celebrated at others’ houses. So, we would load up and go to my aunt’s (because my grandmother Candy did not cook—she claimed you’d die if that happened. I never tested it… Though she could make some awesome bacon sammiches), or whoever was holding it that year on my mom’s side. That sometimes changed from year to year.
But Friday was for us at home.
My parents were divorced, so my Dad always made his Thanksgiving on Friday. I always loved it. And my dad made the best lemon merengue pie. I always hated the merengue though, which he took as a personal insult. But then in later years, I started to like it. So, he liked me again. *laughs* When he remarried, he randomly forgot about years of tradition and actually said, “What? Why did you make plans for Thursday? We always do it on Thursday!”
Luckily, we were on the phone when having this conversation. The confused look on my face surely could have killed anyone who looked upon it. I inherited his forgetfulness. So, I get to look forward to doing this to my own children. Should be fun and interesting! Haha.
But now, since my younger sister, Amanda, was fortunate enough to buy her first home with her wonderful husband, Clint, she has it there every year, and let me just say, their Thanksgivings are amazing. She is an incredible hostess. Did not take after me ol’ memaw Candy in that area at all! She would be proud.
For Christmas, we also go to my sister’s house! She plays Christmas movies for everyone while they are waiting on dinner. Last year was Christmas Vacation, and I’m hoping that this year will be, too, because I love that movie and we’ve already watched my other favorite, Elf. Plus… this year, it is going to be SO very appropriate—and you’re about to find out why. After dinner, we always open presents.
However, since I know there’s exactly zero chance for her to read this before Christmas Eve, when I will be at her house, I wanted to share what I got for her. And yes… I will walk straight into their house and hand each one their gifts and expect them both to wear them/use them right at that moment.
I got my brother-in-law a shirt that has Chevy Chase’s rant from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (“I want to look him straight in the eye, and I wanna tell him what a…”—that one) on it. It is riddled with all the curse words, and they aren’t bleeped out. I’m going to hand it to him and make him change whatever he’s wearing. It’s on a normal red, men’s tee-shirt. I grabbed it on Amazon for anyone reading this with wide eyes wanting their own to offend or humor the family with next year.
For my sister, I got a baseball jersey style shirt (white with black sleeves), and it also has a Christmas Vacation quote on it. It says, “Jolliest bunch of Assholes this side of the Nuthouse” on it.
Oh!!! And the best part? I completed it with the moose glasses—which I will also hand them when showing up. Yep. I bought the moose cups for them to drink their eggnog out of. I a
bsolutely CANNOT wait for them to get those gifts! It’ll be so fun! They love that movie, and my sister is a Christmas freak. She loves, loves, loves Christmas.
Thanks to LMBPN, KGU, and all of you amazing people, this year I was able to have a good Christmas for my kiddos and my sister, niece, and brother-in-law. I can’t tell you just how exciting that is. It’s been years, so I have a lot to be grateful for this year.
Also, this Christmas is extra special for me because I was able to buy back my childhood home. I’ve been working on that for almost two years now, and I was finally able to. I know this is an all-Christmas/holiday themed Author’s Notes, but it’s definitely that time of year for a lot of us! And remember… no matter what religion you are, what holiday you celebrate, or if you don’t celebrate anything at all, I would love to know what you guys love to do around this time of year, too!
Thank you again for all your support and love. You guys are absolutely amazing! <3 <3 <3
Until next time! Happy reading, and Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays (no matter what that may be), and of course, Happy New Year!
-Candy
Author Notes - Michael Anderle
Written December 23, 2017
First, THANK YOU for not only reading this story, but allowing me a chance to provide an author notes without E2P2 issues. (Snicker!)
Now, if we have a book out in April, I might not be able to accomplish that act as April Fools would sorely tempt me to do a massive “I can out Candy…Candy” effort for the exclamation marks.
I will have to say that at fifty, and with the youngest two (the twins) JUST in their first year of college, I’m kinda ready to step away from massive Christmas seasons.
(I know, BAH HUMBUG!)
But, let me explain!
You see, our oldest is twenty-five this year. So, I’ve had twenty-five years of children and Christmas. Some of those years were sedate…Well, maybe two of them. Otherwise, you do what you can to make Christmas special for the kids and a couple were huge. Not because we had tons of money, but rather gifts were purchased all year long on specials as stores tried to get rid of toys (they were real young at this point).