“We’re supposed to be neutral,” Judge declared. “This is our purpose.”
“We must restore her protection,” Warden announced.
“She sacrificed her own protection,” Wisdom said. “The natural shifts are dictated by our own actions.”
“Then our own actions should reinforce her protection,” Shepherd said. “This is important enough to—”
“The Eleven do not—”
“Without her, we are but ten,” Silence said. “And how often have we longed for change? How often have we realised how quickly wars would be avoided if we had just stepped in at the right time? This woman is strong enough to keep us above water. We’re in a new age, and she could be our voice.”
“Interference never leads to satisfaction,” Wisdom said. “We learned those lessons in the first turn of our reign.”
“We don’t have a reign,” Warrior said. “We’re invisible. Forgotten.”
“As it should be,” Slave said.
“It’s time that changed,” Silence replied. “We have mutual needs and desires. We discussed how she could be the hand with which we attend to our will. This is the natural progression.”
“It’s not the right path,” Birth said.
“For now,” Knowledge said, “perhaps it is the only path.”
“Then we’re agreed,” Silence said. “We will restore the protection over her territory.”
“That’s it?” I asked, baffled by the constant turns in their opinions.
“You must report to us regularly,” Wisdom said. “We must be aware of your actions, and you must listen to our guidance. As long as this breach against neutrality isn’t commonplace, we can pull together.”
“Good luck, Ava Delaney,” Shepherd said softly. “The reins may have loosened, but we’ll be watching you.”
“And congratulations,” Silence added as the figures around me turned hazy. “His death pleases me greatly.
~ * ~
When I got home, I found Jess hanging around outside my front door. She gave me a weak smile as I approached. Immediately, my heart raced with concern.
“It’s okay,” she said. “Nothing’s wrong.”
I let us into my house, wondering why she hadn’t just gone in and waited for me there. I knew she was staying at Carl’s to be close to Parker. And I knew they hadn’t even kissed yet. I was so down with the kids that they told me things.
“What’s up?” I asked. “Want some breakfast?”
She shook her head. “I need to talk to you about what happened. I was never going to join him. I was just waiting for the right time.” She held out my dagger.
“If you can wield it, maybe it really is yours.”
“I don’t want it, Ava. I thought I wanted to be like you, but this isn’t my life.”
I took the dagger and shoved it into the belt sheath I had taken to hanging from a key rack. Peter had bought it for me. I had no idea where he got it from, but it was perfect. “I know you weren’t going to join him.” I filled the kettle and put it on the stove. “I saw it in your eyes. He was too arrogant to see he was being played.”
She shrugged. “I don’t think he cared. He really wanted you. He was just using me to get to you.”
“He couldn’t resist the idea of having us both. He thought the younger he found us, the easier it would be to break us. Look at those assassins—all taken as children, all convinced the dead fae who enslaved them is their benevolent mother. Kind of sick really.”
“I want to go back,” she blurted.
I blinked a couple of times, thinking she meant Seth’s house.
“Parker and I have been talking about it,” she explained. “We want to go back to England. I made friends there, found people I can trust. We have to ask Dad, but I think, considering everything, he might just say yes this time.”
“Are you sure you have somewhere to go?” I asked. “You can really trust these people?”
She gifted me with a broad smile. She looked so young and innocent, her eyes so clear of the red rage. “They’re all good people, and maybe we could be of some use over there. You seem to have things handled here.”
I drew her into a hug. “You’ll keep in touch, though, right?”
She blinked away some tears. “Of course. And we can visit each other. I mean, it’s not going to be a goodbye, just a see you later. Okay?”
I nodded. “Of course. It’s not a big deal. England isn’t exactly the other side of the world. And I could use a holiday every now and then. Where else would I find a little sister to annoy?”
Her eyes softened. “Only the greatest big sisters kill scary ancient vampires for their siblings. I’ll never forget you, Ava. You changed everything for me. I think… I think I’m going to be okay.”
“So go grab that future you’ve been looking for.”
She beamed. “I’ll tell Parker. He wants to look for his mother, just in case she made it.”
“Hey, if you ever need help with that…”
She smiled and waved as she ran out of my house. She didn’t need me. I had helped her, and it was time for her to move on. And I was okay, too. I had been holding so much guilt over the people we had lost along the way, and it was as though killing Seth had murdered that guilt, too.
~ * ~
Jessica, Parker, and Adam left a week later. Half of the people in the cul-de-sac were happy to see them go, but I actually cried. I wiped my eyes with my sleeves before anyone could see.
“Thanks for everything,” Parker said. “If you ever need to kill things with fire, just call me.”
“Next time I see a spider, I’ll for sure let you know,” I teased.
Adam waited until the others had gotten into the car before he came over to me. “This wasn’t what I expected,” he admitted. “But she’s alive and free, and I can’t ask for anything more.”
“Just trust her,” I said. “She’s gone through a lot. She deserves some peace, and she absolutely deserves to have you on her side. Take care of yourself, Adam.”
“It’s not true what they say about the tainted.” He shook my hand. “Thank you for ending my nightmare before I helped it come true.” He headed for the car, only stopping to apologise to Anka one last time.
As the three of them rode away, I felt something shift inside of me. My lost soul wasn’t so lost anymore, but the connection between us still remained. That was some consolation.
I had to get back to my real life, whatever that meant lately. I had been surprised to see Phoenix arrive to see them off. I wasn’t so surprised when he took my arm and led me away from the others.
“They’re coming to live with me,” he said.
“But I—”
“My children need me, not you.” But his tone wasn’t harsh. “It’s time my family came home to me.”
“Are you… I mean, you’re not going to ban them from speaking to me or anything, are you?”
His smile was gone before I could relish it. “This isn’t a punishment, Ava. But I need them away from the madness. With me, they have the power of the government and the fae behind them. With you, they’ll never reach their full potential because they’ll be too busy following your lead. It’s time they came home, time the fae accepted them and the government moved on from the beasts.”
“But the Senate isn’t working.”
“It’s not,” he agreed. “But we’ll keep fighting for equality until it does work. I want to know my children, Ava. I want them to come to me when they have a problem. I don’t want them jumping into your fights to protect you. They have a childish connection to you. It’s not good for them. Don’t you see that?”
“What about Val? Lucia’s not going to leave her behind.” I faltered as I caught the pity in his eyes. “She’s going with you?”
“I don’t want to separate the connection they have. At least, not yet.” He cleared his throat. “And as Leah’s guardian, Val will be taking her with us.”
“Phoenix.” I tried my best
not to cry, but I was already way too emotional. “You can’t take everyone away.”
He brushed a tear from my cheek. “You’ll always be a part of their lives. But it’s my turn to have time with them. And as for Leah, I’ll be her guardian, too. I’ll protect her. Nobody can keep her safer than I will.”
“Somebody owned her once. What if they come back?”
“Then they’ll have to come through me. I promise you that won’t be easy. I must go. My children will follow. I wanted to warn you before they came to tell you the news.”
My chest hurt. My heart hurt. “So that’s it? You’re taking them away, and that’s it?”
“That’s it.” He lowered his head and kissed my cheek. “Farewell, Ava Delaney.”
I knew he was right. I couldn’t keep everyone by my side forever. They had to forge bonds without looking to me for help. But that didn’t make it hurt any less. I thought of my friends as my strength, and it was scary to think that I needed them too badly to let them go. But I loved them too much to ask them to stay.
Later, when the twins, Val, and Leah came to me to tell me about their decision, I didn’t even cry.
Lorcan could barely look me in the eye. “It’s just… after what happened to Lucia, I feel like I need to get to know my father. You never know when you’ll lose that chance, and I’ve wasted so much time already.”
“You’re right,” I said.
“You don’t mind?”
“Pfft. Of course I don’t mind.” The lie almost broke my heart again. “We’ll still see each other.”
Lorcan looked ashamed. Maybe Phoenix was right, and I needed to let them go before they changed their minds.
“We’ll always be friends,” I said. “But you don’t need to hide anymore. It’s time you had a chance to find your own lives.”
“I loved living here,” Leah said softly. “But now you can concentrate on your work instead of having to worry about us all of the time.”
I nodded, trying to smile.
“And you still have to sort out those business cards for me,” Val said. “You promised to teach me how to run a business.” The half-hellhound smirked. “And it’s the least you can do after making up a name and telling it to the world.”
“You’re a comedian,” I said. “Get the hell out of here. Just remember to come back for our family meal every now and then.”
Val snorted. “As if Carl would ever let us forget. I don’t know why we let the human tag along.”
She and Lorcan headed for the garden, followed by Leah who protested that, technically, she was human, too.
Lucia stayed, holding her hands out to me. I took them and closed my eyes, waiting for a vision, but none came. I hoped that meant some peace for a while, but I wondered if she had gone willingly with Seth to save us from some possible disaster or simply to bring her father and brother closer together.
I opened my eyes to see that hers were full of unshed tears. “I’ll miss you. But your dad is right. You need a safe place. So get out of here before I cry.”
She hugged me briefly, engulfing me in cool innocence. And then she was gone.
~ * ~
Later that evening, Peter, Carl, and Esther strode in, laughing and joking and carrying a ton of Chinese food.
“We’re having a night in,” Carl explained, clearing off my coffee table.
Peter headed into the kitchen with some beer, presumably to make room in the fridge.
“Esther, what are you doing here?” I asked.
“I missed you.”
“Aw, we missed your little bald head, too.” Carl rubbed the top of her skull.
She thumped the side of his thigh.
“Jesus,” he groaned, crumpling. He wrapped his arms around her and dragged her down with him.
“Ugh. Ava’s right, you are a big oaf.” She extracted herself from him, but her cheeks were a little flushed. Interesting.
“Okay,” Carl said, pulling food containers out of a bag. “After everything that’s happened, we thought we could all use a night to relax and catch up and just… veg.”
“And Carl figured you’d be upset with the goodbyes.” Peter settled in next to me and handed me a glass of juice. “So we’re being your friends. We’re being there for you.” He cleared his throat, a cheeky smirk on his face. “Unlike some other people.”
I shoved him and picked up a fork, but I couldn’t stop my smile. “Idiot.”
Carl went over to the DVD player and put on The Goonies. Then, he settled in next to Esther.
“You know, Carl,” I said, “someday, you’re going to have to move beyond the eighties for entertainment.”
“But it’s the best kind,” he said. “We’re kind of like the goonies, you know.”
“And which one are you?” Peter asked him.
“He’s Chunk,” Esther said, giggling. That set me off.
“Shaddup,” Carl said, grinning madly. “But it’s true. We’re the underdogs, but we win in the end.”
“Nobody dies in The Goonies,” I said, sighing.
“That’s because it’s not real life. If that were real life…” Peter frowned. “Which kid would have died?”
“Peter!” I shoved him. “That’s not the conversation I want to have tonight.”
“Okay, then,” Esther said. “Just how good did it feel to chop off the head of the first vampire?”
It had felt good, but what felt better was later hearing that every single beast had dropped dead. It was as if some spark of Seth’s mortality had been in their veins, keeping them going. When it ended, so did they.
“It would have felt better if I hadn’t been convinced we were all going to die in a fire,” I said. “But it was perfect. It was like… saying goodbye to the past. And Jessica’s pure light, despite the chaos in her. I mean, it just goes to show that everyone is capable of anything. We just have to make a choice.”
“I wonder what the angels think about it,” Carl said.
I shook my head. “I don’t even care. They had nothing to do with this.” But I wondered if their influence was stronger than I liked to think.
“Forget the angels,” Esther said. “I have an alpha on my back.”
“He won’t get to you,” I said.
“I’ll have to fight him,” she said. “It’s the only way the shifters will stop.”
“Aren’t any of them on your side?” Peter asked.
“Some.” She waved her fork. “But it doesn’t matter what the new governments say. Shifter rules apply.”
“I wonder how Shay will deal with that,” Carl said.
“Same as the rest of us,” I replied. “One day at a time.”
As the night wore on, and the protection over us remained strengthened, I finally relaxed. We had pulled off something amazing, and I had handled my first lost soul. Hopefully, the next one would be less dramatic. But I knew the people in my living room would have my back, no matter what.
I had told Jessica I had to fight myself to believe I deserved a good life, but I suddenly realised that my inner struggle was no longer ongoing. And then I settled back to enjoy the rest of the evening with my best friends.
Thanks for reading Tainted! For more information, check out Claire Farrell’s blog or email the author. Sign up to be notified of new releases or like the Facebook page for more regular updates.
The second story in Ava’s new adventures is due for release in 2015 and will feature shifters, werewolves, and paragons, oh my…
Books by Claire Farrell:
Chaos Series:
One Night with the Fae (Free Companion Prequel)
Soul (Chaos #1)
Fade (Chaos #2)
Queen (Chaos #3)
Ava Delaney Series:
Thirst (Ava Delaney #1) – Free
Taunt (Ava Delaney #2)
Tempt (Ava Delaney #3)
Taken (Ava Delaney #4)
Taste (Ava Delaney #5)
Traitor (Ava Delaney #6)
Awak
ening (Ava Delaney Volume I – Books 1-3)
Uprising (Ava Delaney Volume II – Books 4-6)
Cursed Series:
Verity (Cursed #1) – Free
Clarity (Cursed #2)
Adversity (Cursed #2.5 – Free
Purity (Cursed #3)
Cursed Omnibus (Entire Cursed Series)
Stake You Series:
Stake You (Stake You #1)
Make You (Make You #2)
Short Story Collections:
Sixty Seconds
A Little Girl in my Room
Other:
Death is a Gift (A banshee novel)
Zombie Moon Rising (A Peter Brannigan Novella)
Upcoming Releases:
Ghost Moon Rising (A Peter Brannigan Novella)
Usurper (Chaos #4)
Break You (Stake You #3)
Demon Dog (V.B.I. #1)
Tethered (Ava Delaney: Lost Souls #2)
Copyright © Claire Farrell
[email protected]
Cover by Yocla Designs
Licence Notes:
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold.
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