Winter's Fall

by Alessandra Jay

  He raises his glass high in the air and gulps it down in one sip.

  We all follow suit and shoot back the spicy hot liquor. Evan leans down to place a soft kiss on my lips, then twirls me around. Everyone shouts for us as he dips me for a deeper, more intimate kiss.

  Those bring on louder shouts from our family - those attending have become so much more than friends, they are witnesses to the happiest day of my life. When he lifts me back up to my feet, as I'm trying to catch my balance, I see Theo throw himself off of the roof. We all hear a loud thud and it brings complete silence to the night. We hear scuffling, then Finn flies off of the roof and lands next to Sage, who already has her wings out.

  Theo pushes open the back gate and throws an intruder down on the ground in the middle of the group. I know it’s a woman from the shape of her body, but I can’t see anything else. She has her face hidden behind a black mask that covers the bottom of her face. Her light eyes are the only detail I can discern.

  “I caught her watching from a crack in the door. She’s not mortal, or she wouldn't have seen through the glamour. And she’s not a caster either, or she already would have tried to cast her way out of this.” Theo stands tall next to this woman with his hand over hers that were quickly bound, holding her in place like she’s an animal.

  She has on a long, dark leather jacket with a hood that is up covering her hair and shadowing her face. She looked menacing and dangerous. All of my senses pique and I go into protector mode. My wings snap out of my back as I walk slowly towards this person.

  Several phones ring at once behind me and it distracts me enough to look away from the intruder. Evan lifts his phone to his ear and listens intently to the other caller and, without a single word, hangs up the phone, as does everyone else who just received a call. Evan places his phone on speaker so whoever doesn’t hear can now listen in.

  “Lenora helped Vincent escape by hurting Julian. She thought sacrificing him would distract the guards and it did, because they thought he was dead. But he’s still alive and imprisoned here in Eden. Belle tried to help prevent them from escaping, and was hurt…pretty badly.

  Lenora cursed all of the guards there and every one of them is asleep and lost in their minds. We’re contacting every healer we have in the area to come and try to help. They should be there any minute.”

  Jade is the one relaying this message, I’m guessing because Ava is busy tending to the chaos. Evan speaks with a growing frown. I can tell he is furious both from the news of Vincent’s escape and everyone who was injured in the process as well as disruption of our celebration. I try to give him a sympathetic look, but my anger overrides it.

  “Is that who you are? A spy for the Dark Coven? You're one of their Fallen angel lackeys, aren't you?”

  I don't realize my voice is growing louder with every question I ask. The woman doesn't move an inch. She stares into my eyes, as if that is going to be her answer. It makes me even angrier. But before I can act upon my anger, a glass breaks behind us.

  “My brother is not going to be happy to see that you two have already bound your auras. You really do want to die, don't you? You both are lucky that the binding has been completed. Although, without you two getting intimate yet, there’s still a chance since your souls have not yet merged... Especially if we kill one of you before it can even happen.” Lenora's accent always makes her sound less dangerous, but I know better.

  Instinctively, I place myself in front of Dimitri, who has suddenly recoiled at the sight of Lenora. I feel terrible that he’s around during one of her ambushes. I can only imagine what’s going on in his head as he looks at the woman who almost took his life. It takes everything in me not to take her now and rip her to shreds.

  “What do you want? Why can’t you just leave us alone?” I feel the words leave my mouth in a menacing tone and, for a second, I don't recognize my own voice. Lenora laughs her disgustingly sultry laugh as she downs one of the champagne glasses.

  “I’ve told you before, Scarlet.” My name rolls off of her tongue like a snake ready to attack its prey.

  “We want you gone. With you in the way it’ll take far too long for us to take what is meant to be ours, what we deserve. So what we want, little idiota, is for you to come with us and no one will get hurt. It’s just that simple.”

  Now she grabs a piece of the cake with her pointy manicured nails and lifts it to her mouth, licking every finger as she waits for my response.

  “Or I can kill you now and get it over with.” It escapes my mouth, leaving me sounding just as sinister as she does.

  “I don't know how many times I have to tell you, I am not scared of you.” Lenora stands her ground and pulls me into some awkward staring contest, wasting all of our time.

  “Take your Fallen angel scum with you and get off of my property.” Pointing to the hooded peeping tom, I watch Lenora's eyes squint.

  “Or what? You’ll call the cops?” She laughs in my face as she pulls a chair out to sit on, as if she’s getting bored. “That is not one of our soldiers. Looks like you're making your own enemies without us.” Throwing her head back, she cackles even louder.

  Suddenly, the back door swings open and everyones’ heads spin towards it. Vincent walks through as slow as molasses and I hear Charlie growl like an angry wolf beside me. Mack grabs Charlie's hand and stays by her side, stuck like glue.

  “Seems that I have made it too late to the party. Your pathetic waste of caster power is nauseating. How very foolish to bind yourselves together. Anima Partem or not, you are wasting yourself being linked to this scum of a demon hunter.” He spits out every word with more force than the other. I cringe at his statements.

  “You're wrong. We’re both stronger now. I can kill you with a flick of my wrist right now. But I'm giving you the chance to decide to stop this war. Call it off and find your own place away from here.

  Leave the mortals and the casters alone. Stop summoning demons and part ways with the Fallen. There is still time to choose to do the right thing, Vincent.” I should have known that trying to make peace would only make him angrier.

  “How dare you. I am more powerful than everyone in this room. I am no one’s equal, and don’t you dare ever insult me with your pathetic goody two-shoes attempt to be diplomatic.

  I’ve had quite enough of the mortals and casters under Ava’s order all the same. Under my rule, things will be different, better.” I can see Vincent’s face begin to take on a red shade. Lenora pushes her chair back and stands as she waits for some kind of signal. I can’t let her get that signal.

  “Get out. I want all of you gone. Like I told your sister before, take your wretched Fallen puppet and leave us alone!”

  I didn't mean to scream, but I couldn't help it. My anger is making me see red. They had to pick tonight of all nights to mess with me. Vincent turns his head towards the masked woman, then spins his head back towards me.

  “She does not work for us. And you do not ever get to give me orders.”

  Vincent casts a staff in his hand and slams it down on the ground with a force so strong that the ground shakes underneath our feet. Sage and Finn fly above the house, then return in seconds.

  “We’re surrounded. There are Fallen for miles.” Sage cracks her knuckles as she begins a pre-battle stretch.

  Theo removes the hood from the intruder and pulls down her mask. With a shocked look, the woman inhales and holds her breath. Dad and Dimitri make the same gasping sound and turn five shades lighter and paler than usual. Charlie circles Lenora like she’s a lion in heat and waits for her own signal from me.

  “You have thirty seconds to decide whether you want to come with us quietly, or are we going to have to destroy your wedding party then pry you from this wretched backyard by force?” Vincent stares me down and it makes my fists close so tight that I can feel my nails digging into my palms.

  “I will never, ever go with you or your psychopath of a sister.” I mean every word. Still, dad and Dimitri
stare at the woman in shock, unmoving and silent. She watches Vincent’s every move and it makes me wonder who she is working for.

  “You are going to wish you chose differently.” Vincent raises his staff to bang on the ground again. But before he does, I let my power free, ready to strike him at any moment, knowing I can kill him in a split second. He looks down at me and sneers, as if he’s ready for the challenge.

  He slams his staff down into the ground and ten Fallen enter the backyard, ready to fight through my team and get to me. With a deep and cynical laugh, he watches the first batch of Fallen take on the members of my Light Coven. Chaos erupts around me and my tunnel vision only sees Vincent.

  Except, it’s not so easy to get to him. More Fallen and all different kinds of demons rush into the backyard to protect their master. A kudu demon steps in my way and I immediately bring my weapon to the side of its head. It stops me midway and tries to grab me by my stomach with its other hand. Bringing my fist up as hard as I can, I punch the demon so hard in the face that it stumbles backwards. With a swift leap, I dig my blade into its skull.

  An anea demon takes the place of the kudu and attempts to take hold of my body. They’re not trying to kill me. They’re trying to capture me. That makes me angrier than I already am and I want nothing more than to get to Vincent. I want nothing more than to defeat the evil atrocity that brings so much grief into my life. He needs to die and I need to be the one to do it.

  With a single lift of my hand, I take a page out of Lenora’s book and I freeze the demons. Focusing on them only, I squeeze my fist shut until the tips of my fingers are white from the pressure. One by one, the demons explode in their places. All of their inky blood splatters over the entire backyard, over every person that’s here.

  Lenora loudly grunts as she flicks her wrist to cast herself clean.

  “You little bitch!”

  What’s left are the Fallen that have survived the fighting so far and there aren’t many. Theo must be off fighting some of them because the woman intruder is left standing there unguarded with her hands bound together. Even still, she joins the fight against the Dark Coven with us. Although I think I can trust her now, I don’t want to let my guard down. I trust that my team can handle the rest of the Fallen because I need to take care of the biggest problem of them all, Vincent. He lowers his head, ready for the impact.

  With my angel speed, I'm next to him in seconds, but he’s prepared. He uses his weapon to block my advances and it only makes me angrier. I push faster and harder to get close enough to draw blood.

  Summoning another weapon, he laughs even harder, boiling my blood even more. As if in slow motion, I can see him bring his staff down to trip me. Even though I see it coming, he makes contact and I fall.

  I won't let him win. Especially on my wedding night. Sliding to the right, he shoves his stick down into my arm. It penetrates my skin and I feel the blood drip down my arm and onto the ground.

  With a loud shriek, I cover the wide gash in my arm with my hand. I focus as hard as I can to use the gift I received from Lizzie. Slowly I can feel the wound begin to heal, but Vincent is taking the opportunity to get me while I’m down and is quickly coming at me.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I see the woman race over to where Vincent is about to strike me again and she bends, grabbing a dagger out of her boot. Lenora screams as she sees what’s about to happen before it does, but Vincent is too power-crazed to take notice.

  Ready to hurt me more, he doesn't realize that the woman behind him is ready to take his life. I hear the sound of the knife sliding into his back, and then I hear it again and again as she takes it out to stab him several more times. Vincent falls to his knees as Lenora finds a clearing away from Charlie, evading her to get to her brother.

  Once she sees the damage, Lenora focuses her eyes on the woman who stabbed her brother. Before any of us can grab Lenora, she claps her hands and strikes the woman with the same dagger that just went through her brother. The woman clutches the side of her stomach and stumbles to the ground. Ironically, she falls directly next to Vincent, who is bleeding out on the floor.

  “Willow!” Dad runs to the woman and places his large hands over the wound. Did he just say Willow? As in…my mother?

  My heart is racing and I feel completely lost. Distracted by my parents, I miss the scuffle of Charlie trying to capture Lenora. Before I know it, she disappears into the dark, along with what remains of her Fallen army.

  She leaves her brother’s dead body with not even a second look to see if there’s a chance to save his life. I can only imagine the wrath she is going to try to release upon us to avenge her brother... Now that the Dark Coven is gone, I can’t help but get closer to the woman who is my mother.

  My hands are shaking and I don't know what to do with them. I want to cry because she’s hurt, but I don’t want to shed any tears for someone who left me, someone I don't even know.

  “Scar, you have to heal her.” Dad quietly urges, as tears roll down his face.

  Bending down on the ground beside my mother’s still body, I raise my hand to cover the open wound where Lenora pierced her with her own blade. I can feel her cells coming back together, but I can also feel her soul starting to slip away. With a little more of a push, I seal her wound, but her eyes remain closed.

  “We should get her to the Village, where they can watch her.”

  Evan gently places his hand on my back as I try to regain my composure. I am only able to nod at the suggestion, as I try to take in how Lenora and Vincent infringed on our special day and caused pain to so many. I stand there like a lost dog, unsure of what move to make next. Evan and Demi both try to get a word out of me, but all I can do is…nothing.

  My mother is still alive. After all this time, she’s been alive and well. How did she know about the wedding? How did she know about the attack? With so many questions and no time to ask them, I feel my own world begin to collapse.

  My adrenaline is bouncing off the walls and my heart is racing so fast I can feel the rapid pulse throughout my whole body. As my hands get clammy, the world around me starts to turn black and all I want to do is give in to it.

  Give into the darkness, where there is no Dark Coven, where there are no lying mothers, and where there is no more fighting. I give in and succumb to the pull and pass out, knowing this is the only way for me to escape. The last thing I see before going down is the physical damage left behind. Flowers trampled and flattened, broken pieces of furniture and scraps of lace scattered all over the ground, demon blood splattered everywhere and on everyone.

  For now I find comfort in the darkness and I’ll stay there until I'm ready to come out, until my rage subsides. Until I can reevaluate why I stalled and didn’t use my power to neutralize the threat. And until I know what words I'm going to say to my mother when she wakes up…if she wakes up.

  The End

  Epilogue

  Divine Connection

  The last time I woke up from being cursed, I felt Evan immediately and heard the sound of music, which gave me comfort. This time, as my eyes open I stare at the ceiling, numb and disoriented. I feel no signs from the Collegati in my spine, and the sound of gunfire is blaring out of the television screen from the living room instead of music. Confusion fills my entire body, and I hope with everything in my soul that I'm not in one of my visions, or worse still, stuck in my own head.

  First I slowly move my toes, then my fingers, and finally my neck. Looking around, I can tell that I'm in Evan’s bed at the Village. That familiarity instantly brings a wave of comfort to me. I know Evan is nowhere near the Village though, or I would have felt the call of the Collegati. So who is here keeping me company, watching over me, waiting for me to wake up?

  Stretching in the bed, I slowly sit up and try to move my legs over the edge of the bed. That maneuver has me feeling kind of woozy, so I lean back on my hands and steady my breathing. When I feel confident enough to stand, I get to my feet as gently as I can.
Suddenly I feel myself falling forward, like I’m going to fall right onto my face.

  As my body starts falling towards the floor, I feel someone catch me seconds before I hit the ground. In another flash, I'm spun into the air. Gasping and slightly afraid, I hold on to the person who is carrying me in their arms.

  With my head in their neck, the sweet smell of vanilla fills my nose and it bizarrely relaxes me. Breathing in one more time, I savor the delicious scent.

  A deep rumble of a soft laughter vibrates through his neck. My head jerks up, remembering that Evan smells like apples, not vanilla. As I look up, Theo looks down at me with squinted eyes from the smile that graces his flawless face. Still feeling dizzy and disoriented, I stare at him with my eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. This makes him smile even wider as he places me gently back onto the bed.

  “It’s really good to see you awake.” He pulls a chair from beside the bed and takes the seat as he takes my hand in his.

  “I…” I try to croak out something coherent, but my mouth suddenly feels as if I swallowed a package of saltine crackers. Theo stands up and uses his angel speed to leave the room, returning within seconds with a glass of water and a small white pill.

  “Drink some water, then this medicine. It’s supposed to help with the loopy feeling.” Theo hands them to me and returns to his seat.

  I drink the water in two big gulps, not leaving any for the pill. Waving my hand, I try to cast myself some more, but nothing happens. Theo looks down and uses his speed to get me another glass of water. This time I take the pill and stare at him over the rim of the glass, wondering what questions I should ask first. Putting the glass down on the table, I wipe my mouth and bring my knees up to my chest.

  “Where is everyone? Where’s Evan?” I so badly want to see my Anima Partem. Theo looks to the side and I can tell he is slightly annoyed.