Falling Ashes (47 page)

This was true. Much of the initial party had disbanded, fearing for their lives. But it didn’t matter. As long as someone managed to bring the humans' memories back, it was a job well done.

Tiffany narrowed her eyes on Cecilia. ‘What’s that in your hand there, Rebel?’

Cecilia clutched the human registration tightly. She’d never relinquish it. This book would tell her where her husband was.

‘R
æven,’ said Cecilia quietly. ‘Are you able to take the book somewhere safe?’ It was not a light book, so she worried it might be too heavy for the bird to carry.

R
æven took the job, however. Perhaps her time as a messenger in Frost Arch had gotten her used to carrying heavy loads.

The bird flew forward and gripped the spine of the book in her clawed feet, lifting it out of Cecilia’s arms.

‘Get the bird!’ Tiffany yelled to Vanessa.

But it was too late; R
æven had already taken off, out of the broken dome ceiling.

‘You idiot,’ Tiffany slapped Vanessa hard across the face. ‘You let her get away.’

‘I can’t teleport into mid-air,’ retorted Vanessa. ‘I’ll
fall
, you stupid bitch.’

Cecilia and Kenneth exchanged a look of bewilderment while the pair continued to bicker. Without hesitation, Kenneth set the girls' hair alight. They screamed and ran in circles, bumping into one another, and trying to pat out the flames.

It was too easy. Kenneth and Cecilia skipped around them and onto the grounds.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Dying Day

AVALON REDDING

Everything hurt. My body ached. Faces swam in and out of focus. Blue eyes stared down at me. I tried to move my hand, but my limbs felt like lead. I tried to speak, but no sound came out.

‘You’re going to be fine,’ said a soothing voice.

Hands were placed on my stomach, and the pain intensified ten fold. They were killing me.

‘It hurts,’ I tried to tell them, but nothing happened.

‘It’s all right,’ they soothed. ‘Don’t struggle.’

I did as I was told and tried to listen to the voices around me.

‘What happened? Was that explosion her?’ said a stranger.

‘She became a fire-ball, and shot into the sky,’ replied a woman.

‘I felt the ground shake.’

‘She passed out while ten feet in the air,’ said another. ‘She hit the ground pretty hard.’

Someone was calling my name in the distance. ‘Avalon? Ava!’

I opened my eyes a tiny amount, enough to see a blur of red hair above me, and I knew it was Fae.

‘What did you do to her?’ Fae demanded.

‘I’m trying to heal her. Stand back!’ Jack snapped. ‘Her skin is flaming hot. You’ll burn yourself!’

‘What happened? I was inside … looking for … and I felt the ground quake-’

‘She’s bleeding internally,’ replied Jack.

‘But you can fix her, right?’ asked Fae.

‘I’m
trying
.’

‘Here, Son. Let me help,’ said an older voice.

‘Dad?’ said Jack. ‘Where … when-?’

‘That doesn’t matter. Here.’ I felt another pair of hands on my body.

With each passing second, the pain felt a little better.

‘No!’ cried a shrill voice. The hands were removed from my body immediately.

‘Cecilia, what are you doing?’ said Jack, aghast.

‘You mustn’t heal her!’ she said urgently.

‘Are you insane?’ replied Jack. ‘I’m not letting her die.’

‘You must,’ said Cecilia. ‘It has been foreseen.’

‘What are you talking about?’ demanded another familiar voice; my father. ‘What’s this rubbish?’

‘The Fire-Mage must die in the midst of battle,’ said Cecilia, her voice quaking. ‘It is the only way the humans can be free.’

‘Like hell,’ growled my father.

The hands resumed their place on me, and the wonderful sensation of being Healed spread through my body once more.

After several moments, I was able to open my eyes.

Jack, Fae, my father, and Mr. Greenwood all peered down at me with worried expressions on their faces. I also recognised the pale girl with red eyes and white hair as an employee of the Realm, though I didn’t bother to ask why she stood among us. Then there was Gregory, and Terry, as well as some other Mages that had followed me.

‘Hello,’ I muttered, trying to sit up. Fae helped me, putting an arm around my shoulders and hoisting me up. My head swam.

‘You feel okay?’ asked Jack.

I nodded. ‘Yeah … thanks.’

‘You exploded,’ said Mr. Greenwood, his eyes wide. ‘Like a meteor, shooting into the sky.’

‘How else was I supposed to destroy the forcefield inside my body?’ I asked.

I looked around at the group of people surrounding me; some familiar faces, others strangers.

‘What happened?’ I asked. ‘Where is everyone else?’

‘Many fled,’ said Kenneth. ‘There are only a handful of us left. Some are dead.’

‘What about the Realm, and their guards?’ I asked.

‘There are still a few inside,’ he said. ‘Most do not have attacking Powers, and have surrendered.’

‘Did we … did you accomplish what you came for?’ I asked.

My father nodded. ‘We have a way to bring back the memories.’

Several people clapped and cheered, and I felt my heart lighten considerably. It hadn’t all been for nothing.

I tried to get up, but needed help as my legs shook so violently. Fae wrapped an arm around my waist, allowing me to rest my weight on her.

‘Where is Hawthorne?’ I asked, looking around. I hadn’t seen him since I’d been reunited with Jack.

‘He’s fine, Avalon,’ said Fae. ‘I told him to go to the pups. Shadow went too. They’ll be back soon.’

‘Pups?’ Jack repeated, confused. ‘What-?’

‘Not now, Jack,’ I said. ‘Fae, did you find R
æven?’

Fae shook her head sadly. ‘I haven’t seen her.’

‘Ræven?’ Kenneth said. ‘She is taking the human register to a safe place as we speak. Actually, the reason we have the cure is thanks to her-’

My father was cut off mid-sentence as a large gust of wind assaulted us, catching us off guard, and knocking every single person to the ground. Everyone hurriedly got to their feet, holding their backsides. We weren’t alone. Two Realm guards were going to go down fighting. I didn’t see how they’d stand a chance though; there were twenty of us, and only two of them.

‘Don’t be foolish,’ my father yelled to them. ‘Stand down.’

The Wind-Mage tried again, but we were prepared for it this time. The small hurricane he produced was nowhere near as effective as the first. Our group huddled together against the gust, myself in front.

‘We don’t want to hurt you,’ I yelled over the roar of the wind.

They didn’t listen.

The second Mage raised his hands slowly, palms facing the sky. Slowly, debris began to rise from the battlefield, including rocks, arrowheads, and various weapons that had been discarded or lost.

‘Don’t do it,’ I warned, leaning against the wind that threatened to send me flying backwards. It took all of my weight, and several hands on my shoulders to keep me in place. I felt my heels digging into the ground, trying to keep me in place.

It looked as though the second Mage did not have much control over the debris he manipulated, but combined with the Power of wind, they would become deadly projectiles.

‘You’ll regret it,’ growled my father.

He didn’t listen. Releasing the weapons, they became caught in the wind at once.

I watched them, as if in slow motion, streaking through the air. I was pulled to the ground by Jack and my father, and I heard the projectiles whizzing over my head. I shielded myself against the wind, dirt, and dust flying into my eyes, blinding me. A rock cut my forehead, but other than that, I was unscathed.

I heard coughing, and looked around. Everyone had dropped to the ground in time. No one had been pierced by a rogue arrow.

The wind died, and I managed to get to my feet, the others following suit.

‘Gregory,’ I said. ‘Would you mind?’

‘Not at all,’ he replied.

Crack!

Within a split second the Wind-Mage was standing exactly where Gregory had been. He had a split-second of bewilderment on his face before the rebels converged on the Guard, beating him to a pulp. The same could be said for the second Mage, who was now at Gregory’s mercy, though it seemed they were equally matched. Jack leapt forward at once to help him subdue the Guard.

I couldn’t help but feel utter relief wash over me as I watched Jack. I had the feeling that everything was going to be okay now.

‘Hey … what’s that?’ said Terry suddenly, pointing behind us.

Everyone looked, peering over each other’s shoulders.

‘It’s a bird,’ said someone I didn’t know. ‘It got hit by the flying arrow.’

No
. I pushed my way through them until I saw her; Ræven. She was a mass of black feathers, her wings sticking out at odd angles.

‘No!’

I ran towards her, skidding to a halt by the bird’s side. Ræven’s breast rose and fell rapidly, the arrow head embedded in her chest. She began to transform before my very eyes, turning back into her beautiful self.

‘Oh, no, R
æven,’ I said, crouching beside her and lifting her into my arms.

‘Avalon,’ she whispered with a small smile. ‘I missed you.’

‘Your voice,’ I said. ‘What happened to your voice?’

R
æven tried to speak, but coughed blood instead.

‘JACK!’ I screamed at the top of my lungs. ‘JACK!’

‘It’s okay,’ said Ræven softly. ‘It doesn’t matter. We found the cure. Helena will remember you again. I only wish my … my own parents remembered me.’

R
æven didn’t know. She didn’t know that her parents waited for her at home.

I looked over my shoulder to see Jack running towards me as fast as he could. Fae stood amongst the other rebels, unsure as to what was going on.

‘It’s Ræven!’ I bellowed to her. ‘It’s
Ræven
!’

Fae froze, her eyes wide. Stumbling forward, she too began to run towards us.

Jack reached us, falling to his knees beside Ræven’s head. I looked down at my friend cradled in my arms. I was about to tell her that it was okay, that Jack was here and he could heal her, but I stopped when I saw her face.

Her eyes were open, but they were glazed. Expressionless. I shook her a little, and her head lolled hopelessly.

‘Ræven?’ I said, shaking her harder.

Jack placed his hand on her forehead and closed his eyes, concentrating with all his might. At that moment, Fae reached us, her eyes wild and frantic.

‘Is she okay? Are you healing her?’ she demanded.

‘R
æven?’ I repeated, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. ‘Hey … look who’s here. It’s Fae … your old friend.’

Jack removed his hand from her forehead and stared at me, his pupils dilated.

‘What’s the matter?’ I asked. ‘Why aren’t you fixing her?’

‘Avalon, I’m sorry,’ he said, his mouth barely moving. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t be stupid,’ I said harshly. ‘Start healing.’

‘I can’t,’ he said, his voice strangled. ‘It’s too late. I was too late. I’m sorry.’

‘What do you mean too late?’ I repeated. ‘You can
heal
her.’

I tried to thrust R
æven into his arms, but he shook his head. I didn’t like the way his eyes glistened, or his top lip quivered.

Fae pushed Jack out of the way and pulled R
æven into her arms, as I relinquished my hold on her.

‘R
æven!’ Fae shook her. ‘Ræven. Please …’

I looked away, unable to witness it.

‘Ræven, look. It’s me, Fae. I came to see you,’ she crooned, brushing Ræven’s hair from her face.

R
æven lay perfectly still, her ice-blue eyes staring vacantly.

‘I … I found you,’ whispered Fae. ‘I came to tell you that your Mama and Papa are at home … waiting for you.’

I watched in silence as Fae’s words fell on Ræven’s deaf ears.

‘Their memories came back,’ Fae continued, a tear slipping down her dirt-encrusted cheek. She sniffed loudly, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. ‘Your song wasn’t permanent. They sent me to bring you home. They gave me a message for you.’

How cruel, how ironic, that they had been moments away from one another, yet Ræven would never know that Fae had come all this way to be with her. Their reunion was bittersweet.

‘They told me to tell you two words,’ whispered Fae, pressing her forehead against R
æven’s. ‘
Mein Liebling
.’