Forever (27 page)

“Then I
fear the worst.” He put away his weapon.

“There
has to be someone else.”

“The
strongest Fae have gone to the palace to see if they can restore the magic to
our lands. Others are looking for ways to cross over to your world, since ours
is doomed.”

“Then we
will go to the Fae palace,” Mina said.

“Good
luck. It’s become quite the battleground. I’d stay very far away from there.”

“Look, I
didn’t have to come back. I’m not even sure why I did, but if
I’m
not giving up on your world, then
you better not either. Do you understand? That’s an order.”

Captain
Plaith swallowed nervously, and a small smile crept onto his face. “Yes ma’am.”
He stood taller and gave her a bow before walking to the willows and pulling
the branches aside so she could pass through.

On the
other side, she met Nix and Ever. They nodded silently, as if they had
overheard everything.

Captain
Plaith pulled out a small flute and played a simple melody. A few minutes
later, three centaurs came over the hills in a cloud of dust, all of them
heavily armed. The dark-coated one had a long sword, a palomino female wore a
long bow, and the tallest—with the whitest of coats—carried an axe.

“Thank
you for coming Adrith, Basal, and Prase,” Captain Plaith addressed them in
order. “I think one has come who is able to save us. Can we count on your herd
to escort us?”

The white
centaur, Adrith, held up his axe and reared in challenge. “We do not fear
battle. Your company will be safe with us.”

“Then we
must hurry,” Captain Plaith answered. He gestured for Mina to mount Prase, the
closest centaur, but Adrith stepped forward.

“I’ll
guard this one.” He offered her his hand.

Mina
placed her hand in his palm as he kneeled and helped her onto his back. Ever
and Nix climbed upon Basal and Prase, while Captain Plaith readied his own Fae
steed.

Adrith
took off at a canter through what was left of the swamps. Mina’s hair whipped
around her face, and she tried to not let the darkness that was hopelessness
envelope her. She had to have faith, even in the most difficult trials.

“I may
not have been able to save you, but I will try to save your home,” Mina
whispered in promise to the air. Not a single tear fell from her eye. She
doubted she had any left to shed.

When they
came to the expansive bridge, Adrith pulled up short. The lake was still there,
but barely. The palace was in full view, since the veil of magic that hid it
was gone. Even from this distance, they could see a large group of Fae gathered
on the other side of the bridge.

Basal
sniffed the air and stomped his hooves in displeasure. “Reeks of gnome. Lots of
them.”

Prase
shook her head in distaste, her white and brown hair flowing. “They’re just
thieves and scavengers. Coming to steal what’s not rightfully theirs.”

“Let
them,” Mina answered. “Things don’t matter if we can’t keep the world from
dying.”

“The girl
is right,” Adrith spoke. “We must restore the conduit of power.”

“And does
anyone know how to do that?” Ever asked.

“I do,”
Ferah spoke up. The elf walked up to them, her red hair falling in dirty clumps
past her shoulders, her face streaked with tears. She turned to Mina, her
shoulders slumped. “This is all my fault. This is what I saw, this is what was
foretold. The death of our world. It’s why I tried to kill the prince all those
years ago. Now I’ve failed twice over.”

Mina
glared at Ferah but felt a twinge of sympathy. “Yes, this is your fault, but
you don’t carry the blame alone. That is too much a burden for any one of us.
Now that you’re here, you can prove yourself. Help us save the Fae world.”

Ferah
cupped her hands over her face and brushed fresh tears away. She sniffed and
wiped her nose on her sleeve. Then she turned and looked at Mina with a gleam
of determination. “If only I had seen it then. I would never have stood in your
way.”

A great
rumbling began, and the centaurs shuffled in place as the ground quaked and
shifted. In the middle of the lake, a fissure opened, and water rushed into the
rift. The great stone bridge before them began to crumble, small stones falling
into the remaining water.

“We must hurry.”
Ferah ran across the bridge before the earthquake finished.

Adrith
yelled for Mina to hold on as the centaurs took off running toward the bridge.
If they didn’t hurry, they wouldn’t make it across.

Mina’s
heart pounded in her chest as more stones fell away. Adrith was the first to
cross, followed by the other centaurs. Prase’s rear hooves just scraped the
last stone before it dropped.

Mina
turned and saw that Captain Plaith’s horse had misjudged the distance. A cry
ripped from her throat as the horse’s hooves barely scraped the stone. Another
rumble ripped through the plane, and more of the bridge fell away.

One
second, the horse and captain were there.

The next
they were gone over the ledge and lost to the deep chasm.

Chapter 34

Mina
stared at the edge of the bridge they’d barely made it across, until Ferah
cried out in warning, “Go, go, go!”

The
stones underneath her feet were cracking, and Basal neighed in fright. They
couldn’t afford to stop. Nix grabbed Ferah’s hand and pulled her onto the mount
with him, and the centaurs ran as if their lives depended on it, which they
did.

They
raced to outrun the ever-growing chasm that threatened to swallow them all.

Then it
stopped. The middle of the lake was gone. Just an empty hole ending a few hundred
feet from the end of the bridge.

They
hurried on.

When they
arrived at the doors of the palace, they were greeted by multiple Fae, old and
young alike—all terrified. Some yelled, trying to assert their dominance
over the group of frightened Fae. Mina and the others slid down from the
centaurs and tried to hear what was going on.

“Settle
down, settle down,” a tall, broad shouldered gnome commanded. “We can solve
this problem peacefully.”

“Where
are the Fates?” an angry dwarf yelled.

“Why are
they not saving us?” an elderly elf asked.

The gnome
leader seemed to be losing his patience. “They can’t save our home anymore. A
terrible accident has befallen them.”

“We’re
doomed,” the same elf cried out.

Mina and
the group came along the outskirts of the Fae. Ferah motioned for Mina to
follow her, so Nix and Ever said they’d stay and see what they could learn.
Mina followed Ferah along the side path and around the palace until they
arrived at the hedge maze.

“This
wouldn’t have happened if I had just stepped out of the way,” she berated
herself.

With the
plants dead, it was easy to cross through the broken and dying bushes or step
over them, until they came to the tower. The tower glass had been repaired, and
something compelled Mina to hurry. She didn’t need more prompting. She ran up
the steps of the tower and came into the round observatory room.

“What
now?” Mina asked as she stepped in and turned in a circle. A flood of memories
rushed back to her as the former assassin joined her.

Ferah
faced her. “I don’t know. I only know that I was supposed to bring you here.
All of the Fates have been chosen in this room. It’s why the test ended here.
Except…”

“Except
what?” Mina asked, sensing her hesitation.

“I don’t
know. I feel like I’ve let you down. I don’t know what else there is to do. I
should leave you.” Ferah looked around the tower once more and started back
down the stairs.

Mina
walked over to the large windows and saw how fast the Fae world was dying. So
much had happened up here. The memories were equally sweet and painful. How she
longed for the prince to be standing here with her.

The
ground began to rumble again, and the tower swayed.

Mina
tried to make sense of all this. She still felt like she was missing something.
Captain Plaith said the Fates were a conduit of magic for the land, and with
their deaths, the magic was gone.

“Again,
you get in my way!” Annalora shrieked from behind Mina. The tower leaned,
shifting with the quakes. Annalora stood in the stairwell, bracing the wall for
support as the round of tremors passed. “How are you here? You should be dead!
I’ve sacrificed too much for you to still be here.”

“I guess
I’m not so easy to kill.”

Annalora
placed a strange instrument—the bone whistle!—to her lips and blew.
Mina instantly recognized that sound. She’d heard it the day her mother died.

Suddenly,
the Death Reaper stood before her.

But not
the same one.

This one
wore a long black leather jacket. His head was bowed, and his dark hair fell
loosely around his face, disguising him, but when he lifted his pale, white
eyes and met her gaze, she wanted to cry.

Teague.

He had
taken the place of the Death Reaper. In his hand, he held a black dagger.

“It’s
always come down to this,” Annalora said. “We’ve waited centuries for the
gnomes to have a chance to rule. We’re the forgotten ones, the race that
everyone overlooks. We’re strong in our own right. Our armies have proven it.
And our poison is the most deadly in the world. It’s pure hate. It was perfect…
until you came along. There could only be one of us in the end.”

Annalora’s
laugh echoed through the tower. “I win.” She pointed her finger and spoke a
command.

Teague
shifted into a black griffin with white eyes and lunged for Mina.

She
didn’t run, didn’t move, but simply closed her eyes and opened her soul to him.
There was a moment of shock as he passed through her. She expected the reaping
of her soul to hurt, but instead, she opened her eyes to see that they were
surrounded by darkness. Teague stood with his arms wrapped around her, his
breathing ragged as he looked into her eyes.

“What
happened?”

“I’ve
taken you to the In Between. A place of purgatory for souls.”

“So I’m
dead?”

“No, you
are very much alive,” he whispered. “And I plan on keeping it that way.”

“Teague,
what happened to you?”

“A new omen
has been chosen. I’ve become Death, a Reaper who will forever collect souls and
bring them to the In Between.”

“But
how?”

“You saw
that nothing can stop Death, except one who is dead or close to death. The omen
brought my soul here, to the In Between. As soon as I stepped over, I
challenged the Death Reaper and killed him, taking his place. It was the only
way. I had to fight to get back to you. I won’t abandon you again…ever.”

“So
you’re here to take my soul?” Mina asked hesitantly.

“I’m here
to collect a soul, but not yours,” Teague spoke softly, touching his forehead
to hers. “You have the other half of mine.”

She
inhaled in disbelief, but deep down, she knew it was the truth. How else could
she have sensed such trouble on the Fae plane and the closing of the gates?
Jared’s side was still with her.

“Are you
ready?” Teague asked, pulling away and holding out his hand to her.

She
recognized the dagger he held and paused.

When he
saw her hesitation, he quickly sheathed the dagger. “The weapon that kills the
soul becomes the Reaper’s weapon.”

“I’m so
sorry,” she said again, her heart aching at what she had done.

“Don’t
be,” Teague assured her. “You were the only one strong enough to do it. I’ve
caused a lot of death over the years. I needed to be stopped, and this is truly
a fitting punishment for me.” He patted the hilt of the knife and smiled
crookedly at her. “I’m just thankful you killed me with a bladed weapon instead
of a rock.” He chuckled, and she wanted to punch him in the arm.

In the
darkness around her, she could hear the sounds of howling and gnashing of
teeth. “What is that?” she asked fearfully.

“The lost
souls. We can’t stay here long, because you still have your soul, and there are
those who hunger for it. They’ll take it by force.”

“It reminds
me of the place in my dream, when I tried to save you and went into the mirror
and found you in a dark prison.”

Teague
didn’t miss a beat. “It is that place. You came here in your dream—to the
In Between—and it remembers you. I have to take you out of here, but I
wanted time to speak to you alone.”

The sound
of the shadows moving and the cold made her skin prickle. “Is my mom here?”

“Yes, I
promise I’ll find her and get her to the other side, but there’s something you
must understand, Mina.” His voice sounded so earnest, she felt the bubble of
worry start to overtake her.

“What?”

“Annalora’s
planned this all along. She has the bone whistle, the one item that can control
me. I still have to take a soul, and I’ll try and delay the reaping. But Mina,
I can’t touch her if she holds that whistle. When we go back, you
have
to get it from her and destroy it.
Then we’ll both be free of her. Can you do that?” He lifted his hand a second
time to caress her face.

She
swallowed and grabbed it, feeling the coldness of his skin against her warm
cheek. “Yes, I can.”

He
nodded. “Good. Because if she commands me again, I’ll have no choice but to
take your soul. I’d promise to help you to the other side and not leave you in
the In Between, but I’d rather not even have to go that far.”

Mina
didn’t say anything else as black smoke surrounded them, and then they were
back in the tower.

Annalora
stood proud, full of herself, and oblivious, at the tower window chanting in a
Fae language. Mina assumed she was celebrating. But as Mina moved toward her,
Annalora turned, and her eyes went wide at seeing Mina still alive.

Mina
lunged for the hand that held the whistle.

Annalora
screeched and clawed at Mina’s throat, but Mina pulled back her fist and
punched the gnome girl in the face. Her head snapped back, and she dropped the
whistle to the ground. Mina dove for it.

Annalora
grabbed Mina’s foot and dragged her along the floor and away from the bone
whistle. Mina rolled over, summoned power, and shoved a blast of power into
Annalora’s chest, knocking her into a chair. She turned back over and watched
as the whistle rolled to a stop at the top of the stairs.

In front
of Ferah, who had stealthily returned.

Ferah
bent down and picked up the whistle.

Annalora
began to beg and cajole. “Ferah, give me the whistle, and I can make all of
this go away. I just need to get rid of her.”

The
elf-girl stood up, still looking battle-weary and terrified. “I should never
have told you of the prophecy which foretold the dark prince’s reign and the end
of our world.”

“Grow
up,” Annalora snapped. “You and the Godmothers would never have been able to
stop the prophecy. This is the end. Can’t you see that?”

Mina got
up from the floor and glanced around the room. She caught a reflection in the
glass—Teague pacing in the corner of the room, unable to strike because
the whistle was still in play. It seemed that none of the others could see him.

“You
killed the Fates,” Ferah cried out. Her hand holding the whistle shook in fury.

“Something
you should have done long ago.” Annalora tried to play it off as no big deal.
“Now we can start fresh, build the Fae world anew. Just give me the whistle,
and I’ll end her. You can be head of the Royal Guard. I’ll give you anything
you want.” She’d continued to walk and talk until she was only a foot from the
elf.

Ferah
shook her head. “No, this world will not be built on your darkness.” She turned
to look at Mina. “I see light when I look at you. I’ll follow you till the
end.”

She
reached out to hand the whistle to Mina, but Annalora grabbed one of Ferah’s
own daggers from her bandolier and stabbed the girl.

Ferah’s
eyes fluttered in disbelief. The whistle fell from her limp fingers followed by
a trickle of blood. It dropped and bounced on the floor.

“
No
!” Mina let the fury she had been
holding back burst forth.

The room
erupted into a ball of light, and Annalora backed up, her arms in front of her
face. Mina turned her anger on Annalora and did as Teague had done centuries
ago. She blasted the girl through the glass tower window.

Annalora
screamed, and then silence followed.

Ferah lay
on the ground, unable to speak. She held up her hand, and Mina rushed to her
side and grasped it between her own.

“I’m so
sorry,” she said in a pained whisper, “for betraying you over and over. Even in
the Godmother’s Guild, I tried to drown you. I never had enough faith. I’m
sorry.” She let out one last breath, and her head fell to the side.

“Teague,”
Mina screamed, but he didn’t appear. She searched the floor in a blur of tears
and picked up the bone whistle. She snapped it in two and threw it across the
floor. Within seconds, he appeared by her side.

“Do
something!” she begged.

“I can’t,
my love,” Teague soothed. “Her soul has already passed to the In Between. I can
meet her there and help her pass over and not be lost, but that is all.”

Mina
rocked back onto her heels and wiped at her eyes. Another earthquake erupted,
and the jagged shards of remaining glass rained down beside them in colored
pieces.

Teague
helped her up. He led her to the empty windows, and they watched as the two
yellow suns began to turn dark.

“What are
we going to do?”

He
reached for her hand, and she looked up into his white eyes. “We save our
world.”

“How?”

“When the
worlds were first created, there was darkness. From that darkness, light came
forth. There’s a balance of light and dark. My mother the moon, my father the
sun. I think it’s safe to say that I’m darkness. And you, Mina, are light. I
asked you once before if you would stay with me and rule by my side. I need
you. I can’t exist without you. So I ask again, will you stay with me?”