Ascending Into Light (Descending Series Book 2)

by Alainna MacPherson

  Brianna had explained that it could appear at any time, or not at all. The latter made Jess feel like a failure. The queen and Fallon had both counted on her gaining use of her gifts but no one really anticipated this outcome. Though Brianna had worried about it, she had hoped the stress from the ritual alone would trigger the magic.

  Even Cormac and Kaer looked crestfallen, the two most lighthearted people out of the whole group. Which seemed to make Jess close up and ask to be left alone when Fallon tried to offer comforting words, Jess didn’t hear them, too deep into her self loathing.

  Alyss stayed up with her, offering to go for some cookie dough ice cream or a bottle of Jack, but Jess wasn’t in the mood for either. Rain checking with her sister, she decided for an early bedtime. She did feel worn out from the ritual process itself. Fallon had informed her that the whole thing had lasted for more than the five minutes she had assumed. It was more like an hour that she stood there, meditating on her mother and her elusive magic.

  Angrily, she pulled on her pajamas before last meal and climbed into bed, throwing the covers over her head to shut out reality as she tried her hardest to shut off her brain.

  “This changes things,” Kaer stated. They all gathered around a table, remnants of last meal still on plates in front of them, along with Cormac, Alyss and even Illian joined them, though he seemed to just observe rather than participate in the conversation. Fallon saw him as a sort of apprentice and knew that Illian would be more than interested in such a prospect, but their world wasn’t set up for something like that to happen. There wasn’t room for someone to try and learn from a leader of a people that wasn’t able to move forward. Fallon had hoped that he could one day give the opportunity to the younger male but it wasn’t looking like an obtainable goal at the moment. Not after finding that Jess’ magic hadn’t completely developed past just a thought.

  “It only changes the timeline” Fallon responded, hoping to lay rest everyone’s worry. He could see from their unchanged wary expressions that he wasn’t successful.

  Kaer glanced at the others before giving Fallon a bored look and saying, “You’re not fooling us, Fal.” Dropping the nickname told Fallon that he wanted to talk to the friend and not the leader. It also told him that the company was friendly enough to be honest. Fallon had a hard time swallowing the last, but he looked at Kaer and allowed some of the worry he felt inside to show. It seemed to help the rest of the table to relax. Knowing that he had the same fears as they did comforted them a little. Sometimes a strong front wasn’t always what people needed.

  It was funny, Fallon noticed, how much the humans had rubbed off on his people over the thousands of years being amongst them. Granted, the males not as much as the females, but still, movies and books all projected their nature and cultural practices. Fomorians weren’t naturally an open people, or sociable. At least not before the wars. Before they stuck to their own little family units. But when nearly three-fourths of their population had been wiped out from the last two wars and then being secluded to live underground, locked away from the rest of the world, still mourning their loved one’s deaths, they rallied together to survive. They developed a life in the caverns, a thrilling one too. Refusing to be the daor the king had hoped to see, struggling and helpless. Rather, they rose up to become a part of the world and community above. The females and adolescent males that worked above brought a lot of the culture back down with them.

  “Is there anything we can do?” Cormac asked from his end of the table.

  At a loss himself, Fallon only shrugged.

  Abruptly, Illian shoved away from the table to stand up. Without saying a word, he walked to the kitchen. Thinking the male had grown tired of the melancholy, Fallon felt even more depressed.

  When he returned, he was carrying a stack of drinking glasses and and a full bottle of whiskey. Setting the glasses down in front of Kaer, he pulled the stopper from the bottle, filled a glass and handed it to Kaer. Not missing a beat, the male passed the glass down to Cormac, the next to Alyss, then to Fallon, saving one for himself. Illian finally sat down with his own.

  Not saying a word, he lifted his glass and looked around the table, nodding to each of them before taking a long sip.

  Kaer and Fallon shared an amused moment before following Illian’s lead and taking a healthy drink of their own.

  And just like that, they all quieted. Worries were still there but they rested for the moment as they drank. Eventually Kaer told a story about an encounter he had with a baby skunk once while he was out flying solo. They all laughed at the end, even Illian, the most serious and then seconds were poured

  Oblivious to the world outside, Jessandra’s dreams were warped from the evening’s earlier events. The ball of pulsing light she saw grow in her mind’s eyes while holding the Ares, taunted her in her sleep. This time it didn’t grow and burst forth like it had when she was awake. Instead it shrunk and evaded her grasp, dancing around from side to side. She would swear she heard Teigan from the bar tell her “Late’s late.”

  Eventually, the light disappeared, only to be replaced by a scene of Fallon, Kaer not far behind him, rushing up some pale stone steps, the sounds of fighting in surround sound but she could still hear his breath punching in and out as he neared the top of a landing. The moment Kaer reached his side at the top, a sharp bang echoed against walls, sending Fallon staggering slightly and looking down at his chest where a fresh bloom of blood grew on his dirtied white dress shirt. The bullet had penetrated his sternum. The image made Jess’ heard sink, her mind screamed but her voice felt strangled. When he began to lose his balance, Kaer supported him, looking up to where the shot had come from. And there was Banner, slowly approaching them, holding the gun trained on Fallon, still aimed at his chest. His mouth moved, saying something to the Fomorian giants, but Jess couldn’t make out what it was he said. Sounds from all around her from people fighting, she assumed, but she couldn’t hear the worlds he spoke.

  Trying harder now, she screamed for Fallon. But his name only reached as far as her mind. Just when Banner began to readjust his grip on the gun, preparing to fire again, the scene went black and silent. Her senses didn’t know what was going on. Suddenly they were all deprived. Even her bare feet couldn’t feel the ground beneath her. The air around her was still, too.

  Before her heart began to race anew, a voice rolled over the darkness and reached her ears. It was a soft but clear female’s. “You’ve been away for a long time, Jessandra NicMannahan,” it said. The instant the words were finished, her ears heard nothing again.

  Her dreams ended there. The rest of her sleep was dreamless. Which was a good thing, because it gave her the energy she needed to wrap her head around the idea that came to her upon waking.

  “You want to do what?” Alyss asked Jess incredulously from her bed. Jess had barged in, waking her sister with a jumpstart to the heart. Who needs coffee?

  Ugh, I do, she answered silently. Last night was fun, after all the booze arrived that is. Though the morning after came with a great big hangover.

  “Are my eyes bleeding?” She asked Jess, who ignored her and went on to answer Alyss’ first question.

  “I want to go stay with Queen Brianna for a while. Maybe it will help me find my magic,” Jess knew it was crazy, it was there in her voice, uncertainty mixed with excitement. Alyss heard it before when they were in line for the new roller coaster at the amusement park last year on her birthday. Being afraid of heights, Alyss knew Jess was trying to prove something to herself that day. She was pretty sure her big sister passed out at least once before their car came to a stop.

  Alyss wanted to tell her she was insane then and now, but looking at the way her sister was thinking it in her head, she knew there probably wasn’t any way to talk her out of it. Though she was pale white when they stepped off that ride, she held herself higher afterwards, if not just for the rest of the day and night. She never would understand it, but something happened for her that Alyss couldn
’t pinpoint. She just saw that it was important. Like now, Alyss thought.

  “Fallon will never go for it,” Alyss said, drawing her knees up to rest an elbow on them and cradle her aching head with. Shit, am I naked? Alyss asked herself, taking stock mentally of her body under the covers. Holding the sheet a little closer, she put the thought aside for the moment, focusing on her sister.

  “I don’t think he has a choice. I don’t think any of us do,” Jess stopped to look down at her sister on the bed. Just now seeing that she looked awful.

  “Are you hungover?” She asked, squinting a little as she assessed her baby sister.

  “Only a lot,” Alyss grumbled irritably.

  Amused and at the same time, confused, why wasn’t she invited for drinks? Shaking the thought away, she moved back on target.

  “I think this is our only option right now,” she pointed out.

  “That man is not going to let you out of his sight,” Alyss countered, as her own vision blurred in and out. Leaning heavily forward on her knees she pressed her fingers to her sandpapery eyes, rubbing in a circular motion at the dry and bleary offenders.

  “He will if it means I might find my magic while I’m there.”

  No argument there, Alyss thought. Seeing that Jess was already dressed in her favorite jeans and a white v-neck cotton shirt, she figured she might as well put some clothes on herself. Turning slowly, she gingerly swung her legs over the bed’s edge.

  “Toss me that shirt, will ya?” She said, pointing in the direction of a tossed shirt on the floor. When her sister threw it at her, she tugged it over her head. Decent, she tested the waters before moving to put weight on her feet. When they passed the test, she pushed and stood up. Not bad. A little wobbly, but not too shabby, she praised her body.

  “What time is it?” She asked as she walked to the dresser a few feet away from the bed, well aware that shirt barely grazed the her thighs.

  “Six,” Jess said absently, deep in thought.

  Seeing as how first meal wouldn’t be served for half hour, Alyss decided she would pay her sister back for the early wake up call in the near future. “If there isn’t coffee, I will hurt you,” She grumbled, tugging on a pair of underwear, followed by jeans, straight legged and tight around her lower shins, which tucked nicely into the calf high black faux leather boots she slipped on over her plain white cotton socks. Ripping off the old shirt, she slipped on and fastened a black lace bra. Then she found a sky blue three-quarter sleeved tunic style shirt that went to the middle of her ass and curved just at the tops of her breasts, revealing just a hint of cleavage. She brushed out her hair and did a quick side braid that hung over one shoulder. When she was done, Alyss grabbed her phone and room key, stuffing both into her back pockets when she turned to look at her sister. Jess was mumbling under her breath, still sitting in the same spot on the edge of the bed.

  “Jess,” she called, trying to snap her sister out of it.

  “Hm?” Jess looked up from her thoughts.

  “Let’s go find some coffee,” Alyss said, heading for the door.

  Jess managed to pry herself from the cotton comforter to follow. Outside the door, Illian stood a few feet away. Meeting his gaze, Alyss tipped her head, signaling him to come closer.

  Heeding her he was beside them in a few quick steps.

  “Good evening, Princesses,” he greeted.

  “Morning,” Alyss said, trying not to sound like a grouch and probably failing. “Where’s the coffee?”

  The smell of roasting coffee tickled her nose and had her eyes widening a little. Just as her mind switched from Fallon, the Unseelie and magic to caffeine, a white insulated cup was thrust under her nose. Whipped cream floated atop like a swaying iceberg with a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg, it looked and smelled like heaven.

  Taking the hot beverage from her sister, she checked her surroundings. They were close to the bottom of the stairs to the Barr, her and Alyss, amongst a crowd of people bustling about. All with somewhere to be or just enjoying a good old fashioned chat with friends over a nice cuppa.

  “Oh, good,” Alyss’ voice drew her focus. She was taking a long sip now of her own drink. Finished, she went on to say, “You’re awake.”

  Smiling sheepishly, Jess moved the cup just right to suck up some now melting cream.

  “Got things figured out?” Alyss inquired, eyes hooded, hovering over her cup.

  “I guess so,” Jess said, not sounding convincing at all.

  “Look,” Alyss said, a little exasperated.

  Jess looked at her, taking a real sip of the coffee beneath the sweet cream, having the chilled sugary sweetness cling to her upper lip a little as she did. Delicious.

  “If you think this is the best decision, then believe in it,” Alyss said firmly. There was a sense of sternness as she spoke. It seemed like she was giving Jess a pep talk on how to handle a bully.

  “You need to believe in whatever decision you make, or else he wont take it seriously.” She had a point, Jess thought. She couldn’t take something to Fallon and be unsure of it. His natural protective instincts would scream even louder at him to tell her no.

  Alyss searched her face, assessing. Noticing that she was testing her, Jess pulled her shoulders back and lifted her chin a little. Whatever the results, Alyss approved with a little smile, nodding and taking a sizable gulp of her own coffee.

  “Lets go find Fallon,” Jess said, starting to take a step around a group of women who were discussing an upcoming ladies night.

  “Hold up,” Alyss stopped her. “Not until I’ve finished,” she said and made work on her drink. Jess stood with her in a peaceful quiet and did the same with her own beverage. When finally they were both done, they dropped their empty cups into the nearby trash can and headed for the meal hall. It was still early but Fallon had a habit of being the epitome of an early bird. Being king meant you could eat before everyone else if you wanted, Jess figured.

  Just as they expected, they found the Fomorian leader eating his oatmeal topped with honey, talking with a young male and a woman she’d never seen before. The woman looked dressed and ready for the office. Her gleaming black hair was twisted and pinned high atop her head. Brown eyes behind designer square glasses were astute as she listened to whatever it was Fallon was saying to her and the other man. Even her gray business pants and jacket with cream colored blouse underneath screamed Wall Street material. To complete the look, her nails were manicured and painted a pale shell pink, her face done in practiced light make up, dark pink lips, which were pursed now as she made notes on a note pad she had in front of her.

  The male, though he appeared to be just as businesslike, he looked like he was going to a completely different kind of office. A clean cotton white long sleeved shirt, buttoned up save for the last top button, and black cotton pants, with black work boots, different from the guard’s footwear, there were even some minor scuffing around the toes. What really stuck out to Jess was that under the white shirt was a slight bumping rather than smooth along his back. In fact, there were no wings on this male. And right then, it clicked. This male was only just beginning to develop his wings. It probably wouldn’t be long before he wouldn’t be able to work up top from the looks of the sizable bulge, she observed.

  She could see the second that they caught Fallon’s eye. Looking over to watch their approach, he lifted a hand slightly to halt whatever it was the woman was saying.

  “Good evening, princesses,” he greeted them.

  “Good evening,” the woman and the other male said simultaneously, looking up at them. The woman smiled warmly, while the male looked shy for a second before focusing back on Fallon.

  “Hello,” Jess said, a smile of her own for the small group. She could hear Alyss grumble her own greeting as well. It usually took her a little more than just a single cup of coffee.

  Fallon was wearing a dark red wine button up shirt, tucked into black jeans. His hair was freshly combed back at the top, shining
a little with whatever product he uses to keep it away from the braids on the sides.

  Remembering himself, he quickly pushed up from the table, offering her the seat on the other side of him. The other male all but fell over himself when he, too, stood, following his king’s example and moved to help Alyss in her own seat beside her sister. Just then, Gillian brought out a platter of thick bacon and a bowl of scrambled eggs, both piping hot. The two didn’t miss a beat this time in filling plates that were set in front of the princesses. Once finished, and the glasses were filled with orange juice, Fallon introduced the two new faces. “Princess Jessandra and Princess Alyss, please meet my assistant, among other trades and right hand, Deanna and my general manager Joseph.”

  They exchanged how-do-you-dos, Joseph rubbing his shoulder nervously, anxious to be on his way. Deanna just went back to jotting down some notes.

  “So, what’s got you up so early?” He asked, looking over at poor Alyss who looked as sluggish as she probably felt.

  Giving her sister a sympathetic smile before turning back to face Fallon, Jess dove in.

  “I want to go stay with the Unseelie,” she blurted out. She had hoped to be a little more delicate and work up to it but her mouth and brain obviously weren’t communicating properly.

  Instantly the table stilled, no one moved, nor breathed, it seemed, as they all looked at him to judge his reaction. Which wasn’t a great one. Those thick brows slammed down to shadow over his condemning green gaze. Setting down his fork full of eggs, he took a deep breath, readying for an outraged response, she was sure.

  Before a word could leave his lips, she rushed on to do damage control. “I just think they are the only ones who can help me tap into my magic.”