Unearthed

by Rachael Wade

  “You really think so?”

  “I know so.”

  2

  “We can talk more about the restaurant hours later,” Gavin said, easing my worries. “Let’s get you fed.” He planted a kiss in my hair and turned for the kitchen, going straight for the stove to heat up some sauce. He began to toss some greens and fresh, diced tomato in a bowl next, and I took a seat to resume my writing. Just as I’d settled comfortably in my chair, an urgent knock stirred me, causing Gavin to pause his meal prep work.

  “Must be Greta or Denise,” I said, moving to answer the door.

  “Camille? Is Gavin here?” Our neighbor, Martin, stood there, his face awash with worry. His long grey hair was braided back in its usual style, the creases around his eyes making his wrinkles appear even more aged.

  “Back here, Martin,” Gavin called from the kitchen. “How’s it going?”

  “Can’t say,” he said, tugging at his white beard. “Have you heard?”

  “Heard what?” I asked.

  “About the Haven?”

  “What about it?”

  “Something’s happening, something strange. The whole South Village is in a flurry over the news, and now it’s spreading to our neck of the woods. I think you two should come with me right away.”

  Gavin abandoned his salad assembling and sauce stirring to join my side. He pulled at the door, opening it wider to get a good look at Martin’s face. “What news? Is everything okay?”

  “We don’t know what it means. People are starting to get upset. You have to see it for yourself. Come on, grab Ava and let’s see what all the commotion is about.”

  “Ava’s not here,” I said, turning to Gavin. “I’ll go find Greta and Denise.” My body was suddenly in a panic. The fear was irrational, I knew, but I didn’t like not having Ava with us when the villagers were worked up about something. I didn’t want the commotion to frighten her, and I needed to protect her if people started acting up out on the streets.

  Gavin immediately sensed my unrest, shoving aside the food and moving to grab my coat. He helped me slip into it, letting his palm find the small of my back to lead me out the front door. “I’ll go with Martin and find out what’s going on. I’ll meet you at the Haven, okay?”

  “Yeah,” I said, the word coming out breathlessly.

  “Come straight there, okay, Cam? Tell Greta and Denise to come, too.”

  “I will.”

  He gave me a quick peck and rushed off down the cobblestone road with Martin. Their busy, nervous chatter drifted after me as I started in the other direction, only adding more unease to the pit of my stomach.

  The hike up the main valley’s hill took the wind out of me as it always did, and by the time I reached the castle, I desperately needed to catch my breath.

  But I didn’t have time for that.

  “Ava?” I called out, panting. “Greta? Denise? Where are you?” They were nowhere in sight. I darted around the corner near the moat and into Samira’s old rose conservatory. It was another feature we’d chosen to keep around after the end of Gérard’s reign. “Ava? Hello?”

  Ava’s uninhibited laughter echoed somewhere in the distance, and without thinking, I lurched forward into a determined stride across the grounds. “Ava?”

  “Camille, dear? Is that you?” Greta’s voice came next.

  “Yeah, I’m here, where are you guys?”

  Greta came bounding around the corner, her eyes watery and hand cupped over her mouth. She was alone. “Oh, Camille, I don’t know what happened. I can’t, I can’t…oh my dear…”

  I stilled, my eyes widening, mirroring the same fear in her own. “You can’t what, Greta? Where is Ava? What’s wrong?”

  “I can’t…I can’t find her.” Her voice cracked into a sob and she rushed past me, looking from left to right as she called out for my daughter.

  My daughter. My lost daughter.

  “What do you mean, you can’t find her? I just heard her laughing.” I followed after her, working to fight back the constricted feeling in my chest. “Where is Denise?”

  “She went to the Haven. Said she heard something was happening. She wanted to know what all the fuss was about. I told her I’d watch Ava while she was gone. We were working in the gardens and then Ava wanted to see the roses, so we came in here, and…and now I don’t know!”

  “I just heard her,” I insisted, my anger and panic growing by the second. The emotions mixed and swirled, unleashing an erratic, frantic monster. It was raging in my mind, but I forced myself to control it, knowing I had to stay focused. “Ava?” I called out, my palm resting on my forehead. “Where did you last see her?”

  “She was right here,” Greta insisted, pointing to the end of the rose bush row near the far entrance. “I just don’t understand. She was literally right here. I never took my eyes off her, Camille, I swear it!”

  “Well, apparently you did,” I spat, rounding the corner to get a better look.

  “She’s not here, I’ve looked everywhere!”

  “Why didn’t you come for me?”

  “She just disappeared, minutes ago.”

  “We should search the castle.”

  “Camille, I don’t think Ava would run off like that. It’s not like her.”

  “I know that, she’s my daughter, remember?” I couldn’t help snapping at her. I entrusted the woman with my daughter. “Damn it, I should’ve listened to my gut,” I whispered to myself, but Greta heard me. .

  “It can’t hurt to look,” she spoke quietly now, wiping the tears from her eyes and cheeks. “If you heard her laughing, she must be nearby, yes?”

  “She has to be.” I marched toward the conservatory exit, feeling Greta fast on my heels.

  For her sake, she’d better hope so.

  ***

  We rushed into Samira’s old throne room, searching all along the bookshelves and behind the repurposed altar, eventually making our way into the castle halls and up into the tower.

  “This can’t be happening,” I kept repeating, wishing Gavin were here right now. Out of the many things we’d been able to conjure up with the witches’ magic since being trapped here in Amaranth, conveniences such as telephones and modern transportation weren’t among them. We really were limited, and it was times like this that made me resent the fact.

  “We’ll find her,” Greta assured me, following me down the tower stairs. “She couldn’t have gotten far.”

  “I just don’t understand. How could you lose her like that?”

  “I don’t expect you to forgive me, Camille. Ever. But please know that she was truly by my side the whole time. She was there, and then she was just…gone.”

  “Yeah,” I huffed, “okay.” That made me feel a whole lot better.

  “Where is Gavin? Did he go to the Haven, too?”

  “Yes,” I seethed.

  “Perhaps we should go to the Haven and get Denise and Gavin. They could help us search.”

  “I’m not leaving this castle until we find her. Let’s search the gardens and conservatory again. Come on.”

  Greta went quiet, her gaze downcast as we backtracked through the throne room, avoiding the stares and whispers of people gathered around, reading and working on spell techniques. I wanted to snap at her and tell her to keep her eyes peeled, but the obvious wave of guilt that washed her face sent a pang of sympathy to my gut.

  “Greta,” I stilled for a moment when we reached the rear throne room doors, “I’m just upset right now. You’re right. She has to be here somewhere.” I gingerly placed a hand on her shoulder, not allowing the comfort to linger long. I stormed through the doors, my legs sprinting back into action, then halted when I heard Ava’s laugh again. “Did you hear that? Ava? Ava!”

  “Oh, I hear her!” Greta said, spinning to search our surroundings.

  “Mommy?” Ava called out, her questioning voice splintering my heart. I needed my little girl, and I needed her now.

  “Ava, where are you? I can he
ar you but I can’t—”

  A hard thump shoved me forward from behind, and Ava’s little hands wrapped around the backs of my legs. Her laughter floated up to meet me and she smiled widely, looking up to find my eyes. “Right here, Mommy.”

  I dropped to my knees to grip her shoulders and innocent face. Greta rushed forward to stand at my side, her hand clutching her chest as she heaved a heavy sigh of relief.

  “Ava Marie Devereaux,” I scolded, “don’t you ever run off like that again, do you hear me? What made you think it was okay to leave Miss Greta’s side? You know you never, ever leave a grown-up’s side. Mommy and Daddy taught you that.”

  “I’m sorry, Mommy. I didn’t mean to leave. But I found a secret!” Her soft, pale button nose wrinkled as she spoke, her excited almond eyes staring back at me. I ran my fingers through the loose chocolate ringlets that bounced at the sides of her cheeks, as if feeling to make sure she was real.

  “What secret?”

  “The secret!” She raised a hand, pointing over my shoulder.

  I glanced behind me, seeing nothing but the stone of the castle wall. “I don’t see anything, Ava.” I flicked my eyes up to Greta in question and she shrugged, turning to assess the grey stone.

  “Look,” Ava said, hopping from my reach. She ran over to the castle wall and placed her hand over one of the stones, then pushed it with her tiny fingers. “See, Mommy? A secret!”

  Greta and I exchanged curious glances and I rose to my feet to join Ava near the wall, jumping back in surprise when the sound of crumbling, shifting rock echoed from the place Ava had touched.

  “A passage,” Greta gasped, covering her gaping mouth. She took a wary step back and I followed, holding Ava in place against me.

  “You found this, Ava? Where does it lead?”

  “Found it near the roses. It brought me here. Come on, Mommy, let’s go play!”

  “No, honey, not right now.” I held her shoulders tighter to keep her from launching forward into the dark tunnel. A faint glow illuminated the inside, but it wasn’t enough. I wasn’t about to go roaming around, and there was no way Ava was going back in there. “We have to go find Daddy. He needs us right now, okay? You can show me the entrance from the rose conservatory later. We’ll come back and search the passage later.”

  “But you haven’t seen the secret,” she pouted, tugging on my hand.

  “I see it, Ava. We’ll come back later to explore. We need to make sure we bring more light.”

  She gave another pout and a stubborn kick of her foot, but she let me and Greta lead her away from the castle and down the valley’s hill toward the Haven. Now that Ava was safely at my side again, I felt I could breathe. Greta and I didn’t speak as we made our way into the Haven, and we hadn’t spoken since we left the castle. I was still upset with her, but Ava was safe, and there were more important things to be concerned with at the moment.

  3

  I hurried into the Haven and worked my way through the crowd to find Gavin, Martin, and Denise. Candlelight and an array of lanterns illuminated the Haven, which was full of row after row of wooden chairs. Some villagers were standing, gathered around in groups, listening to the town leaders speak, while others were in the seats, deliberating quietly amongst themselves or fidgeting restlessly with their hands in their laps.

  “What’s going on?” I whispered when I reached Gavin’s side. Denise and Martin were rapt with attention, focused on the crowd’s discussion. Greta huddled up next to them.

  “The Book of the Ancients,” Gavin said, slipping an arm around me and taking Ava’s hand. “It’s trying to tell us something.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s lit up again, look.” He pointed to the book. It sat on a table in front of the town leaders, cracked open and glowing brightly, as it did during the days of prophecy, revealing its directions to us to end Gérard’s reign and free the frozen souls.

  I couldn’t believe my eyes.

  Not only had it been years since I’d paid any attention to the Book of the Ancients—I’d already learned most of the witches and frozen souls’ history, and my conjure lesson days were long gone—but it hadn’t been active, hadn’t changed, since it had been used to destroy the vampire curse.

  “Not only that,” Gavin continued, “but it’s blank.”

  “Blank?”

  “Yeah, as in…completely blank. All of the content just vanished.” He kept his gaze on the town leaders as he spoke to me. I turned my attention in the same direction, tuning in to what was being said at the front of the room.

  “The cause for concern stems from numerous things,” one of the leaders explained, addressing the Haven’s audience. “For one, the history and instruction that we once learned from these very pages is now gone. We have copies, of course, and have upheld meticulous records since settling here permanently, but the fact that the original text is destroyed could greatly threaten the accuracy of that record keeping as time goes on.”

  “What does it matter?” a nearby man asked, stepping forward. “It served its purpose. The content is no longer relevant, and we’ve learned all we can learn from the text, haven’t we?”

  “That’s one way to look at it,” the leader replied with a shrug of his shoulder, “however, it’s a sacred part of the original witches’ history. After what their magic did for the frozen souls, after what it did to end Samira and Gérard’s reign, don’t we owe the witches the courtesy of preserving their history? To honor them? To show some respect?”

  “Well, it’s not our fault the damn thing went blank. I say we leave it alone and move on. What harm can really come from it? There’s nothing we can do about it, anyway.”

  “You may be right about that, but then there’s the other concern to consider.”

  “What else is there to be concerned about?”

  “Why is it active in the first place?” The leader’s eyebrows rose, his head cocked to the side thoughtfully. “Why have the pages suddenly gone blank? I think we need to explore these questions to rule out any possible danger or threats from the other side.”

  “The other side?” Gavin asked, calling over the crowd.

  “Yes.” The leader looked to Gavin. “It was, after all, original witches who were responsible for helping to complete the spell that destroyed Gérard and Samira’s reign. They communicated from the afterlife via links, premonitions, and even visions.” He gestured to me, referencing to the way Vivienne had appeared before me after her death in Samira’s throne room during the final battle that changed the Amaranthians’ fate. “What if the Ancients aren’t pleased with how we’ve been using their magic here in Amaranth? What if they’re trying to communicate something?”

  “Please,” the man who’d spoken up before Gavin griped. “We’re still practically living in the Dark Ages here. It’s not like we’re using their magic to create lavish things, or worse, repeat the same power-hungry decisions Gérard and Samira made. We’re not doing anything to dishonor them, we’re simply trying to survive.”

  “And evolve,” Greta countered, speaking up. “We’ve come a long way since we established a new kingdom here. Many villagers who have become conjurers have created new spells, and have manipulated old ones. Wasn’t that what the witches were against in the first place, when Gérard began to use their magic to his advantage?”

  “You can’t possibly compare what Gérard did with their magic to what we’ve been doing. That’s just ridiculous.”

  “Well, sir,” Greta lifted her chin, her upper lip stiffening as she bobbed her head to search for his face in the crowd, “I must say, I think your idea to just ignore this change is ludicrous. What if the leaders are right? What if the Ancients are trying to tell us something?”

  “Order, order,” the leaders shouted in unison, shushing the growing tension in the room. “Let’s keep our deliberations civil, shall we? Attacking others’ views will get us nowhere. Now, our suggestion—which will of course be open to a vote—is to kee
p watch over the Book of the Ancients for say, another week, and see if there are any more significant changes. In the meantime, we believe it would be wise to sit down and consider any and all possibilities as to why the originals would be trying to communicate with us, and if so, what our response should be. Please, a show of hands. All in favor?”

  Hands began to raise throughout the Haven, Gavin and mine included. What other choice did we have? With no clues or no possible explanation for the sudden change, we were all in the dark.

  The leaders declared the agreement and chatter ensued. I pulled on Gavin’s elbow, ready to explain what had happened with Ava back at the castle, but the leaders’ shouting broke through my train of thought, putting a halt to my words.

  “What in the world?” Greta leaned over my shoulder, trying to get a peek at the source of all the buzz.

  I felt my breath falter when we were all hit with a familiar, glaring light.

  The Book of the Ancients’ glow exploded into a gorgeous beam, its light streaming upward from its pages and hitting the Haven’s ceiling, bouncing all around us and ricocheting off the walls. It wasn’t supposed to be happening, but it was. Right there, in front of me, the book that had been such an integral part of my journey to Amaranth and the key to destroying Gérard was coming alive. Once again, it was bursting with life, calling us to its energy.

  “There’s…there’s text!” one of the leaders stuttered, squinting from the book’s bright light, shielding his eyes with his hand. Eyes were suddenly turning to Gavin and me, looking for answers. We simply stared back in wonder.

  We didn’t have any.