Crossroads

by Jennifer Ann Reed

  Chapter 26

  I THOUGHT I’D BE led back to the room I had stayed in earlier, but Brannon took me out a different door from the Council chambers and into another stark stone hallway. This one was longer than the one leading to the rotunda but was still lit by fiery torches on the walls. I didn’t know what to think or how to react. I’d been sentenced to life in prison for something I didn’t do and the man leading me to my new home promised to protect me. How was this protecting me? Shouldn’t he be breaking me out of here?

  We came to a metal gate fitting the arch in the wall. Brannon pulled a key from his belt loop and unlocked the creaky door. We continued down another hall which ended in another rotunda, only this wasn’t as extravagant as the last one I’d been in. Large metal doors with small grates and bars forming a small window for the jailor to peer inside lined the walls between the columns. Brannon took me to the door across from the entrance and held it open.

  “It’s the largest cell we have.” A twin-sized cot was pushed against the wall on one side and a toilet and sink with a dingy mirror hanging above it took up the other wall. I walked inside and he locked the door behind me. “Don’t worry. You’ll get out of here soon.”

  “How?” I didn’t believe a word that came out of his mouth, but I desperately wanted to. The lie gave me hope. A reason to keep fighting. “How Brannon?” He left without answering.

  I sat on the cot not caring if it stained the pretty dress I was wearing. I wanted to kick something. Scream. Maybe even pull my hair out. I tried to do the right thing and look where it had gotten me. Some Creator’s Champion I was turning out to be. How was I supposed to end Aelfric’s plans if I was locked behind bars? Was this what the Creator wanted? Was it all a joke? Yeah, joke’s on me alright. My dream was a stupid figment of my imagination. I was nothing.

  I laid down on the thin lumpy mattress and screamed into the fresh smelling pillow. At least they cleaned. That’s when I really lost it. No one in their right mind appreciated being locked away in a clean prison.

  I wanted to go home. I wanted to see my friends again. Caden. Ryn. Uncle Kalen and everyone else. I sat up and shot streams of magic at the door and lock, but nothing happened. I was imprisoned in a magic proofed cell. There really wasn’t anything left for me to do but have hope that Brannon was telling me the truth.

  I laid back down and slowly flipped over to face the wall as hot tears scalded my cheeks. The past few hours of fighting and all my emotional turmoil were taking their toll. Jessie’s bright green eyes haunted my mind when I closed my eyes. I had taken her life without a second thought. What did that make me? Just as much of a monster as she was? And what about Chad? If I’d only blasted those stupid Death Dealers earlier with my magic, he’d still be here. Now, I’d never hear his boisterous laugh when I said something sassy or hear his jokes when he tried to cheer me up. His death was on me and me alone. I was a complete and total failure. How many more had to give up their lives because I was utterly useless?

  I tasted salt as my tears slipped over my lips and down my neck. There was one other person I longed to see again. Aunt Mauve. She would know exactly how to handle all this. My sobs wracked my body until I thought I’d seized up and never be able to move again. Why was this happening to me? Was this my punishment for being a hybrid? To lose everyone I loved and cared for? I cried until I had nothing left in me and stared at the wall. My eyes got heavy, but I fought sleeping until I lost the fight drowning in my self-pity.

  I sat up in an unfamiliar room. Did the Council move me? Pristine stone floors etched with blue and purple veins shone with their own radiant light. The walls were made from a polished iridescent gem that I’d never seen before. The sitting area was engulfed with multicolored throw pillows and an afghan I was positive I’d seen before.

  I walked further into the room and saw a giant canopy bed layered in more pillows. Flowers were woven around the frame and grew to the ceiling creating a picture perfect fairytale bedroom. Where was I? I turned at a sound coming from the other side of the room. Open arches led to a balcony overlooking a dark body of water, but the weird thing was what I saw reflected on its surface. There were two moons. One the same size I saw every night and the other smaller with craters large enough to see with a naked eye. Even the constellations were different. The Big Dipper and Little Dipper were absent. And where was Polaris?

  The noise I’d first heard sounded closer. I turned and came face to face with a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and amethyst eyes. Aunt Mauve.

  “Kitra?” She wrapped me in her strong arms and I smelled her sweet floral perfume. “How did you get here?” Here? It couldn’t be! “Did you teleport?”

  “I’m in Faerie?” This was definitely a dream. I remembered falling asleep. I needed to wake up, but I didn’t want to.

  “What’s going on?” Aunt Mauve pulled me to a chair made of ivy. I protested saying I’d fall through it, but it supported my weight. “I haven’t heard from anyone in a while and I was beginning to worry. What are you wearing?” I glanced down and saw the dress I had changed into at the Council Estate and broke into sobs, confessing everything to her.

  “I don’t know what to do.” I hiccupped and rubbed at my wet face. “What do I do?”

  “Listen to Brannon.” She held up a hand when I started to interrupt. “No. Listen to him. He’s been an ally for Lucian and me for years. He won’t break those bonds.”

  “It’s hard to believe him after what he’s done.” I wished I had a tissue and just like that one appeared in my lap. Was this normal in Faerie? I wiped my nose.

  “You said the Creator asked you to be his Champion, right?” I nodded and swiped my nose again. “Then listen to your heart. Do you feel like you’ll spend the rest of your life in a cell under the Council Estate?”

  “No.” What was she getting at?

  “The Creator won’t leave you stranded in there. You will get out. I know it. Kalen and Lucian want to bring you here, but you can’t be alone. You must go back.” I didn’t want to go back and told her as much. “You have to. They need you just like you need them.”

  “Okay.” I didn’t want to leave her. What if I never saw her again? “How do I go back?”

  “Just think about the cell and going there. That should do it.” She hugged me tightly and kissed my forehead. “Now go. I’ll see you soon.”

  I thought about the cot I had been sleeping on and saw my body flicker in and out of view.

  I jerked into a sitting position and grabbed my head while placing the other hand on the wall. Whoa. That was an intense dream. It felt so real. Tangible. I wondered if the actual world of Faerie was the same. Even though it was surely a dream, just speaking to Aunt Mauve made me feel better. The heaviness on my chest was lighter and I dared to have faith in my future. One day I’d leave this place.

  The room rolled and I braced myself against the wall where the bed met its corner. Small flakes of dust drifted from the rocky ceiling. A loud boom resounded somewhere from above and I strained to hear over the shockwaves. The cell quaked again and I was almost thrown from the bed. I was going to be crushed if the ceiling fell in.

  “Help!” Someone needed to get down here. “HELP!” I tried throwing magic at the door again to no avail. Where was everyone? Probably upstairs running for their lives and leaving you to rot my snarky mind reminded me. “Please! I can’t open the door!” Another boom shook the room and a chunk of the ceiling fell with it.

  “No worries, Sparkles. We’ve got you.” Ryn’s face popped up near the bars in my cell door. I’d never been so happy to hear that stupid nickname.

  “Ryn!” I ran to the door as it swung in. Caden stood from his crouch. “Caden!” I charged them both and threw my arms around them.

  “What are you wearing?” Caden eyed me from head to toe.

  “I don’t care what it is. I like it.” Ryn received an elbow to the ribs from my mercurial wolf.

  “Where are the others?” No one else was wa
iting for us.

  “Creating a diversion. Now put this on.” Caden passed me an olive cloak with copper trimming around the bell sleeves, elbows, hood, and collar.

  “They’re setting off the explosions?” I wondered where they had gotten them.

  The hem of my cloak skimmed the floor as I walked to the gated door holding Caden’s hand. “We have to hurry. Brannon said we had to be quick.” Brannon was helping just like he said he would and I wished I could apologize for my lackluster attitude.

  We rushed back up the underground halls which Brannon had taken me through earlier and paused when we came to the Council chambers. They made sure the coast was clear before racing through the open space and up the stairs to the main floor. Where were the guards from earlier? I started to run for the foyer when Caden pulled on my hand.

  “Not that way, Kitten.” He nodded to the glass doors at the back. “This way.” He situated me between him and Ryn and told me to flip up my hood.

  We hugged the walls and stayed in the shadows until the last possible minute before we ran to the outer walls of the maze. Anyone looking out the windows would be able to see us, but so far we’d gone undetected. We followed the side of the maze until it came to a steep decline.

  “Take it slow. You don’t want to lose your footing.” Caden smirked and I knew he was talking about my talent for falling. “We’ll meet the others at the bottom. Brannon is taking us to a portal.”

  “Won’t they track our scent with his wolves?” We all had noses as good as bloodhounds.

  “He sent them home before the trial. The Council was none the wiser over his actions.” Ryn grabbed my hips when I slid. “You were right. She can’t stand on her own two feet.”

  “Don’t make me smack you.” I kept a serious expression on my face even though I was joking.

  “She’s not being serious is she?” Ryn clicked his tongue. “Are you Kitra?”

  “Ask Linc.” Caden shuddered playing along. “He learned quickly to bite his tongue. Our girl has a temper.” Ryn studied me with pursed lips and let my hips go one finger at a time. It took all my might not to crack up, but I didn’t break and Ryn kept his remarks to himself.

  We finally made it to the bottom of the hill with only a few bumps and scrapes on my part when a light shone over the hillside.

  “There they are,” a male voiced shouted over his shoulder. “They have the traitor!”

  “Run.” Caden grabbed my hand. It’d be easier if we shifted, but we couldn’t disguise my white wolf and we couldn’t leave Ryn behind. “Brannon and the others are inside those trees.” We made it to the tree line as our pursuers clambered over the hill.

  “Kitra!” Uncle Kalen wrapped me in a hug and everyone else piled on knocking us to the ground.

  “We don’t have time for a reunion.” Caden’s whisper was urgent and he kept looking back the way we had come. “We were spotted.” His statement sobered everyone as Brannon motioned for us to follow him.

  “I have to go to Faerie.” Uncle Kalen glanced over at me.

  “That’s where we’re going.” He rushed me forward. “We’re getting to Mauve.” How did he know or was it pure chance he was taking me to where I was told to go?

  Brannon shushed everyone not long after Uncle Kalen’s revelation and we left the path and traveled as quietly as we could through thick dying bushes and briar patches. How much farther did we have to go? My feet were killing me and my ridiculous shoes were not helping the matter.

  “Does anyone have boots for me to change into?” I was shushed by my uncle.

  “Well someone is getting ready to give me a piggyback ride then.” I stopped and held up my bleeding foot. “I’m tired of having my feet ripped open and heal to only be shredded again.”

  “We can’t stop. We’ll change out your shoes when we go through the portal. All of our supplies are waiting for us there.” Uncle Kalen grimaced at my mangled feet.

  “Here.” Caden squatted, offering me his back. “Hop on.” I kissed the back of his neck and felt the shiver run down to his toes and smiled to myself. I loved knowing he was as affected by me as I was by him.

  We continued on for another twenty minutes or so without complaint from Caden when I noticed a bunch of stacked objects ahead of us. It was the packs we carried to the prison gate days ago and they were sitting next to a cave opening. Caden deposited me in an area clear of thorns or any other hazard to my toes and handed me a pack.

  “Change your shoes.” I gladly followed his command and pulled out some socks and my knee high brown boots. “Keep the other on. We have to blend in in Faerie. Our trip isn’t sanctioned and we don’t want to be noticed yet.” Everyone else was picking shadowy places to change into attire similar to mine and Ryn was back to wearing his Royal Guard armor.

  A crunch in the distance alerted us that our pursuers were gaining on us.

  “You have to go.” Brannon got Ryn to prick his finger on the knife he held. The droplet landed at the cave entrance and the darkness rippled like dropping a rock into a pond. “I’ll follow when I can.”

  The scene behind the opening changed and I could see a dirt path with grass on both sides of it through the portal. Ryn stepped through and Lucian and my Guardians followed. Gwen and Lilly hugged Brannon and went through with Allie and Austin. That left Uncle Kalen, Caden, and me to leave.

  “Brannon.” I stalled. I was terrified to go to Faerie, but I also needed to apologize to someone I should have trusted. “I’m sorry for not believing you. Please forgive me.”

  “Don’t worry about it Kitra.” Brannon gave me a huge smile. “Go so I can get those boys off your trail. The gate will close soon.”

  “Thanks, Brannon.” His smile lit his eyes. We heard another crunch which sent him running to intercept our pursuers. My hands shook as I peered through the portal. What type of dangers would we face in Faerie? Chad’s huge smile filled my memory and a single tear traveled to my chin. Aelfric had to be stopped. I wanted my friends and family to be safe, and I knew we needed to find the weapon. Then and only then would our worries be over. I took a deep breath. I could do this. I held hands with Caden and Uncle Kalen as we stepped forward into a new world.

  Acknowledgements

  I’d like to first and foremost thank God for all the blessings he has given me through my journey of writing the sequel to Frost Legacy: The Inheritance.

  To my readers. Thank you for all of your support. Without you all, I wouldn’t be doing what I love. Your reviews online have been greatly appreciated.

  To my caring husband, Adam. You have pushed me to the finish line and have been my support system to keep me going even when I was struggling to put pen to paper.

  To my mother-in-law, Darlene. If it weren’t for you, I’d still be staring blankly at a screen. You’ve helped me understand all my inner musings and helped me find my voice.

  To my father-in-law, Kenny. Your and Adam’s knowledge of football is heaven sent.

  Haley Hunsucker, thank you for continuing to help me edit when I hand you rough drafts to look over. Your support pushes me on!

  To my students. You all have embraced my crazy ramblings and have given me constant support. I know you all will be searching for characters resembling yourselves!

  About the Author

  Jennifer Ann Reed lives in Southwest Virginia with her husband, Adam Reed and their two dogs, Bella and Legolas. She is a devout Christian and loves to read and write. When she’s not creating new worlds for her readers, she can be found inside a science classroom or binge watching Merlin or iZombie, among others, on Netflix.

  Jennifer’s love for writing started in Seventh grade when an English teacher encouraged her to write her wild imaginings down on paper. Since then, she has created many worlds in her head and has recently become brave enough to share them.

  She is the author of the Frost Legacy Series.

  Reviews are important for authors and Jennifer encourages all her readers to leave one once they’ve fin
ished reading. Thank you for your support!

  For more information, please visit her on the following social media platforms and her website.

  Email: authorjenniferannreed@gmail.com

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