The queen picked up a vial and threw it at the three Antioch blocking the entrance. A huge wind gathered in the tent and objects began to fly around the room.
During the chaos, Colin overpowered the guard holding him and killed all four of the others in less than two minutes. The mirror shimmered and they could hear Sam and Rachael beckoning to them. Rae and Bella hurried to the mirror with the babies.
Colin had fought off more men as they attempted to enter the room to aid the queen.
Bella turned to Rae and said, “It's time to go."
Raena looked deep into her sister's eyes as her own filled with tears and she said, “Bella, I'll always be with you."
"Oh no, Rae. Please. How will we go on...” And she stopped and looked at the babies in Raena's arms and began again, saying, “You're right. You are meant to be here.” She looked over at Colin and said, “Take care of him."
"Go, Bella. Go now."
As Bella slipped her foot through the mirror, her shape became fuzzy. Sam and Rachael could be seen pulling her through and out. The crows began to swarm from the attic, through the mirror and into the tent. Raena was knocked backward from the force of the flock's retreat.
Colin turned to look at Raena, and called, “Destroy it!” As if to assure her she made the right decision, he added, “My love."
Rae placed the screaming babies on the floor and turned to face her twin in the mirror, who had her hand on the glass. Rae put hers over Rachael's and began to sob.
"I know,” said Rachael evenly as tears streamed down her face, “do it, Rae."
Rae looked around, found a staff made of stone and picked it up. She closed her eyes as she slammed it into the mirror.
It cracked with a deafening sound like a thunderclap. Rae fell backward, then covered the twins to shield them from the glass which was flying around in the howling gale within the tent.
As the Antioch raised their voices to a deafening pitch, everyone staggered from the sound. The queen's eyes began to roll back in her head and her body began to tremble as if in a seizure. She was raised up into the swirling glass, crows and wind. There they circled for a minute like a macabre carousel ride.
When the Antioch closed their mouths, the sound ceased. The wind ceased. Everything that had been rotating in the air dropped to the ground, all at once.
The queen crouched, babbling incoherently. The crows were frozen solid.
The three white figures floated backward and disappeared through the tent flaps.
All was quiet.
Colin rushed over to Raena and enveloped her and the two children in his arms.
Outside, thousands of crows could be seen flying northward.
Epilogue
Raena sat in the rocking chair in front of the hearth, gently rocking the sleeping girl. She glanced around behind her and saw that Cullen had finally worn himself out, and had fallen asleep beside the shepherd pup they had gotten for him.
Her ring sparkled in the firelight, and she felt a pang of longing for her sisters. She could no longer say for the inn, though, because she knew the cottage was now her home. She no longer felt any longing for distant dreams, for she had daily adventures just trying to adapt to her new life—her own life.
Cullen was damaged, to be certain. But he was theirs, and they would deal with whatever untold horrors might await the innocent child. As he lay quietly now, he trembled slightly as he slept, and his eyelids did not close fully, as if he would never feel safe again.
She started as Colin slipped his arms around her and slid the sleeping Hope into her cradle. He turned and kneeled before her, then kissed her deeply.
She had never dreamt such feelings were possible. She had thought they were the stuff of fairy tales.
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Bella rolled over and moaned slightly at the sound of Finn crying in the other room. She sat up and was dizzy from the lack of sleep.
Sam sat up and placed his hands on her shoulders, easing her back down.
"I'll get him. We have a lot of time to make up for, he and I.” And the dazzling smile that had hooked her in youth, flashed at her before she gratefully shut her eyes again.
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Rachael brushed the hair from Eva's face and pulled the blankets up to her chin. She sighed contentedly in her sleep.
She made her way over to Morgana and checked to make sure she really was sleeping. To her relief, Morgana was. No nightmares tonight.
She wandered out of the room, followed by the Dodger—Rachael had decided she no longer hated him, since he was all she had left of Rae in the house.
In the library, she sat down and stared at the portrait of them all. She and the girls, and Bella with Sam and Finn, had sat for it some months ago. She stared into everyone's faces and was filled with mixed emotions.
Standing, she went to the light switch on the wall and raised her hand to it, then stopped. Looking over her shoulder, she said, “Good night, Rae."
In the end, she had given the painter a photograph of Rae, who had painted her into the portrait from its likeness. So there she was, captured in paint like the generations before her—standing in the back of the portrait, next to Rachael.
Rachael flicked the light off.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brynn attended the University of Pittsburgh and has a degree in Occupational Therapy. She lives in the woods of Pennsylvania with her husband and three sons, where she spends every free second escaping to her fantasy worlds, and putting them to paper. You can visit her on the web at:
www.brynnchapman.com
For your reading pleasure, we invite you to visit our web bookstore
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WHISKEY CREEK PRESS
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