Scarlet Forest

by Jennifer Ann Reed

  The longer I traveled, the longer my mind conjured a crevice in the distance ready to devour my limbs. I skid to a halt, bent at the waist with my hands on my knees. My surroundings were the exact same as when I started. Had I been running in place? Was this plane made of infinite darkness?

  I startled at the piercing feminine scream wailing around me. “Hello? Who’s there?” The tortured screams turned into pathetic mewls. “I can’t help you if I don’t know where you are. Use your voice to guide me to you.”

  More cries rose, and I shielded my eyes against the sudden spotlight illuminating a wooden table. Dark wet hair spilled over one end and the moisture dripped to the floor. It took me a moment to realize the droplets were red. A tall figure with a bald head covered in tattoos approached the girl and she trembled as he held up his next object of torture.

  The girl turned her head in my direction, and I fell to my knees. Kitra.

  “Caden! Please help me!”

  I scrambled to my feet at the sound of her voice. I ran with all the strength I had left, but the air thickened and my movement slowed. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t reach her. Apollo lifted his knife and plunged it into her heart. I fell again as my name was the last word whispered from her blood-stained lips. Another figure soon joined them, and I did a double-take. Kitra walked closer and smirked at her dead body.

  “Kitra?” The new Kitra strode over to me when she heard my call.

  “Little alpha.” She shook her head and bent to kiss my lips.

  The warmth and longing for my mate were missing, and I drew back. This Kitra was wrong. This wasn’t my soulmate. I glanced back at the table. My Kitra laid lifeless on its surface.

  “You didn’t save her.” The doppelganger grinned, and I saw my reflection upside-down in its eyes. “You can never save her. I took her place.”

  “That’s not right.” My eyes swung between them. “Aelfric said she was alive.”

  “He lied.” Her finger lifted my chin. “I’m coming for everyone you love.”

  “No!” I attempted to follow her, but I was cemented into place.

  The vision faded and once again I was standing in total darkness until I tried to find them. The scene replayed over and over until I stood in place and waited for the nightmare to return.

  Chapter 13

  Kitra

  T HE IMPOSING GRAY CASTLE with its menacing gargoyles standing as sentries rose in the distance. The last time I’d seen this building, I was under arrest for treason and sentenced to life in prison. My hands twisted in my lap as the tires crunched over the seashell drive. Most of the Council members hadn’t believed me when I pleaded not guilty against Josiah’s accusations. Would they believe me now? Would they believe Josiah had only wanted me for himself?

  I didn’t open the Gate of Aramath. I had helped to close it after Jessie Danvers cracked it open for Aelfric. If it wasn’t for our sacrifice, the Destroyer would be raising havoc against the world. I knew coming here was risky, but I had to plead our case. We couldn’t stop what was coming on our own.

  The Range Rover stopped behind Brannon’s truck. I took a deep breath and put a hand on the door handle.

  “We won’t let them imprison you again.” Uncle Kalen stared at me through the rearview mirror. His jaw ground together as he looked at the entrance to the Council’s Estate.

  “I know.” I nodded once and pulled the handle. “If it comes down to it, I’ll teleport us back to Moon Stone Ranch.” I had managed to unlock a lot of my hybrid magic, but my scalp prickled with self-doubt when I thought about all the times I had lost control of it. In my mind, I knew I’d only scratched the surface of my power. Too many people had gotten hurt because I lacked the full discipline over my abilities, and I shivered as fear raced to my toes.

  Soldiers dressed in black fatigues stormed from the front entrance and interrupted my train of thought. The ground rumbled as the coppery tang of magic filled the air when Spell Dancers joined them. Each of us raised our hands above our heads.

  “We’re here to speak to Aerolynn and the Council.” Brannon grasped my arm and pushed me forward. “Kitra is turning herself in. I’ll take her to the trial room.” The line of soldiers parted to allow us to walk through them.

  Inside we passed the double staircase and continued to the oak door at the end of the hall. The stone stairs on the other side led into the cold wet bowels of the estate. Two guards stood between us and our entry into the trial room. Once again, Brannon made a show of shoving me around while he told them of my surrender. Steely stares morphed into leers when we were searched. Once we passed their inspections, we entered into the circular room which was constructed of marble and sandstone. Grecian columns outlined the area where the round table surrounded by nine chairs sat. I paused next to one of the columns and took a deep breath. Then, Brannon led us to the gap between the sections and told us to stand on the dais. I warned the others in time for them to brace for its movement.

  The main door opened again as the dais stopped three feet above the seats. I saw Aerolynn’s white head leading the parade of Council members. Brannon and Amara took their seats as the red robed counterparts joined them around the table. Aerolynn’s kind gaze met mine, and a smirk lifted her lips. She took her raised seat at the head of the table.

  “Kitra Frost.” Aerolynn arranged her robe around her so each golden leaf reflected in the light. “I’m shocked to see you here.”

  “To see me here alive? I would be shocked too after putting a bounty on my head.” Brannon cleared his throat at my brazen attitude with the Council’s leader while Amara tried to cover her humor behind her hand.

  Aerolynn coughed while the beady eyed man I remembered from my trial jumped to his feet. “Silence, hybrid!” His red face turned purple and spittle flew from his lips with each word. “Your insolence will not be tolerated.”

  “Sit down, Malachi.” Aerolynn waved towards his seat.

  The door opened again. Silver eyes glared in my direction when Lira raised her head. Her normally braided white hair hung wildly around her face.

  “Where is he?” Lira stood next to Aerolynn’s chair. “Where is my husband? What have you done with him?” Murder was written all over her face and I knew without a doubt she wanted my blood on her hands.

  “We didn’t do anything with him.” Linc slid closer to my side. “Aelfric had him killed.”

  Lira scoffed, but Aerolynn shushed her. “Aelfric killed Josiah? Where?”

  “In Faerie.” Uncle Kalen put his hands on my shoulders. “He was working with Aelfric.”

  “Lies!” Lira’s approach was stopped by Aerolynn’s hand on her wrist. “Josiah would never work with the Dark Ones. I’ll kill each of you where you stand for slandering his name.”

  “Enough!” Aerolynn’s voice rose over the whispers of the other members. “Explain.” Aerolynn’s golden gaze met ours after Lira took her seat next to Aerolynn.

  “Josiah joined the Dark Ones after Aelfric promised to give him Kitra.” Uncle Kalen’s grip strengthened, and I winced. “He taunted me about making Kitra his broodmare.” Lira sucked in a breath and lowered her head. I knew she remembered how Josiah behaved around me.

  Aerolynn’s fingers tapped the arm of her chair as she watched Lira. “Is it true? Did Josiah want to use Kitra to give him heirs?”

  A tear slipped past Lira’s lashes. “I wasn’t sure at first, but I couldn’t ignore his infatuation with her. The way he watched her… it made me sick.”

  “Aelfric had one of his followers kill Josiah when Apollo almost killed Kitra during her torture. Josiah thought Apollo sterilized her and attacked them.”

  “And now you’re turning yourself in? Why?” Aerolynn gripped her chair.

  “Because I’m not a traitor. I did not open the Gate of Aramath.”

  “Then why were you arrested?” Malachi’s beady eyes squinted. “Why did they say you were involved if you weren’t?”

  “Because Josiah wanted her for himself.
” Lira wiped her cheeks. “I see that now.” She straightened her rumpled robe. “Kitra helped me close the gate before Abaddon emerged.”

  “Why didn’t you say this during her trial?” Amara set up straight with ice in her glare. “You were hiding Josiah’s true intentions.”

  “What would you have me do?” Lira’s silver gaze cut to Amara. “What wife wouldn’t keep her husband happy? Lie for them? Omit testimony to give him what he so desperately wanted, especially when you know you can’t do it yourself?”

  “A lot.” Brannon shook his head and failed to mask his disgust with her. “Kitra is innocent.”

  “But our judgements and sentencing can’t be changed.” Malachi looked to Aerolynn. “What do you suggest?”

  “May I make a suggestion?” Julia ambled towards the edge closest to Aerolynn.

  “A suggestion from a traitor?” Malachi spat. “No.” He turned to Aerolynn. “I don’t care if Kitra is innocent of her charges. She’s a cohort with a known traitor. They both deserve to be locked away. I don’t care what our by-laws say about not imprisoning humans.”

  “Would you still think that if we could destroy the Gate of Aramath forever?”

  “No one can destroy the gate.” Malachi waved a hand in the air to dismiss us. “This is ridiculous.”

  “We can.” I motioned between Julia and myself. “But we need a powerful Spell Dancer to do it.” All eyes glanced at a broken Lira.

  “How?” Aerolynn held up a hand when Malachi began to speak.

  “I want some concessions made before we tell you.” Aerolynn nodded for me to proceed while Malachi’s face reddened again. “First, I want full pardons for myself and Julia.” No one said a word, so I continued. “I also want the Council’s army to help us defeat Aelfric and follow the plan I lay out in order to do so.”

  “Anything else?” Aerolynn raised one white brow.

  “I can’t believe you’re actually entertaining this.” Malachi’s frumpy frame shook.

  “I want the Order to end.” Several gasps filled the air followed by disagreements. “If the Gate is destroyed, there won’t be a need for the Order.” My shout silenced the others.

  “This is absurd.” Malachi slammed a hand on the table. “Destroying the Order is out of the question.”

  “Then I won’t destroy the gate. I don’t think my requests are unreasonable.” I shrugged and nodded to Brannon. Our dais slowly descended. “I’ll leave you all to deal with Aelfric on your own. If he succeeds, it’ll be on your heads.” My group grabbed my arms. We were ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

  “Wait.” Aerolynn stood and locked gazes with me. “Let me have time to weigh our options.”

  Each member of my group nodded to me. “Fine.”

  “They can wait in the cells.” Malachi also stood. “I don’t trust them not to leave us with this mess.”

  “As a sign of good faith, we’ll wait in your cells.” Linc and Uncle Kalen tried to argue, but I kept talking. “We have to build trust, or this potential alliance won’t work.” I followed Brannon to the door that led to the cells. “But we won’t wait long.” They couldn’t keep me locked up this time without my compliance.

  Brannon took us to the prison and separated us into individual cells. “They’ll agree if they know what’s good for them. You made a deal that can’t be turned down. Aerolynn will knock some sense into them.”

  Brannon left us in the Council’s dungeon. His reassurance replayed in my head. I hoped he was right. If not, we were on our own and I wasn’t sure how far we’d get. Aelfric’s chances at winning grew while we waited.

  Chapter 14

  Kitra

  “ THIS IS STUPID.” AUSTIN beat against his bars.

  “Calm down, dude.” Linc yawned and crossed his arms. “Kitra’s got this. We haven’t been waiting that long.”

  “I know.” Austin’s fear bled through our telepathic bond. “I just hate being caged.”

  Everyone settled down, but I couldn’t let go of the fear I felt from my friend.

  Austin? What’s really going on? I probed his mind for his fear, but none remained.

  You felt that, did you? His mental huff rang in my ears. Don’t worry about it.

  You know I can’t do that. I slid down the wall and sat with my knees pressed to my chest.

  It’s nothing. Austin tried to keep his jumbled thoughts calm, but a few images of him in small cages as a child and young teen filled my head. Taunts from other fairies and name-calling claimed the silent movie.

  Oh, Austin…I won’t let that happen to you again. I promise. Tears dripped from my chin.

  I’m sorry you saw that. I heard his sigh from my cell. I know you won’t allow it, but the terror from then still haunts me. It’s my scar to heal.

  I’m here if you need to talk. The door creaked open and broke our link before he could answer.

  Malachi strolled into the room with his robe swishing around his feet. I heard a couple of groans as we all stood. The round short man marched to my cell door with keys in hand.

  “Aerolynn needs to speak to you alone.” He unlocked my cell as protests came from the others. “I’m only following orders. Brannon will be down soon to release the rest of you.”

  “It’s fine.” I stepped past the door. “I’ll be back soon.” The hair on my neck raised and my fae magic swirled around my anxious wolf. If she wanted to speak to me alone, the outcome wasn’t what we wanted. Why couldn’t she come for me herself?

  We left through a different exit and entered a hallway. Malachi closed the heavy door and cut off growls and shouts. We continued to the end of the hallway and turned right to a set of stone stairs. He took us down many corridors before we stopped outside a door carved with symbols of the four different elements.

  “She’s supposed to meet us here.” He motioned inside and my wolf’s hackles rose. “Have a seat.”

  The stone room was bare except for a wooden table and matching chairs. A shiver ran down my spine at the musty scent and I spun on my heel. An evil grin curled Malachi’s lips when I tried to step past him. Then, I was swept off my feet and slammed into the wall across from the entrance. My head bounced off the stone and darkness edged my vision. Wetness traveled down my neck in rivulets. Seriously? I wiped the red liquid on my pants. How many times in my life was I going to be abducted and tortured?

  The world tilted when I tried to stand, and I fell back to the floor. Malachi’s arms were by his side. Gone was the frumpy man with bad skin. In his place was a monster. My fingers scraped along the stone floor as I searched for something to swing at my approaching tormentor. I kicked out at the chubby man when he drew near, eliciting a yelp and then a laugh from him.

  “Oh, Kitra.” He squatted out of strike range. “I wish my nephew could see us now.”

  “Nephew?” I cradled my bleeding head with one hand and attempted to stand again.

  A cruel laugh was the only warning I had before air was forced into my lungs, choking me. I clawed at the invisible hands on my throat and black spots popped up around the edges of my vision while Malachi cackled in the background. When I thought I’d pass out, the air was sucked from my lungs and I coughed until I threw up bile. How was he choking me when he wasn’t even touching me?

  “Josiah had a lot of potential.” Malachi picked at his fingernails. “You took the only family I had left from me.” His beady eyes raised, and I saw nothing but hate glaring back at me. “Maybe I won’t kill you. Maybe I’ll use you like he intended to.” I spit in his face. He wiped it away and cocked his head to the side. “Maybe I will play a little first.”

  Kitra? Where are you? Austin’s mind reached out to me. I pictured the path we took as best as I could. We’re on our way. Hold on.

  Air choked me again and my wolf screamed at me like the idiot I was to use my magic. I tried to pull it forth, but I couldn’t concentrate enough to see the violet flicker inside me. I slumped to my side when he paused in his torture and pretended to be un
conscious. I reached deep within myself to find what I was looking for while Malachi crept closer. I was tired of being kidnapped. I was tired of being the damsel in distress.

  I latched onto the violet cord in my soul and tugged as Malachi’s hand gripped my hair and pulled me to my feet. The ember I stoked engulfed my body and screams erupted from my abuser. I wouldn’t be anyone’s plaything this time. More screams of my name joined him as they banged against the door. I shoved Malachi away as his entire body ignited in purple flames. The door burst open. Linc and Uncle Kalen ran to my side while Lira and Julia stood guard with Austin. Malachi finally stopped screaming, but all I could do was sit and stare at what was left of the smoking embers until Uncle Kalen pulled me away.

  “Are you okay?” He searched for the wound on the back of my head. “It’s healed.”

  “I’m fine.” I showed Austin what happened through our bond and he clenched his fists and stared at the black outline on the floor. “He can’t hurt anyone else now.”

  Somewhere on this journey, killing no longer required much thought. I don’t know where or when that happened. More often than not, the world I lived in was kill or be killed. Part of me didn’t want to care about my actions anymore, but another side couldn’t let his death go. When would I lose myself to darkness entirely? How could I focus on the light again when blood saturated my hands?

  “Kitra?” Linc’s voice pulled me from my bleak thoughts. “You don't have to pretend with us. It’s okay if you’re not fine.”

  “I know.” My shoulders fell as Lira winced when she noticed what was left of her fellow Council member. “I’m tired… tired of useless violence. I want this to be over. Maybe then the Creator can forgive me for all the red in my ledger.”