Autumn Dawn (#2.5, Witchling Saga)

by Lizzy Ford

  “I didn’t think it was possible to redeem ourselves,” he replied.

  “It may not be. Doesn’t hurt to try, does it?”

  He sat down in the chair near her. “Is there a way back? I mean, I can never be Light, but how do I stop Darkness from taking me again?”

  Rania regarded him silently for a long moment.

  “Does it always hurt so much?” He forced himself to ask the difficult question.

  “No, it doesn’t,” she answered at last. “The war never ends. You will struggle with it your whole life. But, you will find a way to manage it as well. After Nora, I spent two years trying to figure it out. What I finally learned was that all that pain and anger is there for a reason. It’s how we fight the Darkness. To enforce the Laws, we must understand what happens if we fail.”

  “You hate the Darkness.”

  “With every ounce of my soul. I think every Dark Master or Mistress goes through a brutal trial when they transition, one that makes them realize how powerful and how awful their enemy really is.”

  Decker listened closely.

  “It’s hard to balance accepting that you are a part of it and hating it, without hating yourself,” she added. “It’s going to take you awhile, Decker.”

  “I don’t know if I can do it,” he admitted in a hushed voice.

  “You have Beck and you have her.” She tilted her head towards Autumn.

  “If…” He shook his head, not wanting to think about what he’d do if Autumn wanted nothing to do with him. “What about the former Dark Masters in my head? You said Nataniel was the most powerful, but I can’t hear him. He won’t talk to me, mother.”

  “He is the strongest and the most elusive of the souls. He spoke to me only when I was touching your father, when all the others were silent.”

  “So, never for me,” Decker said, frustrated.

  “He will, Decker. There’s no real rhyme or reason to the voices in your head,” she said. “Bartholomew plagued me for years, until I was able to learn to channel my emotions into the magick I needed to fight the Darkness. Bartholomew preys on weakness. When you hear him, you know you’re in trouble.”

  “I figured out that much,” he said dryly. “What did you do, when he talked to you?”

  “I went to your father. I looked in on my sleeping sons at night. I found the strength I needed to push Bartholomew and the Darkness away,” she replied. “You can’t do this duty alone, Decker.”

  “I listened to him for months. He seemed so like me,” he mused. “He lost his love and went mad, like I did.”

  “Except he didn’t come back,” she pointed out. “You share something with him. The difference is that he would’ve killed your brother and Autumn in that clearing.”

  Decker dwelled on this. Beck’s entrance caught his attention. The Light twin glowed as he strode into the hospital room.

  “My turn,” he said cheerfully to his mother.

  “I’m heading home,” she said to Decker. “Going to get some sleep.”

  “You were here all night?” Decker asked, surprised.

  “We’ve been taking turns making sure your girl is okay,” Beck answered. “Mom does the night shift.”

  “Don’t kill each other,” his mother said with a trace of her old humor. She rose, and Decker marveled over the fact that the two most powerful people he knew were tiny women.

  Without another word, she walked out. Decker watched her before his gaze swept over Beck and returned to Autumn.

  “Okay, so now for my secret,” Beck said and went to the side of Autumn’s bed opposite Decker. “No offense, but I’m putting something between us for this.”

  “For what?” Decker asked suspiciously. “Why are you and mom keeping guard over Autumn?”

  “Waiting for you to get here, obviously,” Beck said. “I mean, you lost your first girl. Can’t have this one disappearing, too.”

  Decker settled a cold glare on his twin, aware that Beck tended to be more flippant than usual when he was nervous. He reached forward to tug Autumn’s amulet free from her hospital gown. Decker almost yelled at him to get away from the girl he wasn’t certain what to do with. His shadows were edgy to see his twin touching someone they’d both been interested in at one point.

  “What’re you doing?” Decker demanded as his twin gently worked the necklace through Autumn’s hair in order to pull it off.

  “I’ll tell you. But before you flip out,” Beck started then paused to untangle a knot. “Promise me you’ll listen to what happened.”

  Decker nodded once, trying to figure out if Beck posed a threat to Autumn. Beck was unwilling to kill him, but Decker wasn’t certain he’d feel the same, if Autumn was in danger.

  Beck tugged the amulet free and held it up in front of Decker’s face.

  Irritated, Decker pushed his hand away.

  “No, idiot, look,” Beck said with a sigh. “What do you see?”

  Decker focused on the amulet. It was the color of whiskey, its glow muddled. Neither Light nor Dark. He never understood why Autumn was different like that.

  “I don’t know,” he said at last. “It doesn’t make sense.”

  “I know, right?” Beck said with a smile. “Sam taught me this. Watch.”

  Decker shifted at the pulse of Light power. Beck wrapped a hand around the amulet, released his magick, and tugged the amulet free.

  “Now look.”

  The amulet glowed: transparent amber beaming with Light.

  “Neat trick,” Decker said, scrutinizing the amulet. He was able to read it now. Autumn was clearly Light and a powerful witchling at that. The magick from air and earth – her elements – hummed around the crystal. “What did you do?”

  “Removed a spell.”

  Decker frowned. He hadn’t sensed the spell. It was like the blockage in Autumn’s mind, the one he knew was there but couldn’t penetrate, even as a Dark Master.

  “Take it,” Beck said and held out the amulet. “It’s yours.”

  “Mine.” Decker snorted, suspecting Autumn would have something to say about that. But he accepted it, wrapping his large hand around the crystal so he could feel her.

  Summer.

  His body thrummed in recognition of her familiar energy. Decker froze. He opened his hand to stare at the necklace. The last time he’d seen it, it had glowed Dark, before he shoved her off the cliff into Miner’s Drop.

  Fury rose within him. Was this a sick joke? Another attempt by the Darkness to torture him? A dream? His magick pulled loose from his control, and shadows spilled into the room.

  “You promised to listen,” Beck reminded him. “Sam gave her a second chance. You weren’t allowed to know.”

  “There are no second chances!” Decker growled.

  “You don’t have to believe me. You have her amulet. You have her.” Beck indicated Autumn.

  Decker’s eyes dropped. Instead of Autumn, he saw Summer. Her long dark hair, heart-shaped face, the eyes that would be huge and dark and deep when she opened them…

  He couldn’t look away for a long moment then gripped his head, unable to admit what was going on, that this might be real.

  He reached out to her, waiting for her to dissipate like smoke. His fingertips brushed her soft skin, and he almost staggered. His magick and mind fell utterly silent. The turmoil was gone, the sense of peace at his core rendering him speechless.

  It wasn’t a dream.

  Decker sank into the chair beside the bed, touching her as gently as he could. He ached to bury his face in her hair and breathe in her familiar scent, to shake her awake just to see her beautiful eyes. He was terrified to do more than rest his fingertips on her for fear of hurting her.

  “How is this possible?” he managed.

  “When she went over the cliff, the elements made me find her. They told me I had to protect her.” Beck’s voice grew quiet. “I couldn’t let her die, because you would die, too, Decker. Then the Darkness would be free.”

  Decker�
��s hand trembled as he traced Summer’s face. He’d last held her on the cliff overlooking Miner’s Drop, before he pushed her to her death. They were both sobbing, for she had broken Light and Dark Laws, and he was there not just to take her soul, but her life as well.

  “I made a deal with Sam,” Beck continued, referring to the yeti who lived in the forest near the boarding school. The forest creature was responsible for maintaining the balance between Light and Dark. “He let her have a second chance. The stipulation was that she had to start from Dark and earn her way back to the Light. Basically, saving you was her second trial.”

  Decker was astonished at the idea that Sam granted anyone a second chance. Beck explained the deal he and their mother made with Sam that granted Summer another trial, but only if her true identity was kept a secret.

  No one else but his Summer would’ve been able to pass such a horrible trial. Physically handicapped, with no memories of her own, only a basic understanding of magick and worst of all: a Master of Dark determined to surrender to the Darkness.

  Decker felt humbled by the amount of courage and strength in the young woman before him. She was far stronger than he was, stronger than anyone he knew. Why did she love him?

  Or did she love him, now that she had seen with her own eyes how Dark he was?

  Decker ran his free hand through his hair. Alone with his thoughts, he didn’t know what he was supposed to do or how he should feel.

  “Mom made sure she survived and disguised her with a spell,” Beck went on.

  “Mother turned her into Autumn.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I feel like skinning a yeti right now,” Decker muttered.

  Unable to look away from Summer, he listened to Beck in a combination of cautious hope and absolute terror that this was a dream that would soon shatter and leave him alone with the Darkness. Or worse, that he’d be alone when Summer awoke and rejected him.

  “You knew all along,” he said. His body hurt from the need to wrap her in his arms. To know he might’ve spent the past three months with her instead of suffering by himself was torture!

  “Yeah. I knew she was alive and I knew who she was when she showed up at school.”

  Decker had never felt the fury he did at Beck’s honesty. He met his twin’s blue gaze.

  Beck didn’t look away or back down. “I had no choice, Decker. If she didn’t pass her trial, you were definitely lost, and so was I. She had to have the chance to make the right choice.”

  “You knew she was alive!”

  “Don’t you dare, Decker. Do you know what it was like watching my brother and best friend let Darkness take him and make him kill innocent people?” Anger flared in Beck’s eyes. “You forced me to make the same choice our mother did over twenty years ago when she killed her sister! Except I chose to take the only chance there was to save you, even if it meant I might lose you and my own soul in the process.”

  Taken aback by the vehemence in his normally laid-back brother’s voice, Decker said nothing. The voices in his head were silent, allowing him to absorb Beck’s raw pain and his own emotions with clarity. His anger faded at the sight of his brother’s flushed face.

  “I couldn’t let Summer die, and I couldn’t let you suffer.” Beck’s eyes glistened. “Not just because you’re my brother, but because of what I am, the protector that failed to protect either of you. I had a chance to make things right, and I took it. You have no right to be pissed at me!”

  You forced me to make the same choice our mother did over twenty years ago.

  This truth fell hard. Decker began to realize just how much he put his twin through in his attempt to surrender to the Darkness. Yet Beck didn’t give up on him. The Master of Light risked everything to salvage the one piece of Decker that mattered most.

  “Your soul,” Decker repeated. “What did you do, Beck?”

  “I traded it to Sam so she had another trial,” his twin responded. “It was the only way I could think of to save you both. Sam said if she succeeded, I’d owe nothing. If she didn’t, then I’d be without a soul. We’d all be screwed anyway, if she failed.”

  “My god, Beck. Do you have any idea what might’ve happened?”

  “She did it. I knew she would. She made you smile, Decker. She brought out the good in you. I knew… I prayed, that if she could do that for you, she could make it through the trial a second time.”

  Decker’s eyes went to Summer.

  “You’ve never failed me, Beck,” Decker said softly. “Ever. I’m sorry for putting you through all this.”

  Beck nodded, running a hand through his hair as he calmed.

  “I can’t believe you risked everything,” Decker murmured. “I can’t believe you saved her.” His throat was tight, and he rested his forehead against Summer’s arm. “My Summer.”

  “Mom lifted her memory spell. She’s a little overwhelmed right now.”

  “I want to know everything,” Decker said. “I promise not to get upset, but I need to know what you went through, what Summer went through. Please.”

  “Can we go see Sam? I want to make sure I’m not screwing up anything,” Beck said.

  Decker hesitated. No part of him wanted to leave Summer. Sensing his reticence, Beck pulled his phone free from his pocket and typed a quick text message.

  “I’ll have Dad come and hang out with her. Is that cool?”

  Decker nodded. “I’m not letting her go again.”

  “I figured.”

  Beck replaced his phone and loosened his magick. Decker took the hand his twin extended to him, and they were swept away, to the forest where the elusive forest creature named Sam dwelt.

  Chapter Three

  Summer lingered outside the hospital, thrilled to be free of the stifling room. She shivered in the cold wintery air, smiling at the eager reception from her elements. Air magick threw her hair around, until she subdued the dancing strands with a scrunchie. The trees hedging the concrete driveway in front of the outpatient wing were stretching toward her. They appeared to be kneeling under the influence of a heavy wind or an invisible hand that pushed them from behind.

  She glanced over her shoulder through the wall of doors into the hospital. Michael Turner had come to pick her up. He stood talking to one of the doctors at the check-out desk. His car, something dark and expensive with a subdued hood symbol she didn’t recognize, idled near one end of the crescent-shaped driveway. No part of her wanted to be confined again, not when she’d just been freed.

  Assured he was occupied, Summer walked then trotted, then all out sprinted towards the tree line. Tears pricked her eyes, and she barely contained a scream of happiness. After months trapped in a body that hurt her to move, she could run once more. Darting into the trees, she tripped and dropped to her knees, laughing breathlessly. Her arms circled the tree nearest her in a fierce hug.

  Earth’s magick floated through her, welcoming her with subtle warmth. The tip of her nose was freezing, her cheeks almost numb. She’d never been so happy to be in the forest. Snow began to fall from a sky the same hue as the blocky, concrete hospital. Summer closed her eyes and let her senses mingle with the forest and its magic.

  “They are happy to see you.”

  She opened her eyes at Michael’s voice. He stood at the edge of the concrete. Absently, he touched the branch of a tree that sought him out. Like Beck, his element was earth.

  “You okay?” he asked, studying her.

  Summer nodded and rose. “I’m ready to go.”

  He led her away from the forest to the car. Summer waved at the forest, content in knowing she was headed someplace where she could spend as much time as she wanted with the magick.

  The interior of the car was warm. She shed her last shiver of cold and settled into the comfortable passenger seat. Soon, they were leaving the hospital behind. She sighed as it faded from view in the rearview mirror.

  “Happy to head home?” Michael asked. His soothing magick was like Beck’s, and it fille
d the car.

  “Yes. Not sure where home is, though,” she said with a frown.

  “I took care of it,” he said. “Dawn is being moved off campus. You’ve got a room at the school and of course, one with us, whenever you want it.”

  “Thank you,” she murmured, still doubtful of whether or not she had a relationship with Decker that warranted a place to stay at the cabin. “Everyone knows about me?”

  “More or less. You’ll be a curiosity for awhile, I imagine.”

  Summer suspected she’d probably be much more than that. She couldn’t wait to see her friends Biji and Adam or sit with them for breakfast again in the main dining room of the school.

  “School or cabin?” Michael asked.

  “I think I should see Sam first,” she replied. “And… Decker.”

  “You ready for that?”

  “I don’t know, but I need to see him.” As much as the thought of his rejection scared her, she knew it was true.

  Michael smiled without responding. Summer sensed he understood her need to see the Master of Dark; after all, he had a similar instinct that guided him to Rania.

  Summer’s attention went to the snow swirling against the window. It fell slowly, and she hoped it held off until they reached Priest Lake. The nearest hospital to the tiny resort town was located forty five minutes away in Priest River. They traveled the two-lane road that ran between the two towns. Dusted with salt, the road curved around mountains and was lined with snow banks twice her height.

  “You’re welcome to stay with us tonight, if the snowstorm breaks before I get you back to the school,” he said.

  “Thank you,” she said. “I think it depends on how it goes with Decker.”

  “It depends more on you,” Michael replied. “He’ll melt when he sees you. You’ll likely determine the pace of your relationship, and what you’re comfortable with.”

  “Was it like that for you and Rania?” she asked.

  “Pretty much.” Michael chuckled. “When she stopped running from me. I don’t think you’ll have that problem. You’re seventeen?”

  She nodded.