“Autumn—”
“I want to see him, Avery! I want to see my brother!” Autumn sobbed, climbing clumsily to her feet. The world tilted and she felt herself begin to fall before Avery caught her with gentle hands.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Avery murmured in a miserable voice.
“I don’t care if it’s a good idea or not. I need to see him.”
“She could’ve been lying,” he said uncertainly. “She knew you were here. She knew you’d hear her.”
“I want to see him. Whether he’s alive or—” She couldn’t bring herself to say the horrible word.
Autumn’s knees gave out again and Avery hoisted her up. “The battle is still going on.”
She looked up into Avery’s gray eyes, full of pain. Suddenly she felt the ground strengthen beneath her feet and she was able to stand on her own. No. She was not giving up. Not now. Luke wouldn’t have wanted her to give up just because he was gone. Though, thinking these words made her feel like she was being stabbed repeatedly in the heart. Autumn took a few steps away from Avery, who was holding his hands up cautiously, as if she would crumble any second.
“This war shouldn’t be happening,” Autumn said in a far away voice. “This was all because of Vyra and Victor. All of it. These creatures aren’t angry with us. They’re angry with them.”
Suddenly Autumn was struck with an idea. She breezed over to the waterfall, careful to avoid Vyra’s blood-soaked body, and knelt by the water’s edge.
“What’re you doing?” Avery asked in a worried voice, clearly concerned about her sanity.
“Looking for—aha!” she said, locating the gelatinous flowers that Crystal had pointed out the last time they’d had guard duty. Autumn and Luke had still been switched at that point. The thought of Luke sent another jolt of pain through her, but she tried to ignore it as she grabbed a handful of the vocalamps.
“Aren’t those—wait, what’re you doing?” Avery said as Autumn stuffed the gelatinous plants in her mouth. She forced herself to swallow them, trying not to gag as they slid down her throat like grass-flavored Jello.
“That was—whoa,” her voice was now at least ten times louder than it had been before.
“Autumn. What’re you going to do?” Avery called as she made her way to the edge of the cliff overlooking Arbor Falls.
Autumn looked over her shoulder at him and held a hand up, as if to say trust me.
Avery opened his mouth to say something then slowly closed it, studying her for a moment before finally nodding. She gave him a thankful smile and turned to face the carnage below. Many creatures were still fighting, many were lying eerily still on the ground. There needn’t be any more deaths today. That was enough.
As if by some miracle, the clouds parted slightly and a beam of sunlight landed on Autumn like a natural spotlight. She opened her mouth and belted out a long, sorrowful note. Her Song filled the entirety of Arbor Falls, crashing like a wave over the creatures battling in the broken town below. One by one each creature stopped what they were doing, hypnotized by the echoing melody.
“Enough,” Autumn stated, still not quite used to her magnified voice. The magical creatures shook their heads clear and looked around for the source of her voice. A few elves looked up to the waterfall boundary and pointed. Heads turned and everyone’s eyes were now on Autumn.
“Look around you,” she continued. “Elves and warlocks are not the only ones who’ve lost their lives today. Your friends—your families—are lying on the ground right now. And for what? For the careless act of two Underground creatures? Funny how much trouble two creatures can cause. In fact, I know of two creatures in particular that are almost solely responsible for all of the lives lost these past few months. Victor and Vyra Vaun.”
At the mention of these names a cacophony of angry voices rose up to meet her.
“Exactly! We’ve all been hurt at the hands of the Vauns, but without knowing it they gave us something that could be invaluable to the inhabitants of the Underground—a common enemy. We may look different from one another and speak differently and live in different places, but we all share the loss at their hands. It is a waste of precious life and time to point fingers at one another for something that could be spared simply by education. Knowledge is a vital resource and living in ignorance is doing none of us any good.
“We all have unique powers that should be admired, not feared. Are you aware that elves and warlocks are not the only creatures capable of reproducing? How about a vampire and a giant? A troll and a leprechaun? What would come of those? Your fight is not with each other. There are evil creatures in each community, and right now our biggest threat is Victor Vaun. Vyra is no longer our concern. Because I just watched Victor kill her.”
There was another chorus of shouts and surprised exclamations, many sounded disbelieving.
“Avery,” Autumn said to him. “Show them the body.”
Avery started at the mention of his name, but did as she asked and carried Vyra’s stiffening body to the edge of the cliff beside Autumn, lifting it easily over his head. The sight of her blood-soaked hair and staring violet eyes made Autumn slightly nauseated. A collective gasp rose from the crowd of magical creatures followed by a roar of cheers.
“Vyra may be gone,” Autumn continued, “but Victor is still alive and well. This is why it is vital that we forget our prejudices against one another and focus on defeating Victor and his army of Shadows and Atrums. Can’t you see? This is exactly what they wanted. This is what they had been planning all along. To pit us against each other so that we would lose our focus on them and dwindle our numbers in the process. Look at the massacre around you. And they didn’t even have to lift a finger! We did this to each other. We’re not monsters, yet we have managed to kill other creatures as easily as if they were soulless Shadows. As if we were soulless Shadows. Do you really want to be like your enemy? Because right now you are a mirror image of them. Wash the innocent blood from your hands and drop your weapons. Otherwise they win. As long as we behave this way and let the anger in our hearts take over…Victor and Vyra win. We cannot let them win.”
Autumn said her last sentence slowly and clearly, enunciating each syllable.
She took a deep breath and waited for her words to sink in. She was so high up that she was unable to clearly see everyone’s reactions, but for the most part the magical creatures actually seemed to be considering what she’d said. For the first time since she’d found out about Luke’s death, she felt a small sense of hope blossom inside of her. She didn’t know if it was the sound of desperation or the vehement passion behind her words that got them to listen—or maybe it was the fact that her voice was so overpoweringly loud—but listen they did. And now they were processing.
The sound of whispered exchanges floated up to her ears.
And then she heard it.
The tiniest most beautiful sound she’d heard all day, the sound of metal being dropped to the ground. A relinquished sword. Then another and another, then a dagger and a bow and a knife, on and on, until every magical creature stood weaponless.
Tears welled up in Autumn’s eyes and she felt Avery reach over and clasp her hand in his, squeezing tightly.
“You did it,” he whispered and the hot tears spilled down her cheek.
Sometimes all it takes to make a difference is an open mind and a voice louder than all the rest.
Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Autumn retreated away from the edge of the cliff and knelt beside the waterfall. Her tears fell heavily into the shimmering water, making small ripples. Her voice was back to normal now, thankfully, or else all of Arbor Falls would have heard her crying. Avery stayed beside her, but didn’t try to hug her or tell her that it would be okay. Because it wasn’t okay.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do now,” she whispered.
“You’re going to live,” Avery murmured. “You’re going to go on a
nd continue being the strong, stubborn, passionate girl that I love, because that’s what Luke would want.”
“What would I want?” a voice said from behind them.
Autumn’s heart skipped and her stomach dropped. Avery cursed under his breath.
They both whipped around and stared with thunderstruck expressions.
Luke.
“What’re you crying for? Everyone’s getting along like you wanted,” he said, then he took in their stunned faces. “What’s wrong with you guys? You look like you’ve seen a—” His words were cut off as Autumn nearly tackled him to the ground, flinging her arms around his neck, sobbing and laughing at the same time. “Can’t—breathe—” he said and she released her tight hold. “Am I missing something?”
“We may or may not have thought you were dead,” Avery said, smiling widely at Luke.
“Dead? Why would you think that?”
“Vyra said—” Autumn began.
Luke shook his head and laughed. “Vyra said? Come on, Autumn, even you aren’t stupid enough to believe anything that witch says—or said, I guess I should say. Victor killed her?”
“Yeah,” Autumn said breathlessly, still trying to get over the emotional roller coaster she’d just ridden. “Vyra killed Rion, so Victor killed Vyra.”
“What does he care if she killed Rion or not? Victor’s evil.”
Autumn shrugged. “Maybe he realized he didn’t want her bossing him around anymore. I don’t know.”
“And he didn’t try to kill either of you?” Luke asked.
Avery shook his head. “He seemed distracted by Rion. Right after he killed Vyra, he disappeared and took his father’s body with him.”
“Weird,” Luke said, shaking his head. “Well. We should probably go help with the bodies. There are a lot of them.”
“Any Warriors?” Autumn asked, afraid to hear the answer.
“A few. I didn’t see who, though. Just their uniforms. I know for sure Crystal, Kyndel, and Forrest are okay.”
Autumn felt herself relax slightly when she heard this, though she should’ve known that Crystal was okay. Luke would’ve been a wreck if she weren’t.
As the three of them made their way down the winding path to City Center, Autumn kept a tight hold on Luke and Avery, the two most important men in her world. When they emerged from the forest, Autumn was thankful that she had them beside her, otherwise she might have collapsed from shock.
The scene before her was gruesome. Tree houses and buildings were burning, ash fluttering through the air like gray snow. Bodies were scattered over the ground like leaves in the fall. Dead trolls. Dead giants. Dead vampires. Dead warlocks. Dead leprechauns. Dead centaurs. Dead elves. Everywhere.
Tears pricked the back of her eyes when she spotted Tara Remington, the Chief Warlock’s daughter, sprawled out on the ground surrounded by a pool of blood, eyes wide open and staring, with a centaur’s long sword protruding from her chest. Her mother was lying dead beneath her, as if Tara had died trying to protect her.
“Oh, God,” Autumn whispered hoarsely and received comforting pressure on both hands from Luke and Avery.
“Autumn!” Crystal’s voice called out from behind them. Autumn barely had time to turn around before she was being engulfed by Crystal’s long, slender arms. “You did it! You stopped the war!”
“I didn’t—”
“Stop being humble,” she said, shaking her head in awe. “You did. Don’t argue.”
Autumn scanned the macabre scene before her. “Not soon enough, apparently.”
Suddenly a piercing scream shattered the grief-filled silence. The four of them whirled around to see Kyndel kneeling beside a hump of blood-covered Warrior clothes and wild red hair.
Ember.
Autumn sprinted over to Kyndel and knelt beside her. Ember’s torso was soaked with blood and her eyes were closed, but Autumn noticed that her chest was rising and falling every so often. Kyndel was sobbing, clutching Ember’s hand in hers. Autumn ran her hand along Ember’s neck until she found a pulse. It was present, but weak and fading.
“She’s alive,” Autumn said. “Help! Someone help her!”
“Move aside,” a deep voice said. Autumn turned to look up into the ash-covered, tear-streaked face of Sam Remington.
Autumn and Kyndel did as he said and he took their place beside Ember, laying his hands on her sternum and murmuring a string of words under his breath. The air around Ember shimmered and waved and a bright light burst from beneath Sam’s hands. He continued on until his forehead dripped with sweat and his hands shook from the effort of trying to revive her.
Kyndel clutched onto Autumn’s hand with both of hers. Autumn was losing feeling in her fingers, but she let her. Luke, Avery, and Crystal had joined them and were now watching Sam’s progress in amazed silence.
Suddenly a tremor ran through Ember’s body, lifting her off of the ground. When she landed, her eyes flew open and she took a deep, rattling breath. Kyndel rushed to her side, bursting into another round of sobs, only this time she was smiling.
She turned to Sam with streaming eyes and a grateful expression. “Thank you.”
Sam simply nodded and walked numbly away.
Autumn let out the breath she’d been holding and stepped back into Avery’s open arms.
“Kyndel?” Charlotte’s panicked voice called from behind them.
She and Jastin jogged up with blood and shallow cuts covering their faces. Charlotte came to stop beside Kyndel, bending down and putting a comforting arm around her best friend.
Autumn sighed in relief. “All the Quinns made it.”
“Where’s Forrest?” Avery asked.
“Comforting Willow,” Jastin said in a reserved voice.
“Why?” Autumn said quickly.
“Lucian was killed protecting her. He was her partner.”
Autumn’s eyes filled with tears as she thought of how this was going to affect Eden. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing Avery. Eden was so strong, though. Autumn knew she would survive this.
Crystal started sniffling and Autumn was surprised when Luke pulled her to him, comforting her. Apparently they were past their “let’s pretend we don’t care about each other even though we both know we can’t live without each other” phase.
The magical creatures began separating their dead so that they could bury them in their own culture’s traditions. The Quinn Warriors silently helped move the elves to their designated area. As Autumn was carrying the particularly small body of a young elf girl she heard a wave of shouts and screams moving through the crowd towards them.
“How could this happen?” a woman sobbed after letting out a loud yelp.
Then a cacophony of other exclamations rose up and traveled through the elves.
“Killed?”
“Dead!”
“How?”
“No.”
Autumn gently laid the body of the small elf girl on the ground and approached the woman who had screamed and was now sobbing uncontrollably.
“What happened?”
“He’s dead!” the woman sobbed. “I can’t believe he’s dead.”
Autumn put a soothing hand on her shoulder. “Who?”
“The king. The king is dead.”
The last thing Autumn remembered was Avery catching her as her body came crashing to the ground, with one name burning on the tip of her tongue like acid.
Vyra.
About the Author
Melody lives in West Texas with her husband and two cats. When she isn’t teaching English, she can be found in a cozy coffee shop with a latte and her laptop open to her latest novel, typing madly away with little awareness of the world around her. As a dreamer by nature with an overactive imagination—that is where she is happiest.
ALDER
Book Three Teaser
Crowning Glory
CHAPTER ONE
Her grandmother’s crown rested on a wine-colored cushion, staring at Autumn with its
jewel and diamond eyes. She didn’t touch it. She didn’t want to. It looked as if one touch would cause the silver to tarnish and the jewels to dull. She found it strange that this diadem once belonged to a woman that had died years before she was even born.
Autumn had always liked the thought of objects having memories, as if the past had seeped into their cores, enhancing their essence and giving them a unique personality. This crown was no exception. It gave off an air of wisdom and reserved kindness, qualities Autumn was told her grandmother once possessed—a nice balance to her larger than life grandfather. Her heart wrenched slightly at the thought of him. A few months had passed since his sudden death, but it was still fresh in her mind.
Scenes of that day flashed through her thoughts. Vyra killing Victor’s father, Victor killing Vyra in turn, Autumn dropping to her knees when she thought her brother was gone, Avery pulling her into his arms, Ember laying still on the ground with Kyndel sobbing over her, the warlock, Sam, reviving her, and then those words that escaped that elf woman’s mouth. Words that forever changed Autumn’s life once again. The king is dead.
Olympus’s death had been Vyra’s final act of hatred against the Oaken family.
The second Underground War had been her evil plan all along, to distract the elves long enough to get to the king. But her plan backfired and the Underground was now more united than ever before. Warlocks were working hand in hand with elves to devise a plan to rid the Underground of Shadows and Atrums once and for all. The vampires had been laboring tirelessly in their laboratories, attempting to find a way to permanently destroy the Shadows and keep them from multiplying. So far, though, they had been unsuccessful.
Victor seemed to be thriving with his sister gone. Atrum and Shadow attacks had tripled since Vyra’s death. The Warriors had been sent out to fight ten times already that week. Bruises and shallow cuts covered Autumn’s body from the battles. Being queen hadn’t kept her from fighting. In fact, she felt more protective of the elves than ever.
Ash (The Underground Series Book 2) Page 26
