Under the Burning Stars

by Carrigan Richards

  Ava and Link walked up to a cell with a man sitting in the dark corner holding himself. He turned his head and Ava caught a glimpse of a rugged face with gashes across and a blond beard matching long scraggly hair. This wasn’t the ‘dashing’ Xavier Ava had first met. He no longer looked confident or cocky. Now, he looked like a scared little boy.

  “Well, isn’t karma a bitch?” Link asked.

  “The prisoners are quite sedate,” the guard said. He was so quiet Ava had almost forgotten he was there.

  The place reminded her of those old psych wards she’d read about or seen in the movies with their empty looking glassy eyes. No matter what, she didn’t feel the least bit of sympathy for the prisoners.

  Xavier squinted his eyes. Then, he slowly got to his feet and moved closer to the bars. “You look familiar,” he said to Ava.

  “I know you know who I am,” she said. “I thought you said it wasn’t over. But from where I stand, it is. Doesn’t look like you can really do much since you’re behind bars.”

  “Who did this to us?” Link demanded. “Why did you choose us?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Don’t lie to us.”

  Xavier leaned into the bars with a crazed look in his eyes.

  Link shook his head. “How do you get information out of the prisoners?” he asked the guard.

  The burly man crossed his arms in front of his chest. “We have our ways. But the more we torture, the more they forget who they are.” He smirked.

  “You’re kidding, right?” Link glared at him. “I need answers and he’s the only one who can give them to me. I thought we could torture the answers out of them.”

  The guard squared his shoulders. “If there’s a problem with the way we do things here, you can take it up with the Elders. Of course I’m sure they wouldn’t want their time wasted by some scrawny kid like you.”

  The anger in Link’s eyes built and Nicole immediately grabbed his hand. “We should go.”

  “No,” Link shouted. “We came all this way to find out why this happened to us.”

  The man furrowed his eyebrows. “You aren’t anything special, Halfling. So don’t take it personally. There is none nor has there ever been any rhyme or reason as to why Ephemerals were changed into Halflings. It just happens. But now they’re all locked up so no more wars.”

  “It just happens?” Link spat. “I was forced to kill several people and I have to live with that.”

  “Sounds like a personal problem.”

  Link lunged forward, but Gabriel held him back. Some of the prisoners laughed maniacally and started cheering.

  “I think it’s time you left.”

  Ava looked back at Xavier and when he met her stare, a flicker of recognition registered in his dark eyes. He knew exactly what was going on. She moved closer to the bars. “Tell me who killed my mother,” she calmly said. No one paid attention to them as Nicole and Jeremy forced Link to leave.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Tell me,” she yelled.

  He looked past Ava and then smirked. “I’m not the one you should be asking.”

  She turned around and saw the blond woman gripping the bars on her cell.

  “You two need to leave,” the guard told Ava and Gabriel.

  Ava stared at the blond woman.

  She held a sadistic grin on her smudged face. “It was me. I killed your mother.” The way she spoke sounded as if she was trying to portray innocence, but the malicious look in her eyes made Ava shudder. “And I watched you cry over her like a pathetic child while she bled to death. I love seeing that image over and over again.”

  Ava darted toward her cell, but she felt arms around her waist. “I want her dead,” she cried.

  The woman gave a small laugh, but then grabbed her head and screamed. Ava saw that the guard was doing something to torture her.

  Seconds later, he stopped. “You need to leave.”

  “She killed my mother. She deserves to die.”

  “That isn’t up to you to decide.”

  “Who is she?”

  The burly man sighed. “All I know is that she’s a prisoner. The warden is the only one with that kind of information.”

  “Okay. Then I want to talk to the warden.”

  He shook his head and laughed. “You naïve little girl. You think you can just walk in here and demand to speak to the warden. Only the Elders speak to him. I suggest you leave.”

  “Come on, Ava,” Gabriel said. “Let’s go.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her across the room, but she stopped right in front of the guard.

  “You don’t have everyone locked up, you know,” she said. “Others are still out there who won’t stop until we’re all dead. Are you even looking for them?”

  “It has ended,” the man snapped. “Devon was killed. You were there. Don’t you remember what happened?”

  That brought her up short. Everyone knew the Elementals had played a major role in Devon’s death, but how did the guard know she was one of them? “How do you know I was there?”

  “You need to leave, now.” He motioned for them to climb the stairs, but Ava stood planted in her spot.

  “How do you know I was there?” She stared into his dark eyes, determined to get the answer out of him. Was he there? How else would he have known she was there?

  “Don’t force me to lock you up.”

  “Ava, now.” Gabriel nudged her once again and she moved forward, clenching her teeth.

  How did that guard know who she was? It wasn’t like her picture was plastered everywhere. Was he keeping some of the Cimmerians safe? Had he helped Devon escape prison? Would he help others escape?

  And who was the blond woman claiming to have killed her mother? Her cruel words replayed in Ava’s mind. She had found her, but couldn’t do anything. Were the prisoners even receiving a punishment? Ava knew from the look in Xavier’s eyes that something wasn’t right at the Cruciari.

  Gabriel’s eyes trained on Ava’s the whole boat ride back, as if he was waiting to unleash a mouthful. But he never said a word.

  They all remained quiet the entire way back to the Manor, but Ava could feel Link and Nicole’s frustrations.

  “I can’t believe you two,” Gabriel said the second they had teleported back. He glared at Ava and Link. “Do you know what you could have done?”

  “We just wanted to find out—.”

  “You could have gotten yourselves locked up.” She didn’t understand why he was so angry.

  “Good.” Link threw his hands up. “Then maybe I could’ve found out why they did this to me.”

  “The guard was right. There never was a rhyme or reason as to why some humans were turned and some were killed.”

  “Corbin never used them,” Nicole said.

  “And Devon didn’t change me. I wanted to find out who was behind all of it. And Ava’s right. They’re still out there.”

  Gabriel clenched his eyes shut.

  It wasn’t until they felt the glow and warmth of their necklaces that they stopped arguing. Panic. Pain. Anger. The emotions ran rampant from the rest of Ava and Jeremy’s Aureole.

  Ava looked up, clutching her necklace, and met Jeremy’s worried eyes.

  CHAPTER NINE

  RETALIATION

  Ava felt Thomas’s rage and agony. Melissa and Gillian’s terror. Gabriel held out his hand for her and Jeremy and they took it. He teleported them into the woods nearby Thomas’s house and once Ava saw the orange glow and black smoke rising into the night sky, her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach.

  They all raced through the woods to get closer, but she could feel that Melissa, Lance, Gillian, and Thomas were safe.

  Flames engulfed Thomas’s small house. The heat from the fire made her sweat. Gillian screamed the second she saw Jeremy and ran into his arms. She saw Lance and Melissa holding each other. Black soot covered their faces and clothes and all of it reminded Ava of her own house burning just a
few months ago.

  Ava scanned the growing crowd of neighbors and saw Thomas clutching onto his mother with everything he had. Ava felt a lump form at the back of her throat when she didn’t see his father.

  “Is everyone okay?” Gabriel asked.

  Melissa nodded and wiped a falling tear from her cheek. “Thomas’s father…” She buried her face into Lance’s chest. “I didn’t think we were ever going to get out.” Lance kissed the top of her head.

  Ava was too stunned to say anything, but she gave Melissa and Lance a hug. She couldn’t believe Thomas’s father was still inside the house. Her heart ached for Thomas and his mother.

  “What happened?” Gabriel asked.

  “We were watching a movie and all of a sudden there was a small explosion in the back and the house quickly caught on fire,” Lance said.

  Sirens sounded and amplified as they pulled into the neighborhood. Flashing red and blue lights came into view. Firefighters and police officers forced their way through, pushing everyone else back.

  A couple of EMTs checked on them, and then Savina and Aaron appeared.

  Ava’s phone vibrated, but she ignored it. She walked over to Gillian and Jeremy. “Are you okay?” Gillian just glared at her. Ava rolled her eyes.

  “She’s fine.” Jeremy assured her. Ava hated feeling like an outsider, but that’s exactly what she had become when it came to her group. She moved to Thomas and his mom, where Savina and Aaron were.

  Thomas looked at Ava with tears in his eyes, still holding onto his mom, and not really listening to whatever Savina was saying. She knew the look though. He was lost. Angry. She knew exactly how he felt, even without the necklaces.

  “I’m sorry, Thomas.”

  He nodded and his mother wept harder.

  “I will have Gabriel take you back to the Manor,” Savina told Thomas and his mother.

  “He’s gone,” Mrs. Arrington kept repeating. Ava felt sorry for her. There was nothing she could say or do that would help. She knew Thomas and his dad didn’t always get along well, but that didn’t change the vengeful look in his eyes.

  Was this what Xavier meant when he said it wasn’t over? That they were going to continue torturing Ava and her coven until they relented. As Ava stared into the flames before her, she knew now how right Xavier was. He was warning them. Warning them of what, she didn’t know exactly. Was there someone out there bigger than Devon?

  They stayed until the police and firefighters left and the onlookers finally resumed their normal lives.

  “Come on,” Gabriel told Thomas and Mrs. Arrington. “I’ll take you back.”

  Mrs. Arrington nodded. “Thank you dear.”

  “Should I come back for you?” Gabriel asked Ava. His eyes held a sympathetic look, but there was something else in them that Ava couldn’t figure out. Was he still upset with her?

  “No, thanks.”

  “Be careful.”

  She watched them all make their way into the woods, with Savina and Aaron following, and then they were gone.

  She heard several celebratory voices, which soon turned to shouting and arguing. Ava twisted around and found Trent, Jonah, and Drew laughing and high fiving each other. Ava joined Melissa, Lance, Jeremy, and Gillian, as they faced the three Ephemerals.

  “What could you possibly be celebrating?” Gillian wiped her tears.

  Trent scoffed. “This is quite possibly the best thing that’s ever happened, Piggy. You ever hear of karma?”

  “We didn’t bomb the school!” Gillian balled her fists and clenched her teeth. Jeremy grabbed her arm as if to stop her from using her powers.

  “Did you do this?” Ava asked, equally as upset as Gillian, but no one held her back.

  Jonah laughed. “Why would we do such a thing? We aren’t heathens like you are.”

  “Maybe your witchcraft got out of hand.” Drew laughed.

  Then, Trent drove his fist into Drew’s face and the three of them began scuffling, landing punches to each other’s faces. Ava realized it was Gillian manipulating them.

  “G, come on, enough,” Jeremy whispered and urged her to start moving. “Let it go.”

  “They almost killed us,” she cried.

  One final tug and Gillian broke her hold over them. They all looked at each other and back at Ava’s group.

  “What are you trying to do to us?” Trent demanded.

  “We need to leave,” Lance said.

  “Ava should drown them all,” Gillian said under her breath.

  “Come on, we need to get back and check on Thomas.” Jeremy tugged on Gillian’s arm until she finally turned around and left.

  “This isn’t over,” Trent said. “We will have our revenge.”

  Ava stepped closer to Trent, her face merely inches from his. “I think you need to stop now or this won’t end well for you.”

  He scoffed. “What are you going to do? Use your little magic on us?”

  “You don’t know what I can do.”

  “Trent, come on man,” Drew said. “Let’s go.”

  Trent’s eyes stayed on Ava’s. “You’re right. I don’t. But I know all of you are killers. And you should leave this town or this won’t end well for you. No one in this town would care if something happened to every one of you.”

  “We do a lot more for you people—.”

  Lance grabbed Ava’s arm and pulled her away. “Don’t antagonize them.”

  “I can’t help it. I’m so sick of this. Why should we protect them?”

  “Get in the car,” he demanded.

  Ava reluctantly got in the backseat and slammed the door. “Are we just going to let them get away with this?”

  Melissa lit a cigarette and took a long drag. “We don’t even know it was them.”

  “They just happened to be in the neighborhood at the exact moment Thomas’s house burns to the ground. Unlikely.” Ava’s phone vibrated in her pocket again. She ignored the call.

  “Maybe the Cimmerians made them.” Melissa exhaled smoke.

  That brought Ava up short. “Why do you say that?”

  “I don’t know. I just do.”

  “Why?”

  Melissa flicked the cigarette out the window and they both remained silent.

  “What aren’t you telling me? Is there something going on?”

  Lance sighed and warned Melissa with a look. “Nothing is going on.”

  “What is it?”

  “Forget I said anything,” Melissa snapped.

  Since when did Melissa keep secrets? Especially from Ava. Or was it Lance that didn’t want Melissa so say? Ava was feeling more and more like an outsider in her own coven.

  CHAPTER TEN

  THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD

  Ava finally sent Peter a message assuring her safety and said she would explain everything later. Melissa’s comment about the Cimmerians and the way she and Lance acted rattled her, but they weren’t talking. Perhaps she was paranoid. A lump had developed in the back of her throat and she felt as though she might fall apart.

  Maybe if she told them about her dreams and Marcel’s vision, they would explain. Now wasn’t a good time to discuss it. Besides, Ava didn’t want to talk about her mother.

  She made her way to the library. The mood was somber, as expected. There was a lot of chatter, but Ava wasn’t in the mood to be around a lot of people. Why did they have to congregate in the library? Maybe she could find a quiet corner.

  Ava passed aisle after aisle to the very last one. Maybe she should go to the waterfall instead. But she dropped to her knees and gave in to her tears. Mr. Arrington was dead. How many more lives would be lost? And how could she have stooped to the Ephemerals’ level? She was disappointed in herself, but didn’t understand what was going on with her. Ever since she saw Marcel, she felt herself changing. She’d never threatened to kill a mortal before tonight. Why had she done that?

  “Are you all right?” someone asked.

  She looked up and Gabriel’s eyebrows li
fted in sympathy. His crystal blue eyes locked on hers.

  Ava wiped her cheeks and cleared her throat. “Yeah.”

  He nodded. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you.”

  “It’s okay.”

  Gabriel started to walk away. She didn’t want him to leave.

  “Gabe?” She wanted to apologize for earlier.

  He came back into view. “Yeah?”

  “I’m sorry about today. You’re right. I’m incredibly naïve and wasn’t thinking.”

  “It’s okay, Ava. I shouldn’t have gotten so upset. But I also wasn’t expecting you or Link to lash out at the Cruciari guards.”

  She felt small. Why had she done that? Like Gabriel said, they could have locked her up and who knows how long she would have been in there. “I wasn’t either. I was frustrated. That woman claimed to be my mom’s killer. Trudy McVaine is still out there and they don’t seem to care.”

  Gabriel dropped down across from her on the carpeted floor with his forearms resting on his bent knees. “I get your frustration. I do. You just have to be careful. And not lunge for any prisoners.”

  She shook her head. “I wish she was dead.”

  “It won’t bring her back.”

  “I know that. I just don’t think that the punishment fits the crime.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  There was a moment of silence.

  “Why can’t you ask the guards questions?” she asked.

  “They would get offended if you, a young Enchanter, thinks they aren’t doing their job properly or good enough. They take their job very seriously.”

  “I wasn’t trying to be that way.”

  “It’s a fine line walking in there and you have to watch yourself. They aren’t on anyone’s side and they don’t care if you’re out for vengeance or what. All they care about is making sure the prisoners don’t escape or that no one from the outside can break in to save them.”

  “But Devon escaped last year.”

  “And they’ve tightened their security.”

  Ava sighed. “How did that guard know I was present for Devon’s death?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. News travels fast.”