Under the Burning Stars

by Carrigan Richards

  “Let’s go.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  GOING DOWN IN FLAMES

  New Orleans was alive and energetic on the cold November night. Like before, Ava reveled in being able to hear music from the square. They arrived at Marcel’s and once everyone had been introduced, Marcel offered to speak to Thomas, Gillian, and Ava.

  “I guess I’ll wait for you out here,” Peter told Ava.

  She kissed him on the lips. “Thank you.”

  Ava followed Marcel and the others into a sitting room. He closed the double doors and sat on the edge of a chair. Ava, Gillian, and Thomas sat together on a couch under a window.

  Marcel watched them, as if he was mesmerized by their appearance. “I didn’t think I would ever see you again, Ava.”

  She shifted uncomfortably. He still gave her the creeps. “Yeah. But what you saw that night turned out to be true.”

  He frowned. “I am sorry.”

  “So you got anything for us?” Thomas asked. His leg shook, and Ava knew he was nervous. “I mean, do you see any visions or whatever?” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.

  Marcel stared at Thomas and didn’t say a word.

  “What is he doing?” Gillian whispered. “Why is he just staring?”

  “Your father was killed,” Marcel said.

  Thomas clenched his fists. “Yes.”

  “It was you physically, but not mentally.” Then, his eyes turned white, almost like they glowed, and Gillian gasped. “You were persuaded into killing him. The Cimmerians were out for revenge.” Marcel snapped his head to the left. “I see him with Corbin. He went to war on their side.”

  Thomas cursed and bolted out of his seat. He ran his hands through his hair and let a string of expletives fly from his mouth.

  Marcel’s eyes returned to normal. “I am sorry.”

  Gillian shook her head. “I changed my mind. I don’t want to know.” She leapt to her feet and rushed out of the room.

  “I can’t believe this,” Thomas said. “Why would he pretend to be a good guy when he was a Cimmerian the whole time?”

  Ava sat quietly, still trying to process the fact that her mom and his dad were Cimmerians. Had they come into the group at the same time? But Ava began to grow impatient. She needed to leave and didn’t know how she was going to.

  “Perhaps he wanted to change,” Marcel said.

  Thomas barked a laugh. “Highly doubtful. He hated me from day one. Good riddance.”

  Ava’s heart sank and she stood from the couch. “You don’t really mean that, do you?”

  Thomas sighed. “You know he hated me. You saw it for years.”

  “Perhaps he was jealous of your ability.”

  “He never turned me into Corbin. Why?”

  Neither had Ava’s mom. She promised her soul to Corbin, but if that were true, why hadn’t she just handed Ava over to Corbin? The questions were growing. She had to go.

  The door opened and Rene walked through. “I don’t think we should do this much longer tonight. It upsets Marcel knowing he is giving displeasing news.”

  Thomas nodded and took a deep breath. “Thank you for confirming it.”

  Marcel stood and met Ava’s eyes. He tilted his head and stared at her. Her heartbeat picked up. What would he say now? What could he possibly perceive that he hadn’t already? “There is much darkness in you.”

  Ava stiffened. “My mother was a Cimmerian. What do you think?”

  He shook his head. “This is something else. Darkness is growing within you.”

  Her necklace warmed and then she felt Thomas’s hand on her shoulder. “We should go.”

  “Marcel,” Rene said. “Let’s retire for the evening.”

  Ava followed Thomas out of the room, but not without glaring at Marcel once more. Darkness? What did he mean by that? Did he think she was becoming a dark Enchanter? She knew she shouldn’t have talked to him. He put all sorts of thoughts in her head.

  They met the rest of the group outside. Jeremy held Gillian and consoled her. Thomas made his way to Lance and Melissa and Peter came up to Ava.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “So, we were talking.” Joss pushed through the group of people. “And I thought that now you’re eighteen, we can go to Metropolitan. We didn’t get to do anything for your birthday.”

  “We’re not going clubbing,” Gabriel said.

  Sophia waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, you’re such a party pooper.”

  “We all need a night of fun.” Joss smiled.

  “I’m in,” Melissa said.

  Thomas shrugged. “Why not?”

  Ava saw her in. “You know what? Let’s go.”

  Everyone looked at her like she had lost her mind.

  “My birthday ended badly and I want to have some fun.”

  “We should go now before she realizes she’s actually about to do something fun and changes her mind,” Melissa said.

  Ava rolled her eyes.

  When they were ready, they followed Sophia and Caroline to the club.

  Ava clutched onto Peter’s hand. She kept her emotions calm so she wouldn’t warn anyone, but it wasn’t easy when her heart pounded so loudly she could feel it in her ears. She took a deep breath. No one could know about this.

  Colden had told her the Necromancer hid out in the Metropolitan. What were the odds that it was the same club Sophia and Caroline frequented? Her plan so far was falling into place with ease. He said to ask for Zach and then once she found him, she was to use a code word.

  She hoped the club would be so busy that she could get lost and no one would follow her.

  They arrived at a deserted building in the warehouse district. The streets were empty except for a long line outside. The windows were blacked out of the large two-story building.

  “Leave this to us.” Caroline and Sophia walked up to the bouncer and he unhooked the rope and let every one of them inside. A repetitive thumping beat from below vibrated the windows and inside Ava’s body.

  They followed Caroline and Sophia downstairs into a sea of dancers in strobe lights and flashes of colored lights. The annoying beat amplified. People looked completely drugged out of their minds as they bopped and swayed to the music.

  How was Ava supposed to find Zach in this?

  Caroline immediately took Gabriel’s arms and started dancing with him. Thomas whispered something in Sophia’s ear and she nodded. Melissa and Lance joined the dancers and were all over each other in a matter of seconds.

  “I’m going to get a drink,” Ava shouted at Peter. He looked completely out of his element and she was sure she did, too. Link and Nicole nudged him and motioned for him to follow.

  “We’ll be over there,” Nicole yelled.

  Ava nodded. It was now or never. She pushed through the crowd, and got stepped on a few times, and made her way to the bar. A young boy, maybe Ava’s age, flirted with the blond bartender. It was quite comedic because the woman was clearly out to get as much money from the boy as she could. She filled his drink and licked her lips seductively.

  “Excuse me,” Ava shouted over the music. “I’m looking for Zach.”

  The woman looked at Ava and she swore the woman grinned, but it was hard to tell in the dark flashing lights. They were beginning to give her a headache.

  “He’ll be here in a minute,” she said.

  How is there seriously a Necromancer in this place?

  “Why don’t you have a drink with me while you wait?” the boy asked. “On me.”

  “No, thanks,” Ava said.

  “Oh come on baby.” The boy grabbed her arm.

  Ava clenched her teeth, took his arm off hers, and squeezed it tightly in her hand. The boy gave a pained expression. “I said no.”

  The frightened look in the boy’s eyes made the bartender laugh. “Guess she told you.”

  Ava tossed his hand away from her.

  “Looking for me?” a voi
ce asked behind her.

  She turned around and looked at a tall and muscular man who had a deep scar on his neck. “Yes.”

  “What do you want?”

  “I need a chaotic flower.” It sounded like she was asking to buy some sort of drug. But that was the code word Colden had given her. She felt stupid for saying it. She wanted to hurry up and get the meeting over with. They were on a very strict time limit.

  He looked at her as if sizing her up, and then seized her arm. Dragging her roughly through the crowd, she struggled with him. She didn’t know where he was taking her or what he was going to do. Her pulse inched up a degree.

  They reached an elevator, and he forced her inside, and then closed the gated doorway.

  “Press the blue button.” He smiled, and there was a look of desire in his green eyes. “And good luck.” He walked away.

  Her breath caught in her throat and she shakily pressed the button. The elevator jerked into motion, going down. Once it stopped, she slowly slid open the door. Torches lit from the stone walls, but it was barely enough light. She stepped onto the dark red carpet. At the end of the narrow hall was a glowing blue light.

  Ava could do this. She slowly made her way toward the room at the end of the hall, wondering if this was really a good idea. She really should’ve left. But having a chance to seek answers from her mother kept her walking. Her hand ran along the stone wall as if to steady her.

  When she reached the room, she realized the blue glow came from candles that had a hypnotic flame. They surrounded a large round black rug that covered the center of the dim room.

  A man appeared in the doorway and startled her. He was ridiculously tall, but the dark look on his face gave Ava the chills. He moved aside and she walked in. The whole atmosphere felt seedy, as if she were involved in a drug deal.

  A cloaked figure turned around and crossed the room, stopping halfway in front of Ava. His face was hidden beneath the hood, but she could see his long, crooked fingers. They were old and he clasped them in front of his stomach. “Hello.” His voice was craggy, as if he had been a smoker for years.

  “Sorry, but this hardly seems like a place for a Necromancer.”

  “That’s the point.”

  Ava nodded. “Right.”

  “What is it that you’ve come for?”

  “I want to speak to my mother’s spirit.”

  “Very well. I will need to prick your finger for blood.”

  “Okay.” She raised her hand for him and he pierced her middle finger. He let the blood fall into the center of the rug. The flames grew taller than Ava and she held her breath.

  “Have you a picture of your mother?”

  Crap. “No. All of them were burned in a fire.”

  “That’s a shame.” She couldn’t see, but it sounded like he was smiling. “Think of her in your mind, and focus on the image.”

  Ava pictured her mother’s red hair and gray eyes and her confident smile, but then the image of her standing next to Corbin flashed in her mind. Her eyes were wrong, like they enjoyed killing the woman.

  “Keep concentrating,” he said.

  Ava inhaled deeply, exhaled, and then closed her eyes. The Necromancer began speaking in a foreign language that sounded like Latin.

  Ava waited and concentrated all her energy on contacting her. The light grew and she opened her eyes to see the candle light grow and diminish.

  Her breath caught in her throat as she saw a woman in black walking toward her. There was something about her that didn’t seem right. As if she wasn’t really there. Like a ghost. As she got closer, Ava’s heartbeat sped up. It was her mother.

  “Hello, Ava,” she said.

  “Mom.”

  “Don’t be afraid.”

  “Is it really you?”

  “Of course, my child.”

  Ava wanted to run into her mother’s arms and hug her. But she knew it was just her spirit. She didn’t realize that she’d been crying. “Is it true? Are you really a Cimmerian?”

  She smiled, just as she had in the vision. “Join them. This is your destiny.”

  “I don’t understand. How is this my destiny?”

  “They will show you the way. Trust them.”

  Ava shook her head. “No, Mom. They’re wrong. How could you promise my soul to them? Who is Havok?” The questions that had built up over the past few months now came out in a rush.

  “If you don’t join him, everyone will die. You must convince the others to join.”

  Her mother began fading, and Ava concentrated more. She couldn’t possibly be leaving so soon. Ava’s body shook, and then she felt a liquid running from her nose, but she and the Necromancer kept at it.

  There was a strong wind and the flames surrounded Ava. The Necromancer began to shout his spell and then the room chilled. It was like a freezer, and she couldn’t make herself warm.

  An apparition had appeared. Then another, and another. They were hooded figures with white glowing unclear faces. The Necromancer seemed unfazed by the apparitions.

  “Let the spirits in,” her mother’s voice said. “Don’t be afraid. They will guide you.” Then, the flames swallowed her mother’s apparition.

  Ava shivered as the wind blew out the candles and the apparitions drew closer. Darkness settled over her. It almost felt like death was in the room or like her soul was being tainted. She wasn’t strong enough to fight off the cold or the darkness. Ava opened herself to the apparitions.

  She collapsed to her knees as a strange evil filled her. And she wanted more. Whispers began to fill her head and she felt woozy.

  Kill them all.

  Bind yourself to us.

  You have chosen your destiny.

  Ava blinked and felt as if alcohol filled her bloodstream. Her stomach clenched and sweat beaded her upper lip. Something weighed her down and she could barely keep her eyes open. Her breathing slowed and the candles slowly flickered alive. She looked down and saw several droplets of blood on the floor. Then, she rolled onto her side, holding her stomach, and closed her eyes.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  TRAPPED

  Ava slowly opened her eyes. They were dry and scratchy. Her whole body felt as if it had been turned to stone. She couldn’t move at all. Her stomach churned and her head pounded.

  What had happened? Once her eyes came into focus, she realized that she was at the cabin. How had she gotten there? She didn’t even remember coming back from the club.

  Then, the strangest thing happened. Her body sat up from the bed and stood. But it wasn’t her that moved her body. It was like she was watching from the outside. Had she died and the spirits invaded her body? Had that really happened?

  Her body continued to move, but for Ava it was like she was trapped inside a box. She had no control over her motions. She even tried to speak, but nothing came out. She fought and struggled for control, but nothing happened.

  She heard the front door to the cabin open and her hands clenched into fists as she waited.

  “Ava,” a voice shouted.

  Peter! Ava tried to say but nothing came out. She banged against the invisible wall and struggled to regain control of her body. She couldn’t even warn Peter.

  She heard his footsteps coming closer, and then the door to the bedroom flew open. Even in the darkness before the dawn, she could see the worry in his brown eyes.

  “Ava,” he said, relief in his voice. “Omigod. We’ve been looking everywhere for you. What happened?” He crossed the room toward her, and reached up to touch her face.

  She recoiled and backed away. What was going on? Why couldn’t she control herself?

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Don’t touch me,” her voice snapped. But it wasn’t Ava. It was her voice, but not her thoughts. Had someone possessed her body? Was she dead? Alive?

  Peter! Help me!

  But he couldn’t hear her. She had to attack the Manor.

  Ava walked past Peter out of the room. It was li
ke she was hidden deep inside her mind, but could do nothing but watch and hear. She didn’t understand the thought about attacking the Manor. Was that what the spirit was thinking? Was the war going to start then?

  “Ava, where are you going?” Peter grabbed her hand, just as she reached the front door.

  She pushed him so hard that he fell back. “Get away from me,” she demanded. How dare he touch her? The anger made her veins pulsate with energy. But these weren’t her thoughts. Whose were they? She opened the door with vigor and it slammed against the wall. The sky was beginning to lighten. She had mere minutes to get to the Manor before sunrise.

  “What is wrong with you?” Peter ran out of the cabin. “What happened last night?”

  Ava turned around and faced him. He was inches from her. “You’d better leave me alone, or I will kill you.”

  Terror washed over his face. “Your eyes, Ava. They’re black. What happened to you?”

  “Something that finally made me see things clearly.” She got inside her car and left. She didn’t want to go to the Manor and encounter all those Enchanters, but she had a mission.

  Ava didn’t understand what was going on with her. She felt like her hands were tied behind her back and was just forced to watch. She hoped Peter would follow and stop her before she did something unthinkable.

  Ava finally arrived. She wanted to destroy the gaudy mansion, but held back. In due time. She pushed open the heavy door and looked around. Where was he? And how could she find him without anyone noticing? She made her way through the hallway toward the kitchen and Colden emerged.

  Colden! Help me! Get Savina!

  But Colden didn’t hear her.

  “Hello, Ava.” He smiled. “How are you?”

  She walked closer. “It’s time.”

  A crease appeared between his bushy eyebrows. “I’m sorry?”

  Her possessed mind imagined him under water. An inescapable wall of water built around him.

  No! No! No! Ava punched and kicked the invisible barrier, but with no luck. Whoever or whatever controlled her body was going to kill Colden. She had to do something.

  Colden dropped to the ground, trying to inhale gulps of air. His black eyes widened in fear as he reached for her. “Don’t…” He tried to get out, and then his body began violently thrashing as though he was having a seizure.