Black Ruins Forest (The Elder Series Book 1)

by Karen DuBose

  It’s silent after that and I fall back asleep. The next time I wake up, it’s by the smell of oils burning. I open my eyes to see Isobel doing the same ritual as last night.

  “I see she’s pulled you to her. I’m not surprised. She loves you very much.”

  “How did you know she was going to do that?”

  “Your mom has a lot of power, and she needed you. She is healing faster with you by her side.”

  “I never got to tell you thank you. How is it that I can feel the magic here?”

  “Dear child, you can feel the magic because it is in your blood.”

  “Wait what? I thought I was a… never mind.”

  I don’t want to tell her what I am. She doesn’t need to know even if she thinks I’m the key.

  “That you are half dragon and half seer,” she says.

  How does this woman know all of this?

  “How do you know what I am?”

  “She told us who to look for and the energy you would give out.”

  “She who?”

  “Oceana, the seer of course.”

  I look at her like she’s grown another head. How did I not know this? Of course, she saw me coming. She probably told Isobel that my mom would need help too. I need to get more information. It can wait until mom wakes up, though. I don’t want to wake her up. She needs her rest.

  Kiernan walks in and comes over to the bed.

  “Pick a hand, love.” What is he up to I wonder

  “Hmmm, I pick both,” he laughs and pulls his hands out from behind his back.

  He has food in each hand. Have I mentioned how much I love this man? He knows the way to my heart. I pick the peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich and the cheesy puffs. He hands me a glass of water. Where was he hiding that? I don’t know but, I’m not complaining. I scarf it all down in no time. When was the last time I ate?

  “How long have we been here?”

  “We’ve been here for two days.”

  How is that possible? “Have I been out that long?”

  “Yes, love, you have. Your mom has been using some of your energy to get better.”

  I look at my mom. She has shifted back into her human form. I take that as a good sign. Shifters die in their shifter form. The color is back in her skin as well. I lay my head on her chest to listen to her heartbeat. It’s strong. I wish she would wake up.

  “She seems well. Why isn’t she waking up?”

  Kiernan gives me a reassuring smile.

  “She will wake up, love. She just needs time. The mind has a way of coping and knowing what the body needs.”

  I hope he’s right. I start to get up to head to the bathroom. My bladder is on fire. I get to the edge of the room, and I hear screaming. I look at Kiernan and rush toward the window to see what’s going on.

  “Love, please stay here and protect your mom. I’ll see what’s going on.”

  I’m about to argue when we hear the screaming again. Kiernan flies out of the room so fast that he’s a blur. I hate not knowing what’s going on, but he’s right. I need to stay here and protect my mom.

  The screaming stops, but I’m not about to let my guard down. I can hear people yelling and running around. I go to the window again in an attempt to see what’s going on. It’s too dark outside to make out anything really. I see people running around, and I spot huge fire some ways away. Please tell me that fire is normal and not made from a dragon. For some reason, I know it’s dragon made. I close my eyes to think, and I’m thrown into a vision.

  The mountains are on fire everywhere I look. People who get caught in the fire are dying. Dragons are everywhere, fighting other dragons, fae, bears, and lions. There are so much blood and death. I can’t tell who is on what side, or even if there is a side. Are they just fighting amongst themselves? I look around again. That’s when I see them, sitting on top of the only mountain that isn’t burning. Three Elders watch the chaos unfold. How did they find this place? I thought this place was under powerful magic? They haven’t been discovered for many cycles. Why now? I look around some more to find any clues. I search the faces of the dead to see if I know any of them. So far, I don’t. There’s just too many bodies to look at. Without warning, I’m thrown out of the vision, like someone pushes me out.

  I look around the room, my breathing harsh. I look at the bed to check on my mom, but she’s gone. How did someone come in here and take her? I start to panic. I search the bathroom, the hall, and even the other bedroom that Kiernan and I slept in. She’s nowhere. I run down the halls yelling out for my mom. This isn’t happening. Someone has used magic on me⸻that’s the only reason I can think of. I turn the corner and run right into Bruno. I get knocked on my ass. Damn, he has a hard chest.

  “What’s going on? I heard you yelling!”

  “Someone took my mom. She isn’t in the bed. I was thrown into a vision and then kicked out of it a moment later. When I came back to, she was gone. I’ve been looking for her since then.”

  “What do you mean you were kicked out?”

  “Just what I said. It’s like someone kicked me out of the vision. How is that even possible?”

  “Magic,” he says simply. Then he starts running the other way. I follow him outside. I can see Kiernan and Kira. I run to them, with tears streaming down my face. Kiernan puts his arms around me and wipes the tears away. I can’t even speak.

  “Love, what is it?”

  I shake my head and look at Bruno.

  “Someone used magic on Dariya to put her in a vision while they took her mom.”

  Kiernan’s face goes hard. “How do you know that?”

  “She was kicked out of the vision, probably when the magic user was too far away to keep it up.”

  “Who could have done that?” Kiernan says.

  Isobel comes around the corner of the cabin. We all stare at her. She stops walking up to us. There is fear in her eyes. She’d better not be in on this. I swear I will take this whole place down.

  Isobel reaches for her chest and holds the necklace she is wearing. “Tell me it isn’t true. They didn’t take her, did they?”

  Bruno takes a step toward her. “Take who, Isobel?”

  I realize then that’s there’s no way she could possibly know what we’re talking about unless… I’m too shocked and pissed off. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted her.

  “Eimear,” she says, feigning innocence.

  “How did you know she’s gone?” Kiernan asks this time.

  Isobel looks to the ground. “Oceana said this could happen. No matter how hard we would try to stop it, it was going to happen, and it needed to be done.”

  I walk up to her and punch her in her face. She falls to the ground with shock. Frankly, I’m shocked at myself, but how dare she bring us here if she knew this would happen?

  “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you! This is all your fault. Where did they take her? And who took her?” I yell at her.

  I want to punch her again for giving me a sad expression. She has no right to look sad. She should look guilty for bringing us here in the first place.

  “I don’t know who took her. Oceana never told me who was going to take her, just that it needed to be done.”

  “Why did it need to be done?” I ask, seething.

  “Oceana, only gives things away on a need to know basis. She doesn’t explain things.”

  “Where is she? I want to see her now,” I say through my teeth.

  “We don’t know where she hides.”

  “Figure out how to get her here. I want to get my mother back,” I say.

  She looks at the ground and starts crying. Why in the world is she the one crying? It was my mother they took. I pace back and forth trying to think, to see if I can remember anything or if I saw anything.

  Sometimes this seer crap is a pain in my ass. What is the use of having it when it keeps you defenseless? I just want to punch someone or something. How could I have been so stupid as to trust anyone here? I don’t
know anyone here.

  I’m thrown across the yard, but no one has touched me. What the hell was that? I look around to see what it was. Everyone is running toward me. I try to get up, but the blast has made me weak. Kiernan and Kira are the first ones to me.

  “Love, are you ok? Is anything broken?” Kiernan asks.

  I lay there, moving body parts. I don’t feel anything broken, but my ass hurts from landing on it.

  “Nothing is broken, but my ass sure hurts like hell.”

  “What in the world was that?” Kira asks.

  I don’t know, but whatever it was has really weakened me. It’s like all my energy has been sucked out of me. I hear rustling in the trees behind me. I turn to look, and there’s a bear coming at us. There is no way I will be able to get out of the way fast enough. I try moving, but I’m yanked up and thrown over Kiernan’s shoulders, and then he’s running to the other side. I look up and see the rest of the dragons shift. I almost forgot we were in danger. They are so beautiful.

  “You think you can keep me from her forever?” the bear says.

  I try to stand up on shaky legs, blood covering my arms and hands. We need to know who this is and who he wants. Before I can say another word, I feel the power push pass me. I turn around to see Isobel with her hands out chanting something. What is she doing?

  “Isobel, what are you doing? Who is that bear? I ask.

  “He works for Jamel. Jamel thinks he’s the king of this place, but he is not. He and his followers are nothing but trouble. I put you in a force field, so he can’t come near you. I’m sorry, Dariya. I did try to stop this from happening. I swear to you I did. I would never hurt you or anyone with you.”

  “Why did you not warn me? I could have had someone else with me. If this needed to happen, I need to know why.”

  “I don’t know why this had to happen. Please forgive me. I will help you find her.”

  I give her a nod and turn back to the bear. I can hear noises through the force field, but I can’t make out what’s being said. I can see that the dragons have circled the bear. I looked back to Isobel.

  “Is there any way you can let me hear what they’re saying?”

  “Oh, yes, sorry.”

  “What do you want with her?” Kiernan says.

  “If you want to know, you will have to ask the king. He is the one who wants her,” the bear says.

  “If you think we’re going to let you take her, you have lost your mind. You will not walk away alive if you go any closer to her,” Desean says.

  They are all growling and ready to fight. There’s nowhere for the bear to go, even if he wanted to. How smart is Jamel if he thought one bear was going to get me with twelve dragons by my side?

  “You will never succeed getting me, so you might as well run back to where you came from. Tell Jamel he will never have me,” I yell so he can hear me.

  He turns to look at me and gives me an evil smile. He looks around him at the dragons.

  “I will let my king know you refused to come. I’m sure he will be pleased to know you are refusing to see him,” he says. With that, he gives a nod, turns around, and walks back the way he came.

  The guys come back to where I’m standing. Someone puts a hand on my shoulder. I turn around and see that it’s Kira. Was she here the whole time? How come I didn’t see her when I was talking to Isobel?

  “Where did you come from?” I say.

  Kira gives me a weird look. “I’ve been standing over there this whole time. I couldn’t get into the force field. I really didn’t want to be fried.”

  This place is making me lose it. I have never been to a place where I feel calm and overwhelmed at the same time. I start walking in the opposite direction of the bear. I need to figure out what the hell is going on. This place is nothing like I have ever encountered before.

  Things are not what they seem. If this place is protected by powerful magic, then how did someone take my mom? Is there someone here who is working for the Elders and was just in hiding until the right time? So many questions are going through my head. I don’t notice that Kiernan has come up to me until I’m lifted into his arms.

  “Love, are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

  Why would he ask me that? I look to where I was headed. I was about to fall over a cliff. Is this place really trying to kill me? That cliff was not there a minute ago.

  “Where did that cliff come from?”

  I look behind me. I’m surrounded by trees. The cabin is nowhere to be found. I frown, confused. Both Kira and Kiernan looked at me like I’ve lost it.

  “It was there the whole time. We were yelling for you, but you didn’t even hear us. I didn’t think you even saw it. Kiernan ran up here when you didn’t answer us, ” Kira says.

  “You’re right, I didn’t hear you or see the cliff.”

  “Love, you were looking right at the cliff and kept going.”

  “I was lost in thought. I didn’t even see it. How far have I walked? It only felt like a few minutes.”

  “We’ve been walking for hours. We all followed you. I thought you knew where you were going and wanted to be left alone, so we followed you in silence,” Kira said.

  Wow, this place is really messing with me.

  We need to find a place to camp out and figure out what we need to do. Walking in circles is not getting us anywhere. I have no clue where we even are. I hope I didn’t get us lost. That would really suck right now.

  “Let’s look for a place to camp out. We have to figure out where we are and what we are going to do to find my mom.”

  The guys go look for a place to camp without saying a word. Kira stays with me. I start to pace. I need something to do, or I’m going to go crazy.

  Halfway through my pacing I turn to Kira. “Do you think my vision was real, or was it just something they wanted me to see? If it was real, how can we stop it? Is this Jamel person working for the Elders?” I ask

  There’s silence for a few minutes before she answers me.

  “I think it’s fake, but we’ll keep that vision in mind. With it being magic made, I’m sure they just wanted you to see what they wanted you to.”

  That kind of makes sense. I’m still going to keep it in mind. I really wish I knew how these visions work. It would really help to know when any of the events in my visions will happen or if they have happened already. How have the seers of the past learned all of this?

  There is rustling in the trees. I whip around and stand in a defensive stance. I can see a figure walking toward me.

  “I would stop where you are. If you come any closer, you will be sorry,” I yell.

  The figure stops and doesn’t move. At least he or she is listening.

  “Who are you, and what do you want?”

  Kira gets beside me and takes a defensive stand as well. The figure looks male, but I could be wrong. The person leans against the tree and doesn’t say a word.

  I ask again. “Tell me who you are and what you want.”

  The figure starts to move closer at a slow pace, his hands in the air. Where the hell are the guys at? I have no problem taking this person on, but I don’t want Kira getting hurt. If she heard me say that, she’d probably flip me off. The person is getting closer to the open area. I watch, not taking my eyes off the figure. Once he’s clear from the shadows, I want to punch him in the face for scaring us like that.

  “What the hell, Rome? You could have at least said it was you, you ass!”

  He’s laughing so hard that he’s bending down holding his stomach. I’m glad I amuse him so much. What is his deal?

  “I’m sorry. I had to play along. I wanted to see what you were going to do,” he says between laughs.

  I walk up to him and kick him in the ass. He is such a jerk. I walk away from him and start pacing again. Where is Kiernan and the rest of the guys? I hope they’re ok. I stop my pacing to ask Rome a question.

  “Where are the others? How come you’re the only one that’s bac
k already?”

  “There was nothing in the direction I went, so I came back. The others should be here soon. What, you scared I’ll take advantage of you while your mate’s away?”

  I think both my and Kira’s jaws drop. He did not just say that. I need to pay him back for that remark. Just wait until Kiernan comes back. Paybacks are hell, and I know just how to pay him back. I hear footsteps coming toward me and turn to see who it is.

  “Dariya, it’s us!” Kiernan yells out to me

  About time they get back here. The tension in my shoulders loosens. I can breathe better. Funny what tension can do to you. I run up to Kiernan and jump into his arms. I’m happy to see them all back in one piece.

  Kiernan laughs and holds me tight. “I’ve missed you too, love. Hey, Rome, nice to see you beat us back. Did you find anything?”

  “There was nothing that way, just more woods, and a cliff.”

  I really need to get Kiernan alone and tell him my plans for Rome. He will get what is coming to him one way or another.

  Aidian walks up to us from the direction he came from. “I found a spot. It’s not a cave, but it will work. We’ll be able to see if anyone tries to sneak up on us.”

  Bruno pats Aidian’s shoulder. “Lead the way, my man.”

  We head to the place Aidian found. I hold back from the group with Kiernan and Kira. I want to tell them my plan. I know Kiernan isn’t going to like this, but Rome needs his butt handed to him.

  “So, I need to tell you a plan I have for Rome. Before I tell you my plan, I want to tell you why it needs to be done,” I tell him what happened and what was said “So, I have a plan to pay him back. I want all the others on this plan too. I’m going to take advantage of him, and you eleven will act like you’re about to kill him.”

  “Love, I will kill him. My dragon will do it without my say. There is nothing we will not do to keep you safe. Doing that in front of me is not a good idea. As a matter of fact, that’s a very bad idea. I’m sure we can come up with a better way.”

  I knew he wouldn’t like it. I knew his dragon was possessive, but I didn’t know it was that possessive. I’m sure we can come up with a better idea. Then it hits me.