Avalon Read online

  Those were Belinda's words to William. I was the one who was meant to find Violet. I was the one who was meant to protect her, but how could he possibly know that? William was the only one Belinda told that night. Only another Soothsayer would know what Belinda shared with William, but how could any Soothsayer betray their gift and work with Aiden?

  Aiden rose to his feet and looked me over once more. "Throw him in one of the cells for now. I'm sure we can find some use for him," he said, then turned on his heel and walked back the way he'd come.

  Lila followed after her father and they disappeared inside.

  "Get up, Healer," Ian said, using my ability like a curse word as he kicked me with his thick, leather boot.

  We trudged across the lawn to the back of the house. There we came across a set of double doors in the ground, like a tornado shelter or an old root cellar. Ian pulled one of the doors open and pushed me down the stairs. We passed a few empty cells as we made our way down the concrete path. One cell, second to last on my left, held an older woman who had honestly seen better days. A plastic tray holding a sandwich and a bottle of water sat on the floor of her cell, untouched. Her eyes tracked me as we passed and her mouth parted slightly as if she wanted to say something but thought better of it.

  We arrived at the furthest cell from the entrance. Ian slid the bars open and shoved me inside. Following me into the cell, he slammed the bars closed behind him and waved his hand over the lock. An electric blue force field shimmered across the metal and suddenly I felt empty.

  "You think you're so special," Ian fumed and punched me square in the stomach.

  I coughed and doubled over. With my hands still bound I couldn't defend myself. Looking inward, I tried to summon my shield but found nothing. My Magic was gone. But how?

  Ian chuckled and said, "Did you really think we wouldn't take precautions?" He tapped the bars with his knuckles and the force field rippled across my prison.

  "What purpose can you possibly have for keeping me here?" I asked as I righted myself.

  "I was wondering the same thing." Ian's voice held an edge of jealousy as he took a step toward me. He didn't want me here, that much was clear, and the way he looked at Lila when she wasn't watching made me wonder.

  "You're upset Lila brought me here at all, aren't you?" I guessed.

  "Don't you dare speak to me about Lila." Ian shot toward me and grabbed my shirt in his fist.

  I laughed. "Do you really think you have a chance with her?"

  "I'm warning you." He clenched his jaw and balled his other hand into a fist.

  I looked him up and down and said, "You're not really her type, trust me," I paused and looked him straight in the eye, "I would know."

  Ian swung at me, his fist landing right on the bridge of my nose. A loud crack and an explosion of pain radiated from the center of my face. Blood sprayed from my nose then dripped at a steady pace. Ian reached back to punch me again, but I threw my weight against him and caught him off-guard. Dodging to the right and then left, I quickly got behind him and threw my bound arms over his head. Getting his thick neck in the crook of my arm I pulled tight, cutting off his airway. His elbow shot backward into my torso and knocked the wind out of me. My grip loosened and he reached around, grabbing the back of my shirt and throwing me over his shoulder. Landing on the cold, hard cement I struggled to breathe. Before I could right myself, Ian was on top of me. His fists came at me with a one-two punch as I rolled him off of me in one quick motion.

  A dark chuckle escaped my throat as I rose to my feet and said, "She doesn't even notice you, does she?" I spat a mouthful of blood to the cold floor. I knew I shouldn't goad him, but I needed a way to release everything I was feeling. Anger, fear, anxiety, they all clawed at me and propelled me forward.

  Ian lunged at me again, but I quickly dodged out of the way.

  "After everything you've done for her, she still doesn't even take a second glance at you," I cackled.

  "That's enough!" he yelled and closed the gap between us in two strides.

  "It must be so hard knowing that some of us don't even have to try to get her attention." I shrugged and pain shot down my left side.

  He punched me across the jaw and grabbed me by the shirt again.

  "At least the woman I love is still alive," he snarled. His face was only a couple inches from mine, his breath warm on my face as dark amusement glistened in his eyes. The click of a switchblade being opened caught my attention and I shook my head in disapproval.

  "You can't kill me. Aiden wants me alive," I said through bloody teeth. My mouth tasted like salty pennies as blood dribbled down the back of my throat.

  "For now. But I will be the one to kill you when the time comes." His fist connected with my stomach again and I sunk to the floor. My body throbbed in cadence with Ian's footsteps as he stepped away from me.

  "Pathetic," Ian scoffed as he unlocked my cell.

  "Give Lila my best," I uttered, struggling to get the words out as I stood up.

  "Don't push me, Healer." His head twitched to the side as the bars slid closed in front of me.

  "You think I'm afraid of you?” A short dark laugh escaped my throat. “I have nothing left to lose." I stared him straight in the eyes. It was true. If Violet really was dead, then my entire life had been a waste.

  "You always have something to lose." A wry smile spread across his face as he waved his hand again and my wrists fell free from their shackles.

  Without another word, that sick smile still plastered on his face, Ian left.

  He really was unhinged. I realized it was only a matter of time before Aiden lost his hold over him and I sure as hell didn’t want to be around when he did.

  "You should be careful what you tinker with. The puzzle pieces don't quite fit together if you know what I mean," the old woman said and nodded in the direction Ian had just exited.

  "I'll keep that in mind," I replied and smiled as kindly as I could manage given the circumstances.

  Pulling my shirt over my head and using it as a rag, I wiped as much of the blood off of my face as I could. I tried to tap into my Magic again to heal myself, but nothing happened. I felt empty and naked without my Magic. It felt wrong to feel so normal. And for the first time, I finally understood how Violet must have felt when she first got her Magic. Being normal now, I realized how different having Magic felt.

  "Oh Violet," I said under my breath. I needed to find a way out so I could get back to her. I wouldn't believe she was dead. Our souls were connected, after all. Wouldn't I be able to feel it if she was really gone? There had to be some way for me to reach out to her and make sure she was alright. I sat down on the edge of the two-inch thick mattress and closed my eyes. I focused my energy inward, hoping I could feel something or get a sense of what she was feeling.

  "If you keep concentrating that hard you might lay an egg," the old woman said, breaking my concentration.

  I sighed. As much as I wanted to believe I could still feel Violet through our connection, I knew it wasn't possible if I couldn't use Magic.

  "I just wish I knew for sure that she was alright," I admitted without looking up.

  "Of course she is, dear. It's going to take a whole lot more than a little spell to kill The Waker," the old woman said with a light chuckle.

  I raised my head then. "You mean you can see her? Violet, she's alive?" Hope sprung up inside me as I pictured Violet unharmed and safe. I crossed the small space to the metal bars in three strides and searched for the old woman's face hidden in the shadows.

  "She's alive," the woman said with a warm smile.

  I breathed a sigh of relief. "So you're a Soothsayer then?"

  "Once I went by that title, but he's made a disgrace out of my gift. It's nothing but a curse now." She looked up at the ceiling, toward the house above us.

  So that's how Aiden was able to quote Belinda's words, I thought as I looked her over carefully.

  "Why serve him at all?" I asked. My broken nos
e made my voice sound stuffy and I cringed at the thought of having to pop it back into place.

  "I don't have a choice," she said and shook her head as sadness crept into her eyes.

  "How long have you been down here?" I reached my arms through the bars and let them rest on the cool metal.

  "Too many sunsets to count." She sighed and looked up at the small window above her head.

  "I didn't catch your name. I'm Robert."

  "Clara," she said. The old Soothsayer placed her hand against her chest and inclined her head. "And I know who you are, Mr. Maxwell. I've had many visions of you."

  I looked away, suddenly self-conscious. It was always an odd experience interacting with a Soothsayer. They seemed to know more about you than you knew about yourself.

  "You must get back to Violet, no matter what the cost," she continued, catching my eyes. "She cannot succeed without you." She nodded, having said what she needed to say, then turned away from me and sat back down on her bed.

  I wanted to ask her a million questions, but it was clear she was dismissing me. Leaving her to her own devices, I tried to get comfortable on the sorry excuse for a mattress and stretched my legs.

  Now that I was alone with my thoughts, I let them drift to Violet. Racked with guilt, there was no way I'd ever be able to forgive myself for not getting to her sooner. I was supposed to protect her, keep her safe, and I'd failed her again. Living through her terror as she was taken from the cabin in Yosemite had been my own personal hell. It didn't matter that Lila had sent a squad of men to keep me occupied while they ran off with her. I never should have left her side. I wanted to show her she could still have a normal life with normal friends, but that was foolish, and I knew better. I let my feelings for her cloud my judgment.

  Once I get out of here, I swore to myself, I'll never leave her side again.

  It wasn't going to be easy to escape without Magic, but I had to find a way. If only I could get close to Lila, I might be able to use my history with her to my advantage. She may not be the young schoolgirl I once cared for, but I knew who she was underneath all her bravado.

  Granted, getting close to her was the last thing I wanted to do. I wanted to kill her for even laying a finger on Violet. But again, it was my fault she ended up here, back under her father's thumb. If I hadn't left things so badly with her, then maybe she wouldn't have crawled back to Aiden. I would have to tread very lightly if I was going to pull this off.

  Exhaustion from the battle began to creep across my eyes, but there was something I had to do before I fell asleep. Thankfully, I'd observed my instructor perform this task a hundred times when he thought someone deserved to feel the pain of a broken nose rather than just heal it with Magic. This was going to be unpleasant.

  Taking a few deep breaths, I put my fingers on each side of my nose and snapped it back into place. Ripples of pain radiated across my face and hammered behind my eyes. I tried to breathe through my nose but it was too swollen for any air to pass through. My throat's going be dry in the morning, I thought as I closed my eyes and settled into my temporary quarters.

  Day 2

  I had no idea what time it was or how long I'd slept. Early morning sunlight pooled on the floor through the tiny slats high above my cell. Clara, the Soothsayer, snored peacefully across the hall as I stared at the smooth, gray ceiling. The sound of a heavy metal door creaked open and slammed shut with a bang.

  This is going to be an unpleasant morning, I thought.

  Angry footsteps slapped against the concrete floor, advancing toward me as I held onto the last few moments of peace I would have.

  The bars to my cell screamed in protest as they slid open and a heavy boot stepped inside my prison. A Magical force lifted me from the bed and tossed me across the small space like a rag doll. My back cracked against the bars and I slumped to the floor with a heavy groan. I guessed the force field preventing Magic was down. As I lifted myself onto my hands and knees, a worn brown boot swung toward my face. I grabbed the boot before it could connect with my jaw as an angry grumble exploded above me.

  "How'd they do it?" Lila yelled and kicked her leg free of my grasp.

  "How did who do what?" I asked, slowly getting to my feet.

  My body ached all over from the beating I'd taken yesterday. I tried to heal myself now that the barrier was down, but before I could tap into my Magic, Lila raised the shimmering blue force field back into place.

  "Don't play games with me, Robert. How did they save Violet?" Lila asked, a threat implied in her voice.

  I smiled and said, "Oh, is she alive then?" A wave of relief washed over me and I couldn't help but grin like a child. Even though Clara had confirmed yesterday that Violet was alive, it was still gratifying hearing directly from Lila that they had failed."

  "She won't be for long. When my father learned she survived, he decided to take matters into his own hands."

  "Is that right?" I rubbed the kink in my neck and bit back the pain. "So what, he thinks he'll be able to kill Violet when everyone else has failed?"

  "He can and he will." She took a step toward me, closing the gap between us. "Now tell me how they did it." I could feel her breath on my face as she sneered at me.

  "I wouldn't know, would I?" I leaned back against the cement wall and crossed my arms. "I've been locked up in here." I raised my hands and looked around to further illustrate my point. I couldn't help feeling smug, knowing Violet was still alive.

  "You think this is funny?" Lila asked. Her eyes bulged out of her head and the dark circles under her eyes indicated she hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night. She had always been irrational when she was tired and I was never very tolerant of her mood swings.

  "It's a bit amusing that you keep failing to kill a woman who barely even believes in Magic, let alone knows how to use it," I noted with a wry grin.

  She swung in an attempt to punch me, but I caught her wrist and pulled her off-balance.

  She twisted her wrist free and kicked at my shin. "You don't get it do you," she scolded. "She's going to destroy the Magical world by waking The Lady. How can you protect her?"

  "Destroy the Magical world? Lila, can you really be so naive?" I stared at her in disbelief as a pang of sadness ran through me. Had Aiden really warped her into thinking Violet was the evil one?

  "I'm not naive, Robert, I'm just not afraid of the truth." She turned her back to me and took a few steps away.

  "And what truth is that?" I asked. A sarcastic laugh escaped my throat as I leaned against the cement wall.

  Lila paused and looked at me over her shoulder, her blonde hair falling like a curtain and shielding half her face. "That Violet will wake The Lady and force the Magical world into subjugation." The fury in her eyes told me she truly did believe Violet was the evil one.

  "That's bullshit and you know it. You've heard the prophecy, we all have. The only reason she'll wake The Lady is to stop Morgana." I ran my hand through my hair and pushed myself off the wall, frustrated. "And I'll give you one guess as to who's trying to bring that evil witch back from beyond the veil."

  Recognition flashed across her eyes but she shook her head and yelled, "You're wrong!" She snapped at me.

  "Am I?" I stepped towards her, adrenaline pumping through my veins as I stared into her cold blue eyes. "Then why have so many Magical people been murdered over the last few years with the same symbol you carved into Violet?" My voice reverberated off the concrete walls and my hands shook as I tried to keep my anger and disgust under control.

  Lila only shook her head, as if she were turning her eyes from the truth. "She's played you, Robert, can't you see that? Or are your rose-colored glasses too thick to see the truth?" She shoved me hard and I took a step back, stunned.

  Her head cocked to the side and she looked at me like a spider inspecting a fly in its web. "Oh, did you think your little tryst was a secret?" She cooed. A low chuckle emanated from her chest. "I thought you were supposed to protect her, not seduce h
er."

  She was right. I was supposed to protect her, but I'd let my feelings cloud my judgment.

  "How I may or may not feel has nothing to do with the fact that your father is systematically taking out anyone who can put a stop to his rise to power," I said, taking a deep breath to steady the anger building in my chest as I stepped toward her. "He's using Dark Magic to do it. You and I both know that using symbols and performing rituals is forbidden."

  "It was forbidden centuries ago, things change," Lila informed me as she moved the bars aside and stepped out of my cell, keeping her back to me.

  "Listen to yourself. The woman I knew would never let herself be caught up in Dark Magic. You think what you're doing doesn't have consequences?"

  "That's enough, she yelled, her voice echoing off of the cement walls as she spun around to face me.

  But I wasn't done with her just yet. I'd poked at her moral compass, but now it was time to plant the seed of doubt and make her question Aiden's actions.

  "If your father really is the good guy, then why is he searching for The Pieces of Three?" I asked, slowly and deliberately walking toward her.

  Lila’s bottom lip fell open. "Pieces of Three?" she asked and the hatred in her eyes soften as her brow furrowed in confusion.

  I leaned against the metal barrier and said, "Ahh, so he hasn't told you everything then, has he?" Gotcha.

  She huffed and shook her head. "You really think it's that easy to get into my head?"

  I wrapped my fingers around the bars and smirked at her unease. "I know it is."

  She blinked twice and said, "Things were different back then. I've changed and clearly so have you." She looked me up and down and took a half step away from the cell.

  "True, I've grown and changed but my morals and principals are still the same. I can't say the same for you though. The girl I knew would've never killed anyone just for daddy's approval."

  She scowled hard enough I could have sworn she'd throw open the cell and try to tear me apart. Instead, she turned and walked away without another word.