Cecilia clutched the human registration tightly. She’d never relinquish it. This book would tell her where her husband was.
‘R?ven,’ said Cecilia quietly. ‘Are you able to take the book somewhere safe?’ It was not a light book, so she worried it might be too heavy for the bird to carry.
R?ven took the job, however. Perhaps her time as a messenger in Frost Arch had gotten her used to carrying heavy loads.
The bird flew forward and gripped the spine of the book in her clawed feet, lifting it out of Cecilia’s arms.
‘Get the bird!’ Tiffany yelled to Vanessa.
But it was too late; R?ven had already taken off, out of the broken dome ceiling.
‘You idiot,’ Tiffany slapped Vanessa hard across the face. ‘You let her get away.’
‘I can’t teleport into mid-air,’ retorted Vanessa. ‘I’ll fall, you stupid bitch.’
Cecilia and Kenneth exchanged a look of bewilderment while the pair continued to bicker. Without hesitation, Kenneth set the girls' hair alight. They screamed and ran in circles, bumping into one another, and trying to pat out the flames.
It was too easy. Kenneth and Cecilia skipped around them and onto the grounds.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Dying Day
AVALON REDDING
Everything hurt. My body ached. Faces swam in and out of focus. Blue eyes stared down at me. I tried to move my hand, but my limbs felt like lead. I tried to speak, but no sound came out.
‘You’re going to be fine,’ said a soothing voice.
Hands were placed on my stomach, and the pain intensified ten fold. They were killing me.
‘It hurts,’ I tried to tell them, but nothing happened.
‘It’s all right,’ they soothed. ‘Don’t struggle.’
I did as I was told and tried to listen to the voices around me.
‘What happened? Was that explosion her?’ said a stranger.
‘She became a fire-ball, and shot into the sky,’ replied a woman.
‘I felt the ground shake.’
‘She passed out while ten feet in the air,’ said another. ‘She hit the ground pretty hard.’
Someone was calling my name in the distance. ‘Avalon? Ava!’
I opened my eyes a tiny amount, enough to see a blur of red hair above me, and I knew it was Fae.
‘What did you do to her?’ Fae demanded.
‘I’m trying to heal her. Stand back!’ Jack snapped. ‘Her skin is flaming hot. You’ll burn yourself!’
‘What happened? I was inside … looking for … and I felt the ground quake-’
‘She’s bleeding internally,’ replied Jack.
‘But you can fix her, right?’ asked Fae.
‘I’m trying.’
‘Here, Son. Let me help,’ said an older voice.
‘Dad?’ said Jack. ‘Where … when-?’
‘That doesn’t matter. Here.’ I felt another pair of hands on my body.
With each passing second, the pain felt a little better.
‘No!’ cried a shrill voice. The hands were removed from my body immediately.
‘Cecilia, what are you doing?’ said Jack, aghast.
‘You mustn’t heal her!’ she said urgently.
‘Are you insane?’ replied Jack. ‘I’m not letting her die.’
‘You must,’ said Cecilia. ‘It has been foreseen.’
‘What are you talking about?’ demanded another familiar voice; my father. ‘What’s this rubbish?’
‘The Fire-Mage must die in the midst of battle,’ said Cecilia, her voice quaking. ‘It is the only way the humans can be free.’
‘Like hell,’ growled my father.
The hands resumed their place on me, and the wonderful sensation of being Healed spread through my body once more.
After several moments, I was able to open my eyes.
Jack, Fae, my father, and Mr. Greenwood all peered down at me with worried expressions on their faces. I also recognised the pale girl with red eyes and white hair as an employee of the Realm, though I didn’t bother to ask why she stood among us. Then there was Gregory, and Terry, as well as some other Mages that had followed me.
‘Hello,’ I muttered, trying to sit up. Fae helped me, putting an arm around my shoulders and hoisting me up. My head swam.
‘You feel okay?’ asked Jack.
I nodded. ‘Yeah … thanks.’
‘You exploded,’ said Mr. Greenwood, his eyes wide. ‘Like a meteor, shooting into the sky.’
‘How else was I supposed to destroy the forcefield inside my body?’ I asked.
I looked around at the group of people surrounding me; some familiar faces, others strangers.
‘What happened?’ I asked. ‘Where is everyone else?’
‘Many fled,’ said Kenneth. ‘There are only a handful of us left. Some are dead.’
‘What about the Realm, and their guards?’ I asked.
‘There are still a few inside,’ he said. ‘Most do not have attacking Powers, and have surrendered.’
‘Did we … did you accomplish what you came for?’ I asked.
My father nodded. ‘We have a way to bring back the memories.’
Several people clapped and cheered, and I felt my heart lighten considerably. It hadn’t all been for nothing.