The Swarm Trilogy (23 page)

“She did,” Bryden admitted. “They all did. If I’d had any idea I never would have pulled you into this. I would have protected you somehow. Protected you from the Awakening. Done a better job of protecting you from Kellan.”

Bryden shook his head. “I can’t believe I trusted them.”

“You were five when you first met them. They explained the changes you were experiencing. They gave you a way to control yourself. They made it clear you were no longer alone. Why wouldn’t you believe them?”

He shrugged. For a moment I saw the little boy I once knew, so trusting, so sweet. But before me stood a man who had seen more tragedy than many people. Yet he’d remained open and kind. He was a rare find and I wouldn’t ever let him go.

“So we’ll go then? With Trevin?”

“Of course with Trevin.” I walked back over to his crib and stared at his sweet face. He’d been born under a spell but I would make sure he lived his life in truth. “We’ll be a family. We were adopted, weren’t we? We can adopt Trevin and be our own family now, away from the Dalagans and the Fithians.”

“But where?” he asked.

“I think it’s time we look for Mags.”

“And then?”

“And then we fight back.”

We sealed our pact with a kiss.

Acknowledgements

Sleepers came to life late one night, in bed, as I let my mind wander about adoption. My life has been touched in many ways by adoption and I felt like giving the experience a fantasy twist. Anyone who ever asks if life imitates art will hopefully know that while adoption kicked off the story,
Sleepers
has absolutely nothing to do with my real life.

Lianne has few friends who understand the adoptive life. I am blessed to have a tribe of amazing friends who can share the adoption journey with me: Terah, Amy, Yvonne, Kima, and Kenna. Where would I be without you?

My hubby, Tim, was with me when the idea for
Sleepers
hit me over the head. He’s been a big supporter since day one (or night one, since it was very late) and even told me, “I’m sorry, but I have to say this and I hope you’re not offended. I like Sleepers better than Anathema.” How could I be offended by that?!

My kids have embraced my writing lifestyle over the last couple of years and learned when Mommy is working, it’s better for them to learn to amuse themselves. Luckily they also allow me to be silly and childish. I think living this kind of vagabond, imaginative life is what makes them feel comfortable pretending to be zombies while shopping at Target.

I have a few beta readers to thank too. Marcia Brandt, my friend and second mom, who is not only an incredible librarian, but also a great critiquer. Kathy Fenton White, my sister’s best friend who used to kick me out my bedroom as a kid, is also a writer. Her insights into Sleepers were invaluable. Loretta Nyhan held a contest for a full critique and I won! She loved this novel and I hope the finished product pleases her.

...and we’re back to the end again. I always come back to the same women at this point, my sisters at DarkSide Publishing: Karly Kirkpatrick, GP Ching, and Angela Carlie. Without them my work would be riddled with stupid mistakes and cliches. They teach me so much about being a writer and offer me consolation when I’ve fallen into the depths of despair over this crazy career I’ve chosen. They are awesome. Everyone should love them.

Afterlife

Book Two: The Swarm Trilogy

Megg Jensen

Chapter One

I wanted to spew out the last few weeks, eject every horrid moment from my being, but nothing could erase reality from my memory. Everything I ever loved had been stolen from me. Except Bryden.

We had greeted the morning wrapped in each other’s embrace. Legs intertwined. My arms snaked around his torso, my hand resting on his chest. With each rise and fall of his breath, I reminded myself how lucky I was to be with him in that moment.

The sun blinded us, rising in a spectacular display of orange, yellow, and the occasional streak of magenta. I didn’t want that moment to end, but it had to. We left that morning, sneaking out of the castle with baby Trevin, in an attempt to locate his mother, Mags.

It had been weeks since she escaped from her husband’s clutches. Now he was dead, a king killed by invaders who’d been plotting against him for decades. My people. They used Bryden. They used me.

Fire burned in my chest, a reaction to the anger that consumed me. They did this to me. Those bastards, who dared to call themselves my people, kept me under a spell until my sixteenth birthday. I was their unwitting pawn in a battle I had no stake in.

Dubbed their Queen Slayer because I accidentally killed my adoptive sister. Everyone’s lives had been ripped to shreds, but I was determined to put some of them back together.

Leaves crunched under my feet. Bryden moved without a sound. I cursed silently, holding Trevin tight to my chest. My shirt was covered in his spit up, but I didn’t mind. At least that’s what I told myself. He was a sweet baby and keeping him from his mother wasn’t an option. I hoped we would find Mags hiding somewhere in the forest.

The tree branches crisscrossed each other, creating a serene wooden prison. The tops of the trees swayed along with the breeze, tapping out a chaotic rhythm. It matched the beating of my heart.

I was burdened by Trevin, and Bryden’s bad leg only got worse the farther we moved away from the healing magic of our people. His limp became more pronounced, yet years of hiding in the shadows quieted his steps. I would have offered to lighten his load, but with Trevin in a sling around my chest and a pack on my back, I had little else to offer him. I also knew Bryden well enough to know he’d refuse any help I offered. He was proud and had spent years building up his stamina and strength.

“You sure I can’t help?” I asked, knowing my question would only make him mad.

His eyes narrowed and he shook his head. Without even a glance in my direction, he picked up his pace. Bryden hitched his leg over a fallen tree, balancing his hand on the rough bark as he swung his bad leg over to the other side.

“Keep moving. We need to get as far away as possible before they realize we’re gone,” Bryden said.

I didn’t need to respond. He knew I’d agree with him. Besides, it had nothing to with getting away. It was his not-so-subtle way of telling me to shut up.

I wrapped an arm around Trevin as I climbed over the log. His cherubic cheeks glowed pink and a tiny bit of drool sparkled on the side of his curved lips. My heart swelled with love for that little boy, but at the same time it broke in sadness. If we couldn’t find Mags, then he’d never remember her.

Not only was Mags my best friend, but she was the most loving mother I’d ever met. Trevin deserved to know her. He needed to grow up with her. I could care for his basic needs and love him to pieces, but I wasn’t his mother. As long as there was hope she was still alive, I wouldn’t give up my search.

I tucked the wrap closer. Every time I jostled it, I worried Trevin was going to fall out of the carrier I’d fashioned from a torn piece of dress. The Dalagans had outfitted my room with a multitude of silken dresses fit for a queen, or at least a Queen Slayer. I shivered, filled with hatred at what they’d done to me. Set me up to take the fall for their wretched plans. I’d spent my entire life believing my people were poor and downtrodden. Little did I know, they’d set everything up years ago. I only had to fall into their trap.

The biggest mistake they’d made was assuming I’d be grateful. Instead of embracing their plan and taking on the mantle of some misguided savior, I’d snuck out before dawn with the two men in the world that I loved.

“Have you explored the forest before?” I asked Bryden over the crunching of the leaves. “Other than our grove?”

One more thing I loved that I had to give up. My people had set up the grove as a concealed place where Bryden and I learned more about using our magic. We’d found it separately, cherished it apart, until one day he found me there. It was the only place I could center myself, be true to myself, but now it was one more casualty of the Dalagans’ deception. It was also the only part of the forest I knew. I’d never tread any deeper, fearful of what lie beyond its boundaries.

Legend told of demons that roamed the forests, stealing the souls of anyone who dared to tread their path. I had ignored the tales, largely because my life had been so focused on the castle and town I lived in. I never had a reason to venture into the forest past my grove. Yet there were days when I rested on the ground in my grove and stared at the tree line. Its dark depths were disconcerting. I always told myself it was simply a fear of the unknown.

The irrational side of me knew there was nothing to fear, but part of me, a part I never explored, wondered if there was any truth to the legends.

“I’ve never been this deep,” Bryden answered. “But I’m hoping we find that encampment Trevin’s nurse told you about.” He stuck the tip of his walking stick out in front of him, poking the leaves on the ground. A whooshing sounded from above. A black net dropped out of the canopy, knocking Bryden down on the ground before I could scream to alert him.

I shuffled toward him as fast as I could without disrupting Trevin or the pack on my back. Bryden’s arms struggled within the web’s confines, unable to find a way out. He muttered a string of curse words as he reached for the knife attached to his waist.

“Hang on,” I said. “I’ll get you out.”

I just wasn’t sure how to do that. I sat down on a stump, wincing from the pain the splintered wood sent through my bottom, and untied the knot that held Trevin’s wrap together. It unfurled, leaving Trevin lying in my lap. I gathered him up in the wrap and set him in the leaves. “Stay put,” I whispered to him even though he wasn’t even close to walking yet, or even crawling. He gurgled and smiled.

I scurried around the stump and grabbed the net. The ends were weighted with dark black balls. I couldn’t figure out what materials they’d used to construct them, but the net was heavy. “I’ll have you out of there soon,” I said to Bryden.

“Don’t bother.”

I whirled around and found myself face-to-face with the most striking man I’d ever seen. His blond hair stood out in all directions from the top of his head, like he’d never combed it once in his life. His amber eyes sparkled reminding me of the diamonds in the crown Mags had worn on her dark ringlets for state events.

Even though Bryden and I were tall, at least in Fithia where we’d grown up, this man towered over me by at least another head.

If I was only an instinctual person, my right foot would step back, I would drop my knees a couple inches, and my hands would form fists in front of my face. But I wasn’t. I was a seasoned warrior, or at least trained to be one. I’d never done battle, just sparring. My instincts weren’t to fight - they were to protect my friends and myself. I let my arms fall slack to the side, pretending I was afraid and couldn’t defend myself.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“I think the better question is, who are you and why are you invading my part of the forest?” he responded. His arms crossed over his chest. I held a sigh inside. At least he didn’t have a sword or dagger in his hand. He didn’t appear to be ready to reach for one either. Good. Maybe he thought I was harmless.

“Invading?” I couldn’t help but laugh. “You call a baby, one man, and myself invaders? Are you scared of us?”

His eyes narrowed as they traveled my body. I’d tensed up while I was talking. With a breath in and a breath out, I slowly relaxed my muscles again. His gaze stopped on my hair. He reached out, running a finger through it. I didn’t flinch, even though I wanted to use the tiger claw move to take him down.

Trevin’s cry rang through the trees and I spun around. Another man held him in his arms and it was pretty obvious he’d never held a baby before. Cupped in both hands, the man held Trevin by the stomach, his arms out-stretched. Trevin’s tiny body struggled, but it did no good.

“Don’t hold him like that,” I screamed. I jumped over the log and tried to grab him, but the man just lifted Trevin above his head. Fearing Trevin would fall, I stepped back, my hands up in the air. “Put him down. Please.” If anything happened to Trevin, I’d never forgive myself.

“Is this your baby?” the blond man asked me.

I faced him again. “Yes. Of course he’s mine. I’m out here with my husband and baby. We were trying to escape after the invasion.” I hoped Bryden wouldn’t object to me calling him my husband. We were together, but I didn’t think we were quite that far along in our relationship yet.

“Escape from the invasion? But you’re one of them. You’re a Dalagan.” He pointed to my red hair.

I’d been raised by the Fithians and even though I’d been teased about my differences, my hair and my height, I’d never really formed a real identity. I was Dalagan by birth, but not by action, and the opposite for Fithia. I was something else - I just didn’t know what.

“The last place I want to be right now is in that castle.” I wouldn’t share any more. If they’d heard about the Queen Slayer out here in the forest, then they’d never trust me.

“And he’s your husband?” He pointed over my shoulder and I turned back to Bryden. He was still trapped under the net. Bryden smiled and nodded, the net rubbing his red hair. I felt the strangest urge to run my fingers through it.