Under the Winter Sun (Elemental Enchanters Series Book 3) (28 page)

Stay strong. Please don’t give up. Please.

Ava heard the pleading voice and wanted to hear more. It calmed her and was the only thing that kept her going. She couldn’t decipher whose voice it was, but it reassured her. She clung onto it with everything she had.

Ava was alone in the freezing snow covered forest. Above her, the gray clouds moved fast, revealing dots of midnight, the brightness of the moon fading. When she sat up, however, through the trees, she saw the night diminish into a lighter blue and there was a white glow. Her hands and face throbbed from the wounds on her skin. She made a fist and her skin burned from the stretching. Her breath smoked but she wasn’t cold, she noticed. Finally warm. Then, she tried summoning water or tried to heal herself. Nothing happened.

She had to find a way out of there. Wherever there was. 

Get up and run now. Run until you see the daylight. 

Her head popped up at the voice. It wasn’t the same pleading voice. Instead, it was the one she heard when she fell in the water. Savina. She was still alive, speaking to her mind. Ava pushed herself up on her feeble legs and used the tree as support. Her heart slowly beat.

Run!
Savina shouted in her head.

She jogged clumsily, catching herself on icy branches when she was about to fall. Her lungs ached and her legs felt like water. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears. Dizziness overwhelmed her.

Ava stopped short when the path dropped at a cliff. She peered down at the large bowl-like divot in the snow and saw a group of cloaked figures gathered around a fire surrounding a large wooden stake. Beyond that, a sliver of orange in the horizon.

She hid behind a large tree and watched the figures. They laughed and danced around the fire, and even though she couldn’t see their faces she knew they were Cimmerians. She searched in every direction for a way out without them hearing or seeing her, but found none. She looked behind her and thought about running back, but the voice instructed her to run toward daylight. Was this another trap? Was the voice actually another trick?   

Get out of here! 

A hand seized her shoulder, and she jumped. She never even heard them approaching. Clutching the tree, she twisted around. He held a crooked grin, and his dark eyes glowered. His ash blond hair was cropped, his cheeks sallow.

“We’re waiting for you,” Xavier said, his voice low. He inched closer, eliminating any space between them. When she tried moving, his hand snatched her arm. 

“You’ll be waiting forever.”

He grabbed her jaw, his fingers digging into it, and forced her to face him. “I’ve seen it. We’ve all seen it. We all know how this ends. You become one of us.”

“If you know the ending, then why am I here with you?”

“Who says this isn’t the ending?” He loosened his grip on her jaw and gently swept a few strands of her hair away from her face. “I told your blond friend I preferred her over you, but seeing you here now, makes me wonder.” He leaned down as if to kiss her. Ava kneed him, and he doubled over.

She took off, running parallel to the cliff, through the trees, left and right. But then, darkness shadowed her. Ava couldn’t see anything, but she heard Xavier coming for her. His hands pawed at her shoulders until he got a good grip, and down they went, crashing into the snow. She swallowed back a scream, not wanting to alert the Cimmerians below. He lifted his shadow from over her, allowing her to see. He pinned her to the ground with both her hands behind her.

“You should watch this.” He jerked her to her knees and turned her to the burning fire. Then, she saw two large Cimmerians carry a blonde, thin woman.

“You can’t do this to me!” the woman yelled, and Ava realized it was Melissa. They were going to burn her.

It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. They wouldn’t kill her.

Xavier clutched her hands behind her back with one hand, and clasped his other hand over her mouth. “This is the best part,” he whispered in her ear.

Melissa kicked and grappled but the two bulky men didn’t budge as they carried her to the fire. One of them hoisted her up and tied her arms behind the stake.

Ava’s heart vibrated. She tried maintaining her breathing. Each time she twitched Xavier held her tighter. The other bulky Cimmerian lit a torch on fire and brought the flames under Melissa’s feet. A piercing scream filled the breaking dawn. Ava shut her eyes tight. The screams ripped through her, making her tremble.

“We’re not scared, are we? Not the tough Ava we all know and love.” He taunted.

Soon, the cries stopped, and Ava regretted opening her eyes. She screamed, but his hand muffled the sound. Melissa’s blackened body slumped over behind the flames.

“I know. The anticipation is killing me too. But you have to wait your turn.” 

Ava squirmed and pushed her legs out from underneath her knees. She pushed against him forcing him to collide with a tree. Snow from the branches fell on them, but he only gripped her tighter, and now she was in between his legs. 

“You should know that won’t hurt me,” he said. “But while we have time during this intermission…” He trailed off.

His breath was on her neck, and her shoulder came up blocking his mouth. “You have to relax.” He brushed his lips against her shoulder. She twisted and pushed against him.

She panted, clenching her teeth.

“I told you to relax,” he demanded as he jerked her arm so hard, it felt like he tore it from her body. Searing pain shot inside her. With his hand still clamped to her mouth, her cry was stifled. Her arm dangled helplessly at her side. “Don’t make me take the other arm from its socket,” he warned. He kissed her shoulder and grazed her neck. His fingers traced her collarbone. 

Hatred surged through her. She wanted to tear off his lips. Drown him in the icy lake. Rip his head clean off his body. Make him suffer.

“Oh look, act two is about to start. We could do other things instead of watching the play if you like,” he whispered.

Ava looked out and saw the same two bulky men carrying Jeremy toward the fire. She swallowed hard. They were going to kill him, too. But it didn’t make sense. Havok wanted all of the Elementals together. Why would he kill Melissa and Jeremy? It couldn’t be real. But everything felt so real. Real or not, she couldn’t watch them burn Jeremy. She wished she could cover her ears to block out the screams.

When it was silent again, Xavier jerked her to her feet and pushed her forward. “Time for act three. It’s too bad you don’t want to join. You and I could have fun. Like Melissa and I did.” He uncovered her mouth and dragged her by her good arm.

Xavier hauled her down the steep cliff, careful not to fall. “Here’s the woman of the hour,” he announced and eight Cimmerians turned their heads under their hoods. “She thoroughly enjoyed the first two acts. And intermission.”

Ava shuddered and felt faint. It wasn’t real, she kept telling herself. “You’re a sick bastard,” she spat.

“Here are the others,” a man with blond hair said as they forced Gillian and Thomas forward.

Her heart sank. They really were going to kill them all. But she still held onto hope.

Xavier handed her to the two bulky men, who seemed to be almost seven feet tall. Her arm throbbed, but she remembered Thomas burning her and knew that nothing compared to that pain. 

“Don’t do this,” Gillian shrieked.

Thomas met Ava’s eyes. They both looked like they had been tortured as well. Their bodies were bloodied and dirty.

The large bodied men tied Ava against the stake. She looked down and her eyes rolled back at the sight of black charred bodies. She could still see strands of blond hair. Barely breathing, she clenched her eyes shut. The bile in her stomach swirled and threatened to come up.

They tied Gillian and Thomas on both sides of her. Gillian wept.

“I can’t do this.”

“Don’t give in Gillian,” Ava said. “Whatever you do remain strong. This isn’t real.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Just hold on.”

“How can you be so sure?” Thomas asked. They kept their voices low, but then a Cimmerian walked up to them. Ava recognized her as Sorcha, the one who took their powers away.

“All you have to do is say the word.” Sorcha pulled back her hood revealing thick red hair. “I see us becoming such good friends.” She gave a wicked smile.

“I find that highly unlikely,” Ava said. She tried to sound strong, but her strength had evaporated just like the smoke from the fire.

“Well, maybe this will change your mind.” She motioned to the other man, and he set fire to the bottom of the stake.

Ava wouldn’t scream. She refused to let them hear her pain. The fire warmed her for a split second. Ava braced herself, and even tried summoning water once the flames touched. But the water didn’t come. She closed her eyes from the staring witches and the growing angry flames. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She dug her nails into the wooden stake as the fire singed her legs. She pressed her lips tightly together and clenched her teeth. The flames inched upward to her chest, constricting her.

“Ava!” she heard Gillian’s shrill voice.

Just hold on. Be strong.
The voice encouraged her. But her body fell limp.

Long after the fire burned out, Ava awoke, unable to move from the agony. For once, the snow actually felt good against her singed skin. The sun peeked through the trees, its reflection on the snow almost blinded her.

Ava didn’t want to look behind her, afraid she’d see the charred bodies. She wondered how she was still alive if they burned her. Was it all torture from Havok? Her arm still ached from when Xavier ripped it out of its socket. Her body throbbed, echoing her heartbeat.   

Just a little further. You can do it. Do it for Melissa and Jeremy. And your Aureole.
The voice told her.

But they’re all dead. Everyone. 

Ava yearned to be able to heal. To summon water and seal her wounds. The snow beneath her melted into water but it didn’t help her. She wanted it to end. She wanted home. Her father. She even missed Peter. And she desperately missed Gabriel, which surprised her. But they were dead. She had nothing left, except her father.

Footsteps trekked in the snow, closing in on her. A hand rolled her on her back.

She looked up and saw Sorcha. Her hair clouded her face and her green eyes watched Ava in disgust. Then a crowd of Cimmerians stood over her.

“Please,” Ava said. It took everything she had to speak. “If you’re going to kill me, do it fast.”

Sorcha threw her head back and laughed. “We wouldn’t dream of killing you. I ask you once more. Will you unite with us?”

“You should know by now, I will never become part of you.”

“Never say never. I have a surprise for you.” She forced Ava into a sitting position.

Ava cried out. A hooded Cimmerian pulled a struggling man with a black cloth bag over his head in her view. Sorcha lifted the cloth to reveal her father. Ava jumped to her feet, her burned skin stretching in agonizing pain. “Dad?” Her voice faltered. Panic gripped her.

“Ava, I’m sorry,” her father said with a panicked voice. “They caught me. They’ve been keeping me hostage.”

Sorcha slapped him across the face. “We could kill your father, just like we killed your mother. But all you have to do is say the word and he lives.” She pressed her hand into her dad’s shoulder, forcing him to his knees. He screamed and bent over. “It’s a pretty easy answer.”

Ava reached for her dad, but arms pulled her back. “Dad!” she screamed. “No! Please! Don’t kill him!”

“Why?”

She couldn’t stand watching her father in pain. She had to join Havok. This was it. There was no choice. She would turn dark to save her father. She would kill or terrorize or do whatever Havok wanted in order to keep her father alive. She owed him that for protecting her all these years.

Her father raised his head and she briefly saw his eyes. He cried out as if someone struck him. He gasped for breath.

“What’s it going to be?” Sorcha asked.

Don’t give yourself to them!
the voice pleaded.
It’s a test!
   

Ava parted her lips to speak. 

Don’t! This isn’t real!

Instead of letting the words escape, she sucked in a sharp breath. Slowly, one by one, the Cimmerians disappeared. 

The voices faded away. So did the rest of the Cimmerians. Her father, and the snow. Everything vanished.

Ava’s eyes fluttered open, and she squinted from the brightness. Once her eyes adjusted, she realized it was filtered sunlight through a window.

She moved her hands, wiggling her fingers. They weren’t burned. Her body was stiff like it hadn’t budged for days. At least she was able to move without pain. She only felt extreme exhaustion.

Slowly turning her head, she saw a woman with short black hair reading a book that had obviously seen better days. Her olive skin looked beautiful in the sunlight. She had one leg against her chest, while the other curled under the chair. Her long slender fingers turned the page and when her hazel eyes caught Ava’s, she did a double take.

“Ava!” Her eyes lit as the book dropped. “You’re awake.” Her beautiful smile was full of relief. “It’s so good to see those eyes of yours.”

Natalia was dead. Ava knew this. It was a sick trick of Havok’s. Ava looked away. She couldn’t take it anymore. Natalia was never this concerned with Ava.

“I have to get Savina. But don’t worry, I promise I’ll be back shortly.”

“Don’t bother. I don’t know why you keep doing this to me. You know my answer.”

Natalia stopped and turned. Her eyebrows furrowed. “Ava, it’s really me. I’ll be right back.” She hurried out the door.

Ava had to run. She pushed with all her strength to sit up, and placed her feet flat on the floor. She tried to stand, but her legs felt like water, and she dropped to the floor.

The door opened and Savina, Gabriel, Eric, Peter, Lance, Sean, and Natalia appeared. They looked at her with concern and relief. Ava held out her arm warning them not to come any closer. Tears burned at the back of her eyes. They all waited, pity written on their faces. She used the bed to pull herself onto her feet. Her legs gave out again and as she fell, arms reached out and caught her.

Gabriel held her, and she buried her face into his chest. She inhaled the fresh scent of juniper. “It’s me, Ava,” he whispered. She braved a look. His eyes were like the Caribbean Sea. Exotic, deep and endless. Drawing her in. Relief and stress showed on his face and his disheveled raven hair reached the collar of his shirt. The hairs on his face had thickened since the last time she saw him. The way he gently swept her hair aside made her heart jump.

“Place her back onto the bed,” Savina said.

He lifted her, and eased her down onto the bed. Savina rushed over and took her hand, but Ava never left Gabriel’s eyes.

“How do you feel?” Savina asked. The others warily stood around her bed. She didn’t see Thomas or Gillian or Moira. Her heart sank. Had they fought? Was this all that was left? Her throat closed and the tears threatened again.

“What happened?” she asked. Her throat felt like she’d swallowed glass.

“You were in a coma,” Savina said. “We heard you scream. Peter and Gabriel found you in the forest. You were hypothermic. I healed you from the cold, but you fell under. Throughout the weeks, we watched over you and waited for you to pull through.”

“So none of that ever really happened?”

Savina exchanged looks with Sean. “None of what, dear?”

“My father. The fire. Havok almost drowning me in the lake. Xavier.” She shook her head from the thoughts.

“He was torturing you,” Sean said, a knowing look in his eyes. “We were right.”

“He lifted me up without using his hands and slammed me against a frozen lake. He broke my legs. They burned me.”

Gabriel flinched.

“How could he do that? I thought he could only spread disease.”

“Havok has learned many powers over the years,” Savina said.

“I had no powers. They all kept trying to get me to join. They had my father.” She shot up on her elbows and winced. “My dad! They have my father!” she shouted. “They’re torturing him!”

“Havok made you think that. Your father is fine.”

“How do you know?”

“No one can get past the charm on the Manor.”

“Someone got past it here.”

“Please trust me,” Savina said, and shared a look with Sean.

Gabriel eased her back down.

“Ava, can I see your hand?” Sean asked.

“Don’t you think she’s been through enough?” Gabriel asked.

Savina touched his arm. “We need to know what happened. We need to see it.”

“Will that be okay, Ava?” Sean asked.

“What are you asking me?”

“They want you to show them what happened,” Gabriel said. She could hear the contempt in his voice.

“Will I experience it again?”

“You won’t feel the pain but you will watch yourself from afar,” Sean said.

Gabriel shook his head. “Does it have to be now? Can’t we at least wait a couple of hours?”

“Yeah, I don’t want Ava hurting when she just woke up,” Lance said.

Sean nodded. “Of course.”

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t stop this from happening,” Peter said, his eyes deep with remorse. She remembered her fight with him, what seemed like ages ago.

Ava scanned the room. “Where is everyone else? Please tell me—.”

“They’re fine.” Savina assured her. “We stayed behind to watch you. Aaron led the others to the Lighthollow Village to wait for us.”

“We split up? Why?”

“Aaron felt if they continued, they could reach Havok and stop him from torturing you. But I have told him you are awake.”

“Where’s Thomas and Gillian?”

“With Aaron. Katarina is protecting them.”

“How long was I out?”

“Almost two weeks.”

“What?” She shot up, but wished she hadn’t since the sudden movement made her dizzy.

“Be careful.” Gabriel lowered her back against the headboard.

“We wasted two weeks?”

“It will be okay,” Savina said.

“I heard your voice, Savina. Pushing me through it all. How did you know what was happening? Could you see inside my mind?”

“No. Your mind was blocked. I tried my best. But that wasn’t my voice.”

“Then whose was it? I heard two. One was pleading for me to wake up while the other one encouraged me along the way.”

“Perhaps, it was you trying to pull yourself out of the nightmares. It had to have been you.”

Ava thought about it for a moment. It made sense.

“How are you feeling?” Savina asked.

“I’m tired and stiff. My mind is distorted. It all felt so real. I couldn’t tell what was true and what wasn’t.”

“You should walk around a bit and then rest,” Savina said.

“When can we leave?”

“When you are well enough.”

Gabriel eased her to her feet. Lance rushed up to her and hugged her. She held onto him tightly.

Eric followed and smiled. “I’m glad Sleeping Beauty has awakened.”

“Thanks.”

Gabriel supported most of her weight as they walked outside into the snow. The sun warmed her face and she was glad to be out of the dark nightmares. Her legs wobbled a bit, but eventually she was able to stand on them without Gabriel’s help.

“I was almost positive that was Savina talking to me. I guess I could’ve told myself to keep going. But who was the other voice?”

Gabriel hesitated, his eyes trained to the ground. “It was me.”

She glanced at him. Her vision blurred from the tears. “They told me you all died.”

“Just another trick.”

Ava remembered the flashes of scenes Eve placed in her head. Eve made her think she’d killed Gabriel by ripping off his head. His blood splattering everywhere. She winced and pushed the bile back down her throat. Then she remembered what Eve had said. Gabriel was a Cimmerian who deserted them. But was it a ploy? She obviously could tell Eve was in love with him, but spoke bitterly of him. Did he really desert them and come to belong on the light side? Or was he scheming and plotting to get the Elementals captured?

“What are you thinking?”

She turned to face him, and backed up against a tree. Ava looked around. They were alone in the woods, yet she could still hear the fire crackling back at the cabins. She shivered, but not from the cold. Her pulse edged up a degree and her hands felt clammy. She wanted to get away from him.

He wrinkled his face. “What is it? You’re very pale.”

Her heart wouldn’t slow down. She dug her nails into the wet bark of the tree. Havok had gotten to her core. He’d stripped away any strength she had left. 

Savina had said none of it was real. But Ava knew what she felt. She knew what she saw. Gabriel was a traitor. “I want to go back now.”

“Okay, let’s go.” He offered his hand.

She hesitated. “I think I can walk on my own,” she said, keeping her voice level.

He nodded once and dropped his hand. She trailed behind him out of the woods, watching him closely. She tripped, and he steadied her.

“Please,” she whispered. “Don’t touch me.”

Gabriel removed his hands. They made their way back to the campsite, and Ava sat next to Lance in front of the fire. As soon as Gabriel walked away, she exhaled.

“I’m so glad you finally woke.” Lance placed an arm around her. “I didn’t know when you would. No one knows what happened to you. I know I may not show it, but this whole thing is tearing me to pieces. Eric and Sean have been helping me keep it together.”

“Why wasn’t anyone else affected by whatever this was?”

He scratched his thick beard. “I don’t know. The Elders don’t seem to understand it either. Havok wants all of the Elementals, but he got to you. Then again, Gillian has still been dreaming of Jeremy. She says they feel so tangible. And I still see Melissa. She keeps pressuring me to join and telling me she’ll hate me if I don’t.”

“This is Havok’s torture. But how could he have gotten to me? I’ve been working hard on strengthening my mind. I thought.”

“I don’t know. Everyone’s at a loss.”

“I can’t tell if this is real. I kept seeing things and feeling them. He made me watch.” She swallowed the marble in her throat. “Mel and Jeremy burn to death.” She choked on her tears and buried her face in his shirt. “They could show me anything. They showed my dad…” She squeezed her eyes shut.

Lance clutched her tighter.

“One of them told me Gabriel was a Cimmerian and came to Savina’s side. What if she was right? He could be a spy. He’s always around me and watching me.”

He looked down at her. “Have you seen the way he looks at you?”

“What?”

“I seriously doubt he’s a Cimmerian. I mean, he was a wreck the whole time you were out.”

“Don’t do that. I’m still having a problem getting over Peter.”

“I know.”

Ava frowned. “He came to my tent confessing his love for me and saying that he made a mistake.”

“What?”

“When I confronted him to tell him that I was done and that I couldn’t sneak around, he acted like he had no idea what I was talking about. How could he do that?”

“Are you sure it wasn’t part of Havok’s torment?”

“I don’t know how long he’s been in my head. But it seems like something Peter would do.”

“I know Peter did a crappy thing by breaking your heart, but I don’t think he would go through all that just to hurt you again.”

“But he did.”

“Are you sure they weren’t dreams? Like the ones Gillian and I are having?”

“It was real. I could touch him.”

“Yeah so can Gillian and me.”

“I don’t know. I feel like you’re the only one I can trust now. What if Gabriel is a spy? What if he’s the reason I fell into a coma? What if—.”

“Stop, Ava. Let your mind rest. You’ve been through a lot.”

“Ava.” Peter sat next to her. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I’m sorry. I should have protected you better.” Frustration flashed in his brown eyes.

“As much as I would like to dislike you right now, it wasn’t your fault.”

“I’m still confused about that night, though. You said I came into you every night. I never did that.”

She stared at him. “You swear?”

“Yes. I hated hurting you, and I don’t plan on hurting you anymore. I’ll keep you safe from whatever keeps affecting you.”

Ava nodded. He walked across the campfire and sat on a log next to Eric.

Gabriel, Natalia, Sean, and Savina congregated around the fire with them. Ava watched them, especially Gabriel, whose eyes were trained on her. She still wasn’t sure if it was all part of Havok’s torture. But it would be the greatest torment of all knowing the people she loved and trusted so well turned out to be Cimmerians. What if they were all in on the ruse and were taking the Elementals to Caprington to hand them over to Havok?

Or were the dreams or visions designed to make her distrust the group? She had to know for sure. She would ask Gabriel if he had been a Cimmerian. And maybe that would give her the answer about her mother. Had she given up on Ava so easily?