A Circle of Crows (21 page)

Finally managing to get to her feet, she ran again and burst through the door. The crows were swirling outside the window and hitting the glass so hard, several had knocked themselves unconscious and were lying on the ledge outside. Eva had shut two of the three bedroom windows. As Morgana flew for the third, she stopped, transfixed for a split second as a huge magpie made its way directly for her hands. Morgana heaved on the window with all her might. As the window came down, it caught the bird halfway through and crushed its thorax as she slammed it shut.

Eva flew to her side and grabbed Morgana's legs. Grandma entered the room just in time to see the last of the magpies ricochet off the window again, and she uttered, “What in the world?"

No, not from this world, Grandma.

Chapter 36

Bella was trembling at the sight of the bawling baby. The poor child was writhing in pain as he turned a horrible shade of puce before her eyes.

Frozen with panic, her normally logical mind fought to come up with a plan, but her maternal instincts were raging, and all she could manage at the moment was to shake with rage at the sight of this female monster before her.

The queen mixed the second vial and held it in her lily white hand, black fingernails working furiously with it; while Maximus approached Hope, who had also begun to wail the moment her brother started, as if in anticipation.

With absolutely no plan whatsoever, and in a blind rage, Bella picked up a small, but heavy decanter and hurled it at the queen's outstretched hand.

The black vial shattered, and in turn, cut the queen's hand which began to smoke.

"It is the nursing wench! She is awake! Kill her!” she shrieked as the red-black blood streamed down her wrist and splattered onto the altar.

Immediately, four guards came at Bella. She flew past them and scooped Hope into her arms and held the child close.

"You will have to kill me. You will not touch her!” Bella screamed incoherently.

"That would be our aim,” said Maximus as he approached her, “however, I am sure Her Highness would not mind if your death were delayed a few hours."

She could smell his sour breath and the scent of sulpher clung to his clothes. Actually closing her eyes in an attempt at denial, she knew she had no plan for escape; her body was near collapse from exhaustion, so she was not sure if she could even raise her hands to fight him off.

Beginning to cry when she accepted that her life would be ending here, she was saddened by the knowledge she would never see her husband again.

Maximus raised his hands to her, then stopped short and wavered. His eyes had grown very wide as if seeing an unknown foe, and he coughed once, spitting blood all over Bella's chest and face.

She moved quickly to avoid being buried by his massive frame when he collapsed in front of her, a flaming arrow protruding from his back.

When she heard her name called, she raised her face.

Raena was running across the room to her. Along with Colin. She was saved!

Colin was subduing officers right and left; through proximity with swords and distance with arrows. The queen had picked up Cullen and retreated to the back of the tent, searching for an exit.

Colin hesitated momentarily when he caught sight of his odd-colored son, screaming and wriggling in the queen's clawlike hands.

"Stop, woman. Do not take one more step, or I will cut you down. Do not think I cannot do it, as my aim never falters."

"Your aim may never falter, Colin of the White Guard, but I may have to shift your son for my own protection."

Colin's eyes blazed with hatred, but he lowered the bow. Taking this as a sign of weakness, the queen turned and faced a large square object covered with a fur.

She reached up and slid off the covering, revealing a large, golden mirror.

Rae looked for Bella, but after handing Hope to her, Bella had fled in search of Finn in the other chamber of the tent. The mirror was somehow familiar, but Rae could not place where she had seen it before.

The queen waved her hand in front of it, then she touched one of the engraved birds on the side of the mirror. Suddenly, the Caves of Sinnistrada appeared and they could see Hyde lying very still on the ground. The only sign of life was the tiny tendrils of smoke coming from his nose.

"Colin, she's going to escape and sacrifice Cullen to Hyde!” screamed Bella. “She poured a black elixir into his mouth minutes before you arrived."

Looking thunderstruck, Colin raised his bow and aimed directly for her head, since it was turned to the side.

The queen heard the whizzing noise and instinctively ducked. The arrow clipped the mirror, and one of the golden crows were decapitated.

"Fool. I have not survived two hundred years to be killed by the likes of you!” she screeched.

The surface of the mirror began to swirl and change images, Hyde disappeared from view. Images flashed at set intervals; a pond surrounded by small children and their parents, a huge lake surrounded by hills of slag and rubble, a pond behind a large home—

"Bella, that's the inn! That's the pond behind the inn!” screamed Raena, who had moved behind Colin and was still clutching a screaming Hope to her chest.

Then the image changed again. Raena shook her head in disbelief. She frantically turned to Bella to see if her sister was seeing the same thing. Bella stood transfixed and actually looked as if she might faint. Rae hurried to Bella's side.

"That's our attic, and the back of Sam's head,” she said incredulously.

"Yes, you silly girl,” cackled the queen-crone, “Your home harbors the only other doorway not found in nature. I thought surely Moira would have told you of it."

"W-What?” stammered Bella, growing ever closer to fainting with each word.

"You're the subject of the portrait in the Winter Room!” said Raena. The picture had been in her room as a little girl, and she had stared at it for hours at a time when she was grounded as punishment.

The image quivered and became less blurry. In the attic, huge black crows were perched everywhere. The trap door reopened and Rachael and Sam were ascending the stairs to the room.

The queen took advantage of their distraction and went to touch a different carving when Colin launched another arrow, having watched the crone with his son in her arms the entire time. The arrow pierced her hand between the long bones of her palm.

The queen turned to them and said, “It is too late for this one, lad. He will never survive the tonic I have given him. Look at him. His life is already ending."

Now silent, Cullen's skin was now more reddish than the purple it was earlier. He was limp in her arms.

The crack in Colin's sanity was almost audible, and he charged her with his sword drawn. The door broke open and more of the Black Guard rushed into the chamber. Four guards attacked Colin and subdued him. One had his boot on top of Colin's head and began to twist his foot into Colin's skull mercilessly.

As the queen was about to find Hyde and finish her plan, a strange flapping sound was heard outside the tent. At first, the queen paid it no mind, for it sounded like a flock of crows. But then another sound was heard, one like the tinkling of bells, and a white light was shining under the tent flap.

The queen stood very still and her hand went to her side, her wound seemingly forgotten as blood streamed to the tent floor.

From their vantage point, they could see Sam and Rachael watching the scene in the tent. Their faces were horrified, and they were touching the outline of the mirror as the queen had been minutes before. They could not hear any sound coming through the mirror.

Sam stared directly at Bella and mouthed, “I love you."

Raena could feel Bella trembling beside her, and felt for Bella's hand.

A vibrating, resonant tone could now be heard, and everyone in the tent had fallen still to consider it.

Colin, with a look of recognition on his face, yelled, “Cover your ears!"

A horrible, yet beautiful, sound could be heard, one comparable to the mixing of beautiful accapello singing with the undercurrent of a roaring lion.

The tent flaps flew open and a blinding white light appeared, which shimmered and shined like an iridescent crystal. The babies stopped wailing and looked strangely at peace. Cullen opened his eyes and was staring directly into the light.

Colin, Raena and Bella closed their eyes. Raena leaned over and whispered into Bella's ear, “It's the Antioch, the healers."

Now it was the queen's turn to tremble. She lifted the baby up and made a threatening motion with her bloodstained hand. Before their eyes, an Antioch raised one glowing hand. The child floated across the room like an autumn leaf, and landed in front of Rae on the floor. She immediately picked him up and cradled both children to her.

The queen picked up a vial and threw it at the three Antioch blocking the entrance. A huge wind gathered in the tent and objects began to fly around the room.

During the chaos, Colin overpowered the guard holding him and killed all four of the others in less than two minutes. The mirror shimmered and they could hear Sam and Rachael beckoning to them. Rae and Bella hurried to the mirror with the babies.

Colin had fought off more men as they attempted to enter the room to aid the queen.

Bella turned to Rae and said, “It's time to go."

Raena looked deep into her sister's eyes as her own filled with tears and she said, “Bella, I'll always be with you."

"Oh no, Rae. Please. How will we go on...” And she stopped and looked at the babies in Raena's arms and began again, saying, “You're right. You are meant to be here.” She looked over at Colin and said, “Take care of him."

"Go, Bella. Go now."

As Bella slipped her foot through the mirror, her shape became fuzzy. Sam and Rachael could be seen pulling her through and out. The crows began to swarm from the attic, through the mirror and into the tent. Raena was knocked backward from the force of the flock's retreat.

Colin turned to look at Raena, and called, “Destroy it!” As if to assure her she made the right decision, he added, “My love."

Rae placed the screaming babies on the floor and turned to face her twin in the mirror, who had her hand on the glass. Rae put hers over Rachael's and began to sob.

"I know,” said Rachael evenly as tears streamed down her face, “do it, Rae."

Rae looked around, found a staff made of stone and picked it up. She closed her eyes as she slammed it into the mirror.

It cracked with a deafening sound like a thunderclap. Rae fell backward, then covered the twins to shield them from the glass which was flying around in the howling gale within the tent.

As the Antioch raised their voices to a deafening pitch, everyone staggered from the sound. The queen's eyes began to roll back in her head and her body began to tremble as if in a seizure. She was raised up into the swirling glass, crows and wind. There they circled for a minute like a macabre carousel ride.

When the Antioch closed their mouths, the sound ceased. The wind ceased. Everything that had been rotating in the air dropped to the ground, all at once.

The queen crouched, babbling incoherently. The crows were frozen solid.

The three white figures floated backward and disappeared through the tent flaps.

All was quiet.

Colin rushed over to Raena and enveloped her and the two children in his arms.

Outside, thousands of crows could be seen flying northward.

Epilogue

Raena sat in the rocking chair in front of the hearth, gently rocking the sleeping girl. She glanced around behind her and saw that Cullen had finally worn himself out, and had fallen asleep beside the shepherd pup they had gotten for him.

Her ring sparkled in the firelight, and she felt a pang of longing for her sisters. She could no longer say for the inn, though, because she knew the cottage was now her home. She no longer felt any longing for distant dreams, for she had daily adventures just trying to adapt to her new life—her
own
life.

Cullen was damaged, to be certain. But he was theirs, and they would deal with whatever untold horrors might await the innocent child. As he lay quietly now, he trembled slightly as he slept, and his eyelids did not close fully, as if he would never feel safe again.

She started as Colin slipped his arms around her and slid the sleeping Hope into her cradle. He turned and kneeled before her, then kissed her deeply.

She had never dreamt such feelings were possible. She had thought they were the stuff of fairy tales.

Bella rolled over and moaned slightly at the sound of Finn crying in the other room. She sat up and was dizzy from the lack of sleep.

Sam sat up and placed his hands on her shoulders, easing her back down.

"I'll get him. We have a lot of time to make up for, he and I.” And the dazzling smile that had hooked her in youth, flashed at her before she gratefully shut her eyes again.

Rachael brushed the hair from Eva's face and pulled the blankets up to her chin. She sighed contentedly in her sleep.

She made her way over to Morgana and checked to make sure she really was sleeping. To her relief, Morgana was. No nightmares tonight.

She wandered out of the room, followed by the Dodger—Rachael had decided she no longer hated him, since he was all she had left of Rae in the house.

In the library, she sat down and stared at the portrait of them all. She and the girls, and Bella with Sam and Finn, had sat for it some months ago. She stared into everyone's faces and was filled with mixed emotions.

Standing, she went to the light switch on the wall and raised her hand to it, then stopped. Looking over her shoulder, she said, “Good night, Rae."

In the end, she had given the painter a photograph of Rae, who had painted her into the portrait from its likeness. So there she was, captured in paint like the generations before her—standing in the back of the portrait, next to Rachael.

Rachael flicked the light off.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brynn attended the University of Pittsburgh and has a degree in Occupational Therapy. She lives in the woods of Pennsylvania with her husband and three sons, where she spends every free second escaping to her fantasy worlds, and putting them to paper. You can visit her on the web at: