Burning Bridges (43 page)

T W E N T Y
–

N I N E

Echo

M
other
’
s chamber floor was darker than I expected. The torches that usually lit the hallways had long burnt out and I walked in silence. I gripped the sword in my hand, running my fingers over the diamonds set in gold and
whispering words of encouragement to myself. Though I was fully aware that I was alone, I didn
’
t buy into the false victory for a second. Mother wouldn
’
t just be sitting around and waiting for me, nothing ever worked out that easily. The most I could hope for was that Isobeli was near. And alive.

I reached Mother
’
s door and mustered up all the courage I had to open the door. It cried out on its hinges as I flung it open.
Grasping the sword at my side,
I slowly entered the room and took note of the curtains, the vanity, and the empty bed. Everything looked the same, so I didn
’
t bother to go
snooping
. I was only looking for Mother and so far I hadn
’
t found her.

I suddenly heard splashing in the bathroom and moved towards it without thinking.
“
Mother?
”
I said, opening the bathroom doors.

I found Mother on a bench beside the tub and watched her dip her fingers into the water. She smiled to herself and sighed.
“
The brush. Bring it here, Echo.
”
She said, staring straight out. I opened my mouth to ask how she knew
it was me, but she quickly added
,
“
Hurry. We haven
’
t much time.
”

The brush. She must
’
ve been talking about the brush she
’
d sent me, because I had no other. I untied it from the strap on my thigh where I
’
d hid it from the guards underneath my dress. The act caused me to remember that I
’
d lost the necklace from Ayden. Of course a sensible person would say it could be re-bought, but the necklace was a one of a kind and it meant everything to me. I
sighed and gave the brush to
mother.

“
Sit,
”
she
instructed
, pointing
to the ground below her. I sat and I had a mental flashback of this very moment, just somewhere else. The room zoomed in and out of focus as Mother untied my hair and began brushing
through it
.
“
Dreams, Echo, they will be your power and your only weapon in this war. The enemy is great, but you will be greater if you would just trust yourself.
”

“
What dreams, Mother?
”
I mumbled. A brush through my hair felt magnificent, I
’
d forgotten how much I loved it when I was small.

“
Close your eyes and
see for yourself.
”

I did as I was told and as soon as my eyes were shut, the normal
darkness that would overcome me was replaced with a very bright light.
It erupted and a thousand images flooded through me at once. One
of Ayden fighting Noah, another of Adamo and Ciprean taking down a guard at the borders, and the last of Issy running down the streets of Thediby as if she was being chased. The images changed before I could piece them together and my mind raced to keep up with them.

The next images surprised me even more.
The first was of Old Haven wreck
ed
and desolate. Broken homes and burning buildings. Though Old Haven was bleak compared to New Haven, it didn
’
t look as grave as this. Images changed and it showed people from Old Haven running thro
ugh the border and meeting
those of
New Haven
in a futile fight. A tear rolled down my cheek at the sight of all the dead souls
stacked
on top of each other
like a monument worthy of praise.

That
’
s when I remember
ed
my dream and the mountain I
’
d seen. No, not a mountain, b
ut a
heap
of rotting bodies.

“
What was that?
”
I whispered
, opening my eyes
.
The bathroom came back into view and I sighed.

Mother stopped brushing my hair and whispered back,
“
We only dream of things we know and people that we
’
ve seen.
”

“
And what is that supposed to mean?
”

Mother chuckled and handed me back the brush.
“
You have much to learn about where you come from, Echo. You are the only one of your kind—a Hunter and a Warrior. You don
’
t under
stand the kind of power you withhold
.
”

I stood to my feet and stared down at her.
“
You have to tell
me what
’
s going on.
What are these images?
”

My mother looked away from me then and glanced out the window instead.
“
You should go
. You
’
ve already wasted enough time. Isobeli…she needs you.
”

“
What?
”
Pieces of my dream
came back to me and I remembered seeing a dying, helpless Issy. I didn
’
t have the strength to give in to the fear, but it was there and it was waiting.

I had to find her.

“
Mother, we need to go. Ayden and I have—
”

“
It is too late for me, Echo. Go now, before it is too late for you as well.
”

“
But—
”

“
Go!
”

I
sprinted
through the open doors and fled down the stairs. When I reached the foyer, Ayden was gone.
I wanted to throw my hands up in frustration, but there was no time for a tantrum. I just hoped he was all right. Checking for signs of guards, I made my way out of the building and took in the harrowing sight. People ran wildly down the streets: some chasing, some being chased. A group of guys were busy pushing down a lamppost and it fell into the street, glass shattering everywhere on the sidewalks. A woman across the lane held a torch to a building and I watched as it slowly caught aflame and began to burn from the bottom up. I
’
d only heard of something like this once and they were always stories told from the hearsay, never facts.
It
’
d only happened once in Alwaenian history and that was when King Valentine had been murdered

We
’
d started a massacre.

An ear-piercing screech caught my attention and I followed it in hopes of finding Isobeli.
I rounded a street
,
and
as I suspected, I found her. But it wasn
’
t how
I wanted to see her
, not at all. Seeing her crumble to the floor in a heap
of blood
broke my heart to no end. I ran to her, and just like in my dream
,
I stumbled every step of the way there
.

“
Issy?
”
I whispered, pulling her to me. Blood covered the front of her dress
and her
skin felt clammy and cold.
“
Gods, Issy what happened to you?
”

“
Echo?
”
she muttered.

“
Yeah, it
’
s me. Who did this to you?
”

Instead of answering me
, Isobeli held up her hand and showed me a rutted piece of paper covered in her blood. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I took it and read: You did this. I noticed the handwriting right away
—the King
’
s, the man who I thought had been my father for seventeen years but now wanted to see me dead.

I to
ok her face in my hands and demanded
,
“
Tell me who did this to you.
”

“
Si…
Silas,
”
Issy stuttered.

My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach and I felt the need to vomit.
The man could evoke such feelings, but they were stronger now than ever before. I held Issy close to me and forced her to stay awake, desperate with my will to keep her alive.

Where was Ayden? Where was the righteous King in all of this? Why weren
’
t the other cities doing something?

Horse hooves thudded against the pavement behind me and I turned to see Adamo on a white stallion. I wanted to question him, but Adamo was his own kind of crazy.

“
Get her out of here,
”
I called to him
, holding Issy in my lap
.
“
I need to find Ayden.
”

“
Did
you talk with the King?
”
he asked.

“
No. He hid from us like a fool. The only thing he offered was this.
”
I threw the piece of paper up to him
and Adamo read it silently.

“
A damn fool he is. But we need to get out of here before things get crazy.
”

“
Crazier than this?
”
I
cried
, motioning to the screaming mass of people around us
.
“
Al
l R
oyals have seemed to disappear and you do not cal
l that crazy?
”
I held Isobeli to me and carried her to the horse. She mumbled something incoherently, but that was enough to tell me she was alive. She slumped against Adamo and he cringed.

“
Don
’
t get my friend killed,
”
he sneered.

“
Wouldn
’
t even dream of it, Adamo. I love him just the same.
”
I watched as people terrorized the city and frowned.
“
Where are all the guards
in this
?
”
The sun
had begun to set
and
a weary orange glow took the city.

“
Dead. All of them. Now find Ayden and get
back to the clearing
.
T
he plan didn
’
t work, Echo.
I
’
m sorry.
”

“
Did we lose anyone?
”

“
No.
”
Adamo readied his horse and held onto Isobeli.
“
Be careful out here.
”

I nodded and Adamo rode away, the white stallion a gleam in the setting sun.

T H I R T Y

Echo

I
went back into the Royal arena to search for Ayden.
A mass of people had crowded into the foyer and I immediately thought the worst. My heart pounded in my ears with a staccato ferocity you
’
d only hear when the love of your life was in danger, that moment of complete apprehension and the only thing that mattered was them.

Running through the screaming crowds and pushing people away, I wondered if love was truly worth all this, if this was the price I could afford pay.
I
’
d known the consequences would be great, but I relied
too
fully on
the bond I shared with Ayden to help us survive this. We were strong, and stronger together, but it only took the death of one to ruin the other. It would take what freedom and hope I had. If a day without Ayden made breathing impossible, living a life without him wasn
’
t fathomable. He was the lifeline I needed to keep my head above the water, my only rescue against the storm. Hunter or not, I loved him.

I made it to the center of the foyer, bodies packed around me, and searched for Ayden
’
s face. My eyes frantically searched the place, but still found no signs of him.

“
Burn it to the ground!
”
the
crowd yelled. A window smashed and shards of glass flew everywhere.
The
people had gone mad and seeing as the Royals had vanished,
they were
taking their frustration out on anything they could get their hands on. They
’
d lost themselves in a frenzy
even lost to this world.

“
Echo!
”
someone
yelled.
I whirled around and dove through the crowd in the direction of Ayden
’
s familiar v
oice
. I looked for his
face and the traces of violet
, but I stared back into
unfamiliar brown eyes that seemed bottomless and cold.

“
Ayden!
”
I screamed back, my voice cracking. The air grew stiff as I continued to push my way through throngs of people. I had long left the foyer and escaped into the bowels of the arena.
Marble floors and glass ceilings were replaced with dirt-packed walls and cement. After spending a whole night down here in imprisonment you would think one got used to the screaming, crying, and the sounds of people being beaten mercilessly. But you couldn
’
t—wouldn
’
t. As you slept curled up on the sodden floors wet with your own blood, it was all you thought about. Death always had a mysterious way of greeting people.

A loud grunt came from down a dark
hallway and I turned to
follow it. Blood colored the walls and the floors, casting an eerie vibe to the chambers. The place was death incarnate, meant to trap souls of the damned. Though I had indeed spent a night down here, I
’
d closed myself off to everything till the point where I couldn
’
t feel. Twenty-four hours had been spent away from him, twenty-four hours of thinking he
was dead. If tears could measure pain
I was sure I
’
d endured enough for the both of us.
The sword sheathed on my hip had never felt so heavy.

“
Ayden?
”
I whispered, entering the sector. The smell of death—stale and rancid in every way—burned my nose and se
nt a retching feeling through my gut
.
I swallowed it down and moved further into the room.

Ayden sat unmoving in a chair, thick ropes tying him down.
Scars and blood covered his body and
if
it wasn
’
t for the slow movement of his chest, I would have thought him dead.
I stopped worrying about the pace of my heart for the moment and ran to him, lifting his head to inspect the cuts on his face.

“
Ayden. Ayden, wake up!
”
I tapped his face and pushed the hairs out of his face. He still sat unconscious, but he was breathing.
I unsheathed the sword from my waist and slashed the thick ropes in half, untying the rest from around his legs and wrists.
“
I
’
m getting you out of here.
”

“
Echo…
”
Ayden
murmured. I pulled his arm over my shoulder and held him around the waist. When I tried to pick him up, he screamed out. The minute he stopped breathing would be the death of me, and I wasn
’
t ready to give up yet. No, not on him.
“
No, Echo. Don
’
t…
”

I
blinked
the tears from my eyes and
held him tighter
.
“
Ayden, look at you. I need to get you to the garden.
”

“
Cyrus,
”
he whispered.

“
What?
”
I looked up the same moment I heard the door slam and the lock slide into place.
I looked into the darkness before me and froze. A figure moved from behind the door and the fear that had been lurking behind all this time finally seeped its talons into my throat.

Noah.
             

“
I can
’
t say that I
’
m surprised you came back for him, Echo.
”
Noah crooned. He stepped out of the shadows and I noted his all-in-black outfit and the tattoo at his nape. I never noticed it before, but with the deep collar he wore, it was easy to tell the tattoo was of an asp.

“
Get out my way,
”
I berated.
“
Do you not see the war outside? There is no time for your little game!
”

Noah moved closer to us and I took the next step
back. Ayden groaned and clung to me.
“
Oh, I see what
’
s going on. Great, isn
’
t it?
”

“
Great? There
’
s a massacre going on out there! You should worry about escaping yourself. It seems the King has fled his kingdom.
”

“
For now, yes,
”
he said to me. Noah glanced at Ayden and smiled.
“
It
’
s all a part of the big plan, Echo. Hasn
’
t anyone ever told you that everything happens for a reason?
”

Ayden mumbled and he struggled to open his eyes through swollen lids. When his head
slumped
against my shoulder, I thought he
’
d fallen beneath the wings of unconsciousness again.
Instead, he whispered,
“
Don
’
t move,
”
and reached for my waist to draw my dagger.

I went on like nothing had transpired.
“
What big plan? To ruin New Haven and kill thousands of people? Is that your idea, Noah, really?
”
Furtively, I eyed the door and its lock.
No keys;
I only had to
slide
it open and we were out.

“
Not just my plan,
Echo,
”
Noah said, his voice resonating
off the walls.
“
The people
’
s plan.
”

“
Now I know
you’re
crazy,
”
I murmured.

Noah
’
s eyes flashed to me and they sunk into a deeper grey-brown.
“
Am I? I
’
ve anticipated this day for so long, a massacre that will finally put an end to the waiting. Not only is our victory within reach, but the construction of a new nation is already in procession.
”

Ayden whispered in my ear,
“
When I count to three, go for the door.
”
I sighed in response, but didn
’
t look at him.

“
That
’
s nice to hear, Noah, but whatever you
’
ve planned, I don
’
t want to be a part of it.
”

“
Oh, no. Never you. You
’
ll just g
et in the way like you always have
. The King was right.
”

And that
’
s when it finally clicked.
“
You are a conspirator, aren
’
t you? In allegiance with the King.
”
It seemed so crazy spoken aloud, but the talks of a new nation gave him away.

Noah
’
s smile widened, and he said,
“
You
’
re smarter than I thought.
”

“
But why would a King want to ruin his own kingdom?
”
I asked incredulously.

Ayden silently counted to one.

“
This is not a kingdom, Echo. Compliance is the key, and with it we hope to achieve nothing but greatness.
”

I snarled.
“
You are very vague.
”

Noah cocked his head and took another step towards us with his hands deep in his pockets.
“
Do you understand that Cyrus does not have complete control? He is King, yes, but there are others. What would happen, do you say, if all the other Kings were to die?
”

I held my breath.

Ayden counted to two.

“
What have you done?
”
I asked breathlessly.

“
With
three other
Kings out of the way and Old Haven soon blown to smithereens, we will rule.
”
A cryptic look took
Noah
’
s face and I shied
away. It was amazing how much people could change right before your eyes. I
’
d thought Noah to be a rich Prince who had no morals, but now I was looking into the eyes of my very enemy. At that moment, I didn
’
t know who I was more afraid of: the King or Noah.

“
There
’
s just one problem
with your plan,
”
I said to him
. His eyebrows arched as he regarded me.
“
I
’
m not dead yet.
”

“
Three!
”
Ayden shouted. He moved from me
and I darted for the door. Ayden had always been deft when it came to fighting, but with a wounded leg it seemed almost impossible how fast he
’
d moved.

Noah seemed startled, but quickly reacted to the dagger Ayden had pointed at his chest
.
“
Echo, go!
”
Ayden shouted. I stared back at the door, and then at Noah wrestling to get the dagger. They fell to the floor and Ayden quickly threw a punch to Noah
’
s face. I frowned, my hands gripping my sword and itching to do something, and decided I wouldn
’
t run anymore. I was a Tigress and I was going to fight as one. I wasn
’
t leaving Ayden to battle a war alone.

Noah kicked Ayden in the chest and Ayden fell back against the stoned wall with a grunt.
The dagger slipped from his reach and Noah moved to get it.
“
Touch it and I
’
ll kill you,
”
I reprimanded. My breathing grew heavy and I began to see red. Not only did he hurt Ayden, but he
’
d raped me free of
the
freedom
it
’
d taken me everything to attain.

“
You
’
re brave,
”
Noah said. He moved away from the dagger and as soon as he
’
d
gotten
far enough from Ayden, I kicked him in the gut and threw him to the ground with another kick to his groin.
Taking his hands and twisting them behind his back until I heard a crack, I pressed his face to the cold wall and kept my eyes on his feet.