Remnants of Ash (Reign of Fae Book 1) Read online

  “You bastard!” Chloe yelled, but she kept the pendant around her neck. She did, however, throw Professor Hadley’s favorite book at him.

  Bram dodged and let the book hit the wall behind him. A torn piece of paper floated down and landed near the book on the floor. Hadley had handwritten three simple words on it with a question mark. Two parts divided?

  “Who I am, or was, doesn’t change anything. I’m still me. And you know I’m not with them!” Bram spit the last word, like it was deadly poison on his tongue. “I don’t want any part of what they’ve done. You know that! I never lied about that.” He raked his hands back and forth over his buzzed haircut in frustration. “What should I have said? Hi, welcome to Professor Hadley’s class. Don’t mind me; I’m just the fae grading your papers. Or better yet: Sorry about the whole scorching the Earth thing, oh, and by the way, my real name’s War. That’s right, one of those four horsemen from your horror stories, your worst nightmares. Yes, I’m that monster… I’m a monster!”

  The silence that hung between them seemed like an eternity.

  “You could have told me,” Chloe finally said in a deflated tone. She thought about throwing something else, but her heart wasn’t in it anymore. His final admission, whether she had coerced it or not, had been full of regret and shame. The guilt he felt was almost tangible, like a winter wind blowing towards her, chilling the air between them. “Don’t lie to me again.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Or omit ‘extra information,’ or whatever you’re going to justify calling it in any future circumstance or situation. Just, don’t do that to me again.”

  He smiled briefly at her wording –her trying to trap a fae in a pledge –but he seemed to give it willingly. “I promise.”

  Chloe looked down at the professor’s book lying on the ground and felt guilty for throwing it. She looked at the paper again that had fallen from it, thinking it curious. Professor Hadley had been notorious for folding the book’s pages to mark his place, which had always made Chloe cringe. He’d never used bookmarks. She had a brief moment of hope that it could be of importance to their quest and not just a random notation about his favorite book.

  “What’s the opposite of death?”

  “What?” she asked, caught off guard.

  “Come on; you’re a bright human. This should be easy for you. What’s the opposite of death?” He seemed like a man on a mission, now, like the weight of the lie had been lifted, and he was going to reveal everything as if he had nothing to lose.

  “Life. Why? What does that have anything to do with…”

  “Mortimer is Death, but he is also life.” Bram cut her off. “He chooses death and darkness, blindly following his sister Avery’s schemes, all under the name of the Light.”

  “What?”

  “None of us are just one thing, Chloe, none of us. Light and dark, good and evil, we all have demons and better angels fighting within us, even the fae. A fae’s alignment is a deception, our biggest lie since the very beginning. Antiquated bullshit. It’s just another glamour. For some in the Light, like Avery, it’s a façade to hide behind and do evil. And for some in the Dark, it’s a way to justify their demons.”

  “Like Famke,” Chloe surmised.

  “Like me.” Bram’s response was immediate, almost instinctive.

  His words seemed protective in nature, like an older brother defending his… “Oh god, she’s your…”

  “Sister.” Bram’s voice was a whisper as he said it, as if that would make it disappear on the wind and be forgotten. “I lost her to the others long ago.”

  “She defied them, Bram; I heard her.”

  Bram shook his head. “And yet she stands beside them still, destroying your home, scorching your sky.” He looked at Chloe, catching the question that crossed her face. “What better way for Famine to thrive than to destroy the sun’s light?”

  “Your sister did all of this?” Chloe’s heart sank into her stomach.

  “Not all, but yes, she did this.” Bram nodded only once. “We horsemen have two sides within us, opposite, yet, equal halves, which make us whole. It’s our choice which side we give rise to. What side we fight for and what side we fight against. Famke made her choice.” Bram started walking towards Chloe. “And now I’m making mine.”

  Chloe didn’t know what to say. What could she say? She wasn’t afraid as he came near, either. Even with everything she’d learned, she knew who the real Bram truly was regardless of his name, and deep down, she still trusted him.

  “Tell me,” he whispered. He was right in front of her. “What’s the opposite of war?” Bram seemed defeated, as if he’d been fighting an internal battle that had been raging inside of him for a very long time. He was the strongest, most powerful being Chloe had ever met, yet, here he was in front of her, a feeble mortal, and he was the one who was vulnerable, defenseless, and exposed.

  “Harmony, peace…love.”

  At her last response, Bram fell to his knees in front of her as if he were begging her for forgiveness. “How do I explain something I’ve been running from my entire existence?” He clung to Chloe’s calves below her knees. “But you’re right; I should have told you.” He bowed his head. “It’s true. I am War. It’s what I am, but it’s not who I am. I am both of my two halves, Chloe. But I have a choice of which of them I follow. And I choose love.”

  Chloe dropped to her knees, cupped Bram’s cheeks, and made him look at her. His eyes lifted and searched hers. They were strong, sad eyes that had seen more of life than Chloe could ever imagine. Horrors, heroism squashed, and widespread hatred. War was a foe mankind had never conquered, but she didn’t care. Bram said all the horsemen had a choice, and so too did mortal men. War was only a whisper in the ears of men, they were the ones who chose to act. In those same sad eyes burned a love for humanity like Chloe had never seen. A shimmer of hope, possibly the hope that she could see all for which he felt penitent.

  Chloe kissed him then, just a chaste sweep across his skin. His lips were full and soft, but there was an underlying power to them, just like the man himself.

  Bram grabbed her hands, still cupping his face, and reluctantly pulled away to look at her. “Chloe, I’ve done…” He shook his head.

  She cut him off. “Shhh. No more talking.” Chloe didn’t want to think about what was right or wrong anymore, and she didn’t want to know what evil he had done in his long life, not then. At that moment, she just wanted to feel alive, to feel like there was something on the other side of tomorrow, something worth fighting for. “You’re still Bram. You’ll always be Bram to me.” Her hands trailed down to his chest. His breathing deepened, and his double heartbeat quickened under her touch.

  Bram leaned in and kissed her hard, his tongue seeking hers and finding it, curling and darting; he searched, and she answered. The beast within him growled its pleasure as his entire body rumbled. He was all male, animalistic, his sexual desire palpable. She could taste it on her tongue like the sweetest nectar of honeysuckle growing wild and free in the countryside. She couldn’t deny his inner beast was terrifying, and, yet, who he was as a whole was unbelievably magnetic. She was drawn to him, all of him.

  Chloe’s body ached for more physical contact, and the heat rising between her legs was unbearable. Bram must have sensed her arousal. His response was feral and possessive which only turned Chloe on more. With unbelievable strength, he gathered her into his lap, stood, and maneuvered them to the couch.

  As he sat down he pulled Chloe to him. She straddled his thighs, making his beast moan with pleasure even louder. The ground beneath them seemed to rattle under his power. Bram trailed kisses up her neck and found her mouth while his hands went to her trench coat belt and tugged without opening it. Her body purred in response. She wanted to feel his skin against hers, and his strong hands as they explored her body. But he pulled away then, as if wishing to make sure that was what she wanted, that he was what she wanted.

  Without a second though
t, Chloe reached out and started lifting Bram’s shirt over his head. He obliged by raising his hands and throwing his shirt to the ground. Her hands went to his chest, touching his chiseled muscles and caressing his heated skin with her fingertips. As he watched her, his hands moved to her outer thighs and squeezed, seeming to take care and use only a human’s strength. She smiled at his restraint. Being the one in control and setting the pace was like an aphrodisiac to Chloe. She untied her coat, exposing her bare breasts. Chloe couldn’t help herself as she licked her lips, savoring the sweet honeysuckle that lingered in the air.

  Bram watched her mouth and shuddered, grabbing her thighs near her ass and grinding her into him.

  "These. Off," she demanded, tugging the waist of his pants.

  He unzipped them and pulled them down while Chloe straddled him.

  She grabbed him then, and he gasped as she centered herself above him. They both moaned as she slid herself down the length of him.

  Bram's fingers reached between her folds. "Show me," he whispered against her mouth.

  Chloe kissed him. Her tongue danced out and demonstrated how she wanted to be touched. His fingers mirrored the movements of her tongue, tugging, teasing, and pulling all at the same tempo. It was glorious and maddening. Chloe arched her back at an almost inhuman angle and trembled. Bram's hand cupped her breast, tugging and teasing her nipple, not letting her fall backwards to the ground as she came. His other hand grabbed her ass, holding her in place, grinding himself deeper into her. With several long hard thrusts, he followed her over the edge of euphoria.

  Chloe and Bram held each other's’ gaze, neither wanting the moment to end as their breathing slowed in unison. They didn’t need words to fill the silence. The void of sound only seemed to strengthen the bond between them, as if nothing else in the universe existed.

  The sweat on Chloe’s skin began to cool as unfortunate sounds and smells from outside began to assault her again. It was a chilling reminder of what awaited them on the other side of their purely blissful encounter. Chloe bent forward and clung to Bram’s neck, hugging him tight.

  Bram covered them in her coat as they embraced. She focused on just their breathing and tried to tune out the rest of the decaying and rotting world outside. Bram squeezed her even tighter, as if he sensed what she needed, and never intended to let go.

  Chloe woke, and for the first time in days, she felt at peace, if only for a moment. Not wanting the moment to end, she refused to open her eyes and savored the feeling instead. She could feel the reassuring warmth coming off Bram and heard him breathing beside her. The moment was so serene; she could almost imagine the sun shining in, filling the room with a warm glow and birds chirping outside. Almost. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and looked up at Bram, dimly lit by the candle burning in the corner. The dark sky outside still had its eerie amber glow. At least that let her know it was daytime. Bram was propped up against a pillow staring down at her, greeting her with a soft smile and an unexpected tear which fell onto his cheek.

  “Good morning,” he whispered. “I’ve seen many beautiful things in my life, but they all pale in comparison to you. Seeing you wake up so peacefully in the midst of such devastation. Humans are resilient creatures, and they never cease to amaze me. You’re amazing, and you’re beautiful, Chloe.” The tear glistened in the candle’s light.

  Chloe sat up and wiped it away, replacing it with a kiss. He shuddered in reaction, and his breath left him, like an infinite weight had been lifted from him with her pure gesture of kindness and love.

  Just then, a thunderous boom echoed forth. It seemed to have emanated from between them, radiating out into the room and dissipating just as quickly. She couldn’t explain it, but it felt like something in the universe had shifted.

  10

  Dead Men Do Tell Tales

  “What was that?” Chloe asked. Confused but not alarmed, she wiped his wet cheek as they looked at each other.

  “Corda aeternum.” His voice was raspy, but he still seemed content.

  Chloe instinctively reached out and touched Bram’s chest, but that time, she could only feel one distinctive heartbeat. The echo of the second heartbeat was gone.

  Bram looked down at the pendant clinging to Chloe’s skin and smiled. “The heart-stone, it belongs to you now.” He leaned in, his single pulse thrumming louder and faster in anticipation of their kiss.

  Chloe’s eyes started to close. She felt his heartbeat quicken even more under her fingertips. But the faint pulse resonating inside the heart-stone remained slow and steady –it too reduced to only a single heartbeat.

  She bolted upright suddenly. “Wait, what did you just say?” She felt like she was going to go into shock from the revelation. “Corda aeternum, not cor aeternum? You said ‘hearts eternal,’ plural, but then you said ‘heart-stone,’ singular? Holy shit!” She untangled herself from Bram’s embrace and got dressed, not waiting for him to answer. “It didn’t say two parts divided; it said two hearts divided. Holy shit!”

  “What did?” Bram asked, following her lead and quickly getting dressed.

  “Hadley’s note! It fell out of his favorite book when it hit the wall. I couldn’t decipher his shorthand from across the room last night. And in his notes upstairs, he kept interchanging the singular and plural Latin meanings for heart. It was driving me crazy. I thought it was just a mistake, but it wasn’t!”

  “So what are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that I think I just figured out how to end the scorch!”

  “Holy shit!” he said, sharing in her jubilation.

  Suddenly, they were jolted from their joy by a cry for help. It had come from outside. “Help!” came the man’s plea again.

  Chloe and Bram rushed to the window and searched the shrouded cemetery. It was morning, barely, and the darkness caused by the scorch made it nearly impossible for Chloe to see anything with her human eyes. “Please, don’t say we can’t save them all,” she pleaded.

  “It’s Laszlo; come on!” Bram ripped nails and boards barricading the front door away and rushed outside.

  Chloe’s heart swelled with pride. She smiled and followed, hot on his heels. As they entered the cemetery, she pulled the sword from its holster and made quick work of two scabs before the sword even had time to catch fire, Bram constantly looking back to check on her. His eyes had a glow of pride to them.

  “Laszlo!” she called, holding up the sword like a beacon for her friend to find.

  Laszlo ran towards Chloe with an injured man in tow as they both tried to fend off the pack of scabs surrounding them. Bram rushed the pack and cleared a path for the men. Chloe watched Bram in awe. He was in his element, and Chloe had to admit it was magnificent, almost elegant, to watch.

  “What are you doing out here?” she quizzed Laszlo as her blade turned one of the last scabs to cinders.

  “Tryin’ to give Sam’s wife a proper burial. Sam, are you…” Laszlo had to catch his breath.

  “I’m alright, just twisted my ankle climbing out of the hole. I’m so sorry, Laszlo. This is all my fault. I could’ve gotten you killed. I just… I couldn’t bear to see her like that any...” Sam’s voice trailed off as he grieved in breathless silence.

  “How did you get here?” Chloe asked.

  “Navy girls and boys’ve been patrolling Bremerton on foot, what’s left of them anyway, trying to drive out these things. They’ve been gathering people as they go, pooling skills and resources, asking for volunteers for essential jobs and the like. There’s even talk of starting a field of crops with the hopes of harnessing the sun’s light in some way from what I keep hearing.” Laszlo had to take another heavy breath. “Anyway, they were gonna circle round the cemetery doing reconnaissance, giving us time to lay Karen to rest, but I guess these ones got through.”

  “We’re, we’re fighting back?” Chloe couldn’t believe it. Her heart swelled again with hope and pride.

  Laszlo nodded. “Yep.”

  “And your wi
fe, is she…” Chloe was almost afraid to ask.

  “She’s good; she’s good. Stayed behind to help Sam’s son with his kids.”

  Chloe couldn’t put her finger on it, but Laszlo seemed different somehow. He wasn’t the confident bosun she’d met on the ship. Her suspicions were almost confirmed when Bram walked up and put a friendly hand on the man’s shoulder. He would barely go near Laszlo on the ferry.

  “You two alright?” Bram asked.

  “Guess my guardian angel is still looking out for me,” Laszlo stated.

  “Guess so,” Bram agreed.

  Chloe smiled at Bram. “What happened to Mr. Help-one-or-save-them-all?”

  “You showed him another way. A better way.” He smiled back at her before turning his attention to the opposite end of the cemetery.

  A large group of humans had entered the cemetery and were walking towards them. There were civilians; men, women, and children, mixed in with men and women wearing military fatigues. Some were holding guns and makeshift weapons, and others were holding bodies. A mixture of emotions hit Chloe all at once. Pride in her fellow man, sadness for their losses, and a love for Bram, no matter who or what he used to be.

  A bird’s loud caw drew Chloe’s attention up into the amber sky right before a sudden loud boom rumbled through the ground under their feet. Seconds later, she saw the orange glow of the explosion as it erupted up into the air. “Shit!” She yelled out. It had originated right where the ferry was docked. Chloe’s heart sank into her stomach.

  Bram started laughing. It was an unconstrained, deep-in-the-belly laugh that would have been contagious if it weren’t for the fact that the ferry had just been blown up.

  “What is so funny? Unless you saw something else even remotely seaworthy, we are pretty much stuck here now!” Chloe shouted as a bird cawed above them again. What the hell is that? she wondered. Come to think of it, she hadn’t heard bird calls of any kind since the scorch had begun. No, that wasn’t quite right. There had been one time she could recall hearing birds chirping happily. The Spree!