Avow

CHAPTER 42

Team Awesome walked in silence through a dark tunnel as they neared the Fountain of Youth.

The tunnel fed into a large, open cavern with a tall ceiling that glowed a bright blue just like the walls below it. Dozens of other tunnels lined the chamber, their black mouths looking ominous under the pulsing blue.

And in the center of the chamber, standing tall and majestic, was a large tree.

The Avalon.

It rose from the earth with long, thick roots spreading across the cavern floor and a vast canopy of blue-tipped leaves stretching out over its mighty trunk.

Everything about the tree looked like life. Even the iridescent trunk under the leaves—which, according to the journal, was immediate death to anyone who touched it—was beckoning in its design. Its deadly beauty stood silent; waiting for a heart to give itself over in return for eternal water.

Scarlet could understand now how those who made it this far would be tempted to touch the great Avalon. Even knowing the death it brought, Scarlet couldn’t seem to pull her eyes away from the iridescent glow of life pulsing from its trunk.

“Wow,” Heather whispered. “It’s so beautiful.”

“Yes…” Scarlet cleared her throat. “But no one touch the trunk. A single touch is fatal and we are all mortal down here.”

Everyone slowly nodded with their eyes fixed on the iridescent beauty before them.

Gabriel said, “Where’s the water?”

Scarlet was hoping no one would ask that question.

“It’s coming,” she said, her insides pulling tight.

She looked at Tristan, then at Heather.

Her death for their lives.

It wasn’t even a question.

Suddenly, Ashmen poured from the tunnels around the room, some clambering over roots to get to the tree while others charged at Scarlet and her friends.

Heather bit at her nails.

The Ashmen nearest the tree turned to ash. A few more Ashmen tried to get close to the tree and they fell to ash as well. It was as if there was an invisible perimeter around the Avalon that prevented them from nearing.

Scarlet really hoped that perimeter was Ashman-specific and not another obstacle for her to overcome. The Ashmen heading for Team Awesome gained ground.

“What do we do?” Heather asked, half hiding behind Gabriel.

Tristan grabbed the bow from his back. “We fight.”

Gabriel looked at Heather intently. “You can do this.” He handed her a knife.

She nodded as Gabriel armed himself with his own knives, and Nate pulled a dagger.

Scarlet turned to Heather. “Stay right by me, got it?”

As the Ashmen closed in, Team Awesome parted ways. Gabriel and Nate went to the left, cutting through the oncoming Ashmen while Tristan headed to the right with arrows already darting through the air and sinking into Ashman hearts one by one.

Scarlet scanned the great, blue room for Raven, but saw no sign of the witch. Grabbing Heather’s hand, she headed for the Avalon. She grabbed the bow from her back and quickly drew arrow after arrow, shooting down the Ashmen that stood between her and the tree.

Heather held a knife in her hand as they moved forward and Scarlet tried to keep any approaching Ashmen at bay with her arrows.

Scarlet saw Tristan perched at the top of a large rock on the chamber floor, shooting arrows into countless Ashmen as they came for him. He didn’t see the Ashmen climbing up behind him.

Scarlet adjusted her bow and shot down the Ashmen at Tristan’s back, before turning back around to clear a path to the Avalon.

At the side of the room, Gabriel was steadily hacking through Ashmen as Nate held his daggers with a happy glint in his eyes.

Scarlet grabbed Heather’s hand, leading her over roots and ash toward the tree. But Ashmen continued to pour in from the tunnels, blocking their path.

She pulled Heather back and drew more arrows.

Bluestone axes, knives, arrows, maces…weapons of every type were clutched in the rigid hands of the Ashmen scattering through the cavern as they pressed in on them. Scarlet aimed, released, and retrieved. Over and over, ash falling everywhere.

She glanced at the rock where Tristan had been and found it abandoned. Panic sucked the heartbeat from her chest as she darted her eyes around the room.

She found him hacking through the oppressing Ashmen in the corner. He was steady and precise, but he was one against many, and his body was already covered in blood. A thick gash cut the side of his head and his back was slashed open.

She drew back and shot a few arrows into the Ashmen around Tristan, cutting down their numbers.

Heather screamed and Scarlet spun around as a heavy Bluestone axe came at her head.

She ducked, but not before the side of her face was nicked by the sharp blade. She put away her bow and grabbed two daggers, arming each hand. She started to wildly cut through the Ashmen coming at them. Ash flew through the air, spraying out across the cave floor and over the great roots of the tree.

Heather fought as well, hacking into the creatures coming at her. A blow to the back of Scarlet’s head caught her by surprise and she was thrown to the ground.

Blackness shut out her vision momentarily and when her sight returned, Scarlet found herself being yanked up by her throat as an Ashman lifted her off the ground and held her bleeding body above the chaos.

Below her, Heather was overpowered by two Ashmen who dragged her toward the Avalon.

No.

Scarlet kicked and flailed, but the Ashman pinched her throat tighter and she started to grow lightheaded as she watched her best friend being hauled away to be sacrificed.

Heather had been afraid—very afraid—when she saw the many Ashmen enter the caves. But Gabriel had told her he believed in her and, for some reason, that mattered.

So she’d fought. She fought to see her family again. She fought to help her friends. And she fought so she could one day buy another pair of pink heels that were prettier than the ones she’d lost during her kidnapping.

And killing Ashmen wasn’t so bad. They weren’t nearly as messy as killing, say…something that bleeds. And she hadn’t felt the need to vomit once. If this had been a vampire fight with blood flying around the room, she would have hurled in the corner.

So no throw up and no blood and Heather was fighting beside Scarlet—who was a serious badass with her bow and arrow. W-T-F was that all about?—and holding her own against the creatures coming at her.

But that was when it was only one Ashman at a time. When two had closed in on her, Heather had been lost.

Whose idea was it to let her come fight in this mess? She wasn’t a trained bus thrower like Gabriel, or Robin Hood wannabe like Scarlet, or a ninja assassin like Tristan—she so wouldn’t be surprised if that was his day job—she had no business jabbing butcher knives at supernatural creatures.

When she was taken captive by the two gigantic Ashmen—who Raven probably picked up at the bus throwing gym Gabriel went to—she was terrified. So she totally screamed like a girl. She kicked and yelled and felt hot tears push behind her eyes as the Ashmen carried her through the chamber toward the big, pretty tree.

Were they taking her to Raven? Were they going to kill her?

Bile rose up her throat.

The moment he saw Ashmen pouring into the chamber, Gabriel wanted to hide Heather in a corner. He didn’t know why he suddenly cared for the crazy girl fighting to be lucid, but he did. And he hadn’t cared about anyone—or anything—in centuries.

Heather was different than Scarlet—she was different than any other girl he’d known. And he’d known a lot of girls.

But none of them made him care like she did. She was light and joy and peace and renewal and if he did anything right in this damn cave, he was going to make sure Heather survived.

It was all he could do not to growl when Scarlet insisted Heather fight by her side. Who could better protect Heather than Gabriel? But he trusted Scarlet, so he’d acted like a man and gone off to fight the bad guys alongside Nate—who had not acted like a man.

“Dude,” Gabriel had said. “Quit saying ow every time you get nicked.”

“Nicked? Nicked? I have at least three cuts on my body that merit stitches. And one might even be worthy of full blown surgery.”

“Yeah. But do you have to say ow? Like out loud?”

“They hurt.” Nate had glanced over at Scarlet and Heather for the second time since they’d started fighting and nearly had his head chopped off by an Ashman.

“Scarlet’s got Heather. They’re fine. Concentrate on the zombies, man.”

Nate fought for a moment. “Ow.”

“Dude. Suck it up.”

“Well, maybe if I had my Thor hammer or if someone hadn’t lost my whip, I would be doing a better job. Ow.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes and a scream caught his ear. He turned and caught sight of Heather being hauled toward the tree by two Ashmen, kicking and crying.

Without thinking, he raced across the roots and discarded weapons on the ground and made his way to her. The Ashmen stopped a few feet from the tree, holding Heather as if they were waiting for something.

Gabriel raised one of his blades as he neared her captors, determined to slice them both in one swing. He started to bring his knife down when a sharp pain split through his back and into his chest.

There was a split second of nothing.

Then Heather wailed and somewhere far away was a roar.

Gabriel looked down at the Bluestone arrow protruding from his body and blinked.

“Gabriel,” Heather gasped. “No, no. Gab—“ She choked as she struggled to free herself from the Ashmen.

He stared at her tearstained face and something unfamiliar grew inside him. It filled him up as he fell into blackness. Making him less empty.

Oh.

He wasn’t empty anymore...

Tristan’s sole mission today—as every other day—was to protect Scarlet. Especially since she’d seemed so fearful this morning as he held her.

Someday, he was going to make sure she felt nothing but good things. No fear or sadness.

Just love and hope and all the other things he hadn’t been able to give her all these years.

After the Ashmen had flooded the chamber, Tristan had stood at the top of his rock and provided cover for Scarlet and Heather, while at the same time taking out the clambering Ashmen at his feet.

But then some asshole had thrown a mace at him—really? Throwing maces?—and it had cut him up and knocked him from his perch. Which of course had left him vulnerable to all the other Ashmen who wanted to smash his head in.

He’d gotten a little roughed up, but then he got mad and started taking out the jackass zombies in bulk. He’d been feeling pretty confident when he caught an Ashman charging at him with a mace—ugh, not again—from the corner of his eye.

He turned, but hadn’t been quick enough. Tristan braced for the blow, but before it came an arrow cut into the Ashman’s heart.

He turned to see Scarlet covering him from the center of the room and he beamed. He loved his thief in the woods. The girl archer who stole his deer and his daggers and his shirts was the keeper of his very heart.

He fought for another minute and a piercing scream cut into the room. Scanning the chamber, he found an Ashman gripping Scarlet by the throat as he raised her body in the air.

With fury in his veins, Tristan drew back and shot two arrows into the Ashman’s chest. Scarlet’s throat was released and she dropped to the floor, running toward the tree.

Tristan looked to the tree and saw Heather being held captive by two Ashmen and Gabriel running fast to her rescue.

Tristan drew an arrow to give Gabriel cover and then…

Then…

An arrow pierced Gabriel’s back, impaling him clean through to his chest.

Something was shaking inside Tristan. Some noise was rattling his insides. He didn’t realize he was bellowing into the cavern.

That was his brother bleeding across the room.

That was his brother falling to his knees.

His brother—his best friend—

No.

God, no.

Tristan was moving, but couldn’t feel his legs. He searched for the shooter and saw a flash of silver disappearing into a tunnel.

His insides were hollow and cold as he neared Gabriel, who was now in a heap on the floor, dark red blood spilling from his body. He wasn’t moving or breathing. He wasn’t…anything.

Tristan scanned the cavern for Raven. So help him God, he would rip her jugular from her throat.

He looked back at Gabriel’s bloody body and wanted to die.

With stinging eyes, he stood over Gabriel and swung his weapons in madness as his heart tore open.

Scarlet stared in disbelief at Gabriel’s impaled body.

No.

No.

She ran for Gabriel, but Nate stopped her. Scarlet couldn’t hear or see or breathe as she watched Gabriel drop to his knees.

No. No.

A roar sounded into the room and Tristan—murder on his face—raced to Gabriel, standing over his fallen body. He was slicing and jabbing and killing and crying. He was crying.

“Scarlet!” Nate screamed her name and her eyes dragged to his desperate face. “We have to save Heather! Are you listening? I need you to save Heather.”

Scarlet blinked and forced herself to keep from falling apart. She charged forward, choking on her anguish and determined to save Heather from this day of hell. This nightmare.

The Ashmen were holding Heather by the tree. She struggled against them, and Scarlet filled with fury. Heather did not deserve addiction or violence or death. She deserved life and love. She deserved to go to college and have a family and smell like cookies. She was the closest friend Scarlet had ever known, she was the reason Scarlet was brave, and she would not die.

Scarlet ran for the tree, chopping into any creature that stood in her way. When she reached Heather, she hacked up the Ashmen with malicious glee and set her friend free.

Scarlet moved Heather forward and placed her under the great canopy. “The Ashmen can’t get to you under the tree.”

Scarlet stared at the iridescent tree trunk and took a breath.

This was it. This was where her love outweighed her fear.

She looked at Heather. “After this is done, the fruit will appear.”

“After what is done?”

“Once the fruit appears, you have to grab it and run. Do not let Raven get the Avalon fruit. Do you understand?”

Prepared to set her hand to the fatal tree, Scarlet looked over her shoulder one last time and her heart stopped when she saw Tristan.

Ashmen bore down on him mercilessly as he stood fighting above Gabriel’s body. He was sorely outnumbered and cut and broken everywhere as he fought in a rage. There were too many Ashmen, he would never survive.

Knowing Heather was safe, Scarlet ran to help Tristan.

As she neared, she couldn’t help but see the boy he was long ago. Laughing in the trees. Smiling in the sun. She saw his green eyes trusting her, believing in her without question, and loving her through time and death all things broken.

She saw hope and love and forever.

She saw everything they’d suffered for, fought for, lived for.

And it was all falling apart right before her eyes as his attackers beat down on him.

He couldn’t die.

She wouldn’t let him die.

She began to cut through the army of Ashmen surrounding him. She sliced and slashed and growled and cried. And when she finally reached the center of the onslaught, her blue eyes found a set of green eyes and she suddenly knew everything was going to be okay.

Life.

Death.

It was okay. Because they were together.

Without a word, they stood back to back and started to battle against the Ashmen closing in.

They were losing, they were dying.

But they were together.

The cavern began to shake and the ground began to split open. The fighting stopped for a moment as the earth moved beneath their feet. Scarlet looked back at the Avalon to make sure Heather was safe, but froze at what she saw.

Nate had his palm pressed flat against the trunk of the tree, a look of surrender on his face as he stared at Scarlet.

“No!” She pushed out of the Ashmen—who had dispersed a bit with the earthquake—and ran to him, unable to breathe. “Nate!”

She reached him just as his body slid to the ground, his eyes tired and colorless, but he had no remorse on his face.

How did he--? Why would he—? No!

“Nate!” she screamed. “Wh—what are you doing?” Tears stung her eyes.

“I am giving you a chance to live.” His breathing was labored and she could see the life draining from his body—she could actually see it sweeping up through his arm and into the iridescent tree, glowing as it entered the trunk.

“No. No!” Her voice cracked as she tried to pry his hand away from the trunk. But the Avalon seemed to have a grip on him somehow and Scarlet’s desperate yanking was futile.

“Scarlet,” Nate said. “I have lived fully and loved deeply. I’m ready to die.”

“No!”

Tristan came up behind her with a horrified expression. “Nate! What are you—”

Nate’s face lost all color and his chest trembled.

Tristan crouched beside him. “You can’t do this!”

“You need the water.” His voice was breathy.

Scarlet kept pulling at his hand and body, tears falling down her face. “No. No, Nate. You can’t die.”

“Yes,” he said with a small smile. “I finally can.” He started to gasp. “Heal Gabriel. You all deserve a happily ever after.”

Scarlet shook her head and wrapped her arms around him. “Don’t die. Please, don’t die.”

His body trembled in Scarlet’s arms and then went lax as the last tremor of life left his heart.

The tree began to rumble, then down lowered a small branch, leafless and bright green with a blue tip. At the tip of the branch grew a small blossom shaped like an apple. Glistening red with iridescent colors of blue and purple and green shining off its glossy reflection, the fruit hung directly above Heather.

Heather reached up to grasp it but was thrown to the ground by Raven. She snatched the fruit from the limb with her gnarled, aged hands and smiled down at Heather. Raven opened her mouth to take a bite and Scarlet left Nate’s body and charged at her.

She knocked Raven to the ground, the fruit rolling from her hand as Scarlet grappled to overpower the witch. A hot pain cut into her arm and she winced, releasing her hold on Raven.

Raven held a knife in her hand, wet with blood from where she’d reopened Scarlet’s stitches and lunged at Scarlet with darkness in her silver eyes.

The knife came at Scarlet’s chest, but Raven’s body jolted and the knife fell from her hand as an arrow pierced her heart.

Then another arrow. And another.

Tristan stood behind Scarlet with his bow drawn and anger in his eyes.

“You cannot kill me,” Raven wheezed at him. “I have fountain water in my body.”

“Even better.” Tristan shot her again.

With Raven unable to move, Scarlet snatched up the fruit and gave it to Heather. The ground shook and the cracks in the chamber floor grew wider, but there was still no water.

Scarlet, Heather and Tristan turned from the tree and saw Raven’s army of Ashmen surrounding them on all sides. Waiting.

They were trapped.

Suddenly, the ground exploded with water pushing up through the cracks and flying up to the ceiling.

The Fountain of Youth.

The water began to fall down like a great rain, drenching everything in the chamber—including the waiting Ashmen, instantly turning them to ash and washing away their existence.

The cavern shook with more fervor and the water began to flood the room.

With their opponents defeated in one fell swoop, Scarlet looked at Tristan. “Gabriel!”

He was already headed to Gabriel’s body. Lifting his brother onto his back, Tristan threw a canteen at Scarlet. “We need to get out of here.”

Scarlet quickly filled the canteen and grabbed Heather by the hand, yanking her from under the tree. Raven was lapping at a puddle of fountain water beside her like a dog, arrows still lodged in her chest.

The Avalon began to creak and groan behind them, its massive branches swaying and twisting through the falling water. More water swelled up from the cracks and soon the cavern floor was a pool of blue.

“Run!” Tristan yelled, and they stomped through the rising water, splashing as fast as they could across the chamber to the tunnels. The water rose higher and began twisting with the tree. Faster and faster the water spun, until the cavern slowly morphed into a giant whirlpool.

The glowing blue walls began to dim, growing darker as pieces of the cave began to crumble from above. Tunnel after tunnel, the cave began to collapse, their exit options quickly diminishing. The whirlpool picked up behind them, spinning the air. Scarlet’s feet wouldn’t move fast enough.

They ran for the only remaining open tunnel as water sprayed up behind them and wind whipped at their faces. They reached the tunnel and a sound louder than thunder boomed throughout the cavern. Turning, Scarlet watched as the cave ceiling broke apart and fell into the whirlpool below. Raven, still lapping at the water like the addict she was, was swept up in the wild waters and sucked down into the narrow darkness of the whirlpool.

A hand snatched Scarlet’s wrist and yanked her deeper into the tunnel.

“Run, Scar!” Tristan carried Gabriel’s body as they raced ahead. The glowing blue walls grew darker as they ran, as if the cave itself was dying, and pieces of the floor broke underneath their feet.

Water spit into the tunnel, backsplash from the collapsing cave, and chased after them as they ran. The cave grew darker and darker until the pulsing blue was almost completely gone.

The angry water began to rise and push at their ankles, a giant wave building up behind them. Just when Scarlet was sure they’d drown in the massive torrent, she spotted a bright light ahead.

As they neared the light, Scarlet saw it was a narrow opening leading out to the forest. They clambered over crumbling rocks, wicked licks of water and broken earth to reach the light, then climbed out of the cave one by one, bursting into the Avalon forest.

They’d just started running through the trees when a loud groaning came from the caves behind them.

Scarlet could hear the roar of water as the wave that had chased them down the tunnel crashed into the hole they’d just climbed out of. Looking over her shoulder, she watched the great caves explode. Like a glorious geyser, water sprayed up from the hole and shot high into the sky.

Tristan hurriedly set Gabriel’s body on the forest floor. Scarlet handed him the canteen and, with shaking hands, he carefully tipped the spout to Gabriel’s mouth. “Come on, Gabe.” He said quietly.

No response.

Heather was crying as she bit her nails beside Scarlet.

Tristan tried again, lifting Gabriel’s head to ensure the water would go down. “Come on. Come on.”

Droplets of blue pattered on their heads as they waited with anxious hearts.

Gabriel coughed and his wounds began to heal.

Obvious relief ran through Tristan as he rubbed a hand down his face and guided the water back to Gabriel’s mouth.

Gabriel took a deep gulp and sat up. “Wha—what happened?”

Tristan grasped his shoulder then slapped his arm around Gabriel in a hug. “Doesn’t matter. You’re alive.”

Now that they were out of the cave, Tristan’s emotions were swarming back into Scarlet.

Relief. Loyalty. Joy. Love.

Heather reached for the canteen and started to bring it to her mouth—

Scarlet snatched it away. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t know,” she said as she chewed on her lip. “I just really, really want some. And I can’t control my hands and I feel super crazy right now.”

Scarlet nodded to the fruit in her hand. “Eat that and you’ll feel better.”

Heather took a bite, juice spilling down her chin as she began to devour the Avalon fruit with her eyes closed. “Ah. This is delicious.”

Scarlet handed the canteen to Tristan.

He inhaled deeply and took a drink.

Instantly, Scarlet’s body began to feel different. As the water undid all the immortality inside his heart, the immortal blood inside her heart vanished as well, cleaning away the curse that had stained them for centuries. Her body became more and more mortal until she no longer had Tristan in her veins.

His battle wounds began to heal as he pulled the canteen from his lips and looked at her. “Did it work?”

She smiled and nodded her head. “We’re cured.”