Ash Fallen Read online

  Ash nodded and stood to his feet. He left the room, the words of the Discerner weighing heavy on his mind. And soul.

  Rosalie awoke to a tapping on her bedroom door. The early morning light was streaming through the window. Ash had left her about an hour before to join his men for their morning training regimen. While wiping the sleep from her eyes, she wondered if he forgot something – though she was curious why he’d knock.

  She crept to the door and peered through the peephole. An elderly gentleman with long, silvery hair and a wiry beard stood outside her door. His face was etched in hard lines and stippled with liver spots, but his eyes were kind – wise and enchanting. He didn’t frighten her. Curious, she opened the door a crack.

  “May I help you?” she asked.

  As usual, there was a man seated in the hallway outside her door, guarding it. Only now the sentry was there to protect her, not keep her from escaping. The sentry appeared unalarmed by the old man’s presence at such an early hour.

  “My name is Marx,” the man told her. “I’m a Discerner. May I come in?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  The preparation for battle was in full swing. Ash, Stryker, and Dillinger walked from soldier to soldier, providing instruction to the newer recruits on the lunge, the proper way to hold a sword, and how to effectively sidestep an attack. Once Ash revealed his plans, all but a handful of variants had agreed to join his cause. Most were eager to avenge loved ones or be part of a greater good. Those who didn’t want to join willingly were released to be reunited with their villages (though they would have to find their own way). Ash revealed that for the remaining weeks, he and his men would concentrate their efforts on preparing for battle rather than gaining new recruits.

  While much of the Liberation Alliance were seasoned soldiers who’d been in their share of battles, many others were young, inexperienced, and required considerable instruction. And patience.

  When Ash noticed Rosalie intently watching his men from her perch on the split-rail fence, he grinned and walked over to her. It pleased him to see her taking such an interest in the training.

  “They’re doing well,” she observed.

  He grunted. “Some more than others. Some are … Shyde Roe, some are barely older than babies.”

  “Do you think they’ll be ready in time?”

  “They’ll have to be. The harvest season is coming. We can’t wait much longer.”

  “You will lead them,” she said confidently.

  “Luckily I have Stryker. He’s a good instructor. More patient than me.”

  “Somehow, I find that hard to believe.”

  Ash grinned at her. “That is true. Someone has been teaching me a great deal of patience lately.” When she smiled back at him, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Then, without hesitation, he leaned in and kissed her on the mouth.

  Rosalie gently pushed him away, startled. “Won’t your men care?” She looked around to see who’d witnessed their exchange.

  He shrugged. “They’re going to have to get used to it.” Then he pulled her closer, kissing her again. This time she didn’t resist. She closed her eyes, blocking out the world around her, and returned his kiss with equal fervor.

  In the days that passed, the soldiers continued to prepare for battle, but Ash was worried. Plunging swords into old flour sacks filled with straw would do nothing to prepare his men for the way it felt to sink a blade into human flesh; the way it changed a person. He still remembered his first kill. No matter how justified, the memory of watching the light go out of the man’s eyes and witnessing him draw his last breath would always haunt him. He stared into the wide eyes of his younger recruits and was staggered by a sudden surge of guilt.

  “They’ll be fine,” Stryker spoke up from behind him.

  Ash turned to him; the worry sketched across his handsome face. “Were we ever this green?”

  “Nah,” Stryker said, giving his friend an affectionate pat on the back. “We were worse.”

  Once Ash realized his men would need more development than he could offer, he called upon Jrynton for his services. As a Gifter, Jrynton not only amplified the powers of the variants by touching them, he also instructed them on the ways to hone their powers through meditation and exercise. Each morning he instructed a class to prepare the variants for presenting their best selves during the upcoming battle.

  “Why do we have to do this so bloody early?” Stryker complained.

  “Jrynton insists that’s when everyone is most adaptable,” Ash explained. “Personally, I think he does it to torture us.”

  Stryker chuckled and lined up next to his men.

  “Eyes forward,” Jrynton barked. “Today we’re going to concentrate on breathing patterns.”

  The group groaned in unison.

  “This will be a valuable tool,” the Gifter explained. “Your powers are most dominant when you’re focused – alert.”

  From her usual perch on the fence, Rosalie watched in amusement as Jrynton forced the men into various poses and breathing exercises. She couldn’t help but wonder if he was messing with them a bit. As a variant herself, she understood the importance of remaining focused – but she failed to see how crouching in the dirt with one leg extended towards the heavens would help center anyone.

  When Jrynton looked up, and caught her watching him, he grinned and shot her a conspiratorial wink. She grinned back at him; her suspicions confirmed.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  When Ash opened the bedroom door, Rosalie was crawling around on all fours and muttering like a crazy person.

  “What are you doing?”

  She glanced up at him, then continued crawling on the floor while sweeping her hands across the carpeting. “I lost my necklace,” she explained.

  “When did you see it last?”

  “I don’t know.” Her tone was frustrated.

  “Let me help you.” He dropped to his knees beside her. The pair felt along the trim and the doorway. They searched under the bed and beneath the settee, but the necklace was nowhere to be found.

  Rosalie’s back was turned to him, but Ash could see her shoulders start to shake. He crawled towards her and she climbed into his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist and burying her head in his chest. There he held her while she cried. Deep sobs racked her body as he tried in vain to comfort her. She wept because the necklace was the only thing she had left from home. She wept because she missed Talon; missed her village. She wept for the uncertainty of her future – her future with Ash. She wept bitter tears for all the things she thought she couldn’t share.

  “It’s not just about the necklace,” she finally choked out through her sobs.

  “I know baby,” he whispered, smoothing her hair away from her face. He planted a kiss on her forehead and cradled her face in his hands. “I know.”

  After considerable coaxing and two fingers of homebrewed bourbon, Rosalie finally fell asleep. Ash, however, was wide awake. He hated to see her so torn up. He knew it wasn’t just about the necklace. She’d been through a great deal in such a short period and she had a lot to process. Perhaps he’d been selfish not to send her back to her village with Talon. He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. Her skin felt soft, warm.

  He leaned in to kiss her. First her cheek, then her neck. When he placed his lips to her skin, where her necklace once was, he had an idea. Slowly, quietly, he crawled out of bed.

  When Rosalie awoke, a small headache was forming between her eyes and at the base of her skull. She figured it was the crying, or the bourbon – perhaps both. She pressed her thumb and index finger to the space between her eyes, hoping to dull the pain.

  “I’ve got something for you,” she heard Ash whisper beside her.

  She rolled over to face him. He was sitting up in bed, bare-chested, covers pulled up to his waist, and dangling a shiny object from his fingertips.

  “My necklace.” She shot straight up in bed; headache forgotten. A smile sprea
d across her face and her eyes twinkled with delight.

  Ash nodded and handed it to her.

  “Where did you find it?” she asked as she slipped the necklace around her neck and fiddled with the clasp.

  “In the laundry room. In the bottom of a wash machine, to be exact.”

  “That’s right. I remember now. I slipped it into my pants pocket before my bath. I must have thrown those pants in the wash.”

  Ash nodded again.

  “Ash, you’re a genius.”

  He grinned. “I have my moments.”

  “I love you,” she told him, flinging her arms around his neck.

  “And I just want you to be happy.” He took her hand in his and pressed it to his lips. He searched her eyes for any trace of the heartache he’d witnessed the night before.

  “You make me happy,” she told him.

  His brow furrowed with concern and he stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. “Tell me how I can make you happier.”

  “You honestly couldn’t do more. I just don’t want to lose you. To lose us.”

  “Roe, that will never happen.”

  She took him by the hand. “Nothing is certain,” she whispered.

  “How I feel about you is.” He unbuttoned her nightshirt and let his hands explore her body, admiring the rise and fall of her chest. He pushed her shirt off her shoulders and his mouth found her breasts. She sucked in her breath and tilted her head backwards, closing her eyes.

  Her hands rested on his bare chest, then traveled below the covers. She was surprised to find he was already naked. “Someone was certain finding my necklace would be rewarded,” she teased.

  “A man can always hope,” he said, nipping at her bottom lip.

  Her hand closed over his manhood, taking it firmly in her grasp. He was hard, and it pleased her to discover how much he wanted her. She wriggled out of her cotton panties, pulled back the covers, and straddled him. She wanted to feel all of him. It had been too long.

  “I need you,” she whispered in his ear.

  Ash growled in response. He placed his hands on her hips as he slid inside her. She closed her eyes, moaning softly. He tried to be gentle, but his need was too great. It felt like the first time – he selfishly took all that she gave, and she urged him on.

  When she tilted her head backwards once more, his hands fisted in her hair and his mouth claimed her throat. With his every thrust, she rose with him. Her body begged for release, though she didn’t want this moment to end. A scorching heat raced through her as her urgency built.

  Ash’s eyes burned into hers. She could sense his need was intense. She wanted to scream. To curse. To beg. Instead she whispered his name over and over as he took her higher and higher.

  When she reached her climax, this time she screamed out his name. He muffled her cries with his mouth as he found his own release.

  “I love you, Roe.” He pulled her close, cradling her in his arms. He knew he’d never get enough of her.

  Rosalie snuggled up next to him, smiling. “I love you too, Ash.” He was all she’d ever wanted; someone she could find herself in and lose herself in at the same time.

  The two lay together, soaking up the early hours of the dawn – neither wanting to join the rest of the world. These stolen hours were no one’s but theirs.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  With the battle only days away, Ash and Stryker met each night to plan for the big day. With everything they were able to gather from the villages, coupled with what the master of the house bequeathed to them, they felt confident in their stockpile of weapons. But both men worried how their army would stack up against Lord Zebadiah’s.

  “Okay that’s two Inflictors,” Ash said, adding to the list on the chalkboard. “But we have to strike the Gifter.”

  “Jrynton’s out?”

  Ash nodded. “He’s not a fighter. He’ll prepare the men as much as possible, but after that … we’re on our own.”

  Stryker rubbed his chin as he inventoried the board. The left side listed the names and powers of the variants who agreed to support the Liberation Alliance. The right side listed the names and powers of those Lord Zebadiah had at his disposal – that is if their intel proved accurate.

  In many ways, the two sides appeared evenly matched, but there were a few glaring shortfalls.

  “I’d hate to say it,” Stryker said, “but we could use a Blocker.”

  Ash laughed, despite his worries. “Should we swing back by Mabel Village? It’s a little out of our way.”

  Stryker snorted. “Getting rid of him didn’t seem to clear up Marx’s visions any.”

  Ash nodded in agreement. “I’m sorry, man. How we handled that should have been a joint decision.”

  “Forget about it. We’ve all been a little out of sorts lately.”

  The two men turned back towards the board.

  “Looks like we have a couple more Seducers than Lord Zebadiah. That might work in our favor. They could help us sway the enemy,” Stryker offered.

  “They have a Borrower. Goes by the name of Dekler. That worries me,” Ash admitted.

  “How so?”

  “Because no matter who we bring to the fight – no matter how strong our powers – he can mimic any of them; borrow them for his own.”

  Stryker nodded. He folded his arms in front of him, puffing out his chest with pride. “We have a Discloser and they don’t.”

  “Worthless power,” Ash muttered, winking in Stryker’s direction.

  “Sure wish we had a Blocker,” he shot back.

  When Ash arrived at the room late that evening, Rosalie was stepping out of the shower.

  “What kept you?” she asked, toweling off her hair then wrapping her body in the towel. These days she’d gotten used to his late arrivals. It didn’t upset her. She knew there was important work to be done. But that didn’t keep her from missing him. Or from being curious.

  “Stryker and I were taking inventory of our assets,” he told her honestly.

  She laughed. “Exactly what does that mean?”

  “We were comparing the powers of those with the Liberation Alliance against the powers Lord Zebadiah’s people have.”

  She was about to ask how he found out what sort of powers Castle Druin might hold but then decided knowing how he obtained the information would probably make her worry more than she already did. Instead, she asked a different question she’d been curious about.

  “Does Stryker have a power?”

  The question took Ash by surprise. “Why do you ask?”

  “You have a power. He’s second in command. It would stand to reason he would also have a power.”

  He kissed her on the chin. “You think too much.”

  “Does he?”

  “He doesn’t like people to know about it,” Ash admitted.

  “Why not?”

  “Because he knows it makes people uncomfortable.”

  “I think all variants make people uncomfortable.”

  “The ignorant people, yes, but his power seems to make most people uncomfortable – even most variants.”

  “Go on?”

  “He’s a Discloser,” Ash said, sensing she wasn’t going to let it go.

  “I’m not familiar with that one.”

  “If he touches you, he has the power to disclose your deepest secret.”

  Rosalie took a step back and tried to recall if Stryker had ever touched her. She remembered he’d patted her arm after she’d saved his brother. She pondered what his power might have unveiled. Then again, it didn’t particularly matter. Her secrets didn’t run deep.

  “You see,” Ash spoke up, breaking her train of thought. “You’re already weirded out.”

  She laughed. “I did have a moment of panic. But then I remembered, I’m like an open book.”

  “Yeah, Stryker already filled me in on that.”

  “What?” she said, appalled.

  “I’m kidding. He only channels his power as a last
resort – and rarely reveals to anyone what he discovers. It’s a sore spot for him.”

  “Hmm… Well, since I saved his brother, I’m sure he’ll tell me. I wonder what sort of secrets he knows about you.”

  She shot him a wink and Ash narrowed his eyes. “I’m also an open book,” he said. She rolled her eyes in response.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  With Ash and his army busy outside with their daily training regimen, Rosalie rolled up her sleeves and got to work inside. The mansion came with a fully staffed kitchen, but she wanted to do something special. The Liberation Alliance had been working tirelessly to prepare for battle – and not all were lucky enough to have their own room with a king-sized bed to rest up in. Most of the soldiers slept in bunk houses towards the back of the property.

  “What do you need from us?” the head cook, Arilisa, asked. She had been beyond excited when Rosalie broached the idea of preparing a fancy meal for the entire Liberation Alliance.

  Wanting it to be a surprise for everyone, Rosalie didn’t let anyone but the household staff in on her plan. She’d thought about telling Othelia and Lexis but decided they had been working just as hard and deserved a treat (though, admittedly, they were amongst the lucky ones to have a bedroom to rest up in). Since they’d arrived at the mansion, her two friends had kept busy grooming horses, mending pelts, and sharpening blades. Lexis even trained with the army on occasion.

  Rosalie turned to Arilisa and asked, “Do you have any china?”

  “We do. The master of the house used to hold great parties here.” Her eyes glistened as she reminisced. “Oh, I miss the sound of this house when it was bursting at the seams with people having a good time.”

  “Well, let’s bring out the china. And what about wine? Not so much where everyone gets carried away, but I thought a few bottles on each table might be nice.”

  “We should have plenty. That is if Phynley here didn’t drink it all.” Arilisa winked at a young man on her kitchen staff.