Everneath 01.5 - Neverfall, page 8
“What have you got to lose?”
The Fate didn’t have to think about it for too long. He closed his saucer-like eyes and spoke in a low, hushed tone. I leaned closer so I could hear. “There will be no more Forfeits for you. Your last Forfeit will be your beginning … and your end.”
The snaps of the flames died out for a moment while his words sunk in.
He opened his blank eyes, as if he had no idea what he’d just said and he didn’t care. The flames surrounding the oracle sprang higher, licking and snapping at his face.
“Save me,” he said.
“Cole! We’re out of time!!” Max used the last of his canister to clear a path to the door, which he threw open.
“Save me!” the Oracle said. I could barely see him through the flames, holding out his hand.
I tossed him my canister and followed.
The light outside blinded me momentarily, but I could still see Oliver and Gavin in suits like ours, their helmets thrown aside. They were panting.
“Glad you could join us,” Oliver said.
I tore off my helmet, gasped in a few deep breaths of clean air, closed my eyes, and collapsed onto the ground.
Oliver pried my fist open, placed something in the palm of my hand, and closed my fingers around it.
I held the object up to my face. It was the picture of Nikki and Tommy. It was the memento.
Weeks later. Finally home.
I stared out the window. Park City had never looked so good. Main Street was decorated with banners in the Park City High School colors, preparing for graduation; and even the cheesy show of school pride didn’t bug me. I couldn’t stop staring at the mountains especially. Most Everlivings felt as if the Everneath was their home, but not me. Not anymore. Not after spending months in the Delphinian Dungeons.
Memories of my imprisonment flashed unwillingly inside my head. The darkness. The rats. Devon and his disfigured face.
I hoped the end came quickly for him. I didn’t know if I would ever retrieve the relic he had talked about, but I would never forget him. Everything about that place would be indelibly imprinted on my brain forever.
Now I was home. My true home. And I was still staring at the mountains. I didn’t know if it was because I’d just faced my own death or if it was because Park City was closer to the sky. Closer to heaven, as the humans here liked to say.
No matter the reason, Park City was my home. And Nikki was my future.
We didn’t come home directly after the London fire. Instead, Max thought we should stay mobile just in case any Delphinians had survived and were coming after us.
But no one came. As we traveled around, we started giving impromptu Dead Elvis concerts. Our fans turned it into a game, trying to figure out where we would end up next.
And now I was finally back in Park City. No one knew I was here yet.
“How about instead of staring out the window, you help us clean up?” Max said.
I turned away from my mountains and stared at Max, who had popped his head out of the kitchen.
Since we hadn’t been home, the kitchen was still a mess; and it wasn’t any normal mess that could be cleaned with a little vinegar. We’d been scrubbing the kitchen for three solid days, trying to erase all the evidence of Oliver and Gavin’s pyrotechnic experiments. I’m still not sure about the exact chemical ingredients they ended up combining to burn down the ancient stone complex of the Delphinians, but we just lovingly, and inaccurately, called the concoction napalm.
I heaved myself off the couch and took the sponge that Max held out for me, thanking whatever outside force had given Oliver and Gavin such a passion for pyrotechnics.
I waited until midnight and then I kicked my motorcycle to life and drove the familiar route to Nikki’s house. I probably could’ve driven it with my eyes shut.
As I slipped into her bedroom, the prophecy of the Fate played over and over in my head.
Your last Forfeit will be your beginning … and your end.
Nikki slept, again only on one side of the bed. I knew now that Jack was with her in her dreams and that her raised hand probably held his. A bridge across worlds. If the Delphinians were right, it was Nikki’s turn to keep Jack alive through her dreams of him.
Your last Forfeit will be your beginning … and your end.
If the Delphinians were right, it also meant that Nikki was my future. There would be no more searching for another Forfeit like her. I knew now there was no one like her.
Even through their dreams, Nikki couldn’t keep Jack alive forever. And when he was gone, I would still be here. Waiting.
I crouched down beside her bed and lightly touched her forehead. “Don’t worry, Nik. I’ll never let you go. Never.”
About the Author
2011 OPIEFOTO
BRODI ASHTON is also the author of Everneath. She received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Utah and a master’s degree in international relations from the London School of Economics. She has an active following on her blog, which can be found at www.brodiashton.blogspot.com. Brodi lives in Utah with her family.
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Credits
Cover art © 2012 by pixelspace & Getty Images
Cover design by Ray Shappell
Table of Contents
THE FIRST PERSEPHONE
PROLOGUE
ONE
NOW
TWO
LAST YEAR
THREE
NOW
FOUR
NOW
FIVE
LAST YEAR
SIX
NOW
SEVEN
NOW
LAST YEAR
NOW
EIGHT
NOW
NOW
NINE
NOW
LAST YEAR
NOW
TEN
NOW
LAST YEAR
NOW
ELEVEN
TWELVE
NOW
THIRTEEN
NOW
About the Author
Credits
Brodi Ashton, Everneath 01.5 - Neverfall
