Page 2 of Heart of Dawn
“Cherry fae who stole a queen bee.”
I didn’t steal Wendy. I’d found her, took care of her, and puzzled over her everlasting batteries, only for her to deliver this big bee twist.
Several kernels of pain flared in my chest for Miko. His face swam in my mind, memories of his touch humming across my skin.
I’ll find you again, Mr. Robot.
I promise…
“Greetings to you,” Dawn said with what could only be described as cold cheer in its tone. “Greetings. Greetings. Greetings. You bear witness to my awakening, to the truth of Dawn.”
Something moved in the dead branches above me. Something dark and small, reflecting some of the pink light.
Hmmm. What fresh pandemonium was this? I didn’t look at whatever it was for too long, preferring to keep my eyes on the head. The last thing I wanted was to turn my back and find those rotten teeth buried in it.
Or worse…
“I am a god. I am the new. I am the end. I hunger for blood and bones and ashes.”
Wonderful.
“I change. I evolve. My children change and feed for me to grow in strength beyond your wildest dreams. We all feed. We all feed.”
I shuddered at it calling zombies its children.
“An order of fools created me so they could become the greatest power on Earth. They abused magic, awakened me with sleeper blood.” Dawn chuckled lightly, a tooth falling loose.
Sleeper blood?
“Sleep to wake. Sleep to wake.”
The thing in the trees moved again. My scalp prickled, every muscle tightening. The moment it made its move, I’d be swinging my axe at the lurker.
“I am their failed conduit,” Dawn continued. “They wanted to use me for dominance, to take ultimate control with the threat of destruction, with the promise of healing in exchange for compliance.”
What in the stars’ name did that mean?
I summoned the courage to speak. “I don’t understand.”
“They designed a creature of all things in me,” it replied. “To destroy, to provide a miraculous cure, to keep the sheep in the grip of their whims. Imagine such pure power. Imagine such wicked corruption.” Dawn chuckled again. “They failed, giving way to me.”
My temples throbbed as I tried to process this information, the puzzle pieces not quite fitting.
What did Miko discover in the mind-walking he did with Trev and Malorie? And was he okay?
Please be okay…
“First, I changed Earth,” the creepy head continued. “Then I slept and evolved. Faery king closed his doors. Faery king is a fool. You will see. You will all see. I will claim. I will win. I will be free.”
Those pink eyes flared and its teeth snapped together. Another one fell out, rolling into a small dent in the ground.
“Dawn! Dawn! Dawn! Dawn! Dawn!” The screaming returned, louder than before, my ears under attack.
I guess this meant the detail sharing part of this nightmare was over.
Covering one ear to give myself a smidge of reprieve, axe in the other hand, I glanced around the dead forest for a way out. Snow fell through the gnarled branches, getting heavier by the second. I needed to find shelter before I became a fae-flavored ice lolly.
Driving the axe into the head wouldn’t do anything but silence Dawn temporarily—which would be a good thing right now.
