We're All Stories In The End by Megan Rees (book club reads txt) 📕

“Where’s Ash?” Luna asked, her gaze flitting around the room.

Atlas lifted his head up and stared over at the confused teenager, fresh grief in his dark green gaze. “Kazran abducted him after you blacked out. We think Alpha has him prisoner in the Land Of The Lost.”

Luna let out a loud groan of frustration. “Then that’s game over. Ash had the map, so we have no hope of saving him or completing out mission. Screw the Council!”

Celeste suddenly looked up, her pale brown eyes sparkling with what looked like happiness. Adele glared at her fiercely. “How can you be happy that we’ve lost a worthy young warrior?”

“No, it’s not that,” Celeste reassured the immortal teenager. “I think I know a way we can get to the Land Of The Lost.”

“You have to be kidding me.”

“Look, just give me a chance, Clarissa. I’m determined for this to work.”

“But it won’t. It’s insane, for goodness sake.”

“I’m very persuasive, trust me. I’ve managed to get my way around some of the hardest of people, so I think I can reason with old Danny here. Besides, those who don’t believe in the Skyriders don’t see them.”

“Skyriders are crazy daredevils who just fly on giant lizard things. They’re highly mythological.”

“There’s no alternate route, unless you fancy walking nearly thirty miles.”

Clarissa closed her mouth, seeming to run out of retorts. Luna was genuinely surprised. This is the first time I’ve seen Clarissa speechless. I think I’m glad Celeste is in the group now, even if she flirts with nine to the dozen different boys.

Taking a deep breath, the werewolf stepped forward and tapped her knuckles on the red wooden door three times, sucking in her breath as she waited for someone to answer the door. It didn’t take long for a young man to appear in the doorway. He had sticking-up light brown hair accompanied with a blue streak, copper-brown eyes, a pair of black goggles resting on his forehead and casual clothes – a navy blue hoodie and black jeans.

“Danny O’Brian?” Celeste inquired hopefully.

“That’ll be me,” the young man confirmed, his voice taking a light tone. “And you are?”

“Don’t you remember me? Karen Ravener’s daughter?” Celeste seemed rather surprised.

“Oh, you’re that little minx,” Danny sighed, rubbing his eyes. “What are you doing here at this ridiculously early time? I know you’re one of the Moon’s Children, but you don’t need to bother me.”

“It’s us who wish to bother you actually, Sir,” Atlas addressed him politely. “My name is Atlas. I’m a Pureblood from Nighthollow and-“

“You Purebloods always need to rely on someone for help,” Danny interrupted with a grumble. “Whether it’s the Winged, the Moon’s Children or the Skyriders, you always have to ask them for help. Are you incapable of looking after your reckless selves?”

“This is a mission that we actually can’t complete quickly enough without safe passage to the Land Of The Lost,” Luna argued back angrily. “My best friend was taken and so was the Phoenix’s Treasure, so we urgently require assistance so we can return balance and harmony back to Nighthollow.”

“You’ll have to pay a hefty price, little missy.” the Skyrider replied grouchily, folding his arms firmly.

Atlas fumbled around in his pockets and produced a relatively large wad of cash from when he’d broken into the bank machine on the first day. He thrust it at Danny fiercely. “There’s probably about nine hundred pounds here. We shan’t be coming back afterwards, so you can have it all.” he snapped.

The Skyrider’s copper brown eyes widened in genuine surprise, a mask of shock replacing his tired-looking face. “Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting that. You Purebloods are full of surprises,” he remarked, beckoning them in. “Come on in.”

Luna stepped in cautiously, wiping her shoes on the doormat and flicking her gaze around the room. It was quite plain – a bit like the cabins back at Nighthollow – but it was comfy looking too.

A short olive skinned girl peered through into the corridor from behind a door, her soft hazel eyes curious. “Who are these people, Danny?”

“Very generous people, Annabelle,” Danny explained, waving the cash at her. “I’ll be giving these folks a ride to the Land Of The Lost on Felix and they’ve given me nine hundred quid for it. Pretty good business, eh?”

Annabelle blinked at him nervously before disappearing off into the shadows of the dark room. Leon raised a suspicious eyebrow at Danny. “She’s a bit young for you, isn’t she?”

“That’s my little sister,” Danny snorted. “She’s 15. I’m 18.”

“Why is she living with you, then?” Rune inquired. “Some people would see that as pretty dodgy.”

Danny shrugged. “That’ll be their problem. Anyway, I guess I’ll better allow you to meet Felix.”

“Who’s Felix? Your cat?” Clarissa questioned sharply.

The young man rolled his eyes. “Don’t make me laugh.”

I only wish she’d stop cracking bad jokes like that. She just reminds me of Ash. Luna reflected with heavy regret settling in her stomach like a stone and weighing her down.

Danny led them into a spacious garage attached to the house and whistled, waving a raw fish about. “Here, boy.”

Without hesitation, a large black lizard came crawling out of the shadows, flicking his pink tongue. He was pretty big: Luna estimated he was probably about 15 feet long and 5 feet wide excluding wingspan. He had large scaly wings which were folded in at the time and large yellow eyes that looked like they glowed in the dim light.

“Meet Felix, your transport for the journey,” Danny commented, throwing the lizard the fish. “He’s very tame, so he won’t bite your leg off or whatever you expect him to do.”

Luna didn’t feel convinced as she watched the lizard snap up the fish in his sharp jaws and finished it in one go, even the bones. Isabelle shuddered as he suppressed a loud burp. “Charming.” she said nervously.

“Well, what are you lot waiting for? Get on – we haven’t got all night.” Danny sighed, ignoring the Normal girl’s comment.

“Is your sister coming with us?” Leon questioned, earning him a hard slap from Celeste. Danny just sighed at him, folding his arms and shaking his head. “My sister is not one for romance. The only romance you’ll find in her are those blasted books she reads. She’ll waffle on for hours about some olden-day story or modern, but regardless I don’t pay much attention. She comes along as she knows what to do in a bad situation, but she won’t speak much.”

“We haven’t got much time,” Luna urged desperately. “We need to get going straight away. How fast can Felix go?”

“He’s youthful, but I can guarantee he should be able to reach the border within half an hour at the very most.” Danny assured her.

“Then let’s get moving.”

~

Ash banged his fist in anger against the metal bars, muttering a furious curse as he clutched his wrist on hearing a bone-grinding crunch. Broken. Great.

“You won’t get out.”

Lifting his head, Ash was surprised to see a small boy wandering freely around the place of terror without a care in the world. He looked rather young and small, with short blonde hair and dark blue eyes. Surprisingly, he bore no scars and looked well-cared for despite living among Demons. “What are you, the little pawn?” he asked bitterly in spite of the pain flooding through him.

The boy tilted his head to the side. “Pawn?”

“Obviously never heard of chess, then,” Ash sighed. “How aren’t you afraid of this place? My kind has been petrified of the Demons for centuries.”

“I’ve lived here my entire life. There’s nothing to fear when you’re used to it,” the youthful child responded airily. “Who are you, anyway? Mama said I shouldn’t talk to strangers.”

“I’m Ash,” the Pureblood grumbled. “Is there any way out of here? I’ve got some Demon butt to kick.”

“You don’t need to break out. Help is coming: I can feel it.” he assured him.

Ash raised an eyebrow, flicking his dark brown hair out of his eyes. “What are you talking about?”

The boy just looked blank and disappeared off down one of the corridors, making Ash groan in frustration. “Stupid kids. Looks like I’m not getting out for a while.”

Luna let out a short scream as Felix took off from the ground, clinging to Rune’s pale arm as Danny encouraged the lizard to go higher.

Annabelle lifted her gaze to Luna from her book. “You won’t fall.” she reassured her.

“It’s not that,” Luna sighed, allowing herself to calm down a bit. “I’m a bit wary of heights.”

“The only way to get over your fear is to conquer it. Without conquering fear, you’ll always live in the ocean of nightmares and terror.” the Skyrider pointed out firmly before returning to her book, her long curly chestnut coloured hair blowing slightly in the breeze. Luna could see why Leon might have developed a little crush on her – the young girl was pretty indeed.

“Have you got the locket?” Atlas questioned sharply.

Luna tapped her neck lightly where a silver chain was visible. “Yep. You’ve got the staff, right?”

The black haired boy nodded, letting out a small sigh of relief. “I just wanted to make sure we didn’t leave it at The Lodge. We would be in gigantic trouble if we had.”

“The Treasure doesn’t matter right now!” Luna snapped fiercely. “Ash is trapped with the Demons where they’re liable to kill him!”

“Retrieving the sword is our top priority to save our race. Ash is important, but we really need to find the sword to complete the Phoenix’s Treasure and restore the balance in Nighthollow.” Atlas replied uneasily.

“So you’re just going to let him die there without even attempting to help him?” Luna was infuriated. “He’s my best friend, Atlas! You’d go after Isabelle if she was in his position!”

“She’s a Normal. Ash is a Pureblood and has the second strongest power after you. He is probably capable of getting out himself,” the older boy sighed, cleaning his glasses. “You underestimate how intelligent he actually is, Luna. I’m very sure that he’ll find some way to escape out alive.”

Groaning in frustration, Luna shifted away from Atlas and sat nearer the front, letting the wind calm her slightly. She still felt anxious being up in the air, but she had to stay calm for her friends and herself. Panicking wouldn’t help.

She didn’t want to look down, so Luna kept