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

Luna couldn’t turn her head before Alpha knocked her over swiftly with one giant paw, his red eyes glittering with malice. “Time to die. Say hello to daddy for me when you get there. Ask how scratch is.”

“You killed my father!” Luna screamed at him. “Monster!”

“Some call me Alpha.” the Demon grumbled.

Luna couldn’t reach across to pick up her dagger, so she just punched the giant dog in the face, which didn’t really do anything apart from make him chuckle. “Good night, Wilde.”

He suddenly let out a pain-stricken howl, which allowed Luna to roll away towards her family and her friend. Once she’d gotten up, she realised that someone had hurled a dagger into Alpha’s left eye, which he was struggling to remove in the most painless way possible. Considering the odds, it was most likely Ash who had thrown it as a distraction for her.

When Alpha had eventually retrieved the dagger from out of his eye, his temper ignited as he glared at Luna. Pawing the ground, he leapt across the room with his claws outstretched, but Ash pushed Luna aside and lifted his hand to send the giant dog back against the hall walls, making him smash his head with a loud crunch. Luna shuddered at the noise as the dog crumpled to the ground.

“He won’t be out for long,” Ash sighed regretfully. “We’ve got work to do – come on.”

Rune quickly darted over to them, nodding at Ash. “Good to see you back, Ash.”

“Could you heal my wrist?” Ash questioned. “I broke it smashing the bars of the cell and it stings like anything.”

While the black haired girl used her powers to heal his wrist, Luna managed to spot the bronze hilt of the sword suspended in mid-air by a single chain attached to a stone-faced gargoyle. She stared at it for a while, pondering of how they could retrieve it. That’s too high up for any of us to reach. How on earth are we meant to get it?

“I’ve got an idea of how we can get the sword,” Rune commented, almost as if she could read Luna’s thoughts. “Ash, could you lift a person off the ground?”

“I’ve stopped people from falling, but I’ve never tried to lift someone up,” Ash responded. “Why?”

“You could lift me up there and I’ll get the sword off the chain so we’ll complete the Phoenix’s Treasure.” Rune suggested.

Mia was the first to object. “Are you insane? You could break your neck if Ash’s power isn’t strong enough!”

Rune shrugged. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take, Mrs Chase. If it means saving everything I believe in, then I’ll do it.”

“I really pray to the Phoenix that I don’t drop you. You’re putting a lot of pressure on me. Are you sure you want to go ahead with this?” Ash questioned nervously.

The young girl nodded firmly. “I’m completely sure.”

“Then I hope this works.” Ash murmured, focusing his hands onto the ground before steadily lifting them up, bring Rune up with them. Luna watched on with concern swimming in her pale blue eyes. She’ll be fine. She’s got to be fine.

When Rune had reached the gargoyle, she took a dagger with a silver hilt that Rosco had blessed her with a few years ago. It was able to cut through most metals, so it would be a lot cleaner rather than trying to yank the chain clean off. She was working as fast as she could, but Luna could see that Ash was struggling to keep her in the air.

A relatively large lion Demon with wings noticed Rune and immediately flew up towards her, teeth bared and eyes alert. Luna tried to shout a warning, but the Demon crashed into her side, sending her on a strong curve in the right. Ash fell to the ground in exhaustion, which meant gravity now applied to Rune.

Everything that goes up has to come down.

Rune let out a shrill scream as she and the black lion Demon tumbled down to the ground, the Demon virtually on top of her. She knew instantly that Ash wouldn’t be able to keep her up if she was knocked, so she knew what was coming.

She was plummeting down to the stone floor.

She was falling from grace.

She was giving in to her impending doom.

A soft voice let out a small whisper through whatever breeze there was. The words that came out were calm, peaceful almost.

“Turmoil and troubled times lie in the depths of the journey.

Great burdens will be discovered,

And mighty legends will be lost to the shadows.

The union will be shattered like glass.

The lionheart will bring peace,

The hunter will bring trouble,

And kindness will fall from grace.

Youth must look into the eye of wisdom,

And decree that we’re all stories in the end.”

Rune pondered about the words for a short while until she heard the voice again.

“Step into the light, little one. You’ll be safe here.”

And she landed harshly onto the ground with a sickening crunch.

~

“Rune!” Luna screeched as the young child hit the ground, hurrying over to check on her while Mia assisted Ash up, who looked as distraught as Luna did at the thought of Rune screaming and flailing down to her death.

Atlas had reached his foster sister’s fallen body first, screaming desperately and angrily at her to wake up. Luna crouched beside him, stunned into complete and utter silence.

The sensitive and kind little girl was gone, just like that.

“We need to drag her body out,” Clarissa murmured thickly, coming over. “Her legs are underneath that Demon. She would have done it for any of us.”

“You take one arm. I’ll take the other.” Luna added, putting aside their bitter ongoing rivalry for once. They couldn’t afford to argue in a time of pain and grieving – everyone on the journeyhad loved little Rune.

Summing up whatever strength she had left, Luna helped the short haired girl drag Rune’s broken body out from under the Demon and out beside Atlas, who had tears in his eyes as he stroked her long black hair like she was still alive.

Adele, Leon and Celeste stood over the body, sharing sympathetic and grieving looks. Celeste patted Atlas on the back gently with one hand. “It’s okay. Rune will be safe up in the sky: she’ll be away from all the pain and suffering that is dealt in the real world.”

“She died so bravely, Atlas. You should honour her rather than cry over her loss.” Adele added sorrowfully.

“She died because of him!” Atlas screeched, pointing an accusing finger at Ash who had just ambled over. “You sent her up there and sent her back down!”

Ash raised his hands above his head. “Atlas, I swear on the Phoenix that Rune pleaded her case to me. I tried so hard to keep her up, but when that Demon came it put so much strain on me that I lost control…” He trailed off, looking deeply upset. “I’m so sorry you lost her. She was a wonderful, sunny human being who didn’t deserve to fall to the clutches of death so soon.”

Atlas didn’t look convinced, but he just held Rune’s head in his lap and murmured a quote from a book Luna didn’t know.

Ash suddenly went rigid as he stared at the Demon’s dead body. “Hey, look at this.”

Lifting her head and wiping away a few tears, Luna rose up to her feet and stood beside Ash, who was pulling something long and shiny out from underneath the Demon where Rune had been. When he eventually yanked it out, Luna let out a gasp.

It was the sword.

Rune hadn’t died for nothing.

Luna quickly fumbled around with the lockets on her neck and gave the other Treasure to her best friend while keeping the family locket safely with her. She then went up to Atlas and gently slipped the golden staff out of his backpack, giving him a pat on the back as she went past.

“Thanks, Luna.” Ash said bluntly as he took the staff from her and lay it down next to the sword and the locket, which set off a small glowing yellow light.

“Food,” Alpha growled fiercely, appearing just on top of his dead comrade. “Goodbye, Purebloods.”

Before he could pounce and go in for the kill, the tiny light suddenly expanded drastically and lit up the entire hall, making the Purebloods shield their eyes. Luna heard Alpha let out a blood-curdling scream, which made her remember something Mia had told her long ago. Demons can’t stand the light of the Phoenix. It’ll either blind them, make them vanish to a random place or in some cases kill them. The light will never harm you, unless you look directly at it of course.

When the light died and simmered down, Luna opened her pale blue eyes and realised Alpha was nowhere to be seen. He’d completely vanished into nothingness, along with a few others of his henchmen. The remainders were all screeching and clutching their eyes, clearly blinded by the magnificent light.

“Open your eyes, Ash,” Luna murmured softly, nudging her friend. “It’s okay. We won. Alpha has been banished to some place far from here.”

Ash removed his arm from his face and blinked, his dark green gaze slightly lost as he stared around the hall like an innocent child. Luna rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder, but he flinched away from her touch and skulled over to the others, his head hung and hands in his pockets.

When they returned to The Lodge later that afternoon, the little band of friends were a little surprised to learn that someone had come to see them to offer a few propositions.

Cassie had accompanied them in and was quite surprised to learn of Mia’s status, as she had been another who had believed her to be dead. Nigel just welcomed her back normally as if she was a permanent boarder, which rose Luna’s curiosity. Had he known that her mother was alive?

“There’s someone here to see you,” Will remarked, gesturing to the living room. “Though I’ve got a feeling that this is one of Celeste’s ex-boyfriends.”

The werewolf rolled her eyes. “Nice to know you have so much faith in me.”

Shrugging, the black haired man led them into the comfortable room, where a young man with short curly ginger hair and looking not much older than Celeste sat on the armchair, his blue-grey eyes glued to the TV. Once the group had entered, he arose from the seat and held out his