The Torn World: The Harvesting Series Book 5 Read online

  THE TORN WORLD

  The Harvesting Series, Book 5

  Melanie Karsak

  MelanieKarsak.com

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  The Torn World

  Clockpunk Press, 2016

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without permission from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed are fictional. Any resemblances to the living or the undead are purely coincidental.

  Published by Clockpunk Press

  Cover art by Hynds Studio

  Editing by Becky Stephens Editing

  Proofreading by Contagious Edits

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  THE TORN WORLD

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  DEDICATION

  CHAPTER 1: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 2: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 3: AMELIA

  CHAPTER 4: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 5: AMELIA

  CHAPTER 6: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 7: CRICKET

  CHAPTER 8: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 9: AMELIA

  CHAPTER 10: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 11: AMELIA

  CHAPTER 12: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 13: AMELIA

  CHAPTER 14: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 15: CRICKET

  CHAPTER 16: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 17: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 18: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 19: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 20: CRICKET

  CHAPTER 21: AMELIA

  CHAPTER 22: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 23: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 24: AMELIA

  CHAPTER 25: AMELIA

  CHAPTER 26: CRICKET

  CHAPTER 27: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 28: CRICKET

  CHAPTER 29: AMELIA

  CHAPTER 30: CRICKET

  CHAPTER 31: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 32: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 33: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 34: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 35: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 36: CRICKET

  CHAPTER 37: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 38: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 39: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 40: AMELIA

  CHAPTER 41: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 42: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 43: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 44: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 45: CRICKET

  CHAPTER 46: LAYLA

  CHAPTER 47: CRICKET

  CHAPTER 48: AMELIA

  CHAPTER 49: LAYLA

  EPILOGUE: KIRA

  THANK YOU

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  DEDICATION

  for Naomi and Brian

  * * *

  The undead closed in.

  I closed my eyes.

  Tristan took me gently by the arm. “Time to go,” he whispered.

  I nodded, turned, and followed behind him, entering the cave.

  Sweet wind blew from the cave. The scent of flowers, and summer, and sunlight perfumed the breeze. I closed my eyes and soaked it in, expecting the rushing feeling I’d experienced the last time, and braced myself for what would come next. In a single instant, before I was swept away, I opened my eyes and looked back at the forest.

  There, among the undead who moved in a confused manner, their prey disappearing into the ether, I recognized a familiar silhouette.

  “Layla?”

  I gasped. “Jamie?”

  But the word was lost to the echoing silence.

  * * *

  CHAPTER 1: LAYLA

  SWEPT UP IN A RUSH OF WIND, I shot through time and space. I had no idea where I was going. All I knew was that my love, my Jamie, had spoken my name. Jamie. He wasn’t dead. At least, he wasn’t anymore.

  I plummeted head over heels in a tunnel of light and darkness. Feeling like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole, I fell slowly. Images of the undead flashed before my eyes.

  The world is dead.

  Jamie is dead.

  No. Jamie is undead.

  I hit the ground hard. Nearby, Kira and Susan whimpered. Frenchie spoke softly to them, comforting them.

  “Where are we?” Kellimore asked.

  “Safe,” Tristan replied.

  “Everyone all right?” Cricket asked.

  There was muttered assent.

  “Follow me,” Tristan said.

  Tristan led the others into the darkness. It was early evening. The heavy night had not yet fallen. The world around me glimmered with moonlight.

  “You okay, Layla?” Will asked.

  “Alive,” I replied.

  Kellimore reached down and helped me up.

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  Will shook his head.

  All around us were walls of high green shrubbery. A strange mist swirled at our feet, and in the twinkling moonlight, the leaves on the bushes shimmered with blue light.

  “Come on,” Kellimore said, patting me on the back.

  I turned to Will. “Did you see him too? Jamie? Did you see him before we went through?”

  “Jamie?”

  I nodded. “Just outside the cave.”

  Will shook his head. “No. Not since beyond the wall. Layla, I’m so—”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “No. He’s not gone. I saw him. He was right there.”

  “Even if he was, he’s not with us anymore,” Will said carefully. “Layla—”

  “I heard him. Here,” I said, tapping my head. “He’s not gone. He’s like Elizabeth, the undead woman. I have to go back.”

  Will looked worried. “Are you sure?”

  Kellimore looked carefully at me. “Come on, Layla. Let’s catch up with the others.”

  The three of us followed behind Tristan and the others only to realize at once that the tall hedges were, in fact, walls.

  “A maze. We’re in a maze,” I said.

  We followed the sound of the others’ voices as we navigated the twists and turns of the maze.

  “This way,” Tristan called once more. “Almost there,” he added, and I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was trying to comfort Kira and Susan who were still whimpering softly.

  Just as we reached the group, everyone stopped.

  “What is it?” Cricket asked.

  There was a brief paused then I heard Tristan say, “You don’t need to wear that. The air isn’t contaminated.”

  “I know,” a soft, feminine voice replied. “It’s just for the lime.”

  Frustrated, I maneuvered through everyone to the front of the group to join Tristan and Cricket. In the distance, I saw a massive old building, some sort of elaborate manor house. Candlelight glimmered from inside.

  “Where are we?” I asked Tristan. I was in no mood for an adventure of his making. If Jamie was alive, or kind of alive, I needed to get back to Claddagh-Basel. I needed to know one way or the other. “I need to go back now. How can I get back? Jamie…”

  Tristan shook his head. “First, we’ll take shelter, decide what we can and should do,” he said then turned to the young woman standing beside a wheelbarrow in front of us. She was holding a gasmask and looking at us like she’d just seen a ghost. No doubt our surprise appearance had set her on guard. She looked like she wasn’t sure what to do—run or stand her ground. Her eyes moved over each of us slowly and carefully.

  “You must be the ward. Is her majesty here?” Tristan asked the girl.

  “Her majesty? What…who are you people? How did you get onto the property?” the young woman asked.

  Just then, a black cat appeared from the darkness. Tristan’s eyes went immediately to the cat, and then he inclined his head. “Your highness,” he said.

  Puzzled, I looked at the cat. The
light around the animal changed, growing larger, brighter. Then there was a flash of blinding white light. A second later, an aged woman stood where the cat had been. The frail-looking lady coughed lightly then adjusted her gown.

  “Tristan,” she said.

  She was one of the fae people. I cast a glance at the girl who looked both shocked and pleased all at once, as if the transformation of the cat had surprised her only a little.

  “Where did the kitty go?” Susan whispered to Kira who shrugged.

  I cast a glance back at my people. I had a duty to shelter them, and I’d made a promise to Frenchie that I’d always keep Susan and Kira safe. I would find out what happened to Jamie. Soon. I took a deep breath and stepped forward, moving around Tristan. “I’m Layla,” I said, nodding to the old woman.

  “I am Madame Knightly,” she replied then turned to the girl beside her, “and this is Amelia.”

  The young girl, Amelia, smiled hesitantly at me. “Uh…” she started, seemingly unsure what to say. “Welcome,” she said at last. “Welcome to Witch Wood.”

  CHAPTER 2: LAYLA

  WE FOLLOWED MADAME KNIGHTLY and Amelia toward the massive manor house.

  “Your wards?” Madame Knightly asked Tristan.

  “Here,” Tristan answered.

  The old woman linked her arm with Tristan’s. “Then we have what we need.”

  “And Witch Wood? Are you secure here?”

  “Yes,” the old woman replied quietly. “As best as I can do.”

  Tristan nodded.

  Amelia cast a glance toward me. Her eyes said so much, asked so many questions, but she didn’t speak a word.

  Madame Knightly led us through the front door of the grand estate. “Amelia,” she said gently. “Please lead these people to the gentlemen’s parlor, and let the others know they are here. And can you ask Logan to join me?”

  “Of course,” the girl said, leading us down the wood-paneled hallway of the massive old estate to an elegant sitting room adorned with fine Victorian-era furniture, books, polished tables, a billiard table, and glimmering brass décor.

  “There are just five of us here,” Amelia told us. “I think the others are in the dining room. I’ll…I’ll go get them,” she said then looked us over. “Is anyone hurt?” she asked then, looking at Kellimore in particular, the bruises on his face still evident. I realized then that most of us were covered in some sort of blood or goo. “We have medicine, and I can help.”

  I glanced at the others. Chase was eyeing everything skeptically. He, Darius, and Ariel were staying close together. Vella’s wide eyes also seemed on alert. Cricket was frowning at the door and, I imagined, at Tristan who’d left her behind. Elle, Tom, Frenchie and her girls, and Will just looked tired. This was it. This was all I had managed to save. Not only had I lost Jamie, but Ethel, Summer, Buddie, and Kiki were gone too.

  “I shook my head. We’ll be okay for now.”

  Amelia looked at Kellimore again. “You sure you don’t have a headache or something?”

  Vella shifted then looked at Amelia more closely.

  “I’ll be all right,” Kellimore said, pulling on his tough guy mask.

  She nodded then left.

  I slumped down into a chair and put my head in my hands.

  “Now what, Layla?” Will asked.

  I shook my head. “Tristan will know. As for me, I need to go back to Claddagh-Basel.”

  “Why?” Cricket asked.

  “Jamie.”

  “But, honey,” she answered. “There is nothing you can do.”

  I shook my head. “Yes. Yes, I can.” I looked at Vella. “I heard Jamie. I heard him as I have heard the others.”

  “Wait a minute, you mean the zombies?” Cricket asked.

  “Not the rotted ones. There is nothing coming from them. But the others. You’ve seen it, right? The undead man who attacked the fox woman, I heard him too. And the woman, Elizabeth,” I said to the Hamletville people who’d seen the undead woman Doctor Gustav had locked in the cage. “They aren’t all gone. It’s like some of them changed into something different.”

  “Ghouls,” Vella offered.

  “Jamie. I heard him. I need to get back. I need to try,” I said.

  “Those things, those fox people, are still going to be there,” Elle said. “And the undead were everywhere.”

  “And don’t forget the vampires,” Chase added.

  “Vampires,” Will spat. “Yeah, well, we’ve about done them in.”

  “Either way, we’ve got no business going back until Tristan gives an all-clear.” Cricket said.

  Just then the door opened and a girl with long black hair entered. She was followed by a strikingly beautiful blonde woman who was maybe five years older than me.

  “Ho-ly shit,” the dark-haired girl said, looking around the room.

  The blonde woman frowned at her then smiled at us. “Welcome,” she said then. “Sorry, we’re just surprised. We haven’t seen anyone for months. Amelia said you came…through the maze?”

  “We know,” Vella answered. “It’s strange to us too.”

  The blonde haired woman smiled softly at Vella. “I’m Beatrice. This is Zoey.”

  “Where are we?” Tom asked.

  “Witch Wood Estate. In Brighton, Connecticut,” Beatrice answered.

  “Connecticut!” Tom exclaimed.

  Beatrice and Zoey looked puzzled.

  “This shit is so messed up,” Darius said, sitting down.

  “We were in Maryland…about an hour ago,” Chase explained.

  Beatrice shook her head. “Well, I have no idea how you got here, but I bet these two little girls would love something to eat. We have dandelion soup, venison, and bread. Anyone hungry?”

  “Dandelion soup?” Kira asked, looking puzzled.

  “Like the flowers?” Susan added.

  Beatrice nodded. “Please, come with me.”

  And with that, the blonde-haired woman waved for us to follow her. Beatrice led us to a massive formal dining room where Amelia was already setting out plates. The image of it startled me. I’d walked out of hell into a formal dinner party. At any moment I expected the Dormouse, March Hare, and Mad Hatter to show up.

  Amelia looked up at us. “I know,” she said then paused. “I know you are all…confused. It’s going to be okay. Eat. Rest. You’ll be safe here.”

  “How do you know that? Nowhere is safe,” Kellimore said.

  Amelia smiled as she set down the last tea cup. “Perhaps it’s better not to waste time pondering riddles that have no answers.”

  CHAPTER 3: AMELIA

  AFTER GETTING EVERYONE SETTLED, I crept quietly into the kitchen where Madame Knightly, Logan, and the newcomer named Tristan were sitting at the breakfast nook and talking quietly.

  “Everything all right, dear?” Madame Knightly called when she saw me.

  I stared at her, playing back over in my mind how many times Bastet had followed me around. All that time it had been Madame Knightly. But how?

  “I was just getting some towels and water. It’s okay if they eat now, right? The little ones must be hungry.”

  Madame Knightly smiled kindly. “Of course, Amelia. And don’t fret, dear. We’ll have a good chat tonight. I know I have some explaining to do.”

  I cast a glance at Logan. He had a strange, guilty expression on his face. And I noticed the energy around him looked as confused. Over the winter, the relationship between us had grown stronger. Under Madame Knightly’s watchful gaze, however, nothing had ever been taken beyond conversation and flirting, but my heart was brimming for him and his for me. There was no denying it. It was only a matter of time before the words were actually spoken.

  But why had Madame Knightly asked for him? I mean, after all, I’d spent the whole winter reading every book she set in front of me, from old folktales and Arthurian legends to books on herbal healing and wild-crafting. Madame Knightly was teaching me. So why hadn’t she asked me to stay?

  Tur
ning away, I grabbed a jug of water, clean towels, and the basket of bread Madame Knightly had prepared. Just as I turned to go back to the dining room, Zoey entered the kitchen behind me.

  “What’s going on?” she whispered.

  I shook my head. “No idea. So, I’m just going to serve dinner until I figure it out.”

  “They came through the maze? The maze? How the hell?”

  “No clue. Want to help me grab the soup bowls?”

  “They are all banged up. They said they just escaped a horde of zombies. I don’t know. Something weird is happening. What’s Logan doing?” she asked, looking over my shoulder.

  “Madame Knightly wanted him,” I replied then flicked my eyes toward the butler’s pantry between the dining room and kitchen. Catching my drift, Zoey turned, and we headed into the pantry, the door to the kitchen swinging closed behind me. “Okay, so you know how the gates here are like—”

  “Enchanted. So the maze must be some sort of gateway.”

  “But Zoe, that’s not the big news.”

  “There’s something bigger than living in an enchanted manor house with a magical maze?”

  “Madame Knightly…have you ever seen Bastet and Madame Knightly in the same room?”

  “Well, sure. I mean, sure. Right?”

  “Are you sure?”

  Zoey looked thoughtful. “Maybe…maybe not. What are you getting at?”

  “She’s been pulling a Clark Kent.”

  “What? No. No freaking way. No. That’s not possible.”

  “Outside, when they showed up, Bastet was there. Then all this light surrounded her and poof, Madame Knightly was there, and Bastet was gone.”

  “So, you’re telling me Madame Knightly is the cat.”

  “Yes.”

  “The cat.”

  “Yes.”

  “The cat is Madame Knightly?”

  “Yes. That’s what I’m saying.”

  “Then she isn’t…human.”

  “I have no idea. But I know those people just appeared out of nowhere. And that man, Tristan, he has an accent just like Madame Knightly.”

  “And Logan,” Zoey added.

  “Logan?”