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Chapter 28
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2024-10-29 19:42:56A kiss lands on my cheek as the hand is pulled away from in front of my eyes.
Alastair unwraps himself from around my shoulders and flops onto a kitchen stool next to me. He's dressed even more scantily than Lyall, in a thin white robe like people wear at health spas.
I wonder if he's wearing anything underneath.
OMG don't think about that! It's as if I'm a dirty old man perving on schoolgirls. Breathe. He just kissed me on my cheek. Ignore that. Didn't happen. Breathe.
I sneak a glance at his beautifully defined chest peeking out from the robe and my face reacts by turning a fierce, burning red.
Everything about him just looks amazing. Especially his hair. Messy dark blonde, slightly damp – probably from the shower.
My cheek is warm and tingling where he kissed the skin.
Get a grip Ashling. Don't freak out over
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FABLE Chapter 29
Thump. Thump. Thump.My heart is beating so hard against my ribs I feel like it's about to jump out of my chest on to the kitchen counter.I've managed to keep fairly calm up to this point, but the thought of Lyall making pancakes for me... I want to do a crazy fangirl dance.Lyall hums quietly to himself while he stirs the batter, and Felix is sitting next to me with his head down on the counter. He hasn't even touched his tea yet.Alastaire flicks through something on his phone.There's no reception out here, so I'm tempted to ask what he's doing, but I don't want him to think I'm being nosy.The guys don't seem to notice how nervous I am, and realizing this helps me to calm down. I clutch my mug a little less tightly.Everyone's lost in their own thoughts.Apart from Lyall's softly murmured tune and the clinking of the spoon ag
FABLE Chapter 30
“Your guess is as good as mine,” says Alastaire as he pokes at a pancake with his fork.“He went out for a bit,” Lyall says in between mouthfuls. “I’m sure he’ll be back soon. Don’t stress ‘bout it Kit.”“He went out?” says Kitty, her eyebrows knitting together in worry.“Don’t get your knickers in a twist,” Alastaire says. “He’s just out doing loner junk in the forest. Typical.”Kitty shakes her head, looking gloomily at the counter.“You worry too much,” says Ben as he pats her on the back. “It’s not like he’s gonna get run down by a rabid pack of bloodthirsty fangirls this deep in the woods. Unless you told your buddies about us, Ashling.”He winks at me, and I almost choke on the bite of pancake I was busy swallowing.
FABLE Chapter 31
"I'm not buying it," Kitty says as she drags me between moss-drenched oak trees and ferns, over the faint path snaking through the forest. "Why are you really here?"She's holding my hand so hard that I can feel her nails biting into the flesh of my palm. Even though she doesn't turn around as she asks the question, I can imagine her expression. There's a growl in her voice, something almost feral.She pulls me along behind her at a steady march, further and further away from the cabin, deeper and deeper into the forest.My skin prickles with goose bumps as the space between the trees lessens, and the woods get subtly darker. The overgrowth is thicker, the path more difficult to see than I remember it.Is this the way I came earlier?Then I see it. Just a few feet away, an impossibly dark shape streaks through the trees to my left, skittering away into the gloom. To
FABLE Chapter 32
I'm lying in my bed beneath the covers.My grandmother tucks me in. As she leans over me, she blocks out the light from my bedside lamp, and her wild tangle of flame red curls threaded with silver is lit up from behind. A halo fit for an angel. I must be about four years old. By the time I was seven, gran's hair had turned completely white.The memories that flicker through my dreams are soft and shimmering. Everything glows brighter than its real life counterpart, bursting with radiance, swimming in muted light."So, what will it be tonight my bairn?" She asks, tucking a stray hair behind my ear. "Sleeping Beauty? Rapunzel? Or maybe The Little Mermaid? It's been ages since you last heard that one."Most nights I'm perfectly happy to hear any of the countless fairy tales my gran tells. I've heard the same stories a million times over, and they never get old. But tonight is different.
FABLE Chapter 33
The last fragments of the dream swirl through my mind and disappear like smoke on the breeze. I wake up to five missed calls from Zee, and a string of increasingly hysterical texts from Jamie.16.30: Hey hun. Howd it go? Zee said you should be done by 5. Still up for coffee at night owl? Xx16.52: Babe? U there? We're at the usual spot.17.25: BABE WTAF WHERE R U? ANSWER YOUR PHONE18.48: K we're gna bail. Hope ur ok? X20.10: OMFG BABE ANSWER YOUR PHONE SRSLY21.05: I'm worried can u call me? Did everything go ok with the band? Did something happen babe?22.34: HOLY SHITBALLS ANSWER YOUR PHONE GEEZI've always been a deep sleeper – my parents say I could probably sleep through the apocalypse – but this is ridiculous. I passed out as soon as I got home yesterday, and I slept like the dead for more than twelve hours, even though my phone must have been buzzing all night.Tha
FABLE Chapter 34
By the time I get to the part of the forest where the two trails meet, the midmorning sun is filtering down through the leafy canopy.I passed by only one hiker on my way here, and I'm grateful for that – I must look really silly, and totally unprepared for a hike. I'm dressed in the outfit I was going to wear to Zee's house – a white babydoll dress with a print of tiny green flowers, and totally impractical white keds. Or at least they were white before I set out. Now they're brown, with a green stain on the left one's side.These shoes cost $70. Dammit.I stand at the crossroads, looking up and down the trails in case there's anyone coming, before I leave the path and slip into the forest.I walk in the direction of the tree with the silver fox pendant.The pendant is still hanging there, twinkling high up in the branches like a fallen star as it catch
FABLE Chapter 35
"It's right in front of you," a faint voice whispers in my left ear.I snap my head to the side, but there's no one there. I swing around and look back into the forest behind me as a shiver trickles down my spine. All I can see are tree trunks, gnarled branches dripping with green, overgrown ivy thickets, shadowy nooks. If someone is out here with me, they could be hiding anywhere.Don't be stupid. There's no one there. I'm just seeing things, like always.I turn back to where Felix is sitting on the porch, watching me boredly across the clearing. A few seconds pass with me frozen in place by a fear I can't place, and Felix waiting still as a sphinx, measuring me with his stony gaze."I said, it's right in front of you," he says. "That's what you came for, right? Just take it and leave."I look down at my feet. It takes me a moment to spot my BMX lying on i
FABLE Chapter 36
There's no light at the bottom on the ocean.I'm swaying on the currents in silence, giving no resistance as I twist gently on the tide.It's so cold here.There's no up or down, no before or after, no here or there. Nothing outside of myself. Nothing to separate me from the endless black depths.I'm stuck in an endless oceanic slumber, lulled by the gentle rocking motion of distant waves.I could stay this way forever.Something's nagging at the edges of my mind, pulling at my consciousness, demanding attention.Somewhere, there is more than this.I haven't always been here. I know there was something before.Something happened. Something so terrible that I've sealed it away, safe in the deepest recesses of my nightmares.It's here with me now.I made this darkness myself, so
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She sits high up in the branches of an ancient blackthorn tree, draped in a darkness blacker than midnight.They’re still searching for her.She can hear the faraway shouting, the breaking of twigs underfoot, even the beating of their hearts.Now she watches those five blazing hearts dancing through the dark far below, glowing like red embers in the dying fire.Her eyes travel further afield, to the heart of the forest, where a nimbus of brilliant silver blooms in the shadows.She smiles as the cold wind tugs on her hair, and she sends a tune out along the breeze, towards the silvery light.The oldest song she can remember.A lullaby.Soon, she’ll be free.She’ll destroy it. Music made magic, the chain unbroken for a thousand years.
FABLE Chapter 51
This can't be happening.The massive ball of silver light hanging in the air unfurls, opening up like the petals of an incandescent metallic rose.In the circle of luminosity, a wavy ribbon of radiance seems to move in a slow pattern, weaving in and out of itself like a twisting knot of smoke.As my eyes adjust, I make out its real shape.Impossible.A long, coiling body covered in glinting scales like a thousand tiny mirrors, reflecting the light of the full moon. A coffin-shaped head bobbing slowly on an invisible current. Two wide, glittering green eyes shining like emeralds.Even though it must be at least twenty feet above us, I can clearly see a series of markings on the underbelly of the serpent, darker scales or scarring, running down its length like Hieroglyphics or some ancient script.A figure-eight on its side. A cross looped o
FABLE Chapter 50
The forest is bathed in bright silvery moonlight as we make our way along the trail from the car park.Despite Felix and Alastaire's spat, the evening served its purpose.Satisfied now that they'd met – or rather, interrogated – the band, my parents were totally happy to send me off with them at the end of the night with my overnight bag, a flashlight and the remaining strawberry cupcakes in a tupperware.We agreed I'll stay with the guys as long as it takes to get the album recorded – maybe up to a week or longer – and I'll phone my mom to check in every day.It'll be so much better not having to do this long walk twice a day. And staying over at the cabin's gonna be fun. Like a summer camp. Even if I'm feeling sort of nervous about being around Felix after the… thing… that happened in my bedroom.Now, as I pick my way along th
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I'm putting the finishing touches on a strawberry cupcake when I hear the doorbell ringing, followed by frantic knocking.I run to the front door, and swing it open.Kitty's standing on the front porch, looking like she just stepped out of The Great Gatsby. She's wearing a chic forest green silk dress, and her bob of dark hair is tied back with a filmy white scarf, which trails down her back. Fluttering in the breeze, the scarf makes it look almost like she has a set of translucent wings. A pair of huge dark glasses – the sort celebs wear when evading the paparazzi – in combination with the scarf wings makes me think of a bug.In fact, Kitty looks a lot like a dragonfly right now – a dragonfly crossed with a gorgeous glamazon heiress.As soon as I open the door, she's visibly relieved.She turns towards the road and gestures behind her, at a black Jeep parked just a
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By the time we wrap up and leave the recording studio, I’m feeling on top of the world.Elliot was totally right. As soon as we started jamming, everything just fell into place.The boys had already written most of the music and lyrics for the new album. They’d been practicing the songs for weeks, and the only thing missing was the acoustic guitar.At first they just played through what they had, and I slipped in, adding the sound of my guitar to the music they’d already created.It was clear to see why Felix was so determined to include acoustic guitar on the new album. Without it, the songs had the same old familiar indie rock sound of their previous singles. But with the addition of the extra sound, everything seemed to take on a mystical, romantic, almost eerie quality.After hours of revisions and experimentation, we have the first song ready to record.
FABLE Chapter 46
By the time I reach the boys’ hideout, it’s already past 9am.Someone’s gonna be sooo pissed.A mental image of Felix impatiently sitting on the steps outside the front door with a scowl plastered on his face pops into my mind, and I find it oddly satisfying.Let him wait. I’m not his slave.But as I leave the forest and walk across the clearing towards the cabin, I can see that the steps are empty. He’s not waiting.Maybe he forgot.I’m glad to finally be finished the long walk – I bought my guitar along in its case today, and it gets surprisingly heavy after almost an hour of carrying it.I pause at the foot of the steps, looking up at the carpet of brilliant red roses clinging to the front of the cabin.As the princess lay slumbering, around the castle the
FABLE Chapter 45
I wake up crying.The image of Mia with a bloody rose blooming from her lips makes my stomach turn, and I realize I'm about to hurl.I make it to the bathroom in the nick of time, and I throw-up up until I taste bile.Afterwards, I take a hot shower, scrubbing away the night's memories and terrors.If only I could forget it all.Forget the nightmare. Forget the accident. Forget Evan and Mia.Once I'm done in the shower, I change into skinny jeans, a white cami, and my red hoodie.The same hoodie that the Alastaire's Angels tore to shreds the night of the concert. I never did ask Felix how he mended it so quickly. Although it's not like he would have mended it personally. Maybe someone at the hotel did it.I run my fingers over the seams, looking for some stitch out of place, a clue, but it's as perfect a
FABLE Chapter 44
I'm standing beneath a starry sky on the edge of a jagged cliff.Ocean waves crash against a rocky shore far below, churning up swirling sea foam bathed in silvery moonlight.My hair whips around me; the wind stings my eyes.I stand for a long time, looking down at the raging seas.Somewhere in that dark ocean, the bus is sinking, a metal coffin falling forever.I can feel the cold interior slick with blood; I can hear my classmates calling me.There's a tug in my chest, like an invisible string pulling me forward.Somehow I know that if I look too long, I'll float out to sea, and I'll never be able to swim back.So I focus my attention on the pale white ribbon of sand that stretches like a snake out along the base of the cliffs far below, glowing faintly with trapped moonlight.A procession of figures in silver
