Free Flickering Light (Return To Avalore Book 0) by Elianne Adams

Flickering Light
    Wailing, loud and incessant, ripped Barbara from her sleep. Somewhere close by, someone had lost the battle and succumbed to the darkness. When would it all end? The mournful sound tore at her heart, shredding it as hot tears trickled down her cheeks. She tried to block it out, to ignore the angry roars and shouts coming from the street below, but it blasted through her home, through her. It stabbed at her resolve, rendering it useless as the misery swooped in once more.
    Just a few hours ago, she had been contemplating doing the exact same thing—leaving this life behind in the hope of finding peace in the next. She couldn’t think of facing another day, or week, or month without pain crushing her chest and stealing her breath. It would be so easy to let go, to escape to a place where the light of their people shone through and the pain engulfing her didn't exist, but she couldn’t, not yet. She’d given her word.
    Stumbling to her window, Barbara peered across the street. Mrs. Erikson fell to her knees, sobbing in her front yard. They didn’t deserve this. None of them did. Mr. and Mrs. Erikson were good people. They worked hard to keep their home open and inviting. They hosted gatherings in the hopes of spreading joy to those who could no longer see light, yet the darkness had found its way into their home as well.
    No one was immune to it. They would all surrender; each one of them would fall. Too many years without their queen’s light to balance the creatures within sent them spiraling into darkness. Very few, if any, would find their way back once the creatures themselves gave up the fight to go on.
    Slamming her window shut, Barbara turned away. She couldn’t bear to think which of the Erikson’s three daughters had fallen prey to the encroaching evil, which of the young lives had been cut short by the senselessness of it all.
    She couldn’t stay. Hearing the wails of the grieving and knowing there was little anyone could do to ease their suffering had her tumbling to the edge of her will. And she was already far too close. Grabbing her wrap, Barbara headed out the door. She didn’t bother to dress, or even put shoes on her feet. None of that mattered. Acceptance would be hers if she knocked on Clay’s door, regardless of the time of night, or her state of undress. He would take her in and keep the madness from swallowing her whole.
    Gathering energy beneath her, she rose from the ground and turned from the people across the way, hoping to find a measure of comfort from the one person left in this world who still cared, even a little, about her. Maybe he could coax her dragon from the deepest recesses of her soul, for Goddess knew, she no longer could.
    Usually, by the time she made her way from her home to the city’s edge, she managed to get her emotions under control, but the vise squeezing the air from her lungs tightened. A weight she had no hope of lifting crushed her soul. She should fight, shove the pain and darkness away with all her might, but part of her wanted to cede to the whispered promise of rest. Perhaps it was already too late. If Clay couldn’t help her, she doubted she would see the dawn.
    No light shone from his windows. No sound greeted her. It was as though the commotion across the city had drawn all of Avalore, leaving the other homes empty and cold. Her heart thudded in her chest. What if he wasn’t home? Worse yet, what if he wasn’t alone?
    A growl rumbled in her chest. She would know if he was involved with anyone, wouldn’t she? She hadn’t seen him in a few days, but things didn’t happen that fast, did they? Scorching heat churned inside her, making her heart flutter. Lifting her nose, she sniffed the air. Nothing but his spicy masculine scent greeted her, pleasing her dragon. Barbara held her breath, desperate for the connection to the beast. The dragon hadn’t awakened in weeks, its slumber so deep, nothing she had done had brought it out, yet the