Broken

  BROKEN

  BROKEN

  THE BREACH CHRONICLES: BOOK I

  IVY LOGAN

  Copyright © 2019 Ivy Logan.

  This edition published in 2019 by BLKDOG Publishing.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  www.blkdogpublishing.com

  Acknowledgements

  A big thank you to my dearest mum, Ivy, my dad, Francis, and my sister, Karen, for inspiring me to see the wonder in life a long time ago and for supporting me even today. My journey began with you.

  I couldn’t have done this without my husband, Ian, who set me down this path and has supported me in every way possible. You have allowed me to remain in my dream world and thus create Broken. You are my rock.

  Thank you to my children, who have remained supportive and encouraging even though I ignored you both in favour of Talia.

  Vishvesh Desai and your team at Ideascope, you have been a friend and a guiding light, always there for me. Could I have done this without you? I don’t think so.

  Abbie, my editor, it felt great knowing you were there to answer any query, to clarify any doubt. I depend on you.

  Ann Walker, you were the beta reader Talia needed to emerge into the light. Your consistent and encouraging feedback was my greatest friend.

  My dear friend, author Verity Short, thank you. Your beta inputs made a great difference to the book.

  A big mention to all my friends, including those on Facebook, Twitter and in the blog world, for always supporting me and answering my many questions.

  And thank you Mario for making Talia real for the readers of Broken and for me.

  Contents

  TITLE PAGE

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER I

  CHAPTER II

  CHAPTER III

  CHAPTER IV

  CHAPTER V

  CHAPTER VI

  CHAPTER VII

  CHAPTER VIII

  CHAPTER IX

  CHAPTER X

  CHAPTER XI

  CHAPTER XII

  CHAPTER XIII

  CHAPTER XIV

  CHAPTER XV

  CHAPTER XVI

  CHAPTER XVII

  CHAPTER XVIII

  CHAPTER XIX

  CHAPTER XX

  CHAPTER XXI

  CHAPTER XXII

  CHAPTER XXIII

  CHAPTER XXIV

  CHAPTER XXV

  CHAPTER XXVI

  CHAPTER XXVII

  CHAPTER XXVIII

  CHAPTER XXIX

  CHAPTER XXX

  EPILOGUE

  PROLOGUE

  Evil has many faces. Vanquish it at its genesis before it spreads its vicious tentacles is what the wise would advise. But sometimes evil is disguised in a cloak of innocence and its true nature remains hidden.

  Damien’s fascination with violence probably began a long time ago when he was just a boy of six who had a rendezvous with death and survived. But no one would be able to pinpoint the exact moment when his tryst with evil began.

  It was a time of war between humans and their sworn adversaries, the supernaturals. Amidst an atmosphere of distrust and hate began the Purge, the great war between humans and supernaturals, with each side trying to annihilate the other.

  Damien had never seen giants or werewolves before, and even as his human family succumbed to the brutality of the conflict, the little boy had eyes only for the giants, majestic but vicious and half blind. Just the heel of a giant could smash the little one to bits, but did he notice? No. The colossal creatures captivated the boy so much that they drove him to flaunt an utter and complete disregard for his own life as he stood dumbstruck staring up at them.

  This was probably the only time he displayed such foolhardy behaviour, because the man Damien would grow up to become would never risk his life in such a fashion for any reason whatsoever.

  ****

  The Heichi were a clan of sorceresses, the most powerful among all supernaturals. Ava was one of their Elders, a firstborn among the immortal sorceresses. Each of them had a gift, a special power. Ava’s was her sight. Ava had no mastery over her visions, and if an event in the future was sufficiently potent and forceful, it drew her to it across the lines of time. This abrupt travel through space and time often ravaged her until she realized it was better to accept the pull than to fight it.

  Ava usually took the advice of her best friend and protector, Siobhan. Siobhan was an Elder like her, but she was also the queen of the Heichi. Her exquisite beauty was legendary, as was her knowledge, ageless and flavoured with wisdom and experience that only an immortal destined to be a queen could enjoy. Ava literally had to look up to the much taller Siobhan, who always wore elegance effortlessly in a finely flowing sheath wrapped around her like a cocoon and shimmering like a waterfall. The beauty of the Heichi sorceresses was so glorious that it had a tendency to turn humans into gibbering fools; it therefore was usually toned down. But as Siobhan generally stayed away from mankind and their ilk, she let her beauty shine through, unvarnished and unimpeded.

  Ava’s focus remained on blending in with humans by playing down her ethereal beauty and garbing herself in wools, capes and tunics. Having to disguise her voluminous, soft curls as blue as the colour of the day sky that would otherwise be cascading over her delicate shoulders almost to her knees was a difficult task for Ava. Blue hair was not a colour a human would ignore. The secret of the Heichi legacy lay in the cerulean blue of their hair. Even the strongest of spells would never be able to alter its colour. Chop it off and the magic would be lost.

  ****

  The Purge was such a great event that it pulled Ava from the past. Seeing the little boy about to be smashed to smithereens, she snatched him away right from under the colossal foot of a giant. Her soft-hearted nature saved Damien’s life. In her own time, the other sorceresses called her Ava the Merciful, because she could never see another in pain or danger.

  As Damien stared transfixed at the face of the cloaked woman with slender brows, soothing hazel eyes and an unblemished face that shone with a mystical grace, Ava was unmindful of his adoring gaze. In her haste to save the child, she had disobeyed Siobhan. It would have taken a heartless person to stand back and watch a cherubic child trampled to death. Ava did not have a mean bone in her body, so she had rushed to the rescue. She had saved the boy, but in doing so, she meddled with time. She had gone against Siobhan, who had expressly forbidden her from intervening in events of the future.

  If only Ava could leave Damien behind. But to whom would she entrust this little boy? His family was dead. Almost everyone else was dead too. She saw no women around, at least none who were living—the dead were far too many.

  The men who still lived were violent, intent on killing and attacking supernaturals, including her. How could she leave this defenceless child with bloodthirsty killers even if they were human?

  In the past, which is where Ava came from, the eagle eyes of Siobhan awaited her. If Ava took Damien back, her best friend would be both appalled and terrified of the consequences of Ava’s utter disregard for orders.

  The other sorceresses, eager to cause discord between the two Elder sorceresses, would interpret Ava’s disobedience as an act of mutiny r
ather than humanity. They would use it as fodder to drive a wedge between Siobhan and Ava. No, she couldn’t take Damien to the past, but he wasn’t safe in his own time. So that only left the future.

  Ava took the boy many years ahead of his own time. She loved children, and furthermore, she felt responsible for the fate of this little one she had saved. Having watched his family and his people mowed down by giants or cut to pieces by werewolves and other creatures was more than enough of a cross for a child to bear in one lifetime. Those pure of heart and mind often tend to see others in the same halo of goodness. Ava only saw the innocence; she saw none of the guile or speculation in Damien’s eyes.

  Ava belatedly realized that the time she chose to take Damien to seemed to be devoid of supernaturals, but she didn’t have the time to look for them. She had to return to the past, otherwise Siobhan would suspect something had gone wrong. The humans barely remembered the existence of sorceresses and other supernatural folk. She hoped that this new environment would work in Damien’s favour and give him a fresh start. She wanted the child to forget the torment he had been through. She hoped he would find nothing but happiness with his new family.

  Ava noticed Damien’s lack of tears. She assumed the boy failed to grieve for his family because he was in shock. How could she know that even as a child, Damien was already shrewd, manipulative and thinking one step ahead?

  Ava left Damien in the custody of the childless king and queen of Aberevon. She believed this way the boy would be loved, would be safe, and would want for nothing.

  The queen welcomed Ava’s gift with all her heart, but the king looked upon Ava with suspicion. He hated this young child that the stranger had thrust upon him, but he did not want to disappoint his queen, so he smiled his acquiescence. The boy looked like a weakling; the king hoped he would not survive past his tenth year. His queen could enjoy the bliss of motherhood for a while, but hopefully he would not have to crown an outsider as his heir. The king did not know he would not live to see how wrong he was.

  Before Ava left, Damien caught her hand. “Thank you for saving me,” he said, his voice suffused with gratitude.

  Overcome by maternal feelings, Ava made another mistake. “You are very welcome, Damien,” she replied. “This is what we do.” She unwittingly told him more than she should have.

  “We?” he asked.

  Charmed by the innocence of the child, she answered, “Me and my sisters. Others just like me.”

  “What if something happens here? Will you come back for me, or send your sisters to get me? What if you die too, like my parents? Who will look after me? This king and queen, or your sisters?” he asked bitterly, somehow feeling apprehensive about his new home.

  “Only happiness awaits you in Aberevon. I have looked into your new mother. She is the epitome of kindness. I would never hand you over to a stranger just like that. As for me, I cannot return here, but you will always find me somewhere on Earth because I must already exist somewhere in this timeline.” She fell silent. Ava realized that in her haste to reassure the child, she had again told him too much.

  Damien’s eyes sparkled with understanding. “Are you one of them?” he asked. “One of the immortal sorceresses?”

  Ava gasped. Damien’s astuteness took her by surprise. How could he be aware of the existence of the Heichi sorceresses at only six years old? She did not know too much about children. Were they usually this aware? Maybe they picked up more than they should. It didn’t matter, as she intended to wipe Damien’s memories clean of the past, otherwise it would be too dangerous for him and for other magical beings, who seemed to have hidden themselves. The Purge must have permanently destroyed the already tense relations between the two factions, but the disappearance of the supernaturals from the future would have to remain a secret from the other Heichi for now.

  Ava faced another hurdle. Little Damien had his own secrets. The biggest one was, of course, his resistance to her memory-wiping spell. For some reason, Ava’s magic was ineffectual on him. He remembered everything but chose to keep this from Ava. When she asked him if he knew who she was, he feigned a blank look. She looked deep into his eyes and saw no recognition in the slightest. Ava left, secure in the belief that Damien was now free of the past, although this was a falsehood perpetrated by Damien for reasons best known to him.

  Existing in one time and retaining echoes of a past life and world would always ensure Damien’s memories were torn between the life he remembered and the life he was living. He would eventually be a man who inspired fear and hate with no hope for redemption.

  Ava wouldn’t learn the truth until it was too late. Her actions would irrevocably impact the future and she would only get one opportunity to right a grave wrong.

  CHAPTER I

  I never knew being suspended in time could be such torture.

  It is not easy waiting on the outside when every fibre of my being is crying for the impossible, a simple touch, a smile or a word from a loved one. I presumed I knew pain, but being invisible to the ones I love hurts like nothing has ever hurt before. My soul yearns for them.

  I can only console myself with the certainty that this was my preordained destiny because it all started long before me with my mother, Caitlin.

  Talia

  THE BIRTH OF A SORCERESS - CAITLIN

  Three years after the Purge, the great war between the humans and supernaturals…

  The water of the Well of Creation foamed and bubbled. A sorceress was coming. To Siobhan’s relief, the well’s surface was layered with white flowers—white—a symbol of the coming of a guardian sorceress.

  Every sorceress in the Heichi clan had a purpose and a role to play. The magical powers of the well denoted their roles through the colours of the flowers that bloomed before the birth of a sorceress. This was the first time white flowers had bloomed because this was the very first guardian ordained by the Well of Creation.

  Ava volunteered to be the first of the guardians, the only Heichi sorceresses who still lived on Earth, and because of her, other sorceresses followed suit. The mutual hate and suspicion between humans and the supernaturals led to a war with many innocents dying on both sides.

  Most of the supernaturals left their earthly abode soon after the war ended and formed their own magical realm parallel to Earth—Htrae. But old habits die hard, and every so often, one of the supernaturals would stray back to Earth. Earth was once their home after all, so it was only natural they were still drawn to it. Ava and the other guardians always stood between them and the humans.

  The humans had long forgotten about the existence of supernaturals—with good reason. Some of the supernatural clans had enjoyed hunting humans for mere sport.

  Siobhan didn’t abide by the idea of leaving humans at the mercy of violent and aggressive supernaturals. Neither did she want the humans to declare another war against them, hence the sisterhood of the guardians was very important to her. The guardians always found the stray fugitives and sent them back to Htrae. If a human saw a supernatural, the guardians would wipe their memory clean. It was now three years after the Purge, and this was the very first guardian sorceress that the Well of Creation was sending them. The guardians had been spread thin with their dual duties of protecting humans and supernaturals from each other, so Siobhan was very excited about this special addition.

  Fortunately, the newborn was unaware of the excitement surrounding her birth. It would have confounded her beyond measure. As it were, she emerged from the hallowed waters of the Well of Creation disoriented and as wobbly as a newborn fawn.

  The ancient and broken down well attracted neither humans nor thirsty animals. The Heichi left their hallowed well in a state of disrepair without any magical safeguards because they knew the nature of humans and their propensity to arrive at conclusions based on merely external appearances. Seeing the antiquated well, their eyes just slid over it because to them, it was a decrepit old structure that had been part of the scenery since who knows when. If
anyone did give it a second look, it was only to infer that its waters would probably be rancid and putrid and all things terrible. The truth was, without the magical waters of the Well of Creation, the Heichi sorceresses’ magic would gradually die out.

  Siobhan’s gentle hands supported and steadied the newborn’s young body, fragile and weak from disuse. When Siobhan stumbled, Ava stepped in to lend a hand. Together they helped the young one to her feet.

  When the newcomer lifted her head, both Ava and Siobhan gasped. She was the mirror image of Ava except for her eyes; while Ava’s were hazel, her twin had eyes of the bluest blue, clear and beautiful like the waters of a calm lake. The newborn spotted the resemblance too.

  Ava and the newborn exchanged timid smiles, a strong bond of friendship surging between them. When the rest of the sorceresses christened their new sister ‘Caitlin’, Ava was the first one to envelope Caitlin in a warm hug.

  As Caitlin grew in awareness, she felt great power coursing through her. Her body tingled and sparked as though a fire was surging through it. As she adapted to her divinity, the elusive and ancient knowledge of the Heichi became hers and her confusion slipped further away. The anticipation of an exciting new voyage made her pulse quicken. The soft blue eyes of the young sorceress flitted from the smiling faces surrounding her to the myriad colours and shapes of her new world with unabashed curiosity.

  “Welcome, child,” said Siobhan lightly, for it was her responsibility to make a newborn sorceress feel contented and safe. However, as she looked at Caitlin, Siobhan sensed that this sorceress was different from all the others who had come before her but couldn’t put her finger on what is was that was different. It was not just her startling resemblance to Ava; her expression was also identical to Ava’s, benign and aware. It did not just shine with joy or anticipation alone. There was something more.