Chosen: Book 1 in the Ancients of Light series (43 page)

Lorcan’s response was quick, “Are they aware
of our plans for tonight?”

Alexandros shook his blonde head in response,
“If they have been apprised of our intentions, it has not been by
anyone in my Coven. The final details for this excursion were not
provided to my men until tonight, immediately prior to joining you
here.”

Lorcan nodded, understanding the precaution.
Even within this new alliance of the covens, there may be members
that still secretly supported the Council. His gaze swept the room,
“I cannot think that any of these leaders would find it necessary
to provide an account of our activities to the Council, and we do
not require their authorization to act against the Dark.”

If the creak of the door had not drawn his
attention, the bubbling laughter of his female would have. Her
manner was carefree as she entered, glancing back at Myrrdyn and
Jortha as she made a jest. Lorcan was pleased to see his little
witch had toned down her appearance for the engagement. Her makeup
and hair were still done in the style of the Ancient Witch and her
spiked boots were present, but the leather of her breeches did not
hug her like a second skin, and her corset had been replaced with a
black, long-sleeved glittering shirt. Upon closer inspection, he
realized the material was chain mail, extremely fine and tightly
woven in its construction. His crest adorned the material high on
her right shoulder. Her sword was affixed to a belt at her hip and
her daggers rode on her back; her light-hearted banter did not
correspond with the danger she represented.

Kaitriana felt the gaze of her mate. When her
eyes tracked to him, pleasure filled her face and she rushed to his
side.

Heedless of the presence of Colm and
Alexandros, Lorcan dropped a quick kiss to her brow as his arm
encircled her waist. Pulling her against him, he lightly
reprimanded, “You are late, little warrior.”

She offered him a frown and her excuse while
tugging at her sleeve, “I was having trouble with this. Chain mail
is not so easy to work with...to make pretty.”

Lorcan laughed and his companions showed
their own amusement with their smiles, “We are going to war Kat.
Functional is essential, pretty is not.”

Kaitriana eyed his person for a moment.
Returning eyes filled with teasing disdain to him, she tapped on
his armor, “Functional need not be ugly, Warrior. If you will give
me but a few moments, I can create something dazzling for you as
well.”

He dropped a kiss to her lips before
replying, “I would rather be ugly than sparkle, Kat.” His
companions were nodding their agreement and she could only shake
her head at them and their unsightly wardrobes.

Tightening his hold, he guided her towards
the hearth where the leaders had begun to congregate. Nodding in
greeting, he kept his hold on her and noted that Myrrdyn too had
finally made his way to the group. The Sorcerer of Light intended
to lend his mighty magic to tonight’s foray. Assignments were
discussed, as were contingency plans in the event of any unforeseen
circumstances.

Lorcan kept a watchful eye on the silent
interaction between Kaitriana and her grandfather. He noted the
frowns she passed to Myrrdyn along with the unwavering stare the
elder returned. As the leaders dispersed to make final preparations
with their own groups, Lorcan’s hand on her shoulder stayed her.
Entrapping her within the band of his arms, he kept her there until
Myrrdyn took his leave. He waited patiently for her undivided
attention and gave her a look that said he would tolerate nothing
less than the truth, “What game does the Sorcerer play tonight,
Kaitriana?”

He could see the emotions in her eyes and
hear the guilt in her vague reply, “The same as always, Lorcan. We
are all pawns in his game. Myrrdyn does not share his purpose or
his methods with me, nor does he seek my counsel. He acts of his
own accord in all things.”

Lorcan captured her chin and forced her eyes
to his, clipping his words sternly, “What has he done, Kaitriana?”
He knew by her expression that she was in disagreement with her
grandfather but could also tell that it was weighing on her to
betray the confidence of the Sorcerer. His voice gentled and he
reminded her, “Kaitriana, I am your mate. Your loyalty is to me
first, second to the Light, and third to your kin – Myrrdyn or any
other.”

He could tell that the words had the desired
impact, doing much to alleviate her conflicted emotions. Her tone
was troubled, indicative of her distress when she confessed,
“Myrrdyn has informed the Council of our plans. He sent a missive
to Alaric before arriving here tonight.”

The only visible reaction was the clenching
of Lorcan’s jaw, “Why?”

Her answer was immediate and he knew that the
girl was not withholding anything, “I know not his purpose, and he
would not tell me more.”

Lorcan nodded and released her to gain Colm’s
attention, waving him over from the table where he and the Elite
were. After informing his second of the development and instructing
him to advise the other leaders, he turned back to Kaitriana, “It
was foolish. If the Council intends to make a show against us for
defying them, this is their opportunity. We will need to be mindful
of it as we proceed. Our battle plans were fashioned to deal with
one enemy, not two.”

Kaitriana offered her quick agreement and
slipped her hand into his, hoping to appease his upset, “It cannot
be undone, Lorcan. The Council has not the warriors that you and
your allied Covens do nor have they much time to prepare. It would
be foolish to confront our forces tonight. If that is what they
intend, it will be unsuccessful and will only further establish
your position that the alliance between the Covens and the Castes
is strong. This alliance is critical if we are to defeat the Dark,
they
must
see the truth in this.”

He was leading her through the great hall
towards the inner courtyard where his men were gathered and
waiting. Myrrdyn was absent, fortuitous for him given Lorcan’s ire.
They had reached the steps before he responded, “I grow weary of
Myrrdyn’s manipulations and this interference will not go
unchallenged. I will have a few choice words for your grandfather
once this battle is over.” Her expression was resolute when
Kaitriana gave her agreement, surprising him with her quick and
steadfast support.

Myrrdyn was the most powerful Witch in the
Realm, but she was coming into her powers and as Chosen she had
given rule of the Witch to Lorcan. Her grandfather had even
lectured her on the rightness of it, so she did not understand this
latest maneuver. Powerful and arrogant as her grandfather may be,
he too was Witch. He would need to cease meddling in affairs in
which Lorcan was in charge. She was aligned with her mate and
wanted him to have no doubts about her allegiance.

In an attempt to lessen his anger, she rose
up on her toes and offered him her lips, “You need to kiss me
Vampire…for luck.”

That raised a smile and as Lorcan leaned in
to do just that, he countered, “I just need to kiss you. I have
trained you well Witch, you require no luck.” He gave her his lips
in a melting kiss. Pulling back he whispered, “That is all you will
get Kaitriana…I do not need you distracted tonight.”

Laughing, she stole another quick kiss anyway
before dropping down, “It is time, Warrior of Light. You will make
us late with your amorous mauling of your mate.”

Lorcan gave her an admonishing look for her
sass but the laughter in his eyes ruined the effect. He waved a
hand in signal to his troops. Folding her tightly into his arms he
shadowed with her to Darkenword.

Their arrival had been preceded by several
hundred Witch. The Castes all intermingled to provide units that
held powers from each of the seven. Interspersed within those units
were warriors from the Covens. The massive force spread over the
land was capable of delivering a crushing blow. A message of
retribution would be given to the Dark by the newly aligned
Light.

Even so, Lorcan was ready for the
confrontation to be over. He knew his father well enough to
understand that if Alaric was determined to oppose the alliance of
the factions, he would make a show of power against it soon. This
battle set the stage perfectly for him to do so. Lorcan only hoped
that the elder would be wise enough to not engage in an altercation
with his allies.

Darkenword was well-lit and its occupants
were about their regular activities, seemingly oblivious to the
lurking danger that surrounded the expansive castle. He knew that
the coupled magic of Cade and Kaitriana was responsible for
shielding them from detection. His little witch had grumbled loudly
to all that would listen about having to spend significant time in
the presence of the Spell Caste leader working on the correct
combination of magic to accomplish the feat.

Lorcan looked down at Kaitriana; she was
studying the structure in awe. Catching his look, she turned away
from the castle and back to him, whispering quietly, “It reminds me
of Laverock but it reeks of evil.” Lorcan had never noticed the
similarity. He gave the castle a quick glance and then nodded in
agreement to her observation. She continued, “Darkenword belongs to
Turloch. He hated your mother, hated all the Queens. That evil
witch wanted to be superior to them all. It stands to reason that
he would attempt to create a holding that would rival the one that
belonged to the most powerful Queen.”

Lorcan also agreed with her judgment of
Turloch. The male was the most powerful of the Witch breed that was
in league with Rhydach. Though he was not quite as strong as
Myrrdyn, he was an Ancient and his treachery and evil nature were
legendary. All those fighting for the Light tonight hoped that he
would be in residence and meet his end in the confines of the
stronghold. Lorcan glanced down to find his mate smiling up at him,
anticipation gleaming in her eyes.

Kaitriana stepped free from his hold and
faced the structure. She knew that while no stone wall stood
between the Light and the occupants, there was a strong protection
of magic encircling the grounds. She snapped her fingers, light
sparking at the tips, and gave the men around her a wink, “Let’s
see what the Dark Witch has for us.”

The Caste leaders stayed with their people,
with the exception of Cade who would lend his support to
Kaitriana’s destruction of the barrier, if necessary. He took
position at her left, Lorcan guarded her right, and the remainder
of the Elite fell in behind. She extended a glowing hand and began
slowly covering the ground between them and the castle yard.

Kaitriana had only ventured a few paces
forward when she stopped abruptly and tilted her head. All eyes of
her entourage riveted to her in question. Taking a deep breath she
closed her eyes and focused. Painful minutes of waiting were
finally relieved when she whispered, “There is Light…inside.”

The looks given to her were rife with
disbelief and Broderick finally sought clarification, “Prisoners,
perhaps?”

She only shook her head and focused once
again, then murmured more to herself than the group as though
trying to reason it out, “No…en masse…too many to be…” Her words
trailed off. When she lifted her gaze the full of her eye had been
overtaken by sparkling blue color, indicative of a massive rise of
her magic. “Raise the signal, we are betrayed…” The rest of her
warning was cut short. A sizzling white bolt took form and emerged
from the darkened entrance of the keep striking Kaitriana full
center in the chest. The strength of the impact lifted her from her
feet and threw her back into the wall of men behind.

Lorcan’s bellow of rage was signal enough,
the Light moved forward in their strike. All force was directed at
the magical barrier that was keeping them from reaching their
enemy. The same barrier was allowing their adversaries to launch
weapons and magical attacks from behind the protection.

The enraged vampire shoved at his men,
attempting to disentangle Kat from the mess of limbs and weapons.
When he was finally able to kneel at her side, his hands roamed
over her searching for injury and signs of life. His relief was
palpable when she batted his hands away from the charred spot on
her shirt, grumbling about him breaking more of her ribs than the
blow did.

The sounds of battle were ringing around
them, but her voice was clear when she plucked at the soot-laden
material covering her abdomen, “Pretty
and
functional.” Lorcan was torn between two plans of action - shadow
her away so that he could ascertain the extent of any injury for
himself or beat her for impertinence and nearly scaring the
immortal life from him.

She was ignoring Lorcan’s scowl for the
moment; her eerily glowing eyes were searching the group above her.
They stopped on Cade, “You need a spell to bind their shadowing. It
is the only way to make certain those that have betrayed us remain
within until we can determine their identities.” The male witch had
a measure of doubt in his eyes when he looked to the castle then
back to Kaitriana. She interjected imperiously as his mouth opened,
“Are you capable of spell casting beyond that barrier or will I
need to do it for you?” Cade flipped her off and spun on his heel
to see to the task.

Kaitriana extended a hand to Lorcan, “I know
you prefer me flat on my back, but I am not so effective here in a
fight.” Lorcan offered his hand and made up his mind that he was
definitely beating her when they returned home. He climbed to his
feet and pulled her to hers. She winked. Turning to face his men,
she raised her voice to be heard over the battle, “There are too
many of the Vampire here tonight to differentiate between Light and
Dark. Neither Cade nor I will be able to only bind the shadow
ability of our enemies; your men will be limited as well.”