Island Shifters: Book 03 - An Oath of the Children (23 page)

Do you think we will encounter more battle here, Nazar?

I do.
Unlike the Elves,
man
has
just
proven
himself
our enemy.

C
HAPTER
17

U
P IN
S
MOKE

Pure exhaustion sent Kane to his chambers the previous evening after a laborious game of cat and mouse with the Ellvinians, and he was not any closer to answers this morning than he had been last night. He
stood
up from the floor and stretched
out the ache in his back. Jala was so distraught last night that he let her have his bed to sleep in. Since the Ellvinians’
mind control worked on her, she did not wish to be alone.

With the exception of
Chandal and Samara’s personal guest chambers, which were heavily guarded,
Kane and Jala
searched the entire estate and
had
not found a single person that was not of Elven descent. Even Kellan and Kirby had
now
managed to disappear.
It was all so
bloody
frustrating.

“Are you awake,” Jala asked, sitting up and running a hand through her
long
chestnut hair.

“Yes.”

“I am tired of this
game, Kane. If we do not find Izzy today,
these Ellvinians will find out what happens when you stir a centuries-old blood oath.”
To back up her threat, a ball of fire flared into existence, and she rotated it back and forth between her hands.

He smiled. “You remind me of your father right now.”

She returned the smile. “That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

He walked to the
wash basin and filled it with water. Jala was right, but
where to look that they had
not already tried?
Izzy, the protectors, servants, guests, the watershifters, Cora the cook,
Kellan, Kirby
and
Alia, all gone.
The thought of Alia’s kiss brought a flare of heat to his cheeks but he pushed it away. Now, was certainly not the time to think about such
whimsy. But, he did still wonder where she
could be. After
catching a glimpse of her yesterday,
he had been unable to find her again.

How could
two
hundred people simply vanish over night? He was overlooking something important, but could not figure out what.

“I was thinking,” Jala said, letting the fire ball disappear. She got out of bed and began
tugging on her short leather boots. “Before we storm the guest chambers of our visitors, we should look for any rooms below ground. There
must
be
a wine or root cellar
we haven’t checked yet.”

“It’s worth a try.”

She walked into the sitting room and he followed. “I want to be sure that we have tried everything before using force.” She paused. “It is what our parents would do.”

“Agreed.”
Kane
reached for the door handle, but before he could
open it, Jala
grabbed his forearm.
“Kane, don’t let any of them look at me or talk to me. Please.”

Kane looked into her terrified eyes and
placed
his
hand
firmly
over hers.
“I won’t.”

She
allowed
him
to
open the door then and as
soon as they
stepped out, the Ellvinians in the hallway stopped to look at them.

“Good day, Prince!”

“Lady Jala, how was your sleep?”

All the banter
sounded cordial and non-threatening, but Kane knew better. He nodded to each Elf that spoke to him, but kept walking toward the stairs. When they were halfway down, he spotted Kellan in the antechamber standing in a group.

Thank the Highworld.

“Kellan!”

His brother turned,
lifted his head and waved him over. To Kane’s dismay, he was standing with Samara
and Chandal, but with some relief also noticed
Kirby Nash
and Lars Kingsley there as well.

“Kane!
Jala! We were just going out for a morning ride. One of the mayor’s aides found a
large patch
of wormwood and Lady Samara wishes to see it for herself. Why don’t you join us?”

“You’re leaving the estate?” Kane questioned suspiciously.

“Of course. It’s
a beautiful day for a ride.”

“Where have you been?
We need to talk,” he whispered urgently to his brother, but before Kellan
could answer,
Samara appeared at his side.

“We really must be going,” she drawled.
“Why don’t you join us, Prince Kane?”

Jala nudged
Kane
and he knew what she was thinking. Kellan
was being manipulated by
the
Ellvinians.
He
wanted nothing more than to shake
his brother
out of this farcical alliance and get him as far away from these
creatures
as possible, but knew he could not do that quite yet.
Kane ignored the black-eyed glare from Samara. “No.
I don’t think so.”

Kellan shrugged. “As you wish. I will see you when I return
then.”

With that, the small party departed for the horse stables outside.

A bump from behind
caused
Kane
to turn. It was Maks.

Jain is worried for you.

Kane took a deep breath.
I know. Tell him I am fine for the moment. Will you stay with Kellan?

Always.

Thank you, Maks.
Kane turned to go.

Prince?

Kane looked back at the cat.
Yes?

There is a door on a side corridor next to the kitchens. I detected a mixture of familiar scents at that door, but I could not get in.

Thank you, Maks!
It is the best lead we have had in days, and now is the perfect time to go take a look.

Be careful. There
is several of the enemy
in that corridor.

When Maks
departed,
Kane
quickly
explained to
Jala what the Draca Cat
told him.
He put an arm around her shoulder and steered her toward a hallway off the antechamber. “Now, we are going to walk nice and slow until we get to the third corridor on the right. After that, we are going to run.”

Her head turned sharply to look at him.

“We have to lose the two Elves following us. No! Don’t turn around.
Just keep walking and remember the
third corridor on the right.”

She nodded and when they arrived at their destination, she did exactly that. Kane took the long way to the kitchens, sprinting
through
hallways
he had come to know quite intimately
during the
night. Whenever they happened on one of the Elves, they slowed to a casual walk, but with the exception of the two that they lost from the antechamber, the other Ellvinians paid them little mind. He guessed they had
no
reason to be concerned what happened within the estate since all of the exits were so well guarded.

Still, they kept up the deception until they arrived at the hallway near
the
kitchens that Maks told him about.
Kane
held up a hand to Jala and
peeked into the
short corridor.
Three Ellvinians stood
in front of the only door in the hall.

Kane pulled Jala to the side.

“What now?” she asked.

“It’s time for a little fun.”

* * * * *

Fun
? Did Prince Kane Atlan with the golden eyes just utter the word
fun
?
Jala
shook her head. She must have heard wrong. Kane Atlan did not joke. Even when they were having
fun
as a group, you would never know that he was. In fact, spending these past few days with him was the most she had ever heard the boy speak.

Yet, it was hard to miss the
impish glint in his eye. He was up to something.

“I will create a diversion.
As soon as the last Elf leaves the hallway, get to that door and see what is inside.”

Jala
nodded
and crouched in readiness
to run.

Kane
took a deep breath and
stepped out into the opening of the short hallway. “Hey, Elves, are
any of
you up for a game of tag?
I heard that Elves can run pretty fast!” As soon as the words
left his mouth, he sprinted away.

Jala pressed
her body flat against the wall
as one of the Ellvinians laughed and chased
after
him. What now, she wondered and then smiled when a shifted illusion of Kane
appeared
around the corner, whistling. At least she thought he was whistling. No sound ever issued from Kane’s images.

One of the two remaining
Ellvinians cursed. “What is
this?”

“You better check it out,” the other suggested.

Jala watched the Elf
carefully come out into the hall and
cautiously
follow
the whistling Kane
headed in
the
opposite direction of the first.

She
almost giggled out loud
when a
third image of Kane peeled away from the shadows of the hallway and stepped up to meet the
lone
Ellvinian
still
guarding the door.
This is fun.

The Elf,
undaunted
by the obvious magic he was witnessing,
approached Kane. “Come here, boy. I have a song for you.”

Kane backed away and
ran, and
the Ellvinian
gave chase without
looking at her.

After a quick glance both ways, Jala
ran for the door and pulled it open.
A musty scent filled her nose and all she could see was a set of
stairs leading down into semi-darkness. Like her father, she did not like tight, closed places, but she promised Kane she would find out what was behind this door.

Taking a deep breath, she
called forth a ball of light and started down, relieved when she saw
Kane
slip in
the door
behind
her. She
jumped the last few rungs of the steps, landed hard and
rolled across the dirt floor.

Before she could get to her feet, someone with strong arms reached out and lifted her
up.
Someone with a long, black beard and thick braids on both sides of his head.

“Dallin!”

With unexpected emotion of her own,
it touched her to see tears in the
Iron Fist’s
eyes as he
gazed
at her. “Oh, Kali, thank the Highworld you are safe!”

She hugged him tight. “It is good to see you, Dallin.”

Sensing movement
behind Dallin, she peered around
him into a root
cellar filled
with
wall-to-wall people.
Some sitting, some standing with their shirt sleeves rolled up and dirt covering their faces.
Some even sleeping.
Elon, Haiden, Gregor, servants and, if the silk trousers were any indication, visitors from the island of Hiberi.
She even spotted a pair of giant Cymans
standing in the back by the wall.

They finally found everyone, and her heart soared. “Where is Izzy?” she asked Dallin desperately.

He gave her a curt
shake of his head. “Izabel is not here. I have
not seen her.”