Island Shifters: Book 03 - An Oath of the Children (26 page)

When he
put
her down, she
scrambled
as far away as she could and turned her head away
when he began to remove his clothes. It did not take him long, and she
felt the mattress
sink under his weight
when he laid down next to her. She squeezed her eyes shut.

“Come here, Izabel,” he whispered and dragged her close to him. He rolled his body on top of hers and pinned her arms above her head.
Oh, no. He
must let go of my hand! I need my hand!

She
tried to wriggle away, but instead of angering him, it just seemed to excite him more.
“That’s right, Izabel,” he said breathlessly.
“Keep moving.”

Finally, he let go of her one of her arms to trail his own hand down the length of her body.

She did not hesitate. She reached for the sharpened stick under her pillow and with both hands, plunged the makeshift weapon into the side of his neck.

He grunted, but did not scream out.
Gulping back a sob, she pressed and pressed
with all her might, not wanting to give the dark Elf an opportunity to sing his song.

The tears came now, flooding down her cheeks as
she withdrew the weapon and stabbed it over and over into his neck.
When he fell back, she
rolled
on top of him and
straddled his body,
all the
while
continuing to push the weapon deep into his neck.

She bit her lip to keep herself from crying out and tried to clear her mind of every thought except putting an end to the harm this Elf wanted to inflict on her and
would inflict on
others if given the chance.

The crude knife in her hands made a sickening sucking noise as she pulled it out
and
thrust it into the other side of his neck. Her mind shut down as she repeatedly hacked at his throat.

At some point, she realized he was no
longer moving, but
he
continued to make
a gurgling sound
through
lips
coated
in a
red
so deep it almost appeared black.

She lifted an arm
to wipe her hair away from her face and suddenly became aware of the amount of blood dripping from her trembling hands.
With a tortured cry, she
jerked the knife free of Chandal and fell away from him
onto the floor.

She scrambled back into
the
corner of the room and pulled her knees up close to her chest.
Covered in the blood of the
man
she murdered, she
glanced down at the weapon she fashioned from a stick
and
a piece of sandstone.
Both pieces she pried from the toilet in the small privy off the bedroom, the only place she was allowed to go alone.

Her father taught her to how to make
this knife
once, and she silently thanked him
for saving her life
this day.
But, thoughts of him broke the dam on her tightly-held emotions, and she fell on her side and
began to sob uncontrollably.

* * * * *

Kane stumbled
along the empty servant’s quarter. He was not sure how much longer he could keep up the shifting needed to elude the Ellvinians. To make matters worse, more of them were coming in off the ships. All through the night, he suffered through their
destructive
ransacking of Northfort and the screams of the people still in the city. His only hope was that most of the inhabitants had followed his
instructions
and evacuated.

What he really needed was to find Kellan and Kirby. Together, the three of them would be able to free Jala and the others from the cellar
and
possibly even locate a
bodyshifter messenger to
fly to Nysa and
inform
his grandfather, King Maximus,
of their plight so he could send
troops to the region.

First, he had to find his brother, and that
was proving to be an impossible task.

Jain!

All he received was a snarl in return.

I know, my friend. I want you be my side as well.

The
pointy-eared
cowards do not dare to show their faces outside.
They know what awaits them.

When
Kane
glanced out of a
window earlier,
he saw
Jain prowling the courtyard outside.
He could not imagine what the Ellvinians thought of him.

Have you been able to reach Maks?

Yes.

What did he say? Where is Kellan?

He said Prince Kellan will
find you.

At least that means he is safe. I will continue my search, Jain. As soon as I find him, we will overpower the guards
and
let you inside.

Do not take long. My patience is wearing very thin.

Seemingly,
out of nowhere, a pair of hands reached out, grabbed Kane by the shoulders, and rammed him against the wall. The breath rushed from his lungs in a loud grunt.
“Let me see you use your magic now,
Massan,
with
my nails dug into your flesh. It will not be so easy to
fool
me again.”

Kane
did not bother with a reply. He just
smashed his forehead into the Elf’s nose. The Ellvinian stumbled back
and
Kane
pushed
away from
him. Managing to put a few
paces between them, he
reached behind his back
and
unsheathed the
sword of Iserlohn
strapped to his back.
The quiet hall rang with a
high-pitched whistle
as
the weapon
emerged from the scabbard.

Unarmed, the Ellvinian stepped back
even further
with a hand
cupped to his nose
to try and stem the blood
that
seeped from his fingers.

Kane raised the sword out in front of him and stalked toward
the Elf until the point was under his chin. “Where is Izzy Falewir?”

The Ellvinian
glared at him.
“I don’t—”

Kane pushed until a pinpoint of blood appeared at the Elf’s throat. “Last time. Where is Izzy Falewir?”

“You will not kill me if I tell you?”

“No.”

“She…she is with Chandal. In his guest room.”

Before he could question the Ellvinian further, the sound of running footsteps reached them. Kane spun, thinking to escape in the opposite direction, but Ellvinians appeared at both ends of the corridor.

“Don’t move, Massan!”

Kane
was trying
to think of how he could use his illusions to escape so many when the Ellvinian who shouted pushed two men forward
and forced them to their knees.

It was Kellan and Kirby.

The tall Elf held
a sword of his own. “Put
your weapon
away. If you do not do as I say, I will kill these men where they kneel.” From behind, he laid the tip of the sword on top of Kellan’s shoulder.

Kellan stretched his neck back to look at the Elf behind him. “I am sorry, but it is very hard to hear you right now.
Are you asking
my brother
to put down his sword? Do y0u know who
he
is?
He is
Kane Atlan, a Prince of Iserlohn, and he
would never
lay his sword at the feet of evil.” Kellan looked Kane directly in the eye. “Not even for
me.”

Kane blinked slowly, but did not answer.

The Elf pulled Kellan’s head back by his hair. “He
will
give up his sword, Massan. Whether the two of you are still alive by the time the steel reaches my
fist
remains to be seen.”

“Tenderhooks?” Kellan asked
his twin
with his neck stretched back
painfully.

Kirby snorted.

“Absolutely,” Kane replied.

That single word sent everything in motion. Kellan and Kirby both slammed their elbows back into the tender lower belly of the Elves behind them. Kellan flipped the Ellvinian with the sword over his shoulder and hammered him with a
blow
that knocked him out cold. He pried the sword from the Elf’s fingers and tossed
it to Kirby, who caught it in midair.

Kane turned to his own fight. Two Ellvinians rushed him
together
and he called forth his magic and split into three images. He learned at a young age that whenever he did that, people always believed he was the one in the middle. He never was.
The two Elves paid for that mistake with their lives.

Other
Ellvinians
came at him
and
he made little work of cutting them down. He derived no pleasure from killing.
He simply did what
had to be done to save his life and the lives of those he cared about.
If an Ellvinian turned and ran, he lived. If he stayed to fight, he died.

When
Kane’s
last opponent went down, he
grimaced at the
hall littered with dead Elves.

Kirby leaned down to wipe his sword on the white dress of one of the Ellvinians while
Kellan strode over and embraced him. “Thank you, brother.”

Kane pulled back. “Why are you thanking
me? You
are
the one who came to
my
rescue.” He
grinned. “Tenderhooks? We have not used that childhood move in years.”

Kellan shrugged. “Seemed appropriate. But, you
are
the one who saved us.”

“How?”

Kellan reached up and pulled wool out of his ears. “You told us not to listen to a word the Ellvinians said. It worked. Their song became muted with the wool and easier to cast aside.”

Kane chuckled.
“I did not mean it so literally, but if it worked, I am glad.”

“It worked because at its core, the mind control they use is really
just
power of suggestion. Amazing what you can learn when people think you are not listening.”

“Amazing what you can
learn
with a sword pointed to someone’s throat as well. I found out where they are holding Izzy.”

Kellan let out a sigh of relief. “And, the others?”

“Locked
in
a
cellar
below the first floor
which you can get to off
a
short corridor behind the kitchens. Take Kirby and free them, and I will go after Izzy.
The time has come to show our hand, Kellan.
Use every resource you have and give no quarter. I’ll meet you at the
outer gates.”

Kellan nodded
grimly
and turned to go, but Kane grabbed his arm. “Wait! Have you seen Alia?”

“Alia? She’s
here?”

“Yes. I don’t know
how
she got in, but she is here.” He thought of something. “Where is Maks?”

“Hiding with Lars, so Kirby and
I
could go with the
Ellvinians
and have them
lead us to you or the others.”

I do not hide.

Kane laughed at the
rebuke from Maks in his mind.

Kellan threw up his hands.
“Pardon
me. Maks is waiting of his own free will for the right time to pounce on the
unsuspecting Ellvinians.”

Better.

“Come with us first, Kane,” Kellan implored.
Lars might know
of
a way to get past the Ellvinians guarding the guest chambers.”

“If it gets us Izzy back, I’ll try anything. Lead on, brother.”

C
HAPTER
20