Island Shifters: Book 03 - An Oath of the Children (3 page)

With a
satisfied
smile, he turned from his wife to glance
out to sea. It was hard to believe that where he now stood
was once
his homeland of Pyraan.

In his youth, Pyraan
had been
nothing more than a disgraced
land of exiles.
A place where
every shifter born on the island was forced into cohabitation
for the singular purpose of using their magic to defend
Massa against outside forces.
But, to Beck, it
had
always
been
home
.
It was where
he
was born, where he lived with his
beloved
parents, and where he
first
met Kiernan.
Such bittersweet memories
and now
the entire land
lay
submerged under the Arounda Ocean.

Just as
unstoppable as the
shifting
tides of the sea,
so, too, on land does everything change.
Where once, only a small portion of
Massa
was accessible
by
the ocean
through the narrow Twin Bluffs, this northernmost section of the island had grown over the years to the now bustling port city of Northfort
where
travel to and from the island was becoming more frequent.

Nordik, the home of the Cyman race of people and
located
northeast of
the island
had become a popular
retreat
for many Massans. There was also the newly discovered land of Damone
east of Nordik, and the tiny island of Hiberi south of Damone.

Beck and the other
Savitars
had
visited
all three
islands over the past few years
and their efforts resulted
in the development of profitable
trade agreements
for Massa and opened talks
for
numerous
other cooperative ventures. Beck
had to admit that he was
surprised to find no other shifters or magic users on any of the other islands they visited.
He
felt sure
that
Massa was not alone in its
magical
capabilities, but so
far,
they had found nothing.

Today, they sailed for the island of
Ellvin.

“I don’t see them yet,” Kiernan complained, craning her neck
to see over
the
large
crowd gathered to see the
royals
off on their latest voyage.

“Stop fussing, they
will be here,”
he assured her
and as soon as the words
left his mouth, a loud murmur raced through the
suddenly
parting
throng and Beck caught glances of white.
White horses
high stepping
in unison.
White hair flowing in the wind.
The Elves had arrived.

“See?
It’s
Airron, Melania and Izzy.”

“Father!”
The shout drew
his attention to his eldest son, Kellan,
striding
toward him. Muscular, tall and dark-haired,
most people commented,
and Beck had to agree, that he was
the
spitting image of
him. Following silently behind
Kellan
was his second son, Kane. Blonde,
like Kiernan,
Kane
was quieter and much more reserved than his
larger
than life brother.
Shadowing both, were their male Draca Cats, Maks and Jain.

“I looked for Kenley
as you asked,” Kellan grumbled, “but
she is nowhere to be found.
You really need to take a firmer hand with her, father.”

Beck promptly ignored the
pointed
look his wife gave him
and turned toward the
sound of heavy
staccato
steps striking the cobblestone
road signaling
the arrival of the
Dwarves.
Another
wide
furrow in the crowd
formed
as
Rogan, Janin, Reilly and
Jala
appeared
at the entrance to the harbor
in the midst of a ring of
Dwarven
Iron Fists.

Another
loud cheer
roared for
the impressive troupe
and Beck smiled,
anxious to
see his
old
friends again.
As
the only
Mage
on the island,
it was his duty to
seek out new technologies and
methods
from other peoples around the world and
in that effort
gratefully accepted the
assistance of the
Savitars
to accompany him on
his
seafaring
journeys.
Given that
the trips
proved
so
highly
beneficial to Massa,
this
trek
today would be the fourth
in
as many years
ordered by the Council of Kings.

Over the noise on the dock and the streets below,
Beck
and Kiernan
greeted
Airron, Rogan and their families
as they stepped onto the wide pier.

A tap on his shoulder spun him around. It was the Ship Captain,
Rafe Wilden. “She is ready when you are,
Your Grace.”
She
being
The
Wanderer
, a three-masted
dinoque
of considerable
size.

“Thank you, Captain, but we are still waiting for…”
Beck
let
his words
trail off when he
caught sight of
Kirby Nash and Kenley’s Draca Cat, Baya,
moving smoothly
through the crowd.
Wherever Kirby and Baya were, Kenley was not far behind.
“Never mind. We will be ready to board in a few moments.”

Years ago,
after Roman Traynor’s betrayal, both Beck and
Kiernan
rebuffed
the idea of personal guards, and Kirby was
reassigned
to Kenley.
Kiernan
trusted no one as much as her former protector and wanted their
strong-willed
daughter to have the
finest there was.

The handsome
Scarlet Saber
jumped up on the dock and knelt before them with his left fist on the ground. “Your Graces.”

“Please rise, Captain.
Where is Kenley?” Kiernan asked him
impatiently.

Kirby
rose
to his feet.
“On her way, Your Grace.
You should feel her arrival
momentarily.”
He
coughed nervously. There was clearly more on his mind.
“Your Graces, if I may?”

“Of course,
Captain, speak your
mind,” Beck told him.

He cleared his throat
again. “Are you sure you wish to leave all of the children here
on the island?” At the look on their faces, Kirby quickly
continued. “Some of the Sabers, Fists and the Gardien have expressed, shall
I say,
extreme
concern
over protecting all of the children at the same time.”

Beck tried to hide
a
smile.
In the absence of parental influence, the protectors
often found
themselves on the receiving end of most of the mischief perpetrated by
their charges. When those charges also had the use of magic, the pranks took
on
a whole
other
level.

Kiernan laughed out
loud. “Kirby Nash! Are you going to let a few children get the better of the revered Scarlet Sabers and their counterparts? Battle-hardened men
and a woman? Afraid of
mere
children?”

Kirby Nash turned as scarlet as his title, but mumbled under his breath, “There is nothing
mere
about those children.”

Abruptly, a
gust of air sprang up and
Beck’s long black cloak whipped around his legs. He lifted his hand to
shield his eyes from the
blowing sand
generated by the swirling wind.

“It’s Kenley!” Izzy Falewir announced with an excited shout.

Beck watched as
his daughter
rode an air current at least
sixty
feet
off the ground,
her
body bladed for balance and her arms
stretched
out to
the
sides. A look of pure joy creased
her features as the wind blew her long black curls back from her face.

The crowd went wild when they saw her.

Never one to shun an audience for her skill at airshifting, Kenley lifted her arms
above her head and shot straight up
into the air like an arrow.
At the apex of her climb, she stopped and
hovered for a few moments before gently
laying
back into what looked
to Beck
like a deadly free-fall.

Shrieks and gasps exploded from the
onlookers, but Kenley pulled herself up at the last moment and soared into the sky once again.

Beck
observed
her continued aerial stunts
with
his heart
lodged
in his throat.
He only began to breathe normally again when she came out of her spins and
descended out of the sky.

As soon as her feet hit the
ground,
she strode
toward them with
an enormous
grin
on her flushed face.
She was wearing leather trousers and
a tight-fitting
leather
jacket made especially for flying.
Beck had to admit that she was an impressive sight, and in the
fifteen
years since Kenley’s abilities had been made known, another airshifter had yet to be born. She was still unique among shifters.

People shouted to her as she made her way
through the path that opened up for her, and she acknowledged all with a polite nod, but did not stop to talk or let them deter her from her destination—the platform where her family waited.

To Beck’s left, Baya let out a contented mewing sound, and the bright green eyes watched Kenley’s every
step as she moved closer.
Even more so than
Kirby Nash, Baya did not like to be
out of
reach of Kenley when she took to the skies.

“Am I late?” Kenley inquired casually as she breezed up onto the
elevated wooden pier.

“The better question is, are you ever on time?” Kellan retorted.

Kenley made a face at him as Kiernan grabbed her arm.
“Now, Kenley—”

“Yes, I know mother,” Kenley interrupted. “I’m the oldest, so it will be my responsibility to look after the children.”

Beck
winced
at the withering look Kiernan leveled at their daughter, but knew better than to comment.

Kenley
knew better, too, and
quickly pulled Kiernan into a hug. “You can count on me, mother.”

The gesture softened Kiernan slightly. “The
children
will have their guards, of course, but
we will be gone almost a month.
I expect you to keep them occupied and out of trouble, Kenley.”

“Everything will be fine. I promise.”

Beck looked
with amusement
at the looks of sheer terror on the
faces of the
protectors. The three Scarlet Sabers, Kirby Nash, Gregor Steele and Haiden
Lind, stood beside Kenley, Kellan and Kane. Two Iron Fists, Iben
Rydex
and Dallin
Storm,
stood next to Reilly and Jala Radek, and the only female protector, Elon Aubry, held the hand of the youngest
Savitar
offspring, Izzy Falewir.