Island Shifters: Book 03 - An Oath of the Children (31 page)

The humor in Beck’s face disappeared.

“Bah!” Hendrix said,
turning from them. “How powerful can you be trussed up like animals?”

“We won’t be
for long.”

Hendrix stopped and turned back.
“There is no help coming for you,
Mage
Beck!
It will go easier for you if you accept that fact.”

“I don’t remember asking for help.”

Hendrix snorted, but Kiernan noticed that he did take a step back behind the line of armed Ellvinians. “You are mad.
How do you think you can get yourself out of this?
I know the watershifters can swim well but they could not break the bonds of a
good,
sturdy rope.”

“We are not
watershifters.”

“Then,
how are you going to do it?”

“In order?”

“What does that mean, in order?”

“I was inquiring if you wished me to explain the order of events for freeing
ourselves.”

“Oh,
aye, I am looking forward to this.”
The Premier
nudged Second Balder next to him, but
Beck noticed the look he
threw over his shoulder at the Ellvinian fighters
that
seemed to
indicate they should be ready just in case the crazy Massans
could
actually break free.

Beck looked up for a moment. “Let me see. It will probably take
two, maybe
three, seconds for all six of us to be free. We are getting a little up there in age.”

The Ellvinians laughed until the Premier cut them off with an
angry look.

“Now,
Airron, the Elf over
at the end
with the smirk, will shift into a small animal form that will seem to make him disappear into thin air.
If I know his lovely wife, Melania, as well as I think I do, she has already
summoned a squirrel or other rodent,
and the creature is happily chewing through her
ropes
as
we
speak.”

Melania nodded with a grin, and
Kiernan noticed Hendrix Bane take another
step further back.

“My friend, Rogan, is just waiting for the signal to call forth fire and burn through his bonds, and then he will free his beautiful wife, Janin.” Beck paused to let his words sink in. “And, this magnificent woman to my left will enlist the help of your own fighters, Premier Bane,
to free her. You see, her
ability
is similar to your Ascendency, but much, much more powerful. Anyone caught in her magical grasp will
be powerless to do anything other than exactly as she commands, for as long as she commands it.”

Hendrix wiped the sweat from his forehead. “And,
you?”

“Me?
For someone who covets our magic so much, you really do not know much about it.
In addition to being a Mage, I am also an
earthshifter. With the flick of a wrist, I could sink you into the very dirt on which you
now
stand and bury you until you suffocate in an agonizingly slow
and painful
death. And, these little strings holding me to this stake,” he said, nodding behind him. “Almost too insignificant to mention.”

“If that is true then what are you waiting for?” Hendrix shouted shrilly.

Beck took a deep breath. “The fact that you have
restrained
us should be proof enough, but I wanted to confirm your intentions.”

“My intentions?”

“Yes. I do not make the decision to kill lightly. I wanted
to make
certain
of your evil
purpose
before I committed myself.”

The Premier’s eyes bulged from his head.
“Kill them!”
he screamed and
ran toward the path
through
the mangroves, his Seconds close behind.

The order of events happened almost as Beck predicted. He was the first one off the stakes
with a quick snap of the ropes, and he
knocked the nearest
Ellvinians
back
with a
sweep
of
his arm. But, he did not allow any Ellvinian near her to untie her ropes. He did that himself.

By the time he was finished, the others were already free and engaged in holding the Ellvinians at bay.

“Now, what?” Kiernan asked her husband.

“We have to get back to the ship.”

Kiernan grabbed Beck’s arm. “Do you think the Premier was telling the truth when he said he killed watershifters?”

“Yes, I do. I think—”

Beck lurched forward with a surprised grunt, an arrow protruding from his chest. “Beck!
No!” He was too heavy to hold up, so she let him fall to the ground as gently as she could.

Her eyes quickly scanned the woods and that was when she saw the archer. He now had his bow trained on Rogan.

“Rogan, duck!”

The Dwarf did as he was told and the arrow missed him by a hairsbreadth.

She searched out
to
the nearest
Ellvinian and slammed him with her magic.
Pick him up and get us to safety, now!

The Elf ran to Beck’s side and she mindshifted another of the fighters to help. The other Ellvinians looked on in shock as the two Elves picked up
Beck and began running inland.

“Follow me!” Kiernan screamed to her friends and choking back a sob, she followed
behind the Elves. She
ran for several paces before
realizing
her friends were not behind her.

Wait here!
she commanded.

She ran back as close as she dared only to see that her friends were
already under the Ellvinians’ control and
being led back to the beach.
Not through Ascendency this time, but by the
swords
held
to the throats of Janin and Melania.

Demon’s breath!

Reluctantly, she went back to where her husband lay on the path. First, she had to get him to safety and back on his feet. Then, together they would save the others.
Yes, she thought, scrubbing away the tears. Together. It was how they did everything and
how it would always be.
Even if she had to follow him into the Highworld
to make it so.

C
HAPTER
24

A
N
A
RROW
T
HROUGH THE
H
EART

The Ellvinians carrying Beck kept up a steady pace, but Kiernan did not have any trouble keeping
up with them. She
ran behind
torn between
her desire
to stop and assess Beck’s condition and
her
need to get him to safety.

Go where none will follow,
she commanded.

The
subjective mindshifted thought seemed to conflict in the minds of both Elves and they started to run in different directions before being yanked back together by their burden.
Faces slack, the pair of fighters looked at each other in confusion.

Since their minds were hers to manipulate, she turned to the first one. “Where?”

“Rainforest.”

She looked at the other. “Where?”

“Caves.”

Not knowing the topography of the island, she had to take a guess. She thought for a moment.

Caves.

Without another word, the
Elves took off again through the dense groves. It was not long before the
path they were on
grew steeper
and Kiernan
quickly
realized their destination was the
volcanic sea caves she saw from the ship.
Running in a panic, she did not
recognize
how high they climbed until she turned
around
and saw the tiny pinpoints of light from the port city spread out below
her.

In Kiernan’s unnerved mind, it was taking too long to arrive at their destination,
and she
was beginning to
regret her decision when
one of the caves opened up before them. The Elves ran right into the dark entrance and Kiernan followed.

Lie him down gently
.

The fighters lowered Beck to the cave floor on his side, the wicked arrow still protruding from
his chest.

Keep watch. Give warning if anyone approaches.

Both Elves turned and walked out, and she dropped down to her knees next to
her husband.
“Beck, can you hear me?”
She did not dare remove the arrow
knowing
that if she did, he would bleed to death.
Her hands quickly roamed his body looking for any other injuries, but
she did not find any.
She leaned down and
placed her cheek next to his mouth, but could not feel his breath.
Alarmed, she looked at his face and noticed how
deathly pale
he was.
Her shaking fingers searched out the artery on his neck,
but could not find a pulse.

“Oh, no you don’t, Beck Atlan!” she cried. “Don’t you dare leave me!” She pounded on his chest
in an attempt to get his heart
started. “You know I
can’t do this
without you, Beck!” Her fist struck down again. “Beck!
Please!
Please,
don’t leave me.”

Her frantic efforts were not working.

“Beck!” She
began
to sob.
Having no other option, she released the Elves from her magic. “Help me!”

The
Ellvinian fighters
responded immediately to her desperate plea and
soft hands gently pulled
her away. “Let me
tend to him, Lady.”

Kiernan could barely see the fighter standing above her
through her tears, but she moved back to see if he could do anything
to save her husband. She had
no choice but
to trust the dark Elf.

“Don’t
kill him,” she begged. “Please, don’t kill him.”

A rueful frown appeared on his face.
“You have my word, Lady.”

The Elf bent over Beck and Kiernan watched while he blew air into Beck’s lungs through his mouth. She had never seen such a thing, but she was willing to trying anything.
Beck’s
chest rose and fell with each breath and Kiernan felt hope creep into her body.
But,
after a few moments,
the Elf stopped, sat back on his heels, and
looked at her with a small shake of his head.

“What are you doing? Don’t stop! It’s working!”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

“No! Move!” She pushed him out of the way and began to blow air into
Beck’s
mouth the same way she saw him do it. Time lost all meaning as she did everything she could to save her husband. She only knew she had been at it a very long time when her body cramped up and pain shot through her lower back.

Fingers grabbed her shoulders once again. “He is gone, Lady.”

“No! I won’t give up! Don’t you see? I can’t…I can’t give up.”
She leaned over
Beck
and
rammed
the heel of her palms into his chest. “Come on, Beck.” She lowered her cheek
to
his mouth
once again. Nothing.

“Beck!”

“Lady, please. You did all you could.”

She sat back and pulled at her hair.
“Dear, Highworld, no.”
Unbidden,
the image
that
Avalon Ravener’s
conjured
Sea of Void
showed her of her
family gathered around as she sat on her throne
sprang to mind.
She remembered that the children
were just a few years older in the illusion than they were now, and
Beck
was not there.

The vision had
come true after all.

She grabbed the
kneeling
Ellvinian by the
front of his shirt,
tears pouring down her cheeks. “Kill me, too.”