Island Shifters: Book 03 - An Oath of the Children (32 page)

He scooted back in shock. “What?
No!”

“I am sorry, but you don’t
have a choice. I am a mindshifter, and you will do
exactly
as I say.” She paused
and shook her head regretfully. “I am sorry to have to put you through this, but you don’t understand. I cannot live without him!”

“I cannot, Lady, please don’t make me do it.”

She tugged him forward.
“The Ellvinians want us dead, anyway, don’t they?” she chortled madly. “You were given the order to kill
us
by your Premier
and have already accomplished that task with my husband!
What is one more dead Massan to you?”

The Elf’s face hardened. “I cannot pretend to understand
all that is going on here, but it is not the Ellvinian way to kill innocent people.”

After a long, hard stare, she
let go of his shirt front
and pushed him back.
“I am sorry, but you
will
kill me.

“I will never be able to live with myself if you make me do it,”

Kiernan
sniffed and ran a hand across her
nose. “Please give me time alone with my husband, so I can say goodbye.”

The Ellvinian rose to his feet. “Does this mean—”

“Leave me!”

Before he left, he
removed his cloak and laid it
gently across
her shoulders.
In return for his kindness, she mindshifted him and the other fighter.
Stand watch outside and do not leave
.
It was the only way to ensure that the Ellvinians remained to do what must be done.

Alone now with Beck in the dark cave, she scuttled close to him and
brushed the hair away from his forehead. She placed her lips on his,
surprised
at
how warm they still were.
Pulling back, she smiled down at his handsome face.
The face that captivated her for over twenty years.

“We had a wonderful life together, didn’t we, my love?”
The burning lump in her throat threatened to clog her airway, so she cleared it nosily.
“I don’t think many
people ever experience
the kind of love we shared so I must be grateful for that much
at least.” A lifetime of memories flashed through her mind.
“Beck,
do you
remember the day Kenley was born?
Dear Highworld, was it really twenty years ago?
You ran through the palace in Nysa like a fool, shouting and crying over the
fact that you had your little girl.” She paused
wistfully. “I never loved you more
than
at that moment.” She reached out to trace the athame on his neck. “Remember when the twins played that joke on you in the stables? I know you knew what they planned, but you walked right through the doors anyway and a pail of water dumped
right
over your head.
Oh, Beck, we laughed for hours that day!
Do you remember?”

Removing the Ellvinian cloak from her shoulders, she laid down next to Beck
and covered them both with it.

“Beck, remember when we were eighteen and
I dressed up in a Northwatch Legion uniform to follow you to The
Crown
Bluffs?” She laughed. “I thought I was being so clever but, of course, I never fooled you.
And remember
that time
you saved me from the Gems in their castle in Elloree?
What were you thinking, my love? Really? Marching
directly
into the witches’ lair determined
to sweep me away under your arm?” She
reached for his
lifeless
hand and squeezed it tight.
“You were my shining prince even back then.
Just look at how you
saved me from that horrendous
snake in the Puu Rainforest.
You know how much I hate snakes, Beck.” She shuddered.
“My goodness,
but
you must have been bored from
rescuing
me all the time! But, it is the very reason that I cannot live without you, Beck Atlan.”

A grey curtain of
misery
descended over her mind and heart. The silence of the cave clawed at her sanity.
“It…it
ended way too soon!” she wailed.
“I hope you will forgive me in the end, but can’t you see? My life only makes sense with you in it, Beck. I would fall apart without you. To go on without ever seeing your dimpled smile, to never hold your hand or kiss your lips? It’s too much to ask!
I would do anything for you, Beck, except live without you.”

With that last
avowal, she
finally
allowed the exhaustion and
grief
to pull her down, and she
fell into a deep
asleep curled
up against
the body of her
dead husband.

C
HAPTER
25

F
IRST
B
LOOD

“What are they doing?” Jala
demanded.

Kellan glared out of the broken window of the ballroom at the Ellvinians outside lining up into battle formation
in the wide boulevard directly east of the estate. “Preparing to attack.”

“Where are the boards I requested?” Kirby Nash
shouted. “Find whatever you can. It won’t keep the Ellvinians out for long, but it will have to do for now.”

I will keep them out
, Maks growled in Kellan’s ear.
I will take Jain and go to the courtyard. Any dark Elf that comes near this estate will die.

Kellan nodded.
Be careful. I will see what I can do from the second floor.

Maks and Jain leapt through the window just as two of the mayor’s servants ran forward with loose wood and nails.
Kellan looked around at the packed ballroom, but tried to avoid the spot where he last saw Alia. Lars
Kingsley moved around the room
and tried to reassure
the scared
and exhausted guests that all would be well, and
Cora the cook, still scowling from this interruption to her duties,
passed around cups
of water.

Jala and Izzy stood by his side, but
Kane
had vanished. He was
taking Alia’s death very hard and it was almost as though he felt
personally responsible.

“Jala! Izzy! Come with me!”

Kellan took off at a sprint for the staircase. Kirby, Gregor, Dallin and Elon followed
behind, naked swords
at the ready.
On the second floor, he crashed through
the doors of
the nearest guest chambers, strode through the
sitting room to the balcony doors
beyond,
and flung them open.

The
humid
night air
clung to
his skin
as he looked out over the estate grounds and assessed the enemy in the streets.
The formation was made up mostly of
whom
he now knew the Ellvinians called the Shiprunners—basically,
simple sailors with little fighting experience. Kellan
dismissed them and his gaze landed
instead
on the
Elves with the gold trimmed garments. It was these warriors that Kellan had to worry about the most. The Battlearms
they called themselves, and he would strike there first.

Still, it was no secret that the
Ellvinians had the strength of numbers. Eventually, the shifters would tire of using magic and the dark Elves would overwhelm their position. Any aid from the shifters in Bardot was
close to a week away and
military
support
from Nysa
even longer.

How long could they hold out? That was the burning question
in Kellan’s mind.
Certainly, not a week. Maybe not even the night.

He
glanced down at Jain and Maks prowling aggressively
below him in the courtyard. Jain saved his brother’s life today and
if Kellan had the opportunity after this night, he would let the Draca Cat know how
grateful
he was.

Someone squeezed in next to him at the balcony rail, and he was
surprised to see Kane. “Are you all right?” he asked his twin.

Kane simply nodded.

“Tell me more about this creature you saw.”

Kane was silent for a moment. Kellan knew he did not wish to relieve the horror
of Alia’s death, but Kellan had to know what they were dealing with.

Kane cleared his throat. “It looks like it may have once been an Elf. It is very tall, but walks on all fours instead of upright.” He paused again. “It has a tail that sucks the blood from its victims.”

Kellan reached out and put a
comforting
hand on
Kane’s
shoulder. “Do you think the Ellvinians brought more of these beasts?”

His brother
shook his head. “The Elf named Emile seemed just as surprised by its presence as we all were.”

“Can it be killed?”

“It is very fast and very strong, but I think it can be done.”

“Kellan!”

It was Izzy, and he quickly glanced to where
she
pointed.
The
line of Battlearms in the front row
knelt to the ground,
brought up long bows,
and aimed them at the Draca Cats.
After screaming a warning
to Maks and Jain,
Kellan threw his arm out and the ground in front of the
Battlearms
exploded
in a hail of dirt and stones.
Bodies flew
backwards
as the heaving ground tossed
Elves
into the air.

“First blood has been drawn,” Kellan warned. “Be
prepared. Now, they will come.”

A ball of flame flared to life in Jala’s hands, but she paused and looked questioningly at Kellan.

He gave her a grim
nod
of his head. “Yes, Jala, we must fight back. These people have already spilled Massan blood including that of Alia. It is hard to take a human life, I know, but we cannot
falter now.
As the children of
Savitars
, we have all grown up knowing that
one day we may have to use our powers to kill. That day has arrived.”

She looked down at the fire in her hands and nodded.
Taking a deep
breath,
she
straightened her back and threw her arm out toward the
enemy.

Kellan tracked the fiery orb as it
screamed away
through the sky. The
ball slammed into the Ellvinian lines setting clothes, bodies and hair aflame. Mournful
cries
lit up the night.
Unable to rein in their abject terror, many
of those on fire ran back
through the ranks
of
their countrymen and
created more
damage by
spreading the fire. Others
simply fell to the ground in
thrashing,
flaming heaps.
The smell of burnt flesh drifted
unpleasantly
on the
night
breeze.

Jala launched herself back into the bedroom, fell to her knees, and retched into the corner.

Despite the ruin inflicted
by Jala, the Ellvinian
line did not break. The
Elves simply
moved the dead or dying out of the way and formed up again for an attack. The archers were no longer
out in
front. Maces and swords were drawn
by the Battlearms
as they moved forward. The Shiprunners had only their bare hands to show. Together, they took up a
battle cry
that
rang out into the night.
Lifting their weapons and fists into the air, the dark Elves charged toward the estate.

We will not be able to stop them all
, Kellan thought
as he watched them come, floating over the ground like wraiths.

The Draca Cats roared
out a
challenge deep in their throats
and leaned back on their powerful hind legs, ready to pounce on the first Elf foolish enough to reach the courtyard first.
But then, all at once,
Maks
stood to his full height and
jerked his head north
in response to a foreboding sound.