The Lost Link, page 21
part #1 of Power of Fae Series
I studied him for a moment in the dancing flames, honesty shining bright in his face.
I wondered how I ever could have doubted his compassion and need to protect his people. His world.
“Definitely the noble Game of Thrones Starke,” I mumbled, answering my own question upon our first meeting.
His lips tilted. “Again, weird words I don’t understand.”
“It means I’m with you, dumbass.”
“As I knew you would be. You have the spirit of a true water elemental, Jette. You do your mother and father proud.”
His words filled me with an unexpected emotion. Pride and sadness competed in my chest, and I turned away from him to hide the stupid tears in my eyes.
Movement in my periphery had me squinting into the encroaching dark. What was that?
A crack echoed through the woods, startling the few crows nestled in the treetops overhead, and they took to the skies in a flurry of cawing dismay. Starke leapt to his feet, sword drawn before I could speak. He rushed to my side as I spun in a circle, my eyes adjusting, but not quite believing, what was approaching from the gloom. I blinked in disbelief and terror.
The…creatures, for lack of a better word, I took for wolves at first. They had the same big, dog-like body shape, but even from a distance, I could tell they weren’t quite right. Some walked on all fours while others stood upright, shuffling on their two back paws. Feet? It didn’t make any sense. They kept piling out of the woods surrounding us like a pack of deformed wolves, burned and mutated through some sort of nuclear mishap or mad scientist convention. The eerie silence of their approach was soon filled with a low growling that said quite clearly they weren’t here for just a friendly visit.
“What are they?” I croaked, unable to say much more, since my heart sat heavy on my tongue. I glanced around, trying to quell my panic and find an escape path, but they had us completely surrounded.
“Not something I was hoping to meet,” Starke whispered. So not encouraging and kind of too late. “My magic has taken a toll warding us these past few days. It is weak. If ever we needed your magic abilities, it’s now.”
Swallowing my fear, I pulled my sai, reaching inside for my power, even though my eyes never left the things surrounding us. Poking and prodding, the icy fingers of energy I was now used to awakening refused to answer my call.
The creatures’ growling intensified, and a shiver of terror shook my whole body.
“Anytime now.” Starke’s words hit my ears.
“I’m trying,” I squeaked, delving deeper for the missing power.
Two of the creatures in front of us stepped forward and I backed up, stumbling into Starke. A solid hand gripped my shoulder, and a wave of energy passed through our contact. The wave dug deep, coaxing my own icy power to respond. He was merging with me. Combining what little magic he had left with mine.
Power rushed through my body, the need to protect us from the danger the only thought in my head.
The other creatures followed their lead, letting out an unearthly snarl and charging directly toward us. I was pretty sure the scream falling from my lips was a result of my bowels clenching in terror more so than the sphere of ice that sprang from the ground and expanded upwards. Crackling and snapping as it grew, it merged over our heads within seconds, cocooning us in its icy embrace.
The monsters closest to us tried to stop, but even as they dug in their heels, their momentum propelled them forward, and they crashed into our icy barrier at a frightening speed. I yanked my arms up over my face to cover my eyes, expecting the barrier to crumble in a million shards. Nothing happened. I peered through my arms and sighed in relief as the barrier remained intact. That sigh quickly escalated into a gasp of fear as faces surrounded us. The creature separated from me by mere inches gaped through the ice with eyes like hot coals. I could barely hear the shriek emitting from its parted jaws, but there was no tearing my eyes away from the rows of jagged teeth highlighted by the firelight.
Up close, they were more frightening than I could have ever imagined. Huge heads sat atop muscled shoulders, overshadowed by long snouts covered in patches of spotted fur and dotted with what looked like scales. Vicious fangs protruded from the lipless mouths, teeth that looked as if they could rip us apart in seconds. They resembled the morquals, but a much smaller, rotting version.
I wasn’t sure if the snarling had stopped, or we just couldn’t hear it through the barrier. Their curiosity wasn’t dulled any. They circled the ice, sniffing eagerly at the only thing protecting us from possibly being eviscerated. Not a comforting thought.
“What are they?” I asked, once I realized we were relatively safe for the moment, and I found my voice again.
“Not sure if they’ve ever been given a name.” Starke’s eyes bounced about the barrier, checking for any sign of weakness. “Early version of my mother’s morquals.”
I tore my eyes away from the monstrosities long enough to glance over at him. “Early version? You mean there’s more than one kind of them?”
“Well, they aren’t exactly a breed born here naturally on Endova. Asha created them through magic. Trial and error, if you will. These didn’t make the cut. They were too feral. Not obedient enough. Although I don’t recall there ever being this many.” He stepped closer to the ice shield, studying them in fascination. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say these creatures are reproducing somehow.”
I felt my irritation competing with the fear. “Who cares if they’re getting funky, weirdo? We need to find a way to get out of here. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re in a glass bubble that may crack at any moment and are surrounded by what I’m pretty sure are carnivorous dinosaur relatives. Priorities, dude.”
And as if karma was eavesdropping and decided she wanted to piss me off today, the barrier fissured right in front of my disbelieving eyes. The crack splintered and shot off in different directions, much like my frazzled nervous system. My jaw dropped in horror as I dug deep, trying to keep the barrier sturdy. I fought against the rising tide of fear as the fissures spread, turning the ice into useless chunks.
“Maintain it, Jette,” Starke growled, but he was too late. The barrier shattered, falling around us and crumbled to the ground. Swallowing the scream in my throat, I turned my sai and took a stance, preparing to fight for my life and praying this weird power of mine wouldn’t let me down.
The smell hit me first. A mixture of rot and mud, like the creatures were already dead and decaying back to the earth, they just didn’t know it yet. I tried to plug my nose from the overwhelming stench and protect my vulnerable body parts.
Starke stepped in front of me, his heavy sword raised high, ready to protect me with his life.
The circle around us shrunk, and I prepared for the pain of being ripped to shreds by those vicious canines. Just as I was about to kiss my ass goodbye, the advancing horde stopped. I couldn’t tell if the growling had stopped as well, since all I could hear was the pounding of my heart, but I felt the abrupt change. The largest of the creatures standing on its two back legs stuck his snout up into the air and sniffed almost daintily. The animosity that had been sizzling in the air dissipated along with my fear. I didn’t understand what was happening. Instinct? Psychic connection? But I suddenly knew these beings wouldn’t hurt me.
The upright wolf moved closer, and Starke prepared to strike, but I held my hand on his arm.
“No. Don’t,” I whispered. He glanced over at me, his look clearly asking if I had lost my mind.
“Trust me, don’t attack it,” I added.
The creature was almost on top of us now. Ignoring Starke and the threatening blade, it stopped directly in front of me. At least six feet tall, it towered over me, so close I could feel the heat rolling off its matted fur. Its rancid breath blew my hair about as its big snout snorted above me. It took all my willpower to not run screaming in terror as it started sniffing me, moving down my hair, my cheek. The wet nose shifted to my neck, the mouth full of bared teeth hovering above my jugular, and I recoiled slightly as a drop of saliva dripped onto my skin. It could tear my neck wide open if it wanted to. I felt Starke’s concerned movement toward me, but again I held out my hand to stop him.
The creature, finally done with its inspection, pulled back from me a little, growling a word in the back of its throat.
“Wielder.”
One garbled word but I understood.
“Yes,” I responded, hiding my surprise at its awareness. “I’m a water wielder. An elemental.”
It grunted at me as if in approval and settled back on its large feet. Staring at it felt so surreal, yet I knew its connection was important in some way. It tilted its head back as a howl erupted from its throat, so loud I winced as it punctured my ears. The howl was quickly echoed by the others.
Starke moved to my side. “What is this?”
“I have no idea,” I whispered. “But whatever your mother tried to create here with these creatures, they are not under her control. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think they were pleased to see me. I feel no danger from them.”
And as if to prove my point, the lead creature did something I truly was not expecting. As the howls faded, he moved away from me and fell on all fours. All the while, he’d been keeping eye contact with me, but now he dropped his eyes in submission and bowed his head my way. The others followed suit, surrounding me in a circle of bowed heads. I looked around, flummoxed by this new aspect.
“Are they…are they bowing to you?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” I whispered, scared to be too loud and rile up the natives again. Unsure of what to do next, I moved without thinking. Approaching the creature that had sniffed me, I touched the massive head still aligned with my chest, even with him being on all fours. The matted fur felt wiry under my fingers.
“Stand, friend. No need to bow to me.”
He appeared to understand. He stood erect on his back paws, towering over me once more. I stared at the misshapen face in curiosity.
“What is your name?”
The eyes shone with intelligence, and I knew he understood the question. I also instinctively knew he was struggling to answer as if language was a forgotten aspect of his essence.
“Wielder. Help.”
Was he asking if I was here to help? Or was he saying he was here to help me? I didn’t understand, and I glanced over at Starke, hoping he had a better idea of what was going on here.
The shot surprised me as the clearing suddenly erupted with gunfire, followed seconds later by a howl of pain. Starke tackled me, knocking the breath out of me as we hit the ground hard. Struggling to breath, I crawled out from under him, trying to see what was happening. My eyes met the lifeless gaze of a smaller creature, blood seeping from the fatal wound at its temple. The “no!” that fell from my lips was drowned out by more shots as soldiers emerged from the trees and fired at the defenseless creatures. A few more fell. The wolf hybrids ran, howling in pain and grief as they deserted the lifeless forms of their comrades lying in the clearing. My mind numbed with shock, and I tried to make sense of the chaos. What was happening here?
The shock soon gave way to inexplicable anger as I watched the soldiers armed with weird looking rifles surround us on all sides. I leaped to my feet, drawing my sai in the process, not sure what my plan was. My sai against their guns? Probably not a good idea. All I knew was that I had to stop the horrific slaughter happening around me.
I reached deep for my power as the soldiers kept appearing. There had to be a hundred of them, at least. Could I stop that many? I had to try. I didn’t know why I felt the need to protect the mutated creatures, but I knew I had too. They were defenseless against the weapons. I needed to help keep them alive.
The power answered my call immediately. It surged in my belly, its icy fingers spreading hungrily through my veins as I tried to direct its impatience toward the common enemy.
But before I could produce even the tiniest of icicles, the air crackled with energy above my head seconds before the world exploded around me.
Blown off my feet by some unseen force, I flew backwards like I’d been shot out of a cannon. I wasn’t sure what stopped my flight, but pain lanced through my shoulder and back as I connected hard with the ground.
“Jette!” a voice hollered. A fragment of my mind registered Starke’s panic, but I was too short-winded to answer him to let him know I was okay. Hell, I wasn’t even sure if I was okay. Felt like the bones in my shoulder and back were shattered into a thousand pieces. Ears ringing and nerve endings exploding, I groaned as I tried to roll over and get to my knees. Was I shot? I didn’t think so. I ran my hands over my body searching for a bullet wound before realization set in. Shit. I wasn’t holding my sai. They were gone. Panic set in as I searched the ground around me knowing I was useless without them.
“Looking for these?”
The voice was so mellifluous and refined that I expected to find an angel straight from heaven standing over me. I glanced up, not to an angel in a flowing robe of white, but to a pair of polished riding boots. Blinking away my surprise, my gaze traveled up the boots to slender legs encased in riding pants and a long, navy blue coat decorated with medallions that would have done any admiral proud. My gaze rose higher, past the pointed chin and tiny nose, to the bright green eyes garnering my attention. I knew those eyes. I’d seen them filled with laughter, passion, and concern. But never filled with ice shards as this green set was. There was no doubt this woman and Starke were related on a biological level. On a spiritual level, however, I could already tell they were nothing alike.
“Stand and bow before the Queen of Endova.”
The guard confirmed my suspicion as he growled in my ear and yanked me to my feet, causing a whole new wave of pain to encompass my battered body. He pushed me forward, and I stumbled on the uneven ground, almost falling at Asha’s feet. My cry of pain elicited another inquiry from Starke as he was shoved toward me by his own set of guards. He drew up beside me, his worried eyes scanning my face.
“I’m okay,” I mumbled for his ears only, but the mocking laughter following my words told me I’d failed.
“I think it’s sweet you’re so concerned over the elemental’s wellbeing, darling. You always were a softhearted idiot.”
“Nice to see you too, Asha.”
I straightened my back, ignoring my screaming muscles, and turned to look at the person responsible for etching the hatred into Starke’s face. I blinked a couple of times. I must have hit my head harder than I thought. This was Asha? This was Starke’s mother? The one who grew up with my grandmother? She didn’t look any older than her son. Long, ebony curls hung down her back and over her shoulders, framing a face so clear and wrinkle free it was like looking at a porcelain doll. There wasn’t a line to be seen. I had more wrinkles then she did. Damn. Is that what sucking magic did?
Her full lips twisted in slight distaste as she stared at her son, before flipping to a dazzling smile as she pointed her white chompers my way.
“Now, how can I be mad at my stupid, traitorous son when he’s brought me such a priceless gift?”
She stepped toward me and reached out, still holding my sai. I flinched but she ignored it as she ran the back of her hand almost in reverence over my cheek. Her hand was ice cold. Just like her heart, no doubt.
“It is lovely to finally meet you, child of Shep. Welcome home after your years of exile. I have big plans for you.”
I finally found my voice at her insulting Starke.
“Yeah, well, first of all, lady, let’s get one thing straight. There’s only one traitor standing here, and it isn’t your son.”
“Jette,” Starke hissed at me in warning, but I ignored him.
“And secondly, I ain’t doing sweet dick all for you, so you can kiss those plans goodbye.”
I don’t know where my snark came from. I should be terrified. Actually, I was terrified, but my mouth refused to back down, like normal. That mouth of mine was gonna get me in trouble one of these days.
And today was that day. To her credit, Asha hid her surprise at my sass quite well from the others, but I saw the sparks of molten anger flickering in her eyes. She stepped closer, and it took all my willpower not to back up. She flipped my sai in her hand and placed a tip underneath my chin, prodding it painfully into my neck.
“Very much like your father, I see. Shame. But no matter. You will do as I say. And you will learn to respect me, for there are always consequences to disloyalty.”
With a slight nod of her head, I glanced over just in time to see one of her soldiers slam his rifle into Starke’s gut. Starke grunted in pain as he tried to curl his body in protection, but the two soldiers holding his arms made sure to keep him upright for the next blow that followed.
“Stop it!” I yelled, tugging furiously on my arms, trying to detach myself from my own guards. I may as well have been pissing against the wind for all the good it did.
A third blow quickly followed. The butt of the soldier’s rifle connected with Starke’s temple this time, and he slumped forward, the two soldiers on either side of him the only thing keeping him from hitting the ground.
“Starke,” I shrieked, but he was beyond answering me. He was out cold, a thin ribbon of blood trickling down his cheek. I swallowed the lump of frustration in my throat and focused my hatred toward Asha.
“How could you,” I snarled. “He’s your son.”
She shrugged, not a flicker of concern marring her placid face. “As I said. Consequences.”
Stepping back and not giving her unconscious son a second look, she handed my sai over to the guard standing behind her.
“As much as I would love to talk more, it’s time to go. I hate being in these god forsaken woods.” She bared her chompers my way again. “That’s how important you are to me, my dear. Not much gets me out of my tower.”
Closing her eyes, she lifted her hands toward the evening sky. In answer to her silent call, the flapping of wings dominated all other sounds and three huge shadows appeared overhead. The lead morqual landed in the field beside Asha, lowering himself to the ground. Using his offered wing as a step, Asha straddled his back with ease and without a look back, sailed off into the indigo expanse.
