Curious eyes followed me from every occupied table as I stomped through the room. Merina had watched the exchange from behind the counter and when I passed her, she leaned forward.
“Do you need help?” she asked in a quiet voice.
Knowing that Elaran and his elven super senses would’ve heard her anyway, I didn’t bother keeping my voice down when I replied. “No, I’m alright. Thanks, Merina. Him and I go way back. He’s just a really annoying one, is all.”
Elaran muttered something under his breath while following me towards the back of the room. I probably couldn’t outrun him but that didn’t mean I couldn’t damn well try. Yanking the door open, I strode out into the empty stabling area outside. A man appeared from the shadows.
“Oh for Nemanan’s sake!” I huffed and threw my arms in the air.
Shade ran his eyes up and down my body. “You look like hell.”
Behind me, Elaran had exited the tavern and closed the back door. No chance to retreat that way. I stalked forward, intending to skirt around the assassin and head for the stable, but as soon as I got close, Shade took a step to the side and blocked my path.
He grabbed my chin and tilted my face to the side so that the bruises became more visible. “You need to stop this.”
I slapped his hand away. “I don’t need to do anything. And besides, why do you care if I drink myself to death or get my throat slit in some street fight?”
Strange emotions flashed over Shade’s face but I was too pissed off to decipher them. After another couple of seconds, they were gone and that usual unreadable mask of his had settled on his face.
“I don’t,” he countered. “I care that you’re making trouble for Pernula. Your little storm cloud theatrics have started to draw attention. In case you didn’t know, we’re very close to star elf-occupied territory and they’re known to investigate reports of potential magic users.” Shade scowled at me. “Pernula and Sker are the only unoccupied countries left. Do you understand that? We can’t afford to draw the star elves’ attention here so you need to calm the fuck down.”
Flicking a hand dismissively, I took a step forward, intending to bypass him. “I don’t take orders from you.”
Steel scraped against scabbards as Shade drew his twin swords. I rolled my eyes.
“Seriously?” I muttered but dropped my backpack and yanked the hunting knives from the small of my back.
That distinct ringing of swords being drawn echoed behind me as well. I whirled around to find Elaran with his two elven swords in his hands. He had taken quite a shine to those blades since receiving them from Zaina all those months ago and now he always wore both his massive black bow across his back and the two swords at his hips. As if he needed any more weapons to be deadly.
“Seriously?” I repeated with even more force and flicked my gaze between the two fighters. Shaking my head, blew out an annoyed breath. “Well, let’s get on with it then.”
Shade and Elaran started circling me while I crouched into an attack position. Without warning, they both sprang forward. I ducked and twisted out of reach as their swords whizzed through the air. Moving in terrifyingly synchronized tandem, they whirled around and darted past each other until they both could approach from either side. Feigning another direction change, they both flashed forward and swung a sword at me.
Throwing up my arms, I managed to block both strikes with my hunting knives but my victory was short-lived. Since both my hands were busy blocking the swords, I could do nothing as Elaran and Shade used their free arms to slam a fist down on my wrists. The knives flew from my hands and clattered to the ground.
With a blade from each fighter against my throat, they backed me into the wall. One of the thick metal rings used to tie up horses dug into my back as Elaran shoved me the last bit into the wooden planks. I glared at them.
“What are you gonna do now? Huh? Kill me?”
Shade returned his swords to his shoulders and reached down for something in his bag. After straightening again, he closed in on me and leaned forward until he was almost pressed against me. I scowled at him from over the edge of Elaran’s blade. Then I felt something around my wrists. No way. However, I didn’t react fast enough because a metallic click sounded. Shade withdrew and Elaran removed his sword from my throat. I stared at them wide-eyed.
“You handcuffed me?” I yanked at the manacles locking my wrists to the thick metal ring behind my back. My voice rose in anger and disbelief. “You fucking handcuffed me?”
Shade took a firm grip on my jaw and forced me to look at him. “You are out of control.”
“You bastard!” I snapped. “I will kill you for this.”
“I’m sure you will try. And it will end exactly like this next time too.” He let go of me and turned around. “Now stay here while we get everything sorted before we leave.”
“You son of a bitch!” I screamed as Shade and Elaran disappeared around the corner towards the front of the house. Metal clanked as I pulled against my restraints. “I will kill you! Do you hear me?”
As soon as they were gone, my fingers went in search of the lockpicks I’d sewn into the back of my belt. After prying them loose, I got to work on the locks. Once I was free, I stalked over to my dropped knives and after having snatched them up, I grabbed my backpack and made for the front of the tavern.
The dirt square on the other side was empty except for Elaran, Shade, and their two horses. A strong wind blew a cloud of dust across the area. Or maybe it was me? Anger coursed through me like a deadly current. How dared he? How dared he shackle me to a bloody wall? While gripping the hunting knives so hard the handles almost snapped, I advanced on them.
“You thought you could handcuff me?” Lightning crackled over my skin and the dark clouds grew around me. “I’m a thief. Don’t you think the first thing I learned was how to get out of handcuffs?”
Uncertainty filled their eyes as both of them moved away from the horses. Elaran held up his hands in an appeasing gesture as he approached me.
“Calm down. You’re not yourself right now.”
“Get out of my way,” I growled, my eyes locked on the assassin behind him.
The elf refused to move. He continued straight towards me but before he could say anything else, I cut him off.
“I said get out of my way!” Thunder boomed in the huge clouds around me and a strong wind pushed Elaran aside.
He seemed as surprised as I was to see him standing several strides away from his original position. I had no idea if I was responsible for that, but at that moment I didn’t care. My mind was lost to a torrent of fury. The black mist pressed in on me and I disappeared into its deadly embrace. I launched myself at the assassin.
A voice called to me. Saying my name. It sounded very far away but I was sure it was talking to me. I swore I knew that voice from somewhere.
“Storm!” the voice said again.
It sounded urgent. Frightened. I tried to remember where I was and what was going on but holding on to a single thought was as slippery as holding a wet eel. At last, my vision started to return. When the black haze had finally disappeared, my mind had trouble processing the scene around me.
Elaran stood next to me with his hands raised. They hovered over my shoulder as if he wanted to touch it but couldn’t quite bring himself to do it. When he kept repeating my name, I realized that he was the source of the scared voice.
In front of me, Shade stood pressed against the wall with a knife to his throat. The expression in his eyes was an odd one. He looked... afraid. I squinted at the weapon causing such strange emotions. The blade was connected to a hand. Blood trickled down Shade’s pale neck. Blood caused by a shallow wound made by a sharp edge pushed into his skin. A sharp edge I was pushing into his skin. Reality slammed back down on me like a block of stone. What had I done?
Horrified, I jerked back and dropped the knife as if it had burned me. Stumbling back another step, I stared at him with wide eyes. And then something unexpe
cted happened. For the first time in... weeks? Months? The darkness snapped back and disappeared into the deep pits of my soul.
“I almost killed you,” I stammered. Raking my fingers through my hair, I raised my voice to a shout. “By all the gods, I almost killed you!”
Shade’s black eyes softened as he looked at me. Even Elaran’s usually grumpy features took on a look of sympathy. Shaking my head, I put a hand over my mouth and ran over to the corner of the building. I barely made it there before I threw up. And then again. And again.
Once the convulsing had stopped, I leaned against the wall and wiped a hand over my mouth. For a while, I just stood there, trying to wrap my mind around what I had almost done. When I failed that, I drew a deep breath and turned around to face my mistakes. I looked from face to face. Immense relief flooded through me when neither of them flinched at my gaze. I walked back towards them on unsteady feet.
Shade placed his hands on my shoulders when I reached them. “Are you alright?”
A weary laugh bubbled from my throat. “Am I alright?” I drew two fingers beneath the thin red line on his throat. Even stronger relief surged through my body when he didn’t draw back from my touch. “I almost killed you. I should be the one asking you that.” I held his gaze steadily. “I’m sorry.”
“Wait. Did you just apologize?” A mischievous grin spread across his mouth as he let go of my shoulders and turned to Elaran. “Did you hear that? Storm apologized. Has she ever done that to you before?”
The elf shook his head. “No.”
“Me neither. This is something for the history books.”
I gave Shade’s shoulder a push. “It’s not funny! I could’ve killed you.”
“Yeah, right.” The Master Assassin smirked at me. “As if I’d let that happen.”
Not being able to help myself, I released a soft chuckle and shook my head.
Elaran gave my shoulder a quick squeeze. “Glad you’re yourself again.”
Before I could respond, he wandered back to his horse. Despite everything they’d seen, everything I’d done, neither of them was angry with me. Or afraid of me. I didn’t know which was more astonishing.
Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for me. I was afraid of me. Of what I could do. Clearly, I had even less control over the darkness than I thought. That was dangerous. And Elaran had it all wrong. I still wasn’t myself again. Pain continued to bleed from my heart and that profound loss of identity still plagued me, swallowing my soul like a vortex. How long before I needed alcohol or physical pain to dull it again? How long before I lost myself in the darkness again?
“Let’s get back to Pernula before the star elves come knocking, shall we?” Shade’s mouth drew into a lopsided smile as he strode towards his horse.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
After adjusting my backpack, I went to retrieve my missing knife. Right after I slid it back in its sheath, movement in the corner of my eye made me freeze. The three of us exchanged a glance. Without a word, we all clustered together in tight formation. No one drew weapons. Yet. But Elaran’s palms rested on the pommels of his swords and I felt the comforting weight of the stilettos in my sleeves. To my right, I was sure Shade did something similar.
From the deep shadows around us, tall figures approached. They didn’t appear to be carrying weapons but the three of us remained alert anyway. A shocked gasp rose from Elaran’s throat.
“What?” I hissed.
But before he could explain what his superior eyesight had revealed, the mysterious group of people exited the shadows, making it possible for me to see them as well. My mouth dropped open.
Elves in intricately decorated white armor moved gracefully through the night. The silver decorations carved into their breastplates accentuated the long silvery white hair that flowed freely or was held back by a simple tie. Pale violet eyes met me as I stared into the face of the closest one.
“Star elves?” I whispered.
“Yeah,” Shade breathed.
Everyone stopped a few strides away except for a serious-looking elf who appeared to be in charge. He took one more step towards us before coming to a halt.
His violet eyes found mine. “You are Ashaana.”
Since I wasn’t sure if being a Storm Caster would help us or get us killed, I decided that the best course of action was to say nothing.
The leader of the star elves fixed me with an iron stare. “There is no point in denying it. We all saw what you did just now.” He swept his gaze to my companions. “The question is, are you Ashaana as well?”
Shade and Elaran seemed to be of a similar mind to me because they remained silent. When in doubt, it was always best to neither confirm nor deny anything. The authoritative star elf raised his eyebrows expectantly. When he finally understood that no answer was forthcoming, he shook his head and gave us an irritated flick of his wrist.
“I guess we will find out,” he muttered just as something made of glass shattered behind us.
We all whirled around while reaching for our weapons. None of us made it. A purple mist rose and enveloped us from all sides. I only had time to register the glass shard lying on the dusty ground before I, too, found myself face down on that same surface. The last thing I saw before the black void swallowed me was elves in white armor closing in on us.
6.
A jolt sent me flying into the metal wall. When the carriage’s wheel dropped down on the other side of the surprise speed bump, I had to brace myself on the floor to avoid getting tossed in the other direction.
I was seated at the back wall of what I assumed to be a prisoner transport carriage since the door opposite me was locked shut. Only a small window to my left illuminated the space. I swept my gaze over the assassin under the window and the elf opposite him before reaching for a pair of lockpicks.
The manacles clicked open within a matter of seconds. I placed them on the floor soundlessly while Shade did the same with his own handcuffs.
Elaran raised his still shackled wrists. “A little help?”
The Master Assassin scooted over to the elf while I staved off a chuckle. Once Elaran was free of his restraints as well, I stood up and peered out the window. Jagged rocks rose in hulking shapes a short distance away. It was the perfect place to disappear to when running from one’s pursuers.
“Can’t you just pick the lock on the door too?” Elaran muttered.
“No.” I frowned at him. “The lock is on the outside. So unless you can walk through solid metal, there’s no way to pick it. Not to mention that if we could walk through solid metal, we would have no need to pick the lock.”
The grumpy elf drew his eyebrows down. “A simple no would’ve sufficed.”
I glanced outside the window again. An elven guard in white armor walked right outside so I quickly pulled my head back. Turning around, I met both my companions’ eyes before flicking a hand dismissively.
“It’s not my fault that you ask such stupid questions,” I said.
Elaran shot to his feet. “What did you say?”
“You heard me.”
The tall elf took a step towards me and raised his voice. “I’m so sick of your arrogance! It’s your fault that we’re in this mess.”
“He’s right,” Shade added. “If it weren’t for you and your storm cloud fights, the star elves would never have found us.” Raking his fingers through his black hair, he released a loud groan and raised his voice to a shout. “You’re so damn careless!”
“Hey!” the guard outside called. “Quiet down in there.”
Ignoring him, Shade and Elaran both advanced on me.
“My fault?” I yelled at them while retreating towards the back of the carriage. My back hit the wall with a soft thud. “I never asked you to come! If you’d just stayed away this wouldn’t be a problem. But no, you just had to be the heroes.”
The Master of the Assassins’ Guild slammed a fist into the metal next to my head, making the whole wall vibrate. “Watch your
mouth!”
Involuntarily, I jerked away a little.
“I said quiet down,” the star elf outside the window called again.
But his command fell on deaf ears as both Shade and Elaran turned murderous eyes on me. However, before they could do anything, I decided to act first. Putting one hand to the assassin’s chest, I shoved him backwards while I aimed a fist at the elf’s jaw. Shade stumbled back a step but before my blow connected, Elaran’s hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. I barely managed to raise my other arm in defense before his own fist sped towards me.
Loud groans drifted out through the carriage window and mixed with the dull thuds of strikes hitting metal and body parts as both Shade and Elaran attacked me. Throwing up my arms to protect my head, I crouched down against the back wall. The shouts from outside was drowned out by the noise around me but I heard the clanking of keys and bolts by the door.
“Break it up!” someone bellowed from the front of the carriage.
Three elves climbed in through the now open door and stalked towards us. The first two headed for the attackers on either side of me while the last one continued straight towards me.
As one, Shade and Elaran whirled around and drove a fist right into jaws of their respective star elves. Two heads snapped to the side and hit the metal wall. In the second it took the last guard to realize what had happened, I rammed a knee into his groin. He doubled over and was met by Elaran’s fist.
“Let’s go,” Shade hissed.
Without casting a single look back at the three unconscious star elves, we darted from the carriage and sprinted towards the jagged rocks on our left. Clamor and raised voices could be heard from the guards at the front. We all ignored them as we sprinted to safety.
Dark gray rock formations rose around us. Since we had no idea where it led, we were forced to continue running blindly through the stone forest in the hopes of losing our hunters. After a while, Elaran skidded to a halt and drew us in behind a large boulder. My heart slammed against my ribs. While the elf peeked back out to check for pursuers, I tried to get my breathing under control.
A Storm of Glass and Stars (The Oncoming Storm Book 4) Page 4