Panthers of Brigantia Shifter Box Set

by Lisa Daniels

  The return to the cemetery was much quicker, and the seer showed no surprise when the Unwashed greeted her. There was no fear in her face, just resignation as one of them spoke.

  Then everyone’s head spun to look at something. Cursing that she couldn’t hear anything, Rosaline tried to see what they were watching. Time froze for her when she saw the sword sticking out of the chest of one of the Unwashed.

  She mouthed the word “Draven” even before he was visible. Rosaline hardly had to watch as he finished off the Unwashed without any real resistance—just like an assassin, he gave them no time to respond to his presence. As he finished off the last of the Unwashed and spoke with Dulce, Rosaline’s mind worked. Small pieces began to click into place. Darius and Orion seemed concerned that the champions had left a seer for dead, and that was why they had let Ignacio go to her. However, if the assassins were worried about her, there was no doubt that the champions were also working on something to free the woman. The question was why did they take so long? Why wait until she was nearly killed to take her away? Did they know that she was going to be attacked? Or was it dumb luck that Draven appeared when he did, just as it had been dumb luck that Ignacio had been there?

  Caspian. Rosaline didn’t even need confirmation. Caspian had trained Draven, and had probably planned the whole thing from start to end. The question remained, though, why did they wait so long? Rosaline watched as Dulce tried to drug Draven, but she never had a chance. Unlike Ignacio, Draven trusted no one and was always ready to react to an attack. The difference between the assassin and the champion couldn't have been more different, but their roles were wrong. Ignacio should not have been emotionally invested because it blinded him.

  What bothered Rosaline most was that Dulce seemed ungrateful for what Draven had done. He had saved her from imprisonment, yet she seemed angry. Rosaline felt very angry on Draven’s behalf. Even though she didn’t know him personally, Ignacio had talked about him—highly, even comparing him to Darius on a couple of occasions. That had seemed odd to Rosaline because she could see how being like Darius would be considered beneficial.

  They both can control their emotions, keep them in check. If you really wanted to follow the path you are on, you would be aspiring to be like them, not scoffing at their approach to the world.

  Rosaline watched as Draven lifted Dulce up and walked out of the cemetery. As curious as she was, Rosaline was more concerned with Ignacio. Adjusting her mental state, she returned to his side. As the night progressed, she sang to his sleeping form, the songs ones that he had taught her over their missions together. When he had tried to explain that singing helped to make a person feel more at peace, she had not believed him. Some of the songs were funny, and others were just strange, but he failed during those trips to prove his point. She had felt her heart racing a little as he had sung, but something told her not to mention that to the assassin. Orion would join in when he was with them, but his songs were also more sedate, probably the songs he sang to children that were occasionally in his care. Rosaline couldn’t help but think that he viewed both of them as children too, but she didn’t mind.

  Rosaline imagined sitting down next to Ignacio. Wracking her brain, she tried to think of a song that he had enjoyed, though she quickly dismissed them because they did not feel right for the situation. Nor did any of the songs Orion had sung seem right. Though she knew that she should want to sing one of the songs she had learned as a priestess, Rosaline did not even consider them. Choosing the melody of one of the more mundane songs, she began to improvise her own lyrics to a song. The words flowed on their own as the night passed into morning.

  Finally, Ignacio began to stir. Rosaline moved close to him and realized that there was something off about him as he struggled to wake. She watched him for a few moments, unsure what was wrong, but she had seen him wake several times, and there was definitely something off. Turning her complete attention to him, she looked him over and detected a strange poison in his system. She frowned, and looked around. It could have been the air or something he ate on the way there. Or perhaps there was something in the powder that was causing his body to react.

  Back in Marlyon, her body shuddered as Rosaline pulled herself away. Her hands were translucent as she reached out for Ignacio. “Purge. You must purge, Ignacio.”

  His eyes seemed unfocused as he looked around. When Ignacio’s eyes finally met hers, Rosaline knew that he could hear her. “Purge.” She placed her hand on his.

  Ignacio looked around, “What happened?”

  “I will tell you once you are done, but not a moment before.”

  “I’m hallucinating. Or you are a trick.” His eyes were cold as he looked at her.

  “Why would anyone use me to trick you?” She sat down next to him and pushed her shoulder against his. It was a faint touch, but it brought a smile to her face. “When you talked to me about the mission, I hadn’t realized just how much it had affected me. It made me wonder how obvious it was to everyone else because you noticed and pulled me off into a private location. I’m still not sure why you did that, but I am grateful for it.” She turned to face him and smiled.

  Ignacio was looking at her, his mouth open a little. “I’m definitely hallucinating.” With a laugh, he shook his head and stood up, “But that means that I am telling myself that I need to purge.” Taking a deep breath, he held out his arms.

  “You need to take down the shield first.”

  “What?” He looked down at her as she smiled up at him.

  “She drew out your magic to make sure you wouldn’t get hurt. As heartless as I thought her at first, she clearly cares about you.” That last part was hard for Rosaline to admit, but it was clear that Ignacio was having trouble remembering what had happened.

  “She?” He frowned, then his eyes went wide. “Dulce! Shit!” Quickly waving away the shield, he tried to run down the hills. The way he ran almost looked human, and Ignacio ended up placing a hand on the tree as he put a hand against his forehead.

  “You have to purge or you won’t be able to do anything.” She continued to sit on the ground, her eyes watching him as she felt a sadness she didn’t understand. “Besides. She is fine. Draven killed all of them and forced her to go with him.”

  Ignacio frowned at her, “I don’t understand what is going on, but I’m not sure I can trust whatever you are.”

  The way he looked at her was unlike any of the looks Ignacio had ever given her. In person, he was always so caring and sweet. Now he was glaring at her with a look of repugnance.

  “You need to purge or you will…” Rosaline tried to tell him about the poison, but there was something that was pulling her back to her body. She noticed how her voice had faded away as she tried to finish speaking to him. Before she realized it, Rosaline felt herself being slammed back into her own body.

  Her eyes flew open, and she found herself looking into a pair of pinkish-blue eyes that were on the verge of tears. “Oh, thank the gods!” Itzel slumped down on the bed. “You are still alive.”

  A movement to the side caught Rosaline’s attention. Her head felt like it was made of lead as she turned to look. Leaning against the wall was a guardian. She blinked a few times, trying to understand why a guardian was in Marlyon. Her voice was hoarse as she whispered, “Tiger?”

  The figure pushed away from the wall and approached her, a finger resting on his lips. “Itzel, I need you to go cover for her. Whatever you want to report will be fine.”

  Rosaline’s eyes were wide as she stared at the bright pink eyes that were watching her under the brilliant white hair. In her peripheral, she could see Itzel leave, closing the door behind her.

  “Darius?” Rosaline whispered.

  Chapter 5

  In Another’s Service

  The assassin walked away from the bed and toward the tiny kitchen. When he returned, he had a plate of easy-to-eat foods. He put the dish down on a small table she hadn’t noticed by her bed, which meant that someone had
been in there for a while. When he returned again, he had a large glass of water and a chair. He put the chair near the bed and held out the glass of water.

  Rosaline watched him as much as she could, but her mind was hazy. After he had watched her for a while, Darius spoke, “You have been out for more than a week. Had you been out much longer, you would have died.”

  Rosaline tried to think about what had happened, but it seemed more like a dream. “He’s in trouble,” her voice was incredibly hoarse, and she realized she was thirsty. Sitting up, she found her body barely listened to her.

  Darius helped her sit up, then placed a few pillows behind her back. Sitting down again, he held out the drink, and Rosaline couldn’t help but stare at him as she drank. As soon as the glass was empty, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Thank you.”

  “You are welcome. Have something to eat.”

  She looked over at the plate, but her stomach churned. “I don’t think I can.”

  “You will need to eat as soon as your body can process food. You have barely eaten since he left, and not at all in over a week.” He leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees, and looked her in the eyes. Rosaline felt like a mouse under the gaze of a lion. There was no way to escape those stunning pink eyes. “How much do you remember of what you saw?”

  Rosaline blinked. “Am I not in trouble?”

  “What is more important right now?”

  Rosaline nodded, “Right. Ignacio found Dulce, but the Unwashed were already there. She led him away from the danger, but refused to leave with him. When he tried to insist that she go with him, she used some kind of powder to knock him out. She then drew magic out of him to keep him safe while he was asleep. I… followed her back and Draven was there. He killed all of the Unwashed, and when she tried to do the same thing to him—use the powder on him—he held her hand and released it in her face. She wasn’t even aware when he took her away.” She frowned and looked away, “Although I’m not entirely sure what he plans to do, I suspect that Caspian is somehow involved.”

  Darius didn’t show any emotion as she spoke, but as soon as Rosaline finished, he frowned and looked toward a small window. “I would not be at all surprised if your suspicion is right. The champions don’t often work with Draven, and I don’t know of any assassin who has spoken to him about Dulce.” He was quiet for a while, leaving Rosaline to consider what she had seen as she stared at his profile. “It is very risky, but I dare say that Maverick had to talk him into it. There is no chance that Draven would do something at Caspian’s request, though it seems only slightly more likely that Maverick would be able to convince him.” A smile flitted across Darius’s face, “It is good to see that Ignacio wasn’t the only one concerned about her. They should have told me, though, because I would have found something else for him to do than waste time in Ishtar. His talents are needed in so many other areas, but Orion didn’t want him to feel like we were punishing him. Considering Dulce’s importance to the seers, I thought that it would help them without the assassins being directly involved since Ignacio was going as an old friend instead of an assassin. Guess Caspian found a better way.” He looked annoyed as he finished.

  “Ignacio isn’t out of danger yet.”

  Darius turned back to look at her and wait for her to explain.

  Rosaline tried to pull her thoughts together. “There was poison in his system, but I am not sure where it came from. I was telling him to purge, but he was too worried about Dulce. When I tried to get him to focus, he…” she tried to fight down tears as she remembered how he was looking at her, “he didn’t trust me.”

  Darius nodded. “Don’t take that personally. What you did was,” he pursed his lips, “not something that most magic users can do. Manifesting yourself in front of him, his reaction was understandable.”

  “But I touched him. Shouldn’t he have been able to tell it was me?” Rosaline looked at her hands. A large hand crossed her vision and forced her to look up into those startling pink eyes.

  “You did what?” There was something in his voice that was scary.

  “I… I…” Rosaline swallowed, but found she could not look away. “I touched him. When he was waking up. He was disoriented and confused, so I tried to comfort him by acting like we usually do. I bumped him with my shoulder and that seemed to help for a little bit. I don’t know why that changed, though. Then the next thing I knew, I was slammed back into my body.”

  “I apologize. Perhaps I was a little too forceful in pulling you back, but any longer and someone else would have started to figure out what you were doing.”

  Rosaline blinked a few times, trying to process what he had said. “You mean… no one else knows?”

  “No.” His expression was blank as he looked at her. However, his appearance was far less imposing than his bluntness from the darkness. A part of her mind was noticing how attractive Darius was, and she wondered why he chose to stay hidden.

  Most of her thoughts were turning to Ishtar where she was afraid of what was happening to Ignacio. “I'm worried about him. I think he was planning on shifting and running back to the cemetery. From there I have no idea what he will do. He’ll probably realize that someone else was there, and will take off, trying to track down Dulce, ignoring the fact that he is poisoned. Darius.” She grabbed his hand. “Is there any way that you can force him to come back?”

  Darius looked down at her hand, then back into her eyes. It took a moment for Rosaline to realize that she had touched him. Pulling her hands away, she missed the shifting expression on his face. She was blushing when he started speaking, “We can certainly tell him that there is an emergency that requires his abilities.”

  “Great!” She tried to stand up, but fell back on the bed.

  “You are going to need to stay in bed for the next week. You really pushed yourself beyond any known limits with this little stunt.”

  “But he was in trouble!” She could feel her heart speeding up and her breath was shallow. “I think I need to lie down.”

  Large hands caught her as she started to sway. “I think that would be a good idea, but you have to eat first. I have made something that isn’t filling that shouldn’t bother your stomach. Had I known that you managed to physically manifest, I would have made a few other dishes to help you faster.” He looked at the door. “Actually, under the current circumstances, I think I have a little time. But you will need to join me because we are not done talking.”

  He picked her up and carried her in a blanket and several pillows over to the small kitchen. Placing her gently on the table, Darius made sure she was resting against a wall. “I do apologize since it isn’t ideal, but we have to talk so that I know exactly what happened.”

  “What about Ignacio? We have to get him to come back home.”

  “He knows.”

  “What?” Rosaline closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa. You cannot go to sleep without eating.” He placed a small plate of wafers beside her. “They should help you until I finish.”

  Rosaline picked up a wafer and bit it. Shocked by the taste, she looked over at Darius as he quickly moved around the kitchen. “Wow, that is incredibly good! What is it?”

  “It’s something special, but not designed for what I need. It will only keep you awake for a few minutes.” He didn’t even look at her. “Have you ever manifested through a dream before this time?”

  “I didn’t even know that is what I did.”

  “Good to know, but was that the first time you did it?”

  Rosaline thought back, “Um, I don’t think so.”

  “When might have you done it before?”

  “After I took my vows. I think I was visiting my mother at night, but I couldn’t say how many times I did it. She seemed so miserable when she was alone. I also went to my father’s grave since I am not allowed to go near cemeteries any more. Until what happened with Ignacio, I thought I was never able to touch anyon
e, or even communicate with them. Although, I think that my mother felt my presence because she seemed calmer when I left.”

  Darius nodded as she spoke, but let her talk without interrupting.

  “I think I knew that I did something differently this time because my body shuddered. It was painful. I was aware of that, but ignored it because he looked so confused, and I didn’t want him to be alone.”

  Darius continued to nod, but his expression had changed.

  “How did you know how to get me back here?”

  He looked over at her as he pulled a bowl out of her cupboard. “You are not the first person who has manifested elsewhere, though I admit that I’ve never seen anyone leave so little behind. I thought you were dead when I first came to check on you.” He brought the bowl over and sat on the table near her. Darius adjusted her body so that she was propped up against the wall, then he began to spoon-feed her as he spoke. “What you did was incredibly dangerous. It takes most people years of training because being detached from your body can kill you if you are gone too long or if you overstretch your consciousness. And Ishtar is a long way from here.”

  Rosaline kept her eyes downcast, eating each spoonful without saying anything. She had no idea why Darius was being so attentive, almost kind. Nodding her head periodically, she listened to him. A part of her wondered how long he had been around because the things that he knew were well beyond anything she had heard. Then again, druids and assassins had very different information and understandings about life and death.

  When he finished explaining what she had done, Darius stood up and put the bowl in the sink. A second later he was picking her up and taking her to the bed. “Now, it is time to tell you what you need to do going forward.”

  Rosaline looked up at Darius as he sat down. “You are going to make me do stuff to keep you quiet about what I did?”