Oath Bound

by T. G. Ayer

  Darcy agreed. “And if he does, then maybe the witch does too. Which means your little reckless mission has revealed some of your cards.”

  Mel looked about for someone then spotted Aisha at the foot of her bed. “Would she also know about the Kelan?” Mel asked Aisha.

  Aisha gave a shake of her head. “Only a djinn would recognize it. And just so you know, depending on the nature of the attack, the kelan will protect you enough that the effects of the attack would be significantly reduced.”

  “Which only means that all of Mel should have been fried to a crisp,” Darcy said.

  “Something like that,” Aisha replied, smiling.

  My question drew Mel’s attention from Aisha. “Maybe you need to sleep a little, Mel. Regenerate?” I said softly.

  “A few hours, if you want my opinion, Darcy replied, her words cold.

  “And while she’s resting, maybe I can try to contact my son?” Aisha said.

  “No!”

  One word, voiced in unison by so many people sounded like we were shouting at the Queen of Mithras.

  And, on looking at the faces around me, it was clear that nobody regretted the outburst.

  The rest of the conversation happened around me, and I remained silent, taken over by a wave of exhaustion. Logan lurked somewhere around me, and I relaxed, sitting at the foot one of the cotbeds quietly waiting for the mental exhaustion to pass.

  I may as well have been asleep, considering how much I missed.

  45

  With the need to stay awake at the top of my mind, I moved from the hotbed and left the room, barely listening to the conversation.

  I’d just entered one of the rooms along the corridor when I spotted Aisha slumped to the floor, her skin a little too pale for my liking.

  Spinning around, I raced back to the team’s room, yelling out as I paused in the doorway, “I think Aisha is ill.”

  I didn’t reply when Mel asked where Aisha was, instead turning on my heel to return to the room where I’d discovered the queen unconscious.

  Soon everyone had converged on the small room, even the commander who said to Fathima, “I told you we needed to sedate her until this was over,” eyes flashing with anger and worry.

  Darcy attended to the queen, checking her mind for significant damage, but even as she got back to her feet, Aisha began to stir.

  Moments later, Mel and Aisha were bickering affectionately, and would have continued had Darcy not cut in, saying, “May I have a private word? Fathima may stay, but everyone else must leave other than our team. We can decide from there who this information can be shared with.”

  Soon the room was empty with only the team and Fathima present. Logan came to stand at my side, and I was so grateful for his strength to lean on. He curled an arm around me as we listen to Darcy bring us up to date on the fact that Aisha had a bug in her brain, which could explain how information had been leaked.

  Darcy followed by revealing that Saleem had a block on his mind that she’d placed there for him before he left for Mithras, thus protecting him to a certain extent.

  So, with all best off, and all mind within the team protected, we set out on our mission to enter the palace and extract Saleem. Using the tower access point, we entered the palace library and made our way through the halls. Part way through we lost Darcy, and Mel had to go back in search of her.

  We reached Darcy just in time to hear the strangest of conversations.

  “Darcy?” Mel was saying. “What are you doing to the guy?”

  Darcy just shrugged. “Nothing much. Let’s just say that if Fathima decided to consider Ward for inclusion in the pecking order, he’d decline saying he lacked the...appendage. And then he’d reconsider because he’d find he was wrong. And then—”

  Mel lifted a hand to stop her. “I get it. But while you have your fun, I need to find the prince and get us out of here.”

  I didn’t bother to hide my amusement. To me, the punishment was fitting.

  Once we arrived, Mel left to go in search of Saleem while we kept an eye on Darcy and her prisoner. When we returned to HQ with Darcy and Ward, we found Mel already there with Saleem, and Rizwan stowed safely in one of the unoccupied rooms. Springing Saleem had turned out to be a bit of an anticlimax, though honestly, the mission had been Mels more than anything else.

  My mission was still waiting for me back at home.

  46

  Ni'amhurned to EarthWorld using the Sharaita though, to be honest, I held my breath the entire way and had fully expected to have been killed at some point.

  But we all returned home alive, though Mel was a little distracted by her sexy djinn. Logan was distracted by news from Drakys, and I found myself focusing on my phone.

  I was standing in the kitchen of Tara’s shop when Horner’s reply had finally come through.

  When we arrived back from Mithras, my phone pinged with a message from my boss saying I’d been given a meeting with the SHC and that Horner would take me to their location himself. It had all sounded pretty mysterious, but I didn’t want to ask any questions that would make them change their mind and revoke their decision.

  I was still terrified for Tara, and hadn’t yet heard back from Jess either. What was happening with my friends going AWOL one at a time?

  I left a note for Logan so he’d know where I was, then took Tara’s bike over to the Elite HQ where Horner met me at the foot of the stairs.

  Wordlessly, he led me to the downstairs meeting room where he settled me in first before taking a seat for himself.

  I was about to ask him when and where I’d be meeting the Supreme High Council when the seats pithing the meeting room began to fill with people. At first, I thought they were simply projections, but on closer inspection, each person proved to be present and very real.

  And suddenly I felt intimidated.

  When the gathering settled and then all slowly shifted to face me, I sensed they were ready for me, but I still wasn’t sure if I should speak first or wait for someone to tell me that it was okay.

  I looked over at Horner who was peering over at one oft he tallest of the council members, a man who appeared to be an ancient. He was far taller than Darius or Darian, who I noticed well also present, sitting at the furthest end of the table.

  The tall Ancient peered at me and said, “Kailin Odel, please explain why you have requested this meeting.”

  I wanted to tell him that I’d already explained why I wanted the meeting, but maybe that would be taking a smart mouth a little too far.

  I nodded and said, “My family was recently attacked by the fae ancients with the express purpose of taking my grandmother, Ivy Odel back to the Faelands. But when we got my grandmother to safety, she told me that King Ainwyllian of the Ancient Fae Court had another much bigger reason for wanting to take her away. He believes she has some connection to the Ni’amh, and Ivy Odel believes that he aims to obtain the power of the Ni'amh in order to use it for his own purposes.”

  I fell silent, unsure how much further I should go. I wasn’t so sure the members of the Council were even listening to me since many of them were not even looking at me,

  But the tall ancient finally peered down his nose at me. “Kailin Odel, what basis, in fact, does Ivy Odel claim to have for the intentions of the Fae King?”

  My eyes widened at the question, but I forced myself to speak the words. “He told her himself.”

  “Is Ivy Odel able to meet the council in person in order to explain this further?”

  I nodded, feeling the ancient’s eyes delve deep into my soul. “Yes, I can tell her that you wish to meet with her.”

  “Very well, We shall convene this meeting until Ivy Odel is able to attend to state her case.”

  It appeared as though the SHC wanted to end the meeting, but I wasn’t finished. I had once more question. “Can I ask just one more thing?”

  The ancient glared at me as though I’d asked him to sacrifice his life. But he didn’t tell me to get l
ost, so I took that as a good sign.

  “Is it possible for the Fae King to use the power of the Ni'amh in order to return the power of the supernaturals back to the ancient fae?”

  My question threw the entire Council into upheaval, and soon, the meeting room rang with furious discussion. And just when I thought I may as well get up and leave, Darius got to his feet.

  “Kalin Odel, we cannot discuss anything regarding the Ni'amh with you because you have brought danger upon the power of the five.”

  I blinked, unsure what he was talking about. I shook my head. “I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to explain. What exactly have I done?”

  He peered closer. “You have used the Sharaita, thus endangering the lives of the Ni'amh. Only once the Nahra has taken her price will the Council be able to address matters of the Ni'amh, and whatever dangers the Five may face.”

  You may return to us with your questions only once the Sharaita has taken her payment.

  My ears were ringing, and I wanted to stamp my feet and scream. How could they possibly use the Sharaita as an excuse?

  The Ni'amh was now, but the Nahra would take its price soon enough while the Ni'amh wasn’t at all an immediate issue.

  But I didn’t say anything because I knew in that moment that it would be a total waste of time not argue with the SHC.

  And only later, when I was going through the discussion with the SHC again did I realize something. If Horner had known that the Sharaita would possibly endanger the Ni'amh, why then had he helped us to obtain the relic and then guided us in the use of it.

  Had Horner betrayed us?

  I was too afraid to ask, so I didn’t pick up the phone. I didn’t want to know that he had his own agenda, that he’d sabotaged the Ni'amh, that he’d endanger all our lives, including the future of the DarkWorld itself.

  And if Horner could betray us, who else out there was capable of throning on us when we most need them?

  But, despite the possible betrayal, we still had to deal with the price the Nahra will exact from us. And then, we had to help Logan in Drakys.

  Only then will we be able to truly focus on the Ni'amh.

  The end

  Thank you for reading. The SKINWALKER Series continues with Rebel Heart as Kai, Logan and the have to pay the price of the Sharaita before they figure out where the Ni’amh stands in the grand scheme of things

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  About the Author

  I have been a writer from the time I was old enough to recognize that reading was a doorway into my imagination. Poetry was my first foray into the art of the written word. Books were my best friends, my escape, my haven. I am essentially a recluse but this part of my personality is impossible to practice given I have two teenage daughters, aka my friends, my tea-makers, my confidantes…

  My heart is currently broken in two. One half resides in Africa where my old roots still remain, and my heart still longs for the endless beaches and the smell of moist soil after a summer downpour. My love for Ma Afrika will never fade. The other half of me has been transplanted to the Land of the Long White Cloud. The land of the Taniwha, beautiful Maraes, and Hobbits. The shires rich with pure green, beauty that truly inspires.

  And because I am so torn between these two lands – I shall forever remain cross-eyed.

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  OATH BOUND

  A SKINWALKER NOVEL BOOK 8

  Copyright © 2019 by T.G. Ayer

  All rights reserved.

  Cover art © T.G. Ayer. All rights reserved.

  eBook Edition, License Notes

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.

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