“Even prisoners hear things.” Ed glowered at her. “Urien trusts you, he must’ve mentioned something about his plans. He always did like to gloat about things.”
Ceara’s dark eyes flashed. “He doesn’t trust me anymore. I betrayed him by helping all of you, remember?” She tightened her grip on her reins. “He’s been trying to gain new allies, some of Orla’s men proved too weak for him. He’s been trying to find other magic users too—people he can use. If they refuse, he kills them. Better to have them onside than to have other potential enemies.”
“What about Xander?” Ann asked her. “Do you know if his spirit is still inside Urien’s body? Does he have any control over his body?” Her heart pounded at the thought of her brother, and her stomach twisted with guilt.
Ed gave her a disapproving look. She might only say what she thinks you want to hear. Ann ignored him.
“It’s horrible seeing Urien staring out through Xander’s eyes. He even moves like Urien now.” Ceara shuddered. “I think he’s still in there. Urien looks like he’s struggling at times, as if he can hear a voice no one else can. So I’d say yes, Xander is still alive. I doubt he has any control over his body.”
The thought gave Ann a little comfort at least. If she could get Urien’s spirit out, she could destroy him and save Xander at the same time.
They travelled the rest of the day, across the plains.
Ann remembered travelling over them as a teenager with her father. There had been a lot of druid settlements back then, and she’d enjoyed visiting them all. But most were gone. It was surprising how much places could change in only a decade.
She kept her senses alert as they moved. Ann had no doubt Urien’s forces would be trying to follow her. Since she’d refused to join him, he’d want to find a way to kill her now. Or use her for his own means.
Darkness hung over them like a diamond filled blanket. Ann noticed Sage drooping in her saddle. “We should make camp for the night.” Ann dismounted and pulled one of the tents out from her pack. She only had two tents. One she shared with Sage and one Jax and Edward slept in. Each tent had been created with magic and was made from wooden posts, along with a large canvas that covered the structure.
“I’m not sharing a tent with a Gliss,” Sage announced as Ann set the tent on the ground and used magic to construct it.
Jax raised his hands. “Don’t look at me either. I’m not sleeping anywhere near her.” He gave Ceara a glare. “You might try to kill me.”
“Why, afraid the big bad Gliss will come torture you in your sleep, bird boy?” Ceara scoffed. “You always were a coward. For the record, I don’t plan on killing anyone. I want to get some sleep.”
“I’d take your head off if you tried.” Jax glared back at her. “And don’t call me bird boy. That always used to annoy me when we were children.”
“Jax, you can sleep in my tent,” Sage said. “I would prefer to have someone near me who will kill a Gliss.” Sage ducked inside the tent.
“Fine by me,” Jax said. “Won’t have you tossing and turning all night, Ed.” He vanished inside the tent. He reappeared a few seconds later. “On second thought, someone needs to keep an eye on her and be ready for when Urien’s people attack us.” Jax motioned toward Ceara. Black light blurred around his body as he shifted into his crow form and hopped on top of the tent.
Ann repressed a sigh and pulled out a spare set of blankets from her pack. “Here, you should get some rest.” She handed them to Ceara.
“I’m going for a walk,” Ed said. “I’ll sleep outside if I have to. Jax, you keep first watch.”
Ann put her hands on her hips. “Ceara isn’t our prisoner. You don’t need to watch over her.”
“She isn’t our ally either.” He stalked off without saying another word.
Ann tossed a few pieces of wood on the ground then threw a fireball at it to create a small fire. The flames erupted to life, sending shadows dancing across the hard ground.
Ceara made a makeshift bed with the blankets next to the fire and settled down. “You don’t need to stick up for me,” she murmured. “Nor can you expect them to trust me again so easily. I’ll have to earn their trust back. That’s my job, not yours.”
“I know, but luckily, I do trust you.” She pulled a couple of jars out of her pack. “Here, rub these on your skin if you need them. Hopefully there will be a healer who can help you where we’re going.” She still hadn’t told Ceara of their exact destination and knew she couldn’t keep a secret forever.
“Sciath agus cosaint. Rabhadh faoi chontúirt.” Ann set boundary spells for protection and to warn of any unwelcome visitors. Bursts of green light flashed around the perimeter of their camp, sending out tiny orbs as the wards set in place.
Pulling her coat tighter, she followed after Ed. He stood staring up at the stars and seemed lost in thought. “Are you okay?” Ann asked, touching his shoulder. “You’ve been on edge all day.”
“With a Gliss around, you can’t blame me for that,” he muttered and shrugged off her touch.
“That’s not what’s bothering you,” she said. “Come on, talk to me.”
He grunted something she couldn’t make out.
“You’re struggling to control the beast, but that doesn’t mean you have to leave.” Ann needed him to stay. He’d been part of her family for a long time. She knew him better than anyone.
“I can barely contain it. It gets worse every day,” he said, scowling at the night sky. “I need it gone. I want to be myself again.”
“Ceara, can you do anything to help Ed with his beast?” Ann called over to her. “To get rid of it?”
Ceara snorted. “You were born beast, wolfy.” She pulled her blankets over her tighter.
Ed’s jaw tightened. “That’s not true. You changed me into it.”
The Gliss turned and sat up, glaring over at him. “Really? I watched Orla torture you. It took us days before we finally brought out your true nature.” She pulled her blankets up higher. “Face it, Ed. You’ve always been different. You know that. Even Mum said you weren’t a druid, no matter how much you tried to act like one.”
“Why would I even believe you?” he growled. “I remember what you did to me. Don’t expect me to forgive you for the torture you put me through.”
Ceara shrugged. “Believe what you like, wolfy. Do you remember your life before you washed up on Trin?”
Ed stalked off and Ceara burrowed under her blankets.
Ann hurried after him. “Would it really be so bad if you were born beast?”
He frowned. “How can you even ask me that?” he demanded. “I’m nothing like myself anymore. The beast wants nothing more than to hunt and kill. It wants blood, and it’s taking everything in me to hold it back.”
“Maybe I can help. My father taught me ways to hold my power in—that’s how I kept my true power hidden all these years.”
“How?”
“Meditation. It helps me to stay focused. It’s a starting point at least.” Ann took off her coat and laid it out on the ground. “Sit down. Let’s try something. Maybe it will get you to relax.”
The others were a good distance away so they wouldn’t disturb them. She only hoped Jax didn’t try to pick a fight with Ceara whilst they were gone.
“I can’t relax—not with a Gliss lying a few feet away.”
“Do you trust me?”
“Of course, I trust you with my life.”
“Good, then trust my judgement and stop obsessing over Ceara.” She motioned to the ground. “Lie down.” She settled down on her coat, ignoring the pebbled ground underneath the leather.
Ed sighed and sat down beside her. “What do you want me to do?”
“Just relax. I’ll cast a spell of calmness. Maybe that will make things easier to control. Close your eyes.”
“You know my beast seems to be immune from magic. Gliss magic doesn’t work against me, so yours may not work either,” he pointed out as he settled down beside h
er.
“It will if you let the magic work. Just don’t resist me.” Ann took his hands and drew magic. “Calma agus a bheith fós.”
Her fingers tingled, and Ed gripped her hands tighter. Their minds opened to each other. There had always been a strong link between them, ever since they were children. No one had ever been able to explain their natural connection to each other. The link had always been there. Neither of them had ever questioned it. It was just part of them.
Ann felt the beast at the edge of his mind, clawing and trying to break free. Ed had constructed a cage around it, locking it inside. The beast felt powerful, strong…and angry. It wanted freedom. Darkness seeped from it too. It didn’t feel evil—just primal. She couldn’t see the creature itself, or any kind of light around it. That led her to believe it was a natural part of him and not an intruding entity. If it were, she would have sensed that by now.
Ann repeated the spell to it, and it snarled, shaking off the magic like an irritation. This time she focused on Ed himself.
Ed drew away once the spell ended. “Guess I feel a little better.” He wrapped his hands around the back of his head and laid back on the ground. “Thanks. I hope it helps.”
“I think your beast is immune to spells,” Ann remarked. “Maybe you should look on it as a gift.”
“A gift?” Ed scoffed. “How can it ever be a gift?”
“You’re stronger and more powerful now than you were.” He’d always been the strongest out of all the Black.
“I might be able to rip people’s heads off and be fast, but I can’t even use magic,” he said. “Not even the basic things. I feel like I’ve lost myself.”
“Maybe it’s time for a change. I never thought I’d be a rogue druid, yet here I am, the archdruid.”
“I hate feeling like I don’t know myself anymore.”
Ann flopped back against the grass, rested her head against his shoulder. “You’ll learn about the beast and who you are. Maybe it’s time to find out more about who you were before you came to Trin.”
“That’s never mattered to me. Flo was my mother. Your family was there for me,” he said and sighed. “I still miss Flo. I can’t believe she’s gone.” He pushed his long hair of his face. “Where I came from isn’t important. I’m not sure I want to know.”
Ann winced at the mention of Flora. Her heart twisted thinking of her aunt. Flora had been just another one of the victims in Urien’s war against them. “I know, I miss her too. I think she would want us to give Ceara another chance.”
Ed gritted his teeth. “You don’t know that.”
She arched an eyebrow. “No? Flora was one of the most forgiving people I’ve ever known. She believed in second chances more than anything.” Ann turned her head to stare back up at the glittering night sky. Watching the stars had always been something they’d done together as children, and it felt good to be doing it again now. “The other druids might be able to help.”
“You can’t really be considering taking Ceara to Trewa with us?”
She bit back a smile. I wondered how long it’d be before he brought that up.
“No one trusted you when you washed up on Trin—an island hidden by magic and only accessible to druids,” Ann pointed out, giving him a playful nudge in the ribs.
“I wasn’t a Gliss. I was just a kid who had no idea where he came from or who he was,” Ed said, turning his body to face her. “Why do you want to save her so much?”
“Because she was one of us once. We were friends, and she was your sister.”
Ed rolled his eyes. “Once. She still betrayed us. She chose Urien above her own family.” He brushed bits of grass off his trousers. “People can’t change that much. You wouldn’t expect Urien to change after all the evil he’s done, would you?”
Ann winced. She had always wondered if Urien would change. Despite all the bad things he’d done, he’d been her brother. “No,” she admitted. “I believe people can change if they want to, and I think Ceara does.” She squeezed his shoulder. “Just like I know you can learn to control your beast.”
Ann woke with the sun hanging overhead and birds singing. Bright orange rays filled the pale blue sky. A chill wind washed over her skin. She blinked and realised she’d fallen asleep with her body half-draped over Ed’s.
“Some things never change.” Ceara loomed over them, smiling.
Ann wriggled free of his grasp and sat up. “What do you mean?” She pushed her long hair off her face and rubbed sleep from her eyes.
A quick glance at Ed revealed his eyes were still closed. She doubted he was still asleep with Ceara so close to them.
“You and Ed. Well, at least you found someone who actually loves you,” Ceara said and scowled. “Unlike Urien.”
“We’re not a couple.” Ann brushed dust off her clothing. She tugged on her coat, trying to pull it up, yet Ed still lay over half of it, so she couldn’t.
Ceara rolled her eyes. “And you’re still denying it even after all these years.”
“It’s the truth,” Ann insisted.
“Right, keep telling yourself that.” Ceara laughed
Ed bolted up. “Someone’s coming.” He scrambled for his sword, which made Ann arch an eyebrow at him. Although he’d been carrying his sword around for the past few months after changing into a beast, he hadn’t used it very often. Then again, maybe he didn’t want to unleash his beast unless he had to.
Ann glanced around, seeing only Jax and Sage sitting around a small fire over by their tents. “Where?”
“Close. I can hear them.” He unsheathed his sword with a hiss.
Ceara tensed beside them. “I need a weapon. Ed, give me your sword. You don’t need it.”
“Not a chance, and yes, I do need it,” Ed replied.
A flash of orange light came at them. Ceara raised her hand and deflected the blast.
Nice way to wake up in the morning, Ann thought as heat flared between her fingers.
Chapter 6
Ed felt his beast clawing to get out now it caught the scent of magic and the hint of battle in the air. It wanted out. He struggled to keep it under control. Instead, he gripped his sword. Maybe using that instead of unleashing his inner beast would help keep the creature reined in.
More blasts of orange light came at them.
One grazed the side of his face with a sting of heat.
He narrowed his eyes, spotted a group of men heading their way. “There’s five of them. Sorcerers,” he told the others.
“Sage, stay in the tent,” Ann said.
Sage snorted as she got up. “I’m not without my uses.” The druid brushed off her robe and light flared between her fingers as she prepared herself for battle.
Jax drew his staff. “Urien’s people?”
“Guess we’re about find out.”
The men came at them from all directions.
Ed lunged at the first sorcerer. A bolt of energy hit his shoulder. Smoke seared through his shirt and jerkin. He raised his sword as another blast of energy came at him. The metal flashed as the magic bounced off, absorbed by the steel. One good thing about this weapon was it had been made from steel infused with magic. All of the Black had been given weapons capable of fighting and absorbing magic. The blade felt familiar in his grasp, almost as if it was part of his own body.
The first sorcerer, a rotund man with a balding head and beady black eyes, drew back as Ed advanced toward him. The man pulled out a knife; it shook within his trembling hand as Ed swung the blade at him.
The knife fell from the man’s grasp. He raised his hand, throwing another bolt of energy at Ed. The bolt bounced off his sword as he grabbed the man by the throat.
Inside his mind, the beast thrashed and growled, demanding to be let out. It wanted blood. This sorcerer’s blood. Ed’s hands shook as his claws tried to come out.
“Who sent you?” Ed growled, squeezing the man’s throat so hard his eyes bulged.
The smell of the man’s fear only exc
ited his beast more. He gripped his sword harder with his free hand in an effort to keep it in. Kill, the beast demanded.
The sorcerer opened his mouth to speak and coughed. No words came out. His heart pounded wildly as he fought for air.
Ed let go of the man, gripping his sword so tight the metal on the hilt twisted in his grasp. His eyes flashed emerald. His upper jaw ached for his fangs to come out.
The sorcerer doubled over, gasped for air. Another man with long dark hair came at Ed from the side. The second sorcerer raised his dagger, about plunge it into Ed’s neck. Ed spun and knocked the dagger away with one swipe of his sword, the blade flashing with silver light as he moved. He thrust his sword through the man’s chest in one fell swoop. The second man’s eyes widened in shock as blood gurgled from his mouth.
Ed shoved the body away as he drew his sword back and swung at the other sorcerer, dispatching him in the same manner as the second one. He took a deep breath, leaning on his sword. The fingerless gloves strained as his claws flashed over his fingers. Damn it, no. I’m in control. Not you.
He searched his memories, trying to remember the words to the spell Ann had used on him the night before. But they wouldn’t come to him. Not here, in the midst of battle with blood pounding in his ears and adrenaline racing through his veins.
Ed turned his attention back to the others.
Ann muttered words of power and sent another man crashing to the ground. The sorcerer struggled to get up, throwing another bolt of energy straight at her. Ed deflected it with his sword, the blade flashing as he blurred to her side.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
He gave her a curt nod. Better not to let her know how much he was struggling. It would only distract her, and he couldn’t afford to do that. Not at a time like this.
Jax swung his staff as one of the other men came at him. Orange flashed light around him as he hardened his skin, protecting himself.
“Don’t kill them. I want to know who sent them,” Ann called.
The beast growled, thrashing against the cage of his mind as it tried to take full control once more. Out. But Ed wouldn’t let it. Not this time.
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