“Take these,” she said. “They will ward off any wild beasts that may do you harm, and any demons that may be lingering nearby.” She wrapped her arms around me as she told us goodbye, and I was so thankful I had chosen not to end the woman’s life. She straightened suddenly, and her gaze was piercing as she stared at me. “Olivia, power and sacrifice often go hand in hand. When the time is right, you will know how to use it.”
I swallowed and nodded. As Kael and I left, I thought about how I didn’t want to sacrifice anything, or anyone, not for all the power in the world.
But the magic humming beneath my skin did not agree.
Chapter 18
Our second trek through the African wilderness was a bit more enjoyable. Likely it had something to do with the fact I was no longer racing toward my death bed with demon poison in my veins. The sky was overcast, and though it was still hot, my skin wasn’t sizzling. There was more wildlife to watch this time. Kael laughed when I waved at a herd of elephants, and I told him it was just in case they knew Bibi.
As we walked, I fingered the tiny elephant tusk earring in my pocket that the prophetess had given me. What would happen if I were to wear it? Kael strode beside me, and as I glanced at him, I tried to picture him wearing the earring in his pocket that was twin to the one I carried. I giggled.
Kael smiled as he peered down at me, though his eyebrows were raised. “What’s so funny?”
“Have you ever had your ears pierced?” I asked.
“Not in this lifetime,” he said. He shook his head with a laugh.
I pulled my hand out of my pocket to adjust the strap of my bag biting into my shoulder. “This lifetime?”
“Well, apparently this isn’t the first time I’ve been alive, is it? I’m some sort of reborn warrior destined to protect you.”
The light-hearted question had taken a turn toward a conversation I wasn’t sure I wanted to partake in. I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “How do you feel about that?”
The shifter paused, and I hesitated beside him in the tall brown and yellow grass. “About protecting you?”
“About not really having a choice about it.” I shrugged a shoulder. “I mean, it’s like you had no choice but to be there at the ruins in the Amazon and ever since, you’ve been stuck with me. You're risking your job, risking your life, for something and someone you had no choice but to encounter.”
Kael stepped closer to me, and his hand lifted to curl around my bicep. “I don’t think of it like that. I want to be here to protect you.”
“I can take care of myself, though. I don’t need protecting.”
“Everyone needs protecting sometimes, Livvie.” A crooked grin twisted his lips. “Even strong, intelligent, independent archaeologists need a hand now and then.”
I smiled back, even if my heart wasn’t quite in it. I still couldn’t shake the feeling I was nothing more than a reborn obligation to Kael. He accompanied me and protected me because he was meant to, not because it had really been a choice for him.
“Besides,” he said. “If you hadn’t wandered into those ruins in that deep, dangerous jungle in the first place, I would have never had the privilege of meeting you.”
When had his hands trapped my shoulders? I lifted my face to find myself suddenly trapped in Kael’s intense gaze.
“I want to support and protect you, not because it’s my job, or because something is telling me to, but because you’ve grown to mean a lot to me, Livvie.”
The air seemed to press in around us. It had nothing to do with the climate of Africa, and everything to do with the way Kael’s chest was mere inches from me. His hands, calloused and strong, feathered up my neck to rest on my jawline.
I swallowed, and Kael’s nostrils flared as he pulled in a deep breath.
His eyes widened, and suddenly it wasn’t his chest in front of me, but his back. It took me a couple of seconds to realize he’d whirled around and shoved me behind him.
“What…” I leaned over to peer around his shoulder.
A massive lioness prowled from the grass in front of us. Her head was lowered and her gaze steady. Her massive paws padded silently as she closed the distance. A low growl rumbled from her chest. Then another lioness parted through the grass, and another. A young male lion followed, his mane nothing more than a shaggy crest down his neck.
Just as I was about to tap into my magic to avoid becoming lunch, Kael reached back and squeezed my wrist. Then he dropped to one knee, bowing as if in reverence. Confused, I didn’t know what else to do but follow suit.
“Forgive us for trespassing,” he said. “Bibi sent us.”
I glanced up to see the lions turning to look at each other. Were these the lion shifters, then?
Not bothering to wait for instruction from Kael, I rose to my feet and held out the spear. The lioness closest to me snarled, her canines showing as she peeled back her lips.
“We’ve brought this,” I said. “As a sign of good faith.” My heart was hammering as the lions’ growls echoed in my chest. What if I said something wrong? Surely, they didn’t see me as a threat.
Kael straightened beside me, his shoulder nearly brushing mine. If this turned into a fight, his jaguar form, sleek and powerful as it was, wouldn’t stand a chance against the group of lions.
The lioness before me turned and headed into the grass. She glanced back and stared at us until I started forward. Clearly, we were supposed to follow her. The rest of the lions spread out. Some were beside us, and others behind. We had no choice but to go deeper into the lion pride’s territory.
I tried to soothe my racing pulse and even my breathing as we walked, but it was difficult to do surrounded by the group of capable and deadly predators. Still, I did my best to lose myself in my surroundings. Not much had changed. There was still mostly just grass, with the horizon broken now and then by acacia trees and herds of distant antelope.
The farther we walked, the more I could sense a disturbance in the atmosphere. I rubbed my clammy hands on my pants. It was as if something vile were spreading into the area, soaking into the soil, and tainting the water. Things had become still. There was no breeze or chirping of birds. Goosebumps scattered across my skin, and my stomach curled.
Something was very wrong.
“Kael,” I whispered.
He grabbed my hand that wasn’t holding the spear and squeezed. “I know.”
A sense of relief flashed through me that he could sense something was amiss, as well, and it wasn’t just me going crazy.
“Stay close,” he murmured.
I nodded. As if I was going to wander off when we were surrounded by a pack of suspicious lion shifters.
I lost track of how long we walked. My side burned a little—not painfully, but enough to be uncomfortable. We’d already changed my bandage once earlier in the day. I’d skipped drinking any of the foul tea, but now I wished I’d drank at least one cup.
Judging by the way Kael’s gaze flicked to me constantly and how he hardly kept more than a half of a foot of space between us, I sensed he was worried. My near-death experience with the demon poison must have rattled him, but he needed to give me a bit more credit. I didn’t say anything to him, though, and let him hover. He was on edge as much as I was.
The lions led us into a small forest, much like the one near Bibi’s home. I thought to find the shifters dwelling beneath the canopy, but we continued through the trees. When we reached the other side, my mouth popped open.
Massive, rocky outcrops broke through the grassy plains. Squares dotted the walls—doors and windows, apparently. A mixture of people and lions were scattered about, partaking in cooking, cleaning, and talking.
The lioness in front led us to a semi-circle of rock. A crowd gathered as she left us on the flat ground in the half circle and disappeared into a dark doorway up ahead. There were equal numbers of men and women; even a group of children were gathered on the right, their wide eyes curious. A few moments later, she re-emerged, followed by a man.
I had seen a great deal of intimidating men in my lifetime. My father had been intimidating in his sternness, I’d had competition in the archaeological field who’d thought they could best me, and even Kael had his moments, but this man…this man had a presence to him that made me want to bow my head. It was as if a king had stepped before us.
The man wasn’t incredibly tall, like many of the men that filed out after him, and his dark hair was tinged with gray, but he made up for it in his stature and his granite, unwavering stare. A shaggy lions’ mane settled around his shoulder, making him appear wider than he actually was. His chest was bare, all hard, strong lines as if old age had yet to sink into his bones. Though he appeared human, I swear I could almost see the lion prowling beneath his skin. I’d never seen a human wearing a lion’s mane before, and that alone stirred a cold pit in my stomach.
This man was unmistakingly the chief, the leader of the lion shifters, and by the hard line of his brow and stiff features, he was not thrilled to see Kael and I standing before him.
Silence permeated the air, as if the very world itself were holding her breath. I inhaled deeply, then let my breath out slowly. I held my gaze on the chief.
“My name is—”
“I know who you are, mage.”
The chief’s spitting words took me aback, as did the hard, twisting features of his face. It was not suspicion there, as I had first believed. The man peered at me as if I were a deadly viper.
I shook my head. “I am not a―”
The lion shifter took a step forward. “You are not a mage? Do you deny you possess the ability to beckon magic and twist energy to do your bidding?”
I huffed. Would he even let me answer his questions? “I don’t deny it, but I’m not…” I hesitated. Could I really deny the fact I was, indeed, a mage? I could summon and control magic, after all.
“We bring you an offering, great chief,” Kael said. He waved his hand toward me, indicating the ivory spear still clutched in my right hand. “Bibi sent us.”
The chief stepped forward, and the people behind him followed closely. They had weapons, I realized—spears and long knives. Not that they needed them with lions closing in on us.
“I have been expecting you,” he said.
Had Bibi sent word ahead of us? But if she had, why were they so suspicious?
The chief continued. “Vehrin warned us of your coming.”
“V-Vehrin?” I sputtered. I couldn’t help but look around, as if the dark mage would unfold himself from the nearest shadow. “He’s here?”
“No. He warned us you would come here, seeking something you have no right to possess.”
Kael stepped closer to the leader of the shifters. “We are not the villains. Vehrin is the one you should come together and fight against.”
The chief’s hard eyes cut to Kael. “Do not speak to me of fighting together, jaguar, when your kind prefers to hide alone in the shadows. We do stand together here, and we know those with malicious intent when we see them.” His gaze swept back to me. “I know you seek the key, thief, and I will not relinquish it.”
“I am not a thief!” I took a step forward to stand beside Kael and held the spear out. “I passed the test. Bibi sent us here to trade this spear for the key. You must give it to us before Vehrin gets a hold of it.”
“I see nothing in your hand but proof you have killed Bibi.” Something strange flickered in his eyes. It was almost as if a shadow had passed over his gaze. I watched him as Kael spoke.
“Do you smell the scent of blood on the spear?” my partner asked. “We did not kill her. Send some runners to go and ask her if you wish.”
I ground my teeth. If we had to wait on the lion shifters to confirm we had no ill intent, we could be too late. It was apparent Vehrin was close. He could seize the opportunity to steal the key any moment.
“That is what you want, isn’t it?” the chief asked. “You want my pride to be divided so you can get your thieving hands on this.”
The chief pulled a necklace from beneath the shaggy mane nestled on his shoulders. On the chain was a key. It was a deep brownish-black, and though I couldn’t really see it in much detail, I could feel it. The air nearly pulsed around me, and as much I wanted to step forward and snatch it, I stood my ground. I reached beneath my shirt and pulled out the two keys already in my possession. I held them up so he could clearly see them.
“Vehrin has been lying to you. He has already tried to steal these. Your key is next. You have to let us have it, before the truly dark mage gets a hold of it. He is the one who wants death and destruction.”
“You are the one spewing falsities.” The chief bared his teeth, his gaze searing me where I stood. “I’ve seen what you have done. I’ve seen who you have murdered to get your hands on the keys around your neck. You may have the power to convince lesser beings, to take down weak witches and old women, but you will not find us easy fodder for your foul intentions.”
I was shocked into silence as a shadow seemed to flicker behind the chief’s eyes again. Then, I knew, and the realization brought with it the sour taste of defeat.
Vehrin had used his power to give the leader of the lion shifters false visions. He had done the same to me, in the beginning, before I grew powerful enough to keep the dark mage out of my head.
I glanced at the other members of the pride. They seemed sound of mind, but why would they have a reason to believe anything but what their leader told them?
Kael’s fingers tightened into fists beside me. “Listen, we came here in good faith. Olivia only wants to help, but she is powerful, and we will take the key if we must to keep it out of Vehrin’s hands.”
Unexpectedly, the chief laughed, a great, booming roar that bounced off the rock around us. “You dare threaten me with your mage and her trinkets? For thieves, you are very uneducated about the items you wish to steal.” He held up the dark key in his hand. “This key has the power to override the ones in your possession. Now, tell me, what reason do I have to fear you?”
My heart hammered. If Vehrin got a hold of the third key, would he be able to render me powerless? If he could take my magic, he would easily be able to get the keys from me…along with my soul.
“Leave.” The chief’s command was loud, harsh.
I tried one last time. “Please. You must listen to me. You have been deceived.”
“If you do not leave, your pet shifter will see your blood soaking the ground.”
A growl rumbled through Kael, and a few of the lionesses stalked forward, tails twitching and snarls ripping through their open jaws.
I grabbed Kael’s arm. “It’s all right.” I looked at the chief. “We will leave, but I hope you come to see the truth soon.” I glanced at the children gathered on the right, and my chest squeezed. “For all your sakes.”
I twirled the spear, and a few of the men behind the chief shifted their own weapons toward me. I ground the point into the dirt and left it standing for the lion shifters to do whatever they wished with it. The trial had been useless. I hadn’t been able to trade the spear for the key.
Kael and I left, though I could sense the lions prowling behind us for a good mile before they left us alone.
When we reached the shade of a tree, I sat down heavily on the ground. My emotions were all over the place, and I felt like a great weight was grinding me into the dust.
Kael knelt before me and rested his hands on my knees. “Livvie?”
“Why didn’t Vehrin take the key already?” I asked. Kael shrugged, and I took a deep breath. “What are we going to do, Kael?”
The pride of lion shifters had forced us out, and with Kael and I out of the way, Vehrin would not hesitate to steal the third key...and kill all who would stand in his way.
Chapter 19
Kael had started a small fire, then shifted into his jaguar form and managed to take down a gazelle that was now roasting over the flames. I was still trying to figure out why Vehrin hadn’t alread
y taken the chance to snatch the third key.
“I don’t know,” Kael said, back in human form again. “Given the confidence the chief had that we wouldn’t obtain the key, perhaps it has to be freely given.”
I crossed my legs as the smoke curl around the sizzling meat. The scent of it made my stomach growl. “That won’t stop him,” I said.
We had continued for at least another mile after leaving the lion shifter’s territory before choosing a spot to rest. The sky was a soft purple as the sun dipped below the horizon. Kael lowered to the ground beside me. He was shirtless and had opted not to put his boots back on in case he needed to shift again.
“No,” he said. “It won’t.”
I tapped fingertips on my knee. “Maybe we should have gone back to Bibi. We could have brought her to the shifters. He would have seen we weren’t lying.”
“I don’t think it would have helped.” Kael grabbed a stick and poked at the fire, spreading the coals to even out the heat. “You said Vehrin had likely given them visions with the wrong impression of us. Even if we had brought Bibi, the chief likely would have assumed it was some sort of trick.”
Kael was right. Besides...straying too far from the pride’s territory would be a risk. The atmosphere was teeming with a sense of wrong. I could feel it pressing in on me. It made the air heavy and crackled through our surroundings like a fierce storm about to descend. If we left now, the dark mage would definitely take advantage of our absence to snatch the third key.
The pair of us sat in silence a little longer. The fire hissed as juice from the roasting gazelle dropped to the flames. I’d never eaten gazelle. Would it taste like venison? My mouth was watering as Kael carefully lifted the meat from the sticks he’d assembled over the flames. As he pulled the meat from it, I wondered if the only reason he’d roasted it was for my benefit. Surely he could have just eaten while in his jaguar form.
Kael handed me a sizeable chunk of the meat, and I shifted the portion from one hand to the other as I waited for it to cool down.
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