When the Fists moved toward him, Rogan struggled to his feet. “My name is Rogan Radek, Your Grace. If you are going to condemn an innocent man to imprisonment, you should know his name first!”
The King turned around slowly, eyes burning. “I know who you are.”
“How?” Rogan demanded, impatient for answers. “Mage Starr was unable to tell me anything of my heritage on his deathbed. What can you tell me?”
The King, for the first time, seemed disturbed. “The Mage is dead?”
“Yes.”
“I thought that old buzzard would outlive me for sure.” The King was silently lost in his memories for a moment and then snapped his fingers. “Iron Fists! Take him out of here!”
Without use of his hands, Rogan could only dive and roll out of the way of the advancing soldiers. “You cannot do this! Even if the Dwarves wish no part of this fight, I must continue on! I have been named Savitar!” Two Fists jumped on him.
“If King Maximus wanted help from me, he should have thought better of his choice of messenger!”
“I do not understand!” screamed Rogan. “Why do you hate me so? At least tell me that!” The King silently watched as the Fists wrestled him toward the door. “You are a coward, King Rik!”
“Silence!” the King roared as he stood from his throne. “I am no coward, nephew. When your father, my brother, tried to flee with you when your vile shifting abilities were discovered, I made the most courageous decision of my life to save this country and my people. I killed him! My own brother! All because of you! Now get the bloody hell out of here before I kill you, too!”
Chapter 23
PRINCESS LOST
Gemini Starr idly fingered the embossed hilt of the royal crest of Iserlohn on the sword that lay on the bureau behind her desk. It had remained there untouched since Kiernan Everard surrendered it to her five days ago. The Princess had been with them almost five weeks now, and Gemini had spent the majority of that time indoctrinating Kiernan into the ways of the coven, instructing her on their core values, philosophies, hierarchy, and the use of gemstones in sorcery. Gemini’s mother, also a sorceress, taught her very early on about the extraordinary power contained in gemstones. Those early teachings were precisely why she founded the coven in Elloree after the Mage War against the express wishes of her brother, Galen. She simply refused to sit back and do nothing while every shifter girl born on the island was flung into exile instead of being given a chance to hone and develop her unique talent. Because of their innate shifting capabilities, every woman in the coven had the gift of magic and so had the ability to work with the stones. Each “Gem,” as the women liked to refer to themselves, worked with one specific gemstone and directed the energy contained within to master a skill used in witchcraft.
Gemini’s own daughter, Sapphire, worked with that most precious of all blue gemstones, the sapphire, because it contained the metaphysical properties for her chosen craft, Spell Casting. Born Dayna Starr, her daughter was so Named when she achieved her position as Sect Leader. The women and girls who work exclusively with sapphires to create spells all answered to her daughter. When Sapphire died or could no longer hold her position for any reason, another woman from within the Sect would then be raised up and Named Sapphire.
She continued to stroke Kiernan’s sword. The Princess was one of them now.
After learning that her mother, the Queen, brought her to Elloree as a young girl in her desire that Kiernan become one of the Gems, the Princess began to succumb to Gemini’s insinuations. The rejection of her father and a quarrel with the young man she loved made it easy to manipulate the vulnerable Princess into shedding former ties and agreeing to join the coven. If a thread of guilt wormed its way into Gemini’s conscious, she quickly stamped it out. What she was doing was necessary. It was what her mother, Gemini’s dearest friend, wanted for her daughter, and she would fulfill that wish.
She related to Kiernan how her mother paid a visit to the coven thirteen years ago now with the young five-year-old Kiernan in tow. As a descendant of the powerful original Savitar, Garret Kenley, Queen Grace knew it was inevitable that Kiernan would be a shifter, but she wanted more time with her daughter, more time to instruct Kiernan in the nuances of magic and royalty and to impart the special wisdom only a mother can provide during the journey to womanhood.
Kiernan was crying openly at that point, Gemini remembered.
Grace was adamant that King Maximus not find out about Kiernan. Unbeknownst to anybody in Iserlohn, Grace was also a powerful mindshifter and when she arrived in Elloree with Kiernan, she had her Draca Cat, Moombai, with her. The Everard lineage had a long bond with the Draca Cats, and that very night an envoy of Dracas arrived with the prophetic news that dark times were coming to the Island of Massa and that the young Kiernan would be named Savitar. As custom demanded from a time long past when the first Kenley mindshifter and Draca Cat inadvertently bonded, they promised a baby cub due to be born in less than a year as Kiernan’s lifelong protector. According to records from as far back as a millennium, Kenleys and Draca Cats stood side by side in combat and in peace. It was an unbreakable bond wrought through magic.
The Queen was already aware that Kiernan’s skills would be needed in the future due to that fateful visit from Galen upon Kiernan’s birth, but she seemed more eager than ever, after hearing it from the Dracas, to hide Kiernan away from the rest of the world. She begged Gemini to accept Kiernan. When Gemini agreed, Grace promised to return to Elloree with Kiernan in two weeks time after further preparations could be made. Unfortunately, the Queen became sick with fever during her travel back to Nysa, developed an infection and died.
After the Queen’s premature death, Gemini made several attempts to remove Kiernan from the royal palace, but the King refused and kept the young Princess under very strict guard until he discovered her abilities at the age of twelve and sent her to Pyraan.
Kiernan listened to the entire account without speaking as she gazed out of the window of Gemini’s chambers.
It took another three weeks after that conversation for Kiernan to surrender her sword, but she did. The last symbolic cast off of her former life.
Because of her warrior skills, it was decided by Gemini that Kiernan would work under the direction of Citrine, who used the lemony gemstone she was Named for in Combat. The gemstone lent speed and strength to the witches who were able to invoke its power.
Coincidently, it was Citrine who now startled Gemini out of her ruminations by knocking on the door and entering with Diamond, the Divination Sect Leader.
She turned to greet the two women warmly. Citrine, dressed in a pale yellow gown with scabbard belted around her waist and her fiery red braid hanging over one shoulder, spoke first.
“Gemini, we have had news that fighting has broken out on the island, mostly in the more populated cities and villages. My Pigeons tell me that we are under attack, although not by an army. They tell of shadows that paralyze with fear and kill innocents.” Pigeon was the name given to people who were loyal to the Sect Leaders and provided them with information ranging from the location of girls who could shift to political maneuverings to weather forecasts.
Gemini’s features remained composed. “Was Kiernan correct in that it is Adrian Ravener who is behind this?”
Citrine nodded. “It is.”
“Diamond, what predictions do you have to add to this news?”
Diamond tugged on her long, blonde braid, uncharacteristically agitated. Usually, the pale-haired sorceress was composed ice. “It is devastating, Gemini. I saw great destruction in our future. Dead bodies littering the streets, homes afire, chaos.”
“Can it be averted?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
“Only through the combined might of four new Savitars, but their identities remain clouded. We must find them, Gemini,” Diamond implored forcefully. “Find them and set them in motion to destroy Adrian Ravener!”
Gemini rose and looked pensively out of
the same window that Kiernan did weeks ago when she learned of her legacy. “Leave me. I must deliberate about our course of action.”
Kiernan rubbed her aching neck as she soaked in a copper tub of hot water in her room. After weeks of working with Citrine and the other Gems of the Sect, her body was bruised from head to toe, and every muscle sported a cramp. They used only practice swords in their combat training, but the added power of the citrine gemstone around her trainer’s neck infused her with phenomenal strength and speed.
She sat back and sighed, content to be here with the Gems. She found a purpose where she could put her warrior and shifting skills to use for good, and was grateful to Gemini for offering to take her in when she had nowhere else to go. Nysa was no longer an option for her, and Beck, the man she loved more than anything in this world, rejected her. Yes, this was where she belonged. Among women of her own kind. Every now and then, she felt a guilty pang for abandoning her duty, but Gemini assured her over and over again that the armies of Massa would be able to handle Adrian Ravener if battle did ensue. In all likelihood, the sorceress scoffed, Ravener would probably be just as content to retire to Starfell and live out his days without incident.
Whenever concern poured over her for forsaking her charge of traveling to Callyn-Rhe to discover an ancient weapon that might turn the tide in the Massans’ favor, Gemini laughed in her face and admitted that her brother had always been a bit of an alarmist and storyteller.
Gemini’s assurances assuaged her blood oath.
Kiernan sank lower into the steaming water and wondered what Beck was doing now. She could easily reach out to Bajan to find out but, in the end, refused to do so. He made his intentions perfectly clear.
Unbidden, tears started to stream down her face and she moaned as she thought of his tender touch that last evening in Nysa. They promised each other that they would always be together just like the star-crossed lovers Lord Jaron and his wife Elventine.
Why did he lie?
She gasped at the physical pain she was experiencing over his rejection.
She screamed in frustration at the image in her mind of his dimpled, smiling face.
Then, she kicked out at the side of the tub when she remembered his gentle caresses and the fire they ignited in her.
Finally, she stomped out of the copper tub, naked, and threw herself across her bed and sobbed.
Hours later, exhausted, she stopped crying and put Beck Atlan out of her mind.
After all, Gemini would be very disappointed to learn she was thinking of him.
Beck jogged down one of the deserted streets of Iserport that led to the wharf district, Bajan loping at his side. He had ordered all of the citizens to remain inside their homes or in one of the cavernous warehouses located at the pier to keep them out of harm’s way. For weeks now, he and the Iserlohn soldiers stationed in Iserport had been battling three demon shadows. Weeks now, that he had been unable to search for Kiernan. He swallowed back the bile that threatened to spew from his mouth whenever he thought of her.
He braced himself as he wondered for a brief moment whether she was still alive or if one of Galen Starr’s prophecies had come true, but then roughly pushed the thought aside and set his mind to the task at hand. As soon as he defeated the last of these nightmarish creatures come to life, the sooner he could resume both his search for Kiernan and his journey to Sarphia and then Callyn-Rhe.
At an intersection, Beck stopped and flattened his body tight against the side of a stone merchant’s building. He risked a quick look around the corner and noticed Gage ushering citizens into the large doors of one of the warehouses. The man moved with a calm, lethal grace in this fight against the demons, and Beck was grateful to have him by his side. Not only against the wraiths, but in the Saber’s efforts to help find Kiernan.
The pair of them managed to destroy two of the demons thus far, but not before the creatures brutally killed over one hundred innocent people, mostly women and children. Ravener’s minions were intent on targeting the weakest inhabitants of Iserlohn in order to subjugate the strongest.
Unexpectedly, Bajan let out a growl, deep in his chest. It was a terrifying sound, and Beck’s breath quickened because it meant that the remaining demon was near. For some reason, the Draca was able to sense the demons where the humans could not.
Beck jerked his head back around. This last demon, who happened to be female, had proven very hard to defeat and as such had roamed the city for over a week now killing indiscriminately.
Across the street perpendicular to where Bajan and Beck were taking cover, he detected a shift in the shadows and watched as the female demon slowly detached herself from concealment between two buildings. The wraith, when it coalesced into mortal form was tall, muscular and caped in black, large breasts exposed obscenely, and sharp horns protruding from her head in pointed tips.
When she opened her mouth and let out a primal scream, Beck fought the urge to cover his ears. The scream, however, had the opposite effect on the Draca Cat, and Bajan’s answering roar was just as intimidating as he peeled away from the wall and rushed her. Fangs bared, Bajan used his powerful leg muscles to close the distance and leap into the air, jaws outstretched and snapping for the demon’s throat. The creature easily pivoted out of the way of the enraged Draca, and spun with extreme swiftness to grab Bajan around the neck. The Draca let out a choked cry as the demon lifted him off the ground and compressed his throat forcefully. Bajan’s deadly tail lashed out at the beast’s head and one of his spikes embedded in the top of her skull with a stomach-turning crunch. Beck sprinted toward the two foes locked in combat and threw out his hands as he ran, an earthen missile exploding upward from the road and spinning violently toward the demon. Still connected to Bajan by the spike in his tail, the creature just managed to lurch out of the projectile’s path.
Beck anticipated the maneuver and crashed into her at the same time that Bajan whipped his head around and sank his teeth into her neck, the three of them pitched sprawling to the ground in a heap of snarling muscle. Beck raised his arms, laced his fingers together and smashed his fists into the demon’s face. Her head snapped to the side and she growled in frustration. Turning back to him, her fiery eyes locked on the sliver pendant that spilled from his shirtfront.
“Savitar!” she hissed.
He had only a second to wonder where the archers were before she was on him, ripping and clawing at his chest in an attempt to claim his pendant. Beck kicked out with his heavily built legs, and her head ripped from Bajan’s tail and she sailed through the air. She landed hard, but immediately screeched and rushed at him again. Fortunately, it was then that Beck heard the twang of released bowstrings and dove to the side as two Iserlohn soldiers on the rooftop of one of the buildings let loose their arrows. Stumbling back upright, he saw that one of the arrows had hit its mark and was protruding from the demon’s chest. He knew he had to act fast before the creature reverted to wraith form. As long as the demon was in contact with an earthly object, they discovered, she could not alter. The demon was so intent on his pendant, however, that Beck did not think the arrows were necessary. He reached out to one of the trees on the side street, and branches groaned as they snapped outward toward the demon and seized her in leafy bindings around her waist, pinning her arms to her sides.
“Fire!” he screamed and Gage ran to him with a burning torch. The demon saw the fire and began to howl. Another detail they learned over the past terror-filled weeks was that the demons could be killed only by light or fire. As dwellers of darkness, light was fatal to them.
Taking off at a run, Beck grabbed the torch from Gage and sprang into the air, driving the flame directly into the open screaming maw of the demon. The red eyes glowered in rage and then the evil spirit disintegrated in an eruption of flame and ash.
Hands on knees, Beck let out a breath of relief.
It was hard to believe it was over.
The two dozen legionnaires who had been fighting side by side w
ith him sprinted over. “Thank you, earthshifter,” said one with blonde curls who looked, if possible, younger than Rory. He was the same soldier with the familiar features who helped Gage escort him to his room after the debacle at the Rearing Horse. “If not for you and the Draca Cat, we would have many more dead on our hands.”
Beck nodded and looked at Bajan. “Do you sense any more of the demons nearby?”
The Draca hesitated for a moment and then shook this head.
“I think the city is safe for now, but continue to have people remain indoors at night. If any more wraiths appear, use fire to destroy them. They can be defeated.”
The blonde legionnaire shook his head. “We cannot stay. Captain Franck has summoned us to Starfell in Haventhal to meet up with the Iserlohn Army. Only a small detachment will stay here in Iserport, but we will instruct them properly.”
Beck reached out to shake hands with the soldier. “It has been an honor to fight by your side. Good luck to you.”
“To you and the other Savitars as well. Word has spread of the invasion, and it appears all of our lives depend on your success.” Surprisingly, the young man knelt down in front of Beck and held out his sword with both hands parallel to the ground. “My life before yours when we get to Starfell.”
“Legionnaire…,” Beck stumbled, moved by the declaration of fealty, “it is not necessary to…”
The young man interrupted him. “It is. As a shifter, you are bound by a blood oath to protect this island, which means you would lay down your life for me. But, as Savitar, it is more important that I lay down mine for you so that you survive to battle the Mage. As a man and a soldier, I can do no less.”
Beck stepped back in shock when every legionnaire standing on the deserted street knelt to the ground and offered their swords.
Finally, he bowed his head solemnly. “We serve each other then. What is your name?”
The young man stood. “Lieutenant Kirby Nash, sir.”
Island Shifters: Book 01 - An Oath of the Blood Page 27