"Lia."
Wyn's awed voice made her force open eyes she hadn't realized she'd closed. He stared at her hands with wonder while the bleeding slowed and the gash drew back together. If she'd been home, she could have healed it completely without even leaving a scar. She didn't dare try here, though, with so little to call on.
Instead, once the muscles, sinew, and skin knitted together to her satisfaction, she released her hold on the Goddess energy with a silent prayer of thanks.
His hands covered hers and she met his stunned eyes. "Lia. That was…my mother had the Attribute of Healing."
"Yeah, well. You should see what I'm capable of in my own territory. Let's go find Tanis."
She pushed back to her feet, and he followed suit but blocked her when she turned to hurry down the dark corridor where Gui had disappeared.
"Wait."
"What? Why? He could be getting away with Tanis right now. We have to go after him."
"I know. We will. He still has quite a few men to throw at us, though. I don't know how much more magic he has. If we have to face him and Hafgan at the same time, I don't think we can hold them. Do you?"
She stubbornly wanted to ignore him, brush it off. She'd do what she had to do to get her niece back. The toll of wrangling unfamiliar magics and the burn of healing had left her weakened, though. Her muscles ached, her eyes blurred, and she knew she'd crash before too much longer.
"No. But we have to try—"
"There's another way."
Then he gave her the words. The secret incantation that gave her power over him, power that Milesans rarely gave anyone.
She memorized them as he spoke and they battered at her insides with familiarity. Somewhere in the distant, misty paths, their ancestors had been one and the same.
"Are you sure? The wound isn't fully healed. Will the transformation…?"
"It'll be fine. We have to hurry."
Lia let the words flow, pour out without once tripping over the complicated cadence. Power, unlike anything she'd experienced before rippled in the air, twisting a cage around Wyn that grew tighter while she chanted.
On the start of the second refrain, a shiver rolled through Wyn's body and every muscle clenched tight in its wake.
His head dropped back, eyes wide open despite the grimace of pain when the chant began for the third and final time.
The final word faded to silence that lasted for a heartbeat. Then a soft gasp escaped from Wyn's lips and those huge black wings attempted to unfurl in the narrow hallway.
He staggered slightly, spreading his legs and planting his feet to offset the added weight when the feathered appendages curled themselves against his back. The shafts still quivered a little as if eager to spread and take flight.
She pulled her eyes away from the wings and stared into Wyn's eyes. Except, it wasn't Wyn that looked back. The eyes were fathomless and cold, the expression so ruthlessly neutral, she knew this was the Attribute. Knew her Wyn was buried somewhere deep beneath the Lord of Vengeance.
"What do you seek?"
Lia took a deep breath. There was no going back once she spoke. There was no other choice at this point, either. Gui had brought this on himself.
"I seek vengeance."
"For what do you seek vengeance?"
While she listed the litany of crimes Gui had committed against her and those she loved, her anger burned hot and bright. Any guilt she might have felt flashed into ashes in the flames of her fury.
"I seek vengeance for the discord he sowed among my people. For the marriage oaths he broke. For the attempt on my life. For the murder of my sister. For the kidnapping of my niece."
Lia had to swallow the sear of rage and let it flow through her, let it buoy her and give her energy.
"I seek vengeance for the betrayal of my family, my people, my valley and my Goddess."
The frozen eyes stared through her for long seconds, then the sharp chin jerked in acknowledgment. Those long legs strode down the hall at a pace that looked unhurried to the naked eye. Lia, however, was forced to jog after him in order not to lose sight of him.
As she chased after him, she realized how much her perspective had changed. The first time she'd seen him transform, she'd thought him a terrifying monster.
Today, she thought him an avenging angel. Beautiful in his icy calm.
*****
Caer rode silently in a corner of his own mind while Vengeance stalked with sure righteousness through the dimly lit halls and up a narrow staircase.
Lia trailed behind, the harsh rush of her breath sounding loud in his ears while she struggled to keep up. Caerwyn wanted to tell her to wait. That Gui and his men were too dangerous. That he didn't want her to see what he was sure his Attribute was going to do to the bastard.
Even if he'd been in control, however, he would probably have swallowed back the plea. No matter how he phrased it, she'd have refused. Caerwyn feared someday her courage and stubbornness would get her into trouble. Prayed today wasn't that day.
Vengeance paused for less than half a heartbeat at the landing of the third floor before continuing up to the roof. The pull of magic so old only scant records of its origins remained drew him unerringly to his quarry.
Caer would have blinked at the sudden brightness of the morning when they emerged from the dank stairwell but his Attribute remained unfazed. He strode across the flat open space toward Gui and the guardsmen who defended him.
Two ran forward to intercept the Milesan, but a handful of precise, heavy-handed sword strokes left them on the ground behind him. The two remaining fell into place in front of Gui, swords raised in shaking hands.
Vengeance stopped three feet from the men, who it ignored completely. Instead, its attention focused solely on its prey.
"Gui Enriev, you have been Judged once and found guilty. Now, you have been marked for Vengeance again."
"Kill him!" Gui's scream was primal, spittle flying when he pushed one of the guards forward to meet a quick end at the edge of Caerwyn's sword.
The other guard took several steps backward, eyes wide in a bloodless face while he frantically looked for an escape route.
"Gui Enriev. Stand and be Judged."
The shadows swirled around the edges of his vision. Then the knife appeared in Gui's hand. Vengeance shifted to intercept the new threat but the bastard grabbed his own man by the collar, jerked the soldier’s head back and slit his throat before dropping him to the ground.
The blood drained out, pooling on the stone. Dark mist, visible only with the eyes of Caer's magic, poured upward in a sickening stream of death. Gui tipped his head back, let the mist flow through him, wrap around him in a tightly woven shield that blocked Vengeance from seeing his soul.
"C'mon, then, Milesan. Judge me if you can. Or die trying. My master has already bested you once. He'll reward me handsomely for making sure you never bother him again."
Caer wanted to howl, to use his bare hands to force Gui's words back down his own throat. But the implacable, icy calm of his Attribute was fully in charge. He could only go along for the ride as his arm raised his sword and his feet stepped toward his foe.
Lightning sizzled around him, sparking and snapping. Caer wanted to push Lia out of the way, wanted to shove her back into the stairwell. Instead, Vengeance moved forward, into the calm space around the dark sorcerer. It reached for Gui but the darkened air was solid where the shield covered him.
Caer growled in the silence of his mind and the Attribute echoed it with a low rumbling. The noise didn't stop, however. It pulsed and grew as he wrapped the sound waves in lines of power. Pushing the power until it became a crashing surge that rocked the stone under Gui's feet.
The energy charged air evaporated while Gui fought to keep himself on his feet and back away a dozen steps.
Another swirl of mist rose from the pool of blood, a dark cloud that hummed and expanded and became thousands of tiny insects. They swarmed and stung and blinded Caer's body. His
throat choked when they invaded his nose, his mouth, the buzzing nearly driving him insane. Vengeance tried to move, to push through, but the creatures clung to him.
"Wyn!"
He heard delicate footsteps charging across the rooftop. He wanted to shout, to tell Lia to get back. Stay safe. But that was a silent scream inside his own mind.
Then a warm hand settled on his back and the golden glow of safety and love enveloped him again. What warmed and comforted him, though, became an inferno to the sorcerer's malevolent creatures. The air stank with the smell of burning bugs when the cloud evaporated in a sizzling burst of white-gold flame around him.
In his human form, he couldn't touch the tendrils of magic Lia wrapped around him in a layer of protection. His Attribute, however, had no such limitation.
It grabbed at the power like a greedy child, pulling it into his hands. Caer shouted inside when she slumped against him. He had no idea what this would do to her. No idea how much was too much.
Her hand remained firm on his body and, though she leaned heavily into him, she stayed upright.
Vengeance twisted the power into a glowing fireball until he could feed no more into it.
Instead of throwing it, however, the Attribute strode the half-dozen long steps toward Gui and thrust his hand, fireball and all, into the center of the dark shield.
Heatless flames once again erupted and blood-soaked magic fueled the bonfire until everything was used up and burnt out. Gui slumped back against the low-walled edge of the roof. Pale, drawn and panting, he cringed away pleading for mercy.
"Stand and be Judged," was Vengeance's only reply.
The shadows, which had hung on the edges of his vision, boiled up in a feverish swirl, plunging the day lit roof into darkness. Blackness wrapped tight around Gui and he struggled to his feet, trying to fight the inexorable vapor holding him for Judgment.
The sorcerer's soul was a blackened spider web of evil. Dark, unforgivable deeds trapped like desiccated husks within the malicious weave. The strands stretched out for years, and thick, grotesque threads tied Gui to another with death and pain and blood. Another that Caer knew all too well though they'd never met.
Every one of his crimes against Lia and the valley stood out like a glowing beacon to his Attribute.
"You have been Judged, Gui Enriev. You have been found guilty. Again."
The shadows churned around him, a rolling dark cloud blocking him from view. But it did not block the screams. High, drawn out squeals, more animal than human.
When the shadows finally dissipated, Gui was still screaming, frantically clawing at his chest and stomach, blood already seeping from the self-inflicted wounds.
Then, without warning, Gui turned and ran for the edge of the roof, flinging himself over the side. The agonized shrieks continued until silenced by the heavy thud of his landing. Caer's body moved away from Lia, who had crumpled behind him at some point, and peered down at the broken man below.
Vengeance satisfied, the shadows withdrew and the icy presence of his Attribute receded until it once again hibernated in a walled corner of Caer's soul.
Lia struggled to get up, moving toward the edge. Wyn caught her and pulled her back against his chest.
"Don't. You don't want to see that. You don't want to remember."
"He's dead, right?"
"Very."
"What did you…what did Vengeance do to him?"
"Gui saw himself as a spider, pulling strings, luring the weak and unsuspecting into his snare to feast on their vitality. Vengeance unleashed a spider of madness in his mind."
Lia glanced at the edge again, lips tightened into a thin line.
Caer's gut twisted, he worried she'd blame him. That she'd believe him a monster to do that to someone else. Until she spoke.
"He should have suffered more." Fierce anger pinched her face until she took a deep, ragged breath. "At least he can't hurt anyone ever again."
*****
Lia tucked her head against Wyn's shoulder and let herself lean into him. Lean on him while the rush of fear and anger faded. His arms wrapped tight around her waist and he leaned into her, too. They held each other up in the aftermath, an equal need to sooth and be soothed.
Mental, physical and emotional exhaustion shuddered through both of them and they clung to each other with clasping hands and a swelling moon-bond. The thudding terror and fury replaced with relief and comfort when they took shelter in each other.
The ringing sound of horse's hooves and the clatter of carriage wheels shook them from their safe cocoon. They raced to the front of the roof, but, already, the retreating form of the fleeing carriage and its horse guard were obscured by distance and dust.
"Hafgan." A primal growl filled the air around Wyn with anger and rage. "He's getting away."
Wyn dashed to the other side, stopping and looking back at Lia only when he reached the stairs and realized she wasn't following.
"Tanis is still here. I can't… You go after Hafgan. I have to find my niece."
Wyn stilled, his posture rigid and his jaw flexed. Lia could see, could feel the hammering need for vengeance. There was also a flicker of something else, though.
"You're sure?" His eyes shifted from Lia to the wall where the sounds of fleeing had all but faded. "That's she's here and not with him?"
"Yes." There was no doubt. The magic beneath Lia was still divided, straining in two directions. If Tanis had left or was… gone, all of the energy would have fixated back on her.
"All right."
His teeth ground against each other while he wiped his sword clean and re-sheathed it. "Let's go find Tanis.”
Lia stared, surprise making her catch her breath and rooting her to the spot. "You don't have to stay. Leave one of your Hounds behind to help me, if you must. We'll be fine. I'm pretty sure all the guards are dead or gone."
"I'm not leaving you, or your niece, behind. Hafgan has waited seven years." Wyn's grimace turned into a half-hearted grin. "Besides, I still don't actually have the Council's permission to kill him. Or proof that would satisfy them."
He moved aside and gestured toward the stairs. "Lead the way. Let's find Tanis and get you both home."
Something broke open inside of Lia. Something she'd tried to keep banked and contained from the moment she'd first met the gorgeous stranger. Something she'd tried her damnedest to ice over after discovering his deception.
Now, that something spread warmth and hope through her veins.
She couldn't help smiling when she moved into the dim stairwell. Couldn't help running her fingers across Wyn's arm when she brushed past him. Couldn't help hoping that maybe not everything between them was a lie.
For now, though, she had to focus on the faint magic of the ruins and concentrate on finding Tanis.
There would be time to sort out her feelings and their relationship once they returned to the safety of the valley.
*****
Caer followed Lia down the stairs, still straining to hear any last hints of the fleeing carriage.
For years, his sole purpose in life had been to kill Hafgan. It twisted sharp and deep that he'd been so close to the murderer and hadn't even laid eye on the bastard. Every fiber of his being vibrated with the need to give chase, to hunt down his prey and end the pursuit for good.
There was no way he could leave Lia, or Tanis, without knowing every threat had been neutralized, though.
Lia continued down, past the entrance to the third floor. Caer let go of the futile attempt to follow Hafgan with his ears and focused instead on checking the surroundings. He heard the Hounds moving on the first floor from room to room.
At the second floor landing, Lia paused and closed her eyes.
"I think Tanis is at the end of the hall." Her body swayed forward, and she started to take a step out into the corridor.
"Wait," Caer curled his fingers around her arm in a loose grip and held her steady.
"Maddyn," he called down the stairwell. His
kept his voice soft knowing his foster brother would have no trouble hearing it. "Is the first floor empty?"
"All clear and secured. We're on our way up to check the second floor."
Lia, still next to him, strained to move, to go to find her niece. He held her until his brothers met them, however.
"Ranulf, Phelan, check the third floor and the roof to make sure no one doubled-back after we came down."
They headed up the stairs and Caer stepped in front of Lia before jerking his chin toward the eldest Hound. "I'll lead, Madd, you watch Lia's back. Let's go find Tanis."
They moved methodically along the hall, checking every room thoroughly before moving on to the next. Caer felt Lia's growing impatience at the slow pace. Her need to get to the chamber at the end of the hall itched across their bond. As much as he wanted to ease her, there was no way he'd risk her safety by allowing an enemy to get behind them.
When they reached the last room, he listened carefully but not hearing anything didn't mean there weren't a half-dozen guards around the little girl. He opened the door slowly but barely had time to glance inside before Lia pushed past him. She dashed to the wide-backed chair where her niece curled up on the seat, sound asleep.
Caer and Madd rushed in behind her, instinctively splitting up to cover the space quickly. There were no enemies inside, though, and nowhere for anyone to hide. He wasn't sure if the room was supposed to be a library or a war room. Bookcases lined the walls, floor to ceiling and held books, scrolls, weapons, jars and implements Caerwyn didn't even want to guess the nature of. A large table dominated the center of the room, covered in maps and more scrolls. It reminded him of the place in his uncle's keep where he and the Hounds had trained as warriors.
Maddyn took up position by the door and Caerwyn crossed to kneel next to Lia. The child looked tiny in the overstuffed leather chair. She slept peacefully, though her mouth drew down into an annoyed frown, little hands curled into tight fists under her head. Caer had no doubt she'd grow up to be as fierce and stubborn as her aunt one day.
By Vengeance Guided (The Lost Shrines Book 1) Page 15