by Petra Landon
Engrossed in her task with single-minded focus, it took Tasia a few moments to realize that someone was calling to her.
“Witchling” a voice called out, the tones commanding.
“Give me a second” she mumbled. The man needed a lesson in patience, she thought mutinously.
“Now.” He was unrelenting.
Tasia sighed, ready to accede, only to realize that she was trapped in a maze of auras, unable to find her way back to where she had started. With the severing of each link that had brought her to a new group of Vampires, she had become a little more lost, her mind trapped in the forest of Blutsauger auras. With the realization came alarm. She should have left herself a trail of breadcrumbs to follow, Tasia admonished herself. She struggled, her mind attempting to tear itself away from the field of hibernating auras that surrounded her. In the shadowy clearing where the Shifters watched her, Tasia staggered, nearly crumpling to the ground as the two men leapt for her.
In her other reality, she struggled to open her eyes, convinced that it was her mind playing tricks on her. But her eyes felt heavy and trapped, unable to free themselves from the maze of dormant Vampire magic around her. Stumbling and confused, she heard the voice call to her again, more urgent now. The calls were strong, steady and unrelenting, his very tone demanding she obey the directive. It steadied her, like an anchor in a wild sea, and helped guide her, like a beacon amidst the disorientation and confusion. Ignoring everything else, Tasia followed the beacon, her mind meandering but always guided by the steadiness of the voice. A few wrong turns later, she found herself back amidst the first set of hibernating auras whence she had started this particular journey.
Her eyes flickered open, only to flail about. The light, faint as it was, blinded her, after the silence and darkness of the auras. The hands holding her steadied her. She reached for the familiar arms to close her eyes again, incredibly relieved to find herself back in the shadowy clearing. When she opened her eyes again, Duncan’s concerned gaze met hers.
“Tasia.” Duncan looked immensely relieved. “For a minute there, you worried us.”
Tasia blinked, focused on stopping the world from dizzying around her.
“Sorry” she muttered. “Lost my bearings, for a moment.”
“Are you fine?”
“Just catching my breath.” Tasia relaxed against the solid wall of muscle that anchored her.
Duncan studied her carefully. Dazed but no worse for wear, he concluded. He glanced over her head to nod.
“You did it, Tasia” he said.
“What?”
“The woods are free of enchantment.”
It took a few seconds for Duncan’s words to sink into a still groggy Tasia.
“What?” she squeaked excitedly, her eyes shining.
Duncan smiled his slow smile. “The forest is ours again, thanks to you.”
Tasia slumped in relief. With the two Shifters to assist her, Nandini would now have a better shot.
“How long was I gone?” she asked, trying to estimate how many Vampires she’d taken out of commission. The entire incident felt like a dream.
“Thirty minutes” a voice rang out, his words vibrating against her back.
And Tasia realized who it was she leant against so familiarly. She stepped away hastily and his arms fell away. The cold eyes gave her a once over but he said nothing.
“Let’s get out of here” Raoul said. “Somewhere Nandini can find us easily.” Away from the small pack of slumbering leeches.
Tasia watched him stride away, before falling into step with Duncan by her side. They walked more briskly now, the Alpha unerringly leading them back to the sunnier patches in the woods.
“You did very well, Tasia” Duncan said, catching the troubled glance she directed at the man they followed.
After trudging for another ten minutes, the Alpha came to a stop.
“This is a good spot to make a stand” Raoul announced.
Tasia glanced around. They were in a large clearing, lit by sunny patches, and very little tree cover. She could hear the gurgling of water nearby. That must be the stream to put the Blutsaugers at a disadvantage, she realized.
“I’ll take a look around.” Raoul directed a glance at Duncan, before striding away.
Tasia slumped against the nearest tree. “We just wait now?”
“She’ll find us” Duncan said confidently. “She’s close enough to a Wyr. Thanks to you, she can now out hunt the leeches.
“Take a load off” he suggested, catching the weariness on her face. “We’re not done yet. This is merely the lull.”
They waited companionably. It allowed Tasia to recover from both the high of outwitting the Blutsaugers and the alarm of finding herself lost amidst a sea of auras.
“He feels responsible for you” Duncan remarked. “Sometimes, that throws him off.”
Tasia straightened. “He has an entire Pack that depends on him, Duncan” she protested.
“You’re different, Tasia. Raoul’s not responsible for any individual Shifter in the Pack. That’s a Were-Alpha’s job. Your circumstances separate you.”
Tasia reflected on Duncan’s words.
“Raoul’s never been responsible for anyone but himself” he said quietly. “He’ll figure it out soon enough.” The boy had never been slow when it came to what really mattered, Duncan knew.
Before she could respond, Tasia’s senses tingled. Blutsauger magic was in the air. Duncan came alert, his eyes flashing to the furthest edge of the clearing.
The Alpha strode into the clearing from the surrounding woods. “They’re here” he said simply.
Duncan straightened, an air of anticipation about him. “Let me handle the first lot, Raoul. I’m raring to go.”
The Alpha’s lips quirked, his eyes meeting the English Shifter. “I doubt they have the numbers to pose a challenge to you, Duncan, but go for it.”
Duncan walked unhurriedly to the center of the clearing, where a patch of sunlight rained down on him, catching the glints in his hair. He rolled up his sleeves unhurriedly. Weariness forgotten, Tasia watched him, her heart in her mouth. The air crackled with the magic of the Vampires in the vicinity. In no time, they were charging in. Tasia noted that unlike last night, the Vampires were not flying. The morning sun served to slow them down. Not by much, but certainly enough to give Duncan a decided edge. Now, she understood why he’d picked the sunny patch at the center of the clearing to make his stand. The English Shifter cracked his knuckles, rotating his neck to take out the kinks, his very air one of anticipation. As the Vampires rushed in, he stood his ground, letting them come to him. Unable to look away, Tasia watched as he reached for the first Vampire.
Thwack — the sound of his fist connecting with the Vampire reverberated through the clearing. Before the echoes had died away, the Vampire went down like a light, the sheer power of the punch knocking him to the ground. Leaves and twigs crunched under him. Duncan swung a foot unhurriedly to bring it down on the prone Vampire’s chest. There was an ominous crunching sound, even as the massive fists hammered at the two other Vampires that now surrounded him. Tasia blanched as the prone Vampire’s chest caved in with a sickening sound. Another Undead went crashing down, felled by the mighty fists just as two more charged in. Duncan kicked at the broken body of the fallen Vampire at his feet, his eyes on the ones circling him. The body rolled away just as the Shifter reached for the newcomers, fists flying with deadly precision.
“Look away, witchling” suggested the Alpha from beside her. “Your part is done.” He had caught her wince.
She tore her eyes away from the carnage to meet his gaze. She couldn’t read his expression.
“It’s just … I’ve never seen anyone fight like this.” She wasn’t squeamish, Tasia wanted to tell him, but it took some getting used to.
The act was almost elemental, stripped down to the basics. Duncan made every blow count, methodically and clinically felling the Vampires streaming in to put them
out of commission. And once out, he made sure they wouldn’t resurrect anytime soon to pose a challenge.
Tasia had seen worse at the Vampire nest the first time the Pack had come to her aid. Nightmarish scenes of torn body parts strewn around the darkened hall. But somehow, this particular bout with the morning sun glinting benevolently down on them as Duncan wrought carnage seemed to strike her more. Perhaps, it was because they were strangers no more, but her friends.
“I … last night with the Vampire … you took me by surprise.” She tried to apologize. She understood instinctively that her reaction had affected him — angered him, and perhaps more. She owed him an explanation for it.
He seemed to understand her. “Don’t worry about it” he said easily. “It’s the rare Chosen that can watch Wyrs fight without a wince or two.”
The gold eyes met hers. “But if you can stomach it, you’re in for a treat. Duncan is poetry in motion.”
Is he now?
There had been respect and affection in his voice. Tasia realized anew how close the ties that bound these two men together were. So wildly and utterly different in their personalities. And yet, this man, who allowed no one into the inner sanctum, had let Duncan in. Not just let him in, but embraced Duncan in a way she had never seen the Alpha with anyone else. The two Shifters seemed to understand each other, communicating with silent glances, working seamlessly together in the woods while she struggled to catch the wordless cues. They were brothers-in-arms, their bond strengthened by their survival in the wilderness as rogues, against the odds.
Tasia turned her attention to the clearing. The Alpha was right about one thing. She had never seen Duncan in action. That first night, at the Vampire nest, she’d seen the Alpha run into a mass of crawling Blutsaugers, his fists flying as he called his Shifters to the fight in the ancient tongue. She’d watched Hawk, graceful and steady by her side, as he kept the Clan away from an injured Tasia. But she had never seen Duncan take on any comers, except when he’d pounded Markham in the Lair Café after the Shifter had injured Sara, and that had been a clinical beatdown, rather than a fight.
The English Shifter was a big man with powerful fists that he seemed to swing with just the right precision. He stood tall, his stance steady, focused on routing his opponents while the pile of slumped Vampires in the clearing grew. Tasia noted that Duncan didn’t defend himself from the Vampires. No dodging the Undead for him. Surprisingly, Duncan was all about offense. If a talon raked him to leave a bloody gash, Duncan merely swatted the Vampire away like a fly, to continue his carnage undisturbed, and while he swung, hammered, and thumped mercilessly, there was no sense of urgency or emotion in him. This was merely a job he was more than happy to do. It was clear he enjoyed himself.
Raoul’s lips quirked, as he took in the stunned expression on her face. “Don’t let the bookish persona fool you, witchling. Duncan’s heart is pure Wyr.”
“No kidding” she muttered.
For the first time, Tasia wondered what Duncan’s story was. He too had fled civilization once, by his own admission, and she wondered what had driven away.
Adrenaline pumped through her but Tasia realized the Blutsaugers didn’t terrify her. Their presence put her on her guard, of course, as it should. She wondered if it was a consequence of her part in neutralizing the Clan’s magic earlier. Or perhaps, she mused, she was getting accustomed to her more exciting life with the Pack.
“You did well” the Alpha said abruptly. “Before.”
Tasia turned to him. “I should have anticipated the end” she admitted, parsing her words due to the Clan’s presence.
“Rookie mistake.”
And just like that, she felt better about her misstep.
“You’ll get better.” The gold eyes held hers.
Would she, she wondered. How was she to rack up any experience without using her magic, she mused. Sort of a chicken and egg situation.
“How?” she asked baldly, with a quick glance at the clearing.
“I’m working on it” he said, in his usual impassive way.
Tasia frowned but before she could ask any more questions, she felt the air quiver again. More Undead were on their way.
“More are on their way” he confirmed.
But Tasia had also picked up something else — a faint trace of magic in the air that wasn’t Clan. She turned to the Alpha. He had sensed another presence too, one that didn’t smell like leech. Raoul drew the likely conclusion.
“Nandini” he said under his breath. “About time.” He shot her a warning glance. “Watch your back. Duncan and I will keep them off her.”
Tasia nodded, her eyes assuring him silently that she’d take care of herself.
“And witchling.” His eyes narrowed. “What I said about the leeches and hell to pay — I meant every word.”
Before Tasia could react to the provocative words, he seemed to leap into the air. There was no other word to describe it, Tasia mused, as she gaped up at him. One moment, he was beside her. The next, he’d launched himself high into the air with a soft whoosh to land gracefully in a half crouch between four Vampires charging in.
Big cat. I knew it.
She watched as he straightened to let his fists fly, whirling with dizzying speed on light feet to hammer the Vampires. His tee, which had been hooked on his shoulder since she’d offered it to him this morning, was the first casualty of the leap. It had fluttered up into the air with him and now landed softly at her feet. Tasia bent to pick it up mechanically, her eyes on the frenetic action, just as a soft rustling drew her attention. A golden snake with large brown spots slithered down a tree to make its way unerringly to Tasia. It came to a stop a few feet away from her to coil itself gracefully and raise its broad head. The head turned to watch the brawl in the clearing, as grunts, sounds of crunching bone and the high-pitched squeaks of the Vampires filled the air, before turning back to the girl who stood clear from it. Tasia met the ebony eyes calmly.
“You’re among friends, Nandini” she said.
The snake uncoiled itself on the ground, the sun glinting off its speckles. The skin seemed to stretch and tighten before Tasia’s eyes. The Chosen was changing forms. It was time to work her magic, Tasia knew. She took her eyes off the girl to conjure up a simple shield, while Nandini’s snake shifted slowly back to her human form. This was not complicated magic for Tasia, and soon, an invisible enclosure cocooned both the Ancient girl and herself.
When Tasia glanced down at her next, the Indian girl lay panting in a tangle of limbs and hair, her face and stomach pressed into the ground. Tasia waited, one eye on the carnage in the clearing. More Vampires had joined the fray now, but the two Shifters held them at bay easily. Since a majority of the Undead guards had placed themselves in hibernation to pool together enchantment strong enough to blanket the woods, only a small minority had been left awake to hunt Nandini, rightly gambling that without her superhuman senses, she’d prove easy prey. Thus, the numbers confronting the Shifters were not as high as they might be.
Nandini raised her head to glance at Tasia, exhaustion oozing from every pore.
“Here.” Tasia leaned down to offer the Alpha’s tee-shirt to the naked and exhausted girl. It was one multi-tasking piece of attire, she mused in sudden amusement.
“Thank you” the girl said softly, sitting up to slip it over her head. Even the simple act seemed to leave her exhausted, and she slumped down on the ground again, her eyes trained on the clash in the clearing.
“Wyrs?” she murmured.
“Yes” Tasia confirmed.
Relieved, Nandini closed her eyes, allowing herself to finally relax. As the exhausted Ancient lapsed into silence, Tasia turned her attention back to the Shifters again. Like their differing personalities, the two Shifters provided a clear contrast in the way they fought. Curious, Tasia reflected again, that the bond between two such different men should be so unshakeable.
Duncan was brute strength and deliberation, his aggression held care
fully in check, to make every blow count. The Alpha was power and grace, light on his feet with perfect balance, as he swung and danced to dodge and land precise blows on his opponents.
“Raoul Merceau?” the girl on the ground inquired.
“That’s the Alpha.” Tasia pointed him out.
The girl’s eyes flashed to Tasia. “You’re with him?”
“Yes.”
I’m with Raoul Merceau.
The girl’s eyes were an unusual shade of indigo, so dark that they seemed almost black. Of medium height, she had skin the color of dark honey that drew attention to her unusual eyes. She was very attractive, with her exotic coloring and symmetric features. Her long dark hair lay tangled around her, twigs and wisps of leaves enmeshed in it. Tasia was glad to note that she looked a little less exhausted, after only a few minutes of rest.
“We’ve been looking for you” Tasia said.
“Something …” The girl paused. “I think the Blutsaugers did something to me.”
“They enchanted the wood. It played havoc with Shifter senses. We thought it might affect you, too.”
“It did.” Nandini sat up slowly to study Tasia, her brow faintly furrowed. “You’re not a Shifter?”
“No.” Tasia shook her head.
“But you’re with the Shifters?”
Tasia nodded.
Curiosity flashed across the girl’s face but she asked no further questions.
“I’m Tasia” the Wizard introduced herself.
“Nandini Rathore.”
The first Vampire broke through the ranks to charge them, only to be brought up short by the bubble of magic Tasia had conjured up to protect both Chosen.
Nandini took in the Vampire plastered against the invisible wall, unable to pierce through despite his repeated assaults on it.
She glanced at Tasia. “First One or Wizard?” she inquired.