Looking around, Selena noted the report from their scout had been accurate. The captain had been right, as well. There weren’t many people around. Some of the women were putting up weapons alongside the men, while others turned meat over a fire.
“This isn’t quite the army I was expecting,” Selena quietly admitted to Captain Seth.
He shook his head. “Me neither. I wonder what happened.”
“Not to be rude,” Selena said loudly enough for Esmerelda to hear. “But we came here to meet with a ruthless army. We were told the engineers were the best of the best from Arcadia. That the warriors were strong and there were many. What has happened?”
There was a long pause as Esmerelda continued to walk in silence. Only a couple of her guards turned to look over their shoulders at Selena as she spoke.
It wasn’t until they’d reached the tent and closed the flaps over the entrance that the bandit leader finally spoke. “It seems that I have an enemy. One that is quite determined to destroy what we have here.”
Selena scoffed. “We know exactly what that’s like. What happened?”
Esmerelda sat in a very large chair at the head of the room that resembled a throne. The only people in attendance were the three leaders, her guards, and the Raiders.
“Not long ago, a tribe of dark druids paid us a visit,” she began. “They wanted to take the Dark Forest, but there was one young woman in particular they wanted to be rid of. Her name was Arryn. Now, for some time, we had been getting reports of our men being found dead. Some had even returned who had seen the murderer for themselves. What my husband was too stupid to realize was the descriptions were one and the same.
“The same young woman who was picking our men off was also the enemy of the dark druids. My husband partnered with them, went to war with them, and that same bitch killed him and the majority of our warriors. I just sent a large group north—into the mountains—to seize the Mystic Temple. What I didn’t know was that Arryn would be there.”
Selena shook her head. “And you lost all of your men.”
Esmerelda laughed, but wasn’t amused. “Not all of them, but certainly too many. I suspect she is on her way here now. This is not something we are prepared for, but we need to be. Therefore, I have a proposition for you.”
Selena and Seth looked to one another. The captain turned his attention back to the woman, his brows furrowing. “I’m assuming you’re about to ask us for help. And if that’s so, tell me this… The dark druids could not defeat that girl. Your husband and his men could not. You and your men could not. What could you possibly offer me to make me want to take her on?”
There was a pause as Esmerelda smiled, stood, and made her way down the steps to stand in front of the captain and his Storm Caller. “That mountain? It’s full of amphoralds. The engineers use them to create magitech weapons. If we manage to kill that little bitch and take out the rearick and the mystics, we will have that mountain all to ourselves. That means an endless supply of amphoralds.
“We have a stockpile ready for sale. You can have all the weapons you can carry back to your ship, and you won’t have to pay a single coin. More than that, you’ll have access to our engineers to recharge the weapons when the crystals go bad. Not to mention, word spread fast about your little party up the coast. If you think for an instant that girl didn’t hear about it, you’re very wrong. She will soon be coming for you, too.”
That certainly got Selena’s attention. While she didn’t like the idea of going to war with someone she had only just met, she couldn’t deny it put them in a good position to come out ahead, if the girl truly had heard of their raid on the Farriage Coast.
“If she’s right, we might need her help anyway,” Selena said quietly to the captain. “She knows what we’re going up against, but we don’t. Getting a ship full of free weapons is just a bonus.”
Captain Seth nodded. “Let us see the weapons first,” he told Esmerelda decidedly. “I would like to see them before making my final decision.”
She nodded. “As you wish. Follow me.”
Selena narrowed her eyes as Esmerelda turned and began to walk away. She wasn’t sure they could trust her, but something in her gut told her they wouldn’t have much of a choice.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Arryn grimaced as she looked down at her wrist, fighting the intense urge to scratch. The last thing she wanted to do was remove the bracelet accidentally. In the words of Margit, it certainly hadn’t been pleasant to get it. In fact, it hurt like hell.
The thin band of silver wrapped around her wrist, and the two sharp ends inserted into her skin and clipped together internally, where the pieces would have access to her blood and the nanocytes within.
Before the night had ended, Margit put her through a rigorous crash course in mental magic. Meditation was the only thing Arryn had kept up on—it was the only thing she had really found useful. While she had dabbled in the other stuff a bit, it certainly couldn’t be considered practice.
And she had paid for it.
Dearly.
Arryn’s head still hurt just thinking about everything Margit made her do. She had to force her way into Cathillian’s mind, which had admittedly been much easier than when she’d had to do the same to Cleo. Samuel was right there to crack jokes about Cathillian being an airhead. And of course, Arryn was there to join in on the fun.
Margit made Arryn practice for hours, and forbade her from using verbal communication until she departed from the temple. Margit had even gone so far as to go into Arryn’s mind, compelling her to silence.
While Arryn knew she could speak, there was still no way for her to convince her brain to force her vocal chords to work. So, she was forced to spend the entire evening speaking telepathically.
But she hadn’t been the only one to get in trouble.
Everyone else was able to talk with no consequence; however, anyone caught speaking to Arryn would have their ability revoked as well. They were allowed to speak her name to get her attention, but after that, the conversation was expected to be silent.
“You won’t be here long, so I expect all of you to respect the need for Arryn to learn as much as possible in the short time you’re with us. Any who do not will be forced to,” Margit had told them.
Zoe had been in charge of keeping the rest of the group honest because Margit was completely focused on Arryn. If the Arcadian druid wanted to speak to anyone directly, she was expected to call them out telepathically. Only then were her friends allowed to respond, also telepathically.
As the night droned on, the challenge became harder. Arryn was expected to keep constant telepathic connection to all of her friends. Their ability to verbally get her attention was taken away, and she had to listen for them to speak to her directly through the link.
By the end of the night, Samuel was the only one left with the ability to speak. “Sorry, lads and lasses. I ain’t about ta lose this one. It’s bad enough I got several people magickin’ in me head. I don’t need one going in an’ messin’ shit up.”
The entire night had been hell for Arryn—and for everyone else in her group, if she were honest with herself. But it had worked. As much as she hated to say it, the plan had worked.
She sure as hell wasn’t a master like Zoe or the famous Julianne, but she walked out of that temple the next morning knowing how to use telepathy, the bracelet, and how to strengthen her mental barrier to keep even a mystic out.
Well, until they really started trying.
Arryn knew she had a long way to go, and that it would be a while before she could do many of the things she had seen Zoe do, but the thought of learning how to do all three forms of magic excited her.
“That really looks uncomfortable,” Cathillian said as he rode up next to her, Echo soaring close by—a little too close for Arryn’s comfort.
Arryn shook her head at the playful raptor before going back to staring at the piece of metal clipped into her skin, trying not to scratch at it. T
he surrounding area was tender and red, with a dried drop of blood on each side. “Yeah, it isn’t exactly a good feeling. It would be fine, if it didn’t itch so badly.”
He nodded. “Yeah, it’s not like we can heal it or anything. Your body is just going to have to adjust.”
“Are we allowed ta be talking to her righ’ now?” Samuel asked. “I don’t know how far those mystics can reach, but I don’t feel like challengin’ ‘em.”
Arryn smiled. “Relax, ya big chicken. We’re away from the temple; you can talk to me. Just like I can tell you out loud that Margit gave me a detailed schedule of things I need to do every day.”
“Sounds like something you would do for a child,” Cleo said.
Arryn turned her head to see the woman smiling at her while riding on her horse. “Do you want to get pushed off the mountain? Because that’s how you get pushed off the mountain.”
Cleo laughed. “You valley folk are a sensitive bunch, aren’t ya?”
Arryn laughed. “Cathillian maybe. I’m never sensitive about anything.” There was a brief pause, and Arryn could feel all eyes on her just before she burst with laughter again. “I couldn’t hold that in for very long.”
“Uh, guys? I think we might’ve made a wrong turn,” Samuel said.
“What do you mean ‘a wrong turn’? You’re the native here.” Arryn and Snow trotted faster to catch up to the rearick.
“I spent me days in the mine an’ traveling back an’ forth ta the city. I ain’t been this side o’ the mountain in a long time. Don’t get mad at me, lass.”
Snow bent down, and Arryn slid off the side. The trail had come to an abrupt end, and so had their ability to move safely down the mountain. Adding insult to injury, Echo flew past and landed on a large rock at the bottom of the mountain, looking up at Arryn.
Little shit, Arryn thought with amusement.
Only ten feet away from where the group stood was nearly a straight shot down. One hundred feet or so to the right, the plummet would land them directly in the water—from what she could see, it was relatively deep, too. Directly in front of her, however, would be a several-hundred-foot drop onto a beach.
“Bast, Cleo,” Arryn said. She heard footsteps behind her as the twins approached, and she told them her idea. “I can teleport myself and probably two of the horses; Cathillian and Corrine can use vines to descend, and they can take Samuel along, as well. Snow and Dante might be able to find a way down on their own. Do you think you can get yourselves and the other two horses down?”
Cleo looked over the edge, a smile spreading across her face. Her brown eyes turned blue as she turned back to Arryn. “That’s sand.”
Arryn eyed her suspiciously. “Yes? And that means…”
A hand clapped down on Arryn’s back, and she turned to see Bast smiling, her eyes also blue. “We have a better idea. Why don’t you, Cathillian, and Corrine use vines to create a sling for the horses. You should be able to soothe them before lowering them, yes?”
Arryn thought for a moment. “I suppose we could. I was worried wrapping vines around them might make them skittish and uncomfortable, but working together, the three of us should be able to keep them calm.”
“Good! Then we’ll take care of the rest.” Bast winked before placing her foot on the edge of the cliff and jumping hard.
Cleo was only a breath behind her. Each woman soared twenty feet out before plummeting toward the beach.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Arryn shouted after them.
“I knew they were crazy, but I didn’t know they were suicidal,” Cathillian said from beside her.
Sand began to whirl over the beach, then lifted into the air to catch them mid-fall. The twins landed safely on their feet, each of them looking up and giving a wave.
“They’re from the desert,” Corrine reminded the druids. “Sand is what they know best.”
Arryn smiled. “I hadn’t thought about that. Is anyone else intimidated by them, or is it just me? They are amazing.”
The sand on the beach circled again as the twins began to move in tandem. They swirled their arms in the air, moving much like dancers would, and the sand lifted from the beach, twisting through the air until it rose to the very edge of the cliff.
Bast shouted something from below, but Arryn couldn’t hear her. “What?” she shouted back.
Once again Bast shouted, but Arryn still couldn’t make it out.
“Um…” Cathillian said, giving a gentle tap to her temple.
“Oh! Right.” her eyes flashed, only a gentle cloudiness appearing around the edges of her pupils as she looked over the edge of the mountain.
I can’t hear you from up here, she told the twin.
Look at the shape. Set fire to it. We can heat the sand, but to do so while using as much magic as we are to control this, we would deplete ourselves, Bast responded.
Arryn studied the shape the sand had taken. It was a snaking half-circle, tall at the edges and slightly rounded at the bottom, that reached from the ground up to the top of the cliff where the rest of the party stood.
Her lips quirked as blackness began to spread from the cloudy parts of her eyes. She stepped in front of the sand. With a flick of her wrists, blue fire surrounded her hands, and she lowered them to the cliff’s edge.
She thrust her hands forward then, sending the fireballs spreading out in a line over the sand and racing downward. The line spiraled all the way to the ground, creating a thick, solid glass slide.
You probably wanna cool that off before you send anyone down, came Bast’s voice.
Arryn smiled, realizing she hadn’t lost connection to Bast while casting other magic. Will do.
Standing, she turned toward the others with a smile. “Is anyone else as excited as I am to go down that thing?”
Corrine had a large smile as she stared at it. “Can I go first?”
“They’re a couple of showoffs,” Cathillian decided with a shake of his head and an amused smile. “Pretty damn impressive.”
Arryn nodded. “I barely used any magic conjuring that fire. The amount of energy it would’ve taken to teleport myself and only two of those horses would have been incredible. And the twins didn’t have to move heavy earth, either. All in all, this was a pretty good idea.”
Cathillian turned, gesturing toward the horses. “Shall we?”
Arryn nodded before her eyes flashed green. She took a deep breath as she and Cathillian walked a few feet over and urged the horses to come to them. Along with Corrine, they soothed each of the four large animals before wrapping their midsections in vines. Then they strapped leaves over their eyes, forcing them closed so the animals wouldn’t be able to see just how high in the air they were.
Even though they had the ability to calm the horses, Arryn knew their primary focus would be on getting them safely to the ground.
As they lowered the horses, new vines burst from the face of the mountain, wrapping around the animals as they descended. Toward the end, the horses became restless, bucking a bit against their bonds. But soon, they were safely on the ground, and Bast and Cleo got to work freeing them.
On top of the mountain, Arryn walked over to the slide and knelt down. The glass was still a bit warm to the touch, but it had cooled very quickly during the time it had taken to lower the horses.
“What do you think?” Cathillian asked.
She thought for a moment. “It’s not hot, but any part of our skin that touches it could be rubbed raw.” She stood, placing her hands on her hips as a smile spread on her face.
“So… I’ll ask again. What do you think?”
“Get your sleeping bags,” she said. Cathillian opened his mouth to protest, but she shook her head and pointed off to the side. “I removed yours and Samuel’s before we sent the horses down.”
His eyes narrowed. “You already knew you were going to send us down like this, didn’t you?”
She nodded excitedly. “Yep! But when you asked me what we were going to
do, I was estimating just how killy and deathy it could be.”
He smiled. “‘Killy and deathy’?”
“I ain’t likin’ the sound of either of those, lass,” Samuel said.
Corrine jumped up and down and clapped her hands, the white rabbit calmly hopping out of the way before he was trampled. “I do, I do! It’ll be fun! If we fly out, we can just use vines to catch ourselves.”
Cathillian laughed. “Except the vine would come out of the side of the mountain, wrap around you, and drop you in an arc before smashing you against the rocks.”
Arryn shrugged. “Head trauma, max. We can heal that.”
Cathillian looked at her incredulously. “The scary part is that I know you’re serious.”
“We have the best magic out of anyone. We can do crazy, killy, deathy things and heal ourselves when it goes bad,” Arryn said nonchalantly.
Arryn heard shuffling and turned to see Corrine now holding the rabbit and pulling her sleeping bag from the pack on Dante’s back.
“Look at her. She so excited!” Arryn pointed out to Cathillian. “Don’t kill the little girl’s dreams.”
“Killing her dreams is the least of my worries,” Cathillian said with amusement, though his arms were crossed in defiance. “I’m more concerned with killing her. You’re supposed to be her role model and keep her safe. Remember?”
Arryn pointed to the slide. “Look. The twins already anticipated all of that. The edges are curved up and inward, so when we go around the turns, our bodies will probably move up the sides, but the top edges will keep us from flying out. Now, stop being a wuss. I’ll go first to prove it’s safe.”
Cathillian’s physical stance became even more stern, something that she wasn’t used to seeing from him unless he was truly worried, but she stopped him with a gentle hand on his chest.
Relax. I’ll be fine. And I would never put any of you in danger—you know that.
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