Arundia Returns

by Aya Walksfar

  The frothing water sucked me in.

  I stood in a room so dark that I couldn’t see the walls--a cave? Across from me Serena stood with an intent look upon her face as she gazed down at something in front of her. I couldn’t see what it was.

  Behind Serena something blacker than the darkness stirred. Fear and dread ran cold fingers through my mind. Without conscious thought, I called Blue Fire to my hands. The small ball of flame danced between my palms.

  Serena looked up and caught my gaze. Turning her gaze downward, a smile spread her ruby lips as she lifted the ancient stone knife that had once belonged to her mother. As she raised the knife higher above her head, panic seized me. No matter the consequence, I couldn’t allow that knife to descend. Frantically, I screamed at Serena, but her gaze never wavered from whatever lay before her.

  The knife reached its apex. I lifted my hands. Blue flame danced on my palms. Heart pounding, hands trembling, I fashioned a ball of Fire. As the knife descended, I heaved the shimmering ball toward Serena. The ball burst against her chest. Tongues of blue fire engulfed her. The ancient stone knife fell from her hands as she screamed and clawed at the flames.

  The skin on her hands charred. A chunk of black fell to the floor as darkness claimed me.

  I swam up from a great darkness. Something cool, hard and smooth lay beneath my cheek. My eyelids fluttered open. I sprawled face down on the cabin floor. Tears drenched my cheeks.

  “Arise, Alexis,” The Lady commanded.

  Eyes squinted more tightly closed, I curled around the pain in my heart. It can’t be. I refuse to allow it! Dear Goddess, help me!

  “Alexis,” The Lady’s voice forced me to open my eyes and peer up at Her. “Arise.”

  Under the compulsion of Her command, I rose on shaky legs.

  “Was the Vision as bad as you feared?”

  Tears streamed unchecked down my face. “Worse than I could have imagined, Lady.”

  “Is what we know worse than what we imagine?”

  I captured the sob before it escaped. “In this case, ignorance was kinder than knowledge.”

  “How can ignorance be kinder when it offers us no way to save our Spirits or to heal our Souls?”

  Hair had fallen into my face. Agitated, I shoved it roughly behind my ears. “If what I saw is true, then there is no way my Soul isn’t already damned.”

  “What is it that you believe you witnessed, Alexis?” The Lady’s fathomless dark eyes shone with a sorrowful understanding.

  “I...I murdered Serena.” In disbelief, I stared at my hands. “I called Blue Fire and used it to murder the woman I love.” Anguished eyes rose to meet The Lady’s face.

  “Are you certain you interpret your Vision correctly?”

  I heaved a breath and huffed it out. My shoulders hunched against what I had witnessed. “It...it felt like Truth.”

  “What feels like truth may be nothing more than a tiny sliver of a larger Truth.”

  “How can I know what is the Truth then?” I cried out.

  “Only the heart can know what is Truth. Do not be misled by your mind. Only girdled by Truth can you keep safe those you love.” The Lady’s voice faded as darkness closed around me. I sank into its velvety softness.

  ****

  The quiet stirrings of the Warriors jarred me awake. I swung my feet to the floor and rubbed eyes that felt full of grit. Headed for the shower, I grabbed the clean clothes that I had laid out the night before. Showered and dressed, I made my way upstairs. Gray dawn seeped in through the skylight. The odor of strong coffee wafted to me as I stepped into the kitchen.

  A wanton stood at the stove scrambling eggs. “Hey, Captain, grab a plate and help yourself.” The heavyset woman jerked her chin toward the table where large platters of eggs, hash browns, bacon and toast had been laid out.

  I took a cup from the cupboard and filled it. Inhaling the scent of the fragrant brew, I slid onto a chair at the table. Plate loaded, I barely glanced up when Nikki settled into the one across from me and piled food on her plate.

  “You really leaving this morning?”

  I swallowed the food in my mouth and took a deep drink of the strong coffee. “You were right, Nikki. I am not being fair to Serena. Unfortunately, I am also endangering others with my actions. It’s better for me to be gone. Besides, the panthers need my assistance.”

  Nikki nailed me with a piercing look. “Relationships don’t heal through avoidance, Alexis.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” A lump lodged in my chest. I fisted a hand and rubbed at it. “All of us need to concentrate on surviving this war and getting it stopped. For that to happen, it’s best that I leave.”

  We finished breakfast without further discussion. Afterwards, I shouldered my duffel bag and walked with Nikki to the boat. My lieutenant steered out of the hidden inlet and over to the mainland. “Hey, Captain?”

  I looked up from halfway down the ladder. “Yeah?”

  “I’ll keep you apprised of what’s happening. And, I’ll do what I can to watch out for her.”

  I didn’t need to ask who she referred to. “Thanks.”

  “Take care, Alexis.”

  With a nod, I continued down to the shallow water. As I waded out onto the rocky beach, I didn’t look back when the boat’s motor revved. I didn’t even look back when the sound grew fainter as it drew away.

  Chapter 14

  Serena Longer

  My eyes jerked open as Gregory raced into the room.

  From the cell phone in his hand, Guardian Lee Albeck’s breathless voice reached across the space between the mainland and Alexis’ island. “Being attacked! Too many...” the crackle of static overwhelmed her next words. “Need help...” A burst of gunfire sounded loud over the phone and abruptly the connection ended.

  I dressed quickly then snatched my short sword from where it hung at the head of the bed and belted it around my waist. Gregory and I thundered down the stairs.

  We nearly collided with Nikki as she sprinted upward. “Warrior Emily called.”

  “Yes, we know about the attack,” Gregory said as the three of us headed for the living room.

  Warriors and a small unit of Guardians poured into the open area. For a moment, I regretted having Gregory disburse so many of the Guardians to assist the Clan Mothers and the Heads of Family in building up their estate defenses and escape strategies. A handful of Guardians remained on the island with a few more stationed at the mainland departure point. Now those Guardians surrounded us with guns and knives and swords strapped to their bodies.

  Off to one side, Ariel stood shivering in a thin nightgown. The noise had obviously awakened the child. Healer Kira slung an arm over my daughter’s thin shoulders. My heart ached. If I died what a terrible legacy my child would inherit--war. I couldn’t think about that right now. I turned my attention toward Lieutenant Howitter.

  When her eyes met mine, I slanted a look toward Ariel. Nikki gave a slight dip of her chin, reassuring me that she would personally watch over my child.

  Within moments of assembling, all but a few Guardians and Warriors ducked into the mouth of the cave system leading to the inlet. Two bullet-shaped boats crowded against the rocky ledge. Guardian Aretha Moore, a stout black woman, led a contingent of fighters onto the first boat. By the time the rest of the fighters had jumped onto the larger boat Gregory piloted, the first boat had already cleared the mouth of the slit opening into the Sound from this end of the island.

  Feet spread for balance, I stood next to Gregory as he yanked back the throttle. Out on the water, dawn tinged the horizon a lighter black than the night sky. It chafed to be strapped to this boat--no matter that it was a top-of-the-line speed and carrier boat with nothing on the market that could go faster across the water.

  How I longed to have Gregory teleport the two of us to the site of the battle. Though impatience goaded me with sharp spurs, I reminded myself that only Aretha and Gregory could pilot these boats at top speeds across the choppy wate
rs of the Sound. And we needed all of the fighters we could fit on the two boats to assure a quick and lethal battle. I gazed skyward and wondered what the day would bring.

  We caught up with Aretha’s boat a few hundred yards from the shore. The two boats kept distance between them and proceeded at a slow speed. The boulder-strewn shore appeared deserted. No sounds of battle rode the cool air of the early morning. I swallowed the knowledge of what that had to mean. It felt like razor blades slicing at my heart.

  The boats could tie-up at only a few places along this strip of beach. Gregory eased the boat as close as he could to a hulking boulder that had a snip of open sandy beach to one side. A Guardian leapt off the boat. He caught the rope tossed to him and tied it off to the iron ring someone had pounded into the boulder.

  With barely a ripple in the water, Gregory and I led the fighters off the boat. We waded through the water with hardly a splash.

  When we reached the beach, I shot a glance toward Aretha’s boat tied-up to a boulder a few yards away. Huvams and Warriors scrambled over the side, nearly as silently as the Guardians.

  In the eerie quiet, my fangs elongated as adrenaline shot through my body. The whispers of swords being drawn seemed to shout over the gentle lapping of the waves against the shore.

  Ahead of us lay an array of black boulders and gray rocks jumbled across coarse dark sands. Deep shadows reached grasping fingers across the irregular landscape. Farther ahead, a cliff rose straight up. Red streaked its barren face.

  We spread out and began to slowly work our way onto the beach. Our feet hit water-slicked rocks and boulders, forcing us to scramble. Gregory edged to the left. I headed a bit to the right. Farther down the shore, human Warriors made their way across the rocky stretch of land.

  Silence heralded the dawning. I no longer heard the ocean shushing against the rocks. Sea gulls wheeling overhead emitted no calls though I saw their beaks open and shut. Cocking my head, I failed to hear the inevitable creak of leather and the soft rattle of metal of fighters on the move. My heart picked up speed.

  I lifted my head; drew in a deep breath. Not even the smell of seaweed lingered in the air. The hair on the back of my neck raised. I scurried over to Gregory. “I can’t hear anything and I can’t smell anything; not even a dead fish.”

  He gave a slight downward tilt of his head as his eyes roamed the darkness. Carefully, he tapped the tip of his sword against a black boulder. Neither sword nor boulder spoke. Brows lifted in question, he looked at me.

  “A Deadening Spell to absorb sound and smell.” A sour taste filled my mouth. The Deadening Spell was a timed witch spell. In a couple of hours, this bespelled area would return to normal. “Be careful.”

  He resumed picking his way across the beach.

  As I rounded a particularly large boulder, I spotted the body of a Warrior, limbs splayed in death. Blonde hair, soaked red, hung to the ground; wide blue eyes stared blankly at the dimming stars. I skirted around her body.

  A bit farther on, an empty Guardian uniform lay puddled between two large rocks. I bent over and sniffed. Nothing.

  As tense as a taut bow string, I slipped and slid along the slime-coated rocks; stepped into tidepools that gave off no odor. Two-thirds of the way to where the boulders and rocks relented their hold on the gravelly beach, the enemy rose up from the black shadows at the base of the cliff.

  With unstable footing behind and around, I pushed toward the gravelly sands and the waiting enemy. Bows twanged. I dodged left as an arrow flew past my ear. My feet slid on the dark gray, disc-like rocks. I went down to my knees. A figure all in black darted out of the deeper shadows of a large boulder. The strengthening light of dawn glinted on the gold-edged blade raised high above his head.

  I set one foot against a large rock sturdily set in the sand. With a powerful shove, I launched forward and to one side. In midair, I twisted and slashed with my short sword.

  One of the attacker’s legs separated at the knee. He stumbled. His sword crashed silently against a rock as he fell. I scrambled to my feet, whipped around and slashed.

  The vampire’s head flew a short distance from his body. Head and body slowly turned to ash. Directly ahead, two vampires had a Warrior pinned with her back to the cliff face. Her short sword was no match for their longer weapons. She parried and thrust with desperate speed.

  I dashed over the rocks. When my feet hit the coarse sand, I raced across it. One vampire lifted his sword. I would never reach the Warrior in time! I snatched my knife from its waist sheath and threw it. The gold-edged blade sank to the hilt in the vampire’s back. He dropped to his knees. His sword fell from nerveless fingers. His body lay where it fell; the vampire too young to ash out.

  I spun away from the fallen vampire. Before I could leap to the Warrior’s defense, the second enemy slashed with his sword. The Warrior’s forearm dropped to the gray sand. Blood spurted.

  He whipped his weapon into position to take the Warrior’s head. I bolted across the few feet separating us. My sword painted a blurred streak of silver and gold against the ever-lightening sky. The vampire’s sword arm and then his head hit the ground in quick succession. Another young one. He, too, lay where he fell.

  The Warrior grasped her arm above the elbow and collapsed to her knees. Terrified that the woman would bleed to death, I reached out with my mind even as I knew it was hopeless. Huvam Kira had yet to come fully into her vampirism. Until that occurred, I doubted my ability to Connect with her mind.

  Desperate, I sent the Call anyhow as I ripped my shirt into strips and tied them together. Using another piece of shirt as a wound pad, I bound it into place with the makeshift wrap. Above my head, a wheeling gull screeched. The Deadening Spell had ended.

  As I tied the pad in place, a clatter sounded from the rocks behind me. I surged to my feet and swirled around, sword held ready.

  Kira stumbled to a halt and held up both hands. “I heard your Call.”

  I lowered the sword. “She lost the lower part of her arm. I’ve bound it, but I'm no healer.”

  The young woman gave a brisk nod and stepped around me.

  As I guarded against attackers, I listened to the humming sound Kira sometimes used to direct her healing. When the sound ceased, my heart stuttered. Knowing I would see only death, still I turned and looked.

  Kira’s face had blanched from the Power drain and sweat beaded her forehead. A faint heartbeat pulsed from the Warrior. I let go of the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

  “She should survive until we can get her back to the island. For now, I’ve placed her in a healing sleep. Between the tourniquet and the slower heart rate from the sleep, she shouldn’t bleed out.” The huvam climbed to her feet. She swayed and I grasped her arm to steady her. “Thanks, First Councilwoman.”

  “As much as you’ve done for our People, you have well-earned the right to call me Serena.”

  As we stood there, I realized that the clash of swords had ceased. A frown furrowed my forehead. Why would the attackers leave so few if their intent was to trap and kill those who arrived? A cold finger of unease ran a jagged line up my back.

  Eyes closed I Called to Gregory. By the time I opened my eyes, he stood beside me. “Something’s wrong. There were too few of them, and the ones I killed ashed out slow, if at all.” With a flick of a hand, I indicated the dead vampire close-by. “We have to return to the island immediately.”

  He clicked the mic attached to the shoulder of his uniform. “Get back to the boats now!” He sheathed his short sword, bent over and scooped up the unconscious Warrior. “I’ll have a couple of Guardians stay and do clean-up.”

  The sun peeked shyly over the horizon as we waded back to the waiting boats. Peering through the growing light, I couldn’t locate the watcher’s boat that usually rode at anchor in the calm waters. “Where is the boat for the shore unit?”

  Gregory hit the ignition and our boat fired up. As he steered away from the rocks, he frowned. “It should be right ov
er there.” He pointed to a seastack. Waves lapped lazily around the reddish volcanic rock that stood like a slender spear surrounded by a small half-moon of dark sand. “Sweet Goddess, we’ve been played,” he breathed as he thrust the throttle wide open.

  Sword out, Gregory eased into the hidden inlet inside the cave. The missing shore unit’s boat bobbed, tied off to a finger of rock. Two Warrior bodies lay crumpled close to the edge of the cave floor.

  We leapt ashore. Farther in the winding passageway, another Warrior hung over a shallow ledge. The tip of a gold arrowhead protruded from her back. Below her the piles of empty clothes attested to the deaths of invaders. She had exacted a price for her life.

  By the time we slipped out of the cave and into the woods surrounding the house, we had discovered the last two Warrior guards. In each case, empty clothes gave mute testimony to the fight that they had waged against uneven odds.

  As I crept into the clearing between cave and house, Guardian Aretha moved up next to me. Black clothes marked with a red disc to symbolize the moon and a spear to symbolize Goddess Artemis, lay in scattered heaps across the clearing.

  The front door of the house gaped open like a toothless maw. Inside the house, hacked bodies of several humans and one huvam sprawled in death. Ash speckled uniforms marked where Guardians had fought and died.

  Empty clothes from the invaders mixed with the remains of our People. Old vampires had been among the island’s invaders. The small force we’d left behind had had no chance against them.

  The Warriors and the Guardians spread out in a room-by-room search. Not a living body graced the many rooms. Gregory gathered everyone in the living room.

  “Serena, Aretha, Kira, Sheena and I will search the basement. The rest of you are to secure the premises. Stay in groups of four.” He swung toward Kira. “Can the Warrior survive until we complete our search or do you need to remain with her?”

  “She should be all right for another hour or so. The healing sleep I put her in, is helping and her bleeding has nearly stopped.”

  “All right. Once downstairs, Serena will remain with me. Sheena and Kira will go with Aretha. Kira, no heroics. We need you to heal others; not yourself.” With a brisk move he whipped open the basement door.