They called a warning to Councilor Tav, and did not rush forward in the traditional lupwyn greeting as Silverblade had half-expected.
Then he realized why.
While the Elementals might not know what the acolytes were, they knew they were dangerous. The more powerful Larnkins had likely felt the death of the delegation members sent to learn what the acolytes were. That Silverblade was the lone survivor of the group made him suspect.
He didn’t blame them. It was wise. Perhaps the other Elementals had learned more about the acolytes while he and Beatrice had been running for their lives.
Councilor Tav held up a hand, halting the rest of his group. The other santhyrians and lupwyns flanked him and Beatrice as they emerged from the forest.
“Easy,” he called, not wanting them to strike out. “I have news of the acolytes.”
“I imagine you do,” the Councilor said, studying Beatrice in a way that Silverblade didn’t like. His sense of unease grew when the Councilor raised his hand and gestured at the human. The other Elementals with him, some carrying bows and arrows, pointed them at the healer.
“Tell the human to dismount and wait over there.” Councilor Tav gestured to his right, a spot about ten horse-lengths from Silverblade’s location. From the way the other Elementals’ gazes trained on Beatrice, Silverblade’s earlier unease for her safety changed to fear for her life.
Beatrice tossed a leg over the horse’s neck and dropped to the ground next to his shoulder. Silverblade dismounted, raising his hands in surrender while at the same time putting himself bodily between Beatrice and the other Elementals.
“She’s not the enemy. She’s an innocent human. A healer who helped save me from the acolytes. They would have fed from her and then killed her as readily as any of us.”
“Whatever dark power the acolytes serve uses humans as slaves.” Councilor Tav jerked his chin at Silverblade and then pointed again at the spot where he had commanded the human to wait. “If you do not do as I say, I will burn her to ash myself!”
Snarling at the Councilor, Silverblade shoved Beatrice back in the direction they’d just come.
“Wait,” Beatrice cried. “Don’t harm Silverblade. I’m not an acolyte. I mean you no harm. I only wished to help him.”
Councilor Tav tilted his head, inclining it in Beatrice’s direction. “We’ll decide that in a moment. In the meantime—over there, now.” Again he pointed out the spot from earlier using one talon-tipped finger.
Beatrice moved out from behind Silverblade and over to the spot directed.
Tav turned his attention to Silverblade, studying him with a critical eye. “What happened to you?”
Seeing no reason to lie to the Councilor, Silverblade answered. “I ran afoul of the acolytes. The delegation was just approaching the outskirts of River’s Divide when we tripped some kind of magic-enhanced net trap set by the acolytes. Once trapped, the acolytes ambushed us.” Silverblade shuddered in remembered horror. “When I and the other guards were weakened, acolytes with crossbows and swords set upon us. Without our defensive magic and no time to rally, we couldn’t stop them as they began to feed. They didn’t even have to be within touching distance of us.”
He hadn’t wanted to remember what had happened, but it was all there in the back of his mind, waiting when he closed his eyes. Silverblade drew a deep, calming breath and he found a still moment among the chaos of emotions to say what needed to be said.
“The full-blooded phoenix were the only ones able to fight, their fire magic able to burn away the nets. But even they could not stop the acolytes from feeding, nor were they impervious to arrows. One by one, all the members of the expedition were overcome. My mother…” He cleared his throat but the tight knot would not ease. “Elder Cymael was able to burn the closest acolytes to ash. She dragged me out from under one of the nets and together we fled.”
Beatrice shifted in place. Like she wanted to comfort him, but thought better of it when the guards with their bows made their own slight realignments.
Silverblade looked down at his hands. They’d curled into fists, his claws drawing blood. He forced his fists to unclench. Attacking their rescuers wouldn’t help defeat the acolytes. “We had both taken substantial injuries. My mother had a broken wing, the joint destroyed by a lucky shot from an acolyte’s crossbow. She wasn’t able to fly. She was barely able to run.”
“Why did you not simply call for help?”
From the corner of his eye, he studied Beatrice. Her expression turned thunderous and she squared her shoulders and she planted her fists on her hips, her body language practically screaming her belligerence. If he didn’t do something soon, she was going to march back over to them and draw Councilor Tav’s attention back to her. Which was the last place Silverblade wanted it.
He did not trust this particular councilor to have Beatrice’s wellbeing in mind.
His mother had shared a little-known secret with him. Councilor Tav and Silverblade’s own liege, King Ryanth, had gone behind the Council’s back and forced Ashayna Stonemantle to confront an Oracle Stone. If the Crown Prince of the Phoenix’s bondmate wasn’t safe from the likes of Councilor Tav, he didn’t hold much hope that Beatrice would fare any better.
As it was, Sorntar’s mother had been furious with the Councilor, but the Elder had been unfazed. After all, he’d claimed he was seeing to the protection of all the Elemental races. But if the councilor had no concerns about endangering the Crown Prince’s bondmate, Silverblade imagined he would lose no sleep over placing Beatrice in the presence of danger either. After all, for all he knew Beatrice was simply a human. With no protection, certainly no one of royal blood to protect her.
Had his mother still lived, she might have been able to protect Beatrice from the other councilors to some extent.
Silverblade continued, shoving his own personal grief aside. There’d be time for that later. For now, he simply had to protect the human from this particular elder. “The acolytes had taken us by surprise, and by the time we were able to think to call for help, our Larnkins were already damaged too greatly. My mother and I tried to escape through the forest, but the acolytes trailed us like bloodhounds. Truthfully, we were easy prey. We were both injured and had broken a trail even a child could’ve followed.”
Silverblade swallowed hard.
“Go on,” Councilor Tav barked, clearly losing patience. Again his gaze tracked over to the human.
“My mother’s Larnkin was weaker than mine. She’d expended a great deal of her power trying to save us from the acolytes. She collapsed on the trail. I was unable to protect her. In truth, I would have died there with her had Beatrice not felt my plight.”
Silverblade took a deep breath and released it slowly, still staring at the ground. “I was in human form when I met up with the expedition. If I’d been lupwyn, perhaps things would’ve turned out differently, perhaps I would have been able to get my mother to safety. But I was not. I was human. Utterly helpless without my magic or my lupwyn strength and speed. The acolytes soon hunted us down. It was not Lord Master Trensler himself who hunted us, but one of his underlings. An acolyte by the name of Ironsmith. I had never seen him anywhere in River’s Divide before. I am certain he came on the boat with Trensler.”
“We know little of Trensler. Only what the Crown Prince of the Phoenix could tell us,” Councilor Tav said. “But from the little we know, we know he is evil. Had Trensler been there, I doubt you would still be here talking to me.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered if Trensler was there or not.” Silverblade said. “Even Lord Master Trensler’s second in command, if that’s what he was, was more than enough to deal with me. I would’ve died then. Sucked dry or enslaved by the acolytes had it not been for Beatrice.”
Silverblade knew that he had to tell the rest, but it would also draw the councilor’s attention back to the human female.
“I think this is where you explain to me why you are traveling with a human, and how you
ended up in your present predicament.” Councilor Tav looked Silverblade over, studying him from the tips of his ears, all the way down to the claws on his feet, and every inch of human-looking skin in between.
Until that exact moment, Silverblade had been growing comfortable with his new form—Beatrice had never made him feel inferior for being trapped between forms. But the arrogant council member roused those earlier feelings of inadequacy. For the first time, he was uncomfortable with others seeing him this way. He glanced towards the other lupwyns. Did they see him as inferior now as well?
The logical side of his mind knew he was still himself. It shouldn’t matter that he was presently trapped between forms. Once his Larnkin healed and resumed his true form, he’d be back to normal. Besides, it could’ve been so much worse. At least he could still fight when needed, and Beatrice assured him he wasn’t hideously ugly.
Then with a huff at his own frivolous thoughts, for he was certainly old enough to know better than to worry about physical appearances, he shoved aside what the arrogant council member had implied. He was alive. That’s all that really mattered. And as long as he drew breath, there was still a chance that he would destroy his enemies. Ridding the world of the acolyte parasites would go a long way in soothing his pride.
He didn’t dare show any of these thoughts to the elder. This particular council member was old and powerful and worse, even though he was a phoenix, he was the half-brother to the lupwyn queen. They were known to share a close relationship. If the Councilor took his suspicions to the lupwyn queen and the other ruling councilors, Silverblade couldn’t trust he’d be able to protect Beatrice if they decided she was in league with the acolytes.
At that exact moment, Silverblade knew Beatrice’s future may very well rely upon his next words being able to convince the councilor that she wasn’t evil and didn’t serve the acolytes.
That might only be the first hurdle to overcome. Councilor Tav was one of the greatest of the healers, and it was entirely possible once he realized just how strong Beatrice was, he would become her mentor.
Silverblade winced on Beatrice’s behalf. This phoenix wasn’t one he’d have picked to become her primary mentor. But if they both survived the coming battle with the acolytes, there was a good chance the greatest of the Elemental healers would be partnered with the most powerful of the youngsters.
He would have to select his words and arguments with care if he wished to remain in this Councilor’s good graces for Beatrice’s sake.
But that would all be a moot point if Councilor Tav tried to kill Beatrice outright, thinking her a servant of the acolytes or some other dark master. Silverblade had seen the flipside of her healing magic, and that was certainly on the darker spectrum of power.
Tav turned his gaze back toward Beatrice, and Silverblade felt when the Councilor lost his patience and started hunting his own answers. The heat of rising fire magic flowing out from the phoenix was warning enough.
Rushing into the rest of the story, he said, “The human is a young, untrained healer. She and her family have been hiding from the acolytes for years. During my scouting mission, I studied Beatrice and her family. They are not the enemy. If you don’t believe me, her family is known to the Stonemantle sisters. Beatrice is friends with the younger two, and the oldest sister—Ashayna—trusts her. If you don’t believe me, ask her. Surely the phoenix prince’s bondmate is trustworthy?”
“Yes,” Tav said with a narrowing of his eyes. “I am here by the command of Prince Sorntar and Ashayna.”
While his expression was no longer quite so hostile, there was now an element of calculation in his look and somehow, Silverblade found that more terrifying. There’d also been a slight hesitation when he’d said the names of the prince and his bondmate. He wondered what that was about.
“Then I am certain Ashayna Stonemantle would be unhappy to hear if Beatrice was not shown proper hospitality by the Elementals.”
“I was sent to retrieve you.” He speared Silverblade with a look that would have had a youngling pissing themselves in fear. “I received no orders regarding her. But do tell me more about this healer.” Councilor Tav walked away from Silverblade to study Beatrice at closer range. Silverblade didn’t know what spell the Councilor weaved, or the intent behind it, but it was powerful and he imagined it would be unpleasant to be on the receiving end.
Before he’d consciously thought about it, he was pacing the Councilor, not so subtly trying to get between the two healers. He made a pacifying gesture when flames leapt to life between Tav’s fingers. “She is human, but a healer—young and untrained. She only wished to help me. When I was being attacked by the acolytes, somehow we linked, her power strengthening me even as the acolytes fed. It may have been desperation on my Larnkin’s part, he may have been the one to establish the link.” He knew that was a pure lie on his part. He only hoped the Councilor could not sniff that out. To have Tav realize Beatrice’s own Larnkin had sensed him over that great distance and reached out to save him would further raise the Councilor’s suspicions.
Councilor Tav barked out a humorous laugh, his feathered brows arching nearly halfway up his forehead. The feathers of his crest fluffed slightly before flattening, betraying some of the phoenix’s thoughts.
The Councilor knew he was being lied to. Sweat began to trickle down Silverblade’s back.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The two males talked above her head, so Beatrice let the conversation flow around her, her attention and healer’s magic studying the phoenix with interest. In body, Councilor Tav was human shaped, his facial features were similar to one of her kind, but he was much taller—actually—he was taller than even the phoenix crown prince had been, and his feathers were a paler blue. He had the same massive wings which rose up from behind his shoulders, a tall crest, and a wide wedge shaped tail. A simple skirt-like garment seemed to be the fashion of choice among the phoenix. It left a lot of lovely bronze-toned skin exposed.
Glancing sideways to Silverblade, she wondered what his phoenix form would look like.
But while she’d been studying them, they’d taken what should have been a few tense heartbeats and turned it into something full of hostility that promised bloodshed within moments.
Sighing, she unfolded her arms and then cleared her throat. “Oh for all that’s good, would you two males stop posturing and strutting? We don’t have time for this foolishness.”
The councilor was silent, clearly taken aback. Silverblade’s look said he had never seen him speechless before.
“The acolytes could even now be hunting us down,” Beatrice snapped. “Yes, I’m a healer. Yes, I’m a human with power. And, yes, I know that worries you. But that does not change the fact that when I sensed Silverblade being attacked by the acolytes, I acted to save him. I did not know him personally, but I knew he was the lupwyn scout who patrolled the forest near my grandmother’s hut. So even then I considered him my neighbor, and neighbors help neighbors. I reached out to him with my healer’s power and tried to strengthen him long enough that he could get away from the acolytes.”
“A hedge witch would stand no chance against these acolytes—not according to what others have told me.”
“Hedge witch?” She sniffed disdainfully, quickly losing any respect she might still have possessed for the elder. “I make no claim to great magic or great knowledge. Everything I know, I’ve learned through trial and error and instinct.”
“Still,” Tav said with a deepening glower. “Nothing you did to heal Silverblade would have worked against the acolytes. They would have just kept on draining him. No, I think it much more likely they let him escape and you ‘rescued’ him only so you could lead the acolytes to the rest of the magic wielders.”
“Hmmm, you don’t listen very well, Elder.”
She spotted when Silverblade winced at her tone, but she didn’t care. Clearly the elder was intentionally seeking to get some kind of a rise out of her.
When Tav woul
d have said something more, she cut him off. “Had you let me finish, I would have told you that I tried to make Silverblade strong enough that he could escape the acolytes, but it didn’t work. He was too weak and as you pointed out, it didn’t matter how much power I poured into him, the acolytes just drained it away. So my Larnkin killed the acolytes instead.”
“That’s not possible…unless… No. You couldn’t be…” His eyes widened slightly. “No. Another human couldn’t possibly be…”
*****
Silverblade watched as Councilor Tav’s expression changed from assured certainty to something far less so as he divided his attention between them. Seeing them in a new light? Perhaps.
Overcoming whatever doubt had assaulted him, the councilor continued, “You are correct, young healer. We have wasted too much time. There is a great awakening power in the world again and I have been instructed to bring you to them. They will be the ones to decide if you serve the acolytes, not me.”
Silverblade’s ears perked. If Tav had meant the other Elders of the Council, he would have said as much.
Could that mean he was referring to another, older group of magic wielders? He was just drawing breath to question Tav’s words when Beatrice beat him to it.
“Oh, stop speaking in riddles,” she said. “Do you mean the Twelve? If so, spit it out. The acolytes could even now be getting closer, and I for one do not want them to have another chance to enslave either Silverblade or myself.”
Beatrice marched back to Silverblade’s side and stood with her hands fisted on her hips. The elder’s expression had changed to disbelief, but Beatrice ignored it and rushed onward with her rant.
“I’ve been face-to-face with the acolytes and if this ‘great awakening power’ you speak of just happens to be the Twelve Talismans and their mortal wielders Silverblade told me about, I think you’re putting too much faith in them.”
Tav smiled coldly. “Then perhaps you should tell the Falcon Staff that yourself. It was that talisman which alerted us to Silverblade’s survival and ordered him brought before the other members of the Twelve.”
Maiden's Wolf (In Deception's Shadow Book 3) Page 16