Found and Forged

by Ivy Asher

  “Where the fuck did those come from?” I ask, not sure what the hell is going on.

  “They’re mine,” a female announces from somewhere behind me.

  I rise and spin around quickly. Sure enough, the owner of that statement has the same marks on her throat.

  “Who the fuck are you?” I ask, taking in her armor and her long tangled red hair. She looks like she’s my age, but I can’t be sure.

  “No, the question is who the fuck are you? What have you done, bringing filth within the barriers?”

  Enoch gets to his feet, and her loathsome stare moves from me to him. Her hazel eyes trace the runes on his throat, and I can practically see the fury boiling up and scalding her from the inside out. The reality of what the fuck just happened goes off like a bomb in my mind, and I stare at the woman in shock. The tic in her jaw pulses with fury. I scan the now slowly moving bodies for Kallan, Nash and Becket to be sure. I only spot Nash as he slowly gets to his feet, but the five runes running down his throat confirm everything.

  Whoever the fuck this chick is, she marked my Shields as her Chosen. Judging by the virulence in her eyes, she’s not fucking happy about it either. Well, fuck her, that makes two of us.

  10

  People shake off the shock from the hit of magic and start to get up. The more others shake it off and stand, the more threatened I once again feel. The wild looking redheaded Sentinel across from me just stares angrily like she’s waiting for something. I realize slowly that it’s backup.

  We were unsure of what would happen once we found Sentinel City. Would we find acceptance and answers or something else? I watch the other Sentinels rise and ready themselves for another fight. Well, I guess we have our fucking answer.

  I unlock the vault in my soul that houses all my hate and rejection. I invite all my outrage and hurt feelings to come out and play. I well up with anger and pain, well past my limit for all of this bullshit. The runes on my body light up in response, and I feed their glow with my frustration and malice. This bitch thinks she’s pissed? That she can call my friends and family filth and attack us with no consequences? Think again.

  I take a step forward, magic storming through me. Power demanding punishment. The other female’s vicious stare flicks to me when I move, and shock immediately replaces her outrage. The winged asshole Sentinel that I was fighting steps up behind her, and a thunderous roar of building magic starts in my chest. I pull on my endless cavern of magic, ready to cut everything and everyone who stands against us to the ground. The female lights up as well, but I’m fresh out of fucks for this Sentinel bitch and her vitriol.

  “I came here looking for answers, looking for others like me,” I snarl, my voice filled to the brim with power and disgust. “But I can see there’s no decency or honor among you, and I won’t find what I’m looking for here. We’ll leave, and you can go back to whatever fucked up ways guide your addled minds. If you try to stop us, then I’ll slaughter each and every one of you, and then we’ll leave. I’m good with either option.”

  The winged Sentinel I was fighting smiles like my threat is funny to him, but it doesn’t mask the worry in his eyes. The redheaded female who marked my Shields looks around like she’s working out just how much damage I could do before they could stop me. Her eyes land on mine, and we take each other in for a beat. I see the calculation in her gaze and give her a ruthless smile.

  “You have no idea who you’re fucking with,” I warn her.

  Like my words are the magic key needed to unlock all of my Chosen from unconsciousness, one by one they wake up. Relief slams through me as each of them gets to their feet. Ryker is the last to pop up, having to order Vaughn off of him before he can join his compeers in assessing what the fuck is going on around them. The guys don’t say a word. They look around for a couple blinks and then light up just like I am.

  I try not to look shocked as each of their runes explodes with purple light. I had no idea they could do that. I shove away my shock and questions, and embrace the power that washes over me as each of them readies himself for whatever is about to go down. The other Sentinels look more and more unsure and nervous with each passing second. They dart glances at the redheaded female and the winged male. These two must be in charge, and I quickly put together a game plan of priority targets if this all goes to shit.

  The red haired female Sentinel studies my newly conscious Chosen and deflates infinitesimally.

  “You can leave if you’ll swear an oath to keep any knowledge of this place to yourselves,” she proposes.

  “Suryn, no!” the winged asshole protests, but she silences him with a slash of her hand.

  She turns back to me. “As for them”—she gestures to Nash, Kallan, Enoch, and Becket—“they need to be dealt with and will not be allowed to leave.”

  Each of my Shields sounds off, outraged by that statement, but I just watch her. “You have no say in where they will or will not go,” I counter simply.

  “My magic would say otherwise, or do you not see my marks on them,” she snaps back.

  “Then your magic and my magic are going to have a problem. I marked them first.”

  I reach out and hold up Enoch’s hand, the runes on his finger punctuating my statement. This all feels a little too elementary school finders keepers, losers weepers, but if this chick thinks I’m leaving them behind, then she’s got another thing coming.

  I watch this Suryn chick closely as I lay out my challenge. I see shock, anger, and worry quickly flash through her hazel gaze. She stares at Enoch’s hand, tracing my marks there when suddenly her shoulders relax. Her eyes move from Enoch’s hand to mine.

  Shit.

  “Shields...not Chosen,” she points out, the arrogant disgust back in her tone. “Not even full Shields, you’ve not accepted them.”

  Her statement teaches me several things at once, the first being that Adriel didn’t lie when he flung the Shield kernel of wisdom at me. Second, there is a reason why I don’t have any of my Shields’ marks. And lastly, we’re fucked. Can I kill the Sentinel that just marked Enoch and the others? Will that hurt them? I’ve never asked Sorik what happened to him when Grier died. It felt wrong to ask him to dig through what he experienced for my own curiosity. Obviously, Enoch and the others wouldn’t die, but would it do anything else? They’re not full Chosen yet, but still.

  “Looks like we’ll fight for ’em then. Winner claims them all, and the loser fucks off,” I state simply.

  “Nice try,” the winged Sentinel spits out as he steps toward me. “This issue will be decided by the Sovereign. Only she has the authority to make this decision,” he declares, shooting the Suryn chick a glare like he’s daring her to say otherwise.

  “Is this the same Sovereign that ordered you to kill us?” I ask with mock sweetness, sending a flare through my magic and forcing it to pulse out like the threat it is.

  Suryn and the winged wanker don’t say anything, but I take their silence as confirmation.

  “Nah, I’m cool, tell her thanks but no thanks on the attempted hit.” I turn my back on the other Sentinels and stride over to my guys. I’m trying not to freak out and to make sure they’re all okay, but I don’t want to be so far away from them anymore. I expect Kallan, Becket, Nash and Enoch to follow, but only Becket, Kallan, and Nash do. Enoch hesitates like he’s unsure of what the right move is here.

  The Sentinel with the wings gives me another of his patent smirks. “It seems we got off on the wrong foot. You see, no one has ever breached the barrier before, let alone signaled their arrival the way that you all did. I’m sure you can understand our jumping to the defensive.”

  He pauses for a second like he’s expecting us to agree with him. I stay quiet.

  “There’s clearly more going on here than we initially realized,” he states, gesturing to Enoch and Nash and backpedaling from his previous superior attitude. “You mentioned you were looking for answers. I can safely say that now so are we. Let’s put this unfortunate first
meeting behind us. That way we can all find the answers that we need here.”

  “Unfortunate first meeting?” I ask, scoffing at his word choice. “You mean the one where you showed up and tried to kill us?”

  The arrogant prick smiles like he thinks that’s funny. “Technically, you attacked first,” he throws out there smugly.

  I don’t say anything as my face morphs into a look that says come the fuck on.

  “My name is Ory,” he offers after a moment of awkward silence. “This is Suryn,” he announces, gesturing to the redhead with the new marks down her throat. “And you are?” he asks, dazzling me with a smile that I’m sure usually gets him what he wants.

  I’m not surprised that he doesn’t introduce anyone else. I doubt the self-importance that’s radiating off of him would allow him to see too far past his own nose. I run my gaze up his black armored body to his ebony hair, fair complexion, and dark purple eyes. I then dismiss him with an unimpressed glance away. I study Suryn and the other armored Sentinels all standing at attention, well, except for the wounded and a couple who are missing heads. I wonder who went full Queen of Hearts, but I’ll swap battle stories with all the guys when we’re safe and alone.

  Ory grins, like my silence is exactly what he wants. Maybe it’s the bad experiences I’ve had in the past where giving my full name has clued someone else into things about me while leaving me in the dark, but I’m hesitant to give them any info about me.

  “I’m a Sentinel. These are my Chosen, and the rest are my Shields,” I offer vaguely. I wrap Sorik and Vaughn in whatever title these people want to see, not wanting to explain any further who they are to me.

  “Come now, Sentinel, don’t be like that,” Ory teases with a mock pout.

  “Next time, maybe start with all that polite shit instead of an attack, see if it gets you pleasantries and introductions,” I snap, tired of this back and forth.

  I want to leave, but the Chosen marks on my Shields have put a wrench in that plan. If they don’t want to let all of us go, we could fight our way out. But even if we did manage to get out of here uninjured, would they leave their barrier to come after us? There are a lot of unknowns floating around, whether we stay or go.

  I look back the way we came and catch Suryn’s grip on her katana tighten. I tense, not sure what the best plan is here. Fight and risk someone getting hurt or maybe worse? Go with them and risk probably the same thing? I activate the runes behind my ear.

  “What should we do guys? We can bail and probably fight our way out of here, or we can go with them and hope for the best.”

  “If we try to leave and they call reinforcements, we could be in trouble,” Sabin states.

  “If we go with them, then we’ll definitely get outnumbered, and we could be in trouble,” Valen counters.

  “Maybe doing what they want will buy us some good will though. I mean, if we’re potentially fucked with both options, then let’s catch more flies with honey,” Ryker points out.

  “Fuck, I’m sorry guys,” I tell them.

  “This isn’t on you, Bruiser. We were all hoping this would work out better than it is,” Bastien reassures me.

  “I mean, I hate to be that guy who’s all optimistic right up until he gets killed, but maybe the feathered fucker is right and we all just got off on the wrong foot,” Valen adds, and I smile at his nickname for that Ory dude.

  “Okay, so we go with them?” I ask, making sure we’re on the same page.

  Unanimous yeses fill my mind. I disengage my runes and turn to Sorik and my Shields. “You guys good with us extending some unearned cooperation?”

  They’re quiet for a moment.

  “I’m cool with whatever keeps us from being dead,” Becket adds, and the others all shrug their agreement.

  “Your mother was levelheaded and compassionate. I think we might find more of that amongst her people than what our current company is showing,” Sorik adds.

  I keep my let’s fucking hope so to myself and turn back to the feathered fucker and the grumpy redhead.

  “So take us to your Sovereign then,” I capitulate.

  I just fucking hope we can withstand whatever shit they may throw at us.

  “Right, then…” Ory agrees, clapping his hands together and spreading his massive gray and tan wings.

  One other Sentinel in his group who also has wings does the same thing.

  Are there runes that can give you those?

  I chase away my curiosity about it like an old lady chases cats out of her house with a broom. I will not envy this douche. Fuck his wings. I pull my internal broom out again when my thoughts conjure up this old show about immortals Beth used to watch. No, brain, we cannot just cut off his head and hope we grow wings.

  Sentinels just start taking off into the sky like fireworks. I watch in awe as even the ones without wings just take off like it’s nothing.

  How the hell do they do that?

  Ory must notice that we’re not suddenly levitating and following their lead. He looks confused. “Do you not fly?” he asks suddenly, like the thought just occurred to him.

  The image of all of these Sentinels dropping like missiles out of the sky flashes through my mind.

  “Nope,” I respond with a shrug. “You go on ahead and announce our imminent arrival to the Sovereign. We’ll meet you there,” I offer. I doubt they’re that dumb, but it’s worth a shot.

  Suryn rolls her eyes at me. “Looks like we’ll be taking the long way,” she announces to the Sentinels that are still on the ground. She looks offended by the fact that she’ll have to walk.

  “Go inform the Quorum of what’s happened and that we’re on our way,” she tells the female next to her.

  The Sentinel nods and shoots up into the sky. I watch her trajectory, itching to know how she’s doing that.

  “It’s Elemental magic,” Sabin announces in my head, like he can read my mind.

  I whirl around to face him. “What the fuck? How the hell are they doing that with Elemental magic?” I demand.

  “They’re manipulating the air. It’s very difficult and taxing, and it’s a surefire way to drain a caster quicker than a lamia,” Sabin explains. “I honestly don’t know how they’re doing it and are still able to stand, let alone fight.”

  I stare up at the sky, no longer able to see the Sentinels that just took off. Ory is saying something, but I don’t pay it any attention.

  “You’ve been holding out on me?” I accuse, and his answering snort echoes in my mind. “I’m going to kick Kallan’s ass too for not cluing me in. Are you telling me I could have been flying my happy ass around this whole time?”

  “Like I said, it’s not common practice among casters; it requires too much magic. I didn’t think about the fact that, as a Sentinel, you have more magic and therefore could fly your happy ass around without killing yourself.”

  I smile and shake my head at him. “As soon as we get home, we’re going to flight school,” I declare, and a stunning smile appears on Sabin’s face.

  “Let’s go,” Suryn snaps at us.

  The order pulls my attention away from Sabin, and I watch as she runs her gaze over me and then my group. Her face scrunches up with obvious disgust. I do the same back to her. Fuck this snooty bitch.

  “Well, get a move on, we’re going to be walking the rest of the day,” she snidely informs me, gesturing away from her body like she thinks I’m going to go first.

  I bite back a groan at the announcement of more walking. At this rate, I’m never going to have to do cardio again.

  “If you think I’m going to put you psychos at my back, then you’re an idiot. Lead the way,” I tell her, mimicking the same arm sweep she just gave me.

  Her eyes narrow, but she takes a step and then another. “Fine with me, Sentinel, you’ll find we don’t scare so easily.”

  I scoff at the implication that they’re tougher than we are, but stay quiet. I don’t give a fuck what these people think of me. I just want to
get this shit sorted with my Shields and get the fuck out of here.

  We fall in line behind the eleven other Sentinels. No one talks. I activate my mental link with all my Chosen when it’s clear we’re only going to get the cold shoulder from them.

  “Are you guys okay?” I check in, worried once again about what happened earlier with the barrier.

  “We’re good, just trying to figure out what the hell happened,” Ryker explains.

  “What happened was we all lit up like fucking spotlights, did something to their barrier, and then you guys went down like a wall of bricks. Did I hurt you somehow?” I fill them in, tension radiating from every cell in my body.

  “No, you didn’t hurt us, but I could feel you tugging at my magic when you went all nuclear with the barrier,” Valen tells me, and the other guys sound off their agreement.

  The other Sentinels take turns peeking over their shoulders to watch us. Tougher my ass. Enoch and his coven are whispering quietly back and forth, and I know I need to find out if they’re okay too. I look back, and Sorik gives me a smile and a thumbs up, like he can read the worry in my face. I smile back and then tap back into my conversation with my guys.

  “It must be a barrier thing. I did it before at Lachlan’s house. It didn’t make anyone pass out, but I wasn’t connected to them like I am with you. It did put them on their ass though,” I tell them, recalling Lachlan and his coven going flying when my magic pulsed out into their barrier.

  “So how long had you guys been fighting before we woke up?” Knox asks, and I can hear the anger and frustration in his mental tone.

  “Not long. They showed up about twenty minutes after we decided moving targets were better than sitting ducks. We only went at it for less than ten minutes before that Suryn chick’s magic went all claimy with the other guys.” I don’t do anything to temper the irritation I feel at recounting that information, and Ryker reaches out and rubs comforting circles at the small of my back.