As I went up the stairs with the others, I thought it a little naïve to think any of us could sleep. I could feel Daniel’s gaze on my back.
At the top of the stairs he said, “Hayden?”
I looked back and he jerked his head to the side. Touching Brittany’s arm, I told her, “I’ll be in the room in a minute.”
I went over to Daniel and waited until everyone had disappeared down the hallway. He touched my cheek. “I won’t let it have you.”
I heard absolute conviction in his voice.
“You might not have a choice. You know as well as I do that the first shift is not controlled by the person but rather by the moon—there’s no stopping it.” Standing on my toes, I pressed a quick kiss to his lips.
Then I walked down the hallway. A jumble of emotions was going through me. And this time they were all mine.
TWELVE
After breakfast the next morning we all gathered in the council room. At a large round table sat the eight Dark Guardians—including Daniel—who remained at Wolford and the three elders. Elder Wilde was in the middle with Elder Thomas on one side of him and Elder Mitchell on the other. Normally before a Guardian experienced her first full moon, she was considered a novice and sat in a chair along the side of the room. But since this meeting came about because of me, I found myself sitting beside Elder Thomas, who held my hand with his gnarled one. After more than a hundred years of shifting, in spite of a Shifter’s healing abilities, his body had begun to show the price of shaping and reshaping bones and muscles.
As leader of the Dark Guardians, Lucas stood. “As you know, the harvester threatened Hayden. It would not only reap her soul and her ability to shift, but her ability to sense others’ emotions. We’ve identified two other Shifters who will experience their first full moon at the same time as Hayden. They’re both males. We’ve sent four Guardians to keep watch over them while they face their full moon. We have faith they’ll be safe.”
While many Shifters served as Dark Guardians, at any one time only twelve sat at the council table, planned strategies, and placed their lives on the line to protect us. Lucas looked over at me. “We believe more will be needed to protect Hayden.” He nodded toward his grandfather. “Elder Wilde will explain.”
He sat down and Elder Wilde stood. “You were all here when the harvester took Justin. You know what it is capable of.”
Elder Thomas’s hand tightened on mine, but because the Dark Guardians hadn’t heard anything that was not expected, I experienced no spikes in anyone’s emotions. As a matter of fact, I was surprised by the calm that pervaded the room. Determination, confidence, even eagerness to confront the enemy slapped at the weak wall I’d managed to somehow erect.
Or perhaps the ferocity of my own emotions made everyone else’s pale in comparison.
“So how do we kick its butt?” Brittany asked.
“You must fight it without shifting,” Elder Wilde said. “And for that you need a special weapon. Come with us.”
Everyone rose and followed as the elders led us out of the room, along a hallway, down some stairs, and along another hallway to the room where the ancient texts were stored. We were allowed in this room only by invitation. But they didn’t stop here. They wended their way among chairs and boxes that housed treasures. They led us around stacks of books and papers. They escorted us to a bookcase.
Elder Thomas reached up and touched a statue of a wolf that rested on one of the shelves. The bookcase swung open.
I could sense everyone’s awe. A secret revealed. A hidden place that we’d not known about. We followed the elders into a narrow stone passageway and down another set of stairs to a large wooden door with ornate carvings. Elder Wilde removed a key from his pocket, inserted it into the lock. A click echoed around us. He pushed the door open and led us into a darkened chamber.
Someone flicked a switch and a light illuminated the room.
“Our armory,” Elder Wilde said.
I stared in wonder at all the weapons on the walls. Ancient tools of destruction. Swords, knives, axes, clubs—
“Is that Excalibur?” Connor asked.
“These are the weapons that concern you today, young warriors,” Elder Wilde said as he indicated a rack of rapiers, ignoring Connor’s question.
The handles were gold, but the blades gleamed silver.
“They are made of steel, coated in silver. Just as silver can kill us, it can kill a harvester,” Elder Wilde explained. “But this particular weapon has been tempered with magic. It must be embedded in the harvester’s heart.”
“I can do that,” Brittany said, reaching for a sword.
“All of you will need to begin practicing with the swords. Time is short. We will work outside.” He looked at me. “Except for you, Hayden. Your shift will occupy you—mind, body, spirit. The Dark Guardians who remain here will accompany you to your transformation, protect you as much as possible. The harvester will attack when your shift begins.”
“And then they’ll attack it?”
“Yes.”
I glanced over at Daniel. If he was my mate, he wouldn’t be fighting either—he’d be distracted.
“Still, I want to learn how to fight with a sword,” I said. “Anything could happen out there.”
In the heat of battle we’d have to be careful not to slice into any Dark Guardians. Our healing properties didn’t apply to a wound made by silver.
“So it shall be,” Elder Wilde said.
The swords they gave us to practice with were not the ones we’d use during the actual confrontation. Silver was too risky. Wooden swords probably would have been better, only we didn’t have any. Besides, we needed to get used to the weight. So steel swords it was.
We went outside, into the yard between the side of the manor and where the forest began some yards away. I didn’t think it was coincidence that I was paired with Daniel. I thought the elders were still doing some matchmaking. Everyone else was matched with their mate, except Seth, who had no mate. I felt for him. He was matched with Elder Thomas.
“The most important thing,” Elder Wilde said, “is to become one with the battle, to follow it, to immerse yourself in it. You cannot be distracted. You must concentrate.”
I felt everyone’s emotions peppering me. Anticipation, excitement, a little anxiety about the possibility of failure. Staying focused during practice was going to be a challenge. I couldn’t imagine how I would manage it in the heat of battle.
“Too bad you can’t distract me from everyone’s feelings now like you did last night,” I said to Daniel.
He grinned. “Well, I could but holding you so close doesn’t leave much room for wielding our training swords.”
I returned his smile. “I don’t think you’re taking this seriously.”
“If I’m your mate, I’ll be occupied.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m not going to have a mate.”
“You can’t go through it alone.”
“And you’ve been ordered not to shift.”
“You always want to have your weapon out and pointed at your opponent’s heart,” Elder Wilde said, interrupting my discussion with Daniel—which I considered a good thing.
I knew I was going to have to go through my shift alone. The problem was going to be convincing Daniel. But right now we both needed to learn how to fight.
Elder Wilde gave us a few more tips on stance and balance. Then the yard was echoing with the clash of swords.
I was surprised by the way my arm reverberated with each blow that I parried. We must have practiced for a half hour before the elders told us to take a break. I wasn’t wearing a coat. It would hinder my movements. But I wasn’t cold. At least not until I stopped moving around.
Daniel came over and put his arm around me, tucking me against his side. “You’re pretty good.”
I shrugged. “But I won’t be the one with a sword. Don’t even know why I’m practicing. Just need to feel like I’m doing something.”
“No!” I wrapped my arm around him. “Besides, it’s me he really wants. He might just ignore you. Or he could kill you and then come after me. He took out your entire family. He can move quickly, Daniel. Maybe he can even kill two at once. Who knows?”
“I just don’t like this plan.”
“I trust the elders.”
He glanced over to where they were talking.
“I know it’s harder for you because you didn’t grow up with them,” I said, “but they know the best way to handle the ancient dangers.”
“With silver swords? Why not a silver bullet? A gun would be better.”
I shrugged. “For some reason it has to be a sword. Maybe it’s the amount of silver, or the length of it, or who knows? It’s an ancient evil and this is what we need to defeat it.”
Daniel seemed to contemplate that, and then he called out, “Elder Wilde, will the harvester have a sword?”
“No.”
“Then shouldn’t we be learning how to bring it down when he’ll have a lot more mobility?”
“Indeed, Guardian Foster. That is the next lesson.”
The girls and Seth kept the swords while each guy pretended to be a harvester. We were still matched up one-on-one, and my partner was Daniel, who was darting in and out, scrambling around me. I swung, lunged, plunged without actually trying to poke the sword into him. We parried, feinted, jabbed. I swung the sword in an arc. I tried a fancy figure eight to keep him off guard. I worked to keep all the space around me a Daniel-free zone. My arms grew tired. I grew tired.
“You’re trying too hard, Hayden,” Elder Wilde said as he came up behind me, put his arms around me, and his hands over mine on the sword. “Wait, watch. Strike only once. When the moment is right. But always be ready for that perfect moment.”
Daniel lunged and withdrew. He maneuvered around me. He reminded me of a defensive player on a football team trying to get in for the tackle.
We waited, waited, swung—
Daniel leaped back and landed on his butt in the snow.
“We shall claim that as a strike,” Elder Wilde said, releasing his hold on me.
“You weren’t even close,” Daniel said.
Guys and their egos, their need to win.
He scrambled back to his feet.
“Try again, Hayden,” Elder Wilde said.
Daniel and I began the process again. I was finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate as the others improved, began taking pride in their accomplishments, began to gain confidence with the weapons. Their feelings bombarded me, made me grow dizzy, confused.
Daniel lunged for me. Not wanting to hit his heart, I brought the weapon around low. I don’t know if he moved too slow or I moved too fast, but it sliced into his thigh. Releasing a cry, he reacted without thinking and tried to shove it away, which resulted in him cutting his hand.
He dropped to the ground. The snowy area around him began turning crimson.
THIRTEEN
“Oh. My. God. Daniel.” I knelt beside him.
“It’s okay,” he said, packing snow on his thigh to slow the bleeding.
I barely heard his words as from the others worry, concern, even hints of fear—that it could have been one of them—infiltrated me and surpassed my own fears and worry for Daniel. We had no doctor here.
Reaching out, Daniel took my hand. Still so warm. “Hayden, it’s okay. I’ll just shift.”
“No,” Elder Wilde and I said at the same time.
“The risk is too great,” Elder Wilde continued.
“This isn’t going to heal on its own by tomorrow night,” Daniel said.
“Then you will go into battle wounded or not at all. We shall see how you fare tomorrow,” Elder Wilde said.
Daniel was shaking his head.
“We do what is best for the pack here, Daniel,” Elder Wilde said. “We discussed this when you first came to us. You either adopt our ways or leave.”
I watched as Daniel’s jaw tightened. I didn’t know what he was feeling, but I knew what he was thinking. “Please don’t go,” I whispered.
He hesitated, then nodded.
“Let’s tend to your wounds,” Elder Wilde said.
It hurt watching Daniel limp into the manor, leaving a trail spotted with blood in his wake.
“Sucks for Daniel,” Brittany said, coming up beside me, “but at least you know you can handle a sword.”
“Not that it’ll really do you any good tomorrow night,” Lindsey said. “You won’t have the strength to lift a weapon during your transformation.”
Every time I tried to be normal, something happened to remind me that I wasn’t.
Inside the kitchen Daniel took a chair.
“I could send for a doctor,” Elder Wilde said.
Daniel grimaced. “I’ll be fine.”
Using scissors, I cut the tear in his jeans so it was larger and we had easier access to his wound. All the emotions…I couldn’t concentrate.
“I’ll tend to Daniel,” I said, “but I need everyone to leave except Brittany.”
The emotions hammering at me eased slightly, so I could focus on the task. Using warm water, Brittany and I cleaned the wounds and wrapped them in strips of sheet that one of the elders brought us.
“Stop looking so guilty,” Daniel said. “It was stupid for us to be practicing against each other. The whole thing is stupid.”
I touched his cheek. “You’re worried about me.”
“Damned right I’m worried. No one has deliberately battled this creature in centuries. What if it’s evolved into something that can’t be killed with silver? What if…There just has to be another way.”
I touched his knee. “How bad do you hurt?”
“Bad enough that I’m going to go lie down. Maybe if I rest, the wounds will heal while I sleep.”
I watched him struggle to his feet and limp from the room, bandages around his thigh and his hand. I wanted to hit something.
“He’s right,” I said, but Brittany was there to hear it. “It was stupid.”
“It was an accident,” she said. “And I disagree. We needed some practice. If we have to take this thing down with a sword, then that’s what we have to do.”
I sighed. Maybe.
“You know what would make him feel better?” Brittany asked. “Some chocolate cookies.”
I stared at her. “How do you know that?”
“When we took that group of girls camping last summer, he ate s’mores like you wouldn’t believe. He confessed to me that he’s a chocolate addict.”
It bothered me that she knew how to comfort him and I didn’t.
“What else did he confess?” I asked.
She shook her head and grimaced. “Sorry. I can’t really remember. I wasn’t paying that much attention. I was determined not to like him. I don’t know why I suddenly remembered the chocolate thing. So the cook will be in here before too long to start preparing dinner. Want to get Kayla and Lindsey in here to help us make some cookies before then?”
I thought about passing on the offer, but I did want to do something for Daniel and having only the girls in here would give me more practice at blocking their emotions, or at least let me get used to having them around. My gift was going to be my worst liability tomorrow night.
“Yeah, sure.”
I took a quick shower to get Daniel’s blood off me and changed into clean jeans and a sweater. On my way back to the kitchen I stopped by the door into Daniel’s room. I thought about opening it and just peering in at him sleeping, but I was afraid if I did, I wouldn’t return to the kitchen. I’d just want to snuggle against him. I missed that we couldn’t seem to find any private moments here.
I put my hand on the doorknob, then shook my head and headed downstairs.
Before I even reached the kitchen, I was swamped
with happiness, joy, calm—no doubt all of it coming from the girls in the kitchen. This little afternoon girl time might be just what I needed—whether I could hold back their emotions or not.
When I walked through the door, something soft landed on my face and I heard laughter around me. It was an apron. Did anyone wear aprons anymore? I couldn’t recall ever seeing my mom in one.
“We’re not exactly the neatest cooks,” Kayla said as though she read my mind.
They were already wearing aprons of their own, so I tied mine around my waist, feeling like little Miss Suzy Homemaker. I walked to the huge butcher block. In the center of it were a large blue bowl and a saucepan.
“Okay,” Kayla said. “Here is how it works. We’re each going to put an ingredient into the saucepan. The person who is putting in the ingredient gets to ask a question and the others have to answer.”
“She has to answer, too,” Brittany said.
Kayla rolled her eyes. “Maybe. But I’m going first.” And she grabbed the pan before anyone else could.
She dumped in two cups of sugar. “Okay, what are your mate’s kisses like?”
Lindsey and Brittany groaned good-naturedly. I was standing there thinking that there might be something worse than feeling someone’s emotions: actually describing something as intimate as a kiss.
“Okay,” Lindsey said, laughing. “I’ll go first, but I’m next with the saucepan.”
Her complexion was fair so her blush was visible as it raced into her cheeks. I didn’t understand why she would tell us something that embarrassed her, but then I felt trust curling through me, not only hers, I thought, but the others’ as well. They trusted one another enough to say anything. They were trying to extend this privilege to me.
“It should come as no surprise that Rafe is an awesome kisser,” she said, her blush deepening. “He is so into it that when he’s kissing me, I really can’t think of anything else.”
I thought of last night when Seth’s fears were overtaking me. Daniel’s kiss had been so powerful that every other emotion except my own receded.
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