“Maybe not by blood, but family for certain.” Berggren cleared his throat and stood. “So, what’s the plan?”
† † †
The plan…
Nardus scratched the back of his head. Every step of the way the plan seemed to evolve. At least he’d managed to find himself and save Gnaud, but now there were many more pressing matters. The other members of Ūrdär Dhef Ƨäfn Dhä needed to be awakened, Theyn needed help returning to her human form, he hadn’t slept in more days than he could remember, he needed to get his stuff back, especially his sword, and Cinolth’s army marched to war. Oh, and his daughter hated him. There were most likely several other matters he couldn’t recall at the moment as well.
Past experiences had taught him that sleep far outweighed most other issues because it helped clear the mind, rejuvenated the soul, and replenished energy stores. Without a clear head, he’d likely make rash decisions—more so than normal. Reluctantly, he decided that they’d stay the night before traveling to the Aether Mountains.
Nardus eyed Berggren. “Who knows you’re here?”
“A handful of guards.” Berggren frowned. “Why?”
Nardus massaged his left bicep. “Did you tell them why you came here?”
“Said it was for a job. Been here a few times, so no one should have suspicions.” Wrinkles creased his brow. “You in trouble here as well?”
Nardus snorted. Seemed like he was in some sort of trouble everywhere he went. “Might say that. Pravus tried to kill me. Cinolth tried to kill me. Even my own daughter tried to kill me.”
“Don’t forget about me,” said Theyn in Nardus’s mind. He swore she snickered.
“Right. Theyn tried to kill me as well.”
Berggren chuckled. “As did I.”
“Anyway, I need to get my stuff back,” said Nardus. “Pravus took everything from me when I arrived, including my sword. I have a map with its location.”
“You asking me to get it all back?” asked Berggren.
Niesha rolled her eyes. “Of course he is.” She took Berggren’s hand. “He’ll do it.”
So much like Shanara.
“Thanks for offering. That’d save me some time.” Nardus retrieved the crude map and the book on shifters from his pack, handed the map to Berggren, and plopped down on the couch. Theyn jumped up on the couch and settled next to him.
“Consider it done,” said Niesha. She led Berggren out the door.
Theyn mindspoke to Nardus. “I like that girl.” She licked his cheek and rubbed her head underneath his chin. “As soon as I’m free of this form, you’d better be ready to be ravished.”
“I’ve got nearly 1250 name days under my belt. Are you sure you still want to be with me now that you know my age?”
“I’ve always liked older men.”
Nardus skimmed through the book, garnering wisdom about the way shifters could control their ability and change form at will. According to the book, shifters used mental images to transform their body between forms. It reminded him of a rune spell in a way, the image a pattern for the mezhik to follow.
Akin to wizards and sorceresses possessing a single type of mezhik, shifters dealt with a single type of animal transformation. However, in extremely rare cases, some shifters had the ability to morph into a multitude of animals and creatures, like a mage with mezhik types. The author called that type of shifter a multi-shifter.
As far as Nardus knew, Theyn could only shift from human form to cat form. Then again, she had no control over it and had only transformed a few times in her life.
Could she become something larger like a dragon?
With mezhik, many things were impossibly possible. He didn’t know where the additional matter would come from to make such a shift, but his mind refused to discount the notion.
As he read further, he learned that once a shifter mastered shifting, they would no longer lose themselves to their base instincts while in their altered form. However, the book contained several safety warnings throughout as well. The most important of those being full control of the ability would take time, and the shifter could still slip back into their base instincts without warning until they fully mastered it.
Another interesting fact dealt with clothing. Once mastered, a shifter had the ability to shift their clothing as well. It made sense, given the way shifting worked. The book contained several other noteworthy items, too. Like a familiar, a shifter could bond with someone and stay connected to their higher self when around that person, preventing them from reverting to their base instincts, but the chances of one establishing such a bond were almost non-existent.
But Uncle Reudeus didn’t know Theyn. She’s beyond rare.
Nardus smiled and set the book on a side table next to the couch. “I think I understand how this shifting business works. Would you like me to talk you through it?”
Theyn growled at him. She mindspoke, “I’ve been stuck this way for the last month. What do you think?”
“Alright.” Nardus turned on the couch, faced her, and began mindspeaking with her. “Close your eyes and concentrate on my voice.”
Theyn closed her eyes. “Okay. Now what?”
“No more responding to me unless I ask you a question. Just listen. Block everything else from your mind and do exactly what I tell you.”
Nardus reached out with his mind and connected with Theyn on a deeper level, the connection reminiscent of the one he’d shared with her on the boat the day they’d met. “Picture yourself in your human form. I’ll guide you along in case you’ve forgotten.”
Nardus recalled his own memory of her when she took the burlap sack off his head on the boat. “Let’s start with your face. Slender and beautiful with high cheekbones and a sloped forehead. Caramel skin stretched smooth and taut. Yellow eyes, frayed on the outer edges and lined in black. Light-pink lips and pearly-white teeth. Fangs on upper and lower sets. A dimple in your left cheek. White strands of hair tucked behind pointed ears hang at your shoulders. A yellow orchid pushed through your hair over your left ear. Its coloring accentuates your eyes.”
Beauty perfected.
Theyn’s furry face rippled like a pond’s surface after skipping a rock. For a moment, Nardus saw her beautiful human features return, but then they reverted just as quickly. “Good. Very good. While you’re picturing yourself as a human, start taking your cat-like features and placing them into a box or closet in your mind. Humans have no whiskers or fur or a tail. Remove the fur like you would a coat. Unzip it and slip it off if that helps. The tail could be an extension of the coat. Perhaps the fur and whiskers on your face are a mask you’ve worn to a masquerade ball. Take it off too.”
With each effort, Theyn became more human. First the fur, then the face, and then the arms, legs, and tail. The last thing to finally transform were her elongated bones. After a solid hour of stepped progress, she managed to return herself fully to human form and then back into a cat.
“Again,” urged Nardus through mindspeak. “Four more times, and you can have your way with me.”
By the last shift, Theyn transitioned effortlessly from cat to human. Her shoulders widened as they protruded from her narrowed torso. Hips widened from her slender cat pelvis, her torso and legs shortened while her arms lengthened, and her tail retracted back into her tailbone. Her hocks returned to heels, and her paws reverted back to hands and the fronts of her feet. Her box-like snout contracted back into her face, and her fur thinned and retracted underneath her skin. The entire shift took less than ten seconds. With practice, she’d be able to shift almost instantaneously.
“Satisfied?” Theyn’s voice, still that of a young girl’s, rang in his ears for the first time in weeks. Chills swept through him from head to toe.
Nardus eyed her. Every. Single. Inch. He licked his lips and sighed. “Yes. You’re even more beautiful than I remember.”
Theyn pounced on top of him and made quick work of removing his shirt.
She tossed it on the floor, kissed him deep, and panted. “You’d better bar the door. It’s going to be a long night.”
A knock sounded at the door. “We’re back,” called Niesha.
Nardus winced. Damn their timing.
He reached out and his shirt flew into his hand. Pulling it on, he yelled, “It’s open.”
Niesha and Berggren entered the room, and Berggren shut the door. His face lit up and tears rolled down his cheeks when he noticed Theyn sitting on the couch.
“My girl is back!” Berggren dropped everything he held, including Nardus’s sword, and rushed the couch. He lifted Theyn off the couch and pulled her into his arms.
Niesha walked around the other side of the couch and stood next to Nardus. “She’s more beautiful than I’d imagined.”
Nardus’s chest swelled and a lump rose in his throat. “That she is.”
Theyn kissed Berggren’s cheek. “I’ve really missed hugging you, boss.”
“Back to ‘boss’ now, are we?” asked Berggren.
Theyn kissed his other cheek. “Didn’t think you liked me calling you father.”
Berggren shrugged. “Didn’t think I liked Nardus, either. Yet here we are.”
Theyn pulled away and glanced back at Nardus. “Told you he’d come around. Sometimes he’s just a bit thickheaded and slow.”
Niesha walked back over to Berggren’s side. “It’s not just sometimes.” She smiled big.
“The two of you are really funny.” Berggren shook his head and eyed Nardus. “So what’s the plan now?”
Nardus rose from the couch. “First, we sleep.” He glanced down at Niesha. “Preferably in separate rooms.”
Berggren tousled Niesha’s hair. “Agreed. And then?”
Nardus rubbed the back of his neck. “There’s somewhere Theyn and I must go in the morning. You and Niesha can do whatever you want.”
“No,” growled Berggren. “From now on, we stick together.”
“Where we’re headed is a place unfit for—” He glanced at Niesha out of the corner of his eye. “—children.”
Niesha glared up at Nardus. “Well it’s good that there aren’t any children here.”
“You’ve only had six name days,” said Nardus.
“And yet I possess half the smarts in the room from the sound of it!” Niesha crossed her arms and plopped down on the couch with a snort.
I really like this girl.
The room erupted with Berggren’s boisterous laughter. Soon, Theyn and Nardus joined him.
Niesha smiled. “Then it’s settled. In the morning we’re all going to this secret, not-for-children location. I can’t wait!” She rose from the couch and corralled Berggren. “Let’s go, big man.”
Berggren looked back over his shoulder at Nardus as Niesha escorted him to the door. “You leave without us, and I’ll kill you when we meet again, understood?”
Nardus didn’t like the idea of everyone going to Ūrdär Dhef Ƨäfn Dhä, but he could use Berggren’s size and might soon enough. He nodded. “We will go together.”
Berggren and Niesha exited the room. By the time the door latched closed, Theyn was tackling him back onto the couch.
Nardus chuckled as she wrangled his trousers down his legs. “Easy, Theyn. We’ve got all night.”
She looked up at him with passion in her eyes. “And I plan on using every second of it.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Two canoes sat on the rocky shore, but one of them had several holes in its hull. Rayah hadn’t scouted them like she should’ve. Then again, she was a dryte and not accustomed to doing scouting of any kind. To her credit, she’d found them a way off the island. At least that’s how she saw it. The others didn’t seem nearly as enthusiastic about their prospects.
“You expect us to paddle our way across the Discidium Sea?” Rakzar scoffed. “Look at the whitecaps. We wouldn’t survive twenty yards before capsizing.”
Urza stood at the water’s edge, twirling her knives in her hands. She glanced back at Rakzar. “And you’ve got a better plan?”
Rakzar snorted and plopped down on a large rock. “The plan is that I’m not going to drown again. The first time cured me of needing to do it again.”
Normak stood next to Rayah. Perhaps a bit too close. “Two options we be havin’. Either we be sailin’ ‘cross the sea or we be stuck here ‘til we die.” He nudged Rayah. “Me thinks the first sounds better than the latter.”
“I agree.” Urza faced them and eyed Normak’s boots. “Think you could run across the water with those?”
Normak reached down and rubbed one of his boots. “Aye. For a short distance.”
A brilliant idea popped into Rayah’s head. Perhaps it matched the target Urza aimed for with her question, but it didn’t matter.
“What if you held onto the back of the canoe?” asked Rayah. “Could you push it across the sea?”
Urza winked at Rayah, and Rayah smiled back.
Female minds must think the same way.
Normak stroked his chin as he surveyed the choppy waters. “Believe so. Worth a try.” He leaned close to Rayah, who stood next to him. “There be a shortcut into Tectus from the sea as well,” he whispered. Ale soured his breath.
Urza must’ve heard Normak’s poor attempt at a whisper. “A shortcut? How much of one?”
Normak rubbed the back of his head. The healer back at the village had done a good job of cleaning the wound and sealing it up. “Cross the sea, and we be in Tectus by nightfall.” He walked over to the water’s edge, knelt down, and plunged two fingers into the water. His shoulders shook. “Them be cold waters though. Doesn’ work, and we be good as ice cubes.”
“I don’t like it,” growled Rakzar.
Rayah glared at Rakzar over her shoulder. “You don’t like anything. Besides, you won’t be happy with any solution we come up with unless it’s one you thought of.”
“That’s not true,” Rakzar huffed. “I’ve gone along with several plans today alone.”
“Name one,” said Urza, flatly.
Rakzar raised his arms. “Fine. You want to risk dying, then go for it. I’ll just wait right here.”
“We stay here, and we’ll be dead. Remember?” Rayah’s wings fluttered. Sometimes it happened when she became angry. Rakzar had a way of getting under her skin.
A parasite.
She snorted.
“Dead?” Normak’s face contorted. “Why ya think that?”
“It’s the—”
Rakzar cut Rayah off. “Let me fill him in.”
Rayah rolled her eyes. “Suit yourself.”
Rakzar continued, “Rayah and Urza were cursed by an evil sorceress who never stays solid long enough to be killed. That’s why we need the weapon. If we don’t kill the sorceress soon, Rayah and Urza will die.”
Surprisingly, it wasn’t far from the truth, but she would’ve told Normak everything. He had the right to know his life hung in the balance as well, along with everyone they’d encountered in Tectus, including Torbrek.
And that’s why he stopped me.
Urza walked over to the good canoe and slid it into the water. “Let’s go, Rayah.” She hopped inside and the canoe sank several inches but stayed afloat.
“No leaks?” asked Normak.
Urza shrugged. “So far, so good.”
Rayah flew over and settled in the front of the canoe. There wouldn’t be enough room for Rakzar as well, so they’d have to make two trips. “Looks like you’ll get your wish after all, Rakzar. We’ll have to come back for you.”
Rakzar leaned forward on the rock. “Don’t expect to be rescued.”
Normak grabbed the back of the canoe and started running. The canoe jolted forward so fast that it nearly threw Rayah overboard. Luckily, Urza had grabbed her and steadied her.
Halfway across the sea, Normak began slowing down as the canoe gradually tipped farther backward. The front of the canoe rose
so high that Rayah couldn’t see where they were headed.
“Any last words, lassies? ‘Bout ta be fish food out ‘ere.”
An idea sprang into Rayah’s mind. A brilliant idea. She wished she’d thought of it from the start.
“I’ll hold onto the front of the canoe and fly. That should lighten the load and give us the boost we need.”
“And I’ll lean forward,” said Urza.
Once Rayah started pushing the canoe forward, the sailing went smooth, well except for the rough whitecaps. They reached the hidden cave entrance soon after. The cave stretched for a solid mile before the floor began to rise out of the water.
Urza hopped out of the canoe, found a dry spot, and laid down. She looked like a beaten rug. “Guess I’ll wait here while you go get Rakzar.” Her lantern, yellow eyes winked out.
Ƨäʈūr, please help her hang on. We only need a few more days.
“Be careful, lass,” said Normak to Urza. “Sometimes there be cave dwellers.”
Rayah didn’t know what that meant and didn’t want to. She and Normak turned the boat around and journeyed back to the island. About two hours later, the four of them were back on dry land. Urza moved slower than usual and attributed it to lack of sleep when probed, but she and Rakzar knew it was more than that. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do but push forward and get the job done.
Normak led them through several miles of the lower cave system. Intentionally devised as an unending maze, they would’ve been lost at the first turn had he not been there to guide them. At three different points, he led them up through hidden passages. Even as they came right up to them Rayah didn’t detect a single one.
The last hidden passage brought them up through a sarcophagus on the seventh level of Tectus, the lowest level. Chiseled into the lid of the sarcophagus were three runes. The first was an ‘o’ shape with a tail on the bottom: ƍ. The second rune looked like an upside-down ‘v’: ^. The last rune reminded Rayah of a backward ‘3’: ε. She ran her fingers across them.
“What do these mean?” she asked Normak.
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