* * *
Sometime in the middle of the night, both Willow and her father woke up. Sierra pretended to be asleep, not moving as her father shuffled off to bed or as Willow muttered under her breath in a confused tone. They moved back to their rooms, and the house fell silent again until dawn.
After a few hours of restless sleep, the sun rose, and Sierra shook Sashe awake. Sashe sat up, the hair on one side of her head matted down. “What—oh,” Sashe mumbled. She yawned and stretched her arms above her head. “Are you ready?”
“What are we going to do?” Sierra asked, climbing out of her cot.
“We’ll think of something,” Sashe replied.
As they were packing up, Sierra tried to think up a plan. They had to get Evan, Seth, and Dar out of this village somehow, that was sure. Even with so many Cosas in town.
Willow woke up and came out of her room in a nightgown and robe. “You’re leaving so soon?” she asked, yawning behind her hand.
“Yes, we must get on the road,” Sashe said. “Thank you so much for giving us a place to sleep tonight.”
Willow nodded curtly. “Yes, of course.” She crossed her arms and watched as they finished packing their bags, slung them over their shoulders. She walked them to the door.
Outside, it was still cool, fog from the night clouding the horizon. The sky was a slate gray, the sun barely peeking out from the clouds. Sierra shivered and brought her cloak closer. “I hope it warms up soon.”
“It should in a few hours,” Sashe said. “It did yesterday.”
With final thank yous and goodbyes to Willow, they went to their horses and saddled them. Sierra wondered if Willow would watch them. Should they leave the village and come back around? Sashe motioned towards the far end of the village, the one that went in the direction of Jolen. Sierra nodded in understanding.
They mounted their horses and moved through the village. Only a few people were awake at this point, moving through the cottages and dew-covered grass. Sierra and Sashe rode past it all, as though they were traveling to Jolen like they’d told everyone. Once the trees closed in again, the village nearly two hundred feet behind them, Sashe stopped and turned to Sierra.
They silently dismounted and huddled off the side of the road. Sierra found the sleep syrup in her bag. “We can use this.”
Sashe nodded, taking it from her. She poured half the flask in her canvas bag of water, then handed it back to Sierra. “Let’s go find our husbands.”
They left their horses tied to nearby trees and crept back towards the village. They put together a loose plan, though there were parts that neither of them agreed with and other parts that depended on certain facts that could change at any moment. If they had to face more men than just Jorda and Lorn, for example, then the plan wouldn’t work very well.
Before they reached the village, a strangled yell broke through the air. Sierra spun around, her heart slamming against her chest as she recognized Evan’s voice. Sashe grabbed her arm. “Wait!” she whispered, pulling Sierra to her.
The crack of a whip shot through the quiet dawn air, cutting off Evan’s yell. Sierra clenched her teeth together until her jaw ached. She wrenched her arm from Sashe and marched forward—not towards Evan’s voice, but the village. Every part of her body wanted to steer her to the east where she’d heard him, but they needed horses.
“We need to stick to the plan,” Sashe said, hurrying after her.
“I know,” Sashe snapped. She rolled up her sleeves and pushed hair from her face. They were going to regret ever touching him.
They found Evan, Seth, and Dar’s horses grazing in a field with a half dozen others. Sierra looked at Sashe. “You ready?”
Sashe nodded.
Sierra climbed over the fence while Sashe moved closer to the house the field was next to. Sierra snuck into the barn and stole bridles while Sashe kept watch. Sierra dress was lighter, made for moving, and Sashe was the charming one who could talk—or flirt— her way out of anything. Every noise made her jump, sure that someone was coming to steal her away.
Then Sierra goaded the horses towards the fence with treats and apples, and Sashe bridled them. Luckily, they seemed to recognize the two of them, though Dar’s horse was a bit more uneasy around them.
They brought the three horses back to the spot they’d left their other two. On the way, they passed a young boy carrying water. His whistling tune faded after a moment as he looked at them in confusion.
Sashe smiled at him. “Good morning, handsome.”
His face turned bright red. “Um, good morning, ma’am.”
They passed by without another word, and tied the horses up with Sierra and Sashe’s.
Sierra’s body was itching to find Evan. She charged through the trees, skipping over roots and pushing aside branches in the direction she’d heard Evan earlier.
They slowed when they heard voices ahead of them. The trees were thinning, and Sierra could see people ahead. Someone pacing around, and someone… hanging from a tree? She shot forward, but Sashe grabbed her arm yet again. “The plan!” she whispered into her ear.
Sierra turned. “I don’t like this plan,” she whispered back.
Sashe rolled her eyes, taking out her dagger. She hesitated as she brought the blade to her palm.
“Sashe—” Sierra began.
She sliced open her skin, wincing and closing her eyes. She smeared the blood on her face, then her dress. She used the dagger again to make a large cut in the fabric of her dress where it covered her stomach, and she smeared more blood there. There was so much blood—it seemed like too much. “Dirt.”
Sierra undid her hair, and wiped dirt over her face as well as Sashe’s. Sashe cleaned off her dagger, sheathed it, and nodded.
“Help!” Sierra yelled. She grabbed Sashe’s arm and pulled her forward, towards the clearing. “Somebody, help!”
They broke into the clearing, and two men spun around as Sashe collapsed on the ground. One of them was Lorn, the red-haired man. His sword was drawn already, and behind him, Evan hung from a tree branch by his ankles. Another man, an older man with black hair, stood behind Evan. He had a whip in his hand, and Sierra saw droplets of blood dropping from Evan’s shoulders to the dirt. His eyes were wide, his face red, as he looked at her in shock. He had a cloth over his mouth, and he kept trying to speak, his voice muffled. Dar and Seth were tied to the trunk of the tree, their mouths also covered.
“I—I—my sister, she’s hurt,” Sierra forced out. “Someone attacked us out there, a man who kept changing—I don’t know how, but he kept—one second he was a man, then he was a horse, and he moved so fast—” She broke off into sobs that she thought were quite convincing and beckoned for them. “Please help her, she’s bleeding!”
Lorn turned to the black-haired man with the whip. “Jorda?”
Jorda motioned to Lorn as he stepped around Evan. “Go find him.”
Lorn nodded, running into the trees. Sierra swallowed hard as Sashe groaned on the ground, lying on her side and holding her stomach as though it were bleeding. Seth was struggling against his bonds, nearly shouting through his cloth. Sierra didn’t know how to tell him she was fine without giving herself away, but if he kept going on like that, Jorda would find out.
“Please, sir.” Sierra stood up and stepped towards Jorda. This part of the plan was one that was tricky and had too many holes and yet was the most important. He had to drink the sleep syrup. She had to offer him the water in her canvas skin for some reason.
“Stay right there,” Jorda said, pointing his whip at her.
She held up her hands and bent down again next to Sashe. “Listen, I’m sorry, I—I don’t know what’s going on here, and I don’t care, but my sister needs help. Do you have a doctor in your village?”
Jorda stepped closer, his gray eyes fixed on her. He started to coil up his whip. “Where are you two from?”
“Wharfedale,” Sierra said. “We were traveling to Jo
len. We just left Willow’s house when the man came out of the trees—just out of nowhere—”
He reached them and slowly crouched down.
Sierra pushed on Sashe’s shoulder to lay her on her back while flinging dirt up in Jorda’s face at the same time. “Oh, no!” Sierra said. “I’m so sorry—”
Jorda held up his hand while he coughed, wiping his mouth off.
“Here.” Sierra shoved Sashe’s water skin into his hands.
Jorda glared at her and took a sip of the water. Then he spit it out. Sierra stared at the wet spot on the dirt, her hands clenching around Sashe’s arm. He took another drink and swallowed this time, and she let out a breath.
His brow furrowed, and he looked at the canvas skin. “Nasty water.”
“Please, can you help me get her to a doctor in the village?” Sierra asked.
Footsteps crashed through the trees behind her, and Lorn joined them. “I didn’t find anyone,” he said.
“We need to get Willow,” Jorda said, standing up. He motioned to Sashe. “And her.”
Sashe sat up, groaning.
Sierra got to her feet, staying close to Sashe while turning to Lorn. “Please, can you help me get her onto a horse?” she asked.
Jorda and Lorn looked at each other, then back at Seth, Evan, and Dar.
“I’m sorry, I know you’re… busy,” Sierra said. “I can take her into the village if you just can lend me a horse. Ours ran off when the—” She shuddered. “When we were attacked.”
Jorda sighed, running a hand through his hair. He walked over to the edge of the clearing, where a horse stood. He brought it closer, but she hoped he didn’t try to lift Sashe. If Lorn did, then Sierra could offer him water and it wouldn’t be odd, and he needed to drink before the syrup started affecting Jorda, or—
Jorda stumbled a bit, then caught himself. He shook his head with a grunt.
Sierra helped Sashe stand and nudged Lorn. “Sir…”
Lorn took Sashe’s arm as Jorda brought the horse closer. He lifted her onto the saddle, and she crouched down like she was still in pain.
“Thank you so much,” Sierra said. “Here.” She held out her canvas.
Lorn took it without taking his gaze off of Sashe. His eyes squinted as he brought the canvas up to his lips. “What happened to you? Did he get you in the stomach?”
“Yes,” Sierra said.
Lorn took a drink, then made a face. “Tastes funny.”
“That’s what I…” Jorda trailed off. His eyes rolled back in his head, then he fell, face flat, on the ground.
“Oh, my goodness!” Sierra yelled, putting her hands over her mouth. “What—”
Lorn grabbed her from behind, yanking her head back by taking a handful of her hair. She let out a scream, and she heard his sword slide out of its sheath.
She saw a blur of motion out of the corner of her eye, and Sashe jumped onto Lorn from the horse. His sword hand went flying, narrowly avoiding the horse, who whinnied and backed away from the flurry of activity.
Sashe tackled Lorn to the ground, her dagger out. Sierra flung herself onto him, too, just as he raised his sword hand. It cut through the muscle on her upper arm, and she screamed as the pain shot through her. She slammed down onto his arm and pinned it to the ground. His wrist bobbed around uselessly until he dropped his sword. Sashe put her dagger to his neck.
He stilled, glaring at them with bared teeth. “You bitches, I swear to god I’ll—”
Sashe pressed the dagger closer. “Just shut up and let the sleep syrup take effect.”
His eyes widened. “You—”
“Shhhh,” Sashe said. “If you want to keep your head on, don’t say another word.”
He struggled underneath them, but Sierra dug her knee in between his legs and he let out a howl. Blood was coating her arm, the pain throbbing, but that sound made her smile grimly.
He stopped struggling, closing his eyes. He mumbled under his breath, calling them names, then finally his body went slack, and his head lulled to the side.
“Do you think he’s faking it?” Sashe whispered.
“He drank the water,” Sierra replied. She stumbled onto her feet, her hand going to her arm. Evan was struggling, his face bright red. She picked up Lorn’s sword and walked over to him. Sashe ran to Seth and Dar.
“How are we going to get you down?” Sierra asked Evan, trying to keep her voice light. She looked up at his feet, which were tied to the tree through a weird contraption tied to both the branch and the trunk. That had to be painful on his ankles. Her hand clenched around the sword hilt.
“What the hell—who’s stupid idea—oh, my god, Sashe!” Seth yelled behind her.
Sierra looked over her shoulder to see Seth and Sashe embracing. Dar watched them, grumbling something. Sierra untied Dar’s ropes, then he took the cloth off his mouth. “Thanks, Sashe,” he said.
She wasn’t listening as she kissed Seth like nothing else in the world existed.
“Come on.” Sierra pushed her in the back. “We need to get Evan down.”
They broke away, and Seth and Dar helped catch Evan after Sierra untied the ropes hanging him up. They looped his arms around their shoulders, and Sierra saw his back. It was bloody and raw from being whipped. “Oh, my god,” she said, tears stinging her eyes.
“Come on, we’ll show you where the horses are,” Sashe said.
“What about Jorda and Lorn?” Sierra asked.
The others hesitated. Evan met her eyes. She came over, pulled his cloth down, and kissed him softly on the lips.
“What were you thinking, Sierra?” Evan asked. His voice sounded so tired.
“I was thinking about you,” Sierra replied. She stepped back. “Sashe, take them to the horses. I’ll tie them up and we’ll take them to Jeshro.”
Sashe nodded. They disappeared into the trees. Sierra heard Evan complaining that he could walk by himself. She wiped sweaty palms on her dress and clutched Lorn’s sword in her hand. She walked over to Jorda and kicked him onto his back. He had dirt all over his face, probably in his mouth too. Splatters of blood were on his tunic. Evan’s blood. Tears of anger hit her, and she put the sword to Jorda’s throat. This man deserved to die. He would have killed Evan simply because he was a shape changer. He would have taken her husband away.
“Sierra?”
Dar’s voice made her jump, and she looked up. He came towards her. “What are you doing?”
She swallowed and looked back down at Jorda. “Jeshro’s going to do it, anyways, right?”
Dar put a hand on her wrist. “You don’t want to do this, Sierra.”
“But—he killed—so many Avialies are dead because of him—and Evan—” Her voice came out strangled, stilted. Her arm burned with pain, and the sword felt so heavy.
He got the rope from the tree and crouched down next to Jorda. “Help me tie him up.”
She stared at him for a moment before bending down. She tied Jorda's hands while Dar did his feet. Sashe and Seth returned a moment later, and Sashe pulled her away from Jorda. “Your arm is covered in blood,” she said, her voice hitching. “Come on, I’ll wrap it up while they…”
Sashe pulled her away, and Sierra watched over her shoulder while they moved to Lorn with more rope. They’d have to bring them back to Jeshro… and there were still more out there… but Evan was safe. He was alive.
The walk to the horses was a blur, trees on either side of her, grass beneath her, but all she could think about was the way those men descended on Evan, Seth, and Dar. The sound of Evan’s strangled yell through the woods. The hate in the villager’s voices. Evan’s blood on Jorda’s shirt.
They reached their horses, and Evan was on one, leaning forward. He was clothed again, and he opened his eyes to look at them. “Your arm,” he said.
Sashe pushed her dress sleeve up, and pain shot through Sierra's muscle. She hissed in pain and grabbed Evan’s hand. He held onto her tightly, looking into her e
yes as Sashe wrapped fabric tightly around the cut in Sierra’s upper arm.
Once she was done, Sierra took a step closer to Evan. “You’re okay,” she whispered.
“Because of you,” he said. He brought her hand up to his face and kissed her fingers.
“And sleep syrup,” Sierra said. “Couldn’t have done it without that.”
* * *
What’s next?
This short story takes place between Fire and Light and The End of Light. To read more about Sierra, Sashe, Evan, and Seth, check out The Protectors prequels.
Shifting Light (The Protectors Prequels, #1)
When a new boy moves to town, Sashe realizes how suddenly her life is about to change. Though non-magic themselves, she and her sister have grown up with shape changers, and now a deadly foe is out to banish the shape changing magic from the country. The Protectors have the ear of the king and they've cast a curse on the shape changers designed to slowly kill them off.
Sashe is forced to consider her survival when a friend of hers is killed because her father refused to help the Protectors. She's slowly falling for the new boy, but she must choose whether she and her sister can stay with the shape changers with their dangerous future. Should they decide to stay, how will they protect themselves against such powerful enemies?
Fire and Light (The Protectors Prequels, #2)
Sierra has always considered Evan like a brother, but suddenly she sees him as more. When he confesses his feelings for her, she shies away. In the midst of her confusing feelings for Evan, the Protectors try to convince Sierra she’d be better off with them. Sierra thinks she’s brave enough to stay with the shape changers, but is she brave enough to risk her friendship with Evan?
The End of Light (The Protectors Prequels, #3)
Two and a half years after the events of Fire and Light, an elder of the shape changers comes to Shyra with life-changing news. She's had a vision, and in it, Sashe and Sierra break the curse the Protectors set on their family — by becoming pregnant. Yet a pregnancy hasn’t been carried to full-term for eight years, and many women have died from the curse.
Sierra, Sashe, and their husbands must decide whether to trust the elders and risk their lives for a chance at breaking the curse. And when a spy reveals the vision to the Protectors, the consequences could be catastrophic.
About the Author:
Emily Ann Ward is an author living in Salem, Oregon with her husband and their two cats. Along with writing, she loves to read and travel. She’s currently studying to teach English overseas. Her works include The Protectors series, Finding Fiona, Passages (Seven Short Stories), and Beyond Home (Three Short Stories). You can find her books wherever ebooks are sold.
Blog/Website: https://emilyannward.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/emilyannward1
Twitter: https://twitter.com/emilyannw
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