By Vengeance Guided (The Lost Shrines Book 1) (20 page)

Lia staggered a little and she let her senses shift back to the physical world, surprised by the weakness enveloping her. Wyn stood beside her, hand on her elbow, vicious grin on his face, and sword hanging in a loose, expert grip by his side.

"I take it from the howl you succeeded?"

"Yeah, but there's still human guards." Then she glanced around at the bodies on the ground and the four men still engaged in a mortal fight.

"My brothers have got this. Let's go."

*****

Caerwyn gave a sharp, two-note whistle and Maddyn responded by finishing the enemy in front of him and snapping off a quick salute. The Hound moved forward to intercept two more soldiers racing out of the stronghold.

The fight became a graceful dance, the three brothers maneuvering the guards so Lia and Caer could get closer to the entrance unmolested. A dance of death and blood where swords and fists met flesh and armor and carved their way through the sorcerer's guard.

Finally, reinforcements stopped pouring out of the recessed door and the fight had brought them close enough to risk leaving the safety of the Hound's front-guard.

With his hand wrapped tight around Lia's wrist, Caer kept her safely behind him while they ran the short distance across open terrain. The lack of arrows so far meant no archers manned the slits, thankfully.

Stepping through the entrance was like moving from noon to twilight in a single heartbeat and forcing them to pause to let their eyes adjust to the gloom. The narrow passage pressed in on them with deep shadows broken only by sparsely spaced torches. The flickering lights did little more than illuminate a few feet of hall before casting even darker shadows around it.

Caer listened carefully but there didn't seem to be any movement on the ground floor. Above them, however, at least a dozen different sets of footsteps scrambled chaotically throughout the second and third floors.

"Can you tell where Tanis is?" Caer asked, hoping against hope the girl would be somewhere close for a quick in and out mission.

"Not exactly. The magic is flowing fast and bright again but I'm not familiar enough with the local flow to figure it out. Above us, somewhere, I think."

"All right, let's find the stairs and get your niece back."

He moved so she was always between him and the wall while they crept through the darkness. Checking each of a dozen doors and alcoves, they searched the dim corridor until the stairway appeared in front of them at the center of the fortress.

"There are several people on the next floor, stay behind me."

"I can take care of myself."

"I know. Indulge me."

Caer heard her huff behind him and couldn't help the smile curving his lips. Their slow, cautious crawl up the steps was in vain, however. Dozens of torches lined the walls, illuminating the second floor and giving them no place to hide in the shadows.

The soldiers surrounding Gui held yet more torches where they waited twenty feet back from the top of the stairwell.

Gui's sneer showed too many predatory teeth and Caer instinctively shifted to protect his bond-mate. Gui's gaze flickered over him before settling with hatred on Lia. Caerwyn tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword and twitched his shoulders in an aborted need to attack.

"You should have married me, Lia. It would have been much more pleasant than what's in store for you now."

"So you could poison and murder me, too?" She spit bitter words over Caer's shoulder and he couldn't decide if he wanted to praise her for her spirit and defiance or admonish her for provoking the man when they were outnumbered.

"Figure that out, did you?" Gui looked both amused and surprised. "A small miscalculation on my part. Marta should have lived until you were happily married off and well beyond the valley. I intended for the duties of the Hand to fall to Tanis and her Regency to me."

"Where is Tanis?"

"She's safe. For now. Once you're dead, I'll need her connection to the Circle you selfishly guard in that backward valley of yours."

Caer snarled, his sword arm moving before he realized his own intention. Gui's guards fell into place in front of them. Six against one weren't great odds, even if the one was a Milesan. Thankfully, the narrow passage meant no more than a couple of them could come at him at one time.

His sword flew in his hand, ringing against steel, thudding against armor and sliding into vulnerable flesh. He snatched a dagger from the first soldier to fall under his blade and pressed forward, both hands promising pain and death as he slashed his way through bodyguards.

Two fell back to flank Gui, who paled considerably when Caerwyn mowed down his defenses. Gui murmured something sharp and evil sounding when the next man stepped up with a cruel twist of his lips. Caer was already swinging his sword when he realized his new opponent was growing, swelling until his head brushed the ceiling and the sheer breadth of muscle blocked the view beyond him.

A flick of the man's blade, looking more like a long knife in his now massive paw, caught Caer's weapon mid-swing and the ringing impact numbed his hand from fingertips to wrist. With gritted teeth and narrowed eyes, he straightened and rolled his shoulders. The soldier, however, was clumsy and awkward, unused to his new proportions and took too long to bring his sword back to guard.

Caerwyn lunged forward, ducking under the sharp edge of the blade, lowering his shoulder to drive into the man's hip and knock him off his feet. The guard's weapon swung wildly, behemoth strength slicing through his leathers and deep along Caer's side. Caerwyn's sword had found its own weak spot, however, and slid into the armor with a solid thrust.

The giant gasped, jerked and went still. Caerwyn yanked his blade free, jumping back to his feet, ready for the next opponent.

Pain burned through Caerwyn's side, sweat stung his eyes and blurred his vision. No matter how many times he blinked, though, the hallway beyond remained empty. While he'd been fighting the behemoth, Gui and his other guards had fled.

"Wyn!"

Lia's shout drew his attention back at the same time his knees cracked hard against the thick stone floor.

"Wyn."

His name was a whisper and her arms wrapped around his shoulders.

"Sorry," he murmured, his lips dry and his throat tight with pain. "Sorry he got away."

"We'll get him." Her eyes were wet but her voice was sure. "First, let's take care of you."

*****

Lia wanted to follow the fading sounds of Gui's cowardly retreat but her magic wasn't meant for fighting. It was meant for healing and Wyn was hurt. She just had to hope she could take care of him and still get to her bastard brother-in-law before he harmed Tanis.

She settled the Milesan back against the wall and stretched out her hands over his wound. The gold threads seeping up from the ruins had grown stronger but were still a weak fragment of what she regularly drew on in the valley. They also seemed to be torn between seeking her and stretching somewhere else in the building. Toward Tanis, she presumed.

Lia used the ball of magic she always carried within her to draw the tendrils closer to her. Pulling more and more until the tight sphere became a whirling sun inside of her. Soon, it overflowed her, buzzing through and setting fire to her nerves, spilling out in visible light that poured over the wound beneath her hands.

"Lia."

Wyn's awed voice made her force open eyes she hadn't realized she'd closed. He stared at her hands with wonder while the bleeding slowed and the gash drew back together. If she'd been home, she could have healed it completely without even leaving a scar. She didn't dare try here, though, with so little to call on.

Instead, once the muscles, sinew, and skin knitted together to her satisfaction, she released her hold on the Goddess energy with a silent prayer of thanks.

His hands covered hers and she met his stunned eyes. "Lia. That was…my mother had the Attribute of Healing."

"Yeah, well. You should see what I'm capable of in my own territory. Let's go find Tanis."

She pushed back to her feet, and he followed suit but blocked her when she turned to hurry down the dark corridor where Gui had disappeared.

"Wait."

"What? Why? He could be getting away with Tanis right now. We have to go after him."

"I know. We will. He still has quite a few men to throw at us, though. I don't know how much more magic he has. If we have to face him and Hafgan at the same time, I don't think we can hold them. Do you?"

She stubbornly wanted to ignore him, brush it off. She'd do what she had to do to get her niece back. The toll of wrangling unfamiliar magics and the burn of healing had left her weakened, though. Her muscles ached, her eyes blurred, and she knew she'd crash before too much longer.

"No. But we have to try—"

"There's another way."

Then he gave her the words. The secret incantation that gave her power over him, power that Milesans rarely gave anyone.

She memorized them as he spoke and they battered at her insides with familiarity. Somewhere in the distant, misty paths, their ancestors had been one and the same.

"Are you sure? The wound isn't fully healed. Will the transformation…?"

"It'll be fine. We have to hurry."

Lia let the words flow, pour out without once tripping over the complicated cadence. Power, unlike anything she'd experienced before rippled in the air, twisting a cage around Wyn that grew tighter while she chanted.

On the start of the second refrain, a shiver rolled through Wyn's body and every muscle clenched tight in its wake.

His head dropped back, eyes wide open despite the grimace of pain when the chant began for the third and final time.

The final word faded to silence that lasted for a heartbeat. Then a soft gasp escaped from Wyn's lips and those huge black wings attempted to unfurl in the narrow hallway.

He staggered slightly, spreading his legs and planting his feet to offset the added weight when the feathered appendages curled themselves against his back. The shafts still quivered a little as if eager to spread and take flight.

She pulled her eyes away from the wings and stared into Wyn's eyes. Except, it wasn't Wyn that looked back. The eyes were fathomless and cold, the expression so ruthlessly neutral, she knew this was the Attribute. Knew her Wyn was buried somewhere deep beneath the Lord of Vengeance.

"What do you seek?"

Lia took a deep breath. There was no going back once she spoke. There was no other choice at this point, either. Gui had brought this on himself.

"I seek vengeance."

"For what do you seek vengeance?"

While she listed the litany of crimes Gui had committed against her and those she loved, her anger burned hot and bright. Any guilt she might have felt flashed into ashes in the flames of her fury.

"I seek vengeance for the discord he sowed among my people. For the marriage oaths he broke. For the attempt on my life. For the murder of my sister. For the kidnapping of my niece."

Lia had to swallow the sear of rage and let it flow through her, let it buoy her and give her energy.

"I seek vengeance for the betrayal of my family, my people, my valley and my Goddess."

The frozen eyes stared through her for long seconds, then the sharp chin jerked in acknowledgment. Those long legs strode down the hall at a pace that looked unhurried to the naked eye. Lia, however, was forced to jog after him in order not to lose sight of him.

As she chased after him, she realized how much her perspective had changed. The first time she'd seen him transform, she'd thought him a terrifying monster.

Today, she thought him an avenging angel. Beautiful in his icy calm.

*****

Caer rode silently in a corner of his own mind while Vengeance stalked with sure righteousness through the dimly lit halls and up a narrow staircase.

Lia trailed behind, the harsh rush of her breath sounding loud in his ears while she struggled to keep up. Caerwyn wanted to tell her to wait. That Gui and his men were too dangerous. That he didn't want her to see what he was sure his Attribute was going to do to the bastard.

Even if he'd been in control, however, he would probably have swallowed back the plea. No matter how he phrased it, she'd have refused. Caerwyn feared someday her courage and stubbornness would get her into trouble. Prayed today wasn't that day.

Vengeance paused for less than half a heartbeat at the landing of the third floor before continuing up to the roof. The pull of magic so old only scant records of its origins remained drew him unerringly to his quarry.

Caer would have blinked at the sudden brightness of the morning when they emerged from the dank stairwell but his Attribute remained unfazed. He strode across the flat open space toward Gui and the guardsmen who defended him.

Two ran forward to intercept the Milesan, but a handful of precise, heavy-handed sword strokes left them on the ground behind him. The two remaining fell into place in front of Gui, swords raised in shaking hands.

Vengeance stopped three feet from the men, who it ignored completely. Instead, its attention focused solely on its prey.