There was a cry of outrage and we were suddenly standing
in the middle of a small clear spot, the other warriors around us not able to get
close. “This one’s mine!” The deep voice was full of power and domination. Goose
bumps ripple down my arms.
I pulled my power to me, poised to shift. Just as I felt
the magic begin to tremble over me, a big, leather-clad hand closed over my
upper arm. The warrior jerked me against a wide expanse of metal armor and I
squeezed my eyes shut in fear as I felt his power moving over me, halting my
change. It felt strange-different somehow than the slow, solid alchemy I was
used to- but it was also familiar, like the comforting touch of a friend. I
had only a split second to wonder what was going on before I was jerked out of
reality.
It happened in an instant. I was standing there on the
battlefield, pressed up against an enemy warrior, and then I was adrift in
blackness, only to find myself standing in the middle of the forest-still
pressed up against the enemy.
I gasped and took several hurried steps backward. My skin
was tingling from his magic, and from my interrupted shift. The warrior
relaxed his wings and tossed his wicked sword to the side, holding his hands up
in a gesture of peace. Refusing to believe what my traitorous heart was
telling me, I put a hand on the butt of my gun. He spoke and I froze.
“Wren.” He slowly lifted his hands to his helm. Slipping
it off, he tossed it to the side with his sword. “Oh Gods and Angels, Wren,
it’s me- Ville.”
The name meant nothing to me. I stared into his
beautiful, crystal blue eyes. His face had changed ever so slightly, grown
sharper and more solid, and his hair was a shocking, shiny black against his
pale skin. But the eyes were the same. The eyes and that wide, full mouth,
turned up in a hesitant half smile. The blond haired boy and the dark man- they
were the same person.
He knew my name, I realized dimly. He must have known who
I as that day at the castle. Maybe that was why he spoke to Winona and me in
the first place. I shook my head in disbelief, going to him without
remembering how I got there. Tossing my gloves aside, I lifted my hand and
touched his cheek. I needed to know that he was real, that this wasn’t just
another dream. His hands ghosted over me, outlining my face and body as if he
were trying to memorize their lines. A lopsided smile turned up one corner of
his beautiful mouth, the soft expression startling on the awful Fallen Angel.
“You’ve grown.”
I laughed. “I’ve grown? Look at you.” I gestured at his
tall frame in disbelief. My fingers grazed his silky black hair. “Are you
really the same person?”
His hand closed over mine as his other arm slipped around
my waist. Something zinged through me, warm and electric. I wanted to speak,
wanted to ask him a million questions, but I couldn’t find my voice.
His lips met mine, tentative at first, questioning. It
was him alright. When I stood on tiptoe and pressed myself to him, the kiss
became fierce, a flaming expression of pent up longing. Wrapped in the heat of
battle, and overwhelmed by his power, I completely lost myself. He tangled his
hands in my hair as his kiss deepened, exploring, dominating, pulling me from
within myself. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him down to me,
wanting him with every fiber of my being.
He planted kisses from the corner of my mouth down across
my jaw and to my throat. I didn’t protest when his teeth sliced into my skin.
There was that buzz of connection, that feeling of completion again. Then he
lifted his head, and I stared into the beautiful eyes of the enemy. His fangs
were long and needle-sharp, and his eyes glowed with blue fire.
“I’m sorry,” he said in that rich voice. His hand lifted
to brush my hair back from my eyes. “I shouldn’t have…it’s just that I’ve
dreamed of you for so long…” he trailed off, probably embarrassed at his
admission.
I covered the bite with my hand, but couldn’t look away
from his eyes. “I dreamed of you too,” I admitted, my voice breathy. “What’s
going on? What is it that’s between us?”
He shook his head, his dark hair falling into his eyes.
“I’m not sure.” Then, hesitantly, “I think we’re… bound somehow.”
I gave him a wary look. “Is this something you did- something
with your magic?”
He took my hands and turned them, pressing them to his
chest, right over his heart. “I swear to you, this is nothing I did. Maybe it
was the bite? Your kind and mine aren’t usually on such uh… friendly terms.”
The reminder of the war brought me back to my senses like
a slap in the face. “The battle…” I glanced over my shoulder, toward the sound
of conflict.
He nodded, dropping my hands to retrieve his sword and
helm. “I have to go back,” he said reluctantly. “But you, Wren, you’re in
danger. Let me port you somewhere safe.”
I shook my head. “Of course not. I need to go back to my
people.” My heart ached at the thought of returning to the slaughter. I
glanced at his beautiful wings, thought of blasting them to pieces with my gun,
leaving him earth-bound here where he could do less damage. I thought I might
puke.
He closed the distance between us, his face urgent.
“Wren, your people are going to be killed. If you insist on returning, you
have to get them out of there.”
I stared at him. “What are you talking about?” Suspicion
crept into my voice. Was he trying to trick me? It was clear that we were
winning- maybe he was trying to use our “connection” to gain an advantage.
Maybe my father was right all those years ago, and he was influencing me
somehow.
He squeezed my hands. “It’s a trap,” he said softly.
“The army you’re fighting now- it’s only one arm of our forces. The other will
port in at the east end of the valley any second now, and attack from behind.
Your people will be trapped and outnumbered. They’ll all die.”
I stared at him, stunned. How could I have been so
stupid? It was my first time leading the army. I was supposed to prove
myself. Obviously, I had failed. I gritted my teeth in anger.
The Fallen warrior, my Fallen warrior, stared down at me
with pity in his eyes. I squared my shoulders and glared at him, defiant. “I
will not leave my people to die. It’s my duty to be with them. Take me back,
now!”
He slipped the tall, plumed helm over his head, covering
all but his expressive mouth. Then he tugged me close, holding me to him with
one arm. I stood rigid in his embrace. “When we return, pull your troops.
Call a retreat. I’ll delay the order to close the valley.” One corner of his
mouth turned up in a wry grin. “It will come a moment too late- simply poor
judgment on my part.” He sighed. “I’d rather not return you to danger, but
I’ll give you every opportunity to get away.”
I nodded stiffly. Calling a retreat would be a disgrace,
but it would save the lives of my clan. “I can never thank you enough for
this,” I said flatly. What were we doing here?
The arm around my waist tightened. “Come to me,” he said
suddenly. “When this is over. Tonight. Meet me here.”
I shook my head. “Whatever it is between us, it’s
wrong.” I steeled myself against the twisting-knife feeling in my chest. “If
our clans knew…”
He pressed his lips to my forehead. “I’ll protect you.
From Earth and Sky.”
I turned my face away to stare past him, straightening my
spine. “I don’t need anyone to protect me.”
There was a fluttering snap, and he spread his glorious
wings, then curled them forward, enclosing us in darkness. Power rippled over
my skin and we ported back to the battle. He brought us to the edge of the
field.
Turning my back on him, I drew my pistol and dagger. I
surged across the field to the center of my people, leaping over fallen bodies,
shooting or stabbing anyone who got in my way. The Shifters around me were so sure
of their victory. I could feel it vibrating in them. They knew we had won. I
holstered my weapons and clapped my hands together. We had only moments before
we were exterminated.
I pulled my hands apart and a long wooden pole with a
flapping piece of white fabric emerged. I rammed the standard into the ground
and slapped my hands to the earth, sending the pole into the air atop a hill.
The flag flapped in the wind, a glowing symbol of defeat. The warriors around
me stared at me as if I had lost my mind. “Retreat!” I drew my sword and used
it to prod the nearest of my people. “Move out now. It’s a trap!”
General Yates dashed in from the field, his face an
apocalyptic shade of red. “What the hell are you doing?” He shouted to be
heard over the din of battle. Not waiting for an answer, he pulled off his
gloves and knelt to destroy the flag.
I slashed at his arms, stopping his reach for the ground.
“We are pulling out. Now. Round up the men.”
Maddox reached us, and I turned to him. “We have to go,
now. It’s a trap. They’ll close us in and we’ll be outnumbered.”
He frowned, but didn’t argue, spinning on a heel and
dashing back the way he had come, sounding the retreat as he went. I turned
back to Yates who had drawn his sword and stood scowling at me. “You are a
disgrace!”
I snorted. “Yeah, yeah, I know.” I flung out an arm at
toward the fighting. “Get them out of here now.” When he didn’t move, I
pulled my pistol. “Either follow orders or not. But let’s get this over with right
now. We don’t have time to screw around.”
“You are not my leader. You never will be.” He growled
and made to lunge at me. I trained my gun down and used my last bullet to
shoot him in the foot. Then I pulled my cuff into a rough sword and pointed it
at him.
“I may not be king, but these are my men, and I’m saving
their lives. Help me, or don’t even bother coming home.” I turned and strode
away, purposefully showing him my back. I pulled on my aura, tapping into the
hidden dominance there and sent it sprawling across the field, connecting with
every shifter there. Compulsion sizzled down the connection, and though they
couldn’t hear my words, they all turned and fled- Yates included.
I took up a stance at the end of the fleeing Shifters in
order to help defend their flank. Clapping my hands, I touched the earth and
pulled huge rock walls behind my people. Surprisingly few of the Fallen
attempted to follow, and I wondered if they had been commanded not to give
chase.
*****
We trudged back to the big house in defeat. Yates’ foot
had mostly healed already, but he was still pissed. I stopped inside the entry
to drop my heavy armor and weapons in a bloody, grimy mess. Someone would come
and clean them. Usually I did it myself, but this time I just didn’t care. I
had drained most of my power on the field, and the trek back was exhausting.
The entire army was outraged over our retreat. They had all felt my dominance,
and given the resultant loss of victory that had followed, they were none too
happy. Having connected with their consciousness once, I found it hard to turn
it off, and I was bombarded by their emotions, ranging from relief, to anger,
to outright hatred.
A door banged open to my right and my father’s voice
bellowed from within. “Wren! Bring your cursed, mangy, rotten red hide here
this instant!”
I straightened my spine and made my way to the meeting
room, my boot heels leaving chunks of mud in my wake. My hair had long ago
escaped its ponytail and was hanging down in straggly, sweat soaked strands. I
pushed the mess back from my face, feeling the grainy film of dirt that coated all
of me.
I joined father, Winona, and several advisors. The two
generals trailed in behind me, Yates still limping slightly. Winona smirked. My
father’s aura was glowing with anger. “What have you done?”
I gave him a level stare, too tired to play submissive.
“I’ve saved the lives of everyone in our troop.” Winona snorted. Yates threw
up his hands.
“It looked like we were winning, but we were being set
up,” I said calmly. “If we had stayed there a moment more, a second troop of
Fallen would have closed up the valley and we would have been trapped like
cattle. With another troop there, we would have been completely outnumbered.”
Winona paced forward, hands on hip. “What made you think
there was another troop coming?”
I glared at her. There was no way to explain my actions.
“A scout saw them closing in.”
She shook her head. “I don’t believe there was a scout.
You’re a traitor. You wanted us to lose.”
Father’s eyes fell on me like a lead weight. He came to
stand at Winona’s side. “Leave us,” he said flatly. No one spoke as the
advisors and generals slowly filed out of the room.
“Something about you is changed. Your aura is
different.” Frowning, he lifted a hand and ripped open the high collar of my
shirt. I didn’t breathe for a full minute. His eyes, the same dark, cocoa
brown as my own, stared at me, unflinching. Then he turned his back and walked
away. He sank into his big chair and regarded me with hatred.
“How is it that a daughter of this house-of my own blood-
betrays me at every turn?” I was silent.
Winona fingered her dagger as she paced around me in a
circle. “I don’t think it’s your blood that’s flawed, father. It’s the
commoner in her.”
My eyes met hers as she crossed in front of me. “You were
kind to coddle her, but look where it’s led. She’s so weak that she’s fallen
to serving the enemy. She’s betrayed her own people. I bet that monster is
controlling her mind right now.”
I glared at them both. “I haven’t betrayed anyone. I
admit, I made a mistake in not planning for their trap- but I saved an entire
troop of warriors.” I gestured to the marks at my throat. “The one who did
this- he told me about their plan. He let us go!”