Ellida (42 page)

“TAKESHI, OVER THERE!!! OVER— ”

Ahmed’s hand clasped my mouth, pulling me
back toward the wall. “No, Astrid, don’t!” he hissed in my ear.
“Don’t draw attention to yourself. Stay still and quiet. It’s
almost over.”

I nodded. My eyes, burning with tears and
smoke, searched for the rest of my family and friends.

“Be careful,” Heather said not to anyone in
particular. “I neutralized Seth’s scent. He can now move almost
undetected… I’m sorry.”

“Are you now?” Darius snapped. My mother just
looked at her.

“Darius, please,” I said. “Don’t. Heather
can’t undo it now even if she wants, although I have a feeling she
does.”

In front of the City Hall I saw Tristan and
Ella pulling the wounded from the battle, ours and theirs, without
discrimination. Near them were my grandfather Arnaldur, and Robert
and Anwen, fighting with about twenty men. A group of very young
Copper ridge boys and girls—they couldn’t be older than seventeen
or eighteen, armed with nothing but iron bars, rushed to them and
attacked the enemy from behind.

“They’re kids!” I said, horrified by the
sight. “They don’t even have weapons. How could you let them fight,
Darius?!”

“Keep your voice down, love,” my mother said.
“The wizards have cast protective shields around all our people.
It’s almost over, honey.”

“You all keep saying it… Oh, God, let it be
over soon!”

“Oh! Look at Peyton!” Heather gasped behind
me. “Look what she is doing! She is firing fireballs! But how?”

“Shut up, Heather! I told you not to talk,”
Darius warned her.

“Your daughter is an asanni. Astrid,
Morgaine, and other wizards trained her,” Ahmed said.

“And she is my best friend,” I said. Peyton
and Ingmar, and Dinah and Gerard were in one of the narrow streets
behind the church, shooting orange, green and blue fire balls.
“Under different circumstances, I’d say you should be proud of
her.”

Not far away from them I saw Maggie and Betty
covering each other’s backs. So much for obeying the Einhamir’s
orders to stay in Red Cliffs.

Was it ever to be over? How many people would
die today because Seth had wanted me for his evil plans?

I looked for Jack and found him in front of
the City Hall, together with James and James’ fishing buddies:
Pastry chef Herzog, chef Stammerman and my boss, Dr. Falkenstein.
They stood around the remains of Seth’s guard, who had their hands
raised in surrender. My eyes stopped on the main street, which was
once, who knew how long ago, probably very pretty with its cobbled
road, narrow, tall houses with decorative beams, and old cast-iron
lamps. Now the walls of houses were black from smoke, roofs were
missing, windows were shattered and the handsome street lamps were
broken.

In the middle of this destruction, though, I
saw people hugging each other and laughing and crying: Copper Ridge
women and men who had fought today for their freedom, and among
them the Blues Brothers, Mike Kowalski and Adam Mackenzie...

Was it really over?

On the opposite side of the town square,
Janet Falconer, the Captain of the Falconer family, her husband
Eric, my cousin Alec and the real Tariq Arslan formed a semicircle
around a dozen enemy soldiers, who had also thrown their weapons on
the ground. Several more Captains and Jordan Flanagan were tidying
up a group of Seth’s guards.

The battle was over, and we had won.

CAREFULLY, WE climbed down the hill.

“Can you see Seth? Where is he?” Ahmed
asked.

“Right beside you, you bloody Turk!”

My heart stopped. In my excitement, I’d
forgotten about Seth.

“
Burn in hell, Seth Withali!”
my wolf
growled.

“
Stay with me,”
I said to her. The
feeling of dread instantly disappeared.

We were surrounded by two dozen desperate
werewolves and vampires with nothing left to lose.

“Damn you!” Darius cursed through his
clenched teeth and turned to Seth. “Damn you, Seth!” he repeated,
angry and desperate.

“Surprised to see me, huh? I’m also entitled
to have a bit of magic protection, right, Heather? Ah, you look as
if you now regret doing it. Don’t worry, it’s not entirely your
fault that I’m here.” He turned to me. “Astrid, you have a really
strong voice. I heard you shouting commands. Tell me the truth,
don’t be shy. You actually wanted me to find you, didn’t you?”

“Let Astrid go,” Darius said. “It’s over. You
and your men are free to go. You have my word.”

“And Jack Canagan would just let me
disappear? Yeah. It’s not over as long as I have his most valuable
possession.” He grabbed my forearm. “Let’s go, Ellida. I’ll let
Jack see you’re fine and taken care of… Oh, what a sad day. My
wife, my loyal spy and my son betrayed me.” He looked at Darius and
let out a theatrical sigh. “In case you’re my son at all, which I
now sincerely doubt. The day’s not over, though. Come on, Astrid,
let’s join the party.”

The guard encircled us and marched us toward
the town square.

Now I was really fed up with Seth.

“
Are you there?” I called my wolf.

“
I am.”

“
Can you protect my child?”

“
Our child, you mean. I will. Do not
transform. Pull Seth’s sword. Seth’s left-handed, be careful. The
knife he’s carrying, it has a poisoned blade. The tip is especially
dangerous. Very bad stuff.”

“
Can I draw out his knife?”

“
No. Only Seth can do it. It’s bewitched,
thanks to you-know-who.”

“
How come you are here? Haven’t we been
connected once and for all?”

“
We are, but in times of great peril, I
will always come. That’s how it is.”

“
You’re sure the baby will be okay if I
use my energy?”

“
I’ll protect her. Astrid?”

“
Yes?”

“
Do something for me. I want my own name.
I don’t want to be called Astrid the Wolf anymore. Can you call me
Louise? I really like that name. I think it suits me well.”

I was a bit surprised at her request—to say
nothing about the timing for such discussion—but I nodded.
“
Sure. I’ll officially add Louise to my name
.” Ah, screw the
timing! “
While we’re on that subject. I’ve actually been
thinking about naming the baby Rosalie. What do you think?”

“
Rosalie… Rose. I like it… Yes, I like
it!”

“
I’m glad. I hope Jack will
agree.”

“
Oh, he will. The very same thought has
already crossed his mind.”

“
Really?”

“
Uh-huh. When he met you, you were Rosalie
Duplant. And he happens to like the name.”

“
Oh, right then. Rosalie it is. What now,
Louise? Any ideas?”

“
One more thing. I like what we’ve become,
I mean you and me together.”

“
I like it, too. I’m very proud of you,
you know. How come we can do this?”

“
Every Ellida has her own special set of
gifts. Feeling life through light and colors, talking to each
other, like today, that’s a part of the package you and I got. You
can always call me and I’ll come.”

“
Does it mean that our spirits
separate?”

“
No, they stay joined. Nothing can
separate us anymore. We are one, but we are two at the same time”
She laughed. “It’s hard to explain and you wouldn’t understand it
anyway, it’s not very logical. The bottom line is: we can split,
sort of, when it’s necessary, to help each other, like now, and
it’s harmless… So what now, you asked. Let them take you down to
the square, so that somebody can see you. And then, I’m afraid, we
must fight our battle. Okay?”

“
Okay.”

“
Don’t be scared. Fear is the worst enemy.
As soon as any of the wizards spot you, they’ll cast a shield
around you. Just be aware of the knife. So, there are twenty-five
of them, plus Seth.”

“
How many vampires?”

“
Eight, those around you. The rest are
werewolves. They’re also under protection, Heather’s version.
Nobody can remove it for now, don’t even try. Even Heather can’t do
it, even if she wants to. The common denominator—they are
desperate. Twenty six against the two of us, Darius, Rowena and
Ahmed. A piece of cake. Leave Seth to Jack or Ahmed.”

“
What about Heather?”

“
What about her? I feel some remorse in
her, but don’t count on her sudden change of heart. I bet she’s
still speculating on who will be the winner. She won’t help you
before Seth is stone dead.”

“
No. But will she help Seth?”

“
Not if she can help it. He jumped to
first place on her hate list. But she’s a coward. She may try to
flee.”

I had no idea how long our conversation had
lasted: a minute or two, or just the blink of an eye.

I WALKED sandwiched between the guards.
Among them I recognized my escort from last night. We soon reached
the first buildings around the town square.

“LOOK WHO’S WITH ME HERE, JACK CANAGAN!!!”
Seth yelled in a high-pitched voice, pulling the knife and pointing
its tip between my breasts. I took a deep, jerky breath and closed
my eyes, waiting for the tip to pierce my skin.

“
Louise?

“
I’m here. Stay calm, Astrid.”

Even from a distance I could see every drop
of blood draining from Jack’s face.

“RELEASE HER, SETH, AND YOU’RE FREE TO GO!
YOUR GUARDS, TOO!” he shouted back.

He walked slowly toward us, followed by James
and my grandparents. Betty took a step forward to join them, but
James stopped her.

“TOO LATE, JACK!” Seth shouted.

The pressure between my breasts increased. I
held my breath.

Yet, the only sensation on my oversensitive
skin was the warm touch from the back of my silver wolf-pendant.
Then I heard a quiet snap.

The tip of the knife had gotten caught
between the wolf’s teeth and broken off.

Seth must have realized what had happened
because he slowly pulled the knife up until the blade stopped at my
throat.

“I would’ve enjoyed killing you much more,
Jack Canagan!!!” he yelled so loud that my eardrums cracked. “As
much as I enjoyed killing your father, but you’re out of my reach,
and she’s here. I’m going down, but she’s going with me!!!”

“THE HELL I AM, YOU BASTARD!!!”

My voice roared as my left arm snapped at
Seth’s forearm, knocking it off of my throat. The moment the
contact between my skin and the knife was broken, I felt the energy
shield surround me. Almost simultaneously, my mother, Ella,
Morgaine and Peyton raised invisible armor over me. I felt Louise
inside me, wrapping herself around our baby, keeping her safe.

My right hand stretched out. As if attracted
by a strong, invisible magnet, Seth’s long sword pulled itself from
its sheath and flew to my palm. Without a second thought, I slew
the vampire standing next to me, the bastard who’d threatened to
slash my mother’s throat. Then I turned to the rest of Seth’s men,
cutting my way through them. Ahmed and Darius were fighting their
way through the confused guards. Protected by the powerful wizard
shield, I was able to fight, staying out of reach.

Jack and James reached us first, finishing
off the last few men.

When it looked like it was almost over, the
shield around me suddenly collapsed as Seth’s Finnish knife found
my throat again.

“The slightest movement, Jack Canagan, and
she’s gone forever!”

“NO!!!” My mother and Heather cried in
unison.

Several things happened simultaneously.

I saw my mother and Heather launching
themselves at Seth. He was so shocked that he released me
instantly, unharmed.

Seth’s knife first flashed left, toward
Heather, scratching her neck, and then right, in the direction of
mother’s heart. In the nick of time before it reached its goal, the
blade changed its trajectory as a big, unfamiliar, dark brown wolf
with a scar across his face materialized out of nowhere. He jumped
on Seth, knocking him off balance, and disappeared among the houses
behind us.

Instead of piercing through my mother’s
heart, the knife left a shallow cut across her arm.

In slow motion I saw another unknown wolf,
with light gray fur, sprinting toward me. In the split second
before he reached me I noticed his eyes, dark-blue and shiny, with
gold speckles around the pupils. He leaped on me, thrusting me to
the ground so gently that I landed softly on the grass. He rolled
over me, covering me with his body. And then, grabbing the collar
of my white jacket between his strong jaws, he dragged me away from
the fight as I if were weightless. He licked my face and sniffed
me, as if he tried to memorize my scent, and the next moment he
vanished among the narrow streets.

Pulling myself to my knees, I saw my mother
and Heather lying on the ground, unconscious.

Suddenly, there was total silence.

Staggering, Seth turned around in confusion,
the dagger still in his left hand, eyes frantically searching for
me.

I stood up. I saw Jack, James, Darius and
Robert, all four with swords in their hands, reaching Seth in a few
long strides and bringing him down. I saw his face deformed with
madness, his eyes, wide-open and shocked. And then, for the
briefest moment, strangely calm and relieved. Jack’s sword rose one
more time and, catching a sunbeam on its blade, swiftly slashed
down. Seth Withali’s head rolled off, as if cut off by the light
itself.

Our men finished off the rest of Seth’s
guards.

I felt somebody’s arms grabbing me and
pulling me further back. My brain registered Morgaine’s voice.
“It’s okay, Astrid! It’s okay! She’ll be fine!”