His blue eyes met mine, wide with surprise. “Your father
did this?”
I nodded and tried to tug my hand away, embarrassed. “It
was a blood oath. He was a bit pissed off at the time.” I grimaced, knowing
he would get it out of me one way or another. “It was when I was fifteen-
after I helped you escape. They found out I was bitten and thought I was
compromised.” I looked away. “I swore a blood oath to Winona. That I would
protect her with my life.” My voice was just a whisper. “I’m a traitor.”
I pulled my hand from his and he released it, but he
rolled onto his side, pulling me into his embrace. “An oath taken by force
isn’t an oath at all.” He kissed the top of my head. “I’m sorry that I caused
you so much pain.”
I shook my head. “It’s not your fault, and it was in the
past. It’s nothing now.”
He shifted me in his arms and I tilted my head back to
receive his kiss. I laced my arms around his neck and he rolled, pinning me to
the bed. His lips trailed down my throat and to the soft underside of my arm.
He lifted my hand and pressed a kiss there. “I want to erase every bad thing
that’s ever happened to you.”
I caressed his lean cheek, smiling. “When I’m with you, I
kind of forget about everything else.”
He nuzzled my neck and I smoothed my hands over his soft
wings. “You’re mine,” he said, his deep voice muffled in my hair. “I won’t
ever let anyone hurt you again.”
I
wiped my palms on my pants and shook the foreman’s hand. “Thank you for your
help today.” The grasped my hand firmly, his thick fingers engulfing mine. “I
never thought a woman would be suited to construction, but you did a bang up
job!” He was one of the few humans in Ansil, and grateful for the use of my
alchemy to level a surface for the slab of the new house he and his team were
building.
I grinned at him. “No problem,” I said sincerely. “I
love getting my hands dirty.”
He ambled away and I dusted myself off a bit more before
heading down the sidewalk toward the center of town. The door to the
attorney’s office opened as I approached, and Ville stepped out, gifting me a brilliant
smile. I shook my head at the sharp contrast between us. I was covered in
dust and construction debris. He was absolutely gorgeous in a pair of
pinstriped pants, crisp white shirt, and silk brocade vest.
He ruffled my hair and peered into my dusty face. “Did
you have fun today?”
I couldn’t help but grin. “I leveled hillside.” I
interlaced my palms and rounded my shoulders, stretching my arms. “It feels
good to be useful. I suppose this is how normal people live their lives.”
His deep chuckle sent ripples over my skin. “I suppose
so,” he said grudgingly. He glanced back over his shoulder toward the office.
“I’d rather be smashing rock.” He tugged his wide cravat loose and sighed in
relief. “I never thought I would be doing accounting again.” He had been
trained to be able to oversee all of his kingdom’s affairs- the less grand and
more crucial things that his older brother wouldn’t have time for as emperor. His
head for numbers had come in handy when applying for a job.
I laughed. “I’m so glad I skipped out on all that stuff.
If I would’ve paid attention to my lessons, the only work I’d be able to get
now would be as a seamstress or a waitress.”
“Dreadful,” he agreed, taking my hand. We made our way
toward the center of town and Joy’s Deli, where I intended to inhale a foot
long, mile high roast beef sandwich. I breathed in the hot, dry air. I had a flitting
sensation of unease, but I dismissed it. We still hadn’t revealed our
identities to anyone but Cai and Bahati, but we were making a place for
ourselves. If we wanted to, we could probably live here indefinitely.
Neither of us had discussed it, but I think Ville felt
that sense of duty just as I did. We could stay here in hiding, but would we
regret it? Were we obligate to do more?
We had almost reached our destination when a loud siren
rang out. Its wailing reminded me of one of those severe weather sirens… or
the siren that rang in the capital when we were under attack. Fallen had never
attacked our capital, but I’d heard the practice drills often enough.
Ville’s crystalline eyes met mine and we came to a dead
halt. The flow of traffic around us had shifted. The people on the sidewalks
who had been calmly going about their day were now rushing here and there.
Several Fallen spread their wings and launched into the air, one of them
carrying his mate.
A woman, rushing by on the sidewalk, bumped into me and
lost her balance. I reached out a hand to steady her and her frightened eyes
met mine. “What’s going on?” I kept my voice calm.
She shook herself free and backed away, clearly wanting to
be on her way. “A raid! I have to get back to the children,” she turned and
fled.
“Come on,” Ville spun and pulled me back the way we had
come, back toward Cai’s house.
I dashed after him, hustling to keep up with his long-legged
stride. “Do you think it’s because of us?”
We reached a momentary lull in the tide of fleeing people
and he spread his wings and wrapped an arm around my waist. “I don’t know.”
His magic rippled over us as he prepared to launch into the air. Just then, I
spotted a pair of tawny wings.
“Wait! There he is.” Cai was hurrying toward the center
of town, Iris in his arms and a dainty, large-eared fox bringing up the rear.
We came together in the flow of people, some moving away
from town, some rushing toward its center. “What’s going on?” Ville had to
shout to be heard over the siren and the people around us. A big boom shook
the ground and we all cowered.
“The humans are raiding us,” Cai shouted back. He didn’t
seem scared, just resigned. “It happens about once a year.” Bahati, standing
at his feet, growled and raised her hackles.
“Keep moving,” Cai pushed us into motion and we jogged
along toward town. “We need to get Iris to the shelter.”
There was another boom and Cai cursed. “They still have
that gun? The magic workers should have blown it up by now.” He slowed to a
stop. “Ville, Wren- I have to go back and help. You take Iris to the
shelter.” Bahati whined when Cai handed the little girl to Ville. “It’ll be
okay, he assured her. Ville and Wren are probably the strongest warriors in
this whole damned place.”
Iris wrapped her arms around Ville’s neck and buried her
face against his broad shoulder. He shot a panicked look at her small form,
but shifted his grasp on her, holding her tight. “Cai, I want to go with you.
Let me help!”
His friend shook his head. “There’s no time to argue. I
want you and Wren with the children. Bahati will show you the way, and then she’ll
come back and help me. We’re stronger together.”
He kissed Iris on the top of her head, then turned and
dashed off into the throng of people. Bahati yipped and took off in the
opposite direction, and we dashed after her. There was a burst of gunfire in
the distance, quickly followed by a surge of magic and then a huge explosion. Honestly,
who would be stupid enough to use guns against a bunch of magic wielders?
Bahati led us to a small, unprepossessing house in the
center of town, then howled and dashed away. We followed the other parents, who
trickled in to drop off their children. A few adults stayed behind, but most
ran off to return to battle, and I was amazed at their dedication. We made our
way down a flight of stairs to the basement. There were a multitude of
children of all ages, and they were heading toward a big tunnel in the side of
the basement wall.
An older woman grabbed my arm and pulled us forward. “If
you’re staying, get inside. We’re just about to seal the entrance.”
Iris picked up her head enough to whisper, “don’t leave.”
Then she glommed on to Ville even tighter.
I patted her back. “It’s okay, sweetheart.” I hoped. It
didn’t sound good out there, but then, everyone was taking it all with such
calm acceptance.
Once we were inside, the older woman paused by the
entrance to the tunnel to speak with a man holding a clipboard. “Are they all
here?”
He nodded. “We’ve got them all, Iris was the last one.”
She patted him on the back, then called out to the crowd.
“Okay, stand back, I’m sealing us up.”
Turning, she clapped her hands to the floor and used her
alchemy to pull up a huge stone wall to seal the entrance. Then she stepped
back a few paces and placed another. She did this five times, setting up
layers of defense. She turned back, looking tired. “Okay, we’re in. Please
move back into the tunnel, but don’t wander off into any of the connecting
tunnels, or you’ll get lost.”
My eyes traveled over the people sealed in the tunnel with
us. There were about twenty or so children. A few teenagers helped a couple
of adults to coral the younger kids. One of the Human women near the back
cradled a baby with wispy golden hair. Ville and I edged up to the woman who
had sealed the tunnel as the crowd moved back. “Excuse me,” I said
hesitantly. “But we’re new here…what exactly is going on?”
She stuck out a weathered hand. “I’m Miriam,” she said
with a tired smile. “You must be Cai’s friends.” She gestured toward the
blocked entrance and the chaos beyond. “Every once in a while the humans
decide to try to cleanse Ansil. As you can see, we’ve grown rather used to
it. The most important thing is to protect the children.”
We both stared at her and she waved a hand. “Well, the
children are the main targets, of course. They’re the living proof of what the
humans have done to us all these years.” She smoothed a hand over Iris’s
head. “They know the mixed breed children would be their undoing- they’re more
powerful than the rest of us. The humans fear them like a plague.”
Another one of the guards called to her, and Miriam went
to answer a question, leaving Ville and I to stare at each other in disbelief.
“No way,” I said under my breath. “They can’t be that evil.”
His eyes were sad, but wide mouth quirked up in a wry
smile. “I’m starting to think maybe Cai isn’t so crazy after all.”
A deafening boom rocked the tunnel and we stared wide eyed
at Miriam who was suddenly scurrying about like a frightened rabbit. “I can’t
believe they actually made it this far into town! We need to fortify the
walls,” she said to her companion. “It sounds like they’re using dynamite.”
Another charge hit the walls and they began to crumble. I
glanced behind me at the children huddled in the back of the tunnel. They were
just children. Some weren’t even big enough to walk. It was disgusting that
they were being subjected to such fear. The baby started to cry at the noise,
burying his red face in the woman’s chest. The teenagers took a group of
children under each arm and held them, wings curled around them, whispering
reassurance.
“Ville,” my voice was soft, but he heard it over the
racket. I could feel his anger coursing through our bond, mixing with my own.
“Can you make weapons?” His deep voice had a steely note
to it.
I shook my head. “No. I can make crude things- a length
of metal maybe- but worked metal is almost impossible.”
Miriam had thrown up another wall, but another explosion
cracked it almost instantly. “Almost?” He shifted Iris in his arms.
I glared at him. “Well, if I was a top level alchemist, I
could probably do it- you know, if I had trained in it for years and had about
a million practice tries.”
Ville crouched, shifting Iris to stand between his knees,
his big hands on her shoulders. He looked into her watery violet eyes. “Iris,
Wren and I are going to step outside for a minute. We’ll be right back. Can
you wait with the other kids?”
Her lip trembled and I crouched beside them. “Look
kiddo,” I said with a grin. “You’re Cai and Bahati’s child. You’re strong and
smart, just like your mom and dad. We need you to stay here and protect the
others okay?”
She lifted her head and firmed up her lip. Then she
nodded. “Okay.”
She joined the others and we stayed crouched at the front
of the tunnel. Her small form wavered and a young bear took her place,
prowling protectively in front of the other children. I closed my mouth and
forced myself to stop staring. We had other things to worry about.
Ville put his hands on my shoulders as I knelt facing him,
the physical connection uniting our power. “You can do this.”
I met his eyes. “Of course I can.” Form worked metal.
And not just any worked metal, but a freaking functional weapon? Of course.
No biggie.
I clapped my hands together and closed my eyes. Ville’s
power surged through me, joining my own. I let it crest inside me, drawing in
all I could, until I thought I might fry my circuits. Then I pulled my hands
apart, shoving the energy out, willing it to shift to solid matter. Something
heavy and solid filled my hands.
Ville chuckled and I opened my eyes. I was holding a
katana, nearly identical to his. He took it from my numb hands and weighed
it. “It’s a little big, don’t you think?” I had been concentrating so hard,
subconsciously thinking of my father’s big, heavy claymore.
“Beggars can’t be choosers,” I said dryly, trying not to
laugh. I’d done it! I had just created worked metal- and not any worked
metal, but a forged sword.
“Okay, now make one for you.” Ville’s was smiling
ear-to-ear with pride.
I took a deep breath and he placed his hands on me again.
I called to the power and it came, faster this time. I clapped my hands
together and my pistol appeared, complete with paw print. I bit my lip and a
handful of bullets clattered to the ground.
I opened my eyes, feeling light-headed. Ville’s face was
pale and he looked a little green around the gills from the amount of power I’d
just pulled from him. “Good job,” he breathed.