“I’m sorry, Kiernan, but we have to keep going,” he said softly in her ear. “Even if the Cyman soldiers truly are headed north, they now know where we are, and they are extremely fast. They could be back with reinforcements while we slept in our bedrolls.”
“I know.”
Beck turned her to face him and tilted her chin up with his finger. In her pale eyes, he found an unexpected vulnerability there that he had never before seen in his ice princess friend. How unbelievably beautiful she looked standing before him with her dirty face and her hair tumbling in a mess around her shoulders. She was so small, yet so strong. So fearless, yet so scared.
The emotions of the day washed over him in a rush. From the fight at the Crown Bluffs to the escape south to the tension of the sudden arrival of the enemy when they thought they were safe for the moment. It was all so overwhelming that he swayed on his feet thinking of how close they had all come to death. His heart started to beat rapidly at the extent of his feelings for the girl standing in front of him.
My best friend.
Staring down at the only life raft in a sea of turmoil, he grabbed for it. Without caring about the consequences, and not able to change them if he did, he cradled her head and dragged her mouth to his.
A soft moan escaped her lips in surprise. What should have been a tentative first kiss between two young people turned into a passionate hunger. Kiernan wrapped her arms around his neck, jumped up into his arms and straddled his waist, her lips never leaving his.
To Beck, it felt like the most natural thing in the world to be kissing and holding Kiernan. He would always remember this day, a day of chaos and uncertainty, as the day he fell irrevocably in love.
With Kiernan still stuck to his middle, Beck reluctantly broke from the kiss when he felt an airstream pass overhead and then footsteps running on the dirt.
Kiernan dropped to the ground as Airron approached, and Beck felt his cheeks heat.
“At least Beck has the decency to blush, Kiernan.”
She smiled contently. “I have no reason to.”
Airron laughed. “About time. By the way, we have company.”
Beck tensed. “Who?”
“Relax, it’s just the little Halfies. A few thousand of them. It looks like they’re traveling with everything they own, including goats and chickens.”
Beck gave Kiernan a quick intimate smile and grabbed her hand. “Let’s go see what the little terrors are doing here.”
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Airron asked, looking between them. “From the view up above, it sure seems like the two of you have more important things on your mind.”
Beck ignored him and jogged down the road with Kiernan in tow. He skidded to a stop when he saw the Halfies. Dear Highworld, Airron had not been exaggerating. The entire tribe of men, women and children were on the road ahead pulling carts and wagons full of their belongings, including clothes, food, animals and even furniture teetering precariously atop the piles of items. Their dirty, mean little faces peered at him with distrust as he approached.
“Vinni Vee!” Beck called to the Tribe Leader. “It’s not safe here! The island is under attack and the invaders are marching this way as we speak. You must hurry and find safety for your people in any way you can.”
Vinni didn’t seem at all shocked by what he had heard and bowed to Beck with great ceremony. “Savitar, you are still alive.”
Beck raised an eyebrow. “Yes, Vinni, I am still alive. Did you think you might find me dead?”
“I was hoping you would not be, because you are Savitar, and if you die, we all die.”
Beck looked around quizzically at his friends and shrugged his shoulders.
“We came to warn you, Savitar.” Vinni’s eyes moved from Beck’s face to his neck. “I knew you to be Savitar because our legend says that they will come wearing pendants that are alive. Your pendant is alive.”
Beck looked down and lifted the silver chain around his neck. The pendant certainly did look alive, and Beck marveled again at the animation within the metal. Whoever made this pendant had magical powers beyond that of the shifters of Pyraan.
“As Halfie Tribe Leader, Cloud Reader, and son of Verdie, it is my duty to come here and warn you of what has been written in the clouds. You saved the lives of the Halfie people, and it is now upon me to repay the debt so that we will not be beholden to any human. I will tell you what I know and then we must leave. That is all I can do for you, Savitar.”
Rogan appeared next to Beck and nudged him. “Come on, Beck,” he whispered harshly. “We don’t have time for this nonsense. We all know that the Halfies are notorious tricksters, so we can’t trust anything they say. It’s a waste of precious time.”
“I know,” Beck whispered, “but they traveled far to come to us, so I will hear them out.” He turned back to Vinni. “I’m not sure how I saved the Halfie people, but go on.”
“You saved us by making your presence known and allowing us time to escape. We are traveling posthaste to Haventhal. As you are not a Cloud Reader, you would not understand. Indeed, the messages I receive are very difficult to decipher, and only a master reader such as myself should even attempt it.”
Rogan sighed heavily with impatience and turned away.
Vinni stuck his tongue out at the Dwarf’s departing back. “How rude! Only the foolish disregard the portents of what is to come.”
“What is to come, Vinni?” Kiernan prompted, showing her own impatience.
The Tribe Leader took a deep breath. “When the Savitars are revealed, ravens will overtake the world, the sea will unleash her deadly fury and demons will walk among us.”
Beck looked at Kiernan in disbelief and then at Vinni. “Is that it?”
“Yes,” Vinni replied.
“Thank you, Vinni,” Beck said, turning the Halfie around by his shoulders to get him moving. “Your warning has been delivered, the Halfies owe me no debt, and I thank you. Now, hurry along. I don’t want any of you to be hurt.”
Vinni gave the signal to his people and quite the commotion ensued as thousands of Halfies, animals and wagons filled to capacity began to turn southeast toward Haventhal.
“Savitar!” Vinni yelled over the noise, cupping his hands to his mouth. “One more thing! The clouds also tell me that when the Savitars are revealed, Pyraan will cease to exist!”
The Halfie leader stuck out his tongue one last time before eagerly following after his people.
Chapter 10
Duty Calls
The seven bone weary survivors of the invasion at the Crown Bluffs reached the outskirts of Parsis three days after they had left the Halfie tribe behind. Kiernan licked her cracked lips and reached for the water bag on her saddle. Mercifully, the captive Titus was exhausted enough that she no longer had to mindshift him. The Cyman didn’t have the strength to even think about an escape let alone attempt one.
After taking a long pull from the bag, she kneaded the small of her back with her fingertips to try and relieve the pain. It didn’t work, but she knew they were getting close to the outlying farming communities and thanked the Highworld when they crested a rise and a young boy in the fields gave a yelp, dropped the pail he was carrying, and ran off to announce the sight of unexpected travelers to his parents. Within moments, an older boy on a horse galloped out of the stable yard toward the city. It wouldn’t be long now for word to spread that members of Troop 158 of the Northwatch Legion were returning home.
Bajan announced his departure with another admonition for her to be careful and slipped away into the Grayan Forest.
When they finally arrived in Parsis, Kiernan was not at all surprised to find City Boulevard lined with worried parents and council members. She looked over at Beck and gave him a tired smile. It seemed impossible to her that just the sight of him could make her feel so at ease when the world all around them was falling apart. Their budding love gave her hope and strength and a determination to fight for a future with him.
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He didn’t return her smile. He rode straight backed and with his jaw clenched. As lieutenant, it was his responsibility to relay the events of the massacre at the Crown Bluffs and ensure that the town council members appreciated the dire circumstances facing the island. The defenders of Massa, the shifters of Pyraan, would have very little time to develop a strategy for defeating the threat bearing down on them from the north.
Beck’s parents, Jaimes and Constance Atlan, and Airron’s parents, Joshe and Jeni Falewir, were among the crowd waiting to hear what could have brought their children back to Parsis. They eyed curiously the large, hooded figure riding alongside them.
Jaimes Atlan stepped out to greet them with worry on his face. “Beck! What’s happened? Why have you returned to the city?”
Beck slid from his horse. “Father, call a meeting of the council at once. Massa is under attack.”
The crowd gasped. Several of the women let out frightened screams.
Kiernan dismounted and stood next to Beck as Jaimes grabbed his son’s arm. “Beck, what are you saying?”
“I will explain everything at the council meeting, Father. We’ll only have a week at most before the invaders arrive here in Parsis.”
Titus snorted through the gap in his hood. “The Cyman Army will be ‘ere by dawn, shifter.”
Rogan whipped his head toward the Cyman. “Impossible! There were thousands of soldiers swarming our shores. You can’t move an army of that size that quickly.”
“It is possible,” Titus said calmly. “You saw firsthand ‘ow fast we can move. Unlike your legion, we ‘ave ‘ad years of disciplined training in extremely ‘arsh conditions. We do not use ‘orses or wagons or carry weaponry. We do not sleep in tents or cook meals. We do not ‘unt or sit around a campfire. We are trained to survive on very little food and sleep. Mostly, the army will live on agave plants, pine bark and nuts as they travel.” He paused. “I tell you this so that you understand the truth of your chances ‘ere. It does not ‘ave to turn into a blood bath unless you choose it to be so.”
His words sent a chill up Kiernan’s spine and she reached out to Beck to lace her fingers through his.
Constance Atlan moved closer, her eyes wide in alarm. “Who is that?” she whispered, rolling her eyes in the direction of Titus.
Titus reached his bound hands up to remove his hood, and there was another gasp from the crowd.
Although disconcerting to look into that one large eye, Kiernan’s voice was hard as she said, “He is one of Adrian Ravener’s minions, Mistress Atlan, and he is here to destroy us.”
***
Kiernan walked into the overflowing town hall with Beck, Rogan, Airron and Rory, comforted to see all of the familiar faces she had come to know and love over the years. Mistress Halloran, the innkeeper, rushed over to hug her, and the woman’s usual cheery features were reddened and lined with concern. Blacksmith and earthshifter, Jorge Owen, sat in the front row with Master and Mistress Falewir, looking as if he was ready—and able—to take on the Cyman Army single-handedly. Jakob Martyn, the grocer, shifted uncomfortably on the seat next to his son, Ben.
Despite the large number of people present, it was eerily quiet, and the anxiety in the room palpable.
The gathered citizens made way for Kiernan and the four legionnaires, and they took their seats at the front of the room where Master Atlan stood with the council members.
Heads twisted around when the back doors banged open and Katrin Allendale hurried over to the mayor. “The prisoner is secured, Master Atlan. I mindshifted him myself until he could be bound,” she whispered proudly.
Jaimes patted her shoulder. “Thank you, Katrin. It would appear that your devotion to your studies has paid off.”
The girl twirled giddily and went to sit in the second row next to Ben Martyn.
When she was seated, Master Atlan rose to address the crowd. “We all know why we’re here. If what the self-proclaimed Cyman says is true, we have very little time to prepare our defenses.”
Jakob Martyn stood. “How can we hope to win a battle against thousands of well-trained soldiers? I say we retreat to Iserlohn at once!”
Jorge Owen leapt to his feet and gestured to the athame on his neck. “Retreat? It is the responsibility of the shifters of Pyraan to protect and defend the people of Massa! We can’t run from our duty and hide behind Iserlohn’s skirts!”
“We’re not running!” the grocer retorted with a distinct tremble coloring his voice. “We’re saving ourselves to give the people of Massa a better chance to win this battle!” He looked about wildly for support as he wrung his hands. The impending hostilities were beginning to unravel the man.
Jaimes shook his head. “I agree with Jorge. We will not desert our duty in the hour of crisis when the people of this island need us more than ever. It’s what we’ve trained to do since we joined the Northwatch Legion as young men. It’s why we’re here.” He slammed his hand on the table in front of him. “We will not run!”
Kiernan felt more than saw the acquiescence of the shifters as they agreed with Jaimes Atlan. Her own body reacted to the words he spoke and it came from a deep-rooted pledge housed in the core of her being.
Suddenly, the air in the hall changed. Subtle at first, but then it grew into a thick, visible energy that misted throughout the room. Kiernan instinctively tensed in fright, but relaxed when she sensed that the power wasn’t malevolent. Strong and determined, yes, but not harmful.
It seemed to be seeking something.
The magical vapor forcefully entered her body, and she gasped at a strange swelling in her chest that left her breathless. The mist physically lifted her off her chair and swirled all around and through her body and the bodies of her fellow shifters.
Kiernan knew instinctively that it was the centuries-old blood oath demanding fulfillment. Adrenaline coursed through her veins and resolve flowed through her mind. Every shifter in Pyraan would feel the call, whether present in the town hall at that moment or elsewhere.
There would be no retreat.
Whatever the chances, the shifters of Pyraan would stay and fight for the people they were sworn to protect.
The blood oath would have it no other way.
***
The full moon seemed an eager participant in the tireless activities taking place in the city of Parsis. Beck shared neither the moon’s nor the citizens’ fervor as he strode past. Having seen the size of the Cyman Army firsthand, he was more than a little concerned that the three thousand or so shifters in Parsis were not enough. Envoys had been sent to the remote settlements as a call to arms and once the newcomers arrived it would add another few thousand to their numbers, but it would take time. And, whether or not all would be able to reach the city before the Cyman Army was anyone’s guess.
Everywhere Beck looked, the people of Pyraan were preparing for battle, despite his fears.
With new purpose in their hearts, the shifters had disregarded all misgivings and bolstered their preparations for war. Even Jakob Martyn was now readily devising battle tactics with his fellow bodyshifters.
Needing no prodding prior to the blood oath’s not so subtle reminder, Jorge Owen vigorously directed the shirtless earthshifters at creating defensive barriers, gleans of sweat layering their abnormally muscular chests. With casual waves of their hands, great holes in the ground opened up and the excavated dirt used to construct the enormous walls from which the shifters would make their stand against the invading army. Other earthshifters carried large boulders with ease to reinforce the bulwarks from behind.
Under Rogan’s direction, the fireshifters were busily inventing elaborate strategies to throw at the enemy, and the ideas for destruction were becoming more lethal as the night wore on.
Earlier that evening, Beck’s father had asked Airron to take their only bargaining chip, Titus, south and out of the fight to await further word. He had originally asked Kiernan to do so, but she adamantly refused to leave. Airron hadn’
t wanted to abandon the conflict either, but the mayor convinced him that a strong shifter was needed to guard the Cyman, and ultimately he relented.
His father had also wisely instructed that as many horses as possible be corralled to the south in the event an emergency retreat was required, and Beck made sure that Chasin was among them.
Kiernan was busy doing her part teaching some of the younger shifters how to use a sword. She had changed out of her drab gray legion uniform and into a dress and sandals. Beck smiled as he took a moment to watch her. Even with a deadly weapon in her hand and a grim look on her face, she looked beautiful to him.
Finally, he turned away and jogged along the boulevard searching for his mother. He had been told that she was helping to sequester the older women and children into the underground storage cellar of the town hall, but with all of the people in the streets, he was having difficulty locating her.
He hoped that the troublesome Halfies had made it safely to Haventhal. To his surprise, he had come to appreciate the spirit of the little imps. Against Vinni Vee’s very nature to be mean, he traveled out of his way to warn Beck that danger was coming. Even though Beck didn’t believe that the Halfie could actually read such a warning in the clouds, he had to admit that Vinni had been right. Danger did find him. Not only did it find him, it threatened to devour him.
His thoughts of Vinni quickened his footsteps. He had to find his mother to get the answers he was sure she had. He thought back to the night he left for the Crown Bluffs when she seemed distracted and evasive. Yes, his mother had been holding back information from him, of that he was now certain.
He finally found her expertly guiding a group of older women to the shelter of the hall. Her face looked drawn, and Beck felt his heart tug for her. No matter what happened, he promised himself, he would see to it that she stayed safe.
“Mother!”
She looked up at his call and used the back of her hand to move a loose strand of hair from her eyes. She smiled at him.
“Can I talk to you for a moment?” he asked when he reached her.
“Of course. Katrin, can you please take over for me?”