Chapter 15
D usk filtered the sky into shimmering sands as the moon rose, marking the close of another long day of riding. Dry conditions had helped them make up for lost time due to the heavy rain the previous week, easing the tension that had plagued Rodric earlier in the day. He could settle himself as long as they were moving but had trouble with the stillness of night.
One positive outcome of having Cass with them was that he had a second scout. She was a skilled tracker and together they had increased the amount of time scouting ahead. With just him and Celina, he had always been hesitant to get too far from her.
Stopping for a short break, he took a sip of water as Celina stretched, groaning and twisting. Her osa made light caw-whooping sounds as it bounced around her feet, getting its own exercise in after riding in her lap most of the day. The little creature was mostly recovered from its near drowning.
He eyed the manipulative little furball with resigned amusement. “Are you going to release him back into the forest anytime soon?”
She paused as she stretched her shoulder to look at him. “When he’s ready. He seems inclined to stay with us for now.”
Osas were curious, friendly, and highly intelligent. And this one had decided it wanted to stick with Celina. It wasn’t unheard of for osas to befriend hunters, not that he would ever admit that to his soul-daughter, who desperately wanted one of the wild animals for a pet.
“And you’re inclined to let him.” He laughed lightly. “Celina, he belongs in the wild. The longer he’s with us, the harder it will be for him to return.”
“Healing takes time. He’ll go when he’s ready.” She sent him an overly sweet smile, and he was reminded of how she’d distracted him from the conversation the previous day. Lightness fluttered inside him to mix with a low curl of heat.
Crooking a finger, he beckoned her toward him. Her smile turned coy as she sauntered closer, twining her fingers in his hair. He brushed his nose against hers, smiling against her cheek as he whispered, “You’re trouble, you know that?”
“Mmm. I may have heard that once or twice before.” Pulling him back to center, she ran her tongue along the seam of his lips to coax them open for a series of deep kisses.
The sound of soft hoofbeats forced him to break the kiss with a groan, smiling as he glanced away from Celina to check with Cass. She came to an abrupt stop in front of them, silent and alert. Her characteristic smirk and sassy attitude transformed into the guarded warrior he’d first seen in Calderre.
Even just their short time together had taught him to read her well. Something was wrong. He exchanged a worried glance with Celina as they separated.
Dismounting with a graceful hop, Cass came to stand close to them, keeping her voice low. “Situation. There’s a site ahead with a group making camp. Eight men. Mercenary types, weapons visible. They’re not trying to be quiet.”
Apprehension tightened his gut. He was decent with a sword but facing half that number in open combat was beyond his skill. “Any markings to identify who they work for?”
“Enough. Got close enough to tell they were hostile and definitely a mercenary group—or two of them. We either give them a wide berth and keep going, put some distance between us, or confront them. If we stay behind them, they’ll slow us down. We don’t have time to watch our movements.”
Time. It all came down to time. The decision weighed on him as he debated what choice would best serve Brenna’s rescue.
“Did they have any captives with them?” Celina asked.
“Not out in the open. A few tents were already set up and had movement inside.”
Emotions and thoughts clashed in his mind. His desire to take out any group that could be the one that took Brenna warred with the need for urgency. Confronting the group would not only slow them down; it posed a danger for their own noncombatant.
Celina’s question rang loudly in his mind. Could he live with walking away on the possibility that they didn’t have another child captive? The lines defining his mission blurred in the rising mists of moonlight as he ran through their choices.
Finally, he looked at Cass, who would be his comrade in arms if they chose to engage the group. “Best guess. Any chance they have a captive?”
“High. It’s likely they already have someone in tow. That type of activity increases the closer you get to the borders. I don’t like the numbers though. A typical team is three or four people. It’s the only way to do quick hits and move fast. Same reason our teams are that size. But there is a way for us not to guess.” She looked at Celina, raising a brow in question. “Can you check? They’re not that far away.”
Celina tipped her head in consideration. “I don’t know if I can do it from a distance with a stranger. It works well with Connor because of our familial bond.”
Cass shrugged. “A lot of our warriors don’t learn the full extent of their abilities until they’re under duress in the field. Sometimes necessity breeds skill.”
“That’s true. Alright. Let me try.”
Intense concentration transformed Celina’s face into a serious mask. Watching her reach and connect with Connor each night had given Rodric more education on magic than Celina probably realized. He was getting more comfortable being near her when she did this and was grateful she hadn’t pushed the healing magic he still struggled with. Still, he stepped back to give her space. Cass noticed the distance but didn’t comment.
Reaching was draining on Celina, but this time, she stayed standing. Watching her intently, he caught the slight flinch and deepening of lines at her mouth as she sought the child. He knew she could feel the strength of Connor’s lifeforce and how much pain and trauma his body was fighting when she connected to him. What was she feeling now?
A sharp intake of breath broke his resolve, and he stepped forward, wrapping an arm around her waist so that she could lean back against him.
The instant he touched her, a sprinkling of gold invaded his vision, hovering around Celina like mist. Why hadn’t he ever noticed that before? She reached for Connor almost every night, usually from sitting on top of her bedroll before he joined her. Strange .
Her body stiffened in his hold, belying the tension brewing within her. He caught a twitch of amusement from Cass as he pulled Celina more protectively into his chest. When she finally stopped seeking the captive, she looked at him with anger gleaming in her eyes.
“You have to get in there now.” The emotion coming off Celina was so strong, he could almost feel it like a weight as she leaned against him. “They have a captive, a teenage boy, and he’s in bad shape. He must have fought them really hard to be so damaged. They tend to leave the kids alone unless they’re fighters.”
Vivid memories rolled through Rodric’s mind. The young man at the orphanage, skin covered in bruises and deep cuts, as he lifted his terrified little sister into his arms. Sarai’s friend, injured while protecting her, needing internal healing to save him from death.
Celina radiated a firm decisiveness, practically trembling in fury as she gripped his arm. He marveled at the trust she put in him while simultaneously sickening at choosing to put her directly in danger. But he couldn’t have it both ways, and a child’s life was at stake. One in the same situation as Brenna. The distinct shape of her bracelet pressed into his heart from his shirt pocket, an icon of the only decision he could honorably make.
“Promise me you’ll stay where we put you.” He tipped Celina’s chin up so that he could look into her eyes. “I can’t be worried about you dashing into the fray to help someone. We’ll get the situation under control as fast as we can so you can get to the boy, but you need to wait for our signal to come into the camp.”
“I’m not totally defenseless.” She gripped the hand under her chin, pressing a kiss on his palm. “I’ll be fine. Just be fast.”
A derisive sound from Cass interrupted them. “Seriously, it’s only eight men, Rodric. Assuming you’re halfway decent with those blades of yours, this should be easy. Close and quiet, no need for a ruckus.”
Celina squeezed his arm, making him look back at her. Fury radiated from her gaze, an unusual emotion to see from her. “No mercy, Rodric. Take them all out.”
Hugging Celina tightly, he eyed Cass, his combat enthusiast, who was giving him a similar hard look. He was both comforted and dismayed by the women’s collective desire to create a bloodbath. “Alright. Let’s get this done quickly.”
“Oh, trust me, this is my time of day. No one outmaneuvers me at dusk.” Cass gave a sly smile that raised the hair on his arms. “Wait for my signal, Preddari.”
R odric hovered on the balls of his feet, ready to spring forward at Cass’s signal. As the more seasoned warrior, she had insisted on taking the lead in entering the compound, swearing to him she could take out a few of the men unnoticed before they had to move in on the rest. Truthfully, as a hunter working alone most of the time, he was grateful for her presence. He could keep them safe in the woods, but his combat skills were rarely tested.
Giving him one last nod, Cass took off, silent and deadly through the trees skirting the perimeter of the camp. She moved with confidence, and he trusted her instincts. But trusting someone and being attuned with a fellow warrior in combat were very different things.
Stepping into a looming shadow, Cass disappeared into the night. He squinted at the spot where he had just seen her, his eyes well-adjusted to darkness from years of roaming the forests. She hadn’t just disappeared; she had actually vanished.
Shock held him captive until movement caught his eye. Across the camp, one of the men fell to the ground without a sound. Cass was visible for a mere second before fading into the shadow as if she was never there. And she called me a ghost in the forest? What does that make her? Vapor?
The second man gave her a little more trouble, and she wrestled him out of sight behind a tree. Fighting his instinct to jump in, he forced himself to stay still and wait. Celina was out in the woods a short distance away. If they let anyone escape, it increased the risk to her tremendously.
Suddenly Cass appeared fully visible in the middle of the camp and attacked the man closest to the fire. She blinked in and out of the firelight like she was made of shadow. The man yowled, drawing attention to the fight before succumbing to Cass’s blade as it slashed through his midsection, eviscerating him from one side to the other.
The commotion was the signal he’d been waiting for, and he sprang forward, taking the nearest man from behind, slicing him clean across the neck and dropping him to the ground. Four down, four to go. The noise from Cass’s last victim drew two others out of the tent, bringing all four of their opponents out in the open.
Chaos erupted, breaking the still silence of the forest. At once, three of the men turned and advanced toward Rodric, having lost sight of Cass as she vanished into the evening mist again. Since stealth was no longer needed, he sheathed his knife and brought up his sword to meet the men charging toward him.
Moving to his right, he placed himself outside and to the left of the furthermost swordsman, keeping the remaining two as far away as possible. Rodric’s blade caught his attacker’s thrust, parried, and flicked upward with a wide sweep, cutting across the man’s arm at the shoulder. Enraged, his opponent yelled and swung wildly at Rodric’s head. Poor choice.
The blade followed him as he stepped back, passing close to his ear with a rush of air. He quickly leaned in, thrusting low and hard before extracting the blade, cutting upward and out across his attacker’s hip. Five down. Blood flowed freely as the body fell to the ground, sword dropping with a distinct thud into the dirt.
Rodric spun to the remaining two scavengers, rotating his blade just barely in time to ward off a heavy blow. The clash of blades sent reverberations strumming through his hand and down his arm, leaving him reeling as he staggered back. He stumbled as he regained his balance, trying to keep both opponents in his line of sight as they advanced together.
The air sung as a blade sliced with lightning speed, barely a glint in his vision. The second attacker dropped as both his legs were cut from under him with a powerful swipe, screeching in high-pitched horror as he fell forward. The blade continued to gain momentum as it hit the peak of its upward arc, a metallic reflection in the firelight, before reversing in a serpentine rotation to strike the final foe, separating his head from the neck.
Energy rolled off Cass in waves as the shadow warrior stepped fully into Rodric’s view. Cleaning the worst of the blood from her blade on the back of one of the fallen men, she eyed Rodric. “You good?”
“Yes.” Relieved, he smiled. “Thanks for the rescue. Did you save one for questioning?”
“Knocked him on the head and came to help you.” She pitched her head toward the melee behind her. “I’ll go find him.” Stepping over an empty vessel, she moved toward the center of camp.
Dropping from the trees above, an unseen attacker wrapped his arm around Cass’s forehead, his blade flashing toward her exposed throat.
“Cass!” Rodric yelled.
At the same instant, a knife flew toward them through the darkness, striking the foe directly between the shoulders.
Tossing the man off her shoulders with a heave, Cass spun like a whirlwind, blade whipping through the air to slice the man across the stomach before he collapsed on the ground, mystery knife pierced through his heart from behind. The hilt was hand carved with a unique, familiar pattern he recognized instantly.
Sidestepping into a shadow, Cass faded from view, a look of vengeance on her face.
Peering toward the trees, Rodric spotted the knife thrower.
Sev! No! “Stop!” he shouted.
Cass’s blade arced through the night as he spoke, whistling as it split the air, stopping a mere inch from Sev’s throat.
Pausing for a moment until the echo of his words rang through the camp, she lowered her blade. Appearing in corporeal form again, she came to Rodric’s side, eyes still focused on the potential threat.
“He’s a friend.” Rodric’s heart began beating again, returning blood through his veins in a hurried rush. “Kavesh , Sev! What were you thinking?”
“That your shadow warrior friend might not like a blade to her throat.” Sev shrugged, walking forward to join them with careful steps, eyes trained on Cass.
Shaking his head, Rodric turned back to Cass, assessing her for injuries. Unsurprisingly, there was not a scratch in sight. Checking himself revealed nothing majorly concerning from the brief battle. “Cass, I think I’m going to call you Shadow from now on. You’re practically a ghost, fading in and out of the mist. That was incredible.”
Cass chuckled, patting Rodric’s shoulder in camaraderie. “Yeah, you’ll do. We make a good team, hunter. But you…” Turning to Sev, she narrowed her gaze. “You stay out of my blind spot next time. Not bad for an Eldrin, though.”
Heading toward the nearest body, she pulled the blade from the fallen man’s back with an exaggerated sigh. “So much for questioning. Best laid plans…”
“We’ll make do.” Rodric ran a hand over his face, the adrenaline from the battle beginning to wane. “By the way, Cass, this is Sev, a Preddari brother and trusted friend.”
Hefting the knife, she turned and tossed it to Sev. “Nice blade, but slightly out of balance and the handle grip needs to be tightened.” Winking at him, she walked away.
“Where did you find her?” Sev’s awestruck look followed her.
Rodric grinned. “I don’t think anyone could find her unless she wanted to be found.”
Sev stood motionless, still staring after Cass. “I think I’m in love.”
Rodric laughed out loud and smacked Sev on the back. “Don’t let Zora hear you say that.”
“I’m being serious!”
“So am I.” Smiling at Sev’s dazed look, he shook his head. “She’s out of your league, my friend.”
Suddenly, a wave of distress overtook him, the feeling of something very wrong consuming him with the force of an ocean wave barreling toward shore. Celina. Stumbling, he turned in a circle, searching for her.
“Whoa! Are you alright? Injured?” Sev steadied him with a hand to his side.
“No. Celina. ”