Chapter 13 #2
Tension ran high as they did a thorough reconnaissance of the inhabited fortress.
There were just as many men present as a few days prior, possibly more.
The hunter Rodric was practically vibrating with ferocity as he argued with Connor and their designated leader, Cass.
As luck would have it, the extra men were departing the fortress, which would give them their best opportunity for success during the coming night.
Shifting her attention, Daya focused on Connor.
She’d never have guessed when she found him that they’d spend their last moments together in battle.
Still as the stone he lay upon, his gaze was glued to the open courtyard bordering this edge of the fortress.
He hadn’t so much as flinched in the past two hours.
The two of them had stayed to observe the activity and gather more intel while the others visited the nearby town of Mountainview for supplies to help speed their departure after the rescue.
There was no reason to believe they’d be pursued, but she agreed with Cass’s decision.
Better to be prepared for that possibility.
Adding several children to the procession was a lot more than they’d been expecting.
The sun was still a ways from cresting the sky at its midday peak, so they had a while before the others returned.
New movement drew her eye to a soldier chaining a young girl in the training yard. After securing her, the man disappeared back into the keep, leaving the girl alone.
Slow and lethargic, the girl crawled her way as far as her tethered ankle would allow to a patch of green in the dirt covered area and dropped her head to the ground, hand grasping the soil. The sick child who needed a connection to nature to survive.
Beside her, Connor’s hand flexed over his weapon. The tiny emotional action confirmed what she’d suspected. The girl down in the yard was Veda, one of the two girls he was desperate to recover.
Magic. Ereven hovered in the breeze, resting on the currents above the courtyard.
He showed her the girl through his eyes.
Flickers of mottled green and gold began to spark where her hand touched the soil.
As Daya watched, the colors began to churn, making her chest shimmer with flecks of magic.
Her soul was reaching, seeking connection and struggling to make contact in her weakened state.
A spark of worry flared to life within Daya as the ground beneath her began to flex and roil, rife with power and turmoil to her enhanced senses.
No! Wait! Daya shouted, but it was too late.
She felt Hannelore channel magic through her, burning her as it forcefully used her as a conduit. The energy moved straight through the mountainside and down the embankment, under the stonework and up through the dirt inside the walled fortress.
Veda cried out sharply as her body jerked, arching as if hit by lightning. Ereven’s sight showed the girl’s entire being light up as Hannelore reached for her.
Stop! The others! Hannelore ignored Daya’s plea, continuing to pulse waves through her that made her tremble, intent on making a connection with the girl. You’re risking all the others. The darkness will worsen if we fail.
Magic continued to pour through her despite her attempt to wrestle control over it from Hannelore. It powered the connection, joining them all together. Magic infused the girl so thoroughly that her image blurred for an instant with the earthen tones of guardian magic.
It is done. Hannelore’s satisfaction was thorough. The next guardian rises.
Daya’s heart stopped in deafening silence as the revelation hit her. Ember and Ereven’s shrieks of recognition drowned out all else in her mind. Her breath staggered as she resumed breathing, and her body absorbed the emotional blow.
I’m not ready. She pulled back, fighting the connection for a second before her mind took control of her overwhelmed spirit and deepened the bond that was forming among the three of them, their new charge, and the mountain that had called them all.
It didn’t matter whether she was ready or not. The moment couldn’t be undone.
She is needed. As are you. The mountain didn’t clarify its reasoning for calling the girl and awakening her magic.
Daya had been older, a mature adult when she’d been called by the mountain.
The guardian before her had trained her and worked with her until she was ready to pass on.
It was the way. Time orchestrating to give each guardian three to four hundred years, with a few decades overlapping between guardians to pass on the rites and knowledge.
But she hadn’t spent more than a hundred years alone.
Movement drew her eyes back to the keep to see a pair of soldiers hustle outside. They surveyed the otherwise quiet grounds for threats. One separating to do a perimeter check.
Oh no. This was exactly what she’d been afraid of when Hannelore blew up their well-laid plans for stealth. Go back inside.
The remaining solider walked over to Veda and nudged her with his foot. After checking that she was still securely chained, he leaned down to say something to her. Veda shook her head as she continued to cry softly.
Daya held her breath as the soldier checked the area once more. Finding nothing that grabbed his interest further, the man slowly made his way back into the keep.
Relief was a physical weight lifting from her. Veda was safe. But the men of the fortress now had reason to be on higher alert. Even if they thought a wild animal had frightened the girl. It was not a welcome factor to their mission.
A soft, persistent cry from Veda had her attention snapping back to the girl in concern. Her own initial connection had been visceral, consuming, yet still peaceful. Like coming home to somewhere she’d always belonged but never been.
Veda seemed to have a much more painful reaction. Perhaps because the magic had flooded her, instead of her actively choosing to engage with it as Daya had. She posed the question to the mountain.
Too weak to hold the bridge on her own.
No wonder. The magic had hit Veda like a battering ram, forcefully gripping her since she couldn’t hold the connection. She’d likely remain overwhelmed until she was stronger. Sick as she was, the girl had barely even been conscious when the connection was formed.
Does she know? Will she remember? Daya asked.
Yes.
When must she choose?
Soon.
Daya’s stomach clenched in anxiousness. She’d been a year before deciding to accept the mountain’s claim on her soul. How was a young child supposed to make such a decision with any degree of surety? A traumatized one at that.
Connor was tense beside her, watching over his charge below, his muscles flexing with the need for action having just witnessed something indefinable happening to her. A protector, just as she’d always assured him.
How was she going to tell him that he couldn’t fulfill his promise to take the child to the safety of Calderre? That he would have to abandon her in Eldridge just as he’d feared?
Hard green eyes turned to meet hers, a hint of accusation in their depths.
Daya sucked in a harsh breath, certain he could read the guilt on her face.
Though he wouldn’t have witnessed the magic from outside their connection, he’d felt the earth tremble, heard the hawks, and seen Veda’s response.
He knew something was wrong. Knew she was a part of it.
Quietly, she signaled him to return to the clearing. It would be best to have the difficult discussion before the others returned. Veda was bound to the mountain now, just as Daya was. Neither of them could leave Hannelore’s shadow without risking a brutal death.