Chapter 11
Less than ten minutes later, I burst through the woods with a speed that amazed even me. I felt as if I could breathe through my skin. I had run and run and was not tired, had barely broken a sweat.
Hogan had dressed me in hiking boots, shorts, a green tank top, and a blade on my side to appease Manus.
It all moved with me as I flew through the trees and brush.
The trees didn’t exactly move for me, but I was able to bend and weave around them without really thinking about it.
Even at high speed, I was completely aware of everything.
From the smallest to the largest living thing in the forest, I felt them all.
I was part of the land, and it warmed me.
I understood why Feldema hadn’t wanted to leave the ocean for days.
If the water felt as good to her as the wild did to me, I understood well.
A gnarled old oak tree blocked the path, so I climbed it because I could.
The view from the highest branch was amazing.
I could see the ocean in almost all directions.
To the west, a small gathering of large hills opened to grasslands that tapered to the beach.
In the east, a set of small mountains tumbled down to the water’s edge, making sharp cliffs and drops into the ocean.
The air was crisp with no hint of pollution.
A large hawk swooped down and landed on a branch just out of my reach, screeching and flapping its wings as if agitated.
He then took off, circled and landed again in a cloud of tousled feathers.
I could feel his heart pounding as he worked those magnificent wings.
His rich coffee-colored eyes darted about, unwilling to rest on one specific object. He screeched and blinked.
“Hello,” I said.
He moved to a closer branch, so he was perched at eye level with me and only a few inches from the hand that was steadying my balance.
I kept it still. He called out again and pecked lightly at my knuckles.
I lifted my hand as slowly as I could so as not to startle the nervous bird and held it out to him with my palm down.
He ducked his head several times and took a step forward, ducking his head again and placing it under my hand.
As his feathers touched my skin, I felt my mark burning and the sizzle of magic in my hand. I pulled back immediately and lost my footing on the branch. Scrambling to regain my balance, I frightened him. He screeched and flew off.
Shit! I’d hurt him with my magic.
He made a lazy circle above the oak, then landed back just where he had been.
He lowered his head, and the symbol of the autumn sun was emblazoned on the gray and white feathers on and below his crest. He had taken my mark.
More amazingly, he’d known to take my mark.
I had to squint into the sun to watch him as he took off again, riding the currents above the ocean’s edge.
Back on the trail, I slowed my pace. Occasionally, I could feel the hawk’s joy as he circled overhead. Interesting. I had a new protector who would watch the skies for me.
The gurgling of a stream caught my attention. I followed the sound off the trail to a small clearing. Beautiful stones and pebbles lined plant-covered banks and made little waterfalls, and at the edge of the clearing was a deep, clear, natural pool. The whole place hummed with life.
I couldn’t resist. The day was warm, and the water looked far too inviting to pass up. I pulled off my shoes and jumped in. The coolness of the water was shocking at first but as soon as I had made a lap the length of the pool, I had acclimated. I felt the presence of someone nearby.
“Careful, my lady.”
Abbey stepped from the woods, naked and glowing. Following behind her was a fine-looking male Imp. He reminded me of a perfect doll, only the Imp was much more anatomically correct than any doll I’d ever seen. I didn’t dare look away for fear I’d insult both of them.
“Abbey.” I waded out of the water and sat on the bank next to where she had climbed up to sun herself on a rock. “Careful?”
“Feldema is the Priestess of the Seas.” She leaned back against the stalk of a large, leafy plant I didn’t recognize.
The man sprawled on the grass at her feet.
Male Imps were even more subservient to female Imps than Magicians were to Witches.
He was lovingly stroking her leg. “Go on,” she said, glancing down at him.
“I need to talk to the priestess.” He gracefully got up, smiled warmly, and bowed to me, then strode into the forest without looking back.
“She can affect the rivers and streams if she pleases,” Abbey went on as I watched his perfect little ass disappear into the trees.
“I hadn’t thought about that.”
She gave me the look. The one you get from a friend who knows you stayed out too late the night before. “You had a good night. I heard it. How’s your magic?”
All this time in the woods, and magic hadn’t really entered my mind. “I really don’t know. I think I got some of Lord Tynan’s grace and speed, but other than that…”
“You haven’t tried any incantations yet?” She shook her head.
“I’ve been so wrapped up in the sensations of the forest… All right, I haven’t even thought to try. Don’t tell Bevin.” Practical magic was the last thing I was thinking of. I was lost in the feel of the wild side of my magic.
She jumped to her feet. “Ditch the wet clothes and let’s go have some fun.”
I was so excited to have her help that I did just that. I stripped them all off and only put the blade back around my waist. “Now what?”
She giggled at me. I didn’t care. I felt like giggling too. “Let’s start with something simple. She picked up a pebble. “I’ll toss it, and you see if you can catch it,” she said, letting the little rock fly.
I mumbled, and the pebble stopped in midair and hung there.
“First try!” She punched the air. “Now something harder.” She pointed to a larger stone across the stream.
“Bring it to you, and do it in your head—no words.” I looked at her.
I’d never even tried a silent spell. “Go on,” she said with confidence.
“Feel the power of the wild around you. Let it be a part of you, open to the sensations of it. Pull the substance of the spell from your womb. Most of the time, the words don’t even matter. ”
I turned to the stream, concentrating on the essence of the spell, the soft earth beneath my bare feet, and felt the power moving in me.
I thought the spell. The rock flew from its spot and straight at my forehead.
I didn’t even have time to catch it. It crashed into my head, knocking me back to the ground and cutting a gash in my eyebrow.
Abbey fell off her rock perch, laughing as she crawled over and checked my head. I couldn’t help laughing with her as I wiped blood from my eye.
We spent the afternoon playing in the woods and trying different spells. With each one, I got more control. We laughed, joked and gossiped. As the sun started setting, we decided to make our way back to the manor. I marveled at the joy in my heart and soul, at the strength of the magic in my blood.
Abbey was riding on my shoulder as we made our way through an open clearing, following a path along the tree line.
She was jabbering on about the antics of one of the other Imps in the kitchen when the hawk swooped low and screeched wildly.
He landed in the clearing and flapped his wings violently toward the trees.
“Something’s wrong,” I said and instinctively put my hand on the handle of the blade at my waist.
A Slaugh swooped out of the woods, swiftly grabbing Abbey from my shoulder. He was about to take a bite from her tiny body when I lunged and kicked him hard in what should have been a stomach. My foot just met a bunch of dry, crusty bones.
It did enough damage to be a distraction, and he dropped Abbey on the grass to turn on me.
I crouched and held the blade out, waving it slowly.
He lunged, and after a short struggle with the blade, he got a grimy hand on my neck.
That black mist started to gather around my face.
I stabbed him twice, but it did no good.
I dropped the blade and plunged my hand inside the dried rib cage.
His body was wrapped in rags, so I thought the spell for fire.
His dried bones and the fabric of the cloak burst into flames. The Slaugh howled and pulled away before evaporating.
I ran to Abbey, who was sitting up, staring at me. “You killed a Slaugh!”
“Yeah, so? I’ve seen Manus and Tynan do it enough times.”
She lay back, putting her arm over her face. “But it took them years of training and practice. You…your powers shouldn’t be…”
“Are you okay? Anything hurt or broken?” I didn’t care about my powers right then. She pulled herself up and shook out like a dog. “I’m fine. Thank you.”
I checked her over but found only a few scratches. “Race you to the manor,” I said, still feeling the rush of the fight.
“Fine, but I get to use magic, and you have to run.”
“Deal.” She was gone before I could even get the one word out.
I knew she would long beat me to the manor. I looked up to find the hawk that had alerted us to the danger. Had he not, the Slaugh might have killed Abbey before I could do anything. “Thank you, my friend,” I said, thinking that I needed a name for him.
Beyond the hawk, I realized the sun had set almost completely. Tynan.
I ran with all I had over lumpy roots and through the thickest, darkest part of the forest. I was slightly winded and sweating. It was just full dark when I reached the edge of the back garden of the manor. My window was open, and the candles were burning. I couldn’t resist…
Keeping my pace, I leapt and dove in the window, tumbled head over heels and landed at the foot of the bed in a crouched position.
“Keena!” Bevin screeched. Manus and Tynan looked surprised for an instant, then they both smiled.