Child of the Loch (Child of the Loch Series) (12 page)

Chian
was next to
advise
us, “My dearest Queen and my Son, you must take care that you do not do this for alliance only. In the days of my father, a Son of the Loch was pledged to my sister, Lilia. When he went off and married another, she was left pining for the one she considered her true mate. She never married and died of a broken heart the following year. As with the Elves, the true mate of an Ogre brings magic and a bonding for life but know this, that if the true mate of an Ogre dies or leaves then they will never be able to survive.”

With these thoughts in our heads, weighing down our hearts, my father offered his wisdom, “My child you have redeemed my name in the land of our ancestors but I have yet to be redeemed in the Loch. You can redeem my name with this marriage for it was I who was pledged to Lilia, but make your own path. If it leads you to this man, so be it. I give my blessing for whatever you do.”

I looked into Sean’s loving eyes confused and challenged by the thought of a bond so deep that it could kill him. I had agreed to be his mate but did I really love him? Was I fooling us both and doing my duty to my late grandfather, my present father and my new kingdom?

Before we could answer, the wind blew and a woman stepped lightly down it as though it were stairs. Her long lithe body was covered in a petal made dress. I could not read her but I knew who she was when I looked into her brown eyes.

She spoke in a pleasant alto, “As ruler of the Nymphs of the Western Wood, I take my place beside my mate,
Chian
, and exercise my right to speak.” She kissed
Chian
and separated me from Sean who stood by soberly.

“ These
men are complicating the matter with policy and pride. Answer just one question that all brides must. If you cannot take the next breath without thinking of him as a part of your future, then you must bond.”

I thought for only a moment and replied, “Even if we go to war and he is lost from me forever or if there were no war at all, I would be standing here at this same place beside him.” Trust a woman to give perspective in matters of the heart and soul.

I had tried to deny myself for a long time, but now I recognized the true strength of my feelings for Sean. I would be his and he mine. We would crush our enemies to dust so that the Loch and her allies would continue to flourish.

Next
Gerwin
of the Dragon Hoards spoke. It was so strange to hear him say simply in deep quiet tones, “Do you do this with the consent of your dragons? If you are to be mated so shall they be.”

Sanandra
and
Gai
answered with an emphatic trumpet of joy, startling us all with their exuberance. They took their rightful place beside us as the bonding ceremony began. The ancient man, leader of the Council, took our hands in his. He bound them with a golden chain and smeared some spices cross our entwined hands.

“I am
Ceril
, son of Jin; we are the keepers of the magic laws. It is only those of the House of
Sinth
that may bind two willing people blessed in the
magics
. In this bonding, you are bound in spirit and in magic for as long as both of you take breath. Your gifts will strengthen one another. This is a sign of the true bonding.”

As he spoke the last words the chain was removed and in its place on our wrists were matching tattoos.
Sanandra
and
Gai
smiled toothy grins, displaying similar markings, while their eyes glowed prettily.

Our bonding ceremony was complete and we left the crowds to continue our bonding in private, taking a step then kissing and repeating the process. The rhythms of our bonding night passed away to a glorious dawn.

As we held each other, I spoke sleepily with mock accusations, “You knew.”

“Yes I knew,” Sean my mate and husband blushingly replied a smile in his voice.

“In the woods, you knew who I was, but you never said anything in so many months.”

“Yes, my Josephina, I knew you were my mate from the moment that I tracked you in the woods and you felt my pain call out to you. I knew it when you and I connected our gifts that it was you.”

All I could think of was, “I didn’t,” as we drifted off to sleep, happy to have figured out the riddle of each other.

The peace and wonder of a new bonding lasted for what seemed like a few minutes. We were awakened to the sounds of our people preparing for war. There was too much to be done…
joinings
to be performed and allied tactics to be discussed. We were praying for the best and fortifying for the worst.

9

As we prepared for the war on the other side of the Loch, the
Turlind
armies marched across the lands killing and pillaging as they went. They shielded us from seeing them with blood spells and dark arts.

There would be no way to reach them before they were at the Castle Loch’s gates. With no alternative, we equipped ourselves for their arrival.

The Dragon Hoards had joined with a number of Elves, Ogres and
Merpeople
, choosing from among all the allies and growing the numbers of those who could fight from the air. While those still on the ground were learning to fight with
magics
and swords in the most effective ways.

It was nightfall when we heard the screams in the village and saw the white hot flames of the approaching armies. Our
Turlind
foes were accompanied by a small garrison of Dragon Riders, who were mounted upon
Simin’s
progeny, be spelled by the
Erdonan
,
Tinsa
. They were alike in color and ferocity. Each one full of volcanic fire and hatred, that blew me back as I gathered my forces.

We rallied into the night. The armies clashed with thunderous sounds of death. Swords, arrows and orbs of magic both light and dark flew through the night sky. No one would stop until it was done.

Blood tainted the fertile earth so that nothing good could ever grow there again. Our armies hacked through one another. Bodies shook their last breaths on both sides.

We were losing and my armies were dying at the hands of James and his masses. I stifled a painful cry as I saw my beloved friends and allies’ gurgling their last breathes. My mind was attacked with images of their thoughts.

I fought through the pain. Slicing through many of the
Turlind
troops as tears rolled down my cheeks as sadness and smoke filled my eyes. The fires of magic burned my skin.

I was struck from behind and sliced across my cheek with claws. I lost my grip on my sword. A
Voronlic
woman laughed, “I will kill you with your own sword and gain high favor with my King.” As she grasped the handle her skin burned from her hand. The burning traveled up her arm and to the rest of her body leaving an unrecognizable puddle.

The battled continued till daybreak and James came into view upon
Simin’s
powerful back. Beside him
Tinsa
was upon the back of a great black female that was unknown to me. The black dragon was also bewitched and the magic glowed from her green cat-like eyes.

I fought killing as many as quickly as I could but I was too late for some of my own people. I watched while I fought helplessly, as the enemy felled at least twenty of my warriors who had filtered in between us.
Sanandra
and I went for them with murder in our eyes.

We leapt upon them both tearing at their bodies and minds with all that we had. It was a losing battle. Together James and his mate shredded our hides and burned us with dark darts shot from the
Erdonan’s
fingertips. We would not go so easily. We forced ourselves to fight through our wounds.

When things began to obscure, Sean and
Gai
appeared like avenging angels. They attacked the
Erdonan
female and her nasty steed. They distracted them both long enough for us to heal and for the balances to shift.

James and I were face to face in battle. He smiled viciously and struck. I felt the sting of his sword as it sliced
Sanandra’s
shoulder. I blocked another thrust with
Gladius
and sliced
Simin’s
wing, sobbing at the blow. Blood and sweat traveled from wounds we chose not to feel.

We circled each other in a flurry of strikes. Each of us nicking and cutting each other and the dragons we rode upon.

James hissed, “Enough,” and began to glow. A great orb of hate and lightning flowed from him. He spoke ancient words of death.

I watched in terror as my people fell writhing. I was unaffected and sliced at him repeatedly but still the orb grew. More and more of my troops were dying and the hums of all the other dark
magics
joined James’s making a symphony of horror.

Without a thought or a command the rose bloomed on my hand. Magic shot from our fingers and toes,
Sanandra
and I levitated in the misty air of dawn.

Pain racked out bodies as the
magics
crashed together. Warring as against one another as James and I had. It was strange and beautiful to see the light and the dark contrasting against one another.

Finally, the light that pulsed through us ate the dark magic in a fatal swoop. The darkness that saturated the lands was gone and those that had not yet died healed quickly. The blood that seeped into the land bubbled up and disappeared.

We felt
Simin
begin to revert to his original form. While his progeny, disappeared as though they never existed. We blocked out the deep yells of those who road them as they fell to the ground with sickening cracks.

I heard screeches near me and I saw below the broken bodies of James and
Tinsa
. They were twisted in odd angles. Their glamour and magic was undone. Two soldiers in my garrison ran forward and separated their heads from their bodies. I closed my eyes against the site both hating and reveling in it. With James and
Tinsa
gone, it was now a battle of fist and shield.

With the dark magic subsided, our forces easily overtook the
Turlind
armies. Those who were not
dead,
fled; there was nothing to keep the armies fighting.

I took a moment to see what remained of the
Lochoan
forces. Every member of my fellowship lived and I was awash with relief. Now I could make plans for what we would do next. We rested there only a moment before I commanded the troops once again.

I directed some to stay and rebuild what was lost. They would tend to those too injured to move and clear the land of the dead. I did not envy their work. The land was littered with bodies and parts. We would bury there. Their bones and flesh would rejuvenate the land. I dubbed the place The Battlefield of Bones, a sacred place where the dead lived on in the land. It would be our monument to them. No one would build on it and it would be a place of solace for the grieving.

I took a large garrison to pursue the fleeing army. I wanted to be sure that they were not looting and raiding as they went. This was my land and they would not violate it further.

While hot on their trail, we tended to our wounds knowing that we would need strength when we reached our destination. It was set in stone what would happen at the
Turlind
borders.

It was only a few days before we saw them. They meandered about without purpose or fighting amongst themselves. We wasted no more time and forced the
Turlinds
into their homeland. Finally we combined all our
magics
great and small to create a portal. The lands were separated once again, just as Anoka separated the Loch from the Outlander lands.

Guards would be placed at both of the entrances and all those who cared to enter and leave would do so with the permission of one side or the other. The
Turlind
agreed without hesitation knowing we could end their existence if we wanted too. It was a diplomatic close to a harsh situation.

All was well and we returned home. The loss of some was the bitterness to our sweet victory, but we reveled in hope. The time of sorrows was over.

Epilogue

A hush came over the crowd as
Ceril’s
boney hands, placed the glimmering gold crown on my coral streaked head. My parents, Hank and the Fellowship that I journeyed with urged me forward. I spoke adoringly to my subjects. Their cheers erupted and my eyes were alerted to whooshes of air above me. Dragon Warriors danced across the sky.

With words done and a hand on my stomach, I leapt upon my own dragon that had waited patiently nearby. We flew low absorbing the love and gratitude of my people below and admiring all the new buildings that took months to construct.