Chosen Destiny (19 page)

beast ran forward and slammed into their shield. It flew back. Almost immediately, it

jumped to its feet.

“Someone is trying to imitate the
tandini
, but has really only created a smaller, faster

merdanon
.” Meagan hoped the Sorcerer or Sorceress hadn’t managed to figure out how

to make the beast pull power from his victims.

“The fact that they know enough about it to make it look reasonably like the

drawings is interesting.” Samiel took the final steps forward and stood beside Jadin.

“Yeah it is, but we can discuss it after we deal with the fake
tandini
and his little

friends.” Meagan summoned her blades.

She had noticed the differences. There was no armor plating. The
tandini
copy

looked far more animal-like than the one in the book with a snout and tusks, drool

dribbling from its mouth. The only reason for the differences was that the Dark

Sorceress hadn’t seen the actual picture. A swarm of the quick, clawed beasts poured

onto the streets.

“Don’t get impatient.” Jaeson ruffled her hair.

She brushed his hand away from her head and frowned at him. She wasn’t some

kid who needed encouragement or instruction. With a shake of her head, she focused

on the beasts on the street. The small creatures never seemed to stop moving. They

swiped at the walls and even each other when they drew too close to each other. They

didn’t have the strength or destructive power of a
merdanon
, but if they came upon

someone without a shield they could easily maim or kill. The
tandini
never seemed to

stop moving. Again and again, they threw themselves against the shield, Meagan put

up a backup shield. She wasn’t sure whose shield that was but she wanted her own

there just in case it was stressed.

A fireball flew down the street and hit one of the beasts. It fell to the ground.

Meagan was a little surprised that it hadn’t been shielded. Even if this was just a testing

probe she expected the Dark Sorceress to want to prove that she could do some

damage, that she would be a formidable enemy. It just didn’t make any sense.

“Are you going to help or just stand there looking at them?” Samiel’s voice broke

through her thoughts.

“Oh yeah, I was just a little amazed that they’re not shielded.” Meagan blushed and

slung a bolt of energy down the street. It hit one of the short brown-skinned beasts. The

tandini
fell to the ground.

“You’ll never be able to figure out why a Dark Sorcerer or in this case Sorceress

does something. You don’t think like they do.” Jaeson glanced over at her. “But I’d bet

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the Sorceress has more than this planned. Maybe she’s just seeing how useful these

tandini
could be.”

In a way, she was glad she couldn’t think like the Dark Sorceress. She wouldn’t

want to know what could make a woman betray everything she knew. She still wanted

to know what the woman was planning.

Meagan slung two bolts down the street. The first bolt slammed into a
tandini
. The

second just missed. It flared as the energy smashed into the wall with a sizzling hiss.

Two fireballs flashed through the air taking down two of the remaining three
tandidi
. A

loud roar sounded, Meagan knew that sound hadn’t come from the lone
tandini
on the

street. She swiped her sword through the air forming a powerful arc and sending it

sailing down the street. She wanted that last
tandini
defeated before whatever had made

that sound arrived. The bolt hit the small creation. It tumbled to the ground just as part

of a building exploded. A
merdanon
rounded the corner. It picked up one of the
tandini

and threw it. The destroyed creation hit the shield and fell to the ground. Meagan drew

in a deep breath. She knew that that beast would be heavily shielded. Stopping the

merdanon
wasn’t going to be easy.

She straightened and braced her feet a little farther apart. The
merdanon
drove one

of its huge fists into the wall to its right. The stone cracked, chunks falling to the

ground. She swiped her sword back and forth gathering power. She wasn’t going to

play with this beast. There were too many people who could be hurt. The town hadn’t

been evacuated. She didn’t want to chip away at his shield. She wanted to destroy it.

With a flick of her wrist, she sent the glowing ball of light hurtling toward the beast. She

took a step forward even before the bolt hit.

A hand on her shoulder stopped her. “Whoa, you’re going a little fast. Calm down

and take it slowly,” Jaeson urged.

“There’s been enough damage done to this village.” Meagan shot a glare back over

her shoulder. This wasn’t the time to play.

“The witch is gone.” Jaeson let his hand glide down her arm. “There won’t be any

more beasts.”

“Does it matter? It can still hurt someone. Do we know if those building have been

cleared?” She swept her hand to indicate the buildings around them.

“They’ve been cleared.” Samiel sounded totally confident.

She didn’t doubt that they’d been cleared. She just wished they’d tell her what they

planned or were doing. She felt as if she was always a step behind on what was

happening. Admittedly, she hadn’t pressed it, but this was going to have to change. It

could get dangerous. They were going to have to start sharing information with her.

She wasn’t going to talk about it now. They had to defeat and destroy the
merdanon
.

Jaeson tossed a ball of energy down the street. It hit the
merdanon’s
shield and flared

in a bright white shower. Meagan didn’t wait. She slung an arc of energy. A large ball of

fire followed only a breath after hers. Hers hit and then Samiel’s exploded, flaring in a

wall of fire as the shield fell. The
merdanon
roared and kicked one of the
tandini

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creations down the street. Maxim threw a ball of silver-white magic. The
merdanon

jerked as the ball of magic hit. It toppled to the ground. Relief and exultation rushed

through her. It was over for now. Meagan moved to the closest
tandini
. She drove her

knife into its thigh and took the power.

“You two need to start talking to me. I’m getting a bit tired of being the last to know

things.” She kept her voice even as she moved to the next creation. They were close to

her, she knew it. Now that the battle was finished it was time to start clearing a few of

the problems.

“Talk about what? What are you the last to know?” Jaeson’s hand curled around

her elbow and turned her to face him. His brows were drawn together and he looked

genuinely confused.

“Oh things like the houses along the street being cleared. I worried about anyone in

them getting hurt for a good portion of the battle. It would have been nice to know.

That’s far from the first time I was left wondering what was happening.” She plunged

the dagger into another
tandini
.

“It’s just normal practice for us. If they haven’t been cleared, we get anyone who

can’t fight out of the battle.” Samiel stepped up on the other side of her.

Truly their habit of flanking her was getting on her nerves and at times it made her

feel trapped. She pushed those thoughts away. She needed to focus and not let them

distract her with side issues.

“Have I been with you long enough to know your normal practices? We’re just

learning to work together and sometimes that’s in question too.” She glared at Samiel.

“All right, we do need to talk a little more about the battle until you become a little

more familiar with our practices. You have a point.” Samiel dropped a kiss on her lips

and quickly pulled back. “We’ll talk about it back at the lair. Maybe over a hot meal or a

warm bath.”

She shook her head as she moved to the
merdanon
. She wasn’t going to let him

distract her. As good as a meal and a bath sounded, she wanted to get this settled. Too

often, she felt as if she was fighting for every step with them. She had to push for every

bit of closeness with Samiel and she still hadn’t managed to push past his control issues.

And Jaeson, she knew the surface, the easy front he let everyone see, but there was

more there. She wanted to know everything.

“Now that you’re finished, let’s go talk.” Jaeson cupped her elbow and lifted her to

her feet as the last
merdanon
dissolved into dust.

“Talk not play.” She saw the gleam in his eyes.

“I’m sure we can do both. You need to relax.” Jaeson palmed her hip and pulled her

close.

She stiffened. She had to admit that she was tense and Lady, did she want to lean

into him. The heat from his body drew her just as much as his scent did. Relaxing just

seemed to be out of her reach. A Dark Sorceress. It was someone within one of the

covens. The thought of someone she knew being behind the attacks infuriated her. She

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wanted to know who it was. Then there was the fact that the magic building inside her

was rioting and her arousal was building as well.

Samiel glided up behind her. She swept her hair to the side, baring her throat and

shoulder. His fingers trailed up the side of her neck. She shivered and leaned into him.

She closed her eyes. He pulled her against him.

“Jaeson, take us home. It’s been a long day and we’re all hungry and tired.”

Samiel’s voice rumbled in her ear.

She heard him inhale and felt his lips brush over her neck. His hands lightly

clasped her arms. She’d expected him to pull her back against him or wrap his arms

around her. That might have been too much. She was almost between them, but it

didn’t feel as confining. She knew it was probably because she’d calmed a little, but the

fact that they weren’t just picking her up and hauling her around gave her a little hope.

Jaeson’s arm hooked around Samiel’s back while his other arm remained at her hip. A

dark gray mist rose around them enclosing them. She felt only a slight lifting sensation.

A moment later the mist opened and deposited them in the large main cavern of the

lair.

“We’ll start the food and while it’s cooking, we’ll take a bath and talk.” Samiel

walked over the hearth and started a fire.

She willingly followed the suggestion. She wasn’t sure about the talking and

bathing, if it was even possible, but they had to start somewhere. She went to a chest in

the corner and pulled out a bag of grain and some vegetables. It didn’t take long to get

everything ready.

“Now for that bath.” Samiel turned and his eyes swept over her body like a wave of

heat.

Without a doubt, he had more on his mind than simply cleaning away the dust. She

led the way into the bathing room with the huge pool, the gems and the golden lamp

stands. One of the men really liked the flash of gold and jewels and she had a feeling it

was Samiel. The room was warm and toasty. She didn’t know how much talking they’d

get done. Even if they had the control, she didn’t think she did. She wanted to touch

them.

“Talk to us.” Jaeson began stripping out of his clothes.

“You already know what I want to talk about.” She worked at the small buttons on

her shirt.

“We know, but just tell us how you feel again. You were holding back when we

were talking earlier.” Jaeson turned and brushed his fingers across her cheek and fell

back into the water.

Meagan laughed. She knew he was trying to make her laugh with his antics. She

dropped her shirt to the floor and looked back at Samiel. His shirt was off and he

watched her intently. She thought she saw a little uncertainty in his eyes. Depending on

what he was unsure of, it could be a good thing. She winked at him before jumping into

the water.

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Samiel watched as the water closed over her head. She was so beautiful. Meagan

made him feel emotions he’d never known existed. She’d taken the steps toward them

and he didn’t want to push her away now. He didn’t know if he’d be able to curb his

need to be in control. She seemed small and fragile. He knew he was too strong, too big

and at times he felt clumsy around her. He didn’t know how he was going to do it, but

he had to find a way to give her what she needed. She’d shown she could handle him at

what he knew was his worst. She hadn’t run. That still surprised him. She seemed

certain that he would never hurt her. Her faith gave him hope and belief that it was

true. She hadn’t been revolted or insulted by his loss of control. The opposite in fact.

She’d seemed to revel in it. She wanted him to relax, enjoy himself, to have fun with

her. He was going to try.

He took off his shirt. She splashed a wave of water at Jaeson. Jaeson lunged forward

and made a grab for her. She dived beneath the water and swam away from him. The

sight of them playing made him smile, but he wanted to be part of it. Samiel hurriedly