Daylight, a Timeless Series Novel (36 page)

The heat disappeared as he lifted his head and began walking again. I didn’t bother to open my eyes as the tears fell.
My
Colt was gone, just like
his
Cheyenne was gone—too much had happened to ever restore us, to give us back what we once had.

“You got her?” a feminine voice said.

My eyes shot open.
Raina!
How had she caught up with us so fast?

“
Of course I did. You doubted me?”

Her black mist drifted in front of my face,
and a slender finger ran down my cheek. My skin hissed, and I screamed from the burn.

“Leave her be, Raina
!” Colt barked. “Marcus said no harm was to come to her.”

“
Psft,” she hissed. “Marcus isn’t here right now.”

I was dropped to the ground as Colt lunged forward
, grasping Raina by the neck. She squealed.

“You forget who’s in charge.”
She vaporized and reappeared a few feet away. “You’re not to touch her—ever.”

Raina’s blue eyes
filled with rage. “Your time will come, Colt.”

“As will yours
,” Colt answered. “Now leave.”

Her upper lip curled into a snarl
, and she vanished.

Colt yanked me to my feet, and I gasped as the chains once again tightened around my chest. The blue aura had successfully removed my powers,
and I felt weak, disoriented and confused.

How had it all gone so wrong?

Colt grabbed my jacket as he dragged me to a horse. He mounted, taking me with him, when something flashed across the way. He lost his hold, and I crashed into the hard ground, losing my breath. Seconds later I was off through the trees, a gentler pair of hands around me.

“Daniel!” Colt bellowed.

Wind whisked over my face and my head rolled back. Daniel…

“Hold on,” he said.
A bruise was forming on his jaw where Colt had hit him.

Blurring flecks of
red danced above me. Finally Daniel stopped, and green eyes came into view. Nakari.

“You’ve got to get the chains off her
,” Nakari said. “They’re sucking the power out of her!”

I was rolled to my belly as they fought to remove the metal.

“I can’t. They’re too powerful,” Daniel moaned. “I’m not strong enough.”

“Brogan
!” Nakari called, and a moment later we were moving again.

The pine trees began to swirl together into a single green mass
, and then everything stilled. Brogan appeared, and grabbed the chains. I felt the change the moment they were broken. A surge of power returned so strong it rippled across my skin, threatening to tear me to bits. I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Instead a blue shimmering cloud lingered in the air above me, dancing with the sunshine, and then without warning it dove back down upon me.

A
violent tremor raked me. My body jerked for a few moments before a peace settled over me. I blinked to clear my vision. Daniel was holding my hand.

“Get her up!” Brogan ordered.

Daniel and Nakari helped me to my feet.

“The horses are just south of the falls. Andre’s waiting.”

Once again, the forest whipped past us at lightning speed. Mandi started whinnying the moment she caught sight of me. I leaned on her for a moment.

“It’s okay, Mandi,” I said.
“I’m here.”

Daniel helped me mount.

“You’re gonna have to ride, Chey. I’m sorry,” Daniel said.

I nodded.

He smacked Mandi’s backside, and Andre, Nakari and I disappeared into the forest. My hat flew off, but I didn’t have time to care. My heart ached for the one I loved. It would have been better for Colt to remain dead than for me to see him like this. It would have been better for me to mourn him than fight him…I didn’t know if I had it in me to hurt him.

I hung low to Mandi’s chest, allowing my fingers to intertwine with her mane.

“Keep me safe,” I whispered. “Keep us safe.”

Mandi’s body rippled with strength,
my words empowering her.

I heard them first, the thundering
paws. A flash of black streaked by, then another and another. The smell of wet matted fur stung my nose. They were surrounding us, the Trackers, Tresezes, and Colt. Where was the rest of our group? Had Callon and the others already fallen?

We’re here,
Maes said in my thoughts.
Circle to your left. We’re just ahead.

I pressed Mandi on, moving past Nakari and Andre
, pushing them to where Maes and the others were. They came into view. They’d formed a barrier with the horses and their bodies leaving just a small opening for us.

Mandi knew what was going on
. She ran full speed until we were within the safety of the circle and then stopped abruptly. I fell off from the sudden halt.

Daniel had me up almost instantly and jumped me beside Callon and Koda. Callon’s chest heaved
. He’d been fighting. Dirt and mud covered his jacket, and a twig was stuck in his hair. Relief passed through his hazel eyes as he hugged me.

“I thought we’d lost you,” he said.

I fought to push back the tears and sorrow. Now wasn’t the time, not when we were surrounded, and Colt had his eye on me. I knew what I needed to do.

I pushed Callon away and slid between the horses before
they could stop me. Trackers on horses and foot were just ahead. Tresez milled about, snarling and snapping. Colt slowly walked his horse to the front of the line, a smirk building on his lips. The rest of our rescue party stayed behind me.

A lone Tresez, one with a white streak running from his eye to his jaw, moved towards Colt. He shifted…
Conall.

Together they stood, just a mere thirty feet in front of me.

I widened my stance and removed my gloves and scarf, dropping them to the ground. If they wanted a fight, I was sure as hell going to give them one.

“You going to fight us alone, little one?” Conall snickered.

I said nothing, but kept my eyes focused on him. My fingers began to tingle as the power grew in my chest and hands.

He’s going to trick you, drawing your attention elsewhere before he attacks,
Maes said.
Keep your eyes on him at all times. Don’t watch Colt. It’s Conall who’ll have the lethal advantage.

I nodded to show Maes I’d heard his thoughts. Conall’s head tilted in curiosity and a brow rose.

“Are there other talents we don’t know about?” He began pacing back and forth. “Marcus would be pleased to know you’ve undergone some additional training. You were sorely lacking in that area.”

I still made no movement and no reply. Their horses grew restless, but I kept my attention on Conall.

“You know you’re no match for me, little one.” A sly smile rose on his lips.

“Awfully big words for someone who hasn’t moved yet,” I replied.

A fire lit his gold-rimmed eyes, just as a fire lit within me…a crimson-eyed fiery beast that had been itching for a release. Conall shifted mid-air, and I threw my hands out as an all-out attack began.

A wall of air hit
Conall sending him flying backward into Colt. But I didn’t stop until the group of Trackers and Tresezes had also been knocked out of their formation throwing them back into the forest. I swung my arms to the right and scooped up trees and branches, using them as lethal weapons, fastening some of the Trackers and Tresezes to trees. I twirled my hands above my head and then threw them down as the gale-force winds pinned the rest to the ground.

Behind you!
Maes yelled.
Duck and spin to your right!

I did as he said and caught a Tresez
in its side, sending it flying. I stepped back, closer to our group, and twirled my hands above my head again. I slowly lowered them, creating an invisible barrier between them and us. They may have gotten Colt, but they sure weren’t going to get the rest of my family.

A large hand touched my shoulder
, and I glanced back. Brogan stood beside me, his gaze on the Tracker party. He’d never tell me in words, but it was his way of showing support.

“We need more time to formulate an escape plan. You think you can hold them for a bit?” Brogan asked.

“I’ll try,” I replied. I knew it was the best I could give him for the moment. Marcus wasn’t here, but that didn’t mean the Trackers didn’t have their own tricks up their sleeves. I’d lacked knowledge and experience previously; I wouldn’t make the same mistakes now.

“They want Cheyenne,” Callon said just behind me. “They made
that clear by their method of fighting.”

“They backed off when they should have been aggressive,” Koda added.

“Raina’s not here…” Maes started to say.

“She’s here,” I called out over my shoulder
, cutting him off. “Colt sent her off, but chances are she’ll return.”

“You saw her?” Maes
asked.

“Yes.”

“Cheyenne won’t be able to ride alone then,” Brogan said. “It’ll slow us down.”

“Midnight’s more than capable of carrying us and not slowing down,” Koda replied.

Movement caught my eye. A pack of Tresezes began circling. They were going to test the barrier.

Hold steady
. They can’t get through,
Maes said in my mind.

My fingertips began to tingle in anticipation. The voices behind me turned to murmurs
. It was as if everything else around me faded. It was just my invisible barrier and me. A lone Tresez pushed ahead, pausing just before my wall. He nudged his nose forward and then jerked back. I’d felt it, like the smallest of prickles on my skin. Soon more joined in, the prickles turning to stings, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.

Colt stood in the background, studying me. He called out to Conall
, and then they both eyed me carefully. Conall reached into a leather pouch tied to his side and pulled out a small semi-circular object. He tossed what looked like a rock up and down, his palm swallowing it each time.

What were they up to?

The last remaining trickle of sunlight flickered out of sight. Night was falling; we were going to have a big fight on our hands.

The Tresez
es and Trackers moved back behind Conall, and he stepped forward.

“Now, little one, no more games. It’s time to go,” Conall said.

Don’t breathe it in!
Maes screamed.

My eyes grew wide as Conall threw the rock at my wall. My body jerked violently
as a bolt of energy ripped through me. A yellowish brown cloud of smoke billowed around me. I collapsed to the ground and coughed. It smelled of decaying leaves and burned my throat and eyes. I couldn’t prevent the smoke from entering my lungs, but I could prevent it from reaching the rest behind me. I struggled to sit up, sending a surge of wind carrying the mist back towards Conall and Colt.

Callon dragged me back into our protective circle. I sat dazed as Andre held me up.

“How much did you breathe in?” Andre asked, panic clear in her voice.

“Enough,” I choked out.
It hurt to swallow and my lungs burned. “You didn’t…” I couldn’t finish my sentence as a coughing fit took place.

“You blew it away.”

A leg hit my side, knocking me further into Andre. She grunted. They were fighting, fending off the Tresezes and Trackers. How were we going to escape?

The horses began to scatter
, and our protective circle began to break down. A Tresez broke through the barrier, its black eyes focused on Andre and me. I tensed, waiting for the attack, when Mandi reared up and smashed her hooves into its skull. The Tresez lay unmoving; Mandi released a wild snort and stood over us protectively.

Andre’s hand shook while she pushed back her black hair. We were both defenseless on the ground
. We needed to move.

“Help me stand,” I said.

I winced. My chest stung with the exertion. Andre helped me to my feet, and shoved my arm over her shoulder to support me. We slowly inched our way back as the fighting drew closer. I glanced around. Everyone was engaged in battle. Daniel and Nakari were jumping around and landing deadly blows. Nakari wasn’t large or all that strong, but the element of surprise and a log played well to her advantage.

I caught sight of blond hair, blond hair I knew too well. Colt was slowly inching his way closer to us
, his hand clenched tightly around the chains. The chains began to turn red, like they were on fire, but no flames burned them. The red turned to deep amber and drops of melting metal dripped from them…like molten lava.

I pushed up against Andre.

“I see him,” she said.

Did she see what was in his hands?
If the chains hit her, they’d burn her. If Colt wrapped them around me again, I’d be burned alive!