Defy (21 page)

She had no idea how long it would be until he
sent Nyx after her now. He had obviously been irritated with her
before she went to sleep, which would likely extend the process.
Though she didn’t know him very well, she figured he would wrestle
with the decision for a while before he finally gave in to his
natural predilection and did the right thing.

She wasn’t about to sit around waiting for
him to make up his mind, though. Plus, she reasoned, if the kragen
could find her there, she could find her anywhere.

About fifteen minutes from the place she
camped the night before, she came to a slope that had her spirits
rising. Breaking into a light jog, she scrambled along the slope
until she reached a break in the horizon.

The river fell twenty-five feet below in the
form of a magnificent waterfall. Trees sloped down along either
side of the wide pool at the waterfall’s base. Huge rocks started
at Tate’s position and piled down, forming the tall base that
supported the waterfall. She easily found a path down and started
descending. Although the water wouldn’t be any warmer, at least
this way she could just stand under the water to get clean.

She was halfway down when she heard the
singing. At first, she stiffened in fear and surprise. Then she
realized it was a female’s voice. The song sounded like a cheerful
one.

Hurrying the rest of the way, Tate reached
the bottom of the rocks and edged behind the waterfall, where the
singing seemed to originate. Maybe this happy, singing female could
help her get home.

“Hello?” she called out.

The singing paused. Tate looked around the
alcove behind the waterfall with growing bewilderment. She could
see from one side of the enclosed area to the other, but there
wasn’t another being in sight.

“Oookay,” she said, shaking her head. “Tate,
you really have to get a grip. You’re totally losing it.”

Dismissing the singing from her thoughts, she
quickly emptied her pockets, putting her hair decorations to the
side on a wide rock. Her fishing pole, socks and boots went next.
Since her clothes were covered in mud, she decided to keep them on
for this particular shower.

She started without her cleanser in hopes
most of the mud would come off just through the force of the water
rushing over it. Stepping under the waterfall, she braced herself
for the cold.

And found herself shoved from behind.

Gasping and taking in a mouthful of water,
Tate flew into the icy pool. She managed to surface for one last
breath before clawing hands pulled her down. Thrashing in
confusion, Tate struggled to see what held her. The figures she
made out through the gloomy depths had horror rushing through
her.

Korrigans.

Her Aunt Olivia had taught her about the
siren water sprites, but according to her aunt, they had been
eradicated by the Scultresti. The white haired, red-eyed, wrinkled
creatures clutching Tate’s legs with the clear intent to drown her
certainly looked like korrigans, though.

Kicking and jerking, Tate fought for release.
Their grip tightened.

She realized then that she was about to die.
Again.

As Zachariah teetered on the edge of waking,
his connection with the mystery female flared.

Rather than allow himself to return to
consciousness, he opened his mind to her. While he wanted to resist
this frustrating connection, he sensed that something was very
wrong.

When he reached her side of the connection,
he found himself near water. Not seeing the female anywhere nearby,
he wondered if he had imagined her distress. Then a hand briefly
disturbed the surface of the water, catching his attention.

Not knowing what he could possibly do while
in this projected state, he nevertheless walked straight into the
water.

Because he wasn’t corporeal, he didn’t feel
the temperature change as he submerged himself. He could also see
beneath the water without any trouble. The moment his head reached
beneath the water level, he spotted five korrigans circling the
female, holding her under. Even as he watched, her struggling
eased, telling him she was about to drown.

Surging toward her, he drew his tomahawk and
advanced on the korrigan holding the female’s head. The creature
turned, baring fangs. Zachariah raised his tomahawk, hoping to
frighten the korrigans away.

Sunlight again broke through the clouds,
flooding the water in bright light. The korrigans nearest to him
issued unusual noises, like muted screams. They all dispersed.

Fortunately, the female surfaced, as he
wouldn’t have been able to help her out of the water. He left the
pool as well, his projected form still completely dry. Telling
himself he was curious—
not
worried—he waited until the
female fully climbed out of the water and caught her breath.

“Are you all right?” he found himself asking
as she gasped for air and coughed out water.

Eventually, she nodded. She pushed herself
into a sitting position. “I thought korrigans didn’t exist,” she
said, rubbing her upper arms and shivering. “When I heard the
singing, I just figured it was a female enjoying some time by the
waterfall.”

Frowning, he said, “You heard the korrigan’s
song?”

“Yes. It sounded cheerful.” She looked over
at him. “You probably think I’m an idiot for getting myself into
this mess.”

Actually, he was thinking how remarkably
lucky she was. Most beings who heard the lure of the korrigan’s
song didn’t require a creature holding them beneath the water’s
surface. They willingly walked in and drowned themselves. He
realized that her ability to see the truth had somehow prevented
the korrigan’s song from affecting her.

“Looks like I owe you my life again, Sparky,”
she said, getting to her feet and wringing out her hair as she
approached.

His eyes dropped to where her mockery of a
top clung to her body like a second skin. Quickly glancing away as
thoughts that had no business entering his head ran through it
anyway, he ordered himself to return to his own body.

Unfortunately, he refused to cooperate with
himself.

“You must leave this place,” he said as she
stopped a foot away from him.

“Absolutely,” she agreed. “I want to thank
you again, though. If you hadn’t come by, I’d be dead. Whether you
like it or not, you’ve become my protector.”

He sure as hell didn’t like it.

“It’s a good thing you flashed your marking
when you did,” she said with a small smile. “One more second and
I’d have been a goner.”

“Marking?” he echoed.

“Yeah. You know…the one on your right
forearm?” She studied him. “The cross?”

He didn’t reply.

“That’s why you raised your arm, right?” she
pressed. “Because you know that korrigans dislike the symbol of the
cross?”

“I raised it because I wanted to threaten
them with my weapon,” he said, more disturbed by her comments about
his markings than he cared to admit.

“Oh.” She shrugged. “Well, it all worked out,
I guess.” When he just stood there staring at her, she asked,
“Would you come behind the waterfall with me so I can get my stuff?
They shoved me into the pool from there. Hopefully they’ll stay
away if you’re near me.”

“All right.”

He walked with her until they reached her
collection of personal effects. She picked something up and glanced
at him.

“I’m going to take a quick shower. Keep the
korrigans away, okay?”

“You most certainly will not,” he argued, but
she had already stepped under the water and started washing her
hair.

Grumbling under his breath, he looked around
for any sign of the creatures that had just tried to kill her. Why
would she take such a foolish chance merely to wash herself? He had
no idea, but he couldn’t physically remove her, so there he
stood.

His eyes drifted to her as she finished
washing the long length of her hair and moved on to her body. She
appeared to be trying to wash her skin as well as the outside of
her dirty clothes. When her hands disappeared beneath her top, he
felt his eyebrows rise. Though he knew he shouldn’t watch her, he
couldn’t make himself look away. It was suddenly as though she was
the siren.

What was she doing to his mind?

When she finally stepped out from under the
cascade of water, she gave him another smile. “Thanks, Sparky,” she
said. “I had mud in places that no one should ever have mud. I
needed that.”

“Fine. Get your things and move from
here.”

“I will,” she said, once again squeezing her
hair. She collected her hair decorations in the fabric she had
wrapped around her fishing pole, evidently saving them for later.
Once she had her boots on, she turned with her belongings and left
the alcove, heading for the forest.

“Hey,” she said, turning and looking at him.
“Since you’re here and can look around, would you please let Nyx
know where I am?”

The mention of his kragen companion had his
usual emotional shutters slamming back into place. Figuring she
couldn’t read a lie in silence, he willed himself to wake up.

As far as he was concerned, she was on her
own.

"We have finally had some success in
recovering Uriel’s memories about the Elder Scroll,” Malukali
announced.

Caleb once again sat with Skye, Gabriel,
Amber, James and Olivia around the long table in the conference
room at Gabriel and Amber’s home. Knorbis, Malukali, Jabari and
Uriel were also present. Zayna and Sebastian had returned
temporarily to Central to see to some tasks that required their
attention. The non-fighting classes that occasionally visited the
mainland were deciding what to do in response to Luvania’s murder
and the recently discovered disappearance of the two Lekwuesti,
Tisha and Ariana.

“I believe that with another session or two,
we can fully identify the location of the scroll piece that he
hid,” Knorbis added.

Caleb exchanged a look with Gabriel. So far,
the Wymzesti and Orculesti elders hadn’t had any success in
recovering Gabriel’s memories related to the Elder Scroll. They all
suspected this was because of the eighteen years Gabriel had spent
on the human plane with all of his Estilorian memories suppressed
as he relearned human emotions. Because Ini-herit had disappeared
so quickly after returning to this plane and the intuitive elders
hadn’t been able to try and recover his memories, they could only
assume he would be affected similarly to Gabriel.

“We’re going to try another session with me
this afternoon,” Gabriel said, also exchanging looks with the rest
of his family. “We might have to get a few of the more powerful
Wymzesti and Orculesti involved, as well.”

“Knorbis and I have been giving this a great
deal of thought,” Malukali said. “The suppression of Gabriel and
Ini-herit’s memories for their transitions to the human plane was
done through the joint efforts of each of the non-Mercesti elders.
It might be that we’ll have more success recovering those lost
memories if we perform a ritual involving all of us.”

There were considering looks and nods around
the table. Caleb couldn’t help but notice that his family looked
far less enthused about this idea than they might have been even a
couple of weeks ago. Worry over their children had worn them all
down in spirit.

He glanced at Skye, who stared quietly at
their joined hands on top of the table. Outside of the smiles she
gave their children throughout the day, he hadn’t seen any hint of
joy or humor on her beautiful face in far too long now. This
behavior was so unusual for his normally cheerful and positive wife
that it weighed on him, too. He knew she was trying her best to
keep her deep sorrow from affecting him. He was having a difficult
enough time grappling with his own emotions that adding hers to the
mix was almost impossible to bear.

Just that morning, he found her curled up on
Tate’s bed. She was clutching a sketch he had done of Tate and
Tiege as babies. Although exhaustion had claimed her, tears
glistened on her cheeks even as she slept. He would have done
anything to spare her this pain.

“I’m certainly open to the idea,” Gabriel
said now in response to the suggestion by Malukali. “But we’ll have
to wait until Ini-herit returns first.”

“In the meantime, we should finalize plans
for going in search of the piece of the Elder Scroll that Uriel hid
so that we’re prepared once his memories have been fully
recovered,” Jabari said. “We don’t want the Mercesti getting to it
before we do.”

Caleb and his family had already spoken at
length about this. With the sisters all being heavily pregnant and
their children needing them, they couldn’t leave home. Gabriel,
James and Caleb, however, had recently decided to go along with the
other elders and contingents of Waresti and Gloresti on the
search.

“I have identified the Waresti who will be
accompanying…” Uriel began, but then he trailed off in apparent
thought.

Skye’s hand tightened on Caleb’s. His heart
started pounding heavily in his chest.

After blinking to clear his mind, the Waresti
elder looked around the table. He caught and held Skye’s gaze.
“Harold just sent word.”

Caleb could barely breathe. They’d been
awaiting this message for days.

“His team found kragen tracks and a cave,”
Uriel explained. “Inside the cave were feathers and beads that he
believes belonged to Tate.”

Skye made a sound that Caleb couldn’t
interpret. Her grip on his hand was crushing. They awaited Uriel’s
next words with a combination of dread and hope. When Uriel gave
them a small smile, Caleb felt emotion surge up and clog his
throat. Skye was already weeping. He released her hand so he could
reach up and put his arm around her.