Rise of the Shadow Warriors (4 page)

He shook his head. “Let it go for now. Mandok’s looking for any excuse.”

Shaina sighed, knowing her friend was right. Shadae waited and Shaina signaled her to flush out the next batch of geilis.

***

Hours later and with forty-two stuns to their count, Shaina stood with Shadae and Justan awaiting Mandok’s return. The men burst through the trees laughing. Mandok strutted ahead. In his hand he held a netted sack full of colorful feathers. Anger brewed steadily and if not for Shadae’s muttered, “What an ass”, Shaina wasn’t sure she would have held tight to her temper.

“We were to use stunners, Mandok,” Shaina stated the moment they were close enough.

Laughter forgotten, Luka and Karn avoided her gaze as their shoulders slumped.

Mandok held his arm up. “Do you not see this? Thirty-eight,” he declared with a smug grin.

Shadae turned on her heel and walked away without speaking. Luka and Karn flushed beet red as they shuffled their feet.

Realizing Shaina didn’t rise to his bait, Mandok lowered his arms and demanded, “How many?”

“Forty-two,” Justan snapped.

“Not possible.” Mandok stomped over.

Justan opened the top of his quiver to show Mandok the used stunner tips. His face flushed as he tossed the sack toward Luka and Karn where it landed on the ground with a thump.

“We won even though you didn’t follow the rules of the challenge. See that the birds make it to the kitchen. Maybe we can salvage the excess food.”

Shaina left him fuming, her good mood ruined. Justan’s footsteps trailed behind her.

Chapter 7

“It’s easy to see that our Queen does not value our concern.”

After wrapping up his elaborate speech, Ivak painted a sincere look on his face when he turned to face Shaina. Shaina glanced around the circle, dismayed to see more than a few nodding eagerly. He’d been busy if he’d managed to rally so many in such a short time.

This was the largest group to show for an evening meeting around the fires in the years since she’d been leading. The fire at the center burned brightly, the occasional crack and hiss of flames sending sparks outside the stone ring. Pale moonlight glittered through the opening in the ceiling allowing the smoke to escape seamlessly. Longing scored her heart. If only she could turn her back on it all and flow along the trails in escape. But to let her burdens go and travel on the wind would be a coward’s way.

Shaina studied the man she had once called friend. No grey graced his blond hair and the small crinkles at the corners of his silver eyes made many women giggle despite his age. Ivak T’Gar had been well liked by her father. Over the years since her parents death, Shaina had trusted him, sought his opinion on numerous affairs. But she wasn’t that naïve nineteen-year-old any more. At four and twenty, Shaina began to question Ivak’s guidance. Began to make her own choices and decisions.

Gradually, Ivak grew resentful. He wanted her to continue seeking his counsel before doing anything.

“Thank you, Ivak.” Shaina inclined her head in a show of respect. He was after all one of the elder warriors. One who supposedly cared for preserving the Olak’din way of life. “Your passion for our race is most welcome.”

Shaina propped an elbow on her bended knee and continued to twirl the thin twig between her fingers though tension strummed along her veins. Over twenty men and women had attended the talk at the fires and more than half searched her eyes with fear in their own.

Ivak’s plea contained the right amount of sincerity and doubt. He knew how to play on their fears. The Olak’din otherwise known as Shadow Warriors were revered through history by other races on Taka. Whispers of the warriors who came out at night were used by frustrated parents to quell defiant children.

But those years were gone. Whispers faded, memories distorted and thanks to her people’s solitary ways, no one believed the Olak’din existed any longer. Their race had been relegated to legend status.

“The Gornan grow bold,” Shaina gazed around and made a point to meet the eyes of each person present. “They seek to overrun us with their attacks. Wear us down in order to take over the caverns we’ve made home.”

“We will fight them as we always have!” Shouted Alin, his brown curls in disarray.

The youth had heart but more and more, Shaina noticed him hanging among Ivak and his crowd. If Ivak convinced Alin to his cause, many more of the younger Olak’din would follow.

“Our birth rate has declined sharply, Alin. Our numbers do not allow for constant patrols against their sporadic attacks and leading peaceful lives.” The once mighty Shadow Warriors were down to a fraction of their original numbers and half that number made of elders who no longer had the ability to call the shadows or the strength to wield swords in a fight against the Gornan.

“Are you saying we give up, my Queen?”

Ogar’s voice held a trembling note. The sweet woman’s black hair had gone gray but her face remained unlined. Her silver eyes were pale shadows of their former brilliance. Shaina swallowed. She was the Shadow Queen. Her job was to lead them and yet she wondered if the decision she planned would jeopardize their future survival instead of help.

“No, Ogar. But we must think on a solution. What we’re doing isn’t working. Or it won’t for long. The Gornan outnumber us.” They bred fast and easy compared to the Olak’din whose birth rate had declined greatly in the last years. They couldn’t continue the way they were and hope to survive. Shaina considered her next words, ignoring Ivak’s smug grin and decided to be as honest as possible. “If the Gornan were smarter we would have already been overrun.”

Loud gasps and protests followed her statement. Shaina rose to her feet even as the chatter among them increased. They needed time to reflect on her words.

“What do you propose?” Karn’s voice at least held interest and not immediate dismissal of her words.

Ivak cast a dark frown in his direction but the warrior gave Shaina his full attention.

“Alliances. We need to make strong alliances to support our efforts. Our history of secrecy must be a thing of the past. It’s time the Shadow Warriors rise again.”

More stunned gazes. Now they were seeing the truth.

 “I hope everyone will think long and hard about my desire for an alliance with one of the other races.” For then they would have the means of defeating the Gornan once and for all. Shaina needed them to let go of the arcane desire for their people to remain hidden. Taking a deep breath, she turned from the fire.

“What of a marriage, Queen Shaina? Surely a mighty king to rule at your side would aid us in rousting the Gornan.”

Shoulders tight, Shaina tossed her hair back and turned to face Ivak. The pasted look of concern on his face tempted her to throw a dagger at his cocky, glowing eyes. He was a robust warrior. Still in fit shape despite his years.

“What of it, Ivak?” She knew he hoped to maneuver her into a marriage with a warrior of his choosing. A man who would take control from Shaina and become Ivak’s tool. Never would that happen. She’d already turned down two or three offers to form a mate bond from her warriors. None of them stirred her heart.

“A mighty king at your side is what we need. Someone to lead us and fight. An heir would not be remiss.”

This time Shaina did throw her dagger but instead of aiming for his eyes, it landed with a dull thud between his spread thighs only inches from the part all men held dear. Ivak’s hand clamped tight over the crotch of his pants in reaction.

Several people snickered.

Shaina never broke Ivak’s stare. “Do you think me not fit to rule as Queen without a man to share my throne? Your words challenge me. Is that what you wish Ivak?” She’d bested him before a few years ago after her father’s death in a challenge when Ivak declared her too young to rule and she’d best him again if needed.

Ivak’s dark head lowered. “No challenge, my Queen.”

Only she heard the thread of mockery in her title. Shaina wiggled her fingers and he reluctantly pulled the blade free and tossed it in her direction. Quick as lightning, she snagged it mid-air and sheathed it. She held Ivak’s stare longer than necessary to make sure he understood she no longer feared him. She wasn’t that innocent child any more needing his help to rule and when she married for an alliance it would be with a man of her own choosing.  Offering everyone a chin lift, Shaina turned to leave the fires.

“You speak of alliances. The Aerilians’ prince is of a mind to be bonded.”

Shaina wanted to keep walking. To ignore Ivak’s taunt but his words opened a door to a memory she had long thought closed. Squaring her shoulders, she faced Ivak. “What?”

“Our former allies sent a message that the prince would be open to a commitment with you.”

Memories crashed into her without warning.

Screams, pleas for help.

‘Aren’t you a pretty one.’

No. No. No

Clothes ripping. And then a darkness pouring through her mind, surging from her body and destroying the enemy.

Shaina blinked and shook her head as the snippet of memory faded. Relations between the Aerilians and Olak’din had been strained. The only reason they would have sent a notice was if someone had reached out to them first. “We haven’t had dealings with the Aerilians in years.”

Ten exactly. Not since the unfortunate incident that had left a young boy dead and a young Shaina traumatized.

“Perhaps, it’s time to change that.”

Everyone watched and listened. They sensed the undercurrents in the conversation but had no idea why. And they wouldn’t know because Shaina’s father had taken care to keep everything quiet with Ivak at his side.

“Think about it, my Queen.”

She walked away without answering. Only when she reached the multiple corridors of the inner caves did Shaina shake. Deep shudders rocked her frame and she struggled to shove the black thoughts to the recesses of her mind where they belonged. Remembering the attack from the Aerilian prince took her down a dark path. The Aerilian numbers were close to their own and the warrior race had often aided them in their territory fight against the Gornan until that unforgettable day.

Bjorn. Shaina remembered the Aerilian prince’s name clearly. A few years older than her fourteen at the time, she’d been left alone with him and his friend Eilon while their parents discussed battle tactics. Bjorn had flirted with her on previous visits and in her innocence the attention from the blue skinned boy had been flattering. Nothing could have prepared her for him to hold her down on the floor while his best friend tried to take advantage of her without success. Young in her power but strong, Shaina had pulled on her gifts to call the shadows with all she had until the effort had thrown her into unconsciousness.

When she awakened Bjorn had been sniveling in a corner covered in gore and nothing had remained of his friend except shredded clothing and things she wished she could block from her mind. After hearing the screams, her father, Pial, and the Aerilian King had arrived. They took in the scene and had known what Eilon had attempted. Pial looked to the Aerilian King, laying blame for the attack at his feet and banished all contact with the Aerilian people.

Her father had gathered her in his arms and glared at Bjorn. Then he’d stormed from the room, carrying Shaina through the encampment without speaking to anyone except Ivak who he’d ordered to ‘take care of the mess.’

Gathering her wits and steeling her nerve, Shaina shook her head, dispelling the memory and continued on, using the lone tunnel that led to her quarters. Halfway there she heard it. Footsteps scuffled along the dark path behind her. The low murmur of voices drifted through the tunnel. When the glow stones weakened from lack of motion and the shadows thickened, Shaina eased along the wall and pressed her back against the hard surface to wait. With a thought, she pulled the surrounding darkness closer around her.

The pursuing steps quickened then paused inches from where she stood. Two men she confirmed while listening. Dark heads bent together but their words carried.

“I think she’s going to her rooms.” Hoarse and deep, yet she couldn’t place the speaker.

“Ivak says we need to keep our eyes on her.” Light and youthful.

Shaina frowned, straining her ears for some clue to identify the men.

A snort then the shuffle of feet. The first voice spoke again. “If we continue on, she’ll notice us. There are only two other paths in this direction and one leads to storage. The Queen knows only a few would have reason to come this way if not to see her.”

He was right. It was one of the reasons Shaina moved from the rooms that had been originally set aside for the royal family. That area of the caverns had too much traffic and while smaller she preferred her current space and its defensible position with a secret exit she’d created from a small sliver where two of the back walls in her bedroom met.

“Let’s head back. Tell him she went directly to her rooms.”

“Fine.”

The footsteps turned and faded away. Shaina released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Ivak was having her watched. It wasn’t like she hadn’t suspected this. Still what he hoped to find, she couldn’t guess. Moving away from the wall, Shaina hurried down the last few turns to her room.

Her place was empty as she expected. Justan had planned to skip the round meeting, no doubt romancing one of the few single ladies that constantly mooned over him. Shaina pulled the cloth curtain firmly behind her and secured her home with the rawhide ties and the hook in the stone wall.

The glow stones brightened at her entrance, illuminating her space. Shaina tried to view it as an outsider would. The pillow covered lounge chairs which Justan often claimed held prominence. She’d placed brightly woven, red rugs over the floor, giving the room a sense of warmth and an outward cheerful appeal. Justan had also helped her build a nook directly into one of the walls which housed a few tattered books and journals.

Another glance around and she had to admit it was indeed smaller than the home her parents had raised her in. Those rooms had been comprised of a series of connecting caves, her mother’s decorative hand lending it a comfortable feel. When she’d moved from those rooms, Shaina had packed away a lot of her parents’ belongings, having no need for it here. Her wants were simple and her needs few.

Her favorite space was the small alcove created by the way one section of the wall curved inward. A safe place where the shadows deepened and called to her. Many times Shaina crawled into her little haven and nodded off on the floor. She was always at home when surrounded by the darkness of shadows. The pulsing energy soothed and calmed her.

A curved archway to the right led to her bedroom. The only furniture she’d kept from her parents was the bed. Her father had hand carved the intricate headboard for her mother as a gift in honor of their mate bond. Among the painted twining vines he’d placed their names at the center. The striated wood was worn and fragile but Shaina didn’t care. Sleeping in the old bed reminded her that she’d been loved.