Unquiet Slumber (34 page)

For the spell to work, she had to believe in her skills. She closed her eyes and recited the words of the spell. The air began to swirl around her and, although the shard began to hiss and shake, it remained buried deep in Seth’s shoulder.

Tianna concentrated harder. She adjusted the words of the spell as she hovered her hands over the shard. Calling on her blue fire, her hands instantly began to glow. They continued to glow brighter and brighter until Nathaniel had to look away when it became blinding.

The shard started to shake hard and slowly pulled itself from the wound, yet it still wouldn’t come all of the way out. The wind swirling around them picked up and soon it was like they were huddled in the middle of a storm.

A woman’s voice sounded at a distance in Tianna’s mind. Tianna pleaded in desperation, “Mother, I know you’re out there. Please help me.”

Marcus and Gabriel were standing on each side of Tianna. During the struggle with the creatures, her nightshirt had been torn exposing the top portion of her mark. They noticed a light coming from her back as several of the symbols started to glow. The brightness grew with the wind and there was a loud crack as Seth screamed.

Everyone, except Tianna, was blown backwards several paces. The wind and the light were gone, leaving them in complete silence.

Tianna, who was still hovering over Seth, saw that the shard was no longer in his shoulder. She quickly scanned the ground in a panic and saw it laying a few paces away. It was still intact and vibrating.

Tianna yelled, “Blow your fire on it, now!”

Both Marcus and Gabriel didn’t hesitate. They burst out of their clothes as fully shifted dragons. There wasn’t much room for them to move, nonetheless, they managed to adjust themselves enough to breathe their dragon fire on the shard.

While they continued their flames, Tianna stood and spoke the words of a banishing spell. The shard hovered in the air for a moment, then in a flash of light, dropped to the ground as what resembled a burnt stick.

Tianna yelled again, “Keep your fire on it until it turns to ash!”

They continued their fire until a breeze blew the shard’s ashes away.

While Tianna focused on destroying the shard, Nathaniel had returned to Seth’s side and was using his healing fire. He looked up at Tianna and seeing the fear in her eyes said, “Thanks to you, he’s alive. His pulse is slow but steady.”

Tianna fell to his side in relief and exhaustion.

Nathaniel kept his fire hovering over the wound. Tianna followed his movements by placing her fire covered hands on top of Nathaniel’s. They remained in this position for several minutes. Everyone felt the tingle from the power they were emanating together.

Seth began to stir and said one word with a weak, shaky voice, “Ouch.”

Everyone laughed, releasing their inner tension. Tianna and Nathaniel took their hands off his shoulder and fell backwards onto the ground. They were both quite weak since they had given Seth all of their energy. Gabriel and Marcus helped Seth roll over and sit up.

“How are you feeling?” Marcus asked.

Seth responded with his voice still shaky, “Like I was hit in the back with one of Gabriel’s right hooks.”

Gabriel patted him on the head and let out a barking laugh. The Draaks’ heads were continuing to clear. They felt like themselves for the first time in days.

“Seth,” Marcus called. “You just earned yourself your first battle scar.”

They gathered around and examined Seth’s scar. Seth asked them to describe it since it was on the back of his shoulder and he couldn’t see it. The scar resembled the black shard that had stabbed him except the black edges were bleeding out from the wound like spider webs. The skin in and around the scar was white like all life had been drained from it.

Tianna asked, “Does it hurt when I touch it?” She gently caressed the wound.

Seth shook his head saying, “It’s numb. I can hardly even feel your touch.”

She guessed that the nerves had all been destroyed. She wasn’t sure this was good or bad and feared that feeling may never return to that section of his shoulder.

Nathaniel gazed at Tianna and spoke with adoration in his voice, “You were amazing.” He stood up and moved to her side, watching intently as she thumbed through the book. Once she found the spell she was searching for, she tried to stand. When she staggered, Nathaniel took her hand to steady her.

She said, “I need to secure our camp. I’m a bit weak. Can you help me?”

“You never have to ask me that. I’ll always be at your side whenever you need me.”

Tianna started to move toward the outer edge of their camp with Nathaniel close at her heels. Marcus and Gabriel quickly joined them. Tianna read the words of her spell and began to walk the outer edge of their camp sight. They moved together as one, sharing energy directly into Tianna.

When Tianna made it all the way around the camp, there was a small flash and a thud, like the closing of a door. They were secured.

They were all physically and mentally weak, so they decided they would discuss their situation in the morning. They all survived the battle and that was all that mattered for now.

They grabbed their bed rolls and laid them out into one large bed. They all laid down and slept huddled together like a big pile of puppies with Seth and Tianna in the middle. Although she remained dressed in her night clothes, she made sure every inch of her exposed skin made contact with someone else’s skin. She drew and offered back energy throughout the night, her body giving off a constant but faint glow and a gentle purr.

At first light, everyone started to stir. It was hard to move at first since everyone’s legs and arms were tangled together. Once they returned all body parts back to the person that owned them, they stood and stretched, feeling energized from their contact with Tianna. After they cooked and ate their meal, they gathered near the fire.

Seth asked with uncertainty in his voice. “Could that really have been Kai we fought last night?”

Marcus sighed. “I wish I could say no. Given the power I felt, I’m not sure what to think. He was unlike any Draak that I’ve ever encountered. Whether he’s the real Kai or not, all of Lagrangia is in danger.”

Gabriel said to Tianna. “Please tell us what happened in your dream. I want to know every word he said to you.”

Tianna told them everything she could remember. She even told them how she felt when she was near him. As she spoke, she heard a low growl coming out of Nathaniel.

Her story confirmed Marcus’ fears. The evil, now referring to himself as Kai, was after her. He had come back to try to rule all of Lagrangia and he wanted Tianna at his side.

Tianna shook her head. She just couldn’t believe that some great evil wanted her. She asked, “But why me? I’ve been living in Trille unprotected my whole life. Why didn’t he just come get me there?”

Marcus pondered on her question for a minute and then said, “I think that he wasn’t searching in the right place. He has been trying to find a very powerful, magical female and was attacking magical villages thinking that was where you were hiding. Instead, you were hiding in plain sight in a human village.”

Seth suggested, “Maybe your powers weren’t strong enough until now for him to be able to track you down. You said that your powers have grown dramatically over the last year. Odds are, the stronger you grow, the easier it is for him to find you.”

She shook her head again. ‘“But he has to be mistaken. I’m not that powerful.”

Gabriel responded this time. “You’re very powerful, and I think you’ve just scratched the surface of these powers.” He stood and started to pace. “You also have a connection to Kai and he’s using that to draw you in. That’s why we must be diligent in helping to protect you. We must all band together. We’re strongest when we work as one.”

Tianna hung her head. “This attack was all my fault. It was the drink.”

They all stared at her confused.

She explained, “The parting gift I received from the old woman. I thought it was just the same drink I had been enjoying all week. Now I think that it was laced with a potion. It made me think I saw things and made me paranoid.”

“But why?” Seth asked confused.

Marcus answered. “To divide our ranks. As Gabriel just said, we’re too strong together. He couldn’t break down our defenses. To get to Tianna he had to make it so we didn’t trust each other anymore. He needed us to not come to her rescue.”

Gabriel said with sorrow in his voice, “And it almost worked.”

Tianna stood silently with a shocked look on her face. “That old woman. I saw her disappear in the street, but I thought it was just my eyes playing tricks on me because I was so tired. I also had an odd sense of familiarity around her, although I haven’t been able to place it yet. I’m now convinced she set me up. She was most likely working with Kai.”

Seth asked, “If she was working with Kai, why didn’t she just attack us there?”

Marcus and Gabriel responded at the same time, “Military strategy.”

Gabriel completed their combined thought. “He didn’t want to fight the knights.”

Marcus added. “He was playing out a plan that would better ensure success. He’s a brilliant strategist.” He couldn’t hold back admiration in his voice.

Tianna’s eyes burned. “It’s my fault that Seth was almost killed. I didn’t do the protection spell as well as I should have. I was so angry and paranoid, my powers were affected.” She hung her head again, ashamed. “I wanted to stay with Kai.” She glanced back up at Nathaniel. “If you hadn’t called me back, I’m positive I would be in his arms right now.”

She then shifted her gaze to Seth. “I wasn’t strong enough to stop his attack on you. While you laid on the ground in pain, I swooned in his arms.” She stared at the ground and said, “You could have died,” and her voice broke.

Seth took her in his arms in a bone-crushing hug and said, “If it wasn’t for you, I would be dead. I’ll be forever in your debt.”

Tianna shook her head. “I can’t take all of the credit. My mother helped me.” When everyone stared at her confused, she explained, “The woman’s voice I’ve heard in my dreams… it was my Faye mother. She was warning me to stay away from Kai, but I didn’t listen to her. When Seth was dying, she came to me again. She gave me the strength I needed to save him.” Her voice gave out as she was overtaken by emotion. She and her mother had made contact and she hoped that someday they would be able to have a long conversation.

Nathaniel added his arms to the hug and held Tianna tight. “You were absolutely amazing. Don’t you dare blame yourself for any of this. If anyone is at fault, it’s us. We left your side when you needed us the most. I’m so sorry.”

Tianna gazed into Nathaniel’s eyes and said, “It was you that pulled me back from the dark and broke the spell.” She pulled him down and gave him a kiss and whispered, “Thank you.”

Tianna raced to retrieve her spell book saying, “I need to find a way to never let this happen again.” She was trying to find spells to block her dark stranger who she now knows as Kai.

They spent the next few days traveling slower than normal, trying to recover. The Draak’s shifted, Tianna played in her trees, Gabriel’s nightly lessons resumed, and Tianna and Nathaniel touched at every opportunity. Once they felt like their normal selves again, Seth and Marcus announced their next destination. Everyone had apprehensive looks on their faces.

Marcus responded to their concerns. “I had Tianna check what Zarin said on Eden first. He says it’s the home of the Faerdi who are friendly people that he likes to visit often. They’re strong in potions and spells and it’s a beautiful village that’s a good place for a male to relax. Now that we’re strong again, we need to get Tianna hidden inside the safety of a magical village.”

Seth added. “It’ll only take us a few days to get there.”

Tianna got a puzzled look on her face. “What do you think he meant by the comment that it’s a good place for a
male
to relax?”

Gabriel shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure, but I’m anxious to find out. My body’s getting older and a certain body part of mine needs to be separated from a saddle for a while.” He rubbed his backside.