Wings of Tavea (5 page)

“What do you mean, good things are rare?” Drustan asked.

“You stupid!” The hideous thing cackled “You know—you know—no more good—all gone. Stupid Shifter.” It shook its head, stringy black hair flying from side to side.

“How long has it been gone?” Drustan pushed.

“Stupid Shifter, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid.” Drustan tightened his grip again, locking his fist under the Illusionist’s chin. It gasped before croaking, “Long time—good went bye bye, hard to find.” It looked longingly at Emane before its eyes flitted to Kiora. It breathed in deeply, and its eyes looked like they might pop out of its head. “Snake nice but she’s nicer, ohhhhh, want her—want her!” The Illusionist’s arms reached desperately for Kiora.

“Stop,” Drustan commanded. “You don’t get either one. Where were you taking him?”

“To market—to market—stupid—stupid Shifter. Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

“Are they all this pleasant?” Kiora asked.

“Yes, unfortunately. Not the brightest.”

The Illusionist squeaked indignantly. “I bright—you stupid Shifter. Stupid, stupid.”

“Listen to me very carefully.” Drustan spoke through clenched teeth, putting his face against what Kiora assumed was its ear. “You will tell me what I need to wake him or I will shift into something very nasty. And unlike you, no matter how hard you hope they won’t, my teeth really will hurt.”

The Illusionist gulped and stretched one of its many arms toward the utility belt it wore. Drustan loosened his grip just enough for it to reach a pocket, his eyes watching every move carefully. The Illusionist pulled out a vile of purple liquid. “Drink this, he wake up.”

“Thank you,” Drustan said, growing an extra arm to take the potion and toss the vile to Kiora.

The Illusionist twisted, trying to free itself. “You let go, I gave you potion.”

“You really do think I am stupid,” Drustan said. “I am not letting you go until I am sure it works.”

Kiora looked nervously to Drustan, who nodded for her to continue. Biting her lip, Kiora pulled open Emane’s mouth and poured the potion down his throat. A second later Emane sputtered and opened his eyes. Kiora sighed in relief, leaning back on her heels.

“See!” The Illusionist cackled. “Worked, worked—all better!”

“Not so fast,” Drustan growled. “Emane, can you move your arms?”

Frowning, Emane opened his mouth and croaked, “No.”

The Illusionist screamed in protest, thrashing under Drustan’s restraint. “Stupid Shifter. Want it—I want it, want it—” It tried to stomp its feet, kicking Drustan instead. “You steal it. It’s mine.”

“Give me the potion,” Drustan demanded as long teeth started to grow out of his mouth, his eyes growing more oblong.

“Here, here,” the poor thing screamed in panic, pulling another vile out of its pocket. Drustan tossed the red potion to Kiora.

“A warning, Illusionist,” Drustan said. “If that potion causes him any harm I will eat you.”

The Illusionist squealed. “Wrong one, wrong one. Sorry, sorry, sorry.” It pulled another vile out, darker purple than the first, and handed it to Drustan.

Kiora looked in horror at the red vile in her hand, dropping it to the forest floor. Taking the purple vile, she prayed the Illusionist valued its life. She poured the vile down Emane’s throat and watched him anxiously. A couple of seconds later his legs and arms twitched a few times. Emane sighed in relief. Pushing himself up to sitting, Emane wiggled his fingers and rolled his wrists, smiling.

“Everything working?” Drustan asked.

Emane stood and tested his appendages. “I think so.”

“You listen to me,” Drustan hissed at the Illusionist. “If you ever come within so much as a mile of us, I will hunt you down and kill you. Do you understand?” The black creature nodded emphatically. “We know what you feel like. We know what you smell like. And we know that whatever you show us is not real. You have no more power over us.” He threw the creature free of his grasp. The Illusionists glared at the three of them before it scuttled off, mumbling to itself.

“Thank you,” Emane said humbly, his blond hair falling into his eyes. “Thank you, both of you.”

Kiora pushed herself to her feet. “Don’t thank me. I would have gotten us both killed if not for Drustan.”

Drustan morphed back into his standard form. “I am so disgusted with you two I don’t even know where to start,” he snapped.

“It’s my fault.” Emane lowered his head.

“Oh, you started this,” Drustan said, pointing his finger angrily in Emane’s direction. “Never,
ever
, leave without telling one of us. This place is not home. It will eat you alive. And
you
—” he stabbed at Kiora. “You are lucky we encountered a young Illusionist. The adults are capable of so much more.”

He stopped, breathing loudly through his nose. “Come.” He turned and stomped back toward camp. Kiora and Emane scrambled, like children, to fall in behind him.

When they reached the camp, Drustan instructed them to stay inside.

“Where are you going?” Kiora asked.

“I am going to see if we have attracted unwanted attention.” He morphed into a barely visible bug and flew off.

Kiora and Emane trudged inside the barrier.

“I’m sorry, Kiora,” Emane said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

Kiora turned, throwing her arms around him. “I thought I might lose you.”

He pulled back enough to look into her eyes. “I love you.”

Kiora opened her mouth slightly, wanting to say it back—that she loved him. But she still harbored a fear of hurting him. Fear that she hurt everyone she loved.

She reached up on her toes, kissing him instead. He’d told her to take as long as she needed, but it didn’t kill the twinge of guilt when she failed to repeat the sentiment. A magical current tingled from her lips to his. Kiora felt Emane jump before she could rein her magic in.

Emane smiled ruefully. “That’s going to be a problem, isn’t it?”

CHAPTER THREE

Deception

DRALAZAR SWEPT INTO ONE of the more magnificently furnished rooms he had given Layla. The bed was large with a sweeping black headboard and footboard to match. The room itself was draped in black and red fabrics, camouflaging the fact she was living in a cave. Two candlesticks with pewter snakes coiling to the top sat on the bedside table, red wax dripping down their serpent bodies.

Layla jerked up at Dralazar’s appearance, nervously smoothing down her brown hair. “Hello.”

“Are you ready to start training?” Dralazar asked, smiling down at his new pet.

“Of course.” She paused. “Training for what?”

“Your magic. We will find your strengths and hone them.” Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Dralazar put his hand on top of Layla’s. As he did so, his sleeve slid up, revealing two puncture wounds. The edges were rough, jagged, and wicked red. The wounds oozed a yellow-green liquid as if the flesh were eating itself. Red streaks from his wounds disappeared under his sleeve.

Layla gasped, her free hand flying to her mouth. “What happened?”

Dralazar jerked his hand back, restraining himself from hitting her across the face for the question. This was not the time for violence. He did not feel sure enough in her position to risk it, not yet. “That,” he said in a false calm, “is courtesy of Eleana.”

“Who is that?” Layla asked, her eyebrows pulled together.

“You could say she is the exact opposite of me.”

Layla looked curiously at the hand Dralazar had covered. “And she did that?”

Dralazar breathed in through his nose, exhaled through his mouth and forced a smile. This little girl was pushing her luck. “It’s a long story for another time,” he said pleasantly. “For now we will deal with you.” Dralazar brushed his fingers down Layla’s cheek. “Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?”

“Not anyone that mattered,” Layla said shyly, her eyes dropping to the bed as color flooded her cheeks.

Dralazar leaned in closer, brushing his lips against hers in a calculated seduction. “I am in need of a Queen,” he murmured, “to rule by my side when we defeat your sister.” He kissed her stronger this time, feeling her melt beneath him.

“Why me?” Layla managed to get out between kisses.

“I can think of no one I would rather have.”

He
was
attracted to her, which was convenient. But in reality, any sister of Kiora’s would have been more than he had hoped for. Through her sister, he could decimate the Solus. And when he was done with Kiora, she would have no powers, no love, and no family. He would leave her with nothing, except maybe her life. She would live, miserable, in the absence of all she held dear.

* * *

KIORA SAT ON HER BEDROLL, staring through the tree branches at the descending sun.

“I hope Drustan is all right,” she said, running her finger back and forth across the worn leather cover of her book.

Emane groaned, stretching his arms behind his head as he lay on the mat next to her. “I am not worried about him. Drustan seems to hold his own just fine. He didn’t have any problems against that Illusionist, did he?”

“Lucky for us,” Kiora said.

“I suppose I should stop harassing him about nearly killing me,” Emane said. “Seeing as how he just saved my life.”

“That reminds me.” Kiora summoned Emane’s sword and handed it back to him. “You know, Drustan really does feel bad about it.”

Emane smirked, giving her a sidelong glance. “That’s what he tells me.”

Kiora smiled as she looked down at the book. Pulling the cover open she flipped through the pages randomly before sighing. “It’s too bad this one doesn’t open to the pages I need like the Book of Arian does.”

Emane crawled over to her, poking his head over Kiora’s shoulder. “Anything in there about how to kiss someone without zapping them?”

“Who knows?” Kiora grinned. “I was beginning to think you liked it.”

“Hmmmm,” Emane mused, resting his head on her shoulder. “Not really. Just trying to have a sense of humor about it.”

“You—a sense of humor?”

“Hey,” he protested, jerking back. “I have a sense of humor.”

“No, you have a sense of sarcasm,” she corrected, turning to look at him with a smirk. “It’s not the same thing.”

“Ouch.”

“It’s true. If anyone laughs at you, you are usually trying to keep yourself calm.” Emane pursed his lips, and Kiora burst out laughing. “See, there you go again.”

Rocking back onto his heels, Emane stood. “I still think I have a sense of humor.”

“All right. You have a sense of humor.” She turned a page carefully, trying not to laugh. “As long as it’s not regarding you.”

He laughed and kissed her on the forehead. “You better get to work.”

“What are you going to do?” she asked as he walked over to the saddlebags.

“First, I am getting a snack.” Emane pulled a hunk of bread out of one of the bags. “Then—” He tore off a hunk of bread as he went to his bedroll. “I am taking a nap,” he managed to say with his mouth full before dropping down next to Kiora. “I spent my morning chasing some grey furball. Then I was drugged by some creepy creature. And to top it off, I was magically zapped for trying to kiss a beautiful girl. I’m beat!”

Kiora laughed, shaking her head before turning her attention back to the book. She scanned the inscriptions and diagrams on each page. At first she had been scared of the Book of Arian because some of the spells were dangerous. This was above and beyond that. Turning to the very back of the book, she frowned. She ran her finger along the inside spine of the book, feeling the ragged remnants of a page that had once been there.

Drustan suddenly flew through the enclosure, morphing back into a human as he landed.

Emane jumped and reached for his sword. “Drustan!” he shouted, slamming the sword back into its sheath in disgust. “A little warning next time!”

Drustan looked to Kiora, his eyes wide and haunted. “We have a problem.”

“What?” Kiora asked, setting aside the book.

“I couldn’t figure out what felt so different,” Drustan said, running his fingers through his hair as he paced around the small enclosure. “It was home, but it didn’t feel like home. I thought maybe I had just forgotten, it had been so long. But then the Illusionist said the good was gone.” He stopped to look at Kiora.

Kiora hesitated. “That’s what you went looking for,” she said slowly. “To see if the Illusionist was lying.”

Drustan nodded. “I hoped it just wanted to scare us but . . .” Drustan trailed off.

Emane looked between Kiora and Drustan. “Wait, what do you mean there are no good threads? How is that possible?”

“I don’t know,” Drustan said.

Kiora felt a sense of dread creeping in from all sides. “How are we going to find Lomay?”

“Eleana said Lomay would send someone for us, didn’t she?” Emane said.

Kiora stood, wrapping her arms around herself as she looked out at the forest. The trees seemed more threatening than they had a moment before. “Yes, but . . . if there are no good threads anywhere, it isn’t safe to travel without a bubble. And if we have a bubble up . . .”

“No one will find us either.” Emane sighed.

“Exactly.”

Drustan walked next to Kiora. “The Morow region is only a day’s flight, but the region is huge. There is no telling where Lomay might be.”

Kiora frowned, her stomach sinking as a thread slipped through the enclosure. “Who is that?”

Drustan’s head snapped up. “Who?”

“Can’t you feel him?” Kiora asked, her eyebrows pulling together. The thread was odd. It felt evil at first; but the longer she felt it, the more she questioned it. Something about it was . . . off.

Drustan stood very still, waiting to feel the thread before blurting, “He followed me!”

“Get the horses,” Kiora said. “We have to go.”

Drustan and Emane leapt into action, grabbing saddles. Kiora froze as a tall man

strode out of the trees. He wore a cloak similar to the ones Eleana had given them, the hood pulled up to hide his face. His head turned to one side, then the other. He stretched his hands out in front of him.

“Drustan,” Kiora yelled. “What is he doing?”