A Shift in Power (Shadow Claw Book 5)

by Sarah J. Stone

  Oh, hush, she scolded herself. Your child needs to trust you, and that can’t happen if you don’t.

  Straightening her shoulders, she diminished her pity and stood up, cradling Dahlia and heading for the door. Everyone else followed suit. The witch trio made it there just in time, and they joined everyone on the ground, waiting for Kaia’s arrival. It didn’t take long for their guest to finally appear in the distance. Ammara sent fairies for Kalen and Samuel, and they got back before Kaia could even notice them all there. She seemed to be in some sort of euphoria that rendered her unaware of the scuffle she had brought upon herself. But it seemed she’d sense their presence as she neared and stopped short a few meters before them. It must have been Kalen’s anger that exuded off him. He was certainly not happy that his hospitality had been abused.

  The state she was in was too questionable to go unnoticed. Her brown hair was wild, repelling against her head and sticking out in all directions, most likely from extremely strong gusts of wind. Jeans and shirt tattered in dirt and leaves as if she’d fallen or rolled around on the forest ground, and face dusty. Abigail couldn’t understand what had happened to her, but she figured what she had done had taken up too much energy, and she grew tired and dizzy on the way.

  Her face held innocence, but Abigail had always known a whole lot better. She only wished she’d identified it sooner and gotten rid of her, but it was against her morals to work without evidence. And she’d been a witness to a rather unpleasant one.

  It seemed to have become a stare-off, and Abigail understood she wasn’t going to come clean anytime soon. Though, Kaia had finally opened her mouth, Abigail beat her to it. “We know what you’ve been doing, young witch. Come clean and surrender.”

  “I-I don’t understand…” Kaia started, and so convincingly that Nina almost believed it. “I only went to the bathroom.”

  “No one disappears for over an hour for the bathroom, Kaia.” Samuel deadpanned. He did not want to be too forceful. Kaia was still very young, under influence, and not legal under paranormal beings’ circumstances to have been possibly recruited or willingly join any organization. There was still a loophole to forgive her and get her help.

  But of course, she had other ideas.

  “Confess while I still hold onto my hospitality, youngling,” Kalen snarled at her. Ammara gave Kaia a pitiful look. She was too young. What had happened to her to turn her into what she was in front of them? A somewhat powerful witch so expert at lying. It should be scary to be able to act so convincingly, and maybe that was why she was chosen for the job. It alarmed her to think who they could be. They all had a hard time keeping track of their enemies, and they had plenty of them.

  “Who are you working for?” Abigail demanded. “What do you want from us?”

  Kaia visibly understood that no one was buying her act, so she dropped the look. Her face changed so drastically that Cassie gasped almost audibly. Her eyes were so old, darkened, and broken. She did not seem stable in any sense whatsoever. A ravaged burden lay in the depths of gaze, vowing to destroy every little light that the Earth held. It was obvious she’d never seen the face of love and affection. She’d never been cared for well, and she was alone. So alone.

  Kalen was losing the last of his grip on his anger. It did not matter to him if she was a child. She wanted to hurt his people, and such people never had the privilege of lasting too long. And she would soon be no different. The only thing that ensured his hold on sanity was Ammara’s hand on his chest, bringing him some of the calm needed to be able to think rationally.

  This youngling was smart, and he was sure she had plenty of information to offer if he could rip apart her head for it.

  Think calmly, Ammara reminded him. He mentally grunted.

  She was a good actress. If helped, she could be of use to the Council in keeping an eye on the enemy. But she’s a double crossing, two-timing piece of–

  You will definitely not be in charge of this situation, Ammara reprimanded. Kalen wanted to point out that this situation wouldn’t have risen if she hadn’t let her in through the barrier, but he held his tongue. There was already enough conflict. Playing blame games did no one any service, and he was determined to keep as much peace between himself, Ammara, and his daughter and her family while they were still with him, no matter what.

  And he had to deal with this situation with more maturity than he let on if his wishes were to be kept constant and ongoing. There were so many questions to ask her. They couldn’t hurt her if she was to be put to their benefit.

  “I don’t have to answer to any of you,” Kaia spoke with affirmative clarity, crossing her arms. Kalen almost lost his restraints and went for the jump to snap her neck in half, but Ammara wrapped her arms around him to hold him back, and that was – again – enough to push him back to his senses.

  “Can you at least tell us what to expect?” Abigail demanded, almost pleadingly. Kaia’s pitiful façade dropped, replaced with cruelty and menace. Eyes filled with raging fire that made everyone shift on their feet, even Kalen. Samuel felt at unease. Never before had he seen such a vicious look on anyone he had faced.

  “It’s useless. She’s beyond any proper feelings or rationale,” he commented quietly, “and most probably suffering from mental instability. It would be extremely unethical to kill her in this state of mind where she is so easily vulnerable and prone to manipulation.”

  Anyone could see clearly that she was damaged beyond recovery.

  Kaia opened her mouth and everyone waited expectantly, but she only laughed. She laughed hard with abandon, her shrill voice cackling through everyone’s bones and setting their hearts off in alarm. They couldn’t imagine what she had been put through to possess such qualities.

  Ammara let go of Kalen and gave the simplest order she ever had. “Hold her captive.”

  The Council members rushed forward, their stances firm and ready to take her on. But they did not expect what was to come next.

  “Oh, there’s nothing you can do anymore,” Kaia grinned as they rushed toward her. “Something is coming for the baby, and we won’t stop until we have her.”

  Kaia moved in precise formation, invisibly drawing out a spell from her body itself, conjuring weapons. A glowing blue light cut through the air and at them, three at each. Kalen only barely dodged but continued onward after her. Samuel jumped over them and shifted mid-air. Abigail only suffered a minor cut to her arm, but she decided against shifting since she didn’t want to cause any actual damage to her. Their order was only to capture. Nothing more, nothing less.

  Kalen was sent back flying by a burst of energy that flowed through the ground and up like a shield while it spread. It pushed back Samuel and Abigail, too. Kalen took to a smaller and lithe form to take the witch on. This was the strangest thing to happen in a fight. The Council members were too strong to have been swatted away like flies this way. It was evident that Kaia was not alone in using her powers. She was getting some sort of indirect assistance. And whoever was giving it to her seemed to be immensely powerful.

  Ammara hadn’t expected such resistance from such a small and frail thing. She looked at her trio of witches who understood what she wanted, and they took to the battle. They were no less stunned than everyone else about Kaia’s abilities. This would take too much time with just three people handling it.

  Kaia’s defenses were unbelievably swift and tactful. She did not tire at all as she shot spells and weapons at them. The six beings circled her, and they understood she needed to be distracted enough to be overtaken. And so, they got to work, hurling attacks and closing in on her, only to be painfully thrown back against the wind sent rolling against the forest floor.

  “Cassie, Diana, take Nina and Dahlia inside and make sure nothing gets to her,” Ammara ordered, feeling the imminent danger present in Kaia, and they were quick to follow through without hesitation. Nina was dragged away from the scene, and she obliged rather reluctantly.

>   Ammara observed the pattern and understood immediately what was happening. She caught the eyes of her comrades and knew exactly what they wanted. With Kaia distracted, she took to the air and floated right behind her, above the ground to get a proper aim at her head to render her unconscious. The tactic seemed to have worked as Kaia seemed absolutely unaware of what had happened, too busy fending off those in her vision. By the time she turned around to look, sensing something off, it was too late. Ammara had taken her aim and casted her spell. A spark of dark energy spat itself from her finger like a bullet, aiming right for the center of her forehead.

  That was all it took to knock Kaia off her feet and topple to the ground, rendering her absolutely unconscious. Her body convulsed furiously as if tried to reject the magic, but she soon stilled. It seemed to be forceful, most likely a work from wherever she got assistance to fight so powerfully. Her eyes closed, and her breathing caught pace.

  Everyone stopped in their tracks, staring at her. Ammara landed and walked toward them to take a look at her.

  She looked absolutely peaceful when unconscious. She seemed less terrible and heartbreaking while asleep.

  “There’s a lot to get out from her,” one of the witches, Adelaide said. “We can put her in restraints.”

  “Sounds all right, but we need to put up barriers around her, too,” Ammara noted, “so that she doesn’t further contact anyone for help. She was definitely having powers transferred to her.”

  Samuel disappeared behind them, only to reappear in clothed human form. He bent down to pick her up in his arms, and he was left surprised. “Severely malnourished. She hardly weighs ninety pounds, really.”

  “She needs rejuvenating,” spoke Cora. “Otherwise, we cannot expect answers.”

  Willow took the floor. “We also need to make sure there are no precautionary spells on her like coma inducers or memory wipers. We can take care of this.”

  Ammara felt the need to keep Kaia under her watch for the most part and stated she would join them. The witches did not object. Kalen would not let Ammara alone near Kaia and offered to be with her, which Ammara did not deny, but Samuel suggested that he join the men in patrol. They should expect an attack anytime soon. Kalen reluctantly agreed and left his partner behind to join him.

  Ammara checked on the girls inside and explained everything. They seemed all right, but simply witnessing such events was only wearing everyone down. She asked them to rest. They would need all the energy they could muster should they be attacked.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Luke and Fergus knew energy would be vital for any oncoming attacks. They needed proper sleep, but they were too anxious for it. Being the alphas and undoubtedly the strongest of their packs, they decided to take turns with their patrol shifts and to call for backup only when the actual attack happened. Luke ordered Kevin to return to Nina, and he did so without question.

  Samuel approached the alphas. “You two should cut yourselves some slack.”

  “We can’t,” sighed Fergus. “To be honest, we’re too nervous to do so. We were too careless yesterday with Kaia.”

  “That was the Council’s fault and responsibility. We handled it, and we’ll make up for it,” Samuel stated. “But we need you at the forefront in stable conditions to back us up.”

  Luke knew he should trust the Council, but he had a hard time trusting anyone after what took place with Kaia. He also knew that Samuel was right about getting rest. Maybe if they went to their mates, they could calm them down and cuddle them straight to sleep. He ached for Cassie, like always when away from her. He ached for his cub and regretted every moment away from him. He ached for the time when all was well and peaceful.

  He reminisced about the first time he’d met Cassie, wishing to go back in time and live it all over again. It wasn’t the easiest of times then, either, but it wasn’t as bad as what he and his comrades had to face right now.

  Fergus patted Luke on the shoulder and pulled him along.

  “Samuel is right,” Fergus said, “and don’t tell me you don’t need Cassie right now.”

  “Yeah, I know,” he breathed. His chest felt heavy with unsolicited guilt and wariness. He was too anxious. Everyone was. This was too much for them to properly cope with yet. In all his years of being rogue, then alpha, he never had to face anything as difficult. This brought a new kind of strain upon everyone.

  They alphas headed off to their mates. When Luke entered his given room, the sight of Cassie was enough to take away ten years of aging from his body.

  She was sleeping in the most ridiculous way, but it was endearing. To see some childishness return to her warmed his heart. It made his heat swell that his love was the reason she had become this way. He dedicated his life and work so that she could experience some normality to life and heal her battered soul from the years of abuse and running.

  She was lying on her back, top half hanging upside down from the edge of the bed, mouth open and drool running to her forehead. Her hair was open and a tangled mess on the carpet. And, goodness, he didn’t know she could snore like that. He chuckled and went over to her, wondering how on Earth she even found comfort in such a position.

  Lifting her up by her shoulders, he proceeded to turn her body toward the pillows. She woke up with a snort, and Luke laughed as she squinted her eyes awake.

  “You’re disgusting,” he laughed endearingly.

  “You drool right into my hair every night, so please,” she said haughtily and opened her arms. Luke buried his head into her neck and lay against her, and she closed her arms around his shoulders, rubbing his back and arm. He sighed and melted into her hold, wrapping his arms under her back and hugging her close, placing soft kisses on her neck. Cassie giggled and he lightly bit her collarbone, licking to soothe the place. She sighed in content and placed a gentle kiss on his temple. This was all it took to calm his uneasy heart and lighten his chest. Simple intimacy. He was a wild one mostly, but Cassie’s soft demeanor always made for something more meaningful than sex.

  It wasn’t long until he was knocked out cold, snoring away loudly. And drooling. Cassie’s eyes widened, then fell to slits in annoyance as she felt a drop fall onto her chest. She grumbled and reached out for a tissue to clean herself up. Feeling her shift, Luke held on tighter and snuggled her head into her neck. Cassie sighed and held him again, knowing he needed his sleep more than she needed to clean his drool. His tensed muscles relaxed under her touch. They were too tensed. Cassie understood how dire the situation had become. She worried for her cub back home and missed being with her. She was worried if they would go back to her in one piece even, with the possibility of an oncoming attack.

  She wasn’t blind to how dangerous Kaia and whoever sent her was. They had the power to infiltrate the territory and take away Nina’s baby. They were powerful enough to fight off the Council members. Who knows what could be coming next…

  ***

  Ammara stood in front of a restrained Kaia. She was put in a straightjacket, fingers gloved and tied to ensure she could not perform any invisible spells. Kaia could tell there were multiple barriers surrounding her to make sure she’d stay in place. Gazing at Ammara’s graceful and beautiful form repulsed her, but also brought her an odd sense of peace. One which she did not like, nor did she want to accept. Peace was for the weak that could not fend for themselves. For those who did not care for their survival. And Kaia did not wish to be one of them. She was in danger.

  Then why don’t I feel it, she thought to herself. Something told her Ammara did not wish to harm her at all.

  Ammara looked at her softly, but her face was a blank slate. She didn’t want to trigger the young witch in any way. She was too damaged and needed to be dealt with absolute care. The witches she had called upon stood at the edges of the room, forming a triangle. They started to chant, green light glowing at their feet and stretching out, two lines each, to connect to the other witch’s halfway to form a triangle on t
he ground. A faint tinge of green surrounded the air, signifying the existence of a barrier.

  “What’s your name?” Ammara asked simply.

  The young witch looked at her closely, but chose to answer. If she cooperated, then maybe they would take pity and not kill her. “I was never given one,” she responded.

  Ammara nodded to acknowledge it as the truth. “How old are you?”

  “I’m not really sure. The ones who picked me up said I was sixteen.”

  “All right, then. And who sent you?”

  “I can’t answer that.”

  “And we won’t force you,” Ammara said gently which made the young witch look at her in shock. Ammara flicked her wrist and a table and chair settled before the witch, along with a plate of food and glass of water.

  “You must be hungry,” the Caillagh stated and sat before her, picking up mashed potatoes and peas in her spoon. The young witch thought Ammara would eat in front of her to torture her hunger, but she held the spoon to her mouth instead. “Come on, open up.”

  The witch eyed the food suspiciously, but her hunger overtook it and she parted her lips. Ammara placed the morsel in her mouth and went to spoon some rice for her. She fed her until the plate was finished, but the witch did not seem satisfied, and so the plate was refilled and she was fed more. She was made to drink water every now and then. It puzzled the young witch to be showed this much care and kindness after what she had done to them, but she didn’t question it. She couldn’t. She felt too tired to think or judge. She couldn’t think as negatively and menacingly as she used to. It confused her, but for once, she didn’t feel uneasy or restless.

  Truth be told, she’d felt invaded after meeting the people who she was working for. As if something had taken over and that her thoughts weren’t quite her own. But she’d always brushed it off until now.

  “Could you tell us what is coming for us?”

  The young witch was hesitant, but she felt compelled to tell the Caillagh. “A squadron of sorts.”