Conjured Defense (Terra Chronicles Book 4)

by J. C. Jackson

  Now I knew who the boss was.

  The only thing left now was to burn the wiring and see if I could destroy the orb. The system forced its calm and balance at me, siphoning off some of my arcane energy. Self-preservation?

  Burning out the miles and miles of wiring was tedious and time consuming. I lost my view through the ship as the span of the system became smaller. By the time it was just me and the orb, I labored to breathe and had nothing left to fight it with - it pulled the arcane energy away from me faster than I could gather it.

  Another presence joined the system. Silver appeared before me.

  Panic overrode anything the system threw at me. “What are you doing here? You need to go while you can!”

  “Not without you.” He closed his eyes to the calm and balance the orb pushed. “It’s time to go home, Kela.” He took my hands and floated backward, pulling me along with him.

  The system pulled at me, keeping me where I was. Stuck in the tug-of-war between the two, Silver’s necklace flared, creating a golden-white barrier around us, breaking the orb’s hold.

  When we got out, my vision shifted back immediately and Silver knelt on the other side of the orb, his hands over mine. I pushed our hands away from the orb. He grabbed me by the wrists and pulled me out of the chair, away from the source of so many of our problems this trip and held onto me tightly.

  Vince stepped up to the orb, signaling the people with him to take care of it. “We need to get the two of you out of here.” He held my staff out to me.

  I pushed Silver away to take the weapon and tilted my head toward the door. I moved as quickly as I could manage, stopping short when the leader came through. Before he could bring his gun up, I closed the distance with a burst of a flight spell and struck him across the head as hard as I could with my staff.

  He dropped. Part of me hoped for more, but he remained still on the deck.

  Our earlier escorts led the way to the extraction point.

  Silver broke ahead of them as soon as more enemies came at us.

  “You know we’re supposed to be the ones fighting to get you out of here, right?” one of our escorts asked.

  I kept walking. “Do you plan on stopping him?”

  “No, ma’am. Just feeling useless.”

  A group of enemies coming from a side hall behind us stopped any further conversation. Our escorts turned to engage. I stepped in front of them, first sending thousands of ice shards at the group to distract them before chaining a lightning spell, branching it out, watching it multiply from one enemy to the next. They dropped in a wave.

  “Save your bullets. I have power to burn being this close to the ley line,” I said.

  “Really feeling useless.”

  “We’re close to getting above deck. The extraction point won’t be far from where we exit,” the other escort said.

  Silver stood down the hall waiting for us. Blood dripped from his blade and his shield with splatters over his face and armor. What disturbed me most was his braid hung down his back. Even in training, when he stopped like this, it would always be over his right shoulder. Would I lose him to the past in this escape?

  I turned to attack the coming footsteps when our escorts stopped me. Vince and the people with him caught up to us. “Let’s move,” he ordered.

  They pushed past us. Silver fell in behind them while our original escorts took up a position behind me.

  We made it a few more yards down the hall when I heard lots of loud footsteps coming from behind. Clenching my teeth and drawing arcane energy to both of my hands, I dropped my staff and turned around, hurling two fireballs down the hallway. I was done with interruptions.

  I threw my shield spell up to fill the entire hallway as the fireballs went off, protecting us from the blasts. The force of the explosions made me slide back.

  Someone behind me let out a low whistle as I reclaimed my weapon.

  Silver stepped in front of me as I went to pass him. “You still here?”

  I took a second to realize he was concerned about the fairie making a reappearance. “Yeah. You?”

  “Yeah. Both of us need to get out of the fight soon.”

  I glanced up at my partner. His face was tight, his jaw set. I tilted my head in the direction of the others and we continued.

  The wind took my hair as soon as we made it outside. I looked around at the Naval vessels surrounding us. Their lights were trained on the ship, shining brightly in the dark night.

  More groups of enemies came at us. Silver went after the closest one. Our escorts moved to cover us from the other side. “No!” I shouted. “Help him!” I pointed back at Silver.

  “But ma’am…”

  I held my staff at the ready, walking past them. “Just do it and then get him out of here!” I did not wait for a response. Using a burst of power, I took off at the other group approaching, slamming the end of my staff into the deck, creating another shockwave, sending a few flying off of the ship while others either hit walls or were sent several yards down the deck.

  My power manifested itself in iridescent tendrils across my body. Tears appeared on my arms and legs, showing the power beneath. I could not burn it off fast enough. This would be my last stand. Hopefully it would be enough for the others to get to safety.

  Bringing my hands up, my feet also left the deck as I conjured a large amount of water overhead before unleashing it in a tidal wave down the deck, stopping anyone from getting up and taking out the next wave of fighters.

  “Ketayl!” Vince yelled.

  I turned to see what I needed to deal with. Something sharp struck my shoulder, forcing me back from the impact. I pulled the dart out, staring at it for a moment before looking at Vince who held the rifle. The picture was wrong - I thought he was my ally. My feet touched the deck only a moment before my legs gave out and I dropped to my knees.

  Two of the men with Vince ran at me and I swung my staff, missing completely. I swung again and they kept their distance. “I’m not done!” My voice boomed with power. I forced myself back up, one unsteady foot at a time.

  Silver said something to Vince before running toward me. I pointed my staff at him, fire engulfing my weapon.

  I took deep breaths to maintain the fragile control I had. The world became too blurry to make out details which meant I had little time left.

  When my partner stopped, I took it as a sign I would be left to finish. No sooner had I turned away when strong arms grabbed me from behind. I recognized the feel of Silver’s armored jacket against my skin. The adrenaline rush I rode suddenly left me and the arcane energy was being siphoned off.

  “Stop! Let me go!” I pushed against him both physically and with my quickly draining power. Between whatever Silver was doing and the tranquilizer, I made no progress getting free.

  “Kela,” Silver whispered in my ear, “it’s time to go home.”

  Those were the last words I heard before the world went black.

  Chapter 24

  I floated in a golden-white light. It was familiar and comforting despite never having been here before. The light soothed my frayed nerves from the concentrated arcane energy.

  Occasionally I heard voices, but ignored them. Whatever it was, it could wait.

  After a long time the light faded and I could only see black. I heard the sound of gentle waves nearby and smelled the ocean. A light breeze wafted through.

  I slid on slick fabric when I went to sit up. My arms responded sluggishly as I reached toward whatever was around my head.

  Large rough hands wrapped around my shoulders and helped me sit up. “It's okay, Ketayl. You're safe,” Silver said gently. He pulled me into a tight hug. “Thank the Gods you're awake.” His necklace warmed against my chest.

  I opened my mouth to ask questions, but my voice would not come. My power pushed at me as my mind raced to make sense of the current situation. I managed to get my hands to what was around my head. I could not figure out what my fingers told me it was. I started
pushing it off.

  Silver took my hands and made a soothing sound. “I know this is scary. They bandaged your eyes as a precaution. Let me get you some water.”

  I shook my head as he moved away and grabbed his arm.

  “Here, hold this. I don't have to go far.” Silver put something silky and woven in my hands.

  I squeezed his braid tightly as I heard him pour liquid into a glass.

  “They started talking about moving you somewhere else. It’s been a few days.” He took my hands and wrapped them around the glass.

  I shook, spilling some of the water over my fingers. He steadied my hands and helped me guide it to my mouth. I tried to down it quickly, but he held the glass so I could only drink so much at a time.

  “I know you’re thirsty, but you need to take it slow.”

  It took what I believed to be hours to finish the small glass. Silver took it away, immediately replacing it with his braid.

  When he came back to me he brushed my cheek with his thumb. “How are you feeling?”

  Scared. Confused. Lost. “Fine.”

  Silver let out a short laugh. “I should know better than to ask that question. Anything hurt?”

  I shook my head.

  “Want me to take the bandage off?”

  I nodded. I needed to know where I was and what was going on.

  “Keep your eyes closed. It’s night and I only have one light on in here so it shouldn’t be too bad.” Silver’s hands moved around my head. “You certainly were a force of nature out there. Holding back on me again?”

  “No,” I said softly, “Couldn’t burn off the energy from the ley line faster than I got more.”

  Silver let out a soft huff. “Well, either way, I underestimated exactly how angry you were.” He tugged lightly at the tape to finish getting the bandages off. Then he gently pressed underneath my eyes. “Everything appears normal. Look at me?”

  It took time to adjust to even the low light in the room, but I managed to do as he asked. Until I looked at him, I did not realize how much I needed to see him. To know he was alive and healthy. I reached up and touched his face to make sure this was real.

  Something was off and it wasn’t his lack of shirt. I searched his face for an answer.

  His missing necklace was odd, but still not it.

  The color of his eyes seemed off. Even in low light like this, it would be hard not to make out the bright blue, but now they appeared to have clouded over.

  Silver put his hand over mine and turned his face into the touch, kissing the palm of my hand. “I think I’ll wait until after sunrise to let them know you’re awake.”

  I turned to our surroundings. “Where are we?”

  “The resort we had been moved to. It’s one of the cabins instead of the hotel.”

  “How long were we on the ship?”

  “Three weeks. I heard Kitteren has been going ballistic being unable to reach you.”

  I let out a soft huff. I would need to deal with her soon, but not right now. Another question tugged at my attention. “Why did the Director shoot me?”

  Silver sighed, threading his hands into my hair. “Because you were going to die if you weren’t stopped.”

  I turned away from him. “I couldn’t control it much longer. Figured I could make sure you got to safety and take the rest of them down with me. You shouldn’t have stopped me.”

  My partner forced me to look at him. “Get this through your head now: you have made it clear you won’t leave me and I sure as Hells am not leaving you.”

  I glared at him.

  “Gods help me, you are infuriating sometimes.”

  “Good.”

  Silver laughed. “Okay, okay. What have I gotten myself into with you?”

  I shrugged, looking out over the water outside of our cabin. “I guess I still owe you a couple of days on your proposal.”

  “I’ll admit, this whole ordeal ruined it. For me at least.”

  I stared at my lap. How we saw things would be colored now. “Yeah…” I closed my eyes. My hands were as stained as his. I knew I should feel something other than satisfaction for the destruction I caused, but I simply could not. Perhaps when this all sunk in.

  “I’d like to rebuild from the beginning. It would only be fair if I was more open with you. And preferably I’d like to do this without getting captured by pirates,” Silver said.

  I gave a short laugh. “Maybe.”

  Silence fell between us for several seconds. “Dawn is approaching. Come sit with me?” Silver asked.

  “Yeah.” I went to move, but my legs would not respond properly.

  Silver simply picked me up and carried me outside to one of the lounge chairs on the deck. I shivered at the cool breeze off the ocean. The slip of a dress I wore gave me little protection.

  My partner retreated into the cabin for a moment, coming back with a blanket he placed over me. He sat down in the next chair, taking my hand in his.

  Silently we watched the sun rise and I soaked up the peace and calm coming from his morning ritual. I had not seen actual daylight for so long. My eyes watered at the sight. I had been prepared to not see it again. His pendant warmed and a desire to be closer to him washed over me.

  I closed my eyes and separated myself from what I received from the pendant.

  Silver knelt in front of me. “What’s wrong?”

  I picked up the pendant, staring at it for a moment before reaching behind me and undoing the clasp. “Thank you for lending me this.”

  “Ketayl…”

  I took his hand and relinquished the item. “I can’t have it influencing me. It’s not fair to either of us.”

  “What?” Silver held up the pendant in front of him. “How could it influence you? It's just a piece of metal.”

  I bit my lower lip, unsure how to describe what I sensed.

  “Actually, let's hold off on that conversation,” Silver said, putting his necklace back on. “I have a feeling it’ll be part of another. Let’s get you inside and changed before breakfast. They brought us back our things. They also brought the new stuff if you feel like wearing a dress.”

  I scrunched my face up at the idea and Silver laughed softly.

  I managed to coordinate my legs this time, but Silver insisted on helping me walk. My attention had been on making sure my feet moved correctly and looked up when my partner stopped inside the door.

  Vince stood there with his arms crossed. “You were supposed to report immediately when she woke up. And also wait for a doctor before removing the bandages.”

  “Like Hells,” Silver spat. “You expect me to follow your orders after you used us like that?”

  “What?” It came out more as a breath.

  “Are you going to tell her or should I?” Silver glared at Vince.

  Vince raised an eyebrow at my partner before turning his attention to me. “While I was unaware of the plan until it had been executed, the responsibility does fall to me. The orb was stolen in transport and the previous team leader deemed it necessary to let the two of you be captured to track where they took it. Suffice to say he and those involved in bypassing protocols are not even on your security detail let alone this assignment.”

  Spotting a nearby chair, I separated myself from Silver to sit down. I leaned forward, hanging my head. “That's why help never came. Was that the reason Lockonis gave us the downtime? To make sure the orb was secured?”

  “No. She wanted the two of you to take time-off. I tried to make it as soon as I heard what was going on, but I wasn't fast enough to stop it.”

  I sighed, too tired to deal with this.

  “Ketayl, how can you be so calm?!” Silver asked angrily.

  “Because it wouldn’t have mattered how far we had gone. We would have been targets until the orb was out of enemy hands. However,” I paused, taking a moment to muster the strength to continue and glared up at Vince, “We should have been informed so we could have gone in prepared.” Granted, if he ha
d not known until the plan was in action, there would have been no time to warn us.

  “The team wasn’t prepared for your fireworks either,” Vince pointed out.

  “I guess we’re all guilty of withholding information,” I snapped back.

  “Lockonis trained you too well. We’ll talk more during the debriefing.” Vince turned and left.

  I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose. It was hard to be angry when my own sister had done something similar to me several months earlier. Lately I kept finding myself on the darker side of the business.

  When I looked up again, Silver sat on the edge of the bed. He held his pendant up to stare at it.

  “Did I break it?” I asked.

  Silver shook his head. “I've never sensed anything from it before.”

  “What is it?”

  “I’m not sure. It’s barely there, but I can sense power from it.”

  I tilted my head, considering what happened. “You touched the orb, right?”

  “Yeah. It was a last ditch effort. I wasn’t sure if touching the orb around your hands would allow me to use your connection to get in. Now I understand the draw of it. If you hadn't been there, I might not have wanted to leave.”

  I closed my eyes at what he put himself through. “There’s a chance you have some residual effect from the connection. Whether it’s from the orb or me, I don’t know. It should fade in time.”

  He shrugged and dropped the pendant.

  “Looks better on you anyway,” I joked.

  Silver smirked. “You’d just need a different chain. Something a little nicer and shorter.”

  “I don’t care for gold.”

  “So does that mean you prefer ‘Silver’ instead?” he asked with a broad smile and gestured at himself.

  I rolled my eyes. “That was horrible.”

  He snorted and we both broke down laughing at his bad joke. I wiped at my eyes as Silver knelt down in front of me, brushing my hair back. “I love hearing you laugh. Took so long to get you to and then… I really thought I was going to lose you so many times recently.”

  I turned my eyes to my lap. “Until that barrier broke, I needed to keep…”