Vera's Song (Creatures of the Lands Book 2)

by Natalie Erin

  “Let’s go find our friend,” Lilja said. “We’re not going home without him.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  The Prophecy is Fulfilled

  The bitter winter air seemed to cut through Vera’s very scales as she flew. She shivered, trying to think of a way out of her situation. She didn’t know if throwing Wyntier and Nineva off her back would solve the problem or only make things worse. Nineva could fly, but could she hold Wyntier up as well? She wasn’t sure.

  “You’re covered in blood,” Wyntier said. “What exactly were you doing in that cave?”

  She heard the excitement in his voice, so she gave him what he wanted. “I spent hours trying to gnaw myself free, but was unsuccessful,” she lied, glad he hadn’t ordered her to tell the truth.

  Nineva let out a cruel laugh behind her. “Only you could be so stupid.”

  Wyntier looked down, then let out a smile. “Land here.”

  Vera turned and descended next to the very waterfall she and Ionan had taken their vows at. The waterfall and pond were now long frozen over, and snow covered the once green grass and pine trees that engulfed the area. She felt there was a reason that Wyntier had chosen this place. As he and his wife slid off her back, Vera turned to face her Accompany and asked, “Alright Wyntier, I’ve done as you’ve ordered. Why are we here?”

  “This.” Wyntier pulled out his gun. He pointed it at Vera and fired it twice. Instantly she felt a sharp pain spread throughout her chest and across her thigh. Sinking to the ground instantly, she gasped for breath, looking at her Accompany with tears in her eyes. Blood was beginning to pour out from the wounds at a rate much faster than Vera had ever seen. “Wyntier,” she whispered. “How could you?”

  He ignored her question and grabbed his wife’s hand, walking into the woods. “And now we wait,” he said, slinking into the shadows of the trees. Nineva glanced back at Vera, giving her a smug, triumphant smile.

  “Ionan!” Keota cried, walking through the woods. He and Kia were alone, searching the ground while Snow Drop combed the skies. The heavy snow made for slow going, and Kia had decided to hover over the ground instead of tromping through snow drifts like Keota was forced to do.

  “We’re never going to find him this way. He could be anywhere,” Kia protested.

  “He’s got to be nearby. I sense him.” Keota cupped his hands around his mouth and screamed, “IONAN!”

  “Would you cut it out?” Kia snapped, slapping his hands away from his face. “You don’t know who’s out here! Do you want to get killed?”

  “Look around you, Kia. This place is deserted,” Keota protested. “There is absolutely no way that anyone is out here, let alone looking for us.”

  Once he had said this two large BANGS erupted from the trees above them. The two turned around to see Wyntier sitting on a tree branch, a foreign object pointed at Keota. “Surprise,” he laughed, and he fired the object again. The bark on the tree at Keota’s side shattered and Kia grabbed her husband, screaming, “RUN!”

  The two charged away from Wyntier as fast as they could while he gave chase behind him, the loud BANGS going off over and over and hitting every place the two had just been. Kia and Keota ran until they came to the edge of a very large cliff that was encompassed in fog, so much so that you couldn’t see the bottom.

  “Nowhere to run, sister,” Nineva said, flying out from the cover of the fog with a treacherous smile on her face. She raised her hand and sent fireballs hurtling at the young couple, and they dodged her blows, the magic skimming the threads of their clothes.

  Just as Keota had nearly missed being hit by a fireball the size of his head, Wyntier jumped out from nowhere and landed on his back. “Keota!” Kia screamed and she leapt forward to help, but Nineva turned her attention to her and Kia went flying into the air, unable to move.

  “Our father sent me away and you did nothing,” Nineva hissed, clenching her teeth. “You just stood there like a useless little girl while I begged, pleaded that you do something. Well now you’re going to understand what it feels like to be abandoned by your sister.”

  Nineva clenched her fists and black daggers made out of smoke appeared at her sides. She sent them flying at her sister, where they implanted with large THUMPS in her sides and legs. Kia began screaming uncontrollably as her sister began twisting the knives, driving them further in.

  “How does it feel, Kia? Does it hurt?” Nineva asked in a mocking tone void of pity.

  Tears sparked in Keota’s eyes as he heard his wife’s screams, but he was unable to do anything as he and Wyntier wrestled. Wyntier tried pointing the strange object towards Keota’s head, but Keota wrenched his hands away. Wyntier threw Keota onto the ground and raised his hand, planning to club Keota to death with the weapon.

  “It’s really no problem I have with you, Keota,” Wyntier grunted as he held Keota’s throat with one hand. “But you’re in the way, and I can’t say I won’t enjoy watching you and your wife die.”

  Ionan felt like giving up. He hadn’t seen any sign of Vera. But I can’t give up, he thought. She’d never give up on me, and I’ll die before I give up on her.

  Just as he was about to leave the woods and continue search elsewhere, he spotted a large purple figure lying in the snow. There she is! he thought in excitement and he turned to descend, his heart leaping in joy.

  But his joy soon turned to panic when he saw Vera unmoving, broken on the snow. Her eyes were barely open as Ionan rushed to her side, avoiding the large puddle of blood that her wounds had created.

  The instant she saw him she smiled. She looked up at Ionan and said lovingly, “Darling.”

  “What has he done to you?” he asked, tears running down his face.

  She shuddered, tremors of pain wracking through her body. “Don’t cry for me, my love. I don’t regret the life I have lived. Why regret it for me?” She began gasping for breath.“I’m…in so much pain. It’s very cold here.”

  “Vera, it’s alright. You’re going to be fine,” Ionan protested, his voice shaking. He looked around wildly. “I’m going to get help. The Great One will be able to fix this. Don’t worry Vera.”

  His words were cut off as something slammed into him from behind, throwing him away from Vera’s side. Ionan spun wildly around to face the one who had knocked him over, and his stomach dropped to his feet as he realized that a brown wyvern stood between him and his mate, his poisonous tail rattling as he grinned at the Changer.

  “Lukas,” Ionan said, shaking his head. “Why am I not surprised that you had something to do with this?”

  The wyvern hissed, poison dripping from his fangs. “Nicodemus was weak,” he snarled. “Wyntier will soon own all of Nesting’s Haven, and he needs a Changer by his side to rule it. And it looks like the job will be open soon.” The wyvern cackled, glancing back at Vera.

  “What did he promise you that you don’t already have?” Ionan said, starting to circle the other Changer with a low growl.

  “What my old Accompany never could. Control of the Council, and everyone in it.” Lukas lunged forward to strike at Ionan’s neck. The Changer dodged his attack, letting out a stream of flame that Lukas easily dodged. The wyvern struck out with his tail and Ionan slid past it, the tip scraping his scales.

  “You’re strong, Ionan, but your size slows you down,” Lukas cackled and he swiped at Ionan’s side, ripping open the skin. Ionan hissed and Vera cried, “Run, my love! There’s no hope for me.”

  “I will never abandon you!” Ionan shouted, and he leapt forward and grabbed Lukas’ leg in his mouth. He went to break it but Lukas slapped Ionan upside the head with his tail and got on top of the Changer, holding him down.

  “Wyntier will be so pleased I’ve gotten you out of the way. He’ll reward me beyond my wildest dreams,” Lukas cheered, raising his tail to deliver the killing blow. Vera screamed.

  Lottie and Lilja had their noses to the ground, trying to find Ionan’s scent. “He’s definitely that way,” Lilja said, p
ointing with his nose. “It’s hard to tell through the snow, but he’s been by here lately.”

  “Should we start following the scent?” Lottie asked, but before Lilja could answer screams began lighting up the woods. Lottie raised her ears towards the sound of the screams, her tail raising high into the air.

  “That’s Kia!” she said fearfully. “Something must’ve gone wrong! We have to help her!”

  At that second colossal roars began shaking the ground where they stood. Lilja’s eyes widened, saying, “And that’s Ionan. He’s in trouble too! What do we do?”

  “You follow the trail, and I’ll go help Kia,” Lottie told him. “We’ll meet up again later.”

  “I don’t like us going into this alone, Lottie,” Lilja argued.

  “What other choice do we have?” Lottie insisted, and before her brother could protest she was bounding towards the sound of Kia’s tortured screams.

  The fairy queen’s face had gone pure white. She couldn’t take much more of the torture. Her screams had dissolved into moans of agony as Nineva drove more and more knives into her sister’s body.

  Keota could barely see through the blood that was clogging up his eyes. Wyntier had gotten in a few good hits with the butt of his weapon, and with one more Keota would surely pass out. We’re going to die here, Keota thought, and Wyntier turned his weapon around so that the barrel was facing Keota’s face, ready to send the Accompany into oblivion.

  Then a scream sounded behind him that was not Kia’s and the queen fell from the sky, toppling onto the snow in a defenseless ball. Nineva was on the ground, screaming as she tried to pull Lottie away. The wolf had her fangs embedded in Nineva’s throat and was shaking her senseless.

  Wyntier looked up, panic filling his face at the sight of his wife being mauled. Those few seconds of distraction were all Keota needed. He pushed Wyntier off of him and got to his feet, turning the weapon towards the Accompany’s face.

  There was a loud BANG and Keota felt blood spatter across his face as Wyntier went limp. Lottie got off Nineva and the witch clambered to her feet, holding in her neck muscles with her hands. Before she had a chance to heal herself Keota sent Wyntier’s body flying into her, and the two of them toppled off the cliff and into the fog below, where they vanished from sight.

  “They’re dead,” Lottie gasped, wiping the blood from her muzzle. “Both of them are dead.”

  “Kia!” Keota ran to the fairy’s side, lifting her up into his arms. The daggers had left no mark or wound, but the fairy was weak, her head rolling on her neck limply.

  “Nineva,” she whispered, and tears fell rampant down her face.

  “What happened?” Snow Drop said as she came careening towards the ground. Keota carried Kia over to her and sat the fairy upon the Pegasus’ back, saying, “She’s been tortured by Nineva. Get her back to Flare and Vixen now!”

  “But what about you?” Snow Drop asked, gaping at the sight of the blood gushing from the wounds on his head.

  “I’ll be fine. Just take care of my wife!” he insisted. As Snow Drop flew away, Keota sat in the snow woozily and Lottie came over to tend to his wounds.

  “It’s not very deep,” she said, observing it. “The bleeding is already beginning to stop. Just rest for a minute and you’ll be alright.”

  Keota sighed, holding his head in his hands. “That was too close. But I’m glad they’re finally dead. We can go back home.”

  Another roar filled the skies. Keota jumped to his feet, a singular word running across his lips. “Ionan.”

  Ionan struggled under Lukas’ grasp, but it was no use. The wyvern had him in a tight spot, and nothing he could do would enable him to escape. He waited to feel the sting of the wyvern’s tail crush his skull, but all he heard was Lukas screaming. Ionan looked out of the corner of his eye to see Lilja with Lukas’ tail in his mouth, shaking it back and forth and preventing the wyvern from striking.

  As Lukas roared in pain, his grip slipped. Ionan threw him off easily, then charged towards the wyvern with his mouth wide. Ionan bit down harshly on the wyvern’s neck, tossing him across the woods. Lukas hissed and went to counter him, but without warning the Changer paused, looking up into the sky with his nostrils flaring, eyes contracting in fear.

  The wyvern then turned to stare at Ionan with a look that would murder the dragon if it could. “Wyntier needs my help. This isn’t over yet, Ionan!”

  Lukas took off into the sky, scattering snow everywhere. Instead of giving chase Ionan rushed to Vera’s side, looking her over in fright.

  “Lukas did his job,” she whispered. “There’s no time to get help for me now, Ionan. Please, stay with me.”

  “No Vera, there’s still time,” Ionan protested. “We’ll get you help, we’ll get you out of here. Lilja! Lilja, please, find someone!” The Changer turned to his old friend in desperation, but the wolf simply stood there with his head low.

  Tremors started wracking her body. “I want to go home,” she said softly.

  With a trembling voice, Ionan said, “Don’t worry, the Great One will heal you soon and we’ll get you back to Nesting’s Haven, where we both belong.”

  Vera looked at him and murmured, “I don’t think you understand what home I’m talking about.”

  The Changeress laid her head down on the snow and gave a soft sigh. Before anyone knew it, she had stopped breathing.

  “No,” Ionan whispered softly. “No Vera, please,” he whimpered, putting his head to hers as two large tears leaked from his eyes. “Please stay.”

  She didn’t respond.

  “No! It can’t be!” Ionan cried.“Let me take her place! It’s supposed to be me who dies, not her! I can’t live like this!”

  Lilja walked slowly up to his friend, putting a paw on his claws. “Ionan, it’s too late. She’s gone.”

  “No,” Ionan protested, and smoke began furling from his mouth. “NOOOOOO!”

  Ionan reared up on his hind legs and opened his mouth. Jets of flame came furling out of him, lighting up the darkness that was quickly falling on the forest.

  Keota and Lottie appeared at the edges of the trees. Dropping his head, Keota looked at Lottie sadly and said, “Even after everything we did, they still never had a chance.”

  The snowflakes began falling out of the clouds at an excessive rate. As they began coating Vera’s body in a shroud of white, Ionan collapsed on the ground, his sobs shaking the forest.“VERA!”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Murder and Lullabies Go Hand in Hand

  Aravon stretched out under a tree and sat looking up at the branches above his head, a scowl written tightly across his face. He hadn’t eaten in days, nor had he found anyplace to sleep.The forest around him was quiet, and the knowledge of what day it was going to be soon upset him. He had never been alone on Christmas before. “Stupid holiday!” he shouted at no one but himself, throwing a snowball up in the air. It only came spiraling back down to hit him directly in the face.

  “What’s a stupid holiday?” A beautiful black she-wolf with caramel colored streaks running through her fur came out of the bushes to stand in front of him, tilting her head to the side.

  “Christmas,” he snarled at her.

  “I agree,” the wolf replied. “I’ve always hated Christmas. What’s the point of it?”

  “Exactly!” Aravon jumped up as he spoke. “I can’t believe I’m agreeing with a wolf, but it’s just another reason for everyone to be happy and excited. I think it’s completely stupid.”

  The wolf nodded, getting to her feet. “I’m Carmilla. Who are you?”

  “Aravon, but I prefer Von,” he told her. “Where exactly did you come from?”

  “The castle in the Black Woods.” She sat down, shaking her fur. “I used to live there until they kicked me out, for leading a fairy and her group into the castle.”

  “Why would they do that?” Aravon asked.

  “Because the fairy was traveling with wolves,” Carmilla snarled. “A lot of us
were killed that night, and they deemed me responsible. I don’t really care that they made me leave. The woman who made me, Iris, was just too irritating for me to deal with any longer.”

  “I ran away too, for the same reasons. My family is a bunch of idiots,” Von said before taking a long pause. “Wait a minute. Doesn’t that castle belong to Ortusans?”

  “Yup,” she said matter-of-factly before looking him up and down. “Now hand me your coat.”

  “No!” Aravon said. “You don’t need it!”

  “Yes! It’s long enough, so hand it over!” Carmilla demanded.

  “Long enough for what?” Von said, completely confused.

  “You’ll see when you hand it over.”

  “I don’t want to, I’ll freeze.”

  “It’s not that cold out here.”

  “Yes it is!

  “Just give it here!” Carmilla snapped. Von pulled his knee-length coat off and handed it to the wolf in confusion, and she took it in her teeth gingerly. “About time,” she mumbled.

  “Now what?” he asked, wrapping his arms across his chest to keep warm.

  “Turn around,” she commanded. When Von only stared at her, she sighed and said, “Turn around because I’m not about to let you see me naked.”

  His shocked expression was followed by a burst of laughter. “Last time I checked wolves were always naked, sweetheart,” he said, still laughing.

  “Just turn around before I decide to kill you,” she snarled slowly. Von stopped laughing, turning to face the tree. He heard the rustling of cloth and footsteps in the snow as Carmilla said, “Now you can turn again.”

  Before him stood a young women, hardly older than he was. Her long black hair was streaked with a rich caramel color and it fell to her shoulders in thick curls. Her eyes were a brilliant gold, her skin as white as the snow around her. The only thing she wore was his long coat.

  “Close your mouth and stop staring,” she commanded. “I know I’m gorgeous, it’s part of the whole Ortusan thing.”