The Channel (The Gifted Book 2)

by C. L. McCourt

  ~~~

  Light shown through the slits between the boards that formed the barn walls and pierced Rhea's eyelids, waking her to a new day. She rolled over, trying to hide her eyes from the light, wishing for more time.

  She heard the sounds of footsteps and opened one eyelid. The places where Daen and Randell had slept were empty. Rhea sat up and rubbed what felt like sand from her eyes. She needed a shower or, at least, a bath.

  "I see you're awake." Randell's voice came from the other side of the stall wall.

  Rhea looked up. "How long have you been up?"

  "Not long. They have breakfast if you want something."

  "I need a bath. I feel like I'm covered in hay dust. Is there such a thing as hay dust?"

  Randell laughed and offered Rhea a hand up. "I don't know, but I'm sure we can find a way to get you cleaned up."

  The rest of the morning was spent getting ready for the day, including a quick bath and breakfast for each of them.

  As they stepped out onto the porch to leave, Bella handed them a bag of food for later.

  "Oh, Bella, we couldn't. That food is for your family." Rhea gently nudged the bag back toward the woman.

  "I won't hear of it. If we are going to trust in Aurea and her feelings then you will need this."

  They each thanked her for the food, and Daen paid Marc for the space in the barn as promised. Marc tried to decline, but Daen won out. As they left, Marc invited them to stay again if they needed assistance in the future.

  ~~~

  Lanne's dreams were interrupted by the sounds of rustling leaves and footsteps. She tensed, not wanting the person, or persons, to know she was awake. She slowly opened her eyes, just enough to glimpse the feet she could hear near the horses. Where were Gaibel and Beth? Her heart started to pound as she tried to clear the fog from mind.

  The feet by the horse came into focus. Gaibel! Lanne sat up quickly. "You scared me to death!" Lanne rubbed her eyes and took in the changes around the camp. "Why didn't you wake me?"

  Gaibel finished checking the tightness of the cinch around her horse's belly. "I was just about to. We leave in fifteen minutes. I'll saddle your horse. You get ready." She picked up Lanne's saddle. "You know you sleep like a log? We've been making all sorts of noise."

  Lanne slowly stood, unfolding her achy body to an upright position. Sleeping on the hard cold ground was not something she liked to do, and having done it two nights in a row after riding hard, her body felt like a bundle of bruises.

  Gaibel watched Lanne get to her feet. "You look like an old woman."

  "Shut it." Lanne groused as she tried not to laugh. "I'm just not used to this way of travel. I prefer inns."

  Gaibel pressed her lips together to keep her from laughing. She loved her cousin dearly. Lanne had been the only person Gaibel trusted with her daughter. "You will be in a bed tonight. I promise."

  Lanne walked slowly into the cover of some bushes. "Thank goodness," she mumbled as she prepared for the day.

  Beth and Gaibel continued to break camp. Just before Beth doused the fire, Gaibel handed her three two-foot sticks with one end wrapped in strips of cloth and soaked in oil.

  Beth dipped the torches in the flame and handed one to Lanne and another to Gaibel before dousing the fire and mounting up.

  "Will these burn long enough to get through to the other side?" Lanne watched the flame of her torch dance in the morning breeze.

  "No. It will take at least two." Beth patted the pack that lay behind her saddle, indicating where the other torches were stored. "Now, come. We don't want to waste the flame out here." She nudged her horse into a trot and led them to the passageway through the mountain.

  8

  Attack

  Daen, Randell, and Rhea set out walking north toward their rendezvous with Lanne and Gaibel, and just like the day before, they saw the occasional traveler heading south and were passed by others traveling north.

  The beauty of Luxatra wasn't lost on Rhea or Randell. With the Kinling Mountains stretched to the right and fields of flowers to the left, it was an amazing place. The snow on top of Kinling sparkled as if light were reflecting off a blanket of diamonds, just as Rhea had remembered from the shadows. The fragrance from the flowers was intoxicating. Stronger than any florist shop she'd been in.

  Ever since arriving in Luxatra, Rhea's senses had become heightened. She felt connected to the world and life around her in a way she couldn't explain. At times, it felt overwhelming to actually feel the life around her without needing to touch it.

  Randell felt more alive than he ever had before. He felt rested, energized. He couldn't help laughing to himself. Here he was, in what should have been a stressful situation, yet he felt calm. With so many unknowns and possible danger lurking around every corner, he should feel on edge, anxious, but he didn't. What a strange thing to feel, he thought, as he wondered if Luxatra was to thank.

  "Daen. I don't know how you did it all those years. I think I now understand, a little, of what you suffered."

  Daen looked over his shoulder at Randell. "I did miss Luxatra, but what you and your family did ... I wouldn't say I suffered."

  Rhea tried to imagine what it would be like to leave this place, something she assumed she would do when whatever needed to be done was done. But after experiencing Luxatra, she didn't know if she could return to her to the world where she grew up. Not permanently at least.

  A few hours into their walk, their peace was interrupted once again by the sound of thundering hooves, this time coming from the east. Unlike the day before, there weren't any boulders to provide cover, but it wouldn't have mattered.

  They'd been seen. The riders in black were coming straight for them with swords drawn.

  Daen drew his sword, and Rhea and Randell followed suit, ready to defend. Rhea's heart started to pound in her chest as she tried to manage her fear while images from her dreams flashed in her mind's eye.

  As Randell's mind raced through the years of practice battles, a calm and steady sensation ran through him. Again, he was surprised at the feeling, but assumed that it meant he was ready, he hoped.

  As the riders in black got closer, Daen studied the crest on the breast of their doublets and whispered to himself, "They're Laundan warriors."

  Rhea gulped. Okay, that didn't help matters. Breathe, she needed to breathe.

  Randell was watching them carefully as they approached. "Do you think they're the same warriors from yesterday?"

  "I wouldn't be surprised." Daen's jaw was tight, his expression serious, as he stood ready for battle.

  Rhea thought about the energy ball she'd created in her dorm room and wished she'd practiced creating them versus concentrating just on her sword work. Now she was facing a battle that would most likely require more than the elementary sword skills she learned before coming to this world.

  Before she had a chance to truly panic, she started to feel a tingling sensation move throughout her body. She wasn't calling for it, it was just happening on its own.

  "Stay quiet. I'll do the talking," Daen whispered.

  Randell and Rhea looked at each other for reassurance, but in a matter of seconds, they were surrounded by six warriors, their horses snorting and restless. Randell and Rhea turned to face the riders, putting their backs to each other and to Daen's. They dropped their gear behind them and stood ready.

  The smell from the warriors was overwhelming. There had been a hint of it on the wind as they approached, but now that they were a few feet away, it became difficult not to gag from the putrid odor.

  The mud and bits of leaves that covered much of their black doublets, plus the smell, suggested they'd been living in their uniforms for a while. Rhea could discern a coat of arms on the breast of the doublet under the filth but couldn't make out what it was.

  Randell saw Daen, from the corner of his eye, flip his cloak open and off his shoulders, exposing his leather body armor and guardian cre
st. He stood ready to fight.

  Rhea glanced to her right in time to see the arrogant and confident demeanor of the man who looked like the leader. His yellowing teeth showed through his long grubby whiskers when a far from friendly smile crept across his lips. "Well, well. What do we have here?"

  Randell and Rhea couldn't see Daen's face; they were busy keeping an eye on the two warriors facing each of them. But his voice spoke volumes.

  "What is your business in Taulomi?" Daen demanded an answer through a clenched jaw.

  The leader laughed, not a happy laugh, but the kind coated with sarcasm and arrogance. "We're searching for criminals, those who would bring harm to Laundan."

  Daen couldn't believe what he was hearing. Could things have changed so much that such behavior was now permitted? No. He wouldn't accept this, but he needed to be careful. He wasn't with fellow guardians who were accustomed to doing battle.

  Rhea could feel Daen's energy intensify behind them, but his voice was steady. "If you have concerns about the safety of Laundan, then you should take those concerns to the Taulomi authorities. We are not a danger to you or Laundan. Please step aside."

  The other warriors laughed.

  "I don't think so," the leader retorted. "You see, you've drawn your swords. You've threatened Laundan warriors, and you need to be taught a lesson."

  Rhea glanced up to the leader in time to see his face grow dark, causing the laughter from the others to be stopped. "Throw down your swords!"

  Randell and Rhea didn't move. They were still following Daen's lead.

  Dean stepped forward as if to dare the man to strike. "Do you not see who I am? Step aside now, and I may be inclined to forget about this intrusion." His voice started to match the intensity of his energy, radiating against Rhea's back.

  Again, the warriors laughed, and this time Rhea didn't blame them. With three against six, she would feel somewhat confident if she were them.

  "We don't care who or what you think you are." The leader raised his sword and walked his horse closer to Daen. "Do as I say and maybe I'll kill you quickly. Otherwise, you'll die a slow death."

  Rhea glanced over her shoulder in time to see the leader take inventory of she and Randell before his sneer turned into a smile that was far from pleasant.

  The leader finished assessing his captives and snarled. "But not before you watch us have a little fun with your female."

  The warriors dismounted and started to approach. Everything around them started to change for Rhea. Their movements were odd, as if everything was moving in slow motion. Sounds started to fade, and she was no longer just herself, she was something more.

  Before she knew what she was doing, Rhea stepped forward and took a battle stance.. "Continue and die or leave and live." It wasn't her voice, not really. She didn't know where words had come from.

  The warriors that surrounded them snickered. One of the two warriors, that lined up to take on Rhea, smirked before saying, "I think we need to teach this female her place."

  The warrior on the right, the smaller of the two, raised his empty hand to his friend. "Let me go first." He stepped closer, waving his sword casually in front of him as he brushed his long scraggly hair from his weathered face.

  He didn't wait for his friend to grant his request before he thrust his sword towards Rhea's face. She blocked his attack, and he stepped back and snorted his distain. "This is going to be fun."

  Daen and Randell wanted to take out the two warriors taunting Rhea, but they had their own problems. They'd been surrounded. Each time Randell or Daen started to move to help her, the remaining Laundan warriors cut them off.

  Within seconds, the dance of interference had ended, and Daen and Randell were under attack, fighting for their lives.

  The words from the smaller scraggly-haired warrior were all Rhea needed to hear. He was going to toy with her; he didn't see her as a threat.

  Rhea stepped forward and swung her sword just as the fierce metal-on-metal sounds rang out from behind her. She brought her sword down towards the warrior's head as if she were going to chop wood. She didn't think her move would go unnoticed or unblocked. She just wanted to send a message that she wasn't afraid, but she didn't stop there.

  In two more strokes of her sword, the smaller cocky warrior was down, and she wanted to throw up. Rhea hadn't set out to kill him, but she had. She'd swung her sword across her body to the right ... not wanting to just deflect his next strike but to meet his strike like a bat meets a ball.

  Either he wasn't expecting the move, or her blow was harder than he could manage. His sword arm was driven out to his side, and he had to step back to catch his balance.

  Rhea's swing didn't stop when his arm gave way. Sword arm still extended, she spun around and stepped into him. Before he could regain his balance and defend her next blow, the tip of her sword found his neck.

  Rhea watched his stunned expression while they both tried to comprehend what had happened. A second later his knees buckled and he collapsed onto his face, blood running from his throat, soaking the ground around him.

  She hadn't meant to kill him! At least she didn't think she had. She hadn't been herself. She knew what was going on, but the emotions that would normally come from such an act seemed detached from her current reality, like they were a cloak lying on the ground, waiting for her to pick it up and wear it.

  She looked away from the body, not having time to worry about what she'd done. It was self-defense, and there was another warrior coming at her, ticked off that she'd had the nerve to kill his buddy.

  She wanted to know how Daen and Randell were doing, but she couldn't risk looking. The sounds of sword on sword clanging behind her reassured her they were still with her, and that had to be good enough for now.

  The second warrior was bigger than the one Rhea had just killed, or maybe fatter was a better description. He was sauntering toward her, confident he would have his revenge.

  In a flash, he heaved his bulk toward Rhea, throwing his first strike. Rhea fended it off by stepping to the side as she blocked, allowing his own forward momentum to carry him past her. She spun around and slashed at the back of his leg, sending him to the ground.

  "Don't get up or you'll meet the same fate as your friend." She didn't want to kill him. She hadn't wanted to kill anyone. She started to feel her stomach roll, but there wasn't time to be sick.

  The warrior's eyes flared with anger as he snarled at her. "You're dead!" He stood, favoring his left leg, but lunged at her anyway. Again, she ducked out of the way and came up behind him, slashing at his other leg, sending him to his knees, screaming. He may have been bigger and stronger, but he wasn't fast enough to adjust to Rhea's fluid motions.

  "Stay down!" Please stay down, she wanted to beg.

  He pushed his round body back onto his feet, stumbling, grimacing against the pain she'd inflicted.

  Rhea expected him to come at her again, but he just smiled, a nasty, evil smile, one she knew meant trouble—she could feel it.

  Rhea spun around just in time to see a spiked iron ball flying toward her head. If time hadn't slowed, she wouldn't have seen it coming, and it would have hit her in the face. She twisted and stepped back, watching it pass by. It had been a back-handed swing from one of the men who had been fighting Randell.

  Part of her wanted to complain that she was back to fighting two warriors, but when she saw the warrior Randell was still fighting, she realized she had had it easy with her first attacker.

  The mace, wielded by the third warrior, wasn't the only weapon in his arsenal. The long-sword in his right hand followed in a horizontal slice that would have removed her head if she hadn't ducked.

  Before Rhea stood, she thrust her sword forward, driving it into his thigh near his groin, causing him to bend at the hip and pull back.

  The fat, slow warrior she'd wounded earlier raised his sword over his head and yelled a battle cry before stumbling forward on his ble
eding legs. Rhea was prepared to send him to his death with a forward jab through the heart, or so she assumed, when from out of nowhere a sword from above swept down from a horse and took out the injured warrior, slashing a deep opening in his chest.

  The fat warrior fell back, his eyes wide with surprise, his arms splayed outward to either side. He hit the ground with such a force that puffs of dry dirt exploded around the edges of his body.

  Rhea hadn't heard the horseman approach, and it took her a second to realize that he had just helped her. She watched as he pulled his horse to a halt and started to return.

  Before he could complete his turn, the third warrior, the one she stabbed near the groin, limped towards her swinging the club with the spiked iron ball dangling from its end. She swung her sword with more force than she thought possible, slicing through the club, sending the iron ball spinning through the air.

  The shock of what had just happened left the warrior open and vulnerable to a finishing strike. She could have ended him then, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She stepped in closer and kicked him between the legs, hoping to disable him, but all he did was crouch. He had managed to stay on his feet.

  The roar of anger that came from the third warrior sent chills down her back. His breathing was labored and his face turned red, but he still managed to stand ... kind of.

  Rhea brought her sword inches from his throat. "Stop and live, continue and die!" Once again, the words came from her mouth, but she didn't recognize the person speaking them.

  He just sneered at her. "Go to hell!" He stepped back and started a back-handed swing with his long-sword that would have surely cut her in half.

  Rhea tucked low, allowing the sword to fly over her head, leaving his sword arm to swing wide, exposing his chest. She took the opening and thrust upward, driving her sword through the man's heart. He fell to his knees, his body weight pulling her down with him as she held on to her sword.

  Rhea quickly regained her footing and yanked back, pulling her sword from his body. Again her stomach rolled, but she clenched her teeth and swallowed hard.