The Channel (The Gifted Book 2)

by C. L. McCourt

  They stepped inside and closed the door behind them. It was the room she'd seen before, the room with runes on all the walls, except one. In the middle of one wall was a white frosted window, except it wasn't solid like a window. It seemed to move as if it were a piece of cloudy ice with water running behind it.

  In front of the window was a table, the same table Rhea had seen the man stand behind. Carved into the table was a map. Not a map of the world of shadows, but of another world.

  Lanne pointed at the table. "This part here looks like the maps I've seen of our three realms."

  "And this?" Rhea pointed to the other land mass indicated on the map.

  "Terranees."

  Rhea pulled on Lanne's hand. "Come on. Let's get out of here before we get caught."

  They both turned just in time to see the door open. Quickly and quietly, they moved against the wall, out of the path of the man they'd seen following the dark-haired man.

  He reached under the table and pulled out what looked like a rolled map and then stepped back out the door.

  It wasn't until the door shut that Rhea became aware of the rapid pounding in her chest and the fact she wasn't breathing. She looked at Lanne and saw her head back against the wall, eyes closed, slowly getting her breathing under control.

  Rhea couldn't help but laugh. "I almost had a heart attack."

  "You're telling me. I just lost ten years off my life."

  Rhea glanced at the door. "Shall we get out of here?"

  Lanne nodded and reached for the door handle.

  It didn't take long before they were in the skiff, rowing for the queen's ship. They rowed around to the far side of the vessel before climbing up one of the rope ladders. If anyone was watching from shore, they wouldn't see the skiff appear as Rhea and Lanne climbed aboard and went below to report their findings.

  42

  Capture

  Lanne and Rhea found their colleagues in the captain's quarters finishing their breakfast. When they entered the small room, Daen came to his feet quickly and stepped to Lanne. He caught himself before taking her into his arms. "You're all right?"

  She nodded and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

  Rhea had been watching Daen and Lanne and didn't see Gaibel approach from her left before Gaibel gripped her in a hug. "I'm so glad your back. Did something happen?"

  Rhea shook her head. "No. It went fine. We got in and saw the prisoners and the man with the dark hair, as well as the layout of the building."

  Taulin's shoulders relaxed slightly at the news. He was on the far side of the table and unable to approach easily when they entered the small space. But as he stood there and watched the two women being greeted by their loved ones, he realized even if he had been close enough, his greeting could be nothing more than a nod and a smile, and he wasn't sure he liked that.

  "Was he there?" Naylor asked. "And what about the guards, did you see how many there were?"

  "Yes. He's there," said Rhea.

  Gaibel's muscles twitched at her words as her first thought was of her husband, but she quickly realized Rhea was talking about the man they were hunting.

  "We counted eight guards plus the man who seemed to be the dark-haired man's second in command," said Lanne.

  "Four patrolled at dark, four during the light." Rhea stifled a yawn before saying, "This morning, we saw two in the kitchen and two outside with the prisoners who work the gardens."

  "The man with the dark hair has a room at the base of the cliffs," said Lanne, "not far from the plateau where the building is located."

  Rhea looked at Commander Nauylor. "It's the room I saw the night after the impostors attacked your camp."

  The commander raised a brow in question.

  "Yes, I know what I said before, but apparently I was wrong. It would appear he can access the weaknesses in the veil from that room. It would explain why I couldn't hear what he said."

  The commander knew that the ramifications of Rhea's conclusion needed to be assessed further, but that could wait until after they captured the troublemaker.

  "So, what's our next move?" Randell asked.

  "We go get him," Rhea stated with confidence. "The world of shadows is dark. There aren't any openings in the veil. The way I see it, he's trapped."

  "I'd say you're right," Lanne added. "I haven't seen any openings in the veil for several days."

  Daen sat back down at the table, encouraging the others to join him. "There might not be many guards, but we don't know their gifts. We need a plan that will surprise them, to limit the chance of them defending themselves."

  Although she felt Daen's assessment was accurate, Rhea knew that the queen had put the commander in charge of security, and therefore, he needed to be consulted. "What are your thoughts, Commander?"

  "Daen's right. I think we should send in a small first-strike team, followed by a second team to catch what the first team might have missed. I was thinking the first team could attack under the cover of the veil, depending on how many you two can hide."

  "If we stay close together, I can hide three or four. I'm not very practiced at it yet." Rhea explained.

  Lanne's face showed concern. "I've only hidden myself, and I don't know how many more I can hide."

  The commander wasn't concerned. "If you can hide at least one other, I think we're covered for the first strike. Rhea, Daen, and Gaibel have the most powerful active gifts. If you can knock out the guards on duty without them knowing, Taulin, Bandon, and Randell can finish up."

  "And we're sure a strike during the light is the best approach?" Randell asked.

  "The doors are locked at night," said Rhea, "so we'll only get the night guards. If we strike when it's light, we can get the day guards, and we can get into the building and subdue the others in their rooms."

  The commander nodded. "I agree. A light strike would give us a better advantage, given we can go in hidden."

  "If Rhea can hide Daen and Gaibel, who do you need me to hide?" Lanne asked.

  "Me," said Naylor. "Once I'm in, I need you to return to shore to guide the second strike to our location. We should have the day guards subdued by then."

  For someone who hadn't slept much the night before, Rhea was suddenly feeling very awake. Her adrenaline was pumping, and she felt like she'd just consumed a couple of espressos. "Lanne, can you see if you can hide the commander?"

  It took a couple tries, but she was able to extend her veil wide enough to hide him.

  "Rhea, before we leave, do you think you can reach Kalaub and let him know we're coming?" Lanne asked.

  "I'll try. Can you write me a note? Say 'we're coming now'." Rhea closed her eyes and asked to see the prisoners. Just like before, she found herself in front of Kalaub. She wondered why it was him she could connect to and not the others, but figuring that out was for later.

  Lanne handed her the note and Rhea waited for Kalaub to look in her direction. She watched as he pulled weeds, stacking them in a pile as he moved along. When the pile got close to being more than he could carry in one hand, he sat back on his heels and looked forward, stretching his back.

  Rhea knew he could see her when his eyes went wide. She placed a finger over her lips to remind him not to react as she held up the note. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly as he tried to contain his joy.

  Rhea released the image and watched Kalaub fade away. "Message delivered."

  Rhea backed away from the table. "So, we're going now?"

  The commander looked at everyone. "It's your call Rhea, but I'm in agreement."

  "Then, let's go."

  ~~~

  Lanne and Rhea joined their veils and managed to hide the two skiffs they used to reach the island. They'd tied the skiffs end-to-end to keep their size small enough for Lanne and Rhea to work their magic.

  Naylor and Daen had rowed, their strength apparent given the speed the group traveled over the turbulent waters. With the men
rowing, they made shore about ten minutes faster than Lanne and Rhea.

  They beached the skiffs in the same location Lanne and Rhea had used, leaving Taulin, Bandon, and Randell to hide the skiffs and take cover in the bushes while the rest of the team started their climb to the plateau. Lanne and Rhea joined hands and pushed their veils outward, encasing the others.

  They stayed close to each other as they worked their way up to the small inclines. When they reached the clearing, they saw that the front yard was still unguarded, so they worked their way around to the back.

  Lanne and Rhea had been away from the island for a couple of hours. The prisoners they'd seen working in the kitchen were now outside, working the gardens and in the barn. The door leading to the kitchen was closed, and four guards were spread out, patrolling the perimeter.

  After assessing the situation, the team returned to the tree line on the far side of the front yard to quietly discuss their next move.

  "What do we do?" Lanne asked. "The guards aren't together."

  "We'll have to split up," said Naylor. "Gaibel and I will go with Rhea and take the guards by the building. Daen, you go with Lanne and take the guards by the barn, they're closer together so, hopefully, it will be easy for you. Once the guards outside are down, we move on the building."

  Once separated, they knew there would be no way to signal when to attack. That meant they needed to be careful and prevent the guards from sounding an alarm if they were discovered. Each member of the rescue team nodded with understanding as the commander wished everyone luck.

  Gaibel, the commander, and Rhea headed for the guards patrolling the area near the building while Lanne and Daen headed for the barn.

  Gaibel and the commander watched their two guards walk towards each other, on the way to opposite ends of the building. As soon as they had their backs to each other, Gaibel reached out and touched one of the guards, sending a volt of energy into his body, while the commander prevented him from hitting the ground.

  Unfortunately, the sounds of their movements didn't go unnoticed. The second guard by the house turned to find the source of what he was hearing and saw the unbelievable. One second, his partner was there, the next he was falling to the ground and disappearing before his eyes.

  Momentarily frozen in disbelief, he blinked a couple of times, trying to make sense of what was happening. Coming to his senses, he scanned the area in time to see another guard drop to his knees, stunned, and then disappear.

  "Intruders! Intruders!" The guard yelled. He pulled a small dagger from his belt and cast it into the empty space where he'd last seen his fellow guard fall to the ground, assuming the intruder was standing behind a magic he'd not seen before.

  The announcement of their arrival was not what the rescue team wanted to hear. Rhea turned towards the deliverer of bad news just in time to see him throw a knife right for them. Without thinking, Rhea raised her hand, dropping the veil in the process, and sent the knife back to the sender, lodging it in his chest.

  The man's eyes went wide with horror at the sight of his dagger protruding from his body. He fumbled to grab it, to pull it out, but it was too late. He went limp and fell to the ground.

  The shouts from the guard startled Lanne, causing her to drop her veil, exposing her and Daen to the fourth guard. Daen instinctively pulled his sword and lunged forward with a sweeping strike to silence the warning call the guard would surely release, but he was too late.

  Before the tip of his blade reached the guard's throat, he'd released an ear-piercing whistle. The guard dropped to his knees, his hands wrapped around his neck, before succumbing to Daen's strike.

  The five rescuers looked to each other for a few seconds, as each realized their plan was falling apart. Their cover was blown. Rhea turned to see if Daen had taken out the other guard but saw Lanne and Daen running across the gardens in the open as prisoners jumped out of the way.

  Rhea turned towards the kitchen door. "Lanne, stay with the prisoners, help them tie up unconscious guards. The rest of you follow me." She led them through the kitchen and down the hall past the vacant room full of books and to the staircase leading up.

  As they reached the top of the stairs, two guards were already armed and in the hall while the others were just stepping out of their rooms.

  Daen's powerful legs propelled him past Rhea to be the first rescuer to enter the upstairs hall and to come face to face with the first two guards.

  The sound of a crossbow bolt being released caused Rhea to lift her hand and did as she had done before.

  Daen glimpsed over his shoulder to see the look on Rhea's face, the same look he'd seen before when she'd joined with the Libraim. The sound of a sword sliding from its sheath pulled Daen back to the present, just in time to block the attack.

  Gaibel and the commander brushed past Rhea and engaged the last two guards.

  Rhea, after seeing that Gaibel and the commander were taking care of the other guards, she turned to Daen. "I'm going down to look for our troublemaker."

  Daen, who'd just finished taking out the guard who'd attacked him, stepped towards the stairs. "I'm going with you." He turned to Gaibel and the commander to see if they would object, but they waved him on.

  As Daen and Rhea reached the main level, they were greeted by the ninth guard, the dark-haired man's right hand. He was standing in front of the library door, ready to go in when he saw Rhea and Daen reach the main level landing to his right.

  He was just as startled as they were, but that didn't last. He extended his hand towards Rhea and Daen, but nothing happened. Or, at least, that was Rhea's thought at first. Within a few seconds, her skin started to sting. She started to feel weak. What was happening to her?

  Daen threw an energy ball, but the man just absorbed it.

  Daen's words came back to her. She remembered how he taught her about pulling energy from a person and how it felt. That's what was happening. The man standing before them was pulling her energy.

  Needing to stop him, she reached out to the man and pulled at his energy, trying to get back what he'd taken from her. Although she could imagine him growing weak, it wasn't enough. He was pulling harder than she was.

  Daen dropped to his knees, his body trembling, fighting to stay upright. He gritted his teeth at the pain that was now riddling his body. "Don't ... hold ... back."

  Rhea glanced down at Daen. The man was killing him. Her fury returned. "No!" She pulled with all her might, but that wasn't enough. She had to do something or Daen would be gone.

  She called for the Libraim, and it was there for her. Her voice echoed in her ears. "Die!" She immediately felt the man's energy course through her body, the pain associated with taking a person's life burned her fingers, her hands, as it worked its way into her chest.

  The man's face went from a rabid sneer to shock and pain. Rhea placed her hand on Daen's head as he leaned against her leg. She pushed the energy she was taking from the man into Daen, returning what was rightfully his.

  The man continued to fight, continued to reach for Daen's and Rhea's energy, but he couldn't hold out against the power that Rhea had unleashed. The stinging sensations that had pulsed through her body eased as the man grew old in front of her. His arm dropped to his side and his face went blank as he stared at nothing.

  Rhea stopped her pull and watched in horror as the man shriveled before her eyes like a dried piece of fruit. Before she had a chance to totally freak out, Daen was on his feet and turned her around, holding her face to his chest. "Don't look."

  Rhea trembled uncontrollably as the tears fell against his chest. "Oh, my gosh! What have I done?"

  She'd killed before in self-defense but this felt different. She'd felt the man's life energy course through her body. She shuddered as she struggled to deal with what had just happened but she couldn't. Not this time.

  "Shh."

  "Daen!" Rhea cried into his chest, pleading for him to make it right.


  He pushed her away but held her by her shoulders, trying to make her look at him. "You saved me and yourself. You had no choice. His only goal was to kill us." He pulled Rhea tight to his chest again while she sobbed.

  As the sobs slowed, her body started to heave uncontrollably. "I'm going to be sick." She pulled away from Daen's embrace just in time to lose the contents of her stomach.

  Rhea could hear footsteps on the stairs, between her retching, and tried to scramble to her feet, not knowing what was coming.

  "Rhea, it's me." Gaibel's voice rang in her ears as her hands took Rhea's shoulders. Gaibel looked at Daen. "I'll stay with her. You go check on the others."

  Commander Naylor ran down the stairs just a Daen turned to leave the stairway landing. He motioned for Naylor to follow him and they were gone.

  Gaibel pulled Rhea into her arms as she glanced at the scene, trying to understand what had just happened. She stroked her daughter's hair. "Shh."

  After a moment, Rhea pulled away as Gaibel tried to keep her from seeing the body lying close by. "Don't look."

  Rhea had to look. She had to accept what she'd done. He was a killer and it was self-defense. Rhea stared down at the body and shuddered as she formed a shield over her heart and the anger returned. She wanted the senseless killing to stop. "Come on. Let's go get the other one."

  Gaibel and Rhea reached the kitchen in time to see the door open and Kalaub enter. The look on his face was one of fear and excitement all at once. He stopped when he saw them, as did they. There was a moment, like time suspended, when the world felt right.

  Gaibel whispered, not wanting to wake from the dream she knew she must be having. "Kalaub."

  Kalaub's eyes locked onto Gaibel, and she knew she wasn't dreaming.

  Gaibel dropped Rhea's hand and ran into his arms.

  "Gaibel!" He took her into his arms, pulled her close, and kissed her as if he were trying to recapture all their lost years together.

  Rhea watched as more tears ran down her cheeks, tears of joy. She was happy for them.

  Kalaub slowly released Gaibel and looked over her should at Rhea. "My guardian angel."