by Meg Anne
“Rest now, little one. The Mother will keep you safe,” she whispered as she pressed her lips to the cool forehead.
The little girl was gently lowered into the grave on a cloud of Helena’s magic. Once her body was settled, Helena rose and went back to the row of remaining bodies to continue.
Seeing her resolve, the men started at the other end, each picking up one of the fallen and carrying them to the side of the grave. When Helena would reach them with another of the children in her arms, she would call the wind that would carry the bodies down to the bottom.
“Why doesn’t she just move them all that way?” a wary voice asked.
“Because this shouldn’t be easy.” She spat, her voice strained with the effort such continued use of magic cost her. The reservoir of strength was there, but it was still an untrained muscle, shaking with exertion.
“These people did not die easy, and it is not for us to do what is merely convenient because we do not want to be faced with such a reality. This is the least we can do.”
The men straightened, her words humbling them.
Von placed a warm hand on her shoulder offering comfort and support.
“Rest now, my love. Give us the opportunity to pay our respects as you have yours. We have the need for this as much as you do.”
She blinked at him, iridescent eyes shifting to aqua as she did.
Nodding, she stepped back, allowing the men to finish moving the bodies into their final resting place. Once they were done, they turned to her.
Calling back the wind, the mound of dirt swirled and danced in the air, falling as gently as rain until it filled the hole completely.
Ignoring their stares, she moved to kneel again. She pulled the small dagger out of its sheath and cut the base of her finger.
The Circle all let out surprised shouts, but Helena pushed her now bleeding hand into the earth, her heart speaking the words she could not utter.
Mother, protect this place. Make it a testimony of your love for your children. Let no one disturb the rest of those that were so violently taken from this land. Please, let them rest gently.
This was no time for harsh words, although the need for vengeance was also loud in her heart. There had been enough anger and violence here; now it was time for peace.
When she finally rose, the clouds had cleared, and the sun was setting behind the peaks of the mountain. When she looked down, she was startled to see a burst of color. What had been a dark patch of earth was now a riot of flowers all in full bloom, each seeming to glow with a gentle light.
There were awed gasps as she stepped away, her knees shaking so badly that she stumbled. Von was there, his strong arms catching her and pulling her to him.
She blinked up at him, dark purple smudges looking like bruises under sunken eyes. The magic had cost her. The queen had handled the assault of her people, but now the woman needed to make sense of the tragedy. Her eyes were filled with tears, and her shoulders shook when he pulled her head into his neck.
“It’s okay my love. I’m so proud of you for being so strong. Cry as long as you need. I’ve got you. I will be your strength now.”
With that, he lifted her in his arms and carried his crying mate away from the equally wet eyes of her soldiers.
The next few days were more of the same. Each new town had more bodies awaiting them by the side of the road. Every time, the procession would halt, waiting while Helena buried them. With each corpse that she carried, her cheeks became gaunter and her eyes more haunted. The physical toll her magic demanded finally became too much for her to continue. That was when Starshine took over. The Talyrian flew low over the row of bodies, spouting her flames until the dead would turn to ash and drift away on the gentle breeze.
The Circle was beyond concerned. Helena had retreated into herself, becoming more silent and withdrawn as the days passed. Von could feel the strain Helena had put on herself and tried to reinforce it with his own power just to keep her standing, but even he was at the point where he felt drained.
“We need to rest,” he declared to the Circle.
The men nodded their agreement, but Helena opened her mouth in protest.
“Enough, Kiri. Your people are exhausted, let them rest for awhile and regain their strength.” He knew that she would not consider her own need for rest, which was why he guilted her into considering the fate of the others.
She closed her mouth and eyed the group, her eyes filling with concern as she saw how haggard they had become. “Fine.”
The Circle let out a collective sigh.
“She needs to eat,” Darrin said in a voice only Von could hear. “She is wasting away before us.”
Von's lips were a flat line as he nodded, “She is punishing herself.”
“Punishing herself?” Darrin sputtered, “But why?”
“She feels guilty that so many have died and she was helpless to stop it,” Serena said softly as she joined them.
“What could she have possibly done?” Darrin asked, his voice rising with the question.
“It does not need to make logical sense, Shield. She is reacting with her heart which rarely follows such rules,” Serena stated, her blond brow rising as if daring him to challenge her assessment.
“She's not doing anyone any good by not taking care of herself,” he finally muttered.
“On that, we agree,” Von said darkly.
He could feel his Mate's pain, each day it gnawed at him through their bond; a dull ache he could not ease. Despite understanding the cause of her distress, he had no idea how to help relieve it. Back at home, when he would get twisted up in his own feelings of guilt over his brother, he would resort to training to try and sweat it out of his system. It did not necessarily solve the cause of his guilt, but it helped dull the edge enough that he could focus on other things. Perhaps that could work for Helena as well, not that she was in any shape to wield a weapon.
He studied her snuggled into the side of her Talyrian whose wing was protectively curled around her. For now, he would let her sleep, but while she slept, he would speak with Ronan about his plan. Once she woke he would bully her into eating, certain her annoyance at his pestering would at least do something to put some color back in her cheeks.
She woke with a start, struggling to rise, her heart pounding in her chest. As she sat the top of her head smacked the underside of Starshine's membranous wing. The Talyrian huffed in annoyance, twisting its head to glare at her.
“Sorry,” she murmured, scooting out from under its protection.
Starshine continued to stare at her until Helena began running her fingers through the silky fur of her mane.
Letting out a deep rumble that was more like the smattering of rocks down a mountain than a purr, the giant cat finally closed its eyes.
She felt his presence before she saw him. She closed her own eyes, breathing in his scent as he drew near.
His hand caressed the length of her back, and she felt herself arching into it.
“How are you feeling, my love?” he asked in his deep growl.
She looked up at him, the weight of the last few days still in her eyes. “Better.”
He lifted a dubious brow.
“I can feel them,” she rubbed at her chest, “all those lives taken before their time. They're a weight in my heart. I can't just forget about it.”
“No one is telling you to forget about them, Helena,” Von chided sternly, as he wrapped her in his strong arms. “But you have to take care of yourself. You won't do them any good pushing yourself so far that you are too weak to care for them, or avenge them.”
His words stirred something in her, and some of that weight shifted allowing her to take her first deep breath in days. It was still there, that weight in her chest, still pressing her to do something, but it was less insistent. She knew he was right; she was no good to anybody in her current state.
Her stomach growled loudly, and she covered it with her hands, cheeks flaming as she lo
oked at Von.
He threw back his head and laughed, “Ronan will be so disappointed to know I won't need his help anymore.”
Confused, she furrowed her brows and asked, “What?”
He shook his head, his laughter enveloping her with its warmth through their bond. “Nevermind, Mate,” he said kissing her forehead. “Let's find something for you to eat.”
They rejoined the group around the fire, Helena thankfully accepting a bowl of some sort of vegetable soup.
The men gently teased her as she ate, relaxing when she would snap at them and return their taunts with her own. It was a far cry from the easy banter they usually shared, but it was a start, and for now, that was enough.
Gillian watched the group from a distance, fingers still mindlessly stroking her necklace before she stepped back into the forest and blended into the darkness.
Chapter Nineteen
They started again early the next morning. Von would have preferred that they rest for another full day, but Helena refused. She had to admit the evening of rest and a good meal had done much to ease the bruised look from her eyes. Feeling his attention on her, she met his gaze, sending him a warm smile.
It began with a sound, or rather, a lack of sound. Birds had been chirping animatedly as they hopped from tree to tree alongside the caravan but were now strangely absent.
Disoriented, Helena glanced around, noting the unease that rippled through the procession. Both Darrin and Kragen maneuvered their animals in closer to Helena’s, creating a barricade around her.
Next was the smell. The air, still heavy with morning dew was quickly being overcome with the overpowering and acrid scent of smoke. The wolves began growling low in their throats, their eyes swiveling wildly as they attempted to locate the source of the fire.
Then came the screams. There was a moment of stillness, a deep breath waiting to be exhaled before everything came alive with motion. It would have been pure chaos, if not for the utter precision with which it was executed.
Von’s chin lifted towards the sky as his mouth fell open, his war cry filled with promise. Her heart was in her throat as she watched her Mate prepare for battle. There was no time to do anything more than send a plea down the bond for him to stay safe before she offered a quick prayer to the Mother asking for the same.
Von’s men, all mounted on their wolves, led the charge over the hill. Helena’s Circle stayed close to her, faces set in harsh lines as they followed close behind. A few of the Rasmirin stayed back to protect the merchants and their carts, but the rest were closing in on the Circle.
The sky was black with smoke, the small houses all alight. Everywhere people were screaming and trying to flee the burning buildings.
Who’s attacking? Helena wondered, eyes scanning the scene below her, desperate to try and make sense of the situation. Were these the men that had been leaving the brutalized bodies as a warning for them? Would they be too late again?
Then she saw them. They were creatures of one’s darkest nightmares; things from a tale children would spread to horrify and torment each other. They had been human, once. Their limbs skeletal, the gray flesh stretched taut over bone. The awkward jerking movements of the bodies reminiscent of a marionette attempting to dance.
The creatures were hairless, faces gaunt, but it was their eyes that had her screaming. Where life had once shone, there were now milky white pits run through with shimmering black lines. Their mouths were almost as bad. The lips were flaking and peeled back to reveal teeth blackened with rot. They didn't close their mouths, the jaws hanging open to emit an endless wet gurgle.
Helena felt her stomach twist with revulsion, everything about these bodies grated against her with their sense of wrongness. It was then she noticed, one of the things reaching elongated fingers towards a child too terrified to do more than hold onto its stuffed toy while it sobbed for its mother.
I cannot lose another one, she thought, not even aware she was already moving.
“Kiri!” the men shouted behind her, but it was too late, she was flying down the hill in a race to save the child.
She grabbed the girl, pulling her up onto Shepa and using her body as a shield, leaving the bony fingers clutching air.
The little body trembled in her arms as Helena’s eyes frantically searched for a safe place to hide her so that she could get back to her men and help save the rest of the villagers. There were some villagers loading up carts with people and fleeing. Helena gave the child to one of the women, their wide eyes showing white as they took in the scene around them.
“Keep her safe!” Helena shouted, spurring the wolf back to the burning buildings.
There was a scream of rage, and Helena saw Starshine shoot from the sky straight towards a group of the creatures. Fire poured from the Talyrian's mouth while her claws tore at their bodies. Still, the creatures moved, immune to the pain.
Mother’s teeth, what unholy creatures are these?
All around her, wolves tore into creatures who continued to fight with one or more missing limbs. They didn’t bleed so much as drip a thick oily substance that shimmered slightly before evaporating. In a blur of fur and fang, Karma lunged at one of the monstrosities. The wolf's teeth shining wetly before closing around its throat and tearing head from jerking body. Karma let out a savage snarl as it dropped the head from its teeth, letting it bounce and roll before turning back into the fray.
Helena's initial reaction was concern that Von had been separated from his wolf, before the realization that Karma had discovered how to stop the creatures had her shouting wildly, “Their heads! You've got to remove their heads!”
She continued screaming at the top of her lungs, also using her magic to enhance her voice and carry the message across the battlefield. She felt the fresh surge of adrenaline throughout the crowd as her people attacked with renewed vigor.
The Circle were still working their way back towards her, Joquil's lips moving frantically as he called down shields of protection while also blasting the monsters back to give the men time to work through them. Timmins fought beside Kragen, the latter towering over everyone and smiling manically as he made quick work of the skeletal bodies in front of him. His massive swords were glowing with the molten heat of Fire. When they made contact with one of the creatures they would cut through their limbs like soft butter. It was clear, Kragen was in his element, his laughter when another body fell causing Helena to shudder, but her eyes continued their scan.
Darrin's teeth bared as he used his sword to hack and cleave at the bodies before him. His green eyes met hers, and she could feel his frustration with her. His sole duty was to protect her, and she had taken that from him when she ran thoughtlessly straight into the battle to save the child. She shrugged apologetically, his head dipping in acknowledgment as he focused back on the creatures coming towards him. The entire interaction took less than a second. The rest of her men accounted for, Helena turned her attention towards the pull of her bond to lead her towards her Mate.
As she moved forward, she saw Ronan and Serena fighting as one. Their backs were towards each other, their gift of Air making their axes swing faster than her eye could follow. Their blades had grown slick with the creature's black substance, but they were relentless as they continued to behead them. Helena's eyes narrowed as one of the creatures reached its hand towards Serena's arm, but her shield sizzled at the contact. The creature jerked back, giving Ronan enough time to swing his ax down and sever the head from the body.
A sudden searing pain knocked Helena from her mount. She stood and looked down trying to identify the source of her injury, but found none. She looked back up, her braid whipping through the air with the speed of the movement when she realized it had been Von who took the blow. That the pain had been strong enough for her to feel through their bond had her gaze hazing with red. She stumbled slightly as it continued to throb within her, but she used their connection to pull the pain to her so that it could not distract or weaken her Mate
.
Helena tried to control her flare of panic when she saw four more of the beings close in on him. She gripped Shepa’s fur, using it to help pull her back astride the wolf’s back. Angling herself towards Von, she pushed with her power to reach him. Spurred by her will, Shepa leapt into the air and flew into the chest of one of the creatures, knocking it down before ripping its throat out. There was no screech of pain, just a wet gurgle while its limbs continued to flail.
Molten gold eyes met hers. There was no time for words, Helena dismounted and dove into the swirling pool of her magic; a controlled plunge straight to the bottom before pulling up and unleashing the power around her. The sky came alive. Bolts of lightning were bright scars among the black clouds, while thunder roared so loudly the few remaining trees shook from its intensity.
Von let out an approving growl, turning his focus back to the other three still moving towards him. He stood still letting them come closer with each jerking step. Once they were within range, he blinked away. That was the only word Helena could think of for the move she had first noticed when they were practicing her shielding with Ronan.
One moment Von was standing beside her, the creatures an arm's length away, the next he was facing them his teeth bared in a feral grin from over fifty paces away. The creatures twisted in confusion, searching for their prey. Von struck. Instead of his sword, a rope of Fire was snaking in his hand. He pulled back an arm before lashing it forward and wrapping the flame around one of the beings and pulling it to the ground. Once on the ground, Karma dove forward and finished it.
Helena was tired of being an observer. It was time to end this. Now she urged.
Fire rained from the storm her magic had created in the sky. The glowing red embers turning to ash if they touched anything but the creatures. When an ember would hit one of those skeletal bodies, it would erupt into a pillar of Fire before consuming them completely.
