Merlin's Kiss

by Stephanie Burke

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  "Why do they keep coming?" Brieana cried as one, then another winged man dropped, seemingly, from thin air.

  "The sword!" the first man cried. "Bring me the sword!"

  "Excalibur?" Brieana hissed as she looked to Kerian. "They know of Excalibur?"

  There was only one other person who knew about the mythical sword, and she gained that knowledge through trickery.

  "The sword," the second man cried. "And we'll let you leave."

  The unicorns, enraged by the new scents and the violent activity, pranced and tossed their manes as the men made their demands.

  Kerian was applying extra energy to control Blaze, while Magic was intent on making an escape. Both fighters struggled to hold their mounts steady, but it was Kerian who answered to their demands.

  "I have the sword for you," he nearly purred as he brought his well-honed blade up in an offensive position. "Are you man enough to come and get it?"

  With a cry, the man spread his wings and launched himself at Kerian, making his agitated mount rear and scream.

  "Schlack!"

  With a loud oath, Kerian lost his balance and tumbled from the saddle to land on his back.

  Ignoring Brieana's cry of fright, Kerian managed to leap to his feet, a bit dazed, but still a wild and dangerous opponent.

  The first swing of his blade nearly took the other Dark Isle warrior's head off as he attempted to rush the downed man.

  Brieana kicked Magic into a position that cut off the remaining man from making an attack on Kerian from behind. But smiling, the man made no move to either attack or assist his friend. He stood there, a smug look on his face, as if he were waiting for something to happen.

  Kerian's attacker ducked the controlled swing of the deadly battle sword and clapping his hands, produced a ball of white light that he shot at Kerian.

  Now ready for such tricks from these Dark Isles people, Kerian quickly went into a dive that brought him close to the man's exposed stomach. With a wild cry, Kerian jabbed at the warrior's unprotected spot and laughed as he swung his hands down protectively, leaving his face open for a brutal fist that broke his nose and loosened at least three of his teeth.

  Falling back, the warrior raised one hand in disbelief as he watched the blood drip from his battered face onto his tunic.

  "You son of a…" he got no further than that before Kerian's laughter cut him off.

  "You wanted my sword," he sneered, "yet you run from it! Please make up your mind. I grow weary of this game!"

  "Then let me not bore you any longer," he growled, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he reached behind his wings and produced a short sword.

  "Let us finish this," Kerian agreed as he took up a low battle stance.

  With a flap of his wings the other man attacked.

  Silver glinted off the narrow beams of the sun that penetrated the dense woods of the forest and shone down upon the combatants. Muscles bulged and sinew stood out in stark relief as the two sword wielders blocked and countered. It was a dizzying ballet of movement as the winged warrior struggled to best Kerian.

  All too soon it became apparent that Kerian was toying with the man, slowly draining his power and testing his resolve. The warrior knew it, too, because he looked over to his partner and his eyes pleaded for help.

  With one mighty blow from his sword, Kerian knocked the flying warrior backwards into a tree. The Dark Isles warrior tried holding back a scream as the delicate bones of his wings snapped.

  In that second, he let his guard down.

  In that second, Kerian moved in for the kill.

  Seeing his partner practically bested, the other warrior, ignoring the threat of Brieana and Magic, rushed to aid his comrade. Brieana had been keeping the other attacker at bay. But a moment was all he needed to try and help his falling friend.

  "Stop!" Brieana called out as the man raised his hands to toss a magical ball of energy at her mate.

  Ignoring her, the man concentrated to produce a ball of flame, but the unexpected blow from Brieana destroyed his concentration. It also defused the ball of energy that he held and drew Kerian's attention to them.

  With a growl of anger, the man grasped her foot and gave a hard jerk.

  Unprepared for that maneuver, Brieana tumbled from her mount and hit the ground with a rolling movement.

  "No!" Kerian's maddened bellows sounded even as Brieana kicked her legs backwards, throwing her body into a flip. She landed on her feet, facing the warrior with her sword, the war sword designed especially for her, held at the ready.

  Brieana now had death in her eyes as she glared at the strange winged man. He would pay for unhorsing her, and he would pay dearly.

  She absently noted that both unicorns had retreated a safe distance from the battle, but now stood ready, their attention on their riders as if they meant to leap in at a moment’s notice to defend.

  She barely paid attention to Kerian, who now stood at her side, his eyes on the man he had not killed because he was rushing to see to her safety.

  Now they stood side by side, an impenetrable force against these Dark Isle warriors, watching for a weakness, an opening, as the man with the broken wing rushed to aid his companion, creating a face off between the two sides.

  "Enough!" Tybo cried suddenly as he looked up at the sky to judge the time. Soon Dagon's solders would be upon them and he had to end this fast.

  Leaping to the ground, he made no move to conceal his entrance as the other two took a defensive step back.

  Their surprise was all that Kerian needed. In a flash, he brought up his blade and a whirling dervish attacked.

  One well placed kick sent the first warrior flying back into his partner, and crouching low and thrusting up with his knees, Kerian embedded both blades into the man.

  He jerked once as Kerian yanked the blades free, then he tumbled face down on the forest floor.

  Without giving the second man time to regroup, he twirled, light as air on his feet, and swung the blade into a wide arc. The headless body crumpled on top of his friend, twitching slightly.

  "Well done!" Tybo laughed as he stepped forward over the two bodies littering the forest floor, clapping slowly, and faced Kerian.

  A stunned Brieana stood behind Kerian, speechless as the man snapped his wings open and shut rapidly. For a second they blazed a cheerful blue before he furled them tightly against his back. Funny, but the color of his wings matched his eyes exactly.

  "Now that the exercise is over and you are flushed with victory, maybe we can talk. My name is…"

  "Invader," Kerian hissed, amber eyes narrowed to slits.

  Never had he been so angry in his life! Because of this man and those like him, his land was in danger, his queen had almost been killed, and he found himself losing to the blood lust he fought so hard to control.

  "Well, that is one way of saying what I am," the man concurred with a smile. "But I am an invader you need to pay close attention to."

  "You sent them after the sword!" Kerian's voice was low and dangerous as he spoke to this dark-haired man.

  For a moment, his eyes flashed purple and his irritation showed, but then they were concealed by a cool wash of green. This man's eyes constantly and rapidly changed colors.

  His ever-changing eyes caused a pang of remembrance in Brieana, but she could not remember where she had heard of or seen eyes that were rainbow hued.

  "Well, I needed them dead," Tybo reasoned as he faced Kerian, now crouching a bit as if in preparation to defend himself.

  "A blade to the back would have been a more honorable death for cowards," Kerian growled, his eyes narrowing further and his vision starting to turn a shocking shade of red.

  "Yes, but not nearly as much fun to watch!" Tybo cried, his good humor fleeing in the face of this stubborn man.

  "Then watch me, invader," Kerian purred as he tried to draw this man's attention away from Brieana and solely onto him.

  "Oh, very we
ll," he sighed as he saw the Warlord was not in the mood to listen. "If we must, let's get this over with quickly. I have information to impart to you two and we don't have much time!"

  He quickly slammed the gauntlets on his wrists together, producing a clanging sound a moment before a pair of ornate blades grew down from the leather and metal cuffs on his wrists.

  These highly detailed wrist blades caught their attention, with their three-foot blades and their silver sheen. With a flick of both of his wrists, matching short swords appeared in his hands, increasing his arsenal and making him a more dangerous opponent.

  "If you are going with double swords, I have to match you, Warlord."

  "Impressive," Kerian muttered as he positioned himself in a new battle stance, with his right hand held high, the blade held horizontally and the left held low and across his body.

  "Shall we dance?" Tybo asked, his eyes turning a violent purple as he snapped his wings, the inside of which changed to match the dangerous color.

  In a flash of movement, he sprang at Kerian, blades flashing as he attempted to tire the man. He had already fought three battles and should soon be tired enough to listen to what he had to say. Of course, Tybo was wrong.

  Kerian was filled with an unquenchable rage. These people were invading his homeland, the place he had sworn to protect with his life! There were countless beings here that depended on him, including his beautiful mate, and he would be damned before all of that was taken away!

  Blades clashed and grunts filled the air as the two fought and battled their way across a clearing, leaping over thick tree branches and keeping their balance among the slippery leaves and needles that lined the floor.

  Cautiously, Brieana moved towards her unicorn, meaning to keep the animal calm and guard the sword with her life if need be. She had every confidence her Kerian would win the battle; it was just a matter of when.

  "Go back to your own land," Kerian growled as he blocked a swift double blow from the warrior, his forearms bulging with the effort and the swift movements. "You are not needed here."

  "But there you are wrong, Warlord," Tybo panted as he sidestepped a vicious blow from the enraged man. "I have something you need to know, or didn't the drack tell you?"

  "Zorn?" Kerian called out in surprise, and almost left an opening. With a quick leap to the right, he narrowly avoided a swipe from a wrist blade.

  "Yes, damn you," he growled. "My winged brother!"

  "Zorn?" That pricked Brieana's attention. She was standing back, but she listened intently to the two warriors, waiting to see if the winged one would let any useful bits of information slip.

  Then it hit her! The rainbow eyes! The one who tried to avenge Zorn!

  "Wait, Kerian! Do not kill him!" she cried.

  Her cry so startled both warriors that they both stumbled, Tybo's foot landing in a deep hole.

  "Schlat!" Kerian cried as he saw where his opponent's foot landed. His face blanched as he dropped his blades.

  "What?" Tybo called out as he struggled to pull his foot free.

  "Why can't I kill him, Brieana?" Kerian asked, as he stood frozen between reaching out towards the man and stepping back to safety.

  "Because he is the one who helped Zorn! The rainbow eyes, Kerian," she explained as she stepped forward to offer the man her hand.

  But Kerian's hard hand gripping her shoulder stopped her.

  "Let me go, Kerian. I want to hear what he has to say."

  "What?" Tybo asked again, ignoring Brieana and concentrating his attentions on Kerian, wondering what could make such a man lose color. He never even once shied away from battle and now there he was backing away from him. What would cause him to behave so?

  "If you want to save him, Brieana, I suggest you go and retrieve the unicorns, and do it quickly." Then to the warrior, "Stranger, do not move a muscle."

  Instantly Tybo stopped all movement and vanished his blades into air again. "What is it?" he asked a resigned look on his face. "Nothing else is going right today, so tell me, am I about to be attacked by some deadly poison that will rot the flesh from my bones?"

  His eyes were fading into a cautious green and a hint of the same color peeked out from the bottom of his wings, which were now open to give him a bit more balance.

  "Nothing that easy," Kerian said quietly as he stored both of his weapons in his war belt.

  "Kerian, what is it?" Brieana asked as she struggled to lead both unicorns to his side. She had checked and Excalibur was still in its hidden place, but now the equines were acting peculiar, flattening their ears and pawing at the ground. Even her soft commands could not calm them. "What is going on?"

  "Rabbits," he said.

  "Rabbits?" the man echoed a funny look on his face, as if he didn't comprehend the danger they were in.

  "Oh, shit," breathed Brieana as the color left her face.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  "When I give the word, stranger," Kerian said quietly as he inched closer to the winged man. "I want you to jerk your foot out of the hole and make for the trees."

  "What is this rabbit?" Tybo asked as he gently maneuvered his foot into position to make a fast break.

  "You do not want to know!" Brieana assured him from atop Magic as she held Blaze steady for Kerian.

  "That bad?" the man asked, unconcerned as he prepared to move.

  "Even worse," Kerian said as he drew his sword in preparation for attack.

  "So what did I just step in? And please tell me it's not a hidden pile of rabbit dung."

  "Worse," Kerian said, a grim cast to his face. "You just stepped in a rabbit den. You are standing on their young, and the only thing that makes a rabbit angrier than stealing their catch is stepping on their offspring."

  "Look at the size of this hole," Tybo argued. "It's small! How bad can they be?" He sniffed in the face of this fearless leader of men. What was he afraid of?

  "They hunt in packs and have been known to give a full grown drackoon trouble."

  "Schlat," Tybo muttered as he spread his wings and made ready to jump. Maybe there was more to this than he thought. He again reminded himself never to underestimate any danger.

  "On the count of three," Kerian said as he motioned Brieana to move away from the area. "One, two…"

  "They're coming!" Brieana cried as she saw those familiar beady red eyes glaring at them from behind a nearby tree.

  "Forget the plan!" Kerian bellowed as he threw himself onto Blaze's back. "Run!"

  In a flash, Tybo launched himself from the ground and into an overhanging branch, just as a hot ball of fur whizzed by his head.

  Kerian wasted no time in seeing to the stranger. With an impressive leap, he mounted Blaze and kicked the unicorn into an all-out gallop through the trees.

  "Hurry!" cried Brieana as they dodged trees and jumped the equines over fallen branches and tree roots.

  The ground thundered beneath them as they both leaned close to the unicorn's necks and urged them faster.

  Observing their flight from the trees, Tybo almost missed the first attack upon his person, so amazed was he, as a gang of rabbits took to leaping from the ground at the branch he perched upon.

  At first, Tybo laughed at the small vicious fur-balls that were leaping and snarling at him, but then he noticed several of the little bastards had taken to chewing at the base of the tree, and were clearing a swath rather quickly through it.

  "Crafty," he murmured as he observed them, then decided to move.

  He quickly leapt to another tree, but then he noticed the sheer numbers of the obstinate little creatures as their growls and grunts of anger filled the clearing.

  "Oh, little Dagons," he laughed, his eyes turning bright green with his mirth, until a fuzz ball nearly tore a bite out of his shoulder.

  The tiny rabbits were everywhere! They were climbing the trees, leaping into the air, covering the ground in a swarm of writhing fur coats, heralding destruction for any creature in their path.

  Sudden
ly, the Warlord's flight didn't seem that ridiculous and unnecessary!

  Deciding that the sheer number of the little beasties was enough to make him move, he leapt into the air, spreading his wings and caught a stiff current of air. Using this wave, he glided through the trees, avoiding the snapping, clawing horde of man-eaters, and followed the clear trail of rabbits giving chase to the Warlord and the Woman of Legend. This day was becoming more interesting by the second.

  * * * * *

  "Gather the Clans," Shala demanded of the runner she was about to send out. "Gather the Clans and let them know the Dark Isle menace is here. We have no time to lose. I am sure something has happened to my beloved stepson, and we must act!"

  Nodding, the runner took off, memorizing her message, horrified at what the Lady had told her. If what she said were true, there would soon be no time to waste!

  Shala smiled as she watched the runner quickly exit the room, a fearful look on her face. Fear was a great motivator.

  "And I shall use it to motivate you, Dagon, you ruthless bastard!"

  "You called, dear one?" a low voice purred in her ear. "I thought I heard you say my name?"

  The lights began to dim as Shala whipped around to observe the rather dramatic entrance of the man she'd love…to destroy.

  "I just set our plan into action, Dagon." She walked over and closed her bedchamber door, lest anyone happen upon this little conversation. "And I would appreciate it if you would knock before entering my rooms."

  "Oh, have we developed a little backbone?" Dagon purred as he glided into view. "So fitting for the mother of my child." He laughed as she winced in reaction to his words. "But a trifle annoying for one so…gullible. Is that the word that best describes you, dear?"

  "What do you want, Dagon?" she retorted, her brow wrinkling in annoyance. "What do you want this time?"