‘What’s the matter?’ Drako asked seeing Jim’s attention was on the forest.
‘I feel an animus approaching. Could it be one of yours?’ Jim asked him.
Drako was suddenly very alert, hushed everyone and locked the gate. They hurried up into the watchtower, but no-one came into view. The forest was dense, so visibility was quite limited.
‘They’re going away now, but the signature is stronger,’ Jim said. ‘Think that’s your people already Drako, heading around to the main gate?’
‘I hope so. That lone one was probably one of our scouts flanking the main group. But we can’t be certain. Much as I like your moat idea, I think our enemies may be too close to begin building something so dramatic. Besides which, if we are attacked, I’d rather know you hadn’t exhausted yourself just before the fight.’
Jim nodded, knowing he had a point. ‘Ok, so what help do your people need? Should we be out there confusing their trail or something?’
‘Don’t worry. That is something my people know how to do well,’ Drako’s lips twisted. ‘We’ve had years of practice,’ he added bitterly. ‘A nice solid wall and a chance to disappear out of sight is all we need. There’s enough shelter for most of us at your training ground. But surely your students need to use it?’
‘We’ll work something out. Probably they’d miss it, especially if there’s a real possibility of actual fighting sometime soon. I know I’m rubbish and need to start some lessons,’ Jim added with a self depreciating grin. ‘But we’re talking priorities here and that is getting you all out of sight should anyone come looking.’
‘You should call your lady back,’ Drako suggested and watched Jim immediately look in the direction she’d gone then turn, a small frown on his face. ‘What the hell is she doing over that way?’ Jim muttered in concern. ‘Hello,’ he said both verbally and mentally. ‘What are you up to?’ he asked and looked out through her eyes. Treetops swept past in a blur of speed. ‘Come back. The enemy is too close. No, I don’t know exactly where they are, but an animus approached our people gate not long ago. No. Don’t go looking for them.’
Drako watched Jim closely, noticing that he kept turning slightly, obviously keeping track of her position. The quiet verbalisation of their mental conversation would normally be inaudible, but Drako had animus acute hearing. He was also fascinated that they could speak mind to mind.
‘Yes, I see the dog. He’s animus Am,’ Jim warned anxiously. ‘No, I don’t know if he’s one of Drako’s. Shall I let him see? He’s right here.’ Jim met Drako’s eyes suddenly aware he’d been speaking out loud. ‘Do you have any dog animus?’ Jim asked him.
‘Some. I’d know if he was one of my people.’ Jim nodded and grasped his arm. Drako gasped; suddenly he’d been transported into the forest and was soaring amongst the tree tops. He quickly focussed on the dog as seen by Amelie although he felt nothing from her. ‘I don’t recognise him,’ Drako said quickly. ‘He’s not alone. Get the hell out of there,’ he added urgently. The view swiftly began to change as she veered away; clearly she was taking his advice. Suddenly Drako felt as though he’d been punched and hard. It was Amelie; she was plummeting towards the ground at dizzying speed. A sideways glance told the story. An arrow was wedged in her wing, breaking it, meaning she couldn’t fly. Drako gasped again as he felt a surge of raw power flow from Jim to her. Her wing straightened and she was now able to glide, slowing her speedy and deadly descent. Actual flight was out of the question however; she was rapidly going down. A glance back showed dog and bowman running after her.
Jim ran for and vaulted aboard his horse. Within moments he was at a flat out gallop, heading for the main gates, with Drako following suit. Suddenly Jim’s horse seemed to accelerate, although the hooves were not going any faster, leaving Drako behind as though he was walking.
‘What’s going on?’ Max asked Drako, flying up alongside.
‘Someone’s just shot Amelie and she was going down with a broken wing. An animus dog and bowman were on her tail,’ Drako managed to shout. The owl squawked and flew hard and fast, attempting to catch up with the unnatural speed Jim was going at. Drako could only watch them pull ahead in frustration, but he knew very well time was of the essence if they were to save her. The fall alone was going to be nasty without immediately being rushed by enemies. At least Max would be able to catch up once Jim had to slow up in the trees. Two, were better odds than one, particularly as he recalled Jim say he wasn’t a warrior. Drako pressed on as fast as he could. Jim had already disappeared so he kept the owl in sight. Suddenly he became aware of people in hiding either side of the trail and he halted warily, scanning the dense greenery.
‘Drako! Are we glad to see you.’
Drako breathed again in relief. ‘Come on, we need to catch up,’ he added and urged his horse on again. ‘Did you see him?’
‘You want to catch up with the human tornado? Who the hell is that?’
‘That’s our host. Come on, his lady is under attack,’ Drako added.
Ahead they heard snarling and grunts and rushed onto the scene. Jim was fighting the bowman, both of them struggling to gain possession of the fallen bow. Jim surprisingly was simply using his fists. Meanwhile an owl was diving at and trying to claw a huge dog to distract it and keep it off Amelie. The eagle stood swaying, with an arrow shaft protruding from her wing. The wing drooped to the ground bent at an unnatural angle, and blood had darkened her feathers. She glanced at Drako and his men then anxiously returned her attention to the two battles around her.
Drako strode forward and grabbed the dog around the throat lifting him easily off the ground and snapping his neck. His bear leant him strength even in human form. He threw the creature aside and approached Jim’s fight. Jim abruptly stood back, waving his hands and moments later, his opponent was encased in a bubble. Nothing that the archer did, punching or even shooting, succeeded in penetrating the bubble. His efforts instead caused the bubble to act like a ball and roll, tipping him on his face.
Jim turned away and went to Amelie. He spared a brief glance for the newcomers gathered near her, but her very stillness told him she was in a great deal of pain. He instantly put a hand on her head and placed a block against the pain. He closed his eyes and travelled into her body. The wing wasn’t the only injury. The dog had bitten her numerous times although her beak had been a good defensive weapon and had stopped the vicious animal getting a grip on her. Tufts of fur, testament to her battle, were still caught in her beak. He pulled them out, not wanting them to be in her mouth when she changed back.
‘Have you the strength to change back? I can’t see well enough through your feathers. You may want some fur to keep you warm in the places not injured,’ he added aware the ground was frosty.
‘You like that invention then?’ she asked lightly, aware he was very angry, upset and defensive, not helped by being surrounded by strangers. She let her body revert to human form and the pain came back with a vengeance. Her wing tried to revert to a human arm but couldn’t fully because of the foreign object in her and the broken bones. Cold air hit her body with an icy shock and she lay there gasping. Gritting her teeth to ignore her pain she pushed her body to grow fur. She looked up into Jim’s eyes, letting him know he could now touch her safely without getting caught up in her body’s magical reconfiguration. She blinked noticing his eyes were not their usual blue but strangely had turned a deep golden yellow. She had no clue why but her pain drove the puzzle from her mind.
‘Let me block the pain again love,’ he murmured softly already doing exactly that. He dropped his jacket on the ground for her to lie on and looked her over carefully. He put his hands on either side of her broken arm and concentrated on the arrow lodged there. He reversed the arrow’s path, forcing it to come out just as it had gone in. He ignored the gasps as the small arrow, still intact, came out of her arm by itself. Once that foreign object was out he could set and fuse the bone. Whilst there, he found where she was bleeding inside the arm.
He carefully repaired the torn muscle and pushed dirt and possible infection out of the wound in a rush of blood. Another moment saw the wound closing. He sat back on his heels recovering his breath.
‘That’s as much as I think we’ve time for. Let’s get out of here.’ He rose and found Drako proffering his own full length coat. Jim hesitated then noticed Drako looked remarkably furry now under his shirt. ‘Thank you,’ he said and helped Amelie into the big coat that nearly reached her ankles. He buttoned it up for her, feeling her shivering. Jim was glad to put his own coat back on; it was very cold and unlike them, he could not simply grow fur to remedy a lack of clothes. He glanced round and noticed the corpse of the dog had now reverted to a man. He frowned, considering it for a moment, then pointed at it and it went up in flames, fast and furious. Seconds later the whole body was fine ash which began to float away in the breeze, yet the grass below it wasn’t even scorched. Now they didn’t need to take time they didn’t have to hide his body.
‘What about him?’ Drako asked, pointing at the archer.
‘I left him alive in case you wanted to question him,’ Jim said. ‘Think he’ll talk?’
‘To you, yes,’ Drako said, glancing at his men who were equally wide eyed. He watched the strangely yellow eyed Jim lift Amelie onto his horse. The archer visibly flinched when Jim turned to look at him. Jim placed his hand on the bubble, closed his eyes for a moment then looked carefully at the prisoner who was trying to avoid meeting his eyes. Jim released the bubble and the archer flinched again, suddenly hearing sound clearly again and the wind on his face. He yelped and began rubbing at his eyes.
‘What did you do?’ Drako asked unnerved.
‘Blinded him; for the time being, anyway. Can one of you lug him along? Now he won’t know where we’re going,’ Jim said with satisfaction. ‘If he gets annoying I could take his hearing too,’ Jim added with a chillingly casual assurance.
‘Please no,’ the archer wailed. ‘I’ll do whatever you say.’
‘You tried to murder my lady,’ Jim told him in a cold, unusually gravelly, voice. ‘I’m not forgetting that anytime soon. Now shut up and if you behave nicely I might restore your sight.’ Jim mounted up behind Amelie. One of the men tied the stranger down on his own horse they’d found close by in some bushes. The men all had horses and they were quickly ready. Jim led the way at a canter needing to get Amelie to safety.
Amelie was wrapped in his arms and she felt his rather wild emotions. She sent him warmth and reassurance trying to calm him. He’d seemed to have become someone else back there; someone very powerful and unforgiving. She hadn’t seen that in him before or his yellow eyes.
They passed through the main gates and found a long convoy of people with small carts and horses travelling up the drive towards the training ground at the far end.
‘Is that everyone Drako?’ Jim asked, astonished by the numbers of people. He’d assumed, when they’d referred to their camp, that they were only about a dozen.
‘Now you’re all here, yes,’ Gerald answered from the gateway where he’d been standing guard.
‘Good.’ Jim gestured and the big gates closed with a loud thud. He then sealed the gates to the frames, and the frames to the walls. ‘Let’s get everyone indoors,’ Jim suggested, his gaze encompassing and noting with approval the many students who’d volunteered to help out. He acknowledged each as he passed and noticed they straightened up pleased with the recognition. ‘I’ll catch up with you later Drako,’ he added knowing he’d be occupied settling his people.
‘Yes and thank you,’ Drako said sincerely and watched Jim canter across the grass to avoid the convoy, back up to the house.
The horse-master had seen his approach and was waiting. ‘Do you want us to see to all these horses? Where are they going to go?’
‘No need, they’ll use the stalls up at the training ground for the time being. They’ll need some hay though, if you can organise that?’
‘Certainly sir.’
‘Is the barn empty now?’ Jim asked.
‘It’s just got the wagons and bales in there. Will they want to use the barn?’
‘I don’t know yet. But if they do they can make whatever space they need,’ Jim said and now helped Amelie down. He patted the tired horse’s neck leaving her to Blake and carried Amelie inside. Inside Vako hovered, demanding to know who were all those strangers, where were they going and why was Amelie covered in blood?
‘That’s just some of Clan Green Bear, visiting.’ Jim told him calmly. That at least was not only the simple truth but would also help alleviate any anxiety from the students. ‘Amelie has been injured. I’ll have more time to talk later, once I have seen to her wounds.’
When the bell went for dinner Jim realised he’d fallen asleep. Having healed Amelie and after a very stressful and exhausting day, it wasn’t really surprising that as soon as he’d relaxed, his eyes had closed.
‘I’d better dress,’ Amelie commented suddenly realising she still wore fur only. She examined the pink marks that were all that remained of the multiple injuries she’d sustained. It was a chilling thought that she could easily have died in today’s attack. Whilst she did still need to rest, she wouldn’t be able to until she’d eaten. She also didn’t want anyone to know she’d been badly injured and start asking awkward questions. No-one needed a panic that there were people just outside the walls shooting at them. The less the students knew the better.
‘I hadn’t realised it was so late,’ Jim said ruefully. ‘I’d expected to get up to check on Drako before dinner. Maybe I should go now.’
‘No. You need to eat first. You’ve used a great deal of power today. You need to eat to replenish your strength or it won’t be there when you do need it,’ she added reasonably. ‘It’d also be better for us to be seen in the hall for dinner as though nothing is amiss.’
‘I hope Drako’s people have enough supplies with them. There were certainly more of them than I thought there’d be.’
‘I know, and women and children too. It makes my blood boil. Those hunters today would kill the rest of us if they knew our whereabouts, just for being animus. They are not just Drako’s enemies,’ Amelie told him. ‘Drako has had to face the full brunt of their persecution all these years while the rest of us took the coward’s way out by hiding. We’re being picked off one by one in the dark. Louis is right, we need to make a stand, animus together.’
‘But you’re not just animus,’ Jim said gently.
‘I know, but that is how I feel and what others think I am. Those men today didn’t see a wizard. They saw an animus and shot me. It wasn’t enough I was badly injured. They wanted to be sure they finished me off. This senseless persecution makes me so angry.’
‘I know,’ Jim said gently and wrapped his arms around her. ‘But what can we do against such a tide?’
‘We could provide a safe haven here,’ Amelie said simply. ‘We make animus welcome and help as many as we can. Give them a place and reason to live.’
At dinner, Jim announced casually that Drako’s clan were visiting, and that no-one had any reason to be concerned. He was surprised however that very few actually seemed alarmed at all. He knew when he’d told Vako, that there had been students present. Obviously they had spread the word so no-one was surprised to hear his confirmation of the news. Perhaps having met or seen Drako walking about the school during the morning had also helped put the student’s minds at ease. Drako was a charismatic man and not at all aloof. He’d chatted with many students on a whole variety of subjects.
After dinner, Amelie collected Drako’s coat and walked slowly with Jim along the track to the training ground. Her injuries had mostly been healed, but she had precious little strength. She was not going to let him go alone however. It was fully dark, the winter evening clear and cold.
Jim was surprised he didn’t feel the need to see through her eyes as he normally would have wanted. He could see unusually well in the feeble moonlight. Amelie glanced asi
de sharply, drawing his attention to the presence approaching from one side. It was big and lumbering and animus.
‘Drako,’ Amelie greeted recognising his scent first, more than the shape.
‘Are you ok?’ Drako asked, his voice deep and strangely inflected, coming from the bear’s mouth.
‘Yes. Very tired and sore, but that will pass. Thank you for your help today and the loan of the coat,’ she said gratefully and passed it over. The bear shimmered and became a man.
Drako pulled on the coat, amused she glanced at his body. But his retained fur thwarted her eyes just as she herself had done earlier. ‘I like this way of keeping a fur coat; much cosier. Thank you for showing me how to do this.’
‘You’re welcome. I only thought of it today. Max had a problem when he first tried to do it,’ she confided cheekily. ‘He didn’t like the thought of growing feathers on everything and accidentally missed a spot. I had to point it out before the whole class saw and he grew a feather skirt instead.’
Drako laughed; a deep and suddenly carefree rumble that made him seem much younger. Jim snorted at the thought, although knowing she’d been looking at a naked man was making him feel rather uncomfortable. She poked him, aware of his jealousy and prompting him to concentrate on the funny side as she was.
‘Come and meet everyone,’ Drako said leading them to the arena. ‘They’re all very curious.’
‘Have they eaten?’ Amelie asked pausing before they went inside.
‘Yes, thanks,’ Drako confirmed, although their supplies were very low indeed. ‘Everyone; this is our host and the new headmaster of this school, wizard Jim and animus warrior wizard Amelie,’ Drako announced having led them into the centre of the arena. Virtually all the seats were occupied. The pair had obviously been spotted approaching.
‘A warm welcome to you all,’ Jim said inclining his head slightly. ‘My apologies this accommodation isn’t very cosy, but at least it’s out of the rain. First things first, security is doubtless on your minds. I’ve locked the two gates and will know if anyone breaches them. I’ll also know if anyone crosses the wall, so you can be assured no one can creep up on you. I’d also like a good night’s sleep, so please don’t try and pop over the wall for something, or all the alarms will go off. If you’re short of anything, let Drako know and I’ll see if we can get it for you.’ He then turned to Drako and lowered his voice. ‘Where are they sleeping? There are more of you than I thought there’d be. Is there enough room for everyone to get inside?’
Amelie: Wizards of White Haven Page 31
