Kellan’s face blazed once again when he realized he did just that. Once more, he tried to put together the missing pieces. Oddly, the last thing he remembered was Samara telling him to forget all that they had discussed. He scratched his head. She simply told him to forget and he did?
Kane produced an answer to his unspoken question. “The Ellvinians can use mind control.”
Kellan whipped his head around to face his brother standing in the doorway to the bedroom. “Mind control? Are they mindshifters?” That would certainly make the situation much worse if not utterly hopeless.
“I don’t believe so. Twice now, I have heard comments about the quality of the Ellvinians’ voices when they are using this control. You called it magic when you heard it, and Alia called it a song. It is almost as if they are putting their intended targets in a type of hypnotic trance.”
“How do you know all this?”
“Ellvinian sailors attempted to use it on me down at the wharf last night. It didn’t work.”
“Why didn’t it work?”
Kane’s golden eyes glowed in the semi-darkness of the room. “I haven’t figured that part out. Yet.”
“Wait. Are you suggesting…? Did Samara use this mind control on me last night?”
“She must have!” Jala cried. “You walked away from me and Izzy without a word.” Her eyes glistened and she turned her back on him, her voice growing softer. “And, I did the same thing to Izzy. I promised not to let go of her hand, but went to bed and left her with two of the dark Elves. I remember now that she was begging me to stay, and I just walked away!”
Kellan speared a hand through his hair and it took all of his willpower not to shed his own tears. Izzy was like a sister to him and his guard, Gregor Steele, had been a constant presence in his life ever since the day he was born. If the Saber was not outside of his door, he was most likely dead. And, not just him. Haiden, Elon, and Dallin were missing as well.
He had to think. What would his father and mother do if they were here? What would Kenley do? He never wanted so badly to see his sister.
“I already started an evacuation of the city.”
Kane’s casual statement stunned him. “You did?”
He simply nodded.
“Well done,” he said, genuinely impressed.
“If the citizens follow my orders, by tonight, all that should be left in Northfort are those confined to this estate. In my estimate, counting guests from the gala and servants, there are close to two hundred people here.”
“Not nearly enough to fight twelve hundred Ellvinians.”
Kane raised a pale eyebrow. “Depends how many of those Massans are shifters.”
“I like how you think, brother.”
“So, we’re trapped here?” Jala asked.
“For now. I suggest we play along with the Ellvinians. Act as though we do not suspect what is going on. That will give the people of the city the best chance of making it out. It won’t take long for the Ellvinians to realize what is happening, but our ruse just might give us enough time to find Izzy and the protectors before we show our hand. When that happens, all bets are off.”
“Do what you must to deceive the Ellvinians, Kellan,” Jala said, “but I am going after Izzy now. If I have to burn this building to cinders to find her, that is what I will do.”
Kellan nodded. “Izzy should be our first priority. Kane, check on the evacuation and make sure it is happening as discreetly as possible. Then, see if you can round up any shifters that are left in Northfort. We are going to need all the help we can get.”
Now, you are sounding like a Prince of Iserlohn, Maks noted proudly.
“And, you?” Kane asked. “Where will you be?”
“I’m going to pay another visit to Samara and see what I can find out about the Ellvinians’ plans or Izzy’s whereabouts.”
“I wonder if there is a way to counteract their mind control,” Jala mused.
“Simple,” Kane replied. “Don’t listen to a word they say.”
* * * * *
The Premier laid back on his cushions and stared up at the domed ceiling in a blood soaked haze. The world around him spun in a mesmerizing swirl of color, his heightened senses reeling inside his head and over his skin. The tips of his fingers and toes tingled with the blood pounding through his veins.
Magic blood.
He never felt so alive in all of his life!
With some effort, he lifted his head and peered through bleary eyes at his companions. Balder and Anah were wrapped together in a lazy sprawl, eyes open but not focused. Jarl was sitting up and mumbling to himself through his euphoria. In the corner of the room, Emile sat apart, clear-eyed and sober, refusing to partake in the blood.
A pale mound further along the wall caught his attention, but Hendrix was not sure what it could be. He struggled up on one elbow to look more closely. What is it? Is that a leg? It almost looked like…oh, aye, he remembered now.
A mound of dead bodies.
Watershifters, they called themselves.
The ship returned just that morning with the twelve Massans and Hendrix wasted no time setting the Vypir on them to extract their blood. Fortunately, the Vypir remembered exactly what he had been created to do and required no prompting once the shifters were led into its room.
The image of the creature striking out at the necks of the watershifters with its tail to siphon their blood played through Hendrix’s mind in gruesome detail. One by one, he watched the shifters pound in desperation on the glass of the control room and beg to be freed. With each kill, the Vypir grew stronger and the bodies more mangled by the time they were drained.
Hendrix looked over at the pile once again and the three barrels used to collect the blood.
It was unfortunate that all had been killed. It had certainly not been the plan. He just hoped that the Massan representatives due to arrive in Ellvin also had the gift of magic. If so, the technicians would have to come up with a way to keep the Vypir from draining them so quickly.
He needed to think. Sitting up, he stretched his hand along the floor looking for his goblet. He found it and raised it into the air. “Emile! More blood!”
“Aye!” agreed Balder, unwrapping himself from Anah’s amorous limbs.
Emile walked over with a cold expression on his face. He reached out and snatched the cup from Hendrix’s hand. “May I speak honestly, Your Eminence?”
The look on Emile’s face told him it would not be something he wanted to hear. “If you must.”
“In a few hours, you have gone through the blood of twelve shifters. Not only that, you depleted them dry when you could have kept them alive to make more blood.” He leaned down and lowered his voice. “Quite frankly, Your Eminence, you are not thinking clearly with so much of the magic in your system. You must stop.”
“Stop?” Hendrix bellowed. “I am an Ellvinian, Emile!” He pitched to his feet in anger. “I will have the blood!”
Emile stepped back, but pressed on. “At least keep them alive, Your Eminence. If you want a continued blood supply, you cannot kill them all!”
“It was the Vypir! It was your little pet that did this!”
“You ordered all of the shifters in the room at once,” Emile pointed out.
He threw up his hands. “Well, how was I to know what that creature would do? Now, that I do know of its vicious nature, I can assure you that steps will be taken so that it does not happen again. The technicians are evaluating the proper protocol for harvesting, and it is something we will work out with time.”
“I will not have you harm Tolah.”
“Please! Do not attach a name to that thing.”
“It is a human being.”
“It is a beast, but I will not harm it. Why would I when it brings me so much pleasure?” Hendrix waved a clumsy hand in the air. “Do not worry so, Emile! There are plenty of shifters in Massa. I have complete confidence that Samara and Chandal will do all that is necessary to ensure a continued supply of the
blood. And, in case you have forgotten, representatives from Massa will be here any day now.”
“You cannot kill the representatives! It will be tantamount to declaring war!”
“If that is what it takes!”
Emile grabbed his arm roughly. “Your Eminence! The blood is addling your mind! Stop drinking and then make your decision.”
Hendrix screeched and yanked his arm out of Emile’s grip. “Let go of me! I have made my mind up and the decision is made! We have gone too long without, and I am through doing this the peaceful way with the Shiprunners. Take all the Battlearms to Massa, Emile!” With that final thunderous declaration, Hendrix slumped back down onto the pillows. He was no longer looking at his Second, but could tell Emile’s next words were forced out through gritted teeth.
“The Battlearms?”
“Aye, Emile, do I have to write it out for you?”
“And, once there, Your Eminence?”
“I want a steady well of magic users delivered to Ellvin, Emile! If anyone challenges your mission, kill them.”
“Your Eminence! We do not have—”
“Are you disobeying an order, Emile? If you so much as speak one single word more of this heresy, I will have you whipped and removed from office. Do you hear me?”
His Second swallowed back his argument. “Aye, Your Eminence.”
“Good, now prepare the Battlearms. I want you gone by tonight.”
“As you command,” Emile replied stiffly and walked toward the door of the Consulate.
“Wait!” Hendrix shouted at him.
The Second hesitated before turning back to him, a glimmer of hope in his eyes that Hendrix had changed his mind after all. “Your Eminence?”
Hendrix held up his goblet and wiggled it in the air. “You forgot my blood.”
CHAPTER 15
A TIGHTENING WEB
Izzy pressed her fists into her stomach in an attempt to stay the vomit lodged in her throat. She took deep breaths in through her nose and tried to flood her mind with beautiful images of her deity, Elán, to prevent her from thinking about using magic. The Ellvinian named Chandal had warned her that trying to shift would cause her to be sick, but sometimes she could not help herself. Sensing out the animals around her was as natural to a feralshifter as breathing.
Feeling her nauseous belly finally subside, Izzy sat up on the large bed.
An Ellvinian guard stood unsmiling at the open door between the room she was in and the sitting room just beyond. What a strange looking Elf. He never smiled or acknowledged her presence. He just stood there and sniffed at the air every once in a while.
Izzy got out of the bed and strode to the window. The courtyard below the mayor’s estate was empty. She had hoped to see someone outside that she could wave to, but quickly realized how improbable that was. She was on the third floor and it was not likely that anyone down below would look up this far or, even if they did, see her behind the thick windowpane.
She wondered where Chandal had gone. She had not seen him since he deposited her in his room last night, and she hoped she never saw him again. He made her skin crawl. On the surface, he had been nice to her, but she was not fooled. She could tell that deep down, he was a mean person and meant her harm just as the other two Ellvinians had.
If only Jala, Kellan or Kane would find her before Chandal returned. Did they know she was missing? She knew her friends very well and under normal circumstances, they would stop at nothing to find her. But, she knew now that events surrounding these strange Elves were not normal. Her own actions since the night of the gala were hazy and indistinct so she could only assume the others were facing the same dilemma.
Izzy spotted a stray dog outside the window and quickly turned away, not wanting to call up the sickness again.
Instead, she glanced north and viewed the armada of Ellvinian ships moored there. These Ellvinians would pay for their actions when her father returned. He would not be pleased at all that they had locked up his daughter. She just wished he would come home today instead of weeks from now.
Turning from the window, she began to pace. How could she escape? Since she could not rely on her friends or her magic, she had to figure out another way. A tear dripped from her eye, but she scrubbed it away when her gaze locked on a heavy candleholder on the stand by the bed. Ever since she was old enough to walk, Elon Aubry and other members of the Gladewatchers had instructed her in the art of defense. If brute force was all she had at her disposal, she would use it, and there was no time like the present.
She sat on the edge of the bed, making sure that the candleholder was within reach.
She cleared her throat. “Sir, can you please come here?”
The guard looked at her hesitantly.
“I am bleeding, sir, on the back of my leg and I need—.”
The Elf crossed the room faster than she thought possible and knelt down to sniff at her leg. To her horror, his tongue darted out to lap up the blood he hoped to find.
She did not waste the opportunity. She grabbed the candleholder and slammed it into the side of his head. The tall Elf crumpled to the side, unconscious.
I can’t believe it! It worked!
Izzy spared one fleeting second to hope that she had not killed the Elf, but then stepped around him and fled the bedroom. As she navigated the sitting room, she prayed to Elán that there would not be any guards outside.
At the door, she stopped with her hand pressed against the frame. What would she do if there were? The element of surprise was crucial to any offense her father always told her. She was small and fast, so she could slam open the door and run before they realized she was escaping. Yes, that would work. Surely, they would not hurt her once she was in the hallway and in view of others.
She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. Clenching her muscles in readiness to act, she lowered her hand to the door handle.
Before she could turn it, the door opened and she stumbled back into the room.
It was Chandal.
“Going somewhere?” he asked, his black eyes furious.
* * * * *
Kellan stepped out of his room after Kane and Jala left, and it felt like he stepped into a nightmare. Ellvinians swarmed the hallway and a glance over the balcony showed that the lower floors and antechamber were flooded with them as well. There was not a single Massan in view.
What in the Highworld is going on here, my friend?
Maks lumbered to the railing and looked down. An invasion.
How did this happen? We allowed for a dozen Ellvinians only.
They disregarded your rules, but you have known this since yesterday.
I did?
Yes.
You’re right, I did. Kane says that they have mind control abilities.
Just stay near me. I will protect you.
Kellan smiled at his friend and absently ran a grateful hand through his silky white coat. Can you do something important for me?
It depends.
His mouth twitched up once again. Draca Cats only performed the tasks they wished to perform, whether he liked it or not. I want you to see if you can track down the protectors. Can you find out what happened to them?
I would rather not be parted with the enemy surrounding you in such numbers. I can already see how they are isolating us into small groups. If I did not want to kill them so badly, I would be quite impressed.
Are they really our enemy?
The snowy head peered down at the antechamber once again before answering. Yes.
Maks was speaking the truth. Even he could see that now. But, I must find out what happened to the protectors, Maks. If harm has come to them, that is the proof I need for Kirby and the mayor.
Maks nodded and then turned his blue eyes to look directly at Kellan. I will go. Call out if you need me. I can find you anywhere.
I promise. But, I am not without my own defenses, Maks. Remember that.
If the cat attached any value to his comment, he
did not say. He simply turned and left, and the Ellvinians backed away hastily to give the enormous Draca room as he made his way down the stairs.
Kellan pushed away from the railing to pursue his own goals. He needed to talk to Samara, but he also wanted to find Kirby Nash and find out what the Captain of the Royal Guard was doing about this invasion as Maks put it. Or, was he, too, under the Ellvinians’ influence?
The Elves he passed in the hallway made no attempt to hide their stares, and Kellan felt like an insect in a sea of hungry hawks. Instinctively, he stretched for the white fur that was always a reach away, but his hand came up empty. Maks was gone. Gregor was gone. It was up to him now to shoulder the cloak of responsibility to which he had been born. Kellan fingered the athame tattooed on his neck and drew strength from its presence and when he looked up again, he saw the hawks for what they truly were. Elves. Just Elves. He on the other hand was a shifter. He was the child of Savitars, and he had the power to defeat them.
Shoulders squared, he strode through the throng of dark Elves and made his way toward the mayor’s drawing room where he knew Lars held conferences with his constituents.
It should not have been surprising to find white-robed Ellvinians standing before the double doors to the room as though on guard, but it was. He strode toward them prepared to fight his way in, but the Elves stepped aside as he neared and allowed him to enter without comment.
Kellan slammed open the doors harder than he intended and stepped inside.
Sunlight pooled in the center of the large room, casting its occupants in a halo of illumination. The laughter and gaiety of the six people sitting on a raised dais enjoying their midday meal broke off abruptly when they heard him enter.
It seemed such an innocent scene.
The mayor was there in the midst of delivering a toast to his guests. Samara, Chandal, and two other Ellvinians paused with their glasses raised. The sixth person in the room was Kirby Nash, and he immediately stood when he saw Kellan.
“Kellan! Come join us. I was just coming to look for you, but Lady Samara used her considerable charms to convince me to take part in this delicious repast.” He waved his arms to draw attention to the elaborate spread of food before them.
Island Shifters: Book 03 - An Oath of the Children Page 11
