No!
Instead of carrying her along like it had before, they plunged into the trees. Focusing on a new shape, she held the transformation until she was closer to the ground.
Just a second longer…
Her growth exploded. The hawk let out a cry of frustration at its prey getting away yet again. Reaghan ignored it, focusing on getting the small details right about this form. As soon as the masters declared her shifting good enough, it was one that immediately rose to the top of her list to make use of. The Renaj was a cat from Rena IV. No one stepped into their territories if they valued their limbs. Their fighters were among the most ferocious in the galaxy. Plus they were capable of speaking the humanoid tongues, which meant she could try to talk the hawk down from its attack.
Her paws hit the ground and she spun around, teeth bared. Her fingers dug into the earth, dirt getting under her claws. The hawk came into view, changing shape into an elemental. Fire encircling it and cutting off Reaghan’s escape. Reinforcing her shield, she charged into the elemental, letting the fire lap over the surface. The elemental didn’t have a shield so she was able to rip into the stone body with little problem. A blast of power sent her sliding backwards.
Shaking herself, she roared in anger. Lightning exploded the tree behind her, narrowly avoiding the surface of her shields. Reaghan extended a hand, a large meteor forming where she pointed. It raced toward the elemental, who dodged out of the way just in time. A column of fire roared around her, inching closer and closer until it forced her to funnel more power into her protections. The flames died as the elemental let out a cry of pain. Another shot came from above.
“Are you okay?” Twi called over the comm. The Aeon hovered just above the trees.
Reaghan rose to her hind legs. “Good timing, but I told you to help the village.”
“You were on the way. Who is the elemental?”
“Didn’t get their name, but I’m pretty sure we’re looking at Vishnira.”
“That would be correct,” a woman’s voice sneered from where the elemental had been. She wore what seemed to be metal armor. There were cuts along the pale arms, making the wounds stand out more than normal. Despite her tattered appearance, the woman gave them a cold, confident smile. Reaghan’s eyes widened at the rings of yellow in her eyes and pointed ears.
“What are you doing here? These are your people.”
The druid dropped into a cat form of her own, charging toward Reaghan. They clashed in the center of the clearing, rolling over and over as they tried to gain the advantage over the other. Vishnira flung Reaghan off and she landed at the foot of a tree. Rising to her feet, she shook it off and leapt back into combat. They continued to wrestle, Vishnira nearly getting the upper hand several times.
The constant close combat shattered both their shields at the same time, but before Reaghan could recover, the woman buried her fangs in her shoulder. Reaghan let out a yell, holding a paw to her wound. She staggered backward a few steps. Vishnira let out a growl that was more like laughter. She geared up to charge again, but Twi fired, cutting her off by encircling her in weapons’ fire.
Reaghan’s breathing came in heaving gasps. It seemed as though they won. The druid was trapped.
“What are you doing here?” She repeated her question in a snarl.
The druid sank into the earth. Reaghan stepped forward, prepared to freeze her in place as soon as she resurfaced. The ground exploded on her left side. From it emerged an elemental, and then an even larger cat. Reaghan dug in, then leapt at the druid. They crashed to the ground. Reaghan’s claws tore into Vishnira, ripping across her chest. She raised a hand to deliver the final blow.
It was caught fast by a vine. Reaghan tugged, but it didn’t give. Another vine caught her other hand, the angle made it impossible to cut with her claws. Vishnira morphed back into her own form, the armor now rent and tattered.
“Little druid, you gave a good fight. But you’re not ready to take your place in my plans. Until next time.” She grinned, then shoved a fist into Reaghan’s abdomen. Dancing away, she stepped through what looked to Reaghan to be just air.
Reaghan felt the vines release the second she vanished. “Another Void passage?” she guessed.
“Nothing up here, but it’s a safe guess. We need to get your shoulder tended to.”
“Not yet. We need to make sure the village is safe and pay Miraz a visit first.”
“Why them?”
“Get going,” Reaghan said, pulling herself away from the battleground, keeping a wary eye out in case Vishnira was hiding just out of sight. “I’ll catch up.”
The village was burning when she arrived, though druids were already hard at work putting out the flames. The last beast was being taken down by Twi in the Aeon while the druids retreated to the ground. All in all, it looked like the worst was some bumps and bruises. Tendrils of vines and branches trapped one of the beasts high in the air, though it didn’t move. She wondered what Vishnira thought of her need to retreat, though somehow she didn’t believe the woman felt she’d been beaten.
You’re not ready to take your place in my plans…
Her mind repeated the words over and over again, though it didn’t make it any clearer. There was only one place to get answers and she didn’t like it. Her feet carried her along until she stared at the jail. Eiha still came off her in wisps, but she didn’t bring it down.
“Now or never,” she muttered. “Just suck it up and get moving.”
“Not without me,” Twi said, latching onto her coat.
“Where’s the ship?”
“Parked and getting repaired. Now, you said it yourself, get moving.”
“Look who it is,” Miraz greeted as they walked inside the narrow hallway that was lined by cells. All three of them were housed separately and chained to the wall. She could feel the dampening spells on the metal bars and brick. “Come to gloat?”
“What’s your buddy’s plan?” Reaghan demanded. “Was she the one you were going to sell me to all along?”
The three said nothing, though Ja’s jaw gnashed and twisted as though she were fighting against every instinct to resist speaking. Reaghan was tempted to shift into something big and scary, but knew it wouldn’t have the same effect with them safely behind the bars.
“Come on,” she cried. “You’ve been abandoned. She’s gone. Probably back in the Void, doing whatever she’s doing.”
“She won’t leave us. She knows she needs us,” Urg said.
“You’re a bunch of failed errand boys. Can’t even bring in one lousy girl—”
Ja leapt at the cell door, latching on like a primate. Her chained ankle hung back at such an odd enough angle that it was a miracle it hadn’t broken. Urg stared at her, eyes darker than normal.
“I don’t remember you being so cocky when you were hanging in that closet,” Urg muttered. “But I suppose you have friends now.”
Reaghan stared at him, unsure of what to say. Ja still hung on the door, breathing hard, though she was now silent. Finally, Miraz rose, arms folded behind his back.
“You might’ve fooled them for now, Rei, but everyone’s luck runs out sooner or later. You’ll meet someone you can’t charm to buy your story. That’s if Vishnira doesn’t get to you first.” He sat back down on his cot.
Reaghan pivoted on her heel and left, hoping it was the last time she would see them.
“Well that was as uninformative as possible,” Twi complained.
“Actually, it might not’ve been such a waste of time. They still, even after everything, think I’m Rei, and maybe Vishnira does too.”
“I heard her call you a druid over the comm. That suggests she knows better.”
“Maybe Rei chose being a druid too. Either way, it beats trying to fly around the galaxy in the hopes that we find a Void passage or waiting until she finds us again.
”
“Yeah, still not sure how she’s doing that one.” Twi let a long sigh, “I guess we have little choice though, do we? We have to chase the pirate. Even if she doesn’t have answers we need, she’s in great danger.”
“Now, let’s just hope Miraz was greatly exaggerating about what we’ll find when we find her.”
Twi about fell from her perch on Reaghan’s shoulder at the thought.
Cianien Bloodstone has been penning stories since she began cutting her teeth on science fiction, fantasy, and most things geeky well over a decade ago. She started writing her own worlds as an escape from all the academic writing of her college and grad school days, which would later be published as The Rogue Element series. Despite being a political scientist by degree, she lives the dream of putting her own worlds on paper and sharing them with the world.
She lives in Michigan with her husband and family.
Her website is Cianien.com
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