There was no way I could stand against this man.
Two pigoblins broke free of the massacre, heading straight for Wix’s inn. I might be no match for Kestral, nor for such a large group of pigoblin all at once, but I’m not completely useless. I fell back into a familiar stance, one leg behind me for support, the other ahead for balance. I tucked my hands behind my back and as the pigoblins charged, I surged forward, drawing twin daggers from hidden sheaths. The blades bit deeply through the beasts’ necks, spraying blood impossibly high on the inn’s outer wall. A few quick steps brought me within reach of another pigoblin. I feinted with my right dagger, then plunged the left through its piggy eye. The beast screamed and whipped its head, trying to gore me with its tusks. I leaned back to avoid the swipe, kicked it down and sliced through its windpipe. Another came charging at me from the side and I had to kick off the thrashing body of the one in the dirt to leap out of the way. A sword whistled past me, striking the pigoblin from behind and biting deeply through its spine. I turned, putting my back to Kestral’s, before reversing my blades with a flourish and taking a balanced stance.
“I didn’t pick you for a fighter,” Kestral said, his voice controlled if slightly breathless.
“I’m not, when I can avoid it.” I tried counting the remaining pigoblins as they regrouped a short distance away. “How many are there?”
“There were almost twenty.” I felt him shift to a new stance behind me. “Have you turned pigoblins away before?”
“At least once a month.” The pigoblins were grunting to each other and spreading out. A new charge was coming. “Never a group this big before.”
“They must have spread the word. It’s not usual to find a single fairy without a glen to protect it.” Kestral paused, then added, “I thought you were the fairy.”
“What? But I—Oh.” My eye color, the talk of ‘debts,’ his examination of the wood in the inn. “A lot of things just started making sense.”
“I was only sure after the shura flowers. We’re going to talk after this.” I could hear the threat in his voice. I didn’t expect I would enjoy the coming conversation.
“Well, we gotta live first.”
A group of pigoblins charged at me on all fours. I tossed my right dagger to my left hand, shook my right wrist and flipped a long, thin throwing blade into my palm. Holding it at the tip of the blade, I threw it end-over-end into the center of the leading pigoblin’s forehead. It went down with a crash, knocking another pigoblin off course. I spun neatly out of the way of the remaining pigoblin as I tossed my heavy dagger back to my right hand and slammed it into the base of its skull. I used my other dagger to deflect a tusk that would have ripped my stomach open. The pigoblin staggered a step before his head recoiled violently on his thick, piggy neck. I spun to the side, narrowly avoiding the ball of flying saliva pigoblins used to shoot fairies out of the air. It wasn’t all that dangerous, but the impact could have knocked me off balance even if I didn’t consider how gross it would be to be covered in pigoblin spit. Before the spitter could run, I darted towards him, driving a dagger deep between his ribs.
I couldn’t keep track of Kestral’s movements as I fought. His sword was little more than a red and silver blur as it cut down the pigoblins. I moved away, giving him the space he needed for those powerful swings. No way did I want to find myself between him and a pigoblin with that sword bearing down on me. At least this battle had come at a good time for me; my wellspring of power was full, giving me an edge against the hardy pigoblins.
I spun as a grunt and a clatter of steel on stone sounded behind me. Kestral had slipped in a gob of pigoblin spit and a lucky tusk ripped his sword from his grasp, tossing it several paces away. I couldn’t tell if the blood on his clothes were from the pigoblins or from an injury. I didn’t have long to look as a pigoblin reared up behind him, intent on crushing him.
Icy panic gripped my chest. This was my fault. Kestral was clearly a seasoned warrior; killing a few pigoblins should be nothing at all to him, but I had drained his energy the past two nights. He had to be feeling the effects of lost sleep now, at the worst possible moment. It was all my fault.
In that moment, the world seemed to spin a little slower. Everything came into sharp focus. Heat blossomed in my chest as my mind cooled. It wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been so full of magic, I’m sure of it. But I couldn’t control what happened next, even if I had had the presence of mind to try.
Golden light flashed around me, giving me a thread to the consciousness of each pigoblin still fighting. Their minds were consumed with hunger and rage, but in a tiny corner of each of their minds, I found fear. The golden light seemed to hum as I nurtured that fear into terror, and from terror into a blind panic. The sounds of screams and the pounding of cloven feet surrounded me as the light faded. As the pigoblins fled, the world regained its normal speed and color.
Kestral stared up at me from one knee, one arm wrapped around his midsection. I held my breath as those blue eyes froze me in place.
“You’re a son of Laurana.” His voice held the promise of death. “Jereshin.”
Could I talk my way out of this? Could he be convinced to let me live? As my mind struggled to find the right words to keep myself alive, I realized Kestral wasn’t holding a wound—he was holding the small crossbow from his belt.
I can’t honestly say what happened first. Did he fire first, or did I shapeshift first? I doubt even he could say. But quick as a shrug, I dropped into my cat form, a crossbow bolt zipping through the space where my head had been moments before. I leapt through the collar of my shirt as it dropped around me and ran toward Kestral, who was now on his feet, snapping a new bolt into place. I darted between his legs, racing for Wix’s inn. A bolt shattered against the fence as I leapt through it, jumping to the rain barrel, to the gutter and in through the broken upstairs window. I didn’t chance a look back, but I heard boots pounding the street below; I didn’t have much time.
“Wix!” I shouted as soon as my shapeshifting was complete. “Wix? Where are—oof!”
She popped out of the wall, crashing into me, causing me stagger backwards. Her human veil was gone, revealing her true fairy form—short, curling hair and bright eyes, both the color of new growth in spring. Her ears were slightly pointed and the features of her face exaggerated. Her limbs appeared to be too long, too thin and she wore only a petal-pink sheath dress from her chest to her thighs. On her back, there were a pair of torn and broken wings, translucent like a dragonfly’s. Her glen had broken them when they banished her.
“Reshi, what happened?” Wix’s eyes were wide with fear and she gripped my arms tightly, her entire body trembling. “Did they hurt you? Is he coming for me?”
“He’s coming for me.” I pushed her away from me. My transformation had left me naked, as always, and I felt vulnerable in front of the magical being. She followed me as I ran for my room, where I hoped I had left some clothes. “Wix, you owe me a life debt. Can you get rid of him?”
Wix said nothing, merely stood in my doorway, shaking like a leaf.
“I don’t have time for games and trades, Wix!” I flipped my mattress, revealing a tunic and a single sock. We both jumped as a fist pounded on the front door. It felt like the inn shook all around me. “Get rid of him! Turn him into a tree or pond scum or whatever fairies turn people into.”
“Reshi, I can’t.” Tears streamed down Wix’s face.
“You have to!” I pulled the shirt over my head, then gripped Wix’s shoulders. “Wix, he’s going to kill us both.”
“I know, but . . . but . . .” Wix stared back at me, her mouth moving without sound.
“I’m calling in a life debt. I just saved—” I stopped, my mind finally catching up. “You owe him a life debt, too, don’t you? We both saved you from the pigoblins.”
Wix nodded.
Grind all fairies and their debts to dust! I dropped onto my tumbled mattress, putting my head into my hands. The pounding at the
door grew louder. What now?
“Reshi?” Wix knelt in front of me. “Why is he after you? Is it the reason you’ve been hiding here for so long?”
I took a breath, trying to steady myself. I reached out and gripped Wix’s hand, just for something to hold on to. “Wix, I’m . . . I’m one of the mistress mage’s children.”
She tilted her head to the side. “I don’t know what that means. I always knew you were a mage, but you’re not very strong.”
How could I explain it in a way a fairy would understand? The pounding at the front door stopped suddenly, and I imagined Kestral circling the building, trying to find a way in.
“Wix, you remember the Great Mage Hunt, right? It should have happened before you lost your wings.”
She shrugged. “Only a little. Humans killing humans aren’t exactly something we take notice of. I remember the glens grew quite large, though, since there were so few magical humans to kill us.”
“Right. A long time ago, the king decided the realm would be safer without mages and he ordered the army to find and kill everyone who could use magic. What he didn’t know was that his long-time mistress, a woman named Laurana, was a very powerful sorceress. She had seven children with the king, all with minor magical abilities. When the king found out she was a sorceress, he locked her up and put bounties on all seven of his children by her.” I took a shaky breath. “I’m the youngest. That’s why I’ve been hiding. And that’s why he’s going to kill me.”
“But why?” Wix asked. “You’ve never hurt anyone with your magic. You’re not even very strong. Why even go to the trouble of killing all the magical humans in the first place?”
“I don’t know, Wix. That all happened before I was born. I didn’t even know I was one of Laurana’s children until a few years ago when she was locked up.” I looked up into Wix’s eyes. “I need to escape, Wix. If you can’t kill him, what can you do for me?”
Wix glanced away, her unnaturally thin shoulders rising and falling in a shrug. She met my eyes, then looked away again. “Does he know much about fairies?”
“I think so. He said he’d fought them before. Why?”
Wix hesitated, drawing her hand away from me. I took a deep breath and held it to keep from yelling at her. It wasn’t her fault that she had to follow the rules of fairies.
“If he knows about fairies . . .” I turned my thoughts over, trying to follow the gnarled logic of the fae. “He might know he can call in a life debt. If he does, you would have to tell him where I am.”
Wix nodded, fresh tears running down her cheeks.
“So, anything you do for me won’t help me, will it?”
Wix shook her head. “I can buy time. I can give you any provisions. Food, clothes, anything you can take with you.”
“No.” I stood up, pulling my tunic off. “I won’t be able to take anything with me.”
“Reshi, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be.” I tried to smile, but my chin trembled, betraying my fear. “Buy as much time as you can, please, Wix. I’ll leave through the window upstairs.”
“Where will you go?” Wix gripped my arm with both hands. She trailed along behind me as I walked back up the stairs. Somewhere outside I heard thumping. Was Kestral pounding on the back door?
“I can’t tell you, but I’m sure you’ll know when I get there.” I peeled her fingers off my arm. “Stay safe, Wix. Thank you for hiding me all this time.”
“I’m the one in your debt, Reshi.” Wix hung her head. “If you—if you live, I will repay you. I swear it by silver.”
“Thanks.” I was able to force a small smile this time. “I’ll do my best.”
“Farewell, Reshi.”
My throat closed up, so all I could do was nod. I looked to the open window and felt my body shift into a new form. I perched just inside the window frame, taking a careful look around. When Kestral didn’t appear like a streaking star of justice, I leapt out the window.
Black wings caught the air and carried me aloft. I chanced only one look back. Sure enough, those piercing blue eyes followed me, but I was too far out of range for the tiny crossbow. I wheeled north, heading straight for my destination as the crow flies.
It was time to finally meet my family.
Chapter 2
The journey pushed my abilities to the absolute limit. As a crow, I suffered from night-blindness, so I could only fly so long as the sun was up. When it set, I would catch an hour’s worth of sleep on a high, hidden tree branch, then climb down as a cat. House cats don’t move very quickly through what was mostly dense forest, but at least I could see. Most of my forms were useless at night. When the sun peeked over the horizon, I caught another quick nap, nestled between tree roots, before alighting to the skies as a crow once more. By the time I approached my destination, I was well and fully exhausted.
Each time I slept, my sister’s voice called out to me, telling me where to go. She had been excited by my sudden decision to meet, less so about the hunter on my trail, but she welcomed me all the same. I tried to think positively about her, as well as my other siblings, but mostly I kept picturing Wix at Kestral’s mercy. Would she be safe? Would he hurt her? I felt ten times the coward for running away, but Wix could take care of herself. I had been the one in real danger.
A thin plume of smoke marked the end of my journey. I angled my wings, swooping down cautiously in case I was flying into a trap. The tiny cottage was set at the edge of the forest, along the banks of a large, clear lake. It was picturesque, especially with the beautiful young woman sitting out front, looking out over the water as if in a trance. I landed on the roof of the cottage and studied her for a moment.
We looked nothing alike. Her hair, waist-length and straight, was the purest blonde I had ever seen, closer to white than blonde. She wore a simple dress of pale yellow, the sleeves only reaching to her elbows and the skirt dropping just below her knees. Brown boots laced up high beneath the dress. Her skin seemed to glow, pink and fair. With her back to me I couldn’t see her eye color, but her body was slender and shapely for a young woman. How would I even know if this was my sister?
I ruffled my feathers, getting ready to take flight again if it became necessary, then cawed loudly. The girl stood gracefully and turned, a surprised smile on her lips. Her eyes were silver, like looking-glasses or twin full moons. When they met mine, I knew instantly that this woman was most certainly my sister.
“Reshi, is that you?” The woman stepped as close as she could, looking up at me on the roof. “I didn’t think you would arrive before Velyn. You must have traveled so quickly!”
I responded with a flick of my wings.
“Oh, I understand.” She smiled sweetly. “I have a robe inside that might fit you. I’m sorry I didn’t think to have clothing prepared. Will you come inside?”
That was more than a little disconcerting. I had known about her far-speaking ability, but was she also a mind reader? I did need clothes, however, as well as food, and I thought I could smell something cooking inside. I fluttered down from the roof onto my sister’s offered hand. She carried me inside and set me on a crudely-made table.
The cottage was even smaller inside, mostly due to the haphazardly arranged furniture. The front room looked to be a combination sitting room and bedroom. The back room was the kitchen, which contained a single table and chair surrounded by piles of clutter along the counters and pushed into the room’s corners. A large pot bubbled on the stove and my stomach lurched. In that moment, I almost would have chosen nudity over hunger.
“Here it is.” My sister stood after rummaging through a clothes chest. “I don’t know how tall you are, but this robe should fit. After you shift, I’ll see about finding you something else.” She held it up to me and turned her face away, inviting me to shapeshift. The robe was longer than I was tall, with full sleeves and buttons up the front. It was a dark color, maybe once a deep green, but now it was mottled with stains and patches. After slipping back into my
human form, I accepted the cloak from her, grateful that she kept her eyes averted until I had it wrapped snugly about my body.
“Thank you,” I said, my voice rough. I coughed and swallowed. With my voice not having been used since I had fled Wix’s inn, talking was even harder than shifting.
“Ah, now I can finally see you properly.” Those silver eyes met mine. Small, long-fingered hands cupped my cheeks, a tiny smile curled on her lips. “Far sight is a wonder, but it falls short of actually meeting family for the first time. You have such beautiful eyes, my brother.”
I cleared my throat before speaking. “They’re nothing compared to yours. Um, it’s Cera, right?”
Her laughter was like starlight rippling on water. “I never did properly introduce myself, did I?” She released my face and stepped back. “Yes, Cera is fine. Mother named me Hacerathan, but none of us use our given names, do we, Jereshin?”
“Not since they posted our bounties,” I replied dryly. I tried to hide a glance at the pot in the kitchen, but Cera smiled knowingly.
She led me to the small kitchen and pressed me into a rickety chair before ladling soup into a hand-carved bowl.
“So, you’ve spoken to all our brothers and sisters? Have you met any of them?”
Cera pressed the bowl into my hands before leaning back against the kitchen counter. It looked like a creamy potato soup full of herbs and tiny pieces of meat. It was a struggle to keep from wolfing it down in an instant.
“You are the first I have met in person,” Cera admitted. “I have spoken to each of our siblings in the moments before they fall asleep, much as I have spoken to you in the past. I believe the only way for us to survive is to come together. Unfortunately, no one seems to feel the way I do. You can eat as much as you like, Reshi. I made plenty of soup and I have bread baking.”
I tipped the rest of the soup down my throat at her invitation, wincing as the heat burned my mouth. I held the bowl out for a refill, trying to hide the temporary pain. Cera handed me back a full bowl as well as a cup of cool milk.
Sorcerous Rivalry (The Mage-Born Chronicles Book 1) Page 5
