The knife that flew at her took her by surprise. It hovered at her throat as she fought back. The tip of it was coated in black. The Urom weren’t playing; they wanted one thing and that was her dead.
It took everything she had to slowly turn the knife around. A sweat broke out on her forehead and still all she could focus on was the knife. If it even nicked her, she knew they would storm the house to take Mckayla. Her knees shook as buckets of sweat poured off of her. The power it took to resist was wiping her out. She reached out to gather the free flowing droplets of water in the air trying to harness them to increase her strength.
The knife hovered before dropping to the ground and fading away. She had done it but the price had weakened her. She pulled her remaining resources together knowing she would lose the next battle when it came. Swiftly, not giving her time to breathe the next attack came.
A Urom stood before her. He was tall with glyph’s down his arms looking like two full sleeves of tats. She swallowed hard; how had he moved so fast that she hadn’t seen him?
“Calm down.” He smiled at her making her more nervous. “You can trust me.”
There was a lyrical note in his voice that made her want to relax. What was she fighting for anyway?
“Who are you?”
“Talum.”
“What do you want, Talum?”
“I want to take a problem off your hands making your life better. Now that you are soul-bonded, congratulations on that, you will want a fresh start. This way you can have it.”
“A fresh start?” Her head buzzed. The feeling of being light headed bothered her. It was as if nothing mattered anymore.
“That’s it, a fresh start. That’s what you want, nothing matters anymore. You don’t want something that will hold you down; you want to get rid of it.”
“Mommy are you going to get rid of me now? That’s what the bad man said. The one who came to me when I was sleeping.”
Am I sleeping? Whose voice do I hear in my head? Why do I want to fight? He could take away all my problems. A sharp pain shattered in her gut. She lost all her problems once, didn’t even know what a problem was. Her perfect life appeared in front of her without Mckayla in it. Without Rylan in it.
Neither had been the problem. They both were the solution to what she needed in her life. Was Mckayla the problem? Was she the little voice in her head? Shaking her head again, Aviana tried to stand. Her legs were weak as the Urom advanced on her. He was going to kill her and go after Mckayla. He would hurt her; she could see it in his eyes.
“Why? Why do you want her? What has she ever done to you?”
“She exists. While she exists, hope exists. I can change the future in this minute. A whole race will travel a different course. He tried so hard with his last ditch effort of impregnating you. Somehow he thought you were strong, but you are just weak.”
She was weak, he was right. The victory was in his eyes, he gloated knowing that he had her. Once again she tried to stand, to run, but her legs still betrayed her.
With desperation she tried to move the scene, pop in a different place where he was miles away from her, but nothing happened. She was weak. She closed her eyes as she let that knowledge sink in.
She might be weak but…no one would hurt her child, even if protecting her was the last thing she did. She carefully constructed a stake. Made sure the ends were as sharp as they could possibly be and targeted him.
When he was close enough, she drove it straight into his heart with the focus of her gaze.
Talum fell at her feet.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Rylan rounded the bend to see Aviana shaking with a dead Urom at her feet.
“Is he really dead? As in never coming back?”
“Yes. Looks like you helped even the odds, now we’re three to two.”
“I killed him.”
Rylan made a controled fire that burned the body allowing the few ashes to float into the air around them.
“I should have been here, to protect you. He was a singer. They are so rare I didn’t expect one.”
“A singer?”
“A Urom who has the ability to influence you with his voice alone.” He looked at her with respect. “You beat the influence and you did it by yourself.”
“How did I do it?”
“The same way you kept me out of your mind. I could feel your fear of him and him reaching me through you. Instead of pulling on me for energy you pulled on something else. Whatever it was gave you a huge advantage over the Urom.”
Her gaze flicked to the waterfall. “I used the water. Selma, Paige, and I discovered that my power comes from the water.”
“I knew you were strong but this is amazing.”
She looked up at him, trembling. That’s when he strode the rest of the way to her and took her in his arms.
“You did it, Aviana, be proud of yourself. The Urom—?”
“Talum. His name was Talum.”
“Are you sure?”
“Very sure. He took great pride in telling me who he was. He said he wanted to change the course of the Urom.”
“Talum was working with a small band of Urom who want to restructure the way they are ruled. Right now they are ruled by royalty, a king and a queen. There is no one left in that lineage to rein after they die. When they die Urom will be in chaos unless someone steps in to take over. That was what Talum was working for. He wanted to be the one who picked the next ruler.”
“One I assume who would be sympathetic to him and his cause.” Aviana spoke, “Maybe he simply wanted to be the next ruler.”
“No, his blood lines wouldn’t allow him to be.” Rylan blanched, all color left his face.
The incoming knives made them both throw a shield protecting each other.
“I am so proud of your talents. You’ve been working on them.”
She nodded. “Little things that I could morph into big things and in my head I would picture how to do it, run through all the movements even though I might not exactly know how it would turn out.”
“When we get out of this we’ll practice every day.”
She agreed hoping they would get out of it. The knives dangling over their heads were proof enough that the remaining Urom weren’t happy. No doubt by now they realized Talum was dead.
“Do you think they have more singers?”
“Not with them.
Rylan built a shield to encompass the knives then let them float harmlessly to the ground.
“We need to get out of here.” He nudged her.
He showed her how to make a shield that would hold up long enough to hide their movements as they crawled to a larger boulder that was behind them.
“We have two choices. One is to circle around them and try to catch them off guard. The other is to stage a retreat so we can regroup and come back to fight.”
“Which one makes more sense?”
“Right now we have better odds; allowing them to regroup would mean they had time to bring in reinforcements.”
“Let’s attack while they are weak—and few in numbers.”
“That’s the spirit,” he smiled at her before they began to circle around.
They moved quietly while casting an illusion of themselves behind the original boulder. Rylan was firmly entrenched in her mind as he helped her keep up her part. Her heart had synched with his causing their heartbeats to sound as one not giving away their position. Her breathing matched his slow and steady breaths allowing her to keep the feeling of dread at bay.
She was a ghost moving in his shadow. The Urom should have seen them coming but didn’t—too focused on the illusion they were casting. Amazement washed over her that she could do something like this. The power inside of her was considerable. What she could do with it was almost more than she could take. The illusion hid them completely while casting an impression that nothing out of the ordinary was happening. There was so much good and bad that could be done with ability like this.
&nb
sp; For a minute she almost tripped at the realization—she could become more than she was and not in a way that made her happy. The realization that, even now she needed to make a decision about what path she would choose, overwhelmed her until she felt Rylan caress her cheek. It was just a whisper of movement but it was enough to remind her who she was and what she wanted out of this life and ridiculous power wasn’t one of those things.
There they were, three of them, hiding behind a boulder protected by an elaborate shield. It made for good camouflaging. Rylan would have to teach her that trick someday but for now she needed to find a flaw in it. Someway to infiltrate it.
Death, the word sang in her head. Would she have to kill again? It was the last thing she wanted to be branded as, murderer, but she was already that. She killed to save her life, the life of her daughter, and still just the memory made her hands shake. A trickle of sweat poured down her face. There was no way she would ever be the same again.
Rylan pulled her into his arms ignoring the backs of the three Urom in front of them and kissed her.
“You’re not a murderer, Aviana. Talum would have killed you and taken pleasure in it, but he would have taken more pleasure in Mckayla’s scream as he killed her. You gave the Urom hope without realizing it.”
She looked at him, determination on her face. “Let’s do this. I don’t like being under siege.” She’d ask him later what he meant about giving the Urom hope.
“You’re right. This end’s here.”
Together they moved closer. “The only way to break that shield is to start with a fire bolt. Are you ready?”
“Yes,” she tilted her head and formed one waiting for Rylan’s signal.
Together they shot the first one off. They fired in rapid succession not giving the Urom time to regroup.
She watched as one of the Urom broke out of the shield and eluded every bolt sent his way as if he was timing them and knew when to dodge. He advanced on them growing closer.
This was it, if he broke through their shields; he would be able to hurt one of them maybe both of them. There was no regret in his gaze, only determination to take her out as he came closer. She winged him with a bolt but he kept advancing, refusing to stop with his prize so close.
He was close enough now that they could almost fight hand to hand. She could hear his breathing and felt his breath on her. She sent another bolt that pierced his leg. He limped but kept coming as Rylan found himself in a fight with the other two.
Lifting a long knife, he came after her as she retreated trying to flee as well as throw a fire bolt his way, not caring if she was caught in its back draft as long as he was dead. Her foot slipped and she fell backward.
He was all over her now breaking through the hasty shield she erected to cover himself. Triumph lit his face when he broke through. He raised his arm, the glyphs moving, rearranging.
“Everything changes now,” he spit out and brought the knife down over her heart.
There was an ear piercing cry. Was it hers? Is this what death felt like? Sorry Mckayla, her numb mind whispered before the world went black.
*~*~*~*
Rylan stopped. His world was torn asunder as he watched Aviana’s shield fail and knew there was no way he would reach her in time. It was the voice of Mckayla that made his legs stumble. Her cry of “Mommy, No…” echoed through his head as he watched the world explode in green.
The assailant over Aviana crumbled, the life leaving his body. The other two Urom dropped unable to defend themselves. A green shield covered him and Aviana confirming his suspicions.
All he could hear was the crying of an inconsolable six-year-old who would kill them because she didn’t know how to control her power and didn’t realize her mother was still alive.
“Kalya,” he whispered out of cracked lips that were being denied air. “Kayla, listen to me.”
“You promised to protect her,” she sobbed.
“Mckayla Marks! Young lady you listen to me now.” He wasn’t sure what he was doing; all he knew was she needed a firm hand and the only one she had was his.
“Dad?”
“Yes, dad. Now listen. Your mom she is still alive but you have to stop or she won’t be. Where are you, Mckayla?”
“Outside of Mommy’s bedroom.”
“I need you to come in the room, Mckayla, and go to your mom and hug her. She needs you. This is important.”
“All right.” Her voice trembled.
He watched Aviana as her body arched in the air. Mckayla was hugging her. Her love was penetrating Aviana but Aviana’s love was penetrating her daughter. The oppressive green shield began to retreat. Aviana reached up, still unconscious but responsive and hugged Mckayla allowing the rest of the shield to evaporate.
Slowly Rylan got to his feet looking at the three Urom surrounding them. There was no hope for them but there was hope for his family. With tired steps he dragged himself over to Aviana picking her up making his way back to their bodies.
*~*~*~*
He opened his eyes to find Mckayla lying between the two of them as she hugged her mom.
“Kayla,” he stroked the side of her face.
“Will she be ok?”
“Your mom’s going to be fine.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt anyone,” she cried harder. “They were going to hurt mommy and you. Take you away from me so the terrible people could get me. I just wanted mommy and you to be ok.”
“Daughter, you did just fine. I’m so proud of you.”
She threw herself in his arms and cried until her little body finally shuddered and fell asleep.
“I knew you would be a great father.”
Rylan lifted his eyes to look at Aviana. “Your back, I was beginning to become concerned.”
“Lack of oxygen had for me a minute, then you were there talking to our daughter, loving her, directing her in the right things to do. I’m so glad we found you, Rylan.”
“Our daughter.”
“Yes, our daughter.”
He rose with Mckayla in his arms. “You stay put. I’ll lie her down in her bed and then make you some tea for your sore throat.”
“Are we still under siege?”
“No, but I expect we’re about to have visitors.”
He walked out into Mckayla’s room and laid her gently on the bed. How could he, the boy who was broken by the Sudir, ever guess he would become the father of one of the most powerful children on the face of the Earth?
A smile lit his face when he left the room. Life was just about to get interesting.
Chapter Twenty-nine
The knock on the door came when they were all sitting in the living room recovering from what had happened yesterday. They were no longer under siege although Aviana half expected to feel that heavy presence at any moment. She had decided to keep Mckayla home with her for another day. Selma had chosen to do the same with Vick.
The knock at the door made her flinch. It wasn’t until now that she realized no one ever knocked at that door. Could it be a new client wanting to stay at the bed and breakfast now that the weather was thawing out?
Victor got up and crossed to the door opening it slowly. Before him stood a male and female of such regal bearing that Aviana had to fight back the urge to kneel before them.
“May we come in?” the male asked. He was surrounding by what looked like guards.
There was no doubt he was Urom, the glyphs on his arms were easily discernable. Mckayla made her way to her mother and climbed into her lap as she saw the male and female staring at her.
Aviana wanted to scream no. The last thing she wanted was to come face to face with more Urom but she kept silent noting that Rylan wasn’t upset. He was in her mind telling her to give them a chance; these were the visitors he was waiting for.
Instead she held Mckayla and whispered soft words telling her not to be afraid. Victor opened the door wider.
“You are welcome in, but only two of your most trusted guards may come i
n with you.”
The male nodded and entered, the female came behind him, and two guards followed her. They were escorted into the living room and given chairs to sit in.
“Please allow me to introduce myself. I am King Ulum of the Urom people and this is Queen Tabia. I have come to first apologize for what has happened to you and your people. Then I have come to hopefully tell you a story.”
Victor looked over at Aviana and she nodded her head yes.
“Please,” Victor said once again, directing them to the chairs that they refused the first time.
Ulum nodded and helped his queen to sit before he took a seat.
“This story is old and unfortunately covers a lot of history. May I ask your name?”
His question was directed at Aviana as he and his queen had not taken their eyes off of her since they walked in.
“My name is Aviana.”
“Nice to meet you, Aviana. And the little one?”
Mckayla was peeking at them from the safety of her mother’s arms.
“This is my daughter, Mckayla.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mckayla,” the king said.
“I am also pleased to meet you, Mckayla,” the queen said. “I like your outfit,” she whispered.
Mckayla gave a small giggle and a shy smile to the queen.
The king cleared his throat and wiped away the smile his queen’s words brought before he started.
“There have been whispers of change in the Urom royal court for centuries. Some believe the people would fare better with someone other than the ruling family. There are even those who think there should be no rulers and definitely no ruling family. Why do we need one since we are on Earth?
“When we came to this planet, there was no intent to make it part of our home world or to have a people and a ruling body here. A simple accident led to the coordinates of a ship under fire being placed in the wrong sequence bringing my family here.
“The years were hard. There was no communication on your planet back then and no way to fix the ship that brought us here. We were stranded until someone from our planet could come to help us—one young ruler and over a thousand military.
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