by Lexi Ward
“Don’t hurt her,” Kain said firmly.
“You’ll have your chance to speak,” Delaine shot at him quickly. “You see,” he said to Josey, “you didn’t have to get mixed up in all of this. But my dear friend here couldn’t control himself enough to spare you.”
“It wasn’t like that,” Kain tried to speak again.
“I said you’ll get your chance to speak!” Delaine yelled. “You just can’t follow orders can you, Kain? This is exactly why you’re unfit to lead our clan.” He turned away from the quickly. “Take him away!” he yelled out. In a rush of movement, two figures appeared at his side, grabbing him by the wrists. He fought back, throwing one to the ground, and lifting the other a foot in the air with just one arm.
“If I may interject,” a small, elderly man said walking towards them. Kain let the man he was holding fall to the ground, and Delaine turned to give him his attention. “What’s your name, child?” he asked Josey.
“Jocelyn Turner,” she answered weakly.
“Hmm,” he muttered. He stood at an equal height with her, his dark green eyes piercing into hers. “Is it?” he questioned her.
“Yes,” she replied confused.
“There’s something different about her,” the man said thoughtfully, turning to face Delaine. “I would like the chance to spend some time with her alone.”
“Of course, Docart,” Delaine replied, a hint of distain in his voice. “But you,” he turned to face Kain. “I’ll be spending time with you alone as well.”
CHAPTER FIVE
That was five days ago. The only interaction with clan members since had been with Raghnall, the Docart. He was the clan elder, and advisor to the Dtor. His father before him was a Docart, and his father before him. Their lives were spent studying and memorizing the intricate history and lore of their kind, absorbing as much knowledge as they could, to then pass it on to the next in line.
She resumed her pacing back and forth, waiting for him to appear. “Jocelyn,” the raspy voice said as the door pushed open.
“Raghnall,” she returned his greeting.
“Today is going to be different than our usual meetings,” he explained as he took her by the hands and lead her back to the bed. Once she was seated, he pulled over a large wooden chair and sat in front of her.
Until now their meetings had been short and left her with more questions than answers. While the reality of where she was had settled in her mind, she still felt confused and in need of explanations. “Different how?” she asked hesitantly.
“I’ve said since the day I met you that there was something different about you,” he noted as he leaned forward in the chair. “Delaine is losing patience, and I’m afraid that we’re running out of time.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that I can’t sit back and let you discover this on your own. I’m going to have to guide you to it.” Before she had the chance to articulate her confusion he continued. “I asked you your name once. Jocelyn Turner isn’t your name, child.”
“I know my name,” she replied, a little defensive. The baby began to shift back and forth inside her, causing a rush of heat to spread through her limbs.
“No, it’s not,” he insisted. “Think, child. You have to think.”
“I don’t know what it is you want me to tell you!” she exclaimed with frustration.
“Turner may be your parents’ name, but it’s not yours. Why?”
A realization rushed over her. “I was adopted,” she said quietly.
“And what was your name before?”
“I don’t remember.” She became flustered. As her thoughts ran back and forth in her mind, she became dizzy. The baby began to move around wildly in her womb, causing the air around her to become heavy with heat, almost suffocating her.
She leaned back, trying to remember a life she lost long ago. But a blinding pain that spread throughout her entire body shattered her thoughts. “Ah!” she cried out, wrenching forward in agony. She heard the Docart speaking, but she couldn’t make out his words. The discomfort wasn’t coming from the baby. It was Kain. He was in trouble. What he told her about being connected, feeling each other’s pain, was true. Over the last five days, her body would surge sporadically whenever the Dtor took it upon himself to torture his rival, questioning him as to how he was able to mate with a human. He taunted him, reminding him that his irresponsible behavior was precisely why his father forced him away.
As she pinched her eyes shut she saw him. He was lying on the ground; the room was dark and damp. Delaine was hovering over him. Kain tried to push himself up, but a surging pain rushed through his body. He was bleeding. She could see a pool of blood forming on the ground around him.
“Jocelyn!” Raghnall’s voice broke her thoughts, pulling her back temporarily from the trance.
“It’s Kain!” she cried. “He’s in trouble!”
“That’s why you need to do this, child. The only way you can help him is if you focus! What is your name?”
Another bolt of pain surged through her body. “I can’t!” she yelled. “He’s hurt!”
“Think!” the Docart ordered her. “Think!”
“Duncan!” she heard herself cry out. Tears began to flow down her cheeks, her body shaking uncontrollably.
The Docart leaned back slowly, examining her. “I thought so,” he said knowingly. “Listen to me, Jocelyn. I know it’s hard, but you have to keep your mind here. I know you’re hurting with him, but unless you focus on what I’m about to say, you won’t be able to help him.”
She found the strength to push their connection from the front to the back of her mind. The pain still consumed her from time to time, but she kept her eyes focused on Raghnall’s and her hands pressed tightly to her womb, feeling the unborn child move back and forth inside her.
“Good,” he said when the tears stop pouring from her eyes, and her breathing returned to normal. “I ask you your name, because a human and a shifter conceiving is unheard of. Except for one instance, thought to be more legend that truth,” he spoke slowly, making sure she was following. “There was once a great Dtor, Dtor Nolan, said to be the greatest that ever lived. He was the strongest, most powerful shifter the world has even known. Even in human form he would instill fear in everyone he met. Until one day, when he was raiding a village with a section of his clan. That’s when he saw her.” Raghnall paused before he continued. “The Dtor, upon seeing her, immediately loved her. She didn’t cower in fear at his advance, and the instant he reached out to touch her, he felt it. They both did.”
“The spark,” Jocelyn muttered.
“The spark,” Raghnall agreed. “The clan wouldn’t accept her, however, so the Dtor renounced his life as a shifter and started one with her. The vacancy that arose when he left led to one of the greatest wars of our history, the Red War. All of the great houses battled for power, including the ancestors of both Kain and Delaine. Legend has it that at the end, Kain’s great grandfather came out victorious, ushering in the reign of House Connelly.”
“But what does that have to do with me?” she asked, trying to keep the thoughts of Kain from her mind.
“Duncan is a surname that derives from Donaghue, which in turns comes from Ó Duinnchinn,” he explains. “Dtor Nolan’s surname was Ó Duinnchinn.”
“What are you saying?” It didn’t make sense. How could she come from a line of shifters?
“You’ve had the dreams, haven’t you?” he asked. “The ones in which you’re flying, high above everything. You’re warm, and your body moves fluidly; you feel like you’re one with nature—the stones, the water, the air.”
“It’s because of the baby,” she tried to explain. “I didn’t have them before the baby.”
“That’s of no importance. It’s your destiny, child. It’s always been inside you. You just never had anyone to help guide you to it.”
“My destiny?”
“Dtor Nolan was promised to Aisling, of House �
� Conghalaigh, the ancient name for Connelly. A great prophecy foretold of a union between the two houses, one that would lead to the greatest and most powerful line of Dtors that our kind has even known. But when he left to be with the human, the hope of fulfilling the revelation was lost. Until now. You and Kain, together, are that prophecy made flesh.”
Unable to push the thoughts of him from her mind any longer the images came flooding back. “He’s still in pain,” she whispered, leaning forward and clutching her stomach. “He needs help!”
“And you will be able to help him,” Raghnall reached out to bring her back to the conversation. “But it won’t be easy. Duncan or no, you still come from a human line, one which has become more and more predominant in your genes through the years.”
“What can I do?” she asked, her hands shaking.
“You have to find who you really are, child.” He leaned back and exhaled slowly. “The problem is, shifting during pregnancy is dangerous, and can be harmful to you and the baby.”
“Then how?”
“You don’t have to shift to be a shifter,” he said quietly. “You just have to embrace it. Let the part of you that has been suppressed your entire life come to the surface.”
“I can’t,” she said dejectedly. “I don’t know how. I don’t know who I’m supposed to be, or how I’m supposed to feel!”
“You’ll figure it out,” he said standing to his feet. “You have to. Kain will help you.” Raghnall stood and slowly made his way from her room, the door sealing shut with an ominous groan.
CHAPTER SIX
When she was alone in her room again, her head began to spin. How could Kain help her? He wasn’t there. He was suffering; he was the one that needed help! She lied back onto the bed, holding her stomach in her hands and squeezing her eyes shut focused solely on Kain.
In a flash, she was looking over him again. He was alone. Delaine had left, and he was lying on the ground, blood and sweat forming a puddle around him. She sensed that he was thinking of her as well. Even though he wasn’t in the room physically, the familiar warmth of being with him rushed over her. She inhaled slowly, matching her breathing to his.
As she lie in her bed, her skin began to tingle from the connection she made with him, and she had the sensation that they were one. His thoughts became hers, and hers his. She let herself slip into him.
The sensation that spread through her was foreign and familiar at the same time. She felt like something inside her was finding its way to the surface. A surge of power and strength consumed her, jolting her, and forcing her body to contort. But as quickly as it came, it went. Almost violently the connection was broken.
She sat up in the bed, letting out a frustrated sigh. “It’s useless!” she yelled out to the empty room. “I can’t do it. I can’t find it!”
The next day the Docart didn’t come to their meeting, or the day after, leaving Jocelyn to fight with her thoughts alone. Her connections with Kain came from time to time, sometimes gripping her with fear and pain, others leaving her feeling warm and safe. It wasn’t until the day Raghnall reappeared that she realized why he had been absent.
Walking into the room, she immediately noted that he wasn’t alone. Flanked by two large men, he looked at her apologetically. When she was escorted from her cell, she stumbled over her feet, her mind bouncing back and forth from her surroundings to Kain’s. He was standing in the large room they brought her to the first day, his hands bound behind his back, Delaine standing next to him. The room was crowded, everyone moving back and forth anxiously, awaiting the Dtor’s decree.
“Bring her to me!” Delaine ordered when they ushered her into the large room. When she was pushed forward, she locked eyes with Kain. His face was cut and bruised, and his chest, exposed, covered in large gashes. When they reached the stairs leading up to the platform where the Dtor and his prisoner were waiting, she ripped herself free of the men’s grasp, and threw herself towards him.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, and pressed her forehead to his. There was uproar in the room, but she didn’t pay attention. As she embraced him, their minds once again became one. She could feel him pleading with her to forgive him. She tried to comfort him, letting him know she didn’t blame him for anything when she’s pulled back violently.
“Silence!” Delaine’s voice bellowed. “Silence!” When the room quieted down, he continued speaking. “I’ve brought you all here, because as you’re aware, one of our own has betrayed us!” he yelled out, gesturing at Kain. “This was to be your leader!” he said in a taunting tone. “And look what he’s brought you! A human woman!” The crowd became restless, a low mummer filling the room. “I have thought long and hard, and have decided what to do.”
The room fell silent. Delaine turned to face them, Kain standing to Jocelyn’s left, their arms brushing against each others. “A battle,” he smirked as he leaned in to challenge Kain.
No! Jocelyn wanted to yell out, to offer herself as a sacrifice to save him. He was weak; he had endured a week of torture! He would never be able to defeat him! But that was Delaine’s plan. He wanted to humiliate him in front of the clan, to show them that he could never truly be their Dtor. This was his chance to remove all doubt from their minds, and ensure he would remain their unchallenged leader.
“Fine,” Kain said gruffly.
“There you have it!” Delaine turned to face his people. “Let’s get on with it then!” he exclaimed. As he stepped forward, the crowd hurried back, pressing against the walls, opening up a large space in the center of the room.
A cloud of smoke filled the air, and a blinding light radiated out of him. As the room cleared, she saw him standing in front of her. A large, red beast, with fangs, wings, and scales. His size was breath taking. Kain moved next to her, pushing himself forward and waiting for the guard to loosen his hands. Once free, he turned to her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. “I love you,” he whispered in her ear before turning to run towards his opponent.
After another cloud of smoke filled the room, he changed into his dragon form. The large green figure moved slowly towards his foe. When the met, they locked horns, and both took off, flying high into the air. It was clear to everyone in the room that Kain’s movements were labored, while Delaine darted back and forth with precision and fury. Delaine made the first move, fire pouring from his mouth, just missing Kain as he dove down out of reach.
Kain retaliated with an attack from below, increasing in speed as he swarmed up on Delaine. His blow sent the red dragon up to the ceiling, causing a rain of stone and dust to fall on the spectators. While this filled Jocelyn with a spark of hope, it only served to infuriate the Dtor. He dove down at Kain, throwing him spiraling to the ground. When he hit, the room shook.
Jocelyn felt a part of her come crashing down with him. Seeing him laying there, a heap of steam rising from his body, his breathing heavy, her body responded to his pain. Falling to the ground, her eyes filled once again with tears. She clenched her stomach in her hands and lets out a scream that seemed to consume the room. The Docart’s words came flooding back to her as she knelt on the cold, hard ground. “You will be able to help him,” she remembered him saying. “You don’t have to shift to be a shifter.”
Taking a deep breath, she relaxed her muscles and let her mind slip into Kain’s. A feeling of power and strength overwhelmed her as she felt them become one. “Don’t give up,” she urged him in his mind.
“I’m beaten, Josey. I can’t go on,” he replied regretfully.
“No,” she urged him to stand to his feet. His movements became hers. She felt the dragon in her come to life. Suddenly it wasn’t him flying through the air, but both of them together. His body and her spirit became one. For the first time in her life, she didn’t feel weak. She felt whole. Like the part of her that had been missing for as long as she can remember had suddenly appeared.
She sensed his surprise as the realization overwhelmed him. But the momentary c
onfusion was quickly forgotten when Delaine swarmed in to attack. Kain recoiled in response to his advance, spitting fire in his direction, surprising his opponent and causing him to fall back. Regaining his composure, the red dragon went on the attack, releasing a column of smoke and fire. When it hit Kain, Jocelyn’s body jolted in pain. The sensation almost threw her out of him, but she clenched her fists at her sides, and urged Kain to retaliate. He swooped in, knocking Delaine back, taking advantage of the distance to singe him with fire.
While Delaine tried to shake off the burn, Kain flew forward, throwing him back against the wall. Once he was backed into a corner, Kain released another flame in his face, causing him to cry out in pain. Jocelyn pushed harder, diving deeper into her new form, throwing Kain’s body forward, pinning Delaine back against the stone. Pulling back quickly, Kain let the Dtor slide down, collapsing in a heap on the ground. In a shudder that shook the room, the red dragon changed back to human form.
