by Rachel Red
Elizabeth smiled again. "Well, don't ever trouble yourself ever thinking about that again. No matter if this new Oppressor leader Miles is the most powerful sorcerer that ever lived, which I highly doubt, I have absolute confidence that our three husbands can dispatch him and his two men with ease. See, since I've been a shifter dragon wife for almost a hundred years, I've had the chance to witness many, many battles between our husbands and the rest of the Keepers and the Oppressors. And not once have I ever seen Michael, Sam or Victor even close to being in any kind of serious trouble with the Oppressors. Not even when Alexander cornered the three of them during a battle a few decades ago. So I have absolute faith. Our shifter dragon men are stronger than any Oppressor can probably even comprehend. This will all be fine."
Elizabeth's confidence squashed whatever teeny-tiny, microscopic anxieties that still lingered in my mind after my talk with Julia earlier. By the time the three of us got out of the springs that evening, my heart felt light and I couldn't seem to stop smiling and laughing. Julia said I had my "goofy newlywed face" on but she seemed pretty happy and goofy herself.
*
The next several days passed in a blur of painting and party planning during the day, and lovemaking with Victor at night. Julia, Elizabeth and I kept so busy that we hardly even had time to miss being able to go outdoors.
The fourth day of the party planning, Julia and I sat in my art studio, working on some decorations and banners for the party. We expected Elizabeth to return from a trip to hers and Michael's rooms, where she'd went to get some stencils for us all to use. But we didn't expect for her to return drained of all color. She practically flew into the studio and skidding to a stop in front of Julia and me at the work table.
She put her hands on her knees, her breath coming in gasps. "He's here. Miles. And he has Victor pinned to a tree."
CHAPTER TWELVE
Julia and I flew up out of our chairs and raced after Elizabeth, who was already dashing out of the studio.
I quickly caught up and jogged beside her. "What's happening?"
She glanced over at me. "Miles lied. He cheated. Even though he sent word that he and his two best men would meet Victor in a week-and-a-half, he and his men showed up today and went straight for Victor, who was outside with Sam, Michael and a bunch of other men. He went after Victor in some sort of blitz attack after disabling all the other men with different spells. And now, he has Victor pinned to a tree with some sort of spell, or at least, that's what was happening when I stopped into the great hall for a moment. Many other women are there now, watching from the windows."
Tall wooden platforms with stairs leading up to them had been built earlier in the week, at the beginning of the ban on all women going outside, so that whoever wanted to could sit up top and look out the three huge windows overlooking the land around the mountains.
My heart in my throat, I glanced over at Elizabeth, and then back at Julia behind us. "Let's run faster."
We sprinted down several stone hallways that led to the great hall. My body wasn't exactly made for running but I didn't care, I wouldn't stop. My only thought was getting to Victor. I knew there would most likely still be guards posted at all exits from Stonebrook, but I'd jump out the windows in the hall and into the grass below to get to him if I had to. Though I wasn't exactly sure what I'd do, or could do, to help him.
Julia, Elizabeth and I entered the great hall just as a cheer went up from the maybe hundred women gathered beneath the window platforms. Knowing this meant Victor was probably okay, I allowed myself to slow my pace to a fast walk, Julia and Elizabeth did the same.
When we reached the very-full platforms, Elizabeth cupped her hands around her mouth. "Please, some of you get down so Lady Kate, Julia, and I can get up."
Everyone turned and saw us, at least a dozen women dutifully climbed down from one of the platforms.
One of them squeezed my arm. "Don't worry. Lord Victor broke whatever spell the sorcerer Miles was using to keep him pinned. He went after Miles, and Miles just flew away, like a coward."
With a wave of relief crashing over me, I climbed the stairs to the platform with Julia and Elizabeth behind me. Once on top, I looked out the window onto the field at the foot of the mountains and saw Victor in dragon form, a massive jet of fire shooting from his mouth. His dark, charcoal-colored wings glinted in the sun while he flapped them, hovering above an immobile Oppressor.
I turned to Julia beside me. "Is that Miles? Do you think Victor caught him?"
She shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. That's just one of the several other Oppressors Miles brought with him."
I turned back to the window just in time to see Victor stab the Oppressor through the eye with one of his razor-sharp dragon claws, killing him. Another cheer went up from all the other women watching, and I joined in, beyond proud that Victor was my husband.
Soon he, Sam, Michael and a few dozen other Keepers in dragon form began chasing down the rest of the remaining Oppressors but as they flew across the sky, breathing fire, it became clear that the Oppressors were too fast. Before long, Victor began leading the shifter dragons back to the mountains.
Julia turned to me. "Let's go to the door so we can meet them when they come in."
I agreed, and she, Elizabeth and I, along with several other women, got down from the platform and went to stand by the main doors of the hall. Elizabeth exhaled in a rush. "That honestly scared me half to death when I saw Miles pin Victor against the tree earlier. I debated for a second whether to even get you, Kate. I thought things might get bad. But I should have known better. I should have known Victor could break the spell."
I nodded. "I'm just glad he was able to. I was honestly half scared to death myself. This all just happened so...." I took a deep breath, my heart rate still not back to normal from running. "Fast."
Elizabeth pinned her curly red hair, which had fallen loose. "Fast, for sure. I know the men probably didn't even expect it. Miles and the other Oppressors must have taken a very long, indirect way from Cold Creek around to our land, because none of the scouts have reported spotting them the past few days. And see, here's one thing that's different between Miles and his brother Alexander. When Alexander was leader, if a specific fight agreement was made, he always kept it. I guess for all his evil, he still must have had some tiny shred of decency left. But his brother...obviously is different. What he did today was outright cheating -- and then, to run from Victor when Victor finally freed himself from the spell...absolute cowardice. But it does make sense, because I don't think he actually even meant to fight Victor today."
"What do you mean?"
"I think he intended to try to humiliate Victor before the actual fight. Try to intimidate and psyche him out a little. Which may have been his real plan about trying to kidnap you, and when he got here and realized he wasn't going to be able to do that, maybe he resorted to a plan B to try to intimidate Victor. Which may have backfired since instead of running scared, Victor outright killed one of Miles' sorcerers. But one thing's clear: Miles does seem to have extensive sorcery skills, more than Alexander had, and he's not afraid to use them to fight dirty. So let's hope that Victor, Sam and Michael get the chance to practice their fighting and strengthen their own magic a little more before the rematch."
"So you think Miles and his men are really going to stick around for a rematch instead of just going back to Cold Creek?"
Elizabeth nodded. "I definitely do. Miles wants Victor dead, no doubt about it. And I don't think he's about to go back to Cold Creek until that happens, which of course, it won't. More likely, he won't ever be going back to Cold Creek at all because Victor will kill him during the next fight. I do hope to God that happens. Michael told me that one of the scouts told him that Miles alone has killed four of the slave women just in a past few weeks alone. He just can't control his rage. Which I guess Alexander was somehow able to keep in check while he was alive."
My blood ran cold thinking about the Oppress
ors' slaves and their children.
I ran my hands up and down my arms. "That's so...just, horrible. All those poor women, and the kids."
Elizabeth nodded. "I know. It keeps me up at night, and Michael, too. And I know it bothers Victor terribly. Someday, when most of The Oppressors have been wiped out, the men will go to Cold Creek to free the women and the children. I think the only reason Victor hasn't done this yet is because attacking The Oppressors on their home turf, where they'd probably be most comfortable fighting, might lead to casualties on our side, and I know Victor doesn't want any of us to lose our husbands, or any of the children to lose a father."
Before Elizabeth could say anything else, the doors of the great hall swung open, and all the few dozen Keepers who'd fought came streaming in, all back in human form, with Victor at the front of the group. They were all already fully dressed, of course, because when they shifted from human form to dragon form, their clothes magically shifted with them, no undressing or redressing required.
I launched myself into Victor's arms, and he picked me up off the ground.
I moved my mouth to his ear. "You're so brave and strong. I love you so much."
He squeezed me tight, saying that he loved me more than words could say.
*
That evening, I thought he might be too tired from fighting to make love but he wasn't. Not by a long shot. We made love several times in different positions and he brought me to climax three times in as many hours, a record for me. I fell asleep that night almost immediately.
The next several days went by with almost unbearable slowness. Victor was gone all day, every day, either practicing with Sam, Michael and many other Keepers, or meeting with either the council or with his scouts to find out information about where Miles and his men had gone and what they were up to.
They’d gone to a small patch of forest a couple of miles away, and they weren’t up to much. They were pretty much staying put, practicing magic and abusing the two women they'd brought with them. Victor didn't want to attack them because, unlike Miles, he was a man of his word and wanted to give Miles and his two best men a chance to meet him on the specified day. For another, he wanted a little extra time to practice his magical spell deflection techniques. Lastly , he didn't want the two women at the oppressors' encampment to get hurt in any magical crossfire.
The mood in Stonebrook began to plummet. All the men seemed kind of tense about the possible coming fight. All the women, myself included, had pretty much done everything we could do in our planning of the upcoming summer party. I got sick of painting. Elizabeth, who liked to write poetry and stories, got sick of doing that. Julia got sick of everything. We all just wanted to go outside.
The three of us took long, wandering walks all through Stonebrook; we visited the bakery; we visited the little candy shop; we visited Stonebrook's only restaurant; we visited the general store; we even visited the manufacturing center to watch various items being made one day when particularly bored. We ambled up and down the miles of stone hallways connecting all the cavern rooms to the center of the underground town. We visited with other women in the great hall.
But none of it made anyone feel better. We all just wanted to go outdoors. We missed picnics; we missed hikes; we missed picking wildflowers in the sunshine. It was summer, and we were missing some of the prettiest days of the year. Stonebrook, which was fairly well-lit with electric lights and usually didn't seem like a gloomy place to me at all, began to seem dark and oppressive. Even the fifty-foot ceiling in the great hall began to feel a little low.
But Victor still wouldn't let me, or any of the other women, outside. He kept saying he wouldn't until Miles and the Oppressors he'd brought with him were all dead. He kept saying that he couldn't let us be put in any danger.
"The way Oppressors can fly, from their current position, they could be on us within a minute. And if that happens, I won't have you, or any of the other women, outside to be hurt."
I knew he was just doing his job as leader and trying to protect everyone. But it still didn't make staying underneath the mountains for days on end any easier. Even going up on the platforms in the great hall to look out the big windows didn't make it any easier; actually, it almost made it even worse.
Maybe the fifth day after Victor's skirmish with Miles, I felt like I just couldn't take it anymore. Julia, Elizabeth and I headed to the hot springs shortly after breakfast. Just for lack of anything else to do. Even though the three of us were just about sick to death of soaking in the hot springs. But before we took off our shorts and t-shirts and got in, I remembered something. There were nearly a dozen hot springs caverns, and near the one we were in, at the back of a very short, dead-end, narrow hallway sort of thing, there was a little exit portal leading outside.
It wasn't really a door; it was just a large crack in one of the cavern walls, large enough for a person to squeeze through if they really wanted to. Even large enough for a bigger girl like me to squeeze through if I really wanted to if I sucked in my breath. But I wasn't going to. I wasn't about to go against Victor's instructions; I loved and respected him too much to do that. I just wanted to look outside, just a peek or two. I just wanted to look at some green grass and maybe some wildflowers up close.
I looked at Julia and Elizabeth where they sat on a wooden bench, taking their jewelry off. "Hey, guys. You know that big crack in the stone wall at the end of the little hallway just outside this cavern? Do either of you want to take a quick peek outside?"
Julia said yes immediately, but Elizabeth frowned.
"I'm not sure if that's such a great idea." She sighed. "Even though everyone else has been doing it all week."
Julia looked at her. "They have? Then, why is it a bad idea? If everyone else has been doing it and it's been fine, then why can't we do it, too? What's the harm?"
Elizabeth chewed her lip, still frowning. "Well...I guess I just wouldn't want one of you girls to be tempted to take a quick little walk outside."
Julia shook her head. "We wouldn't be, though. Promise. And since Victor, Sam, Michael and most of the other men are way farther down the mountains from here today, they'll never even see us take a peek. And you said yourself everyone else has been doing this all week, so why should we be any different? If anything, since Kate is Victor's wife, and since we're the wives of his two most right-hand men, it seems like we especially should have access to this looking-outside spot. Right?"
Elizabeth chewed her lip a little more. "Well...I guess so. Can't say that I'd mind a look outside myself. But we're going to be quick. Since the crack is only big enough for one person to look through at a time, we'll take turns, maybe just a minute or two for each of us. Just long enough for each of us to maybe feel the sun on our faces for a few moments."
Julia sprang up from the bench, grinning, and bounced over to me. "Let's go."
The three of us left the hot springs cavern and walked the short distance to the crack in the mountain wall. Sunlight streamed through it, and fresh, clean, flowery-scented air wafted through the little hallway.
I breathed in deep. "Oh my gosh, that smells amazing."
Julia grinned, her olive skin glowing in the light. "It smells like freedom."
Elizabeth took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "It does smell wonderful."
It was decided that I'd take a look through the crack first, followed by Julia then Elizabeth.
I stepped up to the crack, warm sunshine bathing my face, and looked outside. "Oh, it's just beautiful."
A rocky, partially grassy, gently rolling slope led down to a meadow where butterflies and birds floated and twirled in the morning sun. A few light tanned rabbits hopped around a broad expanse of wildflowers. I breathed in deep for a little while, savoring the scene, until I saw something that made my breath hitch in my throat.
A tiny tanned rabbit hopped out from behind a boulder not more than ten feet away from where I stood. Blood matted the fur around his neck and face. It looked as if he'd b
een dipped headfirst into deep red paint. One of his legs was bent at a really weird angle. And he was actually more limping than hopping.
I crouched down so Julia and Elizabeth could see over me. "Look!"
They were both silent for several moments and then gasped.
I stood back up and looked over my shoulder. "I've gotta go get him. No way he's going to come close enough to us that we can grab him."
Elizabeth frowned. "No. Victor said-"
"I don't care. This poor little guy needs help and I won't leave an animal to suffer. I'm going to go get him. It'll only take me a second."
And with that, I sucked in my breath and began squeezing out through the crack in the mountain wall. Elizabeth clutched my shirt, yelling at me to stop, and I kind of dragged her out with me. Once the two of us were outside, Julia followed.
"I'm gonna help the poor little bunny, too."
The three of us turned to the bloodied rabbit, who limped around in a wobbly circle several feet to our right. And almost instantly it shifted into a man, an average-looking man of average size, wearing jeans and a t-shirt. But a dark glint in his deep green eyes made my blood turn to ice. Julia screamed.
