Zev looked at Cassiel over his shoulder questioningly.
He motioned at the men with his chin. “They took Dyna.”
Zev’s frightening snarl reverberated in the alleyway. He stalked forward. Predator locked on its prey.
Cassiel shrugged at the Raiders. “I suggest you run.”
They tripped over each other to escape. Zev leaped, taking them down under his weight. Cassiel cringed at the sound of their screams and the crunch of bone. Blood streamed through the cracks of the ground, trickling past his boots. So this is what became of those who threatened the werewolf’s cousin.
Abenon scrambled away from the attack with one of his bloodied arms hanging useless at his side. He snatched up a fallen scimitar and descended on the wolf gutting a man.
“Zev!” Cassiel shouted.
The wolf dodged the strike and pounced on the lieutenant. Abenon’s gurgling scream cut off, blood spraying the alley walls. Cassiel looked away, ignoring the churn of his stomach.
Zev shifted into his naked form and pinned his glowing eyes on him. He shook and heaved with rage. Blood stained his mouth and rippling body hovering between wolf and man.
A deep, bone-chilling growl rumbled in his throat, “How was Dyna taken? I left her in your care!”
Cassiel dropped his gaze. “I’m sorry.”
Zev snarled at Rawn. “Why are you here?”
The elf secured his bow across his chest. “I was not involved.”
“He had nothing to do with it,” Cassiel said. “Someone they called Commander Von took her.”
Zev bared his teeth. “Commander Von was the man Dyna met in Landcaster.”
Cassiel cursed. That was where he had heard the name. He scowled at the crossroads of four alleys veering off in different directions. The witch’s tracking spell had long faded. “He took her down one of these alleys.”
A Raider sitting against the wall cackled. Red streamed out of the fatal gash in his abdomen. “You’ll never get her back.”
Cassiel crouched in front of him. “Where is she?”
The Raider gave him a bloody grin. “Fuck off.”
“You will tell me. One way or another.”
The man spat a clot of blood at Cassiel’s cheek. “There is nothing more you can do to me. I’m already dying.”
Cassiel wiped his face and with it the last of his morality. Esh Zayin scraped off the ground as he lifted it and pressed the burning blade to the man’s pant leg. The fire immediately caught. The Raider cried out and smacked at the flames only for them to ensnare his hands, ascending his arms. His wailing screams echoed in the alley.
“God of Urn,” Rawn murmured.
“Tell me where Dyna is, and I will end your suffering,” Cassiel said, devoid of any sympathy. He didn’t care about right or wrong anymore. He only cared about finding her.
The Raider writhed in agony. “Kill me!”
“Tell me where she is.”
“My soul!”
“Where?”
“Ferryman! BOAT!”
The fire moved up the man’s neck to his face, consuming his skin. The stench of his searing flesh and hair burned Cassiel’s eyes. He tried to ask more questions, but they were drowned out by the Raider’s shrill screams.
Zev cringed at the sound. “He will draw the Azure Guard to us.”
“Enough of this,” Rawn said. He thrust a knife into the man’s heart, killing him instantly.
“Why did you do that?” Cassiel snapped. “He was revealing where she was!”
Rawn shook his head. “He was speaking nonsense. It was senseless torture. What has overcome you?”
What had overcome him? Desperation so thick he choked on it.
The fingernails in Cassiel’s balled fists cut into his palms, needing to torture something else. After killing so many humans, it was as though he wanted to continue his murderous rampage. They took her, whoever they were. He’d make them suffer for it.
“Zev, you’ve met the commander before,” he said tightly. “Can you track his scent?”
Zev’s eyes glowed yellow, nostrils flaring. He sniffed the air in each alleyway then sank into a crouch to sniff the ground, his brows furrowing.
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t smell him or Dyna.”
“I suspect a cloaking spell was used,” Rawn said. “He must have the services of a mage. However, unless the mage was present to cloak Lady Dyna, that should not have masked her scent from the ground.”
All the air left Cassiel’s lungs. “Von carried her.”
Zev roared and kicked a broken crate, sending it crashing across the alley. It splintered into a hundred shards of broken hope.
Cassiel’s legs wobbled, and he collapsed against the wall. How could he lose Dyna? The bond was intact, that meant she was alive, but she was terrified. Her fear washed through him like an icy wave. He held on to the sensation. It was his only connection to her.
He closed his eyes and she came to him, smiling that carefree silly smile. She was his bonded. His to protect. She belonged at his side.
Find her.
A power shifted inside of him. It rushed through him in a barreling wave and broke through an internal barrier in his mind. It locked onto the connection he had with Dyna. Her life force pulsed within him, flaring in the pitch darkness of his misery. It pulled him to the east, indicating exactly where she was.
His yearning demanded she be found, and the bond had responded.
Cassiel leaped to his feet and sprinted down an eastern alley. The wolf and the elf ran beside him wordlessly. They didn’t press him. He wouldn’t have known how to answer if they had. How could he explain something he hardly comprehended?
He didn’t know what it meant. But for once, since their Blood Bond had been established, it felt right. It felt true. As if Dyna was meant to be his all along.
Chapter 40
Von
The rapid beating of Von and Geon’s footfalls echoed through the vacant alleys of Corron. He followed the ferryman’s markers that led them to the shrouded hills bordering Loch Loden. They needed to get Dyna to the Kazer Bluffs, where Elon was to wait for them at midday. Which was soon. When the location spell had vanished yesterday, he and the Raiders had spent all night, and most of the dawn, searching for Dyna until they found her in the market. They had wasted too much time.
His master was waiting.
His back ached from Dyna’s fists beating against it. She weighed nothing, but she had given him so much trouble that they had to bind her limbs and gag her with torn strips of Geon’s tunic.
Eventually, her beatings slowed and grew weaker until she laid limp over Von’s shoulder. The sound of her soft weeping stirred familiar guilt. It reminded him of the last time he did this, with another girl that fought him until she too gave up and cried in defeat.
Von had stolen Yavi from her father’s home in the middle of the night—the true story he had fed the ferryman.
Tarn had ordered her captured for her linguistic skills. She didn’t deserve to be stolen from her life and family any more than Dyna did. Yavi’s forgiveness was a small miracle Von wasn’t worthy of, but he spent every day after loving her for it.
Von reached the dead-end of the alley containing the gap in the wall. He slowed to a stop and put Dyna down. She teetered on shaky legs. Geon attempted to steady her, but she shoved him off. The binding around Dyna’s ankles had loosened enough from her wiggling. She tripped in the attempt to kick it off and fell against the dead-end wall. When she noticed the gap there, she quickly backed away from it. Her wide eyes flickered back and forth as she studied the space between him and Geon. Her legs braced in preparation to run.
“You’ll never make it, lass,” Von said. “Stop fighting.”
She glared at him and reached up with her bound hands to yank down her gag. “I’ll never stop fighting you.”
He almost smiled at her valor. She reminded him too much of Yavi. He wished he could walk away, and let her
go. But he couldn’t.
“You’re a feisty one,” he sighed. “I’ll give you that—”
She dove for her escape. Von grabbed her arm and spun her around, holding her back flush against his chest. She thrashed and kicked, screeching like an angry cat. He replaced her gag to muffle the noise and snatched his hand away before she bit his fingers.
“Take her legs.” Von nodded to Geon as he hooked his grip around her underarms.
“Please be still,” Geon pleaded. This was not something Von had planned for him to do, but the lad obediently grabbed her ankles and hoisted her up parallel to the ground. She jerked her foot free and thrust her heel in his face so hard that he almost dropped her.
“Hold her tight!”
“Sorry, Commander,” he said sheepishly, blood leaking from his nose.
Von grimaced. “All right?”
Geon nodded, quickly wiping his nose on his shoulder. He grasped Dyna’s ankles again in a tight grip and led the way backward for the hole in the wall.
She squirmed and jerked, screaming through the gag. They lugged her out of the dank alley and onto the forested hill. Only to find it was shrouded in a fog so heavy, they could hardly see a few paces in front of them.
“Strange, there’d been no fog this early morn,” Geon said as he set Dyna down on her feet.
“Aye, puzzling that.” Von frowned at their surroundings. The trip down the steep hill would be dangerous. “Watch where you step. We’ll walk from here—”
The lass tore herself from him and ran, but she lost her footing on the precipitous slope. She fell, bounding into the fog out of sight.
“Dyna!” Von and Geon rushed after her. He couldn’t see a thing as they staggered and slid down the hill. All they heard was the terrible sound of her crashing through foliage and rebounding off the ground in her descent. There was a sharp grunt, and a dull thud, followed by a dreadful quiet. “Lass, where are you!”
A faint whimper led him through a cloud of mist on a leveled spot of the hill. Dyna had collided into a fallen log that stopped her descent. She lay there, half unconscious, her arms and legs scraped, her dress torn. A thin red trickle leaked from her temple.
Von rushed to her side. He removed the gag and held up her face, checking her eyes. “Are you all right? You took a blow to the head there.”
Dyna moaned weakly, “Will I ever cease to be so clumsy?”
Von supposed clear speaking was a good sign.
“She’s bleeding,” Geon said. He tore at the hem of his tunic again and pressed the cloth to her temple.
Dyna glared at them and pushed his hand away. “Why are you doing this? What do you want?”
Von and Geon shared a look. They didn’t want anything.
“This is my doing, isn’t it?” she asked. “For telling you of Mount Ida. But it was as though you stole the words from my mouth.”
“Aye, I suppose I did with a truth spell. It wasn’t intended for you.”
“What are you going to do to me?”
“I’ll not harm you, lass. If it were up to me, you would not have seen me again. My actions are at the mercy of my master.”
Her eyes widened. “You have a master?”
“I do.”
Traces of sympathy hovered in her gaze. “Why does he want me?”
Von hesitated to answer. He couldn’t tell her the full truth. “We need you to view your enchanted map.”
Dyna flinched. “How do you know about that?”
“Our spies have been watching you. We know all there is to know about you and your companions.”
Her face tightened with anguish. “Cassiel …”
Von sighed. “I waited until you separated from them to take you. I tried to spare the Celestial,” he said softly. “I’m sorry, Dyna.” And he meant it.
Her eyes widened in horror at the realization of what he meant. She shook with heartbreaking sobs. She folded over herself as if to contain the pain. Von laid a hand on her shoulder and she hit him with her bound wrists.
“Get away from me! Don’t come near me! None of this would have happened if I had not met you!”
He caught her hands. “I’m beginning to believe that no matter the circumstances of that day, our meeting was inevitable.”
“What do you mean!”
“It was foretold, many years ago, you would come,” Geon said. “The Seer from Faery Hill said the Maiden with the key would lead us to Mount Ida. She spoke of six Guardians who would protect you.”
Dyna stared at him. “What?”
“The wolf and Celestial are the first. We captured you now before you had the chance to gather them all.”
“Geon,” Von warned. The lad was telling her too much.
She shook her head in anguish, not wanting to believe them. Her erratic fists pummeled against him again. “Let me go! I don’t have the map!”
He grabbed her shoulders, forcing her still. “What did you say?”
She glared at him through her tears. “You assumed I had it.”
“Geon, check the bag.”
The boy removed her confiscated satchel from his shoulder and rummaged through it. “The journal isn’t here, Commander.”
Von’s fingers tightened on Dyna’s shoulders, making her wince. “Where is it?”
Boldness settled over her. She sealed her lips shut, raising her chin. Von worked his jaw as he interpreted her smugness. She already knew her Celestial was captured, so that left only one other.
“The Lycan has the map.”
“Lycan?” Her brows furrowed at the word.
“A half-breed werewolf.”
Dyna scowled. “Go anywhere near him, and he will eviscerate you.”
“Aye, or perhaps I’ll wait for the next full moon when he is shackled in those chains of his.”
She gasped, her confidence falling away. “You would be so low as to murder him when he can’t defend himself? Is that the kind of man you are?”
Von grit his teeth. “You know nothing of what I have done or what I am capable of. Exploiting vulnerabilities is the least of what I’ll do. Make no mistake. I serve Master Tarn in all that he desires, including removing those in his way.”
“Tarn?” Dyna breathed the name. “Tarn Morken? The man the Azure Guard searches for?”
Von swore at his careless mistake. “Get up. We need to move.” He grabbed her forearm, and she lunged, digging her teeth into his hand. He tore away and Dyna kicked at his shins, but her face suddenly contorted at the impact. She let out a whimper, reaching for her leg. It had grown pink and puffy.
“You’re hurt.” He reached for her foot but she jerked back, hissing at the pain the movement caused her. “I need to remove your boot before the swelling sets in.”
She bit her trembling lip and gave him a tight nod. Lowering to a crouch, he carefully took her heel. She braced her hands on the ground, grinding her teeth as he gently slipped the boot off. He frowned at her inflamed foot.
“You’ve sprained your ankle. Must have happened in the tumble down the hill.” Von stood and faced Geon. “We’ll have to carry her down. Scout ahead and find the ferryman. Mind your steps.”
“Aye, Commander.” Geon vanished into the mist.
Von glowered at the teeth indentations on his hand. “You’ve got a pair of fangs on you, little minx. You may be more trouble than you’re worth.”
Dyna grimaced as she shifted against the log for support. “Why does Tarn seek Mount Ida?”
He gave her his back, watching the swirl of fog. “It’s an island full of treasure.”
Her brief silence told him she didn’t believe a word. “He could attain gold without risking his life. To have gone to the fae for divination means he seeks something more.”
She was too sharp for her own good.
“Mount Ida is an island of wonder. Of great magic and unknown peril.”
“You are headed there as well. Why?”
Her expression withdrew, and she stared blankly past him. �
�To dissipate the shadows.”
Before he could ask what that meant, a shocked cry rang on the hill. The fog thickened, darkening their surroundings. Dyna gasped, and peered nervously into the mist.
“Lad?” Von called out. He armed himself with a knife and took a wary step forward. There was another shout, followed by branches snapping as something crashed through the shrubs. “Geon!”
His skin prickled as he searched the fog swirling around them. He sensed something there, lurking out of sight. His heart rate spiked as a layer of sweat sprouted on his skin. Had the Lycan caught up to him?
They flinched at Geon’s scream. His body hurled past Von and slammed into the ground.
“Geon!” He rolled him over onto his back. The boy stirred, moaning. At the sound of approaching footsteps squelching in the mud, Von took out another knife.
A woman appeared from the mist with eyes that glowed violet. A curtain of shimmering white hair cascaded around her stunning features etched in fury. It was the young woman he’d stolen the Lūna Medallion from—the woman he didn’t stop to think twice about who she was. Which, Von realized, was a grave mistake when she conjured forth a blue sphere of magic in her hand.
He stumbled a step back. God of Urn. It couldn’t be.
The sorceress grants her sorcery …
“Release the girl and return what you stole from me at once!” she hissed. “I’ll not say it again.”
Von looked at Dyna. If he could he would, but Tarn would never accept his failure. “It’ll be the end of me if I do.”
Purple electricity crackled around the sorceress. “I will be the end of you.”
A horrid chill crawled down his back at Death’s cold hand brushing against his neck. This had been the warning he had since he left camp, the warning that his time had ended. He had no hope against magic.
No.
He refused to die here and never see Yavi again. He made a promise that he wouldn’t leave her alone in this world and he aimed to keep it.
Von’s boots shifted through the mud as he moved into a stance with determination. The knives flipped in his deft hands, and he regained assurance in their familiar weight. He had killed many with them, in odds as risky as this. He had not killed a woman before, but there was nothing he wouldn’t do to return to Yavi.
Divine Blood Page 36
