Island Shifters: Book 01 - An Oath of the Blood (26 page)

Luck was with him. A quick look inside revealed a short set of stairs that led down to what appeared to be a dusty wine cellar. With all of his strength, Rory yanked the unconscious man inside the door and then let him tumble down the stairs to the bottom. He followed down cautiously in the event the cellar was occupied. It was empty.

He dragged the guard to a darkened corner, unsheathed his knife and drew it across the unconscious man’s throat. It was a ruthless, coldblooded murder.

As soon as the man was dead, Rory did the unthinkable—what no bodyshifter in Pyraan would ever consider. He placed his hands upon the dead body and assimilated the man’s form. The air around the two figures shimmered as Rory’s smaller figure shifted into the guard’s likeness. He spent a few seconds orienting himself to the guard’s height and bulk, and then bent down to strip the uniform off the shrunken corpse. He donned it quickly and then shoved the body further into the shadows of the room. There were bloodstains on the floor where he cut the man’s throat, but that could not be helped.

Rory staggered up the stairs in his new body and headed back down the hall toward Vance and the cell doors. Smoothing his uniform, he approached the other guard. “Open it up,” he said, gesturing to the door with his head.

“What are you doing, Penske?”

“I just ran into Captain Nash. The prisoner is to be readied for interrogation immediately. King’s orders.”

Vance shrugged and unlocked the door. “Need help?”

“No, stay here. This won’t take long.”

Kiernan threw open the balcony doors of her bedroom chambers and stepped out onto the cold mosaic tile with bare feet. Leaning against the stone balustrade, she breathed in deeply of the night air hoping to dispel some of the unease that enveloped her like a cloak. War loomed and the greatest chance of victory Massa had depended on whether she and the other shifters successfully penetrated Callyn-Rhe and uncovered her secrets. The Mage was holding something back from them, she was sure of it. But, what?

Restless, she turned and walked back into her room.

Bajan was curled before the fireplace impassively grooming himself. She glared at him.

Well?

Well what?

Massa will soon be at war.

Yes, I heard.
Lick, lick.

We are going to your homeland of Callyn-Rhe.

Yes.
Lick

Bajan! I need your help here! I have so many questions.

I am not surprised.
Lick.

The first of which is what kind of power do you think is hidden at Callyn-Rhe?

I cannot be sure. I have never been there.

Do you think we will be able to find it?

We must.
Lick, lick.

I wonder what Galen meant by me being a pureblood?

There was a knock on the door.

She answered it to find her childhood girlfriend. “Larkin! Come in.”
Finally, someone I can talk to!
she sneered in Bajan’s direction. He did not so much as look at her as he continued his cleaning.

Larkin hugged Kiernan, greeted Bajan, and then went into the room to sit on the bed with a bounce. “I have really missed you!” she complained, throwing herself back to lie on the bed. “It has been absolutely boring around here since you left.”

Kiernan smiled and sat by her on the bed. “You, bored? Never.”

The dark-haired beauty turned on her side to look at Kiernan conspiratorially. “Tell me all about your handsome earthshifter. Every detail, mind you!” she demanded.

Kiernan’s cheeks heated and she rose from the bed. For some reason, she no longer wanted to discuss her relationship with Beck. It was too special, too personal, and all hers. “We are not little girls anymore, Larkin, sharing every secret.”

Larkin sat up, her smile vanishing. “Truth be told, we really did not share all of our secrets back then either, did we?” Larkin looked in her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Kiernan did not have to ask what she was talking about. She shrugged. “Scared, I guess. I knew that if I was found out, I would be sent to Pyraan, so I kept it to myself for many years.”

Larkin grabbed her hands and faced her. “I was your best friend, Kiernan. I never would have betrayed your secret.”

“I know. I am sorry.”

Apparently, satisfied with the apology, Larkin changed the subject. “What is the matter with that friend of yours, Rory? He acts very strangely, Kiernan, and gives me the creeps.”

Kiernan laughed. “You could not tell from where I have been watching! You have been cornering the man every chance you get.”

“Only to get answers,” she sniffed. “He slinks around all the time, poking his nose in places it does not belong.”

There was another knock at the door. It was Beck, Rogan, and Airron, and Kiernan opened the door wide in invitation to them. She looked out in the hall in both directions after they entered. “Isn’t Rory with you?”

Airron shrugged. “No. He wasn’t in his room.”

Kiernan shut the door and Beck leaned in to give her a small kiss on her lips that sent a jolt through her body. She desperately wanted to hug him close to her and inhale the scent of his body. There, burrowed within the crook of his arm was safety. Out here, danger and anxiety. Pulling back to look at her, his blue eyes were full of the intimate knowledge he now possessed. He raised his eyebrows and smiled. “Stop it!” she hissed, her cheeks warming.

Beck laughed aloud and the innocence of the sound helped to soothe her frazzled nerves more than anything else could have. Suddenly playful, she turned to Airron. “I thought you were going to meet with Lady Knapp?”

Taking a seat next to Larkin, Airron bounced on the bed causing the young girl to squeal. “It appears as though the Lady has more important matters to deal with. Pronouncements of war will do that.”

Rogan shook his head. “Has everybody gone mad? I don’t know what is in the air around here, but
we
have important matters to deal with as well.” He looked at Larkin. “If you will excuse us?”

Larkin resignedly made her departure amid hugs and a promise to see Kiernan again before she left Nysa. As soon as the door shut behind her, Rogan wasted no time. “Airron was right. The pendants that he and Beck have in their possession do have a connection. Now, Kiernan and I have to locate ours. Kiernan, any idea as to where yours might be?”

She shook her head and sat on a chair to put her sandals back on. “None, but I will ask my father this evening to see what he knows.”

Rogan looked worried. “I wish I knew where to search for mine. I suppose I will start with the family home in Deepstone. I must find the pendant or we will not have a complete map.”

“We should also go see Titus to let him know what has happened,” said Beck. “I want to assure him that we will be back for him once this is over. Let’s go.”

Beck and Airron walked out the door, and Kiernan laced her arm through Rogan’s in comfortable companionship as they followed behind. “Do not worry so, Rogan, you will find your pendant,” she assured him. “Just think! You will finally get a chance to visit the homeland you have not seen in years.”

His brown eyes brightened slightly. “I just hope I get the same warm welcome that you did.”

It was a warm welcome, Kiernan admitted to herself, but it was getting colder by the moment.

Unmoving, Titus watched from his cot as the guard turned a key in the lock on the door to his cell.

He knew it was not a good plan to come here into the city, but he had very little say in the matter. He was a hostage after all. As accommodating as the shifters had been to him, he was still a prisoner of war, a war initiated by his people.

He had grown fond of this travel companions, and had begun to hold out hope that everything would turn out well for all of them. That the people of Massa would destroy Adrian and Avalon, and the Cyman people would be free.

Titus snorted.
Am I really that naïve?

All of that brief hope disappeared in an instant when the guard entered his cell. The only way he could describe the look in the man’s eyes was dead. This was a dead man walking and it was terrifying. He had seen the look many times before.

He bolted up out of his cot.

The air shimmered and the big guard shifted into Avalon Ravener.

“Hello, Titus,” she said in a falsely sweet voice. The sound of his oppressor’s voice sent his heart racing in his chest. He instinctively glanced around for a way to escape, but quickly realized there was nowhere to run. There never had been, despite the charade of the past few days and his burgeoning friendship with the shifters.

She slithered over to him and put a hand on his face. “Oh, Titus, it is such a shame that you were taken. I really was looking forward to enjoying more time with you.” She reached down between his legs and squeezed, twisting cruelly and causing him to cry out in pain.

“Please, Mistress,” he grunted.

She let go and he fell to his knees with his hands pressed to his groin.

She bent down and pressed her lips close to his ear. “You do understand, Titus, that I cannot leave you alive in the hands of the enemy?”

He swallowed hard. “Please Mistress, do not ‘urt me.”

Her whisper was callous and cold. “I have no choice.”

He could not help himself. He began to sob, and she looked down at him in disgust. She abhorred weakness.

His mind reeled furiously, rummaging for any possible chance at survival. Finally, hating himself, he said, “I could still be of value to you, Mistress. I could get information to you about the Massans’ plans.”

Avalon scoffed. “I already have all of the information I need, Titus. I have been privy to all sorts of interesting intelligence.” The air shimmered again and Avalon shifted smoothly into Rory Greeley.

Titus was stunned.

“If you know what they are about, why ‘ave you not killed them?” he asked, tears falling from his eye.

“Oh, I plan to kill them, lover. Just as soon as I get all four pendants and the map that leads to this ancient power Galen was yammering about.” She waved her hand dismissively in the air between them. “You were not around for that little disclosure by Galen Starr.”

He grabbed at Avalon’s hand in Rory’s form. “Please, I do not want to die! I will do anythin’ you ask!”

For a fleeting moment, Titus thought he saw a shed of decency in Avalon’s eyes. She exhaled noisily and moved close to him to cradle his head to her chest. “Oh, Titus.”

Suddenly, the sound of voices drifted down to them from the top of the stairs.

“‘Elp!” he screamed, pulling away from Avalon. “Someone ‘elp me!”

Avalon stood back, shifted into the guard, Penske, and plunged her sword into his throat just as Beck Atlan slammed the cell door open with a crash, his eyes wild.

“What is the meaning of this?” he screamed, grabbing Avalon’s shoulder and slamming her up against the stone wall.

In the guard’s body, she held his hands in the air. “King’s orders.”

Titus fell over to the floor from his knees. Kiernan ran to him and gently lifted his head to her lap. “Airron! Get a healer in here. Quickly!” she yelled.