Unbound (25 page)

A dark brown streak flew through the air, knocking Gannon out of the way. It took her mind a second to register that it was Roo. She tossed her power at Covington, but he hit the ground. Rolling away, he smirked. He sprang to his feet and hefted the limp body of her dog off the ground and onto his shoulder.

“I’ll take a Guardian over a waste of a Mage any day. Wouldn’t you like to know what I’ve done with your dear Rosen?”

“What the hell did you do, Covington!”

“You’ll have to wait to find out.”He tossed one last bolt of magic in Gannon’s direction and stepped back, disappearing into the maelstrom.

Gannon stood, leaning heavily on the dais. All Kayla could do was stare at the spot where her beloved friend had been, while the battle raged around her. She felt Gannon pull her into his arms before the numbness wore off enough to register what he was saying.

“Shush now. We’ll get him back.” A bloody Nyx stepped in front of her.

“No we won’t, but I will.” She glared at Nyx. She pushed Gannon from her. Looking them both in the eyes. “Take care of Sasha. I’ll be back in few hours. If I’m not, take her to Jerry. At least with him she could have a semblance of a normal life.”

“Kayla, this isn’t your fault.”

She ripped open a gate, unwelcome tears streaking her cheeks. “Take care of her.” She walked through the portal.

“Kayla, wait!” Gannon’s scream cut off.

She stepped out into a hot, dusty landscape. Her lungs burned. The tears evaporated on her cheeks. She staggered out into the sand, taking slow even breaths, growing accustomed to the feel of heat through her heavy clothing.

If this was where he’d taken Roo, she hoped she found them quickly. She spun, weapon drawn before she completed the turn. She let the point drop to the ground. “What the hell are you doing here, Karn?”

“My loyalties are to you, not Gannon. Roo is my Alpha. Of course I would come to find him.”

She paused. “Of course.” She didn’t expect any less from him. She burned with anger, even though Keaton was dead. She focused it at Covington.

She would get Roo back even if she had to kill everything in her path. There was a soft cough. Kayla jerked and turned her head. The massive Battle Mage stood a little apart, watching them.

“What are
you
doing here Tormund?” She raised her sword. Her next action very much depended on what he had to say.

He waved her off. “Your child is safe. I come for reasons of my own. Since I cannot gate, the only way for me to track Covington is to stay near you.” He paused, looked at the ground then back up at her. “I pledge that nothing I do will harm you and yours for as long as I follow you.”

She kept her eyes on him and relaxed her stance a bit. “You want to follow so you can destroy Covington? I might let you if you can tell my why.”

“I’m a Council Battle Mage. My job is to protect the Council, and I’ve failed. I failed because of that monster, and I want to bring him in.”

“I’m not bringing Covington in, Tormund. If your goal is to keep him alive, you can turn away now.”

He clenched his jaw and glared at her. “He should stand trial.”

“Let me tell you a little something about Covington. He had my daughter and a lot of other Mages in a dungeon. He tortured them with creatures I’ve never seen before.

“He uses their magic for who knows what, and it’s tearing them apart. Sasha was alone in a pitch black room. She was covered in filth, and in pain, and you want me to allow this man to live?”

He turned away a second and she watched him gather himself. “I had no idea it was as bad as that.”

“I’m sure it was worse, but that’s what we saw.”

“I’ll bring him down, Kayla, if we do it my way. Otherwise you’ll just get in the way.”

“I’ve done this before, you know. I made a living bringing in scum, and he’s just another thing that needs scraped off my boots.”

“Not like this, you haven’t. Covington’s powers have morphed. We don’t know why. We don’t even know how, but if he’s consorting with beings like you’ve described, we can only assume the worst.”

“Whatever the case, let’s get going. Karn, I hope we can find shelter from this heat soon. We need to locate the tracks where Covington came through. I think I sense something in that direction.” She felt a pull on her magic. It felt like Roo.

She started off, looking back over her shoulder at Tormund. “Well, aren’t you coming?

Adriane Ceallaigh has been writing fiction since her early teens. She hopes you enjoyed the story you’ve just read. To find out more about her and her work, visit her or email her at:

www.adrianeceallaigh.blogspot.com

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