Alora: The Wander-Jewel (Alora Series Book 1) (22 page)

She concentrated and tried to do exactly what Raelene suggested. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

She heard Raelene’s laughter from a short distance away. “Well, you sent one of us over there—just the wrong one.”

She was dismayed when she opened her eyes to find herself where she’d meant to send her grandmother.

“Don’t be hard on yourself.” Raelene smiled. “You’ve already mastered more than I would have expected in months of training. As long as you can bring Kaevin to yourself when you need him, that’s the important thing, for now.”

“But I want to be able to help,” she said. “What good am I if I can’t do what a bearer needs to do?” Alora began to pace back and forth.

Raelene sighed. “Getting upset will only make it harder to achieve your goal. You have to be in total control at all times, or you could make fatal mistakes. If you accidentally transport yourself somewhere and pass out, you’ll kill both yourself and Kaevin. It’s better to do nothing than to make an accidental sending.”

“Okay. You’re right, of course.” She took slow breaths to calm herself and walked back to stand in front of Raelene. “I’ll just stand here and think about it until it happens. If you have any ideas to help me, throw them out there.”

Alora stood still and quiet for ten minutes, attempting to relax and move her grandmother a few feet away. She tried to remember exactly how she imaged transporting someone to herself. How was it that she pictured it in her mind? It was more like a desire or a wish, rather than willing something to happen. So, if she wished for Raelene to move instead of trying to force her to move, maybe that would—

“Excellent,” cried Raelene, before letting out a groan. “Now we can work on the landing.”

Alora looked up to find her grandmother a few feet away, sprawled on the ground. “Oh! I’m so sorry, Grandmother!” She ran to help her up.

“No, no. I didn’t expect to land on my feet the first time. Especially at the beginning when you need to close your eyes to concentrate.”

“But I could’ve hurt you!”

“I’m fine. I’m thrilled—really. Let’s do it again. Ten more times at a short distance, and we can try farther away.”

“Do you think this will draw too much power from the soulmate bond?”

“To be honest, I don’t know. When this is over, we need to talk to someone who knows more.”

“Who would that be? Who can we ask?”

“There’s only one other soulmated couple who may still be alive, but we don’t know where they are. They disappeared ten years ago, and most people assume they died. But perhaps we can find some information in the Craedenza where the ancient scrolls are stored.”

Alora felt a surge of hope that this couple might still be living. How great it would be to talk to someone who really knew about being soulmates from firsthand experience. She continued to practice for the next two hours, eventually progressing to the point where she transported her grandmother safely to Kaevin’s side. She even managed to set her down on her feet, although she wobbled a bit. She waved down at them, shuffling her feet in a victory dance. She transported Raelene and Kaevin to her.

He smiled, flashing his dimples, and her heart turned over in her chest. She felt her heart racing as he leaned in and kissed her gently on her trembling lips. “Does your head hurt?” she asked.

“No, but we shouldn’t take any chances. Right?”

“Ahem!” Raelene cleared her throat. “I doubt your bond needs strengthening from these short transports. Alora, if you’re ready, try sending him back to Graely.”

“See you later.” She made the transport with smooth confidence, and Kaevin was standing next to his father. He waved up with a smile, having landed perfectly on his feet.

“I see you gave him a better landing,” Raelene remarked.

Charles left his place beside Beth to join them, with his arms crossed. “When is this attack happening? I thought Graely said it was imminent.”

“He actually has no way of knowing,” said Raelene. “If Alora were a few years older and a lot more experienced, she could transport back down the trail to see where they are. I used to transport from treetop to treetop until I spotted the enemy. But we simply can’t risk such a thing right now.”

“They’re not far away,” Alora announced. “I can feel them now.”

Raelene’s brows tightened. “What do you mean? What can you feel?”

“I feel something wrong, something evil. It’s getting closer. It’s almost like a faint smell that’s growing stronger. It’s starting to bother me now.”

“That sounds like a different gift.” Raelene hesitated a moment. “There is a gift called discernment. I would say it’s impossible to have another major gift if you’re a bearer, but you’ve already proven nothing is impossible. Still, it would be too much to hope you have the gift.”

“Would that gift be helpful? We could have brought someone else from Laegenshire,” she suggested.

“There’s no one in Laegenshire or in all of Stone Clan with the gift. Valor was chief of discernment, but we lost him in Vindrake’s last attack. Alas, we have no others who have the gift—at least none we know of.”

“Look!” said Alora. “Those four men! There’s something wrong with them. Why isn’t Morvaen signaling for the attack?”

Alora pointed at four men riding through the canyon on horseback. They rode casually, making no threatening movements toward their weapons. Morvaen watched them with intense interest, peering from behind a rock, but gave no signal to attack.

“Are you absolutely certain? They don’t have a bondmark I can sense.”

“They’re masked, just like those men that were in Laegenshire that day.”

“Send me back to Graely so I can report to him. I’ll signal when I’m ready to come back. No! Wait! Three riders are approaching from the other direction. Do you sense anything about these men?”

She concentrated, trying to sense something from the three men. “No. They feel fine to me. At least they don’t feel evil.”

Graely stood up and called out to the three. He crawled down from his perch and spoke to the men. There was some arguing and raised voices, and eventually they continued on their way.

As he climbed back to his hiding place beside Kaevin and Jireo, Raelene told Alora, “Take both of us to Graely so he can question you if need be.”

Immediately, they stood before Graely, who listened with surprise to Raelene’s report. “This could be a wonderful development if she’s truly gifted with discernment. We’ll set a watch to the rear, so we won’t be caught by surprise if they come back.”

“Maybe if I talked to my father,” said Alora. “Maybe he would stop all this. He really seemed to want a chance at a relationship. He might listen to his own daughter.” Alora could feel Kaevin’s and Jireo’s disapproving eyes boring into her back as she verbalized her thoughts to Graely.

Graely’s brows knitted together. “Alora, surely you don’t believe him. He wishes to use you for his own purposes.”

“I’m not saying he hasn’t done evil things. I just don’t want to believe he’s beyond redemption. He might be willing to change... for me. And surely he wouldn’t hurt his own daughter.”

Raelene spoke, blinking her watery eyes. “The man who kidnapped my daughter, raped her, and caused her death, will not be allowed to take my granddaughter from me as well.”

Alora swiped at a tear trickling down her cheek. “Half of me came from him. If I believe he’s so evil he can’t ever change, what does that say about me?”

Her grandmother pulled her into an embrace. “Vindrake wasn’t born evil. He became evil through the decisions he made and the evil influences in his life. You are pure of heart, influenced by the love of your aunt and uncle. And you’ve made good decisions. Even the decisions I disagree with weren’t made with malintent.”

Graely patted Alora gently on the shoulder. “If anyone could ever make him change, it would be you, Alora. But I’m afraid you’re simply too late. Thirty years ago, you might have had a chance, but then he began implementing his bond of fealty on all of Water Clan. Now he’s done such evil things I believe he must have destroyed his soul.”

If I ever get the chance, I’m still going to try.
She tried to change the subject. “Who were those three who went the other way? The ones you argued with? They felt okay to me.”

“They were Forest Clan, simple travelers. I warned them about Vindrake’s men ahead. Tried to convince them to turn back from the danger, but they don’t trust me. They refused to listen. I only hope Vindrake allows them to pass unharmed since they have no connection to you.”

“You don’t think he’d hurt them for no reason, do you?” she asked.

“No one can predict his actions or understand the motivations behind his evil.”

“It wasn’t difficul
t
to force the prisoners to talk, Master Vindrake,” Abaddon said with a sardonic grin. “As we suspected, Graely and his group are waiting in the canyon. Graely is located low on the east wall. He warned them against us, but they didn’t listen. I assume they now regret that decision.”

“And did they see the girl?” Vindrake tried to hide his eagerness. He might appear weak if his men perceived how great was his desire to capture Lena and gain her loyalty. He could never allow anyone to gain a tool to use in leverage against him.

“No, they didn’t see her. But our plan will work even if she’s not present in the canyon. Once you have kidnapped someone, she will come to you.”

“Yes,” Vindrake agreed. “Especially if we can take someone important. Perhaps we can take Graely alive. He’s wounded, is he not?”

“The prisoners reported he has a bandaged shoulder.”

“Yes. Yes, we will concentrate our efforts on Graely. But truly, anyone will do for ransom. If we cannot capture Graely, we should at least be able to kill him.” He allowed himself to relish the thought. “Of course, if we happen to see Lena, we should take her. But Graely is not foolish enough to leave her exposed.”

“The men are ready, Sire. We know from interrogating the prisoners that the first four passed through undetected. I suggest we send in our imposters first. Graely may be suspicious, but he won’t assault them. Since they have no detectable bondmark and green eyes, he would have no justification. When they are fully in place, we will signal the attack and follow quickly with the others.”

“Excellent! And everyone will have irons available to secure a hostage?”

“Yes, Master Vindrake. And you can watch the progress of the battle through the sightstones and signal retreat when we’ve taken a hostage.”

“You’re certain we can’t fire arrows from a distance?”

“I haven’t discerned the placement of the wards, but I know Nordamen’s tactics well enough. He will have the area protected from arrows. Of course, he cannot ward against arrows from within the canyon without inhibiting his own warriors.”

“The plan is sound,” Vindrake said.

“What shall I do with the prisoners, Sire?”

“I think these three will make excellent wendts. We shall send them ahead of the second group to wreak havoc. There is nothing like seeing one of your comrades torn to pieces to strike terror into the bravest of hearts.” The power required to create three wendts would be quite draining. But his position of observation and direction from a distant point would keep him safe from harm until he regained his strength. No one would discern his weakness. An afterthought occurred. “Will the bloodbond still protect our men from the wendts after taking the masking potion?”

Abaddon cocked his head. “Of that, I am uncertain, Sire.”

“No matter. Those men are the least gifted. They are expendable.”

*****

Uncle Charles murmured to Alora, “It’s interesting, the people here have a variety of skin tones and hair color, but their eyes are all the same emerald green color.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure how that happens.” She studied the Stone Clan warriors shifting restlessly in the assigned positions along the narrow canyon walls. Nordamen joined Alora’s group under the protective overhang, high on the canyon wall. She whispered to her uncle, “Don’t you think he looks like an elf, Uncle Charles? Like the ones in
The Lord of the Rings
movie?”

He hid a laugh, turning it into a cough. “Now that you mention it, yes. But I don’t think he’d appreciate the comparison.”

“I’m guessing he wouldn’t even know what I was talking about. They don’t have TV or movies here.”

“So what does he do? He doesn’t look like a fighter. Is he a general or something?”

“I’m not sure, but I think he does some kind of magic.”

Nordamen must have overheard her last comment, because he moved to stand beside Alora. “Since you seem to be curious, I’ll tell you my gift is in manipulating the elements, but I’m also in charge of training and overseeing all the other gifts in the clan. Today, I’ve prepared us by warding the area from distant arrows and magickal attack. Vindrake usually employs a number of shamans, so I will be attempting to fend off their attacks. But my most important job now involves you, Alora.”

“What is that?” She heard her heart pounding in her ears.

“When you sense Vindrake’s men, I will speak on the wind so every fighter can hear me at once. I will let them know when the attack is imminent and who is dangerous. Since the attack is delayed, everyone is beginning to tire of waiting on guard. Together, we can warn them so they won’t be surprised.”

“Well, you can tell them something awful is coming down the road right now.” She peered around the rock. “I can’t see them yet, but there’s an overwhelming sense of evil.”

Nordamen nodded and passed on the information. As he spoke softly, Alora heard his voice in her head. It was a strange sensation and made her want to scratch the inside of her ears. But she noted everyone she could see immediately came to attention, tensing with anticipation.

“Morvaen has already worked out hand signals and whistles to command the archers and other fighters,” Nordamen continued, but he stopped speaking when six men rode into view. They appeared calm and unthreatening, though they were well armed. Continuing at a slow pace until they were directly under Graely, one man appeared to accidentally drop something on the ground. He exclaimed and the group stopped, while the man slipped off his horse to retrieve the item.

“This is just a ploy,” whispered Alora. “What are we waiting for?”

“Patience, Alora,” said Nordamen. “Morvaen is in charge.”

Alora felt Raelene’s tense presence behind her as she crouched between Nordamen and her uncle, peering over the rocks.

“That man on the ground has got a necklace just like yours,” Alora commented softly to Nordamen. “What does that mean?”

His eyes narrowed. “That’s a sightstone. It undoubtedly means Vindrake is watching through his eyes. He has the gift of farsight, among other gifts.”

“I think it’s no accident the group stopped in front of Graely.” Raelene placed a hand on Alora’s shoulder. “Be prepared to transport him up here if the need arises.”

But Alora was thinking Kaevin would be in as much danger as his father. Suddenly she felt overwhelming nausea. “Something’s coming! Something bad!” She pointed her finger. “There! Over the trees! And also from behind us.”

Nordamen quickly relayed her warning to the others. Alora gagged, and her sense of dread grew as she gazed above the forest. “What is that?” she croaked, as three large wretched winged creatures materialized in the air.

“Wendts!” said Nordamen. But before he could call out a warning, Morvaen gave a long high whistle. Suddenly, Alora saw an arrow protruding from the side of one of the monsters. The creature let out a blood-curdling scream, but continued its flight. Another arrow joined the first, and the wendt began to lose altitude. But still it flew determinedly toward the canyon. Finally, a third arrow lodged in the wendt’s neck, causing the animal to fall heavily from the sky. Alora looked high up the opposite canyon wall, where Wesley and Arista were already nocking their next arrows. Meanwhile, the other two wendts continued straight into the canyon, screeching and baring sharp teeth.

Alora’s eyes were drawn to the rear of the canyon as shouting cut into her consciousness. The four horsemen who’d passed through the canyon earlier rode back with arrows flying toward any who were exposed on the rocks. Jireo lifted his shoulders above the rock and let fly an arrow, taking down one of the horsemen. Another of the four screamed and fell as a knife lodged in his eye. Alora saw one of the horseman’s arrows had found its mark, lodging in the side of a young man Alora remembered transporting from Laegenshire. She quickly transported the man to their sheltered area, and Beth ran over to tend his wound. Charles, who’d been watching in a state of semi-shock, rushed to kneel beside Beth and provide what help he could.

Raelene smiled approval to Alora. “This is very helpful, Alora. Can you move that young woman down there? She’s slumped behind that rock. I don’t believe you know her, but perhaps you can see enough of her.”

Alora peered down, but she could only see the girl’s legs. She couldn’t get a fix on her in order to transport her.

“Laerona! Look up!” called Raelene. The girl leaned forward and gazed up toward Raelene’s voice. As soon as Alora saw her face, she moved her up to the overhang.

Alora heard a scream as one of the wendts swooped down to snatch one of the remaining horsemen, flying away clutching him in its talons, and bending its sinuous neck down to tear at him as it flew. Overcome by the horrifying sight and the agonized screams, she ran to the side, vomiting her breakfast. Raelene handed her a water skin and patted her back, but urged her back to their responsibilities.

Regaining her composure, she hurried back to peer over the rock. She arrived in time to see the third wendt attacking two Stone clansmen who were defending themselves vigorously. Their sword cuts had weakened the creature, although it was undeterred in its quest for human flesh. As it rose up in the air, preparing to dive again toward its target, two arrows lodged in its body—one in the neck, the other in the head. The wendt dropped dead on the rocky wall, and the two men waved relieved thanks to Wesley and Arista.

Shouts erupted as the canyon road was invaded by more of Vindrake’s men. The arrows seemed to fly a more accurate course from the newly arrived horsemen, and several more clansmen were wounded. Fortunately, Alora could see them well enough to transport them to Beth’s first aid area. Soon Beth was working frantically and directing Charles as well.

Alora looked down to discover the ledge where Graely, Kaevin and Jireo were standing almost overrun by Vindrake’s men. Graely threw two knives that lodged in the throat of one man and the eye of another. Jireo and Kaevin took out four men with arrows. But now it seemed all Vindrake’s men were converging on their position.

Suddenly one of them reached Graely, using the dead body of another as a shield. He stabbed out with a short sword, and Alora saw Graely bend over in pain as the sword penetrated his side. As the man grasped Graely by the arm, Alora acted on instinct. She moved Graely up to the ledge, but Vindrake’s man arrived with him. His eyes lit up as he spotted Alora, and he grinned wickedly. He dropped Graely and took a step toward her.

“Master Vindrake will be so pleased with me,” he said, as he reached out toward her. She took a step back. She could see Nordamen moving out of the corner of her eye, but she didn’t wait for rescue. With all her might she let her desire fling him across the canyon to slam high against the canyon wall, where he tumbled lifelessly to the ground.

She slumped to the ground with relief. But then, realizing what she’d done—that she’d killed a man—she began to shake. Raelene hurried to put a comforting arm around her, but her attention was drawn to Graely. He was groaning and holding his side to tamp the flow of blood. Nordamen quickly pulled a vial from his shirt and poured several drops onto the wound. Graely’s body went limp as he passed out.

“What did you do? Was that a magic healing potion?” asked Alora hopefully.

“No,” Nordamen shook his head. “The potion only slows the flow of blood. There is no magick healing potion.”

“I can take him to Laegenshire!” said Alora. “To Laethan.”

“Do it!” said Beth, kneeling on the ground by Graely, her face pale with fright. “This is beyond anything I can fix.”

“Take him, and come back immediately,” said Raelene. “The attack seems to be over, but we may still need you.”

Alora knelt beside Graely and put both hands on his arm. Immediately, they were in Laethan’s healing house. Laethan exclaimed at the sudden appearance, but quickly rushed to tend the wound. “Will he be okay?” Alora asked, biting her quivering lip.

Laethan never looked up from his patient. “I cannot say. But you did the right thing, bringing him to me quickly. At least he has a chance.”

“I have to go back,” she said.

He nodded. “I know. Go quickly. You may need to bring others.”

Alora returned to Raelene, who faced Alora and placed her hands on her shoulders. “Alora, can you transport Kaevin here?”

“Why? Is he hurt?” Her heart hammered in her chest as she searched for him in vain on the ledge below.

“Alora, just bring him here,” said Raelene.

“But I just tried!” Alora said, tears streaming down her face. “He didn’t come. Why didn’t he come?”

“Try again,” said Raelene.

“I am! I’m trying! With all my might!” Alora began to sob. “Is he dead? What happened?”

“He’s not dead,” said Raelene, flatly. “If he were, you would be dead as well. But... he’s missing.”

*****

“Excellent! Excellent!”

Kaevin lifted his eyes to regard Vindrake, clapping his hands with a gleeful expression. Though he’d never met the man, there could be no mistake. From his jet-black hair and beard to his overwhelming aura of evil, he was unmistakable.