Defy (4 page)

Seeing her chance, Tate took a couple of
tentative steps backward, closer to the forest where Quincy and
Sophia had left. She glanced around to see if anyone noticed. When
she confirmed that everyone was looking elsewhere, she took a few
more steps away from them.

Was she really going to do this?

Her heart pounded. She looked to the forest.
Then she glanced again at her family. She could prove to them with
one little trip away from the protected area that she really was
capable of taking care of herself.

She made her decision.

Making as little noise as she could and
moving as carefully as she dared to avoid detection, she eased away
from the group and slipped into the forest. With a silent farewell
to her family, she hurried off to find Quincy and Sophia, her smile
wide in anticipation of the adventure that lay ahead.

Sophia marched through the forest at a brisk
pace, careful to maneuver through trees with very narrow gaps
between them so that Quincy couldn’t walk beside her. She didn’t
want to be doing this, and she most certainly didn’t want to be
doing it with
him
.

She knew he didn’t like her. She’d known it
for a few years now. It had hurt a great deal when she first
realized it.

When she was younger, Quincy spent a lot of
time with her. He often engaged in the experiments she so enjoyed,
creating learning experiences from everyday things. Drawing on his
medical knowledge, he helped her learn about biology and animal
anatomy, frequently taking her on trips into the forest in search
of the next great lesson. He visited every time he was between
transitions to the human plane, staying longer every three years to
attend the newest Kynzesti births.

About five years ago, he left for almost an
entire year. That year occurred as Sophia and her same-aged cousins
reached maturity in their Estilorian forms. Although they hadn’t
known it at the time, the Kynzesti class stopped physically
maturing as soon as they turned thirteen, at which time they were
physically akin to human young adults in their late teens, much
like their mothers and many other Estilorians.

Their growth occurred in unusual spurts. The
first three years after their births mimicked a human infant’s, if
a bit more advanced. They grew the following year to about twice
that size before leveling out for a while and then growing some
more. That last year before reaching maturity was an awkward one,
filled with daily growth and hormonal changes resulting from their
unique blend of one-quarter human and three-quarters Estilorian
DNA. Sophia rejoiced that Quincy hadn’t been around to witness
it.

Still, his reaction when he saw her again
after his time away merely increased her discomfort with her new
and still uncomfortable form. He hadn’t been able to stand looking
at her for longer than a brief moment, as though the sight of her
appalled him. And since she was already aware of her very different
appearance in comparison with her kin, his behavior had been very
hard to stomach.

Ever since, he’d kept his distance from her.
He no longer offered to assist her with her experiments. He never
wanted to be alone with her, even insisting that her mother sit in
on all of her annual physical exams.

She thought she’d put that hurt behind her,
though. Quincy’s opinion of her was hardly a pivotal point of her
existence, she somehow convinced herself. She defined who she was,
and if he didn’t want to be around her, well, his loss.

So when she went to his cottage earlier to
see when he wanted to leave for her flight lesson and she overheard
his conversation with Tate, she shouldn’t have been so wounded.

But she once again heard them in her mind as
she pushed past another few trees in a vain effort to get away from
him. She had paused with her hand poised to knock on the door when
she heard Tate through the window. Curious over why her cousin was
visiting Quincy, she had moved closer.

“It’s true,” Tate said. “I could serve as a
buffer for you so you wouldn’t be forced to try and make
conversation with Sophia.”

Sophia had flinched in shock. Why would her
cousin find it necessary to make such a suggestion? Tate must know
how Quincy felt about her, a fact that had her face flaming in
mortification.

Then Tate added, “I’m sure she’ll look
especially pretty today,” a comment that further puzzled Sophia.
She could only guess that her cousin was making a loyal attempt to
have Quincy think of her in more flattering terms than he obviously
did.

“Sophia isn’t pretty,” Quincy responded,
sounding as though the very suggestion was preposterous.

And she had learned in that one moment, as
her heart took the deep slice, that Quincy’s opinion of her meant
much more than she had been willing to acknowledge.

When a clattering noise had sounded near the
window after his response, Sophia managed to stumble away so she
wasn’t found listening to their conversation. The clamor of the
training session in the paddock hadn’t made a dent against the buzz
of humiliation in her ears as she sat on a rock and waited for
Quincy to come and get her.

Now, as she lifted her skirts and stepped
over a log, she wondered if it was possible to feel like any more
of a freak and failure than she did.

“Sophia.”

She ignored him. Because her second power
allowed her to assume the form of any animal about her size, she
considered shifting into a panther and taking a swipe at him with
her razor-sharp claws. She hesitated because she’d end up naked,
which wouldn’t be ideal under the circumstances. And shifting
caused a considerable drain on her energy.

She’d be damned if he’d witness her fail
again at flying because she didn’t have the energy to do it.

“Sophia, wait!”

Heeding the warning tone, she clenched her
jaw and came to an immediate halt. She stared at the edge of the
forest, only about ten feet away, and realized they were about to
step out of the area of enchantment.

“We have to move with more caution from this
point,” Quincy said as he stopped beside her.

She tried to ignore the little thrill she
always got listening to him talk. Her mother had once equated his
accent with an Australian one from the human plane. She only knew
that she found his speech lyrical. And hated that she did.

“I know,” she responded brusquely. “I was
planning on stopping when I reached the break in the trees.” Or she
would have, anyway. Probably.

“Okay.”

He paused, but she continued staring straight
ahead. She didn’t want to see his attempts to keep his disgust to
himself when he looked at her.

“Will you let me see to your injuries?” he
asked at last.

“What injuries?” She glanced at him,
forgetting not to in her confusion.

“Your arms,” he replied. “You’ve scratched
them up quite a bit.”

Her mouth opening in surprise, she looked
down at herself. Scratches lined her arms, some of them fairly deep
and nearly all of them bleeding. She must have done it while she
shoved through the trees, but she hadn’t felt a thing.

She guessed the wrenching pain in her chest
overrode everything else.

“Oh,” she said at last. She imagined what it
would feel like having Quincy touch her with a look of resignation
as he tried to endure it and shook her head. “I’m fine. Let’s get
on with this.”

Caleb, Skye and their siblings all sensed the
impending arrival of the elders at the same time. Thoughts of
curiosity and dawning alarm circulated among them. The first thing
Caleb did when he sensed their approach was assure himself that
Tate still stood nearby. She was easy enough to identify in a crowd
due to her height and the abundance of glittering beads and colored
feathers she wore in her hair. Seeing her standing next to Tiege
flooded him with relief. His intuition told him that this visit
from the elders wasn’t a social call.

He noticed Skye doing the same thing as the
elders appeared. After she spotted Tate, she moved closer to him
and they exchanged a meaningful look as they joined their siblings
in walking up to meet the elders.

“There have been some developments on the
mainland,” Jabari said as he drew to a stop. Although the Elphresti
elder wore a bright green robe with a sunny yellow undershirt, his
mien was anything but cheerful. His black eyes glimmered intensely
as he asked, “Are all of the Kynzesti within the protected
area?”

Again, Caleb looked back at the children.
Pleased to see that Tiege and Joshua had instinctively positioned
themselves in front of their kin, he glanced behind them and
spotted Tate’s colorful hair feathers poking up between their
shoulders. Seeing that Tiege was looking after his twin, he turned
his attention back to the elders and noticed James’ troubled
expression.

“Quincy just took Sophia for another attempt
at flight training not even ten minutes ago,” James said. “Are they
in danger?”

Jabari looked to Uriel. The Waresti elder
shook his head. “The reports haven’t extended anywhere near here at
this point. There is no need to chase them down. I trust Quincy to
see to your daughter’s safety.”

Despite Uriel’s assurances, Caleb sensed
James sending out a thought to Olivia to urge her to come out and
join them in this conversation.

“What happened?” Amber asked, her arms
crossed over her chest.

“An experienced Scultresti named Luvania was
killed on the mainland not even two days ago,” Uriel reported.

Skye brought a hand to her lips over the
news. Sensing her shock and alarm, Caleb reached out and touched
her shoulder.

“We believe that hers was the latest death in
a series,” Knorbis added.

“Series?” Gabriel repeated, exchanging looks
with his siblings. His blue-gray eyes expressed the worry and
surprise the rest of them felt. “As in serial murders?”

“It would certainly appear so,” Uriel
confirmed.

“How many?” Caleb asked.

Zayna, the Scultresti elder, exchanged looks
with Sebastian, the Lekwuesti elder. She then looked back at the
others and said, “We’re not entirely sure. I know of three
Scultresti who haven’t reported back after recent trips to the
mainland, and Sebastian said that the same number of Lekwuesti
didn’t return after a training session down here.”

Sebastian nodded. “I’m particularly concerned
because there is a second group of Lekwuesti visiting the mainland
right now for their initial orientation.”

“How were they killed?” James asked as Olivia
joined them. He reached out to take her hand and Caleb sensed them
exchanging thoughts.

Uriel’s burnt orange eyes grew troubled,
never a good sign from the battle-hardened elder. “We can’t say
whether any of the missing are actually dead, of course, until such
evidence is presented to us. But I can tell you that Luvania’s
death was particularly brutal. She was violated and tortured in
unspeakable ways.”

Caleb’s reaction mirrored his family’s shock
and horror over this information. But what they had just learned
was nothing compared to the news they received next.

“Luvania lived long enough to identify her
murderer,” Jabari said. He caught Gabriel’s gaze. “She told us it
was Zachariah.”

It wasn’t hard at all for Tate to find Sophia
and Quincy. She did have to run at first to make up some time and
distance, but they weren’t exactly trying to hide their trail or be
particularly quiet, seeing as they were within the area of
protection. When she spotted Sophia’s turquoise gown through the
trees ahead, a sense of pride and achievement filled her.

She watched her cousin and Quincy stop and
exchange words before leaving the forest, but she couldn’t hear
what they said from her distance. When they moved off, she hurried
after them as quietly as possible.

She paused at the opening in the trees. This
was a huge moment. She was about to leave the area of enchantment
for the first time in her existence.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the
forest.

It didn’t feel any different. Huh. She had
figured, with it being super-powerful and all, that she’d
experience some kind of change in her environment.

Shrugging it off, she focused on her new
setting. Stretching before her as far as she could see was a
spectacular lake surrounded by cliffs on either side. Because the
cliffs weren’t terribly high—she guessed maybe 50 feet—they
probably made ideal flight training platforms. When Quincy extended
his luminescent silver wings, then lifted Sophia and flew her up to
the top of the cliffs, it confirmed her hunch.

She also realized that she’d easily be
spotted by the pair if she didn’t move. Running to the closest rock
face across from their position as they got situated on top of the
cliff, she found a path carved within the cliff’s face that would
offer her the ability to climb and still remain somewhat
camouflaged. Almost giddy with excitement, she reached up, got a
handhold and used her boots to grip and push herself up. The deeply
carved surface allowed her to get about halfway up the rocky wall
in the span of a few minutes, though the effort exhausted her. She
paused on a narrow ledge so she could try and see what was
happening with Sophia’s flight training.

And then she saw Quincy throw Sophia off the
cliff.

“Zachariah?” Gabriel repeated.

Caleb heard the disbelief in his brother’s
voice and found it mirrored his own.

“Yes,” Sebastian confirmed gravely.
“Commander Caoilinn was among those at the loading platform when
Luvania arrived. She questioned the wounded Scultresti as aid was
gathered, though by that time it was too late to save her. When
Caoilinn asked who had harmed her, Luvania replied with Zachariah’s
name.”