Alora: The Wander-Jewel (Alora Series Book 1) (26 page)

Arista clamped her teeth down on his finger, and he screamed, jerking his hand away. But somehow he kept his hold on her arm. He rammed her mouth with his fist, splitting her lip. Suddenly, an arrow appeared in his shoulder, and he dropped her to the ground, shrieking with fury. She disappeared, but Vindrake somehow managed to keep his hold on Nordamen, who appeared to be losing strength, sagging toward the ground.

Alora tried to peer into the dark forest to see who had shot the arrow. Was it Wesley?

“You’ll pay for this! You’ll pay for this with your shaman’s life!” Vindrake threw Nordamen to the ground, fisting his hand toward him. Nordamen thrashed from side to side, holding his throat, his eyes bulging and his feet kicking as he gasping for air.

Alora concentrated, using all her will to send Vindrake crashing high into the canyon wall with Abaddon.

Vindrake disappeared.

Most of the Water Clan warriors seemed confused, dropping their weapons and surrendering. A few were more belligerent, but were quickly subdued. But before Alora could feel a sense of relief, a sharp stab of pain swept through her. She cried out, nearly fainting from the intensity.

“Kaevin’s in pain. I need to go to him.” Her eyes watered from the agony. “He’s with Beth in the clearing near the horses.”

Raelene nodded. “We’ll meet you there.”

Alora transported to the clearing. She found Kaevin, but not as she expected. He was on his knees, with his broken hand firmly in the grasp of another’s—a man in a dark cloak and hood, with his back to Alora.

“Kaevin!”

The hooded man pivoted to face Alora, his hand still gripping Kaevin’s. Kaevin exclaimed again at the twisting pressure on his broken fingers, and she flinched at the flash of pain. The man’s hood fell back, and her breath caught in her throat.

“Lena! We meet again,” said Abaddon. “I see you have not mastered your transports. You should have taken Kaevin farther away—to a safe place. I thought you had bested me when the stone did not bind you, but your inexperience betrays you.”

“But—but I thought you...”

He raised his eyebrows. “What? What did you think? Did you think you’d killed me with your transport?” He laughed. “Well, I must admit, my landing wasn’t very comfortable. But you didn’t move me far from here. Probably no farther than you could see.”

Alora tried to think through a haze of pain, to stall for time. Maybe someone would come in time to save them. Wesley or Arista could shoot him with an arrow if he was standing in the moonlight. Maybe if she coaxed him forward a bit, out of the shadow of the trees.

“I wasn’t trying to kill you,” she lied. “I just hoped you wouldn’t be able to get back so quickly.”

“In that case, you’re more foolish than I thought, because I will not hesitate to kill you.” He took a single step toward her, dragging Kaevin with him. “And Master Vindrake was very clear. If you would not cooperate with him, he wanted you dead.”

“But Vindrake is dead now,” she reasoned, moving away from Abaddon. “You don’t have to follow his orders any more.”

“Vindrake? Dead?” He laughed again. “Unconscious perhaps, but certainly not dead. I would know the moment my bondmark left me. No—Vindrake is very much alive.” He moved forward again, and Kaevin cried out in pain.

Alora tried to bite back her own cry at the echo of pain she felt from Kaevin, but Abaddon noticed.

“What’s this?” he said. “Do you care so much for the boy? Perhaps we could reach an understanding after all. You could agree to use your gift for Vindrake, and in exchange, I might promise not to do this.” He squeezed Kaevin’s fingers, eliciting a scream of agony. She couldn’t help crying out in pain, as she fell to her knees, almost fainting.

“Fascinating,” said Abaddon, smiling gleefully as he moved toward Alora, stepping fully into the moonlight. A muffled thwock sounded behind her as two arrows flew toward Abaddon. The arrows bounced back, falling harmlessly to the ground.

Abaddon’s maniacal laugh reverberated through the air. “Oh my! Did Nordamen not advise any of you I am impervious to metal? I think you’ll find I’m quite difficult to kill.”

He took another step toward Alora. “In fact, if you look behind me, you’ll see the other girl who thought she could kill me with a sword.” Alora gasped at his words.
He killed Beth
! Before she realized his intent, he grasped her hand.

“Now, Lena. You will take us away from your friends immediately, or I will be inclined to inflict a great deal more pain on the boy. Come—stand beside me.” He attempted to pull her to her feet.

She felt Kaevin’s intense pain swelling yet again. The agony swirled in her head, until her vision narrowed and darkened. At least if she passed out, Abaddon couldn’t force her to transport, and the warriors might be able to find some way to kill him.

A gurgling noise pierced her hazy thoughts, and her hand was released. She collapsed on the ground beside Kaevin.

“Alora. Are you all right?” Her uncle’s voice penetrated her consciousness.

“Abaddon!” She choked out a warning. “He’s here. He’s alive.”

“No, he can’t harm you anymore. He’s dead, Alora.” Uncle Charles knelt beside her, holding a bloody ceramic knife before her eyes. “Unless he can grow a new neck. What am I saying? People in this crazy place probably
can
grow new necks.”

“No,” Raelene said, kneeling beside Charles. “You did it. You killed him.”

“Alora,” called a weak voice. “Please...”

“Kaevin!” Alora moved in front of him, placing both hands on his face, and kissed him. She breathed a sigh of relief as the pain lessened in her head. She felt him relax as their lips pressed together. “I’ve got to make some transports.”

“No,” he said, reaching with his crippled hand to pull her back into a kiss, and speaking with his lips against hers. “You’re too weak.
We’re
too weak. You could kill us if we stop kissing.”

“We’ll figure a way,” she whispered into his mouth. “Raelene,” she called, “I can take two people at a time to Laethan. But I can’t be away from Kaevin without passing out.”

Raelene nodded. “We’ll bring them to you. Charles is holding Beth. Take them first.”

Alora and Kaevin struggled to their feet. As her vision darkened, her head swam, but Kaevin wrapped his arms around her, his broken hands tucked awkwardly behind her back.

“Did you see what happened to Beth?” she asked with a shaky voice. “Is she... did he kill her?”

“I don’t know. She attempted to stab him in the back with the sword, but he twisted around and kicked with his foot. His movements were so quick, it was almost a blur. She flew backward into the tree trunk, and never moved again.”

“She’s still breathing,” said Charles as he carried his burden to stand beside Alora. He maneuvered one hand to awkwardly grasp her arm. His mouth twisted in a wry grin. “Okay. Beam me up, Scotty.”

Laethan jumped to his feet when he saw them arrive. Then he turned suspicious eyes to Charles. “Who is this?” he asked Alora, even while taking Beth from his arms and placing her on a bed.

“Laethan, this is my Uncle Charles. He and my Aunt Lena raised me. Uncle Charles, this is Laethan, the healer. And this is Beth. She’s hurt.”

He started cleaning away matted blood from her head. Without looking up he said, “When the two of you are willing to cease this unrestrained behavior, Kaevin can return to bed so I can set his broken bones. I suppose this is considered appropriate where you are from, Alora. But here in Stone Clan, we are offended by promiscuity.”

Kaevin heaved a pained and heavy sigh. “I must be with her, Laethan, and we have more wounded to transport.” He carefully placed a broken hand on Charles’ arm. “Sir, we need to go. Can you explain it to him?”

“Me? Explain it to him? Are you kidding me?”

“Thanks, Uncle Charles,” said Alora, as she pressed her lips to Kaevin’s and they disappeared.

After five more transports, Alora collapsed with Kaevin on adjacent chairs in the healing room. She was so tired she barely noticed the hard wood rungs digging into her back. She locked arms with Kaevin and closed her eyes, relishing a moment’s rest. But her eyes popped open at the sound of her grandmother’s voice.

“I have some grave news for you.” Raelene’s face was wet with tears as she knelt on the floor and laid a gentle hand on Kaevin’s arm. “Laethan has done all that can be done for your father and Jireo. He does not believe they will live another full day.”

Alora glanced over to Jireo’s bed, where Arista stood weeping with a man and woman who must have been her parents. Kaevin buried his face in his hands, keening his grief, and she tasted her salty tears.

“No! This doesn’t need to happen. We’ll take them to the hospital in Montana,” said Charles. I saw Doc Sanders save guys hurt worse than this in ’Nam.”

Raelene stood to face him. “I don’t understand these words. Nam? Hostal?”

“A hospital is a place full of nothing but healers—amazing healers with magic medicine,” explained Alora. “But, Uncle Charles. How are you going to explain them? Their wounds? Their clothes?”

“We’ll improvise,” said Charles. “I don’t know, but we can’t just let them die without trying to save them.”

“Is it even possible to take them back?” asked Raelene, inclining her head toward Alora and Kaevin. “They don’t have the strength for such a long move.”

Alora saw the desperate hope in Kaevin’s eyes. “Give us thirty minutes to recover,” she said. “We’ll have to make two trips, so Kaevin and I can stay together. We won’t go to the ranch. I’ll take us straight to the hospital. I know exactly where it is, because we went there so many times when Beth broke her leg.”

“I’ll go on the first trip and carry Graely,” said Charles. “I’ll call Doc Sanders and tell him—I’ll tell him—I’ll think of something.”

“We’ll come right back for Jireo, and Wesley can carry him,” said Kaevin. “But do you really think you can save their lives with your magick?”

“I didn’t really mean it when I said the medicine was magic,” said Alora. “But the doctors can do amazing things. Right, Uncle Charles?”

“Kaevin, I won’t make promises I can’t keep. But I have all the faith in the world in Doc Sanders. If anyone can save them, he can.”

“What about Beth?” asked Alora. “She probably has a concussion.”

“I’d appreciate if you’d come back for Beth, and for me as well, after you’ve regained your strength,” said Raelene.

“We’ll come as soon as we can,” Alora promised, praying they’d be able to bring good news when they returned to fetch Raelene and Beth.

“A hunting accident?
”
Dr. Sanders asked, skepticism plainly written on his face.

“Shhhh.” Charles peeked outside the curtain to be sure no other doctors or nurses were within earshot.

“Yes.” Wesley bobbed his head. “We went bow hunting.”

“And those two men were hit with arrows?” Doc raised his eyebrows.

“Kind of more like knives… like big knives.” Charles scrambled for a plausible explanation.
Lord knows the truth isn’t believable.

“You were hunting with big knives? And?”

“Uhmm... we got an elk, and we were cleaning him, and the knife slipped,” said Wesley.

“Twice?” asked Doc. “The knife slipped twice? Once into one man’s gut and another time into the boy’s chest?”

Charles put his hands on Doc’s shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “Can you save their lives?”

“They’re prepping them both for surgery right now. It would’ve been better if we’d gotten them more quickly, but I’m not giving up.” Doc pinned him with a stern gaze. “But you understand, I have to explain this. Why can’t you tell me what really happened?”

“You wouldn’t believe me, Doc.”

“Try me,” he said flatly.

Charles took a deep breath. “You remember fifteen years ago, when we got Alora? And she had that weird jewel in her belly button?”

Doc glanced at Wesley and back to Charles and spoke out of the side of his mouth. “I thought no one else knew about that. It’s been fifteen years. Did her real parents finally show up or something?”

How can I explain it?
Charles sent a questioning look to Wesley, hoping he had an idea.

“Don’t ask me what to say. I haven’t figured out what to tell my folks yet. My dad will be cool about it, but my mom is gonna flip.”

“What?” demanded Doc. “Just tell me. I’ve been a doctor for thirty-five years. I was in ’Nam with you. Nothing’s going to shock me.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Wesley laughed.

Alora and Kaevin materialized in the room, still locked in an embrace, accompanied by Raelene, who had her arm around Beth.

“
What the—
” Dr. Sanders stumbled back against the wall. “Where did you come from?”

“I’m sorry, Uncle Charles.” At least Alora had the grace to blush when she spotted Dr. Sanders. “I didn’t know you weren’t alone. I wasn’t thinking.”

“Could you please go outside if you’re going to keep kissing?”

“I’m sorry. Sure, Uncle Charles. We’ll be outside. Come get us if anything happens.” They disappeared.

Doc stood, slack-jawed, gazing at the place Alora and Kaevin had been standing. He gave his head a shake, and his eyes came to rest on Raelene and Beth.

“Beth? Is that you? What happened? Were you in the hunting accident?”

“No.” She spoke in a groggy voice. “I tried to kill the bad guy with a sword, because he was hurting Kaevin’s broken fingers. But he kicked me, and I hit a tree.”

“Okay,” said Dr. Sanders. “Now that makes no sense whatsoever, so I assume she has a concussion? Or she’s high on something?”

“It’s a concussion,” confirmed Charles. “But her story was actually true.”

Doc pulled a penlight out of his pocket, shining it in her eyes. “Uhmm-hmm. And who has broken fingers?”

“I completely forgot.” Charles conked himself on the forehead with the heel of his hand. “Kaevin’s got a bunch of broken fingers. Wesley, will you go bring him back in here? He may need surgery, too.”

“Charles, is this the healer you spoke of?” Raelene asked. “And what does this word mean… surgery?”

“You don’t know what surgery is?” Doc looked her up and down. “Do you live in one of those religious communes? One of those groups that don’t believe in modern medicine?”

“I don’t know.” She frowned, clearly confused by his question.

“Where she lives, they don’t have surgery or television or even electricity. They’re really secluded,” Charles explained. “But it’s not a religious thing.”

“So where are you from?” asked Doc.

“Laegenshire of Tenavae,” she replied.

Wesley came back in the door with Alora and Kaevin, who stopped kissing long enough for Dr. Sanders to look at his fingers.

“Good Lord!” Doc said, as he inspected the jumbled mess of Kaevin’s fingers. “What happened? Wait—just tell me the truth. What really happened?”

“Vindrake broke my fingers to torture me. But he was only using me to capture Alora.”

“Torture you? Who is this Vin guy?”

“Vindrake,” corrected Kaevin. “Alora’s father.”

“So her father really was some kind of mob guy, like we thought?” Doc mumbled to Charles. He cocked his head at Kaevin. “I guess he really didn’t like you dating his daughter, huh? But breaking your fingers is a bit excessive. I see it hasn’t slowed you down much. Alora, I’m surprised your uncle let’s you display that much public affection.”

“What does he mean?” Kaevin murmured.

“He means we shouldn’t kiss in public,” Alora explained.

“Oh.” Kaevin nodded with understanding. “But you see—we must. We’re soulmates.”

“Yes, of course,” Doc said as he placed his hand over his heart with exaggerated flare. “
Soul
mates. I’m sure you’d both just die if you couldn’t be together.”

“Right,” Kaevin agreed. “Finally... someone actually understands.”

“He’s being sarcastic, Kaevin,” said Alora. “Ahhh!” she cried out as Dr. Sanders manipulated one of Kaevin’s broken digits. Kaevin stood still, white-faced, obviously trying not to flinch. Charles hated observing this confirmation of Alora’s connection with Kaevin. He didn’t dislike Kaevin, per se. He simply hated losing his ability to protect her from pain.
Isn’t that part of my job as her father?

“He’ll definitely require surgery,” said Dr. Sanders. “Alora, are you injured, too?”

“I’m fine. I just wasn’t ready for the pain.”

Doc Sanders squinted his eyes at Alora and opened his mouth as if to speak. But he must have changed his mind, because he pressed his lips together in a firm line.

“Will we need to do surgery tonight?” asked Charles.

“We’d better get him to Billings to see a hand specialist. Does he have insurance?”

“I’ll pay. Whatever it takes.” Then Charles mumbled, “I may have to sell the ranch.”

“We have gold,” Raelene mentioned. “Would that help?”

“Can I transport gold?” Alora asked.

“Of course,” said Raelene. “Your gift is not limited with regards to silver or gold. Only iron.”

“How much gold do you have?” asked Charles. “These surgeries will be really expensive. And we can’t guarantee we can save their lives.”

“Graely is Stone Clan leader, and Kaevin is his son and heir. He has many ingots of gold. And they will certainly pay for Jireo, as well.” She tilted her chin up.

“So let me get this straight,” Dr. Sanders said. “You people are from some other country? One that doesn’t have good healthcare? And you came to the US for medical treatment?”

“That’s fairly accurate,” Charles answered before Raelene had a chance to speak.

“Did you just fly into the States this morning?” Doc asked.

“That’s fairly accurate, as well,” said Charles.

“Well, maybe I don’t have to report all this if it actually happened overseas,” Dr. Sanders said, with relief written all over his face. But as his eyes met Charles’, his brows furrowed. “And I’ll just pretend I didn’t see people appear and disappear right in front of me. Otherwise, they’ll force me to take early retirement.”

Charles chuckled. “No problem, Doc. I feel the same way.”

*****

“I’m telling you, that woman is evil,” said Graely as the nurse left the room. “Not only are her eyes blue, but she takes delight in causing me pain. She actually pressed on my stomach and made me cough.”

“She’s keeping you from getting adhesions. It’s like scar tissue on the inside of your body that sticks everything together.” Charles hid his amusement. Graely clearly despised the loss of control associated with being confined to the hospital.

“Well, she doesn’t have to enjoy it so much. And she stole my clothes. And she makes me wear this thing without a back.” Graely tugged on his hospital gown. “It isn’t decent.”

“We’ll find your normal clothes for you. You’ll get to wear them when they check you out of the hospital today. The plan is to drive you and Jireo out to the ranch. I think you won’t mind staying at my house… no evil nurses.”

“Father, I never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad to find you irritable and grouchy again—back to normal.”

Kaevin and Alora had come to help him bring Graely and Jireo home from the hospital. As always, they were together, but Charles was beginning to get used to it. At least they weren’t kissing all the time.

“What about you, Son?” Graely’s eyebrows scrunched together. “Will you be able to use your hands again?”

Kaevin shrugged, staring at his wrapped hands. “I hope so. They’re not so painful anymore. They told me I’d need... what was it they said?”

“They said you’d need physical therapy—lots of it. That’s to retrain your muscles so your fingers will work. So you’ll just have to stay here in Montana for a while.” Alora smiled, humming a little tune.

“I need to speak with Charles alone for a moment, if I may.” Graely caught his eyes.

“That’s fine, Father. We plan to visit Jireo now.” Kaevin waved a bandaged hand at his father as the two departed.

Charles pulled up a chair beside the bed, waiting in awkward silence while Graely drummed his fingers together.

“What are we going to do about them?” asked Graely. “Will you allow Alora to live in Laegenshire? You would certainly be invited to live there as well. We would find a home for you.”

Charles shook his head. “I have too much responsibility here. I can’t simply abandon everything. Perhaps Kaevin could stay here until we find a way to fix the soulmate bond.”

Graely pressed his lips together. “We don’t even know whether it can be broken without killing them. Raelene and Nordamen have been reviewing the recorded histories, but our resources are limited. Raelene wishes to study the scrolls at the Craedenza in Glaenshire, where all our people’s writings are stored. And though we believe there is one other soulmate couple alive who might be able to answer the question, we’ve no idea where to find them.”

“I’d be willing to help search for this couple, but I don’t want Alora’s life to be interrupted. She’s only fifteen. She has two and a half years before she even finishes high school. Maybe we could both come to Laegenshire in the summer, when she has almost three months off from school.”

“I’m not quite clear on the details of your offer, but I think I understand you’d be willing to pursue finding a way to remove the soulmate bond in the summer moons. Am I correct?”

“Yes. But I’m worried about something. If Alora didn’t kill Abaddon when she transported him, that means she didn’t kill Vindrake, either?”

The lines on Graely’s face deepened. “I did not observe that part of the battle, but that is how Raelene explained it to me.”

“Then isn’t it really dangerous for Alora to return to Laegenshire at all?”

“I would like to say there’s no danger, but I cannot lie to you. Our home will always be a perilous place to live until Vindrake is defeated and killed.” He clenched his jaws tight, and the muscles flexed on his face. “But my place as Stone Clan leader and Kaevin’s place as my heir makes us obligated to protect the innocent people who live in the shires and countryside of Stone Clan and all of Tenavae. We feel called of God to our service, and He’s provided the gifting we need to accomplish our work. Increasingly, I believe Vindrake has fallen under the influence of great evil, perhaps even demons. I will not run from the duty to fight Vindrake’s evil, even if my life must be sacrificed. Likewise, Kaevin would never shirk his responsibility.”

Charles sighed. “I understand duty. I’m a Marine. I know that doesn’t mean anything to you, but a Marine is willing to fight or die for his country.”

“So what shall we do? To be truthful, even after we find a way to dissolve their soulmate bond, I hope Alora will choose to stay in Laegenshire. Her gifts are greatly needed in the fight against the Water Clan warriors. And I know her grandmother longs to be with her.”

“I honestly don’t know what to do,” said Charles. “I keep feeling like this is some huge dream, or maybe a nightmare. I’m hoping I’ll wake up and laugh and everything will be back to normal.” He hung his head. “It’s times like these that I really miss Lena.”

“Your wife?”

“Yes. She died just over a year ago.”

“I understand. I lost my wife as well. Denalae died giving birth to Kaevin.”

“I’m so sorry. But you’re still young. Do you think you’ll ever marry again?”

“No one would put up with me.” Graely stifled a laugh. “Ow! That hurts. Don’t make me laugh any more.”