Alora: The Wander-Jewel (Alora Series Book 1) (31 page)

“Shhh! Keep your voice down, or someone may come.”

“I’m surprised the hospital let you stay in here alone with me.”

“I was attempting to explain to Dr. Sanders why it was necessary for me to kiss you until you awakened, and he simply waved his hands as if he didn’t want to hear any more. He put us in this room and ordered everyone to stay outside.” Kaevin shrugged. “He’s a very unusual man.”

“There’s no telling what they’re all thinking.”

“I don’t care. I’ll do whatever I must to keep you alive.”

“Because you’ll die if I die?” Alora swam into his deep green eyes, her heart swelling until it was exploding from her chest.

“No.” He brushed a tender kiss across her cheek. “Because I wouldn’t want to live if you died. Because I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

And their lips touched.

As Kaevin lifted his head away, gazing at her with hooded eyes, she grinned. “Quick, let’s kiss again while Uncle Charles isn’t here.”

He smiled as he dipped his mouth to hers.

“I adore the manner in which your mind works.”

Vindrake pondere
d
his best strategy. He’d lost the initial opportunity to dispose of Alora, but he’d gained valuable information. Alora and Kaevin were soulmates. This made them stronger, but it also made them vulnerable. Neither could live if the other died. By necessity, they had to remain together. They had family members who were also susceptible to attack. And thanks to the weakness of their sentiments, Alora and Kaevin would place their lives at risk to protect their loved ones.

And now Vindrake knew her real name. He spat on the floor in disgust. She’d lied to him, providing a false name. But he also knew the name of the place where she’d been hiding. Montana. Raelene had revealed this place was probably in another realm, yet the entrance to that realm was likely within his own kingdom. He would find her, and he would kill her. No daughter of his would be allowed to make a fool of him, snubbing his generous offer to train her and to share his kingdom. Granted, he probably would’ve eliminated her after she’d served her usefulness. But she’d rejected him without awareness of that duplicity, scorning him and choosing, instead, Graely BarManasae and his offspring, Kaevin BarGraely.

He would search for her without ceasing until he located and exterminated her. His heart danced, thinking how that act would also devastate Graely, as his only son would die with her. With that devastation, Vindrake would gain the advantage he needed to defeat Stone Clan once and for all. Yes, he had gained much more than he’d lost. A few minor gifted warriors were easily replaced.

“I’ll need a new chief shaman,” Vindrake informed his guard, as he limped to his chair. He sat down gingerly, avoiding pressure where his flesh had been torn by that maddened beast. “Bring me Malphas!”

The young man jumped to obey, even as he chafed inwardly. His bond of fealty gave him no choice but to submit, no choice but to act to benefit Vindrake in every way. He hated the inner compulsion forcing his actions to follow Vindrake’s malevolent will. But death was his only possible escape, and the bond even prevented any voluntary effort to achieve that goal.

He was new to his post as guard, having won the dubious honor by his top victory in the training rings. The early matches pitted the strongest, most gifted warriors against the weakest, with the losers forfeiting their lives. Most often, Vindrake transformed the wounded youths into wendts rather than waste the bodily resources. Daegreth swallowed bile in his throat at the recollection of his fateful match against his best friend, Brivaene. At least his bond had not prevented him from ending his companion’s life to spare him from a worse fate as a mindless wendt. Though Brivaene could not ask for the killing blow, bound as he was by his own blood-fealty, Daegreth had read the plea in his eyes. And now, in the protective isolation of the cold night, he made no effort to hide the tears that fell in response to his vivid memory.

The chill wind bit into his skin as he strode across the cobblestones toward the building that housed the shamans. As was the custom for the top victors, he wore no covering of any kind above his pants other than a sword harness across his chest, despite temperatures barely above freezing. Vindrake enjoyed displaying the muscles, scars, and fresh cuts on his young guards’ bodies. His wounds were recent enough that blood still seeped out where the leather rubbed his severed skin.

Daegreth wondered whether he might have been happier if he’d been born in Water Clan. Taken when he had only ten years, Vindrake’s men had killed his father and captured his mother. But he still remembered the loving care and moral teachings of his parents. If he’d never learned the difference between good and evil before he was forced to accept the bloodbond, then perhaps the existence of the malevolent power in his mind wouldn’t be an ever-present cause of pain and nausea.

His life had been relatively pleasant after his apprehension until the age of twelve, when the compulsory warrior training began. He and his friend had learned how to communicate without coming into conflict with their bloodbonds, forging a relationship as close as brothers. But early on, it became apparent Daegreth had been blessed—or cursed, depending on the point of view—with much greater strength and giftedness than Brivaene. Daegreth had pushed his friend to the point of exhaustion in the attempt to prepare him for the deadly trials. But Brivaene had adopted an attitude of acceptance, almost akin to relief, giving Daegreth his few worldly possessions before the start of the testing required for all warriors of eighteen years.

“The Master requires your presence,” Daegreth announced to Malphas as he entered the residence without requesting permission. He almost smiled at the palpable fear emanating from the startled shaman. Malphas must have known his own considerable power was no protection from Vindrake’s unpredictable wrath. It was satisfying to Daegreth when Vindrake’s maliciousness was unleashed on the vile and wicked rather than the innocent.

He escorted Malphas back to Vindrake’s residence carved into the rocky bluff. His mind wandered as the two conversed, most of the discourse consisting of Vindrake’s angry shouting and Malphas’ solicitous replies. But his ears perked when he heard the discussion of a possible attack on Stone Clan. He could volunteer for this duty, and in the course of battle he might find a way to end his bond to Vindrake. Perhaps his blood-fealty would not prevent him from attacking the strongest and deadliest of the Stone Clan warriors. Surely someone would be powerful enough to end his suffering. Hope bloomed in his chest, and he inhaled his first easy breath since before the start of the warrior trials. Laegenshire... Laegenshire would bring him peace at last.

Thank you for reading
Alora: The Wander-Jewel.
If you enjoyed the book, please take a moment to leave a review. I treasure your feedback. The next book in the series,
Alora: The Portal,
is now available.
Start reading now!

People in Tenavae

Alora (uh-LOR-uh)
Daughter of Wendelle and Vindrake, raised by Charles and Lena Whitford as their niece.

Arista (uh-RIS-tuh)
Daughter of Plaegus and Chandrae, sister of Jireo.

Bardamen (BAR-duh-min)
Stone Clan shaman, son of Nordamen.

Barlokaen (BAR-loh-kayn)
Water clan warrior.

Chaleah (chu-LEE-uh)
Stone Clan judge.

Daegreth (DAY-greth)
Water Clan honor guard.

Darielle (DAIR-ee-el)
Stone Clan chief of farsight.

Graely (GRAY-lee)
Stone Clan leader, husband of Denalae, father of Kaevin.

Jireo (JEER-ee-oh)
Son of Plaegus and Chandrae, best friend of Kaevin, brother of Arista

Kaevin (KAY-vin)
Son of Graely,

Laethan (LAY-thuhn)
Stone clan chief healer

Malphas (MAL-fuhs)
Water Clan shaman

Morvaen (mor-VAYN)
Stone Clan weapons master

Nordamen (NOR-duh-min)
Stone Clan chief shaman, father of Bardamen

Raelene (ray-LEEN)
Past Stone Clan bearer, mother of Wendelle, grandmother of Alora

Valor (VAL-or)
Deceased Stone Clan chief of discernment

Vindrake (vin-DRAYK)
Stone clan leader, son of Vinnasae

Wendelle (win-DEL)
Daughter of Raelene, mother of Alora

People in Montana

Beth Steel
Daughter of Janice, best friend of Alora.

Brian Franks
Husband of Karen, father of Wesley.

Charles Whitford
Husband of Lena, foster-uncle of Alora.

Dr. “Doc “ A. J. Sanders
Physician, friend of Charles Whitford.

Janice Steel
Mother of Beth.

Karen Franks
Wife of Brian, mother of Wesley.

Lena Whitford
Wife of Charles, foster-aunt of Alora, deceased.

Wesley Franks
Son of Brian and Karen.

Places

Craedenza (Cray-DEHN-zuh)
Collected archives of recorded histories and writings from all of Tenavae.

Glaenshire (GLAYN-shire)
All Clan city housing the Craedenza.

Laegenshire (LAY-gehn-shire)
Seat of power for Stone Clan.

Tenavae (TEN-uh-vay)
Territory where Alora was born, in an alternate realm.

Portshire (PORT-shire)
Seat of power for Water Clan.

Clans

Air Clan
Smallest clan, who draw their power from air, are marked by gray eye color, and are located in the northern canyonlands of Tenavae.

Forest Clan
Third largest clan, who draw their power from vegetation, are marked by green eye color, and are located south of the Sunder Mountain Range.

Stone Clan
Second largest clan, who draw their power from stone and mineral, are marked by deep green eye color, and are located in central Tenavae, with the western border partially delineated by the Bron River.

Sun Clan
Small nomadic clan who draw their power from the sun, are marked by brown eye color, and are located in the desert land in the far east of Tenavae.

Water Clan
Largest clan, who draw their power from water, are marked by blue eye color, and are located in a wide band along the southern and western rocky coastline of Tenavae, with the eastern border partially delineated by the Bron River.

Other Tenavae Terms

Bloodbond:
Bond forced upon Water Clan citizens, allowing Vindrake to control their actions.

Bondmark:
Magickal indication of Vindrake’s bloodbond.

Fize
Fist-sized fruit that grows on a vine, sour green fruit ripens to sweet red fruit.

Oath of fealty:
Pledge spoken by one receiving Vindrake’s bloodbond.

Sightstone:
Smooth black stone imbued with magick properties. One gifted in
farsight
can see through the eyes of one who wears the
sightstone
and send a predetermined impression to the wearer.

Soulmates:
A male and female who are magickally bonded. The soulmate bond cannot be applied by choice, but rather happens without warning when the soulmates touch for the first time. The bond, which usually occurs when the couple has at least twenty-two years, enhances their gifting, but requires contact on a daily basis to sustain the bond. If the bond is not maintained by daily contact, the couple will experience separation sickness, eventually leading to death.

Wander-Jewel:
A multifaceted stone present at birth in the navel of those gifted as
Bearers
.

Wendt:
Winged monster with thick scaly hide, clawed feet, and razor-sharp teeth, created by Vindrake utilizing the life force of a sacrificed person. The creature seeks out human flesh, but does not attack those protected with Vindrake’s
bondmark
.

Magick

Magick is real in the realm of Tenavae and every citizen develops "gifts," magickally enhanced senses and abilities. Minor gifts appear between the ages of 12 and 16, and a person may have more than one. At least one major gift appears at the age of 16. Gifts practical to survival are more common than others, and all gifts, major and minor, vary in strength from one person to another.

Major Gifts

Agility:
Allows the gifted to maneuver with extraordinary skill and balance.

Bearer:
Endows the gifted with
the ability to transport people and things from one place to another. Unique to the
Bearer
is a magickal jewel that makes transportation possible, the
Wander-jewel
.

Discernment:
Endows the gifted with the ability to detect the presence and proximity of those with malevolent intent.

Farsight:
Allows telepathy with one likewise gifted in
farsight
, vision through
sightstones
, and reading memories.

Judging:
Allows the gifted to detect spoken falsehood and restricts the gifted to speaking truth.

Language:
Imbues the gifted with the ability to decipher and comprehend writings and speech in other languages.

Shaman:
Imbues the gifted with the ability to manipulate the elements.

Strength:
Imbues the gifted with extraordinary strength.

Weapons:
Endows the gifted with the ability to wield weapons with exacting precision.

Wisdom:
Imbues the gifted with an extraordinary ability to learn, understand, and reason.

Minor Gifts

Gresses:
Allows the gifted to find hidden doorways and portals, and to open and close locks, doors, and portals.

Horses:
Allows the gifted to understand and communicate with horses in addition to extraordinary riding skills.

Animals:
Allows the gifted to speak to and understand animals.

Weather:
Allows the gifted to predict the weather; requires a time of training with the weather guild.

Water Source:
Allows the gifted to reliably locate a source of water, whether it be a spring, river, or underground stream.

Direction:
Allows the gifted to sense orientation, memorize maps, and follow direction without error.