Betrayal's Price (In Deception's Shadow Book 1) (5 page)

Oh yes, Ashayna
remembered him. The phoenix from her vision. Instantly her Larnkin stirred,
dancing beneath her skin with a warmth as unsettling as it was pleasant.

Something in
her chest tightened until she couldn’t think. A burning sensation unfurled
under her heart, spreading outward to travel down her arms. Heart racing,
breath rasping, she fought both panic and her Larnkin’s grip. Her vision
darkened, folding down to a narrow point. Her body became a vague and distant
thing. Ashayna swallowed, realization hitting with the force of a hammer’s
blow.

Reunite…safety…home.

The wordless
communication, echoing up from some unknown source within her soul, scared her
as nothing else had. Her Larnkin tried to force her to move forward. When force
failed, it swamped her with feelings of peace and contentment. Her hand crept
towards the necklace hidden in her vest without her consent. With an extreme
act of will, she closed her fist and lowered her arm.

“Not this time,”
she told the magic and stomped it back down to where it belonged.

“I’ve heard
awakening Larnkins are temperamental. I think the elders understated the facts
a bit.” Kandarra shook her head, disbelief in her eyes.

“Nice time for
a warning,” Ashayna snapped. She’d forgotten about Kandarra until then.
Embarrassment and fear made her sharp. Kandarra seemed not to have noticed.

“That’s my
brother Sorntar, Crown Prince of the Phoenix.” Kandarra sounded distracted. She
cocked her head, looking puzzled. “He doesn’t look pleased by your Larnkin’s
impatience. In the future, it will be easier if you don’t fight your Larnkin.
Maybe then she’d be more tactful.”

“If I don’t
fight, it will have me throwing myself at his feet.” She gestured at the crown
prince. “I don’t even know what she wants. I don’t care. I’m not going to bow
and scrape to him.” Ashayna wasn’t about to trust Kandarra, or the Larnkin. She
wasn’t even sure if she could trust herself.

Sorntar jerked
his head to one side. Ashayna followed where he looked. Glittering in the torch
light, her sword rested in the grass where Queen Marsolwyn had instructed her
to toss it. Sorntar picked her blade up and studied it, seemingly unconcerned
by soldiers closing in on all sides.

Captain
Nurrowford approached, shouting out orders to hold fire. The order came too
late. A volley of arrows streaked towards Sorntar. The phoenix held his ground,
a frown darkened his expression. An arm’s length from their target, the arrows
ignited and burned to ash. Sorntar narrowed his eyes and focused on the archers
with a deadly intent as he brushed a dusting of ash from his chest.

* * * *

The echo of his
battle cry dying on the wind, Sorntar wrenched control from his Larnkin moments
before it could decimate the enemy. Sword forgotten, his Larnkin focused its
rage on the humans when they rained their arrows down on him. He launched into
the air, desperate to escape their weaponry—and save any form of negotiations.
Two fierce beats of his wings and he landed on an outcropping of rock thrusting
out of the east bank.

Rubbing powdery
ash from his chest, he stared across the distance at the neat rows of tents.
What had affected the Gate so deeply?

Whatever it was
had forced his Larnkin to absorb a vast amount of power, more than he could
safely contain. The wild current of magic stripped away the little control Sorntar
had left.

His twin swords
flashed silver in the darkness as he eased them from their scabbards. Blue
flames blinked into being along their lengths as the blades cleared their
leathers, fiery tongues leaping higher to wrap around his forearms. Living
entities, the fire crept along his body into his wings, his tail, his crest—until
all was ablaze.

He could feel
his Larnkin stirring again, its instinctual need to protect foremost in its
thoughts.

“Not now.
Please, let me deal with this.”
Sorntar struggled
to retain control.
“There is no danger to me, be at peace. Sleep.”

After a brief
pause, his Larnkin relinquished its hold. With it resting, Sorntar refocused,
channeling his magic into the ground. The stone under his talons buckled as
fissures formed. Widening cracks spread across the ground, reaching deeper into
the earth with each beat of his twin hearts. The surrounding ground ruptured
and heaved, spitting a plume of molten rock far up into the air.

Humans
screamed, retreating from him. He dragged in a deep breath, inhaling the stink
of their fear. His lips pulled back in a hiss, disgust rearing within him. They’d
been quick to attack when he’d been unprepared. Now, when he was ready to face
them, none wanted to challenge him. Another hiss rumbled in his chest.

To attack
without provocation, and then flee from an opponent...such cowardice.

He shouldn’t be
surprised. Humans were without honor, as the acolytes had proved well enough.

These humans
were no different than the acolytes—suspicious, close-minded, and unreasoning in
their hatred of magic. Fools. If they wouldn’t coexist, then let them damn
themselves. When he returned home, he would report as much to his mother. But
he had a task to complete first. Where were his sisters?

Raising one
hand, he held it suspended above the ground at shoulder level, palm facing down
and allowed his eyes to drift closed. With his fire raging around him, he was
safe from mortal attack.

Below him, the
earth hummed with magic, awaiting his command. With a slow graceful movement,
one that was part show on his part to stoke the humans fear higher, he turned
his palm up. Magic answered his summons, crawling up from the fissures like a
thick blue mist.

With a mental
push, he ordered it to find his sisters.

Settling back
on his rock outcropping, he waited. The human soldiers didn’t advance on his position,
which was for the best.

The next human
to cross his path wasn’t going to enjoy the outcome.

* * * *

The first
tendril of mist reached Ashayna. The surrounding guards held their ground, but
shifted nervously as the blue mist swirled around their boots. She could hear a
few whimpered prayers.

Her magic
reverberated in harmony with the mist. She gasped, then snapped her teeth
together hard enough to creak. A rippling in the magic, like a stone disturbing
the surface of a pond, was the only warning before her shields dropped.

Heat caressed
her, touching something deep within. She yelped and leapt away from the mist.

It pursued,
curling around her ankle to begin a slow ascent up her leg. Swatting at the
mist didn’t scatter it as real mist would; instead it clung to her fingers and
encircled her wrist. Gooseflesh rose where it touched her arms, yet a strange
heat swirled through her blood. A terrified scream locked in her lungs, she
backed up until she collided with tent canvas, tangling with ropes and support
poles.

The substantial
presence of another mind brushed hers...a stranger’s thoughts flooded her mind...his
rage, his worry for his sisters...his realization that Ashayna shared his
thoughts. The flood of anger changed, shifting rapidly to mild shock and then
curiosity.

She was already
off balance when a compelling pull rolled over her.

Unable to
resist, she looked up in time to see Sorntar turn in a swirl of feathers and
blue fire. His talons flexed against his stone perch. Dark eyes searched the
shadows where Ashayna stood. Frozen in place, she waited. Any moment he would
lock eyes with her. Panicked, Ashayna stumbled around the side of the tent, half
running. She succeeded in outpacing the main cloud of thick mist and it
disengaged a bit at a time until the few remaining wisps floated to the ground
and vanished.

With it, the
stranger’s thoughts disappeared. Her arm still felt like something rested upon
it. When she would have rubbed it again, the compelling pull of his power
distracted her.

“Easy,
Ashayna—he’ll not learn of your presence until I wish it.”
Marsolwyn gave Ashayna’s shoulder a brief pat.
“It’s best if
Sorntar remains unaware of your existence for now. That a human will be joining
our ranks may cause some…tension, and with his Larnkin awakening, Crown Prince
Sorntar is already too dangerous.”

Ashayna rubbed
at her arm while she tried to calm her pounding heart. “Can it get any worse?” She
allowed deliberate sarcasm to seep into her voice. A few guards looked in her
direction. She didn’t care if they thought the pressure had cracked her mind,
and she continued to talk to Marsolwyn out loud. “Oh wait—he’s going to burn
the whole damn camp to the ground along with every human in it. Sound about
right?”

The lupwyn didn’t
deny her accusation. Ashayna sobered, her earlier giddy hysteria a cold lump in
her stomach.

“I’ll not
let it get so far the damage cannot be repaired.”
For
once, Queen Marsolwyn’s tone held the appropriate level of seriousness.

Ashayna felt
ill. But the magic didn’t let her wallow in self-pity for long. Another power
rippled along her shields. This wasn’t coming from the crown prince. For a
second time in one night, Ashayna witnessed a Gate being born. This one flashed
into being faster than the first. Before the thunderous echo faded, dozens of
armored lupwyn and phoenix guards spilled out of its broad expanse.

Human soldiers
rushed towards the new arrivals. Opposing sides met in a clash of swords.
Archers fired arrows at the intruders, but, as with the crown prince, their
arrows burned to ashes far short of their targets. More human soldiers pressed
in upon the Elementals.

A brief flash
of green light from an unknown direction swarmed over a large swath of
soldiers. Eyes tearing, Ashayna blinked to clear the white spots blurring her
vision. When she could see again, her gaze locked on the soldiers and her
stomach tightened with dread.

They lay
crumpled on the ground, limbs sprawled at awkward angles. None of them moved.
She couldn’t see if their chests still rose and fell, the distance too great.

“Merciful Creator,”
Ashayna breathed half to herself, her companions forgotten.

After a brief
shocked pause, yelling filled the clearing. Rage and fear sounded in the
soldiers’ voices, but training took hold and her father’s soldiers shook off
their shock, engaging the enemy once more. All along the line there were more
of the green flashes and soldiers continued to fall.

Marsolwyn stepped
into Ashayna’s field of vision, flanking her almost protectively.

Ashayna might
be helpless to stop the spreading violence, but standing within arms’ reach was
someone with the power and authority to put a stop to this useless violence.

“Do something!
This is your fault. If you hadn’t come here none of this would be happening.”

“Don’t worry,
they’re not dead. They’ll just wake up with a headache. And this would have
happened one day soon, with or without our arrival. Don’t fool yourself
otherwise.”

A change in the
pattern of fighting caught Ashayna’s attention, momentarily drawing her gaze
away from Marsolwyn. Soldiers were advancing on Sorntar. A burning, spicy scent
assaulted her nose. More magic was being summoned.

“I will deal
with Sorntar.” Marsolwyn tilted her head in her companions’ direction. “Vinarah,
Kandarra, get to Prince Sorntar’s bodyguards. Prevent them from harming the
humans. Be quick or we’ll never be able to secure peace. Ashayna, go to Captain
Nurrowford. Tell him the Gate going rogue was an accident caused by the
nearness of your sword. Convince him this was not an attack.” Marsolwyn ducked
under the silver flash of bared swords. Running on all fours, she looked like a
dark streak, dodging both soldiers and arrows with ease.

Before Ashayna
could react Vinarah darted at the startled guards, and leapt into the air,
sailing over their swords. Kandarra followed a moment later, heading in a
different direction.

A lieutenant
shouted orders to the scattered cavalry, urging them after the escaping
captives. While the crowd of officers surrounding Captain Nurrowford thinned,
Ashayna used the opportunity to sneak in a private word with him. She had just
reached his location when a fearful, lingering howl filled the air.

It rode upon
the night breeze. Its haunting melody reminded her of a wolf’s homage to the
three moons. First one sang, then a second and third voice joined in, until the
eerie song grew to a deafening pitch, fed by six hundred throats. As quickly as
it had come, the song died. The chaos of battle stilled. Swords and bows lowered
amid the tension gathering like a storm. Soldiers stared out into the
surrounding night. A moment later the darkness was banished by hundreds of
fiery white lights born out of nothing. They hung in the air, bobbing above the
heads of hundreds of armor-clad lupwyns encircling the camp.

The lupwyn army
had arrived.

Silence hung in
the air, heavy and thick, as the last notes of the lupwyns’ song faded away.
Captain Nurrowford stepped into the open, flanked by his senior officers, his
attention on the army.

Seizing her
chance Ashayna slid up next to him. “Captain, I’ve an important message from
Queen Marsolwyn.”

He glanced over
his shoulder at her. “Let it be good news, we’ve need of it at the moment.”

“She says it’s
a misunderstanding. Their Gate went rogue. Their army believes we just tried to
assassinate one of their royals.” Ashayna gestured to where Sorntar perched. “He’s
their crown prince.”

Nurrowford’s
eyes narrowed in understanding, the color bleaching from his face. “The crown
prince thinks we tried to assassinate him?”

Ashayna nodded.

“Bloody gods!” He
stared at Ashayna, his jaw taunt. “We don’t have magic. How can they think we’re
responsible?”

“The lupwyn
queen said I was too close, and the metal of my sword interfered with its
magic.” Ashayna squirmed at her half-truths.

“Do you believe
this lupwyn is telling the truth?”

“I don’t know
why she’d lie.” Ashayna hoped Nurrowford didn’t detect her own lies.

He turned to
the nearest officers. “Send word to every commander. Halt the attack. Keep the
enemy surrounded, but do not engage.” Captain Nurrowford studied Ashayna,
making her uncomfortable. “Let’s hope you’re right.”

A horn blew
three quick blasts and the sounds of battle subsided. Both human and elemental
soldiers stared balefully at each other, though neither side made further
hostile moves.

Captain
Nurrowford surveyed the camp, his look encompassing both stilling chaos and
encircling lupwyn army. Then in a low whisper, one Ashayna didn’t think she was
supposed to hear, he mumbled something suspiciously like ‘lucky to see the
dawn.’

A disturbance
shifted the enemy ranks. Dozens of lupwyns from further back moved forward.
These ones didn’t move with the grace she’d come to expect. At first, she
thought they’d sustained injuries. She blinked as understanding dawned.
Strapped to their backs were rope-bound bundles.

One lupwyn,
shrouded from muzzle to tail-tip in black and gold plate armor, advanced ahead
of the army. Prowling up and down the line, the newcomer scented the breeze. He
let out one short, coughing bark. Ashayna jumped. Nearby, several soldiers
shifted nervously.

An answering
bark came from near where Crown Prince Sorntar sat burning upon his rocky
perch. Squinting, Ashayna could just make out Queen Marsolwyn, half hidden in
shadow outside of Sorntar’s bright circle of fiery light. Even over such a
distance, Ashayna thought she could feel heat radiating off him. The night
breeze’s contrasting chill raised hair on the back of Ashayna’s neck. She
grunted at her own folly. Just her imagination—besides, the distance was too
great. Her eyes lingered, common sense not enough to force her gaze away.

“Is our
prisoner sitting with the…burning…phoenix?”

“Yes. Queen
Marsolwyn went to reason with him.”

Captain
Nurrowford arched a brow, pulling the scars along one side of his face taut. “Think
you could keep me informed in the future?”

“Yes, sir.”
Heat bloomed along Ashayna’s cheeks, grateful he believed her.

The lupwyn
leader stood with his forepaws braced against a lump half hidden in tall grass.
She squinted. It was one of the bundles she’d seen strapped to their backs. The
newcomer bit through both rope and cloth, and then gave the bundle a shove with
his muzzle. The bundle flailed. An arm emerged from the shrouding cloak, trying
to ward off the beast.

The lupwyn
planted his forepaws on the soldier’s hauberk, snarling and snapping at the
cloth-wrapped human. One of the white mage lights drifted closer to both lupwyn
and victim. The hauberk’s motif of three black leaves contrasted against its silver
background.

“Father!” The
word escaped before she could stop it. All along, she’d known this was a
possibility, yet her heart still pounded with panic.

“Easy, Ash.”
Captain Nurrowford rested a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll do what I can to get us
all out of this alive, including your father.” His hand squeezed firmly once,
then let go. Without another word he moved forward.

She followed
the outline of Nurrowford’s broad shoulders as she desperately tried to keep
her mind blank. Worry would invite disaster into her heart. It would weaken her
to the point of uselessness.

All along the
lupwyn army’s front lines, more bundles were unwrapped, revealing more of her
father’s men. They looked scared, disheveled...but whole. For now.

The scent of
magic wafted on the breeze. Ashayna turned to where Queen Marsolwyn stood next
to Crown Prince Sorntar.

“I did not
mean to bring blood upon this ground. For that I beg forgiveness.”
Queen Marsolwyn’s mental voice echoed louder than Ashayna
remembered. Several soldiers jumped. A few looked around baffled, while others
made signs against evil. Apparently, their unique method of speech could be
used upon a crowd. Ashayna didn’t want to learn what else magic could do.
Instinct or something else must have guided the soldiers, because rank after
rank, they faced the lupwyn queen.

Marsolwyn
continued.
“There is an old tradition among the elemental races, dating back
from a time of chaos before we learned to live in harmony. We used it to settle
grievances between two warring peoples. Each side would choose a champion.
Those two opponents fought in a duel to show their willingness to sacrifice
their freedom for peace. The victor was free to return to his people, but the
loser forfeited his freedom and put himself in his enemy’s keeping. By the laws
of this tradition, both sides must come to a peaceful agreement or anger the
gods.”
Marsolwyn paused, her ears flicking forward in Ashayna’s direction.
“So
I ask, which one of your followers is brave enough to pay the price of peace?”

Ashayna focused
her thoughts for a private word with Marsolwyn.
“I can’t cross swords with
one of your kind. My magic flares if I’m in danger. Your mate plans to answer
the challenge for your people, doesn’t he? By his look, he’ll take this beyond
a bloodless duel. My magic will react accordingly. For the sake of my family,
no human must ever know of my magic. It would not be only me who suffers for
it. Besides, Captain Nurrowford will never allow me to answer this challenge.”

“Don’t worry
over your magic reacting to danger to you. I’ve talked with Sorntar. He’ll
answer the challenge before my mate does. As for you not being able to answer
the challenge—they can’t stop you if they can’t see you. Kandarra will bring
you her mage-cloak so you can approach Sorntar’s location undetected. Once you
reach him, he’ll prevent anyone from interrupting the duel.”

Ashayna flicked
a glance at the phoenix. Sorntar looked just as irate as he had earlier.
“How’s
fighting him any better? He looks like he wants blood, too. It’ll be my blood
if he finds out my Larnkin was responsible for his hasty arrival.”

“Ah, Sorntar
is a gentle one. His Larnkin merely has him out of sorts.”

Out of sorts?
Ashayna snorted, gaining a nearby soldier’s attention. She scowled and ignored
his quizzical look.
“Fine. So I should fear his Larnkin. It can’t be pleased
with mine.”

“Oh, I
wouldn’t worry.”
The thread of laughter in her
voice did little to ease her mind.
“His Larnkin is the least of your
concerns, little human.”

* * * *

Sorntar watched
the nervous shifting and scented an underlying odor of panic as the humans
faced a much larger army poised to attack. The subtlest gesture—a flick of an
ear, the raising of a tail, even just a bunching of muscles in the lupwyn king’s
flanks—and lupwyn warriors would surge forward. The king, Ryanth, looked to be
moments away from doing something. Sorntar sighed. It wouldn’t be avoiding
bloodshed—Ryanth’s ears swung forward too eagerly at the mention of duel.
Marsolwyn was right— her mate wasn’t in any kind of mindset for a challenge. He’d
kill the poor human with the first swipe of his claws.

Sorntar
stretched his wings; blue fire hissed and flared in the wind. A number of
humans looked back in his direction, the terror on their faces easy to read
despite the darkness surrounding them. “Humans, I claim Right of Challenge. One
of your numbers nearly caused my death.” A cruel note, residual darkness from
his Larnkin’s anger, echoed in his voice. It surprised Sorntar, but added a
note of danger. The closest humans moved away a few paces. He smiled.

King Ryanth
snarled at him. Sorntar tilted his head in Marsolwyn’s direction, acknowledging
where his ‘decision’ to answer the challenge had originated. Before the lupwyn
could respond, Sorntar threw one of his twin blades out before him. The sword
flew end over end in a graceful burning arc and landed with its blade partly
buried in soft loam. He speared the closest human with a determined look. “One
of you, take up my sword and fight. If you give me even a bit of challenge, I
may go easy on you.”

There were a
great many whispers and much shuffling about as orders were issued and relayed,
but no one stepped forward. Marsolwyn’s plan was flawed. These humans were too
fearful. None of them would answer the challenge, not willingly as was
required.

Frustration
stirred in his gut. This wasn’t where he wanted to be, what he wanted to be
doing, or—more to the point, what his Larnkin wanted him to be doing. Both he
and his Larnkin wanted to solve the mystery of the mind he’d touched. Whoever
she was, her mind had been strong, and her determination to be free of him so powerful
she’d gained her freedom. To the best of his knowledge, the only mage prisoners
were his sisters and Marsolwyn. If not a prisoner, who was the other woman he
found so interesting? Was it she who had interfered with the Gate—nearly
killing him?

Once the challenge
was over, he’d hunt down the woman who stirred his Larnkin’s interest.

He sank back
down on his perch to wait.

* * * *

A tall, slim
figure moved between human soldiers, being careful to squeeze through or weave
around obstacles. As he came closer, Sorntar saw why. A mage-cloak offered
protection against human eyes, but his passage would only go unnoticed if he
avoided running into anyone. To Sorntar’s disappointment, the cloak also
prevented him from learning much about this person.

The evening
breeze carried the newcomer’s scent—pleasant, with a hint of saltiness,
feminine. A female? Here? Sorntar didn’t think humans permitted their women
folk to learn fighting skills. By her ease of movement, a young, confident
opponent faced him.

Within him, his
Larnkin stirred, its emotions a mix of confusion, wanting, and sleepy pleasure.

It was her—the
woman who had touched his mind earlier. It had to be.

A dozen paces
distant, she unclasped the cloak and let it pool around her feet. A ripple of
surprise—and something else—slid through Sorntar’s Larnkin. Eagerness? Despite
never meeting her before, he sensed a familiarity within her.

She moved with
grace, her long strides covering the distance quickly. A pace away from the
sword, she stopped and tucked her braid down the back of her leather vest. The
movement drew his eyes to her gentle curves, that slight softness an alluring
contrast to her otherwise toned body. She was reaching for the sword, the first
tongues of flame licking at her fingers, when another human ran forward,
bellowing threats and curses.

With barely a
thought Sorntar formed a barrier behind the girl, preventing the male from
coming closer.

From behind the
barrier, the officer’s eyes bored into the woman’s back. “Ashayna, this is not
your challenge to answer. Come here at once.” He slapped his thigh, then
pointed at the ground directly in front of him. “That’s an order.”

“It’s too late.
I’ve already answered this challenge.”

“You don’t
understand the risk.”

“Risks—those I
understand completely.” Then much lower, almost under her breath. “More so than
you realize, Captain. Be glad of your ignorance.”

“Ash, don’t do
this. Let one of my men...”

Sorntar added
another layer to his shielding, blocking all outside sound. Much better.

The woman
hesitated for a split second, her trembling fingers poised to grasp the burning
sword. With a sigh, she squared her shoulders and closed her fingers around the
hilt. Her bravery impressed him. Not many humans would touch a magic talisman,
especially not while it burned. She rolled the sword around, her wrist flexing
as she tested the sword’s balance. It cut through the air with a wavering hiss,
blue flames danced along its heated length. Adjusting her single-handed grip to
a two-handed one, she ran through a quick warm up, before she inclined her head
in his direction.

She had to be responsible
for the Gate incident, but why had she attacked? Still, this new revelation
explained why Marsolwyn and his sisters had come. A human with a Larnkin needed
investigating.