Island Shifters: Book 03 - An Oath of the Children (22 page)

* * * * *

Kane
felt like he
was running out of options. He had spent most of the day simply attempting to leave the mayor’s estate to check on the progress of the evacuation, but at every door, an Ellvinian turned him away,
suggesting
to him that he would rather stay inside and return to his room. He wanted the Ellvinians to think their mind control worked on him, so he abided by their words, but now it was
getting late in the day
and he had found out nothing useful thus far.

Not to mention that Jain,
locked out of the estate when he slipped out to hunt,
was becoming more and more anxious to reunite with him, and Kane did not know how much longer he could hold the Draca Cat off.

Kane hugged the wall as he walked down one of the lesser-used corridors toward the kitchens. Except for the occasional servant scurrying about her workday, he had not seen another
Massan all day.

That was why he was headed for the kitchens.
If anyone knew what was happening within the walls of this estate, it would be the kitchen staff.
He had
already met the cook, Cora,
yesterday before the gala
and
found her to be
a spirited woman who bore her cooking utensil as though it were a bludgeon.
And, for the servants not doing their jobs fast enough, it probably was.

Up ahead, he saw that the kitchen doors were open. With one last glance behind him, he darted to the entrance.

He froze.

Inside were half a dozen Ellvinians,
some
sitting and eating at a makeshift table made from a butcher’s block and others stirring the contents of Cora’s pots.

Cora was nowhere
in sight.

One
Elf
rose to his feet at Kane’s sudden appearance. Not hurried. Not startled from being caught doing something wrong.
More like the man of the manor being interrupted from his meal by one of his
inferiors.

“Is there something
I
can do for you, Prince?”

“Where is Cora?”
Kane
asked softly. Softly, but tinged with enough threat that all heads turned his way.

“Who?”

“The cook.
Where is the cook?”

“Oh,
aye, Cora. Lovely lady. She took the day off.” The black eyes dared him to challenge the statement.

Kane was not going to bite, but turned his full golden gaze directly at the dark Elf and was pleased to see him recoil slightly. It was a familiar reaction.
“I see. In that case,
I think I’ll just wander out to the gardens for some fresh air.” He
took a small
step
toward the back door of the kitchens,
but knew with certainty that he would not be allowed out.

He was right.

Several Ellvinians stood from the butcher’s block to bar his way.

He thought of drawing his blade or shifting through them, but decided against it. There were too many, and he was not yet ready to show them what
he was capable of. He needed to find Izzy
first
and ensure that the Massans
evacuating had every advantage for success before the fighting started.

He smiled. “On second thought, maybe I’ll take that walk another time.” He turned and exited the kitchens.

“You do that, Prince!” he heard one of the Ellvinians shout, followed by mocking laughter.

Jaw clenched tightly,
Kane
strode back down the hallway, but stopped in shock when
he saw a woman round the corner up ahead. He
immediately
recognized the
long red hair.

Alia!

What
is she doing in the estate?
Demon’s
breath, I thought she
went
back home to Aquataine.
She must have found a way in
before the Ellvinians locked down all of the doors.

He sprinted down the corridor to catch up to her.
Whatever it took, he
had to convince
her
to leave this place right now.
His concern
filling his thoughts, he
did not stop to look before
turning the corner and slammed into someone coming from the other direction.

The girl fell backward with a grunt, but, it was not Alia. It was Jala.

“Kane, what are you doing?” she asked angrily from her back on the floor.

He reached down to help her to her feet. “I was chasing after Alia and—”

“Alia is here?”

“Yes,” he replied, searching
up the corridor, but Alia
was no longer in sight.

“What did you find out?” Jala asked,
standing and
brushing down the folds of her dress.

“Not as much as I would have liked,” he replied. “I have not
encountered
more than two Massans, let alone shifters, in the entire place. And,
I can tell you that the Ellvinians are guarding all of the doors.”

Jala nodded. “I know, I tried to get out once, but the next thing I knew I was walking back to my room before I stopped myself and resumed my search for Izzy, who by the way, is
also
nowhere to be found.” She grabbed Kane’s hand. “I’m so worried for her.”

Kane was worried for her, too.
And, now,
it looked like
he had Alia to worry about as well.

C
HAPTER
16

P
REDATOR AND
P
REY

Gunther
threw
another piece of wood on the fire and poked at it with a long stick
sending tiny sparks floating upward.
He wanted the flames nice and hot just in case Harod had been more successful than he in
bringing
back
meat for their
dinner.
If not, it would be cold beans again,
and Gunther would be just as satisfied either way.

He took a slug from the skin of mead and sat back
in contentment.
Dear Highworld, but he
enjoyed
these
annual
hunting
trips
with Harod to
the Du’Che Forest.
As far as he was concerned, any chance
to
leave behind his wife
and
children and
farrier
business for some peace and quiet
was one worth taking.
Soon, he would be back home to the noise and never-ending
stress
of his life, but tonight, right
now, he
could appreciate
doing nothing but drinking and prodding at a fire every once in awhile.

He
set the stick aside and
crossed
his hands
over his belly
with a sigh. Maybe he could convince Harod to stretch out their trip for one more night.

A loud
thrashing
shattered the serenity of the
still
night as something tore through the
forest toward
him.
Harod?
He
scrambled
to his feet and grabbed the bow leaning against the tree behind his head. It was only when he was at full draw that he realized he had never
nocked
an arrow.

He let out a breath of relief at the sight of Harod. “What is wrong with you, man? I think you
took
five years
off
my life.”

“Gunther! Come quick.” Harod was panting from the exertion of the run.

“What is it?”

He shook his head. “You have to see it to believe it.”

Gunther grinned and raced after his friend
wondering
what could have
him so excited. A mantath? Now, that would be a trophy worth bringing home!

Up ahead, Harod waved him over to a hummock that looked down upon the long grasses of
the
Iserlohn
plains.
Together, they crawled to the top and peered over.

“Look, Gunther!”
Harod
hissed.

Gunther’s eyes widened in surprise. Two enormous white felines stalked out of the Du’Che. “It’s them cats the royals keep as pets!” he realized in excitement.

Harod brought his bow up. “I know and I’m gonna get me one, Gunther. Just don’t move.”
Harold’s arms shook as he brought the bowstring to his cheek.

The two large cats stopped suddenly and sniffed at the air.

“Hurry, Harod!”
Gunther whispered.

The twang of the released arrow and hiss as it shot forward toward the unsuspecting cats seemed deafening in the twilight. The missile found its mark and
pierced the flesh just beneath
the shoulder blade of
one of the
animals. For a moment, the cat just looked down in surprise at the
burgeoning red stain on its chest, but then it collapsed to the ground.

“You did it!” Gunther
enthused softly,
patting Harod on the back.

Gunther’s elation soon turned to unease when the other, larger cat did not run away, but lifted his snowy white head directly toward their
hummock. There was
unquestionable
intelligence in those
pale orange eyes
and something else.
Unmitigated fury.

With an ear-splitting growl, the cat sprang into an attacking sprint, his large paws eating up the distance between them in large gulps.

Harod screamed and ran.

Gunther ducked under the hummock and flinched when the body of the cat soared over his head and landed on the fleeing Harod. Large talons raked his friend’s back ripping open his shirt and leaving deep gashes in the skin.

Gunther’s whole body shook as he listened to
Harod’s
terror-filled screams and watched the cat tear and shake him as though he were a toy. Blood soaked the ground until it looked like a black puddle in the
waning
light.

The attack was too fast, too
ferocious. There was nothing Gunther could do to help Harod escape the enraged animal. And, now, up close, Gunther could see what looked like scales all along the white body. This was not a creature to trifle with.

Slowly, he began to inch his way up the hummock. If he could just slip away from the occupied cat, he may be able to save himself. After seconds that seemed like hours, sweat coating his face and body, he made it over the small hill and rolled.

When he came to a stop, he quickly sprang to his feet and prepared to run, but then sat back down hard in shock. There was nowhere to go. The open space before him was
filled with
white cats. Hundreds if not thousands of them.

And, every single
glowing
orange eye was on him.

* * * * *

Nazar licked his paws until satisfied that every last drop of blood had been cleaned away. He had not been the one to make the kills but had walked over the
kill
site to inspect the corpses of the men.

He rose to his feet and shook out his coat. The weakling humans caught them by surprise and killed one of his females, but it would not happen again. The next time men came seeking Draca blood, they would find his pride
ready and
waiting.

Rehka sat watching him.

How much farther to this Bardot, Nazar?

A few days
of travel to the north.
We must find Maks and Jain before we can
continue to
Nysa.

Will they
willingly
join with us, Nazar?

They
will have no choice.

What of Baya and Princess Kenley?

I will have them freed as soon as we declare ourselves to the
sons of Kenley.

Baya will be furious.

He shrugged.
I do what must be done, Rehka.
Come, let us rest before resuming our journey with the new sun.