Island Shifters: Book 03 - An Oath of the Children (38 page)

When the Ellvinians made their
next
charge, it would be the end,
Kellan knew,
but at least
the citizens made it out. Any additional time the defenders could buy would allow them to make their
escape through the forest
and out of reach of any pursuers.

From there, the citizens would flock to
Bardot
with news that for the
second time in twenty years, an enemy invasion had breached Massa’s shores.

Once
that happened, the Ellvinians would not stand a chance. Not against the combined might of the military and shifter magic on this island. The Ellvinians were capable fighters, but they did not possess enough of their Ascendency powers to overwhelm the entire Massan nation. No, the Ellvinians would not gain much more ground into Massa then the land
on which
they now stood. At least there was that, Kellan thought as he prepared to meet the imminent charge.

All was suddenly silent for a moment as the Ellvinians
and Massans
stood across from each other in the city square.
Wispy clouds of breath misted in the bitter cold of the morning. Feet shuffled in
nervous
anticipation. In just a few short seconds, men would die, but for this brief period of time, Kellan could believe that all was well. In the sounds of the gentle ocean waves slapping at the wooden pilings of the wharf and the
mundane
squawk of a seagull, he could imagine that there was still a chance
that life could return to how it was before the Ellvinians came.
He could hope for a miracle.

But, as soon as the
Ellvinian in the center of the enemy line lifted his sword high above his head,
Kellan scoffed at
such
wishful thinking. As soon as that blade dropped, the
fighting would begin
and lives would end.

He watched the quivering tip of the sword point and held his breath as he waited for the downward slice that would signal the charge. Muscles
tense with
restless
energy, he vowed that not a single
dark Elf would get through this gate. As long as he still lived and breathed, the gates of Northfort
would hold.

A
sudden
roar
shattered the tormented silence and all eyes turned north.

It is Jain!

Are you sure, Maks?

Of course.

Kellan felt his stomach drop. That had to mean that Jain was on his own. Kane
was a shadow dweller. He
would never give away his presence to the enemy.

From the harbor, avian screams joined Jain’s roar. Small halos of white ripped through
the
sky as a
convocation
of
bald
eagles flew
in a V formation
straight for the city square. Kellan had never seen eagles
fly in a flock. Immune from the threat of most predators, the large birds preferred a more solitary existence with a single mate.

The
eagles approached
low over the battlefield, but
instead of soaring past, the large birds
dipped from the air and
with screeching yells,
raked
sharp talons across the faces and backs
of the Ellvinians
in their path. Cries of pain
mingled with the shrieks of the eagles,
and the
Ellvinian archers
quickly stepped forward and
drew their bows.

The eagles shot back into the air
before the Elves could release their arrows
and
banked toward the outer wall where they dove to safety behind the stone parapet.

Kellan watched the air
shimmer and the
eagles
morphed
into
squatting men and women. Naked men and women.
Shifters! But, how?
He thought
all of the shifters were taken away.

Kellan’s puerile miracle had
arrived after all.
More screams
ripped
through the early morning
as
a
group of shifters cut a destructive path through the
mass of
Ellvinians.
The earth shifted, great gouts of fire exploded
upward into deadly columns of flame,
and Ellvinians turned on each other
in violent skirmishes.

The sudden assault from the rear created enough confusion and ruin in the ranks of Ellvinians to allow the
attacking
shifters
to make it
through the enemy horde.
Eyes glinting with deadly resolve, the men and women
burst through the line and sprinted toward the gates.
There, in the middle of the cluster of shifters was Kane and Jain.

Sight of his
twin
brother
and an overwhelming desire to protect him,
bolstered Kellan
into action.
He leapt
from the parapet and
arched
out over the heads of the running shifters.
With bone-crushing force, he
landed hard on one knee and drove
a
fist
into the ground with all of the might of his
elemental magic.
The earth rippled outward
in
expansive
rings
from the depression he
made in the ground. Ellvinians went flying through the air as the earth heaved and buckled from the impact.
Forceful expletives
and cries of pain rang out
as
bodies
slammed into the ground and bones broke.

That single act of devastating power caused the
improbable
to
happen.

The
Ellvinians
began to retreat.

* * * * *

Besides
the
scattering of
black eyes that
watched from
the safety of the city buildings,
the
Ellvinians
had left
the
square. Presumably to strategize on how
best
to use their numbers to combat the Massans’ magic.

Kellan
stood bemused as he listened to the
strange story
of
the thirty shifters
standing before him.
According to them,
they
willing went aboard one of the Ellvinian ships. For some reason, they explained with a scratch of their heads, they thought it would be a good idea to visit Ellvin and happily followed the dark Elves into the hold.

The ship set sail and they were out
to
sea less than a day when fighting broke out on deck.
When their three Ellvinian guards
below deck
ran topside to investigate, the shifters, of course,
followed closely
behind.
What they saw even now remained a source of such incredulity that they seemed
reluctant to
continue.

Finally, they told Kellan it was
an old woman
who
saved them. She fought the
Ellvinians with magic
that sent Elves crashing to the
deck or overboard
into the sea
with a sweep of her arm.
An old lady
with white eyes!
And,
a crow perched on her shoulder!

When the fighting was over,
she said the oddest thing
to them. She said,
“Massa needs you. Hurry now!” and
once the words were delivered,
she climbed onto
the
ship’s
railing and dove off into the ocean.
That was the last any of them
had seen
of her.

None of the shifters knew how to
sail the ship or turn it back toward Massa, but fortunately, they had several bodyshifters with them. Almost all had a dolphin form and they were able to transport
everyone
home.

Kellan did not know what to make of it, but had no time to ponder
the strange riddle
when Kirby Nash waved him over.
“I’ll be right back,” he muttered to the shifters and walked over to
where the Captain,
protectors and children
were having a
discussion.

“I
wonder if any of the bodyshifters has a mantath form. That animal could do tremendous damage,” Haiden said.
The mantath, a very large, long-snouted mammal covered in armored plates of hardened skin, was
the largest and strongest
animal
on the island. But, it was very rare
for any human
to
get a glimpse, let alone a form, of the
shy creatures.

“Not likely. Airron Falewir is the only known shifter with enough power to call forth such a large form,” Kirby answered. “But, do not be discouraged. With the addition of thirty shifters, I have
much
more optimism regarding our chances.
Even though we are
outnumbered, we can do this. I have faced odds such as these before with
Kiernan Atlan
and came out on top.”

“We are not
Savitars
,” Reilly pointed out.

Kirby
smiled. “I know, but your skills are
quite
remarkable, and
I will not be surprised if your abilities one day surpass those of your parents.” Kirby looked around
at the group. “To be honest, if I have
to meet
twelve hundred
of these bastards
in the field,
there is no
one else
I would rather have at my side.”

Kellan could not resist. “Except perhaps my sister.”

For once, Kirby did not blush.
“You are wrong, Kellan.
I happen to be very glad
that
Kenley
is far from—.”

A
low, ominous battle horn sounded in the north, and Kellan froze.
One of the
defenders
atop the crenellated wall shouted and pointed toward the
sea.
“Dear Highworld! Look!”

Kellan turned north, but could not see over the buildings. He turned and ran to the stairs that led to the gatehouse. He was not the only one that had the idea and he felt several people behind him pushing him ahead. He went through the gatehouse door
and looked out to sea.

Kirby was wrong. Thirty shifters were
not going to make
a lick of difference.
Not when
the odds in their favor
just
shriveled
to obscurity
under the black stain
appearing
on the horizon.
Ellvinian ships. Hundreds of Ellvinian ships.
Tens of thousands of the enemy.

They were doomed.
Kellan knew that Iserlohn
alone
did not have enough soldiers to meet this enemy and
wondered if
even combined with the military forces of the Elves and Dwarves it would be enough.

Kellan looked
at the royal protectors and
citizen
defenders. “Go now to
Nysa and my grandfather, King Maximus. Go to King Thorn in Haventhal
and
King Erik in Deepstone. Tell them to prepare the island for war. The shifters will hold the gates as long as we can.”

“I’m not leaving!” Kirby declared. “Do you have any idea what Kiernan Atlan would do to me if I left her sons on the front line
of battle?
Trust me, my
chances of survival are much better here. Probably
less painful, too.”

“None of the protectors are leaving,” Dallin declared in complete contempt that Kellan
would
even suggest it.

Kellan looked down at the defenders from the mayor’s estate down on the ground in front of the wall. “We’re not leaving, either,
Your Grace,” one shouted up and waved a pitchfork in the air.

“But, someone has to warn the Kings!” Kellan snapped.

“Send a bodyshifter,” Gregor suggested.