Alora: The Wander-Jewel (Alora Series Book 1) (23 page)

“No doubt, this is Graely’s own son! The resemblance is unmistakable. And the ransom will be forthcoming, I’m certain.”

Kaevin wrestled against the man restraining him, tasting the blood flowing from his swollen mouth. He felt the rope biting into his wrists, so tightly were they bound. And unfortunately someone had secured a belt of iron around his waist, so there would be no rescue from Alora.
This can only end badly.

“My father would never give you anything,” Kaevin said, spitting blood at Vindrake’s feet.

“Oh, but it’s not your father from whom I want the ransom. It is my daughter who will pay your ransom. A simple trade. She comes to me—I let you go.”

“She won’t do it!” But Kaevin’s mind filled with doubt. Would she make such a foolish decision? It would be better for both of them to die than for Vindrake to get his hands on her. And if they were apart for long, they would both die anyway. He couldn’t let Vindrake know about the soulmate bond, or he would use the information to manipulate her.

“Tell me what you know about her,” said Vindrake.

“I don’t really know her,” said Kaevin.

Vindrake raised an eyebrow. “Lying to me is useless. Among my many gifts is judging.” He smiled at Kaevin. “So, you can save yourself a great deal of pain if you answer my questions truthfully the first time.”

He raised his open hand in the air and stretched it toward Kaevin. When he closed it quickly into a fist, a fierce pain shot through Kaevin’s left hand as the bone snapped in his little finger. He screamed, and Vindrake gave a vicious smile.

“On the other hand, if you resist me, I will enjoy showing you who is Master here.”

*****

Alora cried out, “He’s in pain! Oh God, please! What’s wrong with him? Where is he?” Tears poured down her face in a steady stream.

“Can you see his face, Alora? Can you speak to him?” asked Raelene. She opened her arms, and Alora fell into her embrace, weeping.

“No! But I feel him hurting. Why can’t I bring him to me? What am I doing wrong?” asked Alora.

Nordamen put a hand on her shoulder. “They must have him in iron. Vindrake’s men took him.”

“But shouldn’t she be able to communicate, even if he’s in iron?” asked Raelene.

“I believe their shaman must have placed a ward over the iron to prevent communication.” Nordamen hesitated. “And I must tell you something else... Jireo is badly injured.”

“Oh!” Alora exclaimed, rushing to look over the rock, down where Jireo lay bleeding on the ledge with Beth kneeling beside him. “Do I need to take him to Laethan?”

Raelene’s face was lined with worry. “It would be best for Jireo, but I’m afraid for you to make too many trips to Laegenshire. Each one will draw from your soulmate bond. And since you cannot reach Kaevin, we need to protect you.”

Alora set her lips with grim determination. “Kaevin would want me to save Jireo, no matter the cost.” She quickly moved to the ledge and touched Beth on the shoulder.

“Alora,” said Beth as she looked up, her tears streaking through the dirt on her face. “I think it’s bad.” She pressed cloths in vain on a chest wound. “I think it got his lung. He’s barely breathing!”

“Stand back,” she said. “I’m taking him to Laethan.”

This time Laethan wasn’t surprised when she appeared. The healing house was in a flurry, with people running back and forth, following his orders. He immediately started ripping off Jireo’s shirt, only his grave expression giving away his concern at the severe wound. He stopped for a moment to nod at Alora.

“You’ve done well,” he said.

Alora knew the words were meant to encourage her, but she heard the bleakness in his response.

She moved back to the cliff face where Raelene was now consulting with Nordamen and Morvaen. Raelene gazed at Alora with concern. “You’re holding your head. Is it hurting now?”

“A little,” she admitted. “But it’s not bad. What are we going to do? How do we get him back?”

Shouting from below interrupted their discussion. A lone rider cantered into the canyon. He wore a long hooded black cloak that billowed behind him in the wind. He stopped abruptly below the overhang, and pushed the hood from his face, gazing upward where Alora knelt to peer over the rock with the others standing behind her. Alora felt a distinct nausea from his presence.

“This man is so evil, I can almost taste it,” she declared.

The man paused to stroke his neatly trimmed beard. “Nordamen!” he hailed. “I have a message for you from Master Vindrake.” He ignored the arrows aimed at him from every direction.

Nordamen moved to look boldly down at the man, refusing to cower in his presence. “So, the great Abaddon is reduced to the role of messenger?”

Irritation flashed in his eyes for a moment, but he quickly recovered. “Nay, Nordamen. I am chief shaman of the many shamans in Master Vindrake’s clan. Delivering this particular message is a task I relish, leaving others to menial work.” He paused, as if he were waiting to add drama to the moment. “Master Vindrake wishes to relay that Graely’s son will be released immediately when Vindrake’s daughter, Lena, is returned to him.”

“She’s not here,” Nordamen replied without flinching. “She moved to a safe place during the battle. We have no way to reach her.”

“That is not my concern.” Abaddon shrugged. “The offer stands. Lena for Graely’s son. We will wait at our camp until the morrow, then we will begin the journey home. That will give you several days to reach the girl and send her to her father where she belongs. If she does not come by the time Vindrake reaches his kingdom, he will dispose of the boy.”

Alora stifled a gasp.

“I hope you can find a way to reach the girl. If not …” Abaddon sneered, “Well, my Sire can always make use of another
wendt
.”

This time Alora could not stop a cry of distress. Raelene knelt to wrap her in her arms, whispering words of comfort that didn’t reach Alora’s ears. Her heart was breaking. She fought an urge to throw herself over the cliff. Better for Kaevin to die than to be made into a flesh-eating monster.

Nordamen’s lips were white as he pressed them together, the muscles of his jaw flexing.

Abaddon wore a benign smile as he turned his horse to leave. He halted his horse and spoke over his shoulder. “Oh. And Lena must come alone. Should anyone else come or make any attempt to free the boy... his life is forfeit.”

When Alora cried out in pain for the third time, she asked Morvaen, “Why are they hurting him? I don’t understand—they’ve already captured him.”

“I’m sorry to say, child, they are probably questioning him, trying to find out more about you.” Morvaen sat with his head in his hands, as still as Alora had ever seen him.

“At least they don’t seem to know your real name. If only Kaevin can withhold that information, we have a fighting chance,” Nordamen said.

“What happens if they know my name?”

“Abaddon’s dark magick is more powerful when he uses your name. Perhaps he might even be able to take your power away,” said Nordamen. “I don’t believe he can accomplish that without the knowledge of your name.”

Arista stomped over to stand looking down at Morvaen, her hands firmly on her hips. “We should have taken out those men! Wesley and I could have prevented this. My brother wouldn’t be injured, and Kaevin wouldn’t have been captured.”

Morvaen rose to his full height, and Arista stepped back. “You will never be a warrior, Arista, if you second-guess your commander. From that distance, a quick movement by one of those men would cause your arrow to hit our own men. You were right to obey your orders, and I hope you are not prone to change in that regard.”

She swiped angrily at her wet face and stalked to the side.

“What can we do?” asked Wesley. “Can we climb a tree outside the camp and pick them off at a distance?”

Morvaen shook his head as he once again returned to his pacing. In the confined area, people had to constantly shift their positions to allow the hulking man to pass back and forth. “No, we cannot. Abaddon will have their camp warded just as Nordamen warded our position. And at the first sign of attack, they have promised to kill Kaevin.”

“I’ll just have to go to him,” declared Alora.

“And then what?” asked Raelene. “If he actually kept his word and let Kaevin go, the two of you would die within a week.”

“I could explain we’re soulmates,” she suggested.

“And then he will use that information to make both of you do his bidding,” said Nordamen.

Charles spoke over Nordamen’s shoulder. “Does someone have a plan? Because I, for one, will do whatever it takes to save Alora’s life.”

“Why can’t we just sneak into the camp and rescue him? Or maybe Alora could just flash us in there,” Wesley said.

“We can’t go in without being noticed,” said Raelene. “We’re too easily recognized. And Alora is far from mastering the art of sending someone away from her.”

“They wouldn’t recognize Wesley and me,” Charles reasoned. “They’ve never seen us before, and our eyes are blue.”

“What if we were wearing some of their clothes? It’s kind of creepy, but there are a few dead guys down there,” said Wesley.

“Even if you weren’t immediately recognizable, their numbers are small enough they would notice extras,” Morvaen said.

“Not if I took a few out,” suggested Alora. “I’m pretty sure I could repeat that snatch and throw thing I did before. I’m just not good with the landing. But in this case it wouldn’t matter.”

“I could be a distraction,” said Beth. “They don’t know what Alora looks like. If I showed up, they would all think I was Alora.”

“I could do that, too,” declared Arista, coming out of her sulking.

“Vindrake has seen me,” argued Alora.

“But obviously, his men haven’t,” reasoned Beth. “They kidnapped Arista by mistake, and she looks nothing like you.”

“If we want confusion on our side, we need to move quickly,” said Nordamen. “Some of the men seemed to be masked somehow, while the others had clearly detectable bondmarks. It may well be we have a short window where some of Vindrake’s men still have no bondmarks.”

“How will you get Kaevin out?” asked Morvaen. “They must have him in irons, lest Alora transport him.”

“We just need some bolt cutters,” said Charles.

“I can open the lock,” said Arista, bouncing on her toes. “It’s one of my minor gifts.”

“I was unaware you had the gift of gresses, Arista. I’ve given you no training.” Nordamen pursed his lips.

“Yes, but I’ve practiced on a great many locks. I promise, I can open any lock.” She flashed a smug grin. “I’ve seen the inside of your supply chest. What was that thing that looks like a wendt skull?”

Nordamen paled and his eyebrows drew together. “It’s... never mind about that—I believe you can open the lock.”

“We need a plan,” said Morvaen. “And we need to move quickly and quietly. Can Alora transport us a few at a time?”

“No, she mustn’t,” said Raelene. “If she does that, she’ll draw too much from the soulmate bond. We need to save her gift to take both of them to safety when he’s freed of the iron.”

“Can’t you just make us invisible or something?” Wesley asked Nordamen. “Don’t you have a spell or a cloak? Or can’t you just mumble something that will confuse them, and they won’t notice us?”

“Wesley, this isn’t a movie,” said Beth. “Although I have to admit, it’s even more bizarre.”

“Perhaps there is something I could do to help. I have everything I need... except for the skull of a wendt.” Nordamen shot a meaningful look at Arista, whose face split into a grin.

“I’ll be right back.” She grabbed a sword and scrambled down the canyon wall toward the dead wendt.

“In case it’s helpful, I have some non-metal knives.” Charles reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved six ceramic knives in leather sheaths. “I stuffed these in my coat, hoping they would make the trip over here, and it worked. I wanted to bring my guns, but Raelene nixed the idea because of the metal.”

Morvaen examined them with fascination. “Amazing! Yes, we can find a way to use these.” He turned to Raelene. “What can Alora do that will cause the least amount of draw from her bond?”

“Short distances. Less weight.” Raelene caught Alora’s eyes. “You must be careful not to exhaust yourself before you get Kaevin away from Vindrake. How is your head?”

“It only hurts a little. Nothing like it hurt before I passed out.” Alora was sure her heart hurt more than her head. A pain shot through her and she screamed in agony. “Kaevin!” she cried. “Please! We’ve got to hurry!”             

“At this rate, Vindrake may soon learn her true name, if he hasn’t already.” Nordamen’s face was grave.

“Don’t fret, Sweetie. We’ll save him.” Uncle Charles wrapped her in his arms, and she clung to him and cried. She almost wished she could go back to the time before she’d met Kaevin. When her biggest worry was whether to go to the school dance, and a hug from her uncle took care of all her problems.

“Aren’t you mad at me?” she murmured into his chest.

“All I care about is keeping you safe, Alora. This would be a poor time to hang onto my anger. I love you, and I’ll do anything I can to protect you. And right now, that means we’ve got to rescue Kaevin.” He tightened his arms around her.