Child of Blackwen (An Artemis Ravenwing Novel Book 1) (34 page)

“What was that for?” I barked.

“You went to sleep, woman!” he yelled. “I was gone for a while and everything!”

“No, you weren’t!” I glared. “I
just
shut my eyes!”

“You have a concussion!” Jack shook his head. “You can die from this, Artemis. You have to stay awake. I refuse to lose my best friend.”

I sighed. “You almost did tonight.”

Jack froze. “What in Avilyne’s hell is going on?”

“Ellewynth…” Tears formed in my eyes. “We were attacked.”

“
What?
” He ran a hand through the mess of dark brown hair and shuddered. “How?”

“Full-bloods from Blackwen City.”

“Oh goddesses…this is happening sooner than I expected.”

“What? What do you know?” I asked, confused. “
How
do you know whatever it is you know?”

“I should be over there…” Jack started to pace. “I can’t leave her behind like this…”

“Jack?”

He rubbed his head. “I can’t leave you here alone. You’ll fall asleep if I go.”

“Tell me what you know,” I demanded. “I’ll stay awake if you do.”

He bit his lip and crossed his arms. “Fine. You will tell me exactly what happened in Ellewynth as well as other things you know and then I will tell you what I know.”

“Deal.” I shifted myself on the bed and was met with a glare. “What? You’re the one who changed my bed!”

“It stopped being yours once I moved in here,” Jack said. “Got any better ideas of where to lie down?”

“Outside,” I answered. “The grass has more cushioning than this!” I grumbled at my wet clothes. “Can I at least change?”

“Being cold will help keep you awake.”

“When did you become so evil?”

“I’m Talisa’s apprentice. Enough said.”

He cleaned the blood off of my arm and head, and then he patched me up. Jack carried me outside afterwards and placed his cloak beneath my head as a pillow. At least the stars were a better alternative to the ceiling. I was able to study Jack as he sat beside me. He’d lost weight since I last saw him, but his legs were a different story.

Talisa was working him with these hikes!

“What?” He asked once he caught my stare.

“I didn’t think it was possible for you to gain some muscle on these,” I smiled as I pointed to his legs. “You really enjoy those hikes, hmm?”

“Some days,” he winked. “And I wouldn’t tease if I were you. You may have such a rough exterior, dhampir, but deep down inside is a little girl who, on occasion,
likes
being one. Your room here is proof enough.”

“And here I thought I missed you,” I grumbled. My gaze returned to the stars. “How is Azrael?”

“Sleeping,” Jack answered. “She actually let me touch her this time. The mare was rather protective of you when I first knelt beside you. Injured or not, she was ready to knock my head off.”

“Azrael is Shadow’s horse.”

“It’s no wonder then,” Jack chuckled. He then sighed. “Tell me about the attack, Artemis.”

“It burns.” I felt the tears again. “The city, I mean.” I took a deep breath. “The Mistress of Blackwen, Arlina…she is my aunt. I am a child of Blackwen.” The anger returned after I said it. “I am tied to its throne.”

“Unfortunately, I knew about that.” Jack raised his hands defensively when I shot him an accusing look. “Let me explain.”

He did so. Jack recalled how he saw Mother’s murder in a training exercise Talisa gave him. He told me about how he was an elf mage, particularly of the old bloodline in the Woodland Realm. Jack was upset when he finished his tale.

“You’re nothing like those bastards,” I assured him.

“Artemis, I am
related
to them!” He snapped. Jack shut his eyes and calmed himself. “Apologies. Considering you’re going through the same situation, I shouldn’t be yelling at you.”

“They’re not trying to kill you at least.”

“I don’t think they actually know I exist, or if they’re even still alive for that matter,” Jack replied.

I felt his apprehension and changed the subject. “Jack…tell me about my mother’s death.”

Jack flinched. “It was horrible, Artemis. No one should have been through that.”

“What did Arlina do to her?”

“Why must you know?”

“Because I just have to!” I replied.

Arlina almost killed me in Ellewynth. My moments of defiance when she belittled me were the only thing that kept my fear from being visibile to her. I knew Arlina was capable of so much more than she showed in the city, and I needed to know everything I could about her.

“Artemis…you’re going to go to the Dark Fortress, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” I answered. “I will have to end this one way or another. I can’t let her haunt me forever. Even if I die over there, at least there’ll be an end to the suffering.”

“Don’t ever say that,” Jack snapped. “Even if there were more miserable moments than happy ones, dhampir blackouts and all, your life is still worth something.”

I blinked. “Being out here has done you some good, Jack. A long time ago, you would never have said such a thing.”

Jack blushed. “Well…there are things worth living for.”

“Like friends,” I said.

“And love,” he added.

Jack quickly covered his mouth as I flashed a wolfish grin.

“Yes, love is certainly the one thing worth living for.” I patted his leg as he flushed with embarrassment. “And yes, I did read that letter you first sent to Shadow. Who is this mystery woman, Jack? Who is she to make you forget about Lilith so quickly?”

“She is someone I can never have.” He buried his face in his hands. “Of all people to feel the damned string to, it’s a woman impossible to be with!”

“Have some more faith in yourself. No one’s ever out of reach. You know this.”

“When you meet her, you’ll understand.”

“I think you’re just being unreasonable.”

“Unreasonable?” Jack shook his head. “Unreasonable. I can tell you what’s unreasonable. How you ignore your feelings for Shadow.
That’s
unreasonable.”

“You don’t understand, Jack,” I said defensively.

“Goddesses, you’re thick in the head!” Jack frowned. “Tell me right now that you’re not worried about him. Tell me you’re not thinking of him right now, praying that he arrives at the cottage in one piece. Deny it to me, Artemis. For the past eight years that I’ve known you, all you’ve ever done is talk about your time with him. I dare you to deny it.”

I sighed, because I couldn’t. There was just that one factor that Jack continued to forget about: the little to no control of the monster inside of me.

“You
really
don’t understand.”

“Artemis, one day you’ll stop lying to yourself about it.”

“One of these days, that sharp tongue of yours is going to cost you,” I warned.

Lady Clarayne spat the blood that filled her mouth after Arlina dealt a punch to the side of her face. Arlina was still the fierce warrior she had been the last time the two fought. Lady Clarayne, however, was feeling the fatigue of recent events catch up with her the longer the fight dragged out.

It was not how she imagined the end would be, but she chuckled to herself. Nothing ever went the way one planned, especially when you were both a warrior and an Elder.

She watched as Arlina circled her, and Lady Clarayne held the sword closer to her chest.

“I guess it’s true what they say about old age,” Arlina said with a mock sigh. “How disappointing. I expected more from you, Clarayne.”

“The life of a leader is a tiring ordeal, Arlina,” Lady Clarayne said, keeping her eyes on the Mistress of Blackwen. “Something you’ve never learned, obviously.”

Arlina disappeared and flashed beside Lady Clarayne, her sai inches from the Elder’s throat. She slipped her blade in front of the sai just before the steel could sink into her flesh, and she tried to break free from the sudden vice grip Arlina applied. Lady Clarayne felt one of the sai push through the back of her shoulder, and she gritted her teeth as the pain traveled down her arm.

“Why do you continue to resist me, Clarayne?” Arlina whispered into her ear. “Can’t you see that I’m trying to do you a favor? Don’t you
want
to be reunited with your husband?”

Lady Clarayne felt the cloth along her arm cling to her skin as the blood from her shoulder soaked into the material. “Only on my own terms.”

Lady Clarayne forced her body to push backward, and she shoved Arlina into one of the bookcases. Stunned, Arlina lost her grip on the sai embedded in Lady Clarayne’s shoulder, and the Elder took the brief opening to pull it out. Dropping the sai to the ground, Lady Clarayne looked to where Arlina had been and found she was gone. She ignored the urge to grip her bleeding shoulder, and instead shut her eyes to heighten her sense of sound. Lady Clarayne knew Arlina was still in the room; it wasn’t like Arlina to leave a battle unfinished.

Sensing something behind her, Lady Clarayne opened her eyes and swung her sword, only to be met with resistance from the remaining sai. The irises in Arlina’s eyes were an intense crimson—the sign of true bloodlust in a full-blood. The resistance didn’t last long, as Lady Clarayne felt her shoulder buckle under the pressure. The Elder found herself falling to the ground as Arlina pushed her enough to make her lose her footing.

“You have truly disappointed me, Elder.” Arlina tsked as she gripped the sword Lady Clarayne had dropped. She couldn’t remember letting go
of the hilt. “It’s rude to excite someone only to crush their hopes soon after. I do hope your comrades prove to be more of a challenge than you have this night.”

Lady Clarayne only glared. She didn’t want her last words to be hateful, even if the woman deserved it.

Before Arlina could swing the sword, the door to the office splintered. Lady Clarayne felt relief once she saw Talisa standing where the door once had. Arlina hissed and ignored the fact that she had a helpless Elder on the ground.

“You again.” Arlina spat.

“Did you really think those fools of yours were going to stop me?” Talisa raised a palm, and Lady Clarayne knew that Arlina could feel the power of the magic Kiare bestowed on her from where she stood. “Step away from Lady Clarayne, and I will consider letting you flee.”

“It’s a shame. Even with all the power at your disposal, you’re still so weak.” Arlina laughed. “Mercy is a wasted sentiment, Talisa. It’s what separates me from the rest of you soft saps. I know to eliminate all those who oppose me, without remorse.”

“Someday, you will understand and appreciate the notion of mercy,” Talisa said, her palm still raised. It faintly glowed blue. “I won’t ask you again, Arlina.”

Arlina raised her arms in defeat and sighed. Lady Clarayne was puzzled; what was the Mistress of Blackwen City plotting?

“I suppose I could let your precious Lady Elder live another day,” Arlina decided, folding her arms and moving away from Lady Clarayne. “I don’t take too kindly to being ordered around though, witch. You’ve already stole the true prize from me, and we all know I could care less for respecting my elders.”

Arlina rushed toward Talisa; they both fell to the ground and grappled with one another. Lady Clarayne couldn’t mistake the smell of burnt flesh as Talisa’s hands glowed a bright blue against Arlina’s skin. Kiare’s power of water represented life; of course it would harm a being who survived on consuming life. Arlina hissed in pain, and Talisa yelped when the Mistress of Blackwen gripped her messy braid, pulled her head back, and sank her elongated eye teeth into the witch’s flesh.

Lady Clarayne tried to move, but her shoulder flared and her legs refused to obey. Talisa kicked Arlina off and immediately put a hand to her now bloodied neck.

“You taste like the goddess you serve, witch,” Arlina said, wiping her lips. “Salty…watered-down…useless.”

“I’m sure Avilyne has her own ideas of how you’d taste once you end up in her hell,” Talisa said through gritted teeth. “I’m sure Kiare would let me join her in watching Avilyne do so.”

Arlina moved to grab Talisa again, but she shifted her movement at the last moment as a beam from the ceiling of the office fell. Flames began to engulf the woodwork and the room. Talisa moved to Lady Clarayne’s side as Arlina cackled.

“While I prefer to deliver the killing blow myself, the idea of you two burning alive is so much more appealing.” Arlina moved away from the two. “If you do live, Talisa, I do hope we get to play again.”

Talisa glared as Arlina disappeared, and Lady Clarayne coughed as the heat and smoke began to overwhelm her.

“Can you move, my lady?” Talisa asked, careful not to move the injured shoulder as she helped pick her up.

Lady Clarayne coughed and weakly nodded. “What of Shadow? And Artemis?”

“Artemis is safe in my cottage. Shadow—” Talisa coughed and looked away from the Elder. “Shadow is safe as well.”

Lady Clarayne knew the statement was false, but was grateful that Talisa thought to soften the blow. She knew her nephew. His honor would have kept him here to aid Ellewynth…and his honor would have him flee to be beside Artemis soon after.

It was going to break her heart to name him a deserter, even though he had stayed behind to fight. The others would not see it as valor; they would call him a traitor because of his running away with Artemis.