Chosen: Book 1 in the Ancients of Light series (30 page)

Lorcan took a threatening step forward, his
voice raised for all within range, “You do not
have
Laverock, it belongs to
me
, Kaitriana. As I told you at the beginning of this
night, you need to leave the place as does your kinfolk.”

She merely took another step back and nodded
to Kendrick, “Take our warriors home, Kendrick. I will return
shortly.”

The male witch stepped away, assessing the
situation to be beyond his skills of diplomacy. He paused to
exchange hushed words with the few that had gathered and then
proceeded into the interior of the keep. The others exited to
spread the order to those remaining on the grounds.

Taking a deep breath Kaitriana held up a hand
to Lorcan, in part to ward him off, in part supplication. The edge
left her tone, “Lorcan, be reasonable. Laverock is an heirloom of
the Witch; it belonged to the Warrior Caste before your father
forbade their presence. It should be returned to them.” Her voice
turned beseeching, “Lorcan, it will help reunite our breeds. Please
let them remain.”

Lorcan roared furiously, “That is the
problem, Kaitriana! You did not have enough respect to plead for
its return
before
you made the decision to
return it. You act without thinking. You have the nerve to call me
arrogant?” He laughed humorlessly, his eyes narrowing on her, “You
truly desire neither my forgiveness nor my permission, because you
have already determined that your actions are just. You only want
my compliance.”

He closed the gap between them so quickly
that it left her only to gasp as he gripped her neck again between
hard fingers. The pressure was enough to cause her to flinch when
he pinched her scar. He adopted a tone of icy indifference, “If you
allow the Witch to return to Laverock, do not come back to my coven
Kaitriana. I will no longer tolerate either your insubordination or
your immaturity.” He shoved away from her and turned his back, “And
if you allow the Witch to return there, do not be surprised when my
warriors show up to remove you by force.”

When he turned back to face her, she was
gone, having shadowed away during his rant. He did not know if she
had even heard his warning. The impact of her leaving washed over
him, devastation etched on his face. Lorcan assumed the girl’s
abrupt exit was her answer and the grief of it was enough to
overwhelm his fury. Woodenly he turned and called to his men,
giving them their orders. He waited until Broderick returned to
take up residence, having resolved during that period that he would
be best served to count his blessings over the loss of the foolish
female. That resolution still warred strongly with the heavy ache
in his chest when he finally was able to leave for Breslein.

CHAPTER 27

The celebration in the hall below was already
in full swing, the sounds of revelry and drunken witches rang off
the stone walls. The sun would begin climbing in a few hours, but
with the vampires notably absent it mattered not. Kat quietly
exited her chambers in a full ballgown of black satin, warpaint and
all trappings of combat removed. Pulling the door quietly, she
turned and almost smacked her face against the shoulder of her
grandfather. Myrrdyn peered down at her with a dour expression
before shaking a long finger under her nose, “Kaitriana, your
behavior tonight was unacceptable!”

She took a few quick steps back, but he did
not pause in his tirade, “You are supposed to be encouraging Lorcan
to his path, but instead you thwart him at every opportunity. Your
conduct has insulted a great number of the Vampire. If Alaric’s
words of hate were not enough to instill incurable animosity
towards the Witch, your deeds may well be. I am not pleased with
you, child.”

Her eyes had initially widened in surprise
over the voracity of his rant, but by the end she was looking
thoroughly ashamed and positively contrite. Kaitriana whispered
with tears filling her eyes, “I know, Grandpapa.” With her head
hanging low she pushed the door to her chamber open and stepped
back inside. Once the Ancient followed, she nudged it closed and
dropped unhappily to the edge of her bed. Glancing up at him, a few
tears escaped. Her arrogance and temper had put her in the position
of bearing the wrath of the two men she adored most in the
Realm.

Myrrdyn almost took pity; it was obvious his
precious girl was miserable. He had done her a disservice by
instilling her with his unabashed pride rather than his skills at
diplomacy. It needed to be rectified. Shaking his finger at her
again, his words were deliberately harsh, “If you continue with
your unbridled ego and conceit, you will be solely responsible for
obliterating the Prophecy. Your failure will ultimately doom the
Light.”

Pleased with her look of alarm, he was
unrelenting, “You were wrong to invite the Witch to Laverock; it
was not your right. Lorcan is the heir and if he chooses to allow
Alaric to forbid our presence, it is his edict and you must obey
it!”

Though she offered the appearance of
meekness, her words still held a bit of challenge, “
You
put me here for five hundred years, why would I
think it was not permissible to return?”

The anger snapping in his eyes had her biting
at her lip and regretting her response when he launched another
lecture, “I put you here for safety only, Kaitriana. That does not
translate into permission for you to invite the entire Faction to
join you.” He was frowning when he muttered, “I think your
arrogance surpasses even mine, young lady.”

She returned his frown equally, “You are the
most powerful Seer in the Realm, Grandpapa. Could you not have
foreseen this and advised me of the pitfalls instead of allowing me
to plunge enthusiastically into this debacle?”

Shaking his head at her, he gave a mighty
sigh, “No, Kaitriana, because then you would just be doing as I
instructed and you would never realize the impact of your own
actions. You must reap the learning that comes from your mistakes.
Finding your own way, no matter the obstacles, is critical.
Humility will not come to you if you are never forced to own your
failures.”

Myrrdyn gave her a penetrating stare, “If I
tell you to submit to Lorcan and you are incapable of seeing the
need for such…if you do it
only
because I
direct you to…then your actions are devoid of sincerity.”

Picking at a non-existent thread on her
skirts, Kaitriana merely nodded. She was mulling over his words and
inwardly cringing at his lecture. Her grandpapa would not take her
to task if she had not made a serious misstep. Sighing, she finally
lifted her gaze to his, “How do I fix this? Lorcan will likely not
let me within his gates much less listen to any explanation I might
offer.”

Myrrdyn rolled his eyes, exasperated, “Your
excuses
are not what is needed, your
heartfelt apology is. Do not offer him the words if you cannot see
the rightness of it, Kaitriana. Be genuine or leave it as it is,
lest you do further damage. If your intent is to request
forgiveness, you need remove the Witch from Laverock first.”

He clasped her hand in his before he imparted
the next bit, “I will tell you this much. You need to surrender
your leadership, your ultimate authority over the Witch, to Lorcan.
Your submission to Lorcan’s rule over the Realm is necessary.”

Kaitriana was aghast. She could not fathom
that Myrrdyn would suggest the subjugation of the Witch to the
Vampire. Her tone was incredulous when she finally found the words,
“But
we
are the beginning of the Light;
the Vampire were spawned in Hell. Our very origins dictate the
proper order of rule.” She was certain, adding, “None of the
Leaders will agree to give
them
authority
in the Realm.”

Dismissing her words with the wave of his
hand, he gave her a reproving look, “We are not submitting to the
Vampire, Kaitriana, we are submitting to Lorcan. However, none of
us can continue to think of the Vampire as less than the Witch. We
are not supreme because we were the first of the Light. We were
imbued with our purpose at Creation. If anything, it says more of
the character of the Vampire that joined us of their own volition
because they discovered the Light despite their ingrained
disposition for evil. The Vampire of the Light are not lesser, they
may in fact be more.”

As she gazed up at him, Myrrdyn could see the
thoughts were warring with her long held beliefs. Shaking his head
wearily, he sighed again, “You are the Chosen and you are now also
of the Vampire. What does that tell you, Kaitriana? Who first
controlled the Light is not relevant; who can now best guide the
Light to victory is. The strongest and most capable must lead.
Lorcan is our champion and it is your
duty
to bring the Witch to him.”

Standing, she nodded to him and smoothed her
hands over her skirts with a heavy sigh, “I will try
Grandpapa.”

The shaking finger was once more presented
under her nose, his eyes roiling with anger, “You will do more than
try, child. You will do this tonight! You will go to Lorcan’s Coven
and present yourself and the vow of allegiance and fealty on behalf
of all of the Witch in the presence of both factions. You will
submit yourself and these Castes to his rule without delay.”

“How am I to sway the Witch, to convince them
that this is the best course?” when she looked at him in question,
Myrrdyn offered her only a scowl. Biting at her lip, she rubbed
tears from her cheeks, “You think they will support me in this?
Abide by my decision?”

His words were biting, “Is
this
your decision?” Her eyes had already given him
that answer but he waited for her nod of affirmation. Relenting
somewhat then, he gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, “You have
an ally amongst the Leaders and you will have me there to lend my
support. You are the Chosen so it is up to you to deliver the words
that will cause them to follow you.”

Cocking her head at him, she asked simply,
“Who among them is my ally?”

With a mysterious smile he gave her a nudge
towards the door, “The one you least expect, dear.”

Looking back over her shoulder she allowed
him to continue prodding her along, but her expression soured, “You
cannot mean…”

Myrrdyn nodded and gave her a wink as he
closed the door to her rooms behind them, “He is a powerful Witch,
Kaitriana. You find him overbearing, but he is very astute, as wise
as he is shrewd. If Kendrick is not careful, Caedmon will easily
usurp him in the unofficial leadership of the Castes. Many find him
to be coldblooded, but he understands the workings of the Realm
better than most. He also has already discerned that the demise of
the Darks will come only through Lorcan’s leadership. I have no
doubt that you will discover you have his support tonight.”

Rolling her eyes, she made a face, “I would
rather have the support of one that I find less offensive.”

Myrrdyn only chuckled. He liked Caedmon,
seeing a strength of character in the younger male that reminded
him much of himself in his ancient beginnings.

Kaitriana paused on the staircase overlooking
the hall and the celebration that was continuing below, wistful, “I
hate to make them leave Grandpapa, this is their home.”

His arm slipped around her shoulders as he
guided her on down the steps. Myrrdyn did not answer until they
reached the bottom and began heading toward the clustered group of
Leaders, “It is what must be for now, Kaitriana. You must compose
yourself and present the face of confidence to them. If you show
reluctance or hesitance in this, they will oppose you.”

At her nod, he gave her shoulders a final
squeeze. Dropping his arm, he slowed his approach to lag a few
steps behind her. She schooled her face serenely and offered a
smile to the group as they turned to her. Their warm regard for her
was easily seen. Their Chosen had delivered on her promise to begin
taking the Realm back from the grip of the Darks and had done so
with amazing success.

She stopped next to Kendrick, directly
opposite Caedmon in the circle. Her eyes clashed challengingly with
the cocky green-eyed male for a brief second before she looked away
to the others, “I believe that I am responsible for a serious
misstep within our faction tonight. I should not have flaunted our
possession of Laverock to the Vampire. In doing so, I have placed
our ability to enter into a newfound alliance with them in
jeopardy.”

Kaitriana was amazed when she saw a number of
the more elder leaders nodding in agreement to her words, so she
continued boldly, “Lorcan is the Warrior of Light, equally Witch
and Vampire. He is also a far more experienced leader than I and
that, coupled with his ancient origins, make him more than my
equal. I might not have been able to deliver on my promise of
success were it not for him lending his support to our mission this
night. We need his leadership and in order for that to happen he
will require our abiding allegiance.”

As the direction of her conversation was
becoming clear, a few less were openly giving their support, “I
intend to turn Laverock back over to Lorcan shortly. We will need
to vacate the castle once again and we will not return unless we
are invited.” Caedmon caught her eye and winked, flashing a grin at
her. The distraction caused her to falter for a moment before she
said resolutely, “I intend to go to Breslein tonight and offer my
pledge of fealty to Lorcan.”

Those words brought immediate and varying
responses from the group. She quickly brushed them off, “I hope
that you will all see the wisdom in this and join me but the choice
is yours. Lorcan should be the leader in this war against the Dark.
He is the best suited and the most skilled and he will undoubtedly
lead us to victory if I give him my support. The Prophecy must be
fulfilled and the breeds must be reunited. Only Lorcan can bring
the Vampire to come together with us again, I cannot do it without
him. I do not want to
try
to do it without
him because I will be dooming us to failure if I arrogantly ignore
these truths.”