Chosen: Book 1 in the Ancients of Light series (40 page)

As she stooped to grab the bands, he could
see her grumbling under her breath so he added, “I am letting you
keep your light magic tonight Kaitriana. Continue with your pout
and I will make you bind that as well.” The movement of her lips
ceased and he was almost pleased, but she ruined her moment of
compliance when Marcus handed her the last band that had fallen
near his feet. Her apology was to poke her tongue out at him after
grabbing the band and adding it to the others on her forearm.
Lorcan hissed through his teeth, “I am most certainly going to beat
that witch.”

Marcus was laughing again though. When she
turned away, his boot left a dustprint on her backside as he
delivered a light kicking shove. Though it had not been more than a
nudge, Kaitriana grimaced and gave him a scathing look before she
resumed her starting place opposite him. Waiting for Lorcan’s
signal to begin, she drew the short sword from her side and let the
blue light pass from her hand down into the strength of the metal
weapon. It glowed from the light and she waggled it menacingly at
Marcus.

Lorcan’s voice interrupted once more, “Does
the word ‘throttle’ hold any meaning for you, Witch?” Heaving a
sigh, Kat pulled the sword back and let it dangle in her fingertips
while she cast her eyes heavenward.

Lorcan gave the signal and watched for the
next five minutes as the two began testing one another for
weakness. The reminder of her power had been good for Marcus; he
was more wary since Lorcan had allowed her to keep an additional
weapon at her disposal. It was always beneficial for his Elite to
face new challenges and he knew few had witnessed the strength of a
Witch with the powers of a Queen.

There were no Witch currently in the Realm
that had been gifted with the strength required to earn the exalted
title save for Kaitriana; Queens had been lacking in the Castes for
centuries. Certain males had risen with great magic, but the Queen
for each Caste had historically exhibited exceptional abilities.
None within the Witch population had yet to achieve powers near the
level of the Ancient Queens and sadly the Castes also currently
lacked any prodigy that appeared extraordinarily gifted. The fact
that his Chosen possessed magic from each Caste did not alleviate
the need for that strength of individual leadership within each
group. At least with Kaitriana the Witch had a glimmer of the
strength that had been absent since the last Queen had been
destroyed.

Growing weary of watching the two dance
around one another, Lorcan caught Sayer’s attention and jerked his
head toward the pair as a signal for him to engage. Until this
night, Lorcan had allowed Kaitriana to fight the soldiers
separately, but since he had given her the boon of magic he
believed she should be pushed harder. At the rate she and Marcus
were progressing, they would all be burned up in the sunrise before
either made injury to the other.

Sayer stepped slowly forward, his kind way of
letting Kaitriana know that he was about to enter the fray. When
she acknowledged him, he gave a nod and shadowed. She knew him well
enough to understand that he would not be overly aggressive with
her and took advantage. Tossing a ball of light at Marcus to get
him off balance, she dove and rolled to the side anticipating that
Sayer would either arrive in the space immediately in front or
behind where she had stood.

Her assessment was proven correct when Sayer
reappeared. Kaitriana smiled brightly up at him in greeting, “You
look so very much like your brother. Tis a shame for you that I am
mightily irked with him.” Before he could react she sent a steam of
light at him strong enough to knock him off the field of
battle.

From her position on her knees, Kaitriana
struck out with a vicious kick to the legs of the other that had
just appeared behind her. As Marcus fell to the compacted dirt, she
spun and followed with a hard blow against the side of his face.
Her blade, lit with magical force, was at his throat when he looked
up.

Sayer was still resting on his butt when
Lorcan stopped next to him to give a hand up, “She is determined
tonight brother. You were a fool to go easy on her.”

The younger flipped him off before dusting
himself clean and nodding his agreement, “Her father was a strong
witch of the Warrior Caste and he trained her well. We all tend to
forget that since she is a young vampire. When she gains the full
use her Vampire abilities and couples that with her Warrior magic,
I doubt there will be any that can take her down.” Lorcan was in
the midst of agreeing with a proud smile until Sayer added, “Even
you.”

Lorcan gave Sayer a hard shove to show his
lack of appreciation for that opinion and grumbled, “Colm,
Broderick, Lucas…perhaps you can maintain your focus long enough to
take the Witch down.”

Kaitriana made a face at Lorcan while Colm
frowned in question, “All three of us, Lorcan? Surely you do not
want the female to fight us together; she has only been training
for a short time.”

Lorcan gave them the same reminder of her
heritage that Sayer had just given him, “She is imbued with the
magic of the Warrior Caste; her father was one of the best and
trained her from birth. Kaitriana is unaccustomed to her Vampire
strength and that makes her awkward now, but it would be fatal to
mistake that for weakness. Allowing her to keep some magic tonight
has obviously returned her confidence. It would serve you well not
to forget the girl’s gifts.” He growled the next, “And to quit
eyeing her
assets
Lucas!”

Lucas, being the most reserved of the Elite,
was mortified by the attention. He only inclined his head stiffly
to acknowledge the order and directed his eyes pointedly away from
the entire group. Kaitriana’s amusement was only increasing his
discomfort and she added in a whisper that was obviously staged
loud enough for them all to hear, “If you dare to shadow behind me
to make a strike, I bet Lorcan will knock you down before I can.”
She had sheathed her sword and was offering Marcus a hand up when
she made the jest.

Marcus grinned as he gained his feet, “You
are a sassy brat, Kaitriana. We should have been harder on you this
week.”

Kaitriana shrugged, delight still lighting
her face as she turned and walked to Lorcan with a cocky swagger.
Leaning up, she cupped his face in one palm and set the other on
his shoulder to steady herself. Undeterred by the stern set of his
features, she bragged, “I won. You should give me a kiss as a
reward.”

His gaze was reproachful and he answered
impassively, “Did you see me kissing any other when they repeatedly
knocked you on your butt this past week?”

Unabashed, she whispered, “Then I guess I
shall have to give you a kiss to celebrate my accomplishment.” She
softly brushed her lips over his. At his lack of response, she gave
his lower lip a hard nip and then drew it in between her own. Her
gaze met his as she teased at his flesh and witnessed the flicker
of darkness he was unable to hide. Just as his hands settled on her
hips, she released him and stepped back. Kat shot him an
impertinent grin and shadowed back to the center of the field
without another word.

The other three approached and she feigned
boredom as she lazily drew designs in the air with the point of a
lit fingertip. Lorcan could only shake his head, more amused than
he was willing to admit over her audacious behavior. She was
cunning enough to make her reminder to them about the power of her
light look like an innocently playful gesture. Her eyes were filled
with shards of glistening blue when she made ready her weapon once
more, indicating that her power was surging.

When Lorcan gave the signal this time, Colm
faked a lunge forward. He immediately swung round with his weapon,
anticipating her attack at his back when she shadowed. Her counters
were amazingly predictable as though being new to shadowing also
limited her creativity.

Surprising two of them this time, she changed
course. She reappeared next to Lucas, whom too had turned his focus
to Colm in anticipation of the blow to be delivered by the leader
of the Elite. It was too late for Broderick’s shout of warning when
she kicked. The force of it knocked the younger one into the
leader. A tangle of limbs and weapons sent both warriors to the
ground, with each sporting superficial injuries from the other’s
blade. Raising her gaze to Lorcan, but keeping Broderick in her
periphery, she pointed to Colm and Lucas as the two attempted to
disentangle from one another, “Their wounds were caused by my
actions, even though given to one another. They are done for this
round, correct?”

At Lorcan’s grudging nod, she gave her full
attention to Broderick along with a dazzling smile, “Just you and
me, Vamptastic.” He gave her a dark look, appearing more irritated
by her games than anything else. She was unaware of the
significance of his actions when his eyes blackened fully and he
merely flicked a hand in her direction. Caught off guard, she was
knocked back on her rear a solid ten feet. Instead of remaining
there with her usual huff of dismay, knowing he would be on her in
a blink with steel to her throat, she did not bother regaining her
feet before she shadowed to the other side of the field.

Broderick did reappear in her former spot,
with blade drawn and grunted in annoyance when he found her gone.
It turned into a loud growl when she delivered a rapid succession
of light orbs to his back. When he shadowed free of the line of
fire, she shouted at Lorcan, “How in the bloody hell did he do
that? He is fully Vampire, there is no Witch power in him.”

Lorcan only laughed over her confusion, “Aye,
but he is an Ancient, with abilities evolved beyond merely strength
and speed. Since you have your magic, Broderick is within his
rights to use those against you.”

Broderick did not bother to acknowledge their
discussion, but kept his dark gaze on Kaitriana while planning his
next strike. She waited to see the movement of his free hand and
was prepared this time. Heaving her sword skyward, she shadowed as
it arced high into the air. The moment’s distraction her flying
weapon caused was enough. Broderick hesitated a second before
turning; guessing she would be at his back or side, he kept an eye
on both locations.

Kaitriana instead reappeared in the spot he
had previously been facing, both daggers drawn and pressed at his
back. Her sword clattered to the ground at his side and she
inquired, “How’d you do that, Vamp?” Broderick turned slowly to
face her, leaning down as though to offer an answer about his
additional talents.

A wicked grin split his lips just as he dealt
a hard blow to her hands, knocking both weapons away from him
before he shadowed. It was his turn to laugh, “Lorcan did not call
an end, Witch. You should pay more attention before you let your
guard down.”

Kaitriana stomped her foot in her irritation
and looked furiously at Lorcan, “I had that round and you both know
it.”

Her mate waved off her complaint, “Not until
I say so, lass.”

Spinning on her heel, she tossed her daggers
to the ground with the flick of a wrist and began tugging the bands
from her arm. Those met the ground with as much care as she strode
from the field. Not sparing a glance for any of them she yelled,
“Piss off. You were all beat.” She sent the last band skittering
towards Lorcan’s feet.

His voice was exceedingly calm when he
ordered, “Hold.”

With glittering eyes, she responded with a
single finger, “Hold this Lorcan. I have been taking their beatings
all week and never issued an objection. I bested them tonight and
you know it. The conceit on this field is nauseating and I am
removing myself from it.”

His anger over her defiance had been stoked
by the rumblings of agreement he had heard from the observers. The
Vampire in his Coven had quickly developed loyalty to the witch and
held a good amount of affection for her. Lorcan shadowed directly
into her path, his eyes smoldering with fury, “I said hold,
Kaitriana! In training, I am the authority.”

Sidestepping she shot back, “And when you use
your authority fairly, I’ll respect it Lorcan. Until then, I will
train with the Warrior Witch rather than you arrogant
jackasses.”

His hand shot out, snaking around her upper
arm to prevent her further steps. He tugged her roughly back
against him and leaned down with an enraged whisper, “And if you
had given me a moment instead of allowing your temper to dictate
your reaction and raise immediate defiance in you – that is a major
flaw for a warrior – you would have heard me tell Broderick to
stand down and declare the victory yours. You must learn to control
all of your emotions in battle Kaitriana. That is as important a
lesson as any I can teach you with weapons. Now you have ruined
your success with your behavior.” Lorcan’s final words were laced
with dangerous authority and no longer whispered for her ears
alone, “Get back on the practice field…now!”

Her face was sullen when she looked up at
him, though Lorcan could not truly tell if she were more upset with
herself or him. Her knee-jerk responses when under the influence of
her emotions needed to be brought under control else she would
place herself in reckless peril in a real engagement. He knew this
well and would need to combat the issue before he would allow her
to enter into a battle again.

In truth he was mightily impressed with her
display of cunning tonight. Lorcan constantly had to remind himself
that his little one was still very young in her immortality and her
experience. Cognizant of it now, he softened the blow a bit, “Go
on. You have bested the Elite tonight and I am proud of you. Sass
your way back out there and give them hell.”

Kaitriana gazed up at him with her
downtrodden expression a moment more before sharing a contrite
smile. She realized he had just given her a boon she did not
deserve in light of her conduct. The warmth coming from the
Warrior’s eyes confirmed that she had in fact pleased him and she
could not resist leaning up to give him a kiss on the cheek.
Tugging her arm free and heading back in the direction of the
field, she sassed him playfully, “You really should not allow your
warriors to cheat. It is unseemly and they should conduct
themselves with honor.” She was surprised that his booming laughter
was immediately behind her; he had fallen into step and was
following her to the field.