Chosen Destiny (2 page)

mingling of the two distinct powers. That had been strange but nothing had ever felt so

right.

She kept the weapons in her hands, not wanting to lose the feel of their weight just

yet. At the door, she awkwardly pulled her seal free of the door using the tips of two

fingers to nudge it loose and stepped out into the hallway as the door swung slowly

shut. There was a slight creaking noise, but the door moved smoothly. She began

walking down the tunnel to the stairs. Her mind was already racing ahead to the battle.

Going up the stairs, she sent a pulse into the stone base and stepped back as it slid over

the opening to the vault.

Now she had to get back to the village. She really didn’t expect to have to hide.

Although the witches who’d chased her probably hadn’t realized the truth yet,

merdanons
would probably be attacking the town before the sun fully set. The village

was small and made the perfect target for the dark sorcerer and his
merdanons
. It was

isolated from the large cities and the aid the people needed. There was another small

village nearby, but it had also been trying to withstand the attacks of the Dark Sorcerer

and couldn’t offer any help. After the battle was finished, she knew she’d have some

decisions to make. She didn’t know if she’d be staying at the village, but part of her had

to know why the elders had questioned her loyalty.

Meagan formed a tunnel and stepped into it. Beams of silver and white streaked

through the blackness surrounding her. The ride felt dizzyingly fast and she had to take

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Chosen Destiny

two extra steps to catch herself. A scream rippled through the air, startling her. She

stepped forward leaving the alley without hesitation. Time to face the
merdanons.

Meagan didn’t have to go far to find one of the Dark Sorcerer’s minions. Pale gray

skin gleamed in the dim light from the moon. She didn’t need to see the vacant black

eyes or the sharp blades at the huge beast’s hands and feet to know what she was

facing. It was impossible to mistake a
merdanon
for anything else. The Dark Sorcerer’s

creations were unique.

She saw the
merdanon
pressing forward, cornering a woman. From her position, she

couldn’t see the woman, but she did see the glow of a light orb. She wasn’t quite sure

what she was supposed to do, but knew she had to help. There hadn’t been any

instructions on how to tap into the power. She tried summoning an energy orb and

directing it through the sword, but the orb just flared around the pommel of the sword

and went into the walls of the building. She tapped the sword against her thigh.

How, by the Lady’s robes, am I supposed to do this?
Power stirred inside her. She froze.

Experimentally she moved the sword from side to side. The energy built traveling

through her to the sword. As she swung the sword, the energy coalesced near the tip

and flew off. The mass of magic hit the
merdanon
. It howled and spun to face her. She

exhaled, a little thankful for the Dark Sorcerer’s lack of effort. It wasn’t shielded. She

whipped the sword back and forth, gathering power. A sizzling white orb flew down

the street and hit the
merdanon
. It toppled to the ground.

Meagan’s eyes met the wide, astonished gaze of Talia Sarash, elder of the sect.

Dressed in a flowing white shirt and gray pants, the elder seemed comfortable in the

casual clothes. The woman’s gray-and-black hair hung wildly about her face. The elder

looked relieved and astonished.

“I wondered where you’d gone. I knew you wouldn’t just leave the village. Even

after the way what should have been a few questions turned into a disaster.” Talia

slowly walked forward.

“My family has defended this village for generations. After it’s safe, I’ll decide what

I’m going to do.” Meagan dropped to a knee and following the pull of the blades, drove

the dagger into the arm of the fallen
merdanon
. The large armor-skinned beast dissolved

into a fine dust as power flowed into her. Her heart raced and she took a few breaths

just trying to get used to the feeling. That was strange and she’d never expected

anything like that.

“We just had some questions, Meagan. There were coincidences and some gossip.”

Talia edged forward. “No one but the elders and you were ever supposed to know

about it.”

“Rumors. I don’t know how I was supposed to have time to contact others, much

less opportunity. I was always scouting and seldom alone.” Meagan shook her head

and rose.

“Well that question is settled now. There’s no way you could hold those weapons

and be in any way evil,” Talia offered with a conciliatory smile.

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Rebecca Airies

Meagan just raised an eyebrow. That was small comfort after being chased by that

mob. She looked down the street, trying to decide which way to go. It probably didn’t

matter much. There’d be
merdanons
on the street no matter which way she went. It was

early in the fight.

“Do you mind if I go with you? I don’t want another incident like what happened

earlier.” Talia met her eyes.

Meagan took a deep breath. As angry as she was, she could still see the sense of the

suggestion. The presence of the elder would stop another attack. Clearing the village

would be hard enough. She didn’t need the hassle of fighting other witches. She

nodded.

“Has there been any sign of dragons or vampires coming to aid in the fight?”

Meagan began to walk slowly down the street.

Talia fell into step beside her. “No, nothing. There hasn’t been any message of any

kind. You didn’t expect there to be any help. You’d have never taken up the weapons if

you had.”

The elder was right. Meagan had held little hope that the vampires or dragons

might make an appearance. She knew that the village was too small, too isolated and

too far away from the dragon and vampire protection to warrant even yearly visits. It

was their absence in the face of the repeated requests for help that concerned her. If

nothing had gotten through the passes, then there should at least be a check by one of

the larger Hanir sects in the city of Amaes.

“Are all the villagers safe?” Meagan asked.

“Yes they’re safe.” Talia’s voice held relief. “When the
merdanons
were spotted, we

began moving the villagers out.”

Meagan felt a little relief, but she didn’t have time to let the feeling settle. Rounding

a corner, she saw two
merdanons
lumbering down the street. Behind them, gaping holes

and crumbling walls marked the beasts’ path.

She took a deep breath. The strange power inside her seemed to swirl inside her,

not building, but staying the same. Her hands tightened around the hilts of her

weapons. A bit of nervousness skimmed through her and her stomach lurched. She

didn’t know how she’d handle two of them. The weapons were so new to her and she

had no idea exactly what she’d be able to do with them. Or how much power she’d be

able to take. The details of her abilities as a
Tiria
were a mystery. She’d never thought

she’d be called to take the weapons or that she’d be able to get to them. She’d always

known that it took more than the right bloodlines to get into one of those chambers.

Fate played a huge part in it.

The
merdanons
advanced closer. She shifted her stance a little wider and pushed

more power into her shields. She didn’t want to chance them coming down when the

merdanons
battered them. Licking her lips, she swung her sword. An orb of light flew off

the tip of the sword. The glowing white-silver ball raced down the street. It flared as it

hit the gray-skinned creation. Both beasts roared and moved toward her. She was just

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Chosen Destiny

glad that there wasn’t a Dark Sorcerer behind them. They’d be much more difficult to

defeat if there were.

If this attack followed the pattern of the other assaults on the small town, there

would be plenty of
merdanons
, but the Dark Sorcerer wouldn’t enter the village walls.

Meagan wondered why the attacks kept happening. The Dark Sorcerer might not have

a reason for one attack, but five meant that this wasn’t random. He had to want

something even if it was just to make them leave the area. The village didn’t have great

wealth and wasn’t well-known as many cities and towns were. Some reason was behind

all of this effort.

Meagan slashed the sword back and forth. The arc of energy hurtled down the

street. It hit the second beast. The gray-skinned being roared. She winced as the loud

noise reverberated in the tight space. Her ears rang. She swung the blade again.

Another ball of magic flew off the tip of the weapon. The orb flared, but this
merdanon

didn’t fall. She cursed under her breath but didn’t feel discouraged. At least the beast

wasn’t shielded.

She slammed another bolt down the street followed by another quick orb. One

merdanon
fell, but the other took two long strides forward. She pushed him back, not

wanting to let him get too close. Even with her shield up, it was dangerous. She’d had

merdanons
throw things at times. Her shield should deflect it but she didn’t want to take

any chances. The Dark Sorcerers were always coming up with new tricks, new ways to

destroy and capture sorceresses. Throwing another bolt, she watched the second

merdanon
fall. She started forward, knowing that she had to go destroy the
merdanon
.

The power still felt too high from the first beast. With these two, she knew the writhing

mass of power would get even worse.

She knelt and drove the blade into the arm of the gray-skinned beast. Her head

tipped back as the power pumped into her while the creature dissolved into a misty

dust. Her hands shook as she moved the few steps closer to the next
merdanon
. She

looked at the wizard’s creation and bit her lip. How was she supposed to handle all this

power? She’d never felt this much magic coursing through her body. That wasn’t all

that worried her. Arousal simmered inside her. The more power she took into her body,

the higher it went, but she couldn’t leave the creature for the Sorcerer. She dipped

down and drove her blade into its arm. When she rose, it felt like every muscle in her

body was quivering with the influx of magic.

“You know I won’t mind if you help a little. We’re going to run into more than a

few of those beasts as we make our way through the village.” Meagan cast the elder a

significant glance.

“I was just enjoying watching the weapons at work. I never thought I’d see a
Tiria
.”

The older woman smiled. “You make it seem so easy to defeat them.”

Meagan resisted the urge to roll her eyes. With the exception of being able to

destroy the
merdanon
and prevent the Dark Sorcerer from using it again, there wasn’t

much difference in dealing with them. She was glad for the extra power, but she really

didn’t know what she was going to do with it. Without a Dark Sorcerer in the village,

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Rebecca Airies

she wouldn’t have call to use it. Not that she was complaining about that. She really

needed time to get used to the power and what the sword could do.

Striding down the street, she saw two people walking toward them. Meagan looked

for a side street. She could still hear the
merdanons
. There was still work to be done.

Chatting wasn’t on her list of things to do until the village was safe. They met the two

women, younger witches in the sect, just before they reached a side street. They looked

from Meagan to the elder and back again.

“Elder, we… Isn’t she a Dark Sorcerer or a spy?”

“No, she isn’t a Dark Sorcerer or spy. Look at the weapons. A
Tiria
can’t be a Dark

Sorceress.” Elder Sarash gestured to the sword and dagger.

Both women’s eyes rounded.

“Spread the word to any witch you meet. Meagan is not a spy and no one is to

attack her. After what happened, we’re lucky she came back to help.” Talia glanced

significantly at the women.

Meagan and Talia took the street to the right and moved on to find other beasts.

The moon was riding high in the sky when the last
merdanon
was killed and destroyed.

Energy zipped inside her and Meagan could hardly stand still. The arousal boiling

inside her had built to a point where she was almost desperate. She took a deep breath.

She wasn’t a slave to her desires. She could handle this arousal without attacking the

first man she met. Even if it did sound like a great idea.

“We have problems, elder. There are holes in the stone wall. We’re going to be

vulnerable tonight if we don’t find some way of sealing the gaps.” Camilla Neshar met

them as they neared the main sect house.

Meagan looked around the area. She could still see the red glow of fire above the

rooftops. It was going to be hard enough just clearing the debris and trying to put the