Destiny (The Chosen One Trilogy:Book Three) (41 page)

“If you’re by the gates, Ternach, move away.”
I flicked my wrist around the deepest red I had then amplified the
fireball. Damian looked at me from on the back of a chestnut winged
one, his fireball ready as well. “Here goes nothing.” We threw the
fireballs then pushed them with our nudges. The gates smashed into
bits of burning wood. Bryenk flew past us, a wave of water
following behind him. He threw the water at the gate and put the
fire out. Everyone behind us screamed, howled, or roared and we
flew through the gates.

Damian and I threw our nudges as we crossed
the humans’ threshold. I watched as the humans who had been running
to stop us flew backwards. I felt the tingle of magic and looked up
to see the Burries dropping their dust. The one over me nodded and
flashed a grin full of pointy teeth.

Hayden, left!

I looked down in time to see a tiger leaping
at me. It wasn’t glowing. I grabbed a silver wave and knocked it to
the ground. I looked up in time to see a leopard launching itself
at us. Jasper collided with it.

I didn’t have time to see what was happening
with him. Dodge spun and knocked a human down with his wing.

Pay attention!
He barked at me.

“Sorry.” I took a deep breath and tried to
ignore the urge to look around and see how my friends were doing. I
saw the next attack coming and sliced my sword across the blond
man’s chest before he could get close enough to pull me off. “On
the plus side, they’re trying to catch me alive.” That meant less
weapons aimed at me.

Dodge’s ears flicked backwards and I braced
myself, ready for him to kick whoever was trying to sneak up on us.
I heard a sickly wheeze as his hooves connected. I turned at the
sound of a yelp coming from my right and saw Danny fall under a
tiger. I kicked Dodge in that direction and stabbed the cat as we
ran by. The fox pulled himself out from under it, gave a nod in our
direction, and turned to take on his next opponent.

“Where’s Braw, Ternach?” I raised my sword to
block the dagger that was aimed at Dodge’s shoulder.

He grunted.
Like I’m going to tell you.
He’s by my side, though not too close should he decide to destroy
me. Are you staying safe, my love?

It was my turn to grunt. “I’m in the middle
of battle. What part of that seems even remotely safe to you?” I
turned to look west where cries of surprise were shouted out as the
Faelies and Winged Ones came flying down the mountain side. To the
north, the sound of battle cries and metal on metal rang. Melana
was getting closer to our ranks.

Parker leapt past me and took a wolf by the
throat.

“Hayden, watch out!” Phlann started to run
toward us. I looked back and ducked. Dodge fell to his knees to
avoid being decapitated. Phlann’s broad sword deflected the next
attempt on our life. The human screamed as his arm was severed at
the shoulder. Dodge fell to his side and I rolled away from him
before running back to his side.

“Dodge!”

He grunted.
Bastard got me in the leg. I
think it’s broken.
He tried to get up.

“Sit still! I’ll heal it.” I looked up and
scrambled backwards as a fox leapt at me. I managed to grab a grey
wave and blew him away. Phlann grunted with the effort of taking on
two humans at once. He pushed them both back before glancing back
at us. I stood and squared off with my own opponent. The woman’s
eyes widened as I picked a red wave. She ran before I could throw
it.

You can’t take the time to heal me, Hayden.
It’s too dangerous.

“I can’t just leave you here!” Tears blurred
my vision and I wiped them away with my arm.

Phlann!

The Scannove made his way closer to us.

Take her to Braw!

“No! I’m not abandoning you!”

My horse stumbled clumsily to his feet, his
right foreleg held off the ground. I pushed away a blond man who
thought to capture me. He fell backwards and screamed as Jasper’s
jaws locked on his throat.

My mate shifted. “What’s wrong?”

“Dodge broke his leg!”

Jasper swore under his breath. “Can you
fly?”

Dodge nodded. He grunted and managed to take
to the air, heading back toward the woods where we had hidden.
Jasper ducked and plunged his dagger into a black haired man’s
chest. I heard a wail and looked up to see Marianne sitting with
Rodney’s head in her lap. Her eyes met mine and my heart dropped in
my chest. Matthew roared and knocked a man off of Emelly. Alex and
Leslie stood back to back, keeping the humans away from each other.
Luke, Kacey, and Mel were surrounded by five big cats. I looked
around at all of my friends, most of them injured, and despair
started to sink in. What had I been thinking? Had I really thought
this would work?

Jasper hissed as a dagger slid across his
thigh. He shifted and sank his teeth into the human. Damian managed
to make his way to us. He kicked the man he’d just thrown to the
ground in the head and turned to me.

“Hayden?”

Jasper shifted back and took my arm. I looked
up at him, dazed, and noticed that his nose was broken. The anger
started as a small spark in the pit of my stomach. I glanced around
again at all of the death around us and the spark flared. My mate
nodded and boosted me onto Phlann.

“I have to get to that staff, Phlann!”

He nodded, took a deep breath then charged
deeper into the bodies fighting in front of us. The muscles in his
back and shoulders stood out as he swung his swords, clearing a
path. Jasper and Damian followed along. I looked up and saw where I
had been held captive. I pointed to the right.

“That way!” I was sure that Braw would be in
the courtyard he used to separate the shifters. Phlann jumped
sideways to avoid a sword and I dug a heel into his side to stay
on. He grunted.

“Sorry.”

“No worries, Hayden.” For a quick instant I
had a flashback of the young Phlann who’d just turned of age when I
had first crossed over. I focused on the present. I noticed that
the closer we got to the courtyard, the less resistance we were
encountering. I started to grow uneasy. I supposed it made sense;
Braw wanted to get me to the staff.

Phlann slid his sword across the last human
that stood between us and our destination then stopped short when
we entered the courtyard. Jasper growled. Braw had ten shifters
tied to the posts on the stage. My heart jumped in my chest. Of the
ten I recognized one; Marilynn’s limp form hung unconscious. The
only thing holding her up was the rope that held her to the wooden
stake. Braw stood in the middle of the courtyard surrounded by five
beings. He still looked like someone’s hippy grandpa. His long
silver hair was tied back with a leather string. He held the staff
like a weapon, ready to swing it if needed. Ternach sat on the
stage, well away from the staff.

Brice looked up as we entered and his blue
green eyes locked with mine. I fought the urge to cry. His dirty
blond hair was long, past his shoulders and all he was wearing was
a pair of ripped pants. He was covered in scars and he’d obviously
been starved. He flashed me the grin I’d been sure I’d never see
again and turned his attention back to Braw. Steven threw himself
at the human dictator. Braw swung his staff and caught him on the
head then pulled it back and aimed for Brice. My friend rolled away
from the blow and stood, ready for whatever happened next. Braw
held the staff by the end and took a few steps toward Kacey who
jumped back. Brice tensed, ready to interfere.

“Brice!” Jasper threw something as hard as he
could. Brice’s eyes widened and he jumped forward, caught his
stone, shifted in midair and tackled Braw. The old man fell under
the jaguar with a cry. I could hear Melana’s packs just on the
other side of the courtyard, but there was no way for them to reach
us from where they were. Brice grunted and shifted back so he could
put pressure on the cut Braw had inflicted on his thigh.

Braw stood and looked at me. “Hayden, dear. I
knew we’d meet again.”

I grunted. “I see you’re still as delusional
as the last time I saw you.”

He smiled. “Hayden, now how can a woman of
your experience think that I am delusional? You were raised there.
How can any of this seem right to you?”

“It’s not my place to say whether or not this
is right. If it exists then obviously there’s a reason for it. How
old were you when you crossed, Braw?”

He frowned. “Why do you care?”

I shrugged. “Call it curiosity.”

“I was ten when I crossed. That was sixty
years ago.”

“Is your name really Braw?” Under my breath I
asked, “Are you bound to protect Braw?”

Ternach shook his head.

“Micheal.” Braw seemed to have trouble saying
his own name. “Mike Brawnson.”

I smiled. “I’ve always liked the name
Micheal.” I mumbled the next line. “I’m just going for Braw for
now. We’ll figure out the staff thing after.”

Ternach nodded.

“So why do you hate shifters so much,
Mike?”

He eyed my friends warily. “You can’t
honestly believe that what they can do is normal, Hayden,
dear.”

“Actually, I do.” I swung off of Phann and
took a step toward him. “Maybe if you took the time to get to know
a couple you’d find they’re not as bad as you thought.”

He shook his head and swung the staff back
toward Kendall who had been sneaking up on him. My friend stumbled
back, the staff narrowly missing him. I looked at Damian and
whispered, “Where’s Rainen?”

He shrugged.

I took a deep breath. “Nudge on three?” Here
was hoping two of us were going to be enough.

He nodded. I tapped out the countdown with my
foot. On three we each pushed out as hard as we could toward Braw
who slammed the staff into the ground in front of him. He cried out
but seemed to be shielded from most of the blast. We repeated the
process and this time, Braw fell to the ground. He stood
shakily.

“Hayden, dear, you’re making a mistake.” He
slammed the staff down again, this time the top of it aimed at us.
I felt the nudge slam into me and fell to the ground. Damian
screamed. I scrambled to my feet.

“No, I’m not. Shifters aren’t evil, Braw. If
anyone around here is evil, it’s you.” I saw Rainen running into
the courtyard. Damian stood and the three of us faced the staff.
The two of them pushed their nudges and I pulled them into mine
before pushing them out again. Braw was slammed into the ground,
his staff falling limply beside him. Brice walked to his side and
checked him for signs of life. He shook his head.

The sounds of fighting made their way to us
as humans and shifters alike made their way into the courtyard. One
human managed to make it to me and I pulled my swords in time to
block his dagger. I stabbed upward and was sprayed with blood as
his throat slit open. I turned and kicked another in the groin.
Jasper fell under two of them but managed to get his boot knife out
and took care of them before he was severely injured. I looked
around for the Maj sorcerers to make sure they were alright. It had
only taken three hits of energy, but I was already feeling spent
from the effort of fighting Braw. Rainen was shifted and snarling
at a blond man. Damian’s opponent moved backward closer to where
Braw lay.

“Damian!” I watched as the seemingly dead
Braw swung the staff with the last of his strength and touched it
to the Maj’s shoulder. Damian dropped to his knees screaming. My
heart jumped in my throat and I tried to fight my way toward him.
Everyone, shifter and human alike, cringed at the ripping sound as
Damian and his wolf were torn apart. I got a quick glimpse of the
sorcerer’s bloodied face before both of them slumped to the
ground.

“No!” I stabbed up with my dagger and felt it
tear through skin. My waves were so bright I could barely see
through them. The staff’s energy started a tremor deep inside of me
and suddenly I knew what I had to do. The only way to win this war
would be to fight evil with evil. Another tremor rushed through me
and I looked back at Jasper.

“A shlova yan.” I said it too quietly for him
to hear, but knew he’d read my lips.

His blue eyes widened and the blood rushed
out of his face. I turned and started running toward the staff.

*****

“Hayden! Watch out!” He watched as Ternach
pushed a nudge in her direction. She stopped short, like she had
hit a wall. She frowned and put a hand forward, then glared at
Ternach. He shrugged.

“Damn it, Ternach!” She spun around and
slashed at a human who thought to take her by surprise. Jasper made
to run to her side to help but found an invisible wall in front of
him as well.

“Ternach! Let me go so I can help her!”

I’m not going to live feeling what she
feels because you were stupid enough to touch that staff.
He
looked toward Hayden and pushed another nudge in her direction.
Jasper saw the two humans squaring off with her fall to the
ground.

Hayden spun around and glared at him. “Whose
side are you on?”

Yours, my love. I just can’t let you near
that staff or I’ll have to kill you.

Jasper watched as Hayden pushed out her nudge
as hard as she could. Everyone standing around her fell to the
ground. Ternach stumbled back then brought his hand up to push
against her nudge once again. Hayden beat him to it and her energy
sent him flying onto his back. He sat up, dazed, and watched as she
started running toward the staff.

Jasper was stuck in place. He willed his legs
to move and growled in frustration. Ternach’s eyes met his.

“Stop her! If you insist on keeping me here
then you stop her!” He thought he yelled it but maybe he’d just
thought it. Either way, the white green eyes widened. Ternach
stumbled to his feet, jumped over the men lying on the ground and
launched himself at Hayden.