Island Shifters: Book 03 - An Oath of the Children (30 page)

“You have made my people
very, very
happy this day,” Hendrix Bane
commented
to their small
circle that
included Beck, Rogan and Janin as well as the three Ellvinian Seconds.

Kiernan sat up straighter, not wishing to appear rude.

“Yes, they do
seem in good spirits,” Beck answered.

“Why shouldn’t they be? You saved
their lives.”
The Premier took a long
draw on the pipe.
“So, what do you do in Massa, Master Atlan?”

“Please, just call me Beck.”

“Very well, Beck.”

“To answer your question, I am a simple man
who enjoys
living a simple life.”

For some reason, Beck indicated on the journey that he did not wish to reveal to the Ellvinians their true status in Massa. She wondered now if her husband
had reason to be
suspicious of them. Kiernan gazed around at the celebrating Elves and did not feel the slightest bit of worry. In fact, the Ellvinians had
done nothing except make them
feel extremely welcome ever since they stepped foot on the island.

The Premier waggled a finger in the air. “Not so simple a man, Beck. Your wife tells me you are a Mage.”

Beck conceded the statement with a small nod.

“Are there other Mages in Massa?” the Premier asked.

Beck shook his head. “No, but I confess to
hoping that one day my sons will
follow in my footsteps.”

Kiernan snorted, but
no one seemed to hear.
Actually, she had no doubt
that
her husband heard, but he
simply
chose not to
acknowledge her. She tried to suppress a second yawn, but was not so successful this time.

“Do not fall asleep just yet, Lady Kiernan,” the Premier chided her. “I have yet
one more
surprise in store for you tonight.”

Inwardly, Kiernan groaned at having to remain at the feast longer, but
forced
a smile on her face for Hendrix.

Beck stood. “It
will
have to wait until morning, Premier Bane. Surely, you can understand how tired we are from the day’s activities.”

Highworld bless that man,
Kiernan
thought to herself and accepted Beck’s outstretched hand to help her to her feet.

Hendrix
stood as well,
waved a
hand
in Beck’s face
and in a singsong voice, said,
“No, no, no.
I’m afraid I must insist,
Beck.”
Hendrix moved closer to
her husband. “You would like nothing more than
to receive
that
surprise right now, wouldn’t
you?”

Beck nodded. “I would like a surprise right now.”

Kiernan
snapped her head up to Beck. It was unlike him to give in so easy.

Anah
turned to Rogan and said, “You wish to call your friends over so they can participate in the surprise
as well.”

She listened
with
even more confusion as
Rogan
opened his mouth in surprise.
“What a lovely song,
Anah!”

Song?

Anah repeated her
request to retrieve Airron and Melania, and Rogan raced off toward the dancers.

Kiernan
was suddenly alert. All was not right, but she did not know why she felt that
way. If she pried apart the conversations,
they
seemed innocuous, but her instincts were telling her something different.

When Rogan returned with Airron and Melania, Hendrix and the Seconds continued
to suggest actions to her friends and they all complied without hesitation while commenting on the beautiful voices of the Ellvinians.

Kiernan had no idea what they were talking about.
She heard no song from the dark Elves’ mouths.
It was the strangest thing.

“Come
along
now!”
Hendrix
intoned and
led
the way
to an unoccupied portion of the beach. His
dress, which
the Ellvinians called a tongor,
billowed
around his ankles as he
strode forward purposefully.

Kiernan threaded her arm through Beck’s and glanced up at his profile, but he seemed as resolute as the Premier and kept his gaze forward as he walked.
Still uneasy, Kiernan just wanted to receive this surprise and then go back to the compound where she could discuss her fears in private with Beck.

The Premier led them off the beach and
onto a
narrow
path
that
cut into a swampy copse of mangroves.

“Not much longer,” Hendrix said and held out his hand, indicating he wanted
Kiernan
and Beck to step into the leafy tunnel ahead of him.
The
walkway through the groves was
quite dry but off to the left and right of their path, Kiernan could
see
the moonlight reflected in water. A skittering sound
drew her
notice
and she
saw
several
crab-like creatures
scrabble down a tree trunk and drop into the water
below.

Strangely enough, she could not shake the feeling that she was walking to her execution.

“Ah, here we are now,”
exclaimed the Premier.

Their party
emerged from the wooded grove and into a circular clearing. Several armed Ellvinians stood around six large stakes sticking up from the ground.
Similar to the ambiance of the feast,
torches on poles
illuminated
the eerie scene.
Beck still
had
not said a word to her and that was making her even more nervous.

The Premier clapped his hands. “If you will all just step up to the stakes, we can begin the surprise.”

Instinctively, Kiernan reached for the sword on her back and her hand came up empty. She no longer carried the sword of Iserlohn. Her son, Kane, carried it now.

The Ellvinians whispered words in the ears of Airron, Rogan, Melania and Janin and they all stepped up laughing to the poles.

“What an unusual party ritual,” Airron commented, but happily stood against his stake.

The Ellvinians asked her and Beck to follow suit, and
Kiernan watched in disbelief as Beck passively did as he was told.

“Come now, Lady Kiernan. You do not wish to spoil the surprise now, do you?”
the Premier challenged.

“What is going on? I am not going to
stand next to a stake in the ground.
What absurdity is this?”

“Just do as they say, Kiernan,” Beck instructed.

“Really? You want me to do this?”

“Yes.”

“Beck! I refuse to—”

“Please.”

Reluctantly, Kiernan
stomped to
the last remaining pole and stood against it.
As soon as she did,
she cried out in pain
as
her arms were wrenched behind her back
and tied around the pole by one of the Ellvinian fighters.

She glared at her husband. “Happy?”

“This is not the time, Kiernan.”

“No? Fine,
then
I’ll wait until they light the
fire under my feet.”

The Elf
behind her yanked the ropes tighter and
she wondered why
her
companions’ demeanors showed none of
the
panic
that gripped her. Airron, Melania, Rogan and Airron simply grinned and Beck, of course, just
wore a stony expression as his
arms were tied.
But, she knew her husband well
and was sure he was
holding something back. But, what?

“Surprise!” Hendrix cackled.

C
HAPTER
23

G
OOSEBERRY

“Rogan,
gooseberry.”

“Gooseberry,” Rogan repeated automatically.

Beck looked at Janin. “Gooseberry.”

“Gooseberry.”

“Airron, gooseberry.”

“Gooseberry.”

Melania said the word without
the prompt.

Beck turned toward
Kiernan.

“Are you serious?” she asked. “You want me to say
gooseberry
?”

Beck chuckled. “I knew you would be the difficult one.”

“Gooseberry!
There, I said it,” she declared petulantly.

Airron looked around at the
armed
Ellvinians. “Am I right in assuming this is no longer a fun surprise?”

“It is not,” Beck confirmed.

“Then, why are we standing here
strapped to stakes?” Rogan demanded.

“The Ellvinians used what they call Ascendency on you. It is a
potent
form of
power of suggestion.”

“So, the Elves
convinced
me that it would be fun to
let them
tie me up and I believed them?”
Rogan asked.

“Basically.”

“Is it magic?”

“No.
I believe this
Ascendency is
extremely effective
in the Ellvinians because of the centuries they have had to perfect it, but it is not magic. Well, not entirely. I think innately, the Elves do have a small amount of inherent magic and this fact contributes to the
strength
of their control, but it is more
of
a learned skill.”

The Premier simply stood and stared at them as Beck spoke.

“What’s with the gooseberry?” Kiernan asked.

“The word was meant to break the hypnotic state the Ellvinians placed you in. Whenever the Ellvinians speak to you, I want you to think of a
bright
green
gooseberry. This will
neutralize their power of suggestion over you.”

“Their power does not work
on me,” Kiernan
stated.

“By the glares you have been giving me, I assumed that was the case.”

“Gooseberry, huh?” Airron mused. “Is it really that simple?”

“Yes, it really is that simple. Think of a gooseberry and the Ellvinians
will
no longer
be able to send you into a hypnotic state and
control your
actions.”

“And, you have known this all along?” Kiernan accused.

He quickly shook his head. “No. Lars Kingsley mentioned a unique timbre to the voices of the Ellvinians and it prompted me to think of Ascendency, but
all
the pieces did not slide together until the feast.”

“If that is the case,
then
why
are we still
strapped to poles? Shouldn’t
we free ourselves?” Rogan asked.

The Ellvinian fighters shuffled their feet nervously.

“Not yet.
I want to have a word with the Premier first.”

Hendrix Bane wore a
confident
smirk on his face. “Your theories are very entertaining, Beck.”

“Now, that we are no longer friends, it is actually
Mage Beck
to you.”

The Premier tapped a finger on his chin. “Ah,
aye, and
while you mention it, that is the
very reason for this little surprise I arranged. So, tell me,
Mage
Beck, is this the extent of your powers? Mind over matter with
a
gooseberry
?”

The Seconds laughed
uneasily.

“The extent of my power?
Good,
Highworld, no. It was just the easiest solution to a problem. You do know what a Mage is, do you not?”

“Only in the form of a Vypir,”
the Premier
commented
snidely and the others laughed once again. Hendrix moved closer
to taunt
them. “What are you going to do? Flop around on the floor like a fish out of water like the
kidnapped
watershifters did before they died?”