Kira's Reckoning (14 page)

"You scared us, dearling
," Ronan said as he buried his face in her neck.

"I was scared too
.  Are you both alright?" Kira asked as she looked at Brendan over Ronan's shoulder. 

Brendan
reached over and covered her hand with his own.  "We are fine, sweet.  No worries."

"Are you okay?" Ronan asked with concern as he pulled back from her and began to check her over, running his hands over her body.

Kira pushed at his hands, she didn't want the attention on her when Una was so seriously injured.  "I am fine.  My legs hurt a little, but that can be dealt with later.  We have to see to Una." She took both their hands in hers and they began to head over to join the others.

It took a little longer to get back to the castle, but when they arrived they were met by
Kai who had Tobin and Twila with him.  They quickly moved Una into her room and Vesta went in with the doctor.  The adrenaline Kira had been running on since the battle wore off and she realized she was far more injured than she first thought.  The pain began to take over and she moaned as they entered the drawing room of the castle to wait for news.  That was when Kira's legs would no longer hold her up and the pain overwhelmed her.  She heard her men call out to her as the blackness took over and she fell into oblivion.

Kira woke slowly, not wanting to leave the cocoon she was in
.  She felt nice and warm there, safe from all the evil.  She felt something tickle her nose and she groaned as she tried to roll over.  When she did, she felt a slight pain in her legs and bumped against something solid behind her.  As she felt the tickle again on her chin this time, she slowly opened her eyes and came into contact with green ones filled with humor.

"Good morning, luv
.  How are you feeling?" Ronan's deep voice rumbled. 

"Better
.  What happened? How's Una?" Kira asked.

"She is going to be okay
.  She needs time to heal.  He drained her of her energy," Brendan's voice came from behind her as his arm snaked around her waist.

Kira sat up in between them and said, "Did anyone get a good look at him?"

"No, sweet.  No one did," Brendan answered.

"Dam
mit, we were so close.  I almost had him," Kira said.

"You and
Vesta hurt him," Ronan told her.  "Tell us what happened."

Kira told them the whole story from being on the balcony talking to Breena until they all were together in the woods
.  The men asked questions in between but for the most part let her tell her story.  When she was finished, she sighed and said, "I just wish I had seen him.  I hope I marked him in some way.  Then we will be able to tell who he is."

"Everyone here was in some type of fight
.  There were men that attacked here at the castle.  We suspect now that it was to distract us here so he could get his hands on you," Ronan told her.

"Luckily
Eragon arrived back with his men and we were able to come to you," Brendan added.

Kira thought for a moment and said, "Was there anyone here at the castle
who was not in on the fights?"

"Not that we know of but we can ask
Kai.  Vesta is taking care of Una as the Council doesn't trust anyone else right now.  They have also banned all visitors for now as well," Ronan said.

"Wow
," Kira said.  "That is good.  The battle lines have been drawn and it seems the threat is not just against my family."

"Speaking of your family, you need to call them
," Brendan told her.  "They are concerned about you."

"Did you call them and tell them what happened?" Kira demanded.

"No, luv, you were supposed to call them last night, remember?" Ronan said calmly.

Kira sighed
.  "I forgot about that.  I did promise them an update.  Damn.  Are they freaking out?"

"Not a lot
.  I think we reassured them enough but they want to hear from you," Brendan said with amusement in his voice.

Kira groaned
.  "Okay.  I will call them as soon as I have a shower."

"You go have a nice, hot shower and we will get you some food
," Ronan suggested. 

"Oh, that sounds great
," Kira moaned.

As Ronan sat up to go, he leaned over and kissed her tenderly
.  "Don't do that again, Kira," he said seriously.  "We need you.  You are ours and we love you."

Kira got tears in her eyes as
Brendan turned her to look at him so he could kiss her softly.  "We love you very much and never want to lose you."

Kira looked at both of them and said, "I love you both too, so much."

"Good.  Now, go shower and we will get the food," Ronan said gruffly.  He wanted to get out of the bed before he ravaged her and good. He knew she wasn't physically ready for that yet with all she had been through.  He saw that Brendan felt the same way as he quickly began to dress and head out to call for the food.

Kira got out of bed, naked
, and Ronan groaned.  She walked slowly to the bathroom, swaying her hips enticingly and Ronan thought he was going to explode.  He was so hard he could pound nails.  He closed his eyes and tried to think about anything else to no avail.  With a frustrated sigh, he began to dress.

Kira took a nice, long shower, checking over her legs for damage
.  There were a few scrapes on her body but for the most part she was healed.  She knew she had Vesta to thank.  She could still feel the healing tingle of Vesta's magick. 

When she emerged from the bathroom, she dressed and
Brendan brought her cell phone in.  "Call them," he said with a pointed look and Kira stuck her tongue out at him.  He left with a promise to get her later and a laugh.

She called home and when Calli answered, she put her on speaker so everyone could hear her
.  She told them the story of what happened from beginning to end, assuring them that she was fine.  They pelted her with questions and she tried to answer all of them. 

"Well at least we know it's a 'him' now and we can be on the lookout
," Sheela said. 

"We will fill in Ari and the guys when they get here tonight
.  She is gonna be pissed," Erin told Kira.  "Don't worry, we will get her mostly calm by the time you return."

Kira laughed
.  "Thank you ever so much, sis.  Are you guys okay there?"

"We are more than fine here, you worry about you
," her grandmother answered.

"Okay
.  We will be back soon.  I just want to finish going over the grimoires.  This isn't over with yet and I want to make sure that our bases are covered here," Kira told them.  "Hey, Erin, pick up a minute.  I need to ask you something."

Everyone said their goodbyes and Erin picked up, taking her off speaker
.  "What's up, Kira? Everything is okay, right?"

"Yes, here it's fine
," Kira said.  "How is Calli? Have the doctors found anything more?"

"No, honey, nothing yet
.  She is fine for now, no more episodes," Erin assured her.

"Okay
.  Call me if anything happens, promise?" Kira asked. 

"I promise
.  Don't worry," Erin said. 

Kira sighed
.  "Okay.  See you soon.  Love you."

"Love you too, little sis
.  Be safe, no more battles without us, okay?" Erin said firmly.

Kira laughed
.  "I'll try." They hung up and Kira closed her eyes to say a little prayer for Calli and her family in general.

When she headed out into the main room, s
he saw Donald had joined them and went over to hug the bear of a man.  "Donald, how are you?" she asked when he released her.

"I am fine, lass
.  The question is, how are you feelin'? You are the one who was in the mighty battle," Donald said.

Kira waved her hand like it was nothing
.  "No, I'm fine.  Just a little sore."

"I'm glad it was nothing more serious
," Donald told her.  "I just came by to fill the lads in on the happenings in the castle."

"And they are?" Kira inquired.

Donald laughed.  "Well, Una will be fine after a fashion.  The trainees had no luck in catching any of those scourges and the remaining Council members would like to meet with you when you are up to it."

"Of course
.  We can go now," Kira offered.

"Ah, no, we cannot
," Ronan said firmly.

Brendan
pulled her over to the table and sat her down.  "You will eat first."

Kira
grumbled but picked up her coffee cup Brendan filled for her and drank.  Ronan began to take the lids off the plates on the table.  They had ordered several different foods for her to choose from.  Once she did choose what she wanted, they dug in to the rest, along with Donald.  The conversation was kept light until brunch was done then Kira looked at her men and said, "We should go see the Council now."

****
*

They entered the Council's chamber behind Tobin who had been so bold as to give Kira a hug when he saw her
.  Kira saw that Eragon was present this time and she discreetly checked him out.  He was, of course, short due to his elven status but he was also stout and very handsome in his own right.  When they approached, she caught Vesta's eye and Vesta winked at her.  Kira grinned as they took a seat on the visitor couch once again.

"Kira, you are well?"
Vesta asked. 

"Yes, thank you
.  How is Una?" Kira responded.

Kai
sat forward and said, "She will be well.  She is regaining her strength."

"I'm glad
.  Please give her my best," Kira told him.

Kai
inclined his head.  "I will do so."

"Kira, were you able to ascertain who it was that was attacking?"
Eragon asked her.

"Kira, this rude man who has not identified himself, is of course
Eragon, Leader of the Elven Clan," Vesta said with a pointed look at Eragon.

Eragon
cleared his throat.  "Well, yes, is it a pleasure to meet you, Kira.  Do you know who it was?"

Kira smiled
.  "No, sir, I don't.  I wasn't able to see him.  It was too dark."

"I see
," Eragon said.  "Nothing struck you as familiar?"

"No, sir
," Kira answered. 

"If you have no further questions, Kira and I still have
work to do in the library," Vesta said and when no one objected, she stood, indicating the meeting was over.

Ronan and
Brendan looked ready to protest but Kira cut them off by saying, "The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go home."

The men still grumbled but finally agreed with her and told her they were going to work out with the trainees
.  They also said they were going to question them to see if anyone saw anything that could help them.

Kira and
Vesta worked together in the library, taking more breaks than Kira thought necessary.  Vesta insisted and Tobin brought in many snacks.  Kira appreciated that her new friends worried about her and tried to take care of her.  She knew she would miss them when she left to go home but she would cherish this time with them.

Afterward, she went with to Una's suite
at Vesta's request.  Kira was happy to see Una who was sitting up in her living area of her suite.  "How are you, Una?" Kira asked as they entered.

"I am well, Kira." Una answered
.  "I am happy you could come today.  I wanted to thank you for your help."

Kira blushed
.  "Well it was Vesta that saved us all."

Vesta
laughed and said, "I don't think so, it was our combined power."

They settled in and chatted about
the battle as well as what they had found in the library.  In the end, Kira hugged Una and Vesta, thanking them for lunch as she left.  She had to go and see the Green Man to assure herself that everything was okay in the forest. 

As she headed out, she found Ronan and
Brendan to let them know where she was headed.  Of course they insisted on going with her and she was fine with that.  They entered into the deeper into the woods, she called out to Breena, who appeared as if out of nowhere. 

"Greetings, Kira
.  I am so happy to see you are well," Breena greeted her.

"Breena, I wish I could hug you
.  Thank you for your help yesterday," Kira said to her.

Breena laughed a tinkling laugh
.  "I will always be there for you.  Now come, he is eager to see you."

They followed Breena to the large Oak and Breena called to the Green Man
.  When he appeared, Kira cold swear he looked relieved when he saw her.  She smiled at him as they all greeted each other. 

"Kira, we are all relieved to know you are okay
," the Green Man told her.

"Thank you
.  I am too." Kira laughed.  "Can you tell me, did anyone in the forest see anything that might help us find out who it was?"

"Sadly no, but his magick was powerful
, which means he must be a high level warlock," the Green Man answered. 

"Really?
That helps," Kira said.

"We need to speak to
Kai about this," Ronan said.

Brendan
stepped up.  "Do you sense residual magick of his anywhere?" he asked the Green Man.

"Yes
.  In the woods where he first attacked Kira.  She dealt him a strong blow there with Vesta and his signature lingers," the Green Man answered. 

"Thank you
," Brendan said as he turned to Kira and Ronan.  "I am going to find Kai and check it out now.  I will meet you all back at the dining hall for dinner."

Kira kissed him goodbye and then turned back to the tree
.  "Kira, you seem saddened.  Is something wrong? Is it the battle, did it harm you?" the Green Man asked her with concern.