Shift (31 page)

When she next looked up, she found herself surrounded by Mercesti. Derian was the only one who dared to approach her.

“I told ye not to shift,” he said.

She licked blood from her muzzle.

“Right.” He looked down at what was left of Bertram’s form. “Guess ye had the right of it then.”

The sun just started lightening the sky as Quincy laid eyes on Hoygul’s cottage. Much like it had when he first spotted it with Saraqael, the dwelling failed to impress. Now that he was aware of it, however, he sensed the heavy enchantments masking the cottage’s true appearance.

Although covered in dirt and sweat and feeling ready to sleep for a week, he approached the door with purpose and determination. Not long ago, Ini-herit received word that Uriel rescued Malukali. He also discovered that Knorbis wasn’t responding to his wife’s attempts to reach him. The reasons for that were limited and none of them were good.

Based on the second-hand information conveyed to Alexius by his commander, something had also happened to Tate. They learned that Zachariah had somehow avowed with her through their mental connection and something that he experienced through Tate’s thoughts sent him into a tailspin. The Mercesti said only that he recognized where she was and he was leading them to her. Apparently, he had lost his connection to her.

The news shocked them on every front. An even stronger sense of urgency propelled them the last mile to the cottage. Quincy felt it with every breath as he knocked on the door.

When Hoygul reached out and grabbed his arm to pull him inside, Quincy didn’t even flinch. The same thing had happened to Saraqael all those years ago. It seemed the Scultresti was a creature of habit. Once he had been pulled inside, Quincy steadied himself and faced the smaller male, prepared to battle it out to get the map.

“I am ready for this scroll piece to be found already,” Hoygul muttered in greeting. “There has been far too much interest in the library map for my peace of mind. A male my age needs his rest.”

Frowning, Quincy glanced around the tidy home. He noticed three teacups resting in the strainer beside the sink. “Who else has been here?” he asked. Looking again at Hoygul, he added, “Did you give them the map?”

“That I did. They left less than an hour ago.” Hoygul tilted his head slightly to the side. “She mentioned you.”

Something about the other male’s tone and expression had Quincy feeling lightheaded. He took two careful steps closer to the dining table and grasped the edge of the closest chair. Bracing himself, he managed to ask, “Sophia?”

“Yes.”

He sank into the chair. Emotion swarmed through him with such intensity that he had to press his palms against his eyes to stave it off.

Sophia was alive
.

“You told her about your visit here with her grandfather.”

Quincy could only nod.

“She is very courageous. I saw much of Saraqael in her. That same spark…the thirst for knowledge.”

Taking a deep breath, Quincy lowered his hands and stared at the three teacups. A very foolish part of him wanted to know which had been hers so that he could touch it and feel more connected to her.

“Unlike her grandfather, however, it seems Sophia resisted the truth of her heart.”

Now shifting his gaze to the Scultresti, Quincy wondered, “What do you mean?”

Hoygul shrugged. “I will merely say that she harbors regret. Assuming you make good time, hopefully she can remedy that.”

Hope flared in Quincy’s chest. “You’ll give me the map?”

Producing the glass disc, Hoygul said, “Since Sophia and Melanthe have received both portions of the map, I will only share the library’s location with you.”

“Okay,” Quincy said, getting to his feet. “I truly can’t thank you enough, Hoygul, and I want to get out of here with all haste. But first, please answer me this: who on the Estilorian plane is Melanthe?”

Ariana didn’t think twice about leading Eirik to the library. Tate had warned her multiple times not to do so. But now Tate was severely injured and being carried by a male who flew next to Ariana as a warning. Her friend’s complexion had gone gray beneath the blood that covered her. Even with the wind in her ears, Ariana heard the rattle of Tate’s every breath. She feared Tiege’s sister wouldn’t survive the flight to the library. She had yet to regain consciousness.

The Mercesti left Knorbis behind. Ariana overheard Eirik and Metis arguing over whether the elder was more of a risk to keep among them, and she guessed they decided that was the case. She had no idea if he was even alive.

Tears continued to fall unchecked down her cheeks. Fortunately, she didn’t need to be able to see in order to follow the pull of her second power. Judging by the intensity of the pull, they would reach their destination very soon.

Metis had ordered the males keeping Deimos in check to fly near Ariana and Tate. The savage male continued to fight against his restraints, lured by the scent of Tate’s blood. Normally, this would have shaken Ariana. Now, the depth of her anguish and hopelessness had her feeling almost blessedly numb.

So what if he killed her? Wouldn’t all Estilorians be better off without her?

Knowing that she was Tate’s only real chance for survival kept Ariana from doing anything rash, however. Despite her despondency, she wouldn’t abandon another being like that.

Although she almost managed to convince herself she had done the right thing, when she sensed that they needed to land because they had reached the library, her stomach lurched. She was exactly where she wasn’t supposed to be. The awful knowledge had her leading them in several wide circles to stall for time. Only when she knew he was onto her did she finally signal to Eirik.

The place where her senses led her looked like an expanse of barren land. There wasn’t a thing around for at least half a mile in any direction. In the distance, she spotted the jagged edges of mountains on one side and, a bit closer, an expanse of forest on the other. The sun cast long shadows on the ground as it touched their forms.

Eirik walked over to the male carrying Tate. “Release her,” he said.

The male made quick work of unfastening the flight harness. Tate sank to the ground. Eirik looked at Ariana.

“Produce something to rouse her,” he ordered.

Swallowing, she nodded. She knelt next to Tate and gently smoothed her unruly, matted hair away from her battered face. Tears fell onto bloodied and bruised skin as Ariana generated the Estilorian equivalent of smelling salts and waved them under Tate’s nose.

After a moment, Tate turned her head from the powerful odor and moaned.

“Get up, female,” Eirik snapped.

“Tate, we’ve reached the library,” Ariana said, watching her friend struggle to open her swollen eyes. “They need you to dissolve the illusion surrounding it.”

Tate made a sound in the back of her throat. Ariana figured she was saying she understood. She carefully reached under Tate’s arms and guided her into a sitting position. Knowing she wasn’t strong enough to lift the larger female, she moved to one knee.

“Come on,” she said. “I’ll help you up.”

Though it must have pained her terribly, Tate put forth her best effort and managed to gain her feet. Ariana helped support her as Eirik moved to stand in front of them.

“Where is the library, female?” he asked.

Expecting Tate to look around so she could find the entrance, Ariana was puzzled when her friend just stood there staring at Eirik through her bleary eyes. Her jaw flexed as though she was trying to work up the energy to speak.

Then she spit in Eirik’s face, the liquid red with her blood.

“Find it your damn self,” she said.

Before he died, Tycho managed to slice open Cleve’s side with a well-targeted strike of his weapon. It took some time to repair the injury before again taking flight. Sophia thanked the Mercesti male numerous times for his heroism. He just nodded, offering her another wink.

A couple of hours later, she sensed that they were nearing the library. She motioned to Derian, who had asked her to let him know when they got close.

“Pay attention, all of ye,” he called out.

That was all the instruction needed. Fanning out, they all rose to a height that offered them maximum visibility of the ground below. It wasn’t long before Derian saw something that had him signaling for them to land.

“What is it?” Sophia asked the moment they were all on the ground.

“The library is on the other side of this forest,” he replied.

“How can you tell?”

“There are at least five hundred Mercesti gathered there.”

“Five hundred?”

Tiege repeated the number stated by Harold as they gathered in the forest near Ariana and Tate’s location. In his mind, the fact that they were standing there was nothing short of a miracle.

Not long after they left the wheat field, Harold managed to pry out of Zachariah that he recognized Tate and Ariana’s location from Tate’s thoughts. Because Zachariah had spent fifty years roaming the Estilorian plane and likely knew every shadowy crevice, Tiege didn’t find that hard to believe.

Only when Harold received a thought from his elder that Malukali had been rescued and she could no longer connect to Knorbis did Tiege really grow concerned. Although he asked Zachariah multiple times for news about Tate and Ariana, the Mercesti didn’t respond.

They reached a clearing in an ocean-side group of trees as the sun rose. The first thing Tiege noticed was Knorbis. The elder lay on the sandy ground. He had braced his hands beneath him and was shaking his head as if to clear it.

Zachariah didn’t even pause. He landed, grabbed Knorbis by his tank top, jerked him to his feet and plowed his fist into the elder’s face.

It took a couple of minutes for Harold and his men to subdue Zachariah. The Mercesti’s eyes glowed red with the obvious want for blood. Tiege could hardly provide an argument to stop him. Still, he had been raised by an objective father and forgiving mother, so he placed a restraining hand on Zachariah’s arm as he struggled to free himself.

“What would you do for Tate if you were in his position?” Tiege asked. When Zachariah yanked again in an attempt to get free, Tiege shifted so that the Mercesti had no choice but to look him in the eye. “You would sacrifice everyone—including yourself—to protect her.”

Finally, the violence in Zachariah’s eyes began to ease. His chest heaved with exertion as he stopped fighting for release. In the place of his fury, however, came an indescribable pain.

“But you don’t know what they did to her,” he said at last. “What he
watched
them do.”

Stunned by the powerful emotion behind Zachariah’s words, Tiege couldn’t respond. He took a deep breath to try and subdue the excruciating ache that settled in his chest. Then he nodded at Harold, who held Zachariah’s right arm. The commander gave the signal and let Zachariah go.

Rather than charge at the Wymzesti elder, who had been helped to his feet by a couple of Waresti, Zachariah walked over to a spot in the clearing. He dropped to one knee and reached out to touch the ground. That was when Tiege noticed all of the blood.

He was sure the Wymzesti elder felt every bit of his fury and anguish when he looked at him in disbelief.

“I can’t undo what’s been done,” Knorbis said, his gaze haunted. “There will be no forgiving my actions. But I’ve reconnected with Malukali. Quincy has the map to the library and is conveying it to both of us. I will get you there.” He reached into his pocket and produced a handful of vials. “And I can get us there quickly.”

Zachariah rose. Tiege saw him put something in his pocket that looked suspiciously like one of Tate’s curls. Then the Mercesti walked over to the elder and took the vials from him.

“
Archigos
Uriel can convey the map to commander Harold,” Zachariah said without inflection. “You can assuage your guilt some other way. You will never again go anywhere near Tate. Ever.”

Knorbis couldn’t meet Zachariah’s gaze as he nodded. They left the elder standing in the clearing with a few Waresti for protection, figuring he could fly to Malukali. Thanks to the potions, they made excellent time getting to the library’s location.

They also learned of Sophia’s survival and her Mercesti escort. Tiege was inordinately relieved by the news, even if the fact that she had been rescued by Mercesti came as a surprise.

Now, they stood near the edge of the forest and watched as the last of Eirik’s crew landed. Tiege saw Ariana’s lavender wings, but she was soon surrounded. He also briefly glimpsed Tate. Her hair covered much of her face because her head hung limply. But the marks and blood he saw all over her body made him want to fly back to the clearing and give Knorbis a few punches of his own.

He exchanged a look with Zachariah. He nodded once to convey understanding. Zachariah briefly returned the nod before once again focusing on Tate.

Harold’s eyes flashed. Looking around, he said in a low voice, “Alexius’ advanced scouts spotted activity just south of us. He believes it is Sophia and her escort. If we meet up with them and wait for Alexius to arrive with his team—”

“I am not bloody waiting,” Zachariah interrupted.

“You must,” Harold said firmly. “Just a few more minutes so that we can reinforce our numbers.

“If you don’t, Tate and Ariana will surely die.”

Eirik didn’t bother to wipe the spittle from his face before he drew his krises. He had been convinced by Metis to leave the Wymzesti elder alive in case he was needed to activate the Elder Scroll. But there was nothing preventing him from dragging this insolent female’s nearly-dead form across this godforsaken stretch of land until she came into contact with the illusion surrounding the library and dissolved it.

She didn’t even flinch as he raised his weapons to strike her down.

“No!”

The cry came from the Lekwuesti female. She moved so that she stood more in front of the weakened Kynzesti than beside her.