Connorlistenedtohissister talk until shadows shifted again.The front door opened with a rush of cold air, ushering in the brunt force of reality.Inching his shoulders back a notch, he stood to greet the others.
Cass walked straight up to him and gripped his arm in a warrior’s greeting.She winked at him, a smirk on her lips.She was the fiercest warrior he’d ever met, but she was just as sassy and obstinate as his two sisters, making her feel more like family.A legend in her own right as a Wolflumen, he was thoroughly humbled and grateful that she’d seen fit to join in his rescue.
Turning to the men, he greeted the newcomer Sev and nodded to Rodric.The pair were both Eldrin and moved with the quiet grace and formidable power of top of the food chain beasts.Preddari were elite rank hunters who protected designated areas, training younger hunters and watching over the land.
That they were both away from their given territories for great lengths of time spoke volumes about their dedication to this mission and their characters.That wasn’t something done lightly.He approved, and Cass’s body language around the men indicated respect, openness, and trust.Hard to come by from her, and more than enough on top of his own instincts to decide to trust them.
Once everyone was settled with food and drink, Celina squeezed Rodric’s arm and nodded to him, openly turning over reins for him to lead the discussion.That, more than the telltale joint healing, showed him that his sister really had bonded with Rodric, sharing her leadership and power in a way he’d not seen before.It seemed change was brewing on all fronts at home.
Slowly, Rodric shared the story of their journey, beginning with his return home after weeks away on Preddari business to find his soul-daughter missing and her father severely injured.The young girl had been seen exhibiting magic and was taken days later from her home by a band of independent mercenaries.
Just like the group his team had killed when they’d rescued Veda and little Opal.Before a second team of mercenaries had ambushed them and decimated his team, sending him into Daya’s path.
Memories of that first interaction with the girls flooded his mind.Opal had tamed his big warhorse with the touch of a hand, her innocent giggle at meeting the beast assuring him that she would eventually recover from her traumatic kidnapping.And Veda, the immediate bond he’d forged with her was a warmth in his chest.They needed him to be their fierce protector in a world intent on harming them.As Rodric was for his soul-daughter Brenna who’d been taken.
Though Eldridge’s rulers didn’t punish magic users directly except in extreme incidents, they encouraged private militant groups to scour the land and pick up problem citizens at their discretion, relocating them to other places.A percentage of the groups’ profits were paid to Eldridge in tribute for allowing their unhindered operation throughout the realm.A socially acceptable slave trade was what it boiled down to, although polite conversation would never state it as such.
Every realm in the world had its own laws on magic.Calderre was on one extreme of the spectrum, actively encouraging growth of magic in their population and offering refuge to persecuted mages.Eldridge, bad as it probably seemed to Rodric at the moment, landed in the middle.
Though more realms were changing their laws to at least be neutral toward magic users, they were a long way from a peaceful world for the mageborn, of whom there were more each generation.Until then, the Calderran lightning teams ran their rescue operations as secretly as possible and gathered critical intel on the changing tides within the realms.His own team had been assigned to doing reconnaissance in Eldridge for several years.
As Brenna’s soul-guardian, Rodric had immediately set out after the girl and her abductors.Unsurprisingly, given his Preddari status, he tracked the group, following their cold trail for many days before it had disappeared, seemingly into thin air, deep in the middle of Barrett’s Forest.
“No one covers tracks that well.Not without aid.”Rodric paused briefly, threading his fingers through his hair with a frustrated movement.“The tracks vanished as if they never existed.I followed that group for days.Those men were not skilled enough to accomplish that.”
Connor’s breath caught and stuttered in his chest at the description Rodric gave.Scavenging his mind, he hunted down the memories of the attack.
Blade clutched to his chest, Connor tried to roll to a stand, but he couldn’t move.His vision darkened, and his senses began to fade out.
“Grab the girls,” someone commanded.
Veda screamed, fighting someone, her voice searing his bones as she struggled and lost to whoever had grabbed her.
No!He had to save her.Had to do something.
A shadow shimmered over him, visible to his magic if not to his malfunctioning eyes.Thank the stars.
Summoning every bit of strength he possessed, he slammed it into his magic.HIDE.Sinking into the icy curtain of the shadow, he quieted his breathing so that he wouldn’t be discovered.
“Go after the others and finish them,” came another harsh order.
Mind racing, he fought the blackness trying to pull him under.He couldn’t physically hide anyone he wasn’t in contact with, but he could hide their tracks.Jax was gone, but he could give Ryan, Thalia, and Drew a chance to escape if they’d made it out of the camp alive and were being pursued.
HIDE EVERYTHING.The command took everything he had left, and he fed it with raw power, channeling the entirety of his magic into the earth and air, racing through the shadows of the valley and into Barrett’s Forest far beyond.
His lifeforce fed the outpouring of magic, masking everything the shadows touched.Through his connection, he felt the earth pulling their tracks down into nothingness, wiping away all traces of travel.
They wanted someone to search for, he’d give them someone.He’d lead them away, then go after the girls.
Unwrapping himself from the cover of the shadows, Connor found the strength to push himself up.Commanding the earth to leave his tracks unveiled, he stumbled into the trees and headed southeast, away from the direction his team would go.
Connor’s heart pounded as the knowledge coalesced in his mind.He’d released every drop of magic to hide his teammates and the girls before leading the enemy away.Barrett’s Forest was physically close enough to the battleground for it to be within the realm of possibility.He’d condemned Rodric’s soul-daughter with his actions.It was the only thing that made sense.
Sickness rose in his gut, and he fought to keep his face neutral as he absorbed Rodric’s anger.His eyes stole to Cass, who was watching him intently, waiting for his response to this particular part of the story.Her left eyebrow raised an infinitesimal amount.
Rodric pulled out a small leather bracelet and gently rubbed it with his thumb.“I found this high up in a tree in that same clearing.She must have thrown it for me to find.”
Zevat.His magic would have sunk the tracks deep into the soil, leaving physical objects intact.Connor forced himself not to give any reaction that would stop the storytelling as he recognized another failure of his last mission.Yet another child’s fate in his hands.
