Change of Plans

ALASTAIR

Having seen what this Kerrienne could do, I no longer wanted her dead. I now wanted her power. Draining normal humans for power was wearing a little thin. It was taking more and more deaths to sustain my magic. I thought Emrick was powerful but his power paled in comparison to hers. I stayed in the shadow of the battle, every death bringing more life and power into my body.

As more bodies fell, my energy levels were at maximum so I stepped out from my hiding spot and walked onto the battlefield, unseen by the eyes of the men around me. Only Emrick and Kerrienne could see through my disguise so I made sure to keep out of their line of sight as I silently approached Emrick from behind.

I was about to stab him when he suddenly turned and blocked my swing. He made a stabbing motion towards me, aiming for my stomach. I pulled an unwitting random man in front of me as a shield. The sword was so long that it went straight through him and still managed to stab me in the process too.

I fell to my knees in shock. Emrick was bearing down on me with his sword when I blasted him with an energy blast. As I bled, I felt the magic I’d absorbed leave me. So I transported myself back to my keep before I bled all the magic inside me onto the sand and had none left to make an escape.

KERRIENNE

Five men were making their way to me, trying to outflank me when I felt Emrick sending strength through our mate bond. I looked around for him. He was fighting three men at once. Not wanting to weaken him, I shut down the mate bond link, and stopped the power flow. You need it more. I said through our mate bond.

I looked deep within, and found my connection to everything around me. Felt the power inside me that was bursting to be set free. I buried my sword into the ground and threw my arms out and back. Everyone around me was flung back and away from my vicinity for several feet.

Metal screeched against metal as I watched the battle raging around me. Scota flew around burning and eating some of Alastair’s men with the use of dragon fire. She asked me to make her bigger but it would be harder for her to navigate with all the fighting. She might accidently eat one of us in her feeding frenzy.

I saw Alastair trying to sneak up behind Emrick. Duck. I shouted through our mate bond, sending him a view of Alastair at his back. He turned just in time to block Alastair’s swing.

Watching that man fight took my breath away. He moved and used his sword like he was dancing, a deadly, macabre dance to be sure but a dance nonetheless.

Emrick was about to plunge his sword into Alastair’s gut when he sidestepped and pulled one of his own men in front of his body, using the man as a shield. Without enough time to react, Emrick’s sword went all the way through the man’s stomach. The tip, stabbing Alastair in the process as well. I saw him falter and fall to his knees. Emrick swung his sword in a downward motion to separate his head from his shoulders.

But I watched in stunned silence as Alastair blasted him with some kind of energy bolt then disappeared. Once he disappeared, all the fight went out of his men and they surrendered.

I ran to Emrick to make sure he was ok as he stood swaying on his feet. Covered in our enemies’ blood, we stood looking into each other’s eyes. He looked at me with such fierce intensity that my breath caught in my throat and my heart rate sped up.

Groaning in pain, he dropped to his knees in front of me. His arms went around my body, caging me in an almost violent embrace. His harsh breathing sent a rush of sensations through my body.

He stayed there, with his face buried between my breasts. I looked down at his bowed head, entangling my fingers into his hair, my heart so full of emotions it hurt. He looked up into my eyes, and I felt his love for me through our bond. Then he fell sideways and I finally noticed the gash on his chest and felt pain through the bond.

As his blood soaked into the sand beneath him, I knelt and put my hands on his chest feeling his weak heartbeat all the way down to my soul. My eyes blurred as I looked at our men. Alastair’s men were on their knees, swords and knives to their throats but I also noticed the look on their faces. They thought they had won. Words of power resonated through my soul and I made a choice as I whispered. You can’t die. You can’t die. Over and over as I funneled my life force into his body, tears ran down my

face.

A wolf came trotting out of the woods, walked up to Emrick and nuzzled his face. The wolf looked straight at me and nodded. He fell down next to Emrick, his eyes rolling into the back of his head, then a ghostly wolf stood on four paws in its place. The spectral wolf jumped onto his chest, causing it to rise once as the ghostly form sank into it. I watched in surprise as my hands were engulfed in flames and spoke words that seem to be branded in my soul.

“You are the starting line of a new race. Your children will become warriors of myth and legend. You’ve only just begun.” My body started shaking then I felt a tearing sensation around my shoulder blades as more words spilled out without any prodding from me.

“I cast this spell into the night, bind these two souls and give them back their light. Goddess, spirits hear my plea. Take what was torn and make it new. What was two will now be one and only by the death of the sun can it be undone.”

As I finished speaking, I felt my life force drain into Emrick’s body. The last thing I heard was Scota’s mournful screech as darkness claimed me.