“Sit up!” Abaddon demanded. “We have more questions.” Kaevin blinked to clear his eyes and obediently struggled to a sitting position, a difficult process without the use of his hands. His left hand was throbbing with every heartbeat, a sharp stabbing pain in every finger. Would Vindrake break his thumb next, or move to the other hand? Perhaps he would be in a better mood since he now believed Alora was coming to him.
“How many warriors were present during the assault? Or more importantly, how many are left alive now?”
“I know my father started with a group of twenty-one, and I don’t know how many were lost during your attack. I saw at least four go down.”
“Including your father, correct?” Vindrake seemed to derive pleasure from his reminder.
“I saw him wounded, but that doesn’t mean he’s dead.”
“By my view in the sightstone, Graely appeared to have been gutted. Such a shame. Very unlikely to survive such a wound for long.” He leaned in close to Kaevin with a mocking smile. “On the bright side, you won’t be alive for long to suffer with grief.”
“You’re too much of a coward to face him yourself!” Kaevin spat into his face.
Vindrake straightened and wiped his face on his sleeve. “I see I must teach you to control that nasty temper.” With a quick motion of Vindrake’s hand, Kaevin felt an agonizing crunch and he had his answer. His right hand suffered its first broken finger.
“Very nicely done,” said Morvaen, as he bound and
gagged the Water Clan warrior Alora transported into the circle Nordamen had shrouded in silence. “Wesley will simply walk back into the edge of the camp. Their numbers are down significantly. It will be worth the risk to replace a few more of their men before you confront Vindrake.”
Alora peered around the small clearing where Morvaen had tied the horses and gathered his warriors. With the full moon, she could see almost as clearly as if it were daylight. Nordamen came back to the circle. “I haven’t seen Abaddon, Vindrake, or Kaevin yet, so I assume they are beyond those trees near the other campfire.” He looked at Alora and Charles. “Ready to go take out another?”
Alora turned pleading eyes to her uncle. “Uncle Charles, I’m really afraid for you to do this. You could get hurt.”
“Alora, I’m a Marine. I’ve been in tougher spots than this, and I’m not afraid to kill a man to protect the ones I love.”
“Quickly,” urged Nordamen. “We don’t want them to have time to recognize our replacements before the chaos begins.”
Nordamen kept a protective silence on them as they crossed through the underbrush toward a man standing close to the outside of the camp, looking outward. His head cocked toward them, as if he had seen or heard something.
“Now!” said Nordamen. Alora transported to the man, touched his arm and moved him back to Morvaen. Nordamen and Charles waited to be sure no one had seen the disappearance, before Charles walked calmly back into the clearing, with his hood pulled low over his head.
They repeated the process one more time, but the remaining men were sitting together, near the campfire. It seemed no more enemy warriors could be replaced without arousing the entire camp.
“Nordamen, are you certain you’ll be able to maintain Arista’s illusion?” Morvaen shuffled from one foot to the other, rather than risk pacing outside Nordamen’s protective circle of silence.
“No, it’s too much. I’ll have to drop the silent shroud while protecting Arista. Get everyone in place and ready to begin. Alora, you know what to do. If Arista unlocks the belt, take him straight to Laegenshire. Don’t try to come back for the rest of us.”
Alora felt her insides quivering and her hand flew to her mouth as a surge of nausea hit. He touched her arm gently. “Can you do this?”
She gave him a stiff nod, swallowing repeatedly, as her salivary glands worked overtime.
“And remember what I said. If you get Kaevin to safety, don’t come back.”
“I’ll remember.”
Chapter Twelve
Kaevin’shands throbbed, and his head pounded as well. Was this simply because he’d been separated from Alora, or had she been doing something to drain energy from their bond? The pain created a fog in his mind, causing his thoughts to jumble. Evidently, Abaddon and Vindrake were out of questions. He couldn’t decide if this was good or bad. If they didn’t question him, he might not break any more fingers. But if they felt they’d learned everything they could learn from him, they might not consider him valuable enough to keep alive.
Kaevin blinked, trying to focus his bleary eyes. Was that Alora standing between him and Vindrake?
“Hello, Father.” Alora kept her back toward Kaevin.
“Lena... Daughter, I’m so glad you decided to come.”
“Stop!” she warned. “Don’t come any closer. Both of you, stay right there, or I’ll leave.”
“But Lena,” said Vindrake, edging closer.