In a blink, he was standing beside Alora atop the now-empty archer’s platform. And now of course, he’d lost his sword and sharpstop.
“Alora, I’m in the midst of a battle. You can’t simply transport me away for a conversation. Now I’ve lost my weapons.” He didn’t attempt to hide his impatience.
“But I saw this warrior heading toward you, and he was acting really weird. You know, he was sneaking around in the shadows. And he felt especially evil, too. He gave me a really bad feeling, and I just had to warn you.”
“Very well, I’ll be on the lookout for an especially evil enemy warrior, as opposed to the slightly evil ones I’ve been fighting against.”
Her lower lip trembled, and Kaevin regretted his harsh words. Pulling her against him, he wrapped her in his arms. “I’m sorry, Alora. But fighting… I was born for this. It’s where my gifting lies. And I have a duty to fulfill as the future chief of Stone Clan. So let me get back to my battle, and you can wait for me with Raelene and your uncle.”
She swiped a grimy hand across her eyes, leaving a smear of dirt behind. Burying her face in his shirt, she spoke in a muffled voice. “I’m sorry. I guess I should’ve trusted you. It just seemed really important at the time. Are you mad at me?”
He lifted her chin and rubbed away a tear with his thumb. “How could I be mad at you? You were only trying to do the right thing. This is as difficult for you as American History is for me.” He pressed his lips gently against hers, wishing he had time to enjoy the kiss.
“Should I send you back?”
He squinted toward the group of warriors he’d left at the wall. From this distance, he couldn’t even distinguish Water Clansmen from Stone Clansmen. If Alora sent him back, he’d probably break something when he landed. He might even slam into the wall.
“No, I think you’d better take me over there and make certain I recover my sword and sharpstop before you leave me.”
She nodded, forcing the corners of her mouth into a half-hearted smile. Then her face turned a ghastly white, and she clutched at her stomach. He heard the wendt’s screech before she recovered enough to point to the creature flying through the gate in the distance.
“It’s the one I just sent to Vindrake—the really big one. I don’t know how I know, but I guess my wander-jewel recognizes it.” She squeezed his hand, staring at the flying monster until it disappeared.
“It’s gone! Did you send it somewhere?”
“I’ll probably get in trouble for this, but I sent it into our old root cellar in Montana. It’s mostly empty, and it should be wendt proof. I used to play in there all the time when I was a kid.” Her chest rose and fell with rapid breaths.
“Why didn’t you send it to Vindrake again?”
“I did that last time, and it came right back. So this time I figured…” Her voice trailed off, her eyes rounding like saucers. “You know what this means? It means Vindrake is close by. We’ve got to get out of here.”
Kaevin couldn’t run away in the midst of a battle. Already Jireo must wonder why he’d deserted him. “Quickly, Alora. Take me back. You can gather the others at the healing house, and we’ll return to Montana as soon as I help Father and Jireo defeat this small group of warriors.”
“Are you sure we shouldn’t just go back now? I feel nervous being away from you. What if Vindrake kidnaps you again?”
He held her face between his hands and leaned his forehead against hers. “I promise I’ll be careful. But I need to do this, Alora. It’s important.”
“Okay.” Her voice was small.
Another blink found them back at the wall, a short distance from where they departed. But a quick glance told him this particular fight had ended with the arrival of more Stone Clan warriors. He saw no more enemies standing, and the Stone Clansmen were tending to their dead and wounded. He searched anxiously, letting out a breath when he spotted his father and Jireo among the living.
“It’s over. I’ve missed the battle.” He strode away from Alora, attempting to keep his temper in check.
“Wait, Kaevin. Don’t go—I feel something evil.”
He stopped in his tracks, pivoting to face her, speaking between clenched teeth. “Of course you feel something evil—we’re surrounded by it. Vindrake’s men, his bondmark, his shamans’ workings. That’s why I need to be able to fight, so I can use my gifting against his atrocities. And I can’t do that when I’m tethered to you all the time.”
Turning away, he ignored the stunned expression on her face and tramped toward Jireo, recovering the sword and sharpstop on the way.
“Where’d you go?” asked Jireo. “I thought you might’ve been killed when you disappeared.”
“Alora transported me because she needed to talk.”
“She wanted to talk in the midst of a battle?”
“It wasn’t really a talk. It was more of a warning about some Water Clan warrior who was, in her words, sneaking around.”
“It seems to me she did the right thing, letting you know what she saw. So what did you do? Yell at her? Is that why she’s crying?” Jireo nodded his chin in Alora’s direction.