Eversong (The Kindred Book 1) Read online

  “I don’t want you to ever hold back with me.”

  He drew in a breath. “I can only do that if you vow to tell me if I ever hurt you.”

  “I promise.”

  She pulled his head down for another kiss before they rose and washed off. As they dressed, he kept looking at her and finding her staring at him. He wasn’t sure what was happening between them, but he quite liked it.

  There was a smile on his face as they walked back to the cave. And if the grin Leoma wore was any indication, she was happy, as well.

  He saw to his horse and got the fire going while Leoma hunted. She returned a short time later with two hares. While the animals roasted on the flames, Braith reclined on his elbow, his legs stretched out to the side.

  “If I were the Coven, I’d come for us tonight,” he said.

  Leoma looked up from sharpening her sword. “By now, they will know that Brigitta has failed. They probably already had a plan in place for just such an event.”

  “Coming at night would hinder our sight. They could hide in the shadows.”

  She returned the whetstone to her bag, her lips flattening briefly. “Brigitta made it sound as if they needed you to do something now, which means they don’t want to wait. And that means they’ll come tonight, probably around dusk.”

  “That gives us time to set some traps,” he replied.

  She raised her brows and smiled. “I do like how you think.”

  He inwardly beamed at her words. “How many do you think will come?”

  “I’d say at least four.”

  “What about any of the council?”

  Leoma shook her head as she stirred the fire with a stick. “From what little we know of the council, they leave such work to those below them. The Coven is very protective of the councilmembers, and they go to great lengths to make sure no one outside the Coven knows who they are.”

  Braith sat up and turned the hares. “Have you tried to get that information from a witch before?”

  “Edra wants to know the names, but we’ve never gotten to that point. Mostly, we react to something the Coven has done. We Hunters are sent to dispatch the witches making a nuisance of themselves. Besides, you need a witch to catch a witch. I have nothing that would stop any magic they would use to break free.”

  He kept forgetting about the magic. “I’m used to fighting enemies who don’t have magic. I only need to worry about spies or betrayal, not a witch with powers.”

  “I think, in some ways, your way of fighting is harder.” Leoma sheathed her sword and set it beside her. “We trust everyone at the abbey because each of us has a reason to fight the Coven.”

  “Then you’re very lucky. Discovering that someone you trusted has betrayed you is one of the worst things that can happen to anyone.”

  Her dark hair fell to the side as she regarded him. “Was it a close friend?”

  “A knight I trained under.” Braith shook his head. “I’ve not thought of him in years. He was a hard man, but he was good to me...in his own way. I soaked up all the knowledge he shared, and it saved my life. But while I was getting stronger, he was getting older. And weaker.

  “I was too busy winning battles to take much notice of how quiet he had become. Or that his ailments were getting worse. I assumed he would let me know if he needed anything. While we were after a particularly malicious enemy that I was running to ground, that same adversary found my mentor and offered him riches beyond his wildest dreams if he led me into a trap.”

  Leoma brow was furrowed. “And did he?”

  “Aye. It was only my quick thinking that saved my hide. I lost nearly half my men that day.”

  “And your mentor?”

  “He didn’t try to run. I found him back at camp. He told me everything while sitting among the gold and jewels promised to him. Then he plunged a dagger into his own heart.”

  She glanced at the ground. “I’m sorry that happened.”

  “It was a hard lesson learned. In the end, I followed the trail left by my enemy after he delivered the gold and attacked his camp. I let the men divide the riches, and I brought the man to the king for execution.”

  Leoma was silent for a long while. “If we’re going to set traps, we need to make sure they slow the witches down enough so they can’t do magic.”

  “Can nothing but a blade such as yours kill them?”

  She hesitated before she said, “There are other things that can kill witches, but its different for every witch. By the time you figured out what might work, you’d be dead.”

  “Like what things?” he pressed.

  “Certain woods, some metals, and even specific flowers. But like I said, it’s different for every witch. The more powerful a witch, the less likely it is that one of those random things will be enough to kill her.”

  He’d really been hoping for some better news. While he was happy he had Leoma’s dagger to fight with, it wasn’t a sword or axe, or even a bow.

  Braith stood and walked to the cave entrance. He looked at the various trees and rocks around him. While a boulder might not kill a witch, it would certainly slow them down.

  He turned to look over his shoulder at Leoma who watched him. “They’ll be after me.”

  “Meaning?” she asked.

  “You need to stay hidden.” He walked back to the fire and removed the rabbits.

  Leoma sat forward, a grin curving her lips. “You have a plan.”

  He glanced at her and shrugged while grinning. “I have the beginning of a plan. We’ll need to act fast, though.”

  “Talk as we eat,” she said.

  They stood at the entrance and ate as he explained his ideas. Leoma added some of hers. By the time they finished eating, they were ready to get started.

  Braith used some rope from his things to gather as many large rocks as he could move to the edge of the cliff above them. He fashioned the cord to hold them back and let the rest of the rope dangle down to the cave entrance, hidden from view.

  Meanwhile, Leoma shaped spears out of thick branches that were attached to another log and strung up into a nearby tree with a rope she’d fashioned from vines. Braith then set a vine across the path that, once tripped, would set the spikes into motion.

  A matching set of spears were set on the other side of the cave, as well.

  Using more vines, they hoisted up a large piece of a fallen tree that would swing down and smash into the back of anyone who approached the cave and didn’t see the vines across the path.

  While none of the traps would kill a witch, it would give Leoma time to get to them and use her sword before the others realized what was happening.

  When he next looked up, Braith saw that the sun was nearly to the horizon. He turned his head to Leoma, who stood near his stallion.

  “Are you sure about this?” she asked.

  He knew she was asking about her hiding as he faced the witches alone. “It gives us an element of surprise.”

  “As soon as they see that you’re healed, they’ll know I helped you.”

  “I’m sure they will.”

  “As a Hunter, I would remain with you.”

  He lifted a shoulder. “Maybe you went to get help.”

  “Why wouldn’t you come with me?”

  “Why would I?” he countered.

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “If they get to you, they’ll take you, and I won’t be able to follow.”

  “I’m not going to let them take me.”

  “You may not have a choice,” she argued.

  Though he hated to admit it, Leoma was right. If the witches threatened Leoma, he’d do whatever they wanted as long as they left her alone.

  Leoma sighed loudly. “No matter what they threaten to do to you or anyone else, you can’t agree to do whatever it is they want of you. You have to resist.”

  As he did before any battle, he thought of the worst-case scenario. His stomach soured when his mind pictured a witch with a blade to Leoma’s neck.
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  “Did you hear me?” Leoma demanded as she stalked to him. “Whatever the Coven has planned will be more terrible than you can imagine. Anyone you care about will most likely be obliterated. You are the only one who can stand against them and refuse.”

  He touched a lock of her hair and put it behind her shoulder. “I hear you.”

  “Clear your mind of any thoughts, especially your fears,” she warned. “I’ve known some witches who were able to read minds and bring your greatest fear to life.”

  Braith glanced at his horse. “Maybe we make a run for it. I’ll go one way while you go to the abbey. We’ll meet up somewhere, but the extra Hunters, and even Edra can help.”

  Leoma stared at him for a long time, her gaze searching his face. “I would gladly sacrifice my life if it meant stopping the Coven.”

  “Aye, but maybe I don’t want that.”

  Her chest expanded as she took a breath. “You’ve fought many men, right?”

  “I have.”

  “And during those battles, you’ve come across true evil, haven’t you?”

  He gave a nod, wondering what she was getting at.

  “That’s one man leading an army. Or maybe one man in the army. That’s not an entire coven of witches. We don’t know their plans or what their ultimate goal is, and it doesn’t matter. Stopping them is what we have to do.”

  He took her hand in his. “I’ll do as you ask, but know that it’ll kill me to do it.”

  Chapter 14

  Northern Scotland

  Blackglade

  Malene stood at the top of the tower and looked out over the ocean as the waves rose violently before crashing into the cliffs below. The wind was fierce as it whistled around her, tangling her skirts and hair.

  She’d never wanted her position. In fact, she had fought against it, but there was no running from being a Varroki. The ancient order was kept secret from others, but their reach extended everywhere.

  “My lady.”

  She drew in a breath and turned to face her second in command. Armir stood tall and straight, his pale green eyes penetrating as his black cloak billowed around him from the wind. His long, golden blond hair was pulled back at the top of his head in a queue, bound with strips of leather every three inches as it fell past his shoulders. He kept the hair on the sides of his head shaved so others could see the intricate tattoos.

  Armir had the kind of face that stopped people in their tracks. A strong, defined countenance with prominent cheekbones and a square jaw. His bottom lip was fuller than the top while his strength could be seen in even his neck from the twining cords of sinew that shaped his entire body.

  Though Armir’s standing within the Varroki made him wealthy, he chose to wear plain leather breeches and a jerkin. The Varroki knew him by his reputation and the tattoos, but no one else would think him anything other than a peasant.

  He watched Malene silently, waiting for her. While she wouldn’t say that she and Armir were friends, they were friendly. He was the one who had looked for her and then convinced her to take the role she was destined for.

  She walked toward him. As she neared, he turned to the side to allow her to pass to the stairs. Once inside the tower with the sound of the wind dimmed, she walked to the hearth and waited.

  “Eleanor has left London,” Armir stated.

  Malene had known this day would come, but she’d hoped it wouldn’t be during her lifetime. She turned her head to find Armir with his arms folded over his chest.

  “Do we know where she went?” Malene asked.

  He gave a shake of his head. “You might be the youngest to ever helm the Varroki, but that doesn’t mean you cannot handle what is to come.”

  She turned her hands over to find the bright blue light shining from the palm of her left hand that had signaled her as the Lady of the Varroki. “No matter how many of our people we send out, we’ve not been able to stop the Coven from growing their ranks. More and more children around England are being taken, and we’ve yet to figure out where the Coven is bringing them. If you ask me, I’m failing in my role.”

  “You doubt your power. Still.”

  Malene dropped her hands and returned her gaze to the flames. “I doubt my ability to stop the Coven.”

  “We don’t know what they’re after yet.”

  But she did. It haunted her dreams, making her wake with the screams of the dying ringing in her ears. No amount of research in all the scrolls and books of the Varroki could give her an answer to what was coming.

  How much longer did the Varroki have before the Coven discovered them? How much longer before there was a war between the two? How much longer before she would have to face the Coven’s council of elders?

  “You’re fighting your gifts,” Armir said into the silence.

  That was a truth she couldn’t refute. She had been wrangling them since they came upon her thirteen years ago.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Armir drop his arms and walk closer, stopping a few feet away. His piercing gaze was too much for her to handle right now, so she kept her face averted. Armir was intense on a calm day, and today was anything but.

  “You’ve been in your role for five years now, and you’ve still not accepted who you are.”

  She cut her eyes to him. “I’m here. I’ve accepted who I am.”

  “That’s shite. If you truly recognized who you were, there would be no doubts plaguing you. I wouldn’t hear you crying in the middle of the night from whatever bad dreams visited you.”

  Malene faced him as anger sizzled just beneath her skin. “We both know you should’ve been given my position. You were born at Blackglade and raised to be a Varroki. You’re the strongest, the most cunning. You should be leading them.”

  His enigmatic green eyes narrowed as his head cocked to the side. “You think all of that makes me better than you?”

  “Aye!”

  His wide lips flattened in irritation. In two strides, he closed the distance between them and grabbed her left wrist, holding it up between them. “This makes you the strongest of us! You could obliterate me with a thought.”

  “I never wanted this.”

  Armir blew out a breath. “I’m here to help, but I cannot do that if you don’t let me.”

  She couldn’t look away from his green gaze. Nor did she remind him that he was still holding her arm. It was taboo for anyone to touch the Lady of the Varroki.

  His touch was the first she had experienced since she took the role as head of the Varroki. And she wasn’t ready for it to end.

  “I don’t want to fail,” she said. “I fear that above all else. All the Varroki are depending on me.”

  “Stop thinking of them. Focus on the Coven. Let me and the other warriors worry about our people.”

  The blue light of her palm began to grow brighter. Malene fisted her hand, but it was too late. Armir released her and took a step back.

  “Forgive me,” he said with a bow of his fair head.

  She spun around and strode to the window to gaze out at the storm through the cracks in the shutters. “We need to know where Eleanor has gone. No one in the council leaves their post without reason.”

  “One of our best warriors has been watching her for months. He’s the one who alerted me of her departure, and he’ll follow her. I’ll report as soon as I know something.”

  The sound of the door closing behind him was loud. Malene walked to the wooden tub near the fire and held her hand above it. Water began to fill it as steam spiraled upwards.

  She leaned over the tub and looked at her reflection. Her flaxen hair and soft gray eyes stared back at her, announcing her Norse heritage. She slapped at the water, making her image distort and vanish. Straightening, she removed her clothes when the room began to spin.

  Malene stumbled back a step, her hands reaching for something to hold onto. Her knees buckled, and she hit the stone floor hard. She fell forward onto her hands as the first of the images assaulted her.
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br />   They flashed in her mind so quickly that she only saw hints of each one. Her left palm grew warm as the light from within her flared and lit up the room as if it were daylight.

  “Armir,” she whispered, knowing that he would hear his name when he felt her magic.

  Her stomach rolled as the snippets continued to pour through her, all of them showing the same thing: slaughter. Her nightmares were now visiting her while she was awake. And that couldn’t be a good sign.

  Then something strange began to occur. Within the flashes, she saw others alive and then those same people fighting the Coven.

  As quickly as the images began, they halted. The light from her palm decreased to resume its gentle glow. However, it took longer for her body to adjust.

  “Breathe,” Armir said from beside her. “Just breathe.”

  She didn’t know how long she remained on her hands and knees before her stomach settled and the room stopped spinning. Malene pushed back onto her haunches and wiped the perspiration from her brow.

  “That’s never happened before,” she murmured. She glanced down at her hands and realized she was only in her chemise, but she didn’t reach for her gown.

  Armir squatted before her, his brows furrowed deeply. “What happened?”

  “I’m not sure. Perhaps a vision, but it came in waves of hundreds of images. All showing the same thing. Death. I’ve seen this in my dreams, but this time was different.”

  His face hardened. “You were shown what could happen.”

  “I also saw a small group standing against the Coven.”

  “You mean our people?”

  She shook her head as she got to her feet. Armir straightened, as well, his gaze watching her like a hawk. “The group wasn’t ours. We should find out who they are.”

  “It shouldn’t be too difficult to discover them since so few will fight the Coven.”

  “Good. We might need them.”

  “They’ve magic, then?”

  She held his gaze. “Actually, I don’t know.”

  “How can anyone who doesn’t have magic be of use to us?”

  “I cannot answer that any more than I can say why I was chosen for this position or why I was shown the images tonight. That group stood out. Regardless, we need to know who they are and what their plans are. They, along with our spy in the Coven, could be what we need to win.”