Alora: The Wander-Jewel (Alora 1)

“A little,” she admitted. “But it’s not bad. What are we going to do? How do we get him back?”

Shouting from below interrupted their discussion. A lone rider cantered into the canyon. He wore a long hooded black cloak that billowed behind him in the wind. He stopped abruptly below the overhang, and pushed the hood from his face, gazing upward where Alora knelt to peer over the rock with the others standing behind her. Alora felt a distinct nausea from his presence.

“This man is so evil, I can almost taste it,” she declared.

The man paused to stroke his neatly trimmed beard. “Nordamen!” he hailed. “I have a message for you from Master Vindrake.” He ignored the arrows aimed at him from every direction.

Nordamen moved to look boldly down at the man, refusing to cower in his presence. “So, the great Abaddon is reduced to the role of messenger?”

Irritation flashed in his eyes for a moment, but he quickly recovered. “Nay, Nordamen. I am chief shaman of the many shamans in Master Vindrake’s clan. Delivering this particular message is a task I relish, leaving others to menial work.” He paused, as if he were waiting to add drama to the moment. “Master Vindrake wishes to relay that Graely’s son will be released immediately when Vindrake’s daughter, Lena, is returned to him.”

“She’s not here,” Nordamen replied without flinching. “She moved to a safe place during the battle. We have no way to reach her.”

“That is not my concern.” Abaddon shrugged. “The offer stands. Lena for Graely’s son. We will wait at our camp until the morrow, then we will begin the journey home. That will give you several days to reach the girl and send her to her father where she belongs. If she does not come by the time Vindrake reaches his kingdom, he will dispose of the boy.”

Alora stifled a gasp.

“I hope you can find a way to reach the girl. If not …” Abaddon sneered, “Well, my Sire can always make use of another wendt.”

This time Alora could not stop a cry of distress. Raelene knelt to wrap her in her arms, whispering words of comfort that didn’t reach Alora’s ears. Her heart was breaking. She fought an urge to throw herself over the cliff. Better for Kaevin to die than to be made into a flesh-eating monster.

Nordamen’s lips were white as he pressed them together, the muscles of his jaw flexing.

Abaddon wore a benign smile as he turned his horse to leave. He halted his horse and spoke over his shoulder. “Oh. And Lena must come alone. Should anyone else come or make any attempt to free the boy... his life is forfeit.”

When Alora cried out in pain for the third time, she asked Morvaen, “Why are they hurting him? I don’t understand—they’ve already captured him.”

“I’m sorry to say, child, they are probably questioning him, trying to find out more about you.” Morvaen sat with his head in his hands, as still as Alora had ever seen him.

“At least they don’t seem to know your real name. If only Kaevin can withhold that information, we have a fighting chance,” Nordamen said.

“What happens if they know my name?”

“Abaddon’s dark magick is more powerful when he uses your name. Perhaps he might even be able to take your power away,” said Nordamen. “I don’t believe he can accomplish that without the knowledge of your name.”

Arista stomped over to stand looking down at Morvaen, her hands firmly on her hips. “We should have taken out those men! Wesley and I could have prevented this. My brother wouldn’t be injured, and Kaevin wouldn’t have been captured.”

Morvaen rose to his full height, and Arista stepped back. “You will never be a warrior, Arista, if you second-guess your commander. From that distance, a quick movement by one of those men would cause your arrow to hit our own men. You were right to obey your orders, and I hope you are not prone to change in that regard.”

She swiped angrily at her wet face and stalked to the side.

“What can we do?” asked Wesley. “Can we climb a tree outside the camp and pick them off at a distance?”

Morvaen shook his head as he once again returned to his pacing. In the confined area, people had to constantly shift their positions to allow the hulking man to pass back and forth. “No, we cannot. Abaddon will have their camp warded just as Nordamen warded our position. And at the first sign of attack, they have promised to kill Kaevin.”

“I’ll just have to go to him,” declared Alora.

“And then what?” asked Raelene. “If he actually kept his word and let Kaevin go, the two of you would die within a week.”

“I could explain we’re soulmates,” she suggested.

“And then he will use that information to make both of you do his bidding,” said Nordamen.

Charles spoke over Nordamen’s shoulder. “Does someone have a plan? Because I, for one, will do whatever it takes to save Alora’s life.”

“Why can’t we just sneak into the camp and rescue him? Or maybe Alora could just flash us in there,” Wesley said.

“We can’t go in without being noticed,” said Raelene. “We’re too easily recognized. And Alora is far from mastering the art of sending someone away from her.”