Page 51 of The Tracker's Rage
This is all for Josh and Aaron.Keep it together.
That seemed to do the trick, for now. But if they continued manhandling me, I didn’t know how much longer I would manage.
“This one’s a shifter, Misra,” the guard behind me said in a deep tenor. “Ropes won’t hold her.”
“Tie her up anyway,” Misra responded.
The guard removed the knife from my throat, then jostled my arms up and down as he secured a rope around my wrists. When he was done, he pushed me forward. I stumbled in Damien’s direction and finally got a good look at my attacker. To my surprise, he looked a lot like his female companion. Same blond hair. Same green feline eyes.
Misra and her male doppelganger pointed their sharp knives straight toward our hearts.
Taking deep, calming breaths, I stood shoulder to shoulder with Damien, facing the imposing Fae guards, whose matching armor was more impressive than Thor’s outfit inThe Avengersmovies. Their blond, long hair also matched the son of Zeus’s mane, except it was straight like silken sheets.
“Prince Kalyll has no business with humans,” Misra said. “Why are you truly here?”
“We want to ask him for a favor,” I said. “I’ve met the Prince before, and I was hoping he could help me.”
The guards exchanged a glance, then laughed. Misra had just opened her mouth to say more, when a terrible screeching sound came from the other side of the mound.
“It has started,” the male guards said. “What do we do with these two?”
“Maybe we feed them to the reapgrubs,” she responded, looking pleased with her idea.
“The what?” I asked, glancing sideways at Damien. “What are they talking about?”
“Reapgrubs are a crop plague,” Damien said. “They must have an infestation.”
Misra took a step closer and pressed her knife to Damien’s throat. “Maybe you sent them.”
“I did not,” the mage answered calmly, despite the sharp weapon next to his jugular. “But I can help you get rid of them.”
The guards scoffed. “What can a human do against a swarm of reapgrubs?”
The screeches over the mound grew louder and hectic. They were joined by thumps and screams and curses. Maybe a battle had begun. The guards shifted in place, looking as if they were itching to run over and help.
“I’m not just any type of human,” Damien said. “I’m a Copper Mage.”
“A mage?” Misra echoed, sounding surprised.
“That is a lie,” the male guard said.
“His eyes are strange, Ladresel,” Misra pointed out. “I think I’ve heard that magic disturbs their pupils.” She paused, and after some thought said, “Prove it.”
Damien smiled, then slowly lifted his hands up in the air. The rope they’d used to bind him now rested limply between his fingers.
“That doesn’t prove anything,” Ladresel said. “Anyone can do that.”
“And how about this?” The mage lowered his hands and offered the guard a hissing cobra, its hood extended, its black, beady eyes shiny and set on the guard.
Ladresel jumped back, his eyes full of terror. “I hate snakes!”
With a quick flick of his wrist, Damien made the snake disappear, leaving nothing behind, not even the rope. “Satisfied?” he asked.
“Maybe hecanhelp,” Ladresel said.
Misra narrowed her eyes, clearly battling with the decision. She didn’t trust us, not one bit.
“They both could have attacked us,” Ladresel pondered. “But they didn’t.”
