Page 54 of Bear Protector
“What? That’s crazy. I don’t see how it’s possible. You already know I don’t trust witches far enough to throw them. If anyone has put a spell on me, it was not with my permission.”
“Let’s leave it alone for now. There’s so much to do over the next few days.” Xander put his arm on his friend’s shoulder. “Did you ever think this day would come so soon?”
“Honestly? No. But then again, I always wondered why all the witches in the fortress never stopped to question what’s been going on. I mean, Minassus has basically been getting away with murder for years. It was only a matter of time before someone stood up to that bastard.”
“Lucky for us, Kiera came on board. She may have a few extra tricks up her sleeves. We’ll know soon enough.” Xander noticed Liam sniffing up into the night air. “What’s wrong? You smell something?”
“Not sure. Is it me, or does it feel like the temperature is dropping?”
“Possibly. The first storm will be here in a few days. We have had weather in previous years where it was a lot colder, and as early as October. So when are you heading out with your men?”
“First thing in the morning. They will need at least a few hours rest this evening to—” Liam squinted and looked up at the sky again before finishing what he had been saying. “Look who it is. Your girlfriend’s bird witch.”
Xander squinted up at the dark sky, worried. He had not been expecting to hear from Keira so soon. “She probably has another update.” He waited as she swooped down and landed on the branch of a tree nearby.
“Xander! Keira is in trouble. Our plan is going to hell! Minassus is back and he knows everything. The storm! The destroyers! I should’ve known it was too good to be true.” She squawked frantically, and made no sense at all.
“Coco, slow down. Just tell us one thing at a time.” He opened his cabin door and turned to Liam. “Get her some water inside. There’s a pitcher on the counter.” Turning back to the bird, he extended his arm out in her direction. “Here. Come closer. Tell me everything.”
She flew down to him and landed on his forearm, gently curling her talons around to steady herself. “We have to change everything about our plan. There is honestly so much that I have to tell you, and all of it is important, so please, I can already guarantee it’s going to come out in the wrong order.”
“First, have a drink,” Xander told her, nodding over to Liam, who had poured some water into a soup bowl for her. “Start where you can.”
Liam placed the bowl near her beak and waited as she drank.
Coco lifted up her head. “I don’t even have time to change to a human form, not that you have any clothes to give me anyway, but let’s get started. First of all, Kiera can tap into the magic of all of the spells that were cast by the Chosen witches from all of the prior years since Minassus began the shifter transformations. Our theory is that touching Liam earlier made her stronger, because he was turned a different year than you were, Xander. Is this true?”
Xander nodded. “Yes. Liam was turned two years after I was.”
“We believe that if I can make physical contact with one shifter from each of those years, it will increase Kiera’s strength. There should be seven more we can tap into. Can you get them here? Right now? She needs their magic for two crucial reasons. No, three reasons, actually. Crap. No, four.”
“Liam, take care of identifying the seven shifters and bringing them to me,” Xander ordered.
Liam nodded. “Yes. I’m on it.”
“Wait!” Coco shouted. “You should hear everything before you leave to get them.”
“Go on.”
“A winter storm is upon us. And with it, the ravages are coming. They are already on their way, possibly in the hundreds, all coming from the west.”
“Hold on a second,” Xander said with alarm. “The destroyers are on their way to the region?”
Coco nodded fearfully. “Yes!”
“How did Kiera know?”
“She just knows. She sensed it somehow, and they could all arrive at the outer walls within less than twenty-four hours. Whatever time you have left, you need to focus on reinforcing all of your defenses in the West. Kiera does not know whether she can help fight them off or not. We haven’t had time to practice, and we still have no idea if her powers will improve after I touch the seven shifters that Liam will gather up.”
“And why can’t we take them to her, as we had just planned?”
“Because there is no time!” Coco shrieked. “We found the information that helped us to understand Kiera’s growing powers, but in the process we realized that the Chancellor knows more that he has been letting on. On top of all of that, he returned to the fortress a short time ago, and Kiera sensed that he knew everything. We don’t know how that’s possible, but the point is we have to adjust and accelerate our plan. We don’t have four days anymore. Plus with the storm coming early, we have to begin tonight.”
“Reena has already left camp with some of them.”
“Then you need to get the trainees and send them away from here now. The Chancellor may already have guards on their way here to gather them up and perform the transformation ceremony… Tonight.”
Things were happening too quickly. If Xander could, he would demand to speak with Kiera before taking action, but deep down, he was sure they did not have the luxury of time. “He can’t do that,” Xander told her in a sharp tone.
