Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Safia had been fifteen. She and Aura, who appeared fifteen as well, had been night-training on the narrow footpaths on the cliffs with swords and then with bows and arrows. When they were coming back down the steep path to the main trail, they met a small group of men. Immediately, they knew they were in trouble. Most of the time, they would have been safe, but women didn’t travel unescorted at night. Both girls were wearing trousers and would be considered inappropriately dressed. At that time of night, their appearance without an escort was scandalous.
Without a sound, Mirabelle was there, emerging out of the shadows, dressed in a long robe with her hair covered by a hood, her cape flowing gracefully from her shoulders and down her back. On either side of her paced Amastan and Gwafa. Both men paused to greet the younger men while the women continued down the path to the main road.
“Amastan and Gwafa weren’t with us that night,” Aura informed her. “She created an illusion.”
“That was why we were asked not to speak of that night to anyone,” Safia said. “Because she didn’t want me to find out Amastan and Gwafa hadn’t been there.”
“Exactly.”
Safia should have been upset, but she found herself laughing. “Did your mother always come along when we went out for night-training on the cliffs?”
Aura nodded. “Your mother and grandmother were in charge most of the time, but the cliff training was so dangerous, my mother would go in case of an accident. She could have stopped you from going over the cliff into the sea.”
“Aura, I’m really sorry that growing up, I had no real idea how difficult it was for you. You’re a sister to me, closer even, and I knew there were times you were hurting, but I couldn’t find a way to reach you and make things better. You’ve always been there for me. Always. I want to be that way for you.”
“You always have been. I could feel the way you would reach out to me when I was particularly distressed over the gate. Or over my parents.”
“I wish you could have talked to me.”
“I can now,” Aura said. “I really wanted your input about the gate. It was built of ancient wood and set up with the strongest interwoven safeguards. The wood is resistant to any kind of destruction, including fire, yet lately, I’ve felt weakness in it, almost like a thinning in places. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Have the other guardians mentioned the same phenomenon?”
Aura nodded. “When I brought it up to them, they did. They didn’t put it the same way, but there was something different taking place. Also, more and more, the smaller demons seem to be finding ways to escape to the surface around the gate.”
Safia frowned. “Wouldn’t I be the one to stop them from doing that?”
Aura’s smile widened so that a dimple revealed itself. “Yes, I believe that is so, now that you mention it. As soon as your grandfather is finished talking it up with his ancestors, I will be more than happy to show you the gate and where these little demons have been escaping. Hopefully, you can figure out a way to plug the dam and keep the intruders on their side.”
“That is my level of expertise,” Safia assured. “At last, all that training isn’t just to show off my excellent fighting stances.”
“You do have an aesthetically pleasing form, especially when you’re holding your sword, if I do say so myself,” Aura confirmed.
Safia burst out laughing again. “I reflect well on my teacher, is what you’re saying.”
The candles flickered and then burned hot and bright for a moment, making the shadows on the cave walls come alive with an ominous foreshadowing. Within a minute, bats filled the cave, flying in tight formation like the long tail of a comet. The lead bat flew straight toward Safia, only at the last possible second pulling skyward before it collided with her head. All the other bats followed suit.
The communication was quick, the sentries reporting the rise of evil beings in the chambers below—two of them heading straight to the women. Along with two of the undead was a covey of demons, five total, horrid little creatures, according to the bats, the kind that tore at entrails and ate people alive.
“They are coming,” Safia announced. “Are you certain the safeguards surrounding my grandfather will hold up against the vampires?”
“Absolutely, they will,” Aura confirmed. “Their mentor never touched one strand of these weaves and wouldn’t recognize any of the safeguards. They would never be able to unravel them. He can walk out freely, but they cannot enter.”
“I guess we’re about to see just how skilled I really am,” Safia said. She hoped she was as prepared as everyone thought she was.
CHAPTER
5
Insects burst through the chamber walls, clawing their way to the surface from deep within the bowels of the earth. They were small, the size of dung beetles, but had a bright orange stripe across the dull brown of their backs. Safia had never seen them before, which meant she had no prior connection with them. That mattered little.