What Pradak lacked in skill he made up for in rage. The youth lunged at the zombie standing over Priscinta, still gloating over its victory. Kandler watched as Pradak leveled a two-handed slash at the creature’s neck, and an instant later its head spiraled away. Before the young man could enjoy his victory, another of the undead warriors laid into him.
Kandler stepped up beside the youth and lent his sword to his efforts. “Deothen!” he shouted. “We need a healer here!”
The senior knight did not respond. Kandler glanced over, and he saw one of the black-robed creatures turn to dust before Deothen’s righteous wrath. The wind caught the dust and blew it into the fire where it formed an ascending spiral of glowing embers reaching into the night sky.
Deothen spat a single word at Sallah, who was standing next to him as the vampire vanished. While the senior knight directed the efforts of the others against the Karrn, she turned and ran over to Kandler. “Are you hurt?” she called as she ran, panting with the work of battle.
Kandler parried a blow from one of the undead Karrns and wrenched open its breastplate with his sword. The zombie screeched in surprise, but the justicar cut that short with a slash across the creature’s exposed lungs. Two more quick moves, and the creature lay in a heap of bones and old, rotten meat at Kandler’s feet, just as Sallah reached his side.
“Not us.” Kandler pointed to the body lying at Pradak’s feet. The boy stood staring wide-eyed out into the darkness, waiting for something else to come careening out at them. For the moment, the Karrns were elsewhere, but Kandler could hear the telltale sound of the shuffling gait of the undead circling out in the darkness.
“Priscinta,” Sallah said.
The justicar scanned the darkness with one eye. With the other, he watched as the red-haired knight knelt beside Priscinta and checked her for signs of life.
“May the Silver Flame shine brightly on your final journey,” Sallah said softly as she closed Priscinta’s eyes. Pradak bent his head over her and wept.
Kandler bowed his head for a moment to fight back the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. There would be time for grieving later. Right now, he had to find Esprл.
Chapter 15
“Where are the vampires?” Kandler asked Sallah.
Sal la h looked up at the justicar blankly and shook her head. “When your friend Burch and I arrived, we saw a handful of them massacring the townsfolk who dared to stand against them. We set to them and drove them off. Burch brought down two with his crossbow.” The lady knight hesitated for a moment. “Your daughter…?”
Kandler could tell by her tone that she feared the worst. He shook his head. “I thought she might be here.”
Sir Deothen and the three other knights arrived as Kandler spoke. “When we arrived, the vampires withdrew,” the senior knight said. “They were content to let their undead underlings soften us up first, but such creatures could not stand long against the power of the Silver Flame.”
Kandler looked around. The battle was over. The zombies either lay still or had fled. The survivors of Mardakine crept from the shadows to unite around the light of the pyre. In the distance, a pair of voices-human voices-shouted in agony.
Pradak knelt on the ground, cradling his mother’s body as he shook with tears. Kandler wanted to lend the boy some comfort, but he had his own tragedy to prevent yet.
“Have you seen Esprл?” Kandler asked the knights. “My daughter?”
Deothen shook his head gravely. “Find the wounded and tend to them,” Deothen told the other knights. “I must discuss with the justicar what will happen next.”
The knights nodded and padded off to execute their orders. Kandler saw Sallah stop near the weeping Pradak for a moment, but she continued on. There were others who needed her help more.
Kandler ignored Deothen for the moment. If the knight didn’t know where Esprл was, Kandler didn’t care to talk with him. He knew he didn’t have much time. He shaded his eyes from the firelight and peered into the darkness. “Burch!” he shouted.
The shifter appeared from behind a window set in a roof across the square. “Here, boss!” He waved his crossbow at the justicar.
Kandler’s heart leaped. If anyone could have seen Esprл here, it would have been the sharp-eyed shifter. “Did you see Esprл?”
Burch shook his head. “Not a wink. Thought you’d find her at home.”
Kandler felt ill. Perhaps he’d made a horrible mistake leaving the changeling alive. Maybe she’d lied to him about the telepathic link. He didn’t know what to think. “Rislinto?” he called. “Are you still out there?”
“Aye.” The blacksmith staggered around from the other side of the fire. He pressed his massive hand against his left leg, which bled through his fingers.
“Allow me,” Deothen said to Rislinto. The blacksmith nodded his permission and removed his hand. The gash oozed blood.
“Where’s Esprл?” Kandler asked as Deothen ministered to Rislinto’s leg. The knight lay his hands on the wound and muttered a quick but heartfelt prayer. The skin and flesh knit back together under the soft glow that emanated between Deothen’s fingers.
“Dunno,” Rislinto said. “Haven’t seen her.”
“Not the whole time?” Kandler asked. “Achangeling I met told me a vampire was holding her hostage here.”
Rislinto’s deep, humorless laugh rumbled through the square. “You trusted something a changeling told you?”
Ice water ran through Kandler’s gut. “Damn, damn, damn!” He turned and raced back to his house.
“It’s all right, dear,” Te’oma said as she stepped into Kandler’s bedroom. “You can come out now.” The changeling was bruised from head to toe, but appearances meant nothing to one as her. She used her shapeshifting powers to cover them up. To those who saw her, she would look as good as new, except she would look nothing like herself.
“Are you all right?” Esprл said as emerged from Kandler’s wardrobe. The girl’s blonde hair shimmered in the light streaming from the main room into the bedchamber. Her face was red as if she’d been crying-or at least trying not to. “I heard fighting.”
“More of those creatures,” Te’oma said. “Your father took care of them, but we have to leave now.”
“Kandler? He’s not my real father, you know.”
Te’oma nodded as she escorted the girl into the main room. In the light, Esprл saw the same beautiful, dark-haired elf who had shoved her into the wardrobe when they’d heard someone prowling around outside.
“I know. Your father was a fine elf. We all miss him.”
Esprл frowned. “I don’t remember him. He died before I was born.”
“I’m sure he’d be as proud of you as I am.” Te’oma gave the girl a hug, even though the effort sent blazing pain through her cracked ribs. She guided Esprл through the main room and out onto the front porch. As she went, she kept her body between the girl and the body lying against the main room’s rear wall. Once outside, she relaxed, but it didn’t last long.
“Aunt Arnaya?” Esprл asked. “Where’s Norra?” Te’oma heard fear creeping into the girl’s voice. She had to act quickly or the girl would begin to panic.
The changeling-elf sat the girl down on the porch next to her and wrapped her arm around her. A breeze carried a chill through the air, ruffling their hair like dark and light flags behind them. The girl shivered and snuggled closer to the changeling.
“We must leave soon,” the changeling said.
“How soon?”
“Tonight. Horrible things are happening in town, and we have little time to waste.” Te’oma wished that the vampires would hurry up and come back. She knew the justicar wouldn’t be fooled by her little lie for long.
Esprл thought about that for a while. “Is Valenar a long way?”
“It’s a safe ways away. You’ll love it there. You’ll be with family again.” Te’oma looked down at the girl as she spoke. The elf child’s naive nature was charming, and for a moment the changeling wondered how her life might have been different if she’d decided to pursue motherhood instead of… this. The thought unsettled her, but it evaporated when she hugged the child closer.