Shift

Chapter 15

15

Drake climbed the tree that lent against the outer wall and sat perched for a few minutes. Vera had warned that there were more guards on the lookout now. He didn’t see any but he didn’t doubt they were there.

When he was sure he could continue unnoticed he made his way down the wall and across the outer ward. Vera had said she couldn’t cross the inner wall without calling attention to herself so Drake started walking down the fence, looking for the best place to jump.

He could get over the inner wall anywhere if he really wanted to, just by shifting, but he didn’t want to startle Vera into calling the guards. He was in a new scenario and it had become very important that he kept Vera as an ally.

***

Vera jumped but kept her mouth shut when Drake fell from the sky. He landed gracefully but she wondered why he hadn’t simply shifted to get in.

“You showed,” She said, a note of surprise in her voice. Drake riled at the implication that he didn’t keep his word, but realised that he was from the Clan. Of course she didn’t think he was trustworthy.

“Valdor was surprised that I could breach the wall, as surprised as you were. You should understand that Valdor is never surprised. I get the feeling there is something important I’m missing.” Drake began, and then waited for Vera to enlighten him. She paused uncomfortably, but if Valdor knew about the protection of the wall there wasn’t much point keeping it secret.

“There’s a reason we live behind a wall. When it was built it was enforced with deep magic - that was when some of it still remained in our world – and it will always keep out our enemies. Those who wish evil upon us, or who would harm any one of the Houses, cannot pass. And neither can any sort of weapon or spell they might use. You meant me harm, and yet here you stand. This can only mean one thing as far as anyone can tell…” Vera trailed off.

“That I truly didn’t mean to harm you?” Drake supplied softly. Vera looked startled.

“What? No -The protection has obviously failed us,” Vera corrected him. He didn’t say anything but he wasn’t so certain that it was the spell that had let him through.

He had never known any magic except Valdor’s, which was so twisted and mutilated it, could barely be called that, but the night he had pursued Vera he’d sensed many kinds of pure magic. It was like seeing the sun rise for the first time.

There’d been the pendant, a soft steady heartbeat he could barely sense, and of course the power from Vera’s shift. He’d felt it, it had helped him track her back to the wall. He’d never experienced anything like it; it was like following her signature. But there had been something else that night, something he’d missed when he’d been full of adrenaline and in the hunt. Now, he was almost certain he’d felt the caress of the wall’s magic as he’d climbed it. Tonight it was as if he slipped through a curtain, he hadn’t sensed a presence at all.

Perhaps Vera was right, and the magic had failed. But she didn’t know what he knew. She didn’t know what his intentions had been.

“So Valdor has accepted you back?” Vera filled the long silence.

“With open arms,” Drake confirmed.

“Has he shared his plans?”

“Not yet, though he is defiantly working to something. I changed his plans when I told him about crossing. Maybe not that much in the end, but you’ll have a little more time while he figures out how to use the broken protection to his advantage.”

Vera was silent while she accepted all that he’d told her. She believed every word, and though it wasn’t much, it was more than she’d hoped for. Valdor was very trusting. She snuck a glance at Drake and wondered how he’d won back Valdor’s favour so quickly.

“I have something I need you to do.” Drake began. Vera stiffened; he was going to change the terms of his agreement, almost certainly. But just as suddenly as he’d started speaking, Drake changed the subject.

“Sofi is your sister, isn’t she?” He wasn’t asking, he knew. Vera nodded.

“When did you know?”

“I realised pretty soon after you agreed to free me, I should have guessed sooner, her eyes are identical to yours, but she has a very different personality.”

“Perhaps not so different…” Vera muttered quietly.

“What?”

“We both decided to trust you.” She said. Drake swallowed his surprise. She was very good at hiding how much she ‘trusted’ him.

“She is your sister. I have no doubt you would do anything for her. So I hope you will understand when I tell you I want you to take my sister into amnesty.” He continued. Vera’s eyes widened in shock and her face paled.

“The protection is gone as far as you believe, and even if it is still there she means you no harm. She can care for herself and keep hidden. But I need you get her inside.” He paused for breath and resumed, slower this time, “I will not change the terms of our agreement. I will continue to aid you. But I need her to be safe. And the safest place I know of is within your walls.”

Vera was stunned.

What he was asking was just about impossible, yet, he was right. She understood. He was risking a lot in betraying Valdor. There was one thing he did not want to risk and he was asking her to smuggle it into her home.

He looked uncertain of her lack of answer, and maybe just a little desperate. She knew Valdor had been holding someone he cared about over his head. But really, it was a matter of one thing. Did she still trust him?

Her silence had him on edge. He needed to get his sister away from Valdor, before he got a chance to sink his talons further into her. Vera was just about his only hope. He could only pray that she thought of Sofi, for the moment he figured out who she was, everything Vera had done made sense. If she thought of Sofi, it would be clear to her why he needed her to do this.

“I will,” Her answer was loud and certain. Drake felt as though his lungs were scrambling to try and remember how to breathe.

“Thank you,” He whispered softly. He hid the tears of relief in his eyes before she saw.

In the time that followed they discussed how to get Drake’s sister through the walls and Vera promised that she’d make sure she stayed hidden.

“Whatever happens, she cannot go near Valdor; do you understand?” He pleaded.

“I will keep her safe,” Vera promised, not for the first time.

Drake felt her words bite into him. He shouldn’t trust the protection of his sister to someone else. But it was the only way he could gain any sort of guarantee that she would be beyond Valdor’s reach.

Vera reached out and took his hand gently in hers and she was reminded of his lineage. His fingers were long and thin and his hand was light in hers. She wasn’t exactly feminine, but she felt the need to be careful around him, especially considering the injuries she’d inflicted on him when they’d met.

He seemed to read her mind, and he reached for her with his free hand, his arm wrapping around her back and pulling her to him.

“I’m not that fragile,” He whispered in her ear. She felt goose bumps run down her arms and fought the urge to move closer to him.

“Are you certain?” She asked tentatively.

“When you think of us meeting I know you think of when you attacked me to protect your friend. But you forget I caught you in the woods, and I fell with you from that tree,” He continued, his lips barely brushing against her ear. Her breath came out just a little bit sharper when she remembered back.

“You will be missed,” He said, his voice slightly louder as he pulled back. “I will bring her to you next time we meet.” He gave her hand a final squeeze as he turned back to the wall and shifted in one fluid movement.

His lethal form rose high above the wall, and with a few silent stokes of his wings, he disappeared into the night.