My strength fled me as I climbed until I had to rely on the bodily force of Strale to rise any further. He pulled me up without any apparent effort, not eyeing my naked form as I expected from such a man, but the satchel that I carried. Wisely he said nothing about the excess weight, simply turned to aid Cillumn in the same manner.
I found my feet and looked around warily. A ghastly field of corpses surrounded us. Bodies, already well within the realm of decay littered the ground. But they were all still, and other than their mutilation, appeared uninjured. Maybe my smoke bundles worked after all, the effectiveness just took a lot longer than I had anticipated.
"They were stumbling around each other, waving their limbs erratically like some wild dance when we arrived," Cillumn joined me where I stood.
"Yes, and then, once you had joined the incursion below ground they began falling about the field like flies. The ones that didn't pass out and stiffen took off into that pass there," Strale pointed.
My jaw fell open. What had once been a row of cliffs and the foot of a mountain was now a dished crater filled with rubble.
Had I done that? It looked as though it might be part of a massive cave in.
"You are a dangerous Shifter," Cillumn murmured, but he did not sound put out by the fact. Then, to Strale, "where are the others?"
"Dynarys leads them against Grim, he blew out from the side of the mountain and flees southward. His Lords, the cowards, had been hiding in the valley adjacent and they followed him, so our men should have plenty of fun to occupy them."
I wasn't sure if it was the weakness creeping up on me, or the disbelief that, for the moment, we were safe, but I sensed that Strale was a bit put out that he was missing out on the battle. I worked my way around fallen limbs and skulls toward where Scet cradled my sister. The Shifter watched me now, something unreadable on his face. Adda was still limp, and looked too slender and weak. But her breathing was strong, and there were no obvious injuries, or bites for me to worry about.
"Adda," I whispered, placing my head upon hers, a tear escaped and landed on her cheek. What had she suffered before I could find her? I shuddered to even think about it. Would she even be the same Adda I had known when she awoke? "You are safe now," I stroked her tangled hair and brushed my fingers against her eyelids willing her to wake.
Back against the mountains an increasingly familiar shriek echoed against the canyon walls. It came from the area around the cave in, possibly the possessed Shifters, looking for their buried brethren. Too close for comfort nonetheless.
"We best get you back to the aerie," Strale announced.
"We will never make it so far, most of us are injured and will need time to heal. And one for certain will need to be carried," Cillumn gestured to Adda.
"I am pretty amazing, even for a Dragon Lord, but even I can only carry one in flight, and I will not be walking, not through that Gods forsaken swampland we passed on the way here," Strale sniffed disdainfully.
Scet eyed me, his expression changing. He still looked uncomfortable standing there with a naked woman in his arms, like he didn't quite know what to do with himself. "You have healing tinctures? You can tend to her?"
I nodded. I wasn't sure what was wrong with her, why she wouldn't wake, but I would be damned to all Six levels of the underworld if anyone else was getting anywhere near her for a long time.
Scet met my gaze.
"I owe you my life. In return I would help you see you sister safe. Take her to my cabin, it is closer. Illaise and I will work our way there on foot."
I frowned. I did not wish for him to feel indebted to me, but if it inspired loyalty to Adda...
Yet, Scet and Illaise had been injured as well, it did not seem like a good plan to leave them wandering through the mountains alone. Illaise made no protest, she said nothing at all, just watched the Lords with a faint air of distaste. Maybe that was simply her neutral expression. A woman displeased with everything. I remembered then that her pack should still be in the area, they wouldn't have succumbed to the effects of the smoke...I hoped. She did not seem overly concerned for them at the moment, did she know where they were? Was this all part of some greater scheming on her part?
I decided I didn't know, and I did not like that. An Alpha should be open and clear, not sneaky and manipulative. Despite the fact that she had saved me, physically, more than once I did not trust her.
"It is decided then," Cillumn announced. I was too tired to argue. If everyone else was satisfied with the arrangement who was I to question it. He turned to me, amber eyes weary. His injuries had to be wearing on him too. "Lis, how do you feel about Dragon flight?"
***
Dragon flight was a perfectly acceptable way of travel. If one was completely mad, or maybe unconscious. For me it was like being gripped in my worst nightmare. I had closed my eyes while Cillumn and Strale transformed, very firmly telling my mind that it was not a dragon that gripped me in massive scaled claws. My mind did not believe me, and I spent the next hour trying to talk myself down from certain panic. The last thing I wanted was to startle the beast that held me and be dropped to my death. Fear rattled in the back of my mind, but the rest of me was too tired for such emotional extremes. I couldn't think, not clearly, not even if my life had depended upon it. Fortunately I didn't have to. The moments ticked by until it felt like all I had ever known was the terror of what was happening. And still I kept my eyes closed.
When at last my feet touched solid ground and the grip upon my upper arms released I collapsed instantly, and then crawled a short distance to allow my stomach to empty.
"Not too far woman, remember Scet's traps?" Cillumn warned, his voice strained.
I did remember the traps, but I felt very vulnerable getting sick before the Lords. Blessedly Cillumn guessed the problem and turned the other way, guiding Strale who was ladened with Adda into the hut.
I lay on the cool ground for a long moment afterward, urging my stomach to settle. I was safe, I had saved Adda. So why wasn't I happy?
My thoughts floated back to the encampment. So many Shifters, so many of my people mutilated and possessed. Something bad was brewing. No matter that I had met my own personal goals, the rest of my world proved to be changing for the worse.
I didn't want to think about it though, think about all those men and women and how they must have families out there mourning for them as I had mourned for Adda. I didn't want to worry about what it meant if a single bite could transmit the possession like some sort of disease. I didn't even want to panic about what happened to my pack if my Alpha was out wondering swamps. For one night I wanted to feel safe and secure.
I pushed myself off the ground and stood, brushing dirt and grass off my skin and wiping my mouth clean, and then made my way to the cabin. It was as I remembered, moss covered logs forming a rough rectangle in this hard to reach place.
The Dragon Lords had left the door cracked open and Cillumn looked up as I entered.
"Are you certain you will be secure here? Dynarys will kill me if I lose you now," Strale paced the small space, picking up a strip of dried meat from the makeshift table and sniffing it. His lip curled up a little and he set the strip back. They had lit three of Scet's lanterns brightening the space considerably. I blinked away the light and looked for Adda. She was placed on the bed of skins, my heart fluttered at how weak and helpless she looked there. I moved to her side and placed my hand upon her skin, checking for fever, or any reason for her continued unconsciousness.
"The traps here will provide sufficient protection I believe. Besides I am not so much injured as tired, a little rest will see me return to my full capacity." Cillumn stood by the door his words were strong but the way he slumped spoke to a dragging exhaustion.
Despite that his figure pulled at my attention. All lean muscle and deeply tanned skin. The black markings covered all parts of his body, aside from his face and I had the insane urge to run over them with my tongue. It seemed my libido had taken in the recent excitement and become stuck at high intensity. A warm blush crept over me and I could feel the deep pull between my thighs, and a moisture that I worried would be noticeable if I didn't find some sort of covering soon.
"Then maybe I will remain until you have rested."
I shook myself. I had nearly forgotten Strale was there. Silly girl and your fantasies. I removed my satchel, placing it before me to block some of my nakedness, and dug within for...well, I didn't know what I was looking for. She didn't seem to be in any sort of pain, nor did she have a fever. Her pulse was steady and even and her breathing unlabored. There was, as far as I could tell, nothing physically wrong with her. Could the psychological trauma be the reason she would not wake? Surely there had been many horrors over the course of the last week, why would they suddenly have effect now?
I decided on a moonblossom tincture, something that would ease her into a deep healing slumber, then perhaps her body could mend whatever it was I couldn't see. Shifter healing was fast and efficient, but it worked best if the patient was resting peacefully. I forced a few drops past her lips and waited. There was no discernible difference in her state, but I felt some of my own tension release anyway. I had done what I could, I knew now that she was resting peacefully.
"You could, but I believe it is unnecessary. Between Lis and myself I think we can hold this place for several days should we need to, and Scet and Illaise will make their way here by morning. It is more likely Firestriker will need your assistance with Grim and his flock of carrion eating cowards."
Strale raised an eyebrow. "You trust the Shifter girl to watch your back?" He looked to me, "no offense intended."
I frowned, how was I not to take offense at such a statement? It wasn't like I was bound to attack Cillumn while he slept. I wondered if there was some sort of Dragon Lord rule where they were encouraged not to turn their back on my kind.
"Absolutely," Cillumn nodded. "She is more than capable."
With his conviction my ire fled. He trusted me, and my abilities. And the knowledge did strange things to my insides. Had anyone, other than Adda, ever trusted me so completely?
"Then, if you are certain, I will join the others. They were outnumbered at my last count."
If Strale seemed like a soft minded lout at times I could see now that it was merely for show. His face hardened into a resolute mask. He wished to fight, not simply for the sake of battle, but to protect those he cared about. And this instant he was caught between Cillumn and whichever lords were out battling the Master. It wasn't often I could interpret someone's true intent. This time I decided that overall I liked Strale, despite his penchant for annoying displays of manliness and self admiration.
Cillumn nodded, and the two clasped arms, as shifter warriors often do when heading into battle together. Then the blond Dragon Lord slipped out of the cabin's door and into the night's inky blackness.
Never had I imagined I would care what happened to one of the Lords, one way or another. It was odd enough that I cared now what happened to Cillumn, but I found myself hoping, with the chaos that had found the world, that Strale would return safely and we would see him again.