The Blessed Curse (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #4)(91)

“I’ve got some lovely stew cooking. Call them off and I’ll give everyone a bowl,” Shade offered in gasps as he dodged the creature once more and kicked it toward its companions. The wound in his leg was starting to burn and he glanced down at it quickly. Blood had soaked his pant leg and the gashes didn’t look to be healing as quickly as they should have.

The woman laughed somewhere to his right as all three Blights charged him. “You look so dismayed. Did you expect to be healing? I suppose it is a bit of a shock if you regenerate, but we learned that lesson with the Shifters. They heal too fast so we adapted. Fortunately for us we learned about Tevrae through scanning minds. Sorry, Dinner, but you won’t be healing today.” Her voice was mocking and Shade felt panic rise with her words.

“Bloody hell,” Shade muttered as he dropped to the ground to dodge the first blow and spun his leg to trip the next Blight before it could attack. If the creatures had Tevrae on their claws there was only so long he could continue to fight defensively. He had known the mission would be dangerous, but with Tevrae involved it wasn’t just dangerous it could possibly be fatal.

A squeal of alarm rang through the clearing and Shade caught movement in the trees above. The goblin trilled again as the branch it clung to swayed dangerously. Shade barely saw a glimpse of the Blight closing on the goblin before his attention was drawn back to his own problems. Scrambling back he dodged the third Blight’s attack and felt one of the other two slam into his back. Claws tore through his leather vest and deep into his flesh before he could break away. His goblin squealed again and this time its voice was laced with pain. “Stop!” he screamed as the Blight threw the goblin from the tree and landed on top of it, claws raised for the death blow.

He hadn’t truly expected anything to come from the word, but to his amazement all of the Blights in the clearing had frozen in place. Shade blinked in confusion, looking from Blight to Blight as he tried to determine what exactly had just happened. He hadn’t used any magic, but the creatures had stopped at his command. They stared at him now with wide eyes and backed away from the fight.

“What the hell?” Shade muttered as he relaxed his posture and watched the Blights in complete confusion.

“Morcaillo,” the woman hissed and slammed into his back. Claws raked at him as he spun desperately trying to dislodge her. “You think you can make us your slaves again?” the woman snarled as she tore into him once more. He caught a glimpse of her at last, and his breath caught in his throat. She was beautiful with dark hair and soft green eyes, but it wasn’t the beauty that had stolen his breath. It was the expression of pure and utter hatred that covered her face. Never before had he witnessed such rage in any creature.

“I don’t want a slave,” Shade gasped as he frantically tried to break free of her attack. “I am here to make peace with you.” He barely managed to gasp the words before her claws found his flesh once more.

“Liar!” the Blight screamed and the word seemed to echo through the entire forest.

Her face contorted again as she renewed her attack with more savagery. Shade barely managed to dodge a blow to his throat, stumbling back unbalanced. Her other hand connected solidly with his face and his vision blurred as her claws ripped through his right eye. Agony tore through him as he staggered back, clutching his face.

“Please stop,” Shade gasped. In the beginning he might have won a fight with her, but he had no hope of it now. The smaller Blights had already wounded him by the time his round with her started, and she had caught him completely off guard with her attack. Between his blinded eye and the blood loss he knew the fight was over for him, and the only prayer he had was talking some sense into her. “Jala Merrodin sent me to make peace with you. I am not here on behalf of the Morcaillo.” His words came out in a rush as she faded back to camouflage again. He only had moments before she attacked again, and he knew it would be the last attack. She would finish him with her next blow if he didn’t do something quick. He couldn’t even shift forms at this point. The process of changing would take too long and she would rip him apart while he was in the middle of the shift.

“Do not kill him,” The command came from the edge of the forest and the newest speaker had a ring of authority to his voice.

“He is Morcaillo!” the woman snarled as she became visible once more. She was crouched barely a foot from him and poised to spring. By her posture Shade knew without a doubt the man had just saved his life.

“Thank you,” Shade gasped as he moved another cautious step from the woman.

The man dropped his camouflage and stepped calmly into the clearing. He was older than the woman, with dark hair and a thin beard covering his chin. He glanced at Shade as he approached and his expression was free of anger, but it was by no means friendly. His dark eyes settled on the woman and he shook his head slowly. “He is Morcaillo, which is exactly why we are taking him to Onvalla rather than killing him. He is too important to simply eat when we might learn useful information from him.”

“He is my prey. I should decide what is done with him. I have been following him for a day now,” the woman snapped as she ros e to her feet. Her back stiffened as she faced her fellow Blight.

“He was your prey and now he is mine. It’s nothing personal, Kella. It’s simply the food chain. You understand, I’m sure,” the man smirked as he repeated her own words back to her and flexed his claws as if daring her to attack him.