Blind Spirit (Scourge Survivor Series Book 4) Read online

  BLIND SPIRIT

  Scourge Survivor Series – Book Four

  JL Madore

  Copyright © 2017 by JLMadore

  All rights reserved

  ISBN: 978-0-9916763-7-8

  The moral right of the author has been asserted. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the author is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

  Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Dedication:

  To those who love the Haven gang, so much has happened yet there is so much more still to come. I hope you come along with us.

  Acknowledgements:

  To my Writers’ Community of Durham Region family: You are without question, the greatest and most talented community of writers ever assembled. You energize me. I’m honored every day to be your President, your peer and part of the group. Rock on WCDR!

  To my editors, Ruth and Gwynn of Writescape: The journey is nearing its end. Thank you for being there for every word and every sentence.

  To my writing circles/guides, Critical Realm, BookEnds and the gang at 20Books: your critiques are invaluable, your support immeasurable, and your friendships irreplaceable. Much love.

  BLIND SPIRIT

  Emerging from the Portal Mirror, Galan nodded to the Talon soldiers awaiting the arrival of his family. He trusted Cowboy and Kobi, but his pregnant mate and his sister were the breath which filled his lungs. If there was any chance of danger, he wanted it taken care of before their arrival. “Are you certain the village is secure?”

  Cowboy stepped toward him, his southern moniker accented by his loose-hipped swagger and the black cowboy hat he wore. “S’all clear, Highborne. No sign of trouble. No scent of Scourge. We posted men around the village and Aust has wolves patrolling the trees. You’re good to go.”

  Nausea swirled inside him, likely from the magical mode of travel but he feared the turmoil to be more.

  When Galan nodded, Cowboy tapped the communicator at his ear. “All is well, Julian. Send them through.”

  If not for the spirit ceremony, Galan would never allow Lia’s return to the Highborne Village. It was, however, the last opportunity to do right for their beloved Tham. Dearest friend. Brother in all but blood. It was also precisely the type of event the Scourge would exploit to recapture his sister.

  For the eight months since her rescue, she had been protected on the sanctuary grounds of Haven. Given any choice, she would be there still.

  CHAPTER ONE

  The two Elves standing before me were dead—the first I understood, the second I did not.

  Verily, I knew Cameron was dead, Aust’s father had been killed when Scourge raiders attacked the village. But dressed in suede pants and a fine ivory tunic with his quiver stocked and slung across his back, the male looked as vital and solid standing at the crux of the rivers as he had my entire sixty years of youth.

  Shifting my gaze past our intimate group, I tried to discern if anyone else saw him. Aust? Elora? At the very least my brother should, Galan being the Sentinel of Souls, after all. But though the eight of us had been granted the ability to see Tham’s spirit during his Veil ceremony, Tham seemed to be the only spirit the others saw.

  “Lia, it is your turn, little one.” Galan gestured to the water’s edge.

  Oh, yes. I stepped down the slight slope to the water’s edge, the green leaf-pod I crafted that morning cupped in my palms. After choosing the brightest mallow leaves and the most succulently scented flowers in the rainforest, I wove them as tightly as I could, to honor our fallen brother.

  May Tham’s spirit sail on e’ermore.

  As the little leaf-shaped vessel bobbed in the shallows, I recited the wish penned on the parchment sealed in its belly. “My wish for you, Thamior, is that your heart remains as full of life and love in the next phase of your Ambar Lenn as it has in this one. Blessings and abundance, brother-mine.”

  “Blessings and abundance,” the group repeated.

  I nudged my offering, sending it past the lazy ripples lapping the bank, to where the pull of the current snatched it up and swirled it down the river to join the others.

  Brushing my damp fingers against the fabric of my gown, I straightened and shifted to stand before Tham, the male who—whether born of my blood or not, deceased or not—was my brother in every sense of the word.

  He stood before me as all males in our Elven race: handsome, proud, lithe, lean, flaxen haired and fair of skin. But Tham held a mischievous light in his Highborne-blue eyes. One that no other ever had and, I doubted, ever would again. He was the purest joy, the truest love.

  Stepping close, I whispered his soul name for our last goodbye. “Amin mela lle, Quynn. You were taken from us far too soon.”

  He winked and raised his fingers to my cheek. I could not feel his ghostly touch, though I knew the warmth he exuded.

  Amin mela lle, my sweet Ryanne. I love you as well.

  Tham’s speaking of my soul name triggered, as always, the most intimate sensations. It kindled warmth beneath my skin and brought my most private, guarded emotions to awakening. And now, with him having lived a mere century and one, he would never speak it again.

  Galan handed me a handkerchief and after the others launched their wishes, we followed the sounds of celebration and headed to the ceremonial ruin site above the village.

  The musicians filled the velvet night sky, their ballads gliding from the glittering crowd to the stars far above the ancient platform. Though absent from the village since my capture, things remained unchanged: the silk covered altar-stone buried beneath an endless bounty of refreshments, the torch-lighted mantel stones encircling the plateau clearing, their burning light raining down an ethereal glow from twenty feet above, and the couples linked together, swirling and swaying as one in gossamer and suede perfection.

  The females’ gowns and hair flowed behind them as males floated their partners around the dance floor in tailored slacks and embroidered jackets.

  The lonely longing of my absence evaporated in an instant.

  I was home.

  I inhaled the rainforest breeze and the scents of orchid and hyacinth greeted me. Tropical heat crept deep into my body and warmed my chilled soul. So much had happened since Galan, Aust and Tham ventured off on their Ambar Lenn.

  So much would never be the same.

  Life’s Journey. I sighed at the painful naivety of life before their quest began. In the past eight months, Galan mated, was expecting twins and now served the God of gods. Aust lost his father, Cameron, had been stricken by the gods at Dragon’s Peak and exiled from the village.

  And Tham was dead.

  No matter how many times I repeated those words to myself, I failed to believe them. On a morning no different than any other, he set off on a jog through the Haven forests. Set upon by Rheagan’s minions, the most joyous male of our race was taken to a lost city of Fae and b
eaten to death for no reason other than to prove it could be done.

  “Why aren’t you dancing, sweetheart?” Cowboy asked, gesturing to the life celebration in progress before us.

  My escort for the evening—Talon bodyguard in truth—the southern Were shifter, tilted the brim of his ebony hat toward the crowd. “You’re pretty as a prize pony and a dozen young studs have already checked you out. Go on. Have some fun.”

  As much as I appreciated his kindness, the truth was, I could never ask a male to dance. That honor was of the male’s choosing and, thus far, no male had been so inclined.

  I twirled the end of the new ribbon woven into my hair and forced a smile. “My adventures outside the village have left me something of a pariah within the village, and those who would ask me as family are elsewhere.”

  Iadon and Nyssa had taken Ella to his cousin’s cottage for a visit. Elora took Aust to Cameron’s pyre site while he was permitted entrance to the village. And after I promised Galan I wouldn’t leave Cowboy’s side, my brother slipped Jade away for a forest tryst.

  Cowboy frowned, the torchlight catching the gold reflection of the inner animal in his eyes. “It’s a damn shame. If I wasn’t on duty, I’d take you out on the floor for a spin.”

  I reached to my tiptoes and kissed his bristled cheek. “Fash not—I tire anyway. It has been quite a day.”

  “Hold that thought, sweetheart. I think you’re up.”

  As a group of my peers made their way around the inside edge of the circle of stones, Cowboy retreated two steps in what I assumed to be an effort to appear less assuming.

  Impossible. All Weres possessed an unavoidable draw. Strength. Power. When coupled with his southern drawl, warrior’s build, and dressed in black leather battle gear, the Wolf drew the attention of all—male and female alike.

  Durian led the trio striding toward us, dapper as ever in a long navy coat embellished with silver leaves sewn along the lapel. I smoothed my hands down my dress and ordered my quickened heart to settle. Many flowers had lost their petals while I daydreamed about that male in the south meadow.

  He glanced over his shoulder at Kaya and Ava, as if he too suffered from nerves. “Lia,” he said as the three of them stopped before me, “I wish . . . we wish to ask after you. Are you well?”

  I inhaled his scent and the wings of butterflies fluttered against my insides. “I am well, though saddened for the reason of my return. Tham was a remarkable male.”

  Durian nodded. His hair had grown to midway down his chest while I was away, but still, it failed to hide how his ears flushed an adorable pink right to their gentle tips. “We heard . . . well, your eda told the council . . .”

  He hesitated and I braced myself. I could only imagine what Eda told the council. My sire detested me. Galan and Jade had ranked a loathing sneer from across the party. I seemed unworthy of even that.

  Kaya crossed her arms over her now ample breasts. “Is it true you died and passed Behind the Veil?”

  I adjusted the velvet mourning choker banding my throat. “Uh no, well, . . . in a fashion.”

  “And yet you returned? Were you turned away from the After?” The cool mockery in Kaya’s tone caught me by surprise. We were friends. Or I thought we were.

  “I did not die . . . exactly. Galan and Jade rescued me from my state and brought me back.”

  Kaya’s gaze narrowed as she scowled. “How fortunate for you. Dozens of loved ones did die during your capture—Ava’s father, Durian’s brother—and yet your brother and his magic-wielding mate brought you back to live on?”

  Ava stepped forward and flicked a lock of my hair. “To think, we admired the silver of your hair. So unique. Little did we know it symbolizes you being the abhorrent offspring of a maniacal Queen and heir to Rheagan’s throne.”

  Durian frowned. “Shall we bow to you, Lia? Now that you destroyed our lives and moved on to rule a realm which hates our very race?”

  My gaze shot around the sudden silence of ruin site. It skipped over the glimmering perfection, bounced off the accusing glares of strangers I had known and loved my entire life. “I am not the heir to the throne.”

  Kaya yanked the fist clenched at my side. Pulling it forward, she pried my fingers open. Hidden in the palm of my hand, gleamed a blue-diamond large enough that the entire gathering could see it from any distance. “You wear the Queen’s ring.”

  Vomit bit the back of my throat as I struggled for what to say. “I . . . the ring cannot be removed. If it could I would—”

  Cowboy’s snarl ripped through the night. The long rumbling timbre of his wolf vibrated in my chest. When his muscled frame shifted to stand at my side, my three friends stumbled back. In a blur, he pulled me tight to his side and Flashed me to Tham’s cottage in the center of the village.

  When he released me, I breathed through the sensations of magical travel: the flutter of my stomach, the airy lightness in my head and the squeezing of breath from my lungs.

  They hated me. They blamed me. They thought I . . .

  I turned and tried to . . . what? Where could I go? I had no home. Not in this pocketed village. Not in the Realm of the Fair. Gasping shallow breaths, I yanked the mourning band from my neck. “I cannot breathe.”

  “S’all good, sweetheart. That was bullshit up there. A few deep breaths and you’ll be finer than frog hair.”

  The dead silence of the celebration above, echoed in my head. “I ruined their lives. I ruined Tham’s celebration. I ruined my own family. I killed my mother simply by being born. Did you know?”

  Cowboy grabbed at my flailing arms but I lurched free and headed for the river.

  With trembling hands, I tugged the ribbons from my hair and threw them to the ground. Guilt and loathing crushed my lungs. I wished I was strong like Jade and Lexi. I wished . . . a lot of things. I wished I had a place . . . a purpose . . . a male to love me. The truth glowed in the eyes of my friends.

  I had nothing.

  I waded into the water, deeper and deeper still. I dragged my legs against the resistance until the current swept my skirt and soaked my bodice. My tears fell in earnest and the day overtook me. One more step and I could collapse into the inviting warmth of the river’s mouth and be lost. I would let myself sink. The weight of my grief would pull me down. Down until my boots touched the pebbled bottom. Down until the world disappeared and the hurt washed away.

  My lungs would burn with the urgent need to draw breath, but I would hold fast until oblivion claimed me.

  Durian is wrong, sweeting. Cameron stood on the river bank opposite me, his wide, callused palms open. The village attack was the act of a madman and his quest to rule the realm. You are no more responsible for your ancestry than Aust for being born with his gift to speak to animals. Naught of this is your doing. I do not blame you.

  I pounded my fist against the unrelenting pressure which had compressed my chest for months. “They came for me. You and the others were killed because of me.”

  And you carry that with you always.

  I rubbed my forehead. It felt like someone cleaved my skull in two and my body failed to recognize my impending death. In the throbbing haze of one of my worst headaches yet, I glanced around. “Oh, gods, what do I do?”

  Your best, neelan. Is all you can do.

  Lost in the impossibility of my life, the current tugged on my sopping gown, inviting me into the depths. I looked back to the riverbank. It was empty. Had Cameron truly been there or was my mind so far off that insanity conjured him?

  Strong arms wrapped around my shoulders as Cowboy hugged me from behind. He rested his chin on top of my head and exhaled. “You’re scaring the stuffing out of me, sweetheart, just so you know. Yelling at the riverbank is one thing, but I don’t like you pondering a midnight swim. And FYI, Weres can’t swim. We sink. So, if it’s all the same to you, how’s about we get our feet back on dry ground?”

  Without waiting for an answer, he turned my shoulders and led me back toward the bank.
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  “Apologies,” I said, my voice thick with tears. “I am so embarrassed . . . and weary . . . and . . .”

  “Lost.” He stopped in the shallows and set my hair behind my shoulder. “You’re a little lost right now, Lia, but other than your dress getting waterlogged, there’s no damage done. Just you and me taking an unexpected stroll in the river.”

  I looked down at the two of us standing drenched in our clothes and would have laughed had my heart not been breaking. “They hate me, Cowboy. Everyone I ever loved despises me.”

  A shadow fell over Cowboy’s gaze as if he felt the ache of my pain himself. “That’s their loss.”

  “And untrue, sweeting.” Standing on the bank with his mother, Aust removed his sunglasses and offered me a hand out of the water. His ice-blue cat’s eyes held so much compassion, I wondered how anyone could mistake the gentle soul he was. “We heard about what Durian and the girls said. Highborne judgment cuts, I know, but the attack was not your fault. Anyone with an ounce of Elven logic would agree.”

  Elora wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “It seems we have all outgrown this village. Let us leave this narrow-minded aristocracy behind once and for always.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Over the next weeks, I pushed my doubts down and sought a productive place in Haven society. Easier planned than executed with Galan’s obsession to secure my safety. He felt too many unsavory characters frequented the Hearthstone. I was not qualified to work at The Academy of Affinities. And no matter how I tried, I could not convince him to let me seek employment at one of the merchant shops in the market square. Helping in Jade’s clinic was deemed the only suitable place for me.

  “Okay, hon,” Jade said, “those herbs learned their lesson.”

  I glanced at the dried mixture within the pestle and released my steel grip on the marble mortar. “Apologies, I fell to distraction. I’ll clean this up.”