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Ellory snarled again, and made to lunge, but the presence of a dozen or so loaded hematite crossbows made her hold still. Alem, too, lifted his hands, his jaw working in fury as he glared at Danya.
“You claim to protect the innocent,” Alem said to the priest. “But all I see are children who’ve been taken advantage of by the one who should have protected them. How your god must hate you.”
“Alem, stand down,” Verve cried, but Danya gave a signal and one of the other Chosen, a girl not much older than Usko, grabbed Alem’s wrists and clapped hematite bracers upon them.
Tears still streaming down her face, Verve looked over at Danya. “There’s no reason to hurt anyone else. I’ll go with you. Do what you want with me, but show them mercy. Please.”
A shadow fell over Verve as Danya came closer, looming over her, glaring down like some vengeful god. “Mercy?” Her voice was too soft, too gentle. “What do you know of that, ruthless killer that you are?”
“You made me this way,” Verve choked.
“Perhaps, but you never questioned me, or asked me to change. How was I to know you weren’t happy? I’ve done so much for you, child, and this is how you pay me back? With accusations and attacks?”
Verve’s mind spun. Danya’s words were lies, of course, but the tornado had gripped her heart and she couldn’t find her footing enough to argue. Long years of obedience, of coerced loyalty, of bows and deference, made her lower her gaze as her own bitterness pummeled her spirit.
Danya smiled. “Usko,” she said, gesturing to Alem and Ellory. “Finish them.”
“No,” Verve cried, but she wasn’t the only one.
An animalistic shriek pierced the air as Ellory shucked her hematite chains and melted into her ummaroc form. Shock tore through the group like lightning. Stunned at the sudden appearance of a sickle-drake in their midst, the Chosen scrambled back, their tight formation momentarily broken. Even Danya gasped.
Ellory snarled and stepped in front of Alem as if to shield him, but one of the Chosen recovered first and aimed his crossbow at the ummaroc. His aim was true; the bolt landed in Ellory’s shoulder with a sickening thunk. She screamed and canted backward, momentarily disoriented, and another Chosen, a young girl, leaped toward her, daggers in hand. A slash, a streak of bright crimson against Ellory’s nose, and the shiftling collapsed, unmoving.
Then Alem stood alone over Ellory, his chest heaving, his jaw tight, his hands clenched into fists. “I’ll never work for you,” he said to Danya. “I’ll end my own life first.”
“Enough of this shit.”
Verve whirled to see Klaret, Hadiya, and Kyon in his antelope form leap from a thick stand of palmettos. Hadiya brandished an axe while Klaret carried a wicked-looking machete. All three of them emanated pure fury.
“If you harm Alem and Verve,” Hadiya growled to Danya. “You’ll feel my axe in your skinny little neck. So call off your pups, Priest, else I’ll really give you something to pray for.”
Klaret grunted in agreement while Kyon stamped the ground in warning. A laugh bubbled up in Verve’s throat at the ridiculous sight of two villagers and an overgrown goat facing down the daggers, crossbows, and spears of Danya’s Chosen. But her amusement was the grim sort, gallows humor, for the Chosen would definitely destroy them. More deaths on her head.
Heart twisting, she called to Jocasta and Celidon. Surely one of them had encountered a situation like this in their time as a meridian. Please, she said through their ethereal bond of spirit and memory. Please tell me how to fix this.
A warmth, like a hand squeezing her shoulder, was the only reply. And while Verve would have preferred a weapon of some kind, their presences bolstered her more than a shining blade in her hand.
Well, mostly.
Meanwhile, Danya smiled at the Lotis villagers. “Another mage. Good. Legion will be so pleased.” She gestured again to the Chosen, who converged on Kyon, Hadiya, and Klaret, herding them together with Ellory and Alem. “On my word, kill the bumpkins, but take the shiftling and dendric mage alive.”
The villagers drew up back-to-back, their stances ready, their faces grim. Verve’s heart threatened to beat its way out of her ribcage. She scrambled to her feet, only to meet Usko’s dagger. Behind her, Kyon squealed and Hadiya shouted a litany of curses, but Verve couldn’t move for Usko’s weapon pressing against her chest.
Danya’s hand on her shoulder made her start. Danya’s grip was strong, unyielding, as she spoke into Verve’s ear. “This is your last chance to stop this madness. One word from me, and your friends will live.”
The air was thick with the iron scent of blood. Was Ellory moving? Verve couldn’t tell. Klaret cried out and Hadiya cursed again, and Verve trembled.
“What do you want?” she managed.
Danya squeezed her shoulder. “Legion only wants the dendric mage. And I only want you. Return to my side and convince him to come with you peacefully, and your darling little village will be safe. Forever.”
