Water Bonded Read online

  Caia was the first to speak. “The seal of the sanctuary has been breached. Give us your strength so we may complete our mission before the enemy comes this way.” Caia then reported to the others who made up the circle. “Unlike us, the enemy agents didn’t wait for the proper times to pass when they travelled through the passage. The Guardian of the cliff has sealed the tomb because of this. I say tomb because this is what this space will become to those who are not careful.”

  Hawk wondered, “Is this a tomb for us as well as our enemy, or does this statement only pertain to our enemy?”

  Thea answered, “It is meant for those who are foolish, no matter whom. Two of the enemies have already perished. Two more are coming forward to challenge the Fates. We must prepare to gather what we came for and go.”

  Even as Adriel rose to follow Caia and Thea’s lead with Hawk, he asked, “Is there a way out?”

  Caia smiled, although it was scarcely perceptible, and answered. “Do you think our ancestors would have left us to face a situation like this if they hadn’t created a backdoor to give us a chance to flee from danger if it was necessary?”

  Standing in a circle in the middle of the space where they had sat earlier, Caia and Thea led Hawk and Adriel in a chant. There was a sound of movement from above, followed by a shower of grit and dust that came from overhead. Slowly a round slab of rock drifted to the floor. On the top of the circular stone two books rested, wrapped in waterproof coverings that were made to keep moisture from the tomes.

  Hawk went to lift one of the wrapped volumes to pass it on to Caia and she stopped him. “You mustn’t touch them. Only Thea and I are allowed that privilege, for we are the Sentinels, and that is our task. If the Guardian does not recognize your signature as being one of us, the back door will be locked and sealed. We will be entombed in the passage with the others who are hunting us. There is no way to break free of the tunnel after both ends are locked.”

  Hawk immediately backed away from the rock and the books it held. He now understood more clearly that there was more at work here that simple Elven magic. This had the signature of the Fates to it. Neither Hawk nor Adriel would touch anything unless Caia and Thea instructed them to. This was their Life Mates’ domain, at least for the moment. As Sentinels, the women would know what was allowed and what was forbidden when no one else would.

  Caia and Thea rushed forward to pick up the books, and as they checked out the protective coverings to make sure there were no breaks in the layers they were wrapped in, they froze. There were sounds of people running towards them, and the sense of danger that came along with this was enough to pull all of the oxygen out of the air around them. Caia and Thea exchanged a quick glance, finished their examination, and then headed for a seam that suddenly began to form in the farthest wall away from them. A loud roar came from the tunnel, followed by the clash of rock coming together. It was a warning from the Guardian to let the Sentinels know that the passageway was filling in quickly.

  Caia didn’t think twice about what she was about to do. This was no time for games. If she hesitated, they wouldn’t survive. “Follow me, and run as fast as you can. Prepare to go from one element into another without warning. We are going to be entering the sea.”

  Even as they raced through the suddenly visible opening, Hawk asked, “How do you know this for fact? Only a few moments earlier you sounded like you had no idea where we were.”

  Caia continued to sprint through the passageway that still remained, as she did, she answered, “We will talk about this later. Save your breath for what is about to come because it is going to be a shock to your system.”

  Adriel took up the guard position at the back of the line, and as fast as they were moving, he could swear he could hear the enemy gaining on them.

  A ninety-degree turn proved to be the end of the tunnel area. Caia, Thea, Adriel, and Hawk came to a sudden stop before the rock wall that barred the way. Caia and Thea could barely breathe. They had been exerting themselves so much, it was all they could do to stand to see where they were going. Despite this, Caia and Thea managed to gasp one last word in unison before things began to fall apart, “Sanctuary.”

  Thea and Caia had barely finished speaking when Norton and David came careening around the corner. The two hybrid wizards came to an abrupt halt at the sight of the four Elves, and as the enemies stood staring at each other, the sound of rock grinding against rock grated on their ears and nerves. Both sides were laboring equally hard for air, and the loud crashing of stones could be heard from behind Norton and David, making the words they said barely audible. “Stop right where you are. You need to control what is happening.”

  Thea answered, “You alerted the Guardian to your presence. What makes you think we can stop it from doing what it was created to do?”

  David bellowed, “Stop whatever it is, or I will kill all of you.”

  Caia replied in a shaking tone, “We don’t have the power.”

  The looks that crossed Norton and David’s faces explained much. Neither of these men had given much thought to how they would survive a magical attack if they were faced with one. They hadn’t really believed something like this was possible. The only thing they had hoped was that once the Guardian had begun its attack, the people now standing before them could control the elements surrounding them. The truth of the matter was only now beginning to settle into their minds. They were all in this together, and thus equally at peril. This meant they were all going to die.

  There was the sound of rushing seawater coming at those who were standing at one end of the tunnel, while the grating of rock that was filling in the passageway was audible from the other direction. There was nowhere else to go. No matter which of the two elements got to them first, the hybrid wizards were certain no one would be getting out of this situation alive.

  The only warning anyone got that one element had arrived ahead of the other was Caia’s order as she warned her friends, “Brace yourself.”

  A moment later a shining weave of protection formed around Caia, Thea, Adriel, and Hawk as they were carried out of the tunnel and out to sea by a rush of water that rolled back towards the open sea. The current carried them through the portal that was rolling loose on the ocean floor, and then the gateway winked out.

  In the passageway, Norton and David’s silent screams were swallowed by water only moments before rock formed around their bodies to claim them for the cliff, or in this case, it was the reefs twenty miles from the shoreline. By the time the land and sea settled there was no sign that the tunnel had even existed, or anyone else who had entered it mere days before, at least not on this side of the boundary. The only thing that could be seen was the top post of a schooner sticking out of the water from where it lay on the floor of the ocean. In the hull of the ship was a massive hole that had happened when it struck the reefs.

  CHAPTER XXIII

  Haltom arrived at the cottage that Norton had been using to find it deserted. There was nothing inside to suggest that anyone had ever lived in it. Even the refrigerator looked like it had been cleaned out, for there was no food in it. In fact, none of the appliances carried odors to suggest they had ever been used in a very long time. There was an ambience of emptiness surrounding every inch of the property, yet Haltom knew better than to believe this had been the case. It made him wonder how this illusion had been created. Where had everyone gone? Where were their belongings? Even the things that must have belonged to the two girls they had been stalking were gone. When they checked things out to see what remained, they didn’t find anything. Not one single clue remained to give them any ideas where the people who had lived here had gone. There should have been something somewhere. This didn’t add up.

  To make sure no one would see what he was about to do, Haltom ordered all his guards and assistants out of the building. When he was sure he was alone, he conjured a seeing spell. It had only been three days since anyone from this project had been in contact with him, and there should still
be some trace of their residual essences left in the air. This would be especially true for Norton, as he had been living here for the last week. Haltom waited for the results to come in, but nothing came back to give him any answers. There wasn’t even signs of mice, which was rare enough on its own. Haltom knew better than to believe what he was sensing. The interior of the house was too pristine. Nothing was this clean. Whoever had washed out this house after the others had left had done a meticulous job of it. When Haltom tried to trace those workers, he got no results there either. There was nothing to be found here. This meant Haltom was missing a clue, but he had no idea what it could be. Nothing like this had happened to him before and it left him at a loss to figure things out.

  As Haltom sat on a chair in the middle of the empty kitchen, he felt a light touch on his shoulder, and he looked up into the concerned face of his wife. Haltom placed his hands on hers and smiled, “I should have known you would eventually come after me. This place disturbs me, Anya. I know people were living here, but there is no sign of them. Even the possessions of the men I sent to check on what was happening are gone. It is like they never arrived, but I know better. All the reports I got from them coincide with the records I have on them up to this point. It makes no sense.”

  Anya knew what her husband was, and she didn’t really care. Haltom paid her bills and kept her in the fashion she had become accustomed to, and nothing else mattered to her. Despite Anya’s shallower feelings about Haltom there were some things about their relationship that kept them together. Anya returned Haltom’s smile and asked, “Have you tried to conjure a spell to bring up their presence outside of the house itself, or even on the beach?”

  Haltom shook his head and replied, “There would be no sense in even trying. It rained heavily here yesterday. Any traces of their presence outside would have been washed away.”

  Anya looked for another avenue to suggest, “How about going to the cliffs to see what you can find there?”

  Again Haltom shook his head and explained. “The tides will have destroyed all traces there as well. There is nothing left for me to use that will tell me anything. I might be able to do better if I had something they had touched shortly before they disappeared, but even their possessions are gone.”

  Anya sighed and decided help Haltom close the book on this part of his project. She reached down, took Haltom’s hand in hers, and led him outside. There someone from the coastal authorities met them.

  “Haltom Stetler?” The officer who approached Haltom spoke.

  Haltom nodded, “Yes, what I can I do for you officer?”

  The officer spoke. “I am Constable Krantz. I believe we found something you were looking for.”

  Haltom looked at Constable Krantz hopefully and then asked, “What have you found?”

  Constable Krantz replied, “A schooner called the Seagull.”

  A great smile spread across Haltom’s face as he enthusiastically asked, “Where did you find it? Was my crew still onboard?”

  Constable Krantz replied. “The schooner is perched precariously on the ledge of a reef. It looks like it struck the rocks and sank with only the top of the main mast still above water to show where it rests.”

  Haltom’s smile faded as he asked, “Precariously?”

  Haltom was not any happier with this report than he had been with what he had found inside of the house. There had been a lot of information stored on that ship, and the men onboard had been some of his best. This was definitely not good news.

  The constable nodded. “That is right. It wouldn’t take much to make the ship slide from where it is and then to continue its journey to the ocean floor. I doubt if there is much we can do to stop that from happening. I heard you were in the district and decided to give you this news in person.”

  Haltom nodded as he asked, “My crew members?”

  Constable Krantz replied. “Considering where the ship is, if the men were onboard at the time it sunk, they wouldn’t have lasted for long. The area is one mass of barracudas and sharks. In many ways that is ironic, for two hundred yards from there the surfers can ride the waves in safety because the big fish never seem to go there. I am sorry about bringing you bad news about your crew and ship.”

  Haltom nodded, his eyes showing his resignation and acceptance of what he now knew as fact. As Haltom did this, another thought crossed his mind. “Tell me, what do you know about the girls who live in this house?”

  Constable Krantz shrugged indifferently and admitted, “Not much. They are pretty and popular but quiet. They don’t really spend a lot of time in this area. They travel a lot, and go to see friends who are around the same age as they are, at least from what I have heard about them. When they come here it is to play in the ocean and on the beach with the other beach bums.”

  Haltom looked strangely at Constable Krantz and asked, “That is all you know?”

  Constable Krantz shrugged and replied, “As I said, they don’t get into trouble, so I have no reason to check on what they are up to. I figure that while they are safe and they behave, everything else doesn’t matter. Why do you ask?”

  Haltom replied, “No real reason. I just noticed this cottage and wondered if they might be interested in selling it.”

  Constable Krantz shrugged. This really didn’t concern him. Nevertheless, he found himself offering, “I will mention your interest to them the next time I see them, if I remember by then.”

  Haltom smiled in a friendly fashion as he held out a business card to Constable Krantz and thanked him. “If you do happen to run into them, give me a call, I would appreciate it.”

  Haltom watched Constable Krantz slip the card into his shirt pocket, and then leave. As the officer walked away, Haltom turned to Anya and announced, “It is time we went too. There is nothing here for us, and I have more important matters to tend to.”

  In the Elven Empire

  Caia, Hawk, Thea, and Adriel woke on a beach in the Elven Empire, and as they sat up to look around at the pristine world surrounding them, one of the first things they noticed was T’Harris. T’Harris was sleeping on the heated sands in his Dragon form looking very contented. The moment T’Harris felt the four Elves awake, he shifted back to his Elven state and spoke. “If you are up to it, the Emperor Lothriel and the High Lord General Gabriella Eagle Claw would like to talk with you.”

  Hawk wondered, “What about?”

  T’Harris replied, “They have questions to ask Caia and Thea about three pretty Elven girls who have an orchard on the other side of the boundary. From what we understand Caia and Thea know them well.”

  Caia and Thea both nodded as they answered. “They are friends of ours, as well as sister Sentinels. We know them very well. What do they want to know about them?”

  T’Harris assured Caia and Thea of Emperor Lothriel’s good intentions. “Our hope is to keep them healthy and alive so we can bring them home like we did with you. So if you are up to the trip, I will shift back into Dragon form and fly you to the City of Torendal where Emperor Lothriel is waiting.”

  Caia and Thea exchanged looks and then shrugged. As long as it helped their friends, they doubted if the rest mattered. Besides, they had books to take to the library, and traveling by Dragon didn’t sound so bad. They would talk to Emperor Lothriel, and then see about settling into life here, for there was something about this place that appealed to them, and they knew they would be happy here.