Page 3 of Magic & Secrets
Our pack leader lifted his jaw and inhaled deeply. We followed his lead, sniffing for the scents left behind by the killers.
“Vampyres,” I said. “They had humans with them.”
Delta prowled toward the muddy road leading into Haven Junction. “I’ve caught the scent of a Sorcerer. A Necromancer, too.”
Koda studied the wounds of the dead before lifting his sharp blue eyes toward our pack leader. “What madness has the world become for these varied magic folk to collaborate in war?”
Delta muttered, “I’m more interested in why they’d attack us.”
“They didn’t,” I said and gestured at the bodies. “They attacked the Junction filled with soft targets.”
“The Sorcerer brewed up the storm,” Koda said and sniffed the air. “They didn’t want us showing up before they were done.”
“How did their magic blind us?” Tempe demanded in a pained growl. “We have never been fooled by common parlor tricks before.”
“We’ve been out of the mix for a long time,” Delta replied as his golden gaze found me. “The world has likely changed.”
Nodding, I said, “Magic is always evolving in the magic folk.”
Tempe scratched violently at his bearded jaw, drawing blood. “We were designed to be impervious to magic.”
No one dared remind Tempe how the Murade had lied about the Bane Shifters needing special enzymes to survive. For many centuries, we believed we were unable to live away from our masters. Tempe and our former pack leader, Bravo, proved the Murade were lying, bringing us one step closer to freedom. Nothing the human government claimed could be trusted.
Rather than agitate Tempe more by poking at the past, I rationalized, “The Murade might be gone. It’s been a decade since they sent a representative to check on us. How can we know what is happening outside our territory?”
As his fury and sorrow bore down on him, Tempe struggled to remain in his human form. His scent grew stronger. He fought to think like a warrior rather than a beast.
A hundred years was a long time to live wild. We rarely had any reason to take our human form. I sensed my pack leader might be incapable of speaking for much longer.
“Is this vengeance?” I questioned while moving deeper into the village. “We killed many creatures for the Murade.”
Koda frowned at me. “Why now?”
“The Murade might have just fallen,” I replied, feeling a presence watching me. Scanning the woodlands, I somehow sensed the female from my dreams. “Now, our enemies want to make us suffer.”
I considered my former masters. Even during my species’ design phase, the Murade feared we might one day rebeland claim the Territories. The scientists had ensured we were sentenced to a single generation. We had no mates and couldn’t breed. Bane Shifters were designed to fight for our masters rather than to battle for a future of our own.
Unlike Tempe, I was oddly calm despite the horror around me. Lately, I’d sensed something tugging at the threads of my consciousness. A feeling of impending dread stirred in my thoughts before slumber.
I was bothered by how cold I felt inside. These were my friends. I had known them for hundreds of years. I was at Haven Junction just weeks ago, sharing laughter with the creatures now gone silent.
Had I lived in the wild too long? Or was this aloofness normal for my species after existing for so long? No one knew exactly how we were designed. How could I possibly understand why I felt so utterly calm despite my loss?
As Tempe finished surveying the damage, two dozen pack members arrived and filled the village. Every one of them had ended many lives in the pursuit of Murade’s goals. Now, the Bane Shifters found themselves under attack by a powerful new magic.
Barely able to remain in his human form, Tempe spoke in a voice more animal than man. “It doesn’t matter who came here or their reasons. We have been attacked! They spilled the blood of our kind. None of them can survive!”
To live without chains, the Bane Shifters chose to make peace with our masters and agreed to hide on the mountain. For a century, we had fought our instincts to dominate and destroy.
As the scent of blood and rage filled the air, the Bane Shifters chose to hide no more.
Calla
THESE DENSE WOODLANDSof Arbdorre Territory were once controlled by an ancient god called Solme Divige. This powerful creature dug deep into the ground long ago when the sun warmed Lavinia. She was a mighty beast, owning a devious mind and unquenchable bloodlust.Solme Divige was also the ancient one used to make my kind.
As I ran through the thick brush, her words echoed in my mind. She had no use for my training at the Citadel. Solme Divige possessed far grander plans for my kind.
As a thorn sliced my cheek, I didn’t dare slow down to wipe away the blood. Behind us, the instructors gave chase, and they were in an exceptionally aggressive mood.
