Enchantment Read Online Free PDF Page B

Tallon the job of captain, but by that time Tallon had become disenchanted with life in the confines of the Keep. Instead, he’d asked for the position of Enforcer, and Malachai, maybe sensing his restlessness, had relented. His job was to go after the enemies of the order, or follow up on requests from the villages and towns that surrounded the Keep. If they had a problem, they would often petition the Keep for help. The Council would discuss the petition and if accepted, Tallon would sort out the problem. Most of his prey were hardened criminals, and on the whole, it was work he enjoyed. Or had, until he’d been sent out after a young witch and her mother. For the first time, he had questioned his duty.
    The guards would provide the extra power he needed and he nodded. Malachai strode to the edge of the clearing and spoke quietly to someone. He came back a minute later. “So where is she?” he asked.
    “I’m not sure, but it doesn’t matter. With our combined power we can draw her to us here.”
    “You can do that? I’m impressed. You’re power has increased.” Tallon cursed silently; he would prefer that Malachai did not know his strengths. He had a suspicion that at some point in the future, he would be facing the head of the Order in less than friendly circumstances, and he needed every advantage he could get. But he had no choice. He could think of no other way to rescue Shayla and even this would be touch and go as to whether he would succeed. As long as he didn’t lose her in that limbo between worlds.
    Eight guards entered the clearing and formed a ring around Tallon and Malachai. They each raised their staff, touching it with the next in the circle until they formed a continuous ring. Tallon raised his own staff and closed his eyes. He concentrated on Shayla, and now that he had found her once before, he honed in on her easily. Around him, the guard started up a low chant, and he could feel the power shifting into him, swelling with the hum of their voices.
    This time, there was no resistance. She came to him easily, and within seconds, she stood in the center of the circle beside him. She shook her head, obviously dazed at the transition, but that would soon dissipate. Tallon had to act fast.
    If it were Malachai alone, he would attempt to take him out, but he couldn’t take on the whole circle of guards. Already Shayla’s expression was clearing, and he could see the dawning of delight in her wide green eyes. Stepping forward, he raised his free hand and clipped her on the side of the chin.
    Shock replaced the delight, then she crumpled to the soft ground, unconscious.
    ~*~
    Shayla came back to consciousness with a sudden jolt. It was becoming a regular occurrence, and this time she kept her lids lowered as she tried to make sense of where she was and what had happened. She lay on her side on the soft earth. Peeping through half-closed lashes, she saw two pairs of long leather boots directly in her field of vision. She blinked then shut her lids as pain flashed through her head.
    It came back to her slowly.
    Tallon.
    Somehow, he had found her and brought her from the in-between place and back to Arroway. And then he had hit her.
    Bastard.
    What in the Goddess’s name was going on? And while Tallon accounted for one pair of boots, who did the other belong to? She knew deep inside that Tallon would never hurt her, but their relationship was so new. Only a little while back he had been trying to kill her. He had been her sworn enemy and judged her responsible for just about every bad thing that had ever happened in their world. But that had changed. She had chosen him. They had been on their way back to Arroway to save her mother...Oh Goddess. Her mother! The Order had captured her mother, were holding her prisoner in the dungeons below the Keep.
    Something nudged her in the side. The toe of a boot. It had better not been Tallon’s. She tried to move, to push herself up, but her hands were bound in