Page 49 of Hexes & Heartstrings (Shifters of Bastion Keep #2)

It was all Bruin could manage in avoiding lashing out with offensive charms and hexes, suffused as he was with fury and white light. He could feel it refracting off of the many crystals that he wore, each one begging to be used, and it would be so easy to crush the traitor.

But he'd experienced a pale reflection of this emotion with Lady Yi, and the charms that he'd been practicing at Lux's behest lent themselves to defense, so yes, he could control himself, if only just.

One opening, that's all he needed, even if this Dafydd fellow were a powerful century-year-old witch. Bruin's first act would be to shield Russell from any stray daggers—there's no telling what even so much as a nick from a Hedge witch's blade would do—and then do a binding hex once he was safe.

Just give me one opening, you fucking asshole.

"Bruin!" Sergiy roared, and he flinched. "Bruin, I need you to calm down."

Keeping his gaze locked on to his whimpering, scared boyfriend—again, how dare the betrayer!—Bruin grunted, seething.

"He has Russell. "

He heard Sergiy's hissing growl. "Which he will pay for, but this is a delicate situation, and right now you're furious enough to cause every last one of us shifters to lose our damned minds, so calm… down! "

Bruin grit his teeth, running his tongue over a tusk, but he took a half-step back, and it was almost as if some of the tension in the room began bleeding away.

It still sounded as if an angry animal's choir were doing vocal exercises, though.

"Dafydd, don't do this," he heard Lord Kerry say.

"I'm sorry, love, I've come this far.Spirits!"

From his vantage point at the front, he saw the tired lord seize up, his shoulders shaking as if in a deep struggle.

"Davey…"

"Spirits!I, your summoner, call you hence.I've fulfilled my end of our bargain, I call you to fulfill yours."

Black shadows extended out from Lord Kerry, and it was as if he'd regained his mad form from when he'd attacked the keep.Bruin could hear Sergiy snarl, his wings flapping slowly as if preparing to take flight at any moment.

"Summoner," Lord Kerry said gratingly."We made a bargain.You build us this sanctuary, and afterwards, we free your mate."

"Yes, exactly!Just like—"

"We swore," Lord Kerry said, moving his head back and forth as if stretching it after a long sleep."But we did not say when, and you did not define it in your terms."

"But I did my part!You have to leave, now!"

"Again, we swore to leave, but not when.Now, we are having fun.We like knowing what fun is, with our time in our host.Perhaps, greedy summoner, if you made us another bargain for us to leave promptly?"

Bruin heard Lady Yi laughing.

"Foolish betrayer, look what you've wrought, ha!"

"A second deal… no."

"We'll make it an easy one.This host is worn thin from Time and Stillness.Convince another to pledge themselves to us, and we will leave immediately."

And then Dafydd's eyes turned from his mate to the others in the room, and then shifted once more to settle on Russell.There was hesitation, there, Bruin could see, as if the fucking asshole was actually considering trading away Russell's life.

"Don't!" he heard Sergiy say, but his warning came too late, and Bruin saw a furious Yacob leaping past the troops, a low howl falling from his maw as he swung his maul in an arc that would smash the distracted witch.

But then the spirit-possessed Kerry stepped forward, intercepting the falling weapon with a hand that seemed made of steel.

And as he did so, an identical drake shadow stepped out from within him, lashing out with powerful wings that struck Yacob with enough force to send him flying twenty feet to the side with the cracking sound of broken bones.

"Kill them," Lord Kerry's body said.

And then the dozens of ghostly guardians animated from their tables, and all hell broke loose.

Bruin turned his gaze away from Russell just in time to see a werehound charging him.He lifted his hand to chant a shielding charm, but there were no hidden traps in this Great Hall, and he doubted he could speak fast enough.

"Up we go!"

Bruin nearly hurled as something impacted his stomach, finding himself lifted and carried out of the way by a large werewolf.

"The front lines aren't for small witches," Auguste told him as he set him on his feet, giving him a cocky grin."Stay back and stay—"

Bruin's rescuer was interrupted by a flash of steel, and Auguste gave a pained howl.But even as his right arm fell to the ground amid a spray of blood, Auguste was spinning around, using a tonfa to block the next blow.

"We need a line over here!" Marka shouted."Steel Fang, form a wall!"

Shit shit shit!

Battles were loud, was all that Bruin's scared brain manage to form coherently as he scrambled forward to grab the fallen limb, being jostled as shifters twice his size rushed past him, giving glad battlecries as they joined the fray.

Where was Sergiy?Was Russell okay?Was he standing in a bad spot?Should he start casting charms?Which ones?Should he—

'Don't panic, focus,' he told himself, remembering some of what Marka and Markos had told him, and then the words of one of the critical care nurses he'd studied under.' The worst thing a healer can do is nothing.'

To keep himself from freezing, he focused on the one task he knew he could do.

He found Auguste back near the entrance of the Great Hall, helped there by Samson.

The former mercenary was pulling out a tourniquet from a side-pouch, and already had it tied off on Auguste's stump by the time Bruin got his necessary herbs in hand.

"Thanks, Sam," Auguste said, breathing hoarsely as he waved what remained of his upper arm."Guess you could say I'll be all right, now."

"Wrong side, ya' fuckin dumbshit," Samson growled, punching Auguste in his good left arm, and then the two shared a laugh.

"Don't count your losses yet," Bruin said."Now bend over so I can shove it in place."

"Mmm, yes daddy.Be sure to shove it all the way in— yipe !"

It took both hands to force the heavy shifter limb back into its place, and Bruin had to twist it a bit before he felt the bone line up properly.A single glance at the werecrocodile had the man nodding, coming around to take over holding it.

"Like this?"

"Just like that," Bruin said.He wrapped a long cut of ivy around both limb and shoulder, then let his charm fall from his lips." Wood and bone, sap and blood… "

It was Alia's Spreading Branches , a perfect bit of Green magic to instantly get a witch's bodyguard back into the fight.

Well, in theory.Bruin was competent, but he wasn't a legendary witch of old.

"Shit, that tingles," Auguste said as Samson undid the tourniquet."Can barely move my arm, but fuck it, let me back at them!"

Bruin put a hand on his chest, holding him back as he did a quick sense."Your body's still in shock.Heart's not so great, and if you swing your arm too hard you'll cause internal rupturing."

"Listen to him, Auguste," Sergiy said, flying in for a landing."For now, stay put.I wish I could order you to use the ripcord, but we might still have need of you, even injured as you are."

Bruin's heart soared at seeing his mate alive.But he'd seen him just a mere moment ago, hadn't he?Stupid love, making him think stupid things, when there were more important things to think about, like—

"I can't get to Russell," Sergiy snarled, almost a shout, then waved his spear to signal some kind of assault formation.

"Not safely, not while he's still chained to the witch.

There's now a dozen shadow drakes guarding the throne, and the ghost guardians don't stay down long without Roland's prayers.

The only good news is that Dafydd isn't doing anything himself.

Bruin, if there's something you can do, then please…

but if not, stay back here where it's safe. "

And then he was gone, shouting out more commands as he met a pair of flying shadow drakes, smashing one into a wall with a sudden shift into his large drake form.

As he remained at the entrance to the Great Hall, Bruin began rifling through his witch's bag, hoping for inspiration.How to save Russell, when his warlord of a mate couldn't?Bruin shut out the sounds of clashing shifter armies, trying to think.

The idea of staying put where he was at was a fleeting temptation—he was a healer, after all, and it was important for others to be able to find him in case anyone else took a wound too severe for shifting healing to handle.It would be a sensible, safe choice.

But no.Bruin thrust his tusks out.Russell came first.There had to be a way, something he could do to help Sergiy rescue their boyfriend!A way to rescue their King piece.

And with that thought, several memories pieced themselves together.

He'd been in a situation like this before, hadn't he?Back in the very first war game that he'd taken part of, after sneaking through the kitchens to murder Sergiy's mom.And when they'd won, Marka had asked him how he'd done it.

'Was it earth magic, to dig your way through the wall?No.'

Bruin grabbed a clay pot filled with a thick muddy paste out of his witch's bag, then threw the bag and everything else bulky away as he rushed to a side wall.

Still keeping half an eye on the battlefield, he began drawing a magic circle, instilling the mud with his intent and gathered light.

His charm seemed easier than when he'd done this back in the natural world, during the second war game when he'd pulled Russell through the floor of the castle roof.

Perhaps it was this place, a realm made of shadows and the light of Bruin's own witch magic, but either way, it was swift work.

With his hand against the wall, Bruin gave the skirmish one last look—Sergiy was diving in and out of the air, easy to find with his brilliant green wings—then spoke his charm.

O' mirrored home of mine,

I beg, a simple orc.