Free Chosen by Nina Croft Page A

lilting; now low, now high, the sound caressing his ears. The music sang to something in his soul, and Tallon stood mesmerized as the song weaved itself through his consciousness. He didn’t notice the flashes of crimson lightning playing in the night sky until a bolt flared directly above his head. Shock ripped through him as he realized she was casting a spell, effortlessly crafting the moon magic to do her bidding. She pricked her finger, and a drop of blood fell into the stream. Faint wisps of steam rose from the water.
    Tallon had never seen the moon magic performed. Only the formal, ritualized magic of The Order and for a moment, he was spellbound by the beauty. It was as if she was singing to the land itself, and Arroway was answering. A sense of rightness filled his body and mind. Then another lightning bolt split the sky above him, as though rending a hole in the fabric of the world, and he came back to himself with a crash.
    His hand tightened on his staff, and he stepped into the clearing.
    The witch sprang to her feet, snatching up the cloak, throwing it around herself and drawing up the hood to hide her face with its incriminating witch’s mark.
    “Who’s there?”
    Her voice was soft, like her music, and a shiver of sensation slithered down Tallon’s spine. He caught the faint thread of fear and was almost overwhelmed by a need to comfort her. To tell her everything would be all right, but of course, that would be a lie.
    “Who’s…?” she started to ask again, then paused. “Oh it’s…”
    Her hand flew to her face, pressing against her lips, as though to stop the words tumbling out. For a moment, he thought she must have recognized him. But that was unlikely. Again, he found himself wanting to explain, wanting to tell her why she had to die, why he had to kill her.
    He raised his staff high above his head and began the spell that would destroy her magic forever, and with it, the fragile vessel of her human body.
    She flung back her cloak, and he hesitated. This close, she was the most exquisite thing he had ever seen. Her huge eyes glowed like emeralds in her small, pointed face.
    The hesitation was his undoing. Faster than he could follow, she whirled, kicking out. The heel of her foot slammed into his chest, and he stumbled in shock. Righting himself, he watched cautiously as she took up a fighting stance. She was so petite, so defiant, like a spitting cat, and he smiled. But the expression soon faded. In truth, there was nothing to smile at here, only a job that needed to be done. He raised his staff again and murmured the opening words of the spell.
    She stared at him, the recognition of her own death reflected in her eyes. Then they narrowed. The nostrils of her small, straight nose flared. Plucking a pin from her cloak, she slashed it across her palm, then raised her hand high, and drops of blood splattered across the clearing. Then she opened her mouth and threw a Word of Power into the night.
    Tallon gasped. The Words of Power were forbidden. Even as the knowledge filled his mind, the edges of his world began to blur. Above him, a huge rent severed the night sky. White light streamed through bathing them both, and in a flash, the notion came to him that they had been right to fear the power of witches.
    Without conscious thought, he reached for the girl. She seemed shocked and didn’t fight as he pulled her into the shelter of his body, instinct taking over as he sought to protect the one he had come to destroy.
    The light flared brighter, until the darkness swallowed them both.
     
     
    Chapter Two
     

     
    Shayla opened her eyes. Then shut them quickly. Something was very wrong. The sun was too bright and she couldn’t move, could hardly breathe. A heavy weight lay on top of her, pressing her into the hard ground.
    She opened her eyes again, this time squinting at the light and the last of the air left her lungs in a gasp. Her pulse rate picked up and adrenalin surged through her