Free The Unwilling Accomplice (Book 5) by Heidi Willard

stopped it why are you saying I have Cedric's soul?" Fred countered.
    "Because the ritual was stopped, but in the ensuing battle we fought over the soul with our staffs," Ned told him. "It was stretched between our pulling magic and, like a tight piece of leather, sprang free of our holds and flew across the lands where it must have found your mother laden with child and-"
    "And what?" Fred asked him. He stood and grabbed the collar of Ned's cloak. "And what?"
    "And displaced the soul which original belonged to your body, essentially killing what was meant to be you," Ned finished.
    Fred's eyes widened and his hands fell from Ned's cloak. He stumbled back and the back of his knees hit the bench, causing them to buckle and he to collapse on the bench. "Then what am I? Who am I?" he asked them.
    Martley swiftly took a seat beside him and clasped his shoulders. "You are my son, and Canavar's son, and now that you know the truth you can protect yourself from him. He has a part of your soul, we mustn't let him get the rest."
    "Part of my soul?" Fred repeated. He glanced to Ned. "Then it was Canavar in that alley, wasn't it?"
    "It was," Ned affirmed.
    "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me any of this?" Fred asked him, his voice rising to a fevered pitch with each word.
    "Because you are not Cedric. Whoever this woman claims you are, to me you are no more than Fred my apprentice," Ned replied.
    "And did you think that would protect me from Canavar? Not knowing who I was?" Fred countered.
    "I did it to protect you, to protect who you are," Ned argued.
    Fred jumped to his feet and gestured down to himself. "Protect me by letting me walk into Canavar's trap where he could steal my soul?" Fred returned.
    "I could not have foreseen that! I had no way of knowing he was there!" Ned told him.
    "But I did, and your not telling him the truth about the man in white nearly allowed him to kill Cedric," Martley spoke up.
    "Cedric is dead! He will never return no matter how many times his soul is reborn!" Ned shouted at her.
    Her face darkened and the storm around her returned. "He stands before us, and I will not allow Canavar another chance to desecrate his soul! My son will be leaving with me!"
    The wind around her picked up again stronger than before. It stretched out and tried to wrap itself around Fred, but Ned pulled his apprentice behind himself and raised a barrier around them. The wind crashed against the barrier and sent flowers, leaves, and even the bench tumbling away from the force of the impact. The wind spun back around Martley and charged the barrier, but rather than crashing into it the wind dove into the ground. It tilled its way into the earth and moved around the barrier until it made a complete circle around the protective area. Martley raised her hand and the entire earth below the barrier was raised up.
    Ned slipped the barrier beneath them so they floated in a bubble amid the whipping wind. The wild air clawed at all sides and crashed against it searching for a weakness. Ned winced at every claw and crash, and the barrier began to flicker.
    The noise attracted a contingent of city guards who rushed down the path toward them. The guards paused near the circular clearing, took in the situation, and aimed their free hands toward Martley. Their palms glowed a bright blue and from them erupted balls of flaming light. The balls sped toward Martley and she ducked and dodged them. The dodging ruined her focus and the wind around her died.
    Martley cast one final glimpse at Fred and jumped into the air. She spread her arms and they stretched into large wings. Her clothes changed to feathers and into the air flew a giant white eagle. The guards shot more balls of fire at her, but the eagle screeched and flapped its wings. A great wind erupted from her wings and blew out the fire balls. The eagle rose higher into the air and turned to fly around to the back side of the city.
    Ned dropped the barrier and pointed the tip of