The Last Ward Page 5
After the destruction of the Guardian academy six months prior, there was no large army waiting in the wings to stand up against the creatures. Not that they could’ve done much if the magicks decided to go against the realm.
The Guardian blood made them impervious to Sage battle magick—like hers—and meant they wouldn’t be turned by the bites of bloodsuckers or Wolf men like the two late arrivals to tonight’s rendezvous. They also healed quicker than most and were supposed to be master swordsmen.
But none of that meant they couldn’t die. Everything died, a fact she knew all too well.
Six months of waiting for answers, and not even the Magick Council, nor the Non-Magick Council, had any idea who ordered the slaughter or anything about her involvement in rescuing the only two survivors.
No one could know she’d been there.
Sienna clenched her fist as the gruesome images fought their way to the surface of her mind. No time for that. Not right now when she needed to focus.
Her own agenda had been futile when the first of the screams tore through the silent halls. Then, all she could think about was getting out undetected. The realm still believed it had been a freak accident that caused the academy to burn to the ground and claimed the lives of over a thousand of the realm’s protectors and their family members.
More than a hundred Guardian lines were wiped out that night. Meaning whoever had orchestrated the entire thing managed to nearly decimate the Guardian force, leaving a gaping hole in the realm’s protection. It would be decades—if not longer—before the lines were rebuilt. That’s if it were even possible. As far as she knew, the only remaining members of the bloodline—other than the two she’d rescued—were holed up in the center of Cambria, having retreated to the safety of the realm’s capital as soon as word of the so-called accident spread. Other than the Guardians still on the king’s payroll, there were only three families left.
Truthfully, she couldn’t care less whether they rebuilt or not. Most Guardians were just as much murderers as they were heroes. They despised all magick, would see it wiped from the realm if given the chance, which was ironic seeing as how their very blood contains magick-resistence which is its own form of power.
Still, she’d seen the carnage firsthand, and it ranked among the highest atrocities she’d witnessed while working for the council. So many dead—men, women, children—and for what? So magick could reclaim the realm?
Even she saw that as a horrible idea. Magick shouldn’t fully govern magick. There had to be balance. If the king fell, chaos would reign, and the creatures of the night would take over. Sages wouldn’t stand a chance against what waited should the structure crumble. They were just as much targets as those who didn’t belong to her side of the realm.
She shivered at the thought. Bloodthirsty creatures with nothing to keep them at bay. They despised Sage magick, for it was the only thing keeping them from running rampant through the realm. Guardians may not be able to be turned, but they couldn’t keep the Wolves and Vamps at bay without Sage power.
A breeze ruffled the trees, filling her nose with the scent of pine and the coming rain. Sienna closed her eyes for a moment, drinking it in. Being outside was preferable to her room in Amber Isle. There, it was stuffy, the four walls making it seem as though she had all the freedom in the realm when, in reality, she was nothing but a glorified prisoner.
She might as well still be in chains.
Sienna shook her head. Will not go back there.
Breathing deeply, she stifled a cough when another scent filled her lungs. Vampires typically didn’t smell, but some Werewolves—the most brutal of the packs—carried the stench of their dead with them.
Seems the party had finally arrived. Peering into the darkness, Sienna could barely make out two figures walking toward her from different sides of the forest. They made nearly no sound, strolling cautiously, and if it weren’t for her elevated senses, she might have believed the occasional crunching of the leaves was nothing but a stag or other forest animal.
Watching carefully so she didn’t lose sight, she waited until the creatures were in place below a tree three to the south of her.
As soon as they stopped, Sienna jumped from her branch, soft boots hitting the ground soundlessly, and activated a spell that would keep her invisible to them—or rather make them not interested in her presence. They wouldn’t even be able to catch her scent.
If someone chose to look past the cloak though, they would see her standing just beside the tree, listening to everything that was being said. Luckily for her, very few creatures in the realm possessed that trick. In her longer than normal life, she’d only met three who had.
And none of them lived to tell about it.
“I told you we shouldn’t meet out in the open like this,” the Vampire said, looking around nervously. His blood-red eyes looked right past her and on into the tree line.
The Wolf transformed into man, completely unashamed at his nakedness in the moonlight. “Does this look public to you?” He raised his arms and looked around, staring right past Sienna.
Arrogant bastard. If ever there were a species in the realm she despised above all others, it was the Werewolves. Vampires were bad enough, but at least they didn’t leave their prey ripped to shreds. They simply fed on them until they grew bored or their victims died. Werewolves enjoyed the pain they inflicted. Animals.
“It’s open enough. We could be spotted.”
“By someone in the woods?” He chuckled. “These are my woods, Ghast, I would know if someone were sneaking about.”
Sienna simply shook her head. If only you knew. She hadn’t received orders to kill him, but she also hadn’t been told not to. When this was over, she might just end his life even if it only meant one less of the bastards were out in the world.
“Still—” Ghast started but was cut off by the Werewolves’ next words.
“And I told you what I have to say can’t wait.”
The Vampire eyed him suspiciously. “It had better be good.”
The Werewolf grinned and ran a hand through his shoulder-length, brown hair. “Would you consider information on the genius who orchestrated the academy attack important?”
Sienna straightened, inching closer to hear better. This could very well be the first lead she’d had in months.
Ghast shook his head and folded his arms. “Impossible. No one knows.”
The Wolf grinned, showing off shiny white teeth. “I do. And I also know it won’t be the last.”
The Vamp was silent a moment, clearly weighing the Wolf’s words. “Who did, then?”
“First, I need to know whose side you’re on.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Can we count on you? Can we count on your support?”
“Support? What’s going on?”
“There’s a war coming,” the Werewolf said, stepping closer. The Vampire held his ground. “A war that will change everything.”
“You know you can count on me. Those Guardians have been hunting my people for centuries.”
The Werewolf smiled and stepped back again. “Good.”
“Who orchestrated the attack?”
“Yo—”
Something whirred past Sienna’s ear, and the Wolf’s blood splattered the white tunic of the Vampire in front of him. She spun, trying to see who’d attacked, but there was no one there. Nothing but the breeze and trees.
Throwing her hand up, Sienna erected a barrier between the Vamp and whoever killed the Wolf before running toward the creatures.
Shit. The Wolf was dead, a silver arrow jutting out from his throat. The Vampire sprinted away, and she spun, ready to fight the attacker.
But there was nothing there. Nothing but empty trees and a light breeze. Dropping her shield, Sienna turned and raced toward where the Vamp had disappeared.
He ran just ahead, his Vamp speed pulling him further and further away from her.
Waving a hand, she snapp
ed the trunk of a tree in front of him, causing it to fall and block his path. Then, she split another, and another, until the cracking sound was all they heard and the Vampire was surrounded by the large pines that formed the walls of his new prison.
He screamed, and she urged her legs to move faster. A blur of movement she couldn’t quite make out passed and leapt over the trunks. There was a gurgling sound, and the screaming stopped. Bounding over the trees, Sienna landed softly, ready for a battle. Dammit! Her stomach twisting into knots, she stared down at the mutilated carcass of the Vamp.
In her time, she’d seen hundreds—if not thousands—of dead bodies, but nothing even came close to what she was staring down at now. Empty eye sockets stared back at her from his head that lay separated from his shoulders. Blood-slicked skin was covered in lacerations while a large wooden steak protruded from his chest cavity.
He’d been tortured. Brutally. Relentlessly.
But that was impossible, only seconds passed while she’d been running. Sienna knelt beside the body and touched the corpse. It was cold—ice cold. Despite the fact they were immortal, rumors of the bloodsuckers being without bodily warmth were false. Hell, the bastards even had a heartbeat.
His body should have been warm, but instead it looked as though he’d been dead for days rather than seconds. She covered her nose. He even smelled dead.
Sienna straightened and looked around. What the hell was that blur? Vamps were fast, and that could explain the blur, but not the torture. She didn’t know of a single creature able to freeze time. If she’d missed something, and it was another magickal being, why attack one of its own? Especially when these two clearly wanted to overthrow the realm? Had the council sent someone else after them?
Looking back down at the mutilated Vamp, Sienna cringed. One thing was certain. If they hadn’t been behind it, the council was not going to be happy about this.
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Warrior Of Magick is now live!
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Thank you!
-Jessica
Warrior Of Magick is coming January 7th!
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There is a war coming.
And it will change everything.
For Sienna Faremin, staying alive has been merely a byproduct of the torture she received for over a decade.
Running one mission after another for the Magick council, she is nothing more than their personal assassin, leaving her hands bloodier than most.
When she's tasked with killing a man believed to be the last surviving member of a Guardian family, Sienna accepts, only to discover the man she's supposed to kill, is none other than Daxon Ward, one of only two survivors she saved the night the Guardian academy burned to the ground.
As she dives deeper into the truth behind the attack, Sienna discovers a web of lies and deceit carefully woven into place in order to cover a deadly plot that would change the realm...forever.
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Pre-Order today!
From The Author
Thank you so much for coming along on this journey with me! I hope you enjoyed meeting Daxon! If you want to keep up with new releases, updates, as well as receive special excerpts and sales, you can click here to sign up for my monthly newsletter.
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Thank you so much!
Jessica
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The Last Ward
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About the Author
Jessica Wayne is the author of over fifteen fantasy and contemporary romance novels. The latter of which she writes as J.W. Ashley. During the day, she slays laundry and dishes as a stay at home mom of three, and at night her worlds come to life on paper.
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She runs on coffee and wine (as well as the occasional whiskey!) and if you ever catch her wearing matching socks, it’s probably because she grabbed them in the dark.
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She is a believer of dragons, unicorns, and the power of love, so each of her stories contain one of those elements (and in some cases all three).
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Jessica lives in Texas with her husband, kids, Aldo their German Shepherd who thinks he’s a cat, and a fluffy orange cat named Leo who thinks he’s a dog.
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You can usually find her in her Facebook group, The Wayne-O’s, or keep in touch by subscribing to her newsletter where she shares updates as well as shenanigans she finds herself in.
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