Protector (Little Death Bringer, #2) Read online

  PROTECTOR

  (Little Death Bringer Series, Book 2)

  By Catherine Banks

  Published by Catherine Banks at Smashwords

  Copyright © 2014 Catherine Banks

  Cover by: Avery Banks and Thomas Moralez

  This book is also available in print.

  Ebook Edition License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  About Catherine Banks

  Other books by Catherine Banks

  Connect with Catherine Banks

  Acknowledgements

  As always I have to thank my wonderful husband Avery for his support and for creating my cover. I also want to thank my beta readers for their help. I also want to thank you, yes you. Without readers my book would sit in cyberspace being unloved. You gave it a chance and I hope you enjoy it.

  Chapter One

  After three months of living in the woods I was more than pleased to be back at the Elven Kingdom, sleeping on an incredibly soft bed in the castle. I was four years old when I came to live with the elves, after Cesar, King of the Elves, had found on me on the roadside with my family slain around me, dead ogre bodies littering the road and their blood covering my skin. Cesar witnessed me killing one of the ogres with two axes, a feat much too great for a four year old human girl.

  It wasn’t until last year that I had discovered that I am only part human, my real father a mystery and one that I must search to uncover. Whatever I was, I loved killing ogres and had slain over one hundred and eighty on my own in less than five minutes.

  I was also the first female to not only be allowed into Macon Academy, school for those training to be mercenaries and guards, but I was also the first female to complete it and become a mercenary.

  My best friend Favian and I had been out doing various missions across the countryside for three months since our graduation, but were ordered to come home to the Elven Kingdom by the King and Queen, my foster parents and Favian’s real parents. Favian was tall with silver hair and pointed ears, your typical elf. At least he would have been had he not also been the Prince, next in line for the throne, and the male I was in love with. He also had grey eyes that had powers of enchantment, or so I believed since I always agreed to do what he said if he forced me to meet his eyes. I hid my love from him to keep our friendship and partnership strong. I cherished every moment I was able to spend with him because I knew that within the next year he would begin courting female elves and I would lose him as a partner. I was prepared for it and yet I still dreaded it.

  I walked from my room, down one of the hallways of the castle in search of Favian. We were supposed to go meet the male elves at the fighting arena where they gathered to practice every Saturday. He had promised to meet me so that we could walk together, but he was nowhere to be found and the practices always began at ten o’clock, ten minutes from now. I gripped the pommels of my new twin swords, swords which supposedly belonged to my real father, and walked down the hallway. It was unlike Favian to be late. I finally spotted him coming down the hallway and hurried towards him. He walked passed me as though I were invisible.

  I turned around and punched his arm hard enough to sting. “Helloooo,” I said angrily.

  Favian turned and stared at me in shock. “What?” he asked in a voice much more like his father’s than his.

  I glared at him and pushed my finger against the center of his chest. “Don’t walk passed me without acknowledging me.”

  He stared at me in shock a moment and then shook his head and started to walk away. My anger grew and I kicked his foot to make him stumble and turn around again. Much to my surprise he whipped around, drew his sword and slashed at me. I drew my swords, blocking his attacks and then used them to dislodge his sword from his hand.

  He was moving differently, his attacks and stances were not their usual fluid and gracefulness that I envied. And how in the hell had I dislodged his sword from his hand?! I wanted to think I was just getting better, but I was never better than Favian. I couldn’t understand it. I couldn’t understand why he was attacking me either. We may spar together and play fight, but he had never attacked me in such a fashion before.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I asked angrily.

  He grabbed my arms and using his body, pushed me backwards against the wall of the hallway with my hands up over my head so that my swords were now useless. “I should be asking you the same thing. Why on earth would a human attack an elf?” he asked angrily in that strange voice.

  I stared at him in utter disbelief. What was going on with him? He hardly ever brought up my humanness.

  “Aw I see that you two have met each other. Sebastian, please release Marin,” Cesar said as he walked down the hallway towards us.

  “Oh, so you’re the pet human my family keeps around,” Favian said again using that strange voice.

  “Favian, what is going on?” I asked as I stared into his eyes which were a lighter shade of grey than normal.

  “Step away from her,” Favian’s real voice said from beside me.

  I turned to my right from where the voice had come from and stared in shock at Favian. I looked from the Favian in front of me to the Favian beside me and felt the color drain from my face. There were two! Two Favians!

  “She assaulted me first,” the Favian in front of me said as he stepped back from me.

  “What? Who? Two?” I asked as I looked at both of them.

  Father patted my shoulder with a reassuring smile on his face. “Marin, this is Sebastian, Favian’s twin brother.”

  “I realize you like your pet, but do I really need to be introduced to her?” Sebastian asked as he looked at me in disgust. I felt my anger brewing despite my extreme confusion and shock. How dare he call me a pet?!

  Favian took a step towards him, but Father stopped him with a hand on his chest. “Watch your mouth, Sebastian. You will treat Marin with the same respect that you treat your mother and any other member of this family,” Father said in his most commanding tone, “She is our daughter and if you cannot accept that than I will be forced to ask you to leave.”

  Sebastian’s eyes widened and he looked from Favian, the real one who was seething with anger, to Father’s serious face, in shock. “You truly accept this human as your child?” he asked.

  Father nodded his head. “She is one of us, no matter what her lineage may be.”

  Sebastian absorbed that a moment, smiled at me, picked my hand up and then bowed over it before kissing the back of my hand. “My apologies, Marin. I was misinformed about your presence in this Kingdom. I will not make that mistake again.”

  “Apology accepted,” I mumbled as I still tried to absorb the incredible likeness between the two brothers. I searched for any difference between them that I could use
to mark them apart, but the only thing I could come up with was the slight difference in eye color. This was not good.

  “Are you alright?” Favian asked me.

  I wanted to shake my head and tell him that in fact I was not alright, that I was freaking out, but I nodded my head and sheathed my swords. “Yes, just digesting all of this.”

  “Come, we mustn’t be late for the practices,” Father said as he continued on his way down the hallway. How could he be so nonchalant about this? Didn’t he realize how complicated my life had just become? How was I going to handle them being identical twins?

  We followed behind him with Sebastian at his side and Favian at mine. “Why didn’t I know you had a twin?” I asked him accusingly while feeling hurt that we hadn’t discussed it before.

  “He was stolen and it wasn’t until a year ago that we found him. We don’t exactly get along,” Favian said quietly as we walked.

  “He was stolen?” I asked in shock. I couldn’t believe anyone would take anything from the Elves and get away with it, especially not a child.

  Favian nodded his head. “The night that we were born a witch came and teleported him away. Father tried to trace it and searched for three years afterwards for him, but it was fruitless. Last year a man that you and I had worked for met Sebastian and thought he was me. After talking with him the man explained the extreme likeness between us to Sebastian. Once Sebastian knew where we were he came to the Kingdom and the family was reunited.”

  “Where was he all this time?” I asked quietly as we exited the castle and headed towards the fighting arena where over three hundred elves were gathered, waiting for us.

  Favian shrugged. “We don’t know he won’t talk about it.”

  Sebastian was greeted warmly by the elves, as was Favian. I was greeted warmly, but also at a little more of a distance by most. I knew I had frightened many of the elves when I had defeated the ogres that had been attacking the Kingdom, but I had not realized how it would affect me until now.

  Jovian, a kind, unattractive elf my age smiled at me from where he was standing near the fence. “Little Death Bringer, it has been a while since I’ve seen you in the fighting arena.”

  I smiled. “So, word of my nickname has traveled all the way to the Elven Kingdom, has it?”

  “As has word of your battle with the ogres at the Academy. I’m impressed,” he said, “but think you will still lose to me in the ring.”

  I shrugged. “Only one way to find out.”

  “She fights?” Sebastian asked in disbelief from where he was standing next to Father and two of the eldest elves.

  “She has ears to hear and a mouth to answer for herself as well,” I said angrily.

  “A woman has never been allowed in the fighting arena before,” he replied as though he had lived here and knew our traditions.

  “True, but I am a special exception,” I said with a smile as I climbed over the wooden fence and hopped down into the sand arena.

  Jovian followed me in and drew his sword. “Have you learned to handle both of those swords?”

  I shook my head. “Not completely, but I have learned enough to hold out against you for a little while.”

  “Try not to bruise her,” Father said, “Amadis gets angry when she’s bruised.”

  Amadis was the Queen of the Elves, Cesar’s wife, and my step mother. Despite my tendencies towards the male arts she still tried to teach me to be a lady. It took more practicing then I liked, but I was getting better at behaving like a lady.

  “Don’t worry Father, he won’t get that close,” I said with a smug smile at Jovian.

  “Your ego has grown too large for your small body,” Jovian said teasingly, “Let me cut you down to size.”

  I pulled both of my swords and ran forward to meet Jovian as he charged at me. Our blades met with a loud clang that filled the air and I released my inhibitions and reached down for the other power that I felt within me. I had been practicing the last three months and had been able to use some of the power I felt, but not even a tenth of what was inside of me.

  Jovian and I danced around the arena together in a fight much more intense than we ever had before. After ten minutes Jovian raised his arm in surrender and stepped back from me. “Where have you attained such stamina?” he asked, “You are quite more skilled than you led me to believe.”

  I smiled. “Deceit is one of the few skills a female has in her arsenal.”

  The crowd laughed and Kato, Father’s guard and one of my mentors, jumped into the ring. “You think you can last more than four seconds against me?” he asked.

  The last time I had fought him I would have died had he not pulled back a strike at the last second. I had no idea if I could stand against the incredibly skilled elf, but I wanted to try. “Come you old badger, let’s see if you have been keeping up on your training while I was away,” I said with a teasing smile.

  Kato smiled back at me and then looked at Father. “You care to keep count of the seconds for us?”

  Father smiled. “Of course, but remember no bruising.”

  Kato smiled. “That all depends on how she attacks.”

  “Then let us begin,” I said.

  He darted forward without warning and I cleared my mind, flowing from offense to defense, from blocking to attacking without thinking my moves through. It was the only way to stay alive in a battle and with the small amount of unlocked power I was finally able to fight Kato without feeling completely outmatched.

  “What is she?” Sebastian asked from the other side of the fence, “Is she a demon?”

  The comment stung and also pulled away some of my focus from the fight. Kato noticed my lack of concentration and took the opportunity to knock my legs out from under me and pin me to the ground. He tapped my forehead with his finger. “You can’t let things distract you or you will end up dead.”

  I nodded my head and waited as he stepped off of me before getting up and sheathing my swords. “Thank you for sparring with me,” I said with a bow to him, trying to hide my face.

  Kato draped his arm around my shoulders and hugged me against him. “I don’t care what anyone says,” he whispered into my ear, “You will always just be my little Marin.”

  My pesky girly emotions reared their head, but I shoved them down and blinked away the tears before they could fall. “Thank you.”

  “Ten seconds,” Father called out to me. “That is quite an improvement from the last time.”

  I nodded my head and climbed over the fence, trying to hide the sadness on my face as the elves moved a step back from me. I made my way through the crowd much easier than before since they separated like I had a disease. I had thought that I would be more welcomed among the Elves now that I was closer to their strength, but instead I was being pushed away.

  “Marin,” Favian called, “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going to visit Fire,” I called back without turning towards him. “I’ll see you for lunch.”

  “You should learn to keep your mouth shut,” Kato said to Sebastian.

  “What did I do?” he asked.

  I walked faster to avoid the conversation and was more than pleased when I made it to the stables. I usually liked to stay and watch the others, but now I was not in the mood. Alex, the horse master and an elf only nineteen years old despite his title, stood in front of Fire’s stall, looking in. Fire was my horse, born in front of me and raised and trained by me. She was the best mare a girl could hope for and had been through many battles with me.

  “Is everything alright?” I asked with worry as I walked towards Fire and Alex.

  He turned and smiled at me. “Yes, everything is fine. I was just admiring her beauty.”

  I exhaled in relief. Aside from Favian, she was my best friend and I would have been very distraught if she were hurt. “Oh, good.” I walked passed him and into her stall, running a hand along her shiny coat. She nickered in greeting and I inhaled her familiar scent.

  “Ha
ving a rough day?” Alex asked.

  “Why would you ask that?”

  He smiled and leaned on his arms on the top of the stall door. “I’ve known you since you arrived at the Kingdom. I can tell when you’re upset.”

  I looked at Alex in surprise because he was one of the quietest elves I had ever met and despite having known him for as long as I could remember, we hardly spoke and I hardly knew him. It shocked me to think that he had been watching me and might know me in such a way. “I just met Sebastian,” I said as I continued to pet Fire.

  He sighed. “Ah, so you met the identical twin? Things didn’t go well I take it?”

  I laughed bitterly. “That is an understatement. First I attacked him because I thought he was Favian and then he…” I stopped talking because I had no idea how Alex felt about me now. “You aren’t afraid of me?” I asked while watching his face.

  He frowned. “Afraid of you? Why would I be afraid of you?”

  I looked down at Fire’s coat and whispered, “Most of the other elves are.”

  “Just because you killed a bunch of ogres? I would think that you of all people would have the most hatred of ogres and it makes sense to me that you would want to kill them due to your awful event when you were four. And most of us have always known that you aren’t completely human, Marin. No human girl could hold her own against an elf boy, no matter how determined she was and I watched you fight several younger elves when you first came here.”

  “I wish everyone felt like you,” I whispered.

  “Marin?” Sebastian called, “Alex, is Marin here?”

  Alex looked at me in question.

  “I’m here,” I called back despite my desire to hide in Fire’s stall.

  “Alex would you mind giving us a moment alone?” Sebastian asked as he walked into the stable.

  “You want me to stay?” Alex asked me.

  I smiled. “Thank you, but I think I can handle him.”

  Alex smiled. “I never doubted that.” He bowed to Sebastian quickly before leaving the stable, but gave me one last glance before disappearing from sight.