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body.
Danella s image played through his head, and he
buried his head in his hands. How could he live after
losing her again?
****
An image of Omar flashed through Danni s mind
and jolted her awake.
He looked so unhappy.
The dark walls around her drew closer. She
hopped forward and stood on the small ledge where
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she d fallen. A bottomless pit lay below her claws. If
she d landed lower in the cavern, she would ve never
been able to fly out.
She judged the distance to the opposing wall and
realized the light from above glowed brighter than
earlier. How much time had passed?
She needed to fly out of here while she still had
the strength.
She lifted her right wing and assessed the
damage. It didn t hurt as much as her head. The fall
probably caused more injuries than the glancing
blow of the arrow.
A cooling breeze ruffled her feathers.
No time like the present.
Danni spread her wings and glided along the
center of cavern. A slight updraft helped her climb.
A piercing light lanced through her head. She
searched the rough walls but couldn t find a place to
land.
Flying blindly, she pumped her wings harder
and soared directly into the sunlight. Pain pounded
through her skull. She altered her path and landed
on an outcrop of rocks above the canyon. Her claws
scrapped the hard surface before she slid to a stop.
Shaded from the sun by the boulder above, she
drew in a deep breath. A fowl stench greeted her
nostrils. She gasped and heaved, the contents of her
stomach rebelling against the smell. A bloody mess
swam before her vision.
What the hell happened?
On the cliff below, vultures milled around the
carcasses, ripping the flesh from human bones. The
men who d shot at me?
A bow lying near a bundle of arrows stashed
neatly inside a quiver confirmed the identity of the
men.
But who did this? And why?
Omar s strong robust form invaded her
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thoughts. He said he d killed men. But was he really
capable of causing such destruction?
She shivered and the advantages of being
human invaded her thoughts. Pops and cracks
resonated through her system. Muscles expanded,
and tendons stretched to their normal length. Gravel
bit into her skin, and her headache eased to a
tolerable level.
Danni rolled and sat on the side of the boulder.
The destructive scene below hit her anew. What
possessed Omar to mutilate these men? Could his
passion for her be responsible?
Elements she d missed in her earlier assessment
registered. A truth chant sprang from her lips. Who
were these men and what was their mission?
The view before her changed. The three men
rose into a misty vision where they sat around a
campfire talking.
Tate, I don t understand why we didn t kill
Omar and the woman when they left the cabin in the
woods. The largest of the three men stabbed at the
fire. You say your boss wanted them dead, right?
Yes, but Danella is a witch. Tate held up a
round globe. When the sphere is glowing, it means
she has invoked some type of protection spell. We
can t harm her.
But we could ve killed Omar, the other man
added.
Yes, but he s not the target. Danella is the
oldest daughter and next in line to rule Ardenia. If
she returns home with her special abilities, she ll
discover Rodman s plan.
But I don t get it. Melvin hasn t figured out the
councilman s scheme, and he s the queen s wizard.
The big man added another log to the fire. What
makes her different?
Tate s mouth widened into a sarcastic grin, and
then he grimaced. She s a crafty bitch who doesn t
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trust anyone, and she has a special ability to see into
her family s future, a skill that would warn her of
Rodman s plans.
The comment tickled Danni, and a smile passed
abruptly over her lips to disappear just as quickly.
The years of spying on her family s progress gained
her a certain knowledge into the forces around them.
Then when can we kill her? The larger man
rose and paced around the fire. Because I miss my
family.
Right, you re like every other refuge stuck in
this horrible world. What you really want is to
return to Ardenia. Tate stood. If you kill Danella,
Rodman will make sure you re allowed back in.
But rumor has it we can go back now, the
other man stated.
And spend the rest of your days in the
dungeon. Tate shrugged. If that s what you want,
be my guest.
A flash of light dissolved the vision and again
the greedy vultures occupied the scene. Danni
blinked and narrowed in on the magical glow
resonating under a scrape of clothing.
She jumped off the rock and wove her way to the
item. Nudging it with her foot, a familiar light
sparkled to life. My memory ball.
Locked to her by magic, the small globe held her
memories and revealed her moods by the different
colors reflected in its center. She stared at the green
flare and squatted to retrieve the mystical sphere.
Her fingers grazed the smooth surface, and she
cupped the ball in the palm of her hand.
Remembered pleasures from her childhood raced
through her mind and love filled her soul. Her
father s smiling face, her mother s devotion, and her
sisters trust. All of them cared about her.
They will forgive my sins.
How could she have forgotten their love so
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Banished Witch
easily?
Regret at all the time she d wasted broke her
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