23. Suni

Chapter 23

Suni

S uni walked comfortably by his mate's side as they made their way through Ykot. His heart still hadn't calmed down from the scare she had given him when her eyes turned ghostly white and she'd stopped moving. Jo had reassured him that it was normal, and if it happened again, she would snap out of it quickly, but he was still worried. What if she had to use her magic while he was not there to protect her?

It was easy enough to find the empty house. As soon as the door closed behind them, Suni pulled Amma into his arms, picked her up, and captured her lips. He grunted in approval when she wrapped her legs around him. If they were not on the brink of war, he would strip her naked and lick every inch of her body until her voice was hoarse from screaming his name.

"You missed me," Amma whispered when they came up for air.

"You scared me," Suni replied. He laid his forehead on hers. "I believed something bad was happening when your eyes went white."

Amma played with the fur on the back of his neck. "I'm sorry. I didn't even think to warn you about the ghost eyes."

"Ghost eyes?" Suni had never heard of such a thing.

"That's what my family calls it," Amma said. She shrugged. "Jo took a picture once to show me and I have to admit, it's creepy."

"Can you sense what is around you in that state?" he asked.

"No. The best way to explain what I do is – well, my soul steps out of my body and enters another," she began, and frowned. "Part of me still stays in my body to anchor me. I'm explaining this wrong."

"I think I understand." Suni pulled her close to his heart. "I do not want you to be in danger. I will be unable to concentrate on the battle if my heart is not safe."

Amma kissed his cheek. "Oh Suni. I promise to stay safe. There is so much I want to do with you, and I can't do that if I'm dead."

Suni's eyes grew wide hearing her talk of death. "This is not a conversation I want to have. You will not die. I will not allow it."

"I know, my strong mate." Amma leaned back and made eye contact. "Are you feeling better now?"

"I am."

"Good. Kiss me."

Suni loved her demanding nature. He was proud and humbled that a strong female wanted him. Loved him. He would spend the rest of his life showing her that she made the right choice. Their lips met and their tongues tangled as he wrestled her for control. Suni's heart swelled when Amma surrendered and melted against him.

"I promise to stay safe," Amma whispered when they broke apart. "Will it help if I stay inside the Ykot walls? Hidden within one of the market stalls? I'm sure we can disguise the area if we must."

"That would make fighting easier for me," he admitted. "I am sorry. I can put myself at the front of a battle, but cannot tolerate seeing you in danger if there is no need."

"I will not fight against being protected." Amma laid her head on his chest, and he rested his chin on her head. "I wish there was a way to warn the witches away and make them stay on their mountain." She sighed.

"Amma?" Jo's voice came through the door. "Sorry to interrupt, but we are getting conflicting stories from the scouts. Can you check for us?"

"Sure, just one moment," she replied. She gave Suni a squeeze before unwrapping her legs and sliding down his body. Suni chuckled as she tried to straighten her hair and clothes. He liked seeing her disheveled with her lips plump from kissing. "Good enough," she mumbled, threw her hands in the air, and walked outside.

"Moving fast, cousin," Jo laughed. "I think you have some fur in your hair."

Amma playfully pushed her cousin. "Don't tell me you and Ru didn't have some fun while we were gone."

Jo led them back toward the front gates. "I wish. There have been scouts coming in every few minutes and the news isn't good. The witches have increased their pace, and another group of them has been spotted coming from another direction."

Suni's walk quickened to a jog. His mood became stormy, and guilty thoughts swirled in his mind. He should never have taken Amma away. He may have doomed everyone with his selfishness.

"Suni," Amma's whisper broke through his preoccupation. "I can practically hear you thinking. This is not your fault. Things always move fast when evil witches are on the prowl."

He wanted to believe her, but he was a seasoned warrior. He should have been able to control his needs. They reached the gate where Mavuto and Ru were deep in conversation with a male he didn't know. Suni squeezed Amma's shoulder before joining them.

"Suni, we may have a problem on our hands," Ru said.

"What happened?" Suni asked.

"A scout just came back from the north, and there is a second group of five witches coming toward us," Mavuto answered. "It took this scout longer to reach us. I believe both groups will reach us at the same time."

"What do you need from me?" he asked.

"I need your mate to try to get us more information," Ru said. "I have sent word to Qunic, and I know Volt will send some warriors to help defend our home, but he will need to have a few remain there to protect his own."

Suni growled in frustration. "My village is too far, or my brothers would answer the call to battle in a second. How long do you think we have before we hear back from Qunic?"

"If they run, they will reach us around the same time the witches do." Ru answered.

"That may be a good thing," Mavuto said. "They will be behind the witches and come as a surprise."

"Suni," Amma said as she walked to his side. "We have a problem."

"What is it, my mate?" Suni asked.

"That group of witches coming from the north are followed by a larger force of warriors under their control. We have until the second sun reaches its highest point before they will be here."

"It better not be the same village we fought before," Ru growled. "This time I will not spare their lives."

Jo stroked his arm. "Calm down. It doesn't matter who the warriors are. We must fight them and win."

"What is he talking about?" Amma asked.

"When I dropped into this world, I fell onto a battlefield," Jo replied. "I fought and killed one witch then, and another later when we reached Ru's home."

Amma nodded. "I'd heard that you'd killed two of theirs. I didn't realize that it happened so soon after your arrival. No wonder they are marching on this village. You've encountered controlled warriors in the past too?"

"Each time the enemy witch had over a hundred warriors under her control. The first time involved most of the males from a nearby village," Jo said.

"I didn't count how many warriors were with the witches. Should I check?" Amma frowned.

"No need," Ru said. "You have done well. Mavuto, go and spread the word. I want it impossible for anyone to get to our noncombatants."

"Yes, Chief." Mavuto struck his chest with a fist before sprinting away.

Ru turned to his mate. "Jo, I wish I could tell you to go back home and wait, but you would not listen."

"As I've said many times, my place is by your side. See?" Jo held up a hand and allowed her magic to sparkle across her fingers. "You need me." She paused for a moment, turned to the side, and emptied her stomach. "And I need some water."

Ru turned to Suni and shrugged. "These human females are headstrong." He handed his mate a full skin of water.

Suni opened his mouth, but closed it again when Amma looked at him with an eyebrow lifted. He was a smart male. There was no way he was going to step into a trap before battle. "They are beautiful and strong, yes."

"Good save," Amma snorted. Jo glanced at her from the corner of her eyes and giggled.

Time dragged as warriors and scouts trickled in and out of the market area. Suni had never realized how slow the suns moved across the sky until he kept glancing up to see if they had moved.

"Sit down." Amma said. She patted the space next to her. "You are making me tired with all your pacing."

"They are taking too long," Suni mumbled as he sat down. "Something isn't right." His right leg started to shake and Amma squeezed his thigh.

"I've checked in with Flix and nothing has changed," Amma said.

"I have a feeling," he said. More times than he could tell, his intuition had saved his life in battle and during hunts. "Can you check one more time, for me?"

She smiled and said, "For you, I would do anything." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Suni shuddered at the creepy way her eyes whited out, but he held her hand and waited.

After a minute, Amma blinked and her eyes returned to normal. "Shit. Jo, they have a pepesa witch. I don't know how she was able to hide the first time."

"Are you serious?" Jo groaned. "A pepesa?"

"What is that?" Ru demanded.

"It's a witch who can move faster than the human eye can see. To the untrained eye, she will look like she appears and disappears," Amma answered. "The only good thing is that power can't be used too often."

"Another good thing is a skilled person can predict where the witch will appear and attack while she is still vulnerable." Jo's eyes narrowed and her smile became menacing. Her voice was cold as she went on, "And I'm a skilled person."

"The witches are here!" Mavuto shouted, thundering toward them from the armory.

"That's how they moved faster. I should have known. I'm sorry."

"You are not to blame." Suni jumped to his feet and swung his morning star from his back. "It does not matter that they are a little early, we are ready and will destroy them." His ears tilted toward the forest, and he could pick up the barely discernible sound of hooves crushing the underbrush. There wasn't a Minotaur hunter or warrior who would make a sound moving like that and risk warning those they were attacking that they were near.

Ru held his hammer at the ready. "Tell everyone to wait for my signal. Today we will not be defeated."

Ru and Suni charged to the gates. They arrived just in time to see the first witch step into view on the edge of the forest. She was a tall, thin female with white tipped horns wearing a flowing white skirt. Even the claws on her hands were painted white. That was normal, the matching claws. What wasn't normal was the deadness in her eyes. It was an evil that oozed from her pores and into the space surrounding her. Suni understood what Amma had said about the dead area. The witch lifted her hand and crooked a finger, and five more stepped into view, all dressed the same way. Even in the stillness their dresses moved as if a gentle wind blew.

"My name is Daeva." The first witch's voice carried well across the open field. "We are here for the witch who killed our sisters."

"Never!" Ru growled. "She is my mate."

"That does not matter," Daeva said. "She is one of us and must answer for the lives she has taken."

Jo stepped forward and her power danced along her body in reds and greens. "I am nothing like you. I will not come willingly to be judged for protecting Qunic from your evil friends. You want me? Come and get me."

"You speak as if you have a choice." Daeva made a point to look at the warriors facing her. "We will destroy everyone in this village if you do not come with us. Either way, you will be brought before the High Priestess for the wrongs you have done."

Suni roared and every warrior within hearing range did the same. Their displeasure and power rang through the air.

Ru snarled at Daeva, "You will have to go through us. We are not weak and will not fall easily."

Jo's magic darkened in color. "Go back to your coven and leave us alone. I will not tell you again."

Daeva pushed her palms forward and the hair on Suni's body stood on end. A burning sensation raced through his veins, and he shook his head to clear the feeling of being underwater. Against his will, he took a step forward, but locked his knees before he took another.

"No, you didn't." Amma stepped around him and stood next to her cousin. "Weren't you taught proper manners? Never mess with another witch's mate."

Daeva stared. "This is a surprise. What is your power, little one?"

"First, I'm not a ‘little one.' You can call me Amma. Second, you don't need to know what my power is. All you need to know is Jo is my cousin and we have trained since we were children to kick mean girl's asses."

"What fire you have, Amma. You and your cousin should come with us. There is so much to learn about this planet, and we can teach you a lot of new ways to use your powers."

"My mama also taught me not to be stupid. You are outmatched, even with your creepy mimics. The blood flowing through my veins has generations of power behind it. It will not fail to destroy you."

Daeva's lips pressed together as she glared at Amma. Suni wanted to put his body between the evil and his mate, but knew it was the wrong thing to do. The other witches needed to know his mate and Jo were powerful and could stand on their own.

"I am finished talking about this." Daeva raised her hands. Before she could do anything, a flock of huks, a large predatory bird, dropped from the sky. They attacked all five, aiming specifically for their eyes. The witches tried to bat them away and dodge the attacks, but their white outfits were quickly covered in bloody splatters. Suni glanced at his mate in surprise, but her eyes were normal.

"Take that , bitches"

" Shelly! " Jo and Amma screamed. The girl slowly walked toward them from the direction of the housing area.

"Shelly," Amma reached for her younger sister. "Why are you here? We told you to stay safe."

"I am family." Shelly's eyes were void of color. "You think I was going to stay home?"

Amma made an impressive impression of a growl. "Tell the birds to stop. Right now, young lady."

Suni watched as the huks flew back into the trees and landed on the branches. Shelly's eyes returned to normal, and she smiled like a misbehaving calf. "Did you see what I did? I couldn't do that before."

"Yes, and now so have the other witches." Amma pushed Shelly behind her.

"You have three witches?" Daeva tried to straighten her hair and skirt. "This is turning out to be interesting. I take it that the calf can control animals. I have not seen one so young who could control so many." The smile that spread across Daeva's face spoke of the evil in her heart. "To breed her with a strong male would provide strong calves."

"Enough!" Ru roared. "There has been enough talk. You either return to your mountain in peace, or you will never return. Every single witch in Ykot is under my protection, and I would die before allowing you to take them."

"Oh, I think you have misunderstood," Daeva smiled, showing off sharpened teeth. "We do not fight alone." Her words were followed by unknown warriors pouring from the tree line until fifty stood ready to fight. "Ready to back down?"

"What?" Amma whispered. "My magic has failed this bad or they have opened a portal."

Suni had learned to read a situation in an instant through his long years of being a warrior. He saw the sideways look the witches gave each other and the slight twitching of their fingers. They were about to attack. He pushed Amma toward the village wall where the stalls would keep her out of sight and safe while she worked her magic. She in turn, pulled Shelly with her to the predetermined spot. He had to trust his mate would be safe, and that she would make it easier for the warriors to face something they were not properly equipped to handle.

Ru's roar caused his blood to pump faster through his veins and Suni snarled.