869 Neshan Calendar

Branches and leaves stung her cheek. Cami ignored the tinge of pain. She couldn’t stop. Not yet. Maybe not ever. She was only a few worlds away from Scali Thent. Too damn close. Laed and Kynar, those bastards, might follow her once they discovered the crystal was missing. Cami was one of their favorite targets..

Laed and Kynar ruled Scali Thent, home to a group of Santir shapeshifters, but they didn’t have real magic. No one realized that until it was too late to stop the two men from taking over. They controlled everyone with cruelty and fear.

It took so long to discover how Laed and Kynar had any power at all. It wasn’t the natural kind of magic that some Santir had. The feel was wrong. How they did anything was a mystery until only a few days ago. It was a crystal. She waited for an opportunity to take it and ran.

Tonight, she’d make sure they couldn’t use it again. If they ever caught up to her, she couldn’t have it on her or leave it in one piece for them or anyone else to find. No matter what happened to her. They wouldn’t do this again.

She drew in a harsh breath. Maybe tomorrow, she’d try to travel in her tiron form. She hadn’t changed into her cat in a while and fresh meat would be great.

Her leg ached. Not strange though. The bastards sliced deep, leaving not only a visible scar, but damage under the skin.

At dusk, she stopped near a lake. She put her bags down on a rock near the water’s edge and looked around. This should be a good place. No town nearby. No one to see. The fewer people who saw her, the harder it would be for Laed and Kynar to track her. Staying out of the main cities sometimes made her journey longer.

She grabbed a flat stone and knelt near her bag. Her stomach churned. Time to do this. If they ever caught up to her, they’d want that rock back. She untied the cinches on her bag and pulled out the purple crystal.

It gleamed in the fading light of the sun. How did this thing give them power? She shrugged. Maybe after she finally found somewhere safe, she’d look into what it was and how it worked. That wouldn’t be for a long while.

She put the crystal on the rock and grabbed the stone. Time to get this done. If they caught her, they’d kill her anyway. Better to make sure they wouldn’t be able to torment anyone else. Without power, they wouldn’t be able to take over another Thent.

She lifted the stone and smashed it into the crystal. The purple crystal shattered into many shards. Bright light flashed. A purple wave crashed into her, knocking her back. Her skin tingled and heat washed over her.

Dizziness swept over her. She rolled to her back. What was that?

She lifted her hand. Purple energy sparked over her skin. Shit. Hopefully whatever that was, it hadn’t hurt anyone or anything it hit. And those sparkles needed to go. She couldn’t go into cities coated in glittering purple. She’d be too noticeable.

The muscles in her leg twitched and ached. She sat up and rubbed at the scar and tissue around it. Whatever it was that hit her hadn’t done any good for her leg.

She picked up a couple pieces of the crystal and pushed to her feet. Time to make sure they couldn’t get the crystal back. Would they be able to put it back together if they managed to obtain all of the shards? Could they sense it after using it for so long? She’d find a way to keep it from them.

She threw the two pieces as far out into the water as she could. They’d have to swim to get them if they could somehow feel them. Those two might catch up to her someday. But she’d never tell them how to find it.