Time Dancer by Inez Kelley Page B

benches across from the daylily bed. Batu’s hit. Argot, too.”
    “Stay down,” he yelled, pushing her into the corner. She dared not move. She’d rarely seen her father like this, all grit and seasoned warrior. He called for the portcullis to be dropped, all doors barred and the halls emptied. Every soul snapped to follow his commands. The castle was on wartime lockdown.
    Her chest ached under the force of her heartbeat, and she shrank as small as she could to stay out of the way of stomping boots and weapons being assembled. Darach appeared at her side. He cupped her ear then drew his hand away to glare at the blood. “You’re injured. Why did you not call for me?”
    “I’m fine. Feena’s out there. Batu and Argot are hurt.”
    An untamed ember brewed in his gaze. “Do not leave this spot, nayeli .”
    Power endued his muscles, firming them with a primitive grace. With one swipe of his massive hand, he shoved the Master Sergeant aside and stepped outside.
    “Darach!” She leaped to her feet. Her father’s arm snaked around her waist. “Papa, stop him!”
    “Look, Jana.”
    The leather of Darach’s boot sole hit the first step. An enormous clawed paw hit the last. The grizzly charged, a growl bellowing from a widespread snout. Sharp teeth glistened in the sunlight. Muscles bunched and stretched as he ran into the garden. Missiles sailed to the ground, burying into the earth, ricocheting off statues, snagging in hedges. An arrow sank deep in Darach’s shoulder but he never slowed. One lunge propelled him over the huddled group.
    Rising to his back legs, the bear raised his great head and an angry snarl burst out. An arrow stabbed into his side.
    “He’s shielding them.” The sergeant gaped at the magical display.
    Jana fought at her father’s hold, kicking out and scratching at his hands. He pressed his mouth tight to her ear. “Stop. A bear has thicker hide that you can imagine. He gives us time to save them.”
    A high-pitched whine ended with a sickening thud as an arrow sank into Darach’s belly. Taller than any man, he fixed his eyes toward the church top and roared. Cold sunshine turned his coat to silver-tipped red and glinted off the knifelike claws. Her father thrust Jana aside and took the shield shoved at him.
    Fourteen men raised their wide metal discs to form an overlapping shelter, then bolted out the door as one. Turtle maneuver, the sergeant had called it, and now she saw why. The platelike protection covered the soldiers as they hurried to the garden. Jana peeked around the doorframe.
    Darach stood proud, providing another layer of defense from the arrows pelting down from the north. The guards clustered around Batu, Feena and Argot. A few men handed off their shields to their fellow warriors, then grabbed arms and legs, dragging the injured inside. The “turtle” moved as one living creature toward the castle.
    A cry pealed and one soldier fell, an arrow deep in his ankle. The fellow beside him snagged his elbow and pulled him deeper into the huddle. In the center, her father supported a bloody Batu. A second soldier wrapped his arm around a filthy Feena. Two men dragged Argot beneath his armpits, a glistening trail of blood smearing the frozen pathway.
    Jana shrank back as the troop squeezed in the door. Argot’s chest still rose and fell although his eyes were closed. She reached out, squeezing his fingers as he was carried past her. He didn’t squeeze back.
    She caught the heavy door before someone closed it and peered out, searching. Arrows no longer fell from the sky. An eerie quiet filled the garden. The grizzly turned and Jana swallowed a scream. A dozen arrows stuck out from his body, scarlet dripping over the thick pelt. He swayed.
    Darach hit the ground as a man but the arrows remained. His chest, stomach, shoulders and thighs all carried fletched shafts, and blood pumped from each wound. He locked his gaze with hers. His eyes glowed deep orange, like coals in a