Tian's Guardian [Moon Child Series Book 3] Read online

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  Alinar Publishing

  www.alinarpublishing.com

  Copyright ©2009 by Candy Nicks

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  NOTICE: This work is copyrighted. It is licensed only for use by the original purchaser. Making copies of this work or distributing it to any unauthorized person by any means, including without limit email, floppy disk, file transfer, paper print out, or any other method constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines or imprisonment.

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  CONTENTS

  Summary

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Epilogue

  Other books in the Moon Child Series

  About the author

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  Tian's Guardian

  Candy Nicks

  Copyright © 2009 Candy Nicks

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written consent of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  The right of Candy Nicks to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  First Published February 2009

  First Edition

  All characters in this publication are purely fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Edited by Kate Aley

  Cover by Dan Skinner

  ISBN

  1-906023-63-8

  978-1-906023-63-8

  Summary

  Tian is the Goddess's little secret. A Lupine hidden from the world, she knows nothing of the ways of men other than the terrible tales her mother told of a father she has never met. A wolf/human shapeshifter, Tian wants only to continue to live a life of freedom in the mountain hut she calls home.

  When her mother dies the magic that has protected Tian and cloaked her from the world, dies with her, leaving Tian vulnerable and alone. With no connection left to humanity, Tian decides to become the wolf and live out her life on the mountains she loves. But the Goddess has other plans for her. Plans that involve sending Sol, her most trusted Guardian, to claim Tian as his own.

  When Sol hears about Tian, he is more than peeved to find that he, the most trusted of Guardians, wasn't told of the Goddess's little secret, hidden in the mountains for so many years. He rides with all speed to claim her and offer his protection, but Tian has other ideas. She doesn't need protecting and certainly not by a man.

  With winter taking hold and threats looming on the horizon, Sol must find a way to win Tian's trust and convince her that she is as much woman as wolf. And that not all men are evil. Will he succeed before the threat closing in on them becomes real?

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Prologue

  Tian rose to her feet, ignoring the mud clogging her fingernails and caking the knees of her homespun pants. Before her, adorned with mourning-stones, a small mound marked the final resting place of the woman who'd given her life. The only human she'd ever trusted.

  "She was my world. Speak to me, Goddess. How will I go on without her?"

  You are a Lupine, Tian. Stronger than you know.

  "What use is physical strength if my heart no longer sees a future?” Tian's pulse, anxious and jittery, beat against her wrists, her ribs. Around her, the familiar landscape of mountain and forest blurred as she let go of her wolf's ability to see. Wrapped in grief, she no longer heard the sound of birdsong or the music of water tumbling through the clefts in the rocks. There was only the slippery wet clay beneath her feet and the grave that held the mother she'd loved above all things.

  "I begged for her life. Why did you take her?"

  Child, she knew it was her time.

  "No. My mother was a fighter. She wished to stay with me."

  I heard your pleas, but your mother's destiny was already written. She made this choice long ago.

  "In return for that cursed magic!"

  The magic that protected you these many years.

  "Well, I have her talisman.” Tian pushed a hand into her coat pocket to touch the beaten metal image of the twin moons. “This holds her power. It will keep me safe."

  Your mother took that power to the grave, child. It no longer cloaks you from the world. Tian, most beloved. For the life she devoted to you, your mother has more than earned her place in Paradise. Grieve for her, but know you have a life to live and challenges to face. Now is the time to find your own inner strength.

  Tian brought her wolf under control, and the blurred shapes of the rocks and trees, the newly-dug earth beneath her feet, came into focus once more. Such a tiny grave to contain so fierce a spirit.

  From a stone ledge, on the central mountain, she heard the first of the tributes. A long plaintive howl that spoke of pride for a life well lived and grief for a life cut short. As the Alpha wolf's song died away, another took its place and then another, until, in a cascade of echoes, the mountain itself seemed to be singing to her.

  "I will not cry. I will not.” Tian scrubbed away the tears and focused instead on the grave, as if by doing so, her mother might magically reappear.

  Your tears are human. They honour her memory. Do not be afraid of them.

  "Human?” Tian bent to scooped up a handful of the sticky clay, sliding it between her fingers. “This is what it is to be human. From clay they come, and after too brief a span, to clay they return. I know my mother sacrificed her own life-force to protect me. Now she is gone, I have no reason to remain human."

  Your mother left a dying prayer. You will hear it?

  The song of the wolves died away and gradually, the familiar sounds of water and wind and birdsong returned. Inside Tian, her own wolf whispered. Now you are free to be what you truly are. We are free to join our own.

  Tian breathed deeply. Keen senses felt the first touch of winter's icy hand, the crunch of fallen leaves beneath her feet. She must take stock to ensure her survival until the spring thaws. The storage shed was already hung with smoked and dried meats. Bundled herbs. Vegetables dug from the earth had been pressed into stone jars and layered with oil extracted from the fat olives that hung from the ancient mountain trees. She would need to cut more wood and stack it for fuel and warmth. Only then could she retreat to the isolated hut she'd called home for most of her eighteen years and grieve.

  Or should she leave it all behind now? Join her wild cousins on the mountain? Shrug off this fragile human shell for ever and live free and unrestrained? Winter was a lean time for hunting, but nature always managed to provide.

  "Yes, I will hear it."

  She wished you to remember always your human side, and that you should not be alone.

  "I shall not be alone. My wild cousins will give me solace.” Tian's wolf tugged at her awareness, begging for release. No reasons remained to linger.

  Your mother also prayed you would know love.

  "I have known love.” Pushing back her wind-blown hair, Tian ached for her mother's gentle touch, the soft
lilt of her voice. She had given up everything, lived a life of isolation, here in the mountains, so her daughter could be free.

  You do not yearn for a life-mate?

  "A man? What use would I have for a man? My mother loved a man and see the result? An abomination for a child and an early death."

  Be proud of your Lupine heritage. It is a gift not often bestowed. And know that men are as different as the patterns in the snow which will soon cover this mountain. As for uses, the Goddess chuckled, I'm sure the two of you will think of some.

  "The two of us?” Muscles tensed, Tian readied herself for flight, her body hovering at the junction of human and wolf.

  I have chosen you a life-mate, beloved. The most trusted of my Guardians. He is coming for you. It is time to return to the world of men. Have no fear, for he will protect you.

  Tian's indignant snarl echoed around the clearing. The trees whispered their sympathy. “I need no man to protect me.” She stepped away from the grave, her mind in turmoil. “I will not leave my home. I belong here, on this mountain. I do not need guarding."

  There are those who would use you, child. Sol will love you and keep you safe.

  "Sol?” Tian's wolf let out another warning growl. She felt the change, her body dissolving and reforming into her other self. “No. I will mate as a wolf. I will have no man as my master."

  I would have you go with him. Love him. One day your father will find you. And what then? Go with Sol. He is ready to claim you.

  "He'll have to catch me first.” Tian's shirt fluttered to the ground. Her pants followed. The black silk of her hair shortened to coarse fur. Blunt teeth grew long and sharp. With a cry, the wolf broke free and made for a gap in the trees. Weaving through the trunks with athletic grace it quickly disappeared from sight. The echo of Tian's voice lingered in the clearing.

  "Catch me first..."

  The Goddess laughed. The deep throaty sound of someone settling in for a good show. Oh yes, Sol was coming. Golden hair streaming, full of righteous indignation that he, her most loyal Guardian, had not been privy to this particular secret. Who but Sol could tame her? The self-appointed Guardian of the Lupines would see it as his life's work.

  High on the ledge, Tian's wolf scoured the landscape with eyes that missed nothing. Guardian, jailer—they were one and the same.

  This is our mountain. Where we will live till the end of our days. Freedom is a gift, Tian. We must defend it to our dying breath.

  Then let him come, Tian said from deep inside the creature. He'll find only ghosts and ashes and an empty hut. Let him come.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter 1

  "I'm not sulking,” Sol told his horse. “Warriors do not sulk."

  Balan, grandson of Bocado, snickered in agreement. The gelding's mane flowed over muscular shoulders, glinting silver in the rising moonlight. Sol leaned forward to pat the horse's neck glad there existed one being in this world who always agreed with him.

  "I am merely ... peeved that our wonderful Goddess neglected to tell me, her most trusted Guardian, about something of such importance."

  A wild fowl burst from the undergrowth, wings beating, startling the chestnut mare that served as temporary pack-horse. She sidestepped and tugged on the lead rein, head dipped in a determined effort to escape the halter. Sol clicked his tongue to calm her and wound the lead-rein tighter around his fist, drawing her in.

  "Sorry lass, we're almost there.” He slid a hand into his pocket. The mare's eyes fixed on the dried apple he produced with great flourish. “Here,” he said fondly. Though she acted the lady, the mare displayed a strength and determination that belied her slender frame. A fitting gift for a Lupine.

  Sol surveyed the darkening landscape with keen hunter's eyes. A small creature scurried in the underbrush and to the left of him, in the wooded copse, a herd of deer huddled nervously in the shade of the trees, ready to bolt if the magnificent war-horse should decide to run them down. Standing in the stirrups, he pulled himself up to his considerable height and listened with all of his senses. He'd braided his waist-length hair and covered it with a hood. The long yellow strands were valuable as gold to those in the great City. There were those who would kill for that alone. And an Eagle warrior taken as slave would always be a prize attraction at the fight clubs. His nostrils twitched, but he smelled only the sharp odour of crushed pine needles mingled with the musty smell of the damp earth. No camp fires, or the acrid smell of fuel-dump from powered vehicles which might have passed this way.

  Dropping back into the saddle, he swung his leg over the saddle-horn and slid to the ground in one fluid movement. Immediately, he reached for the blast gun slung at his back, arming it and bringing it close to his body. Satisfied he wouldn't be jumped or challenged, he put up the gun, picked up the mare's lead-rein and whistled Balan to follow. The rocky overhang complete with bubbling spring would provide both shelter from the sharp bite of the late autumn wind and a modicum of safety from sudden attack. Although, here, on the lower slopes of the continent's highest peaks, he supposed he was safe as anywhere. Slavers and brigands haunted the better- known trade routes.

  Ahead of him, the Diva Mountains reached towards the heavens, their peaks shrouded in heavy cloud. Soon the browning tundra grasses would be obscured by snow. Sol watched the clouds anxiously, gauging their size and colour. With luck he would complete his task and be on the road to Wolf's Valley before winter stranded him in this foreign land.

  Pushing back his hood, he applied himself to practical matters. Feeding and watering the horses, laying out his weapons and bedroll. Foraging in his pack for dried meat and fruit. He allowed himself a small fire and sat, with his back to the rocks, knees pulled up, a mug of hot coffee warming his hands.

  Would Tian welcome his intrusion into her world as openly as the Goddess implied? At twenty-nine summers, he was anxious to take a life-partner, but Tian had been raised away from the conventions of society. She was feral in the truest sense of the word.

  With her mother gone, would she not naturally turn to her wolf-kin for solace? What reason would she have to remain human?

  He would give her one. Sol threw the coffee dregs onto the fire and rose to secure the horses for the night. Love-tokens, poetry, their beauty immortalised in song—he was well versed in the subtle touches guaranteed to melt a woman's heart. Although trained in the warrior's arts, he knew how be gentle and kind. Remembered always that women preferred a man who listened to those who talked incessantly about themselves. His sister had married a Lupine. Borne Finn four children and shown the world that prejudice did not exist where there was love.

  He slid into his bed-roll and lay listening to sound of the wind rattling around the rocks, strangely unsettled now he'd nearly attained his goal. He chastised himself. No different from any other challenge. He would face it like a true Eagle warrior—alone, unflinching and with head held high.

  Oh, do stop sulking, Sol. It is most unbecoming.

  The Goddess's laughter ghosted over his skin, making him shiver and turn in his bed-roll. He glowered into the night and contemplated his foolish, wounded pride.

  "You left two women out here, alone? I would have seen to their welfare,” he muttered. “Guarded them with my life."

  Strange though it may seem to a man such as you, they did not need you then. But, though she will never admit it, Tian needs you now. She is my gift to you for your years of service and dedication.

  "If I can find her, and persuade her to come back with me. Will I succeed?"

  That depends on whether you are willing to learn the lessons ahead of you.

  "I've given you these past twenty years of my life in devotion and prayer. I have gazed with eyes wide open and ears that listened as keenly as the wolf. My sword arm is as strong as any man's. What else could I possibly have to learn?"

  That's for you to discover, Sol. Sleep now. Your journey is not yet ended.

  Sleep? With his mind in such turmoil? If only th
e Goddess would speak plainly for once, instead of these endless riddles. Too tense to sleep, he folded his arms behind his head and contemplated the bright array of stars and distant planets streaking the moonlit heavens. Balan shifted and huffed out a noisy breath. The comforting embers of the fire glowed dimly. Sol thought of home and those he'd left behind. Of his mother's entreaties that he take a companion with him for mutual protection. His father's pride at his determination to see this through alone, as a true Eagle warrior.

  In his pocket, his mother's Crystal lay cold and lifeless. She'd blessed it and gifted it to him for the journey. He accepted it only to please her, already aware no true affinity existed between him and her magic. Still, it acted as a talisman of sorts. A connection to those he loved, and a reminder of what he'd left behind.

  With one hand curled around his blast gun, the other around the Crystal, he let go his troubled thoughts and slept deep and long. He dreamed of ghosts with hair black and glossy as polished coal and eyes that flashed and smouldered like the setting sun. Every time he caught one, the ethereal beauty melted through his fingers like fog in autumn.

  It only made him more determined to find her.

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  Tian's wolf crept towards the bed-roll on trembling legs and gazed solemnly at the sleeping figure. This close to the enemy, it remembered the dire warnings the woman Tian called Mother had impressed upon her daughter with grim regularity. Men would use her for their own ends. They promised the moons then delivered only a life of servitude and subjugation.

  The wolf wrinkled its nose at the pungent odour of sweat and leather and horse droppings. A metal drinking vessel beside the dying embers of the fire smelled of the coffee beans that grew in the southern continent. Carefully, it moved to the empty cup and touched its tongue to the still-warm metal, re-living the day Tian's mother returned from the trading fair with a small sack of the rare treat. The wolf, too, grieved her loss.

  The man lay still as one dead, giving it the courage to venture nearer. Tall, judging by the length outlined by the bed-roll, and wide of shoulder. His features in repose appeared pleasant enough. A strong, straight nose, a lightly stubbled squared-off jaw. Nothing threatening in the lowered lids edged with fine yellow lashes, or the full mouth curved into a half-smile.