by MJ Schutte
‘I see,’ Brighton said slowly. ‘Seth knows exactly what you look like so he would have recognized you anywhere.’
‘He used his sense for just a moment so now he knows what your energy feels like. He could basically kill you at any time he wishes,’ Brighton continued.
‘How far do you think his sense can reach?’ he asked.
Lilian, releasing Thomas from the hug, answered, ‘From here halfway to Farrendale, maybe a bit further. But he won’t use the link. He is sadistic, he likes the feeling of skin on skin.’
‘That is a day’s walk! How come his talent can reach that far?’ Brighton asked, astonished.
Thomas answered, ‘Three thousand years of practice.’
Brighton had another thought.
‘Maybe he’s just decided to let it go.’
This time Lilian answered, ‘No, not Seth. He never forgets or forgives.’
Brighton thought for a moment.
‘So the only answer is for you to get as far away as possible. Maybe you can go back to Four Mountains.’
Thomas nodded.
‘Seth will be busy for a while now. Zedonia is two weeks travel from here. That means it will be at least four weeks before he could get back here,’ Lilian worked out.
‘If you start tomorrow you can be in Four Mountains long before Seth returns,’ she concluded.
Carmen got up.
‘Well, that means I’ll have to bake two breads, one for Thomas and one for you two,’ she said gesturing towards the young people.
‘You have to leave too. Go with Thomas,’ Lilian said quickly.
‘I’m too old…’
‘Seth will torture you to find out where Thomas went,’ Lilian said. ‘I’ve seen it. You have to go.’
‘But my house…’
…was never yours,’ Thomas finished. ‘This is one argument you won’t win. I’ll throw you over my shoulder and carry you if need be,’ he said sternly.
‘You will be safer with me, I have this,’ he added waving his walking stick in the air.
Lilian was confused.
‘What can that walking stick do to a Dark One?’ she asked.
‘That’s the attitude I’d like to see in all Dark Ones,’ Thomas said, smiling.
‘I learnt one thing from throwing that rock at Seth. Dark Ones, even Supremes, are humans first and foremost.’
Lilian still looked confused.
Carmen saw and said, ‘Nothing a stiff knock against the head can’t fix,’ imitating Thomas.
Lilian giggled behind her hand, not at what Carmen said but rather the way she said it.
‘I understand,’ she said. ‘You knock them unconscious with your stick before they can touch you. That tactic might just work with Seth.’
Thomas didn’t correct her.
There had been enough talk about death already.
Carmen spent the afternoon teaching Lilian how to bake bread and biscuits.
‘Carmen, could I ask you something?’ Lilian said carefully.
‘Anything my dear,’ Carmen replied without looking up.
She was busy mixing the ingredients for the bread.
‘Something strange happened the last time I was here. When Brighton and I were down by the river, we swam. Afterwards I lay on a rock to get dry and warm. I suddenly started feeling warmer and then it was like Bri’s thoughts came into my head.’
Carmen’s hands went still.
‘How do you know it was his thoughts?’ she asked.
Lilian shifted uncomfortably. These were private moments between her and Brighton.
‘Well, I got an image in my head of Bri’s hand…um…on me,’ she said.
Carmen looked at Lilian, alarm rising in her mind.
‘Did you use the energy link on him?’ she asked sternly.
‘NO! I would never do that!’ Lilian replied quickly. ‘I know that thoughts can travel with the energy through the link but this was different. These thoughts were sort of pushed into my mind.’
‘And you’re sure this image in your head was not your own?’ Carmen asked, her hands busy again. ‘I remember being in love. Your mind can play tricks on you.’
Lilian replied confidently, ‘I’m sure it wasn’t my thoughts. The peculiar thing is that I did not feel Bri’s sense before then. As soon as I became aware of it, the image came into my head. It was like he suddenly opened up to me.’
Carmen remained silent for a while. She remembered what Thomas said earlier about Brighton taking and giving energy. If that theory was true then perhaps Brighton saw that Lilian was cold and gave her some energy to warm up.
Of course Brighton would not have realized he was doing it, his instinct would have taken over to help the woman he loves. It could explain why his thoughts ended up in her head. He probably established an energy link without either of them knowing.
‘Carmen? Any ideas?’ Lilian said softly.
‘No, I don’t know,’ she lied.
The men sat on the porch. Brighton was making new arrows and Thomas was carving another walking stick. Thomas knew Brighton didn‘t want to talk anymore about his talent. He was going to give it up anyway to be with Lilian. This disturbed Thomas.
Brighton’s talent was unique. Thomas believed there was much more to be learnt about it. The old man needed to tell Brighton about his own talent disappearing temporarily after Brighton healed his shoulder.
It was the younger man that spoke first.
‘Don’t get scared, just stay calm,’ he said without looking up.
Thomas looked at Brighton, very confused.
‘What are you talking about?’ he asked.
‘Just stay calm,’ Brighton repeated.
Out of the corner of his eye, Thomas saw some movement just off the porch. It was the biggest black panther he had ever seen, walking straight for the porch. Thomas immediately brought the half-finished walking stick up with one hand, knife in the other.
‘Thomas! Stay calm,’ Brighton repeated.
The big panther walked past Thomas seemingly without noticing him.
‘Hello Mischief,’ Brighton said to the cat.
He put the arrows on the floor next to him. Mischief reached him and put his big black head in Brighton’s lap. Brighton scratched Mischief behind the ears. The big cat purred softly. Brighton ran his hand over Mischief’s back and sides, checking for injury.
As usual, there was none. Mischief lay down almost on top of Brighton’s feet. Moments later he was asleep.
Thomas’ fear had turned into amazement.
‘You’re friends with a black panther?’ he whispered to Brighton, fearful of waking the cat up.
Brighton spoke normally.
‘Yes. You don’t have to whisper, Mischief will sleep through a thunderstorm.’
‘Mischief,’ Thomas repeated the name.
His eyes went wide in recognition.
‘This is the panther you helped when she was giving birth!’ he exclaimed.
‘No, that’s Velvet. This one is her son,’ Brighton corrected.
With a smile he added, ‘I don’t think Mischief would appreciate you calling him a girl.’
‘So, this is the one with the white eyes,’ Thomas said, remembering the conversation they had all those years ago.
‘Yes. If he were not sleeping, I’d show you. Nothing can wake him up so we’ll have to wait,’ Brighton said.
‘Carmen!’ he called. ‘Mischief is here.’
Lilian came running out the door but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the cat. Her eyes went wide.
‘Carmen said he was big but this is ridiculous!’ she said breathlessly.
‘Come closer, he won’t do anything,’ Brighton said.
Lilian shook her head.
‘He’s sleeping anyway,’ Brighton said. ‘I promise it will be fine.’
Lilian slowly stepped closer and put her hand on his side. Mischief’s eyes snapped open and a menacing growl escaped his throat. Lilian shrieked and ju
mped back. Mischief got up and faced her, softly growling, teeth bared.
‘Don’t you remember Lilian?’ Brighton asked the cat. ‘You slept in her lap when you were only one day old.’
Incredibly, the cat seemed to understand. He stopped growling.
‘Come scratch his ears,’ Brighton said to her.
Lilian stood frozen with her back against the wall.
Brighton spoke to the big cat.
‘Go say hello but be gentle, she is afraid of you.’
Again, he seemed to understand Brighton. Slowly, with his white eyes cast downward, he approached Lilian. Gently he nudged her hand with his wet nose. When she didn’t respond, he pushed his head under her hand, softly purring.
‘He wants a scratch. It’s his way of telling you he won’t do you any harm,’ Brighton explained.
Still Lilian stood frozen. Carmen came out and held two pieces of dried meat towards Lilian.
‘Feed him this. He will be your friend for life!’ she said.
Slowly Lilian took the meat from Carmen and held one out for Mischief. He gently took it from her in those powerful jaws. Flopping down at her feet, he started chewing.
Carefully Lilian stepped around him and stood behind Brighton, her hand on his shoulder. Brighton was working on the arrows again.
‘Thomas, please pass the knife,’ he asked.
Thomas held out the knife towards Brighton. Mischief moved like lightning. In a flash, his big powerful jaws closed around Thomas’ forearm.
Brighton swatted him on the nose.
‘Relax boy, I asked Thomas for the knife,’ he scolded.
Mischief let go of Thomas’ arm and stepped back. Facing Thomas, he held his head low and shuffled closer. It was almost as if the cat was trying to apologize to Thomas.
Thomas looked at his arm.
Not a scratch.
‘Incredible!’ he gasped. ‘Mischief thought I was threatening you. He wants to protect you. I’ve never seen anything move that fast!’
Brighton took the knife.
Mischief was still standing next to Thomas, head low.
‘He’s apologizing,’ Brighton said.
Thomas looked at the cat and formally said, ‘I accept.’
Brighton laughed.
‘He can’t understand you. Scratch his ears or tummy.’
Thomas gave Mischief a quick scratch behind the ears. The cat lifted his head and looked at Thomas briefly with those white eyes before returning to the treat Lilian had given him.
Without taking his eyes off the cat, Thomas said to Brighton, ‘He seems to understand you.’
Carmen spoke from the door. ‘He does understand when Brighton speaks. There is a bond between them.’
Brighton ignored the comments and said worriedly, ‘I wonder where Velvet is?’
He answered his own question, ‘Probably hunting somewhere. If she was hurt she would have come to me.’
Lilian, still standing behind him, said, ‘Mischief doesn’t look hurt. Why is he here?’
Brighton cocked his head back to look at her.
‘They don’t only come here when they are hurt. Sometimes they come just to visit.’
‘I think it’s for those tasty treats,’ Carmen quipped.
Mischief ears perked up. The first piece of dried meat was finished. He got up and approached Lilian. She held out the other piece of meat to him. He took the meat and rubbed his head against Lilian’s leg.
‘That means thank you,’ Carmen said.
Thomas laughed.
‘Carmen will teach everybody manners, even the animals,’ he teased her.
Brighton got an idea.
‘Mischief, come here boy.’
Mischief immediately dropped the meat and came to stand in front of Brighton.
Brighton held the cat’s head in his hands.
‘Thomas and Carmen will be travelling to Four Mountains tomorrow. I want you to go with and protect them,’ he said to Mischief.
He turned to Carmen.
‘Pack lots of those meat treats; it will get Mischief to follow you,’ he said with a smile.
Brighton let Mischief’s head go. The big cat returned to chewing on the piece of meat Lilian gave him.
Lilian stroked Brighton’s neck.
‘Do you really think he can understand you?’ she asked.
‘I don’t know but sometimes it looks like it,’ Brighton replied.
A thought popped into his head.
‘Lily, do me a favour. See if you can sense Mischief,’ he asked.
Lilian concentrated for a moment.
Slowly she said, ‘No, I can’t. I wonder why?’
‘Carmen and Thomas can’t either. I don’t know why,’ Brighton replied.
The evening was spent preparing for the upcoming travel.
Carmen added straps to all the knapsacks so they could be carried on the shoulder or back. Lilian baked more bread and biscuits while Brighton finished the arrows. He now had a full quiver again and Thomas finished his new walking stick.
When it was time to go to bed Brighton insisted that the older people take the beds. He and Lilian had already decided that they would sleep out on the porch since it was a very warm evening.
‘No real privacy there,’ Thomas teased making both young people blush.
Everybody said goodnight and went to bed.
Lilian’s head was on Brighton’s bare chest. She slept cradled in his strong arms all night. Slowly she woke up.
The sun was just rising. It took only a moment for her to realize where she was. She kept very still, so as not to wake Brighton.
His chest rose and fell slowly. A thin blanket half covered them. Lilian was thankful for this as she was sleeping only in her underwear. Things may have been a bit awkward if Thomas or Carmen came out and saw her sleeping half-naked with Brighton. She carefully adjusted the blanket so that it covered her bare shoulders.
‘Are you awake?’ Brighton asked sleepily.
‘Only just,’ she replied softly.
‘Perhaps we should get dressed quickly,’ he said.
Lilian got up and reached for her clothes. Brighton could still not believe how beautiful she was.
Her long blond curls falling over her back made his heart race.
She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled.
‘You’re staring at me again,’ she said in a husky voice.
He didn’t look away.
‘You’re gorgeous,’ he said softly.
Lilian smiled at him as she got dressed.
Brighton also got up and reached for his shirt.
Before he could put it on Lilian stepped closer, her arms snaking around him.
She put her head against his bare chest.
‘I wished we could have been alone last night,’ she breathed.
Brighton’s heart was racing.
‘Me too,’ he stuttered.
‘Oh really? And what would you have done if we were alone?’ Lilian asked innocently.
‘I…uh…nothing….I mean….’ he stammered.
Desperate to change the subject he looked around the porch and said, ‘Have you seen Mischief?’
Lilian looked around as well and said, ‘No. Can’t you sense him?’
Brighton shook his head.
‘When I’m with you I can’t sense anybody or anything around me,’ he replied.
‘Let’s go see if Carmen made some breakfast,’ he suggested pulling his shirt on.
They walked into an empty kitchen.
Breakfast was laid out on the table and the travel food all neatly wrapped up next to it.
‘Carmen!’ Brighton called.
He checked both rooms.
‘Nobody,’ he said to Lilian.
‘Looks like they’re gone,’ she said. ‘How far can your sense go?’
‘As far as the river. I don’t feel them,’ Brighton answered.
‘And yours?’ he asked.
‘To the other side of town, but I
don’t feel them either,’ Lilian answered.
‘That far?’ Brighton said, astonished. ‘It’s ten times further than mine goes’.
‘I’m the daughter of a Supreme. My talent is strong,’ she said trying to sound like a princess.
Remembering Seth, she suddenly went stiff.
‘Oh no! The travel! We’re supposed to meet Seth at sunrise,’ she said, panic rising.
They grabbed the food and stuffed it into the two rucksacks.
Brighton grabbed his bow and quiver.
‘I would have liked to say goodbye,’ he said as they rushed out the door.
‘We’d better hurry, Seth is not a patient man,’ Lilian urged him along.
Chapter 11
WHEN THEY REACHED the meeting place, Seth was already waiting. Lilian nervously started apologizing.
Seth waved it off casually.
‘I just got here,’ he said.
Lilian, a little surprised, breathed a sigh of relief.
‘Shall we get going?’ Seth asked, smiling.
Without waiting for an answer, he took to the road.
Brighton and Lilian walked a few paces behind him.
‘I didn’t expect that,’ Brighton whispered.
‘Me neither,’ Lilian replied. ‘I hope his mood stays this good.’
Over his shoulder Seth said, ‘I see you brought a bow young man. Good, you can hunt for us. I hate killing animals with the talent. It makes the meat taste funny.’
‘Not a problem sir,’ Brighton answered.
‘I told you yesterday, please call me Seth.’
‘Not a problem, Seth,’ Brighton repeated.
Carmen walked right behind Thomas. They were on a narrow trail deep in the woods. Thomas insisted on taking the lead. He claimed to know this trail.
Carmen knew he wanted to be in front of her in case they walked into danger. So far, they hadn’t seen anyone.
‘That’s the third time,’ Thomas said nervously.
‘Yes, I can feel it too. It does not mean anybody is looking for us,’ Carmen replied.
‘Who else could they be looking for?’ Thomas asked over his shoulder.
‘Perhaps they are hunting. It’s easier when you know where the animals are,’ Carmen said sarcastically.
