by MJ Schutte
Michaela brought over two plates of delicious looking food.
‘I hope you enjoy it,’ she said as she waited for the couple to sit up.
They took the plates from her and thanked both girls for the food.
‘Joshua helped,’ Michaela pointed out.
‘Thank you, Joshua,’ Brighton called over his shoulder.
Joshua absentmindedly waved with his knife.
He was busy carving another spear.
Michaela walked over to him.
‘Leave that piece of wood now and come with us. I need you to wash my back,’ she said seductively.
Brighton’s head snapped around, a big frown on his face.
‘Or not,’ Michaela quickly said when she saw Brighton’s face.
Joshua got up and said, ‘I’ll come and stand guard.’
‘With my back towards you,’ he quickly added.
He watched Brighton’s face closely.
‘That defeats the object, doesn’t it,’ Michaela countered.
‘Then I’ll stand guard behind a bush,’ Joshua offered, still trying to read Brighton’s reaction.
Brighton used his sense.
‘There is nobody near us, don’t worry. You girls can go bath,’ he said.
Both Michaela and Joshua looked disappointed.
Lilian bumped Brighton with her elbow.
‘But it would be better if Joshua went with, just in case,’ he added.
Joshua and the girls vanished into the woods quickly before Brighton changed his mind.
‘Keep your back turned, Joshua,’ Brighton called after them.
Lilian slapped him lightly on the shoulder.
‘Stop it, you’re not her father,’ she said.
‘I know, but I still don’t want to see either of the girls getting hurt,’ Brighton replied.
‘They are old enough to make their own choices. You cannot protect them forever,’ Lilian said sternly.
‘I can try! They have to learn that things must be done the right way and not to rush into any decisions,’ Brighton argued.
‘The right way? And what would that be?’ Lilian asked.
‘Well, I know what young men his age think of. They must first find out if they really love each other, then get married and then they can think of…other things,’ Brighton said seriously.
‘You mean making love?’ Lilian asked slyly.
‘Yes, making love,’ Brighton answered.
‘Oh really? This from the man whose pregnant girlfriend is sitting right next to him?’ Lilian said with a smile.
‘I…uh…no….that’s different. We’re older and we love each other,’ Brighton defended.
‘Yes Thomas,’ Lilian teased him.
‘I’m just…’ Brighton started.
‘I know,’ Lilian interrupted. ‘And I love you for it, but we’re barely older than them. Michaela is seventeen, that’s only two years younger than I am. You really sound like old Thomas when you carry on like that.’
Imitating the old man she said, ‘Things must be done the right way, bla bla bla.’
Brighton had to laugh at that.
Lilian’s impression was quite good.
‘And anyway, what do you think they’re going to do with Adri there?’ Lilian asked.
‘Nothing, I guess,’ Brighton replied with a sigh. ‘You’re right; I’ll relax a little around them.’
‘Thank you my love,’ Lilian said and gave him a soft kiss.
Brighton smiled at her and returned to eating his dinner.
He suddenly realized he only ever guessed how old the girls were, he didn’t actually know.
‘Is Michaela really seventeen?’ he asked past a big lump of meat.
‘Brighton! Don’t speak with food in your mouth,’ Lilian scolded him.
‘Yes Carmen,’ he mumbled.
After swallowing the meat he said, ‘Well? Is she?’
‘Yes,’ Lilian replied.
‘And Adri?’ Brighton asked.
‘Sixteen,’ Lilian replied.
‘I was almost right, I thought they were both sixteen,’ Brighton commented.
They finished their dinner and lay down again, Brighton flat on his back and Lilian propped up on one elbow. Lilian opened Brighton’s shirt and softly stroked his chest. He smiled and enjoyed the stroking for a long time. Eventually he got up on one elbow and gently pushed her down on her back. He unbuttoned her dress and slid his hand inside.
‘You’re not wearing a camisole,’ he smiled as his fingers touched her naked skin.
‘Too hot,’ she breathed, waiting for his hand to move.
Gently Brighton started stroking her stomach and chest. Lilian’s breathing became short and shallow. It didn’t matter how many times Brighton touched her like this, she never got used to it.
Lilian shot up squashing her breast against Brighton’s hand.
‘It’s back!’ she said.
‘What’s back?’ Brighton asked, very disappointed.
‘My talent,’ she said. ‘I can use it again.’
‘Why would you use your talent while I’ve got my hand inside your dress?’ Brighton complained.
‘It just happened, I didn’t do it. I suddenly felt my talent returning,’ Lilian explained.
Brighton sat up. He used his sense to make sure no Dark Ones were around. Joshua and the girls were returning from the river, they were quite close.
‘Use your sense; see if you can pick up where the others are,’ he encouraged.
She concentrated for a moment then quickly started buttoning her dress.
‘You could have told me,’ she complained.
Brighton laughed a little.
‘Sorry,’ he said.
Joshua and the girls entered the campsite.
‘Did you enjoy the bath?’ Lilian asked, her face still flustered.
Adri smiled and said, ‘Apparently not as much as you two enjoyed the time alone.’
‘How does she always know?’ Brighton whispered to Lilian.
Lilian shrugged her shoulders.
Brighton got up and said to Joshua, ‘We are going to try something else to improve our defences.’
He asked Lilian, ‘Can you sense him?’
‘Yes,’ she said.
Brighton went to Joshua and asked him to remove the bandage on his wounded leg.
‘Sorry, but I have to heal this. It’s part of a small test,’ he said as he placed his hand over the wound.
When he took his hand away the wound was gone.
‘Try now,’ he said to Lilian.
She concentrated for a moment then got a confused look on her face. She tried again but her confusion remained.
‘I can’t sense him,’ she said slowly.
‘Michaela, Adri, come over here please,’ Brighton called.
He touched each of the girls with some healing energy.
‘Try now,’ he said to Lilian.
She used her sense again.
‘I can’t feel any of them,’ she said, flabbergasted.
‘I knew it!’ Brighton shouted.
‘We have a way of hiding from the Dark Ones,’ he declared.
‘But how does that work?’ Lilian asked, amazed at this new development.
‘My talent must somehow counteract yours,’ Brighton said. ‘Some of my energy is in Joshua and the girls, that’s why you can’t sense them. Eventually it will be used up and you will then be able to sense them again. I brought Mischief back from the dead and that’s why it had a permanent effect on him. When I used my energy to heal you, it rendered your talent unusable for half a day. My energy counteracts the talent of the Dark Ones,’ Brighton explained.
‘That’s brilliant!’ Joshua exclaimed. ‘The perfect defence against that energy link you keep talking about.’
‘Yes!’ Brighton said excitedly.
Lilian was still frowning.
‘So how come I can sense you when other Dark Ones can’t?’ she asked Brighton.
Br
ighton smiled at her.
‘Love and trust. I have willingly given myself to you because I love you. My life is yours,’ he answered.
‘This is not just a defence; it’s a means of attack. I can render the Dark Ones’ biggest weapon useless with this little trick,’ he added.
‘But you will need to touch them,’ Adri threw in.
‘No, anything I can do by touch, I can also do via the energy link. It just takes a little more energy and is therefore more difficult.’
‘Bri, my love, you’re not just handsome, you are also clever,’ Lilian said as she slid her arms around him.
Brighton smiled from ear to ear. This was an amazing discovery. Although he was in complete control of his talent and knew his limits, he never knew how it would interact with other forms of talent or energy. He planted a kiss right on Lilian’s lips.
‘Oh please, go to the river if you’re going to do that again,’ Adri complained.
Adri actually didn’t mind seeing Brighton and Lilian display affection for each other, she just complained to give them an excuse to go somewhere private.
‘Not a bad idea,’ Lilian said. ‘I could use a bath. Are you coming, my love?’ she asked Brighton.
He nodded and took her hand.
‘See you children later,’ he said with a smile as they walked off into the forest.
‘Who is he calling a child?’ Michaela asked indignantly.
‘Us,’ Adri answered.
‘I’m not that much younger than him. I’m not a child anymore,’ Michaela complained.
‘Yes, but he has lived through some terrible tragedies. Did you know he believed for six years that Lilian was dead and that he found his mother murdered by the Dark Ones in their home? In years he might only be five or six years our senior but in experience he is much, much older than us. We can learn a lot from him,’ Adri answered.
Michaela suddenly felt ashamed about her outburst.
‘I guess that’s why he is so protective. He’s already lost so much, he doesn’t want to lose any more people in his life,’ she said softly.
‘How do you know all of this?’ Joshua asked.
‘Lilian told me some time ago,’ Adri replied.
She didn’t say that it was the night after the massacre in the palace. There was no need to remind Michaela of that terrible event.
Brighton and Lilian returned to camp much later. The girls were asleep and Joshua stood watch. He had just added wood to the fire; the flames were high and bright. Mischief joined them again and was asleep next to the girls. Adri had her arm draped over his body.
‘I can’t believe that panther can sometimes be so docile and in the blink of an eye become death itself to anyone who would dare to threaten us,’ Brighton said.
He gave Joshua a slap on the back.
‘Go to bed. Lilian and I will stand watch; we slept all day so we’re still wide awake,’ he said to the younger man.
Joshua nodded his thanks and went to lie down. Brighton and Lilian sat down on a big rock.
The night air was cool. Joshua noticed that Michaela and Adri were curled up trying to stay warm under just one blanket. He put his own blanket over them and lay down.
‘Why don’t you shift a little closer, that way we can all share the blankets,’ Michaela said in a sleepy voice.
Joshua looked over at Brighton. Brighton pretended not to notice or hear anything. Joshua shifted closer to Michaela and covered himself with the blanket. He slipped his arm around Michaela. Soon they were all fast asleep.
Lilian whispered to Brighton, ‘Thank you for ignoring that.’
He whispered back, ‘Like you said, they can make their own decisions. Now shift closer and keep me warm.’
Lilian giggled.
‘How am I supposed to keep you warm? You’re built like an oak tree and I am tiny,’ she said.
‘Ok, shift closer so I can keep you warm,’ Brighton offered.
She shifted as close as possible to him. He put his big arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She thought that this must be the safest she could possibly feel in her whole life. Brighton looked at the fire and then back into the woods.
He muttered something.
‘Did you speak to me?’ Lilian asked.
‘No, I was just thinking aloud,’ he answered.
‘About?’ Lilian prodded.
‘Look at the fire and then into the dark,’ he said.
She did as he told her.
‘I can’t see anything now,’ she complained.
‘Exactly,’ he said excitedly.
‘You make it sound like it’s a good thing,’ Lilian said, a little confused.
‘We can use this. If we make fires all around the campsite any intruder will be blinded when they get here,’ Brighton explained.
‘And we’ll be able to see them coming while they can’t see us,’ Lilian added.
Brighton nodded, ‘Yes, that’s true. Now we just have to hope Richard attacks at night.’
He looked around the camp.
‘We need to find a better place tomorrow, somewhere that is easier to set up defenses,’ he said.
‘What are you planning?’ Lilian asked.
‘Richard will send more people to attack us, I’m sure of it. He will not wait for us to go to him. He has more than seventy Dark Ones with him. He will probably threaten other people into joining his troops. We are horribly outnumbered so we can’t take them head on like we have been doing. It’s time to get clever,’ he said.
Lilian stayed quiet for a long time.
Eventually she said, ‘Bri, could I ask you something?’
Brighton nodded.
‘Why is it that you have a limit on the amount of energy you can use but the Dark Ones don’t?’
Brighton thought for a moment before he answered.
‘There are two reasons I can think of. First, I’ve only been doing this for a short while. The more you do it, the more energy you can handle. Most of the Dark Ones have been using their talent for many years; their bodies are used to the energy. Second, they only let energy flow into their bodies. I let energy flow through my body, in and out. It’s a lot harder to do. The Dark Ones also have their limits. They just very seldom get close to it with the amount of energy they steal. It’s actually how I managed to kill Amber, Theresa and the last Dark One that attacked us. I simply sent more energy than they could handle down the link,’ he explained.
‘What will happen to you if more energy than your body can handle, flows through you?’ Lilian asked wide-eyed.
‘If it happens fast, I will probably burst into flames like Amber and Theresa. If it happens slowly, I think my body will simply fail and I will die,’ Brighton answered honestly.
Lilian was suddenly very afraid of losing him.
‘Please be very careful,’ she said softly.
Lilian fell asleep sitting against him just after midnight. He gently picked her up, put her on the grass bed, and made sure she was warm enough. Feeding the fire a little bit of wood every once in a while gave him enough heat and light to work at. He modified his own bow first and then that of the girls. When the sun was just about to rise he woke everybody up.
‘Lily, Michaela, Adri, please see to breakfast. Joshua come with me,’ he instructed.
Brighton disappeared into the woods followed closely by Joshua.
They returned just as breakfast was ready. Everybody sat down to eat and Brighton laid out his plan for them.
‘Not far from here is a place that is easier to defend, just where the river breaks away from the mountain.’
Joshua nodded.
‘Yes, I’ve seen the spot. The mountain goes straight up on the one side and the river looks like a snake on the other. It looks like an island between the mountain and the river.’
Brighton nodded.
‘Yes, that’s the place. The river curves away from the mountain and then almost all the way back again. If we set up our defence there we will have th
e river at our back and left side while the mountain is on the right. There will be only one approach. We should go there now and prepare.’
‘Prepare for what?’ Adri asked.
‘Tonight we’re going to lure the enemy into a trap,’ Brighton replied with a smile.
Everybody gathered their things. Adri held up her bow and looked quizzically at Brighton. A blade was fitted on one end in line with the bowstring. Brighton picked up his bow, which had a similar modification done.
‘Hold the bow with the blade at the bottom. When the enemy comes too close for arrows you side step and then bring the bow up quickly like this.’
Brighton demonstrated how to bring the bow up in a slashing motion while dodging a make-believe attacker.
Michaela tried it and smiled.
‘Yes, that will work well,’ she commented.
Adri wasn’t convinced.
‘I like the idea but why don’t we hold the blade at the top and cut downwards?’ she asked.
‘Act like you’re attacking me with a knife,’ Brighton told her.
She put her bow down and lifted her arms.
‘Hold it there,’ Brighton stopped her.
‘Your arms are up. If I try to cut you from above you will easily fend off my knife with your arms. I will cut you but it will be a superficial wound. Coming from the bottom with the knife gives me a clear path to your exposed stomach,’ he explained.
Adri saw the logic and agreed Brighton’s way was better.
‘Let’s get going, we can talk more on the way,’ Brighton said.
They quickly gathered their things and set off. Brighton and Lilian led while the others followed a few paces behind. Mischief disappeared into the bushes as usual but Brighton knew the big panther would stay close.
Lilian looked back to make sure they were far enough ahead to have a private conversation.
‘What did you and Joshua do in the woods before breakfast?’ she asked.
‘Not much, we just had a little talk,’ Brighton replied, avoiding Lilian’s eyes.
‘Was it about Michaela?’ she pressed.
‘Yes,’ Brighton quickly replied.
‘You’re still a bad liar,’ Lilian accused with a slight smile. ‘Tell me please?’ she asked seriously.
Brighton sighed.
‘You won’t like it,’ he said looking into her eyes.
