Energy - Awakening

by MJ Schutte

  ‘Bri, meet your son and your daughter,’ Lilian said proudly.

  All Brighton could see were two small faces sticking out.

  Gently he stroked their cheeks.

  ‘Our little angels’ he said as a tear rolled down his face.

  ‘That’s the first time I’ve ever seen you cry,’ Lilian said tenderly.

  ‘I’m not crying,’ Brighton said quickly as he wiped the tear away.

  ‘Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,’ Lilian teased.

  Brighton could see that she was exhausted. He touched her leg and slowly let some healing energy flow into her. She realized what he was doing and smiled a thank you.

  ‘We need to think of names,’ she said to him.

  ‘That’s not something I’m particularly good at. What about Velvet and Mischief,’ he joked.

  Lilian pulled a face and shook her head.

  ‘I have names in mind but you must tell me if you don’t agree. The girl can be called Clarissa, after your mother, and the boy can be Thomas,’ Lilian said.

  ‘That’s perfect,’ Brighton whispered.

  He looked at the tiny faces again.

  ‘May I hold one?’ he asked.

  ‘Of course, they are your babies too,’ Lilian laughed.

  Brighton leaned over and gently took little Clarissa.

  There was a soft knock on the door. Brighton got up and opened it.

  ‘May we come in?’ Adri whispered.

  She knew the twins were probably sleeping and did not want to wake them.

  ‘Yes, please do,’ Brighton said softly.

  When Adri and Brac were inside Brighton whispered, ‘I would like you to meet Clarissa and Thomas.’

  Brac looked at both babies.

  ‘They are beautiful. It’s a good thing they take after their mother,’ he teased Brighton.

  He slapped Brighton on the back.

  ‘Well my friend, from now on you will have very few moments to yourself. Welcome to parenthood.’

  Chapter 23

  THE DAYS SEEMED to fly past. Brighton and Brac continued to work on the house. The plan was to have one big bedroom on the north side and two smaller ones on the south. One evening after supper they were sitting outside on the grass. Lilian had little Thomas in her arms and Adri held Clarissa. Brac got up, thanked Adri for the supper, and strolled off to his camping spot. Adri insisted that he ate with them every night.

  ‘The twins can go into one of the small rooms with us right next door. That leaves the big room for Adri,’ Brighton said to the women.

  Adri immediately shook her head.

  ‘I will take the room next to the children. You and Lilian will have the big room,’ she countered.

  ‘That would be unfair to you,’ Brighton argued.

  ‘Why?’ Adri asked with a frown.

  ‘Because the twins will wake you up every night,’ Brighton answered.

  ‘I don’t mind. In fact, I would love to take care of them so you and Lilian can have some time for yourselves,’ Adri replied.

  Brighton looked at Lilian for help. She just shook her head, she knew that look on Adri’s face. Arguing with the younger woman was the same as hitting your head against a tree when she was in this mood.

  ‘But why?’ Brighton asked in exasperation.

  ‘So that you and Lilian can make more little bundles of joy like these two,’ Adri said with a sly smile.

  Brighton didn’t know what to say.

  Lilian reached out and touched Adri’s arm.

  ‘Thank you,’ she said softly.

  Lilian and Adri got up and went inside to put the sleeping babies down in the cribs Brighton had built.

  ‘Adri, why do you insist on taking care of us?’ Lilian asked softly.

  ‘The first reason is that you and Brighton have given me a life. If it weren’t for Brighton I would still be in the palace. By now Seth probably would have raped me several times,’ Adri said.

  ‘You have no debt to us,’ Lilian whispered.

  ‘I know. The second and biggest reason is that I love you both very much,’ Adri continued. ‘I feel like you’re my sister and Brighton is my older, very overprotective brother.’

  Lilian had tears in her eyes.

  ‘You know I think of you as my sister,’ she choked out.

  The two women hugged each other tenderly.

  Brighton poked his head through the door, saw what was going on, and quietly retreated.

  ‘Women,’ he mumbled as he walked away.

  He spotted Mischief sleeping not far away.

  He sat down next to the panther and started stroking his soft fur.

  ‘I have to convince Brac to come live here. I’m outnumbered but at least I still have you,’ he told the cat.

  Mischief opened his completely white eyes. He got up, stretched his powerful body, and headed for the house. Adri had just come out. She was holding something out to Mischief.

  Brighton smiled and shook his head.

  ‘Traitor!’ he called after the cat.

  The men finished the house and a small cottage deep in the woods for Brac. The cottage had only one bedroom and a kitchen. Brac joked that they shouldn’t have bothered with the kitchen; he was never going to use it anyway.

  ‘Not that I’m complaining. Miss Adri is probably the best cook in the whole world. Look how fat I’m getting,’ he said patting his belly.

  ‘She is a wizard in the kitchen,’ Brighton agreed. ‘And also very good with the twins. Sometimes I think she’s an angel sent to look after us.’

  Brac chuckled, ‘You’re probably right.’

  They were working in the vegetable garden not too far from the house. Brighton decided against keeping goats. There was more than enough small game around to provide them with all the meat they needed.

  He looked towards town. Three men were approaching. Brighton instantly recognized them. It was John, Brent and William.

  ‘This ought to be fun,’ Brighton mumbled.

  ‘Who are they?’ Brac asked leaning on his spade.

  ‘Three bullies who used to terrorize smaller kids in the village. I wonder where Garth is,’ Brighton replied.

  ‘Garth from Brasten? What would he be doing here?’ Brac asked with a frown.

  ‘No, not him. The one I’m referring to was the leader of this little group. I broke his nose one day,’ Brighton explained.

  ‘I see,’ Brac said.

  He held the spade in front of him.

  ‘Relax, I don’t think they’ve come for a fight,’ Brighton said.

  The three men reached them.

  ‘Good day Brighton,’ John greeted.

  ‘Good day to you,’ Brighton greeted back.

  ‘I’m John, this is Brent and William,’ John said to Brac.

  ‘Brac,’ the hunter replied.

  ‘What can I do for you?’ Brighton asked.

  ‘Well…uh…we’ve come to ask something,’ John replied.

  ‘Ask, I’m listening,’ Brighton prodded.

  ‘I…um…we were wondering if you would let us work in your vegetable garden,’ John blurted out.

  He was clearly uncomfortable.

  Brighton was taken aback slightly.

  ‘Why?’ he asked.

  ‘Everybody seems to be struggling with their crops except you,’ John said sheepishly.

  ‘If it is food you need we will be more than happy to share,’ Brighton replied.

  ‘Thank you, but we don’t feel it is right just taking it. We would prefer to work in return for some food,’ John explained.

  ‘I see,’ Brighton said.

  This was a surprise.

  ‘Let me think about it and discuss it with Brac. Come back tomorrow.’

  All three said a quick thank you and retreated back to town.

  ‘Well, that was interesting and slightly disappointing,’ Brac commented.

  ‘Why are you disappointed?’ Brighton asked with a smile.

  He already knew what Brac
was going to say.

  ‘I was hoping for a good fight. It’s been a while and I’m getting restless,’ Brac answered trying to look serious.

  He was actually enjoying the peaceful life.

  ‘I’ll fight you if that’s what you want,’ Brighton offered.

  ‘No thank you, I’ll rather take on a thousand men armed to the teeth,’ Brac quickly laughed.

  That evening Brighton told Lilian and Adri about John’s request.

  ‘It sounds like a good idea,’ Adri said.

  Lilian agreed, she didn’t mind giving the food away but it was probably better if the men worked for it.

  Brighton was not convinced, he didn’t trust John’s motives.

  ‘I have to protect you, Adri and the twins,’ he said to Lilian.

  ‘What about Brac?’ Lilian asked.

  Brighton frowned and said, ‘Brac can take care of himself.’

  Lilian laughed and said, ‘No, I meant he can also protect us. Besides, we’re not entirely defenceless.’

  ‘And we have Mischief,’ Adri chipped in.

  ‘True,’ Brighton said slowly.

  ‘Give them a chance,’ Lilian said to him.

  Brighton was still not sure.

  ‘The timing is a bit bad. I wanted to go to Avarya for some string, arrow heads and blades,’ he replied.

  Brac finally raised his opinion.

  ‘Then it would actually be a good thing if the three men started working here. They can look after the crops while we’re gone,’ he said.

  ‘We? No, if we’re going to do this I need you to stay behind and keep those men in line,’ Brighton said quickly.

  They spoke about it for a while longer.

  Finally Brighton said, ‘Fine, we’ll give them a chance but only if Brac agrees to stay here when I go to Avarya.’

  Reluctantly Brac agreed.

  John, William and Brent came back early the next morning. When Brighton told them that he would give them a chance they immediately got to work. Each got a small piece of ground to work on. Brighton and Brac taught them how to prepare the ground, how to plant new vegetables and when to water the plants.

  A few days later four more young men arrived asking for work. They all insisted on doing Brighton and Brac’s share of the work as long as the two guided them.

  Although Brighton enjoyed working in the garden himself, he agreed and took the role of supervisor with Brac assisting him. The vegetable garden expanded so much it covered almost a quarter of the clearing.

  More people came asking for work. Brighton didn’t turn anybody away and soon the entire clearing was turned into a small farm complete with goats and sheep.

  Brighton made frequent trips to Avarya accompanied by two or three men every time. They took their surplus goods to the city and traded it for other things like implements, leather, clothes and shoes.

  Some of the women made big rucksacks for them to help carry their goods to and from Avarya.

  Almost a year later Brighton was on one such trip to Avarya with John.

  As they entered the city Brighton said to John, ‘I’m going to Joseph. Meet me back here.’

  John nodded and went his own way. Brighton knew there was a particular young lady John wanted to visit. He kept going towards the centre of town.

  ‘Hello Joseph,’ Brighton greeted cheerfully, as he entered the store.

  The old shopkeeper ran over and slammed the door shut.

  ‘Come, let’s go to the back,’ he nervously suggested.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Brighton asked still smiling.

  Joseph pulled Brighton along by his shirt and said, ‘They are looking for you.’

  ‘Who?’ Brighton asked.

  Joseph pushed the younger man through the backdoor into the alley behind the store.

  ‘The army,’ he answered.

  Brighton’s mind was racing.

  ‘What army?’ he asked.

  ‘King Graham’s army. Actually they are called “The Royal Peacekeepers”,’ Joseph replied.

  Brighton was speechless for a moment and then rage flooded his mind.

  ‘King Graham? The Royal Peacekeepers?’ he asked struggling to control his anger.

  ‘Yes, King Graham. We only heard about this a few days ago. The Royal Peacekeepers came into town, declared Avarya part of the Kingdom and started house to house searches for you and your wife,’ Joseph explained.

  ‘How do you know they’re looking for us?’ Brighton asked.

  ‘They are circulating physical descriptions that match the two of you,’ Joseph explained.

  Joseph only met Lilian once but he never forgot how beautiful she was.

  ‘It could be someone else,’ Brighton tried.

  ‘It’s you, I’m sure of it. What I want to know is why are they calling you a demon and your lovely wife a witch?’ Joseph asked.

  ‘We’re the last of the talented people; they will never stop hunting us. I made a mistake by letting Graham live but I will rectify that,’ he said softly.

  Brighton sat on a rock next to the road. It wasn’t the exact spot he was supposed to meet John. He had walked a little further up the road to where the forest was thicker. He sensed a large group of people coming his way. John was with them.

  Soldiers marched up the road and headed straight for Brighton. They were all wearing brown pants and red shirts. One soldier was dragging John along. The young man’s eyes were swollen shut, his nose broken and he had numerous cuts on his arms and chest. It was clear that they tortured him to find out where Brighton was. The soldier shoved John to the side.

  ‘You can be glad you told the truth,’ he sneered at John.

  A big man, obviously the squad commander, came to a halt right in front of Brighton. Two fierce looking men took up position just behind him. Brighton estimated that there were about a hundred soldiers in the squad.

  ‘Under orders of King Graham you are to be arrested and brought to Zedonia. If you resist we will kill you on the spot,’ he loudly announced.

  ‘You’re welcome to try,’ Brighton said calmly.

  The commander turned to his two lieutenants and said, ‘Arrest him. Be careful, he is very dangerous.’

  Both men drew the longest knives Brighton had ever seen out of scabbards and stepped in front of the commander.

  ‘What are those called?’ Brighton asked casually pointing at the knives.

  ‘Swords,’ the commander barked.

  ‘Swords? That’s interesting. And you think these swords will help you arrest me?’ Brighton asked mockingly.

  One of the lieutenants pointed the sword at Brighton’s face and said, ‘Get up or I’ll run you through.’

  Brighton spoke to the man like a parent would speak to a naughty child, ‘Don’t point that thing at me, you might get hurt.’

  He pushed the point of the sword to the side and stood up.

  The lieutenant thrust the sword at Brighton’s chest but the big man was ready. He swayed to his left letting the sword go past and grabbed the man’s forearm. With a single, powerful twist he broke the man’s arm at the elbow. Quickly he slid his hand down and caught the sword by the hilt just as the man dropped it.

  ‘Thank you,’ he said as he flipped the sword the right way around in his hand.

  The other lieutenant took a big round-arm swing at Brighton.

  Brighton blocked the weapon with his own, stepped inside the man’s attack, and brought his knee up. It took the man in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Brighton stepped back as the man doubled over. He dropped the sword and brought his fist up from his hip. Brighton felt the man’s nose break under the heavy blow. He tumbled backwards, blood splattering everywhere.

  Stepping back the commander drew his own sword and pointed it at Brighton.

  ‘Stop or we will kill you,’ he said in a high pitched, panicky voice.

  Brighton leaned forward and said, ‘You saw what happened to the last man that pointed a sword at me. Are you sure you want
to do the same?’

  The commander stepped further back until he was between his soldiers.

  ‘Kill him,’ he screamed at the men.

  Brighton held his hands open, palms forward and slightly away from his legs.

  Small bolts of lightning started jumping from the trees behind him to his fingers.

  ‘Miss Lilian! Miss Lilian!’ the young girl shouted as she was running towards the house.

  She was still more than two hundred paces away when her eyes went wide and she tumbled forward.

  Lilian saw an arrow protruding from her back.

  ‘Take Clarissa,’ she quickly said to Adri.

  The younger woman took the baby from Lilian and put her in the crib next to Thomas.

  Adri noticed some time before that the babies slept better when they were close to each other so Brighton had built a larger crib to replace the two smaller ones.

  Lilian stepped down from the porch where she and Adri were feeding the children. She didn’t see anybody so she used her sense. The attacker was hiding between some trees towards the east of the farm.

  Lilian’s black energy link slammed into his head. She drained him instantly of all his energy.

  She didn’t sense anybody except the farm workers around so she walked towards the corpse. Brent and two other men accompanied her.

  They saw what had happened to the young girl. The group reached the trees. Lilian walked straight to where she knew the attacker’s corpse was. He was on his back, dead eyes staring into the sky. The first thing she noticed was his red shirt.

  ‘That’s a bad colour if you want to stay hidden in the woods,’ she mumbled.

  Brent stepped closer and asked, ‘What happened?’

  ‘He killed little Maria so I killed him,’ Lilian replied.

  ‘How?’ one of the other men asked.

  Lilian didn’t answer.

  She concentrated on casting her sense as wide as possible.

  ‘More men are coming this way. They are through the pass already,’ she told the three farm workers.

  ‘What should we do? Judging by what just happened I don’t think they’re simply coming for a visit,’ Brent replied.