A Werewolf's Saga, The Beginning (A Werewolf's Saga Boxed Sets Book 3)

by Michael Lampman

  Devish stood up from his throne and moved towards him with a cautious step. He stopped right in front of him.

  “No Wanderer can be taken by his word alone Rochie. Why you chose to hurt me is your concern and not mine.” He kept his grin, and kept his mind turning. He kept his block well in place. His father helped him as only he could. “Our concern is the threat you now pose to us.” He looked at Kenar. “Your friend has corrupted you my friends.” He looked to the other Wanderers and gaged their faces. He saw their fear and horror for what they had just heard. He saw what he wanted to see, so he turned back to the Elders. “We must not allow this to continue. We must not allow this injustice to live.”

  Odan stepped forwards. He knew what this meant. He knew Devish well enough.

  “You want us to destroy him?” Saying this made him wince some. He wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t said it himself.

  Devish moved back to his kin. “We have no other choice but to prevent this threat from continuing.”

  Kenar watched him closely, and with what he saw, the blocking of his gift and the look on Devish’s face told him one thing. He had to stay cautious. He had to stay calm. He cared for Rochie, but at the same time, he knew where this was heading and he didn’t like it. He now had to fear for all of them, like never before.

  Gorhan likewise watched Devish with intensity. He had never seen him look so confident. He had never seen him with such a swagger around his body and mind. He looked stronger than he had ever been.

  Odan was still not convinced. “You are aware that Wanderers can be reborn. If we take his life, he will only return again. He can return and harm us in the future.”

  Devish nodded with this. “This is why we must not destroy him outright, but keep him contained. We must imprison him for his life.” He stepped in front of his throne and turned back around.

  Odan could agree with this. It just made sense to him, so he nodded his approval.

  Adollo did as well.

  Gorhan was still not convinced with some of this. Of course, he knew about another person that was even more dangerous than Rochie ever was.

  “What about his sister Rana? She may not stand to see her brother imprisoned. She is more powerful than we could ever imagine.” He continued to stare at Devish, and just couldn’t bring himself to look away from him for a second. “She is even stronger than you.” He knew of her strength, and knew what he was saying. Her strength to control a person so completely, so entirely, was just that—a strength that was never to be taken lightly.

  Devish nodded. He agreed. “We will bring her here to my home. We will bring their family here. Their father will agree when this blasphemy is informed to him.” He sat down. “Of this, I have no doubt.” He looked directly at Rochie, and then to Kenar. “We will see to it that he is comfortable.” He looked to the other Wanderers behind him. “Please take him down to the dungeon and to one of the cells.” He saw their faces and felt pleased by what he saw. They each looked absolutely terrified beyond words to describe it right. “Please be careful as you do it too.” He felt pleased. They would fear them, the Walkers, again. They would fear him again too.

  Patrice nodded, and so did Garreth. They both moved quickly and took Rochie by each arm, and together, they turned with him moving on his own, and made their ways back out of the room.

  Shandra and Kenar said nothing.

  Kenar felt too shocked for that.

  Odan took a deep breath when all had been finished. “Well, at least that uncomfortable business is over with.” He turned to the others. “We must all get back to our lands.”

  Devish watched him out of the corner of his eyes, but he wasn’t finished yet. “We have another concern Odan before you leave us.” He looked up, keeping his face looking concerned. He kept his eyes serious.

  Odan bowed his head. “What is it now?”

  Devish looked at Gorhan and then to Adollo and then back to Odan again. “When I found the young human for my father, I had the most intriguing thing happen to me as I did so.” He crossed his right leg over his left, thought that looked too casual, so he dropped it back again to the floor. This was no time to be casual for what he had planned to do. He couldn’t let the others think this way either. “A human, I believe the young woman’s brother, attacked me with a sword.”

  Odan breathed.

  Adollo winced.

  Gorhan shook his head.

  Devish stood back up in front of them. “We, as you know, cannot allow humans to take such actions against one of us. We cannot let that stand.”

  “Why did you not end his life right then? Why come to us with this?” Gorhan blinked hard several times, while still shaking his head. He was getting tired with this endless game of problems and it showed in his voice. He just was tired and wanted to go home. He needed to have his peaceful life back together again.

  Devish noticed this on his face. “I know that all of us would like to go back home, tend our flocks and live out our lives. I feel it from all of you, but to answer your question, it was not my intention to take life but to bring it back home. All of us now have to take action and make a statement to all humans that this will not be tolerated. We need to make sure they have their fears of us confirmed. It is the only way to set the balance right again.”

  Odan nodded, and agreed. “Devish is right. We must make an example out of this human. We must set everything right again.” He turned from Devish and looked back to Kenar and Shandra. “You two will go and collect the boy for us. Find him and bring him back here.”

  Kenar listened and turned to Shandra.

  Shandra nodded and said nothing.

  Kenar turned back towards the Walkers’ voices.

  “We will return with him.” He didn’t have any other choice. Everything felt wrong. Everything felt downright bad. All he could do was to do what they told him to do.

  Both of them turned back to the door slowly, and just as slowly, they left.

  Odan watched them leave and then turned back to Devish.

  “This is dangerous Devish.” He looked back to the others. “We all must decide how to handle this situation.”

  Devish smiled with this. “You were always cautious Odan.” He kept the smile to the others as he turned to them. “We must do what he must.”

  Adollo now spoke up, “You have never been cautious Devish, so I do hope that you know what you are doing.” He bowed his head.

  Devish looked back to Odan.

  “We have the chance here to correct what has been done.”

  “What corrections are you speaking of Devish?” Odan didn’t like the sound of this at all. Inside him, his instincts told him something that he feared. He felt this from his young friend. He was up to something. He just didn’t know what that was.

  He grew serious fast. “We should have never done what he had. We should have not given the humans knowledge. We should have kept them simple. We should have destroyed the Wanderers when they were born.”

  Gorhan now stepped forward. He stepped to Odan’s side.

  “You cannot be serious Devish. You know what happened back in the great dying. We cannot allow that to happen again. We need the humans to survive. We need their numbers. We need their lives.”

  Devish shrugged his shoulders hard. “I know that things have progressed to a place that I have feared. Humans are a dangerous species. They are much more than the previous cattle have ever been.”

  Gorhan didn’t agree. “The balance has worked for centuries. We must simply restore it to what it was before this tragic time began.”

  Devish shrugged again. “Why do you not see the truth?” He shook his head with his words. “Why do you not see what has begun?”

  Adollo spoke again, “We only know what has happened. We only know what can be again.”

  Odan, and obviously Gorhan, agreed. They shook their heads.

  “We will only restore the balance Devish and nothing more. We gave the humans knowledge to survive. We prot
ected them and in exchange, they give us what we need. We will return this.” Odan folded his hands back behind his back. “Nothing more than this will be acceptable.” He looked down at Devish with every bit of confidence he could find within him. “Do you understand this Devish?”

  Devish looked at all of them. He saw their eyes. He saw their minds, and now knew that they were going to need more convincing of what he said. But now, well, this wasn’t the time, so he agreed with a simple nod to all of this. “Fine, we will do it your way for now.” He then stood up fast.

  Doing so made Odan and Gorhan take a fast step back.

  Devish felt amused seeing this, but he didn’t let them see it. He just simply turned from them and left back to the back of the chair. He left without saying another word.

  Odan watched him leave, and when he did, he turned back to the others. “That boy is going to destroy everything.” He took a deep breath.

  Gorhan nodded. “He will if we let him.”

  Adollo shook his head. “With his father now beside him, standing with him, we may not have the choice.”

  Odan swallowed hard. “Satar will obey the wishes of the Elders. He always did.”

  Gorhan didn’t agree. “Are you so positive of that Odan?” He bowed his head. “Did he not just get caught doing something against are will?”

  “That was different.”

  “Are you so sure?”

  Odan smiled. “You tell me. You can see their thoughts, where I cannot.”

  Gorhan closed his eyes. He looked into the void of time and space, a place he saw well, but all he found was darkness. All he saw was a deep void of nothing at all. Seeing this, he looked to Odan.

  “I see nothing.”

  Odan nodded with this. “That is what I thought.”

  Gorhan shook his head. “No, you do not understand. I see nothing from either Satar or his son. They are blank to me.” He couldn’t believe this. No one had ever blocked him before, but now, he was right there and saw just that. It made sense.

  Adollo shook his head. “Impossible. I thought your gifts were impervious to such a thing.” He nodded after saying this. He only knew it to be true.

  Odan felt concerned. “If that is true, if they are blocking you, then we have a greater concern than we have ever realized. We have to stand as one; the three of us have to discover what is happening here. We must keep the peace and restore the balance.”

  The three of them nodded to each other and agreed.

  They now fell silent. Only time would tell if they were right or not.

  27

  Devish made his way up the stairs. He climbed up to the central tower, the highest point of his home, and found his father’s bedchamber there. He knocked when he came to the door.

  “It is open my son.” Satar stayed on the bed. He stayed with her, naked and together. He felt more powerful than he had in years, and it showed within his playful mind. Now finished with their love, he knew it was time to get back to the game at hand, and with his son there, he knew he had to get serious again.

  Devish walked in and closed the door behind him.

  “All has been done father.” He bowed his head, seeing the human there in such an exposed position made him feel somewhat uncomfortable. Seeing his father the same way, did the same. However, he tried to ignore it. He had too much to do for such a feeling to get in the way of his plans.

  Satar climbed off the bed. He left his love sleeping there, reached for a robe on the back of the massive headrest of the bed, and put it on. Clothed and covered, he joined his son in the center of the room.

  “Odan is correct my son. You are playing a very dangerous game.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

  Devish did likewise. “The Wanderers needed to be put back in their place father. They should be put back into the womb as far as I am concerned about it. They should have never been born.”

  “You have never liked them for aiding the Elders in finding you during your pain, have you?” Satar acknowledged him with a slight bow, but only slight one at that.

  Devish bowed his eyes to the floor. “I do not know what you speak of father.” He did of course. He knew exactly what he was saying. At the height of his thirst, the beginning of his madness, Kenar pointed the Elders to the direction he was. Rochie used his power to close the door and lock him inside the room for the others to get him. If it were not for him, he would have escaped again. He stopped him. He made him miss his thirst.

  Satar moved to him and placed his right hand on his shoulder. They looked so much a like that it seemed eerie to him some times. Sometimes, he felt like he was looking at himself in a mirror, but he never knew which one he was. He never knew what the other one was going to do next.

  “Of course you do my son.” He squeezed his shoulder before letting it go and dropping his arm back to his side. “Your hunger during the madness drove you to hunt them. You have never forgiven yourself for that weakness. You have never forgiven them—him for helping to find you. You have hated him all this time.”

  Devish looked up, but only briefly, before turning back to the door. He didn’t move, he just needed to face somewhere other than his father’s eyes.

  “Rochie did what he was asked to do. This is not about that time. This is not about him.” He huffed too for good measure.

  Satar now laughed quietly. “You forget of whom you speak to my son. You forget what I can see and what we can do together with it.” He turned and looked back to the bed. The woman never moved. She was still deep asleep. He could almost feel her dreams. “Now that you have taken your vengeance out on Rochie, what will you do next?” He placed both of his hands into the side pockets of his robe and rested them there softly.

  Devish turned back to his father. “The woman’s brother, I believe him to be named Jameson the son of the village chief, turned against me when I went to retrieve her. I have Kenar and the Air-Bender out to find him and bring him back here.”

  Satar turned back to him quickly. “Why?” He truly couldn’t understand such a move. The boy must have only reacted to a Walker returning for her. He must have been still raw with the feelings from his father death. It made sense to let the boy calm down from the occurrence, so why bring him there to continue those feelings. “Why would you require such a thing?”

  “He attacked me.” Devish did feel astonished by this. It boggled his mind. He saw no other way to solve such an act. “He must be held responsible for such an action.” He gasped some under his breaths for good measure.

  Satar shook his head, and turned and looked back at the bed. His bride was now on her side and looking away from him, but even with that said, he could still see her beautiful face. It was like magic feeling this way again for another. Lord, has he missed it so.

  “I see no need to punish the boy. He only did what all of us would have done.” He looked back. “Let it be.”

  “He tried to harm your only son father. He must pay for this.” The astonishment grew into something that felt more like rage.

  “Shhhh.” He put his right finger against his lips. They needed to remain quiet. His bride may wake up and he didn’t want to do that. Still with that said, he now felt that he needed to explain his thoughts. “How do I explain to my new bride that we took the life of her brother?” He even took his son by his right arm and moved him closer to the door. They were now farther away from her. “I must already explain one day that it was I who destroyed her father. She would never forgive me for taking her entire family.” This made total sense to him, so he figured it would to his only son too.

  Devish didn’t, not in a million years would he ever understand such total blasphemy as that.

  “Why would you explain to her what you did? There is no need. She does not even know where she really is.”

  Satar nodded strongly with this. “I will tell her. I will free her mind and allow her to know the truth.” He looked back to the bed, saw that she was still, and then turned back to his son. “One day, she
will know everything.”

  “You are not serious.” Devish now truly couldn’t understand any of this. He now began to believe that his father might in fact be insane. How could he do such a thing?

  Satar laughed some with this. He was not only serious, but he was adamant about it too.

  “What did you believe was going to happen when I found her my son? She is Permona, your mother, reborn. She has every right to know everything.” He wanted to add more to this about his plans for her but he didn’t. He kept that part of his wants to himself. He wasn’t sure if his son would understand—someday maybe, but not now, not then.

  Listening to this, Devish felt too shocked to reply. He didn’t know what to say so he said nothing at all.

  Satar saw the look on his face. He saw his mind turning hard inside his head. He understood his misgivings about all of this. He only knew what he wanted and what he had to do. Nothing else mattered to him, ever.

  “You will leave me now. I need to rest.” He turned from his son and walked back to the bed.

  Devish watched him remove the robe. He watched him climb back onto it with her. He felt his joy again. He saw his mind find her again within the void. Hers was nothing but the love he told her to feel. She had nothing else.

  Why would you make her know everything? What purpose is it? He didn’t know, and with his father now lost within her tastes, he knew he wouldn’t see it from him. All he knew was that he had to gather his thoughts back together again. He still had to keep to his plan. He still had work to do so he turned, and headed back out through the door.

  He moved down the circular staircase until he reached the bottom step.

  Now all he had to do was have them show their next move. He had to let them think and give him what they were going to do next. He hoped they would do it and soon. He was tired. He needed to get back to the hunt.

  28

  “I told you that there is no need to do this.” Rathia watched his daughter with pride as he always did, but he was growing tired of her doing everything for him. She was far more important than doing such tasks. They were beneath her status. She was so much better than this.