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

by Michael Lampman

  Donte thought about this, but he didn’t get far. As soon as he heard a door open behind them, he turned to the sound. He watched Jameson come into the room and join them.

  “The Wanderer is correct. Our only hope is to fight them.” He heard some of their conversation from his bedchamber, and when he felt ready, he decided to join them. He felt better too. The plaster the Wanderer used to mend his arm held it together. It helped with keeping the pain down. He felt thankful for that.

  “You are walking again.” Donte stood up, walked the three feet between them, and stopped directly in front of his friend.

  Jameson greeted him with a simple smile, which actually felt more like a grimace. He did feel better, but he still felt pain for what happened. He doubted that any plaster would ever take that away from him. In a way, he hoped nothing ever would.

  “Are you confident this will work Wanderer? Donte is right. How do we do this without them knowing the truth of our plans? Are they not hearing this now?”

  Kenar only heard the young chief’s voice. He kept his head forwards and his thoughts clear.

  “I knew there are, because it is Devish that wants us to do this. He wants us to do what we have planned.” He only bowed his head. “Besides, we will not be alone in the fight to come.”

  Jameson didn’t understand this.

  And neither did Donte.

  Kenar only grinned. He hoped he was right. He didn’t doubt it much, so he changed the subject some.

  “How long will it take your people to fashion the metal weapons?” They were going to need them, sooner rather than later.

  Jameson had no idea, so he turned to Donte for the answer.

  Donte didn’t disappoint him. “The moon metal swords are nearly finished. We found it right where you told us we would.” He looked back to Jameson. “We are also forging the sun metal. It is not as abundant, but we do have some.” He turned back to the Wanderer. “We do not have enough to make weapons out of it.” He had to concede.

  Kenar sat forwards and placed his hands on top of the table. He then folded them in front of him.

  “Forge the metal into necklaces of bands and have all of your people put them around their necks. No Walker will get close to them if they have them. They can also use them in different ways. Trust me when I say this, we will have enough.”

  Donte didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing.

  Jameson only acknowledged him with a shrug. “I will make sure of it.” He looked at all of them, one at a time. “When we are ready, we will go.”

  Kenar turned to both of them. “Then that is when they will be waiting for us.”

  33

  “We have gathered all of our families.” Devish paced the foot of the bed. He kept his head down and contemplated everything he had planned to do. He felt ready. He felt prepared. He hoped he was right.

  Satar climbed out of bed. He had spent nights now with the woman. A lifetimes worth of it or so it felt. With everything coming, that lifetime was now at an end. It was time to function again. It was time to help his son, which he doubted him for his plans.

  “Kenar is not blind to this my son. He knows that you know of his plans.” He stood naked as he placed on his pants. He followed the pants with a light shirt, white and neat. Clothed again, he reached for his overcoat, long and flowing, from the foot of the bed.

  Devish watched him put it on.

  “I know that he thinks he has an edge. I know he is aware that I know. He intends to try to use this against me.” He continued to pace.

  Satar watched him closely. “Do not underestimate him. He is clever in ways that you match.”

  “We have blocked him before. We blocked him completely from knowing about the humans and their gifts. We did that to him for years.”

  Satar laughed some with this. “It is strange how people see only what they want to see.” He stared at his son. He meant some this for him. “And yet, he now knows what they are.”

  Devish just bowed his head.

  Satar looked back to the bed. He looked to her sleeping again. “Her brother will come with him.” He suddenly felt somewhat shallow thinking this. He felt for her in so many ways, but this struck him the hardest. He could never harm her now. He couldn’t find the strength to harm her brother and cause her pain.

  Devish heard his hesitation. He heard the thought.

  “I still am not sure of your plans to release her mind.” He stopped, and looked down at her. Unlike his father, he saw nothing but blood beneath flesh. He saw nothing but that flesh sparkling with its sweet nectar of taste. In other words, he saw dinner, and nothing more.

  Satar felt blasted by this. “She is not food Devish. You would be careful to think of her that way.” He moved to his son. He moved to the corner of the bed.

  Devish did not regret what he thought. “She is what she is father. She is nothing more than food.”

  Satar’s anger exploded within a second of a second. He let that feeling out, and it caused his left hand to rise up. It then flew to his son’s face, backside first.

  His father’s hand smacked his left cheek hard.

  “She is so much more than this.” Satar’s eyes flared to their red sheen.

  Devish kept his at bay. He didn’t have the time for this.

  Seeing his son back down, he did too. His eyes went back to their normal dark brown. The anger subsided with them.

  “I mean to do this. I mean to release her thoughts, and no one, not even you, will stand against me on this.”

  Devish felt the need to argue, but again, he didn’t have the time, so he pointed something out to his father instead. “Why not just turn her? Make her a Walker. She would have no choice then but to follow your wishes.” Walkers controlled those beneath them, those they bite, with their minds. They make them do their wishes. Those with the bite are mentally unable to argue against them or it would cause them pain. They just cannot physically fight it.

  Satar calmed down even more. This time, his son made some amount of sense, as far as he was concerned. “She may not carry the ability to survive the bite.” He watched her again, before turning back to his son. “I cannot risk her death by my bite.” Not all humans had the strength to live through such a thing. Only a small few did. He was right. He couldn’t risk losing her.

  Devish just shook his head. “Whatever you say, my father, whatever you wish.” He turned away from him and looked back to the door. He turned his thoughts back to what he had to do. “They will be coming the day after tomorrow. With all that I have, I intend to meet them.”

  Satar sighed some hearing his son change the subject. He truly did not want to fight him over her. As far as he felt, he loved both of them. He wanted both of them in his life. “How many have you gathered?” He welcomed the change.

  Devish watched the door. He saw nothing at all. “I have all that I need.”

  Hearing this, Satar heard something else that he didn’t say. The plan, it seemed, was different now. “You do not intend to welcome them here, do you?” He saw the woods. He saw the trees. He saw the clear sky. “You are intending to strike them on their way here.”

  Devish turned to his father fast. “Yes.” He was not afraid of them speaking like this. As long as the two of them stood together, no one could read them. His father knew this too.

  “Odan is not aware of your change of plans, I take it.” Satar nodded, looking into his eyes.

  Devish gave him a smirk and a glance. “We cannot trust that his thoughts are the same as ours about this matter.” He looked back to the door.

  Satar moved to his side. He then took his left shoulder into his right hand.

  “Is that why you eliminated poor Gorhan?” He squeezed.

  Devish turned only his head back to him. “You see much father.” He looked back to the door. “If you knew what I did, why did you not stop me?” He truly wanted to know. He could have if he wanted to.

  Satar squeezed him again. “Gorhan was a fool. He became
too arrogant being as insightful as he was.” He released his shoulder and looked back to the bed. “The world will not miss him.”

  Again, Devish already knew the answer before he ever asked the question. He knew his father well.

  “Odan may have to be eliminated too.” He had to point this out. It was after all a part of his plan.

  Satar nodded. He, like his son, knew him well. “Again, I do not concern myself with others. Only those close to me shall stand by my side.” He saw her beautiful face turn ever so slightly towards him. She kept her eyes closed. She looked so peaceful that he could barely contain his pleasure with such a sight.

  Devish felt this and it made him almost gag. Again, he held his breaths.

  “I will go and meet with the families.” He turned and looked to his father. “You need to keep Odan here.” He stressed with everything he had left.

  Satar could only smile to her face. “You should not attack them in the trees my son. You would do well to keep to what we had already planned.”

  He scoffed with this. “We have to stay to the trees. Confined they will be dangerous.”

  Satar shook his head. “Arrogance is not confined to Gorhan I see.”

  He bowed his head. “Is that what you think of me father?”

  “No.” He turned back to his son. “You must stay cautious. We must stay together for there is much to do. Allow them to arrive here, send out a pack to them to see them safely here, if you must, but stand with me on this.” He thought again about the boy. He saw her face again too and melted with the sight.

  Devish nodded. “Then we will do it your way father. I will grant them safe passage.”

  “Good.” He smiled at her beauty. He only looked up when he felt the need to do it. It was just so hard to pull his self away.

  Again, Devish held his breaths. He said nothing else; he just turned back to the door, and left the room.

  Satar didn’t even bother to watch him leave. He just stared at her. He thought of nothing, or no one else but her.

  34

  Rochie waited until they were halfway home before he felt able to speak. He just wasn’t sure of anything anymore. He wasn’t even sure about who he was.

  “Stop,” he whispered to his sister in front of him on the horse.

  She did, but it took a few minutes for her to do it. She wasn’t a good rider and it showed. If it weren’t for her ability to get inside animal’s minds, she wouldn’t have even gotten this far with it.

  With the animal stopped, Rochie practically fell off the animal, stumbled some on his feet, but did manage to catch himself. His breathing, well this was another story entirely.

  Rathia stayed at his side. “What is wrong my son?” He even took his left arm into his hands to help him keep standing. He just was not sure if he would fall or not.

  Rochie heard his voice. He heard the words. He instantly broke down by all of it at once.

  Rana heard him cry. She jumped down, and took his right arm into both of her hands.

  “It is alright Rochie. We have left Devish’s home. You are safe now.” She figured this had to be the reason for his tears.

  She was right of course, but there was more. “I…,” he started, caught some of his choking in his throat, swallowed it down, and began again, “I thought I was going to die.” He kept them from seeing his face. He didn’t want them to see his eyes. He couldn’t bring himself to let them see the fear behind them.

  Rathia let go of his arm, and said nothing—like always when it came to his children, he had trouble understanding them sometimes. For Rochie, his only son, this feeling was so much worse. He was stronger than this. He was better than any human that had ever lived, but seeing the human side of him felt hard. He should never fear. He should never cry.

  Rana knew her brother better than that. “Devish would not have harmed you. You are special and needed by them.” She rubbed his back with her free hand, and gently tried to comfort him with it.

  It didn’t work. “He lied. The memory was not true.” He bowed his head down low. His tears strewn down his face, and flooded it with its salty wonder. Everything that happened, the false memory planted in his head. The way the Elders reacted. The way his friends believed in it, everything was there. It felt like death. It felt like the greatest pain he had ever felt. It was too much to handle at once.

  Rana continued rubbing his back. “It is over now brother. He has set you free.” She pulled her arm to his face and lifted his eyes to hers with a gentle pull under his chin. “All is right again, I promise you it is.”

  Rochie looked into her eyes and saw her innocence flaring through them like gems twinkling in the light. Again, he knew better than she did. He knew something was wrong.

  “He let me go.” He blinked several times, trying hard not to allow her beautiful stare to pierce through his soul. He couldn’t allow it, not after what he just saw. “Something is wrong with all of this. Something is not right.” He had thought about this too. Being trapped in the dungeons, locked in the cell for hours, if not more than that, he wasn’t sure how long he was even there, gave him a lot of time to think about what happened. He thought about the memory. He thought about the looks that they gave him. He thought about how wrong everything felt. “Why would he let me live if I was accused of such a thing?” This felt worse. This he did not understand. “I thought I was going to be killed for it and I should have been.” He looked at his father, and then back to her.

  He nodded. He agreed.

  She just shook her head. “It does not matter now. It is done.”

  He couldn’t allow this to be done. “No. He is up to something. He is planning something. He is more dangerous than I had ever thought before.” This made sense. Devish, no Elder for that matter, would ever let what supposedly happened happen. They would never allow blasphemy like that to occur again. They should have killed him. He deserved to die.

  “It does not matter.” Again, she just didn’t understand any of this.

  He did understand her. She kept out of the spotlight when it came to the Elders. She kept home. She kept safe. Being this way, she would not understand what he did. She was blind to what he has seen and done. In some ways, he preferred it that way. He wanted her to be safe, but now, he regretted that she was. He needed her now, more than ever.

  She watched him turn from her.

  “I have to find Kenar. I have to speak to him.” Again, he knew why. Kenar should have seen through the memory. He should have known that it was false. He knew this better than most.

  “I cannot allow you to speak with him.” This time, she grew forceful all too fast. “Devish ordered us to stay home. We have to take you home. We have to keep you safe. I promised him that I would do it.”

  He didn’t agree at all. “Kenar knows what is happening, he must. He can help me discover the reasons behind this. He can help me find the truth.”

  She just shook her head. “No. We cannot do this. You cannot do this. I will not allow you to seek him.” She brought the power in her over her mind. With a simple look, she found his body’s force and locked him down. She locked him in place.

  Instantly, he couldn’t move. He knew why. “You cannot keep me from doing this sister.” He knew her power better than any of them ever would. “I have to do this whether or not you approve.” Her eyes sparkled.

  He was right. She never used her power on him before, and after doing it for the briefest of seconds, she dropped it just as fast as she started it. Her blue eyes flashed back to their normal green.

  “You are right.” Now she had tears in both of her eyes. “I could never stop you.” She blinked and looked back to her father, who like always, just stood there and watched everything happen in front of him. Sometimes, she hated him for his indifference, and now was one of those times.

  Feeling his body as his own again, he turned back to her.

  “I know that you are trying to keep me safe and from danger sister. I know how much you care for me, but
I have to do this. I must seek out the reasons for what I have seen.”

  She recognized the strength and determination in his voice. She knew it all too well. “Devish may harm you if you go against his wishes. He may fulfill what he chose not to do.” She felt the need to stress this completely. She also knew that she was right.

  Rochie agreed with her. He even gave her a quiet smile.

  “I know.” He looked back to the horse. “I need you to go home. I need you to stay out of this.” He hoped she would, but also knew she wouldn’t do it. They were twins after all. They were so alike that it hurt him some times. This was one of those times.

  “I will not let you face this danger alone Rochie. I will stand with you as you search for your answers.” She didn’t disappoint him in the least.

  “He may try to harm you too. I cannot risk that. I cannot risk you.” Hearing this, he felt true pride. He also felt scared.

  This made her smile. “I will be put into harm’s way anyway Rochie. If I let you do this, he will know that I helped you.”

  She made a good point, and with it, he now feared that she was right. Maybe he should let this pass. Maybe he should just leave it alone. Maybe he had to do it just for her.

  She felt this from him instantly. “I know how this makes you feel Rochie.” She moved to him and again put her right hand on his back, and began rubbing him between his shoulder blades.

  He loved the feeling of her touch. “I wish you could.” He turned around and faced her strongly and firmly. He then took both of her hands into his. He gave her a full grin. “As much as I hate this, as much as I fear it and what it can mean, I cannot let it pass. Danger has come to this world. If anything, I must protect it. I must help it back to the way it was.”

  She agreed without having to try. “Then that is it then.” She turned back to her father and gave him a full and strong nod. “Head back home. I will go with my brother to find what he needs.”