Rathia felt no such thing. “If you both defy Devish, I cannot assist you. You gave him your words.” He felt none of their love. His was so much colder than this. “I must obey my makers.” He allowed his red eyes to flare. He allowed his fangs to show. He brought the Nightwalker out.
Both Rana and Rochie gasped with seeing him do it. They just couldn’t believe that their father, their own flesh and blood, would do this to them. They truly didn’t understand it.
“Why?” Rochie was the first to let his eyes flare to blue. The power of the Wanderer came to life.
Rana felt too shocked even to try to let hers out. Like doing it to her brother, she couldn’t do it to her father either. She didn’t even have the thought.
Rathia saw his son do this. He saw his daughter’s hesitation, and with both of them, he suddenly felt ashamed. He truly felt surprised. He truly felt pain for allowing the beast inside him to come out. He responded by letting his eyes go.
Rochie sighed watching his father turn back to human again. He let his blue eyes back, and allowed his normal brown eyes down.
Rana took a deep breath.
“I am sorry.” Rathia blinked hard several times, trying to come to grips with what he just did and it sickened him. He had never shown his children his true self before, and it hurt him. He truly felt pain for letting it happen. Maybe he was still human after all.
Rochie moved to his father, placed his hands on to his shoulders and gripped him tightly.
“I am sorry too.”
Rana took both of them into her hands.
A tear swelled up in Rathia’s eyes. “I do not want you to do this Rochie. I do not want to lose you to something that you do not even understand.” He meant this. The human side of him was obviously stronger than he had ever realized it was before. Quite honestly, he didn’t know what to think about it. It had been so long since he felt anything at all.
Rochie answered him with a soft nod. “I know father.” He turned back to Rana. “We must go if we are going.”
She simply smiled.
Rathia felt him release him, and watched both of them turn.
Rochie climbed the horse, and pulled Rana up on to it with him. With her safely behind him and holding his waist, he looked down to his father one final time.
“We will not be long.”
Rathia nodded, and watched them turn. He watched them disappear into the shadows of the trees.
35
The night came quickly. The time had come. Their weapons were ready. The swords were fashioned. The necklaces of gold were made.
Kenar saw everything again, as he watched them form in the center of town.
Jameson needed help to climb his horse.
Donte was the one to help him. “Are you sure that we should ride at night? The day would be safer.” He felt bad because of this. It just seemed downright wrong to do it now.
Kenar took his horse by the reins.
“It will take us a day’s ride to get there. We do not wish to arrive there as day falls.”
Shandra stayed by his side.
Jameson agreed whole-heartedly with him. “The Wanderer is right. We must get there before the day ends. We must make it there before tomorrow night.”
“What if they decide to attack us during the trip? We will not see them until they do.” Donte could only affirm this, but he still had his doubts.
“I will see them coming.” Kenar climbed his horse and pulled Shandra up onto it with him. She gripped his waist. He pulled the reins taught. “Besides, this is not Devish’s plan. He wants us inside the gates. He wants us close.”
“Are you sure of this?” Donte just shook his head and shrugged. He climbed his horse, and kept his new sword safely on his side.
Kenar smiled. “I have seen this within Devish’s own thoughts. I have made sure to him that I have seen it too. He will believe me.”
Donte couldn’t say much about this. He just couldn’t, and probably never would, understand it—understand him.
Jameson looked around him, seeing Kenar and the other female Wanderer, and then looked back to Donte. Behind him, there were a dozen others. There are so few of them. Seeing this, he suddenly doubted their plan. How could they manage such a fight with so few of them and outnumbered by so many? He just wasn’t sure anymore.
Kenar smiled with this. “We may have a few, but we have so much more than that.” He turned his horse to the west, towards the gate to the village. “We have so much more than they ever will know.” He gave all of them a simple gestured nod.
“I will trust you with this.” Donte returned him an uneasy smile. He felt it in spades.
Kenar nodded and kept his smile. “So shall I.” He only hoped that he was right. He hoped they would be there when the time came.
Together, the group rode off. They had a long way to go before the end.
36
Mantha, felt much better with the plaster around his ribs, but he still felt sore. He felt staggered some, but at least he could move again. It was better than what he felt before.
He stayed inside as he watched Jameson climb his horse. He watched him leave as all of them rode down the street. Still, with everything, he didn’t like any of this. He still doubted what they were doing, but now he felt even worse. The boy is going to die. He is going to lose this fight and when he does, all of us will pay for his defiance. If only he would have listened to me. If only he would see the truth.
He saw his best friend’s face cross his mind.
I am sorry Aldera that I could not help your son. He truly was.
And now here he was, here he watched, as it all actually began and it made him feel sick. The fight was coming. He just wished he could do something to help them—to help him. He just didn’t know what to do.
So he just watched them leave. He watched them move headlong into war. He watched this and saw it for what it was. It was the last day they had left to live.
37
“Where do you expect to find him?” Rana asked when they had ridden for about an hour. She still wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do or not, but she did trust Rochie. She had to. She would do anything for him.
In all truth, he had no idea. “I was hoping to make my way back towards Devish’s home. Maybe there, along the road, he would be there.” He didn’t know why he thought this, but it made sense. He could only hope that Kenar was somehow telling him, through the only way he knew how—through his thoughts. Either way, he had to do something.
“Is that a wise thought? Devish’s clan will be around his home at night. They may find us first.” She didn’t like this idea at all.
He agreed with this, but yet again, “I do not have the choice. We have to try.”
She wanted to know so much more. “What happened there anyway? What did happen that you informed me?” Reading his thoughts was becoming much more ragged as they became older. It was no longer an easy thing to do. When they were children it was like having him inside her head, a part of her mind, but now things felt different. One day, long from then, she might lose him forever. However, now was not that time.
He answered her with what he had. “One night, while I was teaching humans to forge metal, a golden metal was found. I thought it was a kind of brass, but when it was forged, Devish touched it by accident. It burned him, almost as if it was the sun itself touching his skin. It was so strong that it even scarred him. He had trouble healing from the scar.”
She didn’t know any of this, so she asked the next question with the utmost honesty, “Why did you not tell us about this? Why would you not tell me?”
She should have already known the answer to this. It was so obvious to him that it should have been for her too.
“I could not risk anyone learning it. If they had, it might have led to very terrible things. Devish and I decided to keep it hidden, to keep it a secret. If I had told you, you would have been in danger. I could never do that to you, or to me.”
She di
d know this. “Why would he lie about it? Why would he accuse you of this if that is what really happened?” She did not doubt him. She only doubted the outcome of what happened.
He understood what she meant. “I do not know.” If he did, he would not need Kenar. He would already know the truth. “Kenar can read people like no one I have ever seen before. He can see things that no one else can.” He saw his face in his mind almost like he was standing right in front of him now. “He must know that it was a placed lie—a false memory. I saw it in his eyes.”
She squeezed his waist tighter in her hands. She nearly hugged him to her chest.
“How could he place a false memory like that? You said that Gorhan saw it.” She did see it in his flashing glance as he told her his thoughts. She knew he was right. Gorhan’s abilities were stronger than even Kenar. He should have seen the truth. He should have seen the lie.
He chuckled some under his breaths. “Gorhan can be fooled. All mind seers can be. They can block the mind. They can place thoughts inside them. When two work as one, they can multiply their gifts.” He of course knew this too. Experience has given him many things. Living a life with the Walkers has its advantages, and this was one of them. His experience outweighed so many other things.
“I did not know that was possible.” She didn’t.
“There is much that I have kept from you Rana. For that, I am sorry.”
“Why did you shelter me so?” She relaxed her grip some, but still kept it firm. “I am not a flower. You know this?”
He truly warmed to her with hearing this. “I know. I also know that you are much stronger than you realize. You have a gift that few could ever dream of having.” He felt a wrenching lump in his throat. He truly hated what he was about to say. Not for saying, it to her, but for what it meant, for what it meant to her by knowing it and understanding it fully. “You,” he cleared his lump with several hard swallows before he finished his thought. “You are strong. If the Walkers knew what you could fully do they would not let you stay away from them? I have seen their cruelty to all living things. I have felt it. They would keep you close to them if they truly knew what you could do.”
She loved him a lot with hearing this. It warmed her very soul, but at the same time, it burned her some with its heat.
“I can take care of myself Rochie.” She could, and now, she knew that he knew it too. In his own way, he always did.
“I know you can. I just did not want you to see this world for what it really is. It is cold and dark. It is full of pain and death. I did what I had to do to keep you safe.”
The burning stopped, and the warmth flowed again. “I know you did.” She never thought of herself as much more than him. She knew she could move all objects with just a thought. She, like him, could move lifeless objects, but unlike him, she could also move people. This was not her greatest gift, because she could also break through all other blocks. No one could stop her from employing her strength, and that made people fear her. She knew all of this already. She just never understood it until now.
“Then you now know why…,” he began but then suddenly an overwhelming need overcame him within a second of a second, and it forced his mind to stop. It also forced him to stop the horse in mid step. A thought coursed through him fast, and it was Kenar’s voice. “Kenar?” He looked left, and then right. He then looked straight ahead, and saw him emerge from the shadows of the trees along the dirt road along the river’s bed.
Kenar felt more than pleased to see him again. “Rochie, thank goodness you are safe.” He rode up to him and let his horse greet his. “How did you get free?” He somewhat already knew the answer to this, but at the same time, he still wanted to know, if only to hear it from his own mouth.
“I have my sister to thank for that.” He bobbed his head towards hers. He then saw humans on horseback moving behind Kenar, and that made his mind freeze. To say that he didn’t expect them would have been an understatement. The truth was it blew him away.
Kenar actually laughed with this. “I know this is shocking to you Rochie, but I can explain.” He stopped the laugh and grew serious quickly. “You remember the young Jameson.” He motioned to him as his horse joined theirs.
Rochie gave him a slight bow. “Of course.” He saw the boy’s arm slung up and against his chest. He could also see the pain still hanging in his eyes. “What happened?” he just had to ask.
Jameson grimaced, more for being asked the question than from the actual pain. It meant that he was going to have to explain it all over again.
“Devish. He came and did this.” He figured to keep it that simple. Just thinking about his beloved sister again bit him hard in the guts. That pain was very real.
Kenar heard him, and knowing the pain, he spoke for him instead. “He took the boy’s sister Rochie. He took her for his father.” He now waited for the reaction that he knew was going to come.
Rochie held his breaths. “Why would he do such a thing?” He was right. It made no sense. It also made him angry. His thoughts immediately turned to his sister still holding his waist.
Kenar didn’t wish to anger the boy any more than he already was, so he answered that question with a simple ease. In other words, he didn’t answer it at all.
“That does not matter now. The only thing that does is that we are going there to get her back. We are going to bring her home.”
Rana instantly admired this, but she also knew how dangerous it was, so she had to come in. “How will you do this? Devish will not let you just come and get her.”
Kenar agreed with her without even thinking about it. “I know.” He looked to her and then turned back to Rochie again. “We are still going to try.” He grinned. “The other Elders will not want to fight this battle. I am hoping that they will reason with him and let her go.” He also knew better than that. After all, he felt Satar’s joy. He felt his love for her. He would not let her go so willingly if given the choice.
Rochie recognized that look in his eyes. It said they were not going there to talk. He was not going there to take no for an answer and that made him, like his sister, fear what it meant.
“He will destroy you Kenar. He will kill every single human here with you.” He felt forced to tell them this. He just had to try to make them understand it.
Again, Kenar agreed. “I know he will try.” He looked back to Rana, and then to Rochie again. “Unless you two come with us. You can assist us in convincing them of the need to do it.” He even smiled.
Rochie didn’t like that look either. “Do you know what this means? You are speaking of rebellion. You are speaking of war if they do not agree with you.” He thought hard after saying this. He knew better than any of them of what they could and would do. The Walkers never stood against anything before. They are the top of the food chain. They are the alphas. They are the beginning and the end. They would not stand for something, anything, else.
Jameson now spoke up. “Good. Then war will be what we have.” He strengthened his back on the horse. Riding with one hand was proving difficult and rather painful too. It was harder to do than he thought it would be and it was beginning to show. He was starting to wear down.
Rochie looked at the human with fearful eyes. “You are no match for them young human.” He looked at the other twelve or so horses and to all of their human rider’s faces. “None of you will survive this. None of you can fight them.” He looked back to Kenar. “How could you lead them to their deaths like this?” He truly felt for his friend’s sanity right then. He truly wondered if he was or not. “How could you lead them to their slaughter?”
Kenar shook his head. “They are stronger than you think Rochie. They are much more than all of us have ever thought they were.” He bowed his head. “Devish is up to something dangerous. He has started something that the others must know about. We have to convince them to stand with us against him for all of our sakes.” He looked back up.
Rochie watched him carefully. Maybe he was not as
crazy as I thought, because that does make sense. Except, again, he knew them better than they ever would.
“No Walker, no Blood Walker, has ever stood against another like you are hoping them to do. They will never take a side against each other. It is a foolish wish to think that they will do this now.”
Kenar nodded. “There is always a first time for everything.” He smiled again, this time softer.
This, Rochie couldn’t agree with. He felt the need to make his point, so he tried as hard as he could. “This will not happen as you think it will, Kenar. They will not side against one another.”
Kenar was not going to be dissuaded from this. He stood his ground. “We have to try Rochie. There is no other…,” he stopped. An undying need flashed through him to turn and look up.
They all watched him do it, and they all didn’t like it.
Rochie felt it too. “We are being watched.” He looked out to the trees. The moonlight was bright overhead but within the trees, it was as dark as black silk. Anything could be there, he just couldn’t tell. He couldn’t see.
Kenar could. “Wolves are out there.” He looked out and could see one close to the ground maybe thirty feet from them and deeply within the forest. He could see their dirty tanned color flashing in and out of the black. Seeing them running that close to the ground, he knew that they were made wolves. Moonwalkers, unlike their Blood Walker forms, moved about on all four legs just like the animals they looked like. They also moved in packs to strengthen them against their prey. Seeing one meant that there had to be more. Knowing this, he looked all around the trees. “We have to form a circle from the riverbed. We have to prepare for their strike.” He looked deeply into his mind and searched the night. He searched for them, and found what he was looking for. He could see four of them. He could hear their minds growl. He could feel their hunger, but that wasn’t everything. Surprisingly, they were not there to fight. They were only there to watch them. They were there as scouts.
A Werewolf's Saga, The Beginning (A Werewolf's Saga Boxed Sets Book 3) Page 18
