Rochie turned the horse, but stopped before he would follow the beast. He had a quick thought and felt obligated to state it first. “I believe you now. He is different.”
Kenar couldn’t agree with him more. “Go before we lose him. We have to follow him and see him before it is too late.”
Rochie caught his mind straight again, and kicked his horse.
They rode off and followed the beast to a small home deep within the middle of the trees.
26
Kalima ran. He pounced. He broke through anything that got in his way. When he reached his now burning home, he stopped just at the front door. He saw her there, lying on the floor in the center of the front room. Smoke pillared all around her beautiful face.
She didn’t move. He couldn’t tell if she was breathing or not, he couldn’t see her, but he did smell her as still being fresh even within the smoke. He hoped that this meant that she was still alive.
Slowly he moved to the door, but stopped. He couldn’t let her see him like this. He couldn’t let her see him as the wolf, so he looked back and found his own eyes shining back to the wolf’s face. He let them come forward, and quickly he began to change.
Within seconds, he was himself again, and with it, he went inside. He walked to her with the greatest care, and once he was over her, he went down to his knees.
Blood covered her face. The orange glow of the fire burning all around her had lit up her face with an elegant hue. Her black hair looked mangled over her eyes. She looked calm. She looked completely still.
With both hands, he lifted her head to his, and used his left hand to clear her face of the hair. He cradled her with a gentle touch.
“Alana? Can you hear me?” He fought with everything he had not to cry. He couldn’t let her see it. He had to stay strong. He failed at it fast.
Her eyes were open. She even smiled once she saw him again. “I knew you would come.” She blinked but each time she did, it hurt her so she stopped. Her eyes wanted to stay closed. She felt tired. She felt herself fading. The only thing that kept her there was his face, so she tried hard to concentrate at it—on him. “Why did you change back?” It was also time to let him know that she knew. He deserved to know everything before the end, which was now.
He felt completely shocked with hearing this that he really didn’t know what to say. He just stuttered with breathing.
She stared at him firmly. “I know Kalima. I know what you are. I have always known about your wolf’s side.”
He smiled as full tears flowed down his face. “When did you know?” He loved her more, at that moment, than he had ever thought was possible. He just couldn’t believe that she would tell him now. He didn’t understand, but in the end, with the end coming, he just didn’t care.
She swallowed hard, before she began. The blood filled her mouth with every breath she took. “I have always known of what you are. I saw you change. I saw the wolf. I heard your howls.”
He shook his head, still in complete disbelieve. “And you did not fear me?” he had to ask. So much was blaring through his head that he just couldn’t think right. He felt like he was in someone else’s body and he was only watching this from behind him. He felt completely out of place.
She smiled again. “How could one as wonderful as you be feared?” She dropped the look. That too was hurting her more every time she did it. She now closed her eyes for the same reason.
“No my love.” The arrow in her neck, and the wound it caused her looked bad. It looked painful. It looked like nothing but death to him. He wanted to pull it out, but resisted the temptation to do it. He couldn’t be the one to end her life. Doing that would surely do it, no matter how bad it looked.
She opened her eyes again. It took everything she had to do it too. “I am sorry my love. I am sorry that I must leave you.” She spoke through her obvious pain. Her eyes began to fade.
He could see them beginning to lose their color. He feared that. He knew what it meant and he began breaking down because of it. “I will not leave you. I cannot live without you with me.”
Tears now began to stain her blood-covered cheeks. Blood now also covered her lips. “I have always known that this day would come my dear Kalima. You who were the strongest, the most beautiful, and you who would one day have to live without me. My only regret is that I have not lived with you longer than this.”
He strongly shook his head. “I will not let you leave me. I promised to love you forever.” He tried to smile but couldn’t. The pain felt too great. The ache for her coming death felt too overwhelming to say anything at all.
She kept the smile, but only briefly. “I love you Kalima. I will always love you.” Her face faded, as did her life. She died in his arms.
He saw her eyes dim. He felt her heart stop. He lost all control. “Nooooooo!” he screamed.
He closed his eyes and rushed his face into hers. He held her to his chest with everything he had left. He didn’t have much. All he had left was his pain and anguish for losing the woman he loved.
27
They rode up to the house. With the smoke billowing from it, they found it easily.
Kenar only wished they had seen it before. He wished they had without the smoke. They might have been able to stop this. Now everything felt too horrendous to want to see anything more.
Rochie didn’t like the look of any of this. It didn’t feel safe at all. He had to bring this up to Kenar as he jumped down from the horse, as soon as they stopped. “We must be careful with this Kenar. We do not know how that animal will react to us.” All he saw was the wolf running, plowing through the trees. He saw nothing else. He was scared beyond words.
Kenar moved towards the heat. “We did this. We own him for what we have done.”
Rochie followed him, and grabbed him from behind once he saw the man sitting on the floor. He saw the woman in his arms.
“We did nothing.”
Kenar saw this too. He saw everything, including the blankness from the woman that Rochie saw on the floor. He knew she was dead.
“That is our crime.” And he bowed his head. “This is our fault.”
Kalima smelled them there. He also smelled someone that wasn’t, and it caused him to jump to his feet. “Sima?” he screamed. He looked left; saw nothing but smoke and fire, so he looked right. Again, he saw nothing, so he looked back to the door. He saw the two men standing there and staring at him. “Where is she?” He rushed them fast.
He pounced onto the blind one and grabbed him by his shirt. With all of his rage, he lifted him clean off his feet.
Kenar shook from the brute force of it all. “I do not know of whom you speak.” His voice shook with his fear. Hell, his whole body now did. For a blind man, being dragged off the ground with nothing to feel where he was, it was brutal. It made his blindness worse.
Hearing this only made him angrier than he already was. “Where did they take her?” He spit his venom in the man’s face.
Rochie just stood their motionless. He let his eyes turn blue. He readied himself for the wolf that he felt was about to come back.
Kalima heard nothing, so he shouted again, “Where did they take her?” He shook the man some with both hands.
Kenar’s head actually bobbed with force behind it. “I do not know who…,” he tried to tell him something but couldn’t. He meant what he said. He didn’t know whom he was talking about.
“The humans took her. Where did they take her Wanderer?”
Kenar closed his eyes. He looked out into the void and saw Donte’s face. He saw a young looking child, maybe three years old, on the horse riding besides him. Seeing this, he opened his eyes again, and was more scared than ever. He now truly feared for his life.
Kalima saw the look in his eyes. “You know where they have taken her, do you not?” He let his eyes flash their yellow sting. A growl followed his words. He snarled right along with it.
Kenar grabbed his hand with his, and bowed his head. “I will help
you find her again. I promise you I will.” He meant this too. He didn’t know what was going on, but he did intend to find out. With everything he did, with leading them there, he would try. He owed him that much.
Kalima looked at the other Wanderer and snarled to him too. “You did this to me, to us. You made them come here. You led them right to us.”
Rochie just stood there and shook his head. “I do not know what has happened, but we did not intend any of this.” He looked back to the house saw the fire, saw a naked body just beneath the flames, and looked back to the black wolf. He thought of him as nothing else now. He couldn’t help himself. As for the body, he had an idea of who it was. Vampires and Shades die in different ways. So do humans, but they don’t usually die naked. It told him who it was. “That was a wolf that attacked you, not humans.” He stressed this. He had to.
Kalima looked back to the blind one and growled again. “Wolves did attack us but then humans came. It was humans that killed her—they killed my beloved. It was humans that took away my baby, not wolves.”
Kenar again saw Donte’s eyes. He again saw the little girl on the other horse. He was right. It was humans that had her. He couldn’t argue this, so he didn’t.
Rochie didn’t know this, so he did. “Humans would not have killed your wife. They would not have taken your child. They would never harm another of their kind.”
Kenar felt the man’s grip tighten. He heard what Rochie said. With everything, he would have agreed with his friend, but they were not there when it happened. All he saw was what he saw. He had to agree with the man who was ready to strangle his very life away.
“He is right Rochie. I have seen it.”
Rochie shook his head. “It cannot be. They would not do it.”
Kalima snarled again. “I saw it with my own eyes. They saw me as the wolf and struck at us. I saw the man with the golden crown.” He saw it on his helmet. He knew he was right.
Rochie sighed with hearing this. Donte, he wears a golden crown over his helmet. He knew this but he also knew something else. Donte is on the ride through here, warning the villages along the gap. He knew this from King Jameson himself. He is right. How else would he have known it? It made sense. He couldn’t believe it, but it did. If they were out and came upon a pack of wolves, they would have attacked them. If they came upon him as the black wolf, they would have attacked him too. He looked back inside the house, looked at the woman on the floor, and ever from there, he could see a small staff protruding from near the woman’s head. It looked like an arrow. Seeing it, he didn’t argue anymore. He had nothing else left to go on, so he dropped it.
Kalima saw this also in his eyes, and turned back to the blind one and let him go.
Kenar fell back to his feet.
“You will help me find her again.” He let his brown eyes back again. He let his voice return also. He could see the regret on their faces. He saw their fear in their eyes. There was no need for the wolf.
Kenar straightened himself some. “We will do what we must do to explain this to them.” He bowed his head.
Rochie swallowed with this. “How are we going to explain this?” he had to ask.
Kenar turned to him fast. “We do not have the choice Rochie.” He stressed this. He was right. They had to do it. They had to try.
Rochie heard him and just bowed his head. He watched the black wolf turn and walk back to the door. He watched him go back inside the house, and didn’t like that.
“It will not take long for the walls to fall from the fire. It would be wise to remove yourself from it.”
Kalima ignored him entirely. He just walked to her, lifted her into his arms and stood back up. He then carried her outside.
Kenar squeezed Rochie’s left hand with his right. “Let him take care of what he needs to Rochie.” He pulled his friend closer to him and looked inside his mind. He saw the child again as they rode. He saw Donte as they moved. He could see his mind thinking of Jameson and knew instantly where they were taking the child. “I know where they have taken the child. Donte is heading to Jameson.”
Rochie already knew this. He knew Donte well enough to know that he did nothing without Jameson, his king’s knowledge. He wasn’t incompetent. He was just loyal to his closest friend. Hearing this, he just nodded as he watched the black wolf come to them, as the sun reappeared back through the trees above him.
“We can help you pay your respects.” He watched him closely. He loved her. He saw it with his embrace. He saw it with the way he held her. He saw it written all over his face. He saw it and knew that they had to help him even more because of it. Kenar was right. They had to do it because this was not how a Walker acted. He was different, and he had to know how—and more importantly, why.
Kalima growled again. “You have done enough for today.” He looked up with tears now streaking down his face. They completely drowned his chin. “You can leave now.” His eyes again blared to the wolf’s yellow gaze. “I need to be with my wife, alone.”
Rochie knew he didn’t want them there for them to see his grief. He didn’t have to have Kenar’s powers to see it.
Kenar nodded too. “We will return later to help you recover your child.” He started to turn, but the wolf cut him off before he finished it.
“You will not return.” He turned from them and moved to the left side of the house. “I will find you when I am finished.” He left them standing there speechless.
When he left, Rochie turned to Kenar, and saw the same look on his face. It was time to leave, so they walked back to their horse.
Rochie helped him on it, and together, they slowly rode back into the trees.
They rode for a while until they found a place to stop. They had a lot to talk about and it was the perfect place to do just that.
28
Anna, Michael, Vincent and all that was left of their group returned back north. They arrived just in time. With the sun past the mid-day point, it was starting to heat up the vampires’ skin. Some of them had already started showing sunburns. Two of them had already started having their faces turn to a grayish white. The sun’s burning affect had started to show, so if they stayed out in it any longer, they would all turn to nothing more than shaped ash.
Devish was waiting for them just at the front door. “I see you have returned to me.” He kept in the shade. The sun hurt his eyes. It felt unnatural just being out in it. He was a night lover through and through.
Anna was in her human shape again as she came to him. She kept her head down, as did all of them. She couldn’t look him in the eyes.
He already knew why. “I see you have returned empty handed my dear Anna.” He expected this, but still felt disappointed by it. “Must I do everything myself?” He turned and headed back inside.
Anna hurried to the door and followed him to his makeshift throne room. “I am sorry my lord, but the humans found us as we made our way back to here. We did not have any other choice but to flee when they attacked us. We were outnumbered. The Nightwalkers could not fight them with the sun’s metal in their swords.”
Devish walked to his chair and took a heavy seat. “They are growing very tiresome at doing that to us.” He folded his hands on his lap. One day, if I can get him here with me, we will not have such a problem. He kept this thought to himself. She didn’t need to know every detail, so he got back to more pressing matters. “And what of the family of the one that you failed to come home with? What happened with them?”
Again, she kept her head down. “The mate of the one you seek is dead my lord.” She heard the others come into the room behind her, as she turned to Rana who was standing to Devish’s right side. Seeing her, she felt even more ashamed, and yet angry some too. If only Rana had come with them, the fight would have been different. She would have given them the chance they needed to complete their task. Why he continued to protect her, she would never know. “The child was taken by the humans.” She looked back to the floor.
He smiled wit
h everything he heard. “That can be useful, I do believe.” He looked at Rana and then back to Anna again. He stood up. “I think it is time to see him for the first time with my own eyes.” He stepped to Anna and came right in front of her as he stopped. “It is time to meet him face to face.”
Anna heard the disappointment all over his voice. “I am sorry my lord. We did everything as you directed. The wolves attacked him as you wished. We attacked the wolves as you directed. We were surprised when the humans came. Why were they there?” She did want to know. Someone with such a great gift such as he had should have seen this happening. It truly vexed her so much, as to why he only saw some things and not others. In all honesty, sometimes she believed he did this on purpose. She feared those times.
He raised her eyes to his with a gentle pull under her chin. “The humans have become very adept at doing things without thinking about it at times. It is a very great gift they possess, and because of it, I cannot see everything they do—as random as they are, but I will not let it deter me from my plans. Did the one, did the wolf, believe what you were?” He had to know. Everything would be so much easier if he did.
“I do believe that he did.” She didn’t truly know. She gave him what he wanted to hear.
He saw this in her eyes, but it didn’t matter. He had to keep with this. So much was at stake that he didn’t have any other choice. The ball is in play and the game has begun.
“Very well then.” He turned to Rana. It was time for her to do her part in the game. “I need you to convey my outrage of this to your brother, my dear. He must see how terribly angry I am that the child is with the humans. Make him convince his friend Kenar of this too. They must not keep things from one another.” He looked back to the door and watched Bethany come into the room. Unlike him, he felt her anger for everything that happened, and he admired her for it. If only wolves controlled their minds like the others could, he would have told her his plans. They didn’t do it well, so he could never do such a thing because of it.
A Werewolf's Saga, The Beginning (A Werewolf's Saga Boxed Sets Book 3) Page 39
