He led them back to a very large camp that had sprung up within a large clearing in the trees. There were no walls. There were no guard towers. There were just tents, rows and rows of them, set up in neat and orderly squares, covering the entire center of the clearing.
Seeing them like this, seeing the place, Rochie felt as if he had come home. It had been years since that night that everything changed.
Then the Walkers had attacked the humans along the great central river of the continent’s northern plains. They, the Wanderers, didn’t know they were coming, and the mauling the Walkers gave them pushed the humans to their breaking point. After losing so many people, Jameson questioned Kenar and Rochie of their effectiveness. He also doubted their loyalty. He didn’t understand how it could have happened, but yet it did. Rochie and Kenar were limited. Their gifts had become half of what they used to be, and because of it, they lost what influence they had over them. They left after that night.
Rochie never questioned it when they did. He never questioned them for how they did it. He didn’t blame them for feeling like they did. Who would when so much was lost and nothing was gained?
Donte led them towards the center of the camp. All of the people, both men and women, were running about. They were in Walker territory. They could be attacked at any time, so they had to stay ready. They had to be ready to fight anything. Donte hated his king for doing this to them. Their numbers had dwindled to the point of almost nothing. To him, this was a waste. It was too dangerous too.
He led them to a tent in the center of the rows, and there he climbed off his horse. The three riders with him left them there and headed back to the perimeter of the camp.
Donte led the four of them into the tent.
Jameson was standing there. His armor plates still covered his chest and shoulders. His right arm was against his armor. He had more gray hair on his head. His beard looked covered with it. He looked even older. He looked even more worn down. He was that more.
“My king, I have found them.” Donte stepped to the side of the doorway of the tent, as the four Wanderers stepped to its center.
Rochie and Kenar stood in between Shelley and Devin. They stepped to the king of the humans and bowed.
Jameson did not return the gesture. He would never bow to them again. “I have been searching for you for several days now.” He limped. He swaggered with a noticeable gait. He spoke with a raspy, almost brutal voice. The years had not been kind to him at all.
“It is good to see you again, my king.” Rochie watched his once friend and truly felt sorry for him. He didn’t know how else to think or how to feel. Who would?
“Am I still your king?” he had to ask. He wasn’t sure. If it were not for the dreams, if it were not for the recurring feelings he had inside him, he wouldn’t feel anything. The lack of trust was hard to overcome, even now.
Kenar saw all of this, and felt sorry for him too. “How long have you been having the dreams now?”
Jameson looked at him with total surprise. It had been a long time since he heard such clarity come from the old man like this, that it didn’t feel right to him. He openly wondered if it was real. Did the old man hide this from him, or has he found it again? He didn’t know. He just stared the man down. He saw his graying hair. He saw the lines on his face. He saw the aged look in his eyes. Yes, Kenar aged just as much as he did, if not more, and he felt pleased with seeing this. It made him happy that they too had felt time. He only wished that Rochie did too. All he saw in him was the man he knew when he was young, back in the time when everything was innocent. He hated him for that youthful look.
“You know about this now?”
Kenar nodded. “My gifts have returned some yes. I am sorry that I had lost them back then, but that was another time. It was another place. Things have changed.”
Jameson looked back to Rochie. He looked behind him and saw the Wind maker and the earth shaker with them. The old group is back again.
“I see you are all together.” He looked back at Kenar. “Being that you know of my dreams then maybe you can tell me what they are. How is it I found you so easily with them?” It was time to get to the point.
It was. “The black wolf’s child lives. The one we thought that died that night is still alive and she is the one that has been speaking to you in your dreams.” It was also time for complete honesty. He knew all of this with Sima’s own words. In fact, she was still there, inside his head.
Jameson only heard one thing. “The black wolf?” His voice turned colder as he grew angry. Hearing of that bastard always did it to him. “It is because of the black wolf that all of this has been lost.” He moved towards the back of the tent, stopped, and turned back around. “It is because of him that we have watched our friends slaughtered and mangled. It is because of him that we have been on the run, chased to the end of the world. It is because of him…”
“It is because of him that you have come here and are possibly about to witness the end times.” Kenar cut him off.
His face flushed red. He felt hot.
“If I had followed my instincts that night we captured him none of this would have happened. I should have listened to Donte. I should have killed him when I had the chance.”
Hearing this, Rochie finally understood his true ire towards them. They had convinced him to let him live. He regretted that he did. He hated them for allowing it. It now made sense why he no longer trusted them.
Kenar knew this too, but he also knew something else. “You must forgive what he has done Jameson. You must forgive yourself.” He moved to his voice and stopped when he could feel his hot breath striking his face. That was close enough. “All of that happened for a reason. That reason is why you have come here, just like we have.”
He didn’t want to hear this. That was more than obvious. “Forgive him? How in all hell am I supposed to do that? Why would I?” He spit while saying this. His voice boomed and rumbled. He even started to shake with all of it.
Kenar only nodded, as he continued. “There is a lot that has happened recently Jameson that I cannot go into fully now. You would not believe me anyway.” He was right. He wouldn’t. There was only one way to do it, and he knew this was coming next.
“You cannot tell me or will not?” He continued to spit his wrath. He continued to shake. He now regretted that he came there. He should have listened to Donte when he told him it was a mistake. He should have listened, but didn’t, and now he hated himself for it.
Kenar felt all of this, so he changed tactics. Sima told him to. “I know that you saw your sister in your dreams. I know what she told you.” She showed him the picture of this. She showed him the dream.
She stood in front of the fire, and told him to follow the river to its mouth. There he would find the answers to everything. There he would see her again, and she would tell him how to end the war. She would tell him how to win it. Kenar would show him how.
He just had to prove it to him, one way or the other.
“In the dream Lina came to you. She told you the secret would be revealed to you about how to stop Devish. She told you that I would help you find the way.”
He instantly calmed down as the feeling of shock and wonder came into him in its stead. He knows. He knows too much. He knows the dream after all. He didn’t have the choice. He had to listen to this, like it or not.
“You have seen it then?” He dropped his arms. He took a deep breath. He continued to calm down.
“I have, and she was right. I will show you the truth. I will show you her.”
Rochie felt shocked with all of this, so he turned to his friend. He only hoped that he knew what he was doing, as for himself, he had no idea. Now that his gifts were back again, he was sounding like Kenar again, and that meant only one thing. The riddles were back again too. He didn’t like it, but in the end, it didn’t matter. This was what they were there to do. All he had to do was just play along.
Kenar nodded.
Ja
meson felt relief now flow through him. He felt better than he had in days. He still didn’t trust Kenar, but everything he saw in the dream was exactly what he had just described it. He didn’t know what it meant, but it no longer mattered. He had to do it. He just knew he did.
“How? How are you going to show me this?”
Kenar moved and placed his left arm onto his right shoulder. “I am going to take you to the flames you saw in the dream. I am going to show you your sister. All you have to do is listen to everything that she will tell you. Follow everything, and you will do what you must do.”
It sounded simple. What did he have to lose?
Donte didn’t agree with any of this at all. “My king?” He stepped forward, pushed his way through the other Wanderers, and came to his king’s side. “You cannot trust this. What if this is a trap?” No dream, no words, would convince him otherwise. As far as he knew it, this was Devish’s doing. He was setting a trap to kill them. He trusted nothing anymore.
Kenar let Jameson speak for them.
He did. “I must do this Donte or I will have no sleep.” He looked only at Kenar. “When do we begin?” He had nothing else left to say.
Donte huffed. He didn’t have the choice, so he just turned and headed back out of the tent.
Rochie watched him leave.
Kenar understood his anger and his fear, but nothing else mattered now. “All of you must leave us.” He looked at Rochie. He needed only one thing more from his friend. “I need to have a fire. I need to be alone with Jameson when it is started.”
Rochie nodded. “I will start one.”
Kenar watched him leave.
It was time to begin this, as he let his blue eyes flare.
19
As he walked, as he moved, he thought of only one thing. He saw only one face. He only hoped to see Sima again.
He saw her long black hair. He saw the roundness of her face. He saw her older, almost the same age as he was when he first changed into the wolf. He once again heard her beautiful voice.
Is this really you? He asked her. He wasn’t sure if she was real or not.
This is I, father. I am very happy to speak with you again.
He felt like melting with just the sounds. He felt like warming with just the thought. He had missed it so much. He missed her so much more than this.
Why did you not speak to me for all of these years? I am so sorry that I was away from you. I should not have allowed that to happen. The anger was still there. The guilt was there too. He should have fought harder. He should have tried harder to find her. He should not have given up so easily. He should have known better than to believe Devish and Rana. He should have fought them.
She didn’t agree. Do not blame Rana for what had been done. It is not her fault for what happened. She was right. She has changed. She is not the woman that started it. She is not the same person that hurt you from the beginning.
He knew what she was trying to do. Do not excuse her Sima. She kept us apart. She helped Devish do this. This was the first time he had ever heard his daughter talk like this. He didn’t know what to think, but when he caught himself disagreeing with her, he stopped it cold. This was not the time to argue over something, or someone like this—not after all of these years of not knowing if she was alive or not.
She already knew this, and more. You love her. You know why she did what she did. You know you have already forgiven her.
He swallowed hard with this. While doing so, he also almost ran into a tree. He missed it, walked around it, and just kept walking.
I am sorry. He didn’t know what to say about this. He missed the tree, but with some of him, he wished he hit it. Hearing her saying this, hearing her strong voice, the image of his Alana came into his head and her face almost blinded him with its strength. It made him feel suddenly bad for feeling this way. He felt like he betrayed something. He betrayed her.
Again, she was way ahead of him with this. Mother is happy for you father. She is happy that you found someone to love again. She did not expect you to be alone forever. She wanted so much more for you than loneliness and emptiness. She only wishes happiness to flow through your heart and soul.
Tears now filled his eyes. Again, he didn’t know what to say.
She did. Rana loves you. She always will. She is perfect for you. She can share your life with you as no one else can.
Again, he just swallowed. Again, he just cried.
I am still sorry for it. He finally said something.
He could see her smile.
You must go back and be with her. You must tell her how you feel. She is waiting for you. She will always wait for you until the end of time if she must.
He couldn’t believe this—he couldn’t believe her. She was stronger than he was, he always knew she was, but right then, right now, he felt it as never before. She was much more than he would ever be.
I love you Sima. I am coming for you. I will find you and bring you home with me. I will find you and together we will build a home again. We will live as one as we should have lived.
She admired him about this, and it was why she didn’t tell him the truth of where he was going. She knew the road was long. She knew it was filled with pain. This was not over. The time of pain was still on its way.
Just keep heading to the mouth of the river. Be there, and you will find what you are looking for. I will come to you soon enough.
Her voice went soft and then vanished. She was gone so fast.
He hated this, but it also made him walk faster. In fact, he almost ran.
He would run for the rest of the journey.
When he reached the river, he did find someone but it wasn’t whom he expected.
They didn’t expect him either.
Who would have thought of such a thing?
20
“All I have to do is just stare in to it?” To Jameson this all sounded too surreal. It didn’t make any sense to him. He didn’t think things like this ever would, and he would be right. It was hard to think of straight.
“All you have to do is just stare into the flames. I will help you do the rest.” Kenar sat down next to him and took his left hand into his right. Holding him firmly, he watched him look into the small fire that Rochie made just inside the tent.
At first, it seemed like a bad idea building one inside it, but Jameson went along with it any way. He suddenly trusted what Kenar was telling him, even if he didn’t know why. He just did.
Everything else would be answered soon enough.
Kenar brought his powers forward.
Jameson just saw the burning embers. He saw the flames dance and flow. He sat there for what felt like an eternity, but was actually closer to a few seconds, and felt nothing. He saw nothing, so he turned back to Kenar.
He wasn’t there.
In fact, his tent was gone too.
He was sitting on the dirt ground, and beyond it, he saw trees. He saw darkness. He couldn’t see five feet from the trees.
He looked back to the small fire, but now noticed that it was three times its size. He couldn’t see the wood burning in it. It didn’t seem like the same fire, so he stood up.
A woman, he knew who it was, was standing on the other side of the fire from him, and seeing her again, seeing her beautiful smooth face, his eyes instantly burned with tears.
“Hello Jameson, it has been too long since we have seen one another. You look wonderful.”
It was Lina. She looked the same way as he remembered her. She hadn’t aged. She hadn’t changed. She was still the young woman from his very dreams.
“Oh Lina.” He found it hard to talk. The tears wouldn’t let him. He just mumbled the words instead.
“It is me Jameson.” She moved towards his left and came to him, but stopped before reaching him. She couldn’t touch him, so she had to keep her distance from him. She knew him well enough that he wouldn’t resist it.
“I…I…” Damn he tried so hard, but he couldn’
t put words together long enough to say anything. He just couldn’t do it.
“I know Jameson, I know. I have missed you too.”
He took a heavy breath.
She let him calm down. She let him gather himself. She even helped him to do it too, although she would never tell him this. Again, she knew him all too well. A man should always believe he is one, even when he is not.
When he did gather himself, when he was thinking straight again, he finally blinked. “What is this place?” This came to him first.
She gave him a heartfelt smile. “This is the place where Wanderers go to gather and to wait. I wanted to bring you here so we could talk. It has been too long since we have done such a thing.”
He felt her smile warm his face. It could have been the fire, but he knew it wasn’t. In fact, it didn’t feel like a fire. He felt no warmth emanating from it. He felt nothing at all.
“Why are you here?” he asked next.
She held her hands out and motioned around her. The white gown she wore swayed around her almost looking like magic. It seemed to flow. It seemed to blow in a wind that wasn’t there. It was magic.
He didn’t doubt anything.
“I have come here to see the black wolf. I have come here to see you.”
He heard the name again, and even here, even in this place, he hated the sounds of it. He hated him.
“Why would you come here to see him?” This made it feel even worse. How could she do it? How could she when he did everything that happened to her?
She grew serious with every thought she heard from him. She knew this was going to be hard for him to hear it, but she didn’t have the choice. He needed to and that was that.
“I had to come and see him. He is my son.” She stared directly into his face. She looked directly into his eyes, and thusly, deeply into his soul. She saw exactly what she expected to see.
He felt devastated. He burned. He broke.
“No, that is not true.”
She watched his eyes water over again, and so wanted to hug him, but she couldn’t. She was not alive. She was not a Wanderer. She was long dead and cold. If she touched him, he would follow her to the light. She couldn’t let that happen until he was ready. Only then would he come home, but now was not the time.
A Werewolf's Saga, The Beginning (A Werewolf's Saga Boxed Sets Book 3) Page 60
