A knock echoed on the door.
“You okay? You need anything?” Colt asked.
I turned the water off and grabbed a towel from the hook nearby.
“I’m fine,” I replied.
He was hovering outside the door, although the bathroom was large enough and sectioned off, so he could have come in and waited. It was more like a gym locker room, with shower stalls, toilet stalls, and multiple sinks. The only slight problem was that the shower stalls didn’t have doors, although it wouldn’t be a problem unless he came into the shower area.
I dried off and grabbed the jeans and t-shirt he’d found for me. He told me Lilly had been thoughtful enough to grab some of my clothing before she left the estate in Ireland. At least she was still looking out for me. However, she hadn’t talked to me since the revelation of my marriage to Marcus. No one had, really, other than Colt, Daniel, and Andre.
I slipped on hiking boots and headed for the door. It popped open before I even made it.
Colt stepped in, a brush in his hand.
“I thought you might want to brush tangles out of your hair,” he said, always thoughtful.
“Thanks,” I replied and took the brush from him.
In front of the mirror, I rubbed the towel over my hair again, trying to ring it out before I began running the brush through my wet locks. He leaned against the wall behind me, crossing his arms, watching me in the mirror.
“I didn’t think I’d miss stuff like this, but I have,” he said quietly.
I lifted a brow. “Watching me comb my hair?”
He nodded. “I took too many things for granted, Cheyenne, too many things that caused a cavern between us. I’m sorry.”
I was sorry too. I never wanted us to be distant, but a lot of it wasn’t our own choice. I was betrothed to his brother, which he hadn’t bothered to tell me. The words he’d said to me while with Marcus, despite him later saying he meant none of them, dug deep. And the fact that I was married to another man who’d most likely kill him if given the chance…it was a wide and deep cavern that I had to keep between us to save his life.
I set the brush down on the small counter and headed for the door. There was no response I could give without giving him hope.
Colt opened the door for me, and I passed through.
The dark hallway made me feel even gloomier. I took the stairs, two at a time, and stopped at the bottom. Light streamed through the open steel doors.
Voices sounded down the long hall, male voices. Colt followed close behind me as I stopped outside the kitchen doors.
“We need to send her away, now,” Brogan was saying. “She’s not doing anything for us here except acting as a beacon for Marcus.”
“No, you don’t know that, Brogan,” Koda replied. “And what good would sending her away do?”
“Koda’s right, Brogan. We can’t afford to send her off into Marcus’s arms,” Maes argued.
“Cheyenne is still a vital part of us,” Dex added. “I don’t understand the decision she made, but sending her off to her death accomplishes nothing.”
“She deserves Marcus or whatever she gets,” Brogan sneered. “Callon’s abandoned us because of her. The Consilador’s powers are gone…”
My jaw firmed, and I stood tall as I moved into the kitchen. All eyes turned towards me.
“You were the ones who took me from Marcus. It would have been better to leave me with him, but now it’s too late,” I said with remarkable calmness. “Choices have been made, and since Callon’s abandoned us, it’s time I stepped up to become a clan leader.”
I couldn’t believe my own words. This is what they’d wanted all along, and I’d run from it. Now Callon wasn’t here, and I needed to step up. They had to see that I wasn’t a child and respect my decisions.
Brogan snorted, and his dark eyes bored into mine as he pointed a finger at me.
“You were never a leader. You were Colt’s fancy for the month. The betrayal lies with him. He’s the one who brought you right to Marcus. And now we’re paying the price for your stupid choices!”
Colt pushed past me, the veins in his neck bulging. Koda grabbed his arm.
“Like Cheyenne, I was put in a place I didn’t want to be! I made the best decision I could. I wanted to end this for her so she’d never endure pain and misery again!” Colt roared.
“And you failed miserably, Colt! Both you and Cheyenne failed us all!” Brogan bellowed back, his nostrils flaring, his chest puffing, ready for a fight.
“Stop it!” Maes shouted, throwing out his hands to stop Brogan and Colt from swinging a punch.
“No one is going anywhere, or doing anything right now,” Dex said calmly. The lines on his face softened for a moment. “We need to stick together. Fighting between the clans will only bring us to our knees—exactly what Marcus wants.”
It grew quiet for a few moments as his words sunk in.
“Marcus and I are united now. I can get the Consilador’s powers back,” I said with a confidence that amazed even me.
“No,” Maes said. “You have no idea what will become of it. It’s too dangerous.”
“Cheyenne,” Dex said, stepping forward. “Opening up a connection with Marcus will cause more harm than good. The Consilador’s powers are gone. Marcus won’t give them up easily.”
“But I have to try. If I can restore their powers, Callon will return.”
Colt moved closer beside me showing his support.
“Ha!” Brogan spat. “Callon won’t come back, powers or not. You destroyed him, princess.”
“We can’t just give up!” I ground my teeth.
“We’re not giving up,” Dex said. “We won’t give up searching for Callon.”
At least I knew Dex and Colt wouldn’t stop searching.
“Just to be clear, Cheyenne,” Maes said, shaking his head, “you’re not opening a connection with Marcus. He’s much stronger than you. He’ll control you.”
“But…”
“Stupid girl,” Brogan spat, “thinking you’re strong enough. You’ll become a beacon for him to find you. You’re a pathetic waste…”
“Enough!” Dex snapped.
Brogan threw his hands up in disgust and marched towards the hall. He stopped for a moment, his fists clamping together. “He’s coming for his trophy wife, mark my words.” He turned enough for me to see his dark eyes. “What I saw in you was all a hallucination, a trick of mirrors, just like your mother.” His heavy footsteps sounded as he stormed down the hall.
Brogan’s words cut me deeply. All those trials with him in Ireland, any faith he had in me, all the hard work to build that relationship whether I wanted it or not, had washed away. But I’d been warned by my mother that I’d be rejected. Dex, Maes, and Koda were still on the edge about my decision. There was no support here, and the worst was yet to come, unless I took things into my own hands.
Koda looked down, staring at the floor, and I made for the hall. I needed to leave. I could talk till I was blue in the face, but it wouldn’t change a thing. I married Marcus, and now I was a threat to them, to the entire human race. I would find a way to restore the Consilador’s powers, and if they weren’t going to help then I’d do it on my own.
Colt didn’t follow as I headed for the large room, and the low murmurs quieted as I passed.
“Cheyenne,” Lilly said faintly. “Cheyenne?”
I ignored her and exited out the steel doors, stopping for just a moment on the landing. Clayton and Skylar were out in the field, releasing the horses from the corral so they could feed.
I glanced to my right, taking in the position of the outbuildings. Maybe I could find one that was somewhat manageable, and make it my own, since it was obvious no one wanted me around. I’d find a place to think, and hopefully come up with a solution. There had to be a way for me to regain the Consilador’s lost powers.
I clenched my fists. They were tingling with power. It was as if the power was all bottled up inside me and wanted
to be released—I wanted to release it. What lay beneath the surface now? I’d gained Marcus’s powers, and I felt stronger, but I had no idea what I was capable of. Could I draw on lightning like he had? Or would he be able to harness the power of the winds, like I did? Would I be able to save my family if Marcus came to us? Would the final battle be here, without Callon returning to see that I hadn’t really betrayed him as he thought?
I stepped over a stack of logs that had been pulled into the clearing to use as firewood. It was going to be a long cold winter here, if we stayed that long. Would Callon be back by then? I stopped before a smaller building. The padlock had been broken. I pulled it off, tossing it to the ground, and opened the door. The smell of sawdust and an acrid odor hit my nose.
I moved further into the doorway, allowing the sunshine to peek through. Small stacks of wooden boxes were grouped against the wall. The word dynamite was stenciled on them. On the floor below the boxes were small puddles. I took a few steps back, very carefully. I had enough knowledge from my dad knowing that this dynamite had become very unstable. I took care when closing the door; I didn’t need to blow myself up before I had a chance to prove my worth.
I headed to another building further away, which would probably work better. As I neared, I heard voices. Andre and Nakari were talking quietly. I’d overheard one too many conversations. I didn’t need to get angry again. Instead, I opened the creaky door and explored the next building.
It appeared to be an old shop of sorts. Hand tools lay on old workbenches, and stacks of plywood were piled in another corner. A few old metal parts that looked like they’d come from mining carts were scattered on a table, and an old potbelly stove sat in the middle of the room. Two windows provided plenty of light; I’d just have to clean it up and it’d work as a place to stay away from the others—I’d isolate myself as Brogan had suggested.
“Hello?” Andre said, her shadow moving past a window.
I picked up an old hand broom and began cleaning off a workbench.
“Oh, it’s you,” Nakari said with icy coolness.
“If that’s all you have to say, leave me alone,” I said just as coldly and took a cleansing breath, grateful my anger had subsided.
“What are you doing?” Andre questioned.
I didn’t bother to turn around as I answered, but kept sweeping up the small space. “Cleaning.”
“Here?” she said.
“Yes.”
I heard the clank of Nakari’s bracelets, and I turned. Both of them stood in the doorway, staring at me. Nakari’s eyes wandered the room, but she refused to make eye contact with me. She lifted her hand to brush her auburn hair away; the bracelet caught the light and glared in my eyes.
She was still wearing the bracelets that Marcus had placed upon her, constricting her powers. No one had managed to remove them yet. Well, that was one thing I could take care of now. If I had Marcus’s powers, and he placed them on her, then I should be able to remove them. I headed straight for her.
Her eyes grew wide as I neared, and she tried to back out of the doorway, but I caught her wrists before she could.
“Cheyenne,” Andre said, moving closer to Nakari, trying to split us apart. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Just hold still,” I said.
I gripped the bracelets fully in my fingers and pressed my thumbs on the metal bands. A spark of light flashed, my fingers began to ache, and then the bracelets fell to the ground.
I drew my hands back and stared at them. My fingertips and palms were now beet red, with black circles where I had gripped the bands. I guess this constituted use of my powers.
“Holy crap!” Andre squealed.
Nakari didn’t move as Andre grabbed her wrists to inspect them. I stepped back to the workbench to clean. I wasn’t going to get a thank you from Nakari, nor did I expect one. I felt the air move, and out of the corner of my eye I saw they’d disappeared. Nakari’s powers were restored, and she’d probably hate me all the same.
I spotted a rickety bench nearby and pulled it out to sit down. The palms of my hands and fingertips hurt. I’d burned them good. I inspected them under the light from the grimy window; it was going to take hours for them to heal. So much for cleaning my new space.
“What did you do?” Maes’s jagged voice caused me to jump. I hadn’t heard him approach.
I continued to stare at my fingers. “I removed Nakari’s bands,” I replied.
He stormed up to me, turning me around. “I told you not to use your powers.”
“She needed the bands removed.”
“And you did so at the risk of Marcus tracking you!”
“It was worth the risk. She needs her powers to be able to fight. It was my fault she had them, anyway.”
He grabbed my wrist. “And you burned your hands in the meantime.”
“Small price to pay for someone’s freedom—sacrificing, you heard of that one?” I pulled my arm away.
“You’ve done more than enogh of that! You rushed into the one sacrifice you weren’t supposed to make. The one we fought hard to prevent.”
“Yeah, I blew it and married him, just for the heck of it.” I snorted.
Maes yanked me closer, jade-rimmed eyes full of irritation.
“This isn’t a joking matter, Cheyenne. It’s a battle just to allow you to stay here with us.”
I tugged my arm back, my stare meeting his. “Then you shouldn’t have taken me away from Marcus! I had him promise to stay away, to live far away where he couldn’t hurt you!” My voice grew louder, my hands flaying out. “I was giving up everything for you, and all you’ve done is judge me!” Tears pooled in my eyes, but I refuse to allow them to fall. I lowered my head and my voice. “Do you think I wanted this? Do you think I wanted to find Sahara’s journals and read what I had to do? How do you think it makes me feel that my sole purpose on this earth was to destroy Marcus? That I was right all along, that I was never anything more than a weapon, that I have no other reason to exist.” I paused for a moment. “My destiny was set before I was ever born, unlike yours.”
I brushed past him and headed out into the meadow. I’d said enough. It was up to him to believe in me or not. He had a choice to make, but in the end it didn’t matter what he thought. I’d die with my choice; I’d already signed my own death sentence by marrying Marcus.
I passed the old stone building and saw Lilly standing on the stairs. I felt her eyes upon me as I passed. She probably wanted to talk, but I couldn’t face her after Maes hadn’t believed me.
I headed straight for the corral. Mandi was there; she was one of the few things that warmed my heart, because her love was unconditional.
“Cheyenne,” Clayton greeted me reluctantly as I neared. “You need anything?”
I shook my head and passed him. Mandi’s whinnying caused me to look up; she was excited to see me. Skylar’s scraggly hair moved in the breeze as he stood beside the corral. His tall frame seemed thinner to me somehow. A faint smile rose on his pale lips.
“She’s excited to see you,” he said. “She’s missed you greatly.”
I stepped up on the lower rail and nuzzled her face against mine.
“She’d whinny something awful when you were…” he trailed off, shrugging.
“When I was with Marcus.” I finished his sentence for him.
“She would catch a whiff of your scent and want to bolt after you.”
I continued to pet her. She released a snort and drew back.
I studied her golden eyes, remembering my surprise the first time I realized she understood me. A faint grin rose, as I recalled the moment I finally felt vindicated as Callon, Colt, and Daniel became aware I had the ability to communicate with her. A fleeting happy memory…
My grin faded as green eyes looked at me, and Skylar ran his hand through his hair nervously. “I—I’m really sorry for hurting you when…”
“It’s fine, Skylar. I know you didn’t mean to.”
“And I�
��m sorry about everything.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Nobody expected it to turn out like this.”
I nodded. I hadn’t seen it coming either.
“I—I just want you to know that—that I’m confused right now. I want to support you, but I just don’t understand, and I don’t know if I ever will.” He hesitated, his fingers gripping the wooden corral. “But as a Kvech leader, I’ll do anything to help if I can. All you need to do is ask.”
At least Skylar was being honest with me. It took a lot for him to speak to me, let alone give this confession. I touched his hand, and he looked up.
“Thank you.”
He nodded, and we stood silently, watching the horses for a period before he departed. I remained still; listening to nature, the grass moving in the breeze, water trickling over the stones. I had so much to consider, and wasn’t even sure what to do, let alone where to start.
I had no formal battle training other than the bit I had done in Ireland. I had participated in some battle strategies, but they were based on feelings, not knowledge. And the fine details, well, they’d been handled by Callon because I’d allowed him to. What a failure on my part. I should’ve made sure I was involved in every aspect of Colt’s rescue, as much as it backfired. I should’ve thought ahead. But I hadn’t planned on Callon abandoning us. And I needed him…
I walked further into the meadow, stopping by the creek to toss a few small stones in. I should’ve been married to Callon; I should’ve been loved by him, not hated. Instead I’d ripped his heart out, trampled it in the dirt, and then spat on it. I’d done it to save him, but he couldn’t see past the hurt. Not that I could blame him. Both he and Colt had hurt me deeply in the past, and it had taken time for those wounds to heal. The problem was, I didn’t have time. The countdown for this epic battle had begun the moment I married Marcus. My time was growing short.
I sat and forced myself to take a cleansing breath. I needed to refocus, to regroup and figure out a way to regain the Consilador’s powers and harness them. But how? And once I had them, how would I return them to Callon, Colt, and Daniel? Could I return them through the clan rings? The rings themselves held power…if I could focus in on the Consilador’s powers. But the biggest question was, how could I return them to Callon if I didn’t know where he was? Would he even come back if we found him and explained?
Awakening: A Timeless Series Novel, Book Four Page 4
