by K. V. Wilson
“Tell me of my grandfather again,” Xunnu said softly.
Sehwen sighed deeply. “Those were tales you loved to hear when you were little, but they are of no importance now, Xunnu.”
“Then I will tell them myself,” the young man said simply. From the edge of the encampment, I could hear a sharp intake of breath from Xáan.
“Father is right. They were only stories.” Xáan scoffed. “Tales to put children to bed.”
“Ru-Sitka was a brave man—”
“He was no Guardian!” Sehwen interjected, his voice rising. “He was merely a weakling and should never have been chieftain. I was glad to take his place when he scurried off to slip into the void.”
My heart surged to my throat and I almost fell off the branch in surprise.
Xunnu’s grandfather was…the previous Ru-Yeva?
“No, he was no Guardian,” the elder repeated, speaking softly once again. “There will be no more talk of that. The Ru-Yeva is a being of legend told to gullible Yeva’si to spur their overactive imaginations. Such ignorant fools are not fit to lead our tribe,” he said, standing eye-to-eye with his first-born.
“Is that a challenge?”
I focused my energy on Xunnu’s consciousness. My lover glanced in my direction briefly as if he could sense my presence. I had no doubt that he knew I was spying on the three of them.
“Merely an observation. Everything your mother told you was lies. Your grandfather was lost to the Sickness. He was gone before you were born, and what a blessing it was to lose him.”
“That is not what mother said,” Xunnu insisted, rage rising in his heart as he clenched his hands into fists.
Sehwen waved dismissively. “Your mother could never think for herself, always looking towards her father Sitka for more brain-poison.”
“That’s Ru-Sitka to you, Father.” Xunnu shook his head and I gulped as a wave of sadness engulfed his soul. “It was not poison. It was love. Something you have never had, not even for her.”
Sehwen let out a noise that sounded oddly like the growl of a bear. “She had her uses.”
“You joined souls with her solely to take control of the Yáahl,” Xunnu stated, staring boldly into his father’s eyes. “Ru-Sitka could see this. We could all see it.”
“This is the part where you intervene, Xáan,” Sehwen coaxed softly.
I turned my attention to the edge of the campsite where Xunnu’s younger brother had turned to finally face the other two. At his side now stood my brother, Koyah, and I struggled to contain the many emotions blazing through my mind and body.
Traitors!
“Xunnu, I want you to leave. Leave us,” Xáan said firmly.
“I will not!” the young man sputtered. “The last thing this tribe needs is a cruel hand.”
Koyah stepped into the firelight. There was no compassion in those eyes, no innocence like there used to be. Koyah was a grown man now, and he would not stand down for anything. Not even for an old friend.
“Koyah? What is happening?” Xunnu asked, taking a step towards my brother. Koyah pulled a spear from the mud next to the fire, wrapping his hands tightly around its shaft as if he was afraid of dropping it.
“Get out,” he said, his words exhibiting more of a warning than a command. “I don’t want to watch you die.”
There was a long pause as Xunnu attempted to regain his composure. “Neither do I!” he exclaimed, reaching for his own spear and tearing off the roasted salmon that still hung limply from it. He tossed the fish to the ground, taking up a warrior’s stance as he faced his brother and his former friend. “Explain yourselves.”
“There is no explaining,” Sehwen said faintly. “Only that you are too much your mother – too much your grandfather – and not enough of a man.”
Xáan thrust his spear at his older brother and Xunnu easily deflected it, but he was no match for two. Koyah leapt forward, forcing Xunnu back against one of the logs.
I took this moment to let out a loud caaa and launch myself off my perch. I swooped upon my lover’s attackers, tearing at their hair in malice. As I neared the ground, I Shifted to human form and called to the elements for aid.
“Let him go!” I released the flames inside so my entire body glowed with rage. “He has done nothing to you!”
Sehwen’s eyes bulged with surprise and it brought me amusement to see the same look upon Xáan’s face. Xunnu and Koyah, however, held their stance. They locked eyes and circled each other. Koyah bumped Xáan’s arm, jerking his head towards Xunnu.
“You knew!” Xáan accused Koyah, keeping his eyes locked on me. “She is—”
“It matters not,” Koyah replied. “Don’t mind her; she is no threat. Keep on pressing Xunnu until he relents.”
“So the Guardian of Nature returns weaker than ever,” Sehwen called to me. I lobbed a fireball at him and he danced to the side. “Sitka chose the runt of the tribe, of all people.”
“You filled your sons’ heads with lies!” I spat. “You told them there was no Guardian, and you told them only the malicious can ever be leaders.”
He sneered, “Look at my firstborn. Weak.”
I glanced at Xunnu, who was now lying spread-eagled in the dirt, narrowly avoiding his brother’s spear thrust. In a flash, he shifted into a small ferret and scuttled into the trees.
“Look at him flee, leaving you here to fend for yourself. What a pair you would be!”
I narrowed my eyes, feeling the flames upon my palms grow ever hotter. As I prepared to throw another fireball at my attackers, however, a flash caught my eye.
Xunnu stood at the edge of the clearing, back in human form. He called out one word that chilled my spine more than any other had this night.
“Humans!”
“Ha! Your ruse will not work!” Sehwen spat as the traitors advanced, rapidly closing me in against the tight-knit trees at my back. I would have to Shift and follow Xunnu if I wanted to get out of this without bringing harm to myself or my brother.
“Humans!” Xunnu repeated, more frantically this time. He broke into a run, coming up beside me and picking up his spear again.
No. It can’t be.
Xunnu was right. There were other spirits nearby, ones I hadn’t felt in years. And they were not friendly.
“Take flight, Yeva’si!” I yelled as loudly as I could muster. “Danger is coming!”
A round of screams erupted from the other campsites as my words took hold. Panic was ensuing.
“She lies! Go back to sleep!” Sehwen roared.
But the chieftain’s voice was soon drowned out by the deafening booms of weapons I hadn’t yet seen in this life. I once carried such a weapon and I struggled to remember the name for them, but it did not matter. They would tear us apart regardless. A rose by any other name still has thorns.
I braced myself for the coming onslaught, placing myself in front of Xunnu and the others. This was my time to shine.
45
BROTHER
Skye
A gentle shake awakens me. I take a deep breath of fresh air, forcing my eyes open. Xera stares down at me.
“Your turn,” she whispers in Yeva’si, smiling weakly.
I sneak a glance at Xáan, realizing with a start that he’s gone from his spot beside our meagre campfire. The flames have sputtered out long ago. The smoke still lingers like lost souls seeking out their resting places amongst the trees and soil of the living planet.
“Where’s—”
“He’s gone for a walk. I couldn’t stop him. But he needed it, I think,” Xera says, peering into the night as if she could make out Xáan’s silhouette in the light of the waning moon.
“Xera?”
“Yes?” Her chestnut irises shine iridescently in the moonlight and a soft breeze tugs gently at her onyx hair.
I sigh. “Could you stay up for a few minutes?” I whisper, eyeing the others to make sure I’m not disturbing their slumber. From the far side of the campfire, I hear the ragged s
noring of Ramsey. He suddenly snorts in his sleep, making us jump. I stifle a giggle.
“What do dragons dream about?” Xera hisses, grinning.
“I don’t know, but it sure looks interesting,” I reply, watching the hypnotic rise and fall of the elder’s chest.
“I’ll stay awake with you,” the shapeshifter tells me, her smile disappearing. “I think I know what this is about.”
I focus on the breeze that sifts through my wild array of hair. “Let’s sit over there.” I gesture towards a rather large stone at the river’s edge.
Xera nods, lifting herself and starting off in the direction I’d indicated.
If we position ourselves there, we can still keep an eye on the campsite. Plus, if Xáan is anywhere nearby, we’ll see him coming.
The moon casts an eerie glow over the water. It ripples at odd intervals as if dark creatures are hiding just below the surface, waiting to scarf down any unsuspecting passersby. We tread barefoot across the rocks and I wince at the tickle of the cool water against my soles.
“You want to know about my family,” Xera offers softly, pausing to lift herself onto the large stone outcropping. I do the same, smoothing out Sejka’s cloak as I sit beside her. “You remembered something.”
I stare at her. “How did you know?”
She shrugs. “I heard you whispering my uncle’s name and Koyah’s name while you slept. I know that something bad happened, years before I was born, Skye. You probably know more about it than I do, now.”
I gaze into the murky water, watching intently as the moonlight plays upon the ripples. A shiver snakes its way down my spine as I remember the caress of the water against my skin, moments after I’d called for the flames to attack Xáan. How obedient they had been…
“You may be right,” I breathe, glancing back at the campsite. All clear, save for the forms of the sleeping Ramsey, Flint, and Koyah. “Your uncle was supposed to be Chieftain of the Ravens. The night after he came of age, however, Xáan and Koyah attacked him. They tried to drive him out of the tribe and threatened him with death if he didn’t leave.
“He fought at first, and I swooped down – sorry, it was Sejka. Sejka, in her raven form. She spiralled down and tried to stop the whole thing. But then—”
“That’s when the Covenant came,” Xera interjects darkly.
“The Covenant or the Knights of Saint Patrick. I don’t know for sure. I’m not certain what happened next.”
Xera glances at me sheepishly. “I’m not certain I do, either, even though Father told me a version of the story. My uncle never spoke of it. I suppose he wanted to forgive and forget,” she says softly. “I woke you up at the wrong time, didn’t I?”
I stare at the water again, narrowing my eyes at a suspicious-looking piece of lake weed. I could’ve sworn it was some kind of animal, a large fish maybe.
“I’m sorry,” she says, following my gaze.
“It’s nothing. You guys can’t tiptoe around me. I had the next watch and I’ll take it, no matter if it interrupts my memories or not. But I don’t know what to do; whenever I look at Xáan – your father – I see…”
“A traitor,” she mumbles.
“If you want to know the truth, you will have to wait,” a voice says suddenly.
I whirl around to face Koyah as he approaches the riverside. I’ll never get used to his voice; it should be a smaller, higher one. The voice of a teenager, not that of an old man. But time is not kind. Koyah has served his sentence, hidden in the forests of British Columbia. The deep wrinkles and crevices stretching across his face betray the hardships he’d faced on his own for a half-century.
“Koyah, I—”
Sejka’s brother raises a hand, though his palm faces inward. It’s not a threatening gesture like the one Xunnu taught me not to use towards a shapeshifter, but an offer of assistance. I take his hand and slide down the stone, splashing into the shallow water beneath. We both turn to help Xera down. She nods her thanks, saying nothing.
“Sejka, forgive me, but I must—”
“It’s Skye, now,” I interject. I bite my lip, wondering if I should’ve kept my fat mouth shut, but it’s too late.
Koyah’s lips part in amusement. “Of course. I want you to know, before the memories have all come back to you, that my remorse shows no bounds,” he breathes. “You will find out soon enough what happened between us. I want you to know that not a day has gone by that I have not regretted my decisions. Actions against Xunnu, and against you, Sister.”
“What happened, Koyah? What—”
“A picture tells a thousand words,” Xera says suddenly, and we glance at her in surprise. She takes our hands and brings them together, forcing our fingers to interlock. “Or, whatever it is that you do,” she adds, teeth flashing in the moonlight. “Breathe. Breathe and feel for yourself what you have been missing.”
Koyah’s worn, calloused hands grate against my soft ones. A wave of familiarity washes over me and I nearly gasp in shock at the touch of Koyah’s spirit against my own.
Brother.
The fleeting feelings of fifty years past tease my mind, flowing across the synapses as if they’re fresh and whole again.
Love. Jealousy. Anger.
And later, respect. Admiration mixed with feelings of intense remorse and sorrow.
“What happened to us, Brother?” I whisper, tears stinging the corners of my eyes.
Koyah says nothing, only pulls me in for an embrace. He breathes in the scent of my hair, holding me delicately as if I’ll slip away the same way Sejka had.
“I came back,” he tells me, his voice muffled against the hood of my cloak. Sejka’s cloak.
“You came back but I wasn’t there.” I remember the bear carving that had been left in the dugout house, the home that Sejka and Koyah had grown up in. “We had already moved on.”
“I had moments,” Koyah says. “Moments when I would remember, when I would long to see you again. You and Xunnu. And Xáan,” he adds. “Then they would be gone, and I would be lost to the wilderness once again.”
“The Sickness.”
“Yes,” he growls. “There was nothing I could do. If you hadn’t come to release my spirit, I would have slipped away without ever seeing the faces of my friends and family again.”
Sejka was gone before she had a chance to rescue you. But the part of her that resides in me rejoices at seeing you again.
“I tried to find you, Koyah. I went out many times, especially after I found out there was a way to help you. The serum. We could have used it before—”
“I know my sister lives in you, Skye,” Koyah says, pulling back from our embrace and holding me at arms’ length. “I can see it in your eyes, in your spirit.”
“But I—”
“You stand up for what is right. Xáan blames you for being the cause of his father’s death, but I do not see that in you. I do not understand how he still believes that after all he has seen.”
“He said the humans killed Sehwen, that Sehwen died because of me. They were there to kill me, and he got in the way.”
Koyah shook his head. “That is not the whole truth. I know what really happened, Skye, and soon you will, too. Now, get back to sleep and I will take the next watch. Both of you,” he adds, turning to Xera.
We mumble our gratitude as we head back to the campsite. I glance at Koyah just in time to glimpse his slight form, already motionless upon the stone and staring into the murky depths of the river Conwy.
His words carry on the breeze. “Will the memories to find you, Ru-Yeva. Maybe then, if ever, you will be able to forgive me.”
46
SEPARATE WAYS
Aelshen
“We are not going on any kind of offensive until Flint and Skye are back, an’ that’s final!”
“The decision’s not up to you, now is it, Guardian?”
I scoff at the alpha, banging me fist against Quinn’s mahogany coffee table. “Apparently not, but it bloody well should
be!”
“Silence!”
He didn’t just silence me. The cheek o’ this one!
“Aye! Shut yer geggy, Mac Tíre!” Elspeth shrieks from the corner of Quinn’s living room, where she rests snugly in the prized armchair she’s claimed as her own.
“You will not disrespect each other like this in my house. You should be ashamed of yourselves,” Quinn mutters, mostly to herself but loud enough for those closest to hear. A few of the Lycans and Yeva’si glance at her in surprise, but no one says anything. They all train their eyes back on me an’ Matthews.
The room is full to the brim with bodies, yet all is strangely silent. Ye could cut the tension with Saint Patty’s bloody sword, ye could.
“You’re always free to leave us,” Matthews nearly spits at me.
“Bad things happen when we split up,” I tell the alpha, eyes narrowed as I meet his green ones. They’re not nature-green like Skye’s, but more of a jellybean colour. Ye know. The ones that make everybody sick.
Matthews roars, “We’ve already split up, dog! My daughter is out there with a bunch of—”
Quinn clears her throat. “Listen to your Guardian for once!” she hollers. “Look at you, all prepared for war and the like! You too, Mrs. Andarsen! I admire Nwyfre as much as the next Ddraig, but I won’t go knocking on the enemy’s door without as much backup as possible. We can’t risk everything like this. We have to wait for Nwyfre and Ru-Yeva to return with some sorely-needed information on Saint Patrick’s hideout.”
Matthews growls, “My Lycans are fully-trained and itching to sink their teeth into Knights and soldiers alike. I want to relocate closer to the fray where you’ve sent my daughter, Mac Tíre. Jump right in if need be.”
I clear me throat. “I realize that—”
“Skye needs my protection. The ones we leave behind will catch up. You’ll make sure of that, eh, Mac Tíre.”
It ain’t a question, but a command. The nerve of the blighter.
Matthews sneers, “Do you really want to side with the teenager that gave you that black eye?”
