Crossroads

by Jennifer Ann Reed

  Knowing another person I cared about was almost killed because of me left guilt eating at my core. My guardians didn’t deserve this. Their lives were better before I moved here and I said as much to them but only received death stares and nasty comments and opinions on the matter. The boys and Gwen may think I was being stupid, but they didn’t see it from my point of view. From the day I had arrived in Serenade Falls, trouble hadn’t been far behind.

  After what felt like an eternity, the bedroom door creaked open and Lilly slid into the hallway with a smile.

  “He’s awake.” She held her hands out as we all jumped up ready to charge the door. “Wait. I don’t think he’s ready for the lot of you. He’s still weak. I know you want to see him, but let’s take turns.”

  This was the best news I heard in a long time. Caden, Linc, and Zander visited with Curtis first while Uncle Kalen called Lucian, giving him the good news. When Uncle Kalen and I got to visit, Curtis was sleeping again and Allie stroked his hair.

  “I thought I lost him.” Tears still filled her voice and her hand shook as she moved it away from him. She steeled her gaze when she looked at me. “We have to end this.”

  “We will.” My promise was stronger than I thought I could manage as I glanced down at Curtis’s pale body. He was built like an ox, but he seemed frail with white gauze wrapped around his torso.

  Lilly came back in and shooed us out telling us to give him time to rest. Allie stayed planted to her seat and laid her head back on the bed as she stroked his forearm with her fingertips. Lilly closed the door behind her as she followed us out.

  “Lucian needs to see us downstairs.” She threw over her shoulder as she walked away. “He’s called a meeting. Chad reported something weird is going on.”

  Our interest was piqued and we followed as the hum of murmurings came from the living room. The room was packed and everyone was seated in whatever space was left available because Lucian’s Wardens were gathered in the room also. Light reflected off of Chad’s bald head as he flipped through some papers in his hands. Lucian was braced against the fireplace gripping the mantle with his head bowed. The muscles in his back clenched under his shirt and his grip hardened to the point I thought the mantle might snap from its foundation. Uncle Kalen, Lilly, and I found a place against a wall as Lucian turned to address the group.

  “With everything that’s happened in the past few days.” Lucian trailed off looking at the ceiling. “I’m not going to skirt around our findings.” He paced in the small space between Chad and the coffee table. “Earlier, I sent Chad and my other Wardens to search for any of Aelfric’s followers. The attack on the boys occurred not long after. They know we’re getting close, but they’re still two steps ahead of us. Before I go into detail, Lilly, how’s Curtis?”

  “Stable.” She wet her lips as she stepped forward. “The boy suffered many injuries, but nothing nicked any arteries. He’s lucky. The Wolfsbane in his system is hindering his ability to heal quickly. He won’t be back on his feet for a couple days.” She held each person's’ gaze before she continued. “I had to stitch some of his wounds together to get the bleeding to stop. A few centimeters kept him from death.”

  Everyone’s faces paled and turned green after realizing how close we came to losing Curtis.

  “Where are his parents?” My whisper was only heard by Uncle Kalen.

  “Gone.” He leaned closer to me and sadness filled his voice. “Each of your Guardians suffered great losses after the night your parents were killed. We planned another attack, but it backfired and we were ambushed. We wanted vengeance and got more heartache. Each of those boys were orphaned except for Caden. Lucian took them in and became their family.”

  “Orphans? Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Tears ringed my lashes.

  “It’s hard to talk about. Just like with your parents.” Uncle Kalen watched as Lucian was still pacing in the front of the room with his hands behind his back. “We can talk later.” There would definitely be a later.

  Lucian paused and took a deep breath. “I don’t know how to say this, but a lot of townspeople are missing. Fifteen to be exact. Chad tell them what you found.”

  “Well.” Chad cleared his throat. “For the past couple days I’ve been leading a search for Aelfric and the Dark Ones. We started going house to house when a rumor started saying his followers were living among us. And after the Fullers…well you can’t blame us for being cautious.”

  “What did you find?” Caden’s throat was clogged with unshed tears and I ached to comfort him. My eyes strayed to Ryn and my heart pounded faster. How could I be focused on the two of them at a moment like this?

  “Empty houses.” Chad rubbed a large palm over his scalp. “I know it doesn’t sound like much, but nothing was taken. No personal belongings. It’s like they disappeared without a trace. There weren’t even any scents left behind.”

  I shared a look with my Guardians and Ryn’s eyebrow rose. After I had moved back to Serenade Falls, Alexander Davenport had stalked me for Aelfric and hadn’t left a scent anywhere either. Were these people Dark Ones? Or were they victims in Aelfric’s sick game?

  “Are they Dark Ones?” Zander sat straight up asking the question running through my mind.

  “We can’t be positive.” Chad shrugged. “But one house had to belong to one of them.”

  “Why?” Linc stood stretching a kink in his neck. “How do you know?”

  “There were pictures.” Chad’s hard gaze met mine and I knew I wouldn’t like what he had to say. “They were of Kitra. Some from school and others from out in town. Her face was scratched out and red “X’s” were drawn over her body.”

  Ice filled my veins. I trembled and slid down the wall. Caden and Ryn both acted as if they wanted to rush to me, but Caden sat back down and crossed his arms while averting his eyes from mine when he saw the Royal Guard’s Commander move. Ryn took a small step and his entire face scrunched into disbelief. His questioning stare kept returning to me as if he was contemplating why he wanted to come to me.

  “That brings me to my decision.” Lucian caught our attentions and I dreaded his next words. Was I getting another babysitter? If I had to, then I was choosing Chad. At least we got along. “I spoke to the school. Kitra, and the others are going on homebound.”

  “Homebound?” Linc’s mouth gaped.

  “Yes. All of your classes will be online so you don’t get behind, but you’re not allowed to leave the Manor without a Warden. Chad is staying here indefinitely until things gets sorted out.”

  “So we’re under lockdown? Everyone?” Zander rubbed the center of his chest and scowled. I wanted to stick my tongue out at them and ask how they liked being told what to do.

  “Yes.” Lucian released some of his Alpha power and I was glad I was sitting down. “You will all be under lockdown and will not leave without an escort.” Sweat broke out over my brow with his decree. “I want you all to go get some rest.” The power slowly receded. “I feel like we’re going to need it.”

  Lucian was right. We were waiting for the inevitable. For the other shoe to drop so to speak. Aelfric was gaining ground on what he wanted and nothing was going to stop him. I just wished we were prepared to handle him.

  We all followed the compulsion to go to bed and I climbed under my blankets with sore limbs. Since my Guardians had brought Curtis home, my muscles stayed tensed up thinking he’d die. It could’ve been any of them. My heart skipped a beat when Caden’s face appeared behind my lids. I couldn’t let anything happen to him and my wolf agreed. We’d protect them all with our life. A wisp of purple sparks bounced off my fingers when my mind pulled up Ryn’s chiseled features. Why was I thinking about him? I knew my feelings for Caden were strong, so why was I entertaining the idea of being with Ryn? I yawned and rolled on my side. Allie’s bed was empty. She wouldn’t budge from Curtis’s side and I didn’t blame her. I’d be parked right beside Caden if it had been him instead. Would I do the same for Ryn? I drifted off wi
th two handsome faces swimming in my consciousness.

  “Kitten.” Caden called through the trees. Why were we outside without a Warden? He knew we weren’t allowed to leave the Manor. “Kitten. Come find me.”

  Moonlight peeked past the reds, yellows, and oranges of the autumn leaves and I smelled rain in the air. A crisp breeze skimmed the exposed flesh of my arms in the tank top I was wearing with my flannel pajama pants. My bare toes curled into the sandy path curving around the trees.

  “Kitten.” Caden’s voice was fading and I started running down the path. He shouldn’t be out alone.

  “Caden!” The peaceful breeze picked up, tearing leaves from their place among the stars. They swirled in a turbulent dance to the forest floor. A sad song of despair rose off the breeze after they were separated from their limbs.

  The path widened and I came to a stop where it forked in different directions. The right side continued under the pale light cast by moonbeams kissing the forest, revealing each turn. The left side darkened with deeper shadows and gnarled foliage. I wrapped my arms around my middle and moved to go down the right path.

  “Kitra!” I paused and glanced down the darkened path.

  “Ryn?” I squinted trying to make out the form racing towards me.

  “Run!” Ryn burst from the shadows covered in sweat with his hair darkened and flattened to his forehead.

  He grabbed my hand, pulling me back the way I’d come and I tried to break free. Caden was still out there. Whatever was chasing Ryn might find Caden too. We couldn’t leave him.

  I jerked from Ryn’s grip and turned seeing the form of Caden’s wolf thundering after us and I breathed a sigh of relief. Ryn shoved me out of the way drawing his sword in one swift arc. I rolled over as he swung it once finding his balance and braced for the wolf still charging in our direction.

  A menacing snarl rumbled from Caden’s snout. His icy eyes found mine on the ground and charged faster at his target. Fear ripped my soul into two separate pieces as my breath caught in my throat. They were going to kill each other.

  Caden skid to a stop and circled Ryn looking for a weakness to aid in his attack. Ryn held his sword in front of his body parring Caden’s every move. I scrambled to my feet as Caden leapt.

  “No!” I dove between them as Ryn’s sword slashed forward. I expected the pain to be immediate, but the scene faded to white light. Was I dead?

  I found myself standing in a bright meadow of bluebells surrounded by a barrier of twisted trees. I turned in a circle looking for both boys with my fingers skimming the tops of the tall flowers, but I was alone.

  “Hello?” The sounds of animals and insects went silent and sang again with renewed energy. Even the flowers and trees swayed, dancing for an unseen force.

  A shimmering figure approached and the trees parted, bowing with the flowers as the shaped passed. The figure took on a male shape as it drew closer and I took several steps back. There was no escape. I was trapped and my stomach churned making me sick.

  “There’s no need to fear me.” Warmth relaxed my tense stance. His voice was a mix of ocean waves crashing against the beach and choirs singing. I caught myself leaning toward the sun-like golden light which blocked his features.

  “Who are you? What are you?” I’d never seen anything like him before. Was he another type of Supernatural?

  “A friend is the answer to your first question.” I moved nearer, glowing in the serenity washing over my skin. “What I am is life itself. Creation incarnate.”

  “You’re…You’re the Creator.” It wasn’t a question. It was the only thing he could be. I fell to my knees and bowed, my face millimeters from the ground. “Am I dead?”

  A chuckle reached my ears, but I didn’t dare look up at him. “No. I wanted to speak to you. Please stand Kitra.” I did as he said even if I felt unworthy to stand in his presence.I searched all around him, but all I saw was the light encasing his form. “Why can’t I see your face?”

  “To stare life in the face is certain death and it’s not yet your time.” I guess the need to see his face was not that important. Another chuckle sounded. Did he hear what I thought?

  “Kitra.” He pulled me from my train of thought. “Dark times are coming and you will be my champion.”

  “H…How?” I was nothing. A pathetic girl unable to defeat Aelfric and his followers. How would I be the Creator’s champion?

  “I’ve given you many gifts. You were made to be my champion, but the choice is still yours. Before I say anything else, I need your decision.” He was leaving this up to me? He was the Creator. Couldn’t he just command me to do it? “I’d prefer you to come to me on your own free will.”

  I paced a path in front of him. Could I do this? Elder Dylan once told me the Creator gave the hardest battles to his strongest soldiers. Was I that? I stopped, facing the light again. “Okay. I’ll do it…hmmmm but what am I doing?”

  The meadow darkened leaving him as the only brightened object. “Two paths shall be discovered. One of dark and one of light twisting around each other. Which to choose is yet to be seen. Destruction and death mar the future, but all is not lost. Two to love will make the way easier, but one will fail. Strength in numbers is the goal to chase away what must not occur.” The Creator’s light began to fade.

  “Wait!” He couldn’t leave. “Is that it? What does it mean?” I didn’t think he’d speak in riddles about what he wanted me to do.

  “Take nothing for granted, Kitra. The choice is yours.” His whisper floated by my ear as I faded into myself.

  Chapter 14

  W ARMTH FILTERED THROUGH the curtains heating my left cheek and I flopped onto my stomach, burying my head under the cluster of pillows taking up most of the space on my bed. I wasn’t ready to be roused from sleep, but once my mind was alert I was up. I stayed cocooned in my sea of blankets and snippets from my dream trickled into my thoughts. I remembered Ryn facing off with Caden’s wolf and then I shot up into a sitting position. Did I really meet the Creator? Was it my mind’s way of dealing with everyone’s assumption of who and what I was supposed to be?

  I flopped back down and screamed into my pillow. I knew some of the others could hear it, but hopefully they’d chalk it up to my random acts of over dramatics and not investigate. I waited for a full minute checking for footsteps heading in my direction, but no one came. So, over dramatics it was then.

  Why couldn’t my life be easier? What did I do to deserve my struggles and hardships? If I was being honest with myself, my friends, and Uncle, they’d know how much I couldn’t distinguish between real and imaginary anymore. I wanted to believe I had spoken with the Creator, but who’d really trust me when I said he visited me in a dream? If someone told me they had met our deity, I’d have them committed. So, what did it say about me? Should I tell someone? How would they react? The only person I felt comfortable enough discussing any of this with was Elder Dylan and he was off traipsing around the vampire coven.

  I swallowed the guilt making its way up my throat. I knew he was searching for more clues on the weapon and it wasn’t right for me to pretend otherwise. He’d never judge me if I told him about my dream and I shouldn’t judge him for his decisions either. When I saw him again, I’d ask if what I experienced was real or not. Until then, I wasn’t broaching the subject with anyone else.

  Decision made, I got a shower and threw on a dark green tunic top with lace scalloped around the hem and a pair of black leggings. I paused outside Curtis’s door and knocked. A peppy greeting from Allie had me rushing inside. She sat in her bedside chair on a laptop and Curtis was sitting up, propped against a mound of pillows on his own laptop. He was still somewhat ashen, but his wounds looked nonexistent and he looked up with a sweet smile on his face.

  Air breezed past my lips as I closed the door. After last night, I didn’t know what to expect today. What I wasn’t prepared for was his quick turnaround. He and Allie closed their laptops and they held hands giving me their full attention
s.

  “How are you feeling?” I made sure to arch a brow and add a little extra intrigue to the end of my question.

  “Almost like new!” His mouth stretched to show his white teeth.

  “Isn’t it wonderful?” Allie placed a kiss on their joined fingers.

  “How is this possible?” I walked closer to them. “Last night we were told you’d be in bed for a couple of days. I pictured seeing you in a similar state this morning when I knocked.”

  “Lilly had a brilliant idea.” Allie bounced in her seat.

  “She gave me activated charcoal.” Curtis cringed at the memory. “She crushed it up and mixed it with water for me to drink.”

  “Activated charcoal?” What were they talking about?

  “Apparently, humans use it to help with poisoning.” Allie smiled at Curtis and I wanted to turn away to keep from intruding on their tender moment.

  “There isn’t a cure for Wolfsbane. If a human ingests it, it means potential death, but we’re not human. So we took a chance and the charcoal helped absorb the remaining Wolfsbane in my system.” Curtis shifted easing himself up higher on the pillows. “Lilly removed my stitches early this morning. She said at this rate I’ll be as good as new tonight or in the morning with no side effects.”

  “I’m glad.” I glanced at the floor. “I’m sorry you were attacked.” I wanted to add because of me, but left it unsaid.

  “Don’t go there, Kitra.” Curtis gave a small growl catching my attention. “This is on the Dark Ones, not you. You’re not at fault. It doesn’t matter if you were with us or not, I’d have fought the same. Understood?”

  I nodded my response not knowing what to say. Each of my Guardians were fiercely protective of me. I’d die for them too. I hoped they knew it.