by C Zinnia
Mel saw Viola whisper something to him. The comment infuriated him. Mel felt the rage in his energy. His desire to harm Viola tripled.
Viola shrugged.
“Fight!” Eli said.
Viola and her opponent threw kicks and punches at each other. Within moments, her opponent was frustrated. She threw a right cross punch that hit her opponent in the nose. She quickly followed through the punch with a right elbow strike. The elbow struck his left eye.
His left eyebrow split open. Blood gushed from the wound.
Viola didn’t give him the chance to recover, she immediately clinched with him. As she clinched, she grabbed the back of his head and yanked his head down and gave him two hard knees to the face.
Viola’s opponent squirmed away. Blood covered his face. His nose and orbital bone were fractured.
The crowd cheered.
The crowd’s response enraged Viola’s opponent further. How dare they cheer for her! How dare this female try to emasculate me! he thought. His thoughts effortlessly entered Mel’s mind, startling her.
Mel felt him begin to change before it occurred. Her body warmed around her as her energy swirled. She knew she could stop him.
A hand sharply grabbed Mel’s arm. Mel gasped from pain. Her concentration was broken. Mel realized Dana had grabbed her.
Dana had a hard look on her face. “Control yourself, Mel,” she said. “Don’t interfere.”
Viola’s opponent changed as he charged at Viola. In wolf form, he knocked Viola to the ground. Because she was prepared, Viola was able to place her foot on the wolf’s midsection and flung him over her head. She rushed him and stomped on his head. It stunned him.
“Enough!” Eli shouted.
Viola stopped, but the wolf did not. The wolf moved to attack her again. She grabbed the wolf by the throat and wrestled him to the ground. She put him in a rear-naked choke until the wolf went limp. She dropped him and walked away. Mel noticed there was a small cut on Viola’s forearm. Viola wiped off the blood to reveal an already healed arm.
Viola was shaking with anger. She wanted to kill him but knew it wasn’t her place.
The wolf came to and staggered to his feet as he shook his head.
Stephanie stepped between Viola and the wolf. Stephanie faced the wolf with disgust on her face. “You have broken one of our sacred rules. You have brought shame to our pack and you must face the consequences. The punishment is death,” Stephanie said.
The wolf was alarmed. He couldn’t believe Stephanie was reacting like this. I’m Beta Jackson’s child! I have never gotten in trouble even when I have broken the strictest of rules! he thought rapidly. Mel could hear the desperation in his thoughts. Why am I being punished now?
The wolf howled in frustration. It isn’t fair, he wailed.
“Betas, do you object to my ruling?” Stephanie asked her pack. Beta Jackson maintained his composure. His only son was about to be put to death, but the beta knew he could not defend him.
No one spoke up for the wolf.
The wolf tried to run, but he was quickly grabbed. The wolf struggled. He did not want to take his punishment.
Stephanie grabbed the wolf’s head. She easily broke his neck
The wolf’s limp body hit the ground.
Stephanie’s face was emotionless. Mel could feel Stephanie’s energy. Stephanie wanted to cry. She had watched the wolf grow up and knew he wasn’t evil, just spoiled. She also knew the laws existed for a reason. If certain rules were broken and the person did not face punishment for their actions, chaos could ensue.
“Take the body,” Stephanie said hoarsely.
The wolf’s father walked over and picked up his son’s body. He cradled the wolf tenderly. Everyone bowed their head in respect to the beta as he left.
No parent should ever have to bury their child.
Stephanie walked over to Bruce. “Please accept our sincerest apologies. We had no idea he had such malicious intentions. Some do not see the honor of admitting defeat to a worthy challenger. He could have learned a lot from fighting Viola,” Stephanie said.
“We understand,” Bruce said. “You can’t control others’ actions.”
Stephanie nodded. “I suppose not,” she said. She turned to her pack. “Let’s go.” She shook hands with Bruce. “Thank you for having us over here and allowing the matches to occur.”
“Any time,” Bruce said. “Have a safe trip home.”
Stephanie’s pack left. The atmosphere was heavy with sorrow. Her pack understood Stephanie had to do her job as an alpha, but they mourned the loss of a pack member.
Bruce’s pack left as well. Some were angry at the wolf for turning, especially because Mel was there.
“Her first time watching a match and this occurs,” one said. “Disgusting.”
“Not a good impression to leave for a human,” another agreed.
Mel felt numb to the whole experience as she digested what just occurred. Mel was grateful Viola was safe. Mel didn’t like that it was the second person she had seen die in such a short period of time. Is this how it’s going to be from now on? Is violence part of my life now? she thought.
Viola pulled her close and kissed Mel’s forehead. “I’m sorry you had to witness that, amor,” she said.
The action woke Mel up somewhat. “What did you say to him?” she asked.
“I told him not to risk his life because of pride. It’s better to fight honorably when it’s supposed to be a friendly competition,” Viola said. “The advice only seemed to make it worse.” She shrugged. “All I could do was try.” She kissed Mel again.
“I’m just glad you’re okay,” Mel said.
“Me too,” Viola said. “At least we know your gifts pick up on danger. Like if any hunter shows up.”
Like one of Bill’s friends, Mel thought. She remembered she had to deal with the parasite tomorrow.
Mel froze.
“Mel? Mel!” Viola said. Her voice faded.
A room was empty. The lock on the door had been damaged.
“He’s gone,” Mel said as she blinked away her vision. “Bill’s gone.”
Chapter 27
“What?” Bruce overheard Mel. He stared hard at her. “What do you mean he’s gone?”
“His room is empty,” Mel said. “It happened during the fight. I must not have seen anything sooner because of that werewolf wanting to hurt Viola.” Tears filled her eyes. She felt like a failure for not seeing it sooner. “I’m so sorry, Bruce.”
“It’s not your fault, Mel. Samuel, Daren, Viola, let’s go,” Bruce said.
Viola quickly kissed Mel’s hand. “I’ll see you at home,” she said. “I love you.”
Bruce, Samuel, Viola, and Daren ran ahead of the crowd.
Silvia moved so she was closer to Mel. “Do you see anything else? How did Bill escape?” she asked.
“I’m not sure,” Mel said.
“Maybe you should go in the room Bill was in to see if you get any more information,” Cindy suggested as she joined them. She was carrying Jahi while Eli carried Yafeu and Mwamba.
All three children were fast asleep. Thankfully, they had fallen asleep before Viola’s match and hadn’t witnessed the execution.
“That’s a great idea,” Silvia said. “Let’s hurry up before they start looking for Bill in the wrong places.” For a pregnant woman, she moved quickly.
Mel did her best to keep up with Silvia, Cindy, and Eli, but Mel couldn’t see as well as they could as they traveled through the woods. She kept stumbling. She managed not to curse each time.
The pack sensed the urgency and all moved faster to keep up.
An older woman kept pace with Mel. “You’re doing great, sweetie,” the older woman said. Her encouragement was sincere. The older woman liked the fact that Mel had remained so composed in front of the other pack when the execution occurred. “Keep up the good speed. We’ll have you running on four-legs just yet!”
Mel breathlessly laughed. “Thanks,”
she said.
When the pack reached the village, Silvia led Mel to a house. Silvia and Mel went inside to find a door wide open. Bruce was still in the room. He was studying the lock with a furrowed brow. Viola, Samuel, and Daren had already left.
Bruce’s head jerked up. “What are you doing here?” Bruce asked.
“Cindy had the idea to bring Mel over. She may be able to get a sense of what happened,” Silvia said.
“That’s a good idea,” Bruce said. “Do you need us to leave?”
“I’m not sure,” Mel answered. She walked into the room. It was contaminated with Bill’s energy and it made her skin crawl. Mel ignored the urge to leave. She took deep breaths to center herself. Mel walked over to the door and touched the handle. “Bill wasn’t the only one here.”
Bruce was worried. “Was it a hunter?” he said.
Mel tried to get a better feel for the energy. It was familiar somehow. It was filled with jealousy and bitterness. Mel got an image in her mind of a woman. “No, it was Samuel’s daughter,” she said.
Bruce wasn’t happy with Mel’s response. “Jesse? In here? When? Why? I can’t smell her,” he said.
“I don’t know,” Mel said. “That’s all I’m getting so far.”
Bruce walked outside. “Someone get Eli in here,” he shouted. He came back inside. “We’ll see if Eli can help us figure this out.” Bruce turned to Silvia. “Love, you should get some sleep. It’s going to be a long night and you need rest.”
Silvia was mad. She hated being coddled. She almost argued but decided against it. She knew Bruce was right. Silvia needed to be healthy for their baby and that involved sleeping. “All right, but you better keep me in the loop,” she said.
“Always,” Bruce said with a kiss.
Silvia left Bruce and Mel alone.
Mel paced around the room.
The only items that showed it was a prison were the bars on the windows and the strong metal locks on the door. Mel somehow knew the scratches on the lock were put there for show.
“He didn’t break out,” Mel said.
Bruce looked at the lock again. “You’re right,” he said. “Why make it appear that way? And with Jesse in the mix . . . I don’t know what to think. I can’t smell Jesse.”
Samuel came in. “I can’t track the hunter’s scent anywhere. It’s like it stopped in this room,” he said.
Viola and Daren joined them. “We couldn’t find his scent anywhere,” Viola said. “Amor, what are you doing here? You should be asleep.”
“Mel was able to help figure out who else has been in here,” Bruce said. “Jesse was here.”
They were all stunned. Samuel didn’t say a word, but he was praying Mel was wrong.
“Why can’t we smell her?” Viola asked.
“Hopefully Eli can help us figure that out. We need to find Bill and fast before he kills again,” Bruce said.
Mel had forgotten for a moment about Bill’s talents. For all they knew, a bomb could already be placed at the main house. Mel searched for the future but didn’t get any horrible feelings. She hoped it was a good sign.
“We also need to find out how Jesse fits into all of this,” Bruce said. “I’m sorry, Samuel. If you want to sit out of this one, I understand.”
Samuel shook his head. “I pray there is a reasonable explanation for this,” he said. “And if not, then . . .” He couldn’t finish his sentence.
Mel prayed Jesse was an innocent victim in all of this, but her gut told her it wasn’t likely. She also knew they’d find out sooner rather than later.
~ * ~
Jesse didn’t even know what she was doing anymore. Her book bag was filled with herbs she had found in Bill’s duffel bag. It sat in the back of the car. It had neutralized Jesse’s and Bill’s scents so they couldn’t be tracked. She didn’t grab his weapons. She wasn’t sure if she could trust him yet and wasn’t about to put him in a position where he could kill her. Jesse was driving Bill away from Ferrum, but she had no destination in mind.
Jesse couldn’t believe she helped a hunter escape. She had been scheduled to bring supper to Bill. As soon as she saw him, she concocted a scheme that seemed too good to pass up. She volunteered to watch him during the match so the man who was initially assigned the position could go watch his best friend’s fight. The man had been so grateful that he didn’t question Jesse’s motives. And why would he? I’m Samuel’s daughter, she had thought.
It had seemed like the perfect plan at the time and was flawlessly executed, but now Jesse wasn’t so sure it was a good idea.
“Why did you help me?” Bill finally asked. Jesse jumped at the sound. “You know I kill your kind, right?”
“I do, but I want to make a deal with you,” Jesse said. “If you take it, you get to continue to live a long life hunting. If you don’t, then I take you back and drop you off at the alphas’ feet. Your choice.”
Bill had been looking out the passenger window. Now, he turned to glance at Jesse. “What’s the deal?” he asked.
“You leave my pack alone, except for one. You have to kill that bitch Mel,” Jesse said. After she had seen Viola and Mel together, she knew the only option was to kill Mel. If Jesse couldn’t have Viola, no one could. And if Jesse couldn’t make Viola happy, no one else would either.
Bill glanced down at his missing forearm. “You expect me to let the bitch who did this to me live?” he asked.
“If it’s a problem, I can turn around right now,” Jesse said.
Bill was quiet for a moment. “Very well,” he said finally.
“And you’ll kill Mel?” Jesse said.
Bill laughed. “Killing Mel won’t be hard,” he said. “I actually already have her death planned out and it’s not painless at all. I will require a few items and I will need you to help bring her to me.”
Jesse was confused. “Why?”
“I can’t kill her in the village,” Bill stated. “Especially if you want me to leave everyone else alive. The supplies are to make it more unpleasant for her.”
Jesse smiled. “Very well,” she said. “I take it we have a deal?”
Bill smiled back. The action didn’t make Jesse feel any better. He said; “We have a deal.”
~ * ~
It was early morning and still very dark outside. Mel’s eyes drooped from fatigue. Caffeine buzzed in her veins to keep her from falling asleep. Her back hurt from sitting in the chair for so long.
Eli was sitting at the kitchen table, going over another tarot reading he just threw. He wasn’t satisfied with what the cards were telling him, so he picked up the cards. Eli was as lost as Mel was about Jesse’s role in everything.
When Bruce went through Bill’s duffel bag, they realized the bag of herbs was missing and were probably used to mask Bill’s and Jesse’s scents. They knew Bill wouldn’t have been able to get the herbs without help.
“And if Bill had been the one to get them, he would have taken the duffel bag,” Lee had pointed out.
They found out Jesse had been given the task to bring Bill food for the night. They also found out that Jesse volunteered to guard Bill for the man originally was assigned, which explained Jesse being in the room. They didn’t know if Bill overwhelmed Jesse even though he was missing an arm. Also, Bill overwhelming Jesse didn’t explain the herbs and it didn’t explain why she volunteered to guard him.
Everyone else from the main house had gone hunting for Bill except for Nana, Papa, and Silvia. Nana and Papa were making a fresh pot of coffee for Eli and Mel. Silvia was restlessly sleeping upstairs.
“Maybe you two should take a quick nap,” Nana suggested. “You two haven’t slept all night. The fatigue could be clouding your gifts.”
“No time,” Mel said. She finished off her current cup of coffee. She hadn’t been able to see anything for the past two hours.
When she meditated earlier, she had a quick vision of two people driving in a car and she heard voices, but she couldn’t discern who the driver was a
nd who the passenger was. She didn’t know where they were going. Bruce had sent everyone in twos in different directions to travel across Franklin County. Mel knew it wasn’t worth much because no one knew where Bill would hide. What if Bill went for reinforcements? she thought.
The anxiety kept interrupting Mel’s concentration.
“Relax. You need to concentrate, Mel,” Eli said. “You can find Bill. You just have to try again.”
“I’ve been trying for hours,” Mel said. Her brain felt fuzzy. “I can’t push any further.”
“You’re not reaching Bill because of your emotions. You need to gather yourself. You can find Bill. You’ve found others who were far away numerous times now. Don’t look at it as distance,” Eli reminded Mel. “You just have to believe in yourself.”
Mel sighed. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll try again.”
Mel closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and focused on Bill. She had a clear image of him in her head. She could feel his repulsive energy and she automatically wanted to get as far away from the energy as possible. An array of emotions overwhelmed her. Her rage and disdain for Bill pushed his energy away.
“Set your emotions to the side, Mel,” Eli said. “Pretend you’re a casual observer seeing Bill. Your negative emotions will only limit you.”
Mel took another breath but couldn’t seem to shake her negative feelings. Put them in a box and set the box on fire, a voice said.
Mel’s eyes snapped opened. She looked around for the source of the voice, but no one else was there. In fact, she was no longer in the kitchen. She was in a completely white room. She tried to remain calm, but her anxiety started to rise. “Who said that?” she asked.
Put your negative emotions and feelings in a box, Mel, the voice said. And imagine the box catching flame. Let the box burn. Let your negative emotions be destroyed. Imagine the space in your energy those negative emotions once occupied being replace with God’s love and healing energy.
Mel decided not to question the voice. She closed her eyes and searched her energy for the negative emotions and feelings she felt regarding Bill. It was a collection of colors such as black, sharp red, puke green, and dark blue. These colors felt heavy as she pulled them away from her energy and put them in a wooden box. It left holes in her energy field. She imagined a golden light flowing in from God. The gold melded with her energy, making her feel warm and light. She looked at the wooden box. She hesitated. In some ways, she didn’t want to set the box on fire.
