A Werewolf's Saga Books 4, 5, & 6 (A Werewolf's Saga Boxed Sets Book 2)

by Michael Lampman

  He stopped just before he reached the steps. “Well, if you must know.” He looked back to Sharlia and then back to the porch again. “I met with Devish.” He breathed. He now waited for the inevitable chaos to follow this. He would not be disappointed in the least.

  Sharlia started it first, as she spun back around to the trees. She let her fangs show and her eyes flew red. She now prepared for the fight that she felt was coming.

  All of the other Walkers did the same thing. They waited for the charge from the trees. They waited for the pain of the fight that they all felt was coming.

  Jimmy nodded and shrugged with all of it. “He’s not here. They are not coming.” He hoped saying it would help them relax. It was just a hope.

  Robert could not believe what he just heard. “You went to see him?” He felt suddenly justified for his doubts. He felt right, but he also felt wrong because of it. All in all, he just didn’t understand it—or understand him. “Why would you do that?” He needed to know. He needed it now.

  Neither did Kenar. “Why did you do that?” he just had to ask that thought.

  Jimmy turned to them and matched their stares. “He wanted to make me an offer, one that he knew that I wouldn’t refuse.” He looked back to the others. “I didn’t go to see him. We met on neutral ground.” He looked back to the porch. “Like we always have.”

  Sasha stepped up to him. She of course knew more than the others did, so she felt safe in asking him about this further. In some ways, she hoped she was. “What did he want to offer you?” She stopped by his side.

  Hearing her ask, he only hoped that he could say enough to answer all of them. He just had to keep this safe. He had to keep things quiet, but he knew that he had to say something. “He wanted to make a deal. He wants me to turn myself in to him.” He gave his daughter a smile.

  Kenar nodded. “You agreed, didn’t you?” He also smiled.

  Jimmy turned to him and shrugged again. “I did.”

  Robert gasped. “How could you do that?” He just felt floored. He felt more alone than ever. He just could not believe what he just heard.

  Jimmy turned to him next. “I had to Robert. He will kill her if I don’t.” He gave him a nod. “He will try to kill her, if I don’t come.”

  Robert knew whom he meant, so he nodded. He understood that much, but he scoffed again anyway. “Giving him yourself will not prevent him from trying Jimmy. In fact, it just makes things worse.”

  Sharlia continued not understanding anything at all. “But she is with him, is she not?”

  Jimmy nodded. “He knows who she is. He knows what she is to me. He always has.”

  It was Brandon’s turn to come in to this. “You two were lovers before.” This made complete sense to him, and he did not really know why. It just did and that was enough.

  Jimmy turned to him and nodded again. “Yes. He intends to use her to get what he wants from me.”

  Sasha nodded.

  Both Kenar and Robert did too.

  Brandon and Sharlia were on a different page. She went for it first. “What does he want from you Kalima? If you are right, what is he using her for?”

  Jimmy took a deep breath before he began. “He wants me to pass on the wolf to someone else so he can take my life. Without it, without the wolf, I’m vulnerable. Without it, he believes that I can die, and with it, he will take my gifts. He wants my ability to heal. He wants my ability, my immunity to silver and gold.”

  Brandon felt more confused. “Is that possible?” He beat Sharlia to the punch this time, so she just stood there and waited for the answer.

  Jimmy nodded. “I’ve done it before.”

  Sasha sighed. “You passed the wolf to Collins before allowing yourself to die.”

  He nodded again. “Without the wolf, I lack half of myself. He knows this. Without the wolf I lack the strength to fight him.”

  “Why? Why would you do this for Rana?” Sharlia spoke fast, beating anyone else from asking it first.

  Jimmy shrugged. “There is a lot more happening, and yet to come that none of you can truly know. I have to try to save her. I have to get her alone and away from him.”

  “But why?” Sharlia continued. She just could not understand any of this. She was trying to, but it just seemed too much all at once.

  Jimmy turned again to her. “I love her. I need her safe.” He smiled.

  Robert shook his head. “You can’t give yourself to him Jimmy. You just can’t.” He left the porch, walked towards him and stopped right in front of him. “What will that solve?”

  Jimmy gave him a solemn smile. “I’m not the important one in this Robert. I’m not the stronger than Devish anyway.” He shrugged right after saying this. He meant everything he said.

  Robert noticed that he did. “You are the only one that can fight him Jimmy. None of us can fight him.”

  Jimmy shook his head. “He’s stronger than I am. He’s a full blood. I’m only a half one at that.”

  Sharlia gasped.

  Kenar felt like sitting.

  Brandon just wanted to know what that meant. “What are you talking about Jimmy?”

  Jimmy bowed his head as he answered all of them. “We are both the sons of Satar—half-brothers at that.”

  Sharlia gasped again. She knew none of this. At least she understood it better though. She was happy enough for this.

  Robert nodded. “You are the child of Satar and Lina—the love that started the war.” He looked back to Kenar. “That’s impossible. We were there. Kenar and I were there and would have known that.” He felt more disjointed than ever.

  Jimmy stared him in the eyes. “You did know Robert. You both were there.”

  Robert shook his head. “How?” He did not believe it. He had no memory of this. He just could not grasp it at once.

  Jimmy understood this complete. After all, he knew the truth. “You don’t remember it, either of you because you chose to forget it.”

  Robert knew what he meant. “We blocked ourselves. We blocked it to protect the truth.” Realizing this, he swallowed hard. He kept shaking his head. It was a lot to take in, so he was struggling to do it. It just did not seem to want to take hold.

  Kenar gripped his own heart. He now understood everything. He understood Devish and his need to avenge the world. “You are the reason for the war. You are also the reason for restarting it.” It all made sense. Everything that ever happened, now all made complete and total sense to him and it gripped his mind. He grasped his chest, and felt the pain. He felt the pain of everything that he now knew.

  Jimmy expected all of their reactions. He understood all of them. “I’m sorry for all of this.” He looked back to Sharlia and then turned back to Robert. “That is why I have to give myself to him. I have to do my part.”

  Robert nodded. He now understood the personal connection between Devish and Jimmy. He now understood the core of everything else. He did begin to believe. The birth of Kalima would have devastated the balance of the world. A Blood Walker giving a child to a human had never happened before. The child would have changed it forever. He matched Jimmy’s stare. He saw the truth in his eyes. That’s why he is what he is. His power was always unmatched, and now I know why.

  Sasha couldn’t agree less. “No.” She rushed to Jimmy and stopped by his left side. She took his left hand into hers. “You can’t do this, Jimmy. I don’t understand why you’re thinking this way.”

  He turned to her and gave her a smile. He took her chin with his right palm and stared deeply into her bright emerald eyes. “You have to do what you have to do. The same is for me.” He dropped his hand and turned back to Robert. “We all have to do our part in all of this.” He looked at Sharlia. “I will keep him occupied so you can breach the walls.” He looked back to Robert. “We all have something to do.”

  Robert looked up again after bowing his head some, just as his eyes met his. He saw a look of something that he did not understand. He saw a hint of something there. He saw a
need. Jimmy wanted him to do something, but he didn’t know what. “What do I have to do?” he had to ask that thought.

  Jimmy smiled. “When you come to the castle, and you get inside, you have to forgive. You have to release the pain.”

  “What?” Robert felt somewhat shocked by this. In fact, he was more than just that. “I don’t understand.”

  “You will when the time is right.” Jimmy turned back to the others. He tried to look at all of them, even those faces that he didn’t know, in turn. “A great battle is about to begin. A great war is going to rage. We have to fight it. We have to kill. We have to die. In the end, we must win this fight. We must win it for the entire world.” He stopped at Sasha. “We are who we are.” He looked to Brandon and gave him a nod. “We are who we chose to be.” He looked to Kenar, who was still standing on the porch by the front door. “Our fight is simple. Our fight will be tough, but we can win it. We must win this fight.”

  Kenar nodded to him strongly.

  Sasha had a tear in her right eye that slid down her cheek to her chin.

  Brandon longed for his friend.

  Sharlia now understood one thing. She would follow him. She would fight for him and for everyone else.

  All of the others, surrounding the cabin, knew this too.

  Jimmy took a deep and everlasting breath as he turned back to Robert. “Just don’t forget me.” He smiled.

  Robert returned it. He still didn’t know what was really going on, but now he did understand one thing. He understood Kalima. He understood Jimmy. He understood the man.

  Jimmy nodded, and turned back to Sasha. He saw the tear in her eye, so he wiped it with a gentle thumb. “You know what you have to do my sweet baby girl.” He gave her a smile.

  The looked was not enough for her, so she reached around him and hugged him to her chest. She said nothing else. When she released him, she just gave him a hearty nod.

  Brandon stepped up to him and punched his left shoulder with his right fist. “You take care of yourself dude. I’ll fight to find you. I promise.” He held back his own tears. He swallowed several times to do it.

  Jimmy just kept his smile. “I know you will.” He then turned to the cabin and tipped his head to everyone else.

  He said nothing else. He just turned and headed away to the trees. He left the clearing and headed north. He headed to Devish’s home.

  Everyone else just stood there speechless. They had nothing left to say.

  After some time, time that no one kept, the sun came up, and then, and only then, each of them finally moved.

  27

  The sun was bright overhead as he stepped out of the trees. The hint of dew was still heavy on the air. The morning looked beyond beautiful—it looked like magic. Seeing the field and the walls beyond it, Jimmy hummed to himself. “Well, I sure as hell hope you know what you’re doing.”

  He left the tree line and started across the field. It took a good ten minutes to cross it. When he reached the walls, and as he crossed the field, he knew that he wasn’t alone. He could smell several wolves all around him. He could smell their must coming heavily from both the right and the left. He could also smell the telltale signs of decay coming from the walls. There were so many of them that it was hard to keep all of it straight within his mind. In fact, it nearly knocked his senses. It nearly blew his mind.

  Coming to the wall, he turned left. He knew where the front gate was, and realizing it so clearly, he could only laugh some to himself. It has been a long time since I walked this wall, but it feels like it was just yesterday. I’ve done it so many times before.

  He walked about a hundred feet, and at the corner of the wall that went left, he turned. A dirt road ran against the wall and headed away from him, so he stepped on it and followed its path. He kept going until he found the gate, in the center of the wall, and on his left.

  The gate was open. Someone was standing in the shadows of the wall. A man he knew all too well. “Vincent.” He gave him a nod. He stopped just before him, and almost instinctually, he stayed in the early morning sun.

  “Kalima.” Vincent nodded back. He kept cautious. He kept ready for anything that the black wolf could do. He did not trust him that much was obvious. He could not even believe that he was even there. It marveled him as to how right his master truly was. “I am shocked that you came.” He offered the wolf a smile. He didn’t mean it. His nerves—his fear—was showing.

  Jimmy knew how fake it was. “I keep my word Vincent. Obviously you never have.” He returned the smile. His was real. He didn’t fear Vincent. He never has, so why would he start it now.

  His face went pale. “My master has been expecting you.” He dropped his attempt.

  Jimmy nodded. “Then shall we then?” He walked into the shadows and joined Vincent within it.

  Vincent led him inside.

  Jimmy saw the path, dirt and concrete, and saw the stone front steps that led up to the castle’s keep.

  He led him down the path to the front door, and from there, they continued inside the door.

  Devish met them in the main foyer, just by the stairs.

  Three others stood on each side of the doors, two on one side and one on the other. They reeked of decay. They smelled of the stench that vampires always carried.

  Jimmy expected this. In fact, he already knew everything they did. “Devish.” He gave him a nod. “I see you have everyone here.” He looked to the two men standing on his left. He turned to the one standing next to Vincent on his right. He turned back to Devish, and looked to the large staircase behind him. “I like what you’ve done with the place.” He locked his eyes back on to him.

  Devish truly did laugh. “Thank you my brother. We have been hard at work getting the place ready for tonight.” He bowed his head some, looking almost demure some.

  He almost looked too human for Jimmy to like all that much.

  “It is too bad that you never saw us bringing the place back to life.” He looked back up. “You missed much over the last few centuries.”

  Jimmy nodded. “We do what we have to do, isn’t that right brother?” He noticed the two Nightwalkers, both men, move closer to his left side. The one next to Vincent came up on his right.

  Devish smiled again with his nods. “Yes we do.” He looked to his people moving around Kalima. “Take him.”

  One man grabbed his right arm, and another took his left. The third man stayed behind him.

  Jimmy let them take him. He didn’t struggle. He didn’t try.

  Vincent moved towards Devish with caution in his steps. He did not want to stay close to Kalima. He did not know how long they could hold him and did not want to find out. He was not in the mood to die, at least not yet.

  Devish knew his brother better than his friend ever would, so when he watched Vincent’s fear, he only laughed at him. He could not help himself.

  Jimmy watched Vincent closely and did the same thing. “Don’t worry Vincent. I don’t eat rotten flesh.” He laughed.

  Devish walked up to Jimmy with true pride swelling up inside him. Again, he could not help himself. “My brother knows better than going against me.”

  “You’re right Devish. I do.” Jimmy kept his stare. Being this close to him made stand firm. He did know his brother. He knew him all too well.

  Devish turned to Vincent, who stayed behind him. “Take him to the room that was prepared for him my friend. Make him comfortable for it will be his last day to walk this world.” He turned back to Kalima. “Soon, everything will be as it was. Soon, everything will be right again.”

  Jimmy took a huge breath and blew it out with an equally huge exhale, as they led him towards the stairs. They then led him beneath them to a door near the back wall. Seeing it, he knew where they were taking him. He’s following the plan. He’s doing exactly what he did back then. This gave him hope. It gave him confidence. It turned his mind.

  They opened the door, and led him down the stairs behind it, and at the bottom of t
he stairs, they continued until they reached the dungeon’s bars.

  He expected all of this. He expected the pain that he knew was about to come.

  28

  “Now what are we going to do?” Robert paced around the porch. He could not do anything else. He felt winded. He felt wrong. He did not know how else to feel, or what to think. Everything now felt completely messed up.

  Kenar was the only one that was still outside with him. With the sun rising higher, and the trees around them unable to douse the light, everyone else went inside or headed deep within the trees. They were vampires after all. Even Sasha stayed with Brandon as he went inside the cabin.

  “I think we do what we are supposed to do Rochie. What else is there?” Kenar sat down in a type of a wooden lawn chair on the porch. He kept his eyes looking straight ahead. He felt rather dull now that the moon was down and he was now blind again, but he was also somewhat thankful for it too. If he wasn’t blind, he was sure that Rochie’s pacing would drive him insane. “What else are we supposed to do?”

  Robert kept going, moving to the opposite side of the porch that stretched the entire length of the cabin away from Kenar, and once there, he came back again. “Do you really believe him? Do you believe that Kalima is the brother of Devish?” He could not get that one detail off his mind. He couldn’t get what Kalima might do knowing it, off it either. All of this was beginning to kill his very soul.

  Kenar thought about this for a minute. In all truth, he had been thinking about it a lot too. He, however, had more faith in him than Rochie obviously had. “I know that he believes it.” He bowed his head down towards his shoes. He wished he could see them. He never knew what they looked like and one day, he wished that he could.

  Robert stopped at the side railing and leaned against it with both hands. “Why didn’t we see that? Why didn’t we know? I have no memory of ever knowing it.” He looked out and saw one of the Gorhans standing near a tree. She looked so young from this distance, that he almost didn’t know what to think about her.