I knew that eventually, Braden and I might have to go toe to toe. It was a wonder which one of us would stand over the other. I really didn’t know the answer, but right now that had to be left alone or it was going to drive me crazy.
“I know that I’m a bit of a disappointment. I know that you expected more from me. I guess I’m going to have to try to do better. I will tell you that just knowing you has made me see things differently. It was all about becoming one of the guardsmen and hoping to rekindle something that was extinguished a long time ago. I thought that I could win her back. After the second time, I realized that I had to do this for me and nobody else. It was the one thing that was keeping me from thinking clearly.”
“I’m glad that you’re being honest with me, Braden. Why you decided to hide this from me does concern me. Was it because you still have feelings for her, or maybe you just didn’t want to admit that she still has a small piece of your heart.” I watched his face for any kind of reaction, but he remained mostly passive. He wasn’t showing any signs that he was even remotely interested in her. It’s just that he wasn’t able to kill her. Maybe I should take that as a sign, but I couldn’t in good conscience leave him. If I did, I would lose a part of myself, as much as he had lost a part of himself when he felt his relationship with Gemini get broken beyond repair.
“For now, let’s concentrate on bagging us another Offus. We have one, but that is only half the battle. We need a second one and then we can walk out together. We need to do this quick, because if Scar is not the only one, then time is of the essence. Then again, if Scar is the only one, then we still need to move quickly. Others are doing the exact same thing that we’re doing and they’re not going to get distracted by past loves that come out of the wood work at the most inopportune time.” His hand touched mine through the armor and I wasn’t sure if I could get over what he wasn’t able to do.
It did feel nice to have him in hand and it was that intimate connection that I had always been missing. There was always a physical component in past relationships, but emotionally, I was barren and void of any and all entanglements when it came to matters of the heart.
Chapter three
For the better part of an hour, there was a silence in the air that was deafening. I couldn’t get over the fact that he still held a torch for Gemini. He might’ve not believed it himself, but his inability to kill her was very telling in my book. I’m sure that he knew that I wasn’t happy, but we had bigger things to worry about than my hurt feelings.
“I hope you know that that was an anomaly back there. If it came down to saving your life or letting another die, then I would allow that other person to perish. I need you to know that Gemini has always had that effect on me. I can’t help it and I’ve tried to get that Acton off my back.” An Acton was a monkey like creature with eight legs. “It continues to hang on and I don’t know what to do about it. I thought that I was over it, but seeing her brought back all of those memories. You might think that it was all bad, but for the most part we had the love of the ages.” I had read about what the love of the ages was and apparently it’s when two souls meld together from the moment that they see each other from a distance.
To me, it was love at first sight, but apparently they had another name for it. It was that emotional and physical connection that every person was looking for, but rarely ever found.
“I know what you mean, Braden. It still doesn’t make me feel good about any of this. I thought we had something special, so you can imagine my surprise when I see you hesitating. It makes me think that we’re not, as connected as I thought we were.” It kinda gave my heart a tug, but I still felt these insane feelings that wouldn’t go away. It didn’t matter what he did or what he didn’t do. I may not like what he did, but I was going to have to let it go. It wasn’t going to be easy and the one thing I have in common with most women is a long memory.
“I just don’t know what you want me to do to prove to you that I have no interest in going back to Gemini. Did you know that that’s not even her real name? When she got involved with Lord Vadam, he decided to call her that, because she was his rising star. I don’t know how she doesn’t see the writing on the castle. It’s not like he has been trying to hide his true intentions. If anything, he has been nothing but honest with her from the very beginning. I’ve seen it firsthand and he has this weird way of pulling a woman’s eyes into his own. Once he does that, he singles them out and makes them his new pet project. This is not the first time that he has used others and it won’t be the last.”
“That might very well be, Braden, but that still doesn’t explain your reaction. You claim to be over her, but everything that I have seen is to the contrary. You say one thing and you do another. I’m just not sure what I can believe in anymore. I still love you and I don’t think that will ever change, but you’re going to have to do something about your feelings for her. The best way for you to deal with it is to confront it head on. You need to admit to yourself that you still love her, or you don’t. I know that I probably shouldn’t be pulling at that thread, but I feel it’s my obligation to at least make you see what you haven’t been able to.” If he really did love Gemini, I would let him go. It wasn’t because I wanted to, but it was because I would feel like a second thought. I would be the consolation prize, where I wanted to be first place.
“Shana, I’ll take your words of wisdom under advisement. I really don’t see anything being there. She burned that out of me a long time ago. I might still think of her fondly, but it’s only the memories of the woman that I lost that I still think about. It’s not this conniving piece of work. I thought there was a chance for me to save her. I believe now that his claws are dug in, so deep that there’s no way for me to extract them. I don’t want to admit it, but I’ve never had the chance to grieve my relationship. I went straight to denial and I’ve lived there ever since. This is the first time that I’ve seen that final nail drive into the coffin.”
I knew all about the ritual of death and the coffin was the only thing that we had in common. They apparently set their dead on some kind of wooden raft. They would then send it out into the ocean never to be seen from again. There was no fiery end and wherever the coffin would end up, it would be up to the person that found it to do something about it. They really did believe that the east and the west were the only colonies. I was not under the same sentiment. To me, there was a big possibility that others had surveyed the north and the south. It would only stand to reason that somebody occupied that space. What would they think when they saw dead bodies floating towards their shore. Would they really bury them, or would they sink them in the ocean, so that they would not bother anybody else? I suppose it was all a matter of perception.
“Braden, it’s nice to see you finally taking off the blinders. Had I known that she was not dead, I might’ve been able to save you all of this heartache. I would’ve sat you down and made you look at the relationship. I think that we could’ve gotten here a lot sooner, had you not decided that it was better off that I didn’t know.” I’m not sure that he would’ve killed her, but at least he would be over the biggest hurdle that was in his way to move on. I always thought each time that we were together that something was a little off and I thought that he was still harboring old ghosts, not having any an idea that his wife was amongst the living.
“I guess it took an unbiased person to make me see what I didn’t want to see” I saw his eyes well up with emotion and this was the first time that he had ever let those feelings go. He had never grieved for the relationship and it was time for him to finally close that chapter in his life.
“I have no idea how we’re going to find this Offus. As the day progresses, it will be easier. It was bad enough for the first one and I think that I got lucky.” To me, there is no such thing as luck. There is fate and destiny and each one holds your future in the palm of their hand. There is no foolishness of deciding your own fate. It has already been written. It
was just a matter of what your decisions were. If you strayed and went on to a different path, it would always bring you back to the one that you were supposed to be on. You had to know how to follow your heart.
“Braden, all we can do is use our instincts and hope for the best. Between the two of us, I’m sure that we can catch one. It’s just a matter of how long it’s going to take. As day becomes night, the Offus will come out more readily. That’s a good thing and a bad thing. It’s good that we’ll be able to catch one quicker, but it’s bad that everybody else will be able to do the same thing. It would be in our best interest to finish this.” I knew that Gemini was still out there. Would she continually try to kill me and if so, then I was going to have to have eyes in the back of my head.
“Shana, I don’t think you have to worry about Gemini. Now that she knows that you are a part of my life, I doubt that she’ll be able to act upon Lord Vadam’s request. That in itself is going to cost her dearly. I don’t exactly know what her punishment will be, but I believe that it has something do with branding.” I’d heard of such practices in my own time and my own world, but it was barbaric. It made you feel like you were a possession. I soon found out that branding was not exactly the same thing here, as it was on my world. Branding here was a tattoo artist that could use his own fingernails to burn an infinite symbol into your skin. It is said that he only acts on the behalf of Lord Vadam. Others may request his services, but they are left shaking their head in disbelief that he would want to have any part of the Black castle. I guess he was more into who was winning than what was right.
“If she does go through with the branding, does that not make her part of his stable?”
“You’d think so, but for the most part it’s his way of letting the person know, whether it be man or woman that she has or he has done themselves a disservice. This is his way of making an example, so that others that follow will not make the same mistake.” I felt sort of bad that she was going to have to go through with something like that. Underneath, I was also secretly pleased that she was going to feel immeasurable pain for quite some time.
“I wouldn’t want to wish that on my worst enemy, Braden.” It was then that I saw something quick and this time it was in the blink of an eye. I only had one arrow and if I fired it now, it would probably be a useless endeavor. I needed to make sure that this was going to find its target. I’m not sure how many Braden had, but since he had already killed his Offus, it meant that he could not use whatever arrows he had left to help me. He could stay with me and there were no rules to state that he had to return to Lord Vadam upon vanquishing the Offus. It was a good thing that most of the rules were subject to interpretation and could be taken in so many ways.
“I think I just saw one, Braden. Do you think that you could flush him this way? I want to get my arrow in the crosshairs of his eyes.” I wasn’t even sure that I could kill any living creature, but if it was necessary to stand strong with the love of my life, then I would surely do it.
Chapter four
Once again, Braden had disappeared into the foliage to try to flush one out to me. I stood there and I thought for sure that I was being watched, but looking around I saw nothing but the trees and the leaves. There was nothing to indicate that there was anybody there. I still felt like somebody was out there. I had the assumption that it might be my benefactor, but I had yet to see any hide or hair of her from the moment that I’d stepped through into the forest for the hunt. It could be that whatever power she had was limited and that she needed time to recharge. It could also mean that the forest was preventing her magic from working. There were so many reasons why she may not be there.
Lord Vadam was expecting the best of the best and I intended to be one of those that were ready to fight.
I heard some kind of screeching and looked up to see a sight that was a little daunting.
In the sky were three Dragos and they were spewing fire at the griffin creature. Most likely, it would’ve been able to take on one Dragos, but three was a little overwhelming. Since the griffin was an endangered species and was going to become extinct, it was going to be a blow to the ecosystem when the griffin fell at the hands of the Dragos. I’d never seen or heard anything about a Dragos attacking a griffin. They usually left them alone and did everything they could to keep out of its way.
This time, it was different and it seemed to me like the Dragos had lured him into some kind of trap. They were now punching his ticket. The fire rained down on the griffin. They had already scorched two sides of its flesh. It lashed out and caught one across one of its legs. It didn’t even slow down and the fire continued to burn brightly. The screeching was not from the Dragos. It was from the griffin. It was in so much pain that you could almost feel it yourself.
“That is not something that you see every day.” Gemini had snuck up on me and had she wanted to do me harm, she could’ve easily done it without me even knowing that it was happening. “The Dragos stay away from Lord Vadam’s wrath. That creature is a hunter and not the prey. You wouldn’t know it from looking at that display, but you can tell that even that creature is surprised by the Dragos behavior.” This was in line with everything that we had seen up to this point. Rankin had been surly and tried to bite Braden, while another one had tried to hide, only to have its master find him.
“Gemini, I would like to say that I’m happy to see you, but I’d be lying. I guess you thought differently about killing me."
“You really don’t know me, Shana. I guess I can say the same thing for you. Braden talks about you the same way that he used to about me. I’m guessing that this relationship is relatively new. You don’t have to tell me. I’m sure that you want to keep your personal life private. I would be the same way in your shoes. Braden on the other hand would want to scream it to the world, but I have noticed that he has at least changed his way in that regard. I guess he just needed a strong and capable woman to stand by his side. I was never going to be that for him, because I’m not about taking somebody by the hand and leading them to greatness. They need to find that person themselves.” I knew that people need encouragement. Some needed to be pushed into something that they would never do on their own. It was called peer pressure where I came from and it was essentially the same here in the land of Markham.
“I still don’t get how you could be with a man like Lord Vadam. Then again there are many mysteries that seem to have me completely stymied. The Dragos are not acting the right way and you can tell that the lion creature is fighting, but it even knows that eventually it will succumb.” It didn’t take very long for this fight to come to an end. The Dragos seemed to be talking to each other, but how was the question. The Dragos was the inferior species, but they were more than a match for their prey. It plummeted to the ground.
I ran towards where it fell, hoping that I might be able to render aid, but finding only charred remains. Its claws were bared and only thing left not burned were those claws. Its face was a grotesque mask of pain that couldn’t be denied.
“I agree that there is something strange going on, Shana. It started yesterday and has become increasingly worse by the hour. There have been reports like this one. Apparently, the Dragos have decided to rise up and become the powerful creature that others have tried to warn us about. There is a rumor that there is a mother to all those that have been domesticated. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that the mother has finally come out of hiding. She probably saw them acting like pets and didn’t like it one bit.” It was interesting to have a civil conversation with Gemini, even though her main purpose for coming in here was to kill me.
“I think that we should definitely keep an eye on their behavior. If it gets any worse, we might have to take some drastic action.” I think that one of the Dragos understood exactly what I was saying. It had now come within 12 feet above me. It circled in an intimidating fashion to get my attention.
I noticed something strange about the griffin like thing. I w
ent to take a look and found that it was not alone. Underneath it; crushed and broken like a fragile doll was an Offus. It was struggling with breath and I could tell that a few of its rib bones were now protruding out of its chest. The humane thing to do was to put it down. I acted before Gemini and fired without even thinking. I’d taken away its pain, but I had also won my prize. It might have not happened exactly the way that I had hoped it would, but who was I to cast stones.
We had been at this for hours and it was going to take that long to get back with our prize in hand. Braden came out of the woods and looked at me incredulously and then towards Gemini, who could only shrug her shoulders.
“I don’t know what she’s been filling your head with, Shana, but none of it’s true.” It would’ve been interesting to trade war stories about Braden, but we had never even ventured down that path. “I would say that you didn’t need me at all, Shana.” I didn’t want to tell him how easily mine had come to me on a silver platter. I had killed it, but it was not in cold blood. It was a way for the animal to suffer no longer. You could see the pain in its eyes and it was dying, but it was taking a whole lot longer than necessary. I essentially killed two birds with one stone. I’ve given him his dignity by dying quickly and also gotten my prize, even though I felt sick to my stomach about it.
Another Uoria Holiday: A Sci-Fi Alien Warrior Holiday Romance Page 63
