Covenant of the Reborn

by T. E. Joshua

  She smiled. “What if I told you that I have the gift of healing?”

  I had forgotten about the pain as soon as I heard Natalie say that, half backed away out of impulse. The very words sent chills down my spine. “What did you say?”

  “I mean, I know this may sound ludicrous to you, but I believe in healing from the Reborn faith,” Natalie confessed with confidence.

  I was now thoroughly confused. I had no idea that the Reborns believed in healing powers similar to the Covenant. I wasn’t taught this back home in Red Valley. I didn’t know what else to say at this point. The very thought of her doing some type of religious prayer in front of me was intimidating.

  “I’ll pass, but thanks,” I said with sarcasm.

  “Tristan, I am serious,” Natalie said. She wasn’t giving up.

  “Natalie, I have been thinking. My uncle Eis said something to me before all of this mess.” Natalie froze. “Things are going to get worse. More people will end up dying. Your family will be in danger as long as you have a connection with me. Please do as I said before—leave Blackfalls. Take your family far away from here. It’s going to get even uglier.”

  “I know what you’re about to say,” the Awakened Reborn said, “and the answer is no. You’re stuck with me now.”

  “Natalie, please be reasonable. Don’t let your emotions make the decision for you. The Wolf clan will be back with more Red Hunters. I don’t want you caught in the middle of the fight to come. I can’t lose you. I would rather walk away from you than stick it out and both of us die,” I argued reluctantly.

  “No. No. Please don’t ever tell me that again,” she said. Natalie’s eyes grew big as she leaned over to hug me.

  “Don’t become dependent and make decisions solely based on me,” I said harshly.

  “I won’t.”

  I stepped out of the bed and onto the ground. I couldn’t stay conscious in bed for long periods of time, so I decided to move about the room to get my body active.

  “Can you make it?” Natalie asked, holding onto my shoulder. I was too proud to admit that I needed her help to walk out of the room.

  “Of course, you forgot who you were holding,” I said, referring to me being a cold-blooded killer.

  I had dragged my foot from the edge of the bed and made it to the door. Natalie escorted me down the hallway. I heard the sobs of a girl in the living room—they sounded like those of mourning and regret.

  It was Liyah Manwolf; she sat on the brown couch, crying beyond my knowledge. Natalie insisted that we go outside. I followed her lead.

  Once we were outside, I realized I had only been unconscious for a few hours. The sun was hiding under the horizon of the tree line. It was slightly chilly as I stepped onto the back porch. Then I smelt the burning of muscle tissue oozing through the winds, like meat being cooked in a frying pan—almost coppery, something metallic being set on fire and added to sulfur and brimstone. I could see flames inside of a hole.

  Natalie released my arm and whispered, “Be strong.”

  I walked over to the group. Uncle Eis, Aaron, and Alope surrounded the hole, the fire burning beneath them. The smell came from there. James wasn’t next to the hole like the others. He was farther away and seemed to be pondering something.

  “What’s that smell?” I asked him.

  He took awhile to answer as the depression of the moment overtook him. I imagined he had been thinking about the coming fight with more warriors.

  “James?”

  Yet he kept silent.

  “James?”

  He finally acknowledged me. He was shaken. “Sorry, Tristan,” he muttered.

  “What’s that smell?” Before he could answer, I knew what the brimstone scent was. I smelt the small bitter odor when we had burned down a house full of Reborns a few months back. This time, the smell wasn’t as intense, but it was still bad.

  “It’s the burning flesh of the fallen warriors—the nameless man and Sean Winddick, the number thirty-seven warrior.”

  Without hesitation I peeked into the abyss-like hole, and there lay the burnt body of the boy I had stabbed. His skin had melted into a black ash, and part of his skeleton showed through the dirt. The nameless man was partially blackened. The fire began to diminish as Aaron manipulated the winds to move the fire along. Uncle Eis gave me a stare and then looked at the dying fire. I realized what he wanted me to do.

  I nodded. I felt the flames and used my dark energy to increase the fire’s intensity. I waved my hand, and the blazes of heat moved around the bodies, more so consuming the nameless man. Before long, the two were burnt to a crisp; even their bones dematerialized and sunk into the blackened earth.

  “Why did you bring their bodies back here?” I asked James, though my bigger concern was his true intentions regarding beheading Natalie.

  “We quickly gathered their bodies as more police officers showed up. The cloud of dust masked our presence as we took their bodies and you out of the west end. We couldn’t risk the Anglo government getting their hands on the bodies of Naiche warriors. As far as they are concerned, the events that took place today were terrorist acts from an unknown group of murderers.”

  “Thank you, James.”

  “For what?” he questioned, silently staring at me from the corner of his eye.

  “For standing by my side when I clearly protected the one we were supposed to slay. I owe you.”

  “You don’t owe me. I simply put aside my love and honor for the Covenant in order to protect our relationship. We’re friends. We’re family. You come before our orders.”

  Then there was a dead pause as the fire continued to burn the remaining flesh.

  “It’s not over yet,” he uttered coldly, not wanting the others to hear.

  “I know. Although you may believe I screwed up, I don’t think I did. There’s something more to her than either of us knows,” I explained in a deep whisper.

  “After all of this, you know what needs to be done.”

  “I won’t do it,” I said strongly, trying not to think of that dark moment.

  “Keeping her alive is more dangerous than killing her and returning to Red Valley. Either way, they will come. Maybe not tomorrow or the next week, but they will come. And when they do, they will come for her and for us.”

  “Then let them come. You four don’t have to fight alongside me. This is my problem now. I shouldn’t have brought you guys into the mix. You don’t deserve that. Once I fully recover, I’ll take Natalie far away from here. We’ll disappear. Start a new life somewhere. They won’t find us.”

  “And do what? Protect her until you die? Where would you go? We have no allies beyond the Covenant. They will eventually find you.”

  I looked at Natalie standing next to Liyah. Liyah could have attacked Natalie at any moment. It was clear my clan wouldn’t harm her without my say-so. They had fought to keep her alive as ordered by me.

  “What if I told you that we could survive the coming threats? Would you still follow me to the end?” I asked James. “Remember what you said back in the shed before we left Red Valley, till the very end.”

  He sighed, brushing his hair back. I saw the horror on his face. He didn’t believe me. I wasn’t sure if I believed me. I had to rely on the faith of the Awakened Reborn. If she believed her Reborn God could protect us, then I believed.

  “Tristan, you’re the number nine warrior. Lyonell is gone, at least we think. Numbers one through seven might come. We won’t be able to stop them. Even with the Awakened Reborn’s help, they’ll kill us all.”

  “Believe me, James. Times are about to get even darker. But what I am asking from you, as a friend and cousin, is this: would you follow me even though sure death is ahead of us?”

  “I haven’t forsaken you yet, and I don’t plan to.” He paused, clearly thinking. He glared at me and smiled with some satisfaction. “Death awaits all of us. I will follow you, even until the ends of the earth. If you believe Natalie needs to stay alive, t
hen I will follow you. If you believe we need to behead her, then I will follow you. But hear me out, Tristan. Beheading her and returning to your father with her head might prevent any further complications between us and the Tribal Council. I pray to Lucian that the Naiche clan won’t come after us. We’ll be dead for sure.”

  “Maybe so, but have you ever been so right about something without knowing why?”

  “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “I mean that Natalie is special. I’m not sure of it, but we will need her. She stopped Lyonell today, the number eight. The Awakened Reborn didn’t need our help. That tells me something. She is more powerful than we previously realized.”

  “Regardless, we’ve got one hell of a fight ahead of us,” he said, patting me on the back. “I’ll follow, cousin. I gave you my word in the shed, till the end.” Then he drew closer and said in a more sinister tone, “Though I’m not sure the others will agree.”

  He glanced toward Alope, who was kneeling before the graves of the two fallen warriors and seemed to be offering up a prayer to Lucian for protection and discernment. She lowered her head and kissed the dirt, showing her thankfulness for living to see another day.

  James left my side, leaving me to think about my next move. Would I behead the Awakened Reborn and restore our relationship with the Covenant, or would I risk keeping her alive for the sake of our friendship?

  19

  Covenant of the Reborn

  NO ONE KNEW OF THE forbidden pond in Blackfalls. Only Natalie and I did. It had no flaws, no beginning or no end; it just existed as the pond of hope. The two of us paced our steps into the dark woods. The crickets chirped, the coyotes howled, the wind spoke, and the waters of the old pond were ready to receive the Awakened Reborn’s blood.

  The Covenant was a solemn promise between Lucian and Naiche about the demise of the Reborn religion and the rise of the people under the Covenant. Through this promise a child would be born whose body would be sacrificed for the inhabitation of Lucian. Of course, this was all speculation under the belief of a prophecy, not that I necessarily cared for the cause. I had only cared about defending my father’s honor and killing Natalie to prove it, but my new feelings for this monster of great faith had taken over my original intentions.

  That was what I felt or thought when the moment came to get rid of the Awakened Reborn girl. Everything in this moment was wrong. Our friendship was forbidden and shouldn’t have ever happened. Even the mere thought of her should have been an insult to my culture. I dishonored Lucian, my clan wanted her dead, and I needed to end this before the situation worsened. James had explained it very clearly. He would follow me but he implored me to end her life. Could I bring myself to behead her? The answer was simple but morbid. Yes, I could. I didn’t necessarily want to do it; however, I had to do what was best for my clan and the Covenant. Natalie Grace Schultz must die.

  The Awakened Reborn had previously agreed to walk with me back to the pond of hope very late into the twilight of the day. I told her I had something very important to tell her. She blindly followed.

  “Natalie,” I uttered as we walked alongside the muddy creek, near the pond with swimming turtles and small fish. As always, there was a light mist hovering above the waters.

  “Yes, Tristan,” Natalie replied with an unsure voice.

  “I want you to know that I will always protect you, even from warriors like myself,” I said calmly. I didn’t want her to be alert of my hidden motivation. The protection could have been taken in many different ways; in this case, I would end her life before she met a horrible end by other demon-eyed killers.

  “I know,” Natalie muttered. Judging from her voice, she didn’t believe me. “Something is wrong, isn’t it?” she nervously asked. I balled up my fist as we came upon the stone wall bridge covered with dewy green vines and leaves.

  “No, of course not,” I said as I smiled, lying through my teeth.

  “You’re not a very good liar, are you?”

  “Not yet,” I said morbidly.

  The grass was clearer than the pond, not misty like the waters. No one could see us, not even one of my own. I escorted Natalie over to the old pond from the bridge and watched as she looked away from me. She stared into the mist and pondered.

  “I know what you’re doing,” she muttered uneasily. I offered no response, just allowed her to continue to speak. “You’re trying to get rid of me, aren’t you?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “The Reborn Spirit warned me not to come. But I ignored His warning and disobeyed. I believed you could have changed from being a monster to a normal person.”

  “As I said before, I am a killer and I will not change. I can’t change. I thought I could, but Lyonell was right. We are what we are. By killing you I might be able to restore our relationship with the Covenant, and my clan won’t suffer the same fate as the Winddick boy.”

  “You don’t have to be like him. Winddick chose his path, and now you can choose yours.”

  “Lyonell’s my brother. I wanted to deliver you to safety after what happened today. Dozens of people are dead because of me. From there you would be on your own and our lives would return to normal.”

  “What once was is no more,” Natalie said. “Things will never turn back to what they were. Even if you deliver me to a supposedly safe place, you know as well as I do that more of your people will come. The hunt will never end until we both are dead.”

  I sighed, breathing quickly as I weighed my options. To live on the run with her would end in misery. To behead her now would give my clan a better chance at being forgiven by the Tribal Council and my father. I should choose the easier way.

  “Perhaps you’re right,” I said. “But to answer your question … it’s yes. This is the best decision that either of us can make.” I continued to approach her from the back. If I didn’t behead her then; the best I could do was to allow her to run away and never return to Blackfalls again. She wouldn’t make it far without my assistance.

  “But I—” she stuttered.

  “You what?” I interjected darkly. I needed to emotionally push her away as fast as possible, before I changed my mind and slay her.

  I stood behind her, watching our reflection in the rippling waters of the pond.

  “You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?” Natalie inquired sadly.

  “You’re smart—but not that smart if you ignored the Reborn Spirit’s order to not come here with me.”

  “I knew what you were going to do; however, that wasn’t the reason I came here. I didn’t come to die. I followed you because I believed you had changed, but I guess I was wrong. It was foolish of me to think such radical thoughts,” Natalie said. A tear appeared in the corner of her green right eye.

  “You should have listened to him. I don’t want to do this. You’re my friend. I appreciate what you have done for me, but it must end here. Allowing you to live beyond now would mean death for all of us. Killing you would prove our loyalty to the Covenant and my father. I hope you understand.”

  “I do understand, but Tristan, we can make this work,” Natalie begged. I expected her to run from me, but the very thought of separating only drew her closer.

  “It won’t work. My clan almost died because of me. I should have killed you when I had the chance. I hate myself for not doing it. I am different from you. We shouldn’t even be friends,” I answered. Natalie stood next to me and grabbed my arm. “Part of me wants you to live,” I mumbled. Natalie got even closer and started to weep.

  “I know you won’t,” Natalie pleaded in a soft voice.

  “Do you want to live?” I asked her in a serious tone.

  “There is a town south of here. I have family there. Take me to them.”

  “Is that what you want? For me to let you go, go home and pack your bags to escape from Blackfalls and see how far you get?”

  “Not without you. I won’t survive long.”

  “You’re an Awakened Reborn.”


  “It won’t matter if I am alone.”

  Without thought, I agreed. I didn’t want to behead her. So in that moment, I allowed her to run away. That way, it wouldn’t be me who had to kill her.

  “Then run, Natalie. I won’t ever see you again. If you don’t, then I have to kill you right here and now,” I said vehemently, shoving her away. She stumbled back near the ponds muddy bank, nearly falling into the waters.

  “I want to be with you, Tristan Lakota, even if that means risking everything for you. I can help you become a Reborn and awakened, if that’s possible. To fight the red demons to come,” Natalie argued. For a second I wanted to believe her.

  “What if I don’t want to? Besides, that is out of the question.”

  “God wants you to. The Reborn Spirit has been longing for you to know him, just the way I have come to know him.”

  “You don’t know what you’re saying. I can’t convert. I have broken the Covenant of my ancestors because I care for you. Others will come, and they will kill us both. You don’t want this life with me! We would always be on the run from assassins and the entire tribe!”

  “Then kill me right now!” Natalie demanded. She was dead serious.

  I smiled sheepishly. She leaned into me for comfort. I grabbed her by the arms and held her back, the Awakened Reborn girl just didn’t get it.

  “Listen to yourself. This isn’t a fantasy story where the characters have a happy ending. Nothing ever goes the way we want it. Take this chance and leave. Please,” I pleaded. My dema began to rise involuntarily. I wanted her away from me just in case I lost control again and unleashed my dark energy.

  “No, I would rather die right here and now by your hands,” Natalie said. She wouldn’t stop sobbing. Then my dema began to grow; I tightened my grip on her arms.

  “You don’t know what you want. You’re so innocent and pure; I am not,” I muttered grimly.

  “I can change you.” Then she corrected herself. “God can change you, if you allow him.”