by Jade Frances
“Someday... but today isn’t that day,” he muttered and squeezed me tight. “Can you forgive me?”
“There’s nothing to forgive Pearce,” I whispered back.
A cough interrupted us. I looked around to see Adam awkwardly kicking at stones on the floor.
“Sorry to cut in, the others want to discuss where we go from here,” he said in a gruff voice. Pearce gave him a subtle nod and released me.
“Back to business,” he said, and I saw his guardian facade snap back into place. “You ok?”
I gave him a weak smile. Maybe one day we would be able to have a conversation without the weight of saving lives on our shoulders.
We joined the others around a fire and took a seat. Aresollo, Ava, and Quinn had joined us as well, although they were sitting in their own little huddle. For the most part they stayed quiet, it was only when no one could agree on our next move that Quinn spoke up.
“Ares will come to us. He knows Evangeline has the scythe, he won’t wait. In fact, I doubt he would want it leaving these mountains.”
“Quinn is right, we need to get to grounds where we have an advantage. We will also need reinforcements, more soldiers wouldn’t go amiss,” Aresollo said.
Sandra snorted, which turned into a full-blown cackle. Everyone looked at her.
“Soldiers,” she said, “just where do you think we are going to find soldiers. We are bloody fugitives.” For some reason, her laugh was infectious. I let out a small giggle. Pearce looked at me with his eyebrows raised, but I couldn’t stop myself.
“She’s right,” I let out between chuckles, “we can’t build an army, we barely know what we are doing ourselves.” The gravity of the situation was getting worse with each move we made, which only made me laugh even more inappropriately. Although Rose had shed a couple of tears, she, too, laughed a little. The guys looked at us like we had gone mad. Maybe we had. But for five minutes, we were just three young girls, laughing in the face of danger.
“Doomed, that’s what we are,” Aresollo said and shook his head, “let me know when your serious about the situation.” He rose from the ground and stalked off. Cole’s face caught my eye through the fire, he had a longing in his eyes. It snapped me out of the delirious state I was in. I gave Pearce’s arm a squeeze and moved to sit next to him. For a moment, we both sat and stared into the flickering flames while everyone else spoke among themselves.
“Are you finding it difficult with him here?” I broke the silence.
“He keeps trying to talk to me. I feel nothing for him...” he broke off.
“You and I both know that’s not true,” I took one of his hands in mine, “it’s ok to yearn for the father you once had, and it’s ok to not be able to process what he put you through or why. Just talk to us, we are here for you,” I said in a low voice. “You want to go talk to him together?”
His head snapped up and he studied my face.
“I’ll just stay quiet,” I held up my hands, “I won’t interfere at all.”
“Ok,” he muttered.
We made our way over to Aresollo, who narrowed his eyes and tightened his lips.
“The world has gone to crap, I’m not in the mood to be beaten down with your words anymore,” he grunted.
“You owe Cole a conversation, you’ve been trying anyway, so why not now?”
He sighed and rubbed his hands together.
“What is there to say? I saw no other option other than to use Cole.” He was still speaking directly to me. I stepped to the side and gestured to Cole. “It was never the plan, to use your blood,” he told him. Cole stared at him, seemingly indifferent, but I knew there was a tirade of emotion under his mask. “I had no other option...” he repeated.
“I know,” Cole said, shocking us both. “But that doesn’t change the fact you did it, and you failed anyway.”
“That is something we both agree on, but you were and always will be my son.”
“Now that your followers have disbanded, and you have nothing, you’ve decided to help... you have to know that it wouldn’t be enough.” Cole spoke with confidence, and the demeanour of a strong young man.
“I didn’t anticipate them losing faith in me, my only goal was power. Resurrecting my father was just a steppingstone to a more sustainable future for our race. All I can do now is help to bury my mistakes and make things right. I know I am not worthy of forgiveness but know that the bigger picture was a worthy cause.”
I couldn’t help myself; I’d told Cole that I’d stay quiet, but this was ridiculous.
“Is that your apology? A sorry but it was for a worthy cause. He was your son! You tore him to pieces, spilled his blood, all for a cause that was hopeless from the start,” I yelled.
“You both need me now. Regardless of the past, I am here to right my wrongs. It is only I, in the world, that can help you rid it of Ares. When you face him and wield the scythe...”
None of us saw, or heard, the Chimera that had been scaling down the wall behind Aresollo. Not until it was too late. With a whip of its tail, it snaked around and hit him in the centre of his chest. I heard a crack as his head hit the wall.
“No,” I screamed, and threw fire at the Chimera, but it was already retreating. “Cole, help me,” I screamed and grabbed one of Aresollo’s arms to pull him forward and lay him down. “Pearce!”
There was blood gushing from the wound on the back of his head, and his eyes were closed. Pearce was by my side in seconds.
“What happened?”
“A Chimera... I didn’t see it... he was just about to tell me something about the scythe. Pearce help him. No matter the damage he’s caused, he has information that I need. Please, help him.”
Chapter 20
I paced around the cavern, muttering to myself. Pearce and his brothers were still trying to help Aresollo regain consciousness. It had been hours. Cole was sitting to the side of me, watching my every move and remaining silent. If he didn’t make it, I wasn’t sure what we would do. None of us held the knowledge he did. I found it fitting, that only now that he had been injured, did I believe that there was some truth in him wanting to help. I would never trust him, but a small part of me did believe I needed him to embrace the power of the scythe. There had to be more to it. After all the warnings of death, if I acquired the scythe, nothing had happened. Not a single thing. I had to be missing something, and Aresollo seemed to be the only person who knew what that was. I rolled the handle of the scythe around in my hands and studied the blade. It was the most inconspicuous weapon I had ever seen. I had almost drowned trying to get this thing, and now that I had it, I didn’t know what to do with it.
“Evvy,” Rose’s voice, although gentle, made me jump. “He’s awake,” she said.
I made a move to pass her, but she stopped me.
“Evvy, he’s not the same. The hit did some damage to his temporal lobes.”
“Right, fine,” I snapped, not understanding what she was trying to say. I didn’t wait to hear anymore. I rushed over to see him sitting up and propped against the wall. “Aresollo,” I gasped. He looked awful. He lifted his face to look up at me. When his eyes met mine, he tilted his head, looked me up and down, and furrowed his brows.
“Young girl, there is blood on your shirt, did I do that?”
What the hell? Young girl...
Pearce took me by the arm and pulled me away.
“He’s lost his memory, we can’t figure how bad it is, or whether his memories can be regained. But we know that his mind seems to have reverted back to a time in his life when his gifts were fairly new to him.”
My hand shot up to my mouth. I took another look at him and saw the confusion in his eyes as he looked around at everyone.
“He has the mind of a child?”
“No, not quite, his mind is still his own, at the age he’s at now, but memories of who he was... is... is quite distorted, he is unaware of how much control he has with his gifts.”
“Just leave
me for a moment please,” I said, and breathed heavily. Pearce didn’t argue, instead he gave me a swift nod, walked back to Aresollo and crouched down beside him. I slumped down to the floor and sat with my head in between my knees. This can’t be happening. What use would he be to us now? How could I ever understand this destiny of mine without the person who first set me on this path? I rocked myself in disbelief and calmed my breathing. But the fear that I could feel growing was starting to overwhelm my mind. The knowledge Aresollo might have had had given me a small ray of hope. Now that was gone, along with any optimism that we would all get through this alive. I had no direction, and no idea what we were going to do, or face, next. I let my head fall back, closed my eyes, and let out a primal scream. I felt a surge of energy appear next to me, and without opening my eyes I shouted.
“Just leave me alone.”
“Now what kind of leader shows their inner turmoil,” a voice came from directly above me. My eyes sprung open and looked straight into amber ones.
“Theodore,” I cried, startled. “How?… Why?…” I fumbled around on the ground, trying to get the balance to stand.
“Someone, is becoming very adept with their gift, and informed us of the predicament you are in,” he said, and looked to Cole, who gave a slight nod in return. “Now, pray tell, what is troubling you so?”
“Where do I start?” I gave him a weak smile. He pulled me into his arms and soothingly stroked my hair.
“You have been burdened with a great task Nzuri, but it wouldn’t be yours to overcome if you were not worthy,” he murmured in my ear. My breath caught in my throat as I held back a sob.
“What if I don’t want to be worthy? It’s all a mess, everything. Nothing seems to work in our favour. People are getting hurt... or dying,” I added when I thought of Athora.
“You have not wanted this since the moment you found out, and you never will want it Nzuri. This is war, albeit a relatively one-sided one that has been many years in the making, but a war, nonetheless. There will be tragedies and loss, and it will occur more on our side and of those who do not wish to follow Ares. But that weight is not yours to carry. Your own journey is all you need to focus on, not the journey others chose to take.”
Every fibre in me wished that it had been Theodore that had introduced me into this world, that it was him that guided me. Maybe my path may have ended differently, or I would have made better choices with him to guide me.
“How is everything out there, you know, in the world?” I waved my hands around. Theodore sighed, and I noticed the creases around his eyes and dark circles underneath them. Even through his unusual green skin, you could tell that he had aged since we had last seen him. He had already been through the loss of so many from his clan, I couldn’t imagine how he would be feeling.
“It is not good, there have been attacks all over, from creatures many do not know how to fight,” he led me by my arm and took me further away from the others.
“The Chimeras” I whispered.
“You know of these creatures?”
“They have attacked us as well,” I told him, “It’s a miracle that we haven’t lost anyone yet.”
“I know that you are overburdened Nzuri, but it is imperative that you finish this journey. I could not put my trust in Avetta, so I left without her consent. It had always been you that I chose to follow, not her. I have brought with me those who feel the same and wish to help, soldiers, healers, and one person in particular who might lift your spirits.”
My ears perked up and I looked around him to see who had accompanied him. They were all huddled in a circle near Aresollo, glancing nervously back and forth between each other. All but one.
“Darryl,” I screamed, and gently pushed Theodore out of the way to run to him. He spun around upon hearing his name, and his face lit up into a wide grin.
“Princess,” he held his arms out as I ran toward him. I threw myself into them, and he swung me around in a circle with a chuckle. “Miss me?”
“Always,” I said, out of breath.
“Having a tough time, huh? You look like...”
“Darryl!” Rose cut him off as she walked up to us. I moved aside for her to embrace him. “When all of this is over, you and Sandra need etiquette lessons.” She flicked his nose but smiled.
“Uh, no thanks,” Sandra hobbled over to us with the help of Dakota, “you guys need to accept that we like to express ourselves more profoundly.” She punched Darryl lightly on the arm. “Hey stranger, got out of all the hard work I see.”
“I had a pack to protect, I couldn’t leave until I knew they were safe,” he defended himself. “What the hell happened to you?”
“You don’t have to justify yourself Darryl, we know you would have been here if there weren’t more pressing matters,” Rose assured him.
Sandra confidently lifted her top to show off her battle wound. Darryl gasped and pulled it back down quickly.
“Telling me would have been enough, that’s a nasty injury you got there. Theodore brought some healers, get one to take a look,” he told her gravely. “Right, fill me in, I want to know everything I’ve missed. More importantly, why is he...” Darryl pointed at Aresollo, “sitting there like a scared lost puppy?”
“I’m going to find me a healer,” Sandra quipped and motioned for Dakota to join and help her.
“I need to ration out the provisions that Theodore brought with him,” Rose said with a shrug, and looked at me apologetically. I exhaled loudly and rolled my eyes.
“Come on D, let’s find a seat somewhere and I will tell you everything.”
After filling Darryl in on what had happened on the first leg of our journey, Adam joined us. Neither of us spared any detail when Darryl asked questions.
“Has anyone thought that just maybe, Quinn killed Athora, because she could tell you something about the scythe. He had to eliminate her, or Aresollo wouldn’t have been any use to you,” Darryl put forward. It made sense, and I chastised myself for not connecting the dots sooner, although I had been a little preoccupied. I looked over at Quinn, he had respectfully kept his distance from me, hovering mainly around Aresollo and Ava. Unlike the two of them, I thought there was good in Quinn, he didn’t have the same malice in him. He seemed to have been dragged into this as much as everyone else had. And I believed he truly did want to help.
“So where do we go from here?” Darryl posed. I looked at Adam, who only raised his shoulders. My hands reached to the waistband of my jeans and pulled the scythe out that I kept there. I threw it at an unsuspecting Darryl, who caught it only a moment before it hit him in the face.
“I need to figure out how to unlock its power and use it against Ares,” I sighed as I spoke, “but with Aresollo’s memories gone, permanently or not, I just don’t know how to figure it out.”
Darryl flipped it around in his hands and studied it, much like I had many times.
“This is it?” He asked, underwhelmed. “Hmm. Have you tried infusing it with your power?”
I sat up straight and narrowed my eyes at him.
“What do you mean?”
He shrugged and handed it back.
“Train with it, see if you can use it with your main element. Miles told you that fire purifies right, blend it with the scythe, you can only try. Plus, the idea of you wielding a fire infused scythe sounds pretty cool,” he said nonchalantly.
I looked at the scythe in my hands, then looked around at everyone else. Who would trust me enough to train with a potentially unstable sacred object?
“Pearce,” I muttered to myself. I gave Darryl a quick hug and thanked him for his input. Adam started to get up, and I could see the look of determination in his eyes.
“No. I don’t want to hurt you,” I told him. For a moment he looked surprised.
“I heal Evvy, he doesn’t,” he said.
“But would you heal from this?” I waved the scythe in his face, “none of us know what it is capable of, or if I can even wield its powe
r. I can’t risk hurting or worse, losing you.”
“But you could risk losing him?” He snapped. He knew the answer to that, and I wasn’t sure that I could argue against it.
“We have trained together many times now, Adam...” I started.
“Which is the problem, he knows your fighting style, he knows which moves you might make. Let me try,” he pleaded.
“Hey here is an idea, why don’t all of us try? The more threat she has, maybe, it might back her into a corner. Evvy’s only ever outperformed herself when one of us, has been in danger. We need everyone,” Darryl cut in. Adam looked at him, and pondered on it for a moment, but even I couldn’t argue that Darryl’s idea sounded like our best option. Even if I didn’t want to hurt anyone.
“When did you get so wise...” Adam smiled and nodded at Darryl.
“Then let’s get on with it, time is of the essence my friends,” Darryl threw us a cheeky grin, then jogged off to get the others on board. I took a deep breath in and exhaled. This had better work.
Chapter 21
I stood opposite my friends and gripped the scythe tightly in my right hand. Sandra and Rosemary were positioned behind me. Which left only the guys in front, readying themselves to attack.
“Defend and protect them,” Pearce commanded.
I nodded, took up a wide stance, and gestured for the first person to make a move. Adam and Darryl hurtled toward me simultaneously, which took me off guard. I dropped the scythe and instantly held both of my fists up to defend myself. They came to a stop a few feet away and groaned.
“Evvy, you are supposed to be training with the scythe, not dropping it at your feet,” Adam shouted, “again!”
The two of them resumed their positions next to the others. I bent down, picked up the scythe, and got a firm grip on it again. You can do this, it’s just like any other weapon. Except we didn’t have a clue what this one was capable of. I shook out my arms and legs and pushed my thoughts aside. Again, I took up my favoured defensive stance, and gestured for them to attack. This time, when they ran toward me, I didn’t let it go. Darryl reached me first, and after kicking him solidly in the chest, I swung out my right arm. The scythe glided through the air, and very nearly slashed his cheek.