by T. E. Joshua
I halted, standing in front of my car. Natalie walked alongside me, seeming not to fear him.
“James.”
“That’s James? He’s the one who tried to kill me this morning.”
“That’s him.” I looked around to see if I could spot the others. I didn’t see them, nor could I sense them. Perhaps they’d lowered their dark energy as well. They could be luring me into a trap, waiting to raise their energy at the last second before they attacked.
“Stay away from the car,” I ordered.
“Why?”
“You’re much safer outside. They could try to blow up my car with an energy wave. Trust me,” I explained.
Natalie followed my lead, slowly moving away from the car. I stepped out and lit a flame from my new lighter. The fire would protect me if they attacked.
“It’s about time, Tristan,” James said loudly. He appeared to be harmless, but I wasn’t fooled. I quietly raised my demon power to a mere 10 percent. I felt my eyes turn heavy as my vision darkened.
I kept quiet. “Walk with me. Stay behind me but not too close.” Natalie nodded.
“You want to kill me, old friend.”
“No I won’t. If I wanted you dead, then I wouldn’t have hesitated to attack you. We’re still friends, cousin. But I must implore you to lower your dark energy and especially your dema.”
“No!” I said as I revealed the flame in my hand.
“There’s no need for that.”
“I know you and how you think. Putting the flame out would give you the advantage.”
“As the number nine warrior, you could kill me and the others with little effort. I am the twentieth ranked warrior of the Covenant. You are family and my childhood friend. I would never harm you, brother. I’m not interested in fighting you.”
“But you still want her dead,” I said, looking at Natalie.
“That is up for discussion.”
James, the devoted warrior who loved our culture and way of life, scratched his head. He reached for something sitting behind the porch bench. A black sheath came into sight. It was my sword.
“I believe you came back for this. Is that correct?”
I sighed, not answering his question. He tossed the blade to me. I caught it with my left hand. I pulled it from the black sheath and ran my index finger along the edge of the blade. A small line of blood ran down my skin. I had to check the sharpness of the sword. I haven’t used it in a good while. All the while the fire spiraled in my right hand.
“If I wanted to fight you, Tristan, I wouldn’t have given you the sword. It belongs to you and no one else. You know what you need to do with it,” he said as he looked at Natalie. “I was wrong. It’s not my job. It’s yours to complete as you will.”
The Awakened Reborn glanced at me in fear. She began to take a few steps backward.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I muttered.
“You’re still one of them,” she said. Indeed I was.
I turned back to James and said, “I’m not going to kill her. She isn’t like the rest of the ones we killed.”
“So if she were, then wouldn’t you have hesitated to swing the sword at her neck?”
I considered the possibility. My reasons were simple—it was because I got to know her as a person, not as a victim. That was my mistake but one I wouldn’t take back, not even for a moment.
“Where are the others?” I asked.
“They are around, but not near here. They’re keeping an eye out.”
“What are you talking about? We are the only warriors in this region.”
James lowered his head and glanced behind me. Then I knew—other warriors were here. Could it be the Naiche clan? Could my father have come to correct the mistakes I had made?
“We have to talk, but not in front of … her.”
“Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of her.”
James seemed to get flustered. Something was horribly wrong. Then I sensed Aaron approaching me from behind. Liyah walked from behind the house. Both had no weapons. Their dark energy was surprisingly low. This didn’t make any sense.
“You’re going to have to trust me, Tristan. Lower your dema and dark energy!” He took two steps from the porch. The fire grew and I aimed the acute of my sword at him. I whispered to Natalie, “Stay back.”
“Now!” James yelled. He seemed scared.
“It’s too late,” Aaron sneered, beginning to circle around me. I watched his every move with great intention. “They’re here.”
Then it was as if every muscle in my body froze. Who were “they”? He didn’t seemed interested in harming me but walked pass me and in front of James.
Next, Alope ran though the dark woods. She appeared nearby, sprinting at full speed. Her dark energy was maxed out with a hint of dema. Her eyes had shifted reddish and then back to normal. She walked over to me and demanded, “Tristan, there is no time. We have to leave this area at once.”
I lowered my fire and sword. Natalie looked confused, as, I was sure, did I. “What’s going on? Who is here?”
Then James walked over to us with Liyah and Aaron behind me. He said, “The Wolf clan.”
The Wolf clan! Oh no! My brother, Lyonell, the number eight warrior was here.
“Why is he here? Did you report what I did?”
“No. I wouldn’t have turned you in to your father. I wouldn’t do that to one of my own. We don’t know why they are here.”
I grabbed Natalie and marched to the back of the house.
“Tristan, she can’t be here,” Liyah stated.
“They can’t be here for Natalie. This is our hunt,” I said, hoping that I was right.
I looked in the northwest corner of the field and sensed additional dark energies. Four dark figures had emerged from the tree line. Lyonell marched in the middle. I began to breathe slowly and grow fearful. I couldn’t stand up to him if I tried. The four were only a few minutes away from the house as Natalie grabbed my hand and whispered, “They’re here to kill me.”
15
The Wolf Clan
THE COLD, DEMONIC CHILL FROM Lyonell Lakota and the Wolf clan swept through my body like a deadly fever. I could see the fear in James’s eyes from Lyonell’s approaching dark presence. The quarrel with the Awakened Reborn and me began to crumble as a more sinister threat walked into our lives. The mere sight of him made the hairs on my neck stand straight up with overwhelming inferiority.
Lyonell Lakota, aka the master of light and spirit, the element of light, was the number eight warrior of the Covenant. He had the biggest ego of all the warriors in Red Valley; he could be described as a warrior with no limitations. His ambition and tenacity was his greatest strengths. Once he set a goal, he would never give up—never! He thrived on his power from Lucian, often manipulating light in dark places, controlling the light from energy waves, bending light with the help of the dark spirits, and calling forth lightning bolts from the earth to strike down Reborns. I noticed that he was wearing a black trench coat with a dark leather vest underneath. His black pants were made out of buffalo skin, and matching black-hair moccasins were on his feet. His hair was long. Like James, he had vowed to never cut a single strand of his precious hair lest he sin against the Covenant.
My only concern at this point was to hide Natalie Schultz from Lyonell and the Wolf clan. I immediately put Natalie behind me. I had to think quickly if she was to leave the house of Eis Lakota alive. I hoped they haven’t noticed her yet.
“Damn it,” I muttered. “Natalie, take my keys and drive away from here!”
“Okay,” Natalie quickly agreed without question. Even though she didn’t realize how dark the situation had become, she knew it wasn’t good as the four warriors drew closer to the back porch.
“Everyone else, don’t do anything irrational. We don�
�t know why they’re here,” I said. Those words were a lie. As Natalie said before, they were here to kill her.
As soon as Natalie grabbed my keys, Liyah Manwolf grabbed her shoulder and warned, “It’s too late, girl. They’ll become suspicious if the only pale skinned person leaves. They will chase after you.” Then she pushed Natalie back.
“Liyah’s right. It’s pointless. Earlier I could smell her fragrance from across the field,” Alope whispered to me as she walked past us.
“Then what do I do? I’m not afraid. I can handle myself,” Natalie uttered boldly.
“Shut up and be quiet!” Alope said darkly.
“Hide behind me, sit down, and don’t say a word or draw attention to yourself. Pretend you don’t know anything about the Covenant or us,” I said. She took my hand for security but I jerked it away. “As far as they are concerned, you’re here for questioning.”
Now my brother was near; close enough to spot Natalie if she hadn’t been hiding behind us. Natalie sat down on the wooden bench and looked downward. I had warned her to not make eye contact with them.
“Don’t attack unless they attack first,” I warned to everyone.
“Right,” Liyah said.
“Why should we help Tristan? We don’t want to cause any chaos with the Wolf or the Naiche clan. Let’s kill her now,” Aaron uttered to James.
“Be quiet. That’s not an option at this point. Follow Tristan’s lead. We don’t want them here regardless.” James said, taking my side. He knew better than to cross the Wolf clan. He also realized the horror of the situation if they discovered I hadn’t killed the Awakened Reborn on purpose. The result would be a fight. We needed to get rid of them as fast as possible and figure this Natalie thing out. Then I caught Alope glaring at Natalie; her tormented emotions seeped into her heart. I could imagine what Alope was thinking, probably imagining detaching Natalie’s head, but for now, she played along with the rest of us.
The Wolf clan moved like cats, with Lyonell in the lead. One by one, each of the nomadic warriors crept up to the back porch. Lyonell smiled as he saw all of us posing like statues.
My devilish brother had brought Bors Sampson, my sister, Falsha Lakota, and another warrior I didn’t recognize. He had the same trademark on his chest as Lyonell and the others—the mark of the Wolf clan. It was an image of a wolf in the desert.
Falsha Lakota, aka the dust witch, the element of earth, the number nineteen warrior of the Covenant, was the strongest first class warrior. As told by my father, she carried the younger image of my mother, Lozen Lakota. Falsha may have looked like my mother, but she had taken on the mental characteristics of my father and Lyonell. She also had long dark hair, which was braided on one side of her head, resting on her black vest. She wore brown body armor that was covered in tough buffalo hides. She carried my mother’s bow—the black bow. My mother had given the bow to her as a gift on the day she was born.
Bors Sampson, aka Massive Bors, was the twenty-second warrior of the Covenant. He was a muscular, monstrous man who had been best friends with my brother since our younger years. He was bold and not pleasant to look upon. His hair had been burned in battle by a Reborn in Florida. I heard the he was incapable of growing his hair back; I assumed his the roots had been destroyed. Even though he looked intimidating, he wasn’t the one I worried about.
“Little brother,” Lyonell called out to me. He held his arms out and waited for me to respond.
“Hey,” I said in a harsh voice, taking small steps toward him.
“It’s been awhile … Bodaway,” Lyonell said as he approached and gave me a hug. I could smell the ruins of blood on his black trench coat. I tried to ignore the foul smell.
“Good to see you too, Lyonell,” I said and released him from the hug.
Lyonell then turned away and said, “And of course the great and powerful water-rippling Eis Lakota, number twenty. How is the element of water doing these days?” Lyonell asked as he went to give James a hug as well. James said something to him in our Native tongue, but I didn’t hear what.
Lyonell passed by Aaron. They stared at each other for a few seconds before anyone said anything.
“Nodin.”
“Lyonell,” Aaron said coldly.
The two glared at each other. Aaron had never liked Lyonell. I believed it was because of Lyonell’s alpha male presence. Whenever Lyonell appeared before a group of warriors, he would always take over as the leader, unless there were more powerful warriors present, which was a rarity.
Finally Liyah Manwolf said to Lyonell, “Hey, Lyonell,” while Aaron kept his expression of harshness and continued to stare my older brother down. Lyonell responded to Aaron’s cold stare with an arrogant snicker and hummed.
He moved on to Liyah and Alope, who were sitting on the wooden rail of the back porch. “Who could forget the beautiful Manwolf sisters, Liyah and Alope? You two are the spitting image of your parents.”
He cleverly smiled and hugged the both of them. It almost seemed like a Lakota and Wolf clan reunion between all of us, with the exception of Aaron. The other members of the Wolf clan stayed in place and checked out the rest of us. My sister eventually came up to me. “Bodaway, wow, you have definitely have grown, little brother. I haven’t seen you in a few months.”
“Yeah, Father has had us traveling all over this country killing Reborns. I have barely been home.”
“Father always gives my clan the easier hunts. We just traveled from South America. Slaughtered a Reborn family; the children lived. Not my preference, but it’s the oral laws of the Covenant.”
“Yeah, we can’t kill children. Too bad,” I uttered, trying to sound like I gave a damn.
Then Falsha looked behind me. Her eyes widened with shock.
“Who’s this?” Falsha quietly asked me.
“She’s not important. She’s helping us hunt the Reborn here in Blackfalls. We believe she is friends with this person,” I lied.
“Good,” Falsha confirmed while she slyly eyed Natalie.
Then Bors Sampson waved his left hand and said, “Long time no see to the other son of Chief Torah.” His voice was deep.
“How have you been, Bors?”
“Whose house is this? We tracked your dema when we entered this town,” he said.
“It’s my father’s brother’s house, Eis and Nodin’s father. He is temporarily allowing for us to stay here until we behead our hunt.” Then I turned to see the unknown warrior. He looked young and inexperienced. “Who is he?” I asked Falsha and Bors.
Falsha smiled and responded, “His name is Sean. Well, that is his Anglo name, a descendant of the Winddick bloodline. He is a former member of the Shadow clan, the Covenant’s thirty-seventh warrior. Lyonell recruited him awhile back.”
“Oh, I see.”
Then Sean spoke up, “So you’re the one they call Bodaway … the fire maker, number nine and the Promised Child.”
“Yup, I am he.”
“Strange, I imagined you … to look … more … like Lyonell. Tough,” Sean said disrespectfully.
I snickered a bit and answered back, “Don’t let the look fool you. I am a Naiche and the son of Torah, the number one.”
Sean Winddick grinned in agreement.
“Take it easy, Winddick,” Falsha uttered to him. “He loves to fight,” she said to me.
“Don’t we all. So what are you guys doing here?” I asked her.
Lyonell answered for all of them as he disengaged from his conversation with Liyah and Alope. “Father sent us to assist you on your difficult hunt. I believe you’re hunting an Awakened Reborn—if such Reborns exist.”
“Yeah, Father said we were to kill this one on our own. Didn’t you four journey from South America?”
“Yes, the Reborn family there was quite … surprised by our appearance, but aren’t they all? Our orders were to
assist your clan as soon as we finished up in Brazil. So here we are. Besides, sending you to slay an Awakened Reborn without ever killing one was a mistake.”
“Maybe he wanted me to get the experience on this hunt. Regardless, we have the hunt under control. You traveled all this way for nothing.”
“Do you? We thought we killed her a few times, but we were mistaken. So we have been wandering the southeast side of Oklahoma in search of a particular family. I guess isn’t on our side, so far no sign of her. I know it’s your hunt little brother, after we found out from other clans that your taking this one on alone, I couldn’t help but come to your aid.”
“How long have you been here in Blackfalls?” I asked.
“Not long. We kept our distance while you five worked the area. It seems your time is nearly up. I would say a few days, am I right?”
Liyah glared at me and then answered for us. “Yeah, the deadline is just shy of four days.”
“You killed random Reborns?” I asked him.
“Not Reborns. Young girls who looked like the one we were after.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. However, you’re wasting your time. We have located the Awakened Reborn and are planning an execution after midnight tonight. She will be beheaded. Her head is mine. I’ll report back to father once we have finished the hunt here.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, big brother. I don’t think we will need your help.”
“But you never killed an Awakened Reborn. How can you be so sure you can do it without our assistance?”
“Well, then this will be my first. I want to savor this victory with my clan. No offense. You understand?”
“I understand well enough, Bodaway. But Inca Manwolf received a message from Lucian himself, who told him that this hunt would be more than you can handle. He ordered the death of three daughters, not just the one who has awakened.”
“When did this happen?” I asked him.
“Soon after your departure from Red Valley, and little brother, we both know that Lucian wouldn’t lie to us,” he said as he saw through my words. He was a lot cleverer than I had originally remembered.