by T. E. Joshua
“That’s enough,” I yelled. “We aren’t going to make this better by tagging on negative emotions.”
“Tristan’s right. If Natalie is too live, we have to leave town,” James said.
“I’ll follow Lyonell. I can sense his dema close by. They’re probably waiting on us to make a move. Get her out of here.”
James hopped over the wooden railing of the back porch and marched to the front of the house. Liyah held onto Aaron’s hand as they followed James’s lead. Alope shook her head. She walked down the steps and uttered, “I don’t believe this.”
“Everything will be fine,” I muttered to Natalie. I gave her a hug and smelt the scent of sweets and spices, the smell of the Spirit. “Go with James.”
“But Tristan, I can handle myself. I don’t know if I can trust them. They tried to kill me earlier,” Natalie said fearfully.
“They won’t harm you. I trust James. I trust Liyah. Aaron and Alope aren’t gung-ho about the idea, but they will listen to me. You’ll be safe with them,” I assured her.
We walked to the front of the house. I grabbed Liyah’s hand and whispered, “Watch Alope. She’s envious of Natalie around me.”
“Got it,” she replied quietly.
Then James unlocked the garage door. He walked into the clutter of junk and grabbed a deer-skin handle from a black sheath. Immediately, I recognized the twin blades as his own, the twin swords with the mark of Lucian, the black dove.
“If Lyonell can control our dark energy, we’ll have to fight him with weaponry and our elements,” James said boldly. He even unzipped a duffle bag and tossed Aaron his weapon, a sword smaller than the swords of Naiche. It had been Uncle Eis’s weapon when he was a young warrior. “I almost forgot about these weapons.”
“Father kept them hidden from us. He told me last night that we would need them today—who would have thought? Besides, brother, we are going to need them against Lyonell. Don’t try to use energy waves; he’ll be expecting it,” James warned as I tightened the strap from the sheath across my body.
“We’ll get Natalie out of town,” James assured me.
“I’ll meet up with you guys later. Take care of her for me.”
“Of course, I hope you know what you’re doing.”
As the clan hopped into James’s truck, I grabbed Alope’s hand and said, “Alope, you’ll always be my best and my first. You know that. Don’t worry about anything. Natalie needs our help.”
“I know, Tristan. Don’t get yourself killed … for someone who you were supposed to kill.” Then she got into James’s truck.
Natalie walked over to me and we hugged. Her scent flowed through my nostrils. Now the scent wasn’t disturbing to my demon energy; I had somewhat gotten used to it.
“I’ll be along soon,” I uttered softly.
“I’ll pray for you and for them,” Natalie said, referring to my clan.
“Please do. There is a chance we won’t make it through this alive.”
We heard the sound of a horn. We looked over and saw Aaron honking from the passenger seat.
“Go. I’ll handle my brother.”
Then they left. Natalie looked at me before the truck disappeared behind the black trees. Even though she claimed she would have access to her Awakened abilities when Lyonell decided to attack, there was an expression of fear. I could only hope that her god wouldn’t allow her to die so young.
Alope mouthed something. I read her lips as she said, “I still love you.”
Soon I was alone, standing in front of my Uncle’s house with my sword of fire and a small glimpse of hope. I knew what I had to do. I sensed the Wolf clan on the move, trailing through the Blackfalls woods while Lyonell remained behind.
I walked through the fields. I could smell the blood that drenched his trench coat as I tracked him down. I sought to commune with him and seek out a peace between us, an understanding between siblings.
Lyonell waited on me near a canyon ridge behind a large tree. I saw my brother standing with a little girl next to him. This wasn’t good.
“Bodaway,” he hissed to me in my mind. We could communicate with each other telepathically. It was an ability shared among all single digit warriors.
I drew near to him. He held his stand and had his hand over the child’s shoulders. She looked five or six years old and was quietly sobbing.
I moved in quickly and appeared in front of him as fast as I could. He could easily detect my dema. He grinned at me with his hideous smile. Tension built up between us as he glared into my soul. He said the first words. “Decided to seek me out?”
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t stand to look at him, much less talk back. I didn’t care if he was my older brother. I had to stop him, even if I had to kill him. He was clever, so I had to keep my guard up. I revealed my new lighter for easy access to spark a flame in case I needed a quick defense. He quickly noticed my movement and hardened his hand around the little girl’s neck, threatening to squeeze if I made any sudden movements.
Suddenly, I lit a flame from the black lighter and kept it hidden from Lyonell’s sight.
“Easy!” Lyonell hissed. “Wouldn’t want this little girl to enter the gates of heaven so soon, now, would we?”
“Leave her out of this.”
“Nah, I think she wants to stay,” he responded and snickered.
“Where did you find her?”
“You know me, little brother. I just picked one up on the way here for a little insurance. This one was getting off of a Blackfalls public school bus. Just like insects to humans and Reborns to the Covenant, they’re below us.”
“You’ve become a sick man, Lyonell,” I snarled.
He grinned again. “Well, you do what you have to do to get what you want. Isn’t that what you’ve lived by?” Lyonell asked. “Let me ask you something, Bodaway. What were you really doing with that Awakened Reborn?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“You’re talking as if you’re a different person—someone who seems fool hearted.”
“I’m not the same as before.”
“You have changed? You’re still a boy in my eyes. Besides, we are of the same flesh and blood. You can never leave behind your true nature to hunt down Reborns and take life at will. You can’t keep denying what you really are, Bodaway,”
He paused and waited for me to say something. I looked down to ponder. “Think about it,” he continued. “You believe the church or even the Schultz family would accept a killer like yourself, a man with an unforgivable past? You’re a child of Lucian, the warrior who killed that small boy in Woodland, South Dakota?”
“Shut up!” I yelled. My dema power flared, rising up to 10 percent. I felt my eyes shape-shift. How dare he mention the boy named Tristan! How dare him!
“Oh, I see I have touched a sore spot. Does … Natalie know?”
My silence answered his question.
“I’ll take that as a no. Be honest with yourself. They won’t accept you, because you’re not one of them. They’re afraid of us and of you—as well they should be. You’re an animal with a killer instinct. You’re a Naiche warrior,” Lyonell snarled. He pressed on. “They are prey for the stronger beings. Doesn’t make a bit of difference—they will die one way or another. Their God can’t protect them all the time.”
I thought about how he had recognized Natalie as the Awakened Reborn. He didn’t have a negative reaction to her presence like Alope or I did. I asked, “What gave you reason to suspect Natalie as the one?”
He quickly answered, “Inca Manwolf, the chief medicine man, foretold that the Awakened Reborn of the Schultz family would easily be recognizable by the letters of K and W on her clothes, dirty blonde hair, and of course the different coloring of the eyes—not to mention the scent of their god, which all Awakened Reborns carry.” Inca Manwolf had m
entioned the Omega symbol. That would explain the murders of Natalie’s KW sorority sisters. That diabolical bastard had murdered four innocent girls who looked like her.
“Of course, the dark spirits want the other two sisters dead as well, but Natalie seems to be more of a threat to the Covenant. Listen, I don’t want to kill my little brother, but if I have to I will. Give us the Awakened Reborn and we can forget this dilemma ever happened. The Lakota clan can walk away free. Father and the Tribal Council don’t have to know what happened here, and everyone lives.”
I made no reply. The small girl continued to cry.
“We have been watching you for some time now,” Lyonell said.
“Watching me?”
“Let’s just say there are more of us than you know. For the past couple of weeks, while we were in South America, I had one of my spies follow you around. He reported back to me that he seen the number nine warriors befriend a Reborn, walking around town and even partaking in getting coffee with her.”
Surely, if someone had been following me, I would have detected them by now. I would have sensed their dema.
“I didn’t believe him at first, but when Natalie and I touched, a spark of lightning shocked me. That’s when I got suspicious of her. I figured you were trying to deceive the Reborn, lure her into your arms, and once she let her guard down you’d deliver a quick slice through her neck. Who would have thought the number nine warrior of the Covenant would actually defile our ancestors, his clan, and his father?
“You should have known. All seven clans of the Covenant must have five warriors. You only saw four. He’s the fifth member. He has to prove himself to me, and this was his first test.”
The lighter remained lit as the flame settled undisturbed within my black fleece sleeve. I wanted nothing more than to blow him away, burning his flesh till there was nothing left.
“Bodaway, brother, be reasonable. Give her to us. You don’t have to kill her. I will. We both know she will die either way. You can’t stop me if I decide to take her.”
“I—I—” I stuttered. I wanted to say yes. But in my heart, I couldn’t hand her over. Natalie Schultz was more than a friend. She was my exodus from this life of death—an escape. Through her, there was a way out. I needed her.
“Let’s not let a girl get between us. We’re family. I practically raised you.”
“That you did.” I pondered, trying to think of an alternative. The dark truth was present: there wasn’t one. I knew she would die. I couldn’t stop Lyonell if I tried. But I would try. I had to try. He wouldn’t take her!
“Lyonell,” I said.
“Is that a yes?”
“No. My answer’s no. She is mine … to hunt … to behead … and even to protect if I decide.”
“So you just throw your clan under the bus and decide to protect an Awakened Reborn?”
“Say what you want. I’m finished.”
“You’re a killer and always will be. You’re not the same as them. We are different.”
“Are we?”
Then I took two steps forward.
“Careful!” Lyonell yelled, pulling the little girl in front of him as a shield. He was testing me to see if I still had it in me to take a life. Unfortunately, I did. I stopped and knew my next move. “Like you said brother, they don’t matter. They’re nothing but insects, made to be ruled by the Covenant.”
He smiled and laughed again. “You’re a disappointment, Bodaway. If you want to live your life as a traitor then be my guest, but I promise you, by the end of the day, you’re going to wish that you had finished off that little—” Before he could conclude his words, I held out my hand and shot off a massive fire wave toward him. He quickly dodged it and ran off into the Blackfalls woods, holding onto the little girl.
I stopped my flame; the fire dematerialized. I darted after Lyonell. His speed was vastly superior. Normally I wouldn’t be able to keep up with him; however, the little girl slowed him down. Her weight decreased his speed while he ran deeper into the Blackfalls woods.
“Lyonell!” I yelled.
A few seconds later, I came out of the woods and into oncoming traffic. My brother threw the girl in front of a speeding semi truck as he sped off into the Blackfalls woods again, this time completely vanishing from sight.
I ran toward the little girl and grabbed her as the truck driver honked his horn and swerved, trying desperately to slow down. I rolled onto the side of the road with the little girl in my arms.
The little girl cried. She had been frightened by the deathly grip of Lyonell and probably thought I was no different. I held her in my arms as she repeatedly yelled, “I want my mommy! I want my mommy!”
“It’s okay,” I said softly. “Are you hurt?”
“No, mister,” she muttered.
“What is your name?”
“So-So-Sophie.”
The truck came to a complete stop. The driver immediately got out of his semi truck and ran over to us. He asked, “Is she okay?”
“Yeah, she is fine,” I said, still holding her.
“I swear I didn’t see her until the last couple of seconds. Somebody ran across the highway really fast—I mean, it was unbelievably fast,” the truck driver said in a panic.
“Do you have a phone?”
“Yeah, I have one in my truck.” He ran back to his truck to get the phone. I didn’t have time to deal with the child right now. I yelled back, “Call 911!”
“Okay,” the truck driver said while he began to dial.
“The child’s name is Sophie,” I yelled to him. He nodded to confirm that he’d heard me.
Lyonell was on the prowl for Natalie Schultz and my clan. I had to stop him. I whispered in the little girl’s ear, “Sophie, everything is going to be all right. Stay here and wait for help.” I released her from my arms, and she stood before me in utter shock.
“Mister … wait.”
I paused before disappearing behind the trees.
“What is your name?”
“It’s—” I stopped myself; I had nearly said “Bodaway.” “It’s Tristan,” I answered, smiling slightly.
“God bless you, Tristan,” Sophie said.
“Good-bye, Sophie.”
Then I vanished behind the trees in search of Lyonell. I sensed him heading toward downtown Blackfalls, where the Lakota and Wolf clans were. Wait, I thought, they are supposed to be leaving town. Oh no! I sensed the rising of dark energies from both clans. That could only mean one thing: a battle was beginning.
17
The Blackfalls Massacre
I HEARD SCREAMS—VIOLENT CRIES OF fury and pleas for help. There I was, standing before a town that had been left in chaos: buildings reduced to rubble, cars set on fire, dead bodies scattered from one end of the street to the next. It was an absolute disaster.
What had I done? If I had only killed her when I’d had the chance, then these people wouldn’t have died in such a ghastly way. As a Naiche warrior, I shouldn’t care. But I did. I cared enough to feel their sorrows. I had to make it right by stopping Lyonell.
Without warning, a hand reached out of a metal car door and tugged on my pant leg. It was bloody, and a jagged points of bones bulged from the skin. I knelt down and pushed the door open. There he was, a dying officer of the law. A piece of a rusted metal pipe had pierced his side. He didn’t have much time.
“Officer,” I uttered, reaching down to pull the pipe from his side.
“No,” he gasped.
“But you’ll die.”
“I’m already … dying.” Then he hardened his eyes as if he had seen me before. “You look like them the ones who killed everyone here.”
“I’m not them, but I will stop them,” I said.
Then his last expression crossed his face: he smiled. His head lowered down to his chest, eyes emptied of a
ny sign of life.
“Good. Good,” he struggled to say.
“Officer?” I said, but he never looked at me again. He was dead.
Then I saw a name: Jacob Conner. He had a picture of his family on the dashboard. A smear of blood ran across the photograph. I picked it up and saw his beautiful wife and two children, one boy and one girl. They looked happy. He would never again see their faces, leaving his children without a father.
“He didn’t deserve this,” I muttered in anger. “None of them deserved to die this way!”
I stood back and placed the photo on his lap. Looking around at the smoke and fire before me, I killed the flames and veered toward the dema energy ahead of me. Downtown was a path of destruction. Even Baker’s Bookstore had been destroyed. Hundreds of books lay scattered in the streets. Some books had been partially burnt to a crisp. This was the second place I had encountered Natalie a few weeks ago. How dare Lyonell! How dare him!
“It’s time to end this,” I spat in hatred as a red aura of dark energy covered my body.
At once, I raised my dema to a mere 30 percent. I was entering the second pillar of awakening, and I had planned to keep it that way, though I knew I might need to use more to keep up with Lyonell’s superior speed and strength. If I had to push my limits even further, so be it.
The red aura erupted from my body as I yelled and darted deeper into downtown.
Emerging from the cluster of brick buildings, I saw the university ahead of me. A dome of smoke from fallen debris covered the campus and the west end. I sensed them close by. My clan’s energy was low. Hopefully they were still alive. No, I couldn’t think like that. Maybe they were suppressing their dark energy low enough for the Wolf clan not to sense them. They could handle themselves against Falsha, Bors, and Sean, but not Lyonell. He was too strong of a warrior.
As I walked upon the dome of smoke, I spotted more bodies, both dead and alive. A woman lay near a manhole in pain, screaming out for help to anyone who would answer her desperate cry. From the corner of her eye she saw me walking out of the mist. She yelled in fear, thinking I was one of those who had harmed her.