“There,” she said finally getting Bakari’s body to completely shut down while keeping his heart beating. From here the barrier would act as the healing source, and Bakari wouldn’t wake up until the barrier has fully healed his wounds. The flame in the middle of the cave went back to being a very small flame that dimly lit the cave again as she removed her hands from Bakari. She quickly grabbed her staff to stop herself from falling. “I’m getting old,” she joked to herself. “That took a lot out of me.” She sat on the ground, coughing up blood and tried to catch her breath. “You owe me big time, Axyl. This boy isn’t your average Joe. Now it's your turn, Avi. Yours should be quite simple, unless you want to magically give me a hard time too.” AiLeen forced herself up with her staff stumbling over to Avi. and Wiping the blood from her mouth, she mumbled a couple of words and placed one hand over Avi to speed up her healing. “See, it should of been that simple, boy.” AiLeen looked at Bakari as she sat back on the ground to meditate and get her energy back. Closing her eyes, she focused on meditation.
“Next time, could you not do that spell?” Axyl asked out loud as he woke up from his forced rest, feeling better than he had when he first arrived at the cave. No response came from AiLeen. He stood up and noticed Bakari floating above his pod with a barrier around him, and Avi laying down on the ground beside him.
“What is this? He’s completely shut down.” He asked out loud, knowing AiLeen could hear him.
AiLeen broke mediation, finally able to stand without stumbling or coughing up blood.
“That boy… His mind is very powerful, and doesn’t take well to orders. I had to almost kill him to shut it down. Who is he? And don’t give me a run around answer either. I wouldn’t have to use that spell if you would just listen.” She rolled her eyes.
“I won’t lie to you… He’s Taharqa’s child.” Axyl said bluntly.
Emotions swelled up in AiLeen. She tried to fight back the tears, but some escaped and gracefully rolled down her face. Axyl tried to give her privacy by pretending not to notice. He knew she would get emotional when he told her. Axyl assumed she used to be head over heels for Taharqa, but he loved Bakari’s mother and only treated her like a friend.
“Taharqa has a child?” was all she could get out.
“Yes… he sent me here to retrieve and protect him. It was his last wish.” Axyl still didn’t make eye contact with AiLeen.
“Last…. wish?” She asked, falling to her knees.
It felt as if a dagger had pierced her heart multiple times while someone kicked her in the stomach. So much pain overcame her in such a brief moment. AiLeen wasn’t one to show emotions often, but it was far too much for her to take in at once. A man she was so close to, loved, had died and she didn’t even get to say goodbye. She hadn’t seen Taharqa in many years, and thought that most of the emotion was gone, but she couldn’t lie to herself. She still loved Taharqa very much. He had been a dear friend to her, that was undeniable, and now his son - a piece of him - was laying on the ground in her hideout.
“I’ll give you some space.” Axyl said, walking towards the outside of the cave when he hit an invisible wall.
“It’s fine… I’m okay. There are more important things to discuss than for me to wallow in my sorrows,” she said, lowering her staff, knocking down the invisible wall in front of Axyl.
Axyl really wanted to give her space to let out her emotions, but he knew if he kept walking it would make it harder for her. She was trying to be strong. He turned back towards her.
“Who killed him?” she asked.
“Droga started a revolt, commanding the armies away from the kingdom while leading his own personal army toward the kingdom to murder Taharqa.”
“I see…” she said, gathering her composure.
“What happen with the boy that you had to almost kill him with this ability? You said his mind was powerful. What do you mean?”
“Hmm…” she mumbled as she walked towards Axyl. “He started changing when I tried to heal him by forcing his mind to focus all its attention to healing the body. His Vakin instincts started taking over, trying to protect the mind from being intruded upon.”
Axyl was confused, but he made no comment as he waited for AiLeen to continue.
“At first my commands to his brain were working, but it built its own countermeasures against my commands, almost entirely blocking my commands out. Doing so sent his body into shock, which resulted in him convulsing relentlessly. So I deployed a barrier to try to calm his body, and again his mind wouldn’t allow it until I removed myself completely, having to shut his body down and heal him from an external source which is the barrier now. This took everything I had. His mind is very untrained yet very powerful. He may be physically weak right now, but his mind more than makes up for it if he learns to control it.”
“All of this happened while I was out?” he asked
“Yes… and his fur… I’ve never seen a rustic orange fur before from any Vakin.”
“Impossible… Orange?” Axyl said, surprised, “How long until he wakes up?”
“It could take the healing anywhere from another hour to the full day for him to recover from that. By the way, if he’s Taharqa’s son and your protecting him, that technically makes him the king of your world, correct?”
“That is correct.”
“How did he take the news?”
“How you would expect any twenty-two year old to handle it. He didn’t know his father, just graduated from college, and just found out he’s on a hit list.” Axyl nodded his head towards AiLeen.
“Fair enough, but that also means the world could be on the verge of another war if that boy doesn’t step up to become the king. Droga isn’t the type to just stop at trying to take the throne.”
“I know… but Taharqa wanted me to guide him into making his own decisions and not to force him into mine. If he doesn’t want to be king, I won’t force him, but we will both live with those consequences.” Axyl said as he looked at Bakari.
“You and Taharqa really were that close if you would follow that order to his death. I envy your relationship with him. I hope you grow the same with his son, and I will offer what help I can to support you both. I swear it.” She bowed her head.
“Thank you AiLeen… I know this is hard for you.”
“If that's the only piece of Taharqa left in this world… I will not see it destroyed.” She smirked.
“This is going to get interesting.” Axyl got up and walked towards the entrance of the cave. “I’ll go hunt for some food before he wakes up. Neither of us have eaten in a while. Let's go, Avi.” Axyl said, taking off in a jog out of the entrance with Avi following a few steps behind.
AiLeen walked over to Bakari’s floating body. “You’re going to have a hell of a journey ahead of you, but don’t you ever give up, boy. That wasn’t in Taharqa’s blood.” She said as she lightly tapped the barrier.
8
Bakari finally woke up, leaning against the interior of the pod as he placed his elbow on his knee and his head in his palm. He felt a faint pain at the front of his forehead as he looked around the dimly lit cave, unaware of where he was.
“Axyl?” he asked out loud, not seeing anyone.
“You’re awake!” AiLeen came walking into the cave.
Bakari jumped at the sound of her voice. “Do I know you? Your voice sounds so familiar.”
“Interesting.” She said, walking up to Bakari. “No, we have never met before but my name is Ry…” she started.
“AiLeen? Is it?” Bakari shocked himself when he recalled the name.
“How do you know my name?” she asked in surprise.
“I heard you speaking to me, you and Axyl…. I don’t know how, but when I woke up I just recalled it. He was now squinting at AiLeen as the pain worsened..
“Are you okay? You should be fully healed by now.” AiLeen said, looking him over.
“My body feels fine, but my head is killing me.”
“Do you mind if I take a look?”
“I don’t know what you mean, but yes if you can stop it from hurting.”
AiLeen took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for the worse. Last time she tapped his mind it was unpredictable. She slowly placed her hand on Bakari’s head and summoned her powers, tapping into his mind. It kicked her out immediately snapping her back to reality.
“What was that you just did? I’ve felt that before.” Bakari said, placing his hand back on his head.
“I’m trying to see what’s causing the pain, but you’re rejecting me… or kicking me out, I should say. This is interesting. I've never come by this issue before. Let me try one more time. Try to relax your mind and body. This time, don’t think about the pain.” AiLeen rubbed her hands together, summoning more power to her fingertips. She took another deep breath before she placed her finger on his head. This time she wasn’t rejected immediately, and she was allowed to dig deeper. She could see where the pain was coming from as she continued, but doing this allowed Bakari’s mind to open a two way link. He was digging now as well, seeing some memories, looking at a man who may have been his father standing next to her and Axyl. Seeing AiLeen memories of him through her eyes, digging deeper, he could see more. The war she was in, and the pain she suffered. It was only a glimpse of moving pictures, but Bakari was starting to figure them out. AiLeen cut the connection quickly.
“How? You were looking back into my mind? What did you see?” AiLeen was interested in Bakari’s abilities.
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to invade your privacy, I didn’t know doing that would lead me to your memories…”
“I’ll get you for that later… Now what did you see boy?” She seemed agitated.
“I saw lots of moving images in your mind. It was like scattered memories. I saw pictures of a war… so much fighting.” He stopped there, not wanting to say he saw a man that she had followed.
“Is that all?” she asked curiously.
“Yes.” He lied.
“Hmm… really?” She knew he was lying.
“Yes.” He lied again.
She let it go and took note of it. “I found out why your head is hurting. It’s because your Vakin side has awakened and you’re rejecting it. You need to find a happy medium with both sides of your bloodline now. Otherwise, your head will hurt more from here on out.”
“How do I do that? And what do you mean it’s awakened? I’m confused.”
“You will have to embrace your inner wolf, to put it simply.”
“I’m not a wolf. I’m a human.”
“See, it's that thinking there that has your head hurting. Your father is a Vakin wolf, and your mother is human. Which makes you a hybrid Vakin.”
“I can’t even turn into one of them. How am I supposed to embrace that?”
“Oh, but you can, and you have already. I’ve seen it.”
“How?” Bakari asked, now more confused than before.
AiLeen started to answer, but stopped when she sensed Axyl and Avi coming in through the entrance.
“We can save that for another time. Let’s get some food in you. That may help with the headaches just a little. Then we can discuss you being a Vakin.” She said as Axyl walked in.
“Hey, he’s up.” Axyl came in, dropping a bear from his shoulders. “Welcome back to the world of the living, Bakari.” He smiled, “Nice to see you’re okay.”
“Thanks to you…” He looked genuinely at Axyl. “Thanks Axyl.”
“Just doing what I was sworn to do.”
Bakari finally noticed Avi and jumped, causing him to fall out of the pod. “What's that wolf doing here?” he asked, picking himself up.
“Ha! This is Avi. She an old friend of mine. She was tracking you down and keeping an eye out for you while I was busy. She will not hurt you. She protected you against Bugawa.”
The name made Bakari flinch, sliding his hand to his stomach, remembering the kicks that Bugawa had ruthlessly landed on his abdomen. “She almost gave me a heart attack. Did he get away again?” Bakari asked, hoping that he hadn’t.
“No one will have to worry about Bugawa ever again.” Axyl said, picking up the bear carcass again and bringing it closer to the fire in the middle of the cave.
“AiLeen, could you do the honors? So he doesn’t die of starvation?” Axyl joked.
“Gladly.” She waved her staff in the direction of the fire, causing it to levitate in the direction of the carcass. Cooking the meat, it returned back to the center of the cave resting there once again.
“Let's talk while we eat. We have a lot of important things to cover.” Axyl gestured his head towards the bear as he clawed the meat from the bones and passed a piece to Bakari. “By the way, I lost my necklace. Can you take care of my form for me?”
AiLeen let out a loud sigh. “Anything else you’ll be needing?”
“Please?”
“Fine, but I'll have to rest after this.” AiLeen stood behind Axyl, placing both of her hands on his shoulders. “Which side do you want the markings on?”
“The…” he started.
“Doesn’t matter.” She cut him off, mumbling words as light emitted from her eyes and Axyl began looking human again with the added markings coming from his left shoulder all the way to his hand. “This should last you a few days until you’re able to get another device to conceal your spirit. Now, can I eat?”
Axyl just nodded his now human head towards the meat. “Thank you.” AiLeen said sarcastically.
“I know you have lots of things to think about, Bakari, including your new found power, but I need you to prioritize your thoughts. I wouldn’t be bluntly asking you this if I didn’t need to know, but I do need to know. I need you to make a decision on if you want to help the people of Zera and claim your rightful place as king, or live a life on the run from Droga. This is how it will turn out, as I told you before. Even if you denounce it, Droga will stop at nothing to hurt you and everyone you’ve ever cared about. We will need to know today what your decision will be. Either way, moves will have to be made to ensure your safety and those that you love.”
“I appreciate your bluntness but, besides surviving, that’s all I’ve been thinking about since we’ve left my mother's house. I don’t have an answer now, but I promise you I will come to a conclusion before the day is over with. I just want a little more time to think about it before I make any rash decisions.”
“You have a very calm demeanor for your age, Bakari.” AiLeen interrupted as Axyl shot her a look. “But, continue.”
“It's just a lot going on right now, but I will process it all if you give me time, and come up with the best course of action for everything.” He kept up his calm manner, staring at the ground, trying to process it all.
“I’ll give you as much time as I possibly can, but time is something we lack the most in our predicament. Just know, with either choice you make I’m sworn to follow through with you, no matter the cost.” Axyl nodded in his direction.
“As I have sworn to help you on your endeavors also, Bakari, in any way I can with my magicks.” AiLeen also bowed her head in Bakari’s direction.
Avi let out a howl, trying to let him know he has her support too as she walked up and nodded her head. The sight of her scared him so he jumped when she came near him. Axyl and AiLeen both laughed. Bakari took a deep breath, and reached his hand out towards her to rub her fur. She lowered her head and walked under his hand so that he could embrace her. The moment he touched her and nothing happened, he finally exhaled, and smiled at her.
“Thank you for saving me, Avi. It's greatly appreciated.” He was now fully embracing her in his arms as she snuggled her head in his arms.
“Welp, that's one task down, hundreds more to go.” Axyl smiled. “More importantly, your decision, your power, then your transformation should all be up next on your to-do-list.”
“By the way, how long have we been here, just out of curiosity?”
“Well y
ou were out the whole day yesterday, so this would make day two that we’ve been here.” Axyl replied.
Two days? Dammit… Kas, are you okay? Nova, are you safe? I didn’t even consider the consequences this might have on you guys…Please stay safe until I get back. I have to get stronger to keep you both out of harm's way. Just stay alive. I’ll be there soon, I’ll get the rest of the answers I need, and I’ll do it as fast I can.
“Have you ever been to Zera, AiLeen?” Bakari asked randomly.
“Yes, I’ve been there a few times. Why do you ask?”
“Is it possible you can show me images of it from your memories like you did with a glimpse of the images from the war?”
“I didn’t willingly show you those images. You forced your way to them!” she snapped.
“What images of war did you see?” Axyl interrupted, confused.
“I’ll explain it to you later.” AiLeen replied as she tried to finish her conversation with Bakari. “That way is still to risky with you not being able to control your new abilities, don’t know what could happen, and I wouldn’t want a repeat of the other day. I do, however, have an idea on how you can see Zera vividly, if that's what you would like. It would take some time to complete, and will require Axyl’s assistance, most of all.”
“If you plan on putting me to sleep again, I will not comply this time.” Axyl interrupted again.
“You won’t have to go to sleep but your eyes will have to be closed.” She let out a slight laugh.
Axyl felt like she was going to try another random spell on him and didn’t like the sound of that. “Whatever needs to be done.” He sighed. “What does this have to do with anything?”
“I just want to see this world, if possible, before I make a decision. If I am able to see it while staying out of harm's way and causing you less trouble, that would be an idea situation.” Bakari answered honestly.
Zera_Dawn Of The Redborn Page 6