Journey 'The Chosen One Trilogy: Book Two'

by Chester, Mireille

  “We’re just waiting for Dodge, Prense, Shanus, and Phlann. They were going to stop and pick up Tara and Ben. Kacey, Alex and Leslie are meeting us at Luke and Mel’s.” I made sure I wasn’t missing anyone. “Oh. And Brinnan and Fillian sent a note yesterday. They’ll be staying. Fillian is dealing with four Burries that have some sort of chest infection.”

  Dawn groaned and rubbed her back.

  Jasper frowned. “Are you sure you should be coming?”

  She glared at him. “Don’t you start. I already had this discussion with Zane. I’m fine.”

  He looked up at Zane, who shrugged. “Alright then.”

  Hey, there!

  We all looked up and Dodge circled before landing by us.

  I gave him a hug. “Hey, Buddy. Are the rest far behind?”

  He shook his head. They should be here shortly. He lifted his wings and I started to strap on the harness Ben had made for him. It was a simple harness not unlike the one he’d had to pull the wagon, though this one stayed out of the way of his wings and had saddlebags built into it. There were also two loop handles over his withers so that if he had to move quickly in the air I had something to hang on to.

  By the time I was done, the others had arrived.

  “No, really, Dawn. I don’t mind. That’s why I offered.” Phlann was looking a bit uncomfortable under Dawn’s gaze.

  “Fine. But just for a bit.”

  Phlann smiled and Zane gave her a boost onto his back. In the two years I had known the young Scannove he had matured considerably. He still had the palomino coloring, but the scales that covered his body were a darker shade of blond. His yellow eyes weren’t quite as innocent as they had been the day I had first met him. He also stood almost as tall as his father.

  I swung onto Dodge.

  After one quick stop at Luke’s den to pick everyone else up, we were on our way.

  *****

  The first twenty days of the thirty day journey were peaceful ones. Day twenty one reminded us that just because we were on Namael territory it didn’t mean we were out of reach of evil things. Once we had crossed the pass that got us over the mountain, we crossed paths with more and more Namaels. Melana had obviously recalled the order to capture me and most of the cats we ran into greeted us with amusement, curiosity or awe.

  More than once I had to keep from laughing when Jasper was saluted and referred to as captain.

  We had stopped for lunch when Dodge looked up from his grass patch. The rest of us turned to see what he had heard.

  “Hello, camp!”

  Jasper stood to acknowledge the new comers. A pack of twenty came to stand in front of him.

  “Jasper.” A short black haired man nodded to him. My mate nodded back.

  “Robert.”

  “We were told you were in the area. I thought we’d stop by and let you know to watch yourselves. You’ll recall Nicolas of Beash?”

  “I do.”

  “We came across his pack a few days ago. They were about a day’s travel from here to the south.” He frowned. “His pack is fifty strong now. Whatever they ran into…” He took a deep breath and glanced at me as I came to stand beside Jasper.

  “What happened?” My heart was pounding a mile a minute and was making its way up my throat.

  “That’s just it, miss. We don’t know. It was over the top even for one of Rainen’s packs. You know how it is. If we run into each other, we fight, and we all walk away with our wounded. But here, no one was left alive. They were all tied together for starters.” He swallowed hard and my stomach did a flip at the thought of what would make a seasoned warrior blanch.

  Jasper pulled me closer to his side.

  “They were burnt. Alive.” He looked behind us at the rest of our group that had come to stand with us.

  “Are you sure?” I shivered at the thought.

  Robert nodded. “You could tell they had been struggling. Some of them even tried shifting with their arms tied behind their backs to get away.”

  Jasper shook his head, shocked. If a shifter turned into an animal with its arms tied, it was guaranteed to break them. Not many were brave enough to try it, even in life or death situations. There wasn’t much a person could do with two broken arms.

  “We’re on our way back to Pinsaber. I thought we could travel together.” Robert glanced back to his pack and I knew what he was thinking. If a pack of fifty could be tied and burnt alive, our two groups might stand a better chance together.

  “That sounds like a good idea.” I saw that everyone in our group was packed and ready to go. No one was hungry after this new bit of information. I swung up onto Dodge and we started off again, eager to get to the safety of the keep.

  “So what would be able to tie fifty men without any of them being able to get away?”

  Dodge shook his head. I’m not sure. There are a few creatures with the ability to paralyze their prey, but these would have taken one, maybe two of the men and simply eaten them. Not to mention that none of these have the need to tie anybody up before helping themselves to a meal. I tend to agree with Robert on this one. It wasn’t the Majs. Even this is too sadistic for them. He blew out of his nose. Whatever it is, I hope we manage to avoid running into it.

  A shiver ran up my spine as I thought about this information. I tended to agree with Dodge.

  *****

  When we finally reached the keep, news of our arrival had preceded us. Melana met us at the gates and our little group was escorted through the throngs of people who had come out to get a glimpse of us.

  Looking at all the people, I felt overwhelmed. One little girl peeked up at me from behind her mother’s skirts. Her blue eyes widened when she caught me looking at her. I smiled and gave her a little wave.

  Melana glanced back to me. “I imagine you could all use a rest. You will be shown to your rooms where you can freshen up. I’ll send up your lunches. Tonight, you will be my guests of honor for supper.”

  I smiled and thanked her.

  Our room was magnificent. Everything was covered in green and gold. I walked around the room, amazed. Jasper laughed at me.

  “I can’t believe you used to live like this!” I glanced at him. He was so humble and content that it was easy to forget he hadn’t always lived in a two bedroom cabin. I could see him standing by the window in his best jacket, curls all combed into place, getting ready for a meeting with generals, captains, and of course, the queen. I smiled at the mental image.

  “What?”

  I looked away from the window and back to him. My smile widened. His brown deerskin pants had streaks of mud on them and his white shirt was definitely not white anymore. This was courtesy of a wrestling match with the twins that morning. His month long beard covered his cheeks and jaw. His curls were sticking out every which way, a few of them falling into his eyes.

  I walked over to him and brushed them away. “I was just thinking about how much I love you just the way you are.”

  He laughed and kissed me. “Well, that’s good. I was getting scared for a second there that you were going to tell me you wanted to stay and live a fancy life from now on.”

  I stuck my tongue out at him and wrinkled my nose. “That means I would have to wear dresses.”

  He laughed even harder.

  There was a knock on the door and Jasper went to answer it. He came back carrying a large tray heaping with meat, cheese, fruit and bread. He set it on the bed and we lay on our stomachs, picking at the food.

  There was another knock and Tyler and Trent let themselves in.

  Within minutes, Kacey, Luke, Mel, Tara, Ben, Leslie and Alex had joined us as well.

  Leslie looked nervous and Alex kept her hand in his. He kissed her softly. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

  Her eyes darted to his then to the door. “Yes. I just…it is strange enough having our own cabin. But this. This is something else altogether. There are so many people. And things. Every cell in my body is screaming at me to get out. It f
eels wrong.”

  I imagined that for a Fairend born to be a solitary nomad being stuck in the middle of a keep was quite the shock to the system.

  “Uncle Jasper, Uncle Zane said to tell you he’ll see you at supper. Auntie Dawn needed to lie down.” Trent relayed the news then went to join his brother on the balcony.

  When time for supper did come, Dawn still looked tired. All of us sat at the head table with the queen. I looked around and for the first time in my life felt like maybe owning just one fancy dress wouldn’t be such a bad idea. The dress Tara had made for me for my first Wellfore celebration was at the cabin, but even it would have looked plain compared to the ones being worn here.

  Oh well, I thought to myself. At least I’m clean. I looked at our little group and shrugged. All clean and wearing the best of our travelling clothes.

  We all stood as Queen Melana walked into the room. She made her way to our table followed by her personal guard of three cats.

  I recognized the jaguar from my dream that had been at the clearing with Melana. I smiled at her and she blinked at me.

  I looked around to the other tables hoping to see Matthew but couldn’t find him. There had to be at least a hundred people in the hall.

  Melana sat beside me and everyone was poured a drink.

  “I trust you had a good trip, dear?”

  I took a sip of my drink and nodded.

  “I don’t imagine this visit is simply for pleasure.”

  I smiled. I liked a person who didn’t beat around the bush. “No. It isn’t. We were hoping to talk to you about what we had discussed before. Have you had a chance to think about the possibility of forming an alliance with the Majs in order to defeat Braw?”

  She took a long drink and shook her head. “We’ve pondered over the matter for some time now and we have come to the conclusion that we can’t take that chance. The Majs can’t be trusted. Forming an alliance would give them entirely too much information on our strategies and defenses.”

  Jasper’s eyes narrowed. “If Braw isn’t stopped, you may not be around to worry about such things.”

  Melana smiled at him. “From what you’ve told me, the only way he can manage to wipe us out is if he can get a hold of Hayden. We just have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  “But what of the shifting stones?”

  “I’m not sure we need to worry about those. Can there really be that many of them? Did your friend tell you how many there were?”

  I shook my head. “He just said he wasn’t the first to use one.”

  Large platters of food were brought out and we filled our plates. I took a bite of deer steak smothered in dark gravy and chewed thoughtfully.

  “Is it really a chance you are willing to take?”

  I glanced at Jasper, a little shocked at the tone of his voice. A few of the guards closest to us had noticed as well and stopped eating.

  “Until we have positive proof that we are in danger, I refuse to send my men to their deaths. Rainen won’t wait to hear what we have to say if we go knocking on her door.”

  “Positive proof?”

  I could feel Jasper tensing beside me. I put a hand on his leg.

  “What more proof do you need? Hayden was there. They used her to kill six shifters. Had Brice not helped her escape, we wouldn’t even be here having this conversation!”

  “Jasper.” I said his name softly and his glare honed in on me. He blinked.

  “She doesn’t think you can do it.” He looked at Melana and nodded to himself. “You don’t believe that Hayden is powerful enough to do what Braw wants her to do.”

  Melana stared back at him. “You’re right. It’s not that I don’t think she doesn’t have the magic or the power. I don’t think she has the control.”

  “That’s exactly why Braw will succeed if he gets a hold of her. Because she is powerful enough to project to as many beings as he sees fit and because she doesn’t have the control she could have. When it starts to project from her, she can’t stop it.”

  Melana looked at me and frowned. This was obviously an angle she hadn’t thought about.

  I looked up at Jasper and, not for the first time since we had met, thought it would be nice to be able to feel what he was feeling. The muscles of his jaw were clenched, his eyes slightly narrowed. He was staring out of the window. He looked down at me and his eyes softened.

  “A shlova yan,” he whispered before kissing me softly.

  “A shlova yan jer.”

  My usual response was answered with a sad smile.

  I frowned. “Want to take a walk?”

  He took my hand and we left, much to the shock of everyone in the hall. We walked in silence as Jasper led me through one hallway, down a few more, until we came to a solid wood door. He pushed it open and we stepped out into a beautiful garden.

  Still quiet, he walked down the path until we reached a pond filled with large fish. He sat down, pulling me down so that I was in front of him. I leaned back against his chest, loving how safe it felt wrapped in his arms.

  He took a deep breath. “Why are we doing this?” The question was just a whisper.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean why are we here, convincing Melana to team up with Damian? Why are we going to Howel? If we actually get to talk to Rainen, what happens if we can convince her our plan is best for everyone? Do we just march up to the Northern Regions and call Braw out? And if he does come out, then what? It will be you and him, won’t it? There’s not much the rest of us can do so long as that staff is around.”

  “I…I guess I hadn’t thought that far ahead, really,” I said, more than a little rattled. I had never heard Jasper talk like this. To him, a fight was a fight and he always went into it knowing he was going to win. “What’s going on? This isn’t you. I have never seen you turn back from a fight. I’ve seen you finish fights when others would have surrendered. I’ve heard the stories, Jasper. You’re legendary.” I hugged his arms tightly. “What’s wrong?”

  He was quiet for a moment. “When they killed my family, they may as well have killed me, Hayden. I was fourteen when I killed my first man. I wasn’t even of age. All I could think about was what he had done to my mother, my father, my sister and my brother. That was all that I could see. Luke found out who they were and we took care of them. I spent the next sixteen years doing the same. I don’t think I was alive. I died that night.

  “I never worried going into battles. I never cared what would happen if I jumped into an ambush. How could I die if I was already dead?”

  I reached a hand back and pulled his head down so that it was against mine. His arms tightened around me.

  “But then one day, I looked down a hill and saw this most beautiful woman. I looked into those unbelievable eyes and my heart jumped. When you kissed me by the lake it started to beat again. You’re the one who brought me back to life, Hayden, and now that I’m alive again, I’m terrified.” He swallowed hard. “If we crossed over, it would be done. The Majs and the Namaels would still be fighting and the humans would be doing whatever it is they do up there. No one can do anything drastic without you.”

  His hand found mine and started to play with the gold band around my finger. “I want to know why I am about to risk losing the only thing that matters to me for a bunch of beings who only want you as a weapon.”

  It was my turn to be quiet while I arranged my thoughts. I turned so that I was kneeling between his legs. He looked up at me. “I was born to do this, Jasper. I’m here to take care of those who can’t do it for themselves. It’s them I’m thinking about. Not Melana, or Rainen, or Braw. It’s that little girl who was hiding behind her mother’s skirts when we got here. I can end this war, and knowing that I can do that, I can’t very well just leave. I’m doing this because every bone in my body is telling me that it’s the right thing to do.”

  I held his face in my hands. “More than anything, I wish that we could run away and disappear. I’m just as scared
as you. The thought of losing you, of things ending badly, it makes me want to throw up, to run away screaming. But I can’t leave them. Luke, the twins, Tara…I can’t. How can I go hide and leave them here to fight alone? I know you, Jasper. You can’t leave them any more than I can.”

  He rested his forehead on my chest and wrapped his arms around me. After a few minutes he shook his head. “We could bring them with us.”

  I started to laugh. “Are you being serious?”

  He took a deep breath and looked up at me. “A bit.” He kissed me softly. “How in the world did I end up with such an amazing woman?”

  “I ask myself the same thing about you every day.”

  Jasper smiled. “Well, that’s easy enough to explain.”

  “Really?”

  He nodded. “You put a spell on me.”

  I snorted. “I don’t know any spells.”

  “I know.” He was laughing. “But let’s fix that while we’re here. We’ll go see Marilynn tomorrow.”

  “Alright.” I played with a few stray curls. “Are you alright?”

  He nodded. “I guess I just needed to get it off my chest. And you’re right, you know, about not being able to leave them.”

  “I know.”

  He took a deep breath. “Let’s go raid the kitchen. I’m starving.”

  “Then, we can go back to our room and you tell me again about how I brought you back to life.” I pulled him up and kissed him.

  He laughed. “You liked that, did you?”

  “Especially the part where I kiss you and your heart starts to beat.” I pulled him down to me again.

  His tongue found mine and I melted against him. When he pulled back, we were both breathing hard. He smiled. “Happens every time.”

  We started to laugh. Jasper took my hand and we headed toward the kitchen.

  “Captain?”