The Fighter (Prophecy Series Book 2)

by Jessica McCrory

  “Brute force attacks small village and takes captives” was written on a blue sticky note next to a drawing of a Brute.

  Dakota’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “You’ve been writing about them for about a year now. Your first book was a bestseller, so you dove back in ready for another. Every now and then you have these episodes where your brain mistakes the events in your book for reality.”

  She turned to face him and saw the truth in his eyes. He believed everything he was telling her, didn’t that make it true?

  “Daddy, the pancakes are burning!” Annabelle yelled from the kitchen.

  “Oh crap!” He laughed. “Pancakes are your specialty, not mine.” He grinned at her and then turned for the kitchen.

  Anastasia walked closer to the timeline board. She ran her fingers over the sticky note that read “loses love to the Brutes and goes for revenge.” Could all of that have just been a nightmare? Could what Dakota was saying be true?

  “Mommy?”

  She turned to see Annabelle standing in the doorway. “Hi.” She knelt in front of her and smiled softly. “What is it?”

  “Do you remember me?”

  Her words felt like a punch in the heart. “Of course I remember you, Annabelle! How could I ever forget such a perfect little girl?”

  Annabelle smiled and wrapped her arms around Anastasia’s neck.

  “Just making sure.”

  She followed her daughter back into the kitchen and sat next to her at a tall dining room table. Dakota set the platter of pancakes on the center, and a plate with eggs over medium, just the way she liked them, in front of her.

  “This is delicious, Daddy!” Annabelle grinned through her mouthful of scrambled eggs.

  “Thank you, honey, now don’t talk with your mouth full.” He winked at her, and Annabelle giggled.

  Anastasia took her first bite of pancake, and the taste exploded on her tongue. She didn’t believe she had ever tasted anything so delicious. She ate quickly and cleaned her plate, even having thirds of the brown-sugar-tasting pancakes.

  Later that morning, Dakota came down the stairs dressed in scrubs. Anastasia’s mind fought the image. He had never become a doctor. It told her he is supposed to be a detective.

  “I should be home from work around five.” He smiled at Anastasia and pulled her in for a kiss.

  “Gross!” Annabelle laughed and made a face that had all three of them giggling.

  “Okay, now, we get it.” Dakota smiled at her. “Six and going on sixteen, huh?” he asked her, and then reached for her hand.

  “Bye, Mommy! I’ll see you after school. I love you so much!”

  “I love you too.” She reached down to accept a hug and then watched as they walked down the driveway. If this was all just a dream, then it was one she prayed she never woke from.

  Anastasia walked back into the house and took a deep breath. The scent of jasmine and vanilla filled her lungs. It smelled like home to her, just like she remembered Dakota’s house smelling. She walked to the sink and started washing the dishes. It was such a normal thing to do, and she smiled the entire time. She couldn’t remember a single time chores had been peaceful. When she had lived at Mitch and Monica’s house, she had always rushed through it, afraid Mitch would come home and she would get in trouble for any single drop of water that fell out of the sink.

  She made her way back upstairs and walked down the hall and into Annabelle’s room. Pictures that Annabelle had drawn covered the walls. Pictures of her, Dakota, and the little girl each colorfully and wonderfully drawn. Anastasia stopped and lifted a picture that was on the desk. “Mommy and me” was written over the top, and Anastasia clutched it to her chest, the tears welling in her eyes. What had she done to be blessed with such an amazing family? Her brain shouted at her, telling her not to be fooled, that none of this was real, but she pushed the voice down.

  She gently set the drawing back down and turned to leave the room. The mirror caught her eye, and she jumped back. In it wasn’t the reflection of the woman she was now, it was of the woman she remembered. The Anastasia who had spent the better part of her lifetime being beaten by her father only to discover he wasn’t her true father.

  Before her stood a warrior. Bloody, bruised, and dirty, a sword in her hand. The Anastasia in the mirror reached for her, and she backed away. Anastasia closed her eyes and shook her head. Dakota had told her it was only a dream based on the book she was writing. As long as she continued believing that, then maybe this horrible sinking feeling in her stomach would disappear.

  When she slowly opened her eyes, she was relieved to see a normal reflection looking back at her. Her face was clean and bruise-free, and she wore her pajama pants and a clean white T-shirt. She took a deep breath and headed back for the stairs. It would just take time, she told herself, time to adjust after the nightmare she had suffered. She had no idea how right she was.

  “We need to get back to Seattle soon.” Dakota turned to face Carmen.

  “Dakota, I don’t know that she is still there,” she said sadly.

  Dakota nodded slowly. “I know, but we need to know what’s going on over there. We are completely blind where Vincent can see the whole picture.”

  “Makes sense,” Tony agreed. “After we head for the mountains, we can look at our options. Are there options?” he asked cautiously.

  “I’m sure we can figure something out,” Carmen said.

  “If anyone can do it, you can, Carmen.” Tony smiled at her.

  Carmen smiled softly at him. “Always such a wise man. Gregory was so lucky to have had such a wonderful friend, and I was always so grateful knowing that my Annabelle had you and he to watch over her.” She patted him on the shoulder and then turned to Dakota. “You need to go and get some rest, Dakota.” When he started to argue, she put her hand up. “No need to argue, you know I am right. You will be nothing but a liability if you try and make that journey on no sleep. Besides, I don’t want to have to explain to my granddaughter why the love of her life is not around when she does come back. Go.”

  “Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Dakota’s mother, Elizabeth, entered the room. “I will walk him and make sure he goes to sleep.” She grabbed his arm and turned him towards the door. “Carmen, Tony.” She nodded to them and then they headed out into the night.

  “Mom, I truly am fine,” he insisted as they walked through the dark.

  “Dakota George Parker, you know better than to lie to me.” Something about her using his full name always had him shutting down. “No one would expect you to be all right after what you have been through.”

  “I don’t have time to rest, Mom. Ana is out there and suffering. I should be there for her, I need to save her this time.”

  “Dakota. What happened to her before wasn’t your fault any more than what is happening now. Anastasia is one of the toughest, bravest people I have ever met, and I know that she is going to be just fine. You have to give it the time that is needed to formulate a good plan, and on top of that you have got to get some rest. You will be no good if we find her unless you have slept.”

  He knew she was right, but it still stung. He had promised Ana that he would never leave her again, never let her be taken from him again, and yet here he was without her, and she was likely in the hands of a man who not only kidnapped her when she was a baby, but who also was to blame for the complete destruction of their hometown, not to mention the countless deaths of the Terrenians.

  “Promise me that you will get some sleep,” his mom pleaded as they walked into the small training cottage.

  “I promise, Mom.”

  She smiled softly at him. “Good. Let me make you some tea.” She turned and headed for the kitchen.

  “I thought you wanted me to get some sleep?” he joked.

  “I do, but tea will help. It will relax you.” She lit the fire in the fireplace and set a Dutch oven over it to heat the water.

  “Can I come in?” Tony peeked through the
door, and Elizabeth smiled and waved him in.

  “Of course. I was just making some tea, would you like some?”

  “That would be wonderful, thank you.” Tony smiled at her, and Elizabeth blushed.

  Dakota laughed lightly and turned away. They had been flirting around each other ever since she and Dakota had arrived in Terrenia, and although it had bothered him at first, he knew that his mother deserved to be happy. She had suffered so much in the last eight years, and if Tony could bring her peace, then who was he to stand in their way?

  “How are you doing, Dakota?” Tony came to sit next to him at the small table.

  “Just dandy,” Dakota said sarcastically, and then smiled softly. “I just miss her, Tony, and I’m more worried than I have ever been.”

  “She is tough, Dakota, she will be fine.”

  “That’s what mom said.” Dakota laughed.

  “She’s a wise woman.” Tony watched Elizabeth as she worked in the kitchen.

  “She is, and a good one at that.” Dakota knew that Tony saw the warning in his eyes, and although he knew Tony could snap him in half if he wanted, he knew that he wouldn’t because they respected each other, and Tony respected Elizabeth as well. It was all over his face.

  “Here we go, boys.” Elizabeth brought over three mugs of tea and then took a seat next to Tony.

  Dakota took his first sip, and the taste of chamomile slid over his tongue like a blanket. His mom knew it had always been his favorite when he had been a kid for those nights he had trouble sleeping. What she didn’t know was that even as an adult he had drunk it, only with the additive of a little honey whiskey as well.

  “So, tell me of the Anastasia you grew up with,” Tony said, setting his mug on the table. “I only know her from when she arrived, and I suspect she was a bit more guarded than with you.”

  “Well,” Elizabeth started on a laugh, “Anastasia used to sneak into our house in the middle of the night and the two of them would have sleepovers—the innocent kind,” she added. “We would check, but we knew she didn’t feel safe anywhere else, so we kept her where we knew he couldn’t get her. George tried to get her out of that house so many times, but she was so afraid.”

  “I wish I could strangle the bastard who hurt her.” Tony clenched his fist. “I will get Vincent, he will pay for everything he has done to you all.”

  Elizabeth lightly touched his hand and smiled warmly.

  “How are you feeling, Dakota?” she asked, watching him carefully.

  “What did you put in this tea?” he asked, and then passed out on the table.

  “I’ll get him.” Tony lifted Dakota and carried him to his room.

  “Thank you for coming over and helping. He really needed some sleep, and I knew he wasn’t going to get it unless he had some help.”

  “Not a problem at all. I enjoy being around you.”

  Elizabeth’s heart caught in her throat. Tony gave her butterflies in a way she hadn’t felt since George had been killed.

  “I enjoy being around you too.” She smiled and started gathering their mugs.

  “I will wait.” Tony turned to face her as she walked into the kitchen.

  “Wait for what?”

  “Until you are ready.”

  Elizabeth smiled and set the mugs on the counter. She walked over to him and rose to her tippy toes to kiss him lightly on the cheek.

  “I would like that.”

  Tony smiled, and in it she saw the hope for a new future that she knew was reflected in her own. Ever since George had died she had worried that she was destined to be alone, not wanting anyone to take his place in her heart. But now she was beginning to understand that although no one could ever take his place, it was okay if she made room for someone else.

  “Goodnight, Elizabeth.”

  “Goodnight, Tony.”

  He turned and closed the door gently behind him. The silence of the small house settled over her. She took a deep breath and looked towards the room where Dakota slept. Ever since he had been a boy he had been head over heels for Anastasia. What must it be like to hold that much love in your heart? she wondered.

  After Anastasia had gone missing the first time, her son changed. He went from wanting to be a doctor to becoming a cop overnight, and she knew he had searched for Anastasia in every single victim he came across. It wasn’t until he had found her, and come to terms with how she had left, that she had finally seen him truly smile again, and now she worried that she would never see it again. Elizabeth knew he hurt more than he let on, and if they didn’t find Anastasia soon, she worried that her son would never be the same.

  Dakota dreamed he was standing on a cliff. The wind surrounded him and threatened to push him over the edge. Anastasia appeared in front of him and smiled. She looked just as she had the night he had last seen her, the bruises from their Brute encounter still fading away off her skin.

  “Ana, where are you?” he asked yelling over the sound of the wind. “Tell me how to find you!”

  She smiled at him again and pressed her hand to his heart.

  “Tell me where you are!” he yelled again, but she took another step closer to the cliff. “Be careful!” He lunged for her and grabbed her hand as she started to fall.

  His heart was pounding, the adrenaline running through his veins. Her scent surrounded him as the wind picked up again. He knew the feeling of hopelessness well but refused to embrace it, although he feared she was already lost to him. He had given up once before, and he wouldn’t do it again.

  “Dakota,” she whispered, fear plain on her face. “Save me, I need you,” she cried as she slipped from his grip.

  “No!” he yelled, and reached over the cliff for her, but she was already gone, swallowed up by the thick fog below.

  Dakota sat up in bed, his chest heavy. He rubbed his hands over the short beard on his face.

  “Hey Kaley,” he greeted Anastasia’s large cat as she came and rubbed her face against his arm. The size of a fully-grown male lion, she never ceased to amaze him with how gentle she could be. “I won’t let her get away from us this time, Kaley. I promise I will find her.”

  “Dakota!” Brady burst into the house, and Dakota ran into the living area to greet him.

  “What?”

  “We have Brutes coming!”

  “Now? It’s the middle of the day!” Dakota yelled as he threw on a shirt and grabbed his boots, noticing how high the sun was in the sky.

  “They are coming up on the east wall.”

  “How many?”

  “About three dozen.”

  Dakota’s blood turned to ice. They didn’t have the kind of manpower and weapons to hold off that large of an attack on such short notice. Although he believed they would win, they would lose dozens of their own.

  He ran with Brady towards the east wall, where Tony was already waiting. Elizabeth stood next to him on the platform and they watched over the trees.

  “Mom, what are you doing here?”

  “I was just heading to the cellar, wanted to see for myself.” Her arms were folded across her chest, and had he not been afraid for their near future, he would have smirked at the large knife that hung from her belt. It looked so out of place on the woman who had spent her life treating the sick and injured.

  “Okay, make sure everyone stays quiet, and don’t think we won’t be talking about what you put in that tea,” he added, lowering his eyes to glare at her.

  “Oh, hush, Dakota, you got sleep, didn’t you? You guys be careful.” She smiled innocently and then climbed down to run for the underground cellar they had built to hide the villagers from the Brutes. Even if they failed to keep the beasts out of the village, they had wanted to take steps to keep the villagers safe. It had been another one of Robbie’s additions.

  He looked down at the Fighters who had assembled below him. They all stood strong without any trace of fear on their faces. He had grown to know and respect each man individually, and he knew that they would lay do
wn their lives for him just as he would for them in a heartbeat.

  He turned back towards the Brute force quickly approaching. The smell of sulfur that seemed to surround them engulfed the village, and Dakota’s blood began pounding. They would not die today.

  Dakota, Tony, and half of the Fighters had moved to stand in front of the wall. They were the first wave of an attack that had been coordinated before the day had even started, while the others were ready for an attack from within the walls.

  The Brutes came to a stop ten feet from them, and the action confused Dakota. They had never paused before an attack.

  “Who is Dakota?” one spoke, and the deep rumble of his voice caught Dakota off guard.

  “I am,” he said, holding his ground.

  “Our leader wishes to speak to you.”

  “Vincent?” Dakota asked, his fingers itching for his sword.

  If Brutes could show disgust, this one certainly did. “That murderer is not our leader,” he said, pounding his fist against his chest.

  Tony looked to Dakota and nodded a silent signal that they had his back if anything should go south.

  “Then who is?” he asked.

  “We will not bring him forward until your Fighters sheathe their weapons.”

  “They will not until we know there will be no attack from you.”

  “We will not harm you.” He lifted his large arm and all but a small grouping of the Brutes took steps back towards the trees until they were nearly half of a football field’s length away.

  Dakota turned to Tony and he gave the signal for the Fighters to lower their weapons.

  “Fine. Where is your leader?” Dakota asked, taking a step forward.

  “I am here.” The largest Brute Dakota had ever seen stepped towards him from a small grouping that had stood their ground. He stood almost ten feet tall and was covered in brands of various designs. Piercings covered the better part of his face. “I am Argento, the true leader of the Brutes.”

  “What do you want to talk to me about?” Dakota asked, biting back a small bit of fear for those he needed to protect.