The farmers all watched them head down the road and out of sight.
When they were gone, they turned back to each other.
Chief Vernon looked at Justin. “You heard the captain. Let us finish the tilling, and then prepare for the night.”
Justin kept his eyes down.
No one blamed him. As for him, he figured that it was time for a haircut. Bald seemed to be a good look for him, so he was going to have it done the very next chance he had.
7
“Where could he have gone? It has been years since you saw him, and now, he is nowhere to be found. How interesting?” Devish paced in front of his throne. Since seeing the Wanderer, being in her presence, he always felt this way. She drained his strength like no other Wanderer ever could, and he began to hate her for it. He feared her more than most.
“I did see him.” Bethany sighed with hearing his anger. She wished she could have done something different when they first encountered the black wolf, but she was afraid of it. After they killed Finda, her alpha male of the pack, her instincts as a wolf made her flee. All wolves obeyed such urges. She didn’t have the choice. Besides, she didn’t have any idea what he was. When they approached the village that day, they smelled him. They knew he was different, but they never expected what they found. It scared them as nothing ever could, and why Devish didn’t explain him to them fully would forever haunt her mind. He should have told them the truth. All they knew was that he was a Moonwalker. They were unprepared and Finda paid for it with his life.
Of course, Devish didn’t agree. “You knew he was different, but yet you still ran like puppies.” He spun back to her. His arms raced to his sides. It took everything inside him to stay calm. He could no longer punish his troops like he had in the past. There were too few of them left for such things. He needed the numbers like never before. He was just thankful that they would never know this about him. He also needed to keep their fear—their fear for him.
“I am sorry my lord.”
“He must be living somewhere between the gaps, within the valley. We will find him.” Hamilton, the second strongest and thus the beta with in the pack of Moonwalkers now came forwards. He was not a coward, but at the same time, he wasn’t there when this happened four years ago. He would not have run.
Devish heard this within his mind. “If he is what I think he is, yes,” he moved to the young wolf and stared him down with his red colored eyes sparkling. He loved showing his strength to anyone that would witness it. He was the last Blood Walker, so he was the strongest of anything now alive. “You would have run or you would have died by his claws.”
Seeing his eyes, Hamilton bowed his own. No Walker would ever challenge Devish. They lacked the strength for such things. It wasn’t an even match—not even close.
Bethany shrugged. “What is he?” She needed to know. She could hear it within his voice. If she knew what he was, she may find it easier to find him again. Anything her master knew would help.
Devish turned to her and let his normal eyes return—well his human eyes any way, as they turned brown. “He is different. This is all you need to know.” He turned back to his throne and took a heavy seat. It even moaned as he sat. “We must find him before the blind traitor does.”
They all knew whom he was referring to, and because of it, they all gasped.
Bethany shook her head. “The Wanderer Kenar is also looking for him.” She didn’t like this thought. She only lived as a Walker for six years and did not know him, but she did know the stories of his gifts. Unlike most Wanderers, she feared him the most. Just the thought of her mind being read like that gave her chills. She hated it. She loathed the idea of one slicing into her mind, and tearing her apart from within.
Devish laughed with such an avid portrayal. “He is doing this even as we speak. He does not know that I am even aware of his attentions. He is blind to my thoughts.” He looked to the other side of the room, saw Rana standing there, and gave her a gentle bow. She has done so much for him with just the help of blocking everyone from seeing his thoughts that he loved her even more than he had ever done before. In fact, he felt sure that he would love her even more as the time went by. “In fact, he may help us with this.”
Bethany felt truly shocked with this. “How? How can he help us? The Wanderers will never help us again.”
“Not all Wanderers hate us, dear Bethany.” He looked back to Rana, and to Anna, the other Wanderer with her.
Anna would come in handy for him when the time was right. Not all of the Wanderers turned to the side of the humans. Some of them kept loyal to the clans, and he felt thankful for this. He loved that about them too.
“Besides, that is my concern dear Bethany. Just do as I wish and ask of me with nothing more.”
She accepted this. She knew her place in all of this. She was nothing. Everyone knew it beyond her. What other choice did she have? “Of course my lord. I will head out now.”
He gave her a firm nod. He watched her then leave the room.
With them gone, he stood up from his throne, which was nothing more than a very large wooden chair. His old iron throne has been gone for a long time now. He missed it so much.
“Has your brother continued to try and contact you?” He walked to Rana. He stopped in the center of the room, as she stayed by the wall with Anna.
She gave him a simple bow. “He has tried, and has not succeeded.”
He felt pleased with this. “Good. Very good.” He then turned to Anna. “I will need your gifts in this my dear Anna. The time has come for you to do what needs to be done.”
She also bowed.
He agreed. “I need you to go with Vincent Gorhan. He is waiting for you by the stables. You know what to do.”
Anna again bowed and said nothing. He was right. She did know everything he wanted her to do. They had discussed this for years, ever since he learned of the black wolf. Knowing, she just turned and left the room.
With her gone, he turned back to Rana. “All is going according to plan.”
She shrugged with this. “You are playing a terrible game with this Devish. You are risking too much.” When he came to her with his ideas, she thought he had lost his mind. It wouldn’t have been farfetched either. The blood thirst that haunted him was a powerful infliction. It made one do some pretty horrific things. Killing his father, destroying the balance was just one thing, but now, bringing in this castaway freak, this black wolf, was something else entirely. How could he do it? She didn’t know. She didn’t trust him that much in anything, let alone this. She wasn’t there for him. She was there to honor her father, and that was it.
“One must do what they have to do, my dear Rana.” He stepped right in front of her and took a deep breath. He breathed in her every scent. God, he loved it so much it nearly hurt his mind. He felt consumed by it. If only she would share his love for her, everything would make sense to him. It didn’t, so there goes the world.
She shook her head strongly with hearing this. “You are a fool Devish. You are a fool to play this game.” She crossed her arms over her chest. She huffed out with everything she had.
He admired her strength. He loved her power. He cherished how she didn’t fear him at all. Again, he loved her with everything he ever had.
“What would you have of me Rana? What would you have me do? I cannot stand by and just let the human hordes overwhelm our kind—your father’s brothers and sisters. The black wolf will give us something that we do not have, but will again.”
“And what is that?” she scoffed.
He laughed. “He will give us back our very strength.”
She bowed her head. “And what about his family? What about the child?"
Again, he laughed, but this one sounded subtle, and it was. When he finished it, he reached out at touched her soft chin. It felt so warm, so comfortable, that it nearly blew his mind.
“I will use them to my advantage. The black wolf must see how terrible and horrific the hum
ans can be.”
She looked directly into his eyes and saw a small amount of insanity blaring from his mind. She too had gifts that could see into the mind, and what she saw in his was nothing short of blatant. He was blatantly crazy to speak it right.
“You intend to kill them.” This was written there too.
He amplified everything with a large and boastful smile.
It was all that he needed to say to confirm everything she felt from him.
8
“Daddy?” Sima ran to her father the very minute he came back from the fields. She was now only three, but was strong. She was healthy. She looked older than what she was, which was something that always worried him. It scared him that it meant that she was more like him than he wanted her to be. It wasn’t just her black hair or her height either. He hoped it was something else, but also knew it wasn’t.
When he was her age, he didn’t stay little. He grew so fast, almost twice the rate of a normal child. His parents believed it was just because he was a big child and thus he grew into a big man. The fact was, he was only seventeen years old, but looked like he was in his mid-twenties. Now, he was seeing the same thing in her. He didn’t know if that meant she was also an animal too, but he did know that he would have to wait to find out. After all, he didn’t change the first time until he was fourteen. If she was like him, if she did have the animal inside her, he knew it wouldn’t show itself until she was that age too. At least this is what he thought. He couldn’t be sure about this either. However, he did have one thing working in his favor—and that was time. He had years before she reached the age he was. At least it would give him the time to prepare her for it if she did. He hoped so because she wasn’t the only one that had to be prepared for it.
Alana knew nothing. He made it a point to hide it from her. It was hard to do. Ever since the first time he changed, the animal needs out around the same time of the full moon every month. For the most part, he could control it, he could control the change, but during the full moon, he found it impossible to fight it. Over the past three years, he found ways to escape her and head out into the trees to change. Within three days and nights, he would become human again, so he would head back home after that. He always brought home a meal, deer or another animal to convince her of his successful hunt, the reason he left her alone. For the most part, he managed to keep this lie, but it was still difficult. He hated lying to her, but feared her if she found out about the truth. He feared her hatred. He feared her reactions. He feared her doing to him what his own parents did and that killed his mind. It destroyed him. Now knowing and feeling the same things about his daughter, he didn’t know how to hide her. He knew that he would have to tell Alana sooner rather than later. He didn’t know what to expect. Yet again, he had the time. Yet again, he hoped he was right.
One thing he was sure of, one thing he did know, was that Sima was different. She did have a gift, a true gift, other than the wolf. She thought in ways that didn’t fit her age. She could carry on a conversation with him without having to use her mouth, and those conversations were deep. She talked like an adult. She spoke with knowledge that even he didn’t understand. He had heard stories about the Wanderers, how they came to be alive, so he figured it was just this. When a Walker mated with a human, their children were born with special gifts—the gifts of the Walkers without their ability to change. They were born without the animals that make up their lives. They were born without their weaknesses. Was that what she was? He didn’t know for sure, but it did make sense. She was after all his child.
He knelt down to her and let her jump into his arms. He hugged her firmly as he stood back up. His sweaty shirt plastered between them against his chest. He didn’t care. He loved holding her no matter what was in between them.
“How is my little girl today?” He smiled at her so strongly that he nearly felt his heart skip a beat. She always made him feel like this. He was just so happy to have her. In all honesty, it made him feel human. She made him feel whole.
The fields had been planted. The day was long. The crops would hopefully fill their bellies for the coming winter months. In other words, he was simply tired.
“I am fine.” She released her hug but kept her little arms wrapped around his neck. Her feet dangled off his waist.
She looked so much like her mother, with her long hair dangling to her shoulders. Her button nose looked perfect. Her sparkling green eyes looked like the finest emeralds ever would.
I am fine father. Her other little voice echoed around inside his mind. It sounded like her true voice, but only older and deeper. It rang with strength. It possessed true power.
He found a long time ago that he could answer her back within his own thoughts, so he did it again, this is good. Did you accomplish your chores today?
I have yes. She nodded her head. On the inside, he could also feel her smile. Mother and I have worked well all day and we have done well.
That is so good. He returned her smile, as her eyes went down and she looked at his left shoulder. We have finished everything just in time. Her voice suddenly felt cold.
It startled him. It also scared him too.
In time for what?
She looked back up and their eyes met. “I am hungry.” Her real voice became playful. She was the little girl of three again. Her inside voice went quiet and said nothing else.
“Where is mommy?” He turned with her, walked with her and back towards the house.
The house was well hidden within the trees. Sturdy oaks surrounded it. He wanted it this way. He never knew who would find him, and when. With what happened with his parents, he couldn’t think of any other way to do it. He couldn’t take the chance. He had to protect his family and hiding out here in the middle of nowhere seemed to be the best place to do it.
Alana was waiting for him just outside the front porch. “Where did you find him?” She loved seeing him with her like this. Loving someone as much as she did him, and seeing him with the one jewel that she possessed, it always would.
Sima giggled as she answered her mother. “I found him…in the fields.”
He kept her in his arms as he reached the porch. “She did.” He looked around the front of the house. He took a deep breath, and smelled nothing that didn’t smell right. They were alone, just the three of them. No one was there. Maybe he was overreacting to a little girl’s thoughts, he didn’t know. It didn’t hurt to check, just in case.
Alana admired him, as she watched him hold her close to his chest. “It is well that she did find you because it is time to eat.”
He didn’t want to, but he did put little Sima down. “Did you hear that?” He poked her little belly with a simple finger.
She giggled as she turned with her mother and went inside the front door.
He watched them and turned back to the trees.
Again, he smelled the air. Again, he took in every scent.
The smells came back completely clean. Knowing how safe they were, he joined them inside the house.
He closed the door behind him, and together, the three of them ate their meal.
9
The sun was setting behind them when they reached the village of Glomar. Arriving at the village gate, everything felt quiet. The gate was even closed. No one was around it. No one manned the two towers that stood on the opposite ends of the gate. In some ways, it felt too quiet.
Kenar knew otherwise. He felt nothing but a reserved peace emanating from the walls. The people were just in for the night. Feeling nothing, he closed his eyes. He looked back to the woman’s memories and saw the fields. He saw a house along a dirt road. He saw the trees to his left. He saw the gate of the village on his right. Knowing this, remembering it, he opened his eyes.
“We are here.” Rochie looked at the gate. He turned left and looked back to the fields. The sun was still up, ebbing lower in the sky, but he still felt its warmth blaring down over him and it only added to the feeling of the silence. He didn’t
like how quiet everything felt. It should not be this quiet. There should be people here. They should be here to greet us.
“They are here, Rochie. They are all behind the gate.” Kenar felt something else. He felt a man’s mind coming to him from the void. It felt drifting. It felt strong, but yet confused. It came from his left, so he turned that way. “It happened down there,” he said to Rochie in front of him. “The black wolf was over there.” He pointed that way.
“Are you sure about this?” He felt his friend grip his waist tighter and it made him turn also to the left.
Four farmhouses were there in the center of the newly sewn fields. Only one stood on the far left. It was close to the road. It lied just before the trees on the crest of a small hill. It had to be the place.
As for why they were there, he still wasn’t convinced about any of this. He was riding on his friend’s judgment only. If he weren’t one of his best friends, he wouldn’t have listened to him at all.
Kenar already understood. “If he is looking for the one I saw, and this woman knows him, than this is our best option. We need to find him before he does.”
Rochie huffed out with hearing this. He also blinked as he turned his horse to the left. “Fine.” He left it at that.
They rode down the road and came to the last house.
He could see a little light coming from the one window just by the front door. It told him that someone was home.
“I hope you know what you are doing my friend.” He climbed down from the horse, reached back up it and helped Kenar down to the ground with him. He then led him to the front door.
The house looked typical for any small farmhouse, but it did look rundown. It had weeds growing everywhere. It looked unkempt, even if it did look occupied. It just didn’t look alive.
“Are you sure this is the place?”
Kenar squeezed his left hand with his right. “There is a man here.” He saw the boy’s face again. “He knew him. He knew the black wolf.”
A Werewolf's Saga, The Beginning (A Werewolf's Saga Boxed Sets Book 3) Page 31