Coarse jet-black hair resembling porcupine quills rose and fell with each breath it took, and a long white stripe ran from between its ears down to his neck. A low snarl sounded, while white teeth flared against pink gums.
I sniffed the air while remaining still. I smelled no rotting flesh, no grotesque smell that usually associated itself with the Tresez. The yellow and brown grass swayed as the breeze came up…realization hit hard. I hadn’t smelled it because the breeze was coming from my back, and my scar hadn’t burned.
My heart began to race as I realized my mistake, and I searched the field for Mandi. She was down near the water when her head rose. A wild snort left her as she turned towards me. She got a whiff of it now too, but she was too far away to help.
The dark creature leapt at me, and I dove to my right, narrowly missing its claws. I sprang to my feet and tore off towards Mandi. I could fight this single Tresez without using my powers; I’d done it before.
The patter of paws behind me seemed to decrease as I ran. Mandi met me head on, only pausing long enough for me to mount. We took off towards the forest. I needed to use the trees as cover, and I needed a weapon.
I glanced behind us; the lone Tresez had seemed to disappear into thin air. Was this another trick of my imagination? No, it couldn’t be. Mandi had come running for me. She’d smelled it, even though my wound didn’t burn.
Mandi carried us through the forest, slowing as we came to the top of a ravine. I glanced down. It overlooked a smaller river. I was hit from the side, arms coming around me as we tumbled down the ravine and into the water below. We hit with enough force that we separated from each other. I came to the surface to find a man swimming at me, not a Tresez. I swam hard to the shore. I needed to get away. I needed to know what I was dealing with. This Tresez could shift like Maes and another I knew, Conall.
My legs took over as I ran down the shoreline, searching for a way back up. Mandi was nowhere in sight. The sound of gravel crunching behind me told me he was in close pursuit. Why hadn’t he changed back into a Tresez? A deer trail leading up the side of the ravine came into view; I had to get to higher ground.
My breaths were heavy, and my heart raced, but not because I was frightened. I had no fear; I had the sheer willpower to live. Marcus wasn’t going to defeat me so easily with his minions; he’d have to face me himself.
My feet came out from underneath me as I made it to the top. I fell face first into the gravely surface, my temple making contact with a sharp rock. I flipped over to fight and found razor sharp teeth at my neck. He’d shifted back into a Tresez; I had no other choice but to still for a moment.
Who was this creature? And why hadn’t my scar given me warning sooner?
He slowly retreated, and I scooted back, propping myself up with my arms. Warmth traveled down my cheek and neck. I was bleeding. His amber-rimmed eyes were searching me, as if taking into account who I was. It suddenly twisted to the left, and stared out into the forest.
The Tresez’s head tilted like it’d heard something, then a low growl sounded and white fangs showed. Something else was out there, and whatever it was, it didn’t like it. I stood and scrambled back behind a tree, searching the ground for a weapon. A few feet away lay a broken branch, thick enough to do some damage. I ran for it.
My footing slipped as sharp teeth tore at my pant leg. I again tumbled to the ground, but this time rolled to my side, grasped the branch, and launched myself upright. He’d caught me by surprise once, but not twice.
I sized up my enemy as he began to circle. His amber-rimmed eyes studied me, watching every movement I made. He wasn’t as large as Maes and Conall, but I had a feeling where he was smaller in size, he made it up with a cunning mind.
His lips curled up and white fangs revealed themselves, but he didn’t growl. Was it playing with me? Was it trying to lull me into a false sense of trust? Well, it wasn’t going to work. I lunged at it, taking a swing with the branch and landing a blow into its side.
It didn’t yelp, but moved a few paces away and stared at me again. What was this sly creature up to? It was capable of shifting. I’d felt its arms come around me and heard it running after me, but I’d yet to see its face.
It was odd. I should have received a warning beforehand, like I always had when a Tresez was near, but I hadn’t. My scar didn’t burn then, and it didn’t burn now…just like it didn’t with Maes. But I was tired of playing games with this thing. He was interrupting my training session.
“Come on,” I growled and began to circle it. “Let’s get this over with.”
Suddenly the Tresez shifted in front of me.
“A stick? Seriously? You think that’s gonna hurt me?” the man said.
I stood completely still. He had a serious French accent, not that it was uncommon. But what threw me was his appearance. A strip of white hair fell over his face, covering ones eye. He had a medium build, and the skin covering his bare chest was filled with scars that told me he’d had his fair share of battles—and had won.
What I could see of his facial features reminded me of someone else I knew…someone with a very similar accent. Someone that loved to torment me.
He crossed his arms, waiting for a reply.
“I thought I’d give you a fighting chance,” I said and widened my stance.
“For one who’s so powerful, it’s a bit pathetic.”
He knew who I was…and he was baiting me.
“Who are you?” I questioned, but before I could get a reply, he shifted back into his Tresez form.
A low rumbling growl erupted behind me. I flipped around to see jade-rimmed eyes staring down the other Tresez. Maes had come. I moved back, giving him the access he needed. I wasn’t about to stand between these two.
A deliberate circular dance began. If was as if they were sizing each other up. If this Tresez knew who I was, then he surely knew Maes. The amber-eyed Tresez showed its teeth, but again, it didn’t growl. The prickly black hair rose on the back of its neck with each breath it took, but it didn’t attack. What was it waiting for? But the real question was, what was Maes waiting for? He hadn’t attacked either.
It was as if Maes heard my thoughts. A loud snarl echoed off the trees and he darted past me, knocking me down as his shoulder hit me. I lay on the forest floor, watching the two battle it out, when the amber-eye Tresez shifted into his human form. He lay on his side, blood trailing down his arm where Maes had bitten him, and put up his hand to stop the attack.
Maes shifted, his chest heaving, but it wasn’t from fighting. There was something more going on here. Something that I needed to understand.
“Why are you here?” Maes growled.
“To find you,” the other replied.
Maes moved closer, yanking him to his feet and pinning him against a tree.
“Why are you here, Shad?” he asked again, but this time his accent thickened and his tone became more lethal.
I crawled to my feet and moved closer. Maes knew who this was and his name, Shad. Maes also didn’t like him.
“Who is this, Maes?” I asked.
Maes ignored my question and remained focused on Shad.
“Answer me, Shad, or this will be the last breath you take.”
Shad’s eyes drifted towards me.
“Why do you think I’m here, Maes?” Shad replied.
Maes dropped him to the ground, and Shad rubbed his chest.
“Because of her?” Maes snarled.
Shad slowly looked up at Maes through the white streak of hair falling over his eye.
“Because.” He paused for a moment with a sly smile. “I had so many unanswered questions, brother.”
I stood stunned. Maes had a brother? In all this time I’d known him, he’d never once mentioned it, but then again he’d never really talked about his past with me. I hadn’t asked.
“Go, while I still allow you to leave,” Maes said and turned his back on his brother. Jade-rimmed eyes avoided mine as he latched his fingers
on my arm, taking me with him. I stumbled as he dragged me down the ravine and pushed me towards the forest.
Go now. Leave him to me, Maes said.
“No,” I said crossing my arms. “You’d better start explaining.”
I have a brother, a thorn in my side. He’s only here for one reason…
“Me.”
“Yes,” Shad answered, and I glanced back. He’d followed us and apparently had the same gift as Maes. He could read thoughts, at least one of ours—Maes’s.
Maes grabbed him by the throat and shoved him back. Shad’s same cunning smile remained.
“Marcus sent him, Cheyenne. There’s only one way to end this,” Maes said low and dangerously. The muscles on his bare back flexed as he pushed Shad back further.
“But he’s your brother, Maes…” I was so confused. “You’d go so far, even though he’s your family?”
Maes turned on me in an instant. His eyes darkened as he stalked towards me. I stood my ground.
“You don’t know Shad,” he said through his teeth. “He’s as much family to me as Marcus, and he just tried to hurt you…”
“She started it,” Shad whined. “Getting her horse all flustered so she’d kick me aside. I was only defending myself.”
“You attacked me!” I snapped, unable to stop myself.
“Then why didn’t I tear your throat out when you were having your little daydream?” Shad answered. “I was waiting to have a perfectly decent conversation, but all you saw was Tresez and went into panic mode. Not my fault women are so hysterical.”
Maes’s eyes narrowed.
“Daydream?” Maes grunted. “What’s he talking about, Cheyenne?”
“Oh, wouldn’t you like to know, Maes,” Shad sneered, stressing his brother’s name. “That’s a private conversation between me and Cheyenne.”
“Speak!” Maes roared, his hand at Shad’s throat. “Or I silence you forever.”
“Maes, stop!” I held his arm. Maes hesitated, but didn’t relax his grip. I frowned at Shad. “What do you know about my dreams?”
“Everything you’ve been dying to find out since they started,” Shad answered. “But it seems my information isn’t wanted.” He kicked Maes, breaking free, and dropped to the ground. “So I’ll just be on my way…”
“Wait!” I tried to reach out, but Maes clamped my wrist and held me back. “You have to tell me!” He knew something about my dreams, these visions. He could be lying, of course, but I had to take a chance. It could be my only hope to learn more about my powers.
“Oh?” Shad raised an eyebrow. “And what’s in it for me?”
“Enough!” Maes rumbled. He pushed me aside and drove his shoulder into Shad’s chest. “I’ll give you one chance, brother. Leave us and crawl back to your master, or you won’t be leaving here at all.”
“You were always such a bully,” Shad said, brushing back his white strand of hair. “I’ll see you soon, Cheyenne.”
He shifted back into Tresez form and bolted into the forest. Maes clenched his fist, before he shifted too and took chase. Probably to make sure Shad kept his word.
“Stupid dogs,” I muttered and followed after them.
It didn’t take long for Maes and Shad to disappear as night fell in the forest. I’d started out running after them, but quickly realized I was too dizzy to do so in a straight line. My head was throbbing where I’d hit my temple, but at least the bleeding had stopped. Mandi hadn’t returned either. She’d probably run back to the compound and that’s how Maes had known to come after me.
The snapping of branches caught my ear, but I knew it wasn’t a Tresez. A lone tall figure emerged from behind some brush; Colt had come to help bring me back.
“Cheyenne!” Colt called out, and his pace quickened.
I didn’t bother to answer. Who else would be stupid enough to wander the wilderness alone at night besides me?
“Hey.” He stopped in front of me and grabbed my arm gently. He tilted my head and sighed. “I had a feeling you’d been left alone, bleeding.”
“Nothing new, Colt.”
“Here,” he said and turned his back towards me. “Hop on. I’ll give you a ride.”
I hesitated for a moment and realized it would probably be faster this way anyhow. He bent down, and I crawled onto his back, my legs hooked over his hips and my arms around his neck. I laid my head on his back as he began our walk back.
“So you met Shad?” I mumbled against his jacket.
“Yeah, Maes isn’t very happy.”
“Didn’t get the feeling he likes his brother.”
“I think there’s a lot of bad blood between the two,” Colt replied.
“Who doesn’t have bad blood with a Tresez?”
It was obvious Maes didn’t want Shad around. But what had transpired in the past that would make it so easy for him to kill his own brother? That, I was sure, would be answered sooner than later.
Chapter 9
Colt and I didn’t have to be near the old mining facility to hear Brogan’s voice echo across the meadow. He was angry, most likely because Maes told him I’d wanted Shad to stay around.
Colt stopped on the stone steps and helped me off his back. He looked down on me and sighed. We both knew the moment I passed over the threshold I’d be bombarded with words, angry words. Again, there would be lack of understanding, but that was nothing new. Shad was our enemy, at least that’s what Maes had conveyed, but he knew something valuable to me. He’d also, like Maes, had been with Marcus for years. Even if he was lying about my dreams, there was a distant chance I might be able to dig out information on his master that could help me beat him. He’d have no regard for my safety like the others, and any information I could gather would be worth it.
I had to do something. I didn’t have Callon to run to for help anymore.
Colt stayed behind me, his hand coming to rest on my shoulder as I stepped into the great room. The fire roared behind Brogan, sending flickers of flames around his body and making him appear as red hot as his anger.
Maes and Daniel stood before Brogan. Koda, Dex, Clayton, and Skylar surrounded Shad while Lilly, Bree, Nakari, and Andre remained close to Brogan’s side.
Clayton and Skylar had returned now. Their search for Callon had failed.
Brogan’s brown eyes landed upon me with loathing, the muscles in his neck tensed, and a growl erupted. His upper lip curled.
“What the hell did you do this time, princess?!” Brogan snarled and stepped forward. Maes grasped his arm, holding him back.
I continued into the room, stopping a few feet away. I refused to cower before him.
“Callon’s not here to protect you anymore,” Brogan went on. “Now we see you for what you really are. Conspiring with the enemy…as if you haven’t given enough to Marcus!”
I blinked. Callon had been defending me all along?
“Don’t look so shocked,” Nakari growled. “Callon defended everything you did, even when he himself thought it wasn’t right. He believed in you…”
Her words just added to the burden on my shoulders. Even when Callon didn’t agree with me, even when the other clan leaders were against me, his loyalty never waned. I’d never gained any trust or acceptance on my own; it was all because of him.
Layla’s fingers landed on Brogan’s arm and our gaze met. She couldn’t hide it as her eyes showed the truth; she sided with Brogan…like the rest.
“Well?” Brogan said. “Cat got your tongue, or should I say Marcus?”
Colt’s fingers tightened on my shoulder, but he didn’t speak.
“You’ve got it wrong, as usual,” I said. “There could be valuable information we can gain from Shad. And if we keep him close, we’ll know what he’s doing.”
“But at what cost, Cheyenne?” Dex asked, his eyes hesitant. “You already opened a bridge with Marcus. Having Shad here means he can get reports on his handiwork.”
“What do you mean she already opened a bridge with Marcus?�
�� Koda asked. “How?”
I stared down at the grey stone floor. Dex and Maes hadn’t told them of my vision, of what happened in the meadow and their theory that Marcus was able to control me. Maes had only spoken of this to me in my thoughts…even Colt didn’t know.
“They have a theory,” I said and met their stares again. “A few weeks ago I had a vision—no, more like memories—but they weren’t mine. Chances are they were Marcus’s memories. They think that opened a connection, a bridge for Marcus to gain access to me, to my mind.”
Daniel’s gaze saddened, and his shoulders sagged.
“Why did you do that?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I didn’t do it. It just happened.”
“I told you death and destruction follow her!” Brogan roared, his hands rising in the air. “I told you we should have abandoned her. She’s just like her mother, worthless!” He stepped forward before Maes could grab his arm and poked his finger in my face. “Marcus won’t destroy the Timeless race. It’s you!”
Colt shoved me to the side as he pressed himself into Brogan’s face.
“It’s your single-mindedness that will destroy us, Brogan!” Colt snapped. “You only see one path, and any other is wrong. You have no vision, because you’ve never had faith in anyone long enough to see a different outcome.”
“And you only have faith in her because you want to gain something in the end! It’s always been that way for you, Colt. You’ve only ever been self-serving!”
“My love isn’t self-serving!”
“You don’t know how to love anyone beside yourself!”
Colt’s fist made contact with Brogan’s cheek before Brogan had time to step back. Seconds later, Brogan tackled Colt and they were rolling across the cold bricks. Maes, Koda, and Skylar latched themselves onto Brogan, trying to break his hold, while Dex, Daniel, and Clayton pried Colt away.
“Enough!” Lilly screamed, and the fighting stopped. “We are a family. We don’t fight like this. We do everything together. We support one another, have faith in each other, even when all hope seems lost.”
Her dark blue eyes landed on me.
“We are a family through thick and thin,” she reminded me. “Always and forever.”
Awakening: A Timeless Series Novel, Book Four Page 12