“No, my father,” Emilia’s voice hitched as she spoke.
“Your father? He lived in these mountains?” Sage asked.
“We think so. The cave paintings by the Stone Claw settlement seem to indicate they made my mom leave after he died.” Emilia looked at Thorn with deep sadness and the bear shifter reached for her and pulled her close.
“We both want answers,” Sage said.
“We do,” Emilia agreed.
“Then let’s go. We can drive around the mountain and then split off. Did Lupe give you a map?” Patrick asked.
“Yes, he drew out the exact place.” Emilia took out a piece of paper and handed it to Patrick.
“I know the cave system. I’ve been up there a few times, but not for years. I never saw signs of dragons living there, but then I never thought dragons were real, despite what Lupe told me.” He smiled sadly as he folded up the piece of paper and handed it back to Emilia.
“I hope you find what you are looking for.” Sage hugged Emilia.
“And you, too. It saddens me that whatever we find, our parents are gone forever.” Emilia sighed and took a step away from Sage. “But I hope we both find answers.”
“I hope so, too.” Sage glanced up at Patrick with a better understanding of why he would want to stay here. His roots were here, deep roots, a sense of belonging to something bigger than himself.
Had she already made up her mind about where they would live? Could she be happy here away from her family? Or would the choice tear them apart?
Only time would tell. Time, which had hidden so much. But they were ready to crack it open and reveal the secrets of centuries past.
Chapter Six – Patrick
He drove the truck away from his small cottage by the river and followed the road away from River Wolf and down toward the nearest town. There he took a right, driving along the lower slopes of the mountain. The road meandered past other small villages, some a mere collection of houses grouped together to form a community.
It was a pleasant drive over good roads. Not that he noticed, he was too preoccupied with thoughts of the rest of the day, and the night. The trek through the mountains to the Stone Claw village was over rough terrain, it would take them a couple of hours or more to get to the fork in the trail where Emilia and Thorn would leave him and Sage.
Patrick wished he’d had a chance to talk to Lupe before they left and check that he wasn’t sending Emilia on a wild goose chase to find proof her father had lived in the mountains. But he trusted Lupe. Although he didn’t know why his granddad had never shared this information before.
“Are you okay?” Sage asked as they turned onto a steep road that went on for another mile or two before it narrowed into a dirt track. Since the weather had been unseasonably dry, there was a chance he could drive the truck another half a mile or so further along the dirt track before they would have to shoulder their packs and walk on foot.
“Yes.” He looked at her and gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m thinking, that’s all.”
“I’ve been admiring your mountain.” Sage inhaled deeply. “The pine smells so sweet.”
“It’s the scent of home for me,” Patrick admitted. “It’s the scent of my childhood. I used to run through the forests with my friends. Even before I learned to shift.”
“The forests around Bear Creek smell the same.” She inhaled again. Was she thinking of home? Was she homesick?
“Not much farther and we’ll be there,” Patrick said to his passengers. “Once I’ve parked the truck, we’ll take the packs and climb through the forest out onto the open mountain.”
He sounded like a tour guide. Which was one of the options he’d figured might be open to the people of River Wolf now that the water had returned. Perhaps they could take people into the mountains, let them see the work they were doing to restore the water.
He sighed, exasperated, they had to do something. The water might make farming easier, they could not grow crops and water farm animals without hauling the water up the mountain which was too costly. But those industries needed time to grow. Literally.
He shut those thoughts out as they reached their destination and he pulled the truck off the road, leaving it under the shelter of the tall pines. They all got out and retrieved their packs before Patrick led them off along a trail that wound through the forest, which was eerily quiet.
“I’m slowing you down,” Emilia commented an hour later, as they left the shelter of the trees and began the steep climb along the next part of the trail. “If not for me, you could go on on four paws.”
“You forget all the times you’ve carried us to hard-to-reach places,” Patrick told her. “And if it wasn’t for you, the river would still be absent from the village.”
“Yeah. So don’t even think of beating yourself up about slowing us down,” Thorn told her.
“We could always wait here for dusk to fall and let Sage and Patrick go on ahead. Then I can fly us right there,” she said to Thorn.
The group stopped for water as they discussed the best way to continue. “Whatever suits you is fine by me,” Patrick said. He shielded his eyes and looked into the distance. “That’s where you want to head toward.” He pointed to a gap between two peaks. “Show me the map again.” He wanted to be sure he wasn’t mistaken.
“Here. This is where we are, isn’t it?” Emilia asked, pointing to a shaded area on the map. “Lupe marked the two peaks here.”
“Yes, that’s it,” Patrick confirmed. “Go between the mountains and then turn northeast. There’s a stack of rocks.” He indicated the place on Lupe’s map. “The caves are just beyond that.”
“Great.” Emilia looked at the map once more and then at the peaks in the distance. “Got it.”
“Are you sure about this?” Sage asked. “We could all go up the mountain together. I don’t mind walking.”
“No, you two go on. We’ll be fine. As soon as it’s dusk we’ll go.” Thorn patted his backpack. “We have provisions and some strong flashlights. We’ll be okay. Once we get there, we’ll give the area a quick look over and then make camp. Tomorrow, we’ll explore and meet you down at the truck.”
“If we meet at dusk, Emilia can fly down from the mountain,” Patrick suggested.
“Sounds as if we have a plan.” Thorn nodded and took his pack off his shoulder and placed it on the ground.
“We can’t just leave you here,” Sage said, looking from Patrick to Thorn and lastly to Emilia.
“Yes, you can. We have food and each other.” Emilia slid her hand into Thorn’s. “There are only three or four more hours until the sun sets enough for me to fly without being seen. We can either walk on with you and slow you down and tire ourselves out. Or we can wait here. This way you two can be at the Stone Claw village in an hour or so.”
“It makes sense,” Patrick told Sage.
“If you’re absolutely sure?” Sage asked with concern.
“We are.” Emilia took her pack off and dumped it next to Patrick’s. “You two go on.”
Sage hugged Emilia. “We’ll see you tomorrow. I hope you find what you are looking for.”
“I hope you do, too.” Emilia gave her a hopeful smile. “And if we don’t, we have all that we need right here.”
Thorn put his arm around Emilia and pulled her to him as Sage and Patrick said one last goodbye and walked away, following the trail until they reached the cover of a small cluster of trees at the base of a sheer cliff.
“This is going to be much easier to climb on four paws.” Patrick looked along the trail to where it curved around out of view as it climbed ever upward. “Ready?”
“Always.” Sage let her bear take over and Patrick’s wolf clawed at his mind in an attempt to join their mate as she loped off at a steady pace, following the trail.
He didn’t hold out for long, despite enjoying the view of Sage’s bear as she navigated her way around a couple of large boulders before her paws slipped on loose shale which cascaded
down the mountain like a mini avalanche.
At last, his wolf said as he was unleashed to run after their mate.
They caught up with Sage with ease but slowed their pace to match hers once they did. On and on, forever upward they climbed, his wolf legs straining over the rugged terrain. Sage’s bear didn’t show any signs of fatigue at all and kept her pace steady and her face set as she neared the top of the trail.
Once they crested the cliff face, they stopped and looked down below, and they were rewarded with a magnificent view. Patrick stared hard toward River Wolf Lands. He’d seen this view a thousand times, but today it was different. He could see the thin silver thread of water as it meandered along the once dry riverbed. A sense of pride, mixed with a sense of achievement, filled him.
We did well, his wolf admitted. We have helped our family and our friends breathe new life into the place we love so much.
We have, Patrick agreed.
His wolf swung his head around to look at Sage, who was staring into the distance. He followed her gaze. There, in the distance, the peaks of the mountain range surrounding Bear Creek could be seen. Majestic in the low afternoon sun, which painted a red glow over the cliffs and crags.
She turned her massive head to look at him with soft brown eyes and he knew she was torn between him and home. Just as he was torn between her and the place he’d lived his whole life, the place he never left even when most of those he’d grown up with did.
Her bear sighed, sides heaving up and down as if the weight of the mountains rested on her shoulders. Then her bear’s mouth curled up at the corners as if she were smiling and she lowered her head, nipped his slender wolf legs and then ran off.
Patrick laughed inwardly, even though his wolf tried hard to look offended. Not wanting to be left behind, his wolf set off at a run, head down, leaping over whatever might be in his way as he chased the bear along a narrow ledge that led around the side of the cliff face. When they reached the other side, the trail forked, and she had to wait for him. She looked right and left, then back at the wolf. This is where they would have parted with Emilia and Thorn, and her bear looked up toward the peaks in the distance that he’d used to tell Emilia how to navigate her way to the cave system.
Patrick’s wolf sensed her unease. What awaited Emilia up in the caves? A key to whether her father and mother lived there before the death of her father, or a whole lot of nothing? That was for the dragon shifter to find out. Meanwhile, Patrick intended to help Sage uncover her own family’s past.
With a nudge, he trotted off along the left-hand fork, keeping his pace steady. He wanted to reach their destination before sunset, but they still had a long way to go over rough terrain. Sage didn’t complain, despite her bear’s breathing becoming more labored as they climbed higher along narrow trails that were used by the wolves in the area and were not overly suitable for bears.
When the Stone Claw Clan left the mountains, only a sprinkling of bear shifters remained in the surrounding villages, and most of those seemed to migrate toward Bear Creek and Bear Bluff over the years. It was well known in the River Run Mountains that this was wolf territory.
Yet when they finally arrived at the site of the old village where Sage’s ancestors once lived, it left Patrick with a sadness that until now bears and wolves had lived apart, separated by old grievances from so long ago.
Sage’s bear stood and looked down on the ruins of the village, which consisted of no more than piles of rock, with the occasional outline of what once was a room, but now was nothing more than a low wall chipped and worn away by time.
She shifted into her human form and surveyed the scene below them as the sun set on the horizon. A fiery glow marking the end of the day. Just as a fiery glow from the mouth of a dragon had once tried to end the people of the Stone Claw Clan.
Lupe would never like his grandson to admit it, but after meeting the dragons and seeing their power, admittedly turned to good right now, they did not need much of an imagination to acknowledge how deadly destructive they would be if they were turned to rage.
Or even to malice. The dragons that attacked the villages long ago did not do so for food, or even for treasure, the people had none.
They did so because they could.
And the Stone Claws betrayed the River Wolf Clan because they felt they had no choice.
Patrick’s blood ran cold as his eyes coveted his mate.
What would he do to save his mate, his family from fear and death?
It was easy to see what drove Chin Shan to do what he did to save his people. This River Wolf forgave the actions of a man who sacrificed so much for those he loved.
Chapter Seven – Sage
“This is where he lived?” Sage looked out across the ruins of the village. If you could call them ruins. Most of the buildings were now nothing more than piles of stone scattered across an unforgiving landscape. The people who lived here must have struggled every day of their lives to eke out a meager life of hunger and struggle.
“Yes.” Patrick approached her and stood shoulder to shoulder with the woman whose roots were here among the dry dirt and rocks. “It doesn’t look like much. But the cave will give you further proof.”
Sage looked at him with eyes bright with unshed tears. “To have come so far and have to live like this. No wonder they wanted to go home.”
“It gives new meaning to the grass is always greener on the other side, doesn’t it? They soon realized their homeland was where they belonged.” Patrick slipped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “Although, and call me biased, I’m glad Chin Shan got left behind.”
Sage rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. “Despite all his sacrifices, and the pain that must have caused, so am I.”
They stood together and watched the sun as it gave way to the night and darkness claimed the land, the same darkness that had claimed Chin Shan’s memories. Sage pressed closer to Patrick, seeking out the warmth and comfort of his presence. She could not imagine the inner strength her ancestor drew on to make the choices he did.
Unforgivable choices.
“It’s in the past,” Patrick told her as she inhaled deeply, and the breath shuddered through her body. “Chin Shan did what he did for what he thought was the right reason.”
“I know.” Sage let out the breath, and with it the guilt she’d been holding inside her since she found out the truth of where she came from. It was not her guilt, she had no part in it. “Can we see the cave?”
“Sure.” He slipped his arm from her shoulders and took her hand, not wanting to break the contact between them. It was as if he thought she would float away across the sea to where the rest of her people now lived.
“Do you know where they are? Do you have any idea where the Stone Claw Clan is now? If there are any left alive.” Sage followed Patrick along a game trail to a rock face, where the entrance to a small cave was half hidden behind scrubby bushes.
“Not really.” He cast a glance over his shoulder. “There’s a rough map in here, but I’ve never paid it much attention. Honestly, until the dragons came, I hadn’t been up here since I was a kid.”
Sage stood at the entrance to the cave, a place where centuries ago the Stone Claw Clan would go for shelter from dragon attacks. This was their place of sanctuary, the place where they drew their story on the walls with ochre and charcoal.
“There are no ghosts inside the cave,” Patrick assured her as she held back.
“I know.” She searched for the reason for her hesitation. “This is the closest I’ve gotten to Chin Shan’s people. His friends, his family, the people he tried to save with his actions.”
“Take another step and another, and you’ll be even closer.” Patrick gave her a lopsided smile and tugged at her hand.
“A man of sense.” She took a large, exaggerated, stride. “You’re right, I feel closer already.”
He chuckled, and it reverberated off the sides of the tunnel. “Let’s get some light.”
Patrick removed his pack and placed it down on the dry stone of the cave floor and rummaged for a flashlight. He handed one to Sage and then stood up with another flashlight in his hand, which he switched on.
Sage was disappointed to see the bare stone walls, even though she knew the drawings were much deeper inside the cave system. With a need to see proof the Stone Claws came to these caves, she pressed forward, following Patrick deeper into the caves.
“Here are the first of the drawings.” Patrick shone his flashlight on a small section of the cave wall. It showed a smudged drawing of what looked like a bear and a child. “I think it must have been rubbed away by the people entering the caves through this tunnel.”
Sage ran her fingertips lightly over the rough surface of the cave all. “They would have walked along this very tunnel.”
“They would, to escape a dragon.” He gave a short laugh. “It seems almost unbelievable.”
“Unless you’d seen a dragon with your own eyes.” She leaned forward, the beam of her flashlight illuminating the scuffed drawing. “They must have been terrified.”
“Yes.” He shone his flashlight deeper into the caves. “This way.”
They walked solemnly along the trail, their thoughts on the people who lived here once. After meeting the dragon shifters in Bear Creek, it was difficult to believe they could ever be bloodthirsty enough to attack innocent people. Yet if the stories of her people, as recounted by George when he first told them of Chin Shan and the Stone Claw Clan, were to be believed, that’s exactly what had happened. Fire and death rained down on the mountainside. The River Wolf Clan were protected by an amulet that prevented the dragon from harming them. But the rest of the people on the mountain were at the mercy of the dragons.
“Wow.” They entered a large cave, and as the light from their flashlights illuminated the vast cavern, Sage caught glimpses of detailed drawings, etched into the rock with sharp tools and then colored with ochre.
River Run Wolf Page 5