“And Jasper?”
“Would come. We’ve already discussed it. But hiding doesn’t solve the problem. Even if I left, I would know that Braw was still separating whatever shifter he could get his hands on.” I shook my head. “Hiding isn’t an option.”
“Alright. Now, if fighting is the only option, then there is no point in worrying about the outcome. If we win, then all the better.”
“We can’t lose.”
Her midnight blue eyes met mine.
“I don’t care how it’s done, Rainen. There is only one rule in this battle. No matter what happens, Braw does not touch me with that staff.” We stared at each other for a moment. She nodded.
*****
The early morning was beautiful and I smiled as I pulled my swords onto my back. Excited butterflies bumped into each other in my stomach. After well over a year, we were finally going home.
Jasper grinned and handed me my pack.
“How long?” I asked.
“Three weeks.”
I laughed and kissed him. “What’s three weeks after a year?”
“Too long.”
“I agree. At least it’s summer and we won’t get stuck in any blizzards.”
He chuckled. “True enough.”
There was a knock at the door and Matthew walked in.
“Good morning.”
I gave him a hug. “Morning. Are you and Emelly ready to go?”
He nodded. “Steven, Mark, Kearan, and Karryn are waiting by the gates already. Does it seem odd to anyone else that as of the moment we leave Howel, our pack will have more humans in it than any other kind of being?”
“It’s a bit odd I suppose, but that’s just until we reach Sageden.” I shrugged. “Though, if you think about it, when we were at odds with Rainen before we crossed over last year, we had more Majs in our pack than anything.”
Matthew did the math in his head. “Can you really count Tyler and Trent? They were only twelve then. They’re not even close to being of age.”
“They can fight as well as anyone else I know.”
“True enough. I suppose that when your aunty is the Chosen One, you don’t have much choice in the matter.” He grinned and ducked to avoid the slap I was aiming at his shoulder.
Jasper opened the door and waved him through. “If you’re not careful, we’ll be short a Namael before we hit the road.”
“Ah, she wouldn’t dare.” Matthew winked at me. “She loves me.”
I stuck my tongue out at him and he left laughing.
“Ok. I think we’re ready.” Jasper stuck his dagger in his belt.
“Where’s Kip?”
“The last time I saw him he was following Steven around.”
I smiled. “It’s the cheese he keeps in his pocket.”
We left the house just as Rainen and Damian were coming out of the other.
“Wow! Damian, you look great!” His strange eyes which were dark grey on the outside and got lighter until they were white by the pupil were no longer sunken into his face. He had put on at least twenty five pounds overnight. He looked like his very healthy looking projection I was used to seeing. At about six feet two inches he was an imposing figure with his greying dark hair, though he looked quite a few years younger than his fifty five years. He grinned.
“Rainen has some amazing tricks when it comes to energy.”
“No kidding!” I turned to her. “You’ll have to show me some of them.”
“Definitely. We’ll have lots of time between Sageden and Paradin.”
“Ok, I’m all set.” William stepped out of the house and came to stand by us. “Is everyone ready?”
I looked at him, a little confused that he had decided to come with us. I noticed he wasn’t looking at Rainen.
“We were just waiting on you.” Jasper didn’t seem to notice anything unusual.
I gave Rainen a hug.
“We’ll be there about a week after you,” she said. “Don’t leave without us.”
I laughed. “We wouldn’t dream of it.”
We turned and headed for the gate where everyone was waiting. I hung back and walked beside William.
“I’m sort of surprised you’re coming now.”
“Why’s that?” He glanced at me.
“Well, I guess it’s because I thought you would want to travel with Rainen.”
“Oh, I do. It’s just, I promised to fight with you. I can’t very well do that if I’m not with you, now can I?”
I stopped and grabbed his arm so he would look at me.
“William, you can stay. We’ll meet up in Sageden. We shouldn’t have to do much fighting between now and then.”
He looked at me and then to the house where Rainen was sitting on the step, watching us leave. He shook his head.
“No. My place is with you. It’s hard to explain.”
“It’s not. You’re forming some sort of bond. It probably started when we first met in Paradin and the more time you spend with me the stronger it gets.” I looked to the house. “Was she upset?”
He shook his head.
“Then, what’s the problem?”
“Honestly?”
“Honestly.”
“I like Rainen. I mean, I really like her. The problem is…well, she can’t very well go back with me, can she?”
“She could, but you’re right. She probably wouldn’t.”
“I don’t need anything happening that will make me change my mind, Hayden. I want to go back.”
“Have you told her?”
He nodded. “Last night, when I was getting my stuff ready.”
“You know, I’m not entirely sure what will happen when all of this fighting is done, you know, with the bonds and what not. If you stay too long, you might not be able to leave due to the fact that the longer we’re together, the stronger the bond gets. There’s also the fact that if something happens and I get killed, I can’t get you across.”
He stared at me and I could see the wheels turning in his head.
“Think about it, William. If you want to go back that badly, I’ll have to do it soon.”
“Hayden! Are you coming? We can’t very well save the world without the Chosen One!” Matthew yelled from the gates.
I laughed as Jasper gave him a slap to the back of the head. I turned back to William as we started walking again. “Take a couple of days to think about it, but don’t wait too long.” I gave his arm a squeeze and jogged the rest of the way to the gates. I swung onto Dodge.
William was walking back to Rainen. She stood and listened as he talked then put a hand on his arm and nodded. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her softly, shifted, whined, and ran back to our group.
“Alright, let’s head out!” Jasper shifted.
I looked back and gave Rainen one final wave as we started off for home.
*****
We spent a week on the move with nothing more exciting than running into a herd of hallopes, a short deer like ruminant. Of course, things can never go smoothly and our peace was disturbed by one lone grubborn, a flat muskrat looking animal, which Karryn managed to step on due to the fact that she was paying more attention to Steven than she was to where she was going.
The grubborn, which was a peaceful creature unless provoked, twisted and wrapped its tail around her leg. Its thin spines dug into her and released their deadly poison. A fraction of a second later Steven had cut its head off with his dagger.
“Hayden!”
I had already jumped off of Dodge and was running to where Karryn lay writhing on the ground. Steven was trying to hold her still.
“Stop moving! The less you move, the slower the poison spreads!” Her eyes widened at his words and I could see the effort she made to lay as still as possible. Kearan kneeled by her head, tears running down her face.
“Jasper, I need my bag!” He knelt by my side.
“What do you need, Shlova?”
“The thorba weed. The leaves.” I close
d my eyes and ran through the list of things I had in my medicine bag. “Oh! And two of the hoaquem flowers. The red ones.”
I took the thorba weed from him and chewed it quickly, the bitter taste making the bile rise in my stomach. I spit the mush into my hand and spread it over Karryn’s already swollen leg. She sucked in a breath and whimpered at the sting. I gave her the hoaquem flowers.
“Eat these.”
She did as she was told, though I could tell she had trouble swallowing the terrible tasting flowers. I had yet to figure out why anything that could heal you was guaranteed to taste horrible. Mark brought her a canteen and she took a few grateful gulps.
I watched the paste on her leg start to turn black as the poison was drawn out through the skin. I ran a green wave over her to make sure she was alright.
“She’ll be ok. I think I’ll have to paste her leg once more, but we got it in time.”
“What were the flowers for?” asked Kearan.
“They slow her heart. The slower the blood flows through her, the more likely we can get the poison completely out of her system. She’ll sleep now.” I got up and put my things under a tree. Jasper was already getting the wood for the fire. I threw a light red wave at it and started the fire. I half grinned at him and sighed.
“Who needs blizzards when you have love struck teenagers in your pack?”
He laughed before shifting. Matthew followed suit and the two of them left to hunt. I went to check on Karryn where her sister and Emelly had made her comfortable. Emelly looked up at me as I approached.
“Do you think you could teach me? I mean, I know I can’t do the magic healing, but the stuff with the herbs could come in handy.”
“Definitely. We can do a bit after camp is ready every night.” I gave Kearan a reassuring pat on the back and went to grab the canteens.
“Here, I’ll give you a hand.” William took two of them from me and we made our way down to the creek. I waited for him, knowing he had finally made his decision.
He filled one of the canteens, looked up at me and brushed the hair out of his eyes.
“I want to go back.”
I nodded.
“It goes against almost everything I’m feeling. I keep thinking I need to stay to protect you. That must be the bond thing. But really, I mean, what am I really able to do? I can fight a bit, but you have some of the best captains from both shifters’ armies in your pack. You don’t really need me, right?”
“William.” I smiled. “I understand. This isn’t your war. It isn’t your world.”
“I just…” He stood and I gave him a hug.
“You’ve already done plenty to help me.” I picked up the canteens. “Now, all we have to do is find a crossing. Do you remember where you crossed?”
“Not exactly, but it was in the Northern Regions.”
“Hmmm. Well, we can’t wait that long. We’ll get you to cross at the nearest one. Once you get across, you’ll have to find your way home.”
He nodded.
“We have money in our bags. I’ll give you some so you can grab a few things when you get there.”
“Hayden, you don’t have to do that.”
“We can’t use it here, now can we? We brought it to show Luke and Mel’s boys. There’s not much there, but it should help you get home.”
He stopped walking and hugged me tightly. “Thank you.”
I swallowed to get the lump out of my throat. “You’re welcome.”
We got back to camp and I couldn’t help but smile. Damian was sitting on a stump, throwing a small ball of fire into the air. The ball split into three and he juggled them, tossed them behind his back, and caught them all in one hand. Emelly and Kearan were sitting in front of him, their mouths open in wonder, like six year olds at a magic show. He clapped his hands together and the fire balls disappeared. His grey eyes focused on me as I walked toward them.
“Here,” he said. “Catch!” He flicked his wrist and tossed the little ball of fire at me.
I dropped the canteens and cushioned the ball as it fell toward me. My heart jumped into my throat.
“Holy shit!”
Damian smiled. “How did you catch it?”
“I…I don’t know! I didn’t know I could!”
“Think.”
I gawked down at the little ball of heat in my hands. “Umm, let’s see. I dropped the canteens and then I…” I looked at him and frowned.
He nodded.
“I caught it with my own wave?”
“That’s right. I wasn’t sure if you were a fire handler, but from what I had heard of your feats with the red waves, I assumed you must be. Fire handling is a rare skill. There are only a handful of sorcerers able to do it. Throw it back.”
I threw the ball, pushing it away from me with my own wave. It doubled in size before reaching Damian. He caught it and put it out.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. Now, take your wave and roll it. Just cup it in your hand and flick your wrist around. Use your lightest red; the darker the red, the bigger the ball.”
I pulled my lightest wave, cupped it in my hand and flicked my wrist like I had seen him do. A little ball formed in my hand then flickered out.
“What did you just do, Shlova?” Jasper was holding a small deer by a hind leg. Matthew dropped the front end. I grinned.
“I made a fire ball!” I pulled the wave again and formed another one. I cupped both of my hands under it and concentrated on keeping it lit. I tossed it to Damian who caught it with one hand and lobbed it back. I held it out for Jasper to see.
“I didn’t even know that was possible.” He peered at it closely.
“Damian says there aren’t too many sorcerers able to do it.” I smothered the fire and smiled. Jasper shook his head in amazement.
“I wonder what else you can do.”
William smiled. “What can’t she do?”
“Well, I can’t shift, or displace things, or use the darkest green to transfer energy from one being to another…”
“Rainen said she tried working with the displacement issues. She couldn’t understand why that seems to be the only spell you can’t get to work.” Damian was frowning.
“Marilynn tried working with me too and nothing seems to work.”
“But when I displaced you last year, you were the one who finished it off.”
I shook my head. “Not really. I waited until you had started and then I just projected it so that you wouldn’t use any more energy than you already had. I can displace if someone else does the spell because then I take their magic to do it, but I can’t for the life of me get it to work if I say the words.”
Damian scratched his jaw, his strange grey eyes staring at me, but not seeing me as he thought. He refocused and shrugged.
“It will give us something to work on.” He smiled.
Matthew and Steven had the deer on the fire by this time and we all sat around chatting while we waited for it to cook.
“Hun, do you know where the closest crossing is?” I was leaning back against his chest and had to look up and back to talk to him. He thought for a moment then nodded.
“About two days north east of here. Why?”
“When William helped me escape Paradin I promised him I would help get him home. His bond is getting stronger and I don’t want to take the chance that he won’t be able to cross if we wait too long.”
I felt him nod behind me.
“It won’t affect the length of our trip by too much. I don’t see why we couldn’t make a bit of a detour if that’s what he wants.” He looked to William who was sitting to our left.
“It is,” my friend replied.
“What about you, Steven? Will you cross back over?”
Steven shook his head to answer Jasper, his white blond hair falling into his eyes. “No. I might be from there, but this is home now. Once this affair with Braw is done and over with I plan on building myself a cabin, finding myself a mate, and living in peace
like Dad always wanted.”
I turned to Mark and Kearan. “What about you guys?”
Both of them shook their heads like I thought they would. Both of them had been born here. I didn’t bother asking Emelly. I knew that even if she hadn’t been born here, she would have choosen to stay with Matthew.
Once the deer was cooked, we all ate and got ready for bed. I checked on Karryn one last time and was glad to see her leg was back to its normal size. Though she would be sore and stiff in the leg for a few days, she would be ready to move out in the morning.
I joined Jasper under our blankets and fell asleep looking forward to the next couple of weeks as they brought us closer to home.
*****
“Karryn, wake up.” I knelt beside her, put a hand on her arm and jerked back.
“Sholva, what’s wrong?”
I frowned and ran a green wave over her. I swore under my breath and looked at him. “She’s dead. It doesn’t make sense. She was better before I went to bed. I checked her myself. She was fine. The flowers had worn off and she was just sleeping!”
Jasper pulled the blankets off of her and frowned.
“What the hell?” I moved down to her leg and took a closer look. I had put a new layer of paste on her leg as a preventative measure just to be sure. I had expected it to still be green when we woke up. It was just as black as the first paste I had applied. Her leg was so swollen that the skin was splitting. I heard a gasp behind me and turned.
“What…what’s wrong?” Kearan’s eyes were brimming with tears.
I stood and pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry, Kearan. I’m not sure what happened. She was fine last night.”
Mark came to stand by us. “Is she…”
I nodded. He took Kearan from me and hugged her close.
“Shush.” He ran his hands over her hair and rubbed her back.
“Hayden.”
I knelt back down beside Jasper. He turned the infected leg carefully to reveal a spine lodged in the back of the knee. Neither of us said anything. Jasper stood.
Destiny (The Chosen One Trilogy:Book Three) Page 12