Jimmy nodded. “I am.” Now that it’s out, let’s see where this goes. I only hope that Robert knows what he’s doing.
Again the gasp came again and once again, the entire room fell silent.
This time Robert broke the silence. “With Devish’s return. With Rana back again by his side and with the black wolf here again, everything will never be the same again. If we all join together—if we band together with Kalima, we can stop him again. We can end this once and for all.” He moved away from Jimmy towards the table again.
Velera sat back down. All of the others stayed silent.
Sharlia walked over towards the head of the table and stopped just beside Dorna. “We must join together Dorna. We have to stay together. Only then can we defeat him. Only together can we achieve what must come next.”
“We must discuss this situation Dorna.” Maxwell, the head of the Sortha Clan spoke next. “We must check into this first.”
Robert knew very little about Maxwell other than what he knew about the clan that he led. They were all intellectuals for the most part. Knowing this, he only hoped that would be enough to do the right thing.
Dorna listened and lifted his eyes towards the young man with Rochie. He locked them onto Kalima. “How did you survive after all of this time? How is it that you lived when we all understood you to be destroyed?” He agreed with Maxwell, and with this, he needed to know more from the one who could give him those answers.
Jimmy looked at Robert, looked at Sharlia, and then looked back to the one called Dorna. “I have none of Kalima’s memories. What I do know is that he passed the wolf onto a man named Collins. I, I guess, I’m Kalima reborn. The wolf came to me through Collins.” He sighed. Saying everything out loud suddenly made him feel rather disjointed. He’d never thought about any of this with much interest, about who he really was, but now, standing there and saying it, it dawned on him about what it all meant. He was Kalima. He now knew it completely, but as of yet, he didn’t understand it. Some time he might, but now, he only had what he just said. Everything else was just a thought. He only hoped that it would come back to him, sooner rather than later.
Dorna listened intently, and even though he couldn’t read the young man’s mind, he did agree with his thoughts. He didn’t understand it either. “If Kalima has returned and if that is you, why have you come back? What is your reason to do so?”
Jimmy shrugged and looked to Robert.
The look in his eyes must have told Robert something, because he turned back to the group. “He never left us Dorna. Devish now knows this too.”
The table grew silent again. They were obviously thinking.
Sharlia broke the silence. “You are the trinity.” As she listened to everything that Jimmy said, her mind flew into a thousand different directions, all at once. It took only seconds for something to strike her with such a force that nearly knocked her down to her knees. With this—this feeling—this idea, all of her questions suddenly answered themselves for her. Thinking, feeling how right it felt, she finally felt relieved. She finally felt like she had the truth to everything. Now, it only made sense. “You are the trinity.” She bowed her head and then lifted it again towards Jimmy. “You are. You are the one.”
Jimmy shook his head and shrugged hard. He didn’t know what to say.
Sharlia looked back to the table and met everyone’s stare. “He is the trinity.” She almost couldn’t believe what she just said. After all, this was her lifelong belief now shining back to her from her ever wanting eyes. She now felt complete again.
Dorna scoffed. “Your religious beliefs are showing again Sharlia.” He looked down at his own hands. He shook his head at the same time.
Listening to his lack of faith made her shake hers too. “It is true Dorna. He is the trinity.”
Jimmy still didn’t know what she was talking about, so he turned to Robert for help. “What is the trinity?” He shrugged.
Robert shrugged too. Like Jimmy, he didn’t have a clue either.
Sharlia heard Jimmy and sighed with a heavy heart. “You are the trinity. You are the one that was sent to unite the world. You are the one that will unite the three people of this world together into one family.”
“Excuse me?” Jimmy’s face suddenly felt numb. His mind felt the same way.
“Another one of Sharlia’s wild fantasies.” Maxwell chuckled lightly under his breath.
Sharlia heard him plainly. “For a long time now I have waited for the one to come and unite the clans together with their wanderer children and their human companions. We have always believed that this being was going to be one of the three. I no longer believe this now. After hearing your story I now see that it is you. You are the one.”
Jimmy stared at her with wide eyes. He didn’t know what to say but, “What are you talking about?”
“You are the trinity. You are the wanderer, the walker, and the human in one body.” She couldn’t be any more precise. It all made complete sense to her. Why no one else was seeing this began to make her angry. It was so simple.
“I,” Jimmy began, but Dorna interrupted him.
“Enough of this nonsense Sharlia. If he is Kalima and if Devish has returned then we must discuss this rationally. We must decide together what all of this means.”
Robert blinked. “Devish is here. He has taken over one of the families.” He looked around the table, still seeing three empty chairs and didn’t see Vincent there in any of them. “One guess as to which family that is.”
Dorna stood up again. He knew exactly what this was about. “Vincent was here earlier Rochie. If what you are claiming is true, then where is your proof? Vincent would never violate us.”
Sharlia blinked, thinking, realizing what everything about her family now meant. “That is why he has been attacking my family.” She looked to Jimmy and then back to the group.
Velera shook her head. “What are you accusing him of Sharlia?”
Sharlia took a deep breath before explaining. “Vincent and the Gorhan family have been taking out my people one at a time. They have even come after me. Now I know why. Devish must have ordered my destruction.”
Dorna now shook his head. “Why would he go after one the families Sharlia? None of us would do this, Where is your proof?”
Sharlia nodded. “I have always supported what was right Dorna. I have always supported the truce that we made with the wanderers. As you know, or may have forgotten, Vincent never has. He has always refused the agreement we made and longed for the old days again.”
“But why would he come after you? Why would he violate our covenant?” Maxwell watched her closely and then turned towards everyone around him. “None of this makes any sense.”
Jimmy leaned in to Robert. “Is it always like this?”
Robert did the same towards him, and kept his voice down to a whisper as he answered him. “This is politics. It’s the same with all creatures, human, walker, or the like.”
Jimmy nodded. Listening to all of this wasn’t sitting too tell with him at all. He was growing too tried and didn’t need to hear anything more. “Look.” He stepped towards the table and placed both hands to the top of it. “I’m sure that all of this crap is important to you, but we have some serious shit going on out there. Devish is back again. He took over the family that is after Sharlia, and if you don’t come together and do something about this, then God help all of you. We need to find a way to stop this—to stop him.”
Velera looked at him with haunting eyes. “You have no right to discuss this with us dog. You are not a part of this unity.”
He could see the hatred that she had for him written in her eyes. Hell, he heard enough of this in her words.
He was about to reply to her, but Robert came to his left side and grabbed his arm with his right hand. He then pulled him back with a soft tug of the arm. “Jimmy please?” He stepped closer to the table just in between it and him. “Look.” He turned to the group. “All of you must discuss t
his between yourselves. I know your laws, but Sharlia is right. Devish has gone after her family using the Gorhans to do it. They’ve also come after us, Jimmy and I. They will stop at nothing to take out all of those who stand against them and you all know why that is. Devish wants to restart the war against the humans, and if he succeeds in doing it then we are all finished. Not only will the truce be over with but it will also leave us without our lives. There will be war. There will be no world left after that.”
Maxwell spoke next. “Rochie, I will speak for all of us here and tell you that we want the same things as you, but at the same time, we need to weigh out options about this. We must discuss this between the families. We need to decide this between only us.”
Dorna nodded. “I second Maxwell’s words. We need to let our words guide us to our future moves.” He took a deep breath, letting all of the air in his lungs to overpower his thoughts. So much had happened that he truly did need to contemplate it fully. Breathing, right now, was all that he had left to help him do it. “If you would please leave us and let us have the time to discuss this now Rochie. We will contact you when we have made our final decision.” He smiled.
Jimmy hated his voice. He sounded like a typical Politian that was ready to say anything to get a voter to leave the room.
Robert would have agreed with him, but he knew better than that, so he turned to Jimmy and faced him straight on. “We thank you for listening to us and look forwards to hearing about your decision.” He gave them all a very polite smile that looked forced, and it was.
Jimmy shook his head. “You can’t stay on the sidelines with this.” He turned to all of them, one at a time. “You have to do something more than just talk.” He couldn’t believe that they had come all of this way for this.
Robert squeezed his arm and shook his head. “Jimmy?”
He did turn, saw him, and then turned back to the table.
Dorna bowed his head. Listening to this stranger that claimed to be Kalima made him feel uneasy. The claim suddenly seemed real. Not only did he look like the black wolf, but he now sounded like him too. “We must discuss this. We will decide in due time.” He nodded, looked at each of the others and then turned to Sharlia last. “You know our laws my lady.” He looked back to Rochie. “Leave us now. We will contact you in due time of our decision.”
Robert nodded with a bow to the head. He turned, kept Jimmy within his hand, and pulled him to come with him as he moved.
Feeling hopeless seemed the right way to feel. He didn’t understand any of this. He didn’t understand them. Inside he now understood what Kalima must have felt about all of them—about all of this too. I can’t blame him for heading out on his own. That must be why he went to Collins. He wanted the peace and quiet. He wanted the calm. He now knew that he wanted it too.
Even though he didn’t want to do it, Jimmy did turn. He and Robert left the table, moved past the four behind them, and headed back to the door.
Sharlia watched them leave, and suddenly, and intently, needed to speak to Kalima before he left. Feeling as she was, knowing what she now knew, she needed to be with him. She didn’t want him to leave, so she followed and came to them in the hallway towards the elevator doors.
They went inside and she joined them in it.
“Kalima? I must speak with you.”
The doors closed.
The elevator began heading down.
Robert moved away from Jimmy and allowed her to stand in between them. “What was all of that about Sharlia?” He was dying to ask, and now that he could, he couldn’t wait. What she told them, he didn’t understand it—he didn’t understand her.
“Just what I said. I believe that you are the trinity.”
“And what is that exactly?” Jimmy kept his eyes forward and looked at the doors. He tried to focus on them, on his self, trying to remember everything that he just heard. So much happened, he heard so much, that it was difficult for him to take it all in. With Sharlia adding to even more information, he fought hard to understand it.
She bowed her head. “Many of us, us walkers, have always believed that one day a being would come into this world and would unite it together in peace. We believed that this person would find a way to do it. Until now I have always believed that they would simply unite it, cause peace between everyone, but now, I believe that you are the one. Three people together united into one single being.”
Jimmy nodded. “And what is this trinity supposed to do?” Of course he didn’t believe any of this—hell as said, he didn’t even understand it—but he did know that she did. She believed and if that meant that she would help him with stopping all of this, he would try to believe in it too. He would do anything to make things right again.
She looked to Robert. “You understand what I am saying, do you not Rochie?”
Robert shrugged. “I believe that you do.” He smiled.
Jimmy listened and understood that Robert agreed with him. He felt thankful for that much.
“All I know is that the trinity will unite this world. He—you—will bring peace to it. All will be well when we all follow you.”
Jimmy scoffed some at hearing this. “Follow me? Who in the hell would want to follow me? As far as I can tell everyone seems to hate me. They would kill me if they could.”
“You say this now Kalima, but one day, in one way or the other, they will all follow you. It has been told to us, to me, that this will happen. Remember who you are. You are the black wolf.”
Jimmy looked down to the floor, listening, but yet, still not believing her. Even if he did, he didn’t want it. He didn’t want any of this, so why would he want to lead the world. He just wanted to live. He wanted peace yes, but he would give anything to find Rachel again, and find a nice place to settle down. He wanted nothing but life.
She saw his hesitation in believing her and understood it. Kalima knew all of this many years ago too and also left because of it. He didn’t want it either. Knowing this, she could only believe that was why he vanished. “I know you do not want this Kalima. I can understand it. When the time comes, and all of this ends, you will do what you must. You will fulfill your destiny.” She reached out and took his chin with her right hand. She lifted his eyes to hers. “You are a good soul. You are a good being. You will do what is right.” She smiled. “Although you do not know this yet, I have faith in you.”
He swallowed hard and deep, not knowing what to say. Thankfully, the elevator stopped and the doors opened before he had to.
Sharlia dropped her hand back to her side.
Robert stepped out into the lobby. “Will you let us know about the elder’s decision after they make it?”
She nodded. “It may take some time for that to happen. How will I find you when they do?” She smiled, watched Jimmy leave the elevator and join Rochie in the lobby.
“We are staying at a place on 157th street, up on the north end of the city. You can find us there.” Robert watched Jimmy join him.
She nodded. “Take care of yourselves. If Devish has returned and if Rana is now with him, they will make their next move soon. They will strike at us where it matters the most.”
Robert nodded. “You too.”
With everything said, the doors closed.
Jimmy looked up and his stare met hers just before the doors closed. When she was gone, he turned back to Robert. “I guess we’re going home then?”
Robert gave him a nod. “This might take some time. It’s best that we wait where we can protect ourselves.”
Jimmy returned the nod.
Together they turned, walked through the lobby, and headed back outside.
They turned and moved down the sidewalk and headed back home.
They said nothing until they reached the front of the house, found the house deathly quiet, and watched as their worlds now turn upside down.
32
“I did not think they would ever leave.” Vincent came through the doors from the hallway and walked into
the room. He made his way directly towards the table and stopped. He spent the entire time in one of the side rooms after arriving just after Rochie did, stayed there, and waited. He didn’t want to but Devish ordered him not to engage him. There he listened to everything. In doing so, as Devish also directed him, he did get a good idea of who they could trust. He knew about Sharlia, but now he also figured that Dorna and maybe a few of the others as well, were going to give them trouble. Devish wanted to know who would stand with him, and who wouldn’t. Now that they left, it was time to get on with the introductions. This he couldn’t wait to do. He looked forward to all of it.
Dorna and Maxwell were about to begin with what they each wanted to say but no sooner had Rochie, Kalima, and Sharlia left, Vincent interrupted them.
For Dorna, the fact that Vincent had missed the meeting in the first place bothered him to no end. How dare he not be there through it? “Vincent? It is about time that you showed yourself. You knew that this meeting was called for the time that it was.”
Vincent gave him a smile, full and strong. “I am sorry my dear Dorna, but I was detained for some time with other matters. I had to take care of a few chores before coming here.” He looked at each of them, taking a few seconds to see their faces before what was about to happen did happen. It would change all of them forever when it did. Again he couldn’t wait to see it in their eyes. He couldn’t wait to see their faces when they finally saw him again. “Now that I am here, we can begin.”
Maxwell stood up. “You missed much Vincent. Some very serious accusations have been lodged against you my lord. There have been some very serious things indeed, which we must discuss with you about.”
With this one Vincent laughed. “From out dear lady Sharlia I presume. How very fortunate I am that she started with this first for what I needed to hear?”
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