by Stina
Edon stepped forward. “My king, I gathered the clan, as you requested. Many are still wounded and need to recover.”
“I see. Great work, Edon.” Kesh bowed his head.
Edon, clearly pleased, smiled and bowed in reverence.
“Someone tend to Tiev,” Kesh commanded. “He is in need of mortal blood.”
Three clan members came over to carry Tiev to a designated area of the camp. It was a makeshift medic area. All the wounded were gathered in this corner.
Adirah was sensing an energy in the camp that didn’t seem right. It was faint, but it was there. She looked around at the clan members. She was looking for any sign, perhaps an aura that was off or a clan member who looked out of place. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Kesh looked at his queen.
“What’s wrong, Dira?”
“Something’s not right.” She looked at Kesh.
“I sense it too,” Kesh answered, looking around the camp.
“Can you see any changes?”
“It is muddled with all the wounded. Everyone’s aura is out of whack.” She shook her head.
Kesh beckoned Edon with a nod of his head. “Edon, did you sense any hesitation from any of the clan members to come to the camp?”
“None, sir. But truthfully, I was focused on making it here to meet up with you.”
“You weren’t followed by any Malum, were you?” Kesh asked.
“Definitely not. I made sure of that.”
“That is all.” Kesh ended the inquiry.
Edon bowed and disappeared among the clan members in the camp.
“Come. We must speak with Tiev,” Kesh said to Adirah.
There were eight clan members huddled around Tiev as Kesh and Adirah approached. They were all speaking in hushed tones. When one of them spotted Kesh and Adirah, he stood up, and the others followed his lead. The conversation abruptly stopped. The men parted to allow Kesh and Adirah through to Tiev. Tiev was sitting on a boulder.
“How are you feeling, my brother?” Kesh asked.
“Better. I was fed mortal blood. I can feel my strength regenerating already.”
“Good news. We will need you in the coming war.”
“We are not running anymore?” Tiev asked, surprised.
“No. We are standing and fighting. It is time,” Kesh said with authority.
“When do we attack?” Tiev asked eagerly, looking at the eight clan members surrounding them.
“We will discuss our strategy in the morning. Right now we all need to rest and recover. The battle will not be easy, and we will all need to be at full strength,” Kesh said to all the men.
Kesh and Adirah found a spot in the camp from whence they could easily view the entire camp. It was on the edge of the clearing, on top of a little rise. They settled themselves against some boulders and looked out over the camp. The camp began to quiet down.
“Why didn’t you tell me we were going to fight? I don’t like it, Kesh. I need to protect my baby,” Adirah said.
“I don’t need to get your permission, Dira. I am king.” He shot her a daring look.
This was something Adirah had never seen. Before she started to make a scene and argue with Kesh, she realized that the clan could see them. She needed to keep up a strong appearance. Instead of challenging him, she turned away from him, clutched her belly, and closed her eyes.
A few hours later Adirah was awakened by Kesh. He was shaking her and whispering, “Dira, get up. We have to leave.”
She rubbed her eyes groggily. “What?”
“We have to leave now,” he whispered with command.
Adirah heard the urgency in his voice. She was instantly awake. She looked around the camp, expecting there to be a flurry of activity, but all she saw was the clan members all sleeping. “What’s going on? No one is moving.”
“We are leaving. No one else. We must go now.” He took her by the arm and helped her up. She barely had time to get her feet under her before they were running through the forest.
“Kesh, where are we going?”
“I know who the traitor is,” he said.
“Who?”
“I watched one of the clan members sneak off. I had my suspicions before, but this solidified them.”
“I thought we were fighting?” she said as she tried to keep up with Kesh’s rapid pace.
“I was never intending to fight right now. I said that to see their reactions.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was afraid one of the clan members would read your mind and know I was lying. I needed you to believe me.” Kesh pulled her as they made a sharp left down the side of the mountain. They got to the bottom of the incline, and Kesh stopped. He turned to her and grabbed her shoulders. “Dira, you have great powers. Maybe the greatest I have ever seen. I need to teach you to harness and control those powers. Right now you can’t understand the awesome power you have.”
Adirah was taking it all in. It seemed that every hour her life was taking a new turn and she was learning more and more about her new life. She nodded her understanding.
“We need to disappear so I can teach you and you can give birth to our baby. Our destiny is to be a royal family,” Kesh told her.
As Kesh was explaining his plan, Tiev reentered the camp with four members of the Malum Clan. They quietly snuck over to the others and roused them from their slumber. They all followed Tiev as they snuck through camp then fanned out and converged on the sight where Kesh and Adirah had last been seen. Tiev was enraged when their sneak attack came up empty. He had come from the side, holding a wooden stake to plunge through Kesh’s heart. He had jumped and come down with his full force, only to hit an empty mound of clothing. Kesh had bundled together some clothes and had made the bundle look like two bodies sleeping there.
With rage in his eyes, Tiev looked at the men with him and commanded, “Find them!”
All twelve men disappeared into the forest to hunt down their prey. Tiev stood in the spot where Kesh had been. His jaw was clenched, and his fists were tight. He vowed revenge for the death of Vila.
* * *
Adirah screamed in agony. Fear was etched on Kesh’s face. Adirah had never seen this from him. He was always so strong, so sure of himself. She screamed out again. “Squeeze my hand!” she yelled.
Kesh followed her orders and took her hand. She did all the squeezing, practically breaking Kesh’s hand. The baby was almost out. The local nurse was urging Adirah to push. Kesh would have to get inside the nurse’s mind later to make her forget that she had ever seen them. The birth was happening in Kesh and Adirah’s home somewhere in the hills of Virginia. Adirah had enrolled in classes at the local university, and Kesh was using the campus as his feeding ground.
One last push and the baby appeared. Kesh cried when he saw his son for the first time. The nurse cut the umbilical cord and then handed the baby boy to his mother. Adirah held on to her son, tears and sweat staining her face.
“Oh, my beautiful boy,” she cooed. “My beautiful little Adis.”
Kesh stroked Adirah’s forehead and kissed the top of his son’s tiny head. “We have fulfilled the first part of our destiny. We are a royal family,” he declared.
The three of them were together for the first time. Adirah and Kesh were ready to do everything in their power to protect their newborn. Their journey was far from over, their return to the clan would come in due time, but for now Kesh and Adirah were content to stay where they were and raise their son.