I scrambled back on my hands, and they encircled me. My heart was racing as my fingers searched for anything to use as a weapon. I secured a large rock in my palm and climbed to my feet. The red-haired Tracker lunged; I swung my rock-bearing fist with everything I could muster. I made contact with his cheek, and he stumbled back, grasping his bloody face in disbelief.
“I told you she’s a fighter,” the blond Tracker chuckled.
The red-haired Tracker snarled. I knew the repercussions would be bad. He stormed toward me. Before I had time to react, he had me by the throat and pinned me against the rock face.
“Not so fast now, are you?” he spat. I clawed at his arms, trying to pull them away.
“Hey, you don’t need to hurt her,” the dark-haired Tracker commented. He grabbed his comrade’s arm, and he loosened his hold.
I collapsed to the ground, coughing. A thick branch was within arm’s reach, but when I tried to grab it, the blond Tracker kicked it away. Seconds later, he had me by the arm again, dragging me to the edge of the ridge. No words were said, but the fighting below stopped briefly, and I saw my guardians look up. Daniel was back with his brothers, fighting. He thought I’d gotten away. I didn’t have to see their faces up close to know they were utterly horrified. I’d failed miserably at hiding. I tried to break free, but the Tracker only held on tighter.
The blond Tracker’s eyes narrowed.
“It’s always nice to have the upper hand in battles. It makes it easier.” In one quick movement, he tossed me like a rag doll into the rock wall. I slumped to the ground in agony. I was next to the branch once more. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I secured it in my hand. My attackers had turned their backs on me. They were watching the fight. Seizing my opportunity, I leapt to my feet and swung at the blond Tracker. He jerked around and caught the branch mid-swing.
“Now, that’s not playing nice, is it?” An evil smirk filled his face as he pulled the branch from my hand and wrapped his long fingers around my throat. I grappled with his arms, fighting for air. To my surprise, his grip loosened, and his eyes grew wide. He grasped my right hand and drew it closer, staring at the rings.
“Well, isn’t this a nice surprise?” he said. “Boys, we have some royalty among us.” The dark-haired and redhead Tracker came over to us quickly, inspecting my fingers. There were no more smiles. In fact, they looked almost…scared?
“We need to get her to Marcus now. This is big,” the dark-haired one said warily.
The blond Tracker tightened his hold on my arms. He wasn’t about to let me go. Suddenly, a loud bellow came from the valley below. Colt was shouting out my name. The Trackers were momentarily distracted. Colt’s voice gave me strength, and I lifted my leg and kicked my boot heel into the Tracker’s knee. He collapsed forward with his arms out to catch himself, and I bolted for the river’s edge. A scream escaped me as I descended, vocalizing the fear inside me.
I crashed into the water below and said a quick prayer of thanks that it was deep enough. I held my breath, hearing the splash as my attackers dove in after me. The current was too strong, though, and it snatched me away before they could find me. I stayed underwater for as long as I could, until I was finally forced to surface for air. There was no sign of them anywhere.
The strength of the undercurrent was a mixed blessing. The rock walls that formed the banks shot straight up, and there was nowhere to climb to safety. I was at the river’s mercy. Large boulders dotted the water’s edge, but the middle was clear for the moment. I kept searching desperately for a way to leave the raging river, but the walls were too sheer. I was trapped.
I was growing weak as the icy water thrashed about me. My limbs were stiff. I began bobbing under the surface for longer periods; I didn’t know how much more I could take. I would have to fight my way to shore when the time came…if the time came. Would I ever see the trio again? Would I ever see Colt again? Would they ever find my body, or would it be washed away?
My eyes were almost closed when I saw a lone Tresez running alongside me on the canyon wall above. Was it here to witness my death? It wouldn’t be long now. I glanced ahead once more. The canyon began to narrow, and the water churned violently as it was forced between the rock openings. Boulders were strewn everywhere in my path now. It was only a matter of minutes before I would be pushed headlong into the whipping, crashing fury…
A loud splash echoed behind me, and I twisted to see the Tresez swimming towards me. In a matter of seconds, the creature was at my side, nudging my arm. Instinctively, I latched on to its fur, crawling on its back as it began to swim.
I tightened my grip and wove my fingers into its thick hair. The white water crashed over us. The creature was strong, forcing its way around the boulders riddled in our path. The pounding and slapping water seemed endless. I was beyond exhausted. The freezing water was taking its toll, and my hands began to slip. The water pulled me further away from the Tresez, and I could do nothing to stop it. I slipped under the surface, and the darkness, the heaviness, pushed me down. I wanted to reach up, but my arms wouldn’t move.
Something grasped my arm, and I was pulled to the surface.
I gasped as I came out, but I still couldn’t look up—everything was weighted down. An arm, a man’s arm, reached under mine, and I was pulled out of the water’s current. Another arm went under my legs as we broke free from the icy cold abyss. My rescuer was moving rapidly, and then suddenly I was dropped to the ground and turned on my side. Immediately, I began coughing and spewing water. A warm hand lifted my head, helping me clear my throat, and another brushed the hair from my face.
The coughing ceased, and my shaking began. My rescuer scooped me up in his arms and began running, pressing me close in an attempt to warm me. I was barely conscious as he lay me down. His hands moved over me gently, removing my wet clothing. I knew what he was doing; my body temperature was dangerously low. He lay beside, pulling me into his warmth as he wrapped himself around me.
Whoever it was, he was as enormous as Colt. His muscles flexed as my cold cheek lay on his bare chest. He began rubbing my arms and back. The shaking continued as I dozed in and out of sleep.
Dawn came, and I was alone. I looked around to see a small fire and my clothing lying nearby. Still feeling chilled; I sat up and took account of my surroundings. I was in a small cave, near the entrance. I grabbed my damp jeans and pulled them on. My shirt was dry and went over my cami, which had remained intact. Whoever it was left me with a little dignity, and for that I was grateful.
I stepped closer to the cave opening and gasped. I was more than five hundred feet above the river. To my right was a sheer dropoff; to my left was a narrow path winding down. I took a few steps back.
“Bonjour,” a deep voice rumbled. I yelped, twisting around to see who was speaking. “You’re finally awake.”
The man was enormous. His brawny olive-toned chest was exposed, and his powerful arms lay nonthreateningly at his side. An eerie darkness hovered over his presence as he stepped forward slowly. His gaze remained locked on mine, and his eyes drew my attention. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.” He paused, as I remained frozen. “My name is Maes. I’m not here to hurt you.”
Inhaling, I tried to reply, my voice cracking, “Are you the one who pulled me from the river?”
He arched an eyebrow, as if I’d asked the stupidest question in the world.
“Right, obviously you did, as there’s nobody else around,” I mumbled to myself.
I continued to study him. His ebony hair lay tousled around his face; his eyes were as black as midnight except for the sliver of jade on the outer edges. And was it me, or was there a blue tint to his hair?
Maes folded his arms and sighed. “Do you have a name?”
I blinked and tried to bring myself back to the moment. “Uh, yeah. It’s Cheyenne.”
He took another step closer, and I tensed.
“Cheyenne.” The way he said my name caused a chill to run over me.
&n
bsp; He sat and patted the ground next to him. “I said I wouldn’t hurt you. Now, come sit. I have some food for you.”
He said he wouldn’t hurt me, but his tone was commanding like Callon’s. He was waiting for me to move, and reluctantly I did.
“Trout’s on the menu.” Maes returned his attention to the fish in front of him.
Hesitantly, I sat, keeping my gaze on him the entire time. He ripped the fish apart with his fingers, slicing it open as if he held a knife. He placed them on a rock near the fire and turned. He was only an arm’s length away now. How easily he could rip my throat open with the swipe of his…I shook off the thought. He wouldn’t have saved me just to kill me in a cave, would he?
I needed to get Maes talking, as he didn’t seem likely to volunteer much information. Just like another man I knew…
“So you warmed me last night,” I stated, feeling slightly uncomfortable that he’d seen me in my underwear. “Obviously my body temperature was low, or you wouldn’t have undressed me.” I waited for a response and none came. “I understand. Thanks.”
Nodding, Maes turned his attention back to the flames. I studied his profile as he stoked the fire. His movements, as precise as they were, hinted at great underlying power.
He was a skilled warrior.
“You jumped in the river from the cliff, didn’t you?”
Maes kept his attention on the sizzling trout.
“You weren’t who I see now, were you?” Once again, he didn’t respond. My heart began to race as realization sank in. “You’re a Tresez?” I whispered.
“Do you always ask questions that you already know the answers to, Cheyenne?”
I didn’t let his cruel reply phase me. I’d been dealing with Callon for a while. “You can shape shift?”
Maes poked at the flames, and a loud snap caused me to jump.
His non-response told me his answer. I stared at the cave floor. Callon had never told me this. The Tresez were shape shifters—somehow, it didn’t surprise me.
“You didn’t kill me in the forest, why?” I could barely get the words out, unsure what Maes’s plan was now. He said he wouldn’t harm me—was it the truth?
“You’re different.”
“Different? But I don’t understand. Callon told me that the Tresez would kill me, but you didn’t. I’ve had nine try already. One of them gave me the wound on my back.” I lifted my head, and his hard eyes met mine. His tanned face made him appear even more mysterious. “You knew that, didn’t you?”
Maes didn’t reply, but his attention returned to the flames.
“Is that what stopped you?”
“At first.”
“There’s more?”
Maes pulled the fish from the rock and flipped it with his bare hands.
He didn’t answer my question.
“What else stopped you?” I asked again.
“Think about it Cheyenne,” Maes’s jaw twitched as he replied in annoyance. “What makes you different?”
“Are you always this much of a jerk?” The words rolled from my tongue before I could stop them. Maes’s head turned and a slight smirk appeared…yup, he was a jerk. I turned away, processing his reply. What made me different? For one, I had the scar on my back—he’d smelled it and then he stopped on my rings…
“You saw the rings on my fingers. That’s why you didn’t kill me.” I was thoroughly confused now.
He pointed his stick in my direction. “You wear two rings, Cheyenne. The Servak and Kvech.”
“Yes, but I don’t understand how that stopped you.”
Maes turned, shoulders squaring, head lowering. “Do you know nothing?”
I blinked in surprise, but I recovered quickly. “I am a stupid helpless girl whose life has been hidden from her for my own protection.”
We stared each other down as I awaited his answer.
“We are bound to you eternally,” Maes finally replied.
I glanced at my rings; the Servak with all the clover-like symbols, and the Kvech with its beautiful blue stone held together by an antique silver band.
“But I thought the Sarac used the Tresez to help destroy children of the Timeless? How can you be bound to me eternally?”
“Like I said, you’re different,” Maes replied, his eyes not leaving mine.
“So not everyone has rings then?” I knew his answer even before the question left my lips. Colt and Daniel didn’t have rings, but Callon did, and now that I’d thought about it, Dex had a ring, but Lilly didn’t. Callon was the leader of the Consilador clan…so the rings marked who the leaders were.
I was the leader of two clans.
“Why couldn’t these rings be fake?” I was so proud of myself for coming up with such a good reply that I couldn’t hide my smirk.
Maes rolled his eyes. “They’re not fake. I’d know the difference, for one thing. Second, I knew what the third Kvech ring looked like.”
“But it was supposed to have been destroyed.”
He corked a brow.
“So, they did tell you something after all.”
“Even if it was real, I could be an imposter,” I snipped back and quickly realized that was something I should have kept to myself.
“Unwise choice of words, Cheyenne,” he said coolly as he turned away. “But the blue stone wouldn’t give off that luminous glow if you weren’t a true heir.”
I looked down at my ring, trying to find the glow he talked about—it always sparkled.
I released a heavy sigh. “So you’re bound to me eternally.” Great, just what I needed, a Tresez stuck to me the rest of my life. I shook my head. “Will you quit playing games with me and just tell me why?”
“Because you’re our only hope.”
“Your only hope?” I repeated. I pushed my fingers to my forehead as I propped my elbows on my knees. Clearly he wasn’t going to answer me.
“Your education on clan history is visibly lacking, mon espoir,” Maes words dripped with annoyance. “I’m disappointed.”
“Tell me about it,” I murmured under my breath.
“You must destroy Marcus,” he felt the need to add.
I began twisting my Servak ring on my index finger. Why was I the key to everyone’s survival? Why was I their only hope? Why did I have to destroy Marcus? I didn’t even know him. How did I truly know if he was as bad as they said? Had he really killed my parents, or was that a lie? What if this whole thing was reversed and I was on the side of evil instead of good? What if I was the one being manipulated? Was I the evil one? I could be dangerous if my powers fell into the wrong hands… Who was right and who was wrong? I’d been lied to all along—deceived. I had as much reason to trust them as I did Marcus…
Maes drew my attention back as he handed me a piece of trout.
“Thank you.” I ate quietly, still deep in thought. I needed more answers, but first I needed to think this through more clearly.
“Do you know where you need to head? Which direction Callon, Colt and Daniel will go to find you?”
I looked up in surprise. “You know them? Are they safe? You’ll help me?”
“Yes,” Maes replied in aggravation as he muttered something in French.
Relief washed over me to find out my guardians were safe. But why was Maes so willing to help me? He said I was his only hope, but why take me to Callon if he was bound to me?
“You want to help me?” I repeated to make sure I heard his answer clearly.
His eyes leveled with mine. “Are you deaf?”
Maes may have saved my life, but my irritation surfaced in an instant. “Listen, you mangy dog, I asked three questions, and you answered yes. Am I supposed to guess which one you were answering?”
“I know who Callon, Colt and Daniel are, and they’re safe. I wouldn’t have dragged you out of the river if I wasn’t here to help.” His lip twitched. “Does that clarify it enough for you?”
A few moments passed as we stared each other down. I was tired of being spok
en to like a child with Callon, and I sure wasn’t about to take it from Maes. I’d had enough. “They told me to head north and they’d find me, though I’m afraid I’m farther away than they expected. I’m not sure which direction to go to locate the truck again.”
“Fine,” he replied in mild impatience. “I know where you came in and can take you there. It’s an easy run for me, but we could walk it in two days, unless…” he trailed off.
“Unless what?” I pinched my brows tight.
“Unless you don’t think you’re strong enough.”
“I think I’ll be just fine.”
Maes reached over and pulled my long-sleeved shirt from the ground. “It seems dry now,” he said as he handed it to me.
I put it on.
“Let’s go.”
He pulled me from the ground, kicked out the fire and headed to the cave opening. I hesitated, and he turned around. “Only one way down. Take my hand. I won’t let you fall.”
Maes liked being in control—he was good at it. Reluctantly, I took his hand as we began our descent. Loose rocks were everywhere; I was forced to keep my gaze on the path. A loud noise caught me off guard, and as I took another step, I slipped off the ledge. He grasped my arm firmly and yanked me back. My heart leapt.
“You need to watch your step. The rocks are loose.”
I nodded wide-eyed from fright; it was a long drop to the bottom.
Maes watched me briefly, before he rolled his eyes and flipped me onto his back.
“You need to hold on. It’ll be easier this way,” he said calmly.
I clung to him with a death grip, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. Though I knew next to nothing about him, I buried my head into his shoulder, and tried to ignore everything but the sound of my rapid heartbeat. Why did I have to be so afraid of heights?
Time crawled by, and then we were at the base of the cliff. Maes pried me off his back.
“Sorry,” I said sheepishly.
“If you need help, ask for it,” he said firmly. “I can’t read your mind…”
Promises Page 4