Centaur Legacy

by Nancy Straight

  After four days the only thing I had turned up was William’s son, Beau, and that vile half-breed, Daniel, who had come to my estate. It was time to go back to Charleston and retrace their steps. They couldn’t stay hidden from me forever, and I couldn’t afford to waste anymore time.

  I was the leader of the Centaur Council. I didn’t understand how Camille and Drake had successfully evaded me. I needed them apart before the Centaur society found out about Camille.

  Seeing the future brings grave responsibility. The very night I brought Camille to my estate, I saw one horrific possibility play out in front of me. I couldn’t let that be her destiny.

  At first, simply educating Camille seemed enough. She was as intelligent as her mother, and given the right information, she would choose the wise path. But as the days passed, the horrific possibility I’d seen began to solidify more rapidly.

  She would live out her days as a Centauride, eventually taking my place as the leader of the Centaur Council, so long as she did not choose Drake Nash.

  Choosing Drake would set a chain of events in motion that even my authority couldn’t save her from. I’d made mistakes with her mother. I’d vowed not to make the same mistakes with Camille. History repeated itself right before my eyes, as if I were powerless to stop my own actions.

  I had carried so much resentment for Angela over the years, there were days I thought it would swallow me whole. Camille looked exactly like her. When she spoke, her voice was Angela’s. Her mannerisms, body language, even humor – it was so disturbing, but I could never bring myself to tell her how much I missed Angela.

  The night of her arrival, I couldn’t speak to her. It was as though I were looking in my daughter’s eyes, the eyes I had forced into hiding with a heavy hand and a short temper. Instead of the contempt I remembered staring back at me from Angela’s, Camille’s harbored only fear. When I was finally able to speak to her, I had to keep reminding myself I was talking to my granddaughter, not Angela.

  Fear was an improvement from contempt. Once Camille understood our past and her importance to our society, she would be able to embrace her role as a Centauride, she would gain her Chiron powers. She could be groomed to take my place in our society.

  The only thing in the way was Drake Nash. If she chose him, nothing would be able to stop the repercussions. Both would share a dismal life together, they’d be on the run, and. . . I couldn’t bear to think what would happen if they had the arrow. I’d known Drake’s mother for years. If Camille chose him, his bloodline would cease to exist – I couldn’t allow that to happen, either. I had to find them, do whatever I could to keep the two of them apart.

  My phone vibrated, quickly returning me to the present. I looked at my phone but did not recognize the number. I started to send it to voicemail when my inner voice told me to answer it.

  I answered the cell phone, “Hello?”

  “Zandra, it’s Drake.”

  “Ahhh, back from the dead I see. And how is my granddaughter? Has she come to her senses yet?”

  “They’ve taken her.” Drake’s words were hollow.

  My mind screeched to life, “What?! Who’s taken her?”

  “Phineas. He’s part of the Lost Herd. He took her about eight hours ago. Do you know where he would have taken her?”

  “The Lost Herd?” It was coming true. . . all of it. . . right before my eyes. I took a breath, found my best condescending voice and said, “They are no more than a fable now, Drake. Zeus, himself, cast them out long ago.”

  “You’re wrong. Phineas has her, and I need your help.”

  “What makes you think I would help you or that I even care for the whereabouts of Camille? You left my estate. You left my protection.”

  “Protection? Look, I’m not going to argue with you. You had the leader of the Lost Herd right under your nose and you suspected nothing. Now he’s got Cami, and. . .” Drake paused as if the words burned his tongue, “I need your help.”

  Now may be my best opportunity, “I’ll not help you unless. . .”

  The boy cut me off, “I’ll do anything. I just need you to help us find her.”

  “Agree to stay out of her life. Let her lead the life she is destined for. If you are no longer in the way, I’ll find her.”

  “No! You will help me find her. You owe her that. I am her Centaur. You will help me.” His voice was angry, demanding, the voice of a true warrior, not the sniveling I had expected of a love-struck boy.

  I tapped my fingers on my purse. Their destiny was in motion. At this point I might be powerless to stop anything. Hercules’ arrow was my last hope. “Or what?”

  Drake’s tone raged on, “She. . .chose. . . me. I am her Centaur. I will find her with or without your help. After everything you’ve done to her, you owe this to her. Do what you want, but you’ll be judged by Zeus when you arrive at the pasture. The Chiron may become the next Lost Herd, and it will be at your hands.”

  He hung up. If only he knew what awaited him if he found the arrow before I did. The fool hadn’t even told me where Phineas had taken her from. Up until now I’d been looking for Camille and I couldn’t find her, so she was nowhere near San Diego. If she were in danger and anywhere near me, I would have felt it. No, she was not in California. I hadn’t felt her presence in South Carolina before my departure, either. Would she have left the country?

  I scrolled through the contacts on my phone and selected William’s number. He picked up on the second ring, “Zandra, now is not a good time.”

  I’d never been one for pleasantries, so I simply asked, “Did you have a hand in it, William?” Silence echoed back at me over the phone. “Do you know where she’s been taken?”

  “Of course, I don’t. I’m on my way to look for her now.”

  I needed to bluff enough to make him show me his cards, “Phineas has her.” Drake would not have accused a Centaur of such a heinous crime unless he knew it to be true.

  William sighed, “That’s the assumption we’re under, yes.”

  “Where are you searching?”

  “Zandra, you’ve done enough damage. Stay away from my family.”

  “Are you aware that she has chosen Drake Nash?” More silence. It seems Drake had been telling me the truth on both counts. If she had not made her choice known, William would have denied it. “Have you located her brother?”

  “What brother? No. Angela only had a daughter.”

  “You know better than that, don’t you, William? You fathered the most powerful Centaur warrior the world has ever seen. Do not try to tell me you haven’t looked for him.”

  “Do you hear yourself? Camille was kidnapped hours ago, we don’t know where she is or what they’re doing to her, and you’re what? Chalking her safe return up as a lost cause and looking for her twin?”

  “Phineas is very cunning. If he was in my employ and I did not detect his motives, you will not be able to find him unless he wants you to find him. Our best bet is to find her twin. They will have a connection like no other, and it’s possibly our only hope for finding Camille.”

  “How would you know about their connection? They’ve never met.”

  “You forget, William. I, too, have a twin. Until we severed our connection to one another, we could locate each other anywhere.”

  “We’re already in Rapid City; the trail’s still hot. We’ll find her.” His voice sounded as though it had lost some of its strength. He had given me the information I needed; Rapid City, South Dakota. There was not a large Centaur population there; the winters were too cold. Angela had done well hiding him.

  “I’m leaving San Diego now. I’ll call when I arrive.”

  Chapter 18

  (Lacey’s father – Rapid City, SD)

  My son’s body had not yet been laid to rest when Lacey insisted she was needed in South Dakota. Her injuries were already on the mend from the car crash this morning. She’d need a few days for the bone to repair itself in her leg, but otherwise she was okay. Luckily, I
’d been able to contact Dr. Olreck. He was one of the few Centaurs in San Diego who was also a licensed physician. He signed her release paperwork from the hospital without anyone noticing her injuries were almost healed.

  Lacey demanded I escort her to South Dakota to help a Centaur I didn’t know. She hadn’t even begun to grieve the loss of her brother or her betrothed yet. I worried that her emotions would get the better of her on the flight, but I’d been wrong.

  She’d always been a tough kid. Centaurides are known for their skills, sought out for their special talents, but there was more to Lacey. If I had to give it a name, I could only describe it as an unwavering force of will.

  Lacey had always been strong, never satisfied to sit idly by while her premonitions unfolded. She always wanted to get involved with them, to manipulate them. She refused to accept a premonition as anything more than a possibility.

  Lacey had a premonition of Ted and Tom’s death this morning before they had left the house; she was adamant that the two stay home. I only found out about her premonition after the car accident happened and both had left for the pasture.

  Both boys were headstrong and refused to take orders from her. If I had known of her warning, I would have ordered them to stay home, but some things must just be fate. Sometimes no matter how badly you wish for an outcome, destiny has a different plan.

  I wasn’t blessed with an abundance of children, just two. Most Centaurs had four, some even ten, but my wife died when Lacey was two. When she left for the pasture, I didn’t believe I would have the strength to raise Tom and Lacey on my own; little did I know that they would be the source of my strength and had been for the last two decades.

  I wish she knew why she needed to be in South Dakota. I’m sure when she knows, I’ll know. As we walked into the terminal from the frigid temperatures outside, a young human behind the counter commented, “It’s another one. Hey, Spence, did ya see that jet? I’ve never seen so many private jets in my whole life.”

  “Oh, shore did. Fred’s gonna’ run outta’ parkin’ places soon.”

  The human named Spence looked closer at Lacey and me, and asked, “Hey, Mister, what’s goin’ on? What’s with all the private planes?”

  It was a sleepy little airport. Snow dusted the runway, and over a foot had been shoveled into piles on either side of the taxiway. He was right; all the planes stuck out like a sore thumb. Centaur family planes all carried the required FAA markings, but they were obvious. Each family plane was painted maroon with a yellow Centaur on the tail. Seeing one occasionally was normal, but as a rule, all families kept their planes in hangars. Very few were kept at public airports: most families maintained private runways in secluded areas near their homes. Once we found out what was going on, I’d mention to whoever was in charge that we may need to relocate a few of the planes to surrounding airports before the locals got more suspicious. I answered, “Family reunion,” as we walked past him.

  Spence called after me, “What family? The Trumps?”

  Lacey smiled up at me, her voice soft, “Thanks for doing this, Dad.” There wasn’t anything in the world I wouldn’t do for her, and she knew it, even if it meant delaying Tom’s funeral. She’d already told me he was in the pasture with their mother, so at least I didn’t worry about her being alone anymore.

  I didn’t want to pressure her, but it had been hours since she decided we needed to go. “Lacey, I’m still not sure why we’re here.”

  “A friend’s in trouble, Dad.”

  “What kind of trouble?”

  She furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head. “I’m not sure. I’ve been getting these strange visions all day. Something important has happened.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  I stopped just in front of the doors that led to the rental cars. For the first time in recent memory, I had a sliver of doubt. I motioned to the chairs just inside the door, and we sat down. “I’ve been accommodating, given the circumstances, but those are all Centaur planes out there. Is there some sort of battle being fought?”

  “I think. . . more like a coup. I’m not sure. I just know someone needs me.”

  “Who?”

  “I already told you, Beau Strayer.”

  “Sweetheart, I don’t know Beau Strayer.”

  “You’ll meet him,” she smiled before she added, “and you’d better be on your best behavior.”

  It felt as though Lacey were hiding something from me. I was doing everything in my power to mask my frustration, but she had to sense that I wasn’t happy about being kept in the dark. “Why is my behavior of any relevance?”

  “Because he’s the reason you didn’t lose Tom and me both this morning in the crash. He’s the Centaur who pulled me from the car and took care of me until the ambulance arrived. I thanked him at the hospital, but when I did, I realized a Centauride was going to be in trouble and she needed him.”

  “His wife?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “His betrothed?”

  “Dad, I don’t know. All I know is it’s someone important to him.”

  “Why you?”

  She looked back through the windows at all of the family planes; we could see all the jets racked and stacked on the tarmac. “I don’t know, Dad. Something’s going on. All those planes are here for a reason.”

  She was right. The only time I had seen this many Centaur planes gathered at one airport was when there was a dispute between herds or at the meetings at Centauride in South Africa. If a Centauride was in trouble, it was common for families to band together, but never this many.

  Something important was going on. Before we moved from our airport seats, I called my brother. “Norman, it’s me. Lacey and I just landed in Rapid City, South Dakota. It’s a long story and not one to share over the phone. There are at least twenty family planes at the airport, and from the looks of it, at least that many chartered planes, as well. Do you know what’s going on here?”

  Norman and I spoke almost every day. He had always had a knack for knowing when something important was going on. I was disappointed when he answered, “In South Dakota? No, I haven’t heard a word. Do you want me there?”

  “No. We’ve only just arrived. I need you to find out what’s going on. Call me back.”

  I flipped the phone shut. Lacey looked at me, questioning without words. “Sweetheart, we don’t know what we’re walking into. I don’t want to sound callous, but as of this morning you are no longer betrothed. Promise me you’ll take precautions. Stay with me at all times.”

  Her green eyes looked up into mine. She knew my meaning without me having to say it. From the time she was sixteen, I’d had fathers applying pressure to me for a betrothal. I wanted to give her as much time as I could, but sadly I had only been able to buy her two years.

  When she turned eighteen, I told her she needed to choose a Centaur or I would select one for her. Centaur fathers could be ruthless: I’d had my job threatened, envelopes stuffed with cash nearly forced on me, and one that made me laugh – season tickets to the Chargers. Lucky for Lacey they hadn’t had a winning season! Thankfully, Lacey made her own decision. She’d selected Ted on her eighteenth birthday. He had been close to her age, headstrong and willful, but he had been her choice. I breathed a sigh of relief after making the phone call to Ted’s parents.

  A sadness that only a father could understand washed over me. She wouldn’t be given long to grieve before Centaurs would again be bombarding her. I sympathized with their desperation. I felt for the Centaurs, but few, if any, knew of the emotional toll on the Centaurides.

  Lacey knew which hotel the others were gathering in. We drove to the hotel with little conversation. I was too lost in thought, dreading the coming months. All Centaurides were prized, but Lacey’s bloodline was predominantly from the Barber herd. As a result, she could see the future, sometimes just glimpses, other times with uncanny accuracy. When word spread of her abilities at sixteen,
I was overwhelmed by the number of Centaurs who came to introduce themselves. I dreaded that the same process would start all over again, too soon.

  Lacey stayed close to me while I checked us in. She was careful not to make contact with anyone, preferring instead to stay close to my side with her eyes pointed toward the floor.

  “Lacey? Lacey is that you?”

  She cautiously looked at the young Centaur who had approached. I heard her let out a breath as if pleased to see him. “Daniel, oh, I was worried we wouldn’t be able to find you.”

  He asked, “What’re you doing here?” I looked at the Centaur standing in front of Lacey. No, he wasn’t a Centaur – he was human. I instinctively took a step in front of her.

  Lacey pushed my arm to shove me to the side. “Get a grip, Dad. This is Daniel Ward. He’s a friend of Beau Strayer.”

  I was confused: Centaurs and humans didn’t mix. They were beneath us. The last thing I needed was a half-breed in the mix now that she was available. Instead of forcing myself between them, I waved the little plastic cards and said, “Lacey, I’ve got our key cards. Let’s go.”

  She glared at me. I hadn’t seen her do that in years, and I took a step away as if her stare could produce a laser beam. I doubted a laser could inflict much more damage than she could. She turned her attention back to the half-breed. “So, you didn’t get here in time?”

  The half-breed’s face was laced with pain. His voice lowered when he answered, “No. We were too late.” He reached out and put a hand on Lacey’s shoulder. I felt a guttural growl release from me on pure reflex. Lacey shot me a second glare. He ignored my warning and added, “But, hey, thanks for your help earlier. We wouldn’t have even known if you hadn’t told us. They got her a few hours before we got here.”