Outside, we could see people making their way to the white tree.
Luke stood and took Mel’s hand. “We’ll take the kids to Tara’s and wait for Jein, then meet you back here.”
Jasper nodded. “You boys be good, now. I don’t want to hear from Jein that you were bad.”
The twins both nodded. “Yes, Uncle Jasper,” answered Trent.
“So is strip poker anything like what it sounds like?” asked Dawn.
Ben laughed. “Poker is a betting game. Usually, you bet money. With strip poker, you bet a piece of clothing.”
Zane had been about to take a drink. He set the mug back on the table. “And so....”
“And so, the losers end up with nothing to wear but the air around them.”
Zane looked at Tara and I.
Dawn gave him a slap.
“Ow! I wasn’t thinking of that! Really! I was actually wondering what this Dave fellow said to upset that Nevin character.”
“Well, I don’t remember the exact wording.” Tara was frowning at the memory. “Something along the lines of why did she think she was too good for him when as far as he was concerned she was nothing but a whore and she was proving his point by being half naked with a bunch of inbreds you couldn’t understand to save your life.”
“Actually, I think that’s exactly what he said.” I was shaking my head.
“Yeah, well, I might I have been drunk, but it was a memorable moment.” Her frown lessened a bit as she thought back. “At this point, Nevin, who is butt naked, by the way, looks at Hayden and says, ‘if yee’ll excuse me, lass’. And to the amazement of everyone there, stands up, strides over to where Dave is standing, puts a hand on the idiot’s shoulder and says, ‘I may be hard to understand, but at least me mam had the sense to teach me some manners. I suggest yee go apologize to the lady’.”
I couldn’t help but smile at the memory of the tall Scot baring all as he casually marched toward Dave.
Dave had looked at him and said, “I’m not wasting my breath on a cheap slut like her.”
“So Nevin grabs Dave by the front of his shirt, gives him one solid punch to the face, sets him back on his feet and says, ‘I strongly suggest yee reconsider’.” Tara had stood up and demonstrated this on Ben.
I pursed my lips. “Dave stumbled back a few steps and shook his head. He looks at Nevin and says, ‘go fuck yourself!’.” I took a sip of my drink. “Nevin looks at him, shrugs, and slugs him in the gut.”
It was Tara’s turn to smile at the memory. “The instant Dave is on the ground, Nevin gives him two kicks to the ribs, then stands back and waits for him to stand up again.”
Dave had stood up, doubled over and bleeding. He had glared at Nevin, then at me, straightened himself up and made his way over to where I was still sitting. Nevin had walked beside him like they were best of friends.
“So Dave looks at Hayden and says, ‘Hayden”, then he stops. He glares at her then says, ‘I’m sorry you’re a cheap...’, but he doesn’t get to finish because Nevin must have figured this was going to happen and punches him in the side of the head as hard as he can.
‘Dave crumples to the ground and Nevin pokes him with his foot a few times, shrugs, and sits back down. He picks up the cards, looks at Hayden and says, ‘I believe it’s your deal’.”
I had taken the cards, dealt them out and managed to drop all of my hand on the table when Dave had moaned beside me.
Tara laughed. “Dave sits up, looks around, and asks, ‘what happened?’. Nevin looks at him and says, ‘yee were about to apologize to the lady for being an ass’.”
Dawn started laughing too.
“So Dave looks at me and says, ‘sorry?’.” I was grinning too. “I told him not to do it again, Nevin tosses him a beer and says to him, ‘care to join us?’.”
Dave had shook his head, declined the offer, and gone off in search of somewhere to sleep off his headache.
Jasper was frowning.
“Hun, it was over a year ago.” I ran a hand through his hair. “Smile. It’s a funny story.”
He looked up at me. There was no hint of a smile on his lips. “Will he be there? When you go back?”
“Um. Yeah. If I go to the arena to visit. He’ll probably be there.”
He gave a bit of a nod.
Luke and Mel walked back into the house.
Dawn stood up. “Let’s go! I can’t wait to do some dancing!”
Everyone filed out of the house. I was about to step outside when Jasper grabbed my arm and pulled me back in.
“When you go, you’ll bring your swords?”
I started to laugh, but stopped. He was serious. “I can’t. People don’t walk around armed. It’s not allowed.”
His eyebrows creased together. “Not even daggers?”
I shook my head. “Will you feel better if I promise to keep these boots on at all times?” The boots I wore here had a pocket that hid a small knife.
He closed his eyes.
“Jasper.” I put my hand against his cheek. “I lived there for twenty three years. I’ll be fine.”
He looked at me. The frown had left his face and his blue eyes were soft with the small smile he had on his lips. He gazed deeply into my eyes and leaned down to kiss me.
“I love you,” he whispered.
I smiled up at him and put a hand on his cheek. I pulled him down to me and kissed him again. “I love you more.”
He chuckled and took my hand. “Let’s go.”
We caught up to our group and walked leisurely along hand in hand.
“So what’s the first thing you think you’ll do when you go back?” asked Jasper.
“I will definitely go straight to my mom and dad’s and give them the biggest hugs ever. And then I will try to explain this place to them and let them know that they don’t have to worry about me, that I love it here. I wish you could come. That you could meet them.”
I felt him shudder beside me and knew he was thinking of his previous experience trying to cross over. I gave his hand a squeeze. “It doesn’t matter. They’ll love you even without meeting you.”
He looked down at me. “How do you know?”
I smiled. “Because my dad will love you for protecting his baby girl. My mom will love you for taking care of me. And both of them will love you because I love you.”
He laughed. “Well, that’s good.”
I stumbled as someone bumped into my side and was glad Jasper was holding my hand.
“Sorry!” someone called back in a very high voice as the sound of running feet sounded away from us.
I looked up to see who it was.
“Who and what was that?” I asked Jasper.
He laughed at the look on my face. “Well, I’m not sure who it was, but as for what, it was a Burrie.” He pulled me aside as two more of them ran by us.
“They’re tiny!” I looked on in amazement as four more of the little blue people ran by.
They couldn’t have been taller than my waist. They were a beautiful greenish blue color, all of them with long black hair tied up in ponytails high on their heads.
I watched as another handful of them ran by. “Why are they in such a hurry?”
“They’re late.” Jasper looked up at the sky which was now almost completely lit by the full moons. I was always amazed at the night sky. I thought I would probably always be awed at the sight of two moons, the small one slightly hidden behind the bigger one.
“Burries are in charge of lighting. They have a dust that they collect off of their wings. They use it to make light.”
I looked as one last straggler sped by after its friends.
“Oh! I hadn’t noticed the wings.” In fact the wings were quite large, shaped like a butterfly’s. They were just as tall as the Burrie itself. They were so clear, they were almost invisible.
This last Burrie suddenly stopped and stood still. It slowly turned until it was facing us.
I managed to keep my mouth closed but suc
ked in a breath as its red eyes locked with mine.
Jasper’s hand tightened on mine and I felt him tense, ready.
The little blue being spread its wings, bowing down slowly. It straightened, gave me a mischievous grin filled with pointy teeth, and ran off to find its friends.
Jasper relaxed. I hadn’t realized we had stopped walking.
“I wonder why he did that.” I thought out loud as we started off again.
“He? Oh, the Burrie.” Jasper shrugged. “I imagine there are just some creatures out there who know who you are whether they are told or not. Why did you say he?”
I looked up at him “I don’t know. I just assumed. He only had a loin cloth on.”
He laughed. “They all just wear loin cloths. And only when they come into civilization. If you ever run into them in the woods, you’ll notice they don’t need to wear anything.”
“So was it a girl or a boy?”
“Both, I guess. Or I suppose the best answer would be neither. Burries don’t have a sex. They don’t reproduce.”
“How do they populate, then?”
“They come from Burrie trees.”
I looked up at him, wondering when he was going to laugh and say “fooled you!”. “For real?” He looked serious enough.
Jasper nodded. “In the spring, Burrie trees flower just like other trees do. After they are pollinated, the flowers give way to Burrie sacs. They look like a clear sac filled with water. The Burries grow in there. When they reach to size of, let’s say, two of my fists, they break out of the sacs, dry off, and leave the tree.”
I raised an eyebrow at him.
He laughed. “Tara!” he called out.
Tara and Ben looked back and slowed so we could catch up to them.
“Tara, I need your help.”
She smiled at him. “Sure. What is it?”
“Hayden thinks I’m lying to her. Could you tell her, please, where Burries come from.”
She grinned at me. “Burrie trees.”
“Really? I mean, really?” Maybe they had made this up together.
She nodded.
“Wow. I think that’s going to the top of my list of weird stuff around here.” I laughed. “That’s crazy.” I thought of the Burrie’s red eyes and shivered.
Jasper put his arm around me and pointed. “Look.”
We could see the whole meadow from the top of the small hill that we were on. The grass had been cut short. In the middle of it was the silver tree. Jasper had told me that it was a sacred tree to the Wedelves. They believed that this tree held all of the energy and magic that was left after a being passed away. When a new being was born, the tree would give it its share of the energy and magic to live.
Someone had strung strings from the trees on the outside of the clearing to the silver tree. The Burries were flying around, grabbing dust from a bag at their side onto the strings. When all of the strings had been covered, the Burries, there were about twenty of them, stood around the silver tree with their arms held out.
I could hear them chanting. “What are they saying?”
Jasper shrugged. “No one knows, really. It is a blessing, or a prayer of some sort. There is no one out there who can understand the Burries’ language and they refuse to translate for anyone.”
The little blue people flew up into the air. Their chant was getting louder and louder.
They stopped abruptly and flew straight up, so high that I could barely see them. They each grabbed a handful of dust and blew it down toward the ground. As these grains touched the others on the strings, there was a bit of a spark, and the strings started to glow.
The whole meadow lit up.
“Wow!” I breathed.
That seemed like the cue the band had been waiting for and the music started. I noticed that the instruments all seemed a lot like the ones I was familiar with, with slight differences in shape or the way they were held.
All around the meadow, people had set up booths with food and drinks.
“Should we get something to eat?” asked Zane.
“Definitely. I’m starving.” I took Jasper’s hand again and we all headed to one of the food booths.
The vendor looked at our little group, his grin widening. “Jasper! It has been years!”
Jasper smiled. “Taylor. How goes it?”
“Good, man. Very good indeed. Where have you been hiding?”
Jasper shrugged. “Keeping busy with scouting and the sorts. Always work to be done.”
Taylor looked at me. “And you must be the reason I have heard more than a couple of the ladies grumbling today.” He grinned.
I blushed.
Jasper laughed. “Taylor, this is my mate, Hayden. Hayden, Taylor. He is Zane’s great uncle.”
I could definitely see the resemblance. Taylor was just as tall as Zane. Maybe even an inch taller. He had the same black eyes and black hair, the difference being that Taylor’s was streaked with silver.
“Nice to meet you,” I said, grinning back at him.
“Zane, my boy, how are you?” He turned his attention to his nephew.
“Just fine, uncle. More than fine, actually.” He gazed lovingly at Dawn, who was looking up at him with the same adoration.
Taylor’s eyes followed Zane’s look. “By the moons, you found her!”
Dawn blushed and looked at Zane’s uncle.
“Dawn, my uncle Taylor.”
Taylor came from behind the booth and scooped Dawn up in a hug. He set her down and laughed. “You can’t even begin to understand how happy I am for you two. It had gotten to the point where the whole family was out looking for you just so poor Zane would get on with his life. Ten years is a long time to be waiting for your mate.”
Zane was a very bright shade of red.
“So where exactly were you hiding all these years, my dear?”
Dawn’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “Umm...”
“Actually, I found her up in the Northern Regions.” Zane took her hand. “I thought it was probably the only place we hadn’t looked because, well, who wants to live there, right?” He laughed.
Dawn looked up at him and giggled. “Well, I did.”
Taylor laughed. “And you must be a throwback.” He scratched his chin. “You are much too bright to be black.”
She gave a quick glance at Zane who nodded.
Taylor made his way back behind his counter and started dishing out bowls of stew. He handed them out to us. “On the house, kids. You have a good time tonight.”
“Thanks, Uncle.”
We were starting to walk away when Taylor stopped us. “Zane!”
We all turned as one.
“Have you told your mother yet? I was up there a few months ago and she didn’t mention anything.”
We all looked at Zane.
He shook his head. “We just got back actually.” He looked embarrassed and kicked the ground.
Taylor laughed. “Yes, well, I see then. I was newly fated at one point too. I know how it is.”
Zane turned a deeper shade of red.
“All right. Go have some fun.”
We all waved and turned to where everyone was sitting.
I gave Jasper my bowl of stew and spread my cloak on the ground.
“Here,” he said as he handed me both bowls. “I’ll go get us a drink.”
I glanced over at Dawn. “Holy crap, was that unnerving, or what?”
“It was horrible. I had no idea we would need to come up with a story! And what in the name of the moons is a throwback?” She almost looked insulted.
Brice was standing by us, looking around. “Back in the day when the panthers were still a part of the guard, there actually wasn’t very many of them. They were born to leopards. As their numbers grew, they started to be solely fated to other black leopards. It made sense. Tigers mate with tigers, and so on.
‘Their line of breeding is so strong, that now they only produce black panthers. Well, almost always. Every onc
e in a while, there is a throwback in the genes, and a pair of blacks will have regular looking leopard cub.
‘That’s what Taylor thought you were.” He had explained all of this and never looked at us once.
“Brice. Relax. You look like you’re standing guard.” I threw a pebble at him.
He glanced down a us and grinned. “Sorry.” He scanned the crowd and relaxed a bit as Zane and Jasper made their way closer to us.
“Do you think we’ll have to explain Luke and Mel to anyone?” I asked Jasper as he sat down.
He shook his head. “I doubt it. But if it comes up, Luke can be my second cousin on my mother’s side.”
Luke laughed. “Now would I be Aunt Celine’s boy, or Uncle Kurt’s.”
Jasper grinned. “We’ll go with Aunt Celine’s. She never seemed to mind that you were...well, you know.”
We all looked around to make sure no one was close enough to hear our conversation.
The meadow was filling with beings, some of them dancing, some of them eating, all of them having a good time.
We finished our stew and I leaned back against Jasper, watching the dancers. I took a drink of my sloan.
I smiled at Tara and Ben as they headed out to join them. I recognized this dance from one of the ones Ben had been showing me. It was a fairly fast one and I tapped my foot to the music. Dresses swirled on the danced floor.
Three songs and another drink later, the music slowed. I recognized the tune. I looked back at Jasper. “Want to dance?”
He smiled. “Sure.”
I stood and pulled him up. His hand spread over the small of my back and the other held mine.
I thought of something and frowned. “Will it give me away if I mess up?”
He laughed. “I doubt it. Just because someone is from here, does not mean they will know the dances.”
He took up the steps and led me skillfully through the crowd. “When did you learn this?” he asked.
I smiled. “I’ve been practicing. Ben has been teaching me.”
He looked down at me. “Just when I think I might be starting to figure you out,” he mumbled.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, the last I remember you telling me, you hated going out and dressing up.”
Crossover 'The Chosen One Trilogy: Book One' Page 19