Covenant of the Reborn

by T. E. Joshua

  As I entered Uncle’s Eis land, I could see the house lights on through a cluster of trees. James’s truck was here, as were the others. James’s energy wasn’t present. Had he stayed behind? He probably thought that I would come back to Leroy’s Place.

  I parked my car and surveyed my surroundings. Then, from the shadows, I sensed him. A wave of water beamed from the tree line and hit me in the face. I fell back and collided with the ground, faintly scraping my head against the gravel and cutting my head. Luckily the wound was small.

  I sprang back to my feet and grabbed my new lighter. I lit a spark. The fire flowed from the metal tip and into both of my hands. The flames heated my palms. As long as I controlled the flames, he fire could never harm me.

  Then James leapt from the tree line and charged at me. His aura was dark. I noticed that his eyes were reddish; he must have triggered the first step of awakening.

  “Stop, James!” I ordered.

  He slowed down and came to a stop near me. His dark energy swarmed his body, covering every inch. He was angry. “Why did you leave with the enemy?”

  “I didn’t,” I lied.

  “You didn’t? What happened?”

  “I led her away. The plan went wrong. I took her away in my car and tried to kill her in the woods. She resisted and awakened her powers. Apparently, her abilities supersede our own by far.”

  “Supersede our own, in what way?” He seemed to be calming down. His eyes returned to normal.

  “That I don’t know yet. She’s too strong to fight. We will be killed if we pursue her any further. We need to cut our losses and leave Blackfalls, let the Naiche clan or the bounty hunters deal with her.”

  James then looked downward in thought. I can tell from his expression that he was weighing the odds. He believed my lie. And why wouldn’t he? He trusted me. This would give Natalie ample time to escape Blackfalls. It wasn’t safe here.

  “To defile the Covenant is wrong,” he uttered in wonder as he continued to ponder. “But how do you know she will kill us?”

  “She warned me.” By now I had killed the fire.

  Then the front door opened, and Uncle Eis yelled at us to get inside. He seemed angry about something; perhaps it was me. James and I walked inside. There Aaron, Liyah, and Alope sat, each one eating a slice of pizza.

  “There he is. What happened back there?” Aaron asked as he chewed, a string of cheese peeking out of his mouth.

  “Nothing, she is far more powerful than we have realized,” I said as I sat down.

  “Tristan suggested that we leave Blackfalls before she kills all of us,” James said.

  “I wouldn’t dare take her on again. She’s too dangerous. I say we leave. I’ll deal with my father. The blame will be on me. The Naiche clan will be more than enough to handle her.”

  “Your father is the number one warrior,” Alope added.

  “Don’t remind me, plus numbers two and three are of the Naiche clan—the ghost twins, Teela and Venis. They’re Chief Torah’s right- and left-hand warriors,” Liyah stated.

  “Then we leave at first light,” I said, covering my face of guilt.

  Everyone looked at each other and waited for someone else to speak up.

  “Are you sure that she is as powerful as you say?” Uncle Eis asked me.

  “Yeah, I believe so.”

  “I say we can take her,” James added. “The power of the Covenant will be on our side. Each of us might have to use our dema abilities, possibly the second or third pillar.”

  “No, we can’t, James. She overpowered me tonight. I say we leave tomorrow morning, and maybe Father will allow us to return with more warriors. Or they can deal with this Awakened Reborn on their own.”

  “Let’s sleep on it. Make your decision in the morning,” Uncle Eis suggested. Then he said good night to all of us and walked upstairs to his bedroom.

  The night ended. All of us went to bed soon afterward—except James, who stayed up. For how long I didn’t know.

  When sunrise came, I went out back to sit in the cool of the morning. There I thought about her, Natalie Schultz, the Awakened Reborn girl. I had lied for her. I was willing to take the heat from my father when we returned to Red Valley. I would probably never see her again. It was better this way. Our friendship was short-lived but not forgotten.

  Father might send us back to Blackfalls with another clan to assist us. I seriously doubted he and the Naiche clan would take action. Hopefully during this time, Natalie would become lost in the world, swallowed among the masses. The Spirit Whispers might be able to track her if the dark spirits allowed it.

  “Tristan.”

  I turned around. It was James. He looked like he hadn’t gotten any sleep. Bags were beneath his eyes.

  “How long have you been up?”

  “Too long, I only got a few hours of sleep last night. But I’ve been thinking.”

  There was a small pause. That is when I knew he wanted to stay and fight this hunt through. He was the type who never gave up—devoted to the Covenant down to the very core of his soul.

  “We should stay. Attack her with full force. Liyah can track her again, and we strike, even if it’s in public,” he said with some satisfaction. He had clearly thought about this for a while. “What do you say? Will you lead us, old friend?”

  My jaw slightly dropped. My plan wasn’t going to go through. “No, we shouldn’t. We need to leave. Staying here will only get us killed.”

  “I believe we can kill her before she can kill us. I know Aaron and Liyah will agree. Alope will agree with whatever you decide, and I need you to back me up on this decision.”

  “I don’t think we can do it. I won’t stand up against her again.”

  He was clearly disappointed with my fake incompetence. “I see. I believe the Covenant, our god, will protect us and lead our fights. I will lead our clan if you can’t. Today, we will kill the Awakened Reborn.”

  Then he slowly backed away with a stare of gratitude and walked inside.

  I had to warn Natalie.

  11

  The Division of Two Worlds

  I HAD TO WARN HER! That was the only thought racing through my mind. My clan wanted to attack her today, and my best friend would be leading the assault. If Natalie were to live, then she would have to leave before the afternoon. I had told James that I would join the fight when I had had some time to meditate in the woods, alone. He bought my lie. He didn’t have a reason not to believe me.

  I vanished into the woods and ran toward the city through tree branches and wild thorn bushes. I sought to find her as my dark energy erupted, a red aura covering my entire being. If someone saw a ball of fire beaming through the woods, it would be me, the element of fire. I pushed past my limits, triggering 10 percent of my dema.

  My clan more than likely sensed the rise in my power as I ran through the woods—which were why I had to find Natalie, if she still were in Blackfalls, and get her the hell out of this town before she was beheaded.

  I slowed down when I came to the highway and leaped across the four-lane road. Several cars honked at me as I sprinted past them and into downtown. I sweated. I breathed heavily as I went from building to building, not caring if anyone saw me. Keeping the Covenant discreet wasn’t a concern. Natalie was the only thing that mattered. She was my friend, and I was going to protect her.

  Minutes later, I arrived on campus. My dema settled down and I could feel my eyes shift back to normality. I didn’t want anyone to notice me while I searched the campus for the Awakened Reborn.

  I began to walk down the west end, looking for any girl who resembled her, not counting on my ability to detect her scent. I scrambled from one group of students to the next. So far, there was no sign of her.

  I even began to look within various classroom windows, thinking I would barge in and take Natalie out by force. I peeked through the door window of three different rooms. She wasn’t there. Then I marched back to the west end and toward the Manchester Lib
rary. She could be on the other side of campus, by the east end—or maybe she wasn’t even here yet.

  It was nearing the afternoon and the chances of her leaving Blackfalls began to dwindle with each minute. Then I remembered something she told me when we first met: “Tristan, I love to read. I love books, and I spend most of my time in the Manchester Library studying.” That was it! She had to be in the library. There was no time to lose as I began to pace my steps into the massive building.

  The Manchester Library was cold. The air conditioner must have been turned up really high. At least the cold would calm my nerves and help settle my dema.

  “Where the hell are you?” I wonder aloud, looking from one wooden desk to the next. They were arranged like small cubicles. It was quiet. I could hear someone coughing in the distance. My shoes squeaked as I looked searched the building, floor by floor.

  “Natalie,” I whispered, surprising a group of students studying. Agh! More Anglos.

  Then, to my left, I caught the scent. She was here!

  Immediately, my attention turned to a blonde girl sitting at a square table. She was alone. She cleared her throat while reading a book. As I looked closer, I glimpsed the title: Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The book was old, very old. The pages had yellowed after years of sitting on a bookshelf.

  Then she turned to look my direction. Her blue and green pupils flared as she staring me down through her black thick glasses. This was new. Natalie wore blue jeans with her sorority letters on the side, visible from a distance. She must be near-sighted, I thought.

  Without thinking about my next move, I walked from behind the bookshelf and approached her from the rear. Natalie watched my shadow as I made my way out of the dark. The ceiling light above was dim. I sat down in the seat next to her.

  “Hey, what are you doing here?” I casually asked, wanting to scream at her for still being in Blackfalls. “I thought I told you to leave Blackfalls.”

  “You did, but I can take care of myself. No one will harm me. The Spirit of God has told me Himself.”

  “Don’t be a fool. These people will kill you if you stay. I told you to leave. Come on, let’s go,” I ordered as I tugged on her arm.

  “Leave me alone!” she yelled with spite. A small group of students glanced in our direction.

  “No. I will not have your blood spilled.”

  “You’re one of them. How do I know you’re not tricking me like before—saying you wanted to be my friend? You lied. And I believed you.”

  “Look, I’m sorry. That was different. I thought I wanted to fulfill something, but I was wrong. You’re a good person. You deserve better.”

  “I know who you are, Tristan. God spoke to me last night.” She slammed the book down and locked her precious eyes with my own.

  “You talk to God?” I asked, trying not to smirk.

  “Yes. He told me that you were sent here to behead me. You’re a killer of my faith. That you have dominion over the dark angels and use them for paranormal abilities.”

  “Is that all he told you?” I didn’t believe that she talked to her god. It seemed far-fetched. The Naiche people didn’t speak to our god, Lucian. Only the Spirit Whispers and the chief, my father, spoke to him when necessary.

  “He said that you needed my help.”

  “I need your help? No! You need to leave.”

  “Yes, but I can’t help you. You’ve … killed too many souls.”

  “This isn’t about me.”

  “Then who is it about? Me?” she questioned. “You tried to kill me that night. Then you stalked me, pretending to be my friend. I should have gone to the police.”

  “Maybe you should have. Do whatever you want to me. Just get out of town before nightfall. They will come for you.”

  “And go where? I have no place to go.”

  “You don’t have other relatives?”

  She paused and pondered.

  “No, I don’t know of anyone else. As far as I know, they’re all dead or I don’t know that they exist.” Then she asked, “Is it true that the Naiche people possess some sort of light waves that you referred to as … energy?” Natalie questioned. How in the hell did she know that? Surely I hadn’t displayed any energy last—oh, wait. I had released a beam of light last night to keep my dema from awakening.

  “Why?”

  “Because I looked up the Naiche people on the Internet, and according to history, they were obliterated in the 1870s.”

  “Some say they were, but to answer your question, yes, they do have some sort of divine powers according to the oral stories of the lost tribe.”

  “Is it possible that these people, the Naiche tribe, still have control of such energies? And do they still exist?” Natalie asked earnestly.

  This wasn’t good!

  “It’s just a story, a legend,” I explained, hoping she would drop it. Her questioning made me nervous.

  “Well … I think you’re one of them.”

  I didn’t answer.

  “I know who you are. I know what you are,” she whispered as she leaned in toward me.

  “Do you? You don’t know anything about me, about whom I really am, nor do you want to know.”

  “You’re evil, cold and dark. I should have seen it when I first met you,” Natalie said.

  “Look, I am trying here,” I spat. “I don’t know how to be a nice sweet guy like you’re probably used to having around you,” I said softly. “I have problems just like anybody else. But this isn’t about me being who I am. It’s about getting you to safety until I can figure out what to do.”

  “Why didn’t you kill me?”

  I didn’t respond.

  “Why didn’t you kill me? Answer me,” she demanded.

  “It doesn’t matter,” I quickly answered. “We have to—”

  She interrupted, “No, answer me. You owe me that much!”

  “Because I like you,” I blurted out.

  As seconds passed, her jaw dropped. She seemed to not believe my words. “You like me?”

  “Yeah, it happened. I … I … I couldn’t do what was necessary last night. I wanted to kill you, but I couldn’t because I realized I really wanted to be friends with you. Don’t ask me why. I haven’t felt this way before and I don’t know what to do. I’m scared. So that is why I let you go and am willing to help you flee. I would rather have you live, pissed at me for deceiving you, and then die thinking our friendship was honest from the start.”

  Natalie gathered her papers together and tossed her books into her backpack. “Well, maybe I did want to discover more about you, but I’ve changed my mind.”

  “That’s fine with me. Just leave!”

  “I will,” she said harshly. If we ended our relationship on bad terms, then I would be fine with that decision. At least she would be alive and not dead.

  Then the Awakened Reborn grabbed her backpack and began to walk from the table. I followed her toward the main entrance.

  “Listen, go home and pack your bags and leave Blackfalls. Go anywhere, but get out of town.”

  “I’m not leaving. The Spirit of God can protect me.”

  I grabbed her by the shoulders and jerked her toward me. “This isn’t a joke, Natalie. They will surely find you. And I can’t protect you from them.”

  “I’m not asking you to protect me from them. I am going to the police and reporting you. But I’m not leaving my town. I’m not scared of them.”

  “Like I said, you can do whatever you want. Just leave. I don’t want to find your dead, headless body in some ditch somewhere.”

  “I’ll be fine.” Then she veered back, locked eyes with me again, and said with all seriousness, “Don’t ever talk to me again, Tristan Lakota.”

  Then she left. Natalie Schultz vanished around the corner of the Manchester Library. She didn’t give me the chance to say good-bye. She refused to leave, regardless of my various warnings. I couldn’t fight the others to protect her. We weren’t supposed to use our powers against each
other. I wasn’t even supposed to befriend a Reborn, let alone an Awakened one. Maybe I should have killed her when I had had the chance last night. Why was this so hard?

  A few minutes passed as I sat down on the front steps of the library. I continuously asked myself, Why couldn’t she just leave? Natalie was stubborn and confident in her Awakened powers.

  “Tristan!” someone called from behind me.

  I turned to see Alope Manwolf. She rushed over. “Tristan, I thought I’d find you here. The others are on the move.”

  “They’re on the move to kill her?”

  “Yeah, Aaron and Liyah are following the Awakened Reborn in James’s truck. James is waiting on the outskirts of Blackfalls, near her neighborhood.”

  “They’re already going to kill her?”

  “Yeah, we’re going to need your help. We have to move fast. Come.”

  Then, without further thought, Alope and I rushed behind an enclosed building along the west end and unleashed 10 percent of our dema. I felt my eyes shift once again as a cloud of red mist appeared around me. We both darted away, looking like a phenomenon of light rushing from one street to the next.

  I couldn’t let them kill her. My clan didn’t know of the ugly truth between us. I knew that once I arrived on the scene, I would have to fight my clan by all means necessary. The shameful reality between us would be known.

  12

  The Darkness Falls for the Light

  ALOPE AND I SPRINTED TOWARD the outskirts of Blackfalls to join the attack—at least, that’s what she thought. I needed to stop them before they killed Natalie. The aura emanating from our bodies brightened the trees. I sensed James close by. He had raised his dema to a mere 30 percent, the second pillar. Now his eyes had shifted and his skin would be boiling with hatred for Natalie. There wasn’t time. I raised my dema to match his. I didn’t need much to go head-to-head with him.