by Croft, Sky
“Why would this only start now, Shale? You’ve never experienced this before.”
“I don’t know. I’d guess that we connected through sharing the same event, or maybe it’s his close proximity to us. I have no idea, but it is happening.”
“All right, let’s just say I believe you for a moment. If we can sense him, surely he can sense us? And if he’s as bad as you say, why doesn’t he just come and kill us?”
“The same reason you didn’t sense him, or have the dream that I had. You’re not as receptive as I am, and from what I saw in that dream, Zale certainly isn’t either.” Shale thought for a moment. “And it’s unlikely he would know what it was anyway, even if he did sense us.”
Kale shook her head. “We’ve both been out in the sun too long. Let’s get back.”
“You wouldn’t have even noticed his presence if I hadn’t pointed it out. There’s no one to point us out to him,” Shale said.
“And I wish you hadn’t pointed it out,” Kale said, her annoyance clear. “Now I admit it was strange, but that doesn’t automatically make it Zale, so just drop it.”
“But—”
“Shale, we share the same blood. Do you really want to believe that our own brother is capable of that? Not just killing our tribe, but massacring them? If that’s true, what does it say about us?”
“DID YOU ENJOY your walk?” Blake asked, when the twins entered the cabin.
“Sort of,” Shale replied.
“No,” Kale said bluntly. “I’ll see you later, Shale.”
Shale caught her wrist. “Kale, I really think we should talk about this.”
“Well I don’t.” She looked down to where Shale was restraining her, but the hold wasn’t released.
“You two haven’t had another fight, have you?” Blake glanced to each of them, and they shook their heads.
“Something happened when we were out, it...unsettled us,” Shale said.
“What was it?”
“Nothing. Shale’s merely losing her mind.”
“I am not. You sensed Zale, too.”
Blake was surprised. “Zale?”
“It wasn’t Zale,” Kale said. “We don’t know what it was. It’s never happened before, and it’s not likely to either. Shale’s simply speculating.”
“It has happened before. I told you, my dream.”
Kale groaned loudly. “Don’t start, Shale. Blake doesn’t want to hear about your delusions.”
“Actually, I do,” Blake said.
Kale rolled her eyes. “I should’ve known.”
Shale smiled at Blake. “I think that’s why I had man’s hands, I was seeing it from his point of view.”
“You think he was there?”
“Yes. I saw exactly how Senna died, how Zale killed her. How would I know that?”
“You saw her body,” Kale said. “You could easily imagine the rest.”
“Why would I want to? You might not believe me about the dream, Kale, but I saw your face, you sensed him too.”
“I sensed something, but only briefly. It was over too quickly, it could have been anything.”
“Don’t you think it could be possible?” Blake asked.
“No. We’re not like that,” Kale said.
“I know you’re not, but what about him?”
“He shares our blood. He’s a part of us,” Kale said. “I won’t believe that a part of me, or Shale, is capable of murdering our sisters. I won’t.”
Blake frowned, and tried to make her see reason. “He’s a separate person, Kale. His actions don’t reflect on you or Shale.”
“We’re linked. We shared the same womb. He’s as much a part of us as we are to him. If Shale’s right, and he did slay our tribe, then a part of us did as well.”
“That’s absurd, Kale.” Blake glanced to Shale. “Please tell me you don’t feel the same way?”
Shale thought for a long moment. “No, I don’t. Zale’s actions are his own.” She turned to Kale. “Deep down you know this. We could never be a part of that. Never.” Shale held her gaze until Kale nodded. “Though I do think we have to be connected to him in some way, or else I wouldn’t have had the dream, or have been able to sense him.”
“Assuming it is Zale,” Kale added.
“If it is Zale,” Shale said. “Whether we’re connected or not, he needs to be stopped. We need to stop him.”
“WE WERE IMPRESSED by that waterfall we passed, weren’t we, Kale?” Shale looked at Kale, who was busy refilling her plate.
“Yes,” Kale said, before digging into her meal. “It was quite a sight.”
“Did you just pass the one?” Amber asked. At Shale’s nod, she said, “If you’d kept going, there’s an even better waterfall. It flows directly into a large lake.”
“Is it much farther?” Shale asked.
“Yes, quite a bit,” Blake replied.
Shale frowned slightly. She couldn’t have gone any farther, at least not yet.
“Why don’t we go when your knee is healed?” Kale said.
“I don’t know how long it’ll take to completely heal, and the best weather is here now.” Shale bit into a chicken leg. “I think you three should go.”
Blake shook her head. “I’m not going without you.”
Shale swallowed her food. “Why not? The four of us can go another time.” She gestured to Kale. “I know Kale’s dying to see it.”
Everyone turned to Kale, and she shrugged. “It’s true. I love waterfalls.” When both Blake and Amber raised their eyebrows at her in surprise, Kale scowled. “What?” she said. “I can’t like nature?”
Amber held up a hand in defence, causing Shale to chuckle.
“I think you should go,” Shale said. When no one spoke, she added, “You shouldn’t all miss out just because I’m injured. I tell you what, I’ll give my knee another week, and if it’s still not up to the walk by then, you three go without me.”
“All right.” Kale nodded. “That seems fair enough.”
“I’M NOT GOING.”
“Blake, we’ve talked about this. I really think you should go.”
“I’d rather stay here and spend time with you, Shale.”
“And I appreciate that, but we can spend time together when you get back. I want you to spend some time with Kale, get to know her better. This is the perfect opportunity.” Shale paused. “Please?
It’s important to me.”
Blake sighed. “Fine.”
Shale could tell that Blake still wasn’t happy about leaving her behind. “It’s not for very long,” Shale said. “I’ll meet you at noon in the meadow. By that large boulder.”
“All right,” Blake said. “But only because it means so much to you.”
Shale smiled and kissed her. “Thank you. Now go.” She gave Blake a light push toward the cabin door. “And make sure you have a good time.”
SHALE REACHED THE gigantic boulder a little before noon. Even though she was disappointed that she hadn’t been able to go to the waterfall, she was relatively impressed by the recovery of her knee.
She perched on the edge of the rock, giving her leg a chance to rest before the others arrived. She knew Blake and Kale had been getting on a lot better recently, and Shale hoped that the journey today would help to solidify their friendship.
She sensed Kale approaching, but it was from the completely wrong direction. That set off warning bells in her head, and she picked up on the slight difference—it wasn’t Kale.
Her ears detected the sound of several hooves, and Shale stood, listening intently. Despite the trees surrounding the meadow, the horses were moving quickly, and they were headed straight for her.
Shale knew that with her leg, she would never reach the cover of the trees in time, so she circled behind the boulder, hiding herself from view.
Six horses emerged into the meadow, and the leader, a tall helmeted man, pointed toward where Shale was taking refuge.
“There,” he ordered, in a voice
so deep it was almost a growl.
Shale’s heart started to hammer in her chest. Was that Zale? She was drawn to him above the others, but the faceplate on his helmet was down, so she couldn’t be certain.
More importantly, if it was Zale, had he sensed Shale was here?
KALE OFFERED HER hand to Blake, assisting her as she scrambled down a steep incline. “Thanks, Kale.” Blake smiled at her. “Who knew you were this chivalrous?”
Kale scoffed. “Don’t get carried away, I’m only doing it so you don’t slip. Shale would never let me hear the end of it if you did.”
“Is that right?” Blake asked amusedly, seemingly unconvinced by her tough act.
Kale held out her hand to Amber, scowling at Blake when she giggled.
“I’ve got it,” Amber told her.
Kale lowered her hand but didn’t move away.
An instant later, Amber cursed as the ground she was standing on shifted, throwing her off balance. She fell forward, straight into Kale’s awaiting arms.
Kale stood her upright, but her hands still remained on Amber’s waist. She felt Amber’s warm grip on her shoulders, and their eyes held for a long moment. Kale cleared her throat and pulled away.
“You planned that,” Amber said playfully.
Kale chuckled, relieved that Amber could see the humor in the situation. She didn’t want things to become awkward again.
Blake, who had been studiously examining the ground, looked up at the sound.
“Thanks for catching me,” Amber said. “But next time, remind me to take your hand.”
Kale shrugged, an impish look crossing her face. “I offered. It’s not my fault you’re so obstinate.”
Amber put her hands on her hips. “So if the roles had been reversed, you’d have taken my hand?”
A short laugh. “No.”
“Well then, there you go.”
Blake shook her head at the two of them. “Warriors. I just don’t understand you sometimes. Surely it’s common sense to accept help when needed? Why you see it as a sign of weakness, I’ll never know.” She shook her head again, and they both grinned at her in response.
Kale faced Amber once more. “But I wouldn’t have fallen,” she added egotistically.
Amber burst into laughter. “If you say so.”
“I do.”
“I guess we know which twin got the modesty,” Amber teased. “Speaking of which, we’d best get moving, we’re going to be late as it is.”
THE HORSES STOPPED alongside the enormous boulder, and the riders dismounted. Shale kept out of sight, keeping herself pressed close against the rock.
“We’ll stop here to rest,” the leader said.
Shale let out a relieved breath. Zale hadn’t sensed her.
“They have to be around here somewhere.”
“Sir, we’ve searched half this region.”
“Then we’ll search the other half!” he bellowed. “I won’t stop until every one of those Amazon bitches are dead!”
Shale stiffened. She kept an eye on the trees where Kale and the others would be coming from. She couldn’t sense Kale yet, but silently urged her to hurry. This was a great chance. If the scouting party and the leader didn’t return, Zale’s army would disperse and the threat would be neutralised. And even if someone else took command, it would be unlikely that he would share the same goal. There was no profit to be made from killing Amazons, and their forested lands were worthless to most people.
Shale would have fought them, even with her injury, if it hadn’t been for Zale. But she’d seen his fighting prowess in her dream, and knew he was of equal skill to her, more so since she wasn’t at full capacity. Kale could fight him though, and Amber could back her up if needed.
Shale knew she had no choice but to wait, and hoped that the others arrived in time.
One of the men suddenly turned and walked toward her, fumbling with his belt as he did so. Shale moved as far as she could around the boulder, any farther would alert the rest of them to her position.
The man kept coming. How much privacy did he need? This was just her luck, she would have to get the one man in all of Greece who was shy about urinating in front of others.
His eyes grew wide as he spotted Shale, but her hand clamped over his mouth before he could call for help. His mumbling was still quite loud though, as was the crack when she broke his neck.
“Nicholydus?” a scout called. “Is everything all right?”
“Leave him be,” another said. “He’s probably just eaten something that disagreed with him.”
Shale heard them sniggering, and she lowered Nicholydus’s body to the ground.
“Nicholydus?” the same voice called again.
Shale silently drew her sword, cursing the man who couldn’t mind his own business.
“Hey?” A new tone this time, gruffer.
When they got no response, Shale recognised the sound of swords being unsheathed. Three men circled around from the left, one from the right.
Shale took out the man on her right first, running him through so no one was behind her. She moved away from the boulder, giving herself room to move.
The three remaining scouts surrounded her, but she wasn’t worried about them. Shale briefly wondered where Zale was, though she soon found him. He stood atop the boulder, staring right at her. Even through his helmet, she felt his piercing gaze.
The men kept glancing to their leader, and then back to Shale, confused expressions on every face.
“This is just too perfect,” the leader said to Shale, his delight evident. “I thought you were dead, since you weren’t at the tribe you were born into, but now I get the pleasure of killing you myself. It’s turning out to be a very good day.” He paused briefly. “I am Theron. Remember it. For I’m the man who will wipe out the entire Amazon nation. Take her,” he ordered.
“Do you want us to kill her, sir?”
“No, you fool! She’s just saved me the trouble of mobilising my army. By kidnapping her, the Amazons will come to us, and we’ll be on our own ground,” Theron said, speaking slowly as if talking to a small child. He looked back to Shale. “Besides, I want to have some fun with her first.” A cruel laugh erupted from his throat.
The scouts attacked.
Shale couldn’t afford to take chances, not with her weakened leg, so she showed no compassion, killing each man at the first opportunity. It didn’t take her long to dispatch them, and as the last fell at her feet, she heard the crack of a whip.
Shale threw herself sideways, but felt it strike her back. Searing pain tore through her. She’d been whipped before, but never had it felt like that. She scrambled to her feet, seeing that it wasn’t an ordinary whip. Small, but sharp pieces of metal had been inserted along its length, adding a monstrous cruelty to an already vicious tool.
Shale now knew why her back felt like chunks of flesh had been torn out—they had.
She immediately backed off, knowing that if the whip got hold of her she would be in deep trouble.
Theron jumped down from the boulder and advanced. “I would let you fight back, but...” He indicated her bandaged knee. “Unfortunately you’re already hurt, so you’d hardly test my skill.” He sighed dramatically. “Never mind, you’ll serve as bait well enough.” Theron unleashed the whip.
Shale managed to block with her sword, and the whip wrapped around her blade instead.
Theron pulled it out of her hands. As he did so, Shale ran at him, knowing the whip would be entangled for a moment. Thankfully, her leg held, and she tackled a surprised Theron to the ground.
She used his surprise to her advantage, pulling out the dagger from his boot and stabbing him in the thigh with it. “Now we’re even,” she said. “Will you let me fight now?”
Theron growled in fury and backhanded her, sending her flying. She rolled and stood, latching onto her sword as she did so. She freed it from the whip, and kicked Theron’s awful weapon out of his immediate reach.
Theron alarmed her by laughing, a maniacal sound that sent a chill through her bones.
He pulled the dagger out of his thigh, and tucked it calmly back into his boot. “I’m impressed. Though I suppose I shouldn’t be, you do share my blood.”
Shale would have found this reunion amusing if it had been under any other circumstance—he was even more arrogant than Kale.
Theron removed his helmet. It was definitely Zale, no doubt about that.
As the last born, Theron was technically the youngest, but Shale thought he looked older than they did. He was indeed handsome, as Blake had suspected. Shale met his ice blue eyes, noting that his features were sharp and angular also. His long black hair reached his shoulder blades as hers did, and the only major exception between them—because of their gender difference—was their build. Though Shale was well-muscled and toned, she still maintained her femininity, whereas Theron was much broader, his bulging muscles dwarfing hers in comparison.
“You don’t look surprised,” Theron said disappointedly.
“Oh, I am,” Shale replied quickly. She didn’t want him to know about their extra sense regarding each other. Just then, her extra sense alerted her to Kale’s nearing presence. She wasn’t close by yet though, so Shale needed to delay things.
Theron drew his sword. “I’d really like to continue our family gathering, but I’ve got Amazons to kill.”
“I can’t let you do that.” Shale levelled her sword at him.
“Do you really think you can stop me?” he asked incredulously.
Shale noted that his name was fitting, Theron meaning hunter. He locked his piercing gaze onto her, and Shale realised that she had just become his prey.
“SO THERE I am under the water, waiting for the bees to leave,” Kale said. “I’d got stung a couple of times, but I figured it would be worth it. Honey was always in demand in our old tribe, so we knew we’d get good trade from it.”
“How come you were the distraction?” Amber asked.