“We’re not in a hurry.” Will’s eyes cut to me and then up to the sky. He takes a seat beside me.
I rub my palms over Jacob’s chest, trying to warm him. My mind is so jumbled, I can’t think. What of Mambi, Gregor, and my people above? What is Crow’s plan? His energy can’t be limitless. Feeling Jacob’s breathing even out and seeing his color return, I stand. The chasm isn’t wide. I can touch each side with my outstretched arms. Climbing won’t be hard. Perhaps Crow won’t expect us to make it out. Will his guard be down?
Jacob sits up, and I squat next to him. “How goes it, friend?”
“I liked it much better when your arms were around me, Queen.”
“Good as new, eh, chap.” Will grabs a root and pulls himself up a few feet.
We start up the wall of the fissure, me in the lead, Jacob in the middle, and Will bringing up the rear. I keep a steady slow pace, giving Jacob time to recover. A few feet from the top, I spot a snake, and grabbing a root, I swing over to catch it.
I pass the animal to Jacob. He pierces the skin with his fangs and drains the vessels. Skinning it, he passes the meat to Will and me. Listening for heartbeats, we hear six, five racing faster than one, meaning the boys are still with Crow. Will breaks a root in two and starts to whittle the end with his knife. Jacob and I find sizable sections and do the same, taking care to be as quiet as possible. Will communicates a plan to us, using his hands to demonstrate what we need to do.
When he counts down from three on his fingers, we launch ourselves out of the ditch. Landing, I see Crow standing in front of the opening of the teepee, arms folded over his chest.
“I’m learning much about vampires today.” He lifts one palm. “ophíič’iyA.” Crow makes a circle with the other.
Confused, I stick with the plan and start running for him. Will and Jacob don’t follow, and I spin to see them frozen in place. Picking up fists of dirt, I throw it into their faces. They blink but don’t move. I sense something warm behind me, and then Crow’s huge arms pin me to his chest. He smells of sweat, excrement, and venom, and my stomach turns.
“Who has the power now?” Crow spits in my ear.
Kicking at his legs with my boots, I fling my head back. His jawbone cracks, and he yells out. Doubling over, I fling him over my back. He lands on the ground with a thud. Will and Jacob shake their heads, and their eyes meet mine. They rush towards us and pin Crow’s arms and legs down.
“Do it, Anne,” Will yells. “It’s got to be his head or his heart.”
My feet feel stuck to the ground, and I hear my breath drawn in through my nose, to my lungs, and back out again. My heart thumps in my chest—ba boom, ba boom, ba boom. A falcon cries from the sky. The seconds seem to spread out like an abyss.
“Anne, do it!” Jacob repeats Will’s order.
Under their grip, Crow struggles to move his arms, his legs. My eyes meet his, and he holds my gaze.
“Até.” The word comes from behind, and I turn to see a line of five boys.
“Anne,” Will calls out. “His injuries are healing. We can’t hold him for long.”
Across the fissure, movement catches my eye. Village women step to the edge. Seeing them fuels my abhorrence for the being on the ground. Still, my hand shakes as I reach for the makeshift stake Will whittled. Gripping it with both hands, I raise it above Crow’s chest. Breath held and eyes shut, I use all my muscle power to slam it through his ribs and into his heart. Warm liquid hits my temple, and bile rises in my throat.
“Anne, open your eyes. You must rip his heart out. You must finish this. Be the queen that you are.”
Will’s voice is but a whisper on the wind as a humming sound grows in my ears. Lifting my eyelids, I see the women jumping, cheering, hugging each other. I look down at the monster below me, cheek flaccid on the dirt.
I run my blood-stained fingers over Crow’s eyes, closing his lids. Swallowing, I wrap a hand around the hilt of the stake and jerk it sideways, breaking the vessels connected to the organ. Yanking it free of the ribs, I lay Crow’s skewered heart on his stomach.
“He doesn’t get to keep this. He doesn’t deserve to return to Mother Earth whole.” Will lifts the stake holding the gouged organ, jogs to the side of the canyon, and throws it in.
Several women jump and wave from the other side, and I refocus on the boys behind me. As I approach, they back away. I raise my hands to assure them I mean no harm and realize my fingers are coated in blood. Blood of their dead father. Bloody tears gather in my eyelids.
Hands wrap around my shoulders. “Anne, let Jacob get their mothers.” Will’s voice sounds like velvet in my ears. When I face him, his eyes hold mine for a second. “Careful, Anne, I know you’re dying inside, but you have to be a strong leader right now. Just like in Asia, summon your inner strength. Think of all the people you saved. Your people, the native people, the settlers he would have killed. Remember the female younglings he massacred.”
I blot my eyes with my sleeve, spread my shoulders and stand tall. I step around Will to see Mambi, our army, and Crow’s warriors filing in behind the women. I take a deep breath and approach the edge of the fissure.
“Chief Black Crow is no more. We will abide with you to help bury your dead and rebuild your village if you desire.” I jump the gap and approach Flying Brook. “How many men did the village lose?”
“Only five. Your army healed many with their blood.”
Gregor approaches. “Our goal was to stop them. We healed the ones with wounds.”
I look to Mambi. “And how many did we lose?”
“Many have scars from the venom, but we were able to drain the poison from most of the wounds before it was too late, save for three.”
“Three? Who?”
“Anjun, from—”
“China.” I finish her sentence. “Who else?” Tears form in my eyes, and I wipe them away.
“Nirav and Caleb.”
“India and Germany. We should write to their families.” I want to hug someone, for arms to wrap around me and tell me that I’m okay, not a monster like Crow. I long to be enveloped in Elizabeth’s warm scent. But, I offer my arm, and each of the survivors grip it in turn.
We build burial pyres and rest the bodies on top, lighting each one in succession, honoring their memory, until we come to Crow’s. The villagers topple the stand over and carry his form to the edge of the fissure. Screeching and howling, they throw him into the gorge and kick dirt on top.
Some from our tribe team with the village hunters, returning with six deer. The women grind corn and cook cakes as four animals roast over a line of fires. Mambi and Gregor string up two of the does, slitting their throats and collecting blood in bowls. We pass the basin around our group, savoring the salty red liquid.
Torn between the abyss of grief, sheer horror at the action I performed, and the almost overwhelming love flooding my heart from seeing our two groups meld into one, I stare into the fire.
“Are you okay?” Will wraps an arm around my shoulder.
“Sure.” I force a smile, trying to keep tears from forming in my eyes.
“I’m proud of you.”
“Don’t say that.” I shake my head. “I hate myself.” I hold up my palms. “How many lives did you end? How do you live with yourself after killing?”
“Alec was my third, and honestly, you saved me. I don’t know who I would’ve become if it weren’t for you. I hated myself too. I had to shut every emotion off, just to stop the mass of guilt that sat in my chest. But, you did the right thing. He was evil and had to die. Look at all these people you saved.”
I hate that I like the feel of his arm around me. Across the fire, Jacob’s eyes meet mine. They narrow, and he stands and storms off. Still, I can’t muster the strength to tell Will to move his hand.
Will leans down and speaks into my ear. “What do you need, Your Highness?”
Biting my lip, I fight the tears that threaten to form. I stand up. “I’m tired. I need rest. I should
say good night to the elders.”
Finding them feasting on deer, I bid them goodnight. They’ve prepared a teepee, and women escort me to the structure at the edge of the village. Inside, a fire burns in the center, and a carved-out log holds steaming water.
“I will be just outside.” Will bows as he exits.
One woman unbraids my hair, while the other two prompt me to remove my boots and clothes. Lifting a leg over the edge of the log, I slide into the hot water. The vessel reminds me of the tub at home and a time I was happy. A tear spills over my eyelid, and I fear the women will flee in disgust. One of them dips a cloth in the water and dabs my cheek. She hands me the rag, and I clean my skin, while they work on my hair. When finished, they retire to the fire, and I lay my head back on the soft wood and soak until the water cools.
Sitting in front of the fire, they comb out my hair. I dress in their soft linens and wrap a fur around my shoulders. My lids grow heavy. I watch the orange flames dance in front of me. The women add logs to the fire and wave goodbye.
As they exit, Will enters and sits beside me. “Can I say that you look beautiful?”
I keep my eyes fixed on the fire. “Yes.”
“Do you feel better?”
“Some.” I shiver and gather the fur around my chest.
“You can rest, and I will keep watch. Take as long as you like.”
An almost overwhelming loneliness, a need to feel connected, loved, washes over me. I lean over, resting my shoulder on his bicep. He wraps his arm around me, hugging me to his side. His warmth envelopes me, and I pull my legs up, snuggling into him. He kisses the top of my head and wraps both arms around me.
His shirt is soft and smells of the same leaves the women added to my bath. I realize he must have bathed too. An image of Crow’s open chest flashes through my mind, and I want to cry, kick, scream—anything to get it out of my head. My body starts to rock, and Will squeezes me tighter.
He presses his lips to my hair and runs his hand down my back. I wind my hands around his neck and kiss the soft skin. His fingers grip my thigh, and the need to be closer to him almost overtakes me.
I jump away, and tears spring to my eyes. The warm blood runs down my cheek, and I swipe it away. “I’m sorry.”
“No.” Will wraps his hands around mine. He leans over and kisses my forehead. “It’s the most natural thing in the world. You had to do a horrible thing. Every being needs to be loved.”
Leaning over, he kisses my lips. Body pressed to his, I wind my fingers around his neck. “I’ve never done this before. After tonight, we shall never speak of it again. Things will be the same between us, just like they’ve always been. Nothing more. You must promise me.”
“I promise, Queen.” His lips are on mine as he finishes the word.
He picks me up, and I wrap my legs around him. Lowering me to the furs, he plants kisses on my forehead, down my nose to my lips. His tongue runs down my neck to my breasts and stomach. A tingling sensation grows beneath his mouth, spreading down to my toes. I reach for his face, kissing him hard.
His callused fingers squeeze and tug at my butt, my thighs. Placing kisses over every inch of me, he tells me how beautiful I am, how strong, how wonderful, compassionate, fair, loving. As he presses against my body, I let all my emotions charge through me.
“It’s okay. Scream, cry, yell, hit me.” Will rakes hair from my forehead and looks into my eyes.
“Just love me.” I pull him to me.
We roll over and over, intertwined for what seems like hours.
As we tire, I lie snuggled against his chest. “How does one ever stop this?”
“Eventually, you’ll get hungry.”
“Thank you.” Pushing up on one elbow, I kiss his lips.
“Do you need rest now? Shall I keep watch outside or in?”
“Please, lie with me.” I wrap his arm around my waist.
“As you wish.” He kisses my forehead.
As soon as I close my eyes, images of Crow’s sons lilt through my brain. Tears pool in my lids and drop onto the bedding.
“Here.” Will hands me a cloth.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Tonight is for you. Cry as much as you need.”
Resting my head on his arm, I let the bloody tears come. My chest heaves with the weight of my grief, for the villagers lost, for the female babies killed by Crow, for the girl who never wanted to take a human life, but now has.
I stir when I feel the loss of Will’s warmth on my body. Sitting up, I open my eyes to see the women who’d prepared my bath the previous night, carrying urns of water into the teepee. While the water heats, they bring me fruits and a vessel of blood.
Standing, I roll the blankets beneath me and throw them into the fire. I don’t regret a single second of the previous night, but the girl who grieved for her life of innocence lives no more. I do not plan to cry for her again.
Every ounce of me craves to be away from the village, but it won’t do to have Will’s smell so heavy on my skin. What we shared I will cherish forever, but it can’t be known beyond the walls of this structure.
Letting the women help me bathe, I dress in my traveling clothes. The bright sun nearly blinds me as I leave the tent, and I squint in the midday light. Will stands beside the opening and falls in step with me.
“Did you rest well?”
I don’t let my gaze linger on his, fearing I’ll lose my resolve to resume command of my army. “Yes, thank you. How are our people?” My eyes sweep the village, noting the residents stop their work as we approach.
“Good. Ready to move at your word.”
“I wish to speak with the elders before we leave.”
Jacob approaches, and his eyes sweep from my head to my feet and back again. “Are you well? I didn’t see you when I returned to the feast.”
“Yes.” I hold his stare and smile. “I’m rested and ready to talk with our people.” Gripping his bicep, I assess his state. “How are you? How is the wound?”
"I will call the elders.” Will’s voice calls my attention away from Jacob.
“Yes, thank you.” I watch Will stride away, praying I haven’t lied to Jacob about my feelings for Will. I still see the man who killed Alec, but now I also see the man who saved me.
Realizing my hand is still on Jacob’s arm, I snatch it back. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to touch you.”
“It’s okay.” Jacob takes my hand. “Yesterday was quite the scare. Taking a life is never easy. I remember my first. How are you truly?”
“It was a hard night. But Will helped me.”
“Will.” Jacob steps back. “The man who took the life of the one you loved?”
“It was his job. He was trained to kill.”
“So, you’ve forgiven him?”
“I don’t know. It’s complicated. We’re friends, as you and I are. I need both of you.” My eyes plead with him. “Please tell me you still call me friend.”
“You know that’s not what I want to call you.”
“But it must be that way.” I place a hand on each of his shoulders. “We are comrades in arms. Let’s finish what we started. Have you forgotten our mission? Our people need us now more than ever. The humans are spreading to every land, there’s nowhere they don’t touch. They invent weapons that we can’t stand against. We must unite our people, keep them safe, help them integrate so we aren’t hunted along with the native peoples.”
“And what of the natives? Will you try to save them from the settlers? Fight with them?”
“I wish we could.” I let my hands fall to my side. “But no.” I rotate my head and see the villagers reconstructing their destroyed meeting place.
“You’re different.” Jacob fits his hand around mine.
“Yes.” I look him in the eye. “I’ve been on both sides of death. Neither of them brings me joy.”
“But you’re strong enough to bear the weight.”
“Only with warriors like you by my side.�
� Not wanting to taint my relationship with Jacob, I don’t say Will. I won’t think of my night with him again. “Are you still with us? There’s no shame if not.”
“Yes, I’m still with you, and I shall always be.”
“Thank you.” I squeeze his hand.
In a quick move, he wraps his arms around me, squeezing my shoulders. Then, he takes a step back. “It’s good to see you well, Queen. When do we leave?”
“Thank you, and within the hour.” I smile at him, loving the imprint of warmth his arms left on my back.
At the edge of the village, I scan the field, trying to block out images of my people fighting for their lives, spears, arrows whooshing through the air. I bend to pick up a broken shaft. Fist gripping it, I approach my people who have made camp across the grass.
Mambi runs to me and wraps her arms around my waist, burying her head in my chest. Releasing me, she takes my hands. “How are you?”
“Well and ready to head south.” I squeeze her fingers.
“Good sister.” A smile spreads across her face.
We find the elders in the canyon, packing their things on a travois. “Are you moving back to the village?”
“We’re safe there again and are needed to provide leadership until a new chief rises.” Flying Brook drops a blanket on the heap and approaches me. “Thank you for helping our people. Will you stay to help us stand against the settlers?”
“You’re welcome.” I grip his forearm in greeting. “But, no, we can’t stay. Our cause lies elsewhere.”
Convening around the fire, Flying Brook relates all the knowledge of the vampire tribes they’ve acquired. It becomes clear that going south would be a waste of time, and we decide to head back north and across to the Atlantic. Our army hikes back to the village with the elders. As we approach, the villagers line a path to the new center structure, waving branches, feathers, and flowers. I’m greeted with a wreath weaved of leaves and white flowers that a woman fits on my head.
I bite my teeth to keep tears from forming in my eyes as I scan the faces. I lift the flowers from my head. “May Mother Earth bless you.”
The Kingdom Journals Complete Series Box Set Page 88