Awakening: A Timeless Series Novel, Book Four (13 page)

I moved towards the stump of a decayed tree and jumped on top. I didn’t have another person to train with, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t go through the movements just the same. Reminding myself of the actions would work wonders later.

I closed my eyes and let my memories of all the training I’d had at the estate
take hold. Skylar’s dancing moves, Brogan’s brutal frontal attacks, and Maes pouncing on his enemies without warning. They all had a place here; all could be used against Marcus’s army, but what about Marcus himself?

He hadn’t come for me yet, but he’d come. He wouldn’t give me up so
easily, not after he’d battled so hard to win his trophy. Where was he now? What was he up to? Was he nearby in the background or was he waiting for me to screw up and then he’d swoop in and wipe us all from the face of the earth? Or was he training with his army, plotting to bring the battle here?

The sound of a crow cawing reached my ears
. Moisture touched my cheeks and I opened my eyes to see snow falling…but how? I glanced around and realized I wasn’t in the meadow anymore, but elsewhere. A mountain lake was nearby, and I walked towards it. Why was this familiar?

The icy cold surface
was placid, in spite of the snowfall. It was as if the weather didn’t affect it. Not a snowflake touched the surface. I stepped closer, and bent to see if it was real.

The icy cold water stung my fingers
, and I yanked them back. A small ripple began to emerge and grow. I stared at the crystal clear water as a dark shadow developed beneath it.

The water began to swirl
, and I stepped back further. Soon a water funnel materialized, like I’d created in the past with my powers. My fingers tightened, but this time I wasn’t the one creating it. No power ran through my veins, not even the slightest breeze ruffled my hair…this wasn’t me.

The water funnel grew until it was tall and lanky. It danced before me like a ballerina
, performing graceful leaps and bounds. I moved closer and touched the watery surface, and without warning, the funnel disappeared.

I stared at the surface of the water, confused
, when the water once again began to rise, but this time it was as if an image was pushing itself out of the steady stream. A face appeared and then disappeared as the water swallowed it.

Was this the dark shadow I’d seen beneath the water’s surface? Was there an enchantment in the water causing this image to come to life? Again I moved closer
. How was this happening?

The water funnel spun before me, but this time it didn’t dance. Instead
, it began to lose the choppy exterior and a smooth surface developed. An image grew before me. My eyes widened as I recognized it; it was Marcus.

But how? How was his image being projected through the water?
Could he see me? Or was this a figment of my imagination?

Without warning
, its mouth opened and swallowed me. The force of the water crushed me to the rocky valley floor. I thrust my hands out, trying to force it back, but it continued to pound me. It was as if the very life was being choked out of me. Never had I felt such intense pressure against my chest. Like the weight of the world was thrust upon me and I couldn’t even save myself.

I forced my eyes open to see a murky shadow running around the sides
of the funnel…what was out there?

Powers, I had powers and
could use them…I opened my palms and summoned the force riding in my veins to blast the watery funnel away. My water prison suddenly vanished.

I rolled to my side
, coughing. I took slow breaths, trying to calm my racing heart, and sat up, pulling my legs to my chest. What happened?

I
looked up towards the water, but it was gone. I stumbled to my feet and took in my surroundings. I was back in the meadow. I inspected my clothes, touching my hair…I was dry.

Had I imagined it? I
couldn’t have…one minute I was in the meadow and the next I was near a mountain lake with snow falling. I swiveled on my feet, my eyes scanning the nearby river. No, it wasn’t this waters edge that I’d been at; it was another, but where?

I shook my head and pressed my hands to my temples. I
couldn’t have imagined something like that, a water funnel with Marcus’s face implanted in the middle? It had been as clear as day. It had been Marcus.

H
ad I used my powers to create this? But how? How could I have taken myself someplace else with my powers? And why would I want to cause myself harm? If I’d been the one to do this, then I’d tried suffocating the life out of myself…like the weight of the world—the Timeless clans—was upon my shoulders. And I’d used my powers to free myself from this prison, that much was real. My fingers still tingled from the release.

Then
there was the shadow I’d seen lurking in the background. Was that real or my thoughts running wild? I’d had so many dreams, nightmares, and memories whirling around in my head, but it still didn’t make sense. This had come from out of the blue…was this another vision?

I sat down on the stump and stared out into the meadow. The flicker of a dark shadow caught my attention and I blinked, rubbing my eyes. I wasn’t going to allow my imagination to run wild again. There was nothing out there; Maes wouldn’t have let me out of his sight if there were a threat of a Tresez attack. And if it were wildlife, I
would scare it away. I could talk with animals, after all; surely taking to them wouldn’t constitute a use of power. It was done in my thoughts, just as Maes and I communicated, and he’d talked to me since our arrival.

Mandi snorted
, and I glanced up to see her moving closer to the river, to better grazing. She’d have alerted me if something were up. I needed to calm down.

I closed my eyes, pulling my legs to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. A cold breeze drifted over
me, and I shivered. I should have put more layers on, but I hadn’t planned on departing like I did. I was only going to get firewood till Colt and the others stirred the embers in my heart. We couldn’t sit back and wait for Marcus; we needed to prepare…I only wished I knew how to prepare for the unknown.

A tickle in my nose caused me to sneeze. I looked up to see amber-rimmed eyes staring at me through the grass. I blinked
. This wasn’t real. This was my mind playing tricks on me again. I tilted my head to get a better view; the creature crouched in the grass, but didn’t advance.

Coarse jet-black hair resembling porcupine quills
rose and fell with each breath it took, and a long white stripe ran from between its ears down to his neck. A low snarl sounded, while white teeth flared against pink gums.

I sniffed the air while remaining still. I
smelled no rotting flesh, no grotesque smell that usually associated itself with the Tresez. The yellow and brown grass swayed as the breeze came up…realization hit hard. I hadn’t smelled it because the breeze was coming from my back, and my scar hadn’t burned.

My heart began to race as I realized my mistake
, and I searched the field for Mandi. She was down near the water when her head rose. A wild snort left her as she turned towards me. She got a whiff of it now too, but she was too far away to help.

The dark creature leapt at me
, and I dove to my right, narrowly missing its claws. I sprang to my feet and tore off towards Mandi. I could fight this single Tresez without using my powers; I’d done it before.

The patter of paws behind me seemed to decrease as I ran. Mandi met me head on, only pausing long enough for me to mount. We took off towards the forest
. I needed to use the trees as cover, and I needed a weapon.

I glanced behind us; the lone Tresez had seemed to disappear into thin air. Was this another trick of my imagination? No, it
couldn’t be. Mandi had come running for me. She’d smelled it, even though my wound didn’t burn.

Mandi carried us through the forest, slowing as we came to the top of a ravine. I glanced down
. It overlooked a smaller river. I was hit from the side, arms coming around me as we tumbled down the ravine and into the water below. We hit with enough force that we separated from each other. I came to the surface to find a man swimming at me, not a Tresez. I swam hard to the shore. I needed to get away. I needed to know what I was dealing with. This Tresez could shift like Maes and another I knew, Conall.

My legs took over as I ran down the shoreline
, searching for a way back up. Mandi was nowhere in sight. The sound of gravel crunching behind me told me he was in close pursuit. Why hadn’t he changed back into a Tresez? A deer trail leading up the side of the ravine came into view; I had to get to higher ground.

My breaths were heavy
, and my heart raced, but not because I was frightened. I had no fear; I had the sheer willpower to live. Marcus wasn’t going to defeat me so easily with his minions; he’d have to face me himself.

My feet came out from underneath me as I made it to the top. I fell face first into the
gravely surface, my temple making contact with a sharp rock. I flipped over to fight and found razor sharp teeth at my neck. He’d shifted back into a Tresez; I had no other choice but to still for a moment.

Who was this creature?
And why hadn’t my scar given me warning sooner?

He
slowly retreated, and I scooted back, propping myself up with my arms. Warmth traveled down my cheek and neck. I was bleeding. His amber-rimmed eyes were searching me, as if taking into account who I was. It suddenly twisted to the left, and stared out into the forest.

The Tresez’s head tilted like it’d heard something,
then a low growl sounded and white fangs showed. Something else was out there, and whatever it was, it didn’t like it. I stood and scrambled back behind a tree, searching the ground for a weapon. A few feet away lay a broken branch, thick enough to do some damage. I ran for it.

My footing slipped as sharp teeth tore at my pant leg. I again tumbled to the ground, but this time rolled to my side, grasped the branch, and launched myself upright. He’d caught me by surprise once, but not twice.

I sized up my enemy as he began to circle. His amber-rimmed eyes studied me, watching every movement I made. He wasn’t as large as Maes and Conall, but I had a feeling where he was smaller in size, he made it up with a cunning mind.

His lips curled up and white fangs revealed themselves, but he didn’t growl. Was it
playing with me? Was it trying to lull me into a false sense of trust? Well, it wasn’t going to work. I lunged at it, taking a swing with the branch and landing a blow into its side.

It didn’t yelp, but moved a few paces away and stared at me again. What was this
sly creature up to? It was capable of shifting. I’d felt its arms come around me and heard it running after me, but I’d yet to see its face.

It was odd. I should have received a warning beforehand, like I always had when a Tresez was near, but I hadn’t. My scar didn’t burn
then, and it didn’t burn now…just like it didn’t with Maes. But I was tired of playing games with this thing. He was interrupting my training session.

“Come on,” I growled and began to circle it. “Let’s get this over with.”

Suddenly the Tresez shifted in front of me.

“A stick?
Seriously? You think that’s gonna hurt me?” the man said.

I stood
completely still. He had a serious French accent, not that it was uncommon. But what threw me was his appearance. A strip of white hair fell over his face, covering ones eye. He had a medium build, and the skin covering his bare chest was filled with scars that told me he’d had his fair share of battles—and had won.

What I
could see of his facial features reminded me of someone else I knew…someone with a very similar accent. Someone that loved to torment me.

He crossed his arms, waiting for a reply.

“I thought I’d give you a fighting chance,” I said and widened my stance.

“For one who’s so powerful, it’s a bit pathetic.”

He knew who I was…and he was baiting me.

“Who are you?” I questioned, but before I
could get a reply, he shifted back into his Tresez form.

A low rumbling growl erupted behind me. I flipped around to see jade-rimmed eyes staring down the other Tresez. Maes had come. I moved back
, giving him the access he needed. I wasn’t about to stand between these two.

A deliberate circular dance began. If was
as if they were sizing each other up. If this Tresez knew who I was, then he surely knew Maes. The amber-eyed Tresez showed its teeth, but again, it didn’t growl. The prickly black hair rose on the back of its neck with each breath it took, but it didn’t attack. What was it waiting for? But the real question was, what was Maes waiting for? He hadn’t attacked either.

It was
as if Maes heard my thoughts. A loud snarl echoed off the trees and he darted past me, knocking me down as his shoulder hit me. I lay on the forest floor, watching the two battle it out, when the amber-eye Tresez shifted into his human form. He lay on his side, blood trailing down his arm where Maes had bitten him, and put up his hand to stop the attack.