Awakening: A Timeless Series Novel, Book Four (5 page)

“Colt!”
I screamed, air finally hitting my lungs. “Colt! They’re dead! We’re being attacked!”

No movement came from the room.
I struggled to find the switch and squinted when it lit up the room. I screamed. Blood was everywhere. Daniel lay in a crumpled mess in the corner. Maes was sprawled across the floor in his Tresez form.

I
searched franticly for Colt, my chest heaving. He sat completely still on the couch, his back turned toward me. I inched closer, my heart dreading what my eyes would see, and I collapsed to the floor sobbing. A piece of broken wood lay buried in his chest.

“No
! No!” I screamed over and over.

Cheyenne,
a voice I recognized called out.
This is all your doing. You did this, my angel…

I
couldn’t catch my breath. My entire body began to shake uncontrollably. Marcus was stealing everyone away from me! He was murdering my entire family!

“No!” A deep bellow came from the pit of
my stomach, and bile rose in the back of my throat. My hands were blood-stained. I’d done this…

My
cheek stung, and I grasped it as I rolled over. My chest heaved and I blinked.

“Cheyenne! Stop,
you’re having a nightmare!” Colt screamed.

“
It’s not real. Whatever it is, it’s not real!” Daniel shouted as he shook my shoulders.

I
blinked again. I was in my room, and tears were streaming down my cheeks. I opened my mouth and gasped for air. Colt drew me into his arms, cradling me.

“
It was just a dream, sweetheart, just a dream.”

He
began to stroke my back.

My
fingers fisted into his shirt. He was alive.

“Everyone was dead,”
I whispered. “Blood, it was on my hands…” I sucked in a shaky breath.

“No one’s dead.
We’re all here.”

I
heard his words, felt his touch, but my mind still couldn’t wrap around what was real and what was a dream. And just moments ago I’d been consumed with anger toward Nakari, and then a sudden and overwhelming fear…

Cheyenne,
Maes said in my thoughts
, What was your dream about?

I
didn’t move. Was Maes in my head because my powers were back or because he finally wanted to communicate again? And how long had I been out this time?

Cheyenne?
You need to tell me.

“
I just told you, Maes,” I whispered. “Everyone was dead.”

“Do
you feel different?”

I
didn’t reply immediately, but as I took stock, I realized that my skin was tingling, and my headache was gone.

“Yes,”
I replied.

“
Your powers are back,” Maes said.

I
drew back and saw despairing jade-rimmed eyes.

“Don’t use
them,” Maes instructed. “It’ll draw him to you—to us.”

I
stared up at Colt, his brow drawn tight, and icy blues full of worry. I couldn’t lose him again; I couldn’t lose any of them…

Chapter 3

The cool water streamed over
my face. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so filthy. Since reuniting with my family, I hadn’t bothered to take care of myself. The brownish color of the water didn’t help me feel any cleaner. I still felt soiled inside, tainted by Marcus’s touch…

A knock
echoed on the door.

“
You okay? You need anything?” Colt asked.

I
turned the water off and grabbed a towel from the hook nearby.

“
I’m fine,” I replied.

He was hovering outside the door, although the bathroom was large enough and sectioned off,
so he could have come in and waited. It was more like a gym locker room, with shower stalls, toilet stalls, and multiple sinks. The only slight problem was that the shower stalls didn’t have doors, although it wouldn’t be a problem unless he came into the shower area.

I
dried off and grabbed the jeans and t-shirt he’d found for me. He told me Lilly had been thoughtful enough to grab some of my clothing before she left the estate in Ireland. At least she was still looking out for me. However, she hadn’t talked to me since the revelation of my marriage to Marcus. No one had, really, other than Colt, Daniel, and Andre.

I
slipped on hiking boots and headed for the door. It popped open before I even made it.

Colt stepped in, a brush in
his hand.

“
I thought you might want to brush tangles out of your hair,” he said, always thoughtful.

“Thanks,”
I replied and took the brush from him.

In front of the mirror,
I rubbed the towel over my hair again, trying to ring it out before I began running the brush through my wet locks. He leaned against the wall behind me, crossing his arms, watching me in the mirror.

“
I didn’t think I’d miss stuff like this, but I have,” he said quietly.

I
lifted a brow. “Watching me comb my hair?”

He
nodded. “I took too many things for granted, Cheyenne, too many things that caused a cavern between us. I’m sorry.”

I was sorry too
. I never wanted us to be distant, but a lot of it wasn’t our own choice. I was betrothed to his brother, which he hadn’t bothered to tell me. The words he’d said to me while with Marcus, despite him later saying he meant none of them, dug deep. And the fact that I was married to another man who’d most likely kill him if given the chance…it was a wide and deep cavern that I had to keep between us to save his life.

I
set the brush down on the small counter and headed for the door. There was no response I could give without giving him hope.

Colt opened the door
for me, and I passed through.

T
he dark hallway made me feel even gloomier. I took the stairs, two at a time, and stopped at the bottom. Light streamed through the open steel doors.

Voices sounded
down the long hall, male voices. Colt followed close behind me as I stopped outside the kitchen doors.

“
We need to send her away, now,” Brogan was saying. “She’s not doing anything for us here except acting as a beacon for Marcus.”

“No,
you don’t know that, Brogan,” Koda replied. “And what good would sending her away do?”

“Koda’s right, Brogan
. We can’t afford to send her off into Marcus’s arms,” Maes argued.

“Cheyenne is still a vital part of
us,” Dex added. “I don’t understand the decision she made, but sending her off to her death accomplishes nothing.”

“She deserves Marcus or whatever she gets,” Brogan sneered. “Callon’s abandoned us because of her. The Consilador’s powers are gone…”

My jaw firmed, and I stood tall as I moved into the kitchen. All eyes turned towards me.

“
You were the ones who took me from Marcus. It would have been better to leave me with him, but now it’s too late,” I said with remarkable calmness. “Choices have been made, and since Callon’s abandoned us, it’s time I stepped up to become a clan leader.”

I couldn’t believe my own words. This is what they’d wanted all along
, and I’d run from it. Now Callon wasn’t here, and I needed to step up. They had to see that I wasn’t a child and respect my decisions.

Brogan snorted
, and his dark eyes bored into mine as he pointed a finger at me.

“
You were never a leader. You were Colt’s fancy for the month. The betrayal lies with him. He’s the one who brought you right to Marcus. And now we’re paying the price for your stupid choices!”

Colt pushed past
me, the veins in his neck bulging. Koda grabbed his arm.

“
Like Cheyenne, I was put in a place I didn’t want to be! I made the best decision I could. I wanted to end this for her so she’d never endure pain and misery again!” Colt roared.

“And
you failed miserably, Colt! Both you and Cheyenne failed us all!” Brogan bellowed back, his nostrils flaring, his chest puffing, ready for a fight.

“Stop it!” Maes shouted, throwing out
his hands to stop Brogan and Colt from swinging a punch.

“No one is going anywhere, or doing anything right now,” Dex said calmly.
The lines on his face softened for a moment. “We need to stick together. Fighting between the clans will only bring us to our knees—exactly what Marcus wants.”

It grew quiet for a few moments as his words sunk in.

“Marcus and I are united now. I can get the Consilador’s powers back,” I said with a confidence that amazed even me.

“No,” Maes said. “You have no idea what will become of it. It’s too dangerous.”

“Cheyenne,” Dex said, stepping forward. “Opening up a connection with Marcus will cause more harm than good. The Consilador’s powers are gone. Marcus won’t give them up easily.”

“But I have to try. If I can restore their powers, Callon will return.”

Colt moved closer beside me showing his support.

“Ha!” Brogan spat. “Callon won’t come back, powers or not. You destroyed him, princess.”

“We can’t just give up!” I ground my teeth.

“We’re not giving up,” Dex said. “We won’t give up searching for Callon.”

At least I knew Dex and Colt wouldn’t stop searching.

“
Just to be clear, Cheyenne,” Maes said, shaking his head, “you’re not opening a connection with Marcus. He’s much stronger than you. He’ll control you.”

“But…”

“Stupid girl,” Brogan spat, “thinking you’re strong enough. You’ll become a beacon for him to find you. You’re a pathetic waste…”

“Enough!” Dex snapped.

Brogan threw his hands up in disgust and marched towards the hall. He stopped for a moment, his fists clamping together. “He’s coming for his trophy wife, mark my words.” He turned enough for me to see his dark eyes. “What I saw in you was all a hallucination, a trick of mirrors, just like your mother.” His heavy footsteps sounded as he stormed down the hall.

Brogan’s words cut
me deeply. All those trials with him in Ireland, any faith he had in me, all the hard work to build that relationship whether I wanted it or not, had washed away. But I’d been warned by my mother that I’d be rejected. Dex, Maes, and Koda were still on the edge about my decision. There was no support here, and the worst was yet to come, unless I took things into my own hands.

Koda looked down, staring at the floor
, and I made for the hall. I needed to leave. I could talk till I was blue in the face, but it wouldn’t change a thing. I married Marcus, and now I was a threat to them, to the entire human race. I would find a way to restore the Consilador’s powers, and if they weren’t going to help then I’d do it on my own.

Colt didn’t follow as
I headed for the large room, and the low murmurs quieted as I passed.

“Cheyenne,” Lilly said
faintly. “Cheyenne?”

I
ignored her and exited out the steel doors, stopping for just a moment on the landing. Clayton and Skylar were out in the field, releasing the horses from the corral so they could feed.

I
glanced to my right, taking in the position of the outbuildings. Maybe I could find one that was somewhat manageable, and make it my own, since it was obvious no one wanted me around. I’d find a place to think, and hopefully come up with a solution. There had to be a way for me to regain the Consilador’s lost powers.

I
clenched my fists. They were tingling with power. It was as if the power was all bottled up inside me and wanted to be released—I wanted to release it. What lay beneath the surface now? I’d gained Marcus’s powers, and I felt stronger, but I had no idea what I was capable of. Could I draw on lightning like he had? Or would he be able to harness the power of the winds, like I did? Would I be able to save my family if Marcus came to us? Would the final battle be here, without Callon returning to see that I hadn’t really betrayed him as he thought?

I
stepped over a stack of logs that had been pulled into the clearing to use as firewood. It was going to be a long cold winter here, if we stayed that long. Would Callon be back by then? I stopped before a smaller building. The padlock had been broken. I pulled it off, tossing it to the ground, and opened the door. The smell of sawdust and an acrid odor hit my nose.

I
moved further into the doorway, allowing the sunshine to peek through. Small stacks of wooden boxes were grouped against the wall. The word
dynamite
was stenciled on them. On the floor below the boxes were small puddles. I took a few steps back, very carefully. I had enough knowledge from my dad knowing that this dynamite had become very unstable. I took care when closing the door; I didn’t need to blow myself up before I had a chance to prove my worth.

I
headed to another building further away, which would probably work better. As I neared, I heard voices. Andre and Nakari were talking quietly. I’d overheard one too many conversations. I didn’t need to get angry again. Instead, I opened the creaky door and explored the next building.

It
appeared to be an old shop of sorts. Hand tools lay on old workbenches, and stacks of plywood were piled in another corner. A few old metal parts that looked like they’d come from mining carts were scattered on a table, and an old potbelly stove sat in the middle of the room. Two windows provided plenty of light; I’d just have to clean it up and it’d work as a place to stay away from the others—I’d isolate myself as Brogan had suggested.

“Hello?” Andre said,
her shadow moving past a window.

I
picked up an old hand broom and began cleaning off a workbench.

“Oh,
it’s you,” Nakari said with icy coolness.

“If that’s all you have to say, leave me alone,”
I said just as coldly and took a cleansing breath, grateful my anger had subsided.

“What are
you doing?” Andre questioned.

I
didn’t bother to turn around as I answered, but kept sweeping up the small space. “Cleaning.”

“Here?”
she said.

“Yes.”

I heard the clank of Nakari’s bracelets, and I turned. Both of them stood in the doorway, staring at me. Nakari’s eyes wandered the room, but she refused to make eye contact with me. She lifted her hand to brush her auburn hair away; the bracelet caught the light and glared in my eyes.

She
was still wearing the bracelets that Marcus had placed upon her, constricting her powers. No one had managed to remove them yet. Well, that was one thing I could take care of now. If I had Marcus’s powers, and he placed them on her, then I should be able to remove them. I headed straight for her.

Her
eyes grew wide as I neared, and she tried to back out of the doorway, but I caught her wrists before she could.

“Cheyenne,” Andre
said, moving closer to Nakari, trying to split us apart. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Just hold still,” I said.

I gripped the bracelets fully in my fingers and pressed my thumbs on the metal bands. A spark of light flashed, my fingers began to ache, and then the bracelets fell to the ground.

I
drew my hands back and stared at them. My fingertips and palms were now beet red, with black circles where I had gripped the bands. I guess this constituted use of my powers.

“Holy crap!” Andre squealed.

Nakari didn’t move as Andre grabbed her wrists to inspect them. I stepped back to the workbench to clean. I wasn’t going to get a thank you from Nakari, nor did I expect one. I felt the air move, and out of the corner of my eye I saw they’d disappeared. Nakari’s powers were restored, and she’d probably hate me all the same.