Awakening: A Timeless Series Novel, Book Four (6 page)

I
spotted a rickety bench nearby and pulled it out to sit down. The palms of my hands and fingertips hurt. I’d burned them good. I inspected them under the light from the grimy window; it was going to take hours for them to heal. So much for cleaning my new space.

“What did
you do?” Maes’s jagged voice caused me to jump. I hadn’t heard him approach.

I
continued to stare at my fingers. “I removed Nakari’s bands,” I replied.

He
stormed up to me, turning me around. “I told you not to use your powers.”

“
She needed the bands removed.”

“And
you did so at the risk of Marcus tracking you!”

“
It was worth the risk. She needs her powers to be able to fight. It was my fault she had them, anyway.”

He
grabbed my wrist. “And you burned your hands in the meantime.”

“Small price to pay for someone’s freedom—sacrificing,
you heard of that one?” I pulled my arm away.

“
You’ve done more than enogh of that! You rushed into the one sacrifice you weren’t supposed to make. The one we fought hard to prevent.”

“
Yeah, I blew it and married him, just for the heck of it.” I snorted.

Maes
yanked me closer, jade-rimmed eyes full of irritation.

“This isn’t a joking matter, Cheyenne.
It’s a battle just to allow you to stay here with us.”

I
tugged my arm back, my stare meeting his. “Then you shouldn’t have taken me away from Marcus! I had him promise to stay away, to live far away where he couldn’t hurt you!” My voice grew louder, my hands flaying out. “I was giving up everything for you, and all you’ve done is judge me!” Tears pooled in my eyes, but I refuse to allow them to fall. I lowered my head and my voice. “Do you think I wanted this? Do you think I wanted to find Sahara’s journals and read what I had to do? How do you think it makes me feel that my sole purpose on this earth was to destroy Marcus? That I was right all along, that I was never anything more than a weapon, that I have no other reason to exist.” I paused for a moment. “My destiny was set before I was ever born, unlike yours.”

I
brushed past him and headed out into the meadow. I’d said enough. It was up to him to believe in me or not. He had a choice to make, but in the end it didn’t matter what he thought. I’d die with my choice; I’d already signed my own death sentence by marrying Marcus.

I
passed the old stone building and saw Lilly standing on the stairs. I felt her eyes upon me as I passed. She probably wanted to talk, but I couldn’t face her after Maes hadn’t believed me.

I
headed straight for the corral. Mandi was there; she was one of the few things that warmed my heart, because her love was unconditional.

“Cheyenne,” Clayton
greeted me reluctantly as I neared. “You need anything?”

I
shook my head and passed him. Mandi’s whinnying caused me to look up; she was excited to see me. Skylar’s scraggly hair moved in the breeze as he stood beside the corral. His tall frame seemed thinner to me somehow. A faint smile rose on his pale lips.

“
She’s excited to see you,” he said. “She’s missed you greatly.”

I
stepped up on the lower rail and nuzzled her face against mine.

“
She’d whinny something awful when you were…” he trailed off, shrugging.

“When
I was with Marcus.” I finished his sentence for him.

“
She would catch a whiff of your scent and want to bolt after you.”

I
continued to pet her. She released a snort and drew back.

I studied her golden eyes, remembering my surprise the first time I realized she understood me. A faint grin rose
, as I recalled the moment I finally felt vindicated as Callon, Colt, and Daniel became aware I had the ability to communicate with her. A fleeting happy memory…

My grin faded as green eyes looked at
me, and Skylar ran his hand through his hair nervously. “I—I’m really sorry for hurting you when…”

“
It’s fine, Skylar. I know you didn’t mean to.”

“And
I’m sorry about everything.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Nobody expected it to turn out like this.”

I
nodded. I hadn’t seen it coming either.

“
I—I just want you to know that—that I’m confused right now. I want to support you, but I just don’t understand, and I don’t know if I ever will.” He hesitated, his fingers gripping the wooden corral. “But as a Kvech leader, I’ll do anything to help if I can. All you need to do is ask.”

At least Skylar was being honest with
me. It took a lot for him to speak to me, let alone give this confession. I touched his hand, and he looked up.

“Thank
you.”

He
nodded, and we stood silently, watching the horses for a period before he departed. I remained still; listening to nature, the grass moving in the breeze, water trickling over the stones. I had so much to consider, and wasn’t even sure what to do, let alone where to start.

I
had no formal battle training other than the bit I had done in Ireland. I had participated in some battle strategies, but they were based on feelings, not knowledge. And the fine details, well, they’d been handled by Callon because I’d allowed him to. What a failure on my part. I should’ve made sure I was involved in every aspect of Colt’s rescue, as much as it backfired. I should’ve thought ahead. But I hadn’t planned on Callon abandoning us. And I needed him…

I
walked further into the meadow, stopping by the creek to toss a few small stones in. I should’ve been married to Callon; I should’ve been loved by him, not hated. Instead I’d ripped his heart out, trampled it in the dirt, and then spat on it. I’d done it to save him, but he couldn’t see past the hurt. Not that I could blame him. Both he and Colt had hurt me deeply in the past, and it had taken time for those wounds to heal. The problem was, I didn’t have time. The countdown for this epic battle had begun the moment I married Marcus. My time was growing short.

I sat and forced myself to take a cleansing breath. I needed to refocus, to regroup and figure out a way to regain the Consilador’s powers and harness them. But how? And once I had them
, how would I return them to Callon, Colt, and Daniel? Could I return them through the clan rings? The rings themselves held power…if I could focus in on the Consilador’s powers. But the biggest question was, how could I return them to Callon if I didn’t know where he was? Would he even come back if we found him and explained?

It became eerily quiet as what appeared to be a mist formed around me. Steam
drifted from my lips, and the chill in the air caused goosebumps to rise on my arms. I didn’t move, as a cloudy vision formed. Particles of light began to glow and form clusters as they floated in front of me. I couldn’t help myself. I reached out and touched the feathery soft beams.

Visions began to form in the cloudy substance, visions of powers being used…visions of those gifted with
different powers, some I hadn’t seen before. I stood and grasped at more, watching the small clips of what appeared to be memories snapping to life.

The sound of a whip crack
ed, and a flash of golden light lit up the mist. It cracked again, but this time I saw it was the whip that shattered the light. Golden flakes of snow trickled down around me. A lone dark-haired figure stood in battle, his arms controlling the golden cord.

Another flash of light caught my attention. Two figures stood on a mountaintop, their arms raised
, with white light rippling up towards the heavens.

Soon
, more images were flashing before me with speed. Dark shadows drew the mist into a spiraling vortex, and I stumbled back.

A cold breeze drifted over my shoulder
, and I shivered. As suddenly as the visions appeared, they disappeared. The small meadow lay before me once more.

I
sat down beside the creek, pulling my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. What had just happened? I’d seen glimpses of Timeless people using their powers, but it seemed to be in the past. Days gone by…memories of what had been. I shook my head, but why? Why had I seen these? Were they of importance? Then I realized, this could be the connection with Marcus I’d been searching for. They could be a glimpse of his powers, and the powers he’d taken over the years.

Cheyenne…
a voice whispered near my ear.

Goosebumps rose on my neck.

I see you.

I knew that voice…
Marcus.

I remained still, waiting for more. Had I truly made a connection with him so soon? Was it that easy? Or was my mind playing tricks on me?

Soft footsteps sounded behind me, a woman’s, which could mean only one thing. Lilly had come to talk. I relaxed my shoulders. She didn’t need to know what had just happened. I didn’t even know for sure.

“Cheyenne,” Lilly said
softly. “I wanted to talk with you, if you’d let me.”

I
sighed. Even if I told her no, soon she’d corner me and force me to listen. Better to get it done and out of the way, while I was calm.

“
I’m worried for you, sweetheart, worried about everything,” she said.

She
sat down beside me, her gaze focused on me.

“
I can’t believe you’d think that your sole purpose, your sole reason for existence, was to be a weapon. I knew your parents; Qaysean and Sahara would never have put this burden on you. They loved you.”

“And
you know this because they told you about me, Lilly? You know this because you saw firsthand the love they had for me?” I turned to face her, her blue eyes saddening. “They gave me up…”

“To hide
you, to protect you.”

“To hide
me from Marcus, to keep their weapon alive. They removed me from all Timeless knowledge, from you and Dex. They knew if you raised me, you’d teach me of all the Timeless history. You’d sway my decision. Gene and Alexis did exactly what my parents had planned. They kept me in the dark, and then dropped a bomb on me.”

Lilly’s eyes misted.
“No,” she whispered. “No, that’s…”

“
You see, Lilly, they had to do it this way. I had to be kept in the dark or I wouldn’t have gone through with it. I would have thought my mother’s journals were senseless; because you would’ve swayed me in my childhood into thinking they were great and wonderful parents. They were great, great enough to think about the Timeless race, a way to save everyone, but with a great sacrifice—me.”

I
sighed, realizing the full truth now. “Even Callon unwittingly played along with it—keeping me in the dark.”

Tears streamed
down her cheeks. “No, Cheyenne, you’re the one who chose her own path. You made yourself the weapon, not us.”

She
rose, but then paused, looking down upon me in pity.

“I
never should’ve let you go. Dex and I should’ve stayed with you the moment we found you. We should’ve cared and nurtured you…part of the blame is on us, on me.”

The patter of
her feet moved into the distance, just as I knew I had to. A single tear trickled down my cheek. No matter how I examined it, no matter how many times I’d thought how life would be if situations were different, it wouldn’t change a thing. Marrying Marcus was always my destiny—always.

Chapter 4

I stared at my hands,
at the wounds I’d received after breaking Nakari’s bands. They were as blacked and crusted over as I wished my heart would become. I needed to harden myself once again; I needed to focus on finding a way to free us all. Lilly and the others weren’t going to understand. I just needed to keep things to myself, like that recent vision I’d just had. I’d been open and honest in Ireland, but could talk forever, and nothing was going to change until I showed them something.

I flexed
my fingers and watched in amazement as a blue hue began to grow in my palms. Suddenly a burst of white light flew past my face; I fell back and shoved my hands into the dirt. What was happening to me?

*****

Days had passed since the visions and incident with my hands, since power had randomly blasted from my body…and I still hadn’t a clue on how or why either of them occurred.

And days had passed with
still no sign of Callon. Colt had promised me he’d find him, had even offered to let me come. But I held off on accepting his offer until I could figure out what was happening to my powers. It’d be safer this way.

I set my toothbrush down and spat into the sink, rinsing the remaining toothpaste out. I looked in the mirror. I wasn’t
the sweet innocent girl I saw in my reflection any more—she had gone away forever.

My fingers traced the dark circles under my eyes.
I was tired but afraid to sleep. I didn’t want any more nightmares, reminding me of what might come. I sighed. Being here every day and seeing my family alive and well only brought me frustration because I knew they were in danger, even if they couldn’t see it. But what discouraged me more was that I still wasn’t sure how to take back the Consilador’s powers, and no one could help me.

I
picked up the hairbrush from the counter and began brushing through my blond locks, then pulling them into a braid. I wrapped a small band on the end. That was as good as it was going to get.

The bathroom door opened, and Nakari stepped in, ignoring my presence. Nothing had changed, except the hatred she’d shown me before wasn’t as intense—nor was mine. She pressed the towel to her chest as she moved to the showers. We still
hadn’t heard from Callon…and chances were I’d never hear from him again unless I regained his powers.

I
left the bathroom and trekked down the dreary hall. The lights were still flickering. I wanted to find light bulbs myself and fix them, but Colt had explained that wasn’t the problem. The generator was old, barely functioning, and the wiring was likely shot from rodents chewing on it in the walls.

Colt was sitting on the stairs when I tried to pass.

“Here,” he said, handing me a denim jacket. “I thought you might like to take a walk.” A hopeful smile rose.

I’d been avoiding both Colt and Daniel for days. I’d been avoiding everyone for days. Not until I
could understand why I’d had the vision, and why power shot from my hands without my permission.

“I’m good,” I said, shaking him
off.

He followed behind me, the jacket in his hands.

I made it to the landing when his large fingers wrapped around my forearm.

“You don’t have a choice,” he said near my ear. “Besides, Brogan’s on a rampage again.”

I knew why Brogan was on a rampage; he was frustrated that they hadn’t found a trace of Callon, and they hadn’t heard back from their spies yet about Marcus’s whereabouts. We weren’t doing anything, but I’d given them a solution and they’d rejected it. Without Callon’s leadership, we didn’t have a true leader—plenty of people had suggestions, but the others wouldn’t agree to follow any of them. I felt like a sitting duck.

Colt led me out the steel doors
, and I shivered as a cool wind raked over us. He helped me with the jacket, and we headed towards the back of the stone building, into the forest.

A narrow deer trail emerge
d from the surrounding trees. At least this quiet walk was better than the awkward silence I’d been receiving in our new home. I’d caught Nakari and Bree murmuring in the corner, but the moment I came into view, Nakari turned a cold shoulder and Bree produced an awkward stare. And they weren’t the only ones. At least I wouldn’t have to meet their eyes or hear their murmurs out here. We were surrounded by rocks, trees, grass, and brush, only interrupted by the occasional chirping of birds.

Colt and I hiked further into the woods
. It reminded me of all the times we’d hiked together before this whole mess started. Even while I was with Callon, Colt, and Daniel at the cabin, they always made time for me. It wasn’t only Colt who’d taken notice of the things I liked; Callon had too. He’d do little things, like bring me the guitar after I ran away, after I shunned him and hurt him again. But now he was gone.

A sigh escaped me.

Colt turned, a faint smile appearing.

Our pace seemed slower than usual, but that was
probably because he didn’t have his powers. He was weaker without them. We stopped to rest for a moment as he adjusted his flannel shirt, rolling up the sleeves. A bead of perspiration glistened off his temple, and he brushed it away with his forearm. His blond hair was longer now, more like Koda’s when I’d first met him. His cheeks were unshaven too, his whiskers getting longer, forming a darker blond beard. He scratched his chin and pointed ahead.

“It’s not too much farther,
just ahead.”

I nodded and we continued hik
ing. It wasn’t long before I heard the sound of cascading water. Colt had led us to a waterfall. Through the trees I could see that it didn’t have multiple levels, but the drop off was close to fifty feet. The crashing water caused a fine mist to rise up around the surface below. With the overcast skies, it cast an eerie appearance.

Colt stood beside me, and we both admired the beauty before us. He was always thoughtful this way, showing me the beauty of nature,
and revealing his inner beauty as well. For all his shortcomings, his heart was always in the right place. He’d always promised to be there for me, to protect me, but now he couldn’t. We no longer traveled down the same path.

“Clayton and Skylar are leaving tomorrow,” Colt said, “but I won’t be going with them.”

I continued to stare out at the waterfall.

“To search for Callon?”
I replied, a small amount of hope rising in my heart.

“Yes.”

“But you’re not going?” I looked up, having a good idea why.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I need to stay with you. You’ve been avoiding
me and Daniel for the last few days. Something’s going on that you don’t want me to know about.”

I shouldn’t have been surprised that he could still read me like a book. “Not yet,
” I replied.

“But you will tell me?”

I knew I couldn’t answer him truthfully, so I didn’t reply.

We both stood silently until I made the mistake of looking up.
Such sadness lay beneath the surface, such regret, and remorse. We both been guilty of hurting each other, both had made mistakes that could never be undone. Both had aided in pushing Callon away. I looked down.

There was a reason he’d brought me here
besides telling me of his search for Callon. He wanted me to remember him, his love, the love we shared, even if for this brief moment. He wanted me to remember that he’d always be my light, and that I could always count on him.

Colt ran his fingers through his blond hair, brushing it away from his eyes. He crossed his arms and cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry, Cheyenne,” he said. “I’m to blame for a lot of things.” He paused and stared at the ground. “Callon warned me, begged me to stop. He told me I was interfering in something that was way beyond my knowledge, and I ignored him. I thought that if my love was strong enough, well, it would break all the barriers…but instead I caused more chaos than peace.”

He turned and took hold of my hands.

“The worst failure yet was acting as a spy for Marcus. What I put you through, what I’ve put this family through is unforgiveable. You married the wrong man because of me.”

“No, Colt…” I protested.

“Let me finish. I know I’m your light, but Callon, he’s your pillar that provides stability. I should’ve seen that, shouldn’t have pushed to get my way. But I promise you here and now that I won’t give up searching for him. He allowed his emotions to get the better of him, but if I can talk with him I’m sure I can bring him back.”

“Then go and search for him with Clayton and Skylar.”

He shook his head.

“I can’t leave you. They’ll find him and then I’ll go to him.
”

I didn’t reply, and Colt d
rew me into a hug. He was right: Colt may have been my light, but Callon, he was my stability, my anchor. But he’d left me when I’d needed him most, without letting me explain. He had allowed his emotions to control, but I couldn’t blame him. I’d allowed my emotions to control me when I thought he’d kissed Nakari, and marrying Marcus was ten times worse.

My palms began to tingle on
Colt’s chest, and I pushed him back pulsing a small amount of power. Colt stumbled back, confused.

I shook my head, unsure what was going on. “Stay back,” I warned.

He stepped closer, his hand outstretched. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. I was just hugging you, nothing more.”

My hands began to tingle again, a blue hue growing in the palms
, and I stretched them out, unsure what was going on.

“
Chey…” Colt said warily.

Suddenly
a burst of light shot from my palms, aimed at Colt. A strangled cry left my lips as Colt jumped out of the way. The sound of a tree cracking in the distance told me the burst had made contact.

I stared at him wide eyed. What happened?

“You didn’t have to go that far! I wasn’t hitting on you!” Colt said, shaking his head.

“I didn’t! It happened on its own!”

“I just wanted to provide you comfort…” He tore off down the path leading back to the stone building. I’d hurt him, but at least he was still alive.

A cold chill swept over me as I stood and stared at my hands, turning them back and forth. It was like I had no control over it
. The power had exploded from me—with very little warning—again.

I
sat on the large boulder beside the falls, allowing Colt to create distance between us. I didn’t want this power surge to happen again. I never wanted to hurt him.…but instead I’d nearly injured him. I began twisting my Servak ring on my finger. Colt didn’t have powers anymore; I could have killed him…twice now I could have ended his life.

“No,” I whispered. I wouldn’t allow this to happen again. I needed
to stay away from everyone—taking more precautions than I had been, at least until I could control this
thing
inside me. How much power did Marcus have?

Was
that the problem? Was there too much power running through my veins? Was this a release from a build up? Or was this something else?

The patter of paws on the soft ground caused me to look
up. Maes emerged through the woods in his Tresez form, shifting before me.

“You shouldn’t be out here alone,” Maes said. He
was already annoyed. “I haven’t heard back from my contacts yet on Marcus’s whereabouts. It’s not safe till I know what he’s up to.”

“I think I can handle myself,” I replied and looked out over the falls.

Maes moved in front of me, blocking my view. He stood silent for a few moments, then spun on his heels. He’d seen the damaged tree. It was hard to miss with puffs of smoke still rising from it.

“I told you not to use your powers, Cheyenne.”

I clenched my jaw and refused to answer. He didn’t need to know I couldn’t control the use of my powers. He’d see it as a weakness, another reason to blame me.

“Why?” he crossed his arms.

“Why what?” I replied.

“Why did you marry him?”

I exhaled loudly. What was the point? “We’ve already gone over this, Maes…”

“I’m asking you here and now, again. Why did you marry him? We had a plan
. We were going to get you out!” he snapped.

“Right, so you would’ve rescued me and
then what? Marcus had the braid!” I ground my teeth. “Even if we escaped, even if we managed to get the braid back, Callon and I wouldn’t have been able to marry until fall solstice! If we tried, I’d have killed him! Not to mention the fact that hiding out at the estate didn’t work. They took me from my own wedding.” I jumped off the rock, moving closer to him, poking him in the chest. “We tried everything your way, yours and Callon’s. Marcus knew you’d lock me up, knew I’d go in search of Colt. He knew I’d falter.”