Balancer's Soul (56 page)

The water finished boiling and with
Mark’s help Connor filled four cups full of the boiling water. Mark
opened the four packets and poured one packet in each cup. After he
stirred them, he sat them down on the ground to cool. Mark handed
the skillet over and Connor sat it over the fire; when it was hot
enough he used a fork to toss the sizzling meats around.

Two minutes later the wind changed
direction. The smell of food wafted directly towards the shelter
and sleeping women. Kara bolted up instantly and practically yelled
“Food!” She looked over at the men and scurried over quickly,
sitting next to Mark. Sarah on the other hand sat up slowly and
rubbed her eyes. She walked over to the group after she untangled
herself from the sleeping bag. She yawned and said at the same time
“Morning.” She sat down next to Connor and laid her head on his
arm.

“Mark, they should be cool enough
now.” He pointed to the steaming cups with the fork.

As Conner kept flipping the meat
around the skillet Mark passed the hot mugs around. He handed a cup
to Kara first and she sipped its contents. She moaned as the hot
liquid warmed her being and satiated her thirst. “Thank you.” He
sat one between his best friend’s feet and handed the other to
Sarah who took it gratefully.

She smelled the cup first before she
took a small sip. “This hot chocolate feels really good on a
morning like this.”

The cup between Connors legs allowed
the aroma to mix in with the meat. And it was an amazing mix of
flavors that assaulted the senses.

When the meat had thoroughly cooked,
everyone held their bowls out and each received the same amount of
food. Connor finally sat the skillet down and grabbed the hot cocoa
from between his feet, taking the first swallow. Sweetness and
warmth hit the stomach and his body started warming up quickly from
the cold morning bath. It was going to be a great
morning.

After everyone finished eating Connor
washed all of the cooking supplies.

Not long after, Sarah and Kara went
behind the shrubs to the stream and they both cleaned up as well.
What became a funny moment was when the men heard Kara yell “Damn!
Why didn’t the boys tell us it would be this cold!?”

Mark and Connor looked at each other
and laughed silently knowing why they didn’t tell them. It was to
listen for their reactions. It wasn’t disappointing.

Sarah came back first, fully clothed
and her skin looked almost pale white from the cold water. Her long
hair stayed dripping wet as she put her dirty clothes away. The
bandage he put on her arm yesterday had been taken off gone and she
didn’t have a mark on her from where she cut her arm. So she too
regenerated as quickly as he does. She quickly walked back to and
sat in front of the fire, hoping to draw in its warmth. She looked
up at Connor seriously. “That wasn’t funny.”

“From who’s end?” He smiled yet she
didn’t.

“Let me get this right, you did that
for fun?” Her green eyes narrowed and began to darken with
resentment.

The best solution came quickly. “No.
So I could do this!” Connor picked her up and sat her in his lap.
She squealed and Mark laughed. “Do you understand my reasoning
now?” he whispered in her ear and she stilled.

“I do now.” She leaned back into his
chest without saying anything else. Her wet hair dried quickly as
his shirt absorbed the moisture.

Another idea came to him.

“Are you still cold?” Connor whispered
in her ear.

“Yes.”
She thought. He then used a small trickle of power and
funneled it through his palm and into her forearm, making sure he
didn’t give enough to make his hand glow.
“That feels better. Thank you.”

Kara walked back moments later and saw
how Connor held Sarah. She quickly put her clothes away and
literally jumped onto Mark’s lap without a moment’s hesitation. He
obviously wasn’t ready for her leap as he asked “Kara, what did you
do that for?”

She turned her head to look at him too
quickly because her wet hair smacked him in the face. Sarah tried
not to giggle, but he felt her body vibrating from the monumental
restraint. “Because. I’m just as cold as Sarah is.” He sighed and
wrapped his arms around her and she snuggled into his
embrace.

When the girls were finally warmed up
the sun was finally high enough to burn the fog away. Sarah looked
at Kara and Mark. “What are we going to do for today? It’s your
show since you invited us.”

Kara answered quickly. “We’re hiking.
We are going to take in all of the beautiful mountain scenery.” She
spread her arms in an exaggerated manor.

“I think that will be fun.” Sarah
said, getting off his lap to stand and stretch.

Connor filled the canteens with the
boiled water and each person hooked one on their belts along with a
few energy bars in their pockets. He slid Tool in his belt while
Kara strapped her quiver and longbow on. Before they left he pushed
some dirt around the campfire to keep the embers warm.

***

As they left camp this morning Sarah
made sure that her canteen sat securely on her hip. She tucked her
shirt into her pants and made sure that her boots were laced
properly. When Connor came back, he looked at the three of them.
“Ready to go?” He asked everyone. They all were ready and as one;
the four of them walked into the forest to get some exploring
in.

Throughout the day they followed the
trails and trees. The hills and mountains were even more stunning
than Kara led Sarah to believe. Connor pointed out certain tracks
of animals from deer to wild pigs, many that even the most skilled
trackers would have missed. They relieved themselves periodically
throughout the day when a break was required. At one point Connor
pointed out a herd of deer in a clearing as they grazed along the
mountain side, being oblivious to being watched.

As the four of them were returning to
camp Kara knelt down, studying the ground. “Brother. Take a look at
this!”

They all stopped and walked over to
see what Kara spotted. There was an impression in the dirt that had
four forward pads and one bigger one that was just behind the four.
Plus, there were sharp claw indentations in the dirt. “What did you
find Kara?” Mark asked curiously.

“I think it’s a pack if wild dogs.”
She said standing up.

“Let me take a closer look.” Connor
said, kneeling and Kara backed away. He brushed some dead leaves
away and walked over to another spot to look at. He stood and
walked back to but he looked at her. “Close, but they aren’t wild
dogs. These tracks are from Timber wolves.”

“Are we in any danger from them?” Mark
asked.

“No. Wolves are afraid of humans.
Normally you will never see them unless they wanted you
to.”

Sarah asked “How many are in this
pack?”

He scratched his head. “It is a large
pack with about seven members.”

“There must be a lot of game in this area.”
Kara put in.

“Not necessarily.” Sarah said and Kara
and Mark looked at her, Connor smiled. “Timber wolves can have
about five hundred miles of territory. With a pack of their size I
would imagine that they have a large hunting region.”

Mark and Kara looked at each other and
then to Connor. “Hold old are these tracks, Buddy?”

Connor wore his knowing and
testing smile as he said to Mark “You’re
old
enough to know that they are at
least three days old.” Mark’s face became a stone mask, but his
eyes went wide yet he remained quiet. “What worries me is that they
were either running after something or trying to flee. The spacing
between the front and back legs tells they were in a hurry. Since
we have only seen one trail, I expect that they were just passing
through. I think we are in the clear.”

That was enough reassurance for
everyone.

They returned to camp just
before dark and Connor brought the embers back to life quickly,
with the aid of his power over fire. He looked up with innocent
eyes.
“What? All I did was give it a
little push.”
And she couldn’t help but
smile.

Since it was a warm day all of their
clothes were caked with dirt and sweat. After everyone washed up
and changed clothes Mark cooked dinner.

After the meal Sarah sat down next to
Connor as Kara did with Mark. When darkness took over the sky Sarah
noticed that the clouds were rolling in and blocking the moonlight,
making it eerily dark. Connor added more firewood and made the fire
larger, illuminating more of the campsite and it also kept the
mountain’s chill away.

They all sat in silence, watching and
listening to the crackle of the fire and the night time noises of
nocturnal creatures. Sarah happened to look up to see Mark watching
Connor with his silver eyes, intently and showing no emotion. She
looked up and saw that Connor was watching as intently with his
predatory hazel eyes zeroed in on his target, but he had a small,
knowing smile at the corner of his mouth. Had something
happened?

“Connor, what is it? Are
the two of you having a fight? ... Why are you two having a staring
match?”
She thought to him.

Connor looked down at her
and his expression softened.
“No real
reason, Princess. There isn’t anything to worry about.”

She wanted to know more so
she pushed deeper into his mind and hit a solid wall that he
erected of her green eyes as he felt the intrusion. Sarah felt her
forehead frown.
“Connor, what are you
hiding from me?”

“I’ve just figured a few
things out and it’s not my place to reveal this secret to anyone.
I’m sorry Princess, but it’s not my place.”

Sarah laid her head back
down on his muscled arm.
“That’s alright.
It’s a part of why I love you. Even if it annoys me thoroughly when
you keep secrets from me; I understand.”

“I love you.”
He thought while wrapping his arm around her
back. She moved her head from his arm to his ribs.

A few minutes later a
thick, dry branch went
SNAP
and some dead leaves were crunching. Something
approached.

Connor and Mark simultaneously jump up
instantly, hearing the noise. Sarah felt the breeze left behind as
Connor stood using his Balancers speed and Mark moved just as
quickly somehow. Connor went into his battle stance holding Tool
tightly in his right hand. Mark too was slightly bent forward and
instead of his fists being closed his fingers were spread and
hooked like the talons of a raptor. They stood shoulder to shoulder
as they looked into the darkness.

Kara became alert not long after and
grabbed her silver longbow and had an arrow already notched. She
stood quietly and had three fingers on the string and had her other
hand holding the bow. Her arrow stayed pointed to the ground as
Sarah stood up and walked silently around the fire to stand next to
Kara. Even though she had a longbow Sarah knew out of the four of
them she was the weakest.

She said barely at a whisper “Brother. What
is it?”

“I don’t know, but I have a bad
feeling in my gut.” His voice became slightly louder. “Sarah, keep
Kara covered.”

“I’m already on it!” She said and Kara
jumped in shock to see just how close she already was. Sarah stood
less than a foot away from her.

“Sarah?” He said.

“What is it?” She said hearing his
worried tone.

“My eyes are not adjusted
to see in this darkness and I need to
see.
I was staring at the fire
directly and for too long.”

She pushed
telepathically
“Sonar?”

“Yes. I need to do it!” He said in an even
voice.

She knew he wouldn’t do it in front of
someone else unless there wasn’t any other choice. “I understand.
We will deal with the consequences later.”

Connor stood erect and Sarah felt the
strange sense of him gathering energy. Suddenly she could feel the
rapid pulses emanating from him. Mark remained still in his
fighting stance, but he glanced at Connor; his eyes went wide and
his jaw dropped, and just as quickly he looked away and went back
to being on alert. Mark now looked like he was smelling the
air.

Connor turned his head from side to
side in a sweeping pattern.

Sarah heard Kara draw a loud and quick
breath as she saw what Connor was capable of. Connor’s black
shadowy figure was contrasted by his eyes glowing brightly in the
night. She said speechlessly “Brother… You’re eyes…”

“Kara. Be quiet.” She turned her head
to look at Sarah as she spoke softly. “It will be alright. Trust
your brother.” She turned her speechless eyes back to
Connor.

“What do you see, Buddy?” Mark asked
evenly as he was still on alert. His calm demeanor looked twin to
Connor’s

A moment later Connor crouched back
down in his fighting stance and Sarah continued to feel his sonar
pulses. “Crap! Sarah, you and Kara back away slowly and get out of
here.” He said in an even tone, but he was dead serious. And
through the bond she felt his rage surfacing again.