Centaur Legacy (31 page)

I shook my head. That didn’t make any
sense. Why would they go to all the trouble to take her, then just
release her after she awoke? Cami was part of the Lost Herd. Had
they done it to bring attention to her? To my knowledge, the
Centaur Council had not been notified. Zandra chaired the Council,
but even she wouldn’t have wanted Cami’s circumstances to come to
light, would she? “How did you convince them to let you go?”
Horrible images of Cami begging for her life filled my
head.

She smiled at me. In that instant she
had read my thoughts, and answered, “No, it wasn’t like that. I
said I convinced them to let me go; I didn’t say I turned into a
helpless little girl.”

“Show me.”

“I thought Centaurs couldn’t read
minds? Only Centaurides?”

I took her hands and brought them to my
lips; there was so much she still didn’t know. “I’m your Centaur,
Cami. From the moment you chose me, you established a connection
with me. I should be able to see any thoughts or images you want me
to see.”

As I lay there holding her hands, I saw
the whole image of what had happened play out in detail in front of
me. She was much stronger than I had given her credit for and more
cunning than any Centauride I had ever known. I felt her
rage.

After she had shown me the whole thing,
I was stunned by how she had “convinced” them to let her go. “You
can give someone a stroke? That’s pretty lethal.”

Her smile grew. “I needed to show him
that I wasn’t playing around.”

“Phineas won’t give up.”

“Now that I know you’re fine, I
couldn’t care less about Phineas.” I knew how Centaurs thought. He
wouldn’t let it go, no matter how frightened he might be of Cami.
She had put an enormous target on her back. Centaurides weren’t the
warriors of our race; they were the advisors. When word spread of
Cami’s abilities, the Centaur Council could decide she was enough
of a threat to extinguish her themselves. Add Zeus into the
equation, and we were running out of time. I was still holding her
hands as we sat there in silence. I was careful to keep my concerns
for her safety hidden behind my mind’s wall. “Has anyone told you
of the Centaur Council?”

“I’ve heard of it. You mentioned that
they meet in Africa every year. What do they do?”

“Sometimes, it’s merely for
festivities. Sometimes they act as a tribunal. Zandra is the
chairman of the Centaur Council.”

Cami’s eyes widened, “Someone elected
her? What’d she do? Threaten everybody?”

“No. It’s always chaired by a Chiron.
Until you, Angelo was the only heir to take her seat when she was
ready to step down.”

I felt her hands tense. She thought
little of her uncle, Angelo. Cami had told me about meeting him at
Zandra’s while we were walking the pastures in Ireland. Her opinion
was shared by every other Centaur I knew. It’s customary for a
Chiron to lead the Council for twenty-five years, although it is at
the Chairperson’s discretion when he or she is replaced.

Zandra had been in power for nearly
forty. As little as I thought of her, I couldn’t help but be
grateful with all the other Centaurs for her never having passed
her position onto her son.

“What about Zethus or one of his
sons?”

“I don’t know how the Council decided
between Zethus and Zandra, but I think you or Cameron are more
likely than either of Zethus’s sons.” Cameron was just as likely to
take over the Council as Cami, but the Centauride twin was usually
selected because of her skills. Unfortunately, he was also in
danger because of his shared lineage to the Tak
bloodline.

“But why?”

“Judging by what you did to your
captors, you are more powerful. If either of Zethus’s sons could do
anything close, we may never have gotten this far.”

“Do you think Cameron can do what I
do?”

“I don’t know. I only met him briefly.
No one knows much about the Lost Herd because, up until I met you,
I didn’t even know it still existed. As far as your Centauride
abilities, I’ve never heard of the Chiron Centaurs having any
special skills.”

“But Phineas and William can’t do what
I can.”

“Maybe they can and they don’t know
it.”

We were interrupted by Cami’s phone,
“Hello?”

“Oh, hi, Will.” She made a sour face.
“No, I’ve decided to stay.” Silence. I wanted to interrupt, to try
to convince her I agreed with Will that she should go to South
Carolina for a few days, but she didn’t look my way.

“Because it’s my choice.” Silence. “I’m
an adult, Will. I don’t need to run my decisions past you. At least
not the ones about staying here.” I needed to warn Will, too. He
and his family would all soon be targets if they weren’t
already.

“Fine, but they’ll be bored at the
hotel. I’m staying out at Cameron’s.” He must have told her that
Bart and Beau were going to stay on. “There is one thing I need you
to do for me. I want you to call Drake’s parents. Tell them I’ve
chosen him.”

A short silence while Will responded to
her request and then her voice fired back, “I don’t care if you
think it’s a bad idea or not. Either you call them or I
will.”

More silence. Her eyes met mine. Will
was still on the phone while she told me, “Your father knows my
bloodline’s from the Lost Herd.”

I needed to talk to Will, and given
Cami’s frustration with him, now was the opportune moment. I
reached over and squeezed Cami’s knee. “Can you put Will on
speaker?”

“Hold on, Will, Drake wants to talk to
you.”

She pressed the speaker button and laid
the phone on her lap. “Will, it’s Drake. Can you hear me
okay?”

He gave me a frosty response, “Yes,
Drake. As I was telling Camille, I’m not sure how welcomed a
betrothal to Camille will be with your father right
now.”

“So, it’s true. Centaurs are aware you
are from the Lost Herd?”

“I’m afraid so. So far there haven’t
been any attacks, but we think it’s just a matter of time. I’ve
told Beau and Bart I want them to stay up north with
Camille.”

Camille cut in, “Attacks?!”

Will’s tone was soft, “Yes, Camille.
I’m sorry to tell you this over the phone. Long ago, when all the
herds were still at the pasture of Thessaly, Zeus became angry with
our bloodline. He decreed that the Tak line be extinguished. His
decree has never been repealed.”

Cami was shocked into silence. I took a
deep breath. There was a good chance Will wouldn’t believe me, but
it was more important that his family be ready than it was for them
to think I’m sane. “Will, I’m a Centaur.”

“Drake, that isn’t a
secret.”

Cami shook her head at me. I hadn’t
wanted anyone to know initially, but that was before I had made the
choice, before I had willingly given up my human form in an effort
to save her from the dangers ahead. “No. You don’t understand. I’ve
been transformed into a real Centaur. I have hooves, a tail, and I
tip the scales at more than nine hundred pounds.”

Frustration seeped into his voice, “I
don’t know what game you’re playing, but it isn’t funny. Camille, I
want you to go back to the hotel. Now.”

This time Cami interrupted, “No. Will,
it’s true. I found Drake last night. When he touched the arrow at
Cameron’s house, it transformed him.”

“What?”

I took a deep breath, “Zeus intends to
send a messenger to address the Centaur Council. He plans to remind
them about his death warrant on the Tak family.”

Disbelief colored his response, “Zeus?
Zeus, the father of gods intends to go to the next Centaur Council
meeting? The weather on Mount Olympus isn’t to his liking these
days? That’s what you’re telling me?”

“Will, I know it’s hard to believe. He
spoke to me last night. He offered to make me human again,” I
paused feeling Cami’s eyes on me, “but the price was too high.” My
hand was still on Cami’s knee; I gave it a reassuring squeeze. This
was not the way I wanted to tell her. “He also shared that he was
not pleased that the Tak bloodline was still intact. He intends to
remind all the Centaurs on the Council of their responsibility to
extinguish the bloodline.”

“This is Phineas’s fault. If he hadn’t
pulled that stunt, everything would have been fine.”

“I think you’re past the point of
assigning blame. Will, you need to get you and your family to
safety. I’ll find a place for Cami and me, but I don’t want her
worried about all of you. You need to go into hiding – now, before
any more people know about you.”

Silence. “All right, thanks for the
warning. Where are you two going to be?”

“I haven’t figured that out yet, but I
promise you, no harm will come to her as long as I
live.”

“Drake, has anyone seen
you?”

“No. Just Cami. I think Lacey knows,
and I have to assume Zandra is aware, but no one else.”

“I’m going to call Beau. I’ll have him
bring an account number to you. When you two went on the run to
Ireland, I had one set up in the Caymans in case you needed it. It
should be enough to start a life together. Camille?”

“I’m right here, Will.”

“Cami, if this is the last time I talk
to you, I want you to know I. . . I would have been better. I would
have been there for you your whole life if I’d known. My only
regret that I’ll take to my grave is I was never able to make it up
to you.”

Cami’s eyes got glossy. She pursed her
lips together as if that could discourage the tears that wanted to
let loose. I saw her hand start to shake and her voice trembled
when she answered, “Dad, you have nothing to make up to me. In the
short time we spent together you gave me more than I’d ever wished
for. Gretchen even gave me Mom back for a little while. I don’t
regret calling you or anything that happened after I came to your
home. We’ll get through this. We’ll find a way to make it
right.”

“Camille, say it again.”

“Say what again? We’ll get through
this?”

Will’s voice was full of emotion when
he answered, “No. You just called me Dad.”

Even my eyes clouded when I heard her
whisper, “Take care of our family, Dad. We’ll find you when it’s
safe.” Cami handed me the phone and left the room; the good-bye was
too much for her. I wasn’t even a part of her family, and it was
almost more than I could be an audience to.

“Will, I’ve got an idea how we can keep
in contact with each other. I’ll run it by Beau when he comes by.
If you need us or if we need you, it’ll be a safe way to contact
each other.”

“Take care of her, Drake.”

“I will.” He shared a few more tidbits
of information with me, and we said our good-byes, as
well.

My heart ached for Cami. She had been
through so much in the past few months. No one would blame her for
shutting down. Once again, she surprised me by emerging from the
kitchen, eyes red and swollen, but dry. “Did he say anything
else?”

“He called my parents to tell them of
your choice. He said my parents know about the Lost Herd. My mother
gave us her blessing.”

“And your father?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask. He also
said Zandra notified the Centaur Council that the Lost Herd had
kidnapped her Centauride heir. She called a special session. Will
thinks since you’ve made your choice clear, she may turn her sight
back on you, maybe telling the Council that you had a hand in your
own kidnapping.”

“Will they believe her?”

I shook my head as if I didn’t know.
Absent anyone to tell them otherwise, they would absolutely believe
Zandra. I couldn’t bring myself to tell Cami. “He also said she’d
tried to convince Kyle Richardson for another arranged marriage,
this time to Gage’s little brother, Brandon. Kyle refused, said
you’d already made your choice.”

A small part of me was
pleased to hear Will say Zandra was trying to arrange a marriage to
Brandon. If she were married to Brandon, no one would question her
lineage. No one would dare. Instead of saying it out loud and
taking Cami’s wrath, I thought the words she wouldn’t want to hear.
“
Brandon’s a good kid. You’d be safe if
you chose him
.”

“Are you insane?! I told you this whole
horse thing is temporary. We get the arrow back to Zethus and have
him lift the curse, end of story.”

I shook my head. It was time to share
the whole truth. She needed to know I’d never be human again. I
told her everything about my meeting with the Goddess Harmonia and
with Zeus. After she heard it all, she sat still on the sofa,
looking as though she were in a trance. I waved my hand in front of
her face, worried that this had been the final straw and she would
shut down. Without breaking her concentration on the wall opposite
her, she murmured, “I love you, Drake. Wherever we go, you’d better
find a house with big doorways, because I’m not sleeping in a barn
for the rest of my life.”

I didn’t know what to say. Had she just
cracked a joke? Was she delirious? “Cami, are you okay?”