Daeton's Journey (Wiccan-Were-Bear Book 10) (5 page)

“Yes.  They.  Can,” Perseus growled.

“Well, I need to be in my bear form and hunt.  She doesn’t like being kept captive in the settlement and unable to commune with nature.  Be reasonable.”  She took both of their hands in hers.  “I’m not asking to go hunting for Vehsi or anything, I’m just asking for some freedom.”

“You are free, honey kitten,” Ekho said, kissing her palm.  “We just want you to be safe, too.  Until the source of the threat against you is discovered and put down, neither of us feels that you’re truly safe.”

She wanted to argue some more with them about their idea of freedom, but decided that the night was disappearing quickly and she needed to get on with the hunt before her mates decided it was a bad idea.  She didn’t mind them being protective, and most of the time she relished it.  But it was stifling to be watched all the time, to be made constantly aware of the threat of danger.

Dropping the last of her clothing on the pile, she slipped to the ground and shifted, her silver-coated bear form cracking and snapping her bones as the shift took place.  Feeling the earth under her paws, she shook herself out, dug her claws into the soil and sprang forward with a chuff at her mates.  The Centaurs at the edge of the woods parted for her, laughing at her enthusiasm.  Perseus and Ekho kept pace with her easily as she plowed through the woods, turning sharply whenever a noise alerted her to a small animal she might chase.  However, as much as she enjoyed chasing the small animals, she knew she would have the most fun splashing around in the lake at the base of the hills around the settlement and going fishing with her paws.  Stomping around the woods was very freeing, though, and she had no regrets as she stopped, leaned against a tree, and rubbed her hindquarters against it.

“That’s adorable,” Ekho said, rubbing her ear between his finger and thumb.

She chuffed at him, inhaling his sunshine scent.  She turned to head back to the settlement, her bear ready to leave the darkness of the woods and spend the rest of her shift trying to catch some tasty fish, when she heard something faintly.

She listened intently, and noticed that even the Centaurs and Ekho paused and listened.

“Sounds like a…baby,” Cosmo said.

Protective instincts rose inside her like a tidal wave.  She roared and raced off toward the sound of a baby in distress.

* * * * *

“For Hades’ sake!” Ekho grumbled, racing after his mate as she stomped through the woods toward the sound of a baby wailing.  “Daeton, stop!”

She didn’t listen, twisting and changing direction as they drew deeper into the woods and closer to the sound.  Perseus also yelled for her to stop, but she didn’t heed him, either.  Their mate was one stubborn female.

They stayed close to her as she followed the crying; Rysk, Tyrant, and the Centaurs behind them keeping an eye out for danger.  The deeper into the forest they went, the stronger Ekho’s feelings grew that something wasn’t quite right.

As he scanned ahead of them, he saw something hanging from a tree.  The trees were so dense that the moonlight barely filtered through them, but he could tell that something was moving around in what appeared to be a basket, and the crying sounds were much louder.  They drew closer and Daeton made plaintive sounds.  Ekho noticed an odd pile of leaves underneath the basket.

“It’s a trap!” he shouted, and Perseus threw himself against Daeton, grabbing her around the neck, pulling her over onto her back and away from the suspicious pile.  Ekho reached down, felt along the ground, and picked up a rock.  Giving it a toss, he was not surprised when the leaves scattered and a net rose quickly from the ground, closing tightly into a bag big enough to hold all of them.

He glanced over his shoulder and found Perseus kneeling next to Daeton, who was growling.

“I think you pissed her off,” Ekho said.

“Yeah, well, better pissed off than in a damn net.”

She huffed and batted at Perseus with her paw.

As several of the Centaurs who had been with them neared, Ekho crept around the perimeter of where the net had been hidden and leapt onto the trunk of the thick tree.  Using his claws, he climbed slowly up the trunk to the branch that the basket and net were secured to.  Climbing onto the branch, he saw a pale bird tied to the branch above the basket.  When it opened its beak, a sound like a crying baby came from it.

“It’s a bird,” Ekho said, crawling forward nimbly and using his claws to cut the rope.  The bird cried loudly and flapped away.

Ekho pulled up the basket slowly and peered inside.  The crudely constructed cage was made of branches and inside was a long-snouted burrow cat, one of the forests’ small, furry inhabitants.  He was just calling down to confirm that it wasn’t a baby in the cage when the whole tree shook violently and the cage slipped from his hand.

He looked up to see an Urtal swinging a giant club, and had only a heartbeat to turn and duck so it struck him in the shoulder and not the head.  As he flew through the air, he shouted a warning to Perseus that they were being attacked, and then everything went dark as he smacked hard into another tree and fell to the ground.

* * * * *

The trees shook as hoots and angry shouts sounded around them.  Rysk and Tyrant stood on either side of Daeton, growling furiously.  Daeton looked up into the thick canopy of trees but could see only shadows.  The sound of Perseus drawing his swords and calling to the Centaurs was lost as the thud of many feet hitting the ground filled the air.  Daeton roared, calling for Ekho, who was up in the trees, but heard no answer.

A cracking sound echoed above them and she looked up to see a shadow falling toward them.  As the moonlight broke through the trees, she saw a heavy branch hurtling toward Perseus.  She lurched forward and shoved him aside.  He stumbled away from her as pain exploded through her body from the impact of the branch.

Everything went black.

* * * * *

Daeton found herself walking in the woods of her youth.  On either side, two large bears walked with her, one pale gray and one black.  She knew where they were as they emerged through the trees to the sacred red cedar grove where the males of her den carved the names of their mates and children into the ancient trees.  As they passed by the red cedars, she saw her grandparents’ tree, her parents’ tree, and her brothers’ trees, carved with symbols representing their names.  Then the woods suddenly shifted and she found herself standing before two paths.  One path was dark, the trees tangled, their limbs full of menacing thorns.  The other path was bright with sunshine, and flowers hung from thick, green vines.

Out of the dark path, Perseus and Ekho emerged.  A young Centaur boy stood next to Perseus, holding his hand, and Ekho held a baby leoneman in his arms, swaddled in pink blankets.

The little boy held out his other hand.  He had big brown eyes, a mirror of her own.  “Protect me, Moman.”

“How?” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.  Was she looking at her own son?  A child with Perseus’s dark horse body, but her copper skin and dark eyes.

Ekho looked up and then hugged the baby a little tighter to his chest.  “The sun is setting.”

“Blood and bone,” Perseus said, “blood and bone.”

She heard hoof beats and a golden-bodied Centaur appeared in the bright tunnel.  His face was hidden by mist, and his body was battle-scarred.

Holding out one scarred hand, he said with a deep voice, “If you wait for me, I will save you.  Our children will be rulers.”  Beneath his hooves, blood bubbled from the ground and flowed like a river, and black smoke swirled around his legs.

She felt the bear on her right nudge her, pushing her toward the dark path.  Toward her mates and their children.

“Don’t,” the golden Centaur called, “wait for me!”

The dark bear pushed harder and the pale gray bear grabbed her wrist in its jaws and pulled.  As she walked toward the dark path, the golden Centaur called for her again and she saw smoke fill the bright path as the flowers wilted and died and the sunshine faded away.

Stepping onto the dark path, the world dropped away and she found herself standing before the red cedars again.  The bears that had walked beside her were leaving, moving away slowly.  They glanced at her as they faded into the distance and she knew as she faced the trees that her future diverged along two paths; one with her mates that was dark and dangerous, and one with a stranger that was deceptively easy.

She knew her choice.

* * * * *

Ekho woke up, unsure of how long he’d been unconscious.  The battle appeared to be over, and the Centaurs had lit torches to illuminate the woods.

“You all right?” Abrax asked, offering his hand.  Ekho accepted it and stood slowly, his ears ringing and his vision swimming slightly.

“Yeah.”

He moved quickly to Daeton, who was back in her human form but unconscious.  Apparently a tree limb had knocked her out.

“Seems you two had similar interests in getting knocked out by trees tonight,” Perseus said with a wry smile.

Ekho smiled and stroked Daeton’s soft cheek.  Her skin was flushed and she had a bruise across her back.  He picked her up carefully so she wasn’t lying on the hard ground and settled her in his lap to keep her warm.  Perseus reported that the Urtals, great ape-like creatures, had set the trap to lure Daeton into the net, with a plan to kill all of them and take her alive.  When the trap had been sprung unsuccessfully, they attacked from the trees.

Rysk joined them.  “Many of them fled when they realized their clubs were no match for swords and bears, and of those who fell, one was alive long enough to tell us that they had been hired by a stranger to capture the bear shifter from the Mortal Realm and bring her to Dran.”

“Is he still alive?” Ekho asked.  Worry settled over him once more as the reality of the situation sank in.  Someone truly wanted Daeton harmed and had hired two different groups of creatures to see to it.

“Not anymore,” Perseus said. “He had been run through with a sword and the blood loss took him.”

As they all walked back to the settlement, Ekho carried Daeton, worried about the bruise on her back and his inability to keep her from getting hurt.  Elektra was waiting at the door of the house, pacing worriedly.

Ekho carried Daeton into their room and Elektra began to prepare a healing wrap for the bruise on her back.  Draya and Fontaine came to help and all three women fussed over her.

Leaning against the door, Ekho watched as they tended her wound and dressed her in comfortable sleeping clothes.  Perseus joined him and said with a low voice, “How are you feeling?”

“Fine, just pissed.”

“We’ll figure out who is hiring people to kidnap her.”

“I know we will, but I’m pissed that I got knocked out.  I wasn’t paying close enough attention.  If you and the others hadn’t been there to protect her, she might have been taken.  I’m a poor excuse for a mate.”

“No, you’re not,” Perseus insisted roughly.  “We were ambushed.  If Daeton hadn’t shoved me out of the way, I would have gotten hit by the limb that crashed into her.  She got hurt because she was protecting me.”

Ekho glanced at the angry Centaur.  “At least she’s safe now.”

“Until whoever is after her hires someone else.”

Ekho didn’t know what to say.  Perseus was right.  Someone was after their mate and was hiring creatures to capture her.  He didn’t know why, and it didn’t really matter.  All that mattered was that they kept her safe.

As Elektra and the girls finished the wrap, Daeton made a gasping sound, sat straight up and said, “I think I’m pregnant.”

Chapter 4

Pain rolled through Daeton’s back, but she ignored it, shoving the blankets away from her legs and attempting to get out of bed.  Perseus and Ekho pushed gently on her shoulders, encouraging her to stay in bed, but there wasn’t time.

“It’s already morning,” she said, pushing their hands away.  She rose to her feet slowly.  The branch that had hit her had torn her skin and bruised her deeply, but it would heal.  She couldn’t waste any more time lying in bed when there was so much to do.

“Pregnant?” Perseus asked.

Straightening, Daeton closed her eyes as a swell of nausea filled her and then passed.  Opening her eyes, she smiled up at her husband.  “I had a vision.  Are there pregnancy tests in this realm?”

Elektra said, “I’ll get you one.”  She and the girls disappeared from the room.

“Why does it matter that it’s morning?” Ekho asked.

“Because whoever is trying to hurt us is coming tonight.  I had a vision and–” she rubbed at her temple and then shook her head.  “I need to talk to Papan.”

“He’s talking to the elders, I’ll send for him,” Perseus said, leaving the room.

She leaned into Ekho and he wrapped his arms around her.  Kissing the top of her head, he said, “I’m sorry, honey kitten.”

“Why are you sorry?  I’m the reason our lives are in danger.”

He curled a finger under her chin and tilted her face up.  “You’re not responsible for someone trying to harm you or anyone else.  I’m sorry I got knocked out and couldn’t protect you.”

She hadn’t realized he’d been hurt.  It had all happened so fast.  Stepping back, she let her eyes roam over him.  “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine now, just angry that I got caught off guard.”

He kissed her and then hugged her, minding the bruise on her back.  “I love you, Ekho,” she said as she slid her arms around him and pulled him close.

“I love you, too, Daeton.”

Elektra came back into the room at the same time as Perseus, and handed Daeton a strip of white bark.  Daeton raised a brow at her mother-in-law, who smiled broadly.  “When you pee on it, the
broswa
bark will turn purple if you’re pregnant.  If it remains white then you’re not.”

Daeton looked down at the bark and ran her thumb along the rough edges.  Then she told them about her vision.

“I believe that if we wait here, whoever is trying to get me is going to kill you both,” she said as she looked between her husbands, who wore identical looks of shock.  “I think that waiting means the fight will come here, and you’ll lose your lives.  I’ll end up in Dran on the slave market and the Centaur, whoever he is, will rescue me and become my new mate.  He said he’d save me if I waited.”

Perseus growled, his eyes flashing with jealousy.  “Do you know the Centaur?”

“No, I said I don’t know him.  His body was blond and he had a lot of scars.  Whoever he is, he’s used to fighting.  And there’s something else.  On the path where he stood, there were flowers.  They’re the same flowers that grow at the base of the hills.  I asked you about them once, Elektra,” Daeton looked at her mother-in-law.

Elektra nodded.  “The
fresiala
only grow at the foot of the hills and nowhere else in the realm.”

“So that tells me if we wait here in the settlement, then whoever is trying to kidnap me is going to bring the fight here.  That ends in blood and death.”

“But you said where we were was darkness,” Perseus pointed out.

“I know, but it also showed us in the future.  The path under both of your feet was the cobblestones of Cholas.  And our son,” she picked up both of her husbands’ hands, “and our daughter were with you.  That means what was said on the dark path is the future, but only if we go on the offensive.  Like my dad always used to say, there’s no better defense than a good offense.”

Ekho made a face.  “You want us to attack?  We don’t know when or where.”

“I do,” she said confidently.  “Whoever the bad guy is, he’s going to be in Cholas at sunset tonight.  Which is why I need to talk to your dad.”

“He’s on the way.”

“Great.  I’m going to pee.”  She slipped between her husbands to the bathroom, shutting the wooden door and leaning against it.  She could hear her husbands and her mother-in-law speaking quietly about what she had shared.  As she pushed the sleep shorts off and sat on the toilet, putting the thick strip of bark between her legs, she chuckled to herself.  Peeing on tree bark was about as primitive as it could get.  If she were back in the Mortal Realm, she would be using a plastic pregnancy test in a bathroom with electricity and modern touches.  But if she were in the Mortal Realm, then she wouldn’t be with Perseus and Ekho, and she wouldn’t have set Draya and Fontaine free, or have Perri as a best friend.  There were things she missed from her old life, especially her family, but she wouldn’t change her life now if it meant she couldn’t have her husbands.

She carefully laid the bark in the sink as she finished cleaning up then called for her husbands.  Ekho opened the door and they joined her.  Perseus shut the door for privacy and they watched as the white bark turned a vibrant purple color.

There was stunned silence for only a heartbeat, and then her husbands cheered loudly and tears blurred her vision.

“Oh, honey kitten,” Ekho purred, “are those happy tears?”

“Yeah,” she sniffled, hugging him.  “Very happy.”

Perseus hugged her from behind and the two males caught her between them in a tight embrace.  Perseus kissed her neck.  “You’re going to be a great mother.”

“And you’re both going to be great dads.”

Elektra called from the bedroom.  “Well?  Am I going to be a grandmoman or what?”

They all laughed.  Ekho opened the door as Perseus lifted the purple tinted bark from the sink and held it up.  “Yes!”

Elektra whooped a happy cheer and Cosmo, who had just come into the bedroom, laughed and joined in the cheering.  Hugs and happy wishes were exchanged.  Draya and Fontaine moved to Daeton and hugged her.  “We’re happy for you, Miss.”

“Thanks, girls, I’m glad you’re here to share this day with us.”

The group walked out to the front room to talk in more comfortable surroundings.  Rysk and Tyrant joined them.  After everyone was seated on the couches, Daeton stood before them and explained the vision once more.  Then she told them why she wanted to talk to Cosmo.  “A few weeks ago, I was sitting with Perri and some of the young kids were taking turns sharing fairy tales.  Finn and Odin joined us, and Finn told a story about a young Centaur who took on a demon with a blade made of bone.  At first the blade didn’t work, but when the Centaur’s blood splashed on it, the blade was imbued with magical properties and the Centaur was able to destroy the demon.”

There was silence in the room.  Daeton continued, “In my vision, Perseus said ‘bone and blood’ twice.  The Centaur in the story says, ‘I send you to oblivion with the bone and blood of my people.’”

Perseus said, “A vision is one thing, Daeton, but you’re talking about folklore.  We don’t really have a bone blade made from our ancestors, and you’re certainly not taking one of your own bones for the job.  I don’t see the relation between the fairy tale and the reality of our situation.”

She moved to the couch and knelt in front of him.  “I know you’re worried, Pers, but there’s truth in the stories of your people, I know it.”  Glancing at Cosmo she said, “I’m right, aren’t I?”

Cosmo nodded.  “There is a blade made of bone, but it’s buried at the bottom of the lake.”

“What the Hades for?”  Ekho demanded.

“Because the warrior knew it was too dangerous a tool to be kept within easy reach of those who might use it for harm.  It was believed that the blade was carved from the bone of a Centaur who had been magically gifted.  The blade by itself is simply a blade, but when it is covered in blood, it becomes a tool of unimaginable power.”  Cosmo stood quickly.  “If you need it, then you’ll have it, daughter.”

Cosmo strode out of the house quickly and Daeton stood with Perseus and Ekho.  “I don’t understand how a blade made of bone is going to help,” Perseus said.

“I don’t know either, but I know enough about visions to trust what was said.  If we’re in Cholas at sunset with the blade, we’ll survive to hold our children.”  Daeton pressed her hand to her still-flat stomach.  She hadn’t even had a chance to think about the pregnancy yet.  If they survived the battle that loomed ahead, then she’d take the time to revel in it.

She and her husbands headed out of the house and walked toward the lake.  She could feel that Perseus was still skeptical.  He argued over her head with Ekho about their options, wanting to leave and find a place to hide.  She knew that no matter where they went, whoever was after her was going to keep coming.  If she didn’t face him or her head-on, then she’d lose everything precious to her, and she’d rather die fighting than face such loss.

Cosmo stripped and dove into the lake.  A small crowd gathered as Daeton and her husbands stood and watched as Cosmo surfaced, inhaled deeply, and dove again, repeating the actions several times.  Each time he surfaced, he moved closer to the center of the lake.  When he finally reached the center, he inhaled loudly and deeply and disappeared under the surface.

It seemed like ages that he was underwater.  The crowd grew uneasy, many of the Centaurs voicing concerns that Cosmo had been under too long, that the lake was too deep in the center for anyone to reach it.  Several males had begun to remove their clothes to go hunt for him when Cosmo burst from under the water with a great gasping breath and lifted a long, pale object above his head.

“Holy Hades, he found it,” a Centaur named Hylis said with awe in his voice, “he found the Blade of Aster.”