Silent Orchids (The Age of Alandria: Book One) (19 page)

“There is a home of a
friend
that is not much further. He will give us shelter,” Daegan said thoughtfully and gave a curt nod to Kaeleigh. 

She smiled. “Thank you, Daegan.” 

He shrugged. “It benefits us to go that direction, it is merely convenient.”

Kaeleigh rolled her eyes and stalked passed him. “Seriously? A ‘you’re welcome’ would have been more ‘convenient.’ Less words used,” she replied sarcastically.

“You couldn’t just let it go, could you?” Finn to Daegan. “Now she’s pissed.”

“That is not my problem,” he retorted.

“Oh, it will be.”

Daegan’s gruff sigh sounded more like a low growl. “There are things she should know,” Daegan whispered to Finn. “Things you should have prepared her for.
You
should have instructed her. Instead, she knows nothing!” he spat out. Finn clenched his jaw, trying not to start a fight.

“I’m right here and I can hear you!” Kaeleigh yelled. “Don’t talk about me as if I’m not. Either Finn doesn’t know any more than Chel or I do or he has chosen not to share.” Kaeleigh suddenly caught what she was saying, as if the words finally took hold that Finn really had withheld important information from her. A prick of pain stabbed her heart as she kept walking.

Daegan and Finn looked at each other, surprised that she could hear them. They were far enough away from her and had used such hushed tones that a normal person wouldn’t have made out a word. Finn glared at Daegan, then even softer he growled out, “Let’s keep moving.”

“Yes, shall we?” She smiled tightly and kept walking as Chel jogged up beside her. 

Daegan stared after her with his own little smirk and replied softly, “Very good.” Kaeleigh barely turned her head in confusion, acknowledging that she had heard him. “Interesting,” he mused.

Chapter Twenty-one

After taking a moment to recover at this new discovery of Kaeleigh’s, he regained his position at the head of this little band of misfits he was leading. He directed a brief gaze her way, studying her. It was very rare to find someone with the gift of long-distance hearing. In fact, he didn’t know of anyone other than himself and the Elders.

“Have you always been able to hear so well?” Daegan asked, genuinely curious.

Kaeleigh thought about his question. “Um, actually no. Now that you mention it, it’s only been since we have been here. That’s... odd,” she finished more to herself than in response to him.

“Yes, it is odd. It is actually a rare gift in these parts. I would advise you to keep it to yourself,” he said as he lowered his voice. “There are those that would not hesitate to try and take gifts such as that for themselves.”

Kaeleigh stopped abruptly. “What do you mean? How could someone take something that is a part of me?”

“This is not a world without dangers, Kaeleigh, and it is much different than where you come from. There are creatures who have ways of extracting one’s soul, the part that gifts are made from. Or at least, force you to use it against your will,” he said. He looked at her with a face of genuine concern and possibly regret that showed through his hard mask for only a blink of a second, and then it was gone.

She shuddered with fear and revulsion, while at the same time feeling a foreign warmth that wrapped around her at the way Daegan said her name. Indignant, she straightened her back. “Let them try and take anything from me!” She turned with a huff to storm off with a perfectly timed exit only to trip on a large vine that she didn’t see in front of her. About to fall on her face, in what could only be described as one of the most graceful falls ever (not!), she felt two steady strong arms grab her arms from behind to steady her back onto her feet. A flush rose on her face as she brushed off the imaginary dust along with her dignity trying to regain her composure once again. 

Chel ran up beside her friend and looped her arm through Kaeleigh’s to help support her friend. Kaeleigh patted her friend’s arm. They both put noses to the sky, sarcastic in their regal strides trying to make light of her misstep, and giggled. Kaeleigh knew she wasn’t the most graceful but she appreciated her friend joining her.

Daegan found himself feeling irritably endeared. He was also surprised by her stubbornness and recklessness; that could be to her both an advantage and a disadvantage—that mouth could get her into trouble... as it could him. He was already unsure of how bringing this group to Maleina would be received. Maleina would not be happy about the “tagalongs.” He was pretty sure he was going to have to ditch the other two somehow, but that could be tricky— they were a very close group, except for the secrets that both Chel and Finn were keeping from Kaeleigh. Daegan was pretty sure of Finn’s hidden secret, but not so sure of Chel’s yet. She was a bit more of a puzzle; he recognized her scent, but it was partial, as if she wasn’t quite whole.

Daegan knew the Elder hadn’t wanted him to take Kaeleigh to see Maleina, but he was bound. The only way he could figure around it was to actually take her there and see how Maleina reacted. Unfortunately, that could be problematic as well. He hoped Hal would be able to help him help her leave their territory unscathed and send her back to the mortal realm where she came from and belonged. Even if she was from here once, she didn’t belong here anymore. She had no idea what it took to survive here.

Chapter Twenty-two

Finn scanned his surroundings suspiciously. He recognized this area of the forest, although it had been a long time since he had seen these parts. Panic started bubbling within his chest. He couldn’t allow his cover to be blown, but his need to protect Kaeleigh at all costs consumed him. Daegan did not inspire trust in him and he did not yet understand his motives. Nerves kept him on edge as he surveyed as far as his eyes could see, which happened to be farther than the average mortal. Picking up his pace, he came alongside Kaeleigh, his posture rigid and wound so tight he thought he might explode.

Kaeleigh sensed his tension next to her and shot a questioning glance up at his face. Finn towered over her by half a head. Knowing now that she could hear him, he whispered, “I have a bad feeling. Something is amiss and I don’t trust where he is leading us.” Finn didn’t even look toward her, but kept his eyes focused straight ahead. He was simmering underneath his skin; agitated, restless, wanting nothing more than to drive his knife into something, hearing the tearing of flesh and the cracking of bone. Being back in this place set his bloodlust on edge. He had not felt the intensity of the need for a fight in a very long time, since the last time he walked through these very woods.

Finn’s hands flexed into tight fists, only to splay wide once again, and then reflexively felt for his daggers at his hips. Kaeleigh watched him with foreign reservation, as if she was seeing him for the first time. And maybe she was seeing him for what he might truly be.
A killer.

“Steady, Guardian, I am not who your fight is to be directed at this time,” Daegan said with a steady, calming tone. “Do not draw unnecessary attention, but be prepared on the count of three.”

Kaeleigh and Chel both took in short, surprised breaths. Finn, angry and a little surprised that Daegan could hear him too, cautiously drew one of his daggers. Kaeleigh was his primary concern right now and he would keep her safe. He nodded the acknowledgment but did not turn.

A twig behind them snapped. Chel gave a silent jolt and gripped Kaeleigh’s arm tighter.  

Daegan began to whisper a count as both he and Finn stepped close to the girls, ready to surround them. “...Three!” They both whipped around, drawing their weapons out, encircling Chel and Kaeleigh as best they could without a third anchor to complete a protective triad. Once again they moved simultaneously, as if they’d rehearsed this move hundreds of times together. 

Silence. 

Eyes searching. Nothing. Stances poised and ready for a fight. Still nothing. “Show yourself!” Daegan commanded with absolute authority. Still nothing.  

Kaeleigh was watching something off to the right of the path they had just come from. She stared intently. “What do you see?” Finn asked her.

“I’m not sure, but I think that boulder moved. That would be impossible though, wouldn’t it?”

“Not necessarily,” he replied.

Daegan took several steps toward the large boulder and trained his sword toward it while he gave it a kick with his boot. The girls let out a shriek as the boulder rolled out of the way of Daegan’s sword and transformed into a creature similar to a small bear. It had the body and fur of a brown bear, but with an elongated face covered with fur and the tusk of a rhino. The creature had long, razor-sharp claws that could shred an animal—or person—easily in half. He growled, crouching, ready to spring and devour his prey before him. His eyes glowed a murderous red while smoke puffed from his nostrils as it snorted in disgust. Daegan steadied his weapon and his stance as Finn slowly approached, his side daggers tightly gripped in both hands at his sides.  

This creature from hell, which was where it looked like it belonged, could easily take them all out, from Kaeleigh’s perspective. Something stirred in her, a fierce protectiveness that she had never felt before. She would not allow them to die. Not when they’d come this far and not when they still had so far to go to get the answers she’d been looking for all her life. Kaeleigh pulled out of Chel’s strong grasp and stepped forward silently until she was right behind Daegan and Finn.  

Daegan sensed her approach. “Get back, Kaeleigh! You don’t know what you’re doing,” he spat out angrily. She didn’t back down. She glared at the back of his head. Turning that intense stare from Daegan to the creature before them, Kaeleigh began to stare the creature down. It shifted his murderous eyes of fire from Daegan’s to hers, sniffing the air for the new scent that she brought. His growl deepened and intensified at this new threat... his new prey. She stiffened but still did not back down. A primal and deeply hidden surge tore through her body as she shot her finger out at the beast and shouted, “NO! You will not harm us,” with a command that carried authority that she had never known before. In front of her, both Finn and Daegan flinched at her voiced command, although they did not alter their protective barrier.  

The beast snorted and twitched as if something had smacked him on his muzzle. He began to back away with his head low to the ground. Daegan raised his sword, ready to end the creature. Chel gasped behind her, then in anguish cried out, “NO! Don’t!” Daegan froze with frustrated shock and exasperation. Kaeleigh was afraid to lose eye contact with the beast in fear of releasing its submission to her...
to me! Ha! Never would’ve believed that.
 

“What, Chel?” Kaeleigh bit out a bit sharper than she meant to.  

“Don’t kill him, please. He means no real harm,” she rushed out all in one breath.

Daegan gritted his teeth and growled deep in his chest. Kaeleigh decided to chance removing her eyes and first looked to Daegan and then at Finn, both fierce in their protective stances. Then she turned to look back at her friend on her knees. Kaeleigh had never seen Chel this way. Her face had gone sheet white and she was holding her head like she was in pain. Kaeleigh rushed to her friend’s side.  

“Chel, what’s wrong?” she whispered urgently.

Chel turned her eyes up to Kaeleigh with what seemed like intense effort. “Don’t hurt him, he’s scared and all alone. His mother was killed. He’s young and impulsive and... and sorry,” she spewed out again. Chel usually talked fast when she got on a roll, but not like this, not tortured. Kaeleigh looked at her friend and stroked her hair, not knowing what to do.  

“How do you know that, Chel?” Kaeleigh asked gently with concern in her voice.

“I... I can hear him,” she stammered. Out of fear, she raised her voice desperately. “Why can I hear him?”

Finn looked startled but kept his daggers pointed at the beast. Daegan lowered his own with a sigh and turned sideways so he could see both the creature and the girls behind him huddled on the ground.

“It seems to be part of your gift, although it is unusual in your kind to hear another kind.”

Three pairs of eyes swung up to meet Daegan’s; two were utterly confused, but Chel’s were first surprised then beseeching him at the same time to keep his mouth closed. He glanced at Kaeleigh and understood that she wanted to tell her herself, but still he shot her a perturbed glare. 

Chel relaxed a bit when Kaeleigh bit his head off for being condescending once again toward humans, as if they were really that different from him and his “kind.” If only Kaeleigh knew the truth of what she said, at least where Chel was concerned, and something in her told her maybe where both her friends were concerned as well.  

“Can you... well, can you talk back to it— the creature?” Kaeleigh said as she pointed toward the beast.

“Um, I don’t know. Let me try,” she said, a bit shaky as she focused her eyes on the beast and even squinted her eyes in concentration. “Hmm, nothing. Maybe it’s one way, maybe he can’t hear me.” Chel sounded a little disappointed.

The beast snorted and shook its head and looked like it rolled its eyes. “Oh!” Chel said, a bit surprised. “He can hear and understand us just fine, I guess.” She sounded a little embarrassed. 

Kaeleigh patted her friend on the arm and rose to stand. “Don’t worry, Chel, you’ve always been sensitive to animals. Maybe your gift gets amplified here.” Chel slowly nodded as Kaeleigh began to move toward the beast. Kaeleigh stood up straight, trying to look taller and full of authority that she didn’t have here in this place, but no one else was doing anything. “We will not harm you if you do not harm us. Move away slowly and be on your way.”  

Finn didn’t lower his daggers until the beast had backed all the way into the trees beyond their sight. Daegan looked at Kaeleigh with one eyebrow raised in that cocky way that was also a bit of a breath-taker. He nodded at her. “Well done, Kaeleigh. Keep an eye out and let’s move on. We need to make camp for the night. We won’t make it to my friend tonight.”