The Tantric Shaman (12 page)

CHAPTER NINE

              The next morning Damian walked her into town, leading her into the town square with her hands tied and Damian pulling the rope. She was covered completely in a hooded robe. The town had been gathered in the square, as Grundar had ordered a town meeting in order to bring everyone up to speed on what had recently occurred.

              Horis had been an asshole, but he'd still had his supporters. There were those who were holding Indigo personally responsible for his death, and wouldn't rest until they saw she was punished with their own two eyes.

              There was a platform in the center of town. Grundar, Hannah, Candy and Bo were standing on it, the rest of the town gathered around it. Damian led Indigo directly up onto the platform in front of the entire town.

              “Things are mostly okay, but a few of Horis's dickhead friends are pissed. I hope you really did punish her, Damian, because if they say this as us trying to let her off easy there could be trouble,” Grundar whispered.

              “Don't worry, I think they'll be satisfied,” Damian whispered back.

              “So who the hell is this, and what gives him the right to punish someone who has offended our pack?” a tall man near the front of the stage yelled. Damian inspected him. The man stood a head taller than everyone else in the crowd, and the bear clan wasn't known  for being short.

              “That's Horis's best friend, Zunzi. He's the main rabble rouser,” Grundar whispered to Damian.

              “I am a master punisher, and it is my business to punish those who do wrong!” Damian shouted.

              “You're a tantric shaman, Damian Ivory,” Zunzi said. “And I think your powers are bullshit. I think you just use it all as an excuse to lure women into bed. You are no more a punisher than Princess Candy!” There were a few murmurs of agreement from the crowd, and the general mood seemed to indicate Damian had something to prove to them.

              “My powers are bullshit, you say?”Damian said. He shifted to werewolf, then full wolf, then bear, then hawk, then rattlesnake, then back to human form all within the space of 30 seconds. The crowd gasped. No one had ever seen someone able to assume different animal forms, and the speed of his transformations was unheard of. He was still riding high from the power he'd absorbed the night before, so it was coming to him easily.

              The crowd was shocked into silence. “It's a trick, it's got to be some kind of trick!” Zunzi shouted, embarrassed.

              “A trick? What kind of trick would that be?” a random voice shouted from the crowd.

              Zunzi craned his neck to find who'd spoken, but couldn't spot them.

              “It's no trick,” Grundar said. “And I'm fully confident if Damian says Indigo has been punished, she has been.”

              “We still need to see proof!” Zunzi demanded, and the crowd muttered agreement.

              “I have proof,” Damian said, bringing Indigo right to the front of the stage. He pulled the robe from her, exposing her totally nude body. The crowd collectively gasped. She was covered in welts and redness. There were no true wounds or bleeding, but she did appear to have been whipped and beaten.

              Zunzi's jaw dropped and he moved closer, a little surprised at what he was seeing. The people onstage where shocked as well, none more-so than Candy. She couldn't believe Damian had actually done this to her friend. She stepped closer, lightly touching the marks on her friends back. Indigo turned to her, seeing the disbelief in her eyes. Indigo gave her a smirk, her eyes playful. Candy was unsure exactly what was going on, but the look on Indigo's face reassured her.

              Grundar stepped forward. “So does everyone see the marks upon her?” Indigo turned to give the crowd a better look.

              “How do we know that's real? It could be make-up!” a voice barked.

              “It's real,” Zunzi said, his voice awed.

              “Are you satisfied that she has been adequately reprimanded?” Grundar said, addressing the crowd in general but speaking more to Zunzi.

              “Yes, I'm satisfied,” Zunzi said, turning and walking away through the crowd.

              “What about the rest of you? Anyone else need more proof?” Grundar shouted. Horis had been an orphan with no siblings, so there were no blood relatives to satisfy, making things easier. When no one spoke, Grundar nodded to Damian who picked the robe up and placed it upon Indigo's shoulders, leading her offstage.

              Once the crowd had dispersed, Damian joined the others at Grundar's home. Indigo's wounds had been salved, although with her fast metabolism she would heal soon enough anyway. Indigo had obviously filled Candy in on what had really happened, as the two kept exchanging hush whispers directed at Damian.

              “So how did everyone take the wedding announcement?” Damian asked. The announcement had been after he had escorted Indigo away.

              “Surprisingly well. I think they are sick of this 'cold war' bullshit too,” Grundar said. “I haven't heard from the wolves yet, and the wedding is tomorrow. We'll see I suppose.”

              “Tomorrow? That soon?” Damian asked. “Doesn't that put the wolves on a tight schedule if they want to attend?”

              “Wolves can move fast when they need to, they'll find a way,” Bo chimed in.

              “I didn't want to give anyone time to sabotage the damn thing either,” Grundar said. “We know there will be dissidents who don't what this to happen, just hopefully not too many.”

              “The damn thing? Lovely way to refer to your daughter's wedding,” Candy said, grinning.

              “Oh, you know what I mean,” Grundar said, waving her off.

              “Speaking of the wedding,” Bo said, taking Candy's hand. “We have a favor to ask.”

              “Damian and Indigo, we need a best man and a maid of honor. Would you please?” Candy said.

              Indigo squealed and hugged Candy, indicating her acceptance.

              “Don't you have brothers who―” Damian began.

              “I do, but I don't know if they will even come. If it wasn't for you, none of this would even be possible. Please, Damian?” Bo said.

              Damian nodded. “It would be an honor,” he said, shaking Bo's hand. “Oh, and also, do you have honeymoon plans?”

              “Hell, no we don't,” Bo said, he and Candy exchanging glances. “We've been so busy we haven't had time to plan anything.”

              “Tell you what. I have a cabin not too far from here, great view, right up in the mountains. You two can spend the week there, or however long you want to,” Damian said.

              Indigo giggled, and Damian stopped her. “This is a cabin deep in the mountains, one that nobody here has seen,” he said, letting her know it wouldn't be the same cabin they had spent the night in.

              “Too bad,” Indigo said, “I think your other cabin has better―furniture.”

              Everyone looked confused, and Damian moved on. “I'll take you there after the wedding, and set up a few spells to be sure you aren't bothered.”

              “Thanks, Damian, that's very nice of you,” Candy said.

              “Well, I was going to let you use my house in the mountains,” Grundar said, sounding a little disappointed.

              “House in the mountains?” Hannah said sarcastically. “You mean that old musty cave?”

              “Hey! That cave is nice! It even has running water!” Grundar said defensively.

              “It leaks! That's not running water!” Hannah said, laughing.

              “Oh whatever, go to Damian's stinky old cabin,” Grundar said, walking away. Everyone laughed, and it felt good to laugh.

              The rest of the day passed in a whirlwind as preparations were made for the wedding. It would be a somewhat simple affair, with the wedding held in the town square and then a block party to follow. Bo was fitted for a tuxedo while Candy would be wearing her mother's wedding dress. Damian and Indigo helped as needed, going from one task to another. They all ended up working well into the night, but they finally finished.

              The next morning, everything was set. Bo and Damian were speaking in the room he'd been given while Indigo and Candy dressed in a separate room.

              “So, nervous yet?” Damian asked.

              “Are you kidding? After all we've been through this is a piece of cake.  I can't thank you enough for your help, either,” Bo said.

              “Think nothing of it,” Damian said. He was trying to keep his mood celebratory, but some evil force had been behind this entire scheme. Damian suspected he knew who, and that only made things worse. When the wedding was over, he'd have to do some investigating.

              “I guess the wolves aren't coming,” Bo said, staring out of the window.

              “Who knows, they may surprise you,” Damian said. That was something else he'd have to look into. He knew the wolves had gotten the invitation, both because the tracking number showed it had been delivered, and also because he'd sensed his spell had been activated. If the wolves didn't show up, he'd need to travel there to see what was going on.

              Soon it was time for the wedding. The entire town turned out, and Damian actually felt a little nervous looking out at the crowd. Candy made a lovely bride, and Bo realized just how lucky he was to be marrying her.

              Just as the ceremony started, a roar of engines blared through the streets. Damian and the clan went on the defensive as motorcycles flooded the streets. The wolves had made it after all.

              The group parked their bikes and stood, no one speaking yet. The tension was thick: had the wolves come to join in, or to stop the marriage? Damian saw several familiar faces, but Bo's grandfather wasn't visible among the group.

              After several seconds of a tense stare down, the wolf king finally spoke. “So, did we miss the wedding or what? Get on with it!”

              Both the wolves and bears broke out in a chorus of cheers as handshakes were exchanged. Damian released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding as the crowds mingled.

              Vows were exchanged and with a kiss, a long time blood feud between the clans had been ended. The party continued into the night with only a few minor scuffles, due more to alcohol than any real bad blood.

              Once Bo and Candy were able to slip away, Damian and Indigo met them at the end of the street. The two were on a motorcycle, with another waiting for Candy and Bo.

              “Bo, Candy, consider this bike a wedding present. I was able to buy a couple bikes off of the wolves. Let's get out of here before someone tries to snatch us back into the party,” Damian said.

              Bo and Candy climbed onto their bike, and soon the four were headed towards Damian's cabin deep in the Smoky Mountains. Damian was more than a little apprehensive about leaving the town; he hoped he didn't come back to a bunch of dead bodies and a rekindled war. He shook his head and put that thought out of his mind, instead concentrating on the beautiful night and the road ahead of them.

CHAPTER TEN

              They arrived at the cabin about two hours later, having made good time on the motorcycles. The cabin was very secluded, with only a single-lane dirt logging road winding its way up the mountain to it. Inside it was gorgeous as well, even though Damian hadn't been there in over a year. It was a one-room log cabin with a large picture window overseeing the mountainside.

              “You can't see much at night, but during the day it's a hell of a view,” Damian said. There was a full bathroom outside. It looked like a large old-timey outhouse, but inside was a modern bathroom.