Centaur Rivalry (Touched Series Book 3) (22 page)

Drake
let go of my hand and wrapped his arms around me, still staring at his parents goofing around in the ocean.  “I’ve never seen him so happy.”
 
He stopped watching his parents and looked down into my eyes.
“You have that effect on people.”

“Sure, his son marries into the Lost Herd and he’s thrilled.”

Drake shook his head, “I haven’t seen him like this since I was a little kid.  What’d you say to him before the wedding?”

“Nothing really.  Only that if he tried to stop us from getting married I intended to take him for a swim with a brick hooked to his ankles.”

Drake’s eyes flexed and I couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction.  “Just kidding.  We just spent a couple minutes getting to know each other, that’s all.”

Drake swung me around so I was facing him.  We began swaying to the music together as he rested his chin on my
head.  Our bodies moved together slowly, and even if I had tried, I couldn’t drown out the love that poured out of my heart for him.  For a long time everyone disappeared, and it was just Drake and I molded together in the moonlight.

Will clear
ed his throat.  I opened my eyes and saw him patiently standing off to the side.  “May I have a turn?”  Drake kissed my cheek and let me loose, handing me over to Will.  The music was slow, a soft ballad playing as he danced with me on the beach.  Will’s voice was quiet but strong, “Congratulations, Camille.  I couldn’t have chosen a Centaur better than Drake for you.”

H
is words were meant as a compliment to Drake, so I didn’t allow myself to make a snide comment about arranged marriages.  It wasn’t anything he had dreamed up; it was just a part of the Centaur culture I didn’t like and would thankfully never endure.  Will looked at me with heavy eyes, “Drake told me you two intend to address the Centaur Council next week.”

“We
do.  Gage and Bianca are going with us.”

Worry spread across his face. 
I could feel his discouraging words coming before he spoke them.  “It’s not their fight.”

I leaned back so he could see
my resolve. “It’s everybody’s fight, Will.”

He pursed his lips together
.  I had struck a nerve.  We’d spent remarkably little time together for a father and daughter, but he knew me well enough to know not to give me any type of ultimatum.  Mom always told me I was strong-willed.  He must have already come to the same conclusion.  Will collected his thoughts before he asked, “What do you intend to say?”

“I don’t know.  I think pretty good on my feet.”

“I know you don’t think of me as your father.”  His words hung heavy in the air.  I did think of him as my father – but I wasn’t sure if I could trust him.  How do you put that into words in a nice way?  It was several minutes before he offered, “If you could spare the room, I’d like to go with you.”

“Why?”

“It wasn’t your sin against the gods that brought you and Cameron into this world.  It was mine.  If the Council feels they must exact revenge against the Lost Herd – it should be me who pays the price.”

I leaned away from him
, unable to process what he was saying.  Was he offering himself up as a sacrificial lamb to the Centaur Council?  “No.  Whatever creed, or warrant, or whatever it was that Zeus handed down was wrong.  Centaurs exterminating a herd for the actions of one Centauride thousands of years ago is insane.  We aren’t sheep.  We don’t blindly follow.  We were born from adversity and no one, god or otherwise, controls our destiny.”

I waited for him to argue, to tell me I was wrong, or to try to convince me to go into hiding.  He didn’t. 
William took both my hands in his, gripping them as if his life depended on them, “You
are
Chiron’s daughter.”

“I am Chiron’s daughter
and
daughter to the Lost Herd of Centaurs.  Chiron protects me.  The Council will see reason or they will be dissolved.  It is their place to preserve and protect, and they have lost their way under Zandra.”

The music played on
, but neither Will nor I still swayed to the beat.  He stood still, looking at me, searching for one morsel of doubt in my features.  He didn’t find it because no doubt existed.

Will wore an astonished look,
saying the words out loud as if he didn’t believe them.  “You do not fear her.”

It wasn’t a question, but I answered him anyway.  “No.”

“She is the most powerful Centauride in history.”

“Power is just power
.  True strength is in the wisdom of our actions.”

Will
still held both my hands as he went down on one knee, bowed his head, and said, “Guardian of the Lost Herd, hear me now.  Camille needs the protection you have afforded my family for generations.  Keep her safe.  Shield her from harm.  Allow her to lead us out of the Dark Ages.”

I didn’t know what to say.  Guardian of the Lost Herd?  Brent had told me one of the gods had to
be secretly helping the Lost Herd.  Who was it?  Did Will know which god was helping us?  Will stood up, hugged me to him and said, “I’ve never been more proud of another in my life.  Our legions stand at your disposal.  You need only say the word.”

“Legions?  What the heck are you talking about?”

“Camille, the Lost Herd has been in fear of their lives, fear for our children’s lives for longer than anyone can remember.  We’ve been waiting for the right time, the right place in history, the right leader to set us free.”  His eyes were glossy as he looked down into my eyes, “That leader is you.”

Drake had been a few yards away.
  I didn’t notice him until he took a step toward me; it was obvious he’d been listening.  Pride shone through his eyes.  I didn’t believe he would ask me to hide from the Centaur Council or any of their Centaur enforcers again.  Drake understood what was to take place when he said, “I’ll be at your side.”

Drake eased over to me
while Will stood up and walked over to where Gretchen was waiting.  Drake took me into his arms.  His voice was low, his desire clear, “Have we spent enough time with everyone else?”

His words sent shivers up my spine.  Today had been magic, more than I’d hoped for
.  I tugged his shirt toward the cottage, not even bothering to tell everyone goodnight.  They would all still be here tomorrow.  Drake didn’t hesitate in following me, his hands on my hips, guiding me in the moonlight.  Just as we reached the threshold of the little cottage, Drake hoisted me up in his arms, his lips softly brushing mine.  “I’ve loved you since the first moment I carried you in my arms.  If this has been a dream, I hope I die in my sleep so I never awake from it.”

I reached for the door handle so Drake could carry me
over the threshold.  A high pitched cry followed by a bloodcurdling scream echoed up to the cottage.  It was Lacey.  Drake set me on my feet in front of the doorway.  He turned and sprinted toward the beach without a word.  I stood frozen, “
Lacey, what happened?”

“They’re here, Cami.  Run
.  Run now!!”

(Camille, Outside of Cancun, Mexico)

Despite my fear, I asked Lacey,
“Who’s here?”

“The
Council’s enforcers.  Save yourselves.”

A bright flash of light shown through
the trees, so bright I raised my hand to cover my eyes.  The white light was as brilliant as the sunrise magnified by the reflection of the ocean, but it was hours too early for that.  I closed my eyes and shouted through my thoughts, “
Drake, where are you?
”

“
Hide.  Hide in the jungle until I come for you.  Now.  I can’t fight them off if I think you’re in danger.
”

I wanted to go to him – to help him.  More
screams echoed off the water – was that Gretchen?  What was happening to my family?  I took a step toward the ocean.  If I lost Drake now, my life would be over.  I’d die the same death his grandmother had – death from a broken heart.

Drake’s voice was loud
in my head, “
Cami, hide.  I promise I’ll come for you
.”

I have no clue how he did it, but he let me see what he was looking at through his eyes. 
In that moment I knew where the bright light had come from.  It wasn’t an explosion.  It wasn’t muzzle fire from a weapon, and it wasn’t the sun rising.  Drake had transformed back into my Centaur Warrior and was attacking the Council’s enforcers on the beach.

He didn’t need my help.  I hated the idea of hiding
, but I mentally reached out to the beach where all the commotion was going on – there were fewer Centaur enforcers here than had ambushed us in South Dakota.

I
begrudgingly did as I was told.  I stayed within the confines of the estate, but away from any paths, and stayed well camouflaged by the vegetation and darkness.  I needed to keep my mind from running through all of the worst possible scenarios.  I connected with Drake’s mind, to see what he was seeing.  The images through Drake’s eyes were fierce.  The enforcers seemed to be concentrating on just him, ignoring the others and assaulting him.

Ben, Bart and Beau were lobbing rocks at one.  The three took turns charging the enforcer
, trying to keep him off guard.  He was bobbing and weaving better than any welter-weight fighter I’d ever seen, but they were getting the better of him with their assaults.  A second enforcer got in the mix, but, he, too, couldn’t stave off their assault.

Four enforcers were attacking Drake. 
One enforcer wielded a sword so quickly it was nothing but a blur in his hands.  I saw everything through Drake’s eyes and couldn’t help but cringe as the Centaur attempted to sink his sword into Drake’s flesh.  Drake was too fast, so each time the blade came down, he was a fraction of an inch to the side.  The three other enforcers circled him, carrying daggers; each attempted several rushes but couldn’t catch Drake with his guard down.

I didn’t see Hallenjah, Lacey or Gretchen and was too enthralled with the assaults to try to locate them.  I looked for Will and Drake’s father, but they, too, weren’t in the fight.  Bianca stood on the beach by herself
, easily fifty yards from the action.  I could see an enforcer stalking her in the shadows.  Couldn’t she see him?  He was right there!  “
Bianca!  Behind you!
”

Before her response sounded in my head
, I watched an enormous palm tree fly through the air and crush the enforcer to the ground.  “
Whoops, can’t imagine how that could have happened.”

I wanted to laugh
, and, if I hadn’t have been so freaked out a second ago, I would have.  “
Did you just set a trap?”

“
Of course not.  We’re not the warriors, right?
 
We’re just defenseless Centaurides
.”  Gage jumped down from a neighboring tree and tied the enforcer’s hands.  It seemed like overkill, no way was he going anywhere unless Bianca moved that tree trunk.  Man, I loved Bianca.  I’d forgotten she could move objects like that.

I
crumpled down to the ground, watching the battle unfold, unable to do anything from this distance.  I counted seven enforcers total.  The four were still attacking Drake, and although he hadn’t yet been touched, it was only a matter of time before they wore him down.  I stood up.  He couldn’t do this without me.  I took several big strides when his voice warned in my head, “
Don’t do it, Cami!  I can handle them, but I need to know you’re safe.  Stay put.
”

I paused, arguing with myself.  What if I could distract one of them
?  Wouldn’t that be some help?  I could climb a tree and manipulate objects, something.  I concentrated on the four Centaurs circling Drake.  I’d never tried to manipulate objects from a distance, so I focused on one with long dark hair that looked to be the largest of the four.  He crouched down readying to pounce on Drake, when he did I made sand fly in his eyes.  He took two steps back as his hands flew to his eyes to brush the sand away – Drake landed a hoof to the Centaur’s chest.

When we were attacked at Cameron’s house, h
e’d taken on thirty Centaurs without so much as a scratch to show for it afterwards.  He’d be fine.  He had to be fine.  I cleared my mind and started counting, slowly down from twenty to calm myself.  I was at seventeen when I made my decision, I couldn’t stay here hiding.  It wasn’t in my nature.  It wasn’t what Chiron would want me to do.

If Drake put his life on the line, I would stand beside him.  Either we’d win or we’d lose
, but we wouldn’t be apart.  I took three large strides, watching the ground beneath my feet.  I ran directly into the awaiting arms of an enforcer.  I’d caught him off-guard and pushed him with every ounce of strength I had.  It was enough to knock him off his feet, but his hand reached up and caught my ankle, bringing me to the ground, too.

I didn’t have a weapon of my own. 
Somehow he had tracked me here.  I refused for him to see me try to crawl away.  We were both on our feet at the same time.  I stood tall, extending to the full measure of my height, my hatred for what he stood for glaring through my eyes.

The enforcer
froze.  He stood just feet away from me, trying to anticipate in which direction I would flee.  I tried to read his thoughts, but they were blocked.  His expression was a stone, giving nothing away of his intentions.  I glared at him – daring him to try to strike me down.  He reached for me so quickly and grabbed my throat with such speed that I was in his choke hold, my feet dangling inches above the ground, before I realized he had even flinched.

Not like this.  This was not how I would die.  I willed the muscles in my throat to go rigid under his touch, to refuse to yield to the pressure put on them.  I closed my eyes and concentrated on
a tall tree that was just on the other side of the path.  The lack of oxygen started to give me tunnel vision, but I concentrated on the tree.

I couldn’t identify the type of tree, but it had large thick vines hanging from it.  When I opened my eyes, one of the vines was suspended in mid-air as if it were a snake
, ready for me to tell it to strike.  I envisioned the vine wrapped securely around the Centaur’s throat, squeezing his larynx, denying him the air that his hands held hostage from me.

In an instant, the vine coiled around the Centaur
’s throat and yanked him hard away from me.  The Centaur’s eyes flew open, as his hands clawed at the vine – desperately trying to remove it from his neck.  I fell to the ground, sucking in as much air as my lungs could take.

The Centaur coughed and gasped as the vine squeeze
d the fight out of him.  When his body went limp, I willed the vine to release his throat and wrap around his body.  I leaned down to the Centaur’s limp body on the ground:  he had a pulse.  I didn’t want him dead – I didn’t want any Centaur dead.  I just wanted my family to be safe.

Drake’s voice called to me.
  “
It’s over.  Where are you?
”

Relief spilled over me,
“
Here.  I’m near the main house.
”

His voice
was heavy, “
I’m sorry, Cami.
”

“
Sorry?
”  Had he not gotten there quickly enough?  Was it Beau?  Or Bart?  Had Will been hurt?  Before I frantically asked the question of who hadn’t made it, Drake’s face appeared through the trees, along with the rest of him.  All nine-hundred pounds of him stood before me in the moonlight – he towered above me, my Centaur Warrior.

I threw myself at him, grateful that he was okay
, then I steadied my voice, “Is everyone okay?”

Drake exaggeratedly looked at his body, but
nodded.  “There were only eight.  They must have been sent to do reconnaissance and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try to take out a few from the Lost Herd whose guard was down.”  Drake saw the unconscious Centaur who lay at my feet, “My mistake, nine.”  He took both my arms and held them out away from my sides, looking up and down my body, searching for any sign that I’d been hurt.

I wasn’t sure if my neck was bruised
, and if it was, it might not be visible in the moonlight.  Any injury inflicted would heal quickly, Drake might not even see it.  “I’m fine.  Where are the others? And why did you say you were sorry?”

“Gage’s
standing guard over the enforcers.  Everyone is fine, not even a scratch.  We’re going to have to get out of here.  We don’t know how long until the others arrive.”

I shook my head.  No matter where we went, the Council
’s enforcers would find us . . . unless.  Another idea occurred to me.  “Can we get a hold of Katherine?  See if we can get her down here.”

As if the thought had never occurred to him he asked,
“Why?”

The answer seemed obvious. 
“She’s the only Lapith I’ve ever met.  If she were with us, no one would be able to find us – none of us.  Our families are here.  She could keep everyone safe.”

“
Lapiths are the sworn enemy of the Centaur.  No matter how persuasive you are, she won’t put herself at risk to come here and protect us.”

“You heard her in the car yesterday.  She cares for Brent.  If she knew Brent’s family was in danger
, I bet she’d be on the next plane.”

Drake leaned down and extended his hand to me,
“If anyone could track her down, I’d put my money on Bianca.  Let’s go get her.”

Images of my family started flashing in my mind. 
I’d been so preoccupied with the Centaur who’d come for me that I hadn’t tried to find out what happened.  Deep down I knew they were okay, but I asked Drake for confirmation anyway, “You’re sure everyone’s okay?”

“Yes.  Everyone
’s fine.  Well . . . Dad’s a little shaken up, but he’ll be fine in a minute.  He didn’t know that I had the ability to . . . trot.”  Drake gave me a lopsided grin, and I put my fist over my mouth to hide the giggle.

Drake had transformed so quickly
, I wondered how he’d done it.  “But how did you. . . ?”

He smiled sheepishly as his thumb caressed my hand. 
“It wasn’t anything I consciously did.  As soon as I saw the enforcers on the beach, my body took control and transformed on its own.”

Bianca’s voice called to us from the beach.  “Drake?  Cami?  Where are you two?”

When the two of us stepped out onto the sand, faces full of fear, exhilaration, and shock at what had just happened looked back at us.  Will was the first to recover.  He took a step toward Drake, held out his hand and said, “You are the only Centaur worthy of my daughter.  Thank you for protecting my family.”

Drake shook his head.  “There will be more.  We
may not be able to stay here.”

I squeezed
Drake’s hand.  He nodded toward Bianca, “Unless our party planner can get four more guests to join us.”

She didn’t hesitate
as she read my thoughts and her smile grew.  “I think I can convince them.”  She turned toward Will, “We’re going to need to charter a plane, and we’re going to need a couple passports.”

William looked confused while Gretchen’s smile stretched from ear to ear.
  She saw what Bianca and I were thinking, then relief filled her, “You know how to contact Brent?”

Bianca nodded vigorously, “We’ll have to pull him away from the
roulette wheel, but it shouldn’t be too hard to convince them.”

Gretchen looked at me and silently asked, “Brent came to see you?”

I nodded, “Yeah, we all got out of South Dakota yesterday.  He went to Las Vegas with the others.”

“Will told all the boys to go into hiding. 
We left right after Beau.  We can message him through a Facebook account we sent up, but we didn’t know where he’d gone.”

Drake st
ood off in the distance – away from the others.  He had been right beside me when we walked up, but all the stares must have bothered him.  As I moved toward him, he was forcing a smile on his face.  Did he not want Katherine here?  Did he want to go on the run instead?