Emily (23 page)

‘
Are you well?
’ Applejacks asked formally.

‘
My friend, we are both well
,’ Vladimir replied. The connection to the horse was different without Emily but it was still very clear.

‘
We can’t contact Emily,’ Eric added, ‘have you been able to?’

‘
I do not hear her thoughts,’ Applejacks replied, ‘but I feel her essence, she is still alive.’

It was like a huge weight was lifted off both of them. The fear that Emily was dead had
echoed in the back of their minds.

‘
Where are you, friend?’ Vladimir asked.

‘
I do not know,’ Applejacks thought to the men. ‘I am with Rumour, she is hurt but Ross takes good care of her.’

‘
Is Vince with you?’

‘
Yes and three other men, we went to the place and found some guns but we keep moving. The tiger woman is with us as well.’

Vondra
, Vlad thought,
my sister
. He wasn’t sure what to think of that.

Eric thought,
‘Applejacks, we’ll find a way to join up with you.’

Vladimir added,
‘Until then, we should not use this connection unless we need to. I am not sure if Varrick can pinpoint us from it.’ Pausing he added, ‘My friend, be safe.’

‘
As you both
,’ Applejacks replied breaking the connection.

‘
I’m glad he’s alright.’ Eric sat up again, stretching – he missed Applejacks.

‘
I am too,’ Vladimir replied. He felt more hopeful knowing that the horse and his men were alright.

‘
Vlad, are you sure you’re okay?’ A ripple of pain had gone through his body and Eric had seen it flash across his face.

‘
I think the torture has caused my nerve endings to spasm. I will be alright, all I need is time.’ The pain was nothing to Vladimir; he could sense his body healing, it was the only part of the gene treatment that he liked.

Eric pulled his cot over to where Vladimir was lying and lay down, wrapping his arm around Vladimir
’s neck. They lay together in silence until they heard a light knock on the tent post.

‘
Are you awake?’ Janak called.

‘
Yes,’ Vladimir responded, sitting up.

‘
The Council has convened, when you’re ready.’

‘
We’ll come now,’ Eric responded, helping Vladimir stand. As they left the tent, Janak handed a crutch to Vladimir.

‘
Good, this is just what I need,’ Vladimir nodded to Janak. He was impressed – this man was resourceful.

A small fire was burning in the middle of the camp and a few people had gathered around it. The afternoon had grown late and the forest made the camp seem darker than it was.

The Council consisted of three women and three men. Vladimir was surprised to see that Helena was one of them. The others were much older than she was.

‘
My name is Jonas,’ one of the men said. He was tall with long, red hair and a beard that was red as well. ‘I am the leader for today.’

‘
For today?’ Eric asked.

‘
Yes, we take turns. If we need to make a decision it is by vote and as there are six, the leader determines the decision if the vote is split.’

‘
I see,’ Vladimir replied. He was used to making decisions by himself. Still, he would listen to these people.

The group paused. No one was sure where to start so Vladimir asked,
‘We need to find our companions, can you help us with that?’

Helena responded,
‘Yes, we have a fair idea where they are and we’ll send someone to guide them here.’

‘
Thank you,’ Vladimir breathed with relief. Looking at Eric, he could see his mate was relieved as well.

Helena beckoned to Janak who was standing a little way from the group. Wordlessly he nodded at Helena
’s silent request, stripped off his clothes and changed into a large tan wolf. Before he entered the dense trees he looked back to Helena and she blew him a kiss goodbye. Walking over to his clothes, Helena picked them up and returned to the fire.

‘
He always drops his clothes,’ she said to the group and they all smiled. It was an old joke between them all.

With the tension eased Helena began to speak.

‘There is a story we tell our children before they go to sleep. It’s a tale of a better life for us, where we can be free in the world as normal people.’ She paused and drew her cloak around her; it was cold. ‘In this tale, two men and a woman come from far across the sea to save us. This story has been passed down for as long as I can remember.’

Jonas looked at Eric.
‘I knew your mother, Dusana.’ He smiled deeply remembering the girl. ‘In the camp she was the only one who could make us laugh; she was the only one who gave us hope. This is her story. Turning to Vladimir he added, ‘At first, Valeskia used to get so mad with her when she told the story but now she is the one that whispers it to our people who are still trapped with Varrick.’

‘
My mother is a practical woman,’ Vladimir replied. It was still so raw to know that she was alive and right at this moment he wished for her counsel. ‘How many people are still in the compound?’

Jonas replied,
‘Around a hundred. Varrick has twelve of our strongest men as his honour guards; they have been trained to be killers since they were small boys. Apart from them there are few adults still left alive, and then there are two batches of children.’

‘
Batches?’ Vladimir asked, thinking to himself what an odd thing to say about children.

Helena spoke softly, her voice low.
‘Varrick used to breed us by picking a mate through his selected breeding program, but twenty years ago he got the technology to genetically engineer children, he keeps certain women to carry the babies to term. He breeds the children in batches every five years. There is a group of children that are nine and children that are four. I know Varrick has begun planning the third batch, his scientists are busy with all sorts of tests. When the children turn twelve they will all undergo the gene therapy.’ Tears were forming in her eyes, Jonas reached out and put his hand on her shoulder.

‘
I do not know if it will be us that will free your people from my father,’ Vladimir said quietly, he could only be truthful to these people. ‘I thought we were but the plan I had put together failed. Most of my men are dead and the rest are lost. Emily is captured, perhaps dying because of what I believed. The truth is, right now we only have one goal,’ he gestured to include Eric, ‘and that is to free Emily and my mother. After that, I am not sure that we can help you.’

The group was silent for a moment and then Jonas spoke.
‘We’ll help you free your women – if we can. Maybe it’s too much to ask for you to help us but we are failing as a people. Our children are dying and we are starving. If things don’t change soon, we’ll die out and there will be no hope for the remaining group under Varrick’s rule.’

Eric looked at Vladimir for a moment then said to the group,
‘We’ll not leave you; this is our fight as well.’

‘
We will do what we can, that is all I can promise,’ Vladimir added.

‘
Maybe that will be enough,’ Helena responded, allowing herself to hope.

Ross had stopped the group when he realised that Applejacks was focused on something away from them. Gesturing to Vince he said, ‘I think Applejacks is communicating with someone.’

‘
Are you sure?’ Vince asked. Right now his only plan was to keep the group moving – so far they had not come across anyone else.

‘
Yes,’ Ross replied. He had grown close to the horse and his instincts told him to stop. While they waited for Applejacks’ focus to come back to the group, Ross gently put Rumour down and checked her ribs. Rumour gratefully licked Ross’ hand. It had been four days since she’d broken her ribs and she was feeling better. Ross unwrapped her from the sling and Rumour took a few steps; it hurt but she could walk. Running his hands along her body, he could feel that the two broken ribs were in place. He gave her ears a rub and told her to go easy. Applejacks nuzzled Ross’ back to get his attention.

Ross thought for a moment and asked,
‘Did you talk to Emily?’

Applejacks shook his head
‘No.’

‘
Vladimir.’

Applejacks nodded
‘Yes.’

‘
Eric.’

Another nod,
‘Yes.’

‘
Are they alright?’

‘
Yes,’ again.

Vince joined him and asked,
‘Are they still captives?’

‘
No,’ Applejacks shook his head again.

‘
Do you know where they are?’ Ross asked.

‘
No,’ he responded again.

Not sure what else to ask, Ross paused. It was so frustrating to have to ask yes or no questions. Vondra appeared out of the bush. She had stayed close to the group and had changed back into a woman. Ross handed her the shirt he had kept for her, lowering his eyes until she had put it on.

After explaining what had happened, Vondra asked Applejacks, ‘Are they with the free ones?’ Applejacks nodded.

Turning to Vince and Ross, Vondra said,
‘Don’t worry, they’ll find us. I’ve found a safe place to camp for the night. It’s a bit further up the trail we’re on and we’ll be able to see if anyone comes.’

‘
Who are the free ones?’ Vince asked. He’d come to trust her judgement over the last couple of days.

‘
They’re people who have escaped from my father over the years – they move around a lot. Varrick doesn’t want to capture them as he uses them to train his special guards in hunting,’ Vondra replied.

‘
Let’s move out,’ Vince called to the group and they began to move.

Vondra didn
’t change back into a white tiger as she walked besides Ross. Suddenly she asked him, ‘Do you have a woman?’

Ross just about jumped out of his skin at the question. Pausing to regain his composure, he
responded, ‘No, I’m not with anybody.’ Then he asked, ‘What about you, do you have someone special?’

‘
Special?’ Vondra enquired, a puzzled look on her face. ‘I do not know the word.’

‘
Oh, it means someone you hold above all others.’

Vondra thought for a long moment and said
‘Yes, I know someone special.’

‘
That’s great,’ Ross replied feeling relieved. ‘Who?’

‘
You,’ Vondra replied, smiling. Then she removed her shirt, handed it to Ross, morphed into a tiger and ran off into the forest. Ross had stopped so Vince doubled back, slapping Ross on the shoulder.

‘
You do like your animals, don’t you,’ a big smile on his face.

Ross couldn
’t respond. He was in awe of Vondra but a part of him was uneasy with her wildness. He had seen her take down a deer for them all to eat in her tiger form – then she had complained that they had cooked the meat, preferring to eat it raw.

After twenty minutes they were at the spot that Vondra had found. Vince and his men set up the camp. The site was situated at the base of a cliff that rose hundreds of metres behind them the spruce trees were dense around the area no one would be able to spy on them. There was a small cave in which they could build a small fire that no one would see, and with the view they would have lots of warning if anyone approached.

Vince thought,
the girl has talent
. While her infatuation for Ross amused him and the other men, Vondra was still an unknown. But she was Vladimir’s sister so Vince would protect her. He laughed out loud when he thought,
or maybe she’s protecting us
.

Twenty minutes later, Vondra returned to the camp carrying six rabbits. Giving them to Vince she said,
‘I have had my fill, these are for you to cook on your fire.’ Rumour came to Vondra and with a knife she skinned a rabbit, cutting it into large chunks for Rumour to eat. Then she took first guard so that the men could eat in peace; they were feeling better with the warm fire and hot food.

After they had finished eating Vince told the men,
‘I think Vladimir is looking for us and we have to stay free until he finds us. Each of us will take a three hour shift – I’ll start,’ Vince said, getting up. ‘And try to keep warm,’ he ordered his men. He knew that the last week had taken its toll. They had all lost good men – friends – and now they were fleeing for their lives. But in Vince’s heart he knew he wouldn’t live any other way, he and his men were warriors.

Ross threw some more sticks that he had gathered onto the fire and unrolled a blanket. As he lay down, Vondra walked over to him and said directly,
‘I wish for some heat from you.’

The other men chuckled as they settled down, she was a good looking woman and they all wouldn
’t have minded getting some heat from her. Ross pulled up the blanket and Vondra lay down next to him. Her body was cold so he wrapped his arms around her, very aware that she only had on a thin shirt. Vondra closed her eyes and was asleep in minutes. Ross lay besides her for a long time, realising that it felt good to hold her in his arms. When he woke the next morning he was warm and he rubbed his head into his pillow that was so soft and furry.

Furry?
He woke with a start – he was wrapped in the white tiger. Sensing his discomfort, Vondra morphed back into her human form, and then he found he was in her arms but she was naked.

‘
You were cold so I changed into my tiger form, it is warmer, did I do something wrong?’ she was confused by his reaction.

Jumping up, Ross stammered,
‘Sorry, I have to take my watch,’ and ran from the cave.

Vondra was so hurt by his reaction that she transformed and left the camp for the forest, thinking to herself,
why does he not like me?
As a young girl she had loved her father. He would visit her in the nursery to play games and tell his stories. When Vondra turned twelve, a few of her friends disappeared and Vondra had tried to find out where they had gone.

Realising that her father was a monster was devastating for her, as she saw for the first time how he tortured her people
– she knew that she had to do something about it. Confronting her father had been a mistake. Vondra had honestly thought that she could change his mind but he had taken her to the white room and subjected her to the gene therapy. Vondra had never been so scared as she was in the laboratory that day, but once she had changed into her white tiger she was stronger. But a part of her was missing. She had seen that the other abnormals had bonded with others but there was no one there for her.

That was, until she met Ross. From the first moment he had spoken to her, she knew that he was her bond mate. She felt it to the core of who she was. Vondra didn
’t understand why he didn’t like her as all the other abnormals bonded with their partner straight away.

Suddenly she picked up the scent of an animal and slowly, out of the forest, a tan wolf approached her, morphing into Janak. Making sure he was the only one, Vondra morphed into her human shape.

‘I have come from Vladimir,’ Janak said, he too was wary of Vondra.

‘
Where is he?’ Vondra asked.

‘
With the free ones, fifty kilometres north.’

‘
Follow me back to camp.’

Vondra turned but before she morphed Janak asked her,
‘You were easy to approach. What’s wrong with you?’

Turning back to Janak, Vondra reflected on the question. She was embarrassed that she had not been aware of her surroundings but instead of replying to his question she asked,
‘How did you bond with Helena?’

‘
It just happened when we went through the change. I remember just looking at her and she at me and we were bonded,’ Janak replied, smiling when he remembered. It had being the only good thing to come out of the gene therapy.

‘
I have bonded,’ Vondra offered.

‘
That’s great,’ Janak replied. Then looking at her face he added, ‘Isn’t it?’

‘
My bond mate does not want me,’ Vondra replied coldly.

‘
Are you sure?’ Janak asked softly.

‘
I’m sure,’ Vondra added and morphed into a tiger.

Janak looked after her for a moment, feeling sorry for her pain
– so few of them could live without a bond mate. It took them ten minutes to return to camp.

Vince was relieved that Janak had found them so quickly, he was not under the illusion that he would be able to stay out of Varrick
’s path for long. Varrick had gone through his men with no mercy.

‘
Let’s pack up camp. We’re moving now,’ he commanded to the group. If they moved quickly they could be reunited with Vladimir within a day.

Ross checked
Rumour, she was alright to travel under her own steam. Applejacks was glad to be moving towards his family, he liked Ross but longed to be able to connect with Vladimir and Eric again. They would know how to free Emily and bring her home. He had never gone for so long without connecting to her and it felt like a part of him was missing.

Vondra stayed as a tiger. Ross had tried to talk to her but as he approached her she had roared at him before bounding off into the forest.

Janak looked at Ross and said, ‘So, you are the one.’

Ross was confused,
‘What do you mean?’

‘
She has bonded with you so why do you not bond with her?’

‘
I don’t understand what you mean.’ Ross replied. He had never had any luck with women. He struggled to understand the idea of romance, and while he had feelings for Vondra unlike anything he had experienced before, he did not know what to do with them.

‘
Our kind have just one bond mate for life,’ Janak volunteered, ‘Vondra has never found hers.’ Pausing, he said kindly, ‘Until you, that is.’

‘
But I’m not like you. I’m...’ pausing for the right word, he said ‘...ordinary.’

Janak stopped walking and looked at Ross; he could see why Vondra had chosen him. The man was tall and strong but he carried a perception that was both keen and kind.

‘Ordinary is what my people dream of,’ and then he morphed back into his wolf and moved to the front of the group where he could keep watch and lead them.

Vondra was nowhere to be seen but Janak sensed she was close
– she wouldn’t leave Ross. Thinking of his bond mate, Janak thought,
Helena will know what to do, she always does
, and he picked up the pace.