Fated Release (Fated Keepers Series Book 2) (6 page)

Chapter 6

Lyon/Rochelle

Lyon
….

              My skin tingles with warning. Someone is following closely behind me. I can sense them, just beyond my peripheral vision. I contemplate stopping and calling out to them, but I just really don't have the energy right now to battle if they are in fact foe. If my shadow, as I have come to refer to him as, is following me like I suspect, I'm sure I’ll find out soon enough. Until they make an appearance I'm going to pretend I don't know they are there. I double back around a few times, walking in circles to see if whoever is following, breaks away, but they continue following, staying about 25 feet behind me at all times.

Rochelle
….

Lyon senses someone is following him. I can’t yet determine if he knows who I am yet. I have been trailing him for the last four days, but he has noticed my presence today only.  I can tell something is wrong with him, he doesn't look himself and he is continuously mumbling. One minute he will be distracted, just wandering about and then the next he charges forward with swift determination. I know from listening in that he is looking for a Shaman. 

I have not been able to figure out why yet. His mumblings don’t even make sense half the time. He will be talking about his surroundings, how the animals make funny noises in the dark and suddenly change it to finding the Shaman as soon as possible.

How surprised he would be to find that Ose has one, quarantine from all society. Although I don't think she would be much use to anyone in the state of mind she is in.

I notice immediately when he circles around, waiting on me to reveal to myself, or trick me into leaving his trail. I know better. We trained together for the last three hundred and twenty three years. I know all his moves. I taught him most of them myself.  Dropping back a few more feet, I let him think he has lost me. Maybe then, he will continue on his original path. Either way I will continue to follow him. Those are my orders. I will not fail my master.

Lyon
...

I feel like a soul trapped in a quicksand pit. I know I need to keep moving. I have to find the Shaman. Whoever that is… and beg for assistance. I feel like my time is running out. I am her only hope. Wait. I shake my head to clear my thoughts. Why am I looking for the Shaman again? I know the answer. It’s right on the edge of my thoughts, begging me to grasp hold of it again.

              There was an accident? Something went wrong. A girl. She’s sick? No she’s….Mine. My soul keeper. Arsema! Yes. I pick up my pace feeling the spark of motivation at the remembrance of her. I have to find the Shaman so he or she can help Arsema awaken from her coma. She needs me. I ignore the shadow following me for the time being.  Where am I now? I have wasted too much time trying to ditch my follower. The forest all looks the same to me. I remember crossing a highway not long ago. County Road? I pull out my phone to Google my location, only to find that it is completely dead. How long has it been since I charged it? How long have I been traveling? Where am I going again?

Arsema! Yes. I’m searching for the Shaman to save Arsema.

              Tucking the phone back into my pocket, I make a mental note to stop soon and charge it. And maybe shower and eat too. Surely I can't be too far from civilization. I start back walking in the same direction I have been traveling in. Hoping, that I am right. Not knowing where I am, or where I'm supposed to be going, is making this really hard. But I don't care. I'm on a mission. I need to get somewhere and fast. Knowing my shadow is somewhere behind me, I try and walk a little faster. I am weak, I can feel it, but I won't stop. 
Arsema, Arsema, Arsema
. I chant in my head. I need to keep my focus on her. I need to move as fast as I can. I know I'm growing weaker because of our separation. The Shaman will not only save Arsema, but she will save me too.

              I try desperately to fill my mind with other things too, ignoring the fact that the path I have been following hasn’t led me anywhere. I think of Orin and Tris, and chuckle at the thought of Tris being in denial. I wondered how long it would’ve taken her to figure it out herself. Probably not too long. Arsema figured it out quickly, even if she didn't understand the bond, she knew her soul craved mine. Thinking of Arsema again makes me long for her even more. I want to hold her in my arms, feel the weight of her love crush me.

I am so deep in thought, thinking of her beautiful face, and her sweet innocent scent, that I nearly walk straight into a tree. Barely missing the wide trunk, I step around it, scraping my upper arm slightly as I pass. Maybe it would be best to keep my mind on the road instead.

I keep walking, searching for what feels like forever. I have no clear indication of where I'm going. But I think… possibly I might be on the right track.

Chapter 7

Arsema

How long have I been beating at this barrier? I feel like it’s been ages! I am emotionally, and physically exhausted, which seems kind of ironic to me considering I can't even lift my arms. But lashing out repeatedly at this barrier separating me from Lyon, has worn me out. I want to lay back and relax for a few moments but I can’t. I don't know what is happening out there, but it scares me. There are moments when I can't feel Lyon at all. It’s like he has vanished completely. The first time it happened, I freaked. Seriously. I thought he was gone. Dead. What else could make the connection I feel with him disappear, so completely?

All I know is, I need to find him. I need to reach him. He needs to come home. With him, I know I can get out of this. Together we are stronger. Together we can accomplish anything. I gather up my energy and fling it out toward the barrier once again.

The first tiny crack I had made has now grown. It is stretching across the invisible barrier as wide as it is tall. In the center it appears to be a tad deeper than the spider cracks everywhere else, so I focus my power there and hit it with everything I have. Pieces of the barrier crumble toward the ground, disappearing before they ever touch. The hole is getting deeper. I know that, if I can just make a tiny spot all the way through, that I will be able to reach him. I have to keep trying. It’s all I can do while trapped in this prison.

Gathering my power to myself once again, I lash out. Over and over, I repeat this, praying that soon it will break and crumble to the ground. It has to. I’m getting tired again. But I'm not stopping. I feel this urgency, this need deep inside of me. I need to wake up… the sooner the better. I am growing weaker. I know Lyon is too. I am afraid that if we wait too much longer I will not have the strength to be able to penetrate this barrier. And I must. I need to get to Lyon. Not only for his sanity, but for mine too.

I hear people coming and going in and out of the room. But I make no attempt to let them know I am awake and trapped. I am not able to reach any of them and I can't afford to waste any energy trying. I focus all of my remaining energy on this mission ahead of me.

Haas, Elmeri and Cash have been taking turns sitting by my side. I hear them talking to me, but I don't listen. I don't want to listen. Nothing they have to say is important now. I don't want any of them by my side. I want Lyon. The only time I have tuned in to the one sided conversations, is when I hear them talking about the mission that Lyon, Tris and Orin has gone on. But as soon as I hear that they are all ok. I tune out again and start working on the barrier again. Slowly, I have been making progress on the wall. Tiny cracks are getting bigger. Bigger cracks are getting deeper. I am not giving up.

I will break this barrier!

I have to. That is the only option. If I stay trapped here, Lyon and I will both cease to exist. I feel the truth of that deep inside of my soul. Even though no one has spoken these words to me, I feel the way my body reacts to the distance between us. I crave his presence. I crave the security of our bond. Without him I am no more. I will never be able to fulfill my destiny. I will never have the chance to discover the path the fates have set for me. Not to mention the fact that the Orfeo would then be free to ruin the world and destroy all the people I have come to care very deeply for.

I know the destruction the Orfeo can reap. I sensed the evil and malicious in Tavish and the others he traveled with.  He kidnapped me twice and held my best friend captive for over four months just so he could bargain her life for mine. Granted his boastful ego ended up being his downfall, but still if it hadn't been for his manipulative ways I wouldn't be in this coma right now.

If Tavish, a lowly minion, could wreak this much havoc, I can't even imagine the amount of trouble the world would be in if Ose got his way. The entire human civilization would be doomed to spend an eternity in hell on Earth. I can't allow that to happen. I will do whatever I have to do in order to escape this trapped existence.

With fierce determination I strike out at the invisible barrier once again. Over and over I press against it with all that I have. I just need to reach Lyon. I need to convince him to come back. With him by my side I know that I will be able to come back. I know together that we can do anything. I believe that with all that I am. I have no choice. There is no other option.

Chapter 8

Reine

Today is just another rainy day in our small village just on the outskirts of New Orleans. Everyone is complaining about the continuous downpour and the lack of sun, but I feel the connection within the rain to the Earth. I feel the way Mother Nature is working to fix a problem caused by too many uncaring people in such a small area. I love her mysterious ways and the way she cares for her beloved. She sends the rain to wash the earth clean from the filth and to purify that which can't help itself. The strong, poignant smell that the constant drizzle of rain against the cool, dirt turf leaves behind invigorates every sense in my body. 

Yet today something else is in the air.  I not only feel my normal connection with the rain and the earth but I feel something else too. I feel different. I am not sure why. It’s something I have never felt before. It resonates in my soul in a way nothing else ever has before. Almost like a calling. Yes that is it. I feel it like a song on the wind. Something is calling to me, demanding my presence. My soul responds, answering the question only it can hear.

Standing in Maria’s Bakery buying a freshly baked chocolate Croissant, I feel it for the first time. A very strong pull in my soul. It feels like a magnet. I feel the urgency of it through my entire body. It is vibrating through my blood. I feel the pulses within me. Giving me messages that I need, even if I can't understand them.  I know that this must be very important. Although the pull is new, I have had the pulsating metaphorical sensations before. They are a normal part of my shaman ancestry, usually urgent and very accurate. They heed instructions and warnings that I simply cannot ignore.

Practically running back home, I come to a standstill in front of my door and wait for them to pass again. They are more urgent. I feel the pulses quickening. Thumping like a beat on a drum. Only it’s an ominous beat. A fast paced and loud pulse that shakes me down to my core.

Grabbing a pen and paper I quickly write down every detail I can feel and decipher. It’s not much.  I just know that I need to go now. There is no time to waste. Following my instincts, I quickly pack a bag, grab my Croissant and I am out the door heading into the unknown.

I remember the last time I had feelings this precise and urgent. The last day I saw my sister alive. I was only 9 years old, way too young to be hearing the voice of Mother Nature, but I did. I remember it like it was yesterday. I knew we shouldn't go out for the picnic. I even stated that to her. But she brushed me off as having silly childish fantasies. I wish that was all it was. Instead the Craecia or Orfeo whichever, they are the same to me, came and took my sister from me forever.

I hate the Craecia for what they did to us. We were banished because of them. Only to have my sister murdered in the process. I have been hiding for so long, not wanting to suffer the same fate as my sister, that I have lost contact with so many of my relatives. I simply could not endure seeing them go on with their lives when mine came to a standstill that day. I feel like they have betrayed me by going on with their lives. Yes they too have been hiding but none of them has even tried to avenge their loved one’s deaths. I have been plotting and scheming for years. My plans are perfect for when the time comes. Her blood is on their hands. One day, and I am not sure when, but my opportunity will arise, and I will avenge her death. All things Craecia will be handed their fate.