Fated Release (Fated Keepers Series Book 2) (7 page)

Chapter 9

Tris

These headaches are going to be the death of me. No, like seriously. I think I'm dying. I can't stand up. I can’t take two damn steps without wanting to puke or pass out. The sunlight hurts my head… the dark hurts my head. I don't understand. I have never had problems with headaches. I never get sick. I hate feeling helpless and needing someone to take care of me.

We have not moved in three days. Three freaking days! I am tired, but I can't sleep. I just want to cry, but even that hurts. I want my best friend. I need Arsema, but I can't even have that because she is in a freaking coma. A Coma! All because she wouldn't give up on finding me and as a last ditch effort to find me, she mentally teleported to me. I am alive now because of her. I will push through this. I can do this for her.

Orin is out hunting for our dinner...please don't let it be bunny again… so I decide to suck it up and do something around here. Maybe moving around will help me feel better. It’s been three days since I have bathed. I have been unable to do anything alone. I am sure Orin would have happily assisted me with that task, but No. Just no. I don't care if we are supposedly bonded and all that crap. He’s not seeing me naked for the first time like this. Or like ever.

I grab some soap from my pack and a towel and make my way to the creek bed. The water is freezing cold, but I need to be clean. It can't wait any longer. I feel like I have half of the forest living in my hair and my skin is itching like crazy. Gross. I step out of my pants and toss my shirt on the nearest branch and then slide down the bank to the water edge. I'm not stepping in the stream of rushing water. Instead, I grab the cup I brought along and fill it with water and then pour it over my scalp.

The cold water steals the breath from my lungs and I take a moment before filling another cup. By the time I have my head completely soaked, I am shivering cold. Quickly I lather the soap and scrub it into my scalp as best as I can. God, I’d kill for some freaking shampoo right now!

I scrub as long as I can and then quickly rinse it out. Using a torn shirt, I clean my important body parts as fast as possible and then hurry back up the bank to my towel and clothes. I feel much cleaner, but now I'm freezing.

I sit as close to the fire as I can get without catching ablaze and allow it to warm me. I try to brush my fingers through my hair and manage to tangle it more. The heat from the fire is drying it for me and I really want to pull it up out of the way. I had a small compact brush when I first started this journey but I guess I have lost it along the way. I feel myself getting irritated with the stupid tangles and knots in my long locks of hair. My fingers keep getting hung up in every swipe through.

My hair is falling in my face and I am freaking out. My head is aching again and I feel light headed. All I want it to pull this nappy crap up and relax. My fingers get stuck again and I can't stand it. I can't breathe. I feel like the world is closing in around me. I rub my chest with my hand trying to circulate the air flow again and pull my other hand from my hair. At this point I am having major problems.

Now I really can't get a breath in my lungs. I feel myself sucking air in, but it’s not fulfilling. It’s not reaching the part of me that needs the oxygen. All because I couldn't brush my hair! I grab hold of a chunk of tangles and snatch my fingers through it. The pain causing me a moment of relief. I look around desperately for something sharp. Anything. I spot the dagger Orin left behind for me lying on the ground beside the fallen tree trunk. I snatch it up and hold up to my neck, angling it downward and I slice.

Orin appears at this moment. A rope of quail tied together and thrown across his shoulder. My eyes meet his as I make that first slice. He drops everything and rushes to me.

“Tris! NO!” He yells at me as my first clump of hair falls to the ground.

Tears are flowing down my face. I am hiccupping uncontrollably, trying to get air into my lungs. Orin snatches the dagger from my grasp and wraps his strong arms around me. His scent envelops me and I take in a deep breath. I can breathe. I lay my head against his shoulder and let my emotions flow from me like a river headed to the sea. I know his shirt is soaked in my tears and probably my snot too at this point, but he doesn't let me pull away until I have calmed completely.

When my breathing has returned to normal and my grip on his back has eased, he pulls back and looks at me in the eyes. I see worry and concern there, but nowhere in the depths of his soulful eyes do I see judgment or disdain. He isn't upset or disgusted with me, he is scared for me.

“M'anam, what's wrong? I thought you were trying to off yourself. You scared the hell out of me. I can't lose you.”

It takes me a moment to understand what he is talking about and then I feel like a fool. He walked up and saw me with a dagger to my throat and he thought I was trying to kill myself. I feel horrible.

“Seriously, Orin! I wouldn't ever do that. I jus...just need this all gone. I can't handle it anymore.” I tell him lifting the mess of hair and dropping it back down while crying hysterically.

“Come here, let me help you.” He says pulling me toward our makeshift bench.

I sit as quietly as possible on the tree log and watch him as he digs through his bag. My curiosity is peaked, when I see him pull out a pair of old black handled scissors. He walks over to me and kneels in front me. Taking my hand in his he demands my full attention.

“Do you trust me, m'anam? I promise I won't do you any harm, either physically or emotionally. To do so, would be to cut my own heart to shreds.”

I think to myself for a minute before answering and I realize that, I do. I do, trust this man in front of me. I may not be ready to accept this bond stuff, but this man has already captured my heart and trust.

“Yes, Orin… I trust you.”

The smile that lights his face could easily outshine the stars in the sky.  He stands and lightly kisses me on the forehead before walking around behind me. I feel him lifting my hair and hear the scissors cutting through each strand. With each swipe of blade of across my hair, I feel lightness in my soul.  The pink tinted strands fall all around me and I feel myself smile for the first time in what feels like forever.  When he finishes his work, I stand and shake my head back and forth feeling the tips of my hair as they graze my chin and the back of my neck.

I’m laughing out loud now. I feel refreshed. I feel normal again. For the first time in weeks my head is pounding to the beat of my heart. I know it isn't going to last. I can feel the pain still, just outside the edge of my reach. But, I will take this small reprieve and I will enjoy it. I grab Orin by the arm and I spin into him, landing with my back against his chest. I feel his chuckle before I hear it. And then we are spinning and twirling through the forest in each other’s arms, dancing and laughing to a beat that only we can hear. In this moment I am happy. There is no life or death situation demanding my attention. There is only Orin.

Chapter 10

Lyon/Rochelle

Lyon
...

The next town can't be that far away. If my estimations are right, I am about one mile from? From? Where? I am not exactly sure where I am. I can't wait to get a hotel room and throw these disgusting clothes away. How long have I been in the same underwear? Really! This is no way to live. There are so many blank spots in my memory that I can't even recall the last place I have been. What the hell am I doing here? In, Texas? I need to charge my phone and call Hass. I’m sure he will be able to fill in the blanks for me.

I step out of the shelter of the woods onto to a paved road and follow the flow of traffic into town. I keep getting sideways glances from strangers because of my state of dress. No worries though. I will be right as rain in a matter of no time. I dash across the street and walk through the front door of the first hotel I see. It’s not the nicest place I've ever been in, but as long as it has hot running water and room service, I will be fine.

I pass my identification and my credit card across the counter to the attendant and after a few moments of staring at my pitiful appearance he passes me a key card and points me in the right direction. I’m just about to step in the elevator when I catch sight of her.

“Chelle! Chelle! Over here!” I yell towards her. I can see she is startled. Obviously. But she joins me while I wait for the elevator to return again.

Rochelle……

I can't believe he saw me. I tried to stay as hidden as possible and it worked for over a week and then he decided to go get a room at the hotel. I saw him when he walked in and thought I was hidden well enough, concealed behind the fake plants the hotel seems to love. But just as he was entering the elevator I hear him yell out. I swear my heart stopped in my chest right then and there in the lobby. If it was possible for Craecia to die from a heart attack, I am sure I would have right then. I look around and as he continues to yell, trying to find the easiest way to escape, when I realize he isn't calling me my name, he is calling me my nickname, Chelle. My curiosity is peaked and I suddenly find myself taking the few steps that separate us.

I am surprised when he wraps his arms around me, embracing me in a warm hug. I have missed my dear friend. I hate that we have found ourselves on opposites sides of a war, but maybe this is my chance to get him to see the truth. It is obvious he has no memory of our falling out. I wonder how many other things he has forgotten.

I decide right then on our way up to his hotel room that I will stay with him, and if I find a way to bring him over to my side, I will. My mind is running a million miles a minute at the lies and false truths I will need to tell him. I can do this. Ose will be so proud of me.

Lyon…..

“You don’t know how happy I am to see you here! How the hell did we end up in freaking Texas? What are we doing here? Where are Hass and Orin?” I ask her questions back to back not giving her a chance to reply.

“You really don't remember anything?” She asks. I shake my head no.

“Let’s get upstairs and I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

We step into the room together and I notice Chelle is preoccupied. She seems a little off, tense or edgy maybe. She doesn't give me a chance to question her before she heads to the bathroom. When she returns, I see steam flowing from the shower.

“Go ahead and wash up. You smell like donkey dung. We will talk when you are done, ok.”

I don't argue for a moment. The hot shower is calling to me like a seductive lover. Begging me to join it. The thought of a lover brings a niggling thought to my mind. And for a moment, I feel like there is something or someone I am supposed to remember. The thought or distant memory disappears as soon as it arrives.

I sling my nasty clothes in the trash can and step under the spray of hot water. It feels heavenly. I stay here until the water starts to run cold and then finally emerge from the bathroom. I'm greeted with the most beautiful sight in the world when I exit. Chelle has called room service and it looks like she has ordered at least one of everything they carry. My stomach stirs and I sit on the edge of the bed and stuff my mouth full.

Rochelle eyes me disapprovingly before she starts talking.

“I don't know how to tell you this. Considering you don’t remembering anything I guess I should start at the beginning.”

I wave my hand in the air telling her to go on, continuing to eat the delicious spread that was placed before me. Every bite was mouthwatering and I didn't really want to stop just to tell her to go on.

“Well we found a group of Craecia, about 6 months ago, that had gone rogue without actually turning Orfeo yet. They were spies infiltrating the coven for Ose. Do you remember any of this?”

Something she said rings a bell in the recess of my mind. I feel it fighting to come forward. Until her next statement, which completely and utterly floors me.

“Orin and Haas were at the center of the spy network, Lyon. We believe that Orin turned first and then brought Haas over with him. I’m so sorry.”

I can't believe what she is telling me. There is no way Orin or Haas would go rogue. We are a family. Brothers ‘til the end of time, and yet I know Rochelle wouldn't lie to me about something like this. I can see the pain in her eyes. Telling me this is crushing her.

“How? Why?” I ask her. Not able to say any more than those two words.

“I don't know Lyon. I wish I did. We are here in Texas tracking them. You had believed they could be saved still. Until, of course they turned Orfeo. I think seeing them like that pushed you over the edge. Maybe this is why you lost your memory? I haven't seen you for weeks until tonight when you appeared at the hotel.”

I can't hear any more of this. My two brothers. My best friends, gone? Now it’s my job, my duty to hunt them down and rid the world of their evil. Exhaustion creeps up on me suddenly.

“I’m going to lie down for a little while. I need to process this.” I tell Rochelle as I crawl into bed. I’m out, fast asleep the minute I pull the sheets up over my head.

“LYON!!!! Damn you, you stupid BARRIER! LET ME THROUGH!!!!!” He hears her before he sees her and his soul leaps with joy at the sound of her voice.

“Arsema? Arsema! Where are you?” He yells back in the direction of her voice as he searches the dark empty space for his soul keeper.

“Lyon? Can you hear me? Oh my god Lyon!” She says as she plows into him from the side.

“How? How did you find me? How did you get through? I have been trying to reach you forever. I need you to come home Lyon. I need you here with my body. I need our bond.”

She is sobbing with tears of relief and worry for both. I feel her inside of me once again united they way we are suppose to be and my memories of the last few months come flooding back to me.

“I’m here my love. I’m here and I'm coming home. I promise.”
 

I don't bother to tell her where I am or who I am with. I know those things will only upset and worry her more. So, instead I spend my time holding her and loving her. I let myself open to her and I mask her in the overflowing love I feel for her. I have missed this feeling of contentment more than I ever thought I would. This is where I belong. Right there with her.

“I'll be home soon my love. I promise. Just hang on for a little while longer. I love you Arsema. Never forget that. No matter what. Promise me.” I demand to her.  She needs to know these things. I intend on keeping every promise I have ever made to her. I just need her to promise to hold on a little longer.

“I promise Lyon. Please hurry. I’m so scared.”