Redeeming (18 page)

“How did you get here?” Daniella said.

“I told you we had a plan, Daniella.” Jett said with a wink. They started to follow everyone else as they walked. “What we didn’t plan on was you two showing up.”

“I’m sorry…” she said. “I just couldn’t help myself.”

“That I understand but why did you drag poor Tricia along with you?”

Daniella shook her head.
“I didn’t drag her…” she began. “Tricia came on her own. She was worried about me because I’m…” Daniella stopped herself just in time.

“What?” Jett asked as
they walked. “Because you’re…?”

“Oh, you know…” she stammered. “Because I’m clueless when it comes to hiking and stuff like that.”

Jett stopped and looked at her with suspicion. “And
she’s
at home in the backwoods?”

“No, no…” Daniella said. “But she thought it would be safer if someone was with me, that’s all.”

“Uh huh,” Jett replied. He narrowed his gaze at her. “Is there something you aren’t telling me?”

“What?” S
he said. “No, why?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “I just feel like there is.”

Daniella shrugged. “Nope, that’s it.”

“Hmm,” he began. “Well, okay then. Because you know if there was, you should…”

“Yeah… yep.” She nodded. “I would.”

“And if there is, I will find out so you may as well get it over with…” he continued.

“Jett,” she lied. “If there was anything to tell you, I would. Believe me.”

He seemed unmoved by her reassurances so she quickly changed the subject.

“Come on,” she said as she tugged at his sleeve. “We should join the others. Don’t you think?”

He nodded slowly and hesitated for a moment while he looked at her. Daniella felt the need to swallow hard but she dared not do it. She held the dangerous bump in the middle of her throat where it sat, poised to betray her at any second.

“Okay,” he said as he turned away from her. “Let’s go.”

With that crisis averted for the momen
t, the two of them continued into the room where Owen, Tricia, and Tucker entered a minute or so earlier. At the same time they came in, Millicent followed in behind with a variety of snacks and drinks.

“Can’t take over the world on an empty stomach, you know.” She said as she walked in and placed the food down on a large oak table in the middle of the room.

“Holy shit…” Jett said as he caught his first glimpse of Kane’s handiwork on Owen’s face. “What happened to you?”

“Yeah,” Tucker began as leaned back on the couch and put his feet up on the table. “From the looks of things, you’ve already had a run in with Kane I see.”

Owen nodded. “Just a friendly warning.”

“Does he know anything?” Millicent asked.

Owen chuckled. “You know better than that. Besides, killing me would mean that he doesn’t get to Jett. I was never in any danger. He knows it and I know it.”

“Fucking prick…” Millicent mumbled.

Owen and Tucker raised their eyebrows and looked at Millicent. Apparently, they didn’t know her to have much of a foul mouth.

She took a sip of her tea and shrugged.
“Sorry,” she said with a sheepish grin. “This has been a long time coming.”

Owen nodded.
“True. Never heard you cuss a blue streak before. Not bad…”

Millicent shrugged and smiled.

“Alright,” Owen continued. “We’ve had a bit of a setback. Kane’s aware but I’m guessing everything else is still under control?”

“Yes,” Jett replied. “Tucker’s men swept me up at the checkpoint we discussed and brought me here.”

“Good, good…” Owen nodded. “Obviously, undetected at this point.”

“Obviously… yeah.” Jett replied.

“Where is it, boy?” Owen asked.

Jett reached into his pocket. He grabbed onto the golden chain and a within a couple of seconds produced the contents for everyone to see.

“The Amulet of Meruvis…” Tucker said as he sat forward from his reclined position. “How did you?”

“Dylan…” Owen interrupted. “He gave it to me. Knew something wasn’t right. Turned out he was correct.”

“We thought it was lost forever,” Millicent said. “So you had it all of these years?”

“Yep.” Owen nodded.

“I don’t understand,” Daniella interrupted. “It’s beautiful and everything but what’s its purpose?”

“The stone comes from the region where our clan started. It was overrun by miners on the hunt for gold.” Tucker began. “The humans chased us out. As a result, the clan fractioned and splintered into many small groups. Most of the shifters from then died quickly once we were forced out. Our bodies weren’t prepared for life outside the safety of the ancient grounds. Human disease spread and many were lost…”

“That’s so sad…” Tricia replied.

Tucker nodded.
“Yes, in fact, of the thousands of shifter that fled, scarcely a hundred remained twenty years later.” He said as he looked at Jett. “But, there was one man that guided them all… Your great grandfather, Elijah. That necklace belonged to him. When it was discovered, the stone in the center made the papers. Even then, it was extremely valuable. Today, I have no idea what something like that might be worth to humans. Hundreds of thousands, a million… who knows? But, to us, it is priceless.”

“Wow,” Daniella replied. “I had no idea.”

Owen nodded. “Well, Kane does. You can be certain of that.”

“So he wants to take it away… to sell it?” Tricia asked.

Tucker shrugged. “Where Kane is concerned, anything is possible. I know he searches for it. Second only to his desire to find young Jett here. It is the ultimate symbol of the leader of our clan and something which Kane has never possessed.”

“May I?” Millicent asked as she looked at Jett.

“Sure…” Jett replied as he handed the necklace to her.

Millicent took it in her hands and as she did, Tucker leaned over to examine it as well.

“The last time I saw this,” Millicent began. “Your father wore it, Jett.”

She smiled as she admired the stone
’s beauty. “He was such a good person. If it wasn’t for him…” her voice drifted off.

Owen and Tucker glanced at one another as she spoke. All of a sudden, Millicent stood from her chair, visibly upset. She handed the necklace over to Tucker.

“Excuse me for a minute…” she said as she turned to walk out of the room.

“Milly…” Tucker began
. He gave the necklace to Owen and said, “I’ll be back in a second.”

After they
’d both left, Jett looked at Owen. “What was that all about? Why is Millicent so upset?”

“It’s not really my place to say.”

“Why not?” Jett asked. “If it has something to do with why all of this is going on, we should know about it.”

Owen winced and rubbed his chin.

“I reckon she knows it had to come out between us all sooner or later.” He said.

“What?” Jett asked. “What happened?”

“Well,” Owen began. “Years ago, when we were all very young… Even younger than you kids… Something happened between Kane and Millicent.”

“Go on…” Jett replied.

“You see there was a time when she and Kane were more than just friends,” he said. “Young love and such… In any case, they spent a lot of time together one summer and one thing led to another. Next thing we all knew they were boyfriend and girlfriend.”

Jett and the women listened intently as Owen continued.

“So, a bunch of us were having a campfire down at Harlon’s Pond one evening and they disappeared into the woods.” He said. “No one thought much of it until we heard her…”

Jett leaned forward.
“What? What did you hear?”

“We heard Millicent scream for help…” he said as
he turned and looked over his shoulder. “It was loud at first but then the sound muffled almost right away. Dylan and I were the only ones around so we took off in the direction of the sound.”

Dylan felt like he knew exactly where the sound came from. Turned out he was right and before we knew it, we came upon them.

“Well, what did you see?” Daniella asked.

Owen bit his lip in disgust. By the look on his face, the event might as well have happened forty seconds ago, not forty years. He hesitated and shook his head as he fought to get the words out to describe the sight he witnessed.

“He tried to rape me…” Millicent said as she reappeared through the doorway.

***

Owen leaned back against the couch and ran his fingers through his hair. Tucker came up from behind Millicent and put his arm around her.

“He
what?
” Daniella said.

She walked into the room. Tucker trailed behind. She sat back down on the couch with Owen on one side and Tucker on the other.

“Oh my God…” Tricia whispered.

“I’m sorry Milly,” Owen said. “I shouldn’t have…”

“It’s okay,” she replied as she rubbed him on the knee. “It was a long time ago. I apologize for walking out the way I did. It’s not something I’ve ever fully gotten past especially since I am reminded of it every time I see him.”

Daniella didn
’t know what to say. She glanced at Jett but he didn’t notice her do it.

“If it wasn’t for your father,” Millicent said. “I wouldn’t have been able to stop him. He was much too strong for me.”

“What happened to him?” Jett asked. “Was he punished for it?”

Owen shook his head.
“Our mother was very ill, near death. Of course, Dylan told his parents, as well as Milly’s, what happened but they made the decision to do nothing until she passed. However, after she died, the clan relocated to Fesser’s Grove and it sort of got swept under the rug.”

“That’s fucking despicable…” Jett said. “What a lowlife scumbag.”

“Imagine having him as a brother.” Owen replied. “Anyway, your father and the rest of us never forgot. He vowed Kane would pay for what he did but by the time Dylan was in a position to do anything about it well…”

“He died all of a sudden.” Daniella replied.

Owen nodded and looked at Millicent. “I haven’t forgotten, Milly. And I know Tucker hasn’t either.”

“I know,” she said as she smiled at him. “You’re a good man Owen, and Tucker, the best mate any woman could hope to have. Kane has done so much wrong to so many, including Jett, that I don’t see my situation as anything special any longer. I just want him to get what he has coming to him. Once and for all.”

“He will.” Owen replied. “If it’s the last thing I do.”

The group sat in silence for several seconds until at last Tucker spoke up
…

“Owen,” he said. “This plan of yours… I have to be honest. I don’t see how it’s going to work. Not in the shape you’re in right now. Kane is too powerful. When is the last time you even battled?”

Owen shrugged. “Thirty years give or take…”

“So you think you have the stamina to take him on and last long enough for…” Tucker began. He shook his head and stood up from the couch. “Jett has never even been in a fight before. I think I let my sentimentality get the better of me here. The first battle you want to put him in is against Kane? There’s no way this will work…”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Owen interrupted as he pointed towards Jett. “He… is every bit the warrior his father was, and more.”

“What!” Tucker exclaimed. “How do you know?”

“Because I do.” He said. “Now, if you don’t want to be involved, that’s fine but the plan is what it is. Unless you have a better one, then I suggest we get to work on executing it because there isn’t much time at all. We still have to get back to the cell before anyone notices we’re gone. The longer we fight about this, the less time we have.”

“Enough!” Millicent said. “Tucker… Owen is… right or wrong… is the only one with a plan. I say we get to it. It might be the last chance we have to get rid of that monster once and for all.”

Tucker crossed his arms at his chest and looked down at them. He hesitated for a moment but ultimately sat down on the couch once more.

“Alright,” he said. “I’m in. For good this time.”

“Good,” Owen replied. “So let’s figure out where we’re at…”

Over the next thirty minutes or so, Owen and Jett recapped the plan they
’d hatched prior to leaving Pine Hill. It turns out it was always Owen’s intention to be caught. Of course, having Daniella and Tricia in the middle of it wasn’t part of it but now that they were there, they had to modify the plan. And by
modify
, it meant that the two of them had to be sneaked out of clan territory, somehow.

“What?” Daniella interrupted. “No way, I’m not going anywhere… No.”

“Daniella,” Jett said. “Don’t make this any more difficult than it already is. Look, you’ve seen how dangerous he is. This is no place for you, or Tricia. We’re lucky to have a second chance to get you to safety. Don’t put us all at risk by being selfish.”