The Steele Wolf

CHAPTER 20



He was dead. Kael was dead, I knew it. Warm hands pressed against my forehead and leaned me forward. Opening my eyes I stared into the worried green eyes of Joss. No, wait; the eyes seemed older as if they carried years of worry. It was Nero.

“Don’t sit up too fast,” Nero warned. “Take a deep breath.”

“Is he okay? Did he make it?” I held Nero’s arm in a death grip, refusing to let go until he told me that Kael was all right.

“I don’t know. Would you like me to go after them?” He stood up as if to get another skite.

“Yes! No! I don’t know? I don’t want to be left alone up here and not be able to know what’s going on.”

Nero’s eyes hardened when he looked over the ledge. “I shouldn’t have let him try it. We don’t usually allow newcomers to try a skite without more practice. When you and Kael went inside, I tried to dissuade my son. Joss assured me that Kael could handle it.”

“WHAT!” Now I was angry. Joss knew that this was dangerous and his father was against it and he challenged Kael, knowing he wouldn’t say no. I was so angry I could spit. But I was also nervous.

Nero ran out of the room and I leaned over the ledge and yelled Kael’s name, but the mists swallowed up my cry. Nero came back in with his wooden flute and played a familiar sound of notes. The hair on the back of my neck rose in anticipation as a loud screech filled the air and another dorabill flew and landed on the veranda. This one was smaller than the last.

“Come, get on.” Nero nimbly leapt onto the back of the giant bird and held his hand out to me. I tentatively gave him my hand and with one quick pull I was sitting in front of him grasping the horrible bird around the neck. Nero whistled and I felt the bird lift off and dive down into the mists. I was too scared to scream as the jump took my breath away.

My eyes were squeezed shut and I clenched my teeth and held on for dear life as the bird screeched again. I opened my eyes at the last minute to see the ground rushing towards us at intense speeds; just when I thought we would crash, the dorabill spread his wings and our dive came to an abrupt halt as the bird leveled out. A few heartbeats later we landed and I refused to let go of the terrifying bird, I was so scared.

Nero slid off and reached for me and pried my fingers from around the dorabill’s neck. My fingers were stiff from adrenaline and I had problems getting them to cooperate. When I finally tried to slide off the bird, my legs refused to work and I crashed to the ground in a heap.

Loud laughter reached my ears, and I looked up into the smiling laughing faces of none other than Kael and Joss. I was too shocked to see him alive and in one piece to even berate them for laughing.

“You made it? But I saw you fall!” I finally got my legs to move and I stood up and put my hands on my hips.

“I did fall and was falling fast, but once I entered the mists the updrafts from the waterfalls caught me and made it easier to glide down.”

“You scared me. I thought you died,” I yelled at him.

Kael just looked at me in the oddest way and I swear I saw his normal dark aura lighten. “I know. I heard you scream my name.” His intense eyes met mine and there was a moment of hidden question behind them. He looked at me longer than was necessary and I felt my cheeks go red. A rush of uncertain feelings assailed me.

“No, I didn’t,” I defended poorly. “I just would rather have you not die today.”

“Nice to know you care,” he said.

“UGGHH, no I don’t!” I replied sarcastically. “Remember, you told me to.” I was frustrated that he could tie me up in knots.

His demeanor quickly changed and then the smiling face disappeared behind his stony SwordBrother face. I instantly regretted the words; even said in angry fun, they were strong and powerful words. Kael started to walk away but paused when Nero broke the silence.

Nero smirked. “She fainted.”

Kael stopped and turned to look at me his eyebrow rose questioningly.

“I did not. I…I.” I looked at Kael’s blank face and saw a quick twitch of his upper lip as he held back a smirk. He’d better not smile, I thought. “Oh bother.” I turned and headed towards what I thought was the direction of the stables. It wasn’t. Turning back towards the men again I came face to face with Joss.

“And you! Don’t get me started on what you did. You had no right to get him on that paper contraption. You are going to get an earful later.” I jabbed my finger into his chest and he grabbed it playfully.

“I knew he could handle it and he did,” he teased. He leaned into me and pressed his mouth to my ear. “I saw him fall and I dropped quickly; once I cleared out of the mists I was able to control the wind to catch him. It took a lot out of me. But I wouldn’t have let anything happen to him,” Joss whispered.

I forgot that Joss’s talent was air and he could control the winds enough to save Kael. My heart instantly forgave him, because he was hiding that fact. He was giving Kael back some dignity.

I pressed my hand against his chest and gave Joss a warm stare. “You’ve been flying since you were eight, remember. And why in the world didn’t you fly the big ol’ rooster down like your father?”

Joss shrugged his shoulders playfully. “That particular dorabill, Cecili, only plays nice with my father. She can be a biter.” I could only roll my eyes at him.

We had to walk around the round lake created by the waterfalls and cross a wooden bridge before we hit the outskirts of Skydown. I could see that it was a smaller village, less flamboyant than SkyFell. There were various birds, perot, dorabills, and smaller, less intimidating monkey-like creatures. I could see a large field where hundreds of horses grazed peacefully.

I can always cause a raucous and make it less peaceful. A whisper touched my mind.

FARAWAY! You’re all right? I thought something might have happened to you. Where are you? I squinted my eyes against the sun and tried to find my white horse in the field amongst hundreds of others. It wasn’t hard to spot him when he rose on his hindquarters in a majestic display of vanity. So it looked like we knew the limit of our bond was less than a mile.

I’m fine. When I lost contact with you all I could do was hope that the SwordBrother and Joss would protect you.

Yeah, it’s the veil of mists; it dampens the Denai gifts and apparently our mindspeech.

Good to know.

It seems I had stopped in my tracks when I was speaking to Faraway and the rest of my group stopped and waited. When I was done communicating with Faraway, I turned around to head up the hill.

“What? All of that panic and worry and you aren’t even going to walk over there?” Kael stated incredulously.

“No need. He said he was fine and that we should get back to start trying to track the ones who took your sister. So I’m doing what he said.” The rest followed after me and when we got to the hill I opted to walk the path up the cliff and take the skycage over riding the big red bird bareback again; Joss and Kael accompanied me. My second trip in the skycage fared better than the first, but not by much.

After dinner Nero asked us how we thought we were going to find Tenya when no one else had any luck.

I wasn’t sure myself. I only came because Joss insisted I might be able to help find her, but I wasn’t a skilled hunter or tracker. Secretly, I was relieved when Kael spoke up.

“How long has it been since she disappeared?” He leaned back in his chair casually and studied all of the dinner guests. Once again Kael had positioned himself with his back to the wall facing all of the exits. He scrutinized each person in turn and I felt his eyes linger on me before moving on to the rest. Tonight’s dinner included our small traveling party, Nero, Mona, Talbot, Xiven, Darren and a few other friends.

Talbot was Mona’s and Xiven’s father, a short, balding mild mannered man. Xiven was an older, masculine version of Mona. Neither looked like their father so they must have gotten their exotic looks from their mother.

“It’s been over six weeks now.” Nero sighed and rubbed his eyes dejectedly. “I went to her room one morning and her bed hadn’t been slept in and nothing was taken.”

“Why does that make you think she had been kidnapped?” Kael countered, his feelings hidden behind a steely face as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Are you implying that he’s lying? You low level son of a pig. I wouldn’t have brought you here if I’d known you were going to insult us.” Joss’ fist pounded the table hard.

Kael didn’t blink an eye. “You think I don’t understand the female kind? I do. It’s the quiet and innocent ones that you have to watch out for. They are the ones most likely to run at the first chance of adventure or when something better comes along.”

“You don’t know her,” Joss snarled.

“I probably know her kind better than you think. Let me guess; she didn’t leave the house much, did she? A perfect example of an obedient daughter. Never asked for anything, always seemed content.”

Joss and Nero’s mouth dropped slightly, as they sat speechless.

Kael leaned forward and finished his tale, directing the rest of his tirade to Nero. “But over the last few weeks she started to change. She became more restless, absentminded, needing to run out at the last minute to buy something she’d forgotten. You probably found her daydreaming more than normal.”

Nero closed his mouth and nodded sadly.

Kael’s eye lit with contempt. “They are the obvious signs you can’t ignore. She was secretly seeing someone. Knowing you wouldn’t approve, she more than likely ran away with him. There is nothing for us to do, no need for you to go out looking for a young lovesick woman.”

“How do you know? How can you possibly know for sure?” Nero asked, his face a mask of brokenness.

“Because I had once chosen a young girl, Gwen, to be my lifemate. We went before the leaders and received their blessing to begin our courtship and the closer we came to our Union day, the more hesitant she became.” The shadow that I could sometimes see around Kael was back and becoming darker with his bitterness.

“These were the signs she showed before running off with another.” Kael finished; a look of hatred swept his face as he glanced at me. I wasn’t sure whether the look was directed at me or about the girl in his story. I usually received many hateful looks from Kael.

Hemi, who had up until that point had been a quiet observer, eating and drinking without missing a beat, had started choking at Kael’s announcement. Hemi sputtered and coughed until he received a hard pat on his back from Darren, to clear his airways.

Nero cleared his throat and waved his hand in the air, conceding to Kael. “That may very well be the case in point. She was exhibiting all of those signs.” Nero sighed loudly. “It hurts me dearly to say this, but I agree with you, all the signs point to her running away.”

The silence that filled the dining room was so intense that it was almost unbearable. I was afraid to bite down on a celery stick for fear of drawing unwanted attention. But I definitely wanted to pull Kael aside and give him a piece of my mind. What was he thinking? How could he possibly believe she ran away? How could his viewpoint change within a few hours?

After dinner was finished I was trying to catch Kael’s eye when I was approached by Xiven and Mona.

“Are you close friends with the Jesai family?” I asked the exotic looking siblings. Both were dressed in the colorful and flowing outfits that many of the people of Skyfell wore.

“We’re like family,” Xiven answered and then bit on his bottom lip as if he was debating on how much to tell me. “Our father is an old friend of Nero’s.

“Our father, Talbot, is a merchant and spends more time away from home than home. When our mother passed way, Nero invited us to live here, so we wouldn’t be alone when our father was traveling.” Mona spoke up sadly. I felt my heart go out for her because I knew the feeling of losing a mother. I tried to uplift her spirits.

“That explains that delicious drink you gave us. Was that one of the spices that your father found? It was wonderful.” I complimented Mona and her face turned pink.

“Yes, it’s called chai. I learned it from my mother; she loved to cook and would experiment with whatever Father would bring home.” Mona replied.

“So are you a Denai?” Xiven asked. His brown hair flowed over his eyes in a rakish way.

“Um, sort of. I go to the same school as Joss, or at least I did.” I replied casually.

“How are you only sort of a Denai?” Mona replied her petite lips pursed in thought. “You either are or you’re not.” Her eyes were filled with doubt.

“I bet she is, and a strong one. Otherwise Joss wouldn’t have brought her home,” Xiven spoke up, looking at me thoughtfully before finishing. “You know how particular Gloria is about marrying into strong Denai families.” I didn’t even get to respond before Mona turned toward me, her eyes wide.

“Is that why you’ve come? You’re going to marry Joss?” Mona gasped.

“No! We’ve only known each other a few months. I’m not ready to be married.” I rebutted trying to keep the peace and not ruffle any of Mona’s feathers. She seemed to be one that was easily excitable.

“Doesn’t matter. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.” She brought her hand up to her neck and played with a small gold charm she wore. “Just be forewarned. The Jesai family is very strict about purebloods and you had better figure out what a “sort of” Denai is, because Gloria, his mother, is the one you have to win approval from.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. My mind whirled with questions. I didn’t understand. Why was Joss not able to choose who he wanted to marry? But then, I felt I already knew the answer.

“The whole household revolves around Gloria, and with her being so ill, I can’t see it in the near future for Joss to do anything to upset his mother. Especially since Tenya ran away.”

Any hopes I may have about a future with Joss teetered on a small, precarious and ill mother, who I’d yet to meet. I was not lying when I said I wasn’t ready to take get married, but with no foreseeable future with Joss should I break all ties with him now to save ourselves more heartbreak? I tried to keep the pleasant conversation going with the only other people in the room my own age, but I felt as if I had a rock in the bottom of my stomach. I moved to sit by myself on a lone chair and ponder the implications. Talbot came over and sat by me.

“Ah, I see you have met my children. They are very opinionated, just like their father.” Talbot chuckled softly.

“They are very nice and your daughter makes the most delicious chai I have ever tasted.”

“That’s because she is just like her mother.” Talbot’s smile grew wider and his eyes had a faraway look to them. “Every day she becomes more and more like her, but she never came into her gifts, unlike her mother. Sometimes she can be hard to live with because she was the only one in our family to not develop the Denai power. Her brother’s strengths keep growing and it has been a difficult journey for her. So please overlook her bitterness and look at the girl underneath who desperately wants to fit in, to have friends.” Talbot sighed and stood up, turning to me. “I hope that you can be that for her.” Walking away, he went to fill his drink.

I took this chance to hunt down Kael who was standing in a dark corner with an unapproachable scowl on his face. I had seen this look so often I didn’t even blink an eye anymore. Storming over to Kael I placed my hands on my hips and violently hissed at him. “You can’t possibly think that she ran away. What happened to your promise to find her from just a few hours ago?”

Kael’s hand reached out and covered my mouth and before I could even blink an eye he had spirited me out onto the veranda. The night air was chilly and there was only the light from inside to cast a faint glow on the stone steps. Kael pulled me far from the window and backed me into the wall, still covering my mouth with his hand. When his hand didn’t immediately let go I did the most childish thing I could think of. I licked it.

Startled, Kael pulled his hand back off of my mouth and gave me a curious look before wiping his wet palm on his pants. “What in the world made you do that?” he whispered.

“Because I keep finding myself in the same situation, with your hand over my mouth.” I answered.

“Have you ever thought that it is because you talk too much? Most men like their women quiet.” Kael spoke quietly; his eyes alight like burning ember.

“Ha! Then I’m glad Joss isn’t most men,” I challenged, purposely trying to erase the emotion from his eyes. This new side of Kael was making it very hard for me to dislike him and was stirring up a plethora of mixed feelings. “He likes open honesty and doesn’t hide things from me. I know the real Joss; unlike you. I don’t know who you are. I don’t know anything about you. I want to know the real Kael.”

It worked. Kael’s eyes turned dark with frustration, his breathing deepened and I could see an inner battle erupt. “I’m not hiding things from you. It’s just that there are things best left unspoken, for everyone.” His hand reached up to lean against the wall, which brought him closer to me. “I’m trying to show you the real me. I’m not very good at it; it’s not warrior-like.”

“I see you, I just don’t know if I believe it.” I ducked under his arm to move away from him, giving him space. There were so many questions I wanted to ask him but I chose the safer course, the ones that didn’t include me. “How can you change your mind so fast? Earlier we were in agreement to help find Tenya and now you’re saying she ran away? How could you give up that fast?”

“I didn’t give up. I don’t believe she ran away.” Kael turned to face me.

“Then why the lie?” I asked confused. “Why besmirch a young girl’s name with lies?”

“It was all a show. I convinced Nero and Joss that we needed to make everyone believe that she ran away. That it would allow us to do some digging and hunting without raising the alarm to the Septori. Have you seen this place? There is no way an outsider would have been able to get in here and kidnap a girl and get out without help. A stranger wouldn’t be able to control the dorabills or work the skycage without help. Nero said Tenya hardly ever left Skyfell, so that means the Septori were already on Skyfell or were working with someone here.”

My mouth opened and closed like a fish; in awe at the obvious ease that Kael was able to come to this conclusion. This meant that we were closer than I had first thought to finding the Septori.

“We needed to ease the suspicion of why we are here and plant the rumor of Tenya running away with a young man.”

“Why the fake story about your lifemate running off with someone?”

Kael looked into the darkness and the mists that looked like molten silver at night before looking at me again. “And what makes you think that my story was a lie?”

I barely stammered out an answer because I was so in shock. “It just didn’t s-sound like something you, er I-I didn’t think that you could…I d-don’t know.” I pathetically shrugged my shoulders in final answer.

“You didn’t think I was capable of love, did you?” Kael looked sadly at me. “Well, you are wrong…and right. I was at one time capable of it and in the same instance betrayed by it. So I will never let that happen again; I am no longer capable of loving, nor do I wish to be ever again.” His strong jaw clenched in resentment. Quietly, we stayed like that before his earlier comment brought forth another question.

“So if we are not here to find Tenya, what are we supposed to be telling people we are here for?” I asked blankly, my brows furrowed in confusion. It was the middle of the school year for Joss and I couldn’t see an answer to why we were here without raising suspicions.

Kael looked at me and his jaw clenched in anger; he opened his mouth to answer when a voice from behind answered for him.

“We are here to announce our intentions for marriage.” Joss stepped out onto the veranda and came over to me placing his hand gently on my arm.

“JESAI!” Kael growled Joss’ last name like a curse. He was tense, like a loaded spring ready to go off.

“What are you talking about?” I looked back and forth from Joss’ smiling face to the scowl on Kael’s. “Is this some kind of joke, because it’s not funny.” I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat and felt my mouth go dry.

“Kael and I spoke with my father and came to an agreement this afternoon on what we would do. We thought it would be the best cover story.” Joss grinned at me.

“No you thought it would be the best story. I hated it from the start,” Kael grunted out.

“Okay, my father and I thought it would be the best reason for me to come home so soon: to announce our engagement. We will stay for the congratulatory feasts and everyone from Skyfell will attend. It will be our chance to question everyone and hopefully by then we will have a lead on where to go next.” Joss seemed genuinely pleased by the plan.

“But we are just pretending, right? This is all just show?” My heart raced with panic and confusion.

“Thalia, this is all show, for now.” Joss eye’s twinkled with mischief. “But who knows what the future will hold?” Joss came over to me and gently pinched my chin with his fingers before pulling a blue aquamarine necklace out of his pocket. The necklace was beautiful and surrounded by an intricate silver knot. Joss walked behind me and undid the clasp before putting the necklace around my neck. I was now wearing two necklaces, Joss’ and my father’s ring, which fell below my neckline. “This is my engagement gift to you; it was my grandmother’s. Proudly wear it.”

I couldn’t breathe; this is what every girl wanted, right? To be engaged to the most sought after and handsome boy in Calandry. I really liked Joss and had deep feelings for him, and I could see a possible future but there were so many unanswered questions and I was overwhelmed with all of the pretending and lies. “No one will believe us.” I desperately tried to get Joss to understand. “We are too young.”

“No, we’re not. You were about to give yourself away and marry the winner of a Kragh Aru a few weeks ago. That is what gave me the perfect idea for this plan. So you can blame yourself.” Joss came over to me and looked deeply into my worried eyes. “Thalia, what’s wrong? I thought you would be happy. Remember it’s just for show; we are doing this for my sister.”

“It’s just that a lot is happening really fast and I’m feeling overwhelmed.” I reached up to touch the aquamarine stone that felt like a manacle around my neck. “What if all of the stress of pretending ruins our friendship?”

Joss reached for my hands and clasped them gently. “What if it doesn’t? What if it brings us closer together? Will you do it for my sister? Will you pretend?”

The lump in my throat just got larger and my eyes drifted for an instant to Kael and I instantly wished I hadn’t. Kael was stiff as a board, face frozen, devoid of emotion. All I could do was nod to Joss and I watched as Kael turned his back on me and walked back inside. Joss ignored Kael and turned my face up to his and gave me a quick kiss. “You won’t regret this.”

Joss took my hand and led me back into the room and nodded to his father.

Nero stood up and made an imposing figure and he cleared his throat to make an announcement. “Friends, we’ve all been saddened by the choices my daughter Tenya has made and we wish for her to come home soon. But at last, we do have good news. My son Joss has chosen his future wife, Thalia.” Loud clapping could be heard and whistles from Darren Hamden, Xiven and a few others. Kael stared at the floor, refusing to acknowledge the announcement. Hemi looked up at me in surprise and I tried to make eye contact and nod to him that we would speak later. Mona was also one of the ones not clapping, she looked hurt and confused. Probably because not even an hour ago I told her I had no desire to get married. I squeezed my eyes closed and tried hard to take a deep breath. When I opened them again I felt that maybe just maybe I could continue with this farce, but I was going to need extra strength. The roar of congratulations, handshakes, laughter and introductions, continued throughout the evening and when I finally had a chance to escape I took it and retired to my room.

I couldn’t believe everything that had happened in one day. It was a complete disaster and I was a nervous wreck. In my soul I felt as if I was crumbling, falling apart. I opened my sight and tried to see what a real Denai would see. Nothing. I was taught at the Citadel that Denai could use their sight to see all of the energies in the world in brilliant colors and they could tap into them, control them and use them.

When I tried to use it, I never saw brilliant colors of gold or blues like Joss and others did. All I ever saw was faint greys and blacks that would sometimes surround people like Kael, very depressing and somber. It was as if my sight was broken. The worst realization I had was when I could see a bright white actually pulsing in rhythm and coming from the center of each Denai. It was their life essence I was seeing and I could actually steal it and use it for my own power. The thought of ever doing that to someone on purpose actually made me sick to my stomach. But I turned my sight inward to see if I could see any of the white glow that I saw in other Denai in me. There was nothing, just a faint pulsing blackness, which had started showing up when my nightmares began. Every night the blackness became darker and more substantial; and every night I would pray, to try and bind the darkness.

Curling up in my bed, I wrapped my arms around my knees and tried to sleep. I couldn’t contact Faraway because of the mists and the distance and once again I felt truly alone and scared. I grabbed a pillow and tried to snuggle my body around it but it didn’t work; I was too scared to sleep because of the nightmares so I lay awake in bed until the sun came up.