Merritts of Writing 3

Chapter 22

Angie

I was never one for confrontation. At least not with my sister. However now I needed answers.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

I walked out of the tent. Em was rolling out the bedroll with Carter not far away. I began to head in their direction. I’d taken only a few steps when I smelled the minty scent of bushberry tickling my nose. I turned.

Stevron stepped from the tent.

“Finished so soon?”

Stevron’s lips compressed. “I’ll give your brother another jolt a little later.” He moved the bushberry around in his mouth. “There’s something we-”

He cut his own sentence off and I noticed the swirl of silver in Stevron’s dark eyes brighten. His stance turned primal.

For the first time I registered the connection between his eyes and the timing of his ‘treatments’. I suppressed my reaction to him.

Stevron bit down on the bushberry and swallowed. His body instantly began to relax.

“Come with me,” he said simply. He held out a hand.

I wet my lips and ignored his friendly gesture. I shook my head. My heart was still pounding a little too fast. “I’ve got to talk to Em.”

“Little Sis can wait. This is important.”

I quelled the intense pull to reach for him. I refused to move. “Nothing is more important than my sister.”

Stevron didn’t give in. Although he was relaxed, he was unyielding. “Trust me, Angie, this is.”

I stood there staring at him for a second. Then I glanced back to where Em and Carter were. Em had sat down on the unrolled bedroll. Her head was resting on her crossed arms that were propped up by her bent knees. I could tell she was crying. Carter was no longer anywhere in sight.

I looked back at Stevron. The silver in his eyes flared. He closed his offered hand into a fist and then turned. He walked away from me.

I didn’t want to follow him. Didn’t want to deal with another one of our constant struggles over when I was going to cave in and accept the physical attraction sizzling between us. The urge to drop my resistance was getting stronger as well. I couldn’t allow our relationship to go any further than it already had.

Nothing was going to happen between us. Not now, not ever, I kept telling myself.

Stevron didn’t look back to see if I was coming after him. I guess he knew I would, no matter what my better judgement told me.

I glanced back at my sister. I wanted to hold her, comfort her, but like always I shied away from anything emotional. I wasn’t like our mother.

I sighed heavily and looked back to Stevron. I waited for his large body to be almost out of sight before I capitulated. When I crested the ridge that led down to a sandy river bed, I was surprised to see Carter and the girl Stevron had taken. She was sitting on a large rock.

Carter faced us. The girl, now in the light of day, looked older, probably somewhere in the range of thirteen or fourteen. She sat with her feet dangling close to the water’s edge.

Stevron had stopped several yards from the two. As I reached him I saw his clenched fists unclench and then clench again. There was a nervousness to him that I’d rarely ever seen. He glanced at me as I came to stand beside him, and I saw uncertainty cross his handsome face.

Then Carter raised his head. I saw the sadness in his eyes. He started to turn away but Stevron held up a hand and Carter halted.

“Mylane,” Stevron whispered.

The strange word meant nothing to me. The girl turned first her head and then her upper body. Her gaze fixed on Stevron.

I guessed the word was a name.

My eyes turned to Stevron. I watched his jaw clench. He took a couple of steps forward. “Do you remember who I am?”

The girl nodded solemnly then she turned back to face Carter. Her whispered words were barely audible. “I didn’t at first, but I do now.”

The statement gave me an odd chill. I looked to Carter. I’d heard him say only hours ago that the girl was his cousin, yet she obviously knew Stevron. What was going on?

“When?” Stevron asked.

“During the fight between Char Twiller and the strong man.”

Stevron’s voice turned harsh. “Who?”

Mylane turned to face Stevron. The glare she sent Stevron belied her young years. “You know who.”

Stevron took another step forward. “Say it,” he insisted. “Who?”

Mylane sighed heavily then with great reluctance answered, “the young doc”.

The look that crossed Stevron’s face was indescribable. I thought for a moment that he would advance further and strike the teenager, but he remained rooted to the spot.

“Then you know why I separated you from the others,” he continued, “and then by doing so why Char insisted on following us.”

Again the girl nodded. “He was tracking us.”

“For what purpose?”

The girl slowly hopped down from the rock and walked over to stand directly in front of Stevron. It was then that I saw her eyes. The same swirl of silver flaring in her blue irises. My stomach turned. She was like Stevron. She was a Sapphyre Wings.

She gave Stevron a taunting look, the expression in her eyes bold. She seemed to intentionally keep her back to Carter. “Why all the questions when you already know the answers?”

Stevron inhaled and then exhaled almost tiredly. “Because Angie and Carter need to hear this. They need to know.” He gestured for Carter to come forward.

I watched Carter go around the big rock and come to stand with the rest of us. He looked questioningly first at me, then at Stevron.

“For what purpose?” Stevron repeated. “Why was Char tracking you and your mother?”

“She’s dead isn’t she?” When Stevron didn’t say anything the teenager continued. “Of course she is. She wouldn’t have allowed you to take me if she was still alive.”

Stevron remained silent. Did not display any emotion.

A quick look of sadness passed over Mylane’s features. “She was a good person. She didn’t deserve to die.”

“None of those people did,” Stevron countered. His voice turned severe. “Yet it still happened. Now explain why to Angie and Carter.”

Mylane shot Stevron a defiant look, but she did provide us with an answer. “Because Char knew I would eventually lead him to Mikkel.”

I couldn’t help myself, I gasped. My father? Char was looking for my father?

“Why?” I asked.

Mylane turned her attention to me. The boldness she’d shown towards Stevron evaporated. She appeared to be afraid of me. But why?

It took her a few moments to reply to me and when she did she gave me no answers. “Lot’s of reasons.”

“Specifically?” Carter interjected.

She looked to Carter. She obviously wasn’t afraid of him for she edged closer to his side. “Because The Life Sage is dying and The Oracle of Death must die too.”

Carter emitted a low sound that rumbled deep in his chest. Then without a word or a glance to any of us he turned and hurried away.

I stared after his retreating form in confusion. What was going on?

Mylane turned to Stevron and was about to say something when he cut her off. “Don’t even think about it,” he warned, “and stay away from Donahue. I brought you with us to keep an eye on you and don’t think if you cross me there won’t be consequences. Now go.”