Daylight, a Timeless Series Novel (16 page)

“Those words are your father
’s, Cheyenne. Qaysean’s,” Brogan said. “He knew to rely on his friends and not shoulder everything alone. A lesson you would do well to learn sooner rather than later!”

I fell silent, and the beast quieted, too.
It had become so difficult to keep it under control…and it kept feeding my poor judgment. Of course Brogan was right. Going it alone was what had caused the whole mess. The fighting between Colt and Callon, breaking apart my family, and finally Colt’s death; all because I’d wanted to do things myself. Was I going to repeat the past again and lose more people’s lives?

“I’m such a fool,” I whispered.

“You’re no longer a fool if you learn from your mistakes.”

I looked up.
Maes entered the sitting room. He held up a cloth package, and Callon took it from him. His jade-rimmed eyes were solemn. “It’s time for your healing to begin, Cheyenne.”

Chapter 9

With each passing day, my strength returned. Whatever herbal concoction Callon, Dex and the two ladies had made for my wound was working. My spirit was growing stronger, too. I had something to hold onto, and I didn’t care whether it was because of the creature’s venom, as Callon claimed. I had hope, a new feeling deep down that Colt was still alive, and I wasn’t going to let go of any trickle of light I could get my hands on.

Daniel landed just outside my bedroom door.

“You ready?” he asked. “I suppose so.” I rubbed my leg before rising from the bed. Even though I’d come a long way, my thigh still ached.

“They’re waiting in the field for us.” He smiled, uncertain. “Are you sure you’re up to this?”

I strode towards the door, grabbing a dark-colored jacket from the chair. “I’ll be fine. It’s just a flesh wound.”

Daniel chuckled.

“Quoting Monty Python now are we?”

“Well, it’s Colt’s fault. He made me watch them.”

Daniel’s smile broadened. “Fond memories are good.”

I nodded and placed my hand on his arm. “They are.” Especially when I was now convinced he was still alive, somewhere.

We disappeared down the hall, stopping briefly at the top of the stairs. Callon walked through the main hall, pushing his way to the library. Lilly was at his heels.

“Callon.” Lilly reached out and touched his shoulder. “Callon!”

Callon ignored her, shrugging off her hand.

“Callon, listen to me! I really don’t think this is a good idea. Cheyenne’s not fully…” The library door closed
, and Daniel jumped us to the terrace. I sighed. I knew Lilly meant well, but I was sick of being locked up inside. It was time to move on and put a collar on this beast before it ran wild.

The cold air bit at my cheeks
, and I zipped my jacket up. Dark clouds loomed overhead, and I could taste moisture in the air. It had been Brogan and Maes’s idea to start some training, in a bid to get me to be more of a team player. Callon hadn’t been too enthusiastic, yet he hadn’t disagreed, either. Lilly had been the only one to voice her dissenting opinion, and I wasn’t that surprised at her reaction. But she had to understand. I needed to learn to control the crimson-eyed demon. Anger was my trigger, and I had plenty of fuel for that. I had to practice keeping it within limits. That was easier said than done, though, as Marcus’s face was never far from my thoughts.

The mere thought of his name made me clench my fist. He was going to pay so dearly for…

“Cheyenne?” Andre hesitated on the terrace stairs. I unclenched my fists. “I can feel it when you do that, you know.”

I rolled my eyes.
Great, just what I needed; Andre to be my anger detector. I forced a fake smile. “It’s all good, Andre.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

“Maes and Brogan are waiting for you out in the field.”

I followed Andre and Daniel, still unsure what
“training” they had planned for me. If it meant creating and throwing whirlwinds, then all would be good. I just had to remember not to let my anger feed the beast too much. The practicing I’d been doing would also pay off.

Almost all the clan members were out there, with the exception of Dex, Lilly and Callon. I was sure Callon would arrive soon. He
wouldn’t leave me to my own devices, not when I constantly got in trouble.

“Cheyenne.” Brogan gestured for me to come
stand beside him and Maes. I stood between them and faced the entire group, feeling like a mouse about to get pounced. They were both easily twice my height.

Brogan lifted a red strip of material and proceeded to tie it around my arm. I raised a brow. What was he up to?

“How are you feeling?” His brown eyes negated the kindness of his words. Even after killing the creature, I hadn’t earned an ounce of respect from him.

“Fine,” I replied.

“Good. Now I know how hard we can train.”

“I figured as much,” I muttered under my breath. I stared at the red material. “You had to tag me to remember who I am?”

Daniel snickered in the background.

“We’re playing a version of Capture the Flag,” Brogan said, clearly not amused by my little joke. “You know what that is, don’t you?”

“Yes, you hide your flag from your enemy and they try and steal it away.” I paused for a moment. “So I’m the flag? This doesn’t make sense. You want me to hide?”

A very sly smile rose on Brogan’s lips. “You’re the flag
, and we’re going to come find you.”

Oh, I understood. It was a game of maneuvers, tactics, except they
wouldn’t be after a piece of material. They’d be after a moving target, me.

“So who’s on my team?”

“You’re on your own.”

“Wait, what? That doesn’t seem fair.” I glanced around the circle of clan members. “All of you against me?”

“You seemed quite happy to fight the lake creature alone,” Brogan said. “Why the problem now?”

I clenched my teeth. That sneaky…

“Brogan, you’re being a little harsh here.” Callon strode into the field. “Fourteen against one is excessively unbalanced. Give her a few teammates.”

I mouthed a
thank you
to Callon, knowing that I’d have gotten nowhere with Brogan. He must’ve been really upset that I borrowed his powers.

Brogan growled from the back of his throat. He wasn’t happy, but even he couldn’t talk back to the clan regent. “Fine.” He paused, eying the group. “You get Nakari and Maes.”

Nakari looked pleadingly at Callon, as if she’d been asked to clean the toilets. I frowned. Why didn’t she want to be on my team, and why did she constantly look to Callon for approval? Jealousy surfaced, rekindling my anger. Wasn’t I good enough? Or was she afraid I’d steal her powers again?

“I’ll be on Cheyenne’s team,” Andre said. She stepped forward and gave Nakari a quick glance.

“No,” Brogan replied, “I’ve already made the choice.”

I looked across at Maes. He seemed pretty indifferent to the whole thing. “So now what?”

“Try not to get caught.” Brogan looked very pleased with himself. I got the feeling he was going to enjoy this.

“So I can use my powers?”

“Limited use of powers, Cheyenne,” Callon admonished.

I rolled my eyes. “I won’t
purposely try to hurt anyone.”

“It’s not the purposely I’m worried about
,” Callon said quietly to me, though I know the others heard him.

I ignored his comment and instead stared at the forest. Fall had arrived, though
since the weather was still much the same, I hadn’t really noticed. The leaves formed a mix of colors, from mustard yellow and crimson to burnt orange and gold. At least with my dark clothes and the cloudy skies, I could blend in better. Except for this red band on my arm.

“So what about everyone else then? Do they get to use their full powers?”
I asked, still trying to establish the rules.

No answer came. I was the only one limited.

I blew out a breath. “So what are the boundaries, and how will I know when the game is over and I’ve won?”

“The boundaries are the enchantment barriers
, and we’ll play till dark. If you haven’t been captured by nightfall, then you’ve won this round.”

“And I just return to the terrace?”

“Yes.”

“Sounds easy enough, but how will I know where the enchantment barriers are?”

Brogan scoffed. “You’ll know.”

“How long do I have before you come after me?”

“I’ll give you fifteen minutes.”

Nodding, I began walking towards the lake. That wasn’t going to be enough time to find decent cover without use of my powers.

“This is serious training, Cheyenne,” Brogan called out. “We won’t hold anything back.”

“Got it.” I waved my hand in the air as Maes
fell into step beside me, his hands in his pockets.

“Any ideas?” I asked. At least I had him to help out.

“That is not for me to say,
mon espoir
. I’m already well-equipped for battle.”

“So your role is to sit back and watch?”
I asked petulantly.

“My role is to make sure you don’t kill anyone.”

I sighed. Just what I needed, zero trust again.

“What about teamwork? I thought that’s what we’d just discussed.”

“This is purely tactical.”

I stopped.

“Why? So Brogan can watch me hide like a rodent? Is this how he wants me to face Marcus?”

“No, it’s to gauge your natural abilities so we can build on them.”

Nakari suddenly appeared, looking annoyed. I glanced ahead. We still had a little way to go before the forest, and it had already been five minutes.

“Care to give me a lift, Nakari?” I asked.

“And let you steal my powers again? No thanks,” she replied, her voice as cold as ice. Obviously she was still upset about that, not that I didn’t deserve it.

Frowning, I decided to rely on my own skills and sprinted towards the forest. Maes ran beside
me in his Tresez form, and Nakari jumped, always landing a few yards ahead of us. First and foremost, my priority was to find high ground. I needed to see where my enemies were coming from, as it was obvious I wasn’t going to get any help from my teammates.

As I entered the trees, I veered to the left, away from the lake. The patter of feet behind me soon disappeared and Nakari
and Maes vanished into the leaves. I stopped to catch my breath.

Cowards.

The crackling of branches brought me back to the task at hand. I glanced around, and spotted Koda emerging from between two birches.

“Dang, Cheyenne,” Koda chuckled, flexing his fists, “you were supposed to make this a challenge.”

Crap! My hands flew out before I had a chance to think and I shot a blast of air in Koda’s direction. Koda went flying into a tree, cracking it, and he tumbled to the ground. I didn’t have time to apologize before I took off through the forest again. This time I wouldn’t make stupid mistakes.

Patches of dense brush slowed me down as I climbed a ravine. My wounded leg was throbbing, and I tried not to push it too much. I continued running uphill for another hour, alert for movement. So far, there hadn’t been any more signs of the enemy, nor my so-called teammates. Still, every crackle and movement of the wind had me on edge. At the top
, I stopped and stared up at the blackening sky. It wouldn’t be long now till the rain started, and then the real fun would begin.

“Gotcha!” Daniel cried, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. On instinct I
dove, but my footing slipped and I fell, branches scratching my cheeks. I didn’t wait for Daniel to grab me. Instead I rolled to my side, burying myself further in the orange and brown brush. Then I bolted to my feet and ran into the trees. Daniel appeared in front of me, ready to catch me, so I changed direction. He jumped again, and his hand skimmed the fabric on my arm. Before he could rip it off and escape, I touched his knuckles, the icy cold feeling of his powers trailing up my fingers.

“Thanks!” I called,
then jumped into the forest.

This was more like it; I could move much faster and cover more distance, though I wouldn’t be able to rely on this later. Daniel would know not to come too close again, so I
wouldn’t get a second chance to steal his powers, either. Maybe I’d been too hasty…

“There she is!”

I gulped. That was Brogan’s voice. I searched around the branches, trying to pinpoint his location, when suddenly half a tree hit the ground in front of me. I squealed, jumping out the way. The tree lifted itself, and my eyes widened as Brogan hauled the trunk upright and aimed for me again.

“Hey!” I ducked under, sliding in the dirt. “That’s not fair!”

“Life isn’t fair sometimes, Cheyenne!” Brogan roared, swinging the tree like a club. It hit the ground once more, causing a minor quake. I stumbled, catching myself on my hands. Was he crazy?!

“The game is capture the flag, not kill it!” I barked.

Knowing I couldn’t hope to match his strength, I headed into trees on the right again. He came after me, but he couldn’t drag his trunk through the narrow spaces. Eventually I felt I was far enough away, and I stopped to catch my breath. I inhaled slowly, despite the fact my lungs burned for air. I couldn’t afford to be heard.

Quiet footsteps approached, and I crouched behind a tree stump. If I could find out which direction they were coming from
, I could jump to safety before Daniel’s power wore off. I only had a couple of minutes left.

A dark brown jacket flashed briefly through the branches, along with wild hair.

“She’s quick,” Skylar observed, glancing around. “You shouldn’t have let her take your power, Daniel.”