Channeler's Choice (24 page)

“
What’s he doing?” Aiden asked.

“
He’s honoring the elements, earth, air, fire, and water. It’s a very old Mayan dance, much older than grandfather. Next he’ll ask the powers that be to bless the hunt. Then our sweat will begin,” Fane explained.

Fascinated, Aiden watched Zolin dance about, stomping his feet in a catchy rhythm and raising his hands to the darkening sky every now and then. He chanted softly, a sound that was both ancient and beautiful. With his long dark hair unbound and flying about him, it wasn’t hard for Aiden to imagine his ancestors doing the same dance thousands of years ago. The chant and dance reached a crescendo that ended with Zolin dropping to all fours and slapping his hands on the ground. Slowly, his eyes focused on them.

With a nod from Zolin, Fane stood and shed all clothing, save for his shorts. Aiden quickly did the same as Alin walked up on their right.

“
The sweat is to cleanse your body and purify you for the hunt. You must let go of all your demons and think of honoring the earth and the deer,” Alin said.

“
Is the sweat your people’s tradition too?” Aiden asked.

“
No. But we honor the Mayan ways since they have invited us onto their land to hunt. Besides, the cleansing is amazing,” Alin admitted.

Together they approached the lodge.

“
You may enter,” Zolin announced in a formal voice as he swept aside the blanket covering the entrance.

It was dark, incredibly hot, and filled with steam. They must have been watching him dance for longer than Aiden realized. He sat down where Fane pointed. The ground was sandy beneath him and the heady smell of spruce was thick upon the air. The soft glow of Alin and Zolin’s life energy told him when and where they sat down.

“
Allow your thoughts to turn inward. Confront that which has been bothering you and overcome it,” Zolin instructed in a soothing voice that still held some of the cadence of his chant.

A long moment of silence passed before Aiden could allow his thoughts to turn inward. The things that bothered him weren’t things he liked to think about. Anger welled up within him as his mind turned toward his cruel adopted father, his indifferent foster father, his dead parents, and Eren’s dead parents. His chest tightened and it became hard to swallow. Every beating he’d endured replayed in his mind, every moment of fear, pain, and humiliation. This sweat was starting to seem like a very bad idea.

Steam hissed up from the coals as someone poured water onto them, flooding the room with more steam. The weight that settled on Aiden’s chest wasn’t entirely from the thickening air.

Shame and fury gripped him with the strength of a tornado, threatening to tear him apart. He didn’t feel worthy of Eren, let alone worthy of the massive power that he possessed. Vibrations wracked his body as he struggled to contain his power. Tears streamed down his face, and soon he couldn’t tell them from the sweat that poured.

Zolin began to sing, a low, chanting sound that reverberated through the lodge. Its beauty and purity drained all the pain, anger, and shame from Aiden as though it was drawing it out of him. Soon, there was nothing left in its place but peace. His power retreated in the wake of the most profound calm he had ever felt. For the first time, Aiden felt like the horrible parts of his life might really be over. He saw how lucky he was, not only to have Eren, but to be so accepted into her family as well.

Sometime later, the blanket covering the opening was thrown aside and moonlight filtered in. Zolin and Alin stepped out. Aiden rose and quickly followed Fane. The cool air felt wonderful and the night looked so crisp, Aiden thought for a moment that maybe it was a dream. It seemed too perfect. Then he realized that if it were a dream Eren would have been here.

“
Off to the river with you lads, you stink!” Alin said.

Aiden had to kick it into high gear to catch up with Fane as he took off into the trees.

Finally, bathed and refreshed, they sat around the campfire and discussed how the hunt was going to play out.

“
You two will travel ahead to the mouth of the small valley. We’ll get the herd running into the valley. The cripple and the old doe won’t be able to keep up, but they’ll separate to increase their chance of survival. I’ll take down the doe. Aiden, you take the cripple. Don’t underestimate him, though. He has a huge rack that makes him dangerous. Which is why you’ll need to keep him distracted, Fane,” Alin explained.

“
The cripple and the old doe?” Aiden asked with a raised eyebrow.

“
Taking out the biggest and strongest only weakens the herd,” Zolin said.

“
We don’t trophy hunt for that reason. Well, that and the biggest and strongest usually have the toughest meat. Still, don’t underestimate your quarry. Aim true,” Alin said.

Their wisdom blew Aiden away. He’d never really thought of it like that.

“
Yes, Sir,” Fane said after swallowing his marshmallow.

“
As long as Fane can keep him distracted you’ll have a clear shot at his neck. If you get the artery, great. If not, try to aim high enough that you take him out at the shoulder and stop his momentum,” Zolin told Aiden.

Smiling, Aiden looked at Fane and nodded. “Oh he will, Sir. Thank you, I’m honored that you’re letting us take one down,” Aiden said.

He had complete faith in Fane, he could dodge and weave like no one Aiden had ever seen. No to mention they’d been working on their technique together.

“
My brother should have taken you hunting when you first came into your power. This is overdue,” Alin said.

His eyes were filled with a mixture of anger and sadness and it hurt Aiden to see it. It wasn’t Alin’s fault that his brother had treated Aiden so horribly, and he hated that Alin felt responsible for it. If anything, Aiden felt like he should be the one who was sorry, sorry for Virgil’s death. In a way it was Aiden’s fault he was dead. But that was one thing he could not bring himself to regret. People made their own choices, and Virgil’s choices—not Aiden’s—had led to that end. Aiden knew that and had found peace in it.

“
Enough strategy, time to get some sleep,” Zolin said.

After saying their goodnights, he and Alin rose and made their way over to their sleeping bags. Licking sugar from his lips, Fane extended the bag of marshmallows to Aiden. Despite the great dinner they’d had, his stomach rumbled at the sight. He took two.

“
How many bags of these did you bring?” he asked as he placed a marshmallow on the end of a sharpened stick.

“
Three.”

Aiden laughed. “You really like these things don’t you?”

“
We don’t have them in Romania, which is one more thing I love about America.”

For a while they roasted marshmallows and talked about everything from the girls to the hunt.

Once his father and grandfather were fast asleep, Fane put his roasting stick down and gave Aiden a serious look. “My father isn’t just trying to make up for what Virgil did to you. I know it seems like that sometimes, but it’s more than that. He cares about you, Aiden. He considers you family.”

The warm feeling of belonging spread through Aiden, constricting his throat, and it was a moment before he could answer. “I know, but thanks for saying it. You guys are so awesome for inviting me on this trip.”

“
Let’s see if I can get Caitlin’s saying right, ‘don’t mention it.’ It just wouldn’t have felt right if you weren’t here,” Fane said.

The way he smiled made Aiden forget all about Virgil. Fane was the brother Aiden had always wished Luke would be, only better. Even Aiden’s wildest imagination couldn’t have conjured up a brother so light-hearted and selfless. Tonight everything seemed right with the world.

“
A bonded Society can take decades

to create, therefore others may covet

and threaten what you have.”

~from
Life In A Society

Chapter 23

The shadows of dusk stretched across the road before Eren, bringing a chill that wasn’t entirely about the temperature. She felt the weight of eyes upon her back, but when she turned to look she found the winding country road empty. Or was it? It was hard to tell with the dancing shadows caused by the wind swaying through the spruce boughs.

A shiver crawled across Eren and she zipped up her hoodie, trying to convince herself she was only cold. But after a long, hard workout with Caitlin, the sweat had barely begun to dry on her body and, if anything, the cool air felt good. So much for fooling herself.

The edge of town wasn’t far away. She forced her tired legs to speed up. Working out in the forest had seemed like such a good idea hours ago when it was light and she was in Caitlin’s company. Upon finishing, they had gone their separate ways because Eren had to go back to her grandfather’s to get her mail and water the plants and Caitlin was going into the Irish part of town.

The memory of that day by the river with Aiden—and those eyes in the forest that had been watching her—came back unbidden. Her breathing sped up to match her racing pulse as her eyes flicked to each side of the road, searching the underbrush. What if it was an animal again? Could she fight it off if it was under the control of a channeler? Her parents hadn’t been able to. The broken yellow lines in the middle of the road ticked by almost painfully slow. It took every bit of her control to choke down her fear and keep her pace at no more than a walk.

In only a few more turns, the edge of town came into view. Soon her footfalls were pounding on the sidewalk. Surely an animal wouldn’t follow her into town, unless it was under a channeler’s control. Another glance behind her revealed only a dark forest and an empty sidewalk. The adrenalin still pumping through her from her workout gave her a touch of courage, making her want to stop and call out. To avoid looking like a crazy person to anyone who might glance out their windows, she resisted.

Bridget had something to do with this, she was certain of it. Maybe she had someone following Eren to try and scare her. She tried, and failed, to slow the rapid drumming of her heart. The pressure of those eyes was too much; she gave in to the desire to run.

Only a few minutes later, she was fumbling with her keys and opening the door to her home. Ducking inside, she slammed the door behind her and threw the deadbolt. She leaned back against the door and focused hard on getting her breathing under control. As it slowed, her fear faded and she started to feel silly. With a shake of her head, she dismissed the whole thing as paranoia and went into the kitchen to start watering the plants.

When she was finished, she dashed upstairs to get a few things from her room. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, she saw a residual energy trail that was orange and red. She didn’t know anyone with energy that color, at least not anyone that should have been in her house recently enough to leave a trail. Her heart thudded harder with each step she took up the access ladder to her attic suite. Fighting back the impulse to turn and run, she forced herself to keep moving forward. A good Rector wouldn’t run. She wasn’t about to let her fear rule her when people depended on her.

Moonlight spilled across the floor. The roof hatch that led down into her room was slightly agape. Power surged up from her core. She remembered forgetting to lock the hatch but she knew for certain she had closed it. The same strange energy signature was in her room.
Her room!
Some of her things had been moved, her books and college pamphlets. Nothing was missing but that didn’t take away the horrible feeling of intrusion. Pouring power into her legs, she shot up the ladder, pulled the hatch closed and locked it.

She crept around her room looking for intruders. It didn’t feel like anyone was still in here. Regardless, she searched everywhere, even under the bed and in the shower in her bathroom. No one. Fists glowing with the blue light of her power, she searched the rest of the house and then the bookstore. Whoever it was had left a while ago.

Grabbing the keys to her car, Eren ran for the garage. There was no way she was walking back to Aunt Sylvia’s now.

“
A Rector’s power and that of their

Society members is intricately linked.

They are each part of each other.”

~from
Life In A Society

Chapter 24