Cheyenne (16 page)

Next time, I think I’ll wait and ask,
I told myself.

Chapter 10

The medicine Callon dispensed helped; I slept fairly well. I only remembered waking once when Colt shifted his legs from under my head. Low voices were talking in the kitchen—they were looking at the journal. It didn’t really bother me they were reading it. I didn’t know what it said, so any insight would be helpful.

I remembered I had placed the rings securely in my pocket and pulled them out, putting them back on my fingers. My face was still puffy, and I was sure I had at least one black eye. I thought now was as good a time as any to assess the damages.

I had a hard time trying to pull myself out of the couch; my head was starting to throb again. This was a different kind of throb, not like the headaches I had been getting. This was just your regular “bump on the noggin” type of bothersome headache. I could handle it. I sat up first and then used the arm of the couch for support to help raise myself up onto my legs. In an instant Colt was at my side, tenderly supporting my arm.

“
How’s my little Jeep assaulter today? Are you going to take on the truck because it said something to make you mad?” he asked in a teasing tone. “You know we wouldn’t have laughed if we thought it was more serious, right?”

He loved to tease me; actually just about anyone I met loved to. I was beginning to think I had a permanent tattoo on my forehead that read “
tease me please
.” I tried to smile back, but my lips and eyes wouldn’t move. This just caused Colt to chuckle more to himself. I responded the best I could, trying to throw some sassiness back at him.

“
If you think the Jeep was bad, just don’t get me angry enough to do something to you.”

He chuckled again and then helped me down the hall to the bedroom. I sat on the bed while he went to find me some clean clothes. He was being thoughtful.

I let out a sigh and was staring down at my hand admiring the blue ring again. When he came back, I placed my folded hands into my lap. Colt stopped and was silent; I could hear his even breathing. He looked at my hands. The ring was wrapped under my fingers now, and I realized I was clutching it harder than necessary. He reached over, and loosened my clasp to reveal the ring. He rolled it over so he could see the stone. His hand froze, and his breath paused. He pulled his hand away and balled it into a fist.

I was confused. He handed me my clothes and walked me to the bathroom in silence. I turned to try and look at him through my one good eye, and he gave a shallow smile as he strode away. I decided the best thing I could do right now was get clean. I went to the mirror only to gasp at what I saw. I was a mess; the right side of my face was a covered in bluish green bruises, mingled with scratches and dried blood. My eye was swollen, and I had a fat lip. I shook my head at my own impatient stupidity, but that hurt.

The cuts and scrapes stung a little when the water hit them. I tried to wash the cuts and bruises as best I could, cleaning off the remaining dried blood. I was pretty stiff and sore too; no more crazy activities for at least a couple of days.

I was a little confused by Colt’s reaction over the blue-stoned ring. Both he and Callon saw it in the truck the other day, but said nothing. This time it seemed worse. Maybe he didn’t really get a good look at it before? I was going to have to find out why. I glanced in the mirror again and sighed. This was as good as it was going to get. I needed time to heal.

I toddled to the kitchen where they were sitting. They turned as I approached. It was odd—the trio seemed to have blank expressions on their faces. Colt pulled the chair between Callon and himself out for me to sit on. I sat down, and my gaze wandered to each of their faces. Something was up, and it had to do with me.

Colt slowly reached over and took my hand in his, turning it to reveal the rings. He and Callon seemed more concerned than Daniel. Callon stretched out his hand and asked, “May I?”

I moved my hand toward his fingers. He gently grasped my wrist and started to caress my fingers with his other hand. He was rubbing his thumb over the rings. I peered into his warm eyes and saw something I didn’t expect.

It was as if he was looking at me in awe. It was hard to imagine how he could in the condition I was in. My half bloody and battered face didn’t change his expression. I stared back, not in awe, but something close to that.

He was so stunningly beautiful, his tanned skin highlighting his hazel eyes, the dark brown wavy curls falling onto his forehead. The way he held his jaw taut, the rough growth of whiskers peering out from his chin. I lowered my head; I didn’t need to get caught up in him. Colt was who I needed. Callon drove me nuts; Colt made me smile. Callon analyzed everything. They were like night and day. Colt was my sunshine, Callon the dark of night that caused shivers to run down my back.

I allowed Callon to keep my hand in his, but turned slightly so I could lean toward Colt. Colt put his arm around my waist, slid closer, and I gave a weak grin. “Are these rings special?” I asked quietly. I directed my question to Callon since he was the one who usually spoke for the group on these kinds of topics, and he was the one holding my hand.

“
Yes, they are—the blue stoned one especially. There were only three of the blue rings in existence. Yours belonged to an extinct clan. The other two were destroyed, and the third was thought to have been lost with the clan line. It is a ring of royalty and power.”

He was still holding my hand, tracing the rings with his fingers, his eyes following the movements. Maybe I was wrong previously about my assumption of his moods. He was speaking of the rings; however, I knew it involved information about me, and he had warmth—awe.

“
What about the other ring? Is this special as well?” I was referring to the ring on my index finger. The ring my parents had given me as a child, the ring that had the same symbols as the journal.

“
Yes, it represents another clan.“

“
What do you mean a clan?”

He seemed to ignore me, as he was deep in thought.

“
Why did I receive them? Why do I have both?”

Callon’s gaze met mine and this time he was sincere when he spoke, answering me just above a whisper, “That’s a good question.”

Okay, now what? No one knew why I had these rings, one of which was exceptionally rare. I asked again. “Callon, what do you mean by ‘represents a clan’? What does that have to do with me?”

He still did not release my hand, but turned his chair to face me, reaching out to grasp my other hand in his. Colt slid a little closer. His hand was still wrapped around my waist, but Callon was now semi-straddling the chair I sat on. Daniel sat silently in the chair across the table. I could hear him breathing nervously and sensed his eyes on me as well. This couldn’t be good. It was as if they knew I would react badly.

Callon started speaking passionately, all the while intently searching my face for my reaction, “Cheyenne, you need to brace yourself. You don’t live in the world you think you do. There’s a lot we need to talk about. I’ll try to give you as much as I can, but I’ll hold some back. It’s going to be hard to take it all in at once.”

He paused, waiting for a response before he proceeded. I knew I wanted to hear; however, with their reactions as they were now I wasn’t sure it would be good. I couldn’t speak, so I just nodded, taking in small even breaths. Callon started out slowly in a controlled tone, as if to tell a story.

“
Long ago there were many clans roaming this world, each unique in its own way. We lived in harmony and peace for a long time. Some of the main clans were the Sarac, Silloquize, Kvech, Consilador, Coltooro, Laundess and Servak. Many centuries ago, an evil uprising began.

“
A leader arose from the Sarac clan, Makhi. He was greedy and lusted for power, hungered to have ultimate control. He ruled his people with an iron fist. He claimed he was the only righteous heir to the throne, that the Kvech clan was no longer royalty, no longer worthy to control the power of our world.”

I interrupted him briefly, “What do you mean by power of our world?” He didn’t respond, but continued.

“
When word of Makhi reached Adalmund, the Kvech clan leader, the ruler of all the clans, he decided action was to be taken. Makhi’s evil lies were spreading, his strength was growing, and he was becoming a threat to all the clans and the control of the sacred world.

“
Adalmund was the guardian of the power. He was a peaceable man, not a warrior. Adalmund went to Makhi looking for a resolution. As was the custom, Adalmund brought his wife Josalyn and son Qaysean with him. They were ambushed along the way, with only Qaysean surviving.”

“
Sacred world? I still don’t understand,” I questioned again. Callon once more ignored me; he was completely focused on his story.

“
Seeing that Makhi had killed the only guardians to our world, the Servak clan joined the Sarac in their quest. The Servak’s ruler Jorelle was evil as well, only second to Makhi in strength and power. Jorelle brought with him his daughter Sahara. Makhi and Jorelle arranged a marriage between Sahara and Makhi’s son Marcus.”

“
Guardians to our world?” I spit out. Why wasn’t he answering my questions? What the heck was he talking about?

“
They began slaughtering and decimating the world of all the clans that opposed them. The merging of the Servak clan with the Sarac clan gave them great power, and a marriage of the clans would provide even greater power.

“
Many battles took place, and we saw many lives lost. What was left of the remaining clans scattered the face of the earth, hiding, waiting and hoping. There are few of us left now.”

He said something at the end that made me stop and think…“many battles…many lives lost.”

“
You said
we saw
? Did you mean that?” I asked.

“
Yes,” he replied.

I shot out my next questions quickly as the story he told began to sink in. I was trying to sort it all out, and get him to reveal the whole truth.

“
How old are you?” I demanded.

He hesitated again, looking deep within, trying to assess if I would be able to accept it. “Three hundred years old, give or take a decade.”

I didn’t look away, but directed my next question to Colt. “Colt, how old are you?”

He calmly responded, “Two hundred and twenty-five.” At least that would explain why I thought he was always more mature and the deep conversations he had with my parents.

“
Daniel?”

Callon responded for Daniel, “One hundred and fifty-three.”

I continued my questioning. “How can you live such a long life? None of you look older than your early twenties. Are you human?” Unease draped over me like a cold, dark cloak as I awaited his reply. I fidgeted. Callon had already told me to brace myself, and that the world I lived in wasn’t what it seemed. I shifted in my seat and tried to dislodge Colt’s arms. He didn’t budge.

Callon took a deep breath.

“
We age slower, about one year to one hundred in human years, but we are more or less human.” Callon replied cautiously.

“
So you do age?” At least I knew they were human, more or less—if that was the truth.

“
Yes. Our metabolism is quite a bit slower than normal humans, along with other things that make us different.”

“
How have you lived all these years? Don’t people notice that you don’t seem to change?” I asked, my unease still present.

Callon replied calmly, “We move around a lot, typically only staying in one location for about five to seven years.”

“
What about drivers’ license and birth certificates?”

“
We can work around that. Forging documents isn’t really that difficult when you know what you’re doing,” Daniel quickly responded.

The floor seemed to be a good place to stare as I took in all this new information, formulating more questions. Was this for real? Were they telling me a lie, a story to keep me here? There was so much they were hiding from me, and it seemed now that some of it was information about themselves too. I had the two rings and the journal, but without their help, I couldn’t hope to decipher their secrets. There was still more I needed to know.

“
Callon, how long have you been a doctor?” I slowly raised my head up again.

“
A few hundred years.” He was steady, no wavering. Either he was an excellent liar, or he was telling the truth. It would make sense since he was around three hundred years old. I repeated again some of his words in my head…
Makhi, Sarac
.

“
Is this Makhi of the Sarac clan still living?” It could be a possibility if Callon was over three hundred years old. I kept my focus on Callon as now only he responded.

“
No, but his son is.”

I was slowly piecing this puzzle together. “What clan do you come from?”

“
Colt, Daniel and I come from the Consilador clan.”

“
What clan did my parents come from?” If they knew each other, and died protecting me, they would be a part of this clan thing also.

“
They came from the Coltooro clan.”