Destiny (The Chosen One Trilogy:Book Three) (12 page)

“Do you recognize her, Trista?” William had
put Rainen on a chair by the bed. She brushed back some of Emelly’s
dark red bangs.

“No. I don’t. I wonder who her mother
was.”

“Well, now that I think I know what to do, we
can ask her when she wakes up.”

Matthew’s bloodshot eyes peeked over his arms
at me. I smiled reassuringly and put a hand on his shoulder.

“All I have to do is give her a bit of
energy. Chanters don’t have magic of their own, see?” I explained
to him. “Healers and magic wielders do. That’s why if we get hurt
or use up most of our energy all we have to do is sleep. It
rebuilds itself. Chanters can’t do that. I just have to heal her,
Matthew.”

He sat up slowly and rubbed his hands over
his face. “Really?”

I nodded. “Really.” I moved so that I was
kneeling next to the bed and spread the green waves over Emelly. I
picked the second darkest one and pushed it into her. She jerked
under my hands and groaned as I let my energy flow out of me and
into her. I cut off the connection and rocked back on my heels.
Jasper had me in his arms in a flash.

“Are you dizzy?”

I nodded. “I’ll be fine. I didn’t have to
give her much.”

Emelly let out another groan and brought her
hands to her head. “Matthew?” Her voice was just a whisper. He took
one of her hands and brought it to his lips.

“I’m right here, Em.”

Her eyes flew open in alarm. “Where’s Hayden?
Did it work? Is she alright?” She gasped and closed her eyes.

I put a hand on her arm. “I’m fine, Emelly.
Thank you.”

A tear fell down her cheek. “Thank goodness.
I never was sure if I’d be able to do it. I thought Chloe was
crazy. I mean, why me? It didn’t make sense at all!”

“What are you talking about?” We all waited
to hear the answer to Rainen’s question.

She took a deep breath. “My mother was a
chanter. She didn’t want me to be one. She always told me it was
too dangerous. Too many beings distrusted the practice and she knew
of two chanters that had been killed simply because of what they
were. I was nine when Chloe came to the door. She was crazy. I
don’t mean that she was odd or dimwitted. She was a Namael and we
lived in Paradin. She told my mother she’d had a reoccurring
dream.” She opened her eyes and looked into mine. “Do all dream
seers have those eyes? That green with the gold and grey
flecks?”

I nodded and she went on.

“She told my mother I was to learn to chant.
I’m not sure exactly what the conversation was, mind you. I was
sleeping. From that night on, my mother drilled it into my head. I
learned two chants. She said they were the only two I would need.
She refused to teach me more. Chloe told her I would one day leave
Paradin; that my destiny was to save the Chosen One. I was to pay
attention. My mother told me that when we came across a chanter
named Traina I wasn’t to leave Hayden’s side. They didn’t tell me
your name, mind you, but from what William had told me and
everything you talked about, it was clear that you were her. Well,
that and the amulet and the tattoo.” She smiled.

“The first chant my mother taught me was to
kill Traina. It was to evaporate her energy.”

“What was the second one for?” Matthew rubbed
his thumb over the back of her hand.

“If I couldn’t kill Traina before she killed
Hayden, I had the second chant to jump start her using my
energy.”

“There’s never a guarantee that the chanter
will live when they do that.” Trista was frowning.

“I know. I wasn’t sure what would happen, but
I thought that if I died so that Hayden could live to save everyone
else, it would be worth it.” Her eyes widened as Jasper pulled her
into a hug. He pulled back and kissed her forehead.

“Thank you.”

She blushed. “I’m not going to lie, though. I
am extremely happy that I didn’t die.”

I laughed. “Me too.”

Matthew kissed her softly. “Me too.”

“Should we head to the courtyard? Collin will
be waiting.” I took Jasper’s hand. He nodded.

“You feel up to it?”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll get some sleep
tonight.”

“I want to see this,” said Rainen.

“Of course you do. Up you go then.” William
picked her up.

“What’s happening?” asked Matthew.

“Collin is calling in the packs so Hayden can
scan them.”

Matthew looked from me to Emelly and back
again. She smiled.

“Go. I’m going to get some more sleep. My
head feels like someone is jumping on it.”

He kissed her again. “I won’t be long.”

Dodge came trotting up as we left the
house.

“Hey, Buddy. Can you give Rainen a ride?”

Sure.

William boosted her onto his back. She gave
him a pat on the neck when he folded his wings over her legs to
help her stay on. She turned to the guards at the front doors of
her house and Damian’s.

“No one enters unless it is someone from
Hayden’s pack, mine, or Collin’s.”

All four of them nodded.

“Are you sure you’re strong enough?” Jasper
put an arm around my waist as we made our way to the
courthouse.

“Jasper, I’m fine.”

We got to the mouth of the courtyard, weaved
our way through Collin’s pack and went to stand by his side.

“This is Theren’s pack,” stated Harold as he
and Gina came to stand with us. “It’s one of the bigger ones.”
There looked to be about seventy beings standing at attention.

Rainen cleared her throat. “When Collin calls
your name, come forward, please.” She looked down at me and I
turned to Collin.

“There are four.” I noticed that one of the
four was looking directly at William who was staring back
noncommittally. I told Collin where in line they were and he called
them forward.

“Karryn, Kearan, Mark, and Hunter.” The four
took a step toward us and looked at each other. Karryn and Kearan
were identical with short blond hair and hazel eyes. Mark’s black
hair reminded me of Jasper’s but his eyes were a deep brown. Hunter
sported curly blond hair and blue eyes. The first three couldn’t
have been more than seventeen. The latter looked to be in his
thirties. “The rest of you are free to leave.”

Hunter was still staring at William, his eyes
narrowed. Once the rest of the pack had cleared out of the
courtyard, the four of them stood closer together.

“All we want are your stones and the reason
why you were sent.” Rainen leaned down and asked Dodge to move a
few steps forward. Hunter took a few steps forward. I felt Jasper
tense beside me.

“What choice do we have?”

“You could try to fight your way out of here,
I suppose.”

“What happens if we comply?”

“Nothing. You are free to leave.”

Karryn started to cry and Mark put a hand on
her shoulder. She looked at Rainen.

“Can we stay?” It was hard to understand her
between all the sobs. Hunter looked at her sharply. Rainen looked
from me to Jasper. I shrugged.

“No one has ever asked. They always want to
fight to the death.” I took a few steps toward Karryn. “Why would
you want to stay?”

“I don’t… We don’t have anything to go back
to. When Braw went looking for women to send out as shifters he
used any means necessary to make us go. We were eleven. They killed
our mom.” Fresh tears were starting up. “She was all we had. She
was pregnant with us when she crossed.”

Hunter took a step toward Karryn and was
blocked as Mark stepped between the two.

“Stand down, Mark.”

Kearan was looking from Mark to Hunter, her
eyes wide with fear.

“I don’t think so, Hunter. You believe in all
that crap Braw talks about. You came here willingly. We didn’t.” He
dug into his pocket, dug out his stone and tossed it toward us. He
was turning back to Hunter when the older man’s fist connected with
his face. He dropped to the ground to the screams of the two women
standing with them. Kearan went from scared to angry. She jumped
onto Hunter’s back, her fists hitting his shoulders and head. He
reached back and pulled her off.

Jasper looked at me before shifting and
bounding toward them. Karryn had joined the fight, screaming
something about hitting her sister. Her eyes widened and she
scrambled backwards at the sight of the tiger running their way.
Hunter punched Kearan in the stomach and turned toward her
twin.

Jasper pounced onto his back and clamped his
jaws down on the back of his neck. I couldn’t help but cringe at
the sound of the bones snapping under the pressure. The sisters ran
to each other and covered Mark. Jasper circled the three, his tail
twitching before coming back to my side and shifting back.

Rainen looked down at me and I shrugged.

“This is a first. They usually team up and
fight to the death. I’ve never seen them fight each other before.
What do you guys think?” Matthew and Jasper looked just as confused
as I felt. William was the first to speak.

“I know Mark. He’s a good guy. I’ve never
heard him say anything to make me doubt he’s lying about hating
Braw.”

Rainen nodded. “The three of you, come
forward, please.”

Mark walked in front of the girls, keeping
them safely behind him. He stooped and picked up his stone on the
way then stopped in front of us. He took the twins’ stones and
handed all three to Jasper. Two of Collin’s men went to dispose of
Hunter’s body.

“Mark, Karryn, and Kearan, I’d like for you
to meet Hayden.” William nodded to me and three pairs of eyes
widened at the sound of my name. I smiled at them.

“Hello.”

Mark nodded, Karryn gave a little wave, and
Kearan blushed. I addressed all three of them.

“Why were you sent to Howel?”

“To find and capture you.” Mark looked at the
ground.

“Do you believe shifters are possessed?” I
saw the weariness pass over his face. “Don’t worry. You won’t be
executed if you say yes.”

He shook his head. “No. I don’t.”

“Me neither,” answered the girls
simultaneously.

“Alright. And you don’t want to go back to
Paradin?” I was rewarded with three head shakes. “Ok. Well, here’s
what I think we should do. We’ll keep your stones for now. If we
find you are trustworthy and you want to join my pack when we move
out, you’ll get the stones back. If you simply wish to stay here,
well, that’s up to Rainen.”

She nodded and swayed. William hopped on
behind her and pulled her against him. He whispered something in
her ear to which she nodded.

“Dodge, do you mind giving us a lift home?
Rainen needs to get back to sleep.”

I can. I’ll be back, Hayden.

I gave him a pat on the neck. “Sounds good,
Bud.” I turned to our new recruits. “You three stand behind us and
stay out of the way. You don’t want to be caught in the middle if a
fight breaks out without your stones. Alright, Collin. Call in the
next pack.”

He shifted into a wolf and gave a few short
howls which were answered by one long one. He shifted back. “This
will be Grant’s pack. With everyone in command in a coma, no one
has appointed a new captain.”

The pack of twenty walked into the courtyard
and lined up against the far wall at Collin’s orders. I scanned
them quickly and shook my head.

“All clear.”

The leaderless pack was sent away and the
next one called in, this one fifty strong.

“One.” I pointed her out to Collin who called
her forward. I watched her clench her jaw as the rest of the pack
was dismissed. Collin was about to give the order to surrender the
stone when she shifted into a bear and came running at me. Harold
and Gina shifted and met her head on. The human managed to clamp
her jaws down on Harold’s leg and he bellowed. Gina raked her claws
along the traitor’s side, making her throw her head in pain. Harold
grabbed her by the throat and bit, effectively killing her.

“That’s what it’s usually like,” I said to
Harold as he tossed me the woman’s stone. We watched Collin’s men
drag her away. I took a deep breath.

“Next.”

After scanning six more packs, all of them
ranging from twenty to a hundred strong, we discovered ten more
human imposters. Of those ten, nine were dead. The tenth, a man in
his forties, stood in front of us, asking for the chance to prove
he was on our side.

I turned to Mark. “Do you know him?”

He shook his head. “I’ve never seen him. He
must have just got here.”

“Steven!” I waited for him to join me. “Do
you recognize him?”

“No. I don’t.”

“What’s your name, sir?”

“George, miss.”

“Alright, George. Come here and give us your
stone and we’ll give you the benefit of a doubt.”

He nodded eagerly. “Yes, miss. Thank you,
miss.” He walked toward me earnestly, his hand outstretched, ready
to give me his stone. He was dropping it into my hand when I caught
a glint in his eye. I jumped back in time to dodge the dagger that
was aimed at my heart. I grabbed his wrist with one hand and drove
my elbow into his face. I pulled my dagger and thrust it backwards
into his gut. By then, Jasper was behind him with his own dagger.
He slid it against George’s throat and let the body fall to the
ground. He wiped his dagger on his pants, stuck it in his belt and
pulled me to his chest.

“Are you alright?”

I nodded, too shocked to speak. I bent down
and tugged my dagger out of the man’s body then cleaned it and put
it away.

Steven gave a whistle. “Wow. I’m more than
impressed, Hayden. I mean, I watched you two practice on the way
over here, but it is nothing compared to what you guys just did. It
was like watching a fight scene in a movie! How did you not get
each other by accident?”

I started to laugh. Jasper chuckled.

“Lots of practice.” I laughed again.

“Alright, Shlova. Let’s get you to bed. You
look like death warmed over.” I nodded and swung onto Dodge.