Fated Release (Fated Keepers Series Book 2) (5 page)

Chapter 3

Lyon

              I probably shouldn’t have separated from Tris and Orin, but seeing their bond develop and get stronger everyday was just tearing me apart more inside. I wanted to be back home, with Arsema in my arms once again, but I know that is impossible, at least until I find the Shaman and take him or her back to help Arsema. I still feel like such a failure for not protecting her, even if the person she needed the most protection from, ended up being herself. I should have been there for her; I should have kept her safe.

              I feel the loss of our bond like a physical blow. I feel like a part of my body is missing. It’s like waking one day and only having one arm, or leg. I reach for her instinctually through my side of the bond, my soul reaching out for its keeper, only to run into a black wall of nothingness, an impenetrable force field, separating me from Arsema. As soon as she went into the coma, I lost her. Finding the Shaman is the only lead we have on bringing her back and I am determined to locate him or her. I just pray Elmeri is right and the shaman magic will be able to awaken her. 

              I didn't tell Tris, but she was partly right. I am not sure how I will survive out here much longer.  I feel myself growing weaker and weaker every day. It has less to do with food and sleep than she thinks. No, this is something more. The longer I'm away from Arsema, the weaker I become. My soul feels like it is slowly rotting away inside of me. I feel it disintegrating. I ache all over. From head to toe and no amount of pain medicine will help relieve the pain. My limbs are heavy and it takes everything I have inside of me to pick my legs up and move forward another step. The farther I move away from Arsema the worse it becomes. I should turn around, but I can't give up yet. I am her only help. I can survive anything for her. She is my soulkeeper.

I know from the stories I have heard growing up, that soul keepers were not meant to be separated. And to do so would lead to horrible consequences, but I also know that I'm the one with the best chance of finding the one person, who can save Arsema. Elmeri remembers reading somewhere that shamans hold special magic within themselves, connecting them to the Earth itself. It’s a long shot, but it is the only thing we have to try at the moment and unless someone comes up with a better idea, I will continue to search and pray.

Leaving her side was a chance I had to take. I wouldn't ever have considered taking a gamble with my soul keeper’s life, but desperate times call for desperate measures and in this case if I didn't leave, I feared I could lose her forever.

The pain I feel is a constant reminder to what I have left behind. It tempts me daily to turn around, go back. I fight it the only way I know how, by taking one step at a time. I just pray that I will find the shaman soon so that we can all return home where we belong.

It’s only been a day since I left Tris and Orin and I already miss their company. I even find myself missing Tris’
non stop
banter and smart mouth. I can see how she would be good for Arsema. Tris is so carefree and honest with her opinion. She doesn't sugar coat anything. If you anger her in any way, then you know about it. And boy can that girl hold a grudge. I know I will be paying for the stunt I pulled leaving her alone with Orin for a long while to come. I laugh out loud thinking of the many ways she will probably torture me in the future.

I think back to the onetime Tris held a grudge against Orin for weeks. Tris had been saying for over a week how she wanted a bunny. When I say she had been saying it, I mean she found a way to fit it in every conversation we had all day, every day. Nonstop. Every Time she saw something scurry through the woods she would jump up and proclaim “Oh! Wouldn't it just be great to have a fat little rabbit? I’d love one for myself!!!”

Ok so if you have never spent any time with Tris when she wants something then you probably don't understand, but let me just say that by the end of the week I was ready to go get the girl a bunny myself. Thankfully I didn't.

Orin left one day just before dawn. I thought he had finally tossed in his cards and gave up altogether, but he returned a few hours later, with a fat little rabbit on the line. He had spent 2 hours tracking and hunting it just for her, so he could make her happy. Did it make her happy? Oh no!!! Tris ran out of her makeshift tent when Orin yelled that he found her a bunny only to come to dead standstill when she saw him standing there holding the bloody, white rabbit, its head hanging to the side.

Tris burst out screaming and wailing like someone had murdered her puppy and ran off to the stream where I got nominated to go talk to her. I honestly couldn't understand what had happened and I just prayed Aresma didn't have mood swings like these. Turns out Tris wanted a LIVE bunny as a pet! Not rabbit for breakfast or lunch or even dinner… I know! Crazy right! But hey she’s a chick so what do you do?

Anyway Tris didn't speak to Orin for weeks after that except to call him a glorified bunny killer and occasionally an assassin. He finally made it up to her when he found a den that a coyote had raided. The mother was killed but a tiny baby bunny was left helpless and in need of a new mommy. Tris took the bunny under her wing and raised it until it was able to return to the wild just a few weeks ago. Thank the fates the coyote had stepped in otherwise Orin would still be in the doghouse.

Chapter 4

Arsema

How long has it been since I've been trapped in here? Inside my own mind? I want to leave. I do. I want to be out there with my friends and my family, I want to be with Lyon, but every time I get close to the edge of consciousness, something sucks me back under. If only I could reach Lyon. The connection I had with his mind evaporated the moment I fainted. I can still feel the bond. I can still feel him, tired and worried. He is moving farther and farther away from me and I am seriously worried. With each step he takes, I grow weaker. Our bond grows weaker. I feel him grow weaker. I need him here, with me. I still can't understand what would have pulled him away from me to begin with. This is crazy. We need to be together. We belong together.

I try to reach out to him again with my mind. I feel the tendrils of my power reaching through our bond, seeking its other half. I'm getting excited. I can feel him, just there a little farther. BAM! It’s like I hit a stone wall. I ease my power along the crevices, searching for any cracks I may be able to squeeze through. Nothing. It’s impenetrable. There has to be a way to get to him.

I can feel him slipping away. He’s losing himself. The sickness and pain I feel at being separated from him seems to be magnified in him. I can't stand this anymore! I lash out in fury with all the power I have...anger, frustration, worry, pain, all adding to my desperate attempt at reaching him. I throw all of this at the stupid wall. CRACK.

I hear the tiny splinter and I allow myself to hope just for the tiniest moment, that I made a dent. Please, dear God! If you're out there, HELP ME! I reach out searching along the giant road block in my life line to Lyon and I feel it a miniscule little crack. But it gives me hope. And hope is stronger than anger and pain combined. With hope, I can tear this wall down. With hope, I can reach Lyon. I can do this! I repeat this over and over with each and every strike I make against the block until exhaustion claims me and I slump defeated once again into the bliss of unconsciousness.

“Arsema, Mo inion, can you hear me?” Erik whispers gently in my ear. “Elmeri believes you can still hear and feel everything going on around you, that you are just unable to wake yourself up. I don’t know if I want this to be true of not. I want you to rest in peace while you can my daughter. I fear the future the fates have planned for you is going to be anything but easy.”

I hear him and I try with all my might to move my finger or twitch my eyelid to let him know that I can in fact hear his words. I want more than anything to be out there with them, my family. Nothing I try works. I am spending energy I don't have to waste.

“I Love you daughter. I don’t know if I told you that before. My God I wish I had the last the last 17 years back. I wish more than anything that I had been there to watch you grow up into the beautiful young lady you are today. I missed so much. I can't go back in time and get those years back mo inion, but I promise you from today forward you are my one and only concern. I will do anything in my power to ensure you have the future you deserve.”

I feel a tear slide down my cheek from his eye when he leans forward to kiss my temple. I wish I would wrap my arms around him and tell him how much I love him too, even though we have only known each other for a short time, he is my daddy. I hate that he wasn't a part of my childhood too and a part of me hates my mother for shielding me from him. I don't feel that was her decision to make. It was selfish and in the end it only hurt me more, but hate is a pointless emotion that I will not allow to infect my soul. Instead I will make the best of the future, as soon as I am out of this coma.

Chapter 5

Tris             

Seriously, there has got to be a better way to track down a freaking Shaman! I mean really! I get that they are all in hiding and blah, blah, blah, but sheesh! Set up a Face book page or something! A 1-800 number or use some of that voodoo magic and cast up a spell so you KNOW when someone really needs you! And while you're casting up spells and using all that voodoo mumbo jumbo how about creating me a nice little concoction for making annoying males shut up? No? Well fine then, I’ll just wait ‘til he falls asleep and duct tape his mouth shut.

Okay so I probably won't really do that, but My God if he doesn't quit asking me if I'm O.K,  then I can't be held responsible for my actions. Like seriously. Yes, I get that he is being a good guy and I may or may not have been feeling under the weather, but does he need to ask every two minutes? Like a broken record?

"Are you ok, Tris? You don't look so good, M'anam."

Like I need a constant reminder of how crappy I look! I mean really! And if it’s so bad, then why do I find him constantly staring at me? Eyeballing me like I'm a glass of Kool-aid after a walk across the desert?  I am in the middle of a forest, searching for a Shaman. Bathing in creeks and using bushes as my own personal bathroom. Seriously!  Gah! MEN! It would be nice if we were able to stay in towns, or cities or heck Id even take rat infested motels at this point, but no. The closest I get to spending anytime in civilization is when we cross a town. Then we stop and charge our cells and our portable chargers, refill our supplies and every once in awhile I get to take a real shower. The last time we stopped we were in a hurry so I just ran in and snatched all the tiny bottles of shampoo and soap I could find while Orin charged everything up. Hey don't judge me; A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

I stop and lean against a tall tree, resting my head against the rough bark and try to breathe steadily. I have had the worst headache going on two weeks. It’s not going away. I used up the bottle of Ibuprofen, I had stashed in my bag, in three days. It just keeps on... getting worse and worse as the days go by. And now on top of that, I am getting these dizzy spells. Almost like the world starts spinning but I'm not moving with it. I just watch it go round and round. I wonder if I really did accidentally eat some poisonous berries trying to cure my poo problem. Gah I hope not!

The first time the dizziness happened, I think I started spinning with it, trying to keep up. That didn't work so well, I just ended up landing on my butt in a pile of mud. Talk about embarrassing. Come to think of it these dizziness spells have been getting worse and worse over the last few days and I know it’s not the berries. I haven't had any of them since right after Lyon left. Its gotta be something else. I wonder away from Orin for a minute to find a little privacy. I have been needing to pee for the last mile at least, but I keep holding it, hoping for flatter terrain. It isn’t going to wait any longer now. Skidding down a small slope I glance back up to make sure Orin isn't following and then pull my pants down and squat behind and full bush.

"Tris, what's wrong, m'anam? Please talk to me. I only want to help you." Orin says immediately noticing that I have stopped walking again.

              Seriously!!!! This man is gonna be the death of me! Not only did he scare the bejesus out of me but he broke my concentration, lucky for him I didn't lose my balance and fall into my own urine.

"I’m fine. I just needed a break. I’m good now. Let’s go." I say pulling my pants up and then heading back up the small incline. The ground chose that moment to reach up and greet me. Thankfully, Orin caught me before I face planted it in the dirt.

"Come on. We are making camp here tonight. You are worn out." He says picking me up in his arms and carrying me to a fallen log where he gracefully sets me down.

"I’ll be right back. I’m going to gather the wood for a fire. Yell out if you need me. I mean it. Stop being so stubborn and let me help you, Tris."

I just nod, unable to argue with him at all. Within minutes he is back and has a fire blazing. The warmth fills me, making me feel better instantly. I gaze across the blazing fire at Orin, taking his perfect features. His hair is gotten even longer since when I first met him. It’s hard to believe that has been over 6 months ago. I will always remember the day he burst through the basement door at my mother’s house. I had just spoken to Arsema somehow in my own head and I wasn't real sure if I had finally crossed over to the loony side or if all this was really happening. Then there he was, standing in the doorway with this beautiful perplexed look on his face. I remember lifting my head enough to be able to see him, really see him and then I knew… I was dead. Surely no one this magnificent existed anywhere except heaven.

It took him about 2.5 seconds to jump into motion and then there was no stopping him. He ripped the chains from my body and caught me as I slumped forward. His hands on my body woke me from my delirious daydream the way a pinch on the arm would. He was real and he was here to rescue me. So naturally, in true Tris fashion, I allowed him to scoop me up in his arms and pointing toward the door I said “Onward Romeo… Our kingdom awaits!”

A giggle escapes me recalling my silly antics and Orin looks over at me curiously. I don’t want to go into detail about what has me laughing so I change the topic to something else that has been bugging me for a while now.

“Hey, will you try to call my mom’s phone from your cell? I have tried several times to reach her, but I haven't gotten a hold of her in a while. I’m kind of worried.”

“Sure babe. What’s her number?”

I call out the ten digits and then wait as he listens for an answer. Five rings later it is obvious he isn't going to get one. He hangs up when the voicemail picks up signaling that her box is full.

“I have never gone this long with her at least checking in. I mean she hasn't ever been the most present parent, but she usually would text me by now. Do you think she is alright?”

“I don't know m’anam, but we will find out. Don’t worry yourself too much.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. I’m sure she’s just shacked up with a co-worker or client.” I say to him trying to take his advice and let it go for now. I probably am just overreacting, but after all the hell I have been through the last year, I don’t want to take any chances.