Redemption (Night Marchers #2) Written by: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels (14 page)

Once Kao gets the 'bandages' secured around
my leg, the intense pain becomes a dull and nagging throb.

“Can you walk?” Kao asks me hesitantly
pulling me to my feet. I test out my leg and stumble slightly. Kao
takes that as his cue to fasten his arm around me to help me get
inside. He opens the door and illuminates the tree house with his
flashlight. It’s just as I remembered it from the one time Kai took
me here. The wooden walls, log cabin style, sparsely decorated with
only a few furnishings, one of these including a small cot with a
table sitting next to it. Kao helps me to the cot and removes his
arm from around my waist. I sit down and watch as he moves around
the tree house getting matches to light the lantern. It’s eerie to
me how well he knows this place, as if he’s been here before. I
watch a flame come to life as he lights the lantern. More light
begins spilling around the small, enclosed room. A feeling of Déjà
vu fills me as I remember how not too long ago I sat in this very
room with Kai, healing from a broken leg.

I watch as Kao silently, but methodically
begins making me something to drink. For the first time I notice a
small cooking area with a single gas burner. There is a basin that
is beside it with a waterspout looking like an archaic sink. Kai
returns several minutes later with a cup of steaming tea.

“Careful, it’s hot,” he warns. I lean in to
take a few sips noticing the similar taste between the one I have
now and the one Kai had given me previously. The only thing missing
is the single berry at the bottom of the cup. I take a few more
sips of the hot tea and set it beside me on the bedside table to
let it cool. I lean my head back against the wall, struggling to
not give into the pain that radiates down my leg. Thankfully, it
doesn’t feel as bad as it looks. Kao brings a chair over to me and
sits.

“You know, you look just like her.” I hear
Kao say, barely above a whisper.

I let out a small breath of air and purse my
lips. I’m not really sure what to say to this. I drop my eyes and
look at my hands. The dirt has made its way under my fingernails
giving them a dingy, filthy look.

Sitting in the silence finally gives me the
opportunity to think. I can’t for the life of me figure out why on
earth I am sitting here not freaking out. Kao should put me on
edge, but yet he’s giving me no reason to mistrust him in this
instance.

Before I have more time to make a list in my
head of why I should hate Kao he begins to speak. “My brother and I
use to be very close.”

My eyebrows turn in, and he must notice the
confusion on my face. This goes against everything that Kai told
me. According to Kai, Kao killed his fiancé Heleya because of a
jealousy between the two, practically since birth. Apparently, Kao
was older, but because the Chief found evil in his heart, he chose
Kai to lead the tribe after his death. This in turn caused Kao to
plot to destroy Kai’s life, taking away anything and everything he
loved. I feel Kao’s eyes staring at me and I look up unsure of what
to say.

Kao begins to fill the silence again. “I’m
not sure what Kai has said about me, but I’m not the same person I
was when I was younger. I’ve had a lot of time to think over the
years…” his voice trails off as I can see him remembering what it
must have been like being trapped as a Night Marcher. “I just wish
I could apologize to Kai for everything I had done when we were
younger. I wish I could take it all back.”

I’m not sure what I had expected Kao to say,
but it certainly wasn’t that. "Well you can't." I say boldly
staring at him dead on. I feel like I need to speak up for Kai.
This man in front of me hurt him and betrayed him.

Kao holds my stare for a few uncomfortable
moments and then says, "Yes. I realize that. I will work on making
amends though."

I look down, severing our eye contact and
wonder how one could make amends for so much hurt.

"Yes, Emma, I will make amends. That's why I
was there tonight. I'm trying to find a way to free Kai from the
Night Marchers."

My head jerks up to look into his eyes. I
study them trying to read to see if his confession is true. Is he
really trying to help Kai?

He continues, "I didn't expect to see you
there though, but I know that Kai would have wanted me to help you.
You are very special to him, I can tell."

The way he says the last part makes me feel
uneasy and something inside me tells me that I shouldn't confirm
anything to Kao. "He helped me, we were friends. That was about
all." I say trying to add a blasé tone to my voice.

"Hmm." He says tapping his fingers on his
knee before he stands up and walks across the room. I watch as he
pours some hot water into a bowl and grabs a clean cloth out of a
cabinet. He walks back over and sits down next to me. "Lets get
that wound cleaned up." He grabs my leg and props it up on his
knee. I don't even think about my rapid healing until he's already
unwrapped the makeshift bandages.

He grabs the cloth, soaks it in water then
rings it out. He puts the cloth to the clotting blood that covers
my leg and starts wiping it away. I hold my breath and my heart
starts pounding as I wait to see what will be underneath the drying
blood. He wipes more blood away. The wound is still there, but it
looks like it's closing up and nearly healed.

He looks up at me confused. I dare to look
into his eyes. We hold each other's stares silently. He breaks the
connection first and looks down at my leg and back up at me. This
time, I see a look flash across his eyes ever so briefly, but it
was there. The look was cunning and sly and it made my stomach roll
with nausea. He couldn't know why I am healing so quickly, could
he?

He breaks the silence, "Well, it looks like
the cut wasn't as bad as it had first appeared." He tries to say it
nonchalantly but I can hear the slight hint of tension in his
voice.

I decide it's best to play along, "Yeah, it
looks like it. Good deal." He gives me the once over which is my
queue to change the subject. "So, what's the plan?" I hold my
breath waiting to see if we can move on without him asking me any
questions about my miraculous healing.

"You are safe for tonight, so it's up to you.
Do you want me to take you back to your friends?" He says still
eyeing my leg.

That's a good question. Going back to Tristan
and Kaylee could very well put them in danger. If I stay away they
will most likely involve the authorities because of my
disappearance, which means that my dad will be informed that I’m
here, and once again missing. That's absolutely not an option. I
have put my father through more than enough to last him a lifetime.
"We need to go back...Tonight."

Kao looks up at me and raises his eyebrow in
question. "You want me to take you back tonight?"

I nod. It's my only option. I just hope that
when I get back I won't find the whole area turned into a crime
scene. Hopefully Tristan and Kaylee will have held out on
contacting anyone, at least for one night.

He eyes me again and then nods in
confirmation. "Well then, I guess we should head out. Does your leg
feel okay to walk on?"

I guess it was too much too hope that my
rapid healing had gone unnoticed with Kao. I shiver when I see him
looking at my leg with greedy, hungry eyes. I can tell that his
curiosity is peeked now. I feel like I’m walking on eggs shells;
Kao is like a ticking time bomb. "Yes, it's fine. Like I said, it
must not have been as bad as it looked." I stand up to prove the
point and head towards the front door.

"Okay, lets go then." He says opening the
door for me.

I head out first and once we make it to
ground level I allow him to lead me in silence. My heart is
pounding with anxiety. I'm not sure what I'm going to arrive to
when we get back to the campsite.

Once we get closer Kao breaks the silence.
"When we get there do you want me to explain what happened?"

"Um, well, I was hoping that we can part ways
before we get there."

Kao spins around so fast that I literally run
straight into his chest. I jump back startled. He stares at me with
furious eyes, "You think I'm going to leave you alone? My brother
is out there. He is going to hunt you down. There is no way I'm
leaving you alone. You will be killed before the end of the day
tomorrow. Or you will become one of them."

I feel the heat flame up in my cheeks as
anger surges through me. "I didn't ask you to protect me Kao! I can
deal with this on my own, I don’t need you to try to play hero.
After all, less than a week ago
you
were the one trying to
murder me!
You
were the one who turned
your
brother
into a Night Marcher! Why should I trust you?"

His eyes widen in surprise, as if he's not
used to being yelled at by women. What catches me off guard though,
is that there's no anger in his expression. "I'm not asking you to
trust me Emma. I'm telling you that I will not be leaving you
alone. Yes, my brother is a Night Marcher because of me. The least
I can do is help the woman he sacrificed himself for."

I stare at him trying to search his eyes for
the truth. His words say that he's genuinely interested in helping
me, but the tone he portrays hints at being artificial. I can see
nothing in his black eyes that tell of his true motives. I don't
know what to believe. How can this Kao that stands in front of me,
be the same Kao that murdered Kai's fiancé so many years ago? Kai
told me that he's selfish and evil. A person can't change who they
are, can they? I don't know what to believe, but I can tell that
Kao's going to stand firm on his decision to stick around. "Fine."
I say.

He nods and starts walking again. I simply
follow in silence.

Chapter 9

When we arrive at the campsite I find Kaylee
sitting near the fire, her head in her hands. Tristan is nowhere in
sight. "Kaylee!" I yell to her and start running. She looks up; her
face is red and swollen with tears.

"Oh my gosh, Emma!" She says, tears of relief
springing from her eyes. She runs and meets me halfway and we crush
into one another hugging with all our might.

We both cry for a few minutes holding each
other. "I'm sorry Kaylee." I say whole-heartedly.

She pulls away and searches my eyes. "What in
the world happened Emma? Tristan is out making one more round
before we were going to call the police. What the…!" She turns on
her heal looking in Kao's direction. Her expression is so boiling
hot with anger that you could probably fry an egg on her. She
stomps forward to where Kao is standing.

I continue standing emotionless, as if the
whole scene is playing out in slow motion. The piercing sound of
flesh hitting flesh rings out in the air as Kaylee smacks Kao
straight across the face. My eyes open wide in shock, "Kaylee!"

"You bastard! You took her! You better not
have hurt her! I will freaking kill you if you laid a hand on her!"
She rears her hand back to hit him again but I grab it just in the
nick of time. Not that I didn't enjoy watching Kaylee smack Kao but
he really doesn't deserve it in this instance.

She whirls around to face me, "Emma, what did
he do to you?"

"He didn't do anything Kaylee, at least not
today. He helped me." I say looking over Kaylee's shoulder at Kao.
Thankfully he doesn't look pissed off, he just looks a little
surprised and perhaps amused while he rubs the side of his
face.

"He helped you?" She asks jabbing her finger
in his direction.

"Yeah, he did. He saved me from...from Kai."
Saying it out loud brings tears back to my eyes. "I...I looked at
him in the eyes Kaylee. I was trying to shake him out of the Night
Marcher trance, but it didn't work."

"She struck the curse, again." Kao chimes
in.

Kaylee turns sideways so she can look at both
of us. She doesn't show an ounce of regret for having slapped Kao.
She asks, "Again?"

"Yes, the urge to follow through with his
mission will consume Kai now. It's probably running through his
blood, a need so strong that it can only be quenched through her
blood, her sacrifice." Kao says it all like a man who knows
intimately what Kai is going through.

I start shaking from the thought of what I
caused. "It's a huge mess." I say quietly.

"A freaking hot mess! What are we going to
do?" Kaylee asks looking from Kao to me. She notices my shaking and
pulls me close to her. "Don't worry honey, we will get this all
figured out."

"I'm not sure how we can fix this now Kaylee.
I only came back to tell you that I've got to leave you here with
Tristan. It's not safe me being around you while Kai is hunting
me." I jump when a hand flies onto my shoulder from behind me.

"To hell you will!" Tristan says angrily. He
spins me around to face him. "Where in the world were you?" His
face is red hot with fury.

"I uh..." Words aren't forming in my brain. I
have never seen Tristan look this angry and it being directed
towards me really sets me back.

"Give her a break Tristan! She's been through
a lot." Kaylee says stepping up to stand next to me. She always has
my back.

"No offense Kaylee, but I'm talking to Emma."
He looks back at me; his aquamarine eyes are set into a hard stone
like stare. "I have been running around this island looking for you
in a panic. Every horrific possibility of what could have happened
to you flashed across my mind. I want answers now! Where were
you?"

It takes a lot for me to keep from tearing up
at his harsh tone, but I will myself to keep a straight face. I
have been crying way too much lately, in fact, I think I've cried
more than enough to last me the rest of my lifetime. I need to be
strong if I want to get through this. I stick my chin up in the air
stubbornly, "You don't have to yell at me Tristan, seriously!"