Redemption (Night Marchers #2) Written by: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels (16 page)

“Thank you Emma.” He responds in a sullen
tone. He picks his head up and looks me in the eyes. “Where should
I go to meet you tomorrow?” Paul asks.

“Well, we were camping by the waterfall until
someone ravaged the site. I guess we can salvage what little is
left so that we can be nearby for when I go meet with Eve tomorrow
before dawn.” I can't imagine leaving the area tonight to go to
another hotel. Not with all that's going on.

Paul responds, “I will meet you at the
waterfall then.” He gives me a very brief nod before turning away,
helping Tom with Adam's body. I watch as they swiftly build a
makeshift gurney and hoist Adam's lifeless body onto it. I stifle a
sob as they carry him off, both of their heads hanging low with
grief.

When they are no longer in sight I make my
way back over to Tristan and Kaylee. They haven’t moved any closer
since we first arrived out of respect for my wishes and the
Menehune's privacy. Both of them look mournful and I can tell that
Kaylee’s eyes are a bit bloodshot as if she’d been crying.

“Thanks guys, you know, for giving them
space.” I say quietly. "I um..." My voice cracks and I have to stop
speaking for fear that I will break down entirely.

Kaylee gives me a forced smile that just
curves the ends of her lips.

Tristan rubs my back gently; “We can talk
more when we get back.” He says. I take one quick look over my
shoulder to see that the Menehunes are gone.

When we arrive back at the campsite I tell
Tristan a little about the Menehunes. He didn’t seem too terribly
surprised about their existence, but I guess after you’ve seen a
Night Marcher up close, you are probably able to accept the
stranger things in life a little easier.

We begin salvaging what we can of the camp.
The tents are lying pretty much flat. I reach into them and try and
pull out the air mattresses only to find that they’re un-inflatable
due to big gashes running down the sides. I grab as many blankets
as I can from inside the tents and try to make three semi-decent
beds beside the base of the waterfall. Tristan gathers wood and
begins building a fire. I watch as Kaylee remains still looking
down at the water. The moon is reflecting off the ripples running
through the pool making a picture perfect scene. She pulls her
knees up to her chest and hugs them tight. I take a deep breath as
I try and put myself in her shoes. All of this is so much for even
me to handle, I just wonder if Kaylee is accepting all of this
okay. I keep telling myself just how lucky I am to have friends
like Tristan and Kaylee that will be with me through the thick and
thin.

I finish arranging the blankets and segments
of pillows I found and we all pile onto our makeshift beds. Here
are the three of us together, but not one person is speaking a
word. Everyone’s thoughts are somewhere else and I don’t see myself
breaking the silence any time soon. I stare at the crackling flames
and try and piece together all that has happened. I still can’t
believe that Adam died! It just doesn’t seem real; more like a
dream than a reality. The sorrow from tonight brings me into a
drained somber. I begin dozing off watching Tristan feed more wood
to the fire.

Chapter 10

I couldn't have been asleep more than a few
hours when I’m awoken by a small voice repeating my name over and
over. The drone makes me think of an alarm clock. I reach over in
my half slumber to try and hit the snooze button only to find
myself slapping someone on the head. I’m so startled I nearly jump
out of my skin. I sit up to find Paul rubbing the top of his head
liberally with his hand. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry Paul! I guess I
was dreaming that I was back home.”

Paul looks at me quizzically, “You hit people
when you wake up?”

I look at Paul's expression more closely to
see if he is kidding, hardly! I laugh quietly and respond, “Well,
not exactly. Let’s just say I’m not always a morning person…or
should I say before morning person.” The sky wasn’t even light yet,
but I could tell we had been asleep for a little while because of
the flames dying in the fire.

“Are you about ready to go?” Paul asks just
barely above a whisper.

“Yeah, let me just tell Kaylee real quick.”
I’m not even contemplating telling Tristan because I know how hard
he sleeps. I tap Kaylee on the arm only to have her turn away from
me. I give her a small shake and whisper in her ear. “Kaylee, it’s
Emma. Wake up just a sec.”

I hear a grunt from Kaylee as she peaks at me
from under her eyelids, “This had better be good,” she
grumbles.

“I’m going to go and meet Eve with Paul. I’ll
be back soon, okay?” Kaylee nods her head and curls back up into
the blankets. I grab my shoes and flashlight then set off with Paul
leading the way.

The walk doesn’t take more than twenty
minutes before I see a rocky structure up ahead. The cave entrance
is barely noticeable and if it weren't for Paul leading me to it, I
wouldn’t have found it on my own. When we reach the cave entrance
he gestures with his arm for me to go inside.

I hesitate ever so slightly, but force myself
to go inside. Eve is sitting near the corner of the cave dressed in
all white. If it weren't for her tired expression she would look
nearly angelic with the flickering light glowing off her from the
lantern stationed at her side. This cave is rather small, much like
the one that Tristan and I took shelter in only a few days ago, so
the light illuminates nearly every inch of it.

"Hello Emma." Eve greets me solemnly.

"Hi Eve." I say; my eyebrows drooped with
sadness. I don't know what to do, should I go hug her or comfort
her? "Um, how are you holding up?"

"I'm here." She says sadly but then clears
her throat and straightens out her features. "Thank you for coming.
Let's get to business."

I nod my head gesturing for her to lay it all
down.

"I am not sure why you were in the forest
last night, but I can only take it as a sign that you were meant to
help me. I wouldn’t normally ask another human for their help, but
with Kai gone, I don't know whom else I can trust. I just figured
if Kai trusted you, then I should trust you as well." She pauses a
moment contemplating how to word what she needs to say. "When I
found my husband last night he was barely alive hanging on only for
me. He signaled me by using 'ili 'ili stones. We often use river
rocks to communicate to one another when we are working on larger
projects."

I think about the clinking sound we kept
hearing. "That's how I found you. I heard the clicking and followed
it."

She nods slowly then continues. "He must have
somehow sensed or hoped that one of us was nearby. He had barely
escaped his captor. When I reached him his eyes sparkled for the
last time as he told me that he loved me and then before he died he
whispered the name of the person responsible for his death."

My eyes open wide in anticipation of hearing
who this murderer is.

"He told me it was Kao." Eve says his name as
if it were acid burning her tongue.

I gasp in horror. I mean I felt that Kao was
evil, but to murder a defenseless Menehune? I stand up and start
furiously pacing the small cave. Anger and fury radiate through my
pores as the realization of what Eve just said sinks in. The fact
that Kao has been allowed to murder once again sets me on edge.
"It's my fault Eve." I say eyes burning with tears. "If it weren't
for me, Kao would still be a Night Marcher."

She stands up and puts her hand on my back. I
should be the one comforting her not the other way around. I suck
in a deep breath and turn to face her ready to do whatever I have
to do to make this right.

"It's not your fault Emma. You cannot control
evil, my husbands blood is on his hands not yours." She says this
so strongly that I almost believe her.

"You don't understand, I've seen Kao around.
If only I could have known that he was the one hurting Adam. If I
could have stopped him in time, maybe just maybe I could have
prevented this." I say trying to work out the possibilities of what
I could have done in my head. I think about how Kao had just been
with me. The thought of why he left, probably to check on his dying
prisoner, makes me want to puke. Luckily nothing is in my
stomach.

"No Emma. You would not have been able to
stop him. He is much stronger than you and I would never want to
ask you to go up against a man of his caliber, but I might need to
now." She places both hands on my shoulders as if trying to get me
to stop blaming myself so she can get to the point. "First, I need
to hear about these run-ins that you have had with Kao." She spits
his name out again like venom.

I take a seat on the floor and she follows
suit; then I tell her everything. I tell her about the first
sighting at the cave with Tristan, then again underneath the
waterfall with Kaylee, how Kao probably tore apart our camp to send
me a message and lastly I tell her about how Kao saved me from
Kai.

After I finish telling her everything she
remains silent for a few moments. Just when I think she isn't going
to respond, she asks, "So, you say that when he saved you he told
you he wanted to help Kai by keeping you safe?"

I nod hesitantly. It does seem pretty absurd.
It just doesn’t add up.

"What motive do you think he had for this? It
makes no sense. Paul told me that when he was in captivity he was
not positive who his attacker was. He said he looked like Kai and
that he kept demanding that they tell him where the chiefs bones
are." She looks at me expectantly, "Do you know anything about
this?"

I shake my head confused. "No. I mean, Kai
told me the story of how he was chosen as a warrior to bury his
chief’s bones. He mentioned that they contained a mana so strong
that he had to keep its whereabouts protected. He believes that
this mana was what had given him the ability to live so long and
avoid death."

"Yes, I remember him mentioning his history
and why he was unlike other humans. I don't understand why Kao
would think that we know where the mana is." Eve says
contemplating.

"He was grasping at straws I'm sure. It's not
like he could just go ask Kai." I furrow my eyebrows angrily
thinking of how evil and greedy Kao is. He was so hungry for
immortality that he murdered for it. "I don't think Kai ever told
anyone where he buried his chief. He did mention that he buried the
bones at the base of a tree. There are thousands of trees on this
island though. He had said that the tree had a berry on it and this
is how he believes he was given a gift of something along the lines
of immortality." I gasp throwing my hands over my mouth as a
realization dawns on me.

"What Emma? What is it?" Eve asks
concerned.

I take a few deep breaths trying to calm my
heartbeat down. I had not given much thought to the berry before or
the correlation to the drink that Kai gave me. No, no, no. I can't
be, no! Eve starts shaking me trying to bring me out of my panic. I
calm down and begin, "When Kai saved me the first time from the
Night Marcher I hurt myself really badly. When I awoke he had made
me drink this tea that had a berry in it. Now, I don't know how to
explain this; now I'm all messed up Eve!" My eyes are wide with
shock. I can't think of a way to explain my quick healing other
than just showing it to her. I grab a jagged rock from the ground
next to me and slice my arm without thinking much of it.

Eve gasps in shock at my ridiculous action.
She grabs a canteen next to her and brings my bleeding arm next to
hers. "Emma, what in the world?" She says shocked before pouring
water over my arm. We both watch in astonishment as the blood
washes away from my skin showing only a quickly healing pink scar.
I don’t think I could ever get used to seeing my rapid healing in
action.

"Eve, what if that was the berry. You don't
think...Please tell me that you don't think that I'm immortal like
Kai now?" I say begging her to tell me I'm wrong.

Eve's eyes dart from my eyes to my healing
arm and then back again. "Emma, I'm sorry honey, I don't know what
to tell you. I don't know. Only Kai could know this answer." The
look she gives me is motherly and concerned until a storm cloud
passes over causing her features to furrow. "Has Kao seen you heal
like this?"

My heart starts pounding again at the memory
of his greedy eyes staring at my healing leg. "Yes." I say.

"Okay, okay, this may be an advantage for us.
Kao is not interested in helping Kai, he is only interested in
finding the source of immortality. Now that he's seen you heal like
this he may believe that you know where this source is." Eve
says.

"That's true, but how is that an advantage? I
don't understand how this would help us any." I state.

I watch as Eve’s eyes become very focused
like she’s lost in thought. “Emma, I have a plan and it just might
work.” She taps her chin a few times before continuing. “What I am
about to ask you to do might seem extreme and impossible. I just
want you to know that this is ultimately your decision whether to
do it or not. If you don’t feel comfortable, I will not for one
second hold it against you.”

I nod my head in understanding, willing her
to continue.

“I need you to act like you know the location
of the chiefs bones and I need you to convince Kao of this
too.”

I open my eyes a little wider but don’t say
anything in response.

Eve continues, “So here are my thoughts. If
you can get Kao to agree to help you rescue Kai in exchange for
immortality I believe we just might get him right where we need
him.”

“I’m not sure I’m following you.” I reply.
“How is this going to turn in our favor?”

“Last night, after we left, I went back to
the village and began rummaging through old documents from the
earliest days of our people. There was a treaty that was created
between the Chief of the Night Marchers and the Menehune Elders. It
was a treaty for peace created in hopes that we two would remain
civil and one not bother the other. There were a few rules that
were drawn up along with the treaty. One of the rules stated that
no Night Marcher shall harm or kill a Menehune for any reason and
visa versa. Should something of this magnitude happen the two
groups will call a meeting to shed light on the event and try and
agree on an appropriate punishment for those involved. If the
parties could not agree then the Pahu would sound, and the treaty
would be considered null and void creating an all out war.