Rise of Alpha (The Prodian Journey #1) (36 page)

“I would be next in line if there were no heir. You are the hope of our people. That is why we did whatever we could to keep you safe and away from the watchful eyes of the Ergans and the leaders of Pratrim.”

“You risked Shannon’s life to protect me?” I backed my chair away as another wave of spasms hit me. Clasping my hands behind my back, I tried to stop the tics from coming full blast. “Why have you kept us in the dark?”

“Putting a child in harm’s way is the most painful thing a mother can do, and I would not have risked her if there were any other way. But we had to convince our enemies that I am the new leader of Tranak, which meant putting her in a vulnerable position.”

I stared at Detherina in disbelief that she had made my Shannon a sacrificial lamb on my behalf. “No. This will stop now.”

“Is that an order?” Detherina asked.

“What do you mean?” I leaned on the counter while my knees shook. “This is madness,” I whispered to myself.
 

“You reached maturity today, which explains the headaches and keener hearing. Your eyesight will improve in a few days. Once you get to Tranak, you will be endowed with all the gifts we possess. Then you will take the seat of your ancestors.”

“I don’t believe you.”
 

“Come with me, and I will prove it.”
 

Like a petulant child, I muttered under my breath and followed her with reluctance.
 

Detherina led me to the bathroom and snapped her fingers. The lights turned on by themselves. “Look at your body in the mirror.” She stepped aside.

When I lifted my shirt and turned around, I discovered the same markings I had seen on Shannon’s neck. “What the hell? How come I’m just seeing this now?”

“Matro tells me that you don’t spend much time looking at yourself in the mirror. The mark has been there all along, but it was not as pronounced until now.”

“You mean my parents could see it?” The marks were in red, running across the nape of my neck and down to my tailbone. There were inscriptions in a language I didn’t recognize.

Detherina nodded.
 

“The others?”

“Humans can’t see the marking unless you allow them to do. Yours is bigger than most, being the mark of the true successor to the throne.”
 

I pulled my shirt back down. “What does that inscription mean?”

“It is your name. Your father asked the assembly to name you Alpha when he learned your mother was having a boy. However, Cynthia wanted you to have a normal childhood, so she gave you a common human name.”

“Did my father know about all of this? Gerald, I mean. Not Drenton.”

“That is for your mother to answer.”

Detherina led me back to the kitchen.
 

“What about Shannon?” I asked her.

“She will return with me to Tranak on her birthday. There, the stain bestowed on her by Axhatas will be purged.”

“When is her birthday?” I asked. Funny, in all the time we’d spent together, I’d never thought to ask.

“In four days.”

I slumped to the floor under the weight of this revelation. “What about Dad? Where did he fit in?”

Mom dropped to the floor next to me and cradled me in her arms. “He knew I was carrying somebody else’s child when he married me, and he loved you like his own. He wanted you to have a normal childhood and refused to expose you to your father’s people until we could no longer prevent it. We planned to tell you about your heritage together. He wanted to be here with you when you faced this.”

Tears spilled from my eyes, and this time, I didn’t try to hide my grief. Together, Mom and I cried for the loss of a great man who had been the only father I’d known.
 

“Was everything a lie?”

“A lie told often enough becomes the truth. We did this for your safety and the safety of the people you will lead.” Detherina closed her eyes.
 

“I’m sorry that you had to find out this way, baby,” Mom sobbed.

“Did you know this was coming?”
 

She hesitated. “I feared it might be. When you started getting into fights, I knew some kind of change was coming.”

I looked at her and was reminded of that night she locked herself in the bathroom. “Was all this the reason Dad grounded me?”

“He was hoping that if we were able to limit your association with the Aarmarks, your transition would slow down. I’m so sorry we kept you in the dark.”

I nodded. It wasn’t an easy pill to swallow, but it wasn’t her fault that my destiny was taking a mean detour. Everything I knew and believed in had changed with the snap of a finger.

“Detherina, I have one request,” Mom said. “Brian gets to stay here until after he graduates. That was Gerald’s wish, too.”

Detherina turned to Matro. “You think you can handle the situation here until then?”
 

Matro gave me a hard look, and then nodded. “The boy is a natural. With a bit more training, he might be better than Drenton. He was able to wound Axhatas. That is not beginner’s luck.”

“Well then, we will get all the full-bloods here to help guard Alpha. You will be with him at all times.”

Matro smirked. “Haven’t I been up till now?”

It was time for me to speak up. “Wait, what? You mean you’ve been watching me my whole life?”

“Never a dull moment with you, kid.” He laughed.

“Do Mark and Darryl know anything about my real identity?”

“No, it would have been too risky. They are human, which was enough to keep you safe. Your Tourette’s made it a bit easier to hide you. With a human affliction, the spawns of Pratrim wouldn’t suspect you at all.”

All the suffering I’d endured had wound up being my saving grace. Well hello, irony.
 

“What happens to Kevin? Is he a part of this?”

“He was manipulated by Axhatas, I’m afraid, but he will not be a concern now. Say the word, and we’ll take care of him for you.”

That took me aback. “We’re not murderers, you hear me? We’re not killing humans, ever. You do your thing in Tranak, but we will go with human morality here.”

Matro bowed his head. “As you wish.”

Mom took my hand. “We’re going to bury your father as soon as they release his body. I’m sorry you had to find out this way.”
 

“I’m not leaving without you.”
 

“I can’t come with you, baby boy. There is no room for me in your father’s world.”
 

I shook my head. “There is no way I am going to leave you by yourself.”
 

“I’ve been preparing myself from the moment I found out I was pregnant with you.
 
The memory of you and Drenton and Gerald will always be with me, so I will never be alone.”
 

All of a sudden, the revelations of the day became too much to bear. I felt my muscles tighten without warning, and all I could manage was to cling to my mom before the room spun out of control.
 

Then everything went dark.

“Curly? Are you okay?” Shannon’s voice roused me.
 

I opened my eyes and found her staring down at me with a worried frown. We were in my room, curled up on my bed together. “What happened?”

“Your mom called me. She told me that you passed out after you found out about your dad. Oh, Brian. I’m so sorry.” Shannon wrapped her arms around me and cried into my shoulder. “This is so unfair. Both of our fathers.”

Still a bit disoriented, I hugged her close and tried to get my bearings. There were no words I could offer that would make any of this better.

After a while, her sobbing stopped. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know how it could be true.”

I sat up next to her. “I’m sure Dad didn’t kill himself.”

“If he didn’t . . . who did?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll be damned if I don’t find out.” I would stop at nothing to avenge my dad’s death, even if he wasn’t my biological father.
 

Shannon nodded and fell silent for a moment. Then she said, “Would you like something to eat?”

My stomach growled on cue, but I shook my head. Instead, I took the remote from the nightstand and started flipping through the channels until I found the news. No matter what I was going through, I hadn’t forgotten my dreams. I was determined to prevent the deaths I’d seen in my nightmare.

The news anchor began addressing recent earthquake predictions and recommendations made by geologists. While several coastal states were mentioned, the California Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council had determined that no great risk existed in California. I remembered my vision of a long bridge collapsing, and I knew.
San Francisco!

I dialed 9-1-1 on my cell phone and didn’t bother letting the woman who answered finish her greeting. “I want to report that a huge earthquake will hit San Francisco. You have to warn everyone. People are going to die.”

“Sir, we do not take prank calls lightly. I suggest you hang up now. Do not contact us as a joke again, or you will be subject to arrest.” Then I heard a click, and the sound of the dial tone followed.

“She hung up on me,” I muttered to myself.

“Curly, what’s going on? What earthquake are you talking about?” Shannon yanked at my arm.
 

“Nothing. I just panicked when I saw the news.” How could I tell her about my dreams? Would she even believe me?

“I’ve been having some strange dreams,” she said out of nowhere.
 

I gaped at her. “What kind of dreams?”
 

Her expression turned guilty. “The night before the dance, I dreamt that someone killed your dad. I didn’t really think too much about it when I woke up, but then I heard the news this morning.”

“You dreamed about my dad?”
 

Shannon nodded.
 

“Who killed him? What did it look like?”
 

“I couldn’t see clearly. There was this figure in a dark robe. All I remembered seeing was the hands—”

“What hands? What did it do to him?”

“It pushed something inside your dad’s mouth. It wasn’t really a hand, more like claws. That’s all I could remember when I woke up.”

“Fuccccckkkkk!” The word was out of my mouth before I could stop myself.
 

“What do we do now?” Shannon ran a shaky hand across her forehead, and her eyes were filled with fear.

Rightful Heir

Monday morning rolled in like a thick, sunless haze. Mom contacted my school first thing to tell them I’d be absent for the week. I didn’t mind not going to classes, but I was worried about Shannon. After a quick phone call to Mark and Darryl, I’d established them as her guards, and I knew that Car and Orida would be on hand to assist. I wouldn’t take chances with Shannon’s life.
 

As usual, Mark honked the horn when he arrived, not at all concerned that he was waking up the entire neighborhood. I raced out of the house to stop him.

“Dude, can the honking, will you?” I hissed when I stuck my head inside the passenger window.

“Oh, sorry,” he said, raking his fingers through his hair.
 

Despite his apology, I knew he’d do it again tomorrow.
 

Darryl looked up from his cell phone. “Are you okay, Bri?”
 

“Yeah,” I said with a shrug. “Have to help my mom make arrangements.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll keep an eye on Shannon.” Mark flashed a thumb’s up. “Car will be waiting by the entrance.”

I debated whether tell them about my mind-boggling revelations from the night before, but I decided to hold off. Mark and Darryl had been dragged into this mess deep enough.
 

“Thanks guys. I’ll text later.”

Shannon came out looking bedraggled, which was a first. Yet she smiled when she spotted me and said, “I’ll call you.”

Darryl switched to the backseat and let Shannon take the front.