Shadow's Dangers (43 page)

Leighton! It's her voice! She's here!
It took me a few seconds for the name she said to make its way in me. This gave me the same effect as if someone had sent me a punch in the stomach before the happiness of their presence at my side overwhelmed me despite the hell I experienced. It was Garreth’s voice that I had heard. Not that of an insurgent. That meant they were gone and wouldn't hurt me anymore. The thought that I was saved filled me with joy, but I quickly realized something was wrong.

Despite the unexpected reunion, they weren't happy. Only horror, helplessness, and sadness were heard in their voices. Then I finally got it. Leighton was talking about me. Even if they had found me, it was too late to save me. I was doomed. And both would have to attend to my death, which was the worst case scenario. At that moment, I didn't suffer just for me but for them, too and for the fact that once again, they would witness the death of a loved one.

“She needs blood. This is the only...”

I barely had time to recognize Travis’ voice before Garreth was already shouting at him.

“You damn traitor! I'll kill you!”

“No!” Leighton cried while sounds more and more violent were approaching.

Panic overwhelmed me imagining what was happening. I was convinced that by leaving my body here, the rebels ambushed the Wates to make them come to me in order to kill them. I tried to get up to see what was happening while suppressing the wave of pain that manifested at my movement.

“No!”

Silence fell at once before Leighton appeared in my field of vision, her face distorted by a sorrowful expression.

“Oh no...What have you done, Deliah?” she whispered.

The next second, Garreth loomed above me. I never saw him wear a look that was so overwhelmed and tortured. Not even when he learned about the death of his brother, Aidan. However, if it was my destiny to die this day, selfishly, I was comforted to have them by my side to accompany me until the end. Maybe Tess and my parents would welcome me in the afterlife, a thought that I found rather comforting.

“Lila?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but at that moment, I felt something in my stomach.

“She just worsened the condition of her stomach's wound. I’ve tried to stop the bleeding...but it's...it's impossible...”

Leighton had whispered these words in Garreth's ear, but I heard them anyway. Discovering Garreth’s guilt-filled look, I finally understood that the noises that prompted me to move weren't due to the insurgents, but a struggle opposing him to Travis.

“I'm so sorry, Lila,” he apologized while leaning over me to gently take my face in his hands and kissing me on the forehead.

I thought I felt something wet fall on my skin before he sat up straight, but my brain and body could have imagined things.

“I can help her, Garreth. I...”

“You talk about helping her when it's because of you that she's like this?”

“I...”

“Shut up or I'll kill you right now!”

“Listen to me, goddammit! This is her only chance to...”

Garreth's face disappeared from my sight and I realized that their fight had resumed when I heard noises again. One of them would die. Undoubtedly Travis because he wasn't going to hurt Garreth after all he had done for the survival of his family and as I knew, his own death strangely caused him no worry.

“Garr--”

I didn't even succeed to pronounce his name and, as if that wasn't enough, my voice was a barely audible whisper.

“No...” I managed to articulate after several attempts.

“Garreth!” Leighton called in a hurried tone. “She's trying to talk!”

Without missing a beat, Garreth was beside me again, his eyes filled with concern.

“What?”

“Tra...vis,” I tried to explain with much trouble. “Not...you...judge...”

He stared at me for a moment, lost. When I perceived his exasperated sigh, I knew he remembered our conversation during which I asked him to do nothing, to let the community take care of Travis. I refused for him to murder the one he had always considered his brother. This would haunt him, even if I knew he would act as if it didn't matter for him in order for everyone to believe that it didn't affect him.

“She won't last long, Garreth.”

“Darnell will...”

His sister immediately interrupted, seeming genuinely sorry.

“Even if Darnell came now, he could do nothing for her. Her lung injury will kill her.”

Garreth didn’t say another word, then gave me a look betraying nothing of his feelings before closing his eyes and passing a bloody hand through his hair. I tried to focus on him, but the contours of his face became more and more blurred for me, my eyes never ceasing to oscillate between accuracy and inaccuracy. The pain was slowly beginning to decline and when I finally understood what it meant, terror increased accordingly. I didn't want to die!

“You should listen to what Travis has to say,” Leighton advised him, hesitantly.

Pure anger took place on Garreth's face.

“He's responsible for...”

“Garreth!” Leighton cried with frustration, forgetting her gentle way. “I can't help her and neither can you! This may be her only chance for survival, so put your anger and resentment aside and let him tell us his idea!”

Garreth took only a few seconds to make a decision. “Speak,” he said curtly to Travis.

“I'm not sure it will work but at this stage, it's the only option. I think if I use my gift while I give her my blood...”

“You're crazy! It risks...”

“No!” I heard Travis declare. “If you fear that it has...
undesirable
,” he pronounced the word as if it contained an implied meaning they both understood, “effects, you worry for nothing. This isn't the way it works. You know it,” he added lower and I almost didn't hear it.

I didn't see Travis but Garreth was near me and even though he was turned toward Travis, I could see his expression. He seemed torn. From the corner of my eye, I saw Leighton observe him before she got closer and whispered something in his ear. He looked at her, nodded and gave me a long look. I saw a change in him caused by Travis’ idea and what Leighton had just told him. A gleam of resolution and hope shone in his pupils. It was weak, but it was there.

“Okay...” His head suddenly jerked in Travis’ direction. “Stay away from her!”

“I've just explained to you! I have to be next to her to help her!” Travis exclaimed more than visibly annoyed by Garreth's attitude. “My blood will give her strength, while my chimera maker's gift, will provide the energy to repair the broken bones and damaged organs.”

I was so weak that everything he said didn't bother me as it should have. There was a moment of silence before Travis resumed: “It's now or never, Garreth. You want to blame yourself for the rest of your life for not doing everything possible for her?”

Garreth gave no answer. Instead, the red-stained face of Travis appeared in my field of vision. He held no expression of remorse, didn't seem the least affected by the sight of my condition. It was as if the nice side that I glimpsed tonight in front of the insurgents was a figment of my imagination. Perhaps it was, indeed...

“It will hurt,” he warned me in an emotionless tone.

It wasn't a lie. I wanted to keep my screams to myself, but it soon became impossible because the pain in my left leg was unbearable. My screams were abruptly interrupted when Travis placed his bleeding wrist to my lips after having torn it with sharp pointed teeth he had never had before today. While giving him a horrified gaze, I tried to prevent him from spilling his blood in my mouth. He grabbed me by my jaw firmly with his good hand. He forced me to swallow the foul liquid although I wanted to regurgitate it because of the horror and suffering of the moment. The pain in my left leg ended up winning over my stomach, then my lung and my right leg. The time elapsing was infinitely slow. I had the sensation that I had spent an eternity in hell before I came back and felt my pain decrease. When I couldn't drink any more blood from Travis, I tried to turn my head in vain.

“It's working...” Garreth whispered, looking astonished.

I struggled with even greater vehemence and my fingers wrapped around Travis' wrist to force him to leave me alone.

“A little bit more, Lila. It's vital for you. Hold on,” Garreth implored me and gradually, I stopped fighting against Travis.

After a minute or two, he finally released me and pulled his mutilated hand from my mouth. As if I never had my legs broken by the monster, I found myself kneeling in the process of coughing and spitting out blood still present in my mouth, the taste being absolutely atrocious. Just thinking that I had drunk the blood of someone else, I felt my stomach protest.

“Don't puke, Lila,” Garreth ordered me gently while kneeling by my side. “We need you to keep Travis' blood in you for it to take effect and help you to heal.”

I nodded my head weakly, tired as ever. The pain was gone. I carefully examined the damage on my body. Even though my flesh seemed never to have been shredded and my bones didn’t hurt anymore, I was covered with blood, proof that it wasn't just a nightmare. My clothes were tattered and I was more exposed than I had ever been in front of anyone, but I didn't feel embarrassed after being so close to death. I realized that Garreth was trying to remove my torn and bloody jacket to give me his. I didn't resist and followed his instructions like a robot. The amount of pain I had felt had disconnected me from reality. He finally wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to him so that I could lay my head on his shoulder.

“How do you feel?” Leighton inquired, coming to kneel in front of me. “You still feel pain?”

I shook my head slowly, unable to speak. I had the feeling that the weight of the world was on my shoulders. I saw Travis in a condition almost as bad as mine. He wasn't far from us, yet the boundaries separating us were clear. The good side and the bad. The problem was that after all I had learned about his motivations, could he really be considered as someone bad? I was able to understand how, in his despair, he came to arrive at this solution and even if it would have been easier to hate him, but I couldn't do it. However, I didn't approve of his choice and would never forgive him for all the pain I endured because of him.

“Thank you for healing me... and also for allowing me to run away,” I came to say when I was sure my voice wasn't going to fail me.

Just like Travis, Leighton seemed surprised, her eyes going between him and me. Garreth didn't take my thanks the same way. Understandable since he knew nothing of the reasons that pushed Travis to end the agreement with the insurgents. He didn't know that without him--and the fact that he changed his mind and created a diversion so I could flee--I would certainly be dead by now.

“You didn't have to thank him,” Garreth said with a gentle but firm voice while bringing my face close to his. “This is the second time he has nearly led you to death. It's a miracle you're still alive.”

Garreth's emerald eyes went to the man he had once considered like his brother. Only a devastating hatred was in his eyes now. It was obvious that he would do whatever he had to do in order for Travis to be sentenced to death by the community. At that moment, I knew I would have to explain everything to him, so he would have all the information in his possession before doing anything about Travis. But not now.

“Thank you both,” I told Garreth and Leighton, then. “Without you, I certainly wouldn't be in this world anymore.”

My expression of gratitude didn't have the desired effect because they both stared at me gloomily.

“There's no reason to thank us. We are your protectors. We are here to keep you from danger, but we failed and it almost cost your life. All because we were duped,” Leighton glanced toward Travis.

Her face went from anger to guilt and then, without warning, the tears began to flow. I immediately felt badly for her and, automatically, I grabbed her hands to squeeze them into mine. She gave me a horribly sad smile through her tears.

“I...”

A scream echoed in the silence of the forest, now more dark than even. My mind immediately associated it with the giant metal-like snake with his jagged and sharp fins like razor blades. It was Travis’ brother and he wasn't far from here. I began to shake uncontrollably. Garreth and Leighton were on their feet in a flash and I found myself standing and supported by Garreth without knowing how it happened. My eyes met those of Travis and a silent communication passed between us. We knew who was chasing us and determined to kill us because we were responsible for the death of his mother.

“Leighton and I will deal with it,” Travis announced blankly, looking at Garreth. “You, take Deliah somewhere safe. Don't come back to try to help Leighton. I will protect her. And the reinforcements should arrive soon. We will confront the remaining insurgents.”

“Who do you think I am? You think I don't see your plan? You're going to try...”

“I have no intention to flee,” Travis cut him off. “I may be a traitor, but not a coward. I will face the consequences of my actions. Anyway, I know that if I fled, you wouldn’t stop tracking me until you found me.”

“You better remember that if you ever try to escape...” Garreth retorted with aggression and resentment. “If you try, I swear I will hunt you down and find you, even if it’s the last thing I do in this world.”

Travis merely nodded before Leighton and he changed their appearances in trails of countless colors of smoke. I saw each of them gradually take the shape of the black feline with horns who had transported me. Once their transformation was complete, they ran at high speed, quickly disappearing from sight. Anxiety crept into me imagining Leighton, in this form, facing the metal monster. But the beast created by Travis didn't last long. Screams echoed in the distance.

“I will change my appearance,” Garreth warned me, obviously concerned about me.

I nodded mechanically, my fear for Leighton and even Travis, haunting me. Before my very eyes, Garreth took the shape of a black wolf with yellow eyes. I understood he wasn't really a wolf, given his excessive size and his long claws capable of great damage. I realized he was much like the form Garreth had taken on the first day of school, when he defended me against the insurgent, also in the form of an animal resembling that of a wolf without really being one. A shiver of fear shook me when I was reminded of the monster who killed my parents, but I pulled myself together quickly when my eyes met his. It was Garreth. It wasn't the monster of my nightmare, Travis’s father, who killed my parents. He was dead, as I learned tonight from Travis’ mother. Garreth had surely taken this appearance to be sure it could defend me if we crossed the path of an enemy, that was all. I approached and watched him carefully.