Recruits (Keeper of the Water Book 2) (38 page)

“I saved your life,” I counter.

“After making me watch my best friend die,” Jack yells. “And what did you get for that? My father raised you as his own! He was there for
your
family when he ignored his own! And what did he get for sacrificing me and my mother and my brother?
You
didn’t stop him from being killed, either!”

I glance over at Cassie, who looks at us with blank eyes, completely spaced out as though merely watching TV. I don’t know if she’s still in shock or she’s confused or she’s deep in thought but there’s no point trying to hide the truth from her anymore. Hopefully the shock of remembering her cruelty from the past will spur her into changing from who she once was.

I’m trying to keep my cool with Jack – to stop him from doing anything drastic – but his accusations make my blood boil.

“You don’t think I
tried
to save him?” I snap back. “I loved him, he was my father.”

“
Don’t say that!
” Jack screams. In a rage, he jerks the airboat controls to the side and I feel us nearly tip over again. “He wasn’t
your
father; he was
mine!
And after you let him die, you just left his body lying around to rot. If it wasn’t for me, he never would’ve had a proper burial.”

The news is like a dagger to the heart, the final jab of pain knowing that my father is truly gone. It was foolish of me to think otherwise but I’d been holding out hope that there was another explanation for the disappearance of his body. It’s just as disheartening that Jack thinks I purposely abandoned Dad’s body. I’m about to explain my reasoning but another question escapes my lips instead.

“You were watching us?”

“Do you think your boyfriend is the only one who could track where you moved around the country? My father was always predictable
and
gullible when it came to you devil women,” he calls out over the sound of rushing air and the blowing airboat fan. “I
knew
the day would come when you’d be responsible for him dying.”

“It wasn’t my fault,” I say. “It wasn’t
any
Amazon’s fault and yet your blaming all three of us.”

“It
wasn’t
?” Jack asks, clearly disagreeing with me. “
Who
was the reason those soldiers were after you in the first place? That your
boyfriend
came around?”

He looks toward the front of the airboat at the two Amazons tied together. Cassie still makes no move to escape and I can’t tell if Jack means her harm or wants to
seem
like he means her harm. Now that I have him talking, I want to find out his ultimate plans for us but I can’t let go of the fact that he blames
us
for his father’s death.

“
You
struck a deal with John’s two soldiers to kidnap Cassie. If it wasn’t for that, our father never would’ve gotten caught in the crossfire,” I say.

“He wasn’t
our
father!” Jack yells and jerks the controls back and forth, back and forth, nearly throwing himself over the edge in the process. “And I told those fools not to hurt anyone else, except for maybe you or the
other
one down there.” He gestures at Celeste, who is starting to stir. “Once they hurt my father, the deal was off and I had no problem killing the other one… well, convincing Cassie to do it. I didn’t know she’d be so clueless about her past
or
so ruthless once I told her what I knew about the Amazons. Besides, with my father dead, it will make it easier for me to kill you anyway.”

I look over to Cassie, expecting to see her malicious grin – or at least an evil glare – aimed in my direction. But that’s not the case. She remains uninterested in us, confusing me even more.

“If you and Cassie are working together, why go through this charade the entire time?” I ask.

“I would
never
work with an Amazon,” Jack says, his face scrunching up in disgust at the very thought. “It sickened me to be near you so long. You women think you’re superior because of the water. But even though drinking it has made me younger and stronger, it’s made me lonelier. It could never bring back my best friend or my family.”

“Then why tell Cassie about her past? About the Amazons?”

“Because she has a right to know and I had no reason to lie,” he says. “And she didn’t full believe me at first. But considering the way you and Celeste tried to be secretive and talk in code, you were all the convincing she needed before the past started coming back to her.”

Again I turn to Cassie but this time she’s finally budged. She’s staring into my eyes and I think there’s a sense of sadness in her gaze.

“I
knew
something strange was going on with those men attacking us, that you and my mother – you and
Cleopatra
– were keeping the truth from me. But before all this happened I’d been having dreams… I didn’t understand them…” Cassie says, her voice trailing off.

“Before you ruined my plans by taking off after your mother,” Jack begins, “I planned on killing Cassie and Celeste and using you as bait to lure more of the Amazons. But since Cassie has recalled who she once was – and still technically is – I
knew
you would come back for her. The three of you have made it even easier for me to destroy the Amazons and all that you stand for.”

My stomach sinks and it becomes clear that keeping the secret from Cassie may end up being our downfall. Hearing that Cassie and I had something in common – that she’d also been having dreams of the past – makes me feel even worse about lying to her all along. She and I could’ve gone through this remembrance together and maybe that shared experience could’ve brought us together for the future instead of tearing us apart like the past. But when I glance back toward her, our eyes finally meet and I recognize the hatred in her glare.

If Jack’s threat about destroying all the Amazons is true, then Cassie
must
have become Keeper, meaning our fight in the jungle could’ve only had one outcome…

I’m surprised that Isabella fights so ferociously. Since she usually lets the members of her Queen Clan do her dirty work, I didn’t expect her to be much of a physical threat. But she quickly proves otherwise and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Though I feel my Keeper abilities growing fainter with every passing second, my enhanced senses allow me to match the centuries of strength and experience that Isabella has on me.

At least at first. Our movements are so quick that a normal person would only see us as a blur. Years of frustration with one another manifests itself in the form of punch after punch as we trade shots, the ground rumbling each time one of us falls or smashes into a tree. Isabella quickly gains the upper hand and I would expect her to appear pleased by this. But it’s like she’s conflicted with every movement she makes, like she’s battling herself as much as me in the fight. I’d never considered assaulting the Keeper before but it must be difficult for an Amazon to do since our innate propensity is protection.

Isabella eventually gains the upper hand and knocks me down. She looms large over me but can’t kill me while I’m still the Keeper.

I’m still the Keeper,
I think to myself, knowing I have abilities that Isabella could never obtain during her many years in the tribe. I close my eyes and reach out to nature. I may be short on Keeper strength while so far away from the water but the connection has not been totally severed, not yet at least. I summon the lowest form of wildlife in the area and a swarm of insects
buzzes
toward us, engulfing Isabella who screams and flails her arms.

“Call them off!” she screams.

Isabella flails away, killing many bugs before they prove anything more than a slight annoyance. I know the insects won’t do more to slow her down so I close my eyes and reach out farther, straining to find my connection with nature that once came so easily to me. It’s not long before we both hear the deafening screech of a nearby jaguar, which is ready to answer my unspoken command. I feel its presence running toward us and soon hear the rustle of its footsteps crashing through the leaves.

I’m not the only one who hears it.

“Call it off!” Isabella screams again, her voice laden with fear this time. Her fear flows through me and into the jaguar, causing the animal to run toward us even faster. It is seconds away from emerging from the jungle and I’m fully intent on letting it pounce on Isabella. But she’s not so ready to accept that fate. “If anything happens to me, I’ve instructed my men to kill the girl!”

In an instant my anger dissipates, just as the big jungle cat appears. Isabella freezes in fear and watches the heavily muscled animal, which stares right back at her. All it would take is a single thought of attack from me and my worst enemy – the Amazons’ worst enemy – would be viciously mauled. But when the jaguar turns toward me and our eyes lock, I can’t give the command. It purrs softly before strolling back into the jungle. With my Keeper abilities waning, the fight and subsequent summoning of animals has left me drained. More than ever, I want to return to the water and recharge but something Isabella said suddenly hits me.

“Your
men
?” I ask. “You’ve entrusted the water’s secret to
men
?”

She looks away and shrugs, clearly embarrassed by the notion yet trying to maintain her air of defiance. I struggle to pull myself upright.

“Believe me, men are
much
easier to control than women,” she says with a smirk. “And I happen to be in love with one of them – I have been for hundreds of years. Our love was far too strong to forget about him when I became an Amazon. I wasn’t going to let him grow old and die while I sat around, protecting water that wasn’t being properly used. Just like I’m not going to sit around and let
you
continue to keep us hidden. It’s time to use the power of the water to steer the course of history on a whole new path. Now stand up and keep walking. If you try anything else with your precious animals, your granddaughter
will
die.”

Walking proves increasingly difficult and I’m soon drenched in sweat, the effort of each step forward nearly causing me to collapse. I feel like I’m dying, not that death would be so terrible since life won’t be worth living if I can’t serve the water. But I
must
protect my only living kin, I must protect the young woman who’s being held captive because of me. Still, I try to concentrate on hanging onto my abilities. I want to cry from the pain but won’t give Isabella the satisfaction.

“Get your hands off me,” a frightened voice says in the distance.

“She only said we have to keep her here,” a gruff voice says. “She didn’t say we couldn’t…
enjoy
the girl’s company while we waited.”

“Well
I
say you can’t,” a deep voice says, much smoother than the other man. “It is not
our
decision to hurt her or not.”

“Then why did
you
take me in the first place?” the woman asks.

I can hear my granddaughter and her captors just ahead. I don’t know how many men are guarding her but I have no doubt I can kill them all in battle, even in my weakened condition. If I can just reach them before my ties with the water are completely cut…

I want to rush forward and kill the men but instead I stop, breathing deeply, partially for show but partially because I am out of breath.

“I can’t…” I whisper. “I… I’m no longer Keeper… the water is gone from me…”

My head hangs low. I try to appear pathetic while concentrating all my focus into holding on to being Keeper. I hear Isabella stomp toward me but I make no move to protect myself, a risky move since I doubt she’ll let me live once I’m no longer in charge of the water. She grabs my chin roughly and pulls my head up, staring directly into my eyes – my soul. Her eyes burn with hatred.

“Please, I’ve done as you wished,” I lie. “Just let me and my granddaughter go. Don’t harm her.”

“Lie to me again and I’ll kill you both,” she finally says. “Stay here.”

Isabella rushes ahead for a few minutes and I hear her hiss orders at the men. Their footsteps disappear into the distance and she returns moments later.

“You aren’t going to fool me,” she says. “I’ve sent them farther ahead – I didn’t think you’d be able to hold on for this long. But I
know
you’re still the Keeper, faint as though your powers might now be. But we’ll keep walking until you let go. Move!”

I do as she says, despite the pain growing worse. With every step, she yells at me more, screams at me to let go. The few times I stop, she prods me with a sharp stick. I don’t know why I can’t just let go; I
know
there’s no fooling her, that my decision to abandon the water has already been made. I can barely take another step when we walk beyond the thickest section of trees. My head remains hung but this time it’s no act. I can see the sun shining brighter without the heavy cover of foliage above but I don’t even have the strength to lift my head.

Isabella helps with that. She grabs the back of my hair and yanks so I can see where we’re at. It’s a clearing like several others I’ve come across in the jungle. But on the far side of the clearing are two massive men clad in matching armor and equally scraggly hair, one with brown and the other blond. They each hold an arm of the young woman against a tree. I know she must be in her early twenties but she looks no bigger than a child next to the two behemoths. One of the men holds a sword to the young woman’s throat – against my
granddaughter’s
throat – while the other strokes a few strands of her hair, sniffing them. The sight of the men with her makes me shudder.

I can’t believe Isabelle – or
any
woman for that matter – could get involved with such scum. It breaks my heart to see the young woman’s fear and I turn toward Isabella to plead for the girl’s life. The former queen looks confused and glances all around the small clearing, looking everywhere except for the area where the three people are in plain view. She’s obviously looking for something.

Or some
one
. It’s hard to concentrate beyond the young woman and my weakness but I faintly sense another person nearby. But I can’t pinpoint an exact location for this person and I can’t focus long enough to try.

“Please help!” the young woman from the photograph calls out to me.

I wonder how much she was told, if she knows that the two of us are related. Several generations separate our lineage and it’s not difficult to see the physical differences between us. She’s at least half a foot shorter than me and her skin tone is pale compared to mine, which has been darkened more than usual by many years spent in the sun. I feel an instant connection with her though, one that has nothing to do with magic or Amazons. Seeing her in person, I’m more certain we’re related than when I just saw her photo.

“You heard her, go help,” Isabella whispers in my ear.

Apparently I hesitate too long. Isabella lets go of my hair and sprints forward, punching my granddaughter in the stomach a split second later. The soldiers release her arms as she doubles over in pain. The cruel men laugh while she writhes in agony but Isabella is in no laughing mood. She snatches the sword from one of the men and holds it high above the young woman’s head, ready to cut down and separate it from her shoulders.

“I’m not messing around any longer,” Isabella screams. “Step forward and give up your Keeper role or her blood spills right here!”

My granddaughter half moans/ half whimpers in a combination of fear and pain. I’m out of options. From the moment I ordered my recruits to remain with the water, I sealed my fate but I’ve been fighting the inevitable ever since. But there’s no time left unless I want to watch my bloodline die. I take a final breath as Keeper and stagger forward.

My next breath is that of a regular woman – albeit a regular woman still stronger and faster from drinking so much water. My shoulders sag and the sun in the sky seems to dim. Every part of myself that was once the Keeper is now gone; the abilities I worked for more than a hundred years to obtain are gone forever. My eyes lock with Isabella and her face lights up. Even from across the clearing, she can see the change in me.

Isabella drops the soldier’s sword on the ground and begins to run back across the clearing. She might be headed in my direction but I know it’s what’s
beyond
me that she’s most focused on. She takes a wide route around me and heads back toward the Amazon camp and – more specifically – the special water, which is now without a Keeper. I’m about to race her back to warn the others but one of the soldiers calls out to her.

“What should we do about them?”

“Whatever you want,” Isabella calls out as she disappears back into the jungle. I turn to chase after her when she adds one more order. “As long as it ends with you killing them!”

I’m not sure who takes charge of the water once it’s abandoned but I obviously don’t want Isabella to get there first. But I don’t even make a move toward the jungle when I see the brown-haired soldier bend over to pick up the dropped sword. My granddaughter screams and the sound of her fear spurs me to action. Gone is the weakness from losing my Keeper abilities and I sprint toward them as quickly as any other Amazon could. A blast of adrenaline makes me even stronger but I still wish I had my bow going into battle. I grab a thick branch as I rush toward the soldiers but I’m not sure how that’ll do against their swords and battle-axes.

My granddaughter cries in fear as she backs away from the huge men, who stalk toward her with weapons raised. I reach them just in time and swing the branch at the soldier nearest the girl. He didn’t even see me coming. The only noise louder than the
crash
of his metal armor is his
grunt
of pain. He drops his sword as he smashes into a nearby tree, crumpling into a heap. The other soldier doesn’t stay surprised for long. He swings his ax toward my head and I raise the thick branch to block it. The branch snaps in half like it was no bigger than a twig but it slows the weapon just enough for me to dive aside.

The soldier is on me quick. He smiles through a mouthful of brown, rotten teeth. I can tell that his body is much older than mine but he moves unlike any man I’ve ever battled. His speed and strength can only mean he’s drunk our special water at some point in his life. Luckily, it doesn’t seem to have been any time
too
recently or his next attack may have been quick enough to cut me down. Instead I roll out of the way and the sharp blade slams into the dirt. I grab the other soldier’s fallen sword and raise it just in time to parry the next swipe of the ax. I’m on the defensive, barely blocking each blow, until I’m backed against a tree.

“Now you die,” the scraggly soldier growls.

He swings the massive ax toward my neck but I drop just before he chops my head off; a few strands of my hair are sliced away. The ax embeds into the tree trunk and the soldier is weaponless long enough for me to go on the attack. His armor is heavy but each time I swing the sword at him the metal dents a little more. He tries to fight back with his massive arms but I’m too fast and nimble to let any of his heavy, plodding punches land.