Okay, since Callon was from a clan and my parents were from a clan, somehow I was a part of this mix. Could I be? Even though I was their adoptive child? I looked at the ring on my finger, already knowing the answer before I asked it, or so I thought. Was this for real?
“
I was adopted…” I started.
“
Yes.”
“
But I’m a part of this?”
“
Yes.”
I hesitated. “What clan do
I
come from?”
“
The blue ring on your ring finger came from the Kvech clan; the one on your index finger comes from the Servak clan. The Kvech clan is the ruling clan, royalty, the protectors. The Consilador’s are second in line.”
I stiffened in the chair and paused in my breathing. I turned away to stare at the floor again. The Kvech clan was royalty; they were the ruling clan, he said. The protectors, and I was wearing the one remaining ring. I was also wearing a ring from the Servak clan. I was the secret they were trying to protect—could it be? They couldn’t be lying to me…could they? How could they come up with all of this on their own? Callon said they moved around a lot—my parents and I did also. I never knew my dad or mom to have a job, but somehow we never had any money issues.
My parents were always protective of me…and now that I thought of it, they always looked the same. It was as if they never really aged in over eighteen years. My mom was still as beautiful before she died as she was in pictures when I was a small child. Before she died, she had said there were things they wanted to talk to me about, things I was old enough to understand. This was it; I felt it in my heart. Who was I? What I thought I knew, once again, wasn’t real.
Colt grasped me firmly and shook my shoulders as I snapped my head around to look at him. He grabbed my face in his hands as I stared into his eyes and spoke forcibly, “Cheyenne, I’ll protect you. I won’t let any harm come to you. I would give my life for you. I love you. Do you understand me?”
I was still stunned. This was why they were so protective of me—at least that part was making sense now. I nodded my head slowly in agreement. Colt continued to hold my face, searching for something. I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath, and he released me. Callon let go of my hands, and I crumbled into Colt’s arms. He locked them around me and pulled me onto his lap. I just sat there absorbing it all. I released a large sigh, and Colt held me tighter. I sat in his arms for a long time. He was my protector, my comforter when I needed him. He was all I had…
Chapter 11
I forced myself away from the table. Suddenly, I didn’t feel so well. A bomb had just been dropped on my lap. I needed some fresh air. Colt rose with me, but I put my hand on his shoulder to reassure him so he would stay. I just needed to be alone to think. To come to grips with what was now thrust before me…who I was.
I headed for the front door and went out onto the porch. In the far corner, away from the kitchen hung a hammock. I started for it. The air was warm as it drifted past; it ruffled a few strands of my hair. I sat sideways, gently swaying back and forth, the rhythm soothing. Listening to the birds chirp, I watched the squirrels scamper across the forest floor. A large wasp buzzed by my face while I looked at the flecks of sunshine breaking through the trees, throwing pieces of warmth my way. I began contemplating what had transpired over the last few weeks.
My life was changed; the life I knew was gone. The life I thought was true was different; I was a part of something I never knew about. What the three men had told me was the truth; I felt it deep within. I started pondering what had been said to me, what I was a part of now. The life I thought I had was now spinning in a different direction…and I couldn’t stop it. I was a part of something bigger, bigger than I thought my world was—I belonged to something. I was a part of
something
, though I wasn’t quite sure where I fit in.
I had two rings, one from the Kvech and one from the Servak. I had no clarity on what either of them meant, and Callon didn’t even know which one I was from for sure. He never answered my questions with much lucidity. The Kvech had a surviving son; the Servak had a daughter who was supposed to marry Marcus from the Sarac clan. Could it be? Did the surviving son of the Kvech line marry the Servak daughter?
Footsteps sounded on the porch behind me. I didn’t move. I knew it wasn’t Colt; his were much heavier. The hammock moved, and I watched as Callon sat next to me, causing me to roll in his direction. He lifted his arms so they rested behind his head as he lay back and placed his feet on the rail, using them to sway us gently back and forth.
I had so many more questions I needed answers to, but where to start? Did I really want to know what part I was to play in all of this? Maybe I was better off not knowing the truth about my adoptive parents or my birth parents, if in fact, they were the ones in the story he told me. I mulled these thoughts over for a long time before I came to the conclusion that I did, in fact, want to know—I needed to know everything. This was my life.
“
Callon?” I said softly.
“
Yes?”
“
You said something about the powers of our world, sacred guardians. What did all that mean?”
“
We are all protectors of the powers within this world. We can co-exist with the human world because we are able to keep our presence a secret. We have a responsibility to protect the human world from the evil darkness. If others knew about us, it could swiftly run out of control. Those among us who are evil would overtake the world and rule it as their own.”
“
So we protect our secret identity?”
“
Yes.”
A secret to protect, but I was also a secret. I didn’t really know or understand what that meant yet. “Do you have a pretty good idea who my parents are?” I had a theory, but I wanted to hear it from him.
He sighed before he replied, “Yes.”
I decided to answer my own question. “They were Qaysean of the Kvech and Sahara of the Servak, weren’t they? That’s why I have both rings?”
“
Yes.”
“
Did you know my birth parents?”
“
No.”
“
Did Gene and Alexis know who my birth parents were?”
“
Yes. They purposely didn’t tell us; it was for your own protection.”
“
But you said I was a secret. If you didn’t know, then how was I a secret and from whom?”
“
We knew you were a secret simply because you’re one of us. We were trying to keep your identity hidden from those that would harm you.”
“
There’s more to this story that you haven’t told me, isn’t there?” Why did he constantly hide things from me?
“
Yes.”
“
Will you tell me about my birth parents?”
He hesitated, carefully wording each sentence. “Makhi thought he had killed the entire blood line of the Kvech clan. He sent his Trackers out to ambush Adalmund, Jasalyn, Qaysean, and the party that accompanied them. The Trackers brought back the two rings as proof they had killed them.”
“
But you said there were three, right?”
“
Yes, but Makhi didn’t know Qaysean had already been given a ring, a new ring, more powerful than the previous two. Qaysean had escaped. His bodyguard, who looked very similar in appearance, took his place in death to save his life. Because Makhi thought he was dead, he would not be hunted and could live in secrecy.”
“
So how did he meet my mother if she was promised to Marcus and Marcus is Sarac?”
“
Qaysean lived many long years in hiding, plotting and planning an attack on the Sarac clan. A conflict arose within the Servak and Sarac clans. The arranged marriage between Marcus and Sahara had not taken place. Your mother protested the marriage because she was nothing like her father Jorelle. She didn’t want any part of her father’s plan. She ran from her old life, and her father lost his life because of it.”
“
But how did they meet?”
“
She eventually found Qaysean and convinced him that she left of her own will and did not want any part of what Makhi and Marcus were seeking. She fought side by side with your father for many years. Makhi eventually found out that she’d joined him. The powers that should have been united with the Sarac were now with Qaysean. This made Marcus ravenous with rage.”
“
So they fought together and then what?”
“
During one of the great battles of the time, your father killed Makhi, enraging Marcus more. Qaysean had not only taken his father’s life, but he had taken Sahara. Marcus would not stop until both Qaysean and Sahara were destroyed.”
“
He hunted them down, didn’t he?” I pinched my brow tight.
“
Eventually Marcus found Qaysean and Sahara and killed them. He thought he had destroyed his enemy, the only enemy strong enough to destroy him. The Kvech clan was the ruling clan, the protector, and the guardians.
“
Marcus has continued to hunt the remaining clans and destroys them unless they join him. I am sure Marcus doesn’t know you exist. I didn’t know who you truly were until today.”
“
What about Gene and Alexis? How did they become a part of all of this? Was it Marcus who murdered them?” I asked in a faint whisper.
“
They must have known. Sahara and Qaysean must have asked them to be your guardians, to protect and watch over you. They never told us who you were, but we knew you were special. Not many of our kind are born, and most do not live to the age of twenty. Gene and Alexis were killed trying to protect you, trying to keep your existence from being known to the Sarac. It was Marcus who killed them.”
I now knew who killed both my birth and adoptive parents. Would he be coming for me as well? The trio obviously thought this to be true because they were protecting me.
More thoughts came to the forefront. “Most of your children don’t live to twenty? They’re killed?”
“
Yes.”
“
Why? They’re just children. What kind of threat are children?” It made no sense.
“
When they’re born, they’re human, but around the age of twenty they become
Timeless
. Any new addition to the clans is considered a threat to Marcus.”
“
So I will become Timeless?”
“
Yes.”
“
You’re Timeless, right?”
“
Yes.”
“
I don’t fully understand,” I confessed. “What is Timeless?”
“
It’s a form of immortality. We don’t age quickly, but we do age eventually. We are born with a unique gene allowing us to have longer lives than what would be considered normal. It’s not a name we came up with, but it stuck over the years.”
This was becoming confusing. I was going to be nineteen soon. “So I’m essentially human now, but when I turn twenty, something happens and I will become Timeless…but I can still die? I thought immortality meant you couldn’t die—ever. I really don’t understand.”
“
Yes, you’ll become Timeless around the age of twenty. You can die, just not by normal human circumstances.”
“
So if you were to fall from a cliff or be shot by a gun, you wouldn’t die?”
“
Most likely not. However, we can still feel pain. Our bodies are able to recover quickly, in minutes or hours, instead of weeks. It just really depends on how bad the injury is.”
Another puzzle piece fell into place. That would explain a lot, if they had a quick recovery time. If I had delayed leaving for the bank, my plan wouldn’t have worked at all. I tensed for a moment, and Callon shifted a little, anticipating my response.
“
So that’s why the berries’ effects didn’t last as long on you…how long after I left did the paralysis wear off?”
“
About fifteen minutes.”
I propped myself up on my elbow as best I could since I was in the hammock. I wanted to look him in the eyes for this question, though I knew I probably wouldn’t appreciate the smirk that came with his answer.
“
So you were right behind me and saw me go into the bank?”
“
Yes.”
He did have a smirk on his face. I scowled at him. “Why didn’t you stop me then?”
The smirk was gone, and he was sincere when he answered, “We did try. Daniel was about to pull you back, but we decided it was too dangerous right then. We knew you were going to get the journal. It was probably safer for you to go alone than with us. The Sarac know who we are.”
“
You knew about the journal?” I said in surprise.
“
Yes.”
So, if they knew about the journal, why didn’t they just go get it? Or better yet, why didn’t they already have it since they were obviously in cahoots with my parents? I was fuming now. Callon started to reach out, but I pushed him away.
“
It was for your own protection,” he answered my unspoken questions.
I didn’t care if it was for my own protection; I was tired of being deceived. Everyone else knew what was going on except me. I had been constantly in the dark, for years! I pulled myself up from the hammock away from him, swinging my feet to the floor. He wrapped his hand around my wrist and pulled so that my back was now firmly planted across his chest, and his arms wrapped across mine, preventing me from getting up. I kept my face forward. This was way too close.