Coexist: Keegan's Chronicles

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Rourk ran swiftly through the woods with his attacker closing in on him. He could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his head. Sweat poured down his face, and he felt pure joy. He lived for this kind of stuff. It was what he was born to do. He was leading his victim…

It would all be over soon.

He loved the sound of branches cracking under his pursuer’s feet. They were sloppy and needed to be reprimanded, which he would take care of once the chase was over.

Slowing down, Rourk took cover behind a large tree. He listened, and all he heard were the familiar sounds of nature; birds chirping, squirrels running, even the sound of a deer could be heard in the distance. What he was not hearing was the sound of footsteps. This brought a grin to his face. Perhaps he had found a worthy opponent after all. He could take the easy way and close his eyes, if it weren’t prohibited. He scanned quickly and saw nothing.

Think, Rourk.

The woods were vast, but this was a game of cat and mouse. He couldn’t be far. What surprised him the most was that there were no sounds of heavy breathing even though they’d been running for hours.

Then, like a light bulb going off, Rourk looked up. “You are a sly little devil,” he said. Taking aim with his paint-gun, he fired. “Show yourself.”

The boy dropped nimbly from the tree and eyed Rourk. After a brief moment, he crossed the space between them, removing his paintball mask.

Rourk was shocked by what he saw. The kid couldn’t have been older than twelve. What perplexed him even more were the boy’s eyes. They were the same clear blue-green as his chosen’s, only his looked older—wiser.

Rourk kept his face still; a warrior never gave away his thoughts by facial expressions when caught off guard.

“What is your name?” Rourk asked.

“My name is Thaddeus, and yours is Rourk.”

Stunned, Rourk demanded, “How do you know my name?”

“You will someday be my brother-in-law,” he stated, as if it were obvious.

“Why did you stop running and climb the tree?”

Thaddeus smiled, “I knew you were done playing and were about to capture me after you faked a fall.”

Speechless, Rourk just stared at him. Finally, he said, “So you’re the son of Richard. I have heard much about you. I’ll tell your father that he should be proud to have such a remarkable son. No student has ever come close to catching me.”

“I’ll get you next time,” and after a slight pause, Thaddeus added, “probably,” with an impish grin.

Rourk laughed, unable to help himself. He wasn’t supposed to form relationships with his students, but he liked Thaddeus.

All at once, it dawned on him. The man who he looked up to the most was his chosen’s father. But, how could that be? Richard had never treated him any differently than the others. Rourk was grateful he hadn’t learned of this when he was younger. Over the years, he’d proven himself to Richard without the added stress of trying to impress the man who would someday be his father-in-law.

“Have you told her anything about me?” Rourk asked softly.

He replied, “Only your name.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Someday she will be in danger, and that was the only way I could think of for you to save her.”

This rattled Rourk to the core. He knew better than to ask for more details even though he wanted to grab the boy and shake it out of him. He couldn’t ask that of a seer. The fact that Thaddeus had told him as much as he did and allowed his sister the ability to pull Rourk towards her when she needed help was unbelievable enough.

Rourk looked him in the eyes and said, “Thank you. You have my word that I will do everything in my power to keep your sister safe. Can I ask you one thing?”

Thaddeus shrugged, eyeing Rourk with interest. “That depends.”

Meeting his eyes, Rourk asked, “What’s her name?”

Thaddeus laughed. “Her name is Keegan.”

Rourk said the name in his head a few times, getting used to the sound of it.

“The name suits her,” Thaddeus said. “It means ‘little fiery one’.”

“Why am I pulled to her, but not her to me?”

“Magic, of course. Partners are cloaked from each other until they turn eighteen. I had yours removed.”

“How did you manage that?”

“That’s two questions, Rourk. You know I can’t disclose that information. But I will tell you this. Once it was known that I was the child in the prophecy, my reach became pretty much unlimited. I have at my disposal anything that could allow our race to live on.”

Rourk nodded his head at the boy in understanding, his chosen’s name echoing in his mind.

***

Keegan was walking out of school when her phone went off in her pocket. She grabbed it and looked at the caller ID; it was her Aunt Kat.

“Hey, what’s up?” Keegan said.

“Can you babysit tonight? Drew and I need a date night.”

“How could I say no to my favorite aunt?”

“Uh-huh. I thought Brigid was your favorite since she spoils you.”

“Fine then, it’s a tie.”

“Well, hopefully I’ll be your favorite after you see the present I got for you.”

Later that evening, Katrina walked through the door with the biggest grin on her face. She was obviously rather proud of herself for something. “Guess which of your favorite aunts has four tickets to 30 Seconds to Mars?”

Keegan squealed with delight. The concert had been sold out for weeks.

“Just make sure to tell those girls that there will be no making out with their boyfriends on my watch.” Kat took them to many concerts, and the last time she got mad at Lauren for meeting up with Josh and making out most of the time. She’d said they had plenty of time for that on their own time.

Keegan called Anna and Lauren right away and put them on a three-way call. “Kat just hooked us up with 30 Seconds to Mars tickets,” Keegan said.

She had to move the phone away from her ear when the other two girls started screaming. “I know, she’s the best. I have to go; I’m watching Merrick and Mackenna tonight. We’ll go over what we’ll wear at school.”

The girls said their goodbyes, and Keegan turned to face Katrina.

“They say they love you and that you are the most amazing person in the world.”

Kat smiled, her face glowing.