Ky'Mera: The Next Generation (Sequel Series to the Ky'Mera Adventures Trilogy)

Chapter 4: Reunion of Dread

Reunion of Dread

It turned out Chiara hadn't been drugged into this sleep, she had been beaten. Her face fur had been scrubbed clean and her dress washed in preparation for the ceremony, but even that couldn't hide her black eye and swollen cheek. She had at least three lumps on her head and multiple bruises covering her sides and back, as well as several knife cuts on her legs that had been cleaned and covered. We hadn't seen any of this before because it had been hidden under her dress and the light had been too dim to see the marks on her face. Helios was absolutely furious while mom and dad stood to the side in frustration with ashen looks shared by their faces. Gabby had taken one look at what had happened to Chiara and fled the tent in haste as tears ran down her face in silent anger and pain. The only one who seemed to be unaffected by Chiara's condition was Lokí, though I gave him the benefit of the doubt, mainly because he hadn't met Chiara before the rescue, so there were no connections between them for him to call upon.

Finally I had seen enough and walked out of Helios' tent in a daze, not really paying attention to where I was walking until I stumbled into the small clearing by the oasis where Chiara and I had almost...... No! I shoved the thought away and shook my head. I would not let that thought finish itself. I sat down and held my head, bending over with my legs in the water. I opened my eyes and looked into the water, where the ripples settled until I could see my reflection. As I stared at myself in the water, the image shifted to that of Chiara's face, covered in blood and her mouth open in a silent scream of pain. I jumped back instinctively, fear making my blood race and my breathing erratic. I cautiously walked back up to the edge of the water and looked into my reflection once more, the horrific image gone like a nightmare. I sat back down with my back against one of the trees, and tucked my knees up against my chest, putting my arms around them and resting my head on my knees. Knowing the only other person who knew of this spot was out like a light, I gave in to my jumbled emotions and let sobs rake my body as tears flowed down my face to stain my shirt and fur. I was so angry at the Bloodlust and terrified for my family that I couldn't see any way out of this mess unless..... unless...... I raised my head, an idea forming in my mind. Pieces of it fell into place slowly, like a puzzle that was being put together piece by piece. Once the entire picture formed I jumped up in excitement, sorrow forgotten like a leaf in the wind. I ran and hopped over the bushes and raced back to Helios' tent, dodging past Delvi and apologizing when I almost tripped over a Delvi child. I burst into the tent, gasping for breath, as everyone looked up at me in surprise. I could see the interest in their eyes behind the pain of Chiara's injuries, but I wasn't going to let that stop me, I was in too good of a mood.

"I know how we're going to stop the Bloodlust from taking anyone else!" I said, which grabbed everyone's attention like a magnet.

"And how do you plan to do that?" Helios asked, standing up from this position beside Chiara, "We have no way of stopping them from entering Kioko, nor a way to defend ourselves. Just what did you have in mind that we could do anything about?"

I looked at him and smiled for the first time that day, "We're going to take the fight to them." As the others broke out in a clamor of dissenting arguments I raised my hands for quiet. "I can't tell you how we're going to do it unless you let me speak!" They quieted, though everyone still had skeptic looks on their faces. "We're going to take the fight to them, but not in the idea of an army verses an army. You are correct in that regard in that we don't have enough weapons to supply such a force, nor would they be willing to take up arms. You said so yourself upon our arrival that your people are peaceful, and would balk at the idea of taking up arms. No, we will not be mounting a large attack against the Bloodlust."

"Then what are we going to do mister mastermind?" Gabby asked as she walked in behind me, "Are we just going to walk into their village and ask them 'Please don't take any more of our people. We'll be good from now on.'? No! We'd never get past the first word! Unless you have some real ideas in that head of your besides rocks, now would be the time to share them."

"I would if you gave me three seconds without interrupting!" I snarled. I took a breath to steady my voice, "Anyway, I said we would not be making a large-scale attack on Trinlodan, but I never said anything about a small, targeted attack." I smiled as everyone shared confused looks, "Who are the ones pulling all the strings? The elders! If we take them out and their supporters, then the rest of the people will have to give up the practice, with a little persuading on our part to speed things along."

"And just who were you planning on taking on this little venture?" Helios asked, "I won't risk the safety of my people on one child's foolish ideas."

"Your people wouldn't pick up a weapon in the first place." I reminded him calmly, "And I wasn't planning on taking any of your people into battle with so little chance of success. I was actually thinking of going with only one other person. Lokí? Would you be willing to take me back through those secret trails you showed me last night? It will give you a chance to stick the Bloodlust in the back for a change instead of watching them kill your friends."

He stood up and smirked, "You had me at 'take me back'. I'll not only be glad to show you the trails, I'll help you in killing those old bastards nice and slowly." He rolled his shoulders, "Just give me the word and those crotchety Delvi won't know what hit'em."

I nodded and looked back over at mom and dad, who had stayed strangely silent the entire time, "And are you willing to let me go out to battle all on my own without your blessing?"

Mom looked at dad and he nodded slightly. She looked back to me and said, "You aren't going without some help. Count us in."

"Wh....What's going on?" Came a small voice from the bed. We all looked over and saw Chiara looking back at us one at a time. "What happened? The last thing I remember was getting hit over the head by a Bloodlust. After that it's all a blank." She placed a hand on her head as Helios whispered in her ear. As he finished her eyes went very wide and they sought me out like radar. "No! You can't go back there! I won't let you!" She tried to get up but her face screwed up in pain and she lay back down with a small whine. "Don't go into danger for my sake. I don't want to see the same thing happen to you that happened to me, or worse. If you were killed by the Bloodlust I wouldn't know what to do. You're my life and love Jason, and I couldn't go on without you."

Everyone gasped slightly at her proclamation of love, though given what she had tried to do to me a few days before, no one was truly shocked at her words. I walked over to the side of the bed, Helios stepping out of the way so I could kneel next to Chiara.

"I'm doing this for the very reason that I love you too." I said, taking her hand in mine, "I would never be able to live with the constant fear of the Bloodlust lurking around every corner. I'm trying to fix the problem so we can live happy lives without fear of being taken in the night or whenever we go beyond the edge of Kioko." I patted her hand and stood up, "I'll be back by tomorrow morning. Don't worry too much about me, I won't let those Bloodlust hurt me any more than I can help." With that I walked up to mom and dad, motioning for Lokí to join us, "We'll head out around dimming so we get there as the light fades altogether. We'll need the element of surprise for as long as possible if we're going to have any chance of succeeding." They nodded and I walked out of the tent to grab my gear for what I hoped would be the final fight. I just prayed to whatever god held power in this place that we all came back alive from this adventure. I didn't think anyone but I knew the chances of getting to the elders and then killing them without taking some casualties. It was just a matter of who got to whom first. Would we kill the elders before the guards overran us, or would we all be captured before we could lay a hand on them? That question bounced around in my head for the rest of the day, and I still didn't have an answer when mom came to get me as the light faded from the cavern. I looked at her and she nodded to me, almost as if she knew what we were going up against. I cast one more prayer up to whoever ruled over this realm, and we stashed our weapons as we raced out of Kioko and into the Barren Lands. Only Lady Luck knew who was going to win this fight, and I had a bad feeling someone was going to get hurt because of rotten luck.