Chapter 5

The group made our way upstairs and encountered Lillian and Kayla sitting in the hallway. Lillian, despite her comments to the contrary, had indeed been hungry and eaten the steak she was given. Kayla was sitting in a chair nearby between the doors to my room and the neighboring one. By the looks of it, she was just finishing her own plate of food. Kayla greeted us with a warm smile and Lillian greeted us with the wolf equivalent.

“I hope you enjoyed your meal, everyone,” Janet said with a happy but stern voice. “Because we have some things to discuss. Kayla, please return the plates downstairs and if anyone wishes to change or use the facilities, do so now before Kayla returns. I want everyone to enter the room together and no one will leave until the discussions are over.”

We all entered the room I shared with Janet and Lillian. It was slightly cramped with all of us in there, but we handled it. What we had to discuss was too sensitive to be done in the booth. Once everyone was settled somewhere, I started the much-needed discussion.

“Okay. Now that we are away from possible prying eyes and ears, we need to discuss our next move. One thing that will need to be done is the practice of your new abilities. Everyone will need to be able to use them at a moment’s notice, yet still be able to hide them just as quickly. Ignorance of what we can do is our one advantage and will protect us from scrutiny. Just the same, I know we will be forced to use them in a more public forum at some point in the near future.

“It is the key to our survival in this shadow war. Because we are indeed in the middle of one. Brenson escaped only because of those we now hunt. Their plan, as we know, was to create a Voguel army in Bardack and then have them return to Vishant to conquer it before turning their sights on the other provinces. I would not be surprised if they already know of our arrival and that the person, I saw earlier today was one of their agents.”

The six who had been undergoing their bond gasped when I told them of what I had seen. The bond allowed me to express the reactions and emotions that occurred as I explained the details. Janet then explained what they were able to find when she investigated the area. Lillian told them of the scent and what little information she was able to glean from it.

They were still getting used to Lillian talking through the bond and each of them jumped when she first started speaking in their minds. Everyone was certain that, whoever it was, was tied to the Voguel and that we had not seen the last of that individual.

“Davik is right,” Janet stated. “We know that Brenson was only acting like an Old One and that he was bonded to his maker, much as we are bonded to each other. We have to assume that they are aware of what Davik and I are capable of and, to an extent, know about Lillian’s abilities. That makes us targets, both for capture and to be eliminated. We need to be careful. As part of your training, but as a protective measure as well, two of us will always accompany Lillian when we are traveling.

“I plan to have Lillian travelling through the forest near us, but out of sight. I want one of us to travel with her while another is traveling in the forest on our opposite side. You will be using your enhanced senses to try and detect possible ambushes or attacks in our travels. I hope to limit the situations where we could be caught unaware. I hope you do not mind, Davik, but you will need to remain in sight, as will I.”

I shook my head. “I do not mind at all. If people are following or hunting us, their likely targets should be the bait. However, I would suggest three instead of two in the forest with Lillian. One with Lillian and two paired on the opposite side as you suggested. One person could be ambushed, even with our skills, but two would be much more difficult. I do not wish anyone to be taken or injured and one by themself is just asking for trouble.”

Everyone agreed with the sentiment and we spent the next hour deciding on who would travel in the woods and where we were going. Kayla, Ingrid and Cherish would be the ones to travel in the forest. They would follow our group until we made camp for the night and then switch out with Elsie, Irenia and Faye the following morning. This would continue during our trip to each of our destinations. We hoped that it would deter our enemies, though for how long, we were uncertain.

One of our stops would be Celka’s home village to pay respects to any family she may still have had there. However, that was in the far north of the province, so it would take two or three months to get there. One of our first stops was going to have to be the capital. Janet will have to give her report to the Dran and notify him of the threat to Vishant. She would also need to notify him of the deaths of Ethal and Gwen during their mission in Bardack.

I could sense her unease at the prospect of having to deal with him and his close-minded approach to the Voguel and those who have been turned. He believed the only cure was at the edge of a sword and that there were no victims, only enemies. She had known of those who did not agree with that sentiment and believed it was one that was growing within the populace. If they were to learn that there was a cure that worked, and the Dran was ignoring that avenue, it could result in civil unrest. She was worried it could cause a full-blown attack against the Dran and his associates.

That would be the last thing we would want, but at the same time, the people had the right to know that there was an option other than death. Too many people were losing friends, family and loved ones in this shadow war. Janet had told me back in Bardack that only a third of those lost were killed by the Voguel. The rest had been killed on orders of the Dran for fear of being Voguel. For people like Ethal, it was a reason to engage in their thirst for blood and there were plenty of those in the military. However, there was a growing number that felt it was going too far and that fear was winning over compassion.

“What is your plan for what to tell the Dran?” I asked. “Are you planning to confirm the cure as valid?”

She nodded, “Yes, I am. If there is a chance, he changes his mind, I have to try. It could save so many people from a needless death.”

I leaned forward and asked, “What will you do if he learns I am ‘cured’ and attempts to have me killed.”

“I do plan to tell him you are one of them,” she replied softly, a sense of unease emanating from her. “If he tries something, I already have a plan in place. Before we visit him, I will have Cherish take letters to the carrier service. They distribute letters to the Patrons all over Vishant. If she does not hear an all clear from our bond or I tell her to send them, letters will be dispatched that they would not be able to stop in time. The letters will not only explain that there is a cure and that the Dran still wants those infected killed regardless. It will also contain the instructions to make that very cure.”

I looked more intently at her, “And if he decides your threat is not enough to stop him? If he commands, you to take my life or die by his soldiers’ hands?”

Her eyes narrowed at my words as I felt her anger and rage build across the bond. She was not alone in those feelings as all of the others seemed to feel the same way.

“Then, my love, I will draw my sword and kill any who try to capture or kill us. I will not let any harm come to you, Lillian or the others, even if I have to kill every Vishant soldier to do so. I lost enough family, so I refuse to lose any of you while I still draw breath.”

The girls gasped in shock and looked at one another in worry over what Janet had declared.

“You do realize what you are suggesting?” Kayla asked. “That would result in the people of Vishant possibly raising arms against their Dran. Something that has not happened in hundreds of years. Not to mention you have basically said you would kill fellow soldiers if they tried to harm us. That goes against everything we were brought up to believe of the Dran and the Military.”