Chapter 6

“How long has it been?” The woman before me asked softly. “You have grown into a fine young man, Davik.”

My eyes narrowed, “It has been ten years, but this is not possible. You were not Voguel, nor should this be able to occur like this. I have dreamt of my mother often over the years, but you are nothing like her. So, end your mindless tricks and show me who you really are.“

The woman’s eyes twinkled, a small amount of pride appeared in her eyes and she shook her finger at me.

“Ahh, ahh, ahh, Davik. Such impolite and rude accusations, did I not teach you better? Is that any way to speak to your mother, young man?”

I had to give it to this person, she was giving a great performance, but too much was off. Her stance, the way she moved her hands, the inflections in her words. It may have been ten years ago, but I remembered my mother vividly. Whomever this was, this ‘woman’ was not my mother.

I moved forward to grab her, but I glided right through her. I turned to find her facing me, but her warm smile was now a smug sneer.

“Nice try, boy, but in here, you cannot do anything I do not allow. So go ahead and waste your time and energy. Here I am in control, so you better be a good dog and do what you are told!”

I growled in frustration and asked, “Who are you and what is it you want from me?”

“Who I am is of no consequence to you, boy. You have intrigued me, so I have graced you with my presence to see what is so special about you.”

My mind raced as I tried to figure out who she could be, then a flash of memory gave me my answer. It was so simple that I should have thought of it the moment I saw her.

“You are Brenson’s maker. The hand behind the puppet, pulling his strings in an attempt to gain a foothold in Bardack Province.”

I noticed the slight change in her smug expression at my words. A slight crack in her superiority at my recognition of who she was, before the mask of arrogance returned.

“And what makes you think that is the case, boy?” she asked with a sneer. “You are boasting about things you could not possibly understand.”

I stepped toward her and replied, “Voguel are tied together through a link, from maker to child, so to speak. The ‘child’ can then receive memories, typically used in training, to help them understand what is happening and what is expected of them.”

Her facade failed then, as shock appeared on her face. She did not expect me to know or understand what was going on. The realization of what I knew frightened her and She tried to quickly mask that new found fear.

“Brant, who bit me, to Brenson who turned him, to either you or one of your ‘children’. What has you curious is that you can tell I am not Voguel and yet you were able to connect with me like this. You also are wary, which is why you have made sure I cannot physically interact with you.”

“You are bright, to be sure,” she barked in annoyance, “but you think far too much of yourself. You do not have the strength or means to stop what is coming.”

I smiled and replied, “You have no idea what I am capable of, or what means I have at my disposal. The link we have is minute and thus you have no way into my mind to gather that information. It is why you had to show yourself and why you tried to pass this off as a dream. That, of course, failed and you have been trying to use your supposed superiority to cower me.

“I killed or helped kill every Voguel in Bardack Province and have made sure future attempts will fail. You see, we have a cure. One that will remove the curse from a person completely. Our Patron is meeting in the capital, in the next week or so, to explain the situation and pass on the information of the cure to them. Once that is concluded, the Dran will call a conclave of the Drans to explain the threat and share the cure.

“Any attempt to gain a foothold outside of Vishant will fail before it begins. As for Vishant, we plan to make sure a cure is spread throughout the land and that all weapons are coated in it. You would not be able to hide forever once your minions either die or are cured, so it would only be a matter of time before you are wiped from existence.”

“YOU ARROGANT LITTLE WORM!” she screamed; cracks in her illusion were beginning to form. “Try whatever you like, we will just turn them again.”

“That is the best part,” I replied with a predatory grin. “Once cured, the individual cannot be cursed by a Voguel again. They are permanently free and out of your reach. Men, women and children will be given this cure, preventing you from bolstering your ranks. Then we would only need to wait for you Old Ones to die.”

She released a scream of rage and jumped at me. I quickly stepped aside and threw a swat which actually connected. I was acting on reflex and did not expect to connect with her, given she had no substance only minutes before. She yelped in pain as I struck her bottom with my full force and sent her flying into the darkness. I waited for her to re-emerge but she never came out of the darkness that surrounded me. I soon felt fatigue hit me and despite my best efforts, I fell into slumber once more.

I awoke to find myself in bed, with Janet and Lillian not in the room. I checked for them through the bond and could sense their worry and concern for me. The others were having the same feelings. I looked out the window and was surprised to see it was dark out. When we had laid down for bed, the sun was just setting. I found this to be slightly disconcerting and moved to get up. I was surprised at how weak I felt, but I was still able to get up.

I felt a jolt through the bond and a few moments later the door to the room burst open with seven women and a wolf bursting in.

“Oh my god, Davik,” cried Janet with tears in her eyes. “I feared you were never going to wake up!”

I gave her a perturbed look and asked, “What are you talking about Janet? Just how long have I been asleep?”

Lillian spoke in the bond. <<You were locked in a deep sleep for nearly a week, Davik. You did not move, and your breathing has been very shallow. We were able to get you water and broth to keep your strength up and keep you hydrated. >>

Janet nodded, “We tried everything we could think of to try and wake you, but nothing worked. We even had the village herbalist take a look at you, but she was baffled as to what was the cause. I am just happy you are okay and that this is over.”

“I do not know if it is,” I said, shaking my head before putting on my shirt. “I was visited in a dream place by someone I think was Brenson’s maker. I was surrounded by darkness and couldn’t see more than a meter around me. It was like the thickest, blackest fog you could imagine. I ran at full speed, hoping to find a wall or object, but nothing. I punched the ground and my fist went through.

“The person appeared as my mother, trying to deceive me and get me to lower my guard. If I had never experienced the dreamscape that we share, I would not have been able to tell that it was not a dream. She was able to prevent me from touching her for most of it and I decided to bluff my way through.”

They asked me what I meant, and I explained how I told her of the cure, of measures that would be taken to prevent them from attempting things in the future and how we planned to remove their minions and their ability to make more. When I was done, everyone was in a different state of awe.

“Davik, that is brilliant, “Janet exclaimed excitedly. “I will send a carrier bird to Edgar with the needed information and he can start the process. It will not just be a bluff anymore, my love. Well done.”

“Thank you, Janet, but there would still be much to do. What have you been up to while I have been incapacitated?”

“Lillian has been taking the girls into the woods, one or two at a time, to work on their abilities. It looks as if they are just like us, though they will still need more practice to have the needed control. We have seen no sign of whomever it was that was looking in on us, but perhaps it was the person who accosted you in your dreams.

“I have sent carrier birds to various villages and towns where I have allies and friends. I am hoping to get an idea of what the public is thinking and gaging what their reaction would be about a cure. They have all sworn to protect the secret of the cure’s existence until the word is given, but the consensus is that we would have a lot of support in the public and the military.

“The Dran would have the support of five Patrons and fifteen battalions. We would have the support of seven Patrons and eleven battalions. There are three patrons who would not get involved and battalions that could go either way. When the cure is released to everyone, we will make sure every man woman and child is given it, though I think the safest bet would be a very potent version dumped into the towns’ public fountains.

“If done in secret, any Voguel who is hiding would not know until the next blood moon that they can no longer change. After all, Violet could not tell right away, but did take our word for it. Since you said that the Old Ones derive power from their minions or ‘children’, we would effectively weaken them.”

I nodded, “However, now they are aware of the cure and its potency. They will now stop at nothing to stop us, so we must make sure we are ready for a fight.”