Despairing Tides (Fate's Intent Book 12) (6 page)

Chapter 12

Ruby

Darius wasn’t in the room when I entered. I should have looked for him but I was just too tired to deal with any of that and he probably wouldn’t listen. I simply undressed and quickly fell asleep to wait for him.

That next morning, I woke and realized Darius wasn’t in bed with me like he hadn’t come back at all. The room was still in the untouched condition like when I entered it that previous night but I noticed a single piece of paper sitting on the table that was out of place.

I couldn’t remember if it was there last night and I got out of bed to walk over to it. It was from Darius. The more I read, the more tears I started to get in my eyes. I guess I should have known he would have left but thinking I’d want to stay? How could he? I wiped my eyes then looked just under his note to another.

Don’t worry, mother. He won’t be going alone.

My eyes widened when I knew it was from Dirk and I didn’t like the thought of what was going to happen if Darius was alone with him while he’s in this state.

I had to do something. I quickly got dressed and gathered my things to leave. I walked right in Lana’s room and she was still asleep. I didn’t mind waking her for this. “Lana! Wake up! Dirk is gone! We have to go!”

Lana sat up and looked next to her. The spot where Dirk should have been was empty. “What do you mean gone?”

“Darius left last night and Dirk went after him!”

Lana gasped and hurried out of bed to get ready. “You mean they’re alone? Together?!”

“That’s why we have to go. Just hurry. I’ll get the others.”

Lana nodded as she continued to get ready and I left the room to wake everyone else.

Once they were all up and ready, we went to the stables to get our horses and said good-bye to Trever.

“I’m sorry we have to leave so soon.” Adele said.

“I understand. It’s important that you hurry and I hope you make it in time.”

“Thank you. We’ll try and come back as soon as we can.”

“No need to hurry. We all have other things to do. Good luck.”

Adele nodded. I was done with these simple goodbyes. There was something else to be done and I was first to ride out of the stables. I wish this could have been a fast trip but I knew Zayden was right in saying it couldn’t be or we’d pass them and not even know it.

We had to do this the old fashion way and I hoped it was enough.

Chapter 13

Dirk

We reached the mountain pass in two days and my father and I since had a great bonding experience that we needed but I still couldn’t help think about the moment back in the lounge when this all started. “How did you do it?”

My father looked over to my uninformed question. “Do what?”

“How were you able to overpower my strength?”

He laughed to himself. “Oh, I see. I was wondering when that was going to come up. You have yet to master your second power and wish to know how?”

“Yes. How did you do it?”

“It’s quite simple. First, you must think about what you’re doing and to acquire that extra boost of strength, you must know that you need it but once it hits there is only a small opportunity for you to seize its power and use it to your advantage.”

“But how do you know when you have it?”

“Oh, you’ll know. You’ll feel the energy running through you as your body prepares for the deliverance of that extra power but once it’s released there’s no stopping it and it can be very dangerous if it’s not used properly.”

“Teach me.” I said, anxiously.

“I cannot. It’s something you’ll have to learn on your own.” I sighed in disappointment. “Don’t worry. If the time ever comes when you will need to use it, you’ll know what to do but until that time don’t force it.”

I sighed again. “All right.” More waiting. Like my life wasn’t full of it already.

Our horses suddenly stopped and were persistent in not continuing forward.

“What’s happening?” I asked. The horses were acting strange like something were wrong.

“I don’t know. Something’s got them spooked. Whoa. Easy.”

I looked up and knew the horses were reacting to something ahead of us. “Something must be out there.”

“Yeah but what?”

“I think maybe there’s a storm coming. Animals seem to know these things. Lana predicts them all the time.”

The sky was indeed dark and it was starting to get windy down in this path.

“Then we must get to shelter. The way these horses are acting, it must be a big storm.”

“But where will we go? If we could make it a few more miles east we could probably make it to the mountain palace.”

“I don’t think we have time for that. The storm must be moving swiftly. We’ll have to find an alternate source of shelter. Hurry!”

We rode back west through the mountains until we went off the road to the north and came around a bend. I stopped when my father stopped and he was just looking ahead.

“What is it?”

“There used to be a cave right here.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m not that old that I’m forgetting things.”

“Well, maybe it’s still there.”

I got off my horse and walked it closer. My father did too.

“Here. I’ll check.” He took the reins of my horse and I started to move several large stones away from the pile until I could tell there was a tunnel behind them. “You’re right. There’s a cave back here.”

“Good. Clear the way, enough for the horses to get through.”

I nodded and pushed on one of the large stones. The whole pile seemed to shift but just fell back into place when I relaxed. I tried it again and the same thing happened like something was stopping them from caving in.

“You can do it.” My father said. “You are my son. Remember what I said.” I nodded and started pushing on the pile again as the wind started to pick up around us and the mountains began to rumble. “Dirk! Do it now!”

I started to feel that boost of energy my father told me about. It was surging up through my arms towards my hands where I was applying pressure to the rocks and in that moment, I gave one final shove of the stone. The whole pile finally collapsed into the cave. Many of the stones were cracked or shattered just from the force. It felt amazing.

“Good work, son. Now let’s get inside. There’s not much time.”

I took the reins of my horse and we walked them into the cave as the winds started to gain its own strength. The storm was settled over us now and the high winds and pouring rain stranded us here for at least the night.

We took the saddles and gear off the horses and my father started a small fire. That’s basically where we sat to wait for the storm to let up.

“I hope your mother and the others don’t plan to leave right away.” Father said. “I wouldn’t want them to get caught up in this.”

I sat quietly for a moment and thought about how mother would have reacted to me leaving after my father. “They may already have.”

My father was worried. “What do you mean?”

“I didn’t exactly tell anyone that I was leaving. Lana is the one that convinced me to talk to you but if she knew I was going after you alone, I knew they would have stopped me so instead I did what you did. I left mother a short goodbye under your note to her.”

He sighed. “Then I suppose they have left already. Well, I guess there’s nothing we can do about that. Just hope they take cover from this storm before it’s too late.”

“They will. I know Lana will be with them. She’ll sense it coming.”

“Let us hope.”

We both turned our heads toward the cave entrance and looked outside. It was wild out there. No one should be caught up in that but I knew our family. They’d have a shelter faster than what it took us to find one.

Chapter 14

Ruby

I was hoping we were catching up. We were all moving fast towards the border but it never felt fast enough. I just wanted to get to them.

“Wait!” Lana’s voice was sudden and we all stopped. She was just staring intensely forward.

“What is it?” Zayden asked.

“There’s a bad storm coming.”

“How bad?” Adele asked.

“We need to find shelter. Now.”

It only worried me more, knowing my boys where somewhere out there.

“All right.” Adele said. “I’ll make it underground as usual. It’ll save us from the wind.”

Lana nodded and Adele made one like she has always done.

“There. Now let’s get the horses inside and wait out this coming storm.”

“We better hurry.” Lana said. “The storm is nearing.”

I turned my head to the east and saw the thick gray clouds rolling towards us while getting off my horse.

“Yeah.” Naomi muttered. “Hurrying is a good plan.”

We brought our horses to the underground shelter and led them inside.

All we could do now was wait.

The storm reached us in the matter of minutes and we were overwhelmed with its intensity. I looked at the entrance of the shelter a ways away and Lana sat alone just inside at the top of the stairs and looked out into the storm to the east.

I knew what she was feeling and sat with her. “It’s really coming down out there, huh?”

“Yeah.” Lana said softly as she held her knees close to her chest.

“I know what you’re feeling. I’m worried too.”

It was only more real when Lana tried holding back her emotions. “I just can’t stop wondering if he’s okay. What if something happens to them out there?”

I put a comforting arm around her and leaned onto her shoulder. “I want to believe as much as you do that they’re okay but there’s nothing we can do until this storm lets up. We’ll just have to hold on until then and hope they can come together through this.”

“I can go.” Lana whispered as she lifted her head. “I can find them.”

“Lana, you know that’s not a good idea. We don’t know how bad it really is out there and I don’t want you to get caught up in it.”

“But I can’t just sit here. Don’t you want to know if they made it through this?”

“I do, more than anything but it’s not safe out there right now.”

“But I can be quick, you know I can. Please, Ruby. I have to do it for them.”

I thought about it. I knew where Darius might have gone in a storm like this and I also knew that Lana was capable in getting there quickly. I agreed. “All right but you must be quick.”

“I will be.”

She started to get up anxiously but I stopped her. “Wait. To make it quicker for you, I want you to check one place first. If I know my Darius and I do, he would go there in a storm like this.”

“Okay. Where is it?”

“Take the mountain pass for a few miles until you come up on a small path going north. Take that path and it will lead you right up to a cave within the mountains. Let us hope that Dirk is with him.”

“He better be.”

“If they’re not in there, your second bet would be back at the mountain palace. That is if they were able to make it that far before the storm.”

“All right, I’ll check.”

“Remember, be quick about it and be careful.” Lana nodded and I got up with her. “Good luck. I hope you find them.”

“I won’t let you down.” Lana changed into a cheetah and raced out into the storm.

I kept telling myself why I let her go. This was for them. We both needed to know if they’re okay.

I walked back down the stairs and Adele looked behind me like she expected Lana to be following. “Ruby? Where’s Lana?”

Everyone turned their heads toward the entrance and didn’t see her either.

“She’s gone.”

“What?!” Adele stood up and walked over to me, pointing outside with rage on her voice. “You sent her out there!”

“I didn’t send her. She chose to go.”

“And you let her!”

“It’s something she had to do and I wasn’t going to stop her!”

“Do you realize what you’ve done? No one should be out in this weather.”

“I’m sorry, Adele but how could you possibly understand? It’s not your husband and son out there! It’s mine!”

I turned my back on Adele and walked back to the entrance by myself. How could she possibly know how this felt? I didn’t have any answers and letting Lana go could get them for me.

“Ruby, I’m sorry.” Adele had eventually followed me and joined me on the stairs. “I didn’t mean to come off like I don’t care because I do. I’m just worried for Lana’s safety but I do understand why you let her go. I’m sure I would have done the same thing.”

I was glad she saw my way but I just kept my gaze out into the storm and was thinking about Darius. Remembering his words from his letter started to get me to cry again. “I think I’m losing him, Adele.”

Of course Adele tried comforting me but I knew I wouldn’t find much in it. “What? No. He’s going to be all right. You’ll see.”

“No, not that. I think I’m actually losing him. Read the note he left me.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the piece of paper, handing it to Adele.

She read it to herself. “Oh, I don’t think that’s what he means.”

“How do you know? He thinks I wouldn’t want to follow him back? Or maybe he just doesn’t want me too.”

“Of course he does. He loves you. The recent events were just getting him to think things out the wrong way. I’m sure that now he’s away from there, they’re resolving this and he’ll take back everything he said.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. He can’t live without you and I know he’s out there safe right now just hoping you are.”

I was surprised that I was comforted by her words and we both looked outside into the storm.

“Oh, this is precious. I never thought I’d see this.”

I looked at Adele from hearing the voice and she quickly spun around as she got to her feet with me and headed down the stairs. “Ryon?”

He appeared leaning up against the wall, in view for everyone to see. “How is it possible that you can just sit here?”

“Is Ellie with you?” Jaylyn asked.

Ryon just pointed straight ahead of him with his eyes and Ellie appeared on the other side. “What are you doing in here? You should be going after them.”

“Have you looked outside?” Zayden asked.

Ryon laughed. “You’re just giving up.”

“There’s nothing we can do until this ends.” Adele said.

“I’m sorry, maybe I should be talking to someone that actually cares.” Ryon appeared next to me in an instant with an arm around me. “You care, don't you, Red?”

“Of course I care.”

“Then look around and ask yourself why they don’t. Why they would rather sit here and waste time that your family might not have when they can save them.” I was confused while looking around at everyone. Was that true? “That’s right. They’re capable of getting you all out of here but why won’t they do it, you wonder? Well, I’m not the one to ask. It looks like they choose to do nothing.”

“Now wait a second!” Zayden said in an angry tone as he stood up. “Are you insinuating that we don’t care about them?”

“Well, you are just sitting here.”

“And how do you think we’d be able to do it?”

Ryon was getting irritated with his arrogance. “It’s just wind and rain people! It would take only two of you to get through it when you actually have three capable.”

Seth looked over at Adele and Cadence and back at Ryon. “You mean us?”

“Exactly. One holding the wind and one holding the rain. Weather like this can be tamed you just have to try.”

“Why are you here?”

“We’ve been watching and just because our hearts no longer beat, doesn’t mean we’ve lost all feeling. We’re not supposed to even be here because trying to change one’s fate is strictly forbidden but we couldn’t sit there anymore while you did nothing. It’s not set in stone yet. You can still save them before they join us but you have to want to.”

My heart never raced so fast at this point and Cadence and Seth got right to their feet.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Seth asked.

Ryon smiled to his quick decision and appeared next to Ellie. “Then go. We’ll go ahead and try to hold back time.”

I nodded as they disappeared and the rest of us started getting on our horses.

“Seth. Cadence. One hold the middle and one hold the rear.” Adele commanded. “I’ll ride in front. We have to make this quick.”

They both nodded and we approached the entrance of the cave behind Adele. She held up one hand and averted the wind around us while Cadence and Seth focused on the rain. I was ready to save them and we started heading east into the mountain pass.