Shadows of Men (The Watchers Book 1) (39 page)

              They all stood in silence, unable to speak.  Haneah shuffled forward slowly then stopped.  She felt tears begin to take form and fall down her cheeks.  She suddenly knew why they all looked and felt older, why they had changed so much within the course of one day.  It hadn’t been one day at all, it had been several. 

              The sound of footsteps from behind made Haneah whirl and Faine quickly reached for the door to reveal a woman, standing at the threshold peering in.  When she saw the children, her face turned from curiosity to disbelief.  She gasped and grasped at her chest as though her heart was threatening to jump from her chest.

              “It’s you!”  She exclaimed in a tiny whisper.  The disbelief she felt made it nigh impossible for her to speak.

              “Aunt Ana!”  Haneah shouted and she ran to her aunt to embrace her.  Haneah could feel her Aunt shaking as they held each other tightly.  After a few moments, Aunt Ana pushed away from Haneah and held her out at arm’s length, examining her from top to bottom. 

              “I cannot believe it!”  She said louder this time and she turned her attention to the rest of them.  “All of you are here!”  She shook her head once more.  “I must have fallen asleep and am dreaming this.” 

              “You are not dreaming, Auntie Ana.  We are here.”  Faine said.

              “What has happened to our house, Aunt Ana?”  Hebkya asked with concern. 

              “What has happened to mother and father?”  Haneah asked, wanting to know where their parents had gone. 

              “Oh children.”  Aunt Ana said.  She shook her head once more and looked to them sadly.  “You best come home with me and I will feed you, get you cleaned up and tell you everything.”

              Aunt Ana lived next door to them in a hut that was similar in size and shape.  It was Aunt Ana who had convinced their father to move to Sun Hill when the hut next to hers was vacant. 

              The entire hut was lit up with bright candles, giving the room and cheery glow. She told the children to sit in any chair they could find and stood in the center of the room, looking all of them over in disbelief.  It seemed as though she could not take her eyes off of them.

              “Where have you children been?”  She finally asked.  She turned to Haneah just as the question escaped her lips, as though Haneah was the only one who could give an honest answer.

              “We were playing on the beach.”  Haneah replied, unwilling to tell Aunt Ana the entire story.

              “And?”  She asked with impatience.  “What happened to you?  Where have you been all this time?”

              “On the beach.”  Hebkya replied, obviously trying to take some of the pressure away from Haneah.

              “Oh children.”  Aunt Ana said again.  “I was with your mother the day she sent you off to play.  That day was three years ago exactly!”

              “What?”  Haneah shouted.  She had expected to learn that some time had passed but three years was much longer than she had anticipated.  “You must be mistaken!”

              “There is no mistake!”  Aunt Ana said with an air of regret.  “I thought my eyes were deceiving me when I saw the four of you scurry up the steps to your hut.  I thought that perhaps in my old age, I was beginning to hallucinate!  You are not a hallucination, are you?”  She reached out to grasp Haneah by the arm as she asked this question, squeezing gently to see if she was real.

              “We are not a hallucination, Aunt Ana.  We are truly here.”  Haneah replied. 

              “Then it is a miracle.”  She said and a smile formed on her lips.

              “Where are mother and father?”  Faine asked again, growing impatient for an answer.

              “What I have to tell you is not easy.”  Aunt Ana said, turning to Faine and taking in a deep breath.  “For days we searched that beach for any sign of you and finally, the town came to the conclusion that the tide had come in and all of you had drown.”  Aunt Ana said this with such sadness; it was as though the pain of it still plagued her heart.  “Your mother succumbed to the heartache of losing her four children and threw herself into the ocean!”

              “No!”  Haneah shouted.  She fell to her knees and cried hysterically into her open palms.

              “I am afraid it is true.”  Aunt Ana said as she patted Haneah on the shoulder.

              “And father?”  Faine asked.  The shaking in his voice could be heard by all.

              “It was not long before your father followed your mother into the grave.  They are buried up on the hill.” 

              Hebkya and Faine both raced to where Haneah knelt and wrapped their arms tightly around her.  She was unaware of how much time had passed but the three of them wept together from the sadness of their loss. 

             
How could we have been asleep for three years? 
Haneah wondered. 
How is it that we are even still alive? 

              “You’d better stay here with me, children.”  Aunt Ana said.  “You have nowhere else to go.  I shall fetch some blankets for you and you can eat some bread and cheese before going to sleep.”  With that, Aunt Ana turned and disappeared into the back of the house. 

              Haneah, Faine and Hebkya all loosened their embrace on each other and looked up to their youngest brother.  He sat in a darkened corner staring at them with hatred in his eyes.  Haneah looked back to him for a moment and tried to remember a time when her brother looked to be so full of anger.  She could not find a single memory.  Amag’mar had always been so sweet and full of cheer.  Now he looked as though he resented being a part of this world.  Haneah wondered what had happened to him.  She wondered what her little brother had dreamt about for three years.  She wondered what could have made him so bitter towards them that he did not even seem to care that his parents were dead.

…

              It was still dark in the room when Haneah woke.  She sat upright with a start and rubbed the sleep away from her eyes.  When she looked around, she could see the outlines of Faine and Hebkya, sleeping on the floor beneath her.  When she looked to the spot where Amag’mar had been lying, she found it empty.

              Haneah threw the blankets off her legs and jumped down from the feather couch she slept on.  She wasn’t certain how she knew that Amag’mar had left but she was determined to find him.  She raced to the door and opened it as quietly as possible, trying her hardest not to wake Hebkya or Faine.

              The night was cold and Haneah could see her breath as she hurried along the dirt road that led her out of Sun Hill.  She stopped when she saw the moonlight pouring over the hill and the small figure of a boy standing at the top. 

              Haneah ran as fast as her legs could carry her, up the hill and over until she found him. 

              Amag’mar knelt down by two gray stones that protruded from the ground.  His face was gaunt and his hands shook as he traced a finger over the etching of their mother’s name
Ellena
.

              “I knew you would follow me.”  He said softly without looking up in her direction.  “I wanted you to come.”  Amag’mar stood slowly and turned to Haneah.  His eyes shone fiercely against the moonlight and Haneah knew then that her brother was completely changed.  He was no longer the innocent child she had known and loved.  He had become something far greater and far more dangerous.  Haneah felt fear begin to take hold of her.  She wanted to scream and run away quickly but instead, she began to back away slowly.

              “Where do you think you are going?”  He asked annoyed.  “I wish to show you the gift I have been blessed with.”  Haneah stopped at these words and looked to him with curiosity.

              “What gift has been given to you?”  She asked, uncertain if she was ready to hear the answer.

              “The gift of life.”  He hissed and he turned back to the stone at his feet.  He raised his hands into the air and suddenly, Haneah knew what he was about to do.

              “Brother, stop!”  She shouted.  He ignored her and she watched in horror as his body began to shake.  A dark cloud suddenly appeared from nowhere and surrounded Amag’mar like a blanket.  It swirled around his hands and fingers then dipped down to the ground beneath his feet.  It was like a living fog that he could conjure and control; heavy and dark even against the black night.  A silent rumbling could be heard from beneath the ground and Haneah knew that she had to stop him.  She raced forward and grasped Amag’mar from behind, pulling him off his feet and throwing him to the ground. 

              Amag’mar let out a surprised cry as he fell down the hill, rolling and spinning until at last, he landed at the bottom.  Haneah raced after him and stopped when she stood next to his unmoving body.

              “What have I done?”  She asked herself fearfully.  She bent down to turn him over, hoping that she had not killed him when suddenly; he jumped up and grasped her by the throat. 

              The coldness that came from his touch crippled her and she felt her entire body become stiff and rigid.  His eyes burned red with hatred and suddenly, she felt warmth grow from within, burning the iciness of his touch away.  It started slowly at first but grew and grew until it felt as though her insides were on fire. 

              Haneah tried to scream and thrash against her brother’s grasp but she could do nothing.  His strength was unnatural and he lifted her off her feet with one hand. 

              Haneah tried to fight against him, she kicked and whirled but his grasp was tight and the feeling of being on fire began to consume her.  Her skin crawled with icy cold on the outside while on the inside, she became a furnace.

              Haneah was certain that she would die that night until Amag’mar released his grip on her and she fell to the ground in a heap.  She lay on her side, gasping and coughing for breath.  The cold on her skin melted away and the burning inside slowly faded until there was nothing left.

              Amag’mar turned and began walking briskly away when Haneah sat up and tried to shout after him.  Her voice caught in the back of her throat just like her breath had but Amag’mar heard nonetheless and when he turned back towards her, she noticed that his eyes had returned to their natural color. 

              “Where,” she began but she coughed instead.  She grasped her throat where he had choked her and tried to speak again.  “Where are you going?”

              “I thought I could give you a gift!”  He shouted at her angrily.  “I knew, in my heart, that I could bring mother back!  I can feel it within me!  A desire to raise the dead from their graves!  I can do it!  I can give her back to you!”  He was crying now.  Soft, gentle tears rolled down his cheeks and Haneah’s heart melted.  She suddenly knew that her little brother did not know how to deal with the death of his parents.  She knew that it was killing him inside and he needed her now more than ever.

              She stood on wobbly legs and reached a hand out to him.  She grasped him by the shoulders and pulled him in for an embrace.  She tried not to let him feel her shiver with the coldness of his skin as they touched.

              “You cannot bring them back, Amag’mar.  No one can.  Death is final.  To bring them back would be to go against all the laws of nature and no good can come from that.  Leave them be.  They are at peace.”  Amag’mar threw his hands up in the air and pushed Haneah away from him.  He stood tall and glowered at her before turning and walking away.

              Haneah stood in confusion before running after him but when he stopped, she did not touch him.  Instead, she stood behind him silently and waited for him to turn to her.  He did not turn, nor did he look back at her as he spoke and the words he said to her then were soft and could have only been heard by her ears.

              “Do not follow me if you value your life.  I shall give you this one chance to live but you must turn away from me and never look back.  But before you go, know this- there is no law to nature.  We are the ones who make the rules now.  We have the power to rule the world and the world has the right to witness what we can do.  You are soft and weak, sister.  I shall return for you when the time is right.” 

              Haneah opened her mouth to speak but no words came.  She wanted to reach out to Amag’mar, to tell him that everything would be alright.  She wanted to tell him that he could mourn in any way he felt necessary but that he had to go back to Aunt Ana’s and forget his anger.  She wanted to stop him as she watched him walk away but soon, he was a black silhouette against the darkness of night and before she could even utter a single word, he disappeared from her view completely.