Worshiped By The Bear Kings - Complete (7 page)

CHAPTER TWO

Eternal darkness. Thunder Brad stood
between the river and the forest and saw the fire was so great, he wouldn’t be
able to rescue anyone who’d been left behind. He wiped the remaining tears away,
and turned back in the direction of the waterfall.

Spike…

Brad ground
his teeth together and shifted into his bear. He staggered back down the hill
and bounded across the edge of the river. He moved on to the waterfall’s
underneath passage.

While this
structure was so entrenched it would probably be safe from the fire, Brad
didn’t know how much of the river’s bank would be accessible if Spike remained
here any longer.

In a hurry,
he found Spike lying in a pile of cushions floating above the pool, his eyes
closed, fast asleep. Brad reached out and swatted him angrily, to get his
attention.

Spike fell
off the pillows and into the water, surprised to by his cousin’s bear form.

Once out of
the water, Brad’s stern glare at him was enough for Spike to understand there
was imminent danger, and shifted into his bear likewise. The pair raced out of
the temple and moved on to the left side of the river, where the forest fire
had yet to touch.

After a long,
arduous journey to the top of the mountain, the pair went to the edge of it so
they could see how far the damage had gone. They simultaneously shifted into
their human forms.

“Who has done
this?” Spike demanded. “Why have they done it? What do you know?”

“It was the
Destair,” Brad answered. “I spoke with Hades.”

“Where is the
Uthuro? Where is our tribe? Have you led them to safety?”

Brad lowered
his head. “It was too late, my cousin. I was struck down before I could do anything.”

“I don’t
believe it,” Spike said. “They must have taken … hostages … prisoners…”

“Perhaps they
did,” Brad said. “I guess there is that hope.”

“What did
Hades say for himself? Have the black bears moved so far away this fire won’t
touch them?”

“They had
come a great distance. They rode on horseback. In their bear forms.”

“An act of
war?”

“Hades said
it was as incentive for us to rejoin the Destair. Serve him as we served his
father.”

“How could he
ever trust us with his life, after he has done this to us?”

“I don’t
know. He obviously believes his tribe is the only sanctuary for bears.”

“But we could
never join,” Spike said. “Could we?”

Brad looked
at Spike. “No. He is now a murderer. Even if our tribe is alive, he had killed
all our animal friends. He has destroyed the trees. Our home. He is worse, than
the worst humans.”

Spike took a
deep breath.

Slowly, he
released it.

“They have
our mate too,” Brad informed him. “Jasmine was taken by them.”

“What?” Spike
cried. “How did – how could you let this –?”

“Please do
not argue with me,” Brad said. “I was outnumbered. There were dozens of them.”

“We have to
find her,” Spike said. “Who knows what they could be doing to her? Have you
thought about that?”

Brad shook
his head. “I couldn’t bring myself to.”

“But this
isn’t over, is it? You will fight them with me, won’t you?”

Brad nodded.
“Till the end.”

“Till the
end.”

Brad motioned
back to the trees. It was time to move on.

Back on the
path, he heard Spike whispering a prayer for Jasmine.

Brad closed
his eyes.

And did the
same.

CHAPTER
THREE

By now, Jasmine and her captors were
far away from the bear kings and their forest fire, and there was no telling
how far they intended to go. Jasmine was sandwiched between the horse and the
black bear riding it, with little room for her to peer out in front or behind
her. It may have been just because they were in the depths of night now, but
the leaves in this part of the forest seemed darker. The trees were longer,
thinner, sharper. She could see ahead of her, and for much time there wasn’t
anything that resembled light.

Since the
horse never slowed down, and the bear didn’t speak to her, Jasmine didn’t know
where they were going exactly or how long it was taking to get there. After
what seemed to be an eternity the trees came to an abrupt halt and they were
riding out into the middle of an outstretched paddock.

Jasmine
looked up. She could see the moon was breathing down on them now through a
cloudless sky, and the smell of smoke and charcoal was completely gone. There
were other bears riding beside her, and many in front of them. All headed for
the same place. The same destination.

After another
five minutes they crossed over a stream and entered what appeared to be the
outskirts of a farm. Four giant stables greeted their horizons, and as they got
closer Jasmine saw the other riders were descending, with many morphing into
their human forms.

The bear
behind her pulled the reins tightly before they reached the stables and placed
Jasmine on the ground after they had stopped. He proceeded to morph into his
human form – a light skinned and dark haired Adonis, wearing the bare minimum
of armor. He moved round to the front of the horse as Jasmine stood about,
unsure if there was anywhere she could flee to.

“What is your
name?” he asked her curtly.

“My name…?”
Jasmine mumbled.

He moved
around the horse to face her directly.

“Which of the
Uthuro did you belong to?”

“I … I
don’t…”

He grabbed
her arm and squeezed it tightly. “Where is your bear?”

“Back where
we came from,” Jasmine said, wincing.

“No – where
is your…?” he then trailed off mid sentence. “Are you human?”

Jasmine
nodded.

The bear
seemed even more pleased. “How peculiar.”

Another horse
– a snarling, salivating, monstrous horse – rode up to them from behind.

The bear who
was standing with Jasmine immediately fell to his knees.

The rider
descended the horse.

“What’s she
doing here, Gabe? The prisoners were supposed to be taken to the west farm.”

“I saw her
with the bear king before he was attacked,” Gabe replied. “She is human.”

Jasmine met
eyes with the leader of the Destair. His appearance was frightening –
enormously muscular, bearded, bald, and a girl’s severed head tattooed to the
front of his scalp.

“How dare you
not kneel before me, human,” the leader barked at her.

Jasmine
immediately fell to her knees.

“What were
you doing in the forest?” was the leader’s next question.

Jasmine
wondered if she should tell him the truth.

The leader
grabbed her chin and pushed it upward. “I asked you a question.”

“I wasn’t
doing anything,” Jasmine trembled.

“Do not test
me, girl. If you lie to me, I shall kill you this instant.”

“Okay, okay.
Just let go.”

The leader
reluctantly released her.

Jasmine
nursed her jaw.

“Well? Speak
up.”

“Okay,”
Jasmine said. “I … was with my friends in the forest area today. Something
happened, and we encountered the bears. They wound up … taking me with them. I
can’t say much more than that.”

“What of
Juliet? The bear queen? Where has she been today?”

Jasmine shook
her head. “She died. There was a hunting accident.”

“And so
you’re here to replace her?”

“I wouldn’t
say that exactly.”

The leader
gave a snort. Then he turned to Gabe. “Take her back with you to the tribe.
Give her her own space. I will figure out what value she has to us later. In
the meantime, you are not to violate her – nor is anyone else.”

The leader
turned back to his horse.

Gabe boldly
stood. “Honestly, my lord, I’m not sure I can keep them away from a girl as
beautiful and curvy as she is.”

“Then you
must protect her from them,” the leader said climbing to his saddle. “You do
remember how to protect the women, don’t you Gabe?”

“Yes,” Gabe
said solemnly.

The leader
then rode past them and on towards the stables.

Gabe took his
horse by the reins and began to lead him in the stable’s direction on foot.

“Come on,” he
said to Jasmine.

CHAPTER FOUR

The plan was simple – Spike would go
to a nearby shifter town to see if anyone knew where the Destair’s camp was,
while Brad would remain in the area closest to the forest, so he could work it
from the human end. Since Spike wasn’t used to being away from the forest, Brad
had to remind him that if there were any serious developments he should contact
his cell phone, and at the nearest possible time, let Brad know where he could
be reached. Once they made it to the main road, they shifted to their human
forms and said their goodbyes.

Even if he
took the short cuts and stayed off the roads, the trip to the shifter town was
at least an hour and a half away for Spike. Since time was of the essence, a
lot of weight rested on Brad’s shoulders and his ability to locate the camp as
soon as possible.

He knew it
would be far from the fires – and that was a start. The question was how far
away was it. Frankly, the appearance of the horses and how the bears were
dressed alarmed Brad. It pointed towards a fully functioning village for the
black bears – one that was secret and heavily guarded. Still, he knew it would
only be a matter of time before either he or Spike found its location and
ripped its walls apart. What was worried him was what would have come of his
beloved Jasmine by then…

As headlights
approached from behind him, Brad looked back towards the road and saw an
oncoming police car. He waved it down and two uniformed cops stepped out of the
vehicle.

“Can we be
assistance, sir?” one of them asked. “What are you doing out here by yourself?”

“Yes, you can
assist me,” Brad said moving around the car. “My name is Thunder Brad and I’m
the senior forest ranger for these parts.”

“Your name is
Thunder Brad?” the first cop repeated. He extended his hand. “I’m Sergeant Mike
Green.”

“Good to meet
you.”

They shook
hands.

“Constable
Ron Ford,” the second one said.

They shook
hands as well.

“Can you tell
us anything about this fire?” Sergeant Green asked.

“A few things,”
Thunder Brad said.

“Such as?”

“I’d prefer
to get down to the scene to be honest. I want to make sure it’s been handled
correctly.”

“Get in,”
Mike said. “We’ll talk on the way.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Brad didn’t want to give the cops any
more than he had to. Whilst the humans were aware of the shifters, they were
mostly considered to be extremely rare and removed from society, rather than
lurking within it. Giving up the Destair meant giving up his own identity as a
bear, which he couldn’t do. Therefore there was only one group he could point
the finger at concerning the fire. And even before he opened his mouth to tell
the tale, he knew it was going to be wrought with consequences…

“A bunch of
kids were up here,” Brad began. “I mean they were from college. On a road trip
or something. They alerted myself and ranger Scott Wiggins to the presence of a
man’s body that was found. The local police were notified. But by the time they
came to investigate the kids had taken off.”

“You – had
also taken off,” Sergeant Green said. “At least that’s what I see by this
report I have here.”

“Uh … that’s
correct. I was investigating the area to see if there were any witnesses. I
became lost.”

“Lost? In the
forest?”

“Yes.”

“Before the
fire started?”

“Yes. I would
take a very serious look into those kids I mentioned.”

“Do you have
their names?”

“Ranger
Wiggins does. You’ll have to talk to him.”

The cops
seemed satisfied with Brad’s answers which put his mind to rest. He leaned back
in his seat of the car and watched as the full view of forest’s exterior came
into view.

There were a
serious number of police cars at the ranger’s station. Ten or more fire trucks
in the surrounding area with dozens of firefighters on the ground. But the
blaze seemed to be under control now.

As they
parked, Brad noticed Scott talking with police up at the office. He went to get
out of the car to go speak with them, but found the door was locked.

“Uh, excuse
me,” Brad mumbled.

Mike leaned
over the passenger’s seat. His face didn’t look good.

“What’s up?”
Brad asked.

“There’s been
a report made against you. I’m afraid at this time you’re officially under
arrest.”

“Under
arrest?” Brad cried. “For what?”

Stepping out
from the office to stand beside Scott was another police officer, escorting two
people. Brad recognized them as being Jasmine’s brother, and his girlfriend.

“For murder,”
Sergeant Green said.