All For One [Nuworld 3] (38 page)

behind him.

Darius drew his laser the second they were in the hallway. At the same moment,

two Runners came out of the landlink room, their lasers also pulled. Darius stood in

between Tara and the Runners. He aimed his laser toward one end of the hallway and

then toward the other end.

Another scream came from the children’s wing and he followed Tara toward the

closed doors. The screams continued as Tara swung open the outer door leading toward

the long hallway, with solid doors closed on either side. Ana’s door flew open and their

daughter dashed out of the room, clad in her nightshirt, her braided hair flying and a

poker from her fireplace in her hand. Darius thought his daughter was being assaulted

for a brief second but as the screams continued he realized Ana was also looking for the

source.

Just then, Andru’s bedroom door opened and Fulga ran out, her hands covering her

mouth. She continued to scream as she ran into Tara and Ana.

“Be quiet, woman,” Tara yelled at her. “What’s wrong?”

Fulga shook from fright and simply pointed toward Andru’s bedroom. Finally she

managed to sputter out, “…gathering laundry… Andru out gallivanting again…but

he’s in there…not out there.” She pointed at the room, then out the window. “He’s in

there, I swear.”

Tara didn’t appear to notice the concerned look her daughter threw at her.

150

All For One

Darius, who stood next to Tara, saw his daughter’s expression and immediately

feared the worse. He pushed his way into his son’s bedroom and Tara and Ana

followed.

The bedroom was empty. Andru obviously was out on the town for the night as his

bed showed no signs of him having been there.

Nothing was out of order but Tara immediately headed toward the half opened

closet door with a small amount of light flooding the bedroom floor. She hadn’t quite

reached the door when Ana hurried to it.

It was at that moment that Darius had no further doubt in his head as to what, or

more accurately who, had made the servant scream. He turned quickly to the Runner

guards who were on his heels.

“Get back to your work.”

Tara turned and looked confused, but turned again as Ana reached the closet door.

“It’s all right,” Ana said, lowering the poker, and leaning it against the wall.

Tara moved quickly and grabbed her daughter, yanked her back and pulled open

the closet door. She caught sight of a boy who she thought for a second was Andru. He

held one of the arrows from Andru’s archery bag and pointed it at her. Tara raised her

laser at the boy when Darius’ powerful arm reached around her and pulled her back

with more ferocity than he’d used on her minutes before in their bedroom. She fell

backwards until she hit the wall.

Tara wanted to scream. She wanted to shove Darius out of the way. She wanted to

eliminate the unwanted blemish of the dark memory from her mind. The thoughts of a

sleeping baby in her arms in the darkness. A baby’s face that looked just like her own

baby but wasn’t hers. Now, a new painful memory had just been created. The face of a

young boy who looked just like her son ready to stab her with an arrow. She stood

frozen as fury, frustration, the pain of betrayal, and another emotion she couldn’t label,

raced through her.

“Ana, get away from the closet.” Darius’ voice was tight, controlled, as he yanked

Tara to his iron chest. His arm became a vise grip around her.

“Papa, it’s—”

“Get away from the closet, I say.” Darius raised his voice, only slightly, but enough

for his daughter to turn around cautiously.

She stepped back from the closet door but stared at the boy who stood frozen and

alert inside.

“Come out of the closet, Beel, yes,” Darius spoke calmly.

“No, my lord,” the young boy said boldly. “I can’t.”

“You’ll do as you’re told, you will.” Again, Darius’ voice sounded fatherly.

“I am, my lord. I’ve sworn my allegiance to Andru and he told me not to come out

of the closet until he told me I could.”

151

Lorie O’Clare

Tara went limp in Darius’ arm. He quickly wrapped both arms around her and

whispered into her ear, “You’ll get through this, my lady.” He moved her to her son’s

bed and she sat down, resting her head on her hands.

The door flew open and Andru rushed in then stopped at the sight of his mama,

papa, and Ana in his room.

Darius turned to his oldest son. Something was wrong here—very wrong. He

couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen his son wear Runner attire. There was a sense

of urgency about him and although there was surprise on his face at the people in his

room, he saw no fear. He had the look of a man on a mission.

Andru concealed the surprised expression quickly and walked over to his closet.

“My word is good.” Beel spoke first. “I’ve stayed where you wished.”

“Come out of the closet, Beel,” Andru said simply.

Beel walked out of the closet and stood next to Andru. The two teenagers standing

next to each other, both facing Darius and Tara, were overwhelming in their similarity.

Andru faced his parents, tall and proud. Beel stood next to him, inches shorter, an

identical shadow. Ana stood to the side in her long white nightgown. She clasped her

hands behind her back and also faced her parents.

Tara gasped and the disbelief in her expression was readable. It was almost as if it

didn’t matter who’d parented the boys. Their papa’s blood ran through both of them so

thick there was no doubt they were brothers.

“Beel came to us for help. I kept him here until I determined who he was.” Andru

looked at his papa without blinking. “It wasn’t clear to me at first why he was confined

and prevented from mingling among his people. I know who he is now, and I

understand why you ordered his isolation.”

Andru turned to Beel. “You and I are cousins. Your parents are the ones who took

you from the Tree People. You were taken from your mama’s womb by the Lunians but

when my uncle and cousin found you, they knew you immediately, so they brought

you here.” Andru’s tone grew gentle. “Your parents never claimed each other. They

were different races and that kept them apart. Your father claimed another woman and

your presence now would prove a difficulty. Your wellbeing is both of their concerns

however and your blood merits more than a life of a servant…so you were brought

here.”

Andru stopped and looked at his parents. Their faces were devoid of expression

and he sensed their tenseness. He was prepared for the impending discipline they

obviously were devising in their minds as they studied him. They didn’t look at each

other but he’d seen them implement policy together before without as much as a word

or a glance at each other. He didn’t view this situation to be any different. Suddenly, the

dog-woman sat next to Tara on his bed.

“Your heart leads your actions, my boy.” The old woman was almost half the size

of his mama. Her skin was dark and rough like an animal’s hide. Gray fuzzy hair was

pulled behind her head and a braid fell over her shoulder and almost to her chest. She

152

All For One

wore a long dress made out of animal skin, and a rope served as a belt around her

gaunt figure. Her hands were clasped together on her lap and her joints were larger

than normal, and disfigured. She was an ugly hag, but when she smiled and showed

her disproportioned teeth, there was a sense of beauty about her. “You must think with

your head, though. See people for who they are and what’s inside them.”

Tara’s eyes widened and she looked around the room quickly. “Andru?” She spoke

quietly.

Andru adjusted his expression and looked at his mama, trying to ignore the dog-

woman who sat next to her. “I’m sorry I deceived you, Mama.”

“Watch the actions of those around you carefully. Their behavior will let you know

what you must do next.” The dog-woman spoke again and Andru looked in her

direction. His mama seemed aware of his distraction and watched him carefully. He

quickly looked away from the dog-woman.

“Who told you about Beel’s parents, Andru?” Tara asked.

“His parents confessed the truth,” Andru said simply.

“Torgo and Syra,” Darius said without emotion.

Andru didn’t speak.

“Good and evil are dancing together, Andru. Pay attention.” The dog-woman

disappeared and Andru sighed in exasperation at the old woman’s confusing advice.

Everyone in the room looked at him before he realized he’d betrayed himself with his

actions.

Tara understood his frustration when she saw his expression show exasperation.

She knew the dog-woman had been in the room. Tara had felt the old lady’s presence.

An overwhelming sense of clarity entered her mind. For winters, she’d resented the fact

that the guardian of Crator no longer approached her, but her son instead. She now

understood that it was Andru who needed the guidance. She had served Crator and

fulfilled the duties expected of her. Now, it was her son’s turn. She wouldn’t dare let on

that Crator guided Andru in front of the bastard. He was the evil and if he felt a loyalty

to Andru she didn’t want that marred.

“Torgo and Syra’s loyalty is stronger than I realized, I think,” Darius muttered.

“I think rather it’s fear,” Tara mumbled, and then stood to walk across the room.

She turned and looked at her son. “What were your intentions?”

“Beel was miserable in his confinement. He’s treated like a criminal yet he’s

committed no crime,” Andru began, and Tara shot Darius a deadly look. “My

intentions were simply to get him out of Bryton and allow him a life of freedom.”

“You asked my son to do this?” Tara addressed Beel for the first time.

Darius turned to look at his bastard son.

Beel seemed to draw confidence from every bone in his body. He breathed in

deeply and stiffened. “I asked Ana at first.” He cleared his voice, and his gaze fell to the

ground.

153

Lorie O’Clare

“Look at me.” Tara spoke harshly and Beel jumped.