Dreams of the Forgotten (15 page)

After arrangements were made for Ira to stay with the Gillanders, Uttu came in to get Atash and Justus. I squinted at her, which did nothing but cause her to giggle. For a moment, I wondered if she had put the boys up to interfering but I knew better. She went out her way to keep from influencing others.

Alone again in the conference room, we studied the ring. The piece of jewelry appeared benign but I could
sense
that it wasn't. I had the impression that Kent would use it as a weapon. The ring was an item of power. We didn't know what kind. It created an illusion that wasn't broken by touch. It masked the wearer's scent and allowed them to change into a wolf. What else did it do?

The ring sat on the table pulsing with power, the red gem blinking back at us and none dared touch it. Gregori explained how items of power could be tuned to certain persons, so when Ushna moved closer to the ring, panic flared in me.

He sniffed the air, pulling in long draws the closer he came to the ring. I itched to pull him back to safety. His brow furrowed as he continued scenting the item. Hands braced on the table, he leaned forward as he searched the ring through smell. All the muscles in his body were drawn tight with tension. I couldn't stand it anymore. His face was inches from the ring.

"Ushna!" I barked in alarm. "You need to come to me now!" I gripped the arms of the chair, claws scoring the wood.

He stopped his descent for a split second, then paused before withdrawing. I released the breath I'd held when he took my hand. I felt foolish. It was only a piece of jewelry. Logic be damned because everything within me had
known
he'd been in danger.

"The magic of the ring isn't Lycan." Ushna tried to loosen my fingers and I huffed at him. "It's not human magic either. I'm not sure what it is. I've never come across the like before. It smells earthy, like a new spring with an undercurrent of frost. The ring appears brand new, but I got the impression it was actually very old. If you listen hard enough, you can practically hear the metal speak, or maybe it's the magic speaking. I didn't dare get close enough to find out."

A low growl rumbled around in my chest at his words. "You got too close as it was. Until we know what the ring does, no one is to touch it. We need a strong box for it." I didn't want anyone to be tempted to figure out the riddle of the ring.

Hakim pulled out his cell phone. "Let me take some pictures for Elder Koller and Elder Luis. They may know of it or something like it."

"I'm sure I've seen a ring like this before but I can't place where or on whom. We need to go through the list of people who're in the tribe. If this D is a member, I'll have him skinned alive for what he's done."

"If we can catch him," Corey added, "we may be able to get information from him about the
Servants of the Glorious One
. He's been openly wearing the sunburst pendant, which will make him easier to identify."

I left the conference room vibrating with suppressed anger. We had worked hard to provide a safe place, expended large amounts of money and resources, and still we were plagued with assholes who thought they could come into my home and threaten me and mine.

I was tired of it, all of it. Assassins, possibly linked to the Goddess Inanna, were attempting to prevent a prophecy. They were split into two factions but their methods were equally dangerous. Now add in the mysterious rings. They bugged me like an itch I couldn't scratch. I was unable to remember when or where or on whom I'd seen them. Someone had been near me wearing one of those things.

"Tristan, stop!"
"Who the fuck are the Glorious Firsts? What the hell are they doing in my tribe with my people other than terrorizing children?" I stomped into the kitchen. A hand snagged my elbow, swinging me around.

"I said stop!" Ushna's eyes blazed with heat, nostrils flared, lips thinly pursed. "What's wrong?"
"You could've been hurt!" I shouted. "You can't… I don't…"
He grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me forward. I didn't fight it. I clutched him, reminding myself he wasn't hurt… this time. I'd thought I would be able to wait until after the children were born, when I would be able to protect my family, and then I'd confront those who were out to harm them. I'd thought I'd be able to protect Ushna and the children. I couldn't protect him as I was now and that's what pissed me off the most. I had all of this power at my disposal, and I still struggled to keep him safe.
Ushna whispered in my ear, and I didn't hear a word he said. All I thought was I had to do something, now, not tomorrow, or next week, or in thirty-two days when the children were born. These threats wouldn't wait on me to get my shit together. I attempted to pull away from him but his hand was in my hair. His palm pushed my face into the crook of his neck. The other hand squeezed my hip as he held me.
"Just breathe, babe." The endearment startled and calmed me at the same time. He didn't call me babe very often. I could count the number of times on two fingers. I made myself inhale deeply. Ushna's steady pulse softly thumped against my cheek and I let it calm me.
"I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't mean to." I nodded my head in acknowledgement. "The last thing I want you to do is go on a rampage."
"I've got to…"
"No, you don't. They don't know who you are. They don't suspect because if they did they'd have tried to kill you by now."
Ushna was being logical, I knew this, and yet I wanted to storm out of the house and permanently eliminate every enemy.
"There is nothing that we can't accomplish when we're together." Ushna pressed warm lips to my temple.
Reluctantly he let me go when I finally stepped back. I grabbed his hand and tugged, guiding him outside to the yard where I kicked off my shoes. As soon as I touched the Earth, I opened myself and called out to Ashur.
In a couple of heartbeats, Ashur appeared in his true form with his skin the beautiful shade of Mediterranean blue, the red appendages on his head as hair, clawed threetoed feet, and the most stunning set of black-tipped bronze wings spread behind him. Like ripples flowing across the surface of water, the God's appearance changed to his human disguise of dark chocolate skin and dreadlocks. Instead of normal clothing, he wore red silk robes. In our culture, red was the color of mourning.
"Are you harmed?" my guardian asked.
"I need your help." As I explained the morning's events, I walked over to the detention center. I hadn't relinquished Ushna's hand and he crowded closer to me when we walked through the doors. Ashur listened patiently as he followed. "Who is the Glorious First?"
We'd walked past the front offices and interrogation rooms to the door that led to the holding cells. The sentries unlocked the door, calling in four others to escort us. Silently we walked past the cubicles holding the rogue Magi to the one with Kent Weatherby.
The rooms were ten by ten, holding only what was necessary. The doorway was covered by magic. The stones that made up the doorframe had the spells written into their surface. No one could open the cell unless they wore a specially made device that acted as a key to disable the spell. Ashur stepped up to the door and regarded Kent who was still in the strange beast form that smelled like prey. His large eyes gazed back at us, showing no fear. Ashur cocked his head to the side.
"You do not know what he is?"
Moving forward, I said, "All he said was he was a descendant of the Glorious First."
"I suppose he is correct, somewhat. He is a descendant of the children begot by Enkidu and the Priestess Shamhat."
"You know nothing!" Kent walked up to the magic shield.
"If he's a descendant of Enkidu, then why is he not a Lycan?" Ushna asked slipping between Kent and me.
"Shamhat was the Priestess of the Temple of Inanna who tamed Enkidu and brought him out of the wilderness to the Kingdom of Uruk and to King Gilgamesh. This is the form Enkidu took when he shifted."
I didn't understand. "Then how are we wolves?"
"The Lycans are the descendants of Enkidu and Gilgamesh. The wolf is the spirit of the king's heart, not his consort."
My mind reeled with this new information. "So the 'first' refers to the children of Shamhat and Enkidu. Wouldn't that make us brothers and cousins? Wait. Where in the hell have they been hiding all of these years? I've never seen or heard of them."
"We will assume they have been hiding in plain sight if all of them are wearing the rings you told me about."
"No! Stop it!" Kent reached out and pressed his hand on the shield blocking his door. "You know nothing about us!"
Ashur's image shimmered, his true form revealed. Kent gasped and stepped back.
"So you know of me?"
Kent glanced away and refused to answer.
"If you know of me, you know that I am the tutelary." Kent's head snapped up to look at me, then Ushna. "You have assaulted the charge of the king as you conspired to harm the offspring of Alpha Theo Sullivan. Why have you walked the line of treachery against the Gods?"
Kent's gaze finally settled on me. "He's no king. The children of Gilgamesh should've never ruled. The blessing of Shamash was wasted on the Lycans. Sohrab and Tabb were the first born. They should've been the ones to rule. They were the first."
Ashur smiled at Kent. "If the Twins had loved their father, they would not have been forgotten, and they would have received the blessings as well."
"No! They loved Enkidu best."
"Where were your ancestors when their father lay on his death bed? They were not there. They did not visit. They were too consumed by jealousy to sit with their father in his final hours. Their mother was there and yet they were not."
"You're a liar," Kent ground out, trembling with rage.
Ashur regarded Kent with sad eyes. "I know because I was there, young one. I knew your ancestors and I knew their venom."
Kent bellowed with rage. He grabbed the mattress from the bed and threw it across the room. "You lie! We loved him best!" He ranted as he tore apart his cell.
Kent Weatherby became unraveled. The pain Ashur's words caused was thick in the air, and regardless of what he'd done, there was a part of me that mourned with him. To be told that what you regarded as truth, something that made up the core of your beliefs, everything you'd based your values on, to find out it was all lies had to be devastating. Hundreds of years of lies and Kent was coming apart because he'd allowed his beliefs to mold him into a fanatic of the worst kind.
Gently Ushna pulled me away, the halls echoed with Kent's rage. Outside the detention center, I turned to Ashur. "Are these children of the Priestess Shamhat the
Servants of the Glorious One
?"
"It is possible."
"I don't understand," Ushna said, "the family that drugged and spelled Stan and Jory are Lycans."
Ashur nodded his head. "They would be. The wolf always breeds true. It was one of the Blessings of Shamash."
"So Ira, Kent's son, will be able to transform into a wolf?" I confirmed.
"If the mother is Lycan, then yes, but if she is human, Ira's form will be the same as his father's."
Ushna's face brightened a little. "At least we have a way to recognize some of those who belong to the assassins. The enforcers can identify those who wear the ring."
"It doesn't make sense. The assassins aim to prevent a prophecy but this cousin, Kent is sure they'll take the Lycan throne." I looked to Ashur for confirmation.
"They don't have to have the same goal," Ashur replied.
Ushna grunted. "Not all of them belong to the
Servants of the Glorious One
either."

After a meeting with Stan and Elder Koller, eight enforcers were carefully chosen and sent out to the tribes. We didn't split them up and supplied a cover story for them. After the children were born, we would hold an annual meeting for all the tribe alphas. The enforcers were carrying the message to each alpha and instructed to stay for one tribe meeting and identify any member who wore a ring similar to Weatherby's.

Stan was in my office going over the latest reports when the sound of running feet pounded down the hall. Stan bolted across the room. "Get under the desk, Tristan."

"What the hell! Have you paid attention to how big I am? And you want me to crawl under the desk? Not happening." If I got down on my hands and knees, they'd need a crane to get me back on my feet again.

Shouts rang out from the front of the house and we could hear men running around to the back of the house. Stan glared at me before placing himself between me and the door. The ring of steel sliding against the scabbard sounded ominous when he drew his scimitar. I reached into the desk drawer and pulled out the Smith & Wesson 1006 that Ushna had stashed there. Two to three minutes passed as we listened to the running feet and muffled shouts. When the soft rap came at the door, Stan stared quizzically back at me. He hissed in exasperation at me when I moved to open the door.

"Who the fuck it is?" he called.
"Uncle Tristan," replied the small voice and I cussed softly, flipping on the safety of the gun and laying it on top of the desk.
Stan opened the door as I rounded the corner. Justus shot past Stan. "Tristan! There are three men here. They're really, really scary. They came from the field and not the road and Master Corey challenged them and they won't say anything and then Randy came out of the horse barn and you've got to stop them!"
Justus was huffing by the end of his long outburst, tears threatening to fall.
"Please, please, Uncle Tristan. Please don't let them kill Randy. They froze everybody and no one can help him." Justus jerked at my hand, pulling me out of the room.
I was surprised that Randy was home. I hadn't expected him back from his family affair until the evening.
"No rushing, Justus. We never rush into a combat situation, no matter how dire."
Stan stepped in front of me and led the way out of the room and into a group of six waiting warriors who had enough weapons on them to supply a small army. Keeping Justus's hand so that he wouldn't run ahead, we walked outside through the back door. The clashes of steel echoed loud and clear in the cool air. Randy stood in a circle of black-clad men, his dual scimitars a blur as he fought off the attackers. There were ribbons of blood on his shirt and arms. His face was a study of concentration.
My blood started to heat to a slow boil when I noticed the warriors were standing still, swords drawn, but the dozen around the fight didn't engage. Ushna and Corey were nowhere in sight and the scene before me made no sense.
Justus whined and jerked my hand. Walking out onto loose soil, I used a little push to amplify my voice. "That's enough!" The Earth gave a slight tremble under my feet. My voice boomed, resounding through the air.
Randy halted his attack but two of the four men didn't. One sliced Randy across the chest, causing him to call out in pain and raise his arm in defense against the blow of the second attacker.
Justus screamed, jerked his hand from mine with surprising strength, and sprinted to Randy who'd fallen to his knees, cradling his mangled arm to his chest. Justus threw himself between Randy and the assailants. I felt the boy's wolf stir through the Earth and was helpless to stop Justus's premature transformation.
I shouted in rage, reaching into the Earth and pushing out toward the strangers. The ground rose and rolled, crashing into the four men and knocking them down but parting safely around Justus and Randy.
My action seemed to awaken the warriors and they clamored to seize and restrain the intruders. The sound of a vehicle made me turn. Corey and Ushna drove up in the pickup truck. Ushna opened the door and jumped out before the vehicle stopped, running to me and taking in the chaos around the yard.
A high whine had me moving toward the small wolf. He was confused and afraid even as he gave in to his need to protect. Carefully I knelt next to Justus, laying my hand on the ruff between his too small shoulder blades. The little wolf didn't stop growling, teeth bared at the men who'd hurt Randy. I hadn't acknowledged the intruders, knowing they were restrained.
Ushna knelt beside Randy, checking the wounds. The foreman was breathing hard, covered with the sweat of his exertions. Ushna helped him to lie on the ground, calling for Nathan.
Justus whimpered when Randy moaned in pain. "It's time to change back." I coaxed the boy. I reached for him through my bond as his alpha. "Come on, feel me, and follow me back."
Justus slowly changed back to human. I felt his pain and drew some of it into myself. After several long moments, he knelt in front of me trembling. He was too young, and I was surprised he had changed in the first place.
Ushna pulled off his T-shirt and I helped Justus pull it on. His dazed expression cleared when he saw Randy lying on the ground. He immediately burst into tears. The boy threw himself on top of Randy, causing the wounded man to grunt in pain, but he didn't complain, only stared bewildered at Justus with his uninjured arm cradling the sobbing boy to him.
"It's okay, sweet boy, I'll be okay." He crooned in Justus's ear. Boldly Randy met my eyes, his own full of hope as tears fell.
I let him know without words he would no longer run from my questions. Whether he understood my look or not, Randy nodded in acceptance. Turning to the four trespassers, holding onto my anger, I evaluated the situation. One of the men seemed familiar to me but the other three I didn't know.
"Take them to the detention center." I said with a growl in my voice.
"No! Sire, you must kill the imposter!" exclaimed the man who'd ignored my command, and continued to attack.
"If anyone dies today, it'll be you for invading my territory and attacking a member of my tribe. What did you do to my warriors?"
"Sire…"
"I am not your sire! I am your Prince and you will answer me!"
The man glanced away from my challenging stare and bared his neck to me. "Please excuse our trespass, Xenres. We didn't think, only acted when we noticed the charlatan." The man tilted his head toward Randy. "We thought only to protect you."
"What did you do to my men?" I growled.
"I swear we did nothing to the warriors. We didn't want to injure them so we used magic to freeze them."
I assessed the intruders. They had the look and the size of warriors. "You used magic so you are from the Magi?"
"We are not."
My spectacular retort was interrupted as Nathan haphazardly skidded to a halt next to Randy. The uninvited guests were taken to the detention center where they could sit and stew. With that accomplished, Justus and I followed everyone to Nathan's office.
I stood in the corner while Nathan cleaned Randy's wounds. Ushna took Justus to another room to change when clothes were brought for the boy.
"Nathan, can you give me a moment alone with Randy?" I asked.
My brother glanced from Randy to me, his gaze shrewd. "Hold the compress here," he instructed Randy. "Don't be too long," Nathan quipped before leaving the room.
"I believe you have a few things to say to me. I would specifically like to hear the part about Justus and his reaction to you." I made an effort to be nice, patient, friendly, and I found it particularly hard at that moment.
There was too much about Randy that I didn't know, and as a friend I accepted that, but now the rules of the game had changed. Justus was involved. As his alpha and guardian, I was responsible for shielding him, and yet, I had been impotent, unable to keep him from going through a forced change several years before his time. The boy was too young for the responsibility that came with the awakening of his wolf. There was a very real possibility his wolf would be stronger than Justus. All of us would have to watch and guide him, otherwise his wolf would bleed over into his personality, and he would grow into a man who was more wolf, or completely wolf.
Randy sighed heavily. His eyes had a far-off look. "You know why."
I waited silently.
"Justus is my Twin Flame," he finally said. He had a small lazy smile as he gazed at me, eyes shining.
"But you're not Lycan?" I knew sometimes Twin Flames were found among the human but the tribes had become insular over the years and the interactions with humans were limited.
Randy was quiet, and I realized he waited for me to come to some kind of conclusion. I regarded him with his black corkscrew curls, large broad nose, dark skin, and onyx eyes. I had always thought he could call the Fertile Crescent his home. I considered our conversations over the last few months. He was more than a human who'd been aware of Lycans. He'd known and been a friend to my father and yet he didn't look any older than me. There was the gift of the clothes. He knew how they needed to be made to fit a pregnant man because he'd once known someone, a male who also bore children. The strangers who attacked had him called him an imposter. Why?
And then it hit me and the world as I understood it tilted. I regarded the man—no—demi-God who sat in front of me. He'd been presumed dead by everyone, and why not, forty-five hundred years had passed. We'd all forgotten that, yes, Randy was more than human because his mother was the Goddess Rimat Ninsun and he had been born part divine.
"Sire, I shouldn't…"
Randy quickly interrupted me. "No, you should, and you are the Xenres to the Lycan race. I gave that up several lifetimes ago when my heart died. Tristan, to watch someone you love pass and be unable to do anything." Randy closed his eyes as if remembering. "I thought surely one of the Gods would step in and save him. He'd been made for me, fashioned by Enki to be my match. How could they go through all the trouble and then allow him to die because of a perceived slight? My pleas had fallen on deaf ears and he died in my arms. He was so young and vibrant, only to waste away until there were only bones left of his body, and still he was beautiful to me. When it became evident the Gods weren't going to bring him back, I left in search of eternal life so the Gods would no longer have the power over what belonged to me. There was no justice in what they did to him."
I regarded the man I thought I'd known with new eyes.
"Please, Tristan, please don't tell anyone. With Justus now… I can't—won't allow him to be harmed again."
I swallowed hard and this time I glanced down. "You knew my parents?"
"Yes, from time to time I've followed… I'm sorry I didn't keep them safe for you."
I nodded my head, my chest tight with emotion. How many times had I allowed myself to drown in a slew of "what ifs"? Ramsey and Rose weren't my biological parents but I missed them and their wisdom and support.
"They were good people, both Ammar and Ramsey. They loved you very much and wanted only the best for you. They would be very proud of who you've become."
I blinked my eyes to relieve the pricks of heat behind them. "What about the ranch?"
"I had nothing to do with it. I was just buying time here when the two of you bought it."
It might have been the pregnancy hormones and shit but I had become a little pissy. "With all due respect, sir, but you've been around how long and have let assassins kill off my ancestors for over three hundred years? My family's been dying because… why? Why have you let it happen? What the hell am I supposed to call you anyway?" I glared at Randy, hurt at his inaction. Did he want us to die? Was that it?
He ran a hand through his corkscrew hair, giving it a wild look. "I'm Randy, nothing more. You have to understand, Tristan, after Enkidu died I was lost for so very long. I pulled away from my children. I was bitter and afraid and possibly a little crazy for a very long time. By the time I was more myself, everything had changed so much, and I'd lost all track of my family. All I had were my human sons who'd followed me, and my personal guard.
"When I finally tracked down Zircon's line, Ammar and Rebecca were already in hiding. There wasn't much they could tell me. After they passed and Ramsey vowed to raise you to be simply another Lycan, I withdrew so my presence wouldn't draw attention to you. When you and Ushna bought the ranch, I couldn't leave you again, so my men and I stayed on."
We stared at each other. I was still furious. I knew it would take time for me to come to terms with who Randy was. I wouldn't dwell on the thousand "what ifs" his presence had brought. Those were his regrets to live with. I could only handle my own in the here and now.
I cleared my throat. "Do you know of the Sons of the Glorious Firsts?" Ushna stood in the doorway holding Justus's hand. I hadn't heard him come in and hastily tried to pull myself back together.
Carefully Randy sat up on the examination table. Justus pulled on Ushna until Ushna let him go. Walking over to Randy, Justus tentatively took the cowboy's large hand in his small ones.
"What do you mean?" Randy asked, looking at the fingers that grasped his.
Quickly, I outlined what happened with Kent Weatherby. All through the telling, Randy watched Justus with loving and hope-filled gaze.
"I would like to meet Mr Weatherby," Randy said when I finished.
Nathan entered the room and started to give Randy a dressing-down about moving but abruptly went quiet when he removed the bandage to find a healed wound.
Randy looked down at the vibrant pink scars and prodded them with callused fingertips. "It's been a very long time since I've been injured in a sword fight. They were very good."
Nathan sputtered, "How?"
"Thanks for your help." Randy said sliding to put his feet on the floor. "They'll be sore for a couple of days but it's nothing to worry about."
"Nothing to worry about?" Nathan asked, confused.
I gripped his shoulder. "I'll explain later." I grabbed Ushna's hand on the way out of the office.
It took some smooth talking to convince Justus to go with Uttu for his afternoon lessons. The boy's gaze kept returning to Randy as if he were afraid the man would disappear. How many incarnations had Justus spent alone because Randy was out… I stamped down on my rising temper. This time I'd make sure Justus wouldn't spend his life alone.
Even if I had to chain Randy to the fucking barn.
Once the door to the house closed behind Justus, we headed toward the detention center. Inside, Stan and Corey waited for us. Guards escorted Randy to Kent's cell and we went to the interrogation room that held the leader of the intruders who'd attacked Randy.
Corey briefed me as we went. The man's name was Bixx Decimus and he claimed to be a member of the Order of Ophidians. I sent for Jynx since he was the only one who'd ever seen an Ophidian.
We only had to wait for a couple of minutes. Jynx was followed by Devlin and Nacht. They argued with me when I told the two of them they'd have to wait in the observation room. I understood they wanted to protect Jynx but there were only so many people who could fit into the space. With reluctance, Nacht pulled a seething Devlin into the adjoining room to watch.
Bixx Decimus was cuffed to a chair that had been bolted to the floor. If he felt discomfort at the restraints, he didn't show it. I'd paid little attention to the physical appearance of the men earlier. His clothing was black suited armor, thin and pliable. The fabric of the arms and legs was loose and full to allow for freedom of movement. Copper bands cuffed the shirt at the wrists. The pant legs were tucked into knee-high buckled boots. He wore a belt very similar to what Randy wore. The dark leather was three inches wide, with hammered copper discs pressed and secured to the leather.
His head was shaved bald with the exception of the crown. What hair he did have was braided and wrapped in a three layer bun with the excess braid hanging down his back. In his right brow were three gold rings; in his left ear was a dangling ivory pendant of a paw print, and a silver ring in his left nostril.