Pariah (The New Covenant Series) (30 page)

Anger when the guards pointed their spe
ars at her. Joy when she agreed to pretend to be my wife. Awe with the dress she wore at Faric and Rebekah’s wedding. Disgust with how my father unabashedly made passes at her. Worry when I found her alone with him. Anger at myself for confronting her about it and making her run. Beside myself with anger and worry when I found that she’d packed her things and was nowhere to be found. Horror when Faric’s eyes changed, and he said we would get her back.

I blinked, and light stung my eyes as I came back into myself.
Annette was still seated on the bed beside me. Jacob had Ruth tucked behind him in the corner. Rafe, Athena and Aniya stood behind Annette. What had happened? I tried to push myself up but fell back down.

“Easy there, buddy!” said Rafe with a chuckle. “Take it slow.”

“What? What happened to me?” I groaned, trying to push myself up again. I was able to sit back on my knees this time. My head started to spin, and I was just glad I was near the mattress. Just in case.

Annette looked at me wearily.
“Did you recover any memories, Riven?”

“What? Oh yeah. I remember everything. What happened?

Why did I see all of that stuff? I turned to look back at Rafe and the girls but heard a loud clang behind me. I looked back, and a giant white wing had knocked some bowls off of a nearby table.
Wait! What the? Wing?
I felt a strange tugging and vibration on my shoulder blades and looked behind me. Sure enough, I had enormous white wings sticking out of my back. I looked slowly toward everyone. Ruth smiled sweetly, and sympathy pinched her lips together. Jacob grinned like the ornery guy he was. Annette smiled and nodded her head. Aniya looked down, and Athena smirked seductively toward me—nothing new there. Rafe smiled proudly.

He clapped me on the middl
e of my back and said, “Welcome back to yourself, brother! We’ve been awaiting your awakening. You have transitioned!”

I glanced back again and fl
uttered my wings a bit. It gave me cold chills. It was such a foreign feeling but also felt right somehow. Annette moved, and Rafe helped me up and guided me outside slowly. The others followed.

“Okay,” he said. “Let’s teach y
ou how to use these things, and then we’ll go find your girl. Hopefully, Faric hasn’t transitioned yet.”
Faric? Faric is an angel too? Are my eyes crazy?

“Hey,” I grabbed Aniya’s wrist. She looked st
artled. “What color are my eyes? Are they freaky green or yellow or something?” I opened them as wide as I could.

She leaned toward me and whispered, “They are unchanged,
Riven. You are not like your brother. You fell to earth. He fell all the way into hell. That’s why his eyes are different from your own. But if you have seen his eyes, then his transition isn’t far off. We need to hurry. Listen to Rafe. He’s the best flyer we have.” She winked and pushed me forward.

I nodded. I needed to learn, excel, and
find Solara before Faric transitions.
Piece of cake, right?

I
collapsed at the top
of the hill that Cain had all but dragged me up. It was a serious mountain with cracks, crevices, loose nightmarish rocks, and snakes as I unfortunately learned after hearing a creepy rattling noise. Luckily, Cain heard it too and knew what it was and jerked me away before the stupid sucker could strike. He collapsed beside me, and we passed the water pouch back and forth and worked on catching our breath.

I lay on my back with my knees in the air for the longest time.
It felt good to have solid earth under me again, and I didn’t even want to think about descending this God-awful rock. Cain stood and began to search the valleys below for signs of life. He squinted and covered his eyes with his hand. “Hey, Lara. Come here.”

I groaned and made my m
uscles push me off the rock. My legs were vibrating with exhaustion. I took a few steps and stood beside him, squinting in the direction that he was looking. “Is that smoke?” I asked. I thought I could see a few plumes of smoke coming from the valley floor just below us. It was a long way down though. I grew dizzy even by just looking down this direction.

The mountain had lost part of its
former self, and nothing but a sharp sheer drop off menacingly stood under our feet. I backed up a bit. Cain caught sight and started laughing. I rolled my eyes and stepped back even more.

“Well, we can’t go down this
way, so…” He searched the other sides of the mountain and found a more suitable path down, or so he thought. I prayed he was right. I had grown fond of my unbroken extremities. He had made it clear during the climb up that he wouldn’t leave to go home until I was safe somewhere. He was nice and actually had a dry sense of humor. Sarcasm suited him. For his friendship and assistance, I was grateful. Deep down, I think he appreciated having a friend to talk with as well.

We made it to the bottom o
f the mountain and were curving around its base when we saw the first man-made structure. It looked like a rustic cottage made of river rock and wood with a wooden planked roof. Smoke rose from its chimney, curling seductively into the sky. A small boy of five or six years old came running around the back of the house but froze when he saw us.

He ran back inside and emerge
d, holding the hand of an older gentleman. His hair was silver and combed over the baldness on top of his head. He wore blue pants and a tan shirt. He took us in. His dark brown eyes were somewhat fearful.

“What do you want?” he said
bluntly but not in a harsh way.

I stepped forward. “Sir, we are
looking for the nearest town or settlement. I’m afraid we’re lost.” I offered a small smile, hoping to build his confidence in the two of us.

He stepped forward, placing
himself between us and the boy. “I’ll show you the pathway that leads to the outpost. It’s only a few miles. Follow me.” He turned and walked around the side of the house. The boy ran ahead of us. A wide dirt path appeared near a wide creek just beyond the house. “Take this path. If you need lodging, go to the fourth house you come to and ask for

Jeremiah. He has an old barn he l
ets out. He might have room for you.” We thanked him and headed off toward the outpost.

“I’m not thrilled about this d
evelopment,” said Cain, looking toward the creek.

“What development?” I asked.

He exhaled and said, “Do you know what an outpost is, Solara?”

“No. I’m sorry. I’ve never heard
of it.” I hated that I had been so sheltered in the fortress.

“It’s basically a settlement of
all of those banished from the kingdom. Not dissidents like those of the settlement—outcasts.” I grabbed his arm and stopped him.

“Are you serious? Are they all like murderers or something?”

He laughed. “No. Not to say there aren’t some bad folks here, but the kingdom offers three forms of punishment. For minor infractions—public lashings; for moderate infractions— banishment; and for major infractions like murder—death.”

“Well, I’m glad there aren’t murderers here.”

He started walking again, and I caught back up. “Sometimes there are worse things than murder, Solara. Murder victims don’t suffer after death. Victims of other crimes have to bear the burden for the rest of their lives.”

I nodded. It was true. I’d never t
hought of it. I’d never been exposed to crime or its punishments. The mention of murder brought with it thoughts of Wesley, throat slashed, gasping and gurgling, and the light fading from his eyes. Suddenly, I found it hard to breathe. Tears flowed down my cheeks. I turned and scooted down the embankment, “I need a minute, Cain.” I jerked my shoes off and planted each bare foot on a smooth river rock and stood in the warm water, letting it wash the bad memory to the back of my mind again. I thought of Annette. I know her husband fled the kingdom after catching word of the murders of his co-councilmen but knew her heart must be heavy from the separation. I prayed he would find his way to her.

I closed my eyes and soake
d in the late afternoon sun. My breathing slowed and the tears stopped, so I put my shoes back on and climbed back up to the trail. Cain gave me space to breathe. He was a great friend and had suffered loss in his life. He seemed to know what I needed to regain my composure again.

We arrived at the fourth house, also made of river rock and wood,
though not as neatly as the older gentleman’s. Cain knocked on the door, and a man with wild blue eyes and wilder reddish-orange hair poked his head out the door and quickly looked the both of us over. I was taken aback by his unusual greeting and began to back away slowly. Thank goodness Cain was there. “Jeremiah?”

The short man cleared his thro
at and looked past us then back at us again. “Yes. Who are you?”

Cain put out his hands in surre
nder and said, “I’m Cain, and this is Lara. We were told you might have lodging available for rent?”

“Yes.” He sniffed. “For th
e right price.” He looked me up and down and licked his lips.
Ewww.
He actually licked them. I backed farther away from him.

“How much do you r
equire for a week’s stay?” Cain inquired calmly.

“Forty. Nothing less for a week, so don’t try to talk me down.”
He sniffed and stared at me.

I turned and whispered to Cain. “I have no money. And I am
not really sure I want to stay here with him. He’s looking like he might eat me.” I smiled as I spoke through my teeth.

Cain took his bag and dug a
round in the bottom. He slapped money into Jeremiah’s hand and said, “Forty it is. Please show us to our room.”

Jeremiah opened the door fully, and I
could see his chubby form emerge. He pulled up his pants and adjusted himself.
Gross.

I cringed and looked wide eyed at
Cain, giving him a “did you see what that nasty man just did” look. He grinned and grabbed my hand, pulling me along behind Jeremiah who kept sniffing and wiping his nose on his sleeve. It just kept getting worse. He led us to a large wooden barn and slid the door open.

“Three options—left, right, or loft.” He pointed up.

We both answered, “Loft” at the same time.

“Loft it is. So”—he saunte
red over toward us—“are you all married or something, or are you available, little lady?” My mouth gaped open. Cain laughed and kissed the knuckles of the hand he was still holding. “We’re married. Hands off, big guy.”

Jeremiah smiled nervously
and hitched his pants up again. “Had to check, ya know,” he said, hitting Cain in the shoulder. He exited the barn and slid the door closed.

Cain grinned at me, and I hit hi
m in the shoulder. “Stop it!” I whispered. “It’s not funny. It’s disgusting!”

“You’re welcome, by the way.” He smirked.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Hey, Lara,” Cain called up from the barn floor, waking me up.

I groaned, “What?”

“Hey, I got dinner and a few other things. Can you come over
and get them from me as I bring them up?”

I dragged my butt off of the
lumpy mattress and stood by the ladder. The barn was nicer than I’d anticipated. It was set up like a small hotel—two rooms in the bottom area and the loft. Bales of hay formed a wall around the perimeter of the loft, lending privacy. Inside the wall of stacked hay bales sat a wooden bed, lumpy mattress, and blankets included. There was even a small wooden table with two matching chairs in the corner.

He’d brought a jug of water, small roasted chicken, and cooked
potatoes for dinner and a bottle of some kind of wine or liquor. He headed back down one last time and brought back a small sack, which he threw to me. “What’s this?”

“Look and see.” He smiled.

I pulled out a beautiful emerald-green dress. Dark pants and a deep-blue shirt followed.
How sweet!
I held the pants up to me and said, “Thanks, but they aren’t my size.” He turned around and laughed. I threw the pants and shirt at him and examined the dress. It had little green ivy leaves embroidered around the V-shaped neckline and around the waist and hem, and it was beautiful. It wasn’t cotton. I’d never felt anything so soft. The sleeves would land just below my elbow. It was so exquisite and simple at the same time. Perfect.

“Thank you, Cain. Really. I feel bad that I have no mon
ey, and that you are spending yours right now. I will find a way to repay you. I swear it.” I couldn’t even look at him. I felt ashamed that he was spending anything on me.

“Lara,” he said.

I refused to look at him. “Hmmm?”

“Lara,” he called louder. “Look, don’t worry about it. I’ve been
saving money for years, and it’s really not a big deal. I’m glad to help you. Please don’t feel bad. You’ve helped me more than you can ever repay with money.”

I looked at him. He was serious. “What? I haven’t done
anything but drag you from your home and responsibilities and used your boat to sail across the sea, which I christened with my

vomit along the way, traversed a t
hick briar-filled forest, which emptied into some camp for kingdom outcasts, and on top of that, you’ve spent money on my food, lodging, and clothing. I’d say I owe you an enormous amount of money.”

He laughed. “You know, Lara,
you are crazy. Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve laughed like this? Do you know that you’re the first person I’ve ever spoken with about Cora and Benjamin? I closed off the entire world until you stepped onto my porch. You are a wonderful friend, and I’m the lucky one. Your friendship is priceless.”

He kept laughing. I prepared our meal, a
nd we laughed and talked about everything from our favorite colors to music to his goats. Apparently, they fainted when they hear loud noises. I almost blew wine out my nose when he described how they just “thudded” to the ground and then slowly righted themselves and shook it off. I could see him scaring them just to see how many would drop.

We’d just arrived back at the
loft after strolling around the outpost to get our bearings. I made Cain climb up before me as I was wearing a skirt. I hadn’t heard Jeremiah stroll up behind us. I was standing on the second to highest step when he said, “So how do you like the loft?” I gasped and jumped to the top of the loft floor. I gritted my teeth.
What a jerk!
My fists clenched.

I had half a mind to climb back down a
nd beat him within an inch of his perverted life. Cain pulled me the rest of the way up and slowly climbed down the ladder. He towered over Jeremiah, whose red hair was straight in some places, and in others was like curly wires that wildly tried to escape his scalp. “You ever look at my wife again, asshole, and I’ll kill you. Got me?” He stepped up, bumping Jeremiah’s chin with his chest.

Jeremiah staggered ba
ck. “Yes”—he stammered—“yes, of course, sir.” He all but ran out of the barn.

I grinned as Cain stepped back up on to the landing. He
wasn’t smiling though. His face was red. The muscles in his jaw worked back and forth. He was pissed. Not that I minded the confrontation. Jeremiah so deserved it. I just thought Cain was messing with him. I hadn’t expected this reaction from him at all. He paced the floor of the loft.