Kayla suddenly stands at my side. “Come here.” Skylar looks at Kayla, pointing to herself. “Yes, you. Please come here.”
Skylar walks slowly towards us until she is right in front of me. She looks up, and I nod towards her. She instantly falls to her knees. “Oh, lord please. I am so in awe of your work and your power. I promise I will serve you to the best of my abilities. If you allow me to be a part of your army, I will not let you down. I will be the best warrior and protector you have ever seen. I am even more than willing to be your personal guard if that is what you need.” I glance Kayla’s way. She doesn’t speak, but she does squint towards the obvious gorgeous blond.
“Oh please,” Ramsey, my current general in charge, says. He is a large, what I assume is a, man; however, there is something about him that makes me believe that he was not born as any normal man, but rather created. Rabbi indicates that he obeyed orders without question from Savage, and believes he would do the same for me. I am not so sure though. “Sir, if you will allow me to speak?” I nod. “This woman is in no shape to be a warrior. She is a fine woman, for sure, but not a warrior or a protector. She doesn’t belong here.”
“And where do you think she belongs?” Kayla asks, looking him over closely with a distrustful eye.
“She belongs at home, preparing a proper place for a man to return to each day. That’s her job. She doesn’t have time to do this too.”
“Whose home exactly?” Kayla inquires with a fierce stance.
“Mine. She was promised to me by her father and your Lord prior, and it is getting close to time to fulfill that promise. She has no time to be a proper warrior or a protector.”
“Then why are you here?” Kayla looks down at the woman as she continues to kneel and as it seems, steaming with anger towards Ramsey.
“I’m here to prove that I can make my own decisions and I don’t need a man to tell me what I should be able to do!” Skylar snaps. Ramsey scoffs, and the woman jumps up, standing on the tips of her toes as she attempts to get in his face. “You want me to prove it? Fine. Let me prove it by kicking your ass.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You are way too small and feeble. You are more suited for cooking and cleaning my boots,” Ramsey remarks, and I quickly take hold of Kayla’s arm before she rushes over to beat this giant to a fine dust.
“Before we start a war right here, why don’t you let her prove it? I’m bored anyway. Rabbi, set up a dual between the two.” He nods, and I find a comfortable place for my wife and me to sit.
“My Lord, you must be joking.” Ramsey questions with an underlying chuckle. I focus steadily on him, and he instantly backs down. “My apologies. Of course, I will do whatever you wish for me to.” The place is prepared, and the two supposed warriors get into position to square off.
“I’m so excited.” Kayla says, gripping my arm with a large smile.
“You do realize, Princess, that she is less than half his size?”
“I know, but I just have a feeling about her.”
“Okay. Let’s begin, Rabbi.” I wave my hand in the air, signaling the show to commence. Rabbi motions towards Ramsey who bows to me, but before he can motion towards Skylar, she rushes Ramsey, running up his chest and kicking him in the head. Before Ramsey can recover fully, she spins around and busts him in the crotch with the blunt of her sword. He goes down, and she jumps on his chest squaring her boot right into his neck.
“I win, Bitch.”
Kayla instantly jumps up, clapping. I calm her back down into her seat while Ramsey stumbles to his feet. “No you don’t, you idiot. You broke every rule there was and disqualified yourself from the win.”
“I don’t follow stupid rules to defeat my enemy. I do what I have to,” Skylar remarks proudly.
“And that’s why you are always getting into trouble! You have to respect the rules set in place. It proves you can follow orders and are capable of working as a team. You have proven you are only out to defend yourself; therefore, you have no reason or place in this army!”
“But Keel says …”
“Keel thinks you’re entertaining. He uses you to battle his idiots for his amusement only. He would never put you at the front of his army,” Ramsey snarls.
“Is that true, Nick?” Kayla whispers.
“Unfortunately. I’m sorry, Princess, but she’s out.”
“But Nick!” I shake my head, and she goes silent. All I can hear are the wheels spinning in her head. As soon as she sits forward again with that emerging smile of hers, I close my eyes, hoping that whatever she is going to say next is not going to affect me. “Ryan …”
I smile. She said “Ryan”. Oh thank God, “Sure. Whatever you want, my love.” I get a kiss and a happy wife. My brother will get … well, I don’t know, and I don’t care. That’s what he gets for leaving.
I realize from the look in my wife’s eyes what her intentions for this tall, gorgeous, blond, female warrior are and the one thing I know for sure is, my brother is not going to like it. “Skylar! Come here!” Slowly, she trudges toward us with her head down and shoulders sunk. “The Council has asked me to assign someone to protect my brother. They are quite interested in him becoming a leader among us and possibly the Lord of a realm. He needs someone to look after him until he is ready for a larger role. Do you think you would be willing to take on this responsibility?” I ask, and instantly, a smile forms across her face as her head raises and her eyes open bright.
“Oh, yes. I would be honored to take on such a high level of responsibility.”
“You have got to be kidding! She will only get him killed,” Ramsey barks.
Kayla quickly stands with fire shooting from her eyes. “Are you speaking against your Lord’s wishes?”
“No! No, I would never think to do something like that. I only want to offer my own services as well, as a leader to not only protect your brother, but to also guide Skylar in her responsibilities.”
I look over Skylar’s rigid posture and read everything I need from her. “You will look in on them from time to time as I allow, but I want her to go alone and learn from her own mistakes. Ryan isn’t going to take too easily to a guard, and I don’t want to cripple his abilities with two. One is more than enough. Prepare to leave tonight, Skylar, and see my aides for your orders and transportation details.” Leaning forward I look down on her with a final word of warning, “Be sure to obey Ryan’s wishes, but don’t allow him to handcuff you to a corner while he resumes his life alone.” I look her over one more time and sigh. She’s going to drive him nuts.
“I understand. Thank you!” she exclaims, running towards the door until someone reminds her of how to be proper. She runs back and stands in front of me, waiting for me to excuse her with her head down and a tapping foot. Trying to hold back my laughter from the woman and her Kaylaesque attitude, I wave my hand for her to go.
I look over at Kayla as she nods to me. “He is going to curse us both until our ears bleed,” I remind her.
“Yes he is, until he realizes what I already know,” Kayla gleefully acknowledges.
“Do you really think he is ready?”
“I think he is, if it’s the right person, and she’s the right person. She—she is perfect.” Kayla sits back in her chair, smiling, while I shake my head at my wife and her insistence on meddling with my brother’s life. Maybe I can help Ryan out a little bit and distract her with someone else to worry about for a while. Gazing over Kayla, I wonder how she will respond to this new information I have. I hate to break it to her this way, or even force him to tell her, but to protect my brother, I have no choice. Besides, it’s time to reveal all the family secrets.
I always thought there was something different about him—different but familiar, surprisingly familiar. I brushed it off, thinking it was all just a coincidence. His name matching hers, the same eyes, and the same odd presence I felt when I first met Kayla. I hadn’t had time to check into it until recently, but I wasn’t about to let him out of my si
ght until I did. Kayla would want me to protect him, to bring him in, and if he truly is her brother, then she would want him as close as possible. I am not sure she will like it that I am sending him away right after she knows about him, but I have my reasons. Her blood, her brother, has a gift as she does. The Azul-eyed owl is in his blood as it is hers, making him the perfect person to help protect my brother from becoming a Savage, as Kayla does for me.
I called him away from Ryan and back into town when I was finally able to confirm my suspicions. He walks into my office as if he is ready to be reprimanded for something. He has clearly figured out that, I know. “Sit down, Terrence. How was your trip?” I ask, hoping to ease his intensity some.
“It was fine.”
“Are you getting settled in your new home? And how is working with Ryan going?”
“Yeah … um Nick, I have a feeling I know why you called me back, and I just want to say that I didn’t mean to keep things hidden from you. I only wanted to …”
“No need to explain your reasons, but now that I know; I think you should talk to Kayla. You can’t keep this hidden much longer. She deserves to know.”
“I don’t know that I can. I spent so many years hating her, and now to try and explain why, when I know how horrible her life was. I am just so grateful that I was thrown back to my grandmother.”
“Terrence, I need you to train with Kayla. I need you to understand who you truly are so you can protect Ryan from becoming something he can’t control. Your family keeps mine calm and able to handle situations with self-discipline and acceptance. Without your help, we can lose ourselves within our own anger to the point we can never come back. With Ryan out there alone and building his own organization, I need a calming presence with him to help keep his power and strength from consuming him. I’m afraid of losing him. You are not obligated, of course, but I really want you to be there for my brother. In order to do that properly, you need to learn your full potential and there is no one better to teach you than Kayla. She has learned so much from her time with Kamini and has become stronger than I ever thought possible.”
“Do you really think she will accept me, Nick?”
I laugh. “I think she will smother you to the point she will drive you as crazy as she does Ryan. I wouldn’t worry at all, Terrence. She will love you instantly. I actually think she will be excited to have a sibling again.”
Terrence breathes in deep. “Okay, so where she is?”
I pick up my phone and call for Kayla, and within a few minutes, my gorgeous wife walks in, carrying Brayden who looks like he just woke up from his nap. “Okay, if you need me to do something for you then you are going to have to deal with grumpy here who refuses to go back to bed because he says he’s not tired.” I take my son from her, cradling him to my chest, and instantly, he lays his head on my shoulder and stops whimpering. Within a few seconds, he is calm and sound asleep. Kayla hates that I am able to calm him so easily. He is so much like his mother with his angel face and ability to get you to do whatever he wants, only for some reason, not only does he have a calming effect over me, but I have one over him. We are not sure why yet.
I show her our sleeping son. “He’s all taken care of. Not sure why you always have such a problem.” I look up at Kayla and smile. She shakes her head, narrowing her eyes at me. “Don’t be mad, Princess,” I say with a kiss. “I have some good news for you. Sit down. We need to talk to you about something.”
“We?” she asks, smiling at Terrence.
“Yeah, I have been wanting to tell you something for a while, but it never seemed to be the right time, and then I was scared of how you might react, and I didn’t want to—” He begins to mumble, and I realize he is never going to say it unless I push him.
“Terrence, just tell her.”
“Alright, um … your mother … is also my mother.” Kayla’s face freezes as she stares hard at him. “As you know, she wasn’t the greatest mother, and when my father was killed in a car accident, she went looking for a new man and found your father, who I guess she thought wouldn’t care for a half black child, so she left me with my grandmother one day and never came back. When my grandmother tracked her down, she said she didn’t want me and would just leave me on the street for the vagrants to care for if she brought me back to her. My father never married her, so my name is hers. I never changed it, I don’t know why, it certainly wasn’t out of respect for her. Anyway that’s why we have the same last name.” Terrence pauses as we both wait for her to say something, but she doesn’t seem to be able to speak. “My grandmother finally told me that she had kept you and Braylin, but that I should be grateful that she didn’t keep me. It didn’t matter what she said. I hated you both because I thought she loved you enough to keep you. Then, one day, I tracked you all down with an old address book of my grandmother’s, and I saw how you lived. All the hate I felt for you two disappeared the moment I saw that woman. I felt grateful, then I felt horrible because I didn’t try and help. I just left you both there and never came back. Since then, I have felt so much guilt for escaping our mother; otherwise, I might have told you much sooner. I was always afraid you would ask about my last name, but I guess things have been so chaotic since we met you never thought to … or something.” Terrence stands and prepares himself to leave, nervously fidgeting with his hands and his jacket. “Anyway, Nick would like me to train with you and try and help Ryan, but I understand if you don’t want to ever see me again. Hell, I wouldn’t ever want to see me again.” Kayla rushes up onto him and wraps her arms around his neck, kissing his face with excitement.
“Oh, I thought something about you was familiar, but I could never understand why. Oh my God, Nick, I have a brother!”
“I know, Princess. Congratulations! It’s a boy!” I laugh as she looks him over as if she has never seen him before. Brayden suddenly wakes up and starts clapping, not at all understanding why everyone is so happy.
“Oh my, he’s so handsome too.” Kayla hugs Terrence tight again. “I am so happy! I love you, Terrence!” she exclaims with tears in her eyes, causing him to do the same. I quietly excuse myself and take care of Brayden while the two siblings get to know each other for the first time. Now, all I have to do is convince her that it is a good idea that her newly found brother should be sent away to protect mine.
CHAPTER 2
Ryan
My new place is a little rough, but with a few modifications, it’s comfortable enough for me and Shadow. Shadow is still a pup, but growing rapidly, and doesn’t like to leave my side for a second. I pretend I hate it, but I actually like having the goofy mutt around. “Shadow, come here and eat your dinner.” I lay down some food for him, and the gangly beast runs right over, tripping over his own feet the whole way. Taking a look outside my remodeled home, I watch the drug dealers setting up for late night business as the hookers start making their rounds up and down the street. No one has attempted to bother me in a while, not since seven men that had planned to welcome me to the neighborhood went missing. No one is sure how I am still alive or what happened to the men, but I am glad Nick is allowing me to use his clean-up crew for a while. It’s not like anyone is going to dare mess with him anymore anyway. The most excitement I have had recently is someone tried to steal Shadow from the backyard this afternoon, but that didn’t work out too well for him. He may be skinny and gangly right now, but Shadow isn’t just any dog, he’s a Jayzon dog. I scolded him the other day for chewing up one of my shoes. He barked at me until I looked his way, and then his eyes started trying to control me. I laughed and reminded him with a little Jayzon control of my own, “Did you forget who I am? Lay down and play with your toys if you want something to chew on.” Unfortunately for the crook trying to take him, Mike as I have since learned, lost his brand new shoes and some minor pieces of body before he ran away crying like the coward that he is. I guess he won’t be stealing dogs for fighting anymore. Shadow, however, finally got the expensive sneakers he wanted, and he takes t
hem wherever he goes. It has been an interesting start and, at times, a comical one. Stepping out onto my front porch, I wave at the criminals across the street, but I don’t receive much of a neighborly response in return. I sit back, enjoying myself for twenty minutes before one of them stops what he is doing and walks across the street to me.
Leaning forward, I am curious who this brave man is. He has to know what happened to his friends, yet here he comes. “Hey man, what do you want?” he asks.
“I don’t know what you are talking about. I’m simply enjoying a beer on my porch. You want one?”
“Do I what?” he asks, confused.
“Do you want a beer?”
“No, I don’t want a beer. I just want you to know I don’t plan to mess with your house or you, so please respect me and my boys as we try to make a little money over here.”
“Alright.” He looks shocked, but nods and walks back to his turf, glancing over his shoulder at me a few times. I watch them for a while longer before catching the brave man’s attention again. “Come here.” Exasperated, he slowly walks to the edge of my yard and throws up his hands. “You are doing that wrong.”
“We are doing what wrong?”
“That red car has driven by three times. They are waiting for business to die down before they rob you. You should eyeball every car when they go by. The more you know what’s going on around you, the better prepared you will be and scare away any potential idiots.” He grimaces, shaking his head with frustration. “What are you worried about? That someone is going to identify you? The cops don’t care about you. That’s why you do this instead of moving up in your group.” He waves me off, but I know how to bring him back. “You’re protecting someone. Who is it, your kid?” He steps back with rage in his eyes. He does have a kid. “You’re going to get yourself killed if you don’t get out of the situation you’re in. Those men are coming back, and they aren’t going to leave witnesses.”