The second he saw that little girl playing on the swing Duncan knew he had made a terrible mistake. He didn’t belong here. Andria had moved on with her life. Gotten married, had kids, and forgotten all about him. And why shouldn’t she? She deserved that. What she didn’t deserve was the pain his sudden reappearance was causing her. And standing there, watching his baby sister crying into the arms of her loving family, he was painfully reminded of why he had made the decision to never come back in the first place.
“Sorry for disturbing you.” Taking in his sister one last time, Duncan slowly turned his back on them. Behind him a very confused Senka stared at Andria with her mouth agape. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
“But your shoulder…” she argued, shifting her attention to the continuous stream of blood pouring from around the arrow.
“I’ll be fine.”
The words had barely escaped his lips, when a wave of dizziness nearly knocked him off his feet. In a flash, Senka was by his side. “Yeah, I can see that.” Throwing his uninjured arm over her shoulder, she wrapped her own arm around his waist. Together they slowly began to stumble their way back toward the forest. However they only managed to make it a few feet before he stumbled again.
“Ughhh,” Senka groaned, struggling to keep him upright. “When we get back home you need to go on a diet old man.”
Unable to help himself, Duncan snickered. Groaning as a sharp pain shot through his shoulder, he leaned onto Senka who was already doing everything she could to support his tremendous weight. Unfortunately the pain didn’t stop there. Radiating down his shoulder and into his chest, it continued growing in intensity until Duncan couldn’t stand it any longer. Dropping to his knees, he dragged Senka down with him.
“Duncan!” Bracing his head in her arms, Senka lowered him the rest of the way to the ground. “Damn it Duncan, don’t do this to me!”
He stared up into her worried expression, wanting nothing more than to console her. But dizzying pain, coupled with blood loss had weakened him to the point that it took every bit of strength he had left just to hold his eyes open. Seeing that she was losing him, Senka gripped the front of his shirt and shook him vigorously. Calling his name over and over again, she desperately tried to keep him awake. But it was no use. And as the frigid darkness swept over his body, robbing him of consciousness, the only thing Duncan could think about was how he had yet again failed someone he loved.
* * *
Duncan woke some time later, nestled in the comforts of a soft bed in a room that smelled of pine woods and fresh lilacs. Shirtless, with a linen bandage wrapped around his shoulder, he blinked in confusion as he took in his cozy surroundings. The wooden walls of the bedroom were painted in a pale blue color, trimmed in white. Lace curtains, hung over a single window to his left, which did nothing to block the copious amounts of sunlight streaming into the room and to the right of the bed sat a small table with a lamp and glass of water sitting on top.
“It’s about time you rejoined the land of the living.”
Turning in the direction of her snarky voice, Duncan’s heart leapt when he spotted Senka, alive and well, sitting next to him. “You’re alright.”
Arching her eyebrows, a huge grin spread across her face. “Well sure I am, I’m not the one who got shot by my sister with an arrow.” Pausing, Senka scrunched her lips together as if thinking. “Although I am pretty sure the thought has probably crossed her mind a time or two.”
“Your sister loves you Senka… you know that.”
“Yeah,” she sighed. Biting her lip, he could tell she was struggling to fight back her tears. Flooded with the overwhelming need to comfort her, Duncan reached out and took her hand in his own. “We will get her back.”
“I hope so Duncan. I know it doesn’t seem like it most of the time, but I really do love Chloe…” Her voice cracked, cutting her off.
He hated seeing her trying to hide her emotions from him. It was something she had done for as long as he had known her, although he didn’t know why. But it disturbed him greatly that she felt the need to conceal her feelings from him, as if she though it would make him think of her as weak if she were to cry in front of him. But weak was never a word he would associate with Senka. Beautiful, strong, and resilient-yes-but never weak.
He wanted her to feel safe around him, safe enough to be herself and express herself openly. And now more than ever, he wanted to tell her how he felt. To confess to her that he wanted more than just a friendship. But how could he, lying here in his sister’s house, wounded and weak himself. Considering the circumstances, Duncan opted to remain quiet, giving her the time she needed to regain her composure. It took her a couple of minutes, but eventually she wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled. “Maybe I just miss fighting with her.”
“Well the two of you certainly were good at it.” He chuckled.
Senka laughed, “Lots of practice.” Furrowing her brow, she scrunched her lips again. “Speaking of sisters and fighting…”
Duncan grimaced, knowing exactly where this conversation was heading. “I guess you have questions about what transpired out there.”
“Well your sister has already tried to explain some of it to me.”
“Oh?” his heart rate immediately doubled and his mind raced, wondering what kind of horrific things Andria might have told her while he was unconscious.
“Yeah.” Senka continued, “But honestly her explanation left me with more questions than answers.”
“For example.”
Senka anxiously bit her lip, worrying Duncan even more. “Andria told me you weren’t forced to leave like the others in the camp. That you left of your own accord and just never to came back.”
“And?”
“Well, I guess I just don’t understand why anyone would willingly choose to leave behind their family.” Senka hesitated, no longer able to face him. “But seeing as my mother abandoned me as a kid, then my father and brother did the same ten years later, I might be a little prejudice to the notion.”
Stunned by her revelation, Duncan gave a sympathetic squeeze to her hand. “I’m sorry that happened to you, I really am.” Wanting to choose his words carefully he hesitated. “I wish I could explain to you why your mother and father left you behind, but I can’t. All I can say is that, at the time I made the decision not to come back, I did so because I felt it was the right thing to do.”
“How can abandoning the people you love be the right thing to do?”
“Good question.” Andria said, as she strolled into the room. Crossing her arms over her chest she glared down at him. “I would love to know the answer to that as well.” Ashamed and unable to face her, Duncan dropped his gaze, causing Andria to huff. Shaking her head, she turned to Senka. “Would you mind giving us a moment, dear?”
Glancing back and forth between the pair of them, Senka rose from her chair to leave. “Um, sure. No problem.”
Not wanting her to go, and really not wanting to be left alone with his sister, Duncan tightened his grip on her hand. “You don’t have to leave.” Narrowing his gaze at his sister he added, “I have nothing to say to you that can’t be said in front of her.”
“Are you certain you don’t want to rethink that statement?” Andria prompted, darting her eyes to Senka.
Tension thickened the air between them, making it difficult for Duncan to breathe. He knew exactly what his sister was hinting at, and to be honest, he had no desire to talk about that subject with her, with or without Senka present. Sensing the building uneasiness between them, Senka slowly pulled her hand free of his hold and headed for the door. “Uh yeah, unless the two of you think you will need a mediator, I think I will go downstairs and entertain Gidgit for a while.”
They both remained silent until she left the room. “I like her.” Andria said, taking over Senka’s vacated seat. “Does she know?”
“Andria…” he began, but she waved him silent.
“No, Duncan. No more excuses, no more lies. I want to know the truth. Beginning with whether or not that young girl, who is downstairs beguiling your niece with tales of how she and her sister spent much of their life living in the woods on the run from bounty hunters, has any idea who the man she is traveling with is?”
Closing his eyes for a brief moment, Duncan shook his head.
“Did you bring her here to give to them?”
“What?”
“Did you bring her here to give to them? To Vincent and the Horde?”
Hearing his former gang leader’s name, awakened a rage in him he could barely contain. “By the stars, no! I brought her here to find her sister.” He yelled with more venom than he intended. “Do you really think so little of me sister?”
“Have you given me reason to think any better of you?”
Her honesty silenced him immediately.
Biting her lip, Andria studied him intensely, as if she was trying to peer inside him to evaluate whether or not he was telling the truth. It only took a few minutes of her intense scrutiny before Duncan had had enough. “I should go, I don’t belong here.” Sliding his legs off the edge of the bed, he moved to get up, only to be stopped by her hand falling onto his good shoulder.
“I’m not trying to make you feel bad Duncan. I’m just trying to figure out where you stand.” She sighed, staring back at the door Senka had exited through. “I mean, the last time I saw you, you were a thug and bounty hunter. You killed her kind, and anyone else the Horde decided was not worthy of living, to make money. And now, all these years later, you come strolling into my back yard with her by your side, more than willing to put her life on the line to save yours.”
“Trust me, the irony isn’t lost on me.” Duncan sighed. Resting his elbows on his knees, he braced his head in his hands, and stared down at his feet. “All I can say is I’m not the man I used to be. I know that’s going to be hard for you to believe when all your childhood and much of your adult life I did nothing but hurt you and Paw. But I swear, as messed up as it was, I thought I was doing what was best for you both.”
“By killing people?”
“By keeping the Horde and all the rest of those cretins away from you!” he yelled. His rage burned through his veins like molten lava, threatening to force him to shift.
Eyes wide, Andria moved to rise from her chair and make for the door, but Duncan caught her arm and held her in place. Not wanting to frighten her any further, he closed his eyes, and took several calming breaths before addressing her once more. “You don’t need to fear me sister, like I said, I’m not that man anymore.”
Reluctantly, she eased back into her chair as a tear fell from her eye. That lone tear hurt him worse than any arrow ever could. Heart wrenching in his chest he lifted his hand and wiped the offending drop from her cheek. “I love you Andria, I would never hurt you… you know that right?”
“I want to,” she sniffed. “I mean, you were never anything but kind to me as a kid. You taught me to hunt, to use a bow, and when I was small you would spend hours upon end with me, doing whatever I wanted to do, no matter how ridiculous it was.”
Chuckling lightly she looked up at him and smiled. “I remember once when your “friends” showed up at the house looking for you and caught you playing tea party with me. They laughed their asses off, calling you princess and all kinds of other girly names, but you didn’t care, instead you just sat there, flowers all in your hair and told them to “fuck off.”
With a shake of her head, Andria wiped another tear from her eye. “That day I thought you were my hero. You stood up to those men and they backed down. It wasn’t until I got older, that I learned why they were all afraid of you.”
“I did what had to be done.” He huffed. “It was because of the things I did, that the city officials and the gangs stopped coming around and harassing Paw about the land. Or did you think all the debts just miraculously disappeared?”
“Don’t you dare lay the things you did on us Duncan.” Andria snapped. “I will give you that you paid off all Paw’s loans, but I also know that isn’t the only reason you stayed. Or are you going to try and tell me you didn’t love the power you wielded as Vincent’s second?”
Facing him dead on she dared him to deny the accusation. And as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t. Because though he hated to admit it, her accusations were true. Yes he had initially joined the Horde to protect his family, but as more time past, he grew to appreciate the power and respect that went with it. Everyone feared him, no one dared challenge him, and he had loved every second of it.
“Duncan…”
“No Andria, it’s my turn.” He cut her off. “You want me to admit I liked the power? Fine, I’ll admit it. But not just for the reasons you want to believe. I liked it because it was my reputation and power that kept you safe.” Pausing he motioned toward the window. “Rio is the most lawless place in Zerdanda. All the cops are crooked, and the ones who aren’t won’t do anything for fear of being murdered in their sleep. I watched everyday as women were harassed and daughters were forced into marriages they didn’t want so they could protect their families and keep their homes and businesses from burning. But despite all this, you and Paw were never in danger.”
Heaving a heavy sigh, he looked up into his sister’s saddened expression. “No one dared lay a hand on you and your friends. I made sure of it. Hell Andria, you could roam the streets in the dead of night without an ounce of fear. Did that never strike you as strange?” Dropping her gaze, Andria refused to look at him. Duncan exhaled a huge breath, running his hand through his hair. “Stars Andria, I know the things I did were wrong. And I am sure there is a place reserved in the fires of hell for me when I die. And that’s fine, I accept that, I deserve no less for some of the things I have done. But I swear, it was never my intention to hurt you or Paw, only to protect you and give you a chance at a better life.”
“But at what cost Duncan?” she asked, wiping the tears from her eyes she gestured to the scars covering his upper body. “Everything you have been through, suffered through, sacrificed…”
“Are you happy?”
Furrowing her brow, she looked up at him. “Well… yes.”
“Then it was all worth it.” He said, smiling reassuringly at her. Rising to his feet, Duncan stretched the stiffness from his body just as a quiet knock, pulled both their attention back to the door.
There Senka stood quietly staring up at him. Unsure of how much of that conversation she had overheard, Duncan lowered his gaze afraid to face her. Biting her lip, Senka shifted her attention to Andria. “Umm, I hate to be a bother, but Gidgit says she is hungry and insists on me giving her a piece of that strawberry cake under the glass cover. I tried to tell her she needed to ask you first but she just keeps sneaking back into the kitchen and trying to pull off the lid.” Furrowing her brow, Senka stared down the hallway. “She’s probably down there now, licking icing off her finger as we speak.”
“That girl has been trying to get her hands on that cake ever since I took it out of the oven last night.” Andria chuckled. Wiping away the last of her tears, she rose to her feet. “I tell you what, why don’t I go downstairs and make dinner for everyone while the two of you get some rest. Senka, if you want, you can use Gidgit’s room next door.” Exiting the room, Andria glanced back at Duncan over her shoulder. “Oh, and Duncan if you decide to shift to help heal that wound, go outside. The last thing I need is your large ass bear bumbling through my house knocking over and breaking what few nice things I have.”
Watching his sister disappear out the door, Duncan then turned his attention back to Senka, who was still staring at him blankly. “So, um… How much of that did you hear?” he asked, raking his hand through his hair.
Her lips pursed. “Enough to know we have more in common than I thought.”
Slightly tilting his head, Duncan’s brow creased. “How so?”
“It seems we have both done some things we are not proud of to protect the ones we love.” Dropping her gaze, Duncan watched as she kicked at some invisible object on the floor. Her anxiousness did nothing to settle his nerves. Even so, he felt the overwhelming desire to hold her and comfort her. He wanted her to trust him to be there for her no matter what. Moving forward, he placed a finger under her chin, forcing her to face him once more.
“What’s the matter? Does it have anything to do with what you heard my sister say?”
“No, I just heard the last part, but it was enough for me to get an idea of what happened between you.”
“So what is it?”
“I feel like I should tell you something Duncan, but I’m afraid you will think less of me if I do.”
“Nothing you can say is going to change the way I feel about you.”
“Don’t be so sure of that.” she huffed, turning her back to him.
Wanting to ease her worry, he approached her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He half expected her to pull away with one of her snarky remarks, but to his utter delight and shock, she leaned into his embrace.
“You think because you have killed people I won’t care for you anymore?”
Senka gasped and spun in his arms, her eyes wild with fear. “H-how do you know about that?”
“Same way I knew what you were when we meet.” He answered, only partially telling the truth. “I’ve been around a while Senka. Long enough to know no one knows how to fight and shoot as good as you can, unless there is a need to use it. Combine that with the fact you are Night Stalker and it seemed a logical conclusion.” Smiling down at her, he brushed a stray twig of hair from her face. “You know, your people had quite a reputation back in the day.”
“Yeah, I know. My father was… well let’s just say he was well sought after in his field.” Biting her lip, she looked away for a moment. “He taught me everything I know. I guess I owe him for that, without that training me and my sister would never have made it after...” Heaving a heavy sigh, she pressed her head against his bare chest. “You don’t hate me? I mean, I did do my best to be sure my targets were bad people. You know, thieves, rapists, murders, and such. But it was still killing people for money, so I would understand if you did.”
“Hate you? Stars no girl, I could never hate you. What kind of hypocrite would I be if I judged you for your past when my own hands are saturated in blood.” Tightening his hold on her, he leaned down and gently kissed the top of her head. “I care for you Senka, more than I have cared for anyone in a very long time, and there is nothing you can say or do that will ever change that.”