He knew she was going to flash, probably before she did. From the first moment she came, quite literally, crashing into his life, Duncan had found himself strangely attracted to her vibrant, yet very impulsive personality. The girl burned with a fire and zest for life unlike anyone he had come across in his over one hundred years of existence. And while he usually found the trait to be an alluring quality, in this particular instance he feared it was going to lead her to her demise.
Before they arrived at her tent, Duncan already knew they were wasting their time. Senka’s mind was made and there was nothing they could say or do that was going to dissuade her from her plans. In short, Senka was going to do what Senka wanted to do. And truthfully, he didn’t blame her. Like she had so brazenly pointed out, if it had been either of them in her shoes, they would have reacted in much the same way. Even so, that didn’t change the fact that what she was planning was nothing short of a suicide mission.
Unlike him, Senka had no idea the kind of dangers that awaited her on the other side of the Zerdandan border. Add to that the fact that she would be forced to travel mainly by foot, since she had no prior knowledge of the land or any preset anchors for her flashes, and you had the recipe for a perfect disaster. Once she crossed the border, he estimated it would take the wolves that patrolled the forest less than a day to track her down. And once they had, they would have no difficulty capturing her.
For as skilled a warrior as Duncan knew Senka to be, she stood little chance against a well-trained pack of Shifters working in unison. From the time they were young, even before they could shift, Shifter children were trained to move, hunt, and kill as pack. So engrained are they with the belief that the pack is more important than the individual, that anyone of them would gladly sacrifice their life so that another could get the opening they needed to take her down. And once they had, her troubles would truly begin.
Like in most other countries within the Council’s rule, in Zerdanda, trespassing was one of the worst crimes to be caught committing. Viewed as a spy, Senka would be questioned relentlessly for information and if they didn’t like the answers she gave, then she would be made to suffer. Luckily, because she is a female, she would not be beaten or tortured like she would be if she was a male, but Patrols had others means of extracting information from women, starvation being one of the most commonly used tactics. However even that small mercy would change if somehow they managed to figure out what race she was, for if they did, Senka would surely be dead.
For unbeknownst to Senka, her people and Shifters had a long bloody history of hating and killing each other. There had even been a time in the past when his people were hired by certain members of the Council to hunt down and kill any Night Stalkers living within their borders. Viewed as a threat because of their unique and powerful gifts, and lacking representation on the Council to speak on their behalf, it didn’t take long before every Shifter bounty hunter in the region was on the hunt for Night Stalkers. In just under ten years, his people nearly managed to wipe the entire race out of existence. He actually thought they had until Senka showed up a few years back claiming at first to be a Jumper. But one look into those striking amber eyes of hers, and Duncan knew right away exactly what she was.
And the same would be true with any other elder Shifter she might run across in Zerdanda; which was exactly why he refused to let her go traipsing over the border unprotected. Unfortunately, there was no way anyone was going to be able to convince Senka that she needed a bodyguard. The girl was just too stubborn and too proud. Which meant Duncan was going to have to figure out some other way of intruding into her plans. And the second he exited the tent to find Ulysses had halted her escape, Duncan knew exactly what he was going to do.
Taking advantage of her distracted state, he carefully inched his way closer, while making certain to remain within the shadow of the canopy covering the entrance. Even from this angle he could see the wheels in her head spinning with each word Ulysses spoke, but it was when he brought up her killing Linus, that Duncan knew hope was lost. Disheartened he watched as an all too familiar darkness stole the light from her eyes, leaving in its wake a mere shell of the girl he had come to care for.
It was a look he had the distinct displeasure of triggering himself once while on a hunting trip. Wanting to find out more about her and her life before the camp, he mistakenly asked her about her and Chloe’s father. Then, just like now, she became distant and lost, seemingly trapped in whatever deeply buried memories the question had triggered. And to his dismay, she remained that way for hours, only to finally come around and act as if nothing had happened.
But as much as the incident bothered him, Duncan knew better than to push the subject. After all, it was the Wanderer way to leave your past in the past. No one who took the oath to join with the Wanderers was ever forced to divulge any information they did not want to. It was this opportunity to start over with a clean slate that attracted so many vagrants like himself and Senka to the Wanderer lifestyle to begin with. Heavens knew he had things in his past he didn’t want her, or anyone else, finding out about.
Pulling himself free of his thoughts, Duncan listened as Lady Zae continued to argue with Ulysses over the morality of his proposal. But, much like Senka, there would be no dissuading the angry father from his decision. Choosing not to waste his time on what he deemed a pointless task, Duncan focused his attention on Senka, and silently watched as she pulled free of her haunted past with a frightening look of determination.
Without pause, she immediately went for her umbrella, a move he had been expecting her to make. The moment the canopy released, mere seconds before she flashed, Duncan reached out, and grabbed ahold of her shoulder, forcing her to pull him into the flash along with her. Remembering what she had taught him in the past, he inhaled deeply and relaxed his body as the icy tentacles of her shadow wrapped itself around him. A task that was easier said than done when it felt as if your body had just been dropped into a pit full of slithering snakes.
Fortunately for him, her flashes never lasted long and moments later he felt a rush of relief as she brought them out on the other side. Much to his dismay however his reprieve was short lived as it was immediately followed by a wave of dizziness so intense it nearly knocked him off his feet. Still blind from the flash, he threw out his hands in a desperate attempt to keep from falling and was relieved when one of them landed on something hard. Latching on the rough surface, he steadied himself while bracing his other hand on his knee.
It took several seconds before he once again felt somewhat confident in his ability to stand, only then did he dare to open his eyes and take in his surroundings. Looking up, he recognized the massive oak tree he was leaning against as the one that marked the half-way point between their camp and the Zerdandan border.
“Damn it Duncan!” Senka yelled from somewhere behind him. “What the hell were you thinking?”
Daring a quick glance over his shoulder, Duncan groaned as another wave of dizziness came crashing down upon him. But not before he spotted Senka several feet behind him, crouched on the ground, and looking every bit as miserable as he was feeling.
“Are you alright?” Concerned, he moved to go check on her but instead fell crashing backwards into the trunk of the tree. Fighting back the urge to vomit, he leaned his body against the sturdy structure and braced his head in his hands.
“Of course I’m not alright!” she snapped, before groaning and tightening her grasp on her skull. “I feel like I’ve been drained dry by a Full-blood.”
“Full-bloods don’t drain people dry,” he huffed. Managing to find balance on his own two feet once again, he slowly made his way over to Senka and extended a hand. Peeking through her fingers, she hesitated a moment before placing her hand into his.
“And you know this how?” She quipped, allowing him to pull her to her feet.
“One of my best friends used to be a Vanterian Full-blood. The man was larger than me, but only fed once a month and just enough to survive.” Closing his eyes as another wave of dizziness hit him, Duncan paused. “Why am I so dizzy this time?”
He had flashed with Senka at least a dozen times before this and knew it wasn’t unusual to experience some slight vertigo, but he had never felt anything even remotely this bad before.
“Because I wasn’t expecting a passenger so I flashed a longer distance than I normally would have had I known I was going to have a rider, especially one as large as you are.” Glaring up at him she crossed her arms. “Speaking of… What exactly are you doing here Duncan? I don’t recall inviting you to tag along.”
“I don’t recall asking your permission.”
Mouth gaping, Senka turned several shades of red as she stared up at him. “Listen here Duncan…” she began after the shock of his callousness had worn off. “if you are here to try to convince me to go back to camp, then you just wasted both my time and my energy for nothing. There is no way…”
“I am not here to take you back. I’m going with you.”
Senka’s brow furrowed as she took a second to consider what he said. “But didn’t Kral say none of the Shifters could cross the border without risking being captured and killed.”
“Kral doesn’t know everyone’s reasons for leaving Zerdanda.”
“So it’s not true?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You’re not saying much of anything. And to be honest it’s getting really annoying.” Hands on her hips, Senka stared him down. “So let me try this one more time. If you cross the border and the patrols find you, will you or will you not be arrested?”
“Possibly…”
“Then why are you here?” she groaned, cutting him off. “I don’t have time to be worrying about your safety too Duncan! I can handle this own my own! Actually I prefer it that way! Besides, all you are going to do is slow me down.”
“I am here to make sure you don’t get your fool-self killed!” he shouted with more venom than he intended. Breathing through his anger, Duncan glared down at the petite young woman. “Senka I don’t doubt your skill. I have seen you in action and know full well what you are capable of. But trust me when I say you are in way over your head.” Senka, looking angry, opened her mouth to protest only to have him cut her off. “There is no point arguing about this Senka. Whether you like it or not, you are going to need my help. I know the land, I know the customs, and I have connections inside that can hopefully lead us to your sister. You however…” Sighing, Duncan shook his head. “You won’t last more than a day in there alone… and I would never be able to live with myself if I allowed something to happen to you, especially after I already failed to protect your sister.”
“I don’t blame you for Chloe, Duncan.”
“You should. It was my job to keep her and the camp safe.” Sighing, Duncan ran his hand through his shaggy greying hair. “All I ask is that you allow me this opportunity to try and make things right again.”
Silently she stared at him with her piercing amber eyes, as she considered his words. A few minutes later he watched the tension fade from her body as she came to the decision he had hoped she would.
“Alright Duncan,” she began slowly. “I’ll let you come with me. But only because time is of the essence… not because I can’t handle this on my own.”
“Of course.”
With a heavy sigh, Senka turned and stared out across the field. “Unfortunately I’m drained. There is no way I will be able to flash again until night fall and that is still hours away. What should we do until then?”
“Let’s take a walk.” Following her gaze, he gestured out into the open expanse. “The cart Kral and the others found is only a few more miles that direction. Let’s go there for now and see if we come across something they might have missed.”