“We need to get back to Seattle soon.” Dakota turned to face Carmen.
“Dakota, I don’t know that she is still there,” she said sadly.
Dakota nodded slowly. “I know, but we need to know what’s going on over there. We are completely blind where Vincent can see the whole picture.”
“Makes sense,” Tony agreed. “After we head for the mountains, we can look at our options. Are there options?” he asked cautiously.
“I’m sure we can figure something out,” Carmen said.
“If anyone can do it, you can, Carmen.” Tony smiled at her.
Carmen smiled softly at him. “Always such a wise man. Gregory was so lucky to have had such a wonderful friend, and I was always so grateful knowing that my Annabelle had you and he to watch over her.” She patted him on the shoulder and then turned to Dakota. “You need to go and get some rest, Dakota.” When he started to argue, she put her hand up. “No need to argue, you know I am right. You will be nothing but a liability if you try and make that journey on no sleep. Besides, I don’t want to have to explain to my granddaughter why the love of her life is not around when she does come back. Go.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Dakota’s mother, Elizabeth, entered the room. “I will walk him and make sure he goes to sleep.” She grabbed his arm and turned him towards the door. “Carmen, Tony.” She nodded to them and then they headed out into the night.
“Mom, I truly am fine,” he insisted as they walked through the dark.
“Dakota George Parker, you know better than to lie to me.” Something about her using his full name always had him shutting down. “No one would expect you to be all right after what you have been through.”
“I don’t have time to rest, Mom. Ana is out there and suffering. I should be there for her, I need to save her this time.”
“Dakota. What happened to her before wasn’t your fault any more than what is happening now. Anastasia is one of the toughest, bravest people I have ever met, and I know that she is going to be just fine. You have to give it the time that is needed to formulate a good plan, and on top of that you have got to get some rest. You will be no good if we find her unless you have slept.”
He knew she was right, but it still stung. He had promised Ana that he would never leave her again, never let her be taken from him again, and yet here he was without her, and she was likely in the hands of a man who not only kidnapped her when she was a baby, but who also was to blame for the complete destruction of their hometown, not to mention the countless deaths of the Terrenians.
“Promise me that you will get some sleep,” his mom pleaded as they walked into the small training cottage.
“I promise, Mom.”
She smiled softly at him. “Good. Let me make you some tea.” She turned and headed for the kitchen.
“I thought you wanted me to get some sleep?” he joked.
“I do, but tea will help. It will relax you.” She lit the fire in the fireplace and set a Dutch oven over it to heat the water.
“Can I come in?” Tony peeked through the door, and Elizabeth smiled and waved him in.
“Of course. I was just making some tea, would you like some?”
“That would be wonderful, thank you.” Tony smiled at her, and Elizabeth blushed.
Dakota laughed lightly and turned away. They had been flirting around each other ever since she and Dakota had arrived in Terrenia, and although it had bothered him at first, he knew that his mother deserved to be happy. She had suffered so much in the last eight years, and if Tony could bring her peace, then who was he to stand in their way?
“How are you doing, Dakota?” Tony came to sit next to him at the small table.
“Just dandy,” Dakota said sarcastically, and then smiled softly. “I just miss her, Tony, and I’m more worried than I have ever been.”
“She is tough, Dakota, she will be fine.”
“That’s what mom said.” Dakota laughed.
“She’s a wise woman.” Tony watched Elizabeth as she worked in the kitchen.
“She is, and a good one at that.” Dakota knew that Tony saw the warning in his eyes, and although he knew Tony could snap him in half if he wanted, he knew that he wouldn’t because they respected each other, and Tony respected Elizabeth as well. It was all over his face.
“Here we go, boys.” Elizabeth brought over three mugs of tea and then took a seat next to Tony.
Dakota took his first sip, and the taste of chamomile slid over his tongue like a blanket. His mom knew it had always been his favorite when he had been a kid for those nights he had trouble sleeping. What she didn’t know was that even as an adult he had drunk it, only with the additive of a little honey whiskey as well.
“So, tell me of the Anastasia you grew up with,” Tony said, setting his mug on the table. “I only know her from when she arrived, and I suspect she was a bit more guarded than with you.”
“Well,” Elizabeth started on a laugh, “Anastasia used to sneak into our house in the middle of the night and the two of them would have sleepovers—the innocent kind,” she added. “We would check, but we knew she didn’t feel safe anywhere else, so we kept her where we knew he couldn’t get her. George tried to get her out of that house so many times, but she was so afraid.”
“I wish I could strangle the bastard who hurt her.” Tony clenched his fist. “I will get Vincent, he will pay for everything he has done to you all.”
Elizabeth lightly touched his hand and smiled warmly.
“How are you feeling, Dakota?” she asked, watching him carefully.
“What did you put in this tea?” he asked, and then passed out on the table.
“I’ll get him.” Tony lifted Dakota and carried him to his room.
“Thank you for coming over and helping. He really needed some sleep, and I knew he wasn’t going to get it unless he had some help.”
“Not a problem at all. I enjoy being around you.”
Elizabeth’s heart caught in her throat. Tony gave her butterflies in a way she hadn’t felt since George had been killed.
“I enjoy being around you too.” She smiled and started gathering their mugs.
“I will wait.” Tony turned to face her as she walked into the kitchen.
“Wait for what?”
“Until you are ready.”
Elizabeth smiled and set the mugs on the counter. She walked over to him and rose to her tippy toes to kiss him lightly on the cheek.
“I would like that.”
Tony smiled, and in it she saw the hope for a new future that she knew was reflected in her own. Ever since George had died she had worried that she was destined to be alone, not wanting anyone to take his place in her heart. But now she was beginning to understand that although no one could ever take his place, it was okay if she made room for someone else.
“Goodnight, Elizabeth.”
“Goodnight, Tony.”
He turned and closed the door gently behind him. The silence of the small house settled over her. She took a deep breath and looked towards the room where Dakota slept. Ever since he had been a boy he had been head over heels for Anastasia. What must it be like to hold that much love in your heart? she wondered.
After Anastasia had gone missing the first time, her son changed. He went from wanting to be a doctor to becoming a cop overnight, and she knew he had searched for Anastasia in every single victim he came across. It wasn’t until he had found her, and come to terms with how she had left, that she had finally seen him truly smile again, and now she worried that she would never see it again. Elizabeth knew he hurt more than he let on, and if they didn’t find Anastasia soon, she worried that her son would never be the same.
Dakota dreamed he was standing on a cliff. The wind surrounded him and threatened to push him over the edge. Anastasia appeared in front of him and smiled. She looked just as she had the night he had last seen her, the bruises from their Brute encounter still fading away off her skin.
“Ana, where are you?” he asked yelling over the sound of the wind. “Tell me how to find you!”
She smiled at him again and pressed her hand to his heart.
“Tell me where you are!” he yelled again, but she took another step closer to the cliff. “Be careful!” He lunged for her and grabbed her hand as she started to fall.
His heart was pounding, the adrenaline running through his veins. Her scent surrounded him as the wind picked up again. He knew the feeling of hopelessness well but refused to embrace it, although he feared she was already lost to him. He had given up once before, and he wouldn’t do it again.
“Dakota,” she whispered, fear plain on her face. “Save me, I need you,” she cried as she slipped from his grip.
“No!” he yelled, and reached over the cliff for her, but she was already gone, swallowed up by the thick fog below.
Dakota sat up in bed, his chest heavy. He rubbed his hands over the short beard on his face.
“Hey Kaley,” he greeted Anastasia’s large cat as she came and rubbed her face against his arm. The size of a fully-grown male lion, she never ceased to amaze him with how gentle she could be. “I won’t let her get away from us this time, Kaley. I promise I will find her.”
“Dakota!” Brady burst into the house, and Dakota ran into the living area to greet him.
“What?”
“We have Brutes coming!”
“Now? It’s the middle of the day!” Dakota yelled as he threw on a shirt and grabbed his boots, noticing how high the sun was in the sky.
“They are coming up on the east wall.”
“How many?”
“About three dozen.”
Dakota’s blood turned to ice. They didn’t have the kind of manpower and weapons to hold off that large of an attack on such short notice. Although he believed they would win, they would lose dozens of their own.
He ran with Brady towards the east wall, where Tony was already waiting. Elizabeth stood next to him on the platform and they watched over the trees.
“Mom, what are you doing here?”
“I was just heading to the cellar, wanted to see for myself.” Her arms were folded across her chest, and had he not been afraid for their near future, he would have smirked at the large knife that hung from her belt. It looked so out of place on the woman who had spent her life treating the sick and injured.
“Okay, make sure everyone stays quiet, and don’t think we won’t be talking about what you put in that tea,” he added, lowering his eyes to glare at her.
“Oh, hush, Dakota, you got sleep, didn’t you? You guys be careful.” She smiled innocently and then climbed down to run for the underground cellar they had built to hide the villagers from the Brutes. Even if they failed to keep the beasts out of the village, they had wanted to take steps to keep the villagers safe. It had been another one of Robbie’s additions.
He looked down at the Fighters who had assembled below him. They all stood strong without any trace of fear on their faces. He had grown to know and respect each man individually, and he knew that they would lay down their lives for him just as he would for them in a heartbeat.
He turned back towards the Brute force quickly approaching. The smell of sulfur that seemed to surround them engulfed the village, and Dakota’s blood began pounding. They would not die today.
Dakota, Tony, and half of the Fighters had moved to stand in front of the wall. They were the first wave of an attack that had been coordinated before the day had even started, while the others were ready for an attack from within the walls.
The Brutes came to a stop ten feet from them, and the action confused Dakota. They had never paused before an attack.
“Who is Dakota?” one spoke, and the deep rumble of his voice caught Dakota off guard.
“I am,” he said, holding his ground.
“Our leader wishes to speak to you.”
“Vincent?” Dakota asked, his fingers itching for his sword.
If Brutes could show disgust, this one certainly did. “That murderer is not our leader,” he said, pounding his fist against his chest.
Tony looked to Dakota and nodded a silent signal that they had his back if anything should go south.
“Then who is?” he asked.
“We will not bring him forward until your Fighters sheathe their weapons.”
“They will not until we know there will be no attack from you.”
“We will not harm you.” He lifted his large arm and all but a small grouping of the Brutes took steps back towards the trees until they were nearly half of a football field’s length away.
Dakota turned to Tony and he gave the signal for the Fighters to lower their weapons.
“Fine. Where is your leader?” Dakota asked, taking a step forward.
“I am here.” The largest Brute Dakota had ever seen stepped towards him from a small grouping that had stood their ground. He stood almost ten feet tall and was covered in brands of various designs. Piercings covered the better part of his face. “I am Argento, the true leader of the Brutes.”
“What do you want to talk to me about?” Dakota asked, biting back a small bit of fear for those he needed to protect.
“This Vincent that you speak of, he is the sorcerer, correct? The one who has gone dark.”
“Yes, he is.”
“He has been coming to my world and stealing my warriors, turning them against me in an effort to take over my world much in the way he has done yours.”
“He hasn’t won yet.”
The Brute nodded towards him. “Just as he has not in my world as well. The captain of my force has been trying to overthrow me for years, and Vincent is promising him the throne if he helps him to take over the other fifteen dimensions. But as long as I stand he will not succeed.”
“You are from a different dimension? Another world?” Dakota asked, slightly fascinated. “Legends said that the Brutes were once humans.”
Argento scoffed, and the Brute next to him laughed.
“We are no puny humans underneath this.” He pounded his fist to his chest again.
“We are no puny humans,” Dakota growled through his teeth. “If Vincent has not been creating the Brutes from our people somehow, then where have our villagers gone? He had children caged, but no adults were anywhere to be found, and we have lost thousands to him.”
“We have your people and we have brought them as a sign of goodwill.”
“You have the other villagers? How?” Tony asked, coming to stand next to Dakota.
“Who are you?” Argento addressed him, aggression lacing his voice.
“I am Tony, and I have been the one who has gone through each and every village your Brutes have torn apart.” The anger was rolling off him in waves, and Dakota put his hand on his shoulder to calm him. “I am also the one who found those caged children.”
“You said you have our people. How?” Dakota interrupted.
“Vincent,” Argento started, looking back at Dakota, “has been sending them through a portal and into my world as a way to trade with my captain for more of my force. My captain has been using them to make weapons in an effort to kill me.”
“Platinum-coated.”
“Yes,” he growled. “My people can’t handle the platinum, and until Vincent started trading the humans, it did not even exist in my world.”
“So what do you want from us?”
“We wish to work with you to bring down this Vincent. Those you see behind me are the only who I can trust to remain loyal to me. The rest of my warriors can’t be trusted.”
“How do we know we can trust you? Or any of your warriors?” he asked, gesturing to the Brutes behind Argento.
“I could tear you all apart before you could even blink,” Argento said, folding his arms over his chest. “But I will not. You and your people are not those we are at war with. I am showing you goodwill by coming here, knowing that your blades are coated in platinum and could strike me down. I have also brought your missing people here as an additional show of our mutual enemy. You and your people will come to no harm by my hand or the hand of those I trust. We are not a violent race, Dakota. Vincent has made us this way. Until he showed up in my world, we had no war with anyone.”
“How did you know my name?”
“Word travels fast, Fighter. Rumors have spread about you, Dakota, the warrior from another world.”
Dakota nodded and looked to Tony. He could see how unsure his friend was, but knew they had no choice.
Dakota took a step forward and reached his hand out. Argento took it, and they shook. “Give us our people and we will work together to bring this bastard down.”
Argento smiled. “I like you, Dakota, even if you are a puny human.” The humor in his deep voice caught Dakota off guard. “Bring them.”
Dakota’s eyes widened as he saw the villagers being led towards them from the woods. He had expected to see dirty, tired, starving and beaten people, and instead, although he did see worry and sadness in some eyes, what he saw was clean, alert, and well-rested villagers.
“We fed them and allowed them to rest before we made the journey. Some were very near death when we found them.”
“Thank you, Argento.” Tony stepped forward.
Argento nodded to him. “If it were my people, I would have been angry as well. My captain will pay for what he has done. I am afraid to report that some of your people had perished before we could get there, but we brought the bodies of those who had passed with us so you may give them a proper burial. It is very important in our culture to do so, and so we wished to offer you the same respect.”
“Thank you,” Dakota said to him as Tony went to talk to the other villagers.
“We will make camp out here until you trust us. I imagine your people would not take too kindly to those they perceive as their enemy sleeping inside the walls.”
“Do not set up camp out here just yet. I will speak to my people. I would prefer to keep you all hidden from view of any of Vincent’s scouts that may be lurking outside the walls.”
Argento nodded in agreement and then showed his teeth in a frightening smile. “Yes, I would very much like to be a surprise to them as well.”