Cain tossed and turned that night. Usually, he had no problem falling asleep right away, but for some reason he couldn’t seem to be able to. The phone call from Kyna had left him shaken up all day. He had even dropped a beam, nearly breaking another guy’s foot as he tried to continue on with his day like nothing had happened. The guy was fine, but it had left Cain pretty shaken up, and Joe started asking questions.
What if Kyna had been telling the truth? It was a possibility he hadn’t entertained yet, and just the thought of it made him recoil. It was impossible. Insane, even. But what else would explain the strange underground caverns he had seen, and the ethereal woman who shimmered like the bizarre lights he had seen in the sky? What was that place? Had anybody else ever seen it?
Finally, Cain gave in to the reality that it would be impossible to sleep and walked to the kitchen. He sat at the table, sipping milk and staring out the window of his condo. He had worked hard to make his way in the city, regardless of the fact that a simple country life would have been preferable, but he enjoyed the anonymity of the hustle and bustle. But what would happen the next time he went for a hunt? Would he find another woman to feed him miserable lies?
Suddenly, Cain felt furious. He had gone out for the hunt, but came back without any meat to put in his freezer. He had been depending on that to get him by for the next few weeks. Money was about to be tight. Construction was seasonal work, and winter was just a couple of months away. Somehow, he had let those insane people distract him from his cause.
Cain stood as if compelled by a force other than his own and pulled his jacket and boots on. He was going to go out and get the meat he needed, and he wasn’t going to let anything or anybody distract him from it.
***
Kyna had been walking for hours without stopping to rest. Once she found the little stream, she began following it. It felt nice to drink when she felt thirsty. She sighed, thinking about Cain. He hadn’t been far from her thoughts since they’d met.
Kyna had seen the city where Cain lived briefly when the small Loni tribe was heading toward the Kersh clan’s settlement. It was a huge, terrifying and intimidating place. How was she going to be able to navigate it to find him there?
Kyna ran her hand through her silver-blonde hair and sighed. There was no choice but to stay focused. She had no other option if she was going to help to liberate them all to Kaldernon before the Guardians retaliated. When they did it was going to be a massacre, so they had to hurry.
“Well, what have we here?” a man’s voice said from behind her. Kyna whipped around, her heart thudding in fear. The man didn’t sound particularly friendly.
“What the hell are you wearing, girl?” another man asked with a cackle.
Suddenly, Kyna found herself surrounded by five men. The first man who spoke stepped forward gripping her gown in his dirty hands. She tore it away from him and the men snorted at her.
“Are you sure that’s how you want to play it?” the man asked with a grin. “Cuz it’s looking to me a lot like you’re out numbered here.”
“I’m not playing anything,” Kyna said, glowering at the man.
“That right?”
The men chortled and suddenly she realized that there was danger. She was used to being with a group who could help to protect her, but she had gone out alone without even telling anybody where she had gone. She had put herself right in harm’s way.
“You look a little funny,” the man said.
“You’re one to talk, Ralph!”
The men cackled again and Ralph glowered at them.
“Shut up, will ya? I’m trying to have a conversation with the lady here.”
“I have nothing to say to you,” Kyna said.
“Well, that’s all right, so long as you’re a good listener. What would you say? Are you a good listener, honey? You look like one.”
Kyna’s stomach churned as the man came up in her face. She turned away and tried to hide her face in her arm, but Ralph pulled it away and gripped her by the shoulders, forcing her to face him.
“Now that’s not very nice. We just came over here to make a little friendly conversation. What crawled up your ass?”
“I told you I don’t want to be bothered,” she said.
“Well that’s just too bad,” Ralph said, pulling out a hunting knife. “Because I’ve been needing somebody to talk to.”
***
A sharp scream startled Cain as he made his way through the dark forest surrounding the city. He had gone in the opposite direction of the strange underground settlement, and yet the voice sounded like it could be coming from Kyna.
He took off running with all of his power and arrived just as a stout man shoved Kyna to the ground. Cain was instantly filled with rage as her head bounced off the ground and an expression of pain filled her face.
The man didn’t know what had hit him by the time Cain was done with him. Two had already escaped, but Cain caught the others. He blacked out as he boxed them senseless, his anger fueling his power. He nearly lost control of himself and went too far, but Kyna’s gentle hands draped over his shoulder and they locked eyes. He suddenly felt his strength dissolving as his rage fled his body, and he moved away from the limp bodies of the men.
“They won’t hurt you anymore,” he said, turning away with every intention of walking away.
Kyna nodded, and he could feel her eyes on him as he began to leave the scene. She tried to walk after him, but staggered and fell heavily to the ground. The man had caused her to hit her head pretty hard, and she was having a hard time staying conscious.
“Shit,” he mumbled, walking over to examine her. She was alive, but badly injured. “You need to get out of here until you feel better.”
She opened her mouth to try to reply, but he silenced her.
“Come on,” Cain said, lifting her to her feet. He cradled her close to his chest and headed back toward his truck. It had been a crazy idea to go hunting, anyway. And now he had found the one person he had been wanting to avoid more than anything. And, if that wasn’t outrageous enough, he was taking her back to his apartment.
Cain situated Kyna in the passenger’s seat and she opened and closed her eyes heavily as he tore out of the parking lot and headed toward his home. He didn’t want to involve the hospital in case they investigated the men and found any of them brutalized to death. Cain knew how to treat bumps and bruises anyway.
“Hey,” he said, snapping his fingers in front of Kyna’s face as he sped toward the highway. “Don’t go to sleep, now.”
Kyna’s golden eyes fixed upon him and Cain felt his heart thud despite himself. She sure was something else. He was furious that anyone might want to harm her. Cain felt responsible for her somehow. As if they had a connection that nobody should interfere with. He wanted to protect her, even if he thought she was a little bit out there.
“Where are we going?” Kyna asked quietly.
“To my apartment,” Cain said with a heavy sigh. “If that’s all right.”
“You can just take me home,” she said. She was tired of fighting. “I know you don’t want to be near me. You probably think I’m insane. Or maybe some kind of witch.”
Cain was surprised by the assumption. The idea of witchcraft hadn’t entered his mind. Though now that she mentioned it, she did have a strange, otherworldliness that being a witch would explain. Still, he couldn’t help but be drawn to it.
“Well, I don’t think I believe what you believe about me if that’s what you mean. But I don’t hate you for thinking it.”
They were quiet for a moment as Kyna considered this.
“What would it take to convince you?” she asked. “I’m kind of lost out here.”
“You’re pretty far from home,” Cain agreed.
“You have no idea,” Kyna sighed.
Cain pursed his lips as he merged into the highway leading into the city. Traffic was bad even this late at night, and they got stuck behind a bus, giving them ample time together in his truck.
“Can you answer something for me?” Cain asked.
“That depends,” she answered.
“What were those lights in the sky? I can’t stop thinking about them.”
“The lights of Kaldernon,” Kyna said softly. “They are what led me to you.”
“Ladernon?” he asked, turning down the radio. The mournful country song disappeared and they were left together in silence.
“Kaldernon,” she said, laying her head back heavily in the seat. “I don’t think you’d believe me, so don’t bother asking about that.”
“All right,” Cain shrugged. “No skin off my back.”
He could feel her glaring at him and had to force himself not to meet her eyes. They drove quietly until they finally reached the road his condo was on.
“I’ve seen that!” Kyna suddenly exclaimed, sitting straight up. The effort was taking a lot out of her, but she kept her eyes fixed on the building, rapt. “It was in my dream.”
“What, are you some kind of psychic or something?”
Kyna turned to him then, giving him a deadpan look. She didn’t answer yes or no, just stared at him as if he were stupid. It gave him the creeps a little bit, but at the same time he felt intrigued. If he would believe anybody in the world was a psychic, Kyna would be the top of the list.
“That’s my apartment building. Maybe you saw it when you were stalking me to get my phone number at work.”
“I didn’t stalk – “
Kyna fell back against the seat, overcome by another wave of sudden pain. “you…”
“Shhh, don’t worry about it right now. We’re gonna get you taken care of.”
And with that, he parked his truck and helped her to the elevator of the condo. What in the world had he had gotten himself into?