TCO: Chapter Twenty-Two

"Do you think he will come back with us?" asked Shamira as Jalena fired up the Xita-7 for the second time that week.

"I'm not sure…I sense he is conflicted so it may take some time," Jalena responded.

The ship lifted off the bunker floor and Jalena and Shamira flew out through the waterfall hiding the bunker entrance and turned southeast toward Feyla Forest.

Meanwhile, near the Sprite River at the edge of Feyla Forest, a villager immediately crouched low among the brush, his large shadow falling across the sunlit trail near him.

A small gasp escaped the lips of a child hidden in the tall grass next to the villager as an arrow flew and struck down the animal grazing nearby.

The child made a face of disgust. "I don't like alk meat, Tarak."

"Then eat a pograpaña instead," the villager said in a deep voice as his large gray hand removed the arrow from the alk. Tarak stood and tossed the small alk over his shoulder. The two returned to the trail to make their way back to their village.

"I want to be a hunter just like you…an arkaí."

Tarak raised an eyebrow. "You think you are strong enough to hold a bow?" he asked as they continued down the well-worn forest path.

"I could do it," she said defiantly, brushing her long black hair out of her face. "I'm almost eleven."

"Your mother would not like it."

"That's because she doesn't know I'm a hunter."

Tarak smiled. He stopped and turned to the girl, amused at the serious expression in her brown eyes. He crouched down so he and the girl were eye to eye.

"Then I will make you a bow and teach you. An arkaí knows exactly what needs to be done and is always brave." Tarak teased the child with a scrutinizing look. "Are you brave, young Sufina the hunter?"

Sufina nodded enthusiastically.

"Good. We will begin as soon as your bow is finished, Sufina Arkaí." Tarak brushed a finger along the edge of her jaw and stood again.

"Tarak, I want my skin to be like yours."

"Yours is much nicer."

"Will my skin change when I become an arkaí like you?"

"It is unlikely."

"What about my eyes? Will they be green and red like yours?"

"You can see much more clearly with brown eyes."

"How do you know if you don't have brown eyes?"

Tarak smiled. "I am guessing."

He was used to the endless chatter of his small friend. Her family had raised Tarak as their own even though he looked different from all the other Divakae people.

"So maybe my eyes willchange," stated Sufina. "Big ones don't know everything, even though they act like they do…" she trailed off, muttering to herself.

"Your wisdom is great, young hunter," he replied. "Maybe you should be a teacher rather than—" Tarak stopped abruptly as distant screaming reached his ears. He turned sharply in the direction of the noise.

"Stay here, Sufina."

"But I want—"

Tarak didn't hear her. He had already dropped their meal on the forest path and was sprinting at great speed into the Divakae village.

He stopped at the edge of a small wooden hut, behind a large tree, and took in the scene before him. His eyes widened in surprise.

Men with gray skin and blue markings, like his own, were running through his village raiding homes. Other hunters and elders in the village attempted to protect their families from the thieves, but many were losing the match against the large tyrants. Several homes were already on fire, flames shooting high into overhead trees.

Tarak attempted to rid his mind of the confusion and shock that overwhelmed him as he watched the Vaznaun attack the villagers. As his instincts to protect what he loved overcame him, Tarak quickly drew his bow, his heart racing. He released an arrow straight into the back of the nearest raider in time to stop a lifted hand from striking a Divakae elder. Tarak raced further into the village, anger surging through him as he witnessed the violence before him.

As he reached into his quiver for another arrow, a knife soared just inches past his shoulder. Tarak heard a grunt and a thud behind him. He turned to see one of the thieves fall to the ground, with the blade that flew by Tarak sticking from his chest.

Tarak's best friend, Nikan, walked toward him and stooped to retrieve his large knife from the thief's heart. "Close one."

"Who are they?" Tarak asked.

Nikan shrugged. "I don't know… They look like you." He looked into Tarak's eyes. "Almost."

"But they are not."

Nikan placed a hand on Tarak's shoulder and gave him a quick nod just before the two ran forward together, helping to defend the village from the rest of the thieves.

Tarak noticed that the raiders were not attacking him at first. Many of them expressed surprise as he defended the villagers, initially believing him to be one of their own. He rapidly fought his way to his own home at the center edge of the village, all the while searching for his mother.

Daylight flooded through the open door as Tarak burst into his home, silhouetting his face and body.

One of the thieves, who stood with his back to Tarak, struck Tarak's mother to the floor.

A fury Tarak had never felt before flooded his mind.

The Vaznaun, hearing Tarak enter the home, gave Tarak a quick glance. "She is mine…get another," said the thief hoarsely.

Tarak moved across the small hut in a flash and violently turned the attacker to face him. He grabbed the Vaznaun by the front of the neck, bringing the attacker's face close to his own.

"She is not."

"What—?"

Tarak lifted the Vaznaun into the air by his neck. The raider's eyes went wide with surprise as he struggled fiercely against Tarak's grip. Tarak held the Vaznaun in the air by his neck until he stopped struggling.

Tarak's mother pushed herself up from the floor and put a shaky hand on Tarak's forearm. "Release him, Tarak. He is gone," she said quietly.

Tarak dropped his arm and the Vaznaun fell to the floor.

His mother gasped as he turned to her.

"What?" He turned sharply to the door, expecting to find another attacker.

"No…it's your eyes—they—the light."

Tarak ignored his mother's words and grabbed her to him in a tight hug as she began to cry.

"Leave with as many people as you can and hide in the forest. I have to help the others."

His mother nodded.

Tarak grabbed two knives tucked in the top of the dead Vaznaun's boots and gave one to his mother. She slipped out the doorway of their hut as soon as Tarak ensured the area was safe.

As Tarak moved through the village striking more raiders down, word quickly spread that one of their own had turned against the Vaznaun.

"He has killed at least ten of the men, sir," a Vaznaun reported to their leader, Kar.

Kar immediately ordered the group to find the traitor. "We do not leave the village until he is captured."

Soon after, Nikan and Tarak found themselves surrounded in the middle of the village by a dozen raiders.

The Vaznaun were stronger than most of the Divakae people, but Tarak outmatched their superior strength and agility. He readied himself to fight more than one enemy at a time—his stance low and guarded, his eyes brimming with light.

"Do not let them separate us," Tarak warned Nikan as they stood back-to-back. "Stay close to me."

As Tarak started to move forward again with his knife raised, a deep gruff voice halted his steps.

"Stop, or I slice her throat!" said Kar.

Tarak and Nikan turned to see Kar, the large Vaznaun with a thick vertical scar beneath his left eye, pinning Sufina against him, holding a knife to her throat.

Sufina stared wide-eyed at Tarak, tears running down her face.

Tarak immediately lowered the knife and backed away from the Vaznaun before him. Nikan stood still, not taking his eyes off Kar.

"Take his bow and the knife," Kar ordered as he nodded to the Vaznaun near Tarak.

"Tarak!" Sufina screamed.

Pain surged through his skull as Tarak felt something heavy strike the back of his head. His bow fell from his hand as everything went black.

***