Movement Detected
*Rowan*
‘I’m seeing a lot of movement, lines forming out in front of the castle,’ Dean says in my head as I lead Hezzlie out to the back yard where Dean has the drones set up. He took to them pretty easily and figured out how to use them so fast, I was shocked. But then, Dean has always been mechanically inclined.
I don’t bother to answer him until we are outside. I turn to see that James has followed us as well, and as I approach Dean, several other people show up who have either seen us congregating or gotten a call through the mind-link from Dean.
“Can you tell how many there are?” I ask him.
He shakes his head. “It’s kind of hard to tell from this vantage point, and they haven’t shifted yet, but I’d say… at least a thousand.”
“Holy shit,” I mumble, and then I take a position over his shoulder so I can see what he’s looking at.
The screen on the remote control he’s holding is small and grainy, but I can see that there are certainly a vast amount of warriors congregating in front of Dark Sky’s castle, and it doesn’t look like they’re simply holding a training exercise.
But it’s the middle of the day. Why in the world would they be choosing now to attack us? It doesn’t make any sense.
Then, Dean switches the screen, and I see more forces pouring in from the west, and I have an idea now of what’s going on. “They aren’t attacking us right now,” I tell Dean. “They’re hooking up with Alpha Hudson’s men.”
“Why hasn’t he sent word?” Dean asks, and I feel a bit of panic rising up in my chest.
I open my mouth to tell him that I don’t know when one of Midnight Moon’s scouts Alpha Hudson left behind comes running into the back yard. He sees me and drops his head. “What is it?” I demand.
“Alpha King Rowan, sir, Alpha King Hudson has just sent word through the mind-link that Alpha King Solomon has requested the presence of one thousand of our warriors to begin drilling alongside his before we attack later this evening.”
That explains what’s happening. So we’ve got a few hours to prepare for an attack of at least two thousand warriors. At least, the initial attack will be that great. Once Alpha Hudson switches sides, we will for sure have the upperhand, even though I am slightly nervous about the fact that Alpha Hudson could betray us. It wouldn’t be in his best interest to do so, that doesn’t mean that he won’t do it.
“Thank you,” I tell the messenger. He nods. “Tell Alpha Hudson we are aware of the threat, and we are preparing for the oncoming attack.”
He nods, and I see his eyes moving, a signal that he’s passing on the message to his Alpha.
I turn to Dean and the other commanders who have now assembled. “Let the troops know we need to prepare for battle right away,” I tell them. “Get everyone into a defensive position, hidden the best we can within the trees, so that as soon as the attack begins, we can counterattack.”
“Yes, Alpha King,” all of my commanders say in unison.
Dean knows he’s not to leave his post, though. He continues to monitor the happenings on the other side of the valley through the small screen on the remote control. I pat him on the shoulder. “Keep me up to date.”
“Of course, Alpha,” he says without raising his eyes from his task.
Then, I turn to Hezzlie. “It’s time to get you ready, Princess.”
She takes a deep breath and nods. “I’ll get the stones.”
“There’s something else I’d like for you to have as well,” I tell her. “Come with me.”
Her forehead knits in confusion as she says, “Okay….”
I take her hand and lead her inside of the house. The maids are all running around now. I’m not sure what they are doing because there’s really nothing that needs to imminently be done within the mansion other than the ordinary daily tasks, but I can see that they are up to something.
“The villagers,” Hezzlie says, as if she’s reading my mind. “We should make sure all of them can come here and be safe from attack, especially the women, children, sick, and elderly.”
I stop a few feet in front of the stairs and turn toward her. Her eyes go wide, as if she’s not sure what I’m going to say. I pull her close and kiss her, and she melts into my touch. “You’re a fucking genius,” I tell her.
“Can I ask Natalie to be in charge of that? It’ll give her something to do to take her mind off the situation with Corey, and I’d like to give her more responsibilities moving forward.”
“Of course,” I tell her quickly. “I trust your judgment.”
She smiles widely at me. “I’ll let her know. They’ll be safer here.”
“I agree,” I say as we begin to walk up the stairs. “It just didn’t cross my mind.”
Hezzlie doesn’t respond, but then, I suppose she’s busy communicating with Natalie. When we reach the second level, I pull her down the hallway toward the room that used to belong to my parents. I have to take in a few deep breaths. Even though the maids have cleaned this area of the castle a thousand times, my sensitive nose can still pick up traces of blood, even before I open the door.
We walk through the spot where my mother fell dead, where my sister turned toward me with the knife, near where my father lost his life as well.
I take Hezzlie to my father’s closet and open it up. Inside, there aren’t too many items left. Most of his clothing has been put away or the material was used to make other clothes. But there’s a garment bag hanging in the back, and I pull it toward us and unzip it.
Hezzlie gasps. “What is that?”
“That…” I begin, “is what’s going to keep you safe.”
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