Part 20 (2/2)

”I, I touched him and I...I touched him and he started to....” I couldn't get the words out.

The doctor turned back to Ken, giving the female nurse instructions on what he needed. She ran out of the room. I followed close behind. I had hurt Ken. I had thrust energy into him and it would most likely kill him. I couldn't watch that happen. I couldn't stand by and watch him die because of me. I ran down the hall and found the stairwell. I ran downstairs and out the front lobby. I didn't stop running until I reached the truck. I climbed in, grabbing the keys off the seat. Old habits die hard.

I peeled out of the hospital parking lot. I drove straight through to the farm house. I never looked back. I had no idea how fast I had been going, but I knew that it didn't take me long to get there. I pulled onto the stone lane and headed down it. I parked the truck and got out. Finding the key under the loose porch board, I let myself in. I ran to the phone and dialed Sharon's cell phone.

She answered on the third ring. I told her what had just happened to me at the hospital with Ken. She tried her best to calm me down and told me that she'd call me right back. I hung up and stood there, staring at the phone. I guess I expected her to phone me back instantly, I don't know why. My fingers tapped on the top of the white phone, waiting to seize hold of it when it rang. It did.

”Yeah!” I said.

”Gwen, calm down. I called the hospital. The doctor had been trying to find you since you ran off.”

”Oh s.h.i.+t, he'd dead. Sharon I did it, I killed Ken. Oh my G.o.d! I...”

She cut me off. ”GWEN!” she practically screamed at me. ”Ken's not dead.”

I stopped carrying on like an escaped mental patient and spoke calmly to her. ”He's not?”

She started laughing at me. ”No, Gwen, he's not dead. In fact, it's the opposite. The guy is fine. He's completely healed. There isn't a scratch on him. The doctor tried to find you, to find out how you did it.”

Ken was fine? He was healed? I let my body relax. I was so relieved.

”Thanks Sharon, thank you so much,” I said.

”No probs, babe. You gonna be all right?”

I thought about all that had happened to me in the last week. I had seen so much violence, death and destruction, but I had also known love from two different people in that short time frame. I was pretty sure that counted for something, didn't it?

”Yeah, Sharon, I'm going to be all right.”

I hung up with her, went out, unloaded my bags from the back of the Explorer, and took them into the house. It got pretty muggy outside and the house stayed pretty cool even though it didn't have central air, but the sweatpants were getting a little hot. I dragged a couple of my bags upstairs and looked for some shorts. I found a pair of white ones. Those would work.

I changed into the white shorts and headed downstairs. I walked to the hall closet and felt along the top shelf. My hand ran across leather and I pulled it down. It was my father's old hunting knife in its black leather case. The knife was about eight inches long, and he used to use it to gut things he killed. I was going to use it to gut something, too. I was going troll hunting. I stuck the knife into the back of my waistband. It stuck tight to me. I hoped that I would be able to get it out in time if I needed it, but I wasn't planning on needing it. I planned on calling on my power and frying those little troll b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. Just to be on the safe side, I decided to take Caleb's crossbow with me. I grabbed it out of the back of his truck and brought it in the house. I couldn't figure out what to do with it. Common sense prevailed, and I left it lying on the kitchen table.

I stormed out of the house and down the lane. It was a beautiful, late summer day, not a cloud in the sky. The only storm I felt brewing was the one deep inside of me. I headed down to the river. I hoped to find trolls there. I wanted them dead. I owed Caleb that much. I owed myself that much.

I reached the bridge in less than ten minutes. d.a.m.n, I walked fast. I walked out onto it and looked around. There was nothing there--just me, standing on the bridge, looking like a crazed lunatic. What else was new?

”Come and get me, you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! Come on!” I screamed. It echoed off the sides of the hill that the river wound through.

No one came. I walked to the side of the bridge and climbed down the small, rocky walkway to the river's edge. I kept looking in all directions. I wasn't going to let one of those nasty, stinky things sneak up on me again. I would be ready for them this time. I would be...I heard the sound of leaves being crushed. I stopped thinking and started listening. I heard it again. I looked in that direction and saw a black blur. It was on the other side of the river, further down than where I was. I took off in a fast run along the side of the river. My feet hit the sandy, rocky ground and I felt myself slipping to the side. I almost twisted my ankle at least three times before I reached the shallow part of the river. It was near the bend and was only ankle deep. I splashed through it. The water turned murky brown everywhere I stepped. I churned the dirt up in it. My socks got soggy. I didn't care. All I cared about was finding that troll and killing it. I hit the other side of the river. That side was not covered in sand and rocks, it was just dirt. The dirt led up to the edge of the woods. I caught sight of the black blur again and kept on going.

I pushed my way into the woods. My shoes made tiny squeaky noises from all of the water in them. I pushed on. I was being driven by hate, by revenge. I looked around for a sign of where the troll had gone. There was no sign of him. The hairs on my arms stood on end. I ducked down just in time. Something large and wet lunged past my head.

I heard snarls as I turned around quickly. There it was. Those nasty teeth and beady, yellow eyes glared at me, wanted to strike out at me. The thing stunk more than ever, and I was actually happy to see it. I could taste my hate. I pulled the knife from its sheath. I gripped it tightly. ”Come on, come on,” I thought to myself. The troll made another lunge at me. I darted out of its pathway. As it fell past me, I slammed the knife down into its back. I struck out against its slimy, seaweed-like covering. It shrieked, and I laughed. G.o.d, I really was sick in the head. Guess Talia rubbed off on me. I hoped that I wouldn't want to start dressing like her, too. I shook my head--no time to get sidetracked.

The troll pulled itself to its feet, slowly. It still cried out. That didn't faze me in the least. What did bother me was that an identical sound answered it? I dove at it, propelling my body against it. We crashed down onto the edge of the river. It tried to lash out at me with its teeth. I moved my arm quickly to avoid a repeat performance. My hand slid over a large rock. I picked it up. Without thought, I instinctively raised the rock over my head and smashed it onto the troll's face. It made a horrible noise that should have brought me to my senses. Instead, I raised the rock above my head two more times and smashed it into the troll until I was sure that I had killed it. I stood up from it slowly. I felt no remorse as I leaned to rinse my hands in the river water.

The cool, fresh water ran red under my touch. I let my head fall slightly. Warmth came from behind me. I turned my head around, slowly. There, standing on the edge of the river, was the man who had saved my life as a child--the faerie man with the long hair and navy blue eyes. He had watched me kill the troll. I was mortified.

”Kerrigan,” the name fell from my lips.

He smiled. His face was soft and his eyes were warm. He wore robes of black and still had his sword strapped to his side.

”You know my name,” he said. I almost fell over. I had never, ever heard him speak before. He was always just there, quiet and there. His voice was low. It was a voice that demanded your attention. It was wonderful.

”Yes, I....” I looked down at the dead troll. I didn't know what to say to him. He waved his hand in the air and the troll vanished. I just looked at him. I should have felt wrong, or dirty. After all, this was the second thing I'd killed in the last week. ”You're King Kerrigan.” I always surprised myself with just how stupid I could sound sometimes.

He smiled wider. ”Was. I was the King. They have a new ruler now.”

I made a small step towards him. ”Caleb said you just disappeared. Why?” I asked.

”Caleb. You have met Caleb?” he smiled. I got the impression that he already knew the answer to his own question, but wanted to hear me say it.

”Yes, I knew Caleb.”

”Knew him?” he asked coming closer to me.

”He was killed by a troll and some h.e.l.lhounds.” I didn't know why I told him all of this. I just felt like I needed to share this with him. He looked at the b.l.o.o.d.y stone on the ground and nodded.

”I see now. You sound upset. Did Caleb mean much to you?”

I looked at him and sat on the ground. I had to fight to keep from crying. ”Yes, he meant a lot to me. More than I knew, I guess.”

Kerrigan came close to me. I could have reached out and touched him, but I didn't. I simply looked up at him. He was a sight to behold. I could definitely tell he was royalty. He carried himself well. He touched the top of my head lightly, and I cried.

”I lose everyone I love--somehow I manage to lose them all. I have no one...no family, no one,” I cried softly. The tears slowly coursed down my cheeks.

”Gwyneth, you do not lose everyone you hold dear to your heart,” he said as he bent down beside me. ”And you do have family still alive. I can promise you that.”

I looked up into his dark navy eyes. ”Do you know my mother?”

He sat beside me on the ground. Even sitting down he was at least a foot taller than me. ”I knew your mother well.”

”She's dead?” I asked.

He nodded slightly. ”She fought hard to bring you back. She wanted you to have another chance at life, because you had been robbed of it.”

”Why did she do it?”

”She did it because she loved you. She knew when she decided to bring you back that it meant she would die. She gave her life force to you so you could live again.”

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