Knights v Hunters: The Choice

Rafe continued his run along the border of the Hunter compound, his brother at his side. For the past few weeks, he had completely blocked Caleb out of his mind so that even if his brother accidentally read his mind, he would not know that Rafe was communicating with Eden. He couldn’t put Caleb in a position where he would be compromised. If the Hunters knew that Eden and Rafe were communicating, it would lead to questions about the Hunters’ relationship with the Knights, something they hadn’t been willing to address for centuries.

Caleb felt Rafe’s mental wall, but he accepted that his brother literally had the right to have a mind of his own. Rafe only ever read his brother’s mind during a mission or during training, as necessary. The brothers generally afforded each other great privacy, so the easy-going Caleb had no idea that his older brother needed to hide a great secret from him.

Rafe slowed down as they reached the abandoned wishing well at the far end of the Hunter compound. He and Caleb used to play there as children, but they hadn’t visited the well in years. His father, Jude, had said that the area was abandoned because it was too close to the boundary wall that the Hunter compound shared with the Normals. The other boundaries of the compound bordered woodlands that the Hunters owned, thus ensuring complete privacy. Hence, the Hunters had decided that they would vacate this part of the compound and over the years, no new homes had been built there, the older homes being torn down or moved to other parts of their suburb. Now as he stood still staring at the wishing well, Rafe suddenly remembered being there as a child with his mother. We used to visit mom’s friend and her kids, he recalled. Of course, that was before everyone had been asked to move deeper into the compound. Strangely, Rafe couldn’t remember the house of his mom’s friend.

“Remember when we used to build our own training camps here and pretend that we were already part of the Hunter pack being sent on missions?” Caleb asked.

“Yes, and you would always threaten to throw Becca over the boundary wall, into the town, because she used to beat you in training.” Rafe laughed.

“I can’t remember that,” Caleb grinned, “although not much has changed since then. Hey, have you seen Becca recently?” Caleb turned serious.

“Actually, no. I haven’t seen her since training camp a few weeks back. I obviously have run into Ella often, since she’s apprenticing with mom. Why?”

“Uh, no reason. I haven’t seen her in a while. Think I got used to her bugging me!” Caleb laughed. Rafe knew that Becca was still miffed at Caleb because of his behaviour during training camp, but he wasn’t going to get involved in that drama. He had more important things on his mind.

After a shower and a quick chat with his father, Rafe went back home eager to catch up with his studies. He was taking a few classes in strategy formulation and management with the view that it would help him in his missions in the future. His father was the best strategist that he had ever met, but maybe there were things you could learn from a textbook, too. Jude had also encouraged his son to put his learnings into practise. Caleb on the other hand, was learning French and Italian, mostly because it impressed the young female Hunters in their pack! It was during his studies, that Rafe started to develop a headache. Maybe I need to lie down for a few minutes, he thought.

In his room, Rafe had just put his head on his pillow when he thought he heard Eden. It’s impossible, he thought. Eden had never been able to initiate contact before.

“Rafe, can you hear me? It’s Eden.” Eden whispered again.

Rafe sat up in bed. It wasn’t a dream. Eden was really talking to him!

“Eden?” Rafe asked hesitantly.

“Oh wow, I can’t believe it. I have been practising contacting you for the past few days. I can’t believe I finally did it!” she cried excitedly.

“That’s great! So you have been practising, huh?” Rafe asked with a smile on his face. He could almost feel Eden blush.

“I’m also trying to improve my skills, so wipe that grin off your face mister!”

“Well, I’m proud of you. How are you doing? I haven’t spoken to you in a few days,” Rafe said.

“I’m good. My sister Kyra and I have been out on a mission. It was good. I had the strangest thought the other day.”

“What?”

“What if we had met previously? I mean, think about it. We’re familiar to each other and I haven’t had that feeling before.”

“If so,” Rafe questioned, “why can’t either one of us remember? Trust me, I have a pretty good memory!”

Eden laughed and the girlish giggle went straight to Rafe’s heart.

“Sorry Rafe, maybe I’m just being fanciful! A few of the Knights have the ability to completely remove your memories. We call them Cleaners.” A few weeks ago, Eden would have wondered if she had shared too much, but now, she trusted Rafe as much as she trusted her family.

“That’s a pretty neat ability. Can they also only remove certain memories?” Rafe asked, now completely ignoring his headache.

“Well, yes. They essentially remove all the threads linked to that memory. So for example, if they removed a memory of you attending a party, they would remove all discussions in your mind related to that party, any photos you may have taken, memories of any people you might have met for the first time during that party, food you might have eaten. It’s a pretty unique skill!” Eden said.

“That’s one ability that the Hunters don’t have. Unfortunately we remember everything, every mission we’ve been on, Normals we have met, and even places we have been to. My dad calls it our internal data bank.”

“Now, that’s cool,” Eden said. “Sometimes I can’t even remember what I ate for dinner. Well, that’s probably because my mom has cooked and I force myself to forget what it tasted like!”

Eden and Rafe continued to talk for the next few hours, about Grace’s cooking, her brothers, Caleb, Rafe’s suspicion about Becca’s interest in his brother, Ella and how she was the closest thing he had to a little sister, all the while avoiding any discussion of their fathers, both leaders with opposing agendas.

Eventually, Eden said, “I wish we could actually talk in the open, you know, like we would if we were Normals.”

“Well… maybe we could,” Rafe volunteered.

“No, we can’t! The Guardians at the gate can scent an intruder in seconds. You can’t even begin to imagine the trouble we would be in!” Eden cried out, alarmed.

“If I can’t come into Knight town, maybe you can come visit me at the compound.”

“What? I wouldn’t even know how to get there in the first place. The mayor, might I add, was very careful in concealing your location.”

Rafe laughed. That did sound like Mayor Strong.

“Well, I can give you directions and we don’t have the level of security that you have but we’ve never had any intrusions before. I guess the mayor keeps the Normals around our compound in check! By the way, I know the perfect place where we can meet without either of us getting into trouble!”

Eden closed off their conversation with a nervous laugh, promising to meet Rafe the next day at the location he had mentioned. Although she was nervous, she trusted Rafe’s judgement and knew that he would never intentionally place her in harm’s way. Besides, she couldn’t wait to see him again!

The next day, Jude met with his sons, Becca and Ethan in the Hunter control room, to discuss a mission that required great tracking ability. Jude, unlike previous leaders of the Hunters, always paired older, more experienced Hunters, with the young Hunters on difficult or complicated missions. This mission seemed to be one of those.

“We need to track these Normals, Gage McCall and Roan Gentry. They might be serial killers hiding in plain sight. The police haven’t connected the murders to them yet. Rafe, Caleb, you might have met the investigating officers, Detectives Peck and Channing?” The boys nodded.

“Well, it seems as if these two Normals are leaving a trail of bodies behind. The detectives haven’t been able to find any links between the victims, but I think that there could be. Rafe, Ethan and I will focus on that. Caleb, I want you and Becca to start tracking them. I would like a debrief twice a day, starting this afternoon,” Jude said. “Any questions?”

Since there were no questions, the Young Hunters dispersed, leaving Ethan and Jude alone.

“Ethan, I think that this could be one messy situation. Although everything points to these Normals being guilty, there could be others involved. We don’t know why they are doing this or how they are picking their victims, but so far, eight people have died,” Jude said worriedly. “We need to keep an eye on the Young Hunters, ensure that they keep us informed of what they find out.”

“I’ll stay on this. I know you have quite a few missions to oversee, I’d like to head this one up,” Ethan volunteered.

“Thanks, Ethan, there’s no one I trust more to lead this mission than you.”

“You do know, that to successfully complete this mission, our children will have to spend substantial time in the outside world, living amongst the Normals?” Ethan warned.

Jude looked at his old friend, not liking what he heard, but knowing that Ethan’s assessment was correct.

“I understand. Fortunately, they understand the ways of the Normals and they know not to explicitly display their abilities in that world. I know that they don’t have to go out into the outside world right now, but when it’s time, Ethan, ensure that they are given sufficient warnings about the use of their arrows. This is going to be a dangerous and complicated mission. I need them to be alert at all times,” Jude advised.

Ethan nodded and then went to find the Young Hunters. This mission energised him; it would provide a great learning experience for Becca and Jude’s boys. He might need to bring in more of the other Hunters as it progressed. He found his daughter with Rafe and Caleb in one of the rooms in their small college at the Hunter compound. The three of them seemed to be engaging in a serious discussion on the way forward. Good, he thought! At least they hadn’t plunged into the work, like he and Jude had done when they were around the children’s age. Thankfully, they seemed to have inherited their mothers’ practical, reasoning sides. They turned when they saw Ethan, serious expressions marking their faces.

“Well, what do we have thus far?” Ethan asked.

“Uncle Ethan, we’ve decided to set up a working board at the control centre to record all the information we find,” Rafe began.

“And Dad, we also realise that we have to spend more time with the Normals. Since Rafe and Caleb have already established a relationship with the detectives in charge of this case, we’ve agreed that they should make primary contact there. I will stay in the background,” Becca said.

“Becca and I have also established that McCall and Gentry are still in New York City. It could be their primary hunting ground, but we have to understand why they targeted these eight people,” Caleb contributed.

“Well good work thus far. Rafe, Caleb, I don’t want you to immediately go into the outside world. I need you to track where these detectives are and then ease into their radius. You probably have established some credibility with them after the Harry Tyler incident, but they might be suspicious as to why you turn up now, especially since you disappeared so quickly the last time.”

The boys nodded, aware that their disappearing act might have reduced some of their credibility with the detectives.

“We’ll lease an apartment in the same building as Detective Peck. She was the more trusting of the two. If we “accidentally” run into her, then we can start engaging with them,” Rafe suggested.

Ethan liked the boy’s thinking. He was going to be a fine leader some day; in fact, the Young Hunters had already started to seek advice from him. It would make the transition of leadership from Jude to Rafe much easier in the future.

“I like that idea. Let’s start looking for patterns amongst the victims.” For the next few hours, they worked tirelessly trying to establish the link between McCall and Gentry and the victims and then between the victims themselves. When they eventually took a break, they hadn’t made much progress in that regard. Nothing stood out. They would have to provide that feedback to Jude. Maybe he would see something that they and the detectives had missed.

Rafe was aware, when their small team had resumed after their short break and when his father had eventually joined them, that he needed to let Eden know that he would be late for their meeting. Standing back from the rest of them, he silently tried to contact Eden.

“Eden, Eden, can you hear me?” he asked, trying not to raise suspicion in the room.

He sighed in relief, perhaps too loudly, when Eden responded, for Caleb had turned his attention to him, eyebrow raised, a question in his eyes. Don’t try to read me now, Rafe begged and turned away from his brother, hoping that he had received that message. Ignoring Caleb, Rafe very quietly communicated his dilemma to Eden and told her to wait for him. She was already at their meeting place! He turned back to the team and gave them his full attention, all the while ignoring his brother’s glare. Although Caleb was generally easy-going and known as the fun brother of the two, he had a serious side, which rarely showed. Now, it was in evidence as he listened to his father, but told his brother without words, that they would have a chat about what just happened.

Jude eventually turned to them and said, “I think that that is all we can do for tonight. Let’s reconvene after breakfast tomorrow. Maybe we will have some new thoughts after we’ve slept on this. Becca, Caleb, I want you to keep tracking McCall and Gentry. I would like to know where they are, each minute of the day, until we solve this.”

“Dad, any chance we’ve looking at the wrong guys?” Caleb asked, knowing Jude’s answer, but also knowing that his father liked to be challenged.

“I’ve triple checked and I’ve also seen them commit the last murder, but I couldn’t get a sense as to why they were doing this,” Jude said.

“Do you believe they’ve good for all eight murders though?” Caleb continued.

“Yes, but let’s confirm it. The ambience around each murder was the same, that’s why I believe they are all linked.”

“Okay, good enough for me,” Caleb said and walked to the door. “Is mom expecting us for dinner?”

Jude laughed. His younger son could eat them out of house and home, but he loved Ava’s cooking just as much as Jude did. “Yes, she is expecting all of us including Ethan and his family, so come down to dinner looking presentable,” he ordered.

“Uh Dad, sorry, I can’t make it tonight. I’ll apologise to mom, but I need to catch up with some stuff,” Rafe quickly said. Jude knew better than to question his son. His children had their own lives. Rafe probably had a hot date! Or so Jude wished!

“No problem, son. Caleb,” Jude called, “can you walk Becca home and collect Ella and her mom? I need to chat to Ethan for a while.”

Becca, who had been silent all this while, eventually piped up. “It’s okay Uncle Jude. I need a shower in any case. We’ll meet you all there, no need to pick us up Caleb.” With a smile at Jude and her dad, she walked past Caleb, passing Rafe in her haste to get back home. I can do this, she thought. I can sit through dinner and pretend that everything is all right. She had been to Ava’s for dinner, hundreds of times over the past years. It will be okay, she told herself, even though she ignored Caleb’s, “Becca wait up” and hurried home.

Although Rafe himself was in a hurry, he observed Becca’s reaction and smiled to himself. Good, he thought, Caleb is getting a dose of his own medicine.

Her back was turned away from him, the moonlight throwing silver off her black hair. He stood for a moment, staring at her, unable to believe that she had waited for him. He knew when she became aware of him, with the slight relaxation of her shoulders and a sigh so gentle, he felt it more than heard it.

“You made it,” Eden said as she turned around, a shy smile on her face.

“Yes, I can’t apologise enough for being so late,” Rafe said. “I hope no one is looking for you?” It was awkward for a moment, before they both started laughing and moved closer to each other. Rafe took Eden’s hands into his, aware that she was as nervous as him.

“No, my parents are busy, as are my brothers and sister, so I’ll be okay for a while. My father does a quick track of us before he goes to bed. We act like we don’t know this, even though Kyra first picked it up when I was five!” Eden laughed.

“Well, we’ll have you home before he does roll call,” Rafe smiled, unaware that Eden’s heart had skipped a beat at exactly that moment when his smile had deepened, revealing his dimples. She looked into his eyes, almost as if she could see into his soul and then moved into his arms, hugging him, like she had imagined these past few weeks.

“I didn’t come all this way for you to hold my hand, Rafe,” she chided. Rafe smiled, drawing her closer, loving the smell of her hair, remembering the scent of her skin. She definitely could read his mind, he thought! There was something so achingly familiar about her, yet he couldn’t remember her! He felt himself relax for the first time in many weeks, unaware that Eden felt exactly the same.

“So, have you had dinner?” Rafe asked, quickly trying to get past the feelings that were threatening to overwhelm him. Eden looked up at him, seeming to know what he was trying to do. She quietly moved out of his arms.

“I’m not too hungry,” she responded.

“Me either.”

Rafe couldn’t take his eyes off Eden, noting how delicate she looked. She was as petite as Becca and Ella, but he knew that she was just as strong as those two young Hunters. She barely reached his shoulder, but she was a perfect fit when they hugged.

“I really like you, Eden!” he blurted, much to his embarrassment.

Eden laughed. “Well, that is good to know. I feel the same. So, now that we have that out of the way, can we talk the way we normally do?” she asked teasingly.

“You mean, in silence?” Rafe asked confused.

“No,” she said, lightly punching him, “with ease! We have had the greatest of conversations from a distance. Now let’s see whether we can get on when we actually look into each other’s eyes.”

“Okay, if you insist,” Rafe joked and took her hand once again, bringing her to sit down close to the abandoned wishing well. He told her that it used to be his and Caleb’s favourite place growing up and how they had to now leave a large portion of this area uninhabited because of its proximity to the town.

“Do the Hunters ever get troubled by the Normals?” Eden asked.

“No, we engage with them outside the compound. I mean they help us earn a living. Although we grow our own food, we do sell the clothes we make and some of the Hunters make the most incredible furniture that you will ever see. Have you heard of the Arrow line of furniture?”

“Yeah, that is a high end product! Mom loves it. No!” Eden exclaimed as it dawned on her that the Hunters were responsible for producing some of the best solid wood, intricately carved furniture. She should have recognised the play on the name of the furniture brand! Clever, she thought, they’ve named it after the weapons they use to eliminate condemned Normals!

“Yes, that does help us to earn a fairly decent living in the compound. The mayor helps to keep the Normals away. I can’t remember us ever having a problem with them. Imagine if they started wondering what lies behind our walls!”

Eden proceeded to tell Rafe a little more about the Knights, that although they also lived fairly off the grid, they weren’t as independent as the Hunters. They did interact more with the Normals. She told Rafe about the Council and eventually confided that Harry Tyler’s Knight father was still a member, because they had not a shred of evidence to suggest that he had been complicit in ensuring that Harry retained his powers. She also told him that her family loved Seth and Dina and that they couldn’t destroy their lives without knowing for sure.

“You do know that if Harry fell through the cracks, there could well be others?” Rafe asked worriedly.

“Yes, our family is working quietly to see how far this extends. So far, what happened with Harry seems to be an anomaly, but my parents are suspicious and so are my brothers. We’ll see how it goes.”

“Okay. You can contact me if you need a silent partner!” Rafe offered.

“Oh really?”

“You know I can read the Knights if I’m close enough,” Rafe said.

“Are you close enough to read what this Knight is thinking?” Eden asked mischievously, looking directly into his eyes.

Rafe grinned. “Why Miss Eden, I do believe you want me to kiss you?” he said.

“You’re right,” Eden said, leaning in, “you are very good!”

Their kiss, when it eventually happened, felt like a meeting of two long lost souls. Rafe felt as if something had exploded inside him, whilst Eden finally understood what Kyra meant when she said you could feel the earth move with a great kiss. Eden wasn’t sure how long they kissed, but when they separated and looked into each other’s eyes, there was a look of recognition that they mirrored. All of a sudden, something settled in Eden, and she was aware that she had reached a point where she couldn’t walk away from Rafe without leaving something of herself behind.

“This won’t be easy,” Rafe murmured, “but it will be worth it!”

“You believe that,” Eden said, astounded.

“I know that!” Rafe said with certainty. He took her hand and placed it on his heart. She could feel the strong beat of his heart, the power of his life under her hand and she knew, she knew, that he was right.

Eden smiled, the first true, unhesitant smile of the night. It radiated in her eyes as she quickly kissed his chin.

“Okay,” she said. “But I have to go. My father will be wondering where I am if he can’t track me.”

“Okay,” Rafe answered. “Let me know when you’ve reached home.” He wrapped her in his arms, kissed her forehead and let her go. As she was about to scale the boundary wall, he asked hesitantly, “Will you come back?”

Eden turned to look at him, a truly angelic smile on her face. Read my mind, she silently said and leapt over the wall.

Joyous at receiving the answer that he had hoped for, Rafe quickly walked home, a bounce in his step for the first time in months. He was so wrapped up in the joy of having seen Eden that he failed to pick up Caleb as he entered their house.

His brother was sitting in the armchair in the lounge, his arms folded, with a calm expression on his face. “So, spill, bro. I’ve been waiting a long time,” he said.

“Look, I have a lot on my mind and I would like some privacy, physically and mentally,” Rafe cautioned.

“Hey, I only get into your head when we’re out on missions. Otherwise, we abide by the rules we agreed to when we were little. So why the hell do I feel you’ve been using all your strength to block me out? That is insulting!” Caleb said angrily.

Rafe looked at his brother. Caleb was right. They had always maintained their pact. There was no one he trusted more than his brother.

“I’m sorry,” Rafe started by saying. That seemed to ease the tension in the room as Caleb immediately unfolded his arms and stood up, indicating that they should move into the kitchen and out of earshot of their parents.

The boys moved into the kitchen or the “conference area” as their parents dubbed it. They seated themselves opposite each other at the kitchen table and Rafe continued. “You’re right. I have been more than a bit off lately and very unfair towards you. Let me start by saying that I trust you more than anyone. I think that I have been very obvious in blocking you out of my mind because maybe I don’t want you to be disappointed in me.”

“Why would I be disappointed in you?” Caleb asked curiously. “You never do anything wrong!”

“Well, I don’t consider what I am doing to be wrong, but I know that you won’t approve. In any case, I mostly don’t want you to know because I don’t want you to be involved in anything that may emanate from this,” Rafe said.

“Are you in trouble?” Caleb asked simply.

Rafe laughed. “No, I wouldn’t say that. Caleb, trust me, it’s not something bad. It’s something very personal. I promise you, give me some time and in the not so distant future, I will let you in on it. Okay?”

Caleb stared intently at his brother. Rafe was looking far more relaxed than he had in months and in that moment, he knew what his brother was keeping from him. “Okay,” he said. “Consider our issue settled.” He shook his brother’s hand. “But know this, bro, if I think for a moment, that what you’re keeping from me is putting you in danger, I will step in, regardless of our pact.” With that, Caleb walked away.

That night, as he lay in bed and after he had checked that Eden was home, Rafe reflected that he couldn’t remember when last he and Caleb had had such a serious conversation. His brother was generally an easy-going, go-with-the-flow type of guy, but he knew that he always had his back. God, his brother would not be impressed if he found out that Rafe had ignored his advice and was liaising with a Knight!

A few rooms away, Caleb stood staring out of his bedroom window. Until now, there was nothing that the brothers didn’t know about each other. In fact, Rafe always complained that Caleb was sharing too much information if he spoke about his latest conquest. But this? He hoped Rafe knew what he was doing. He had known that his brother would have not just walked away from Eden. He had felt the connection between them when they had first met. There was something there, he acknowledged, but what would his brother be willing to risk for that? And Eden? Was she risking banishment from Knight town? Knights and Hunters just didn’t mix that way, he thought. And yet, didn’t Eden look as if she belonged with the Hunters? He hadn’t ever seen a Knight who looked like her. She stood out from the rest of her people with her dark hair and blue eyes. He knew that this was the year in which she had to make the Choice. Would she choose to remain a Knight at the end of that time, with the hope that she would continue whatever relationship she was having with Rafe or would she choose to live amongst the Normals, thus forever preventing her from having any relationship with his brother? Whatever happened, his brother would be hurt because unlike Caleb, Rafe was a one-woman type of guy who would give everything for the woman he loved. He climbed into bed, weary, but too riled up to immediately fall asleep and he knew that his brother who lay a few doors away, felt very much the same. Don’t break his heart, Eden, he silently begged.